Chapter 40 - The First Counterattack

The Combined Legion's attack had been swift and brutal.

Their blitzkrieg strategy allowed them to sweep across the Dark Quadrant, claiming 10% of its territory in mere days.

Entire star systems fell one after another as their fleet moved with terrifying precision, overwhelming defenses before reinforcements could arrive.

It was a textbook invasion, executed flawlessly.

And now, as they paused to consolidate their gains, their commanders were confident.

They had moved faster than Lin Fan could react.

They had cut deep into enemy territory.

And more importantly—

They had given themselves time to fortify.

Or so they thought.

Because before they could even finish securing their newly conquered worlds—

The nightmare began.

The fortress world T265 had become a crucial stronghold. After the Combined Legion's initial success, it was transformed into a heavily fortified base, equipped with planetary defenses, energy barriers, and thousands of stationed troops. Kree warriors made up the majority of the defenders, their discipline and battle experience ensuring the planet remained a key hold in the Dark Quadrant.

They were prepared for counterattacks.

But they weren't prepared for this.

A massive stone monolith crashed down from the sky, slamming into the planet's surface with the force of a meteor. It stood hundreds of meters tall, casting a shadow over the battlefield. The moment it landed, the stone cracked open—and from within, they emerged.

A tide of white-armored giants, pouring out like an unstoppable flood.

The Majin Legion had arrived.

The Vanguard Warriors led the charge, their once-Chitauri forms now towering four-armed titans standing over five meters tall. Their bodies, enhanced by the Symbiotes, granted them a terrifying combination of strength, speed, and regeneration.

The Kree defenders reacted instantly, forming defensive lines and unleashing a barrage of energy fire. Thousands of rifles discharged at once, plasma and ion bolts raining down on the white giants in a synchronized assault.

But it didn't matter.

The white giants moved too fast.

They dodged, twisted, and leapt through the battlefield with movements that shouldn't have been possible for creatures of their size.

Then they reached the front line.

Blades formed from liquid Symbiote matter extended from their arms, shifting into scythes, swords, and spears mid-attack. One Kree soldier barely had time to scream before a Symbiote-clad warrior bisected him with a single swing. Another grabbed an entire Kree by the head and crushed it with his bare hands.

There were no prisoners.

Only death.

T265, once a heavily fortified world, fell in a matter of hours.

The battle sent shockwaves through the Combined Legion.

In a hidden war room deep within a secure command base, hundreds of officers from the Kree, Skrull, and Xandarian fleets gathered to assess the disaster. A giant holographic projection displayed the massacre in perfect detail—the way the white warriors moved, how they ignored ranged attacks as if they were an inconvenience, and the way they ripped through Kree battalions like paper.

Silence filled the chamber.

Then a voice spoke, heavy with frustration.

"I'm sure everyone here can see…"

A high-ranking Kree war commander stepped forward, arms crossed.

"...these white giants will directly affect the outcome of the war."

No one objected.

They had thought this invasion would be a conventional war. A battle of numbers, tactics, and strategy.

Now, they were staring at something else entirely.

"If we want to win," the commander continued, "we must find their weaknesses—or this war will end before it even truly begins."

The meeting room erupted into debate.

The first counterattack had begun.

And it had ended in absolute devastation.

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