The Great War Is About to Begin!

"You two are still as close as ever."

Tony and Thor turned around at the same time and found Chu Yang standing nearby, watching them with a smile.

"Who has a good relationship with him?"

"I’ve never met anyone so annoying. He’s even more annoying than Loki!"

Thor couldn’t help complaining.

"Can’t you two just take the elevator like normal people?"

"Did you have to come in through someone else’s balcony?"

Tony complained as well, but after he was done, he still stepped forward and gave Chu Yang a hug.

"Long time no see. Welcome back."

Thor asked curiously, "Where did you go these past few years? Why couldn’t even Heimdall find you?"

Chu Yang explained with a smile, "I went on an interstellar journey. I wasn’t on Earth."

Tony asked in surprise, "How did you travel through space? Did you build a spaceship?"

Chu Yang shook his head with a smile. "No, I used magic!"

Thor shot Tony a smug glance. "I know what magic Yang used. It’s called Flying God Thunder!"

Chu Yang corrected him irritably, "It’s Flying Thunder God!"

"I know, I know. Don’t make such a fuss, big guy!" Tony looked at Thor with disdain. "Doesn’t that magic require the right coordinates to use?"

"What coordinates?" Thor responded blankly.

What an idiot!

Tony suddenly felt that having an equal conversation with this musclehead was an insult to his intelligence.

"It wasn’t Flying Thunder God, but a new spell that could help me lock onto galactic coordinates." Chu Yang briefly explained the Space Stone’s abilities.

Tony’s eyes immediately lit up. "Oh, that’s great. Can you tell me the principles in detail? Then we can try to replicate it with machines."

"Let’s talk about it when we have time. We have more important matters right now, don’t we?" Chu Yang reminded them.

"That’s right. There’s a big guy at our doorstep." Tony’s expression turned serious as well. "We need to deal with him first."

"You probably haven’t seen the Avengers’ base yet, have you?"

Wakanda.

The Avengers’ base had been established here because Tony and Black Panther had reached a partnership, exchanging their technologies with each other.

S.H.I.E.L.D., however, had failed to gain entry into the country.

As Black Panther put it, S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers were separate entities. He had only agreed out of consideration for Tony.

Therefore, Director Fury could only participate in the Avengers’ meeting through a video link.

"According to Tony’s earlier proposal, countries around the world now possess large numbers of war robots. If we confirm this is an enemy invasion, we need to mobilize as quickly as possible."

Director Fury’s hologram paced back and forth before everyone.

"I’ve said it countless times. Thanos isn’t here for sightseeing. There’s nothing to confirm. What, do you want to sit down and have a chat with him?"

Thor truly couldn’t understand Director Fury’s indecisiveness.

"I know what you’re thinking, but Earth isn’t Asgard. We can’t just casually fight an interstellar war. Even with the Avengers, our chances of winning aren’t high!"

Director Fury bent over and slapped the table on the other side of the camera. "We can’t afford to gamble, so we need to be cautious!"

Thor rose and walked toward Director Fury’s projection, his voice low. "Earth will not fight this war alone. Asgard will participate too. Thanos is after the Infinity Stones, and Asgard has them as well. We cannot avoid this."

"My father’s meaning is that rather than defend passively, it would be better to join you in taking the initiative!"

Expressions of delight flashed across everyone’s faces.

Captain America Rogers stood up excitedly, walked over, and patted Thor on the shoulder. "On behalf of Earth, I thank you. I thank every Asgardian Champion."

"You’re welcome." Thor turned to Chu Yang with a smile. "I should be thanking Yang. My father is old, and his health hasn’t been good. Yang treated him and gave him more time to live."

"If not for that, Asgard would have fallen into chaos long ago. We have to repay this debt."

Rogers smiled. "Our magician isn’t bad."

Chu Yang nodded with a smile. "Thank you for the compliment."

"It’s a good thing that Asgard has chosen to join the war, but can someone tell me which planet this cloaked guy next to us came from?"

Tony pointed at Doctor Strange in confusion.

"Sorry, I am one hundred percent from Earth. I was a surgeon two years ago. My name is Strange, not an alien."

Doctor Strange helplessly explained the existence of sorcerers to everyone and claimed that he was one of Earth’s protectors, helping Earth resist the incursions of the dark matter world.

