Chapter 52: The Purple Shadow Descends · The Caged Beast
Above the azure waves of the Pacific, Sun Wukong mounted his Somersault Cloud and vanished without a trace with a single somersault, leaving behind only the embers of his grilled fish and empty coconut shells, as if no one had ever been there. He departed in search of new amusement, unaware that a true calamity had quietly descended upon the very world he had just left.Beyond Earth's orbit, space tore like fragile fabric without a sound. The massive,狰狞的 (zhēngníng de -狰狞的) Sanctuary II mothership, like the embodiment of death, slid silently into near-Earth orbit, casting a suffocating shadow. Its scale and oppressive aura far surpassed the Chitauri Leviathans, carrying an additional sense of冰冷、绝对的秩序感 (bīnglěng, juéduì de zhìxù gǎn -冰冷、绝对的秩序感).Thanos sat upon his throne inlaid with stars, his fingers tapping the armrest slowly. His icy gaze swept over the blue planet beneath him, as if appraising an artifact about to be added to his collection."Strong energy residue... Interesting," his低沉的声音 (dīchén de shēngyīn -低沉的声音) echoed across the空阔的舰桥 (kōngkuò de jiànqiáo -空阔的舰桥). The Power Stone on the Infinity Gauntlet glowed faintly, resonating subtly with the energy波动 (bōdòng -波动) he sensed on Earth. "And... a faint echo of the Mind Stone. As expected."He slowly raised his gauntleted right hand. "No need to waste energy cleansing the surface. Targets: the Avengers Compound, Wakanda. Precision strikes. Capture all resistance leaders. Find the Stones. Make this planet... submit in the most efficient manner."No declaration of war, no ultimatum. The冰冷的命令 (bīnglěng de mìnglìng -冰冷的命令) was issued.Instantly, countless small landing pods, like precision-guided seeds of death, detached from the mothership. Shrieking through the atmosphere, they hurtled towards key coordinates on Earth—the new Avengers Compound amidst the ruins of New York, the hidden nation of Wakanda—in a高速坠落 (gāosù zhuìluò -高速坠落)!Simultaneously, the main battery arrays beneath Sanctuary II adjusted their angles slightly. Several immensely thick beams of purple light,凝练着毁灭性能量 (níngliàn zhe huǐmièxìng néngliàng -凝练着毁灭性能量), shot down like spears of judgment thrown by a deity,精准地轰向 (jīngzhǔn de hōng xiàng -精准地轰向) the defensive barriers over the target areas!Avengers Compound: Alarms撕裂长空 (sīliè chángkōng -撕裂长空)!"Unable to withstand! Energy levels incalculable!" FRIDAY's voice was前所未有的急促 (qiánsuǒwèiyǒu de jícù -前所未有的急促).Tony Stark didn't even have time to don his full suit,只能驱动纳米装甲覆盖关键部位 (zhǐ néng qūdòng nàmǐ zhuāngjiǎ fùgài guānjiàn bùwèi -只能驱动纳米装甲覆盖关键部位). "Everyone, eva—!"The protective layers above the compound tore and vaporized like paper! A massive冲击波 (chōngjībō -冲击波) flipped the entire facility, instantly turning most of it to dust!Wakanda, Birnin Zana: The energy barrier波动剧烈 (bōdòng jùliè -波动剧烈), groaning under unbearable stress!"Barrier overloading!" Princess Shuri's voice was filled with惊恐 (jīngkǒng -惊恐).King T'Challa roared, "All forces, alert! Prepare to engage!"The next second, the屏障破碎 (píngzhàng pòsuì -屏障破碎)! The purple beams struck the city's edge like divine punishment, causing massive explosions. The繁华的振金都市 (fánhuá de zhèn jīn dūshì -繁华的振金都市) was instantly engulfed in火海与混乱 (huǒhǎi yǔ hǔnluàn -火海与混乱)!This was only the beginning.The landing pods crashed down, hatches opening. What emerged were not chaotic Chitauri cannon fodder, but well-equipped, disciplined,冰冷杀意的 (bīnglěng shāyì de -冰冷杀意的) legions of Outriders! And, gliding through the battlefield like phantoms to execute decapitation