Chapter Seventy-Three: The Demon Siege

Captain America did not hesitate and handed the Mind Stone directly to Yang Xin. There were two reasons for his straightforwardness: first, the Mind Stone had originally been entrusted to him by Yang Xin after Vision was rescued; second, with the Sorcerer Supreme and numerous extraordinary beings present, Thanos could hardly stir up any trouble.

At this moment, Thanos stood on the city wall alongside the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, gazing into the distance.

“So, what do you think? Does my open-source plan work?” Yang Xin got straight to the point.

“The time span is too long; the results come too slowly,” Thanos replied coolly.

Yet Yang Xin was delighted. Thanos’s calm tone revealed that he was giving the matter serious thought and, to some degree, acknowledged its feasibility.

“This is the demons’ territory. Seizing their land means death, and not just a few deaths—countless lives will be lost,” Yang Xin replied in the same even tone.

Thanos’s breath caught, and his tall figure suddenly tensed… After a long silence, Thanos slowly turned his head to look down at Yang Xin. “Are you a demon?”

“Hah, you call me, a human with impeccable credentials, a demon, right here in the demons’ territory?”

“No, you are the true demon,” Thanos said through gritted teeth. He realized how feeble his own past plans had been. By his methods, he made enemies of the entire universe; by Yang Xin’s, he would have the whole universe as allies, lining up to throw their lives away.

During his time in Hell, Thanos had carefully observed the harsh environment here. The more hostile the land, the more likely it was to produce rare treasures: Soul Sand, Hellstone, Nether Quartz, and Infernal Magma—artifacts for spellcasting that were nearly impossible to find in the main universe, yet here, they were abundant.

And that was only in the places visible to him. It was said that even more wondrous resources existed: the Flower of the Other Shore, the Marshes of the Yellow Spring, and so on. Once the spatial passageways were constructed, Hell’s abundant resources would madly attract intelligent life from across the universe...

Enemies everywhere, or friends everywhere—the superiority of one method over the other was obvious.

“Is it truly so hard to admit someone else is better than you?” Yang Xin suddenly asked with a cheerful grin.

“Not at all. I just don’t understand—if your plan is so good, what do you need me for? Do you want me to snap my fingers and erase all the demons from Hell?” Thanos asked in confusion.

“Are you truly ignorant, or just pretending? The Infinity Stones are the foundation of the main universe. They’re called ‘infinite,’ but even their power has limits. You really think a snap could wipe out all the demons in Hell? This realm is boundless. Using the Infinity Stones’ power so excessively would destroy them.”

If the Infinity Stones were ruined through overuse, the very foundation of the main universe would collapse. Its annihilation would then be imminent—what, then, would be the point of anything you’d done?

“So what exactly do you want from me?” Thanos found himself unable to keep up with Yang Xin’s thinking.

“Look, your Black Order—four of whom I’ve captured, and yet I haven’t killed them. They might be all brawn, clueless about tactics, and hopeless at war, but their strength is still considerable. As for your Outriders, their performance in the Battle of Wakanda was abysmal, but that was a command issue. Strictly speaking, they are the perfect soldiers—a formidable force against the demons of Hell…”

“Developing Hell and establishing colonies here can’t just be empty words. You need troops and real power. Ordinary humans—or rather, ordinary intelligent life from the main universe—might be able to handle lesser demons or demon soldiers with weapons, maybe even some intermediate demons, but against the higher demons and the demon lords, only your Black Order or you yourself will suffice…”

“You want to use me as cannon fodder!” Thanos roared, breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on Yang Xin with malice.

“To be used is nothing to fear—it means you have value. What’s truly frightening is having no value at all,” Yang Xin replied calmly, meeting his gaze without flinching.

After a long silence, Thanos exhaled a deep breath. “Your plan?”

“It’s simple. My master will plant the trees. You and your subordinates first seize and fortify the area, building defensive strongholds to fend off the demons. Then, hell’s rich resources will lure intelligent beings from across the universe to come mine them. Once they arrive, you hand over the stronghold to them; whether they can hold it or not is their business…”

“Then my master opens a second zone, plants another tree, and you capture and fortify it—so on and so forth.” Yang Xin explained succinctly. Of course, the operation would be far more complicated, but he believed the allure of resources was limitless.

“Trees like that one?” Thanos pointed to the colossal tree in the center. “I can’t tell if that thing, which feeds on demon flesh and blood, is divine or infernal.”

“One man’s poison is another’s honey. Can someone like you, who’s roamed the universe, really not understand such a basic truth?” Yang Xin retorted with disdain.

“What’s in it for me?” Thanos suddenly asked.

Yang Xin was overjoyed. Such a question meant Thanos had already agreed to his plan.

“Whatever you like—Hell’s resources are endless; you’ll find something to your taste. Of course, first you must guarantee Earth’s interests, especially for the Huaxia. As for other planets, they’re not our concern. Do as you wish with them,” Yang Xin said nonchalantly.

“Send me back to Earth. My starship is there. I’ll return to my stronghold and bring my forces here to Hell,” Thanos replied.

“That’s too troublesome and time-consuming,” Yang Xin said, pulling out the Infinity Gauntlet. All six stones were in place, but he promptly removed five, leaving only the Space Stone.

“Use this—it’ll be much faster!” Yang Xin tossed the Infinity Gauntlet, now containing only the Space Stone, to Thanos.

“You trust me that much?” Thanos looked over, a strange sense of being favored welling up inside him.

“Of course I trust you. Still, you’d best hurry up with your troops.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re surrounded. I doubt you want to come to Hell just to collect our corpses…” Unconsciously, Yang Xin’s eyes shifted to a pure white. In Hell, there was no sun—only an eternal dusk, as if the sun had just set. In the distance, an endless army of demons surged like an ocean.

“The four remaining Black Order members will heed your commands. Your orders are law,” Thanos said, giving Yang Xin a long, deep look before activating the Space Stone and vanishing instantly.

“Do you really trust Thanos?” the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, smiled as she looked at Yang Xin.

“Thanos… is a noble soul, untainted by base desires, a pure being. Everything he’s done has been for universal love… Does Master truly believe that after all his wanton slaughter, Thanos feels no guilt? When a better path to fulfill his ideals is laid before him, how could he possibly refuse?”

“So, our task is to withstand this wave of the demons’ onslaught. It’s also a good opportunity for everyone present to get a clear sense of the demons’ true combat strength.”

The air-raid siren, so resonant of World War II, wailed into the hellish dusk.