One Day Earlier

  Somewhere in the vast expanse of space at the edge of the sor system's heliosphere...

  Ripples suddenly emerged in the void.

  Moments ter, a circur spaceship tore through the emptiness and arrived in this isoted region of the cosmos.

  Without hesitation, it sped toward Earth.

  In just one day, the ship traversed 4.5 billion kilometers and came to rest outside Earth's atmosphere!

  Meanwhile, on Earth

  Several factions, closely monitoring the shifts in the nearby cosmic space, quickly heightened their vigince.

  Wakanda

  In the grand operations hall, every seat was filled.

  Among those present were Bck Widow, Falcon, and Hawkeye—brought here only yesterday—alongside members of various Wakandan tribes.

  Wakanda's internal structure was remarkably complex.

  The nation operated as a confederation of tribes, primarily composed of five key groups: the Bck Panther royal family, the White Ape Tribe (Jabari Tribe), the Border Tribe, the River Tribe, and the Merchant Tribe.

  However, in reality, three of these tribes remained in a retively underdeveloped state, their outward appearance one of apparent poverty.

  This was deliberate; they served as a "genuine barrier" to mislead outsiders into believing Wakanda was a poor, struggling nation.

  The White Ape Tribe was the exception.

  Devotees of Hanuman, the White Ape God, they revered a totem entirely opposite to the Bck Panther. This divergence led to their exclusion from Wakandan society.

  Even so, their leader, M'Baku, was Wakanda's second-strongest warrior after T'Chal, earning the title "Man-Ape."

  Years earlier, M'Baku challenged T'Chal during the tter's ascension to the throne but was ultimately defeated.

  Later, when T'Chal was overthrown by his cousin Killmonger and cast off a cliff, it was M'Baku who found and saved him.

  With M'Baku's help, T'Chal recimed the throne and resumed his role as the Bck Panther.

  This act of allegiance strengthened ties between the royal family and the White Ape Tribe, granting them rights to vibranium technology.

  Although this aspect wasn’t explicitly highlighted in the original Bck Panther movie, a closer look at Avengers: Infinity War reveals that only the White Ape Tribe members had vibranium weapons alongside the Wakandan Royal Guard, while the other tribes were noticeably absent.

  This indicated a negotiated arrangement where the White Ape Tribe retained a degree of autonomy, including vibranium-equipped armies, while remaining subordinate to the Bck Panther royal family.

  Now, the warriors deployed to respond to the looming threat were primarily from the White Ape Tribe.

  Alongside Wakanda’s own forces, they gathered an army of 12,000 warriors.

  In contrast, even though the other tribes received vibranium weapons, their ck of military training couldn’t be remedied overnight.

  This precarious, almost dysfunctional structure of Wakanda id bare its vulnerabilities to the assembled superheroes.

  Some, harboring their own agendas, quietly took note of this weakness.

  “An alien spaceship has breached the atmosphere—it’s Thanos’s forces!”

  A voice from the monitoring station broke the tension in the hall.

  Wakanda had deployed advanced monitors across multiple locations in Earth's atmosphere to detect extraterrestrial intruders. Almost the instant the alien spaceship appeared, the monitors locked onto it.

  Bck Panther watched the screen calmly.

  The dispy revealed the image of the alien craft.

  It was a spacecraft shaped like a tire, with a beam of light rapidly fshing within its "inner core," forming its gravitational ring.

  Defying conventional technological understanding, it tore through the atmosphere without creating significant disturbances. It broke through multiple sound barriers effortlessly, descending at tremendous speed over the Avengers' new headquarters outside New York City.

  Swish!

  A beam of light descended, hitting the ground. From it emerged two figures—one towering and robust, the other lean and wiry.

  The wiry figure had a build comparable to an average human but with gray, stone-like skin marred by abaster blotches, giving him an exceptionally grotesque appearance.

  Despite his appearance, this figure was among the most powerful sorcerers in the universe. Even Doctor Strange, at his current level, had been no match for him, having been captured during a direct confrontation.

  As for Wanda Maximoff, the chaos sorceress, she was still an inexperienced novice at this point, relying purely on the raw strength of her chaos magic to hold her own.

  Compared to them, Ebony Maw—a sorcerer who had lived countless years—possessed far greater mastery over the mystical arts.

  In the original storyline, he was the only "Child of Thanos" who almost succeeded in retrieving an Infinity Stone for Thanos. Unfortunately, his efforts were thwarted by the combined trickery of Iron Man and Spider-Man.

  Beside him stood the massive figure of Bck Dwarf.

  Standing three meters tall, his body was covered in rippling muscles. He wore a suit of fitted armor and carried an enormous scythe that looked as heavy as it was menacing.

  However, compared to Ebony Maw, Bck Dwarf’s reputation was far less impressive—pgued by constant failures and humiliation.

  The two stood side by side.

  Ebony Maw csped his hands together in front of him like an old-fashioned gentleman, exuding an air of sophistication.

  Bck Dwarf, in stark contrast, pnted his feet wide apart and smmed his massive scythe into the soft grass, leaving a deep pit in the wn.

  On the other side, Peter, Iron Man, and Captain America had already stepped forward. They stood about seven or eight meters away, facing the duo in a tense standoff.

  Noticing Bck Dwarf's destructive actions, Iron Man spoke up, "Hey, big guy, it’s already rude enough to show up uninvited. Now you’re ruining someone else’s wn? Do intergactic citizens have no concept of manners?"

  Ebony Maw gave Iron Man a fleeting gnce before shifting his focus to Peter.

  To be precise, he fixated on Peter's chest.

  Peter was already suited up in his combat gear. To avoid the Eye of Agamotto swinging around and hindering his movements, he had tucked it inside his suit, creating a noticeable bulge at his chest.

  It gave him an oddly striking resembnce to Ultraman.

  “As far as I know, the Time Stone is supposed to be in the hands of a sorcerer named Stephen Strange or the Ancient One. Who are you?” Ebony Maw inquired.

  “Oh, I’m the Stephen Strange you’re talking about,” Peter replied nonchantly.

  Before Ebony Maw could respond, Peter continued, “I’ve answered your question. Now, how about you answer one of mine? Surely, a distinguished Child of Thanos wouldn’t ck such basic courtesy.”

  Ebony Maw replied, “While I know you’re lying, as a gesture of gratitude for bringing me the Time Stone, I will answer one question. Go ahead.”

  “Where are Proxima Midnight and Corvus Give?” Peter asked. “Surely, as a Child of Thanos, you wouldn’t stoop to lying like us lowly Earthlings, would you?”

  (End of Chapter)

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