strikes—the Black Order!Corvus Glaive's blade撕裂空气 (sīliè kōngqì -撕裂空气), easily swatting down Falcon's drone fleet.Proxima Midnight's spear became a whirlwind of death, scattering the attempting-to-form-up Wakandan Royal Guard.Ebony Maw floated优雅地 (yōuyǎ de -优雅地), telekinetically操控着废墟与残骸 (cāokòng zhe fèixū yǔ cánhái -操控着废墟与残骸), flinging cars and tanks at the hastily responding heroes as if playing with toys.Cull Obsidian roared like a heavy battering ram, crashing through building after building.Supergiant's psychic assaults瓦解着抵抗者的意志 (wǎjiě zhe dǐkàng zhě de yìzhì -瓦解着抵抗者的意志) silently.This was a闪电战 (shǎndiàn zhàn -闪电战) of降维打击 (jiàng wéi dǎjí -降维打击)! Precise, efficient,冷酷 (lěngkù -冷酷)!They had just endured a protracted, soul-crushing, and physically devastating车轮战 (chēlún zhàn -车轮战) against Sun Wukong, leaving them遍体鳞伤 (biàntǐlínshāng -遍体鳞伤) with many暗伤未愈 (àn shāng wèi yù -暗伤未愈). Their bodies were exhausted, their energy reserves枯竭 (kūjié -枯竭), their spirits on the verge of崩溃 (bēngkuì -崩溃).Captain America raised his shield to block Corvus Glaive's slash, but the force far beyond anything he'd faced before sent麻木感 (mámù gǎn -麻木感) through his arm, forcing him back, old wounds aching.Iron Man's suit alarms screamed凄厉地 (qīlì de -凄厉地),纳米机器人修复速度 (nàmǐ jīqìrén xiūfù sùdù -纳米机器人修复速度) lagging far behind the damage as Proxima Midnight's spear scored deep gashes.Thor's summoned lightning was far less炽烈 (chìliè -炽烈) than before; Mjolnir's clash with Cull Obsidian's axe actually felt strenuous.The Hulk roared in rage, but his movements lacked their former狂暴流畅 (kuángbào liúchàng -狂暴流畅), carrying an indescribable滞涩 (zhìsè -滞涩)—a lingering道伤 (dào shāng -道伤) from being repeatedly "purified" by Sun Wukong's清净拳意 (qīngjìng quányì -清净拳意)—trapped by Ebony Maw's telekinetically controlled rebar and concrete, struggling to break free.Scarlet Witch's psychic波动不稳 (bōdòng bù wěn -波动不稳), Vision's Vibranium body still bearing unfilled dents; together, they were suppressed by Supergiant's mental interference...This was an army of the exhausted, a team carrying "hidden injuries"! Their resistance was like infants waving their arms against giants, pathetically pale and weak.The battle became a one-sided溃败 (kuìbài -溃败). Defensive lines were rapidly torn apart. Heroes were分割 (fēngē -分割),包围 (bāowéi -包围),击倒 (jīdǎo -击倒).Thanos did not even intervene personally. He merely strolled through the硝烟弥漫的战场 (xiāoyān mímàn de zhànchǎng -硝烟弥漫的战场) like a king巡视领地 (xúnshì lǐngdì -巡视领地). Occasionally, a stray attack would come his way; he would simply raise the Infinity Gauntlet casually, the Power Stone flashing faintly,湮灭 (yǎnmiè -湮灭) both the attack and the attacker.His gaze finally settled on the gem protected on Vision's forehead. That stone, glowing with an orange-yellow light, was his primary objective."Take them. Bring them," Thanos ordered flatly, as if instructing his subordinates to pick up scattered seashells.Special energy shackles were clamped around the necks and wrists of every fallen hero, not only禁锢 (jìngù -禁锢) their powers but also constantly absorbing their stamina, weakening them further.Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Shuri... almost all core combatants, their strength greatly diminished by their "hidden injuries," were completely defeated. Like trophies, they were escorted by the Black Order back to the Sanctuary II hovering in orbit.Earth, in a very short time, had lost its guardians, plunged into unprecedented恐慌与绝望 (kǒnghuāng yǔ juéwàng -恐慌与绝望).The massive shadow of Sanctuary II hung over the world like a shroud of death.