That explanation was even more astonishing than him being an alien. Tony couldn’t help applauding after hearing it.

"I never knew our world was this exciting. But since gods exist, a few sorcerers aren’t that strange."

"Oh, sorry. What kind of sorcerer did you say you were again?"

Tony turned sideways, cupped a hand to his ear, and pretended to listen.

Doctor Strange took a deep breath. "The Sorcerer Supreme."

"The Sorcerer Supreme! Oh! That’s a great title. Sounds a little like that TACO shop downstairs from my place." Tony asked, "Sorcerer, do you like TACO?"

Doctor Strange narrowed his eyes, his tone stern. "Are you making fun of me, robot man?"

"My name is Tony! Tony Stark!" Tony’s attitude turned hostile too. He said coldly, "That guy named Thanos is here for you. The entire Earth is paying the price because of you."

"I just want to know whether destroying the Infinity Stones will make Thanos leave!"

Doctor Strange shook his head slightly. "I swore to protect the Eye of Agamotto. I will never destroy it."

"Perfect answer!" Tony applauded as he praised him.

"Don’t do that." Thor stepped forward to stop Tony and explained, "Even if we destroy the Stones, Thanos will still slaughter half the life on this planet. That is what he has always done, no matter where he goes!"

Tony froze.

Rogers slapped the table, trying to draw everyone’s attention, then said, "Thor’s words prove one thing. This is a war we cannot avoid. Right now, we must unite."

Tony and Doctor Strange stopped arguing. They were both highly intelligent and rational people, and neither would do anything meaningless.

"Now that you’ve resolved your internal conflict, shouldn’t we discuss how to deal with the enemy?"

Director Fury’s projection continued speaking. "We don’t have much time!"

Black Panther, as the host, stood up and said, "As King, I should not bring war into my country. But this time is different. This is a war between the entire Earth and outsiders. Wakanda cannot shirk its responsibility."

"We will face the enemy here!"

Beyond Earth, an enormous warship was slowly approaching, surrounded by countless escort ships like stars surrounding the moon.

Thanos already had two Infinity Stones in his possession. One was the Power Stone, obtained after destroying Xandar, while the other was the Soul Stone, obtained after sacrificing his adopted daughter Gamora.

He should have been happy after obtaining two Stones, but he couldn’t feel happy at all.

He had lost contact with three Infinity Stones. No matter what he did, he could not sense them, and that left Thanos with a faint feeling of unease.

The last known location of those three Infinity Stones was Earth, so he led his army on an ultra-long interstellar expedition without stopping.

It was a dangerous decision, but Thanos could not concern himself with that now.

Only by gathering all six Infinity Stones could he fulfill his long-held ideal—or rather, obsession.

Seated upon his throne, Thanos would occasionally stare blankly at the Infinity Gauntlet. More precisely, he was staring at the Soul Stone.

"Great Lord Thanos, we are already very close to Earth. Should we activate the jump and send the army directly to Earth?"

Ebony Maw, one of the Black Order, saw Thanos lost in thought and softly reminded him.

Thanos rose to his feet. His body flickered in and out of view within the darkness, radiating an immense oppressive presence.

"Where are those monkeys?"

"You mean the Guardians of the Galaxy?"

"That’s right. Didn’t Nebula go after them? Why is there still no news?"

"My lord, I believe Nebula will complete the mission."

"Hmph!"

Thanos slowly walked over to an enormous screen and looked at the lush, beautiful Earth displayed upon it. Indifferently, he said, "A beautiful planet. My homeworld, Titan, was once just as beautiful. Sadly, it was destroyed in the end."

Ebony Maw lowered his head and said, "Everything you have done has been for the universe. Someone will remember your achievements."

"Achievements?" Thanos laughed at himself and said coldly, "You needn’t flatter me over such matters. I know what I’m doing. Slaughter and extermination have nothing to do with achievements, no matter how you put it."

Ebony Maw broke into a cold sweat. His flattery had hit the horse’s hoof.

"Have the soldiers prepare…"

"The war is about to begin!"

Meanwhile, Wakanda was in the midst of frantic activity.

The sorcerers led by Doctor Strange were opening portals, gathering war robots from all around the world in Wakanda to make up for the massive disparity in military strength.

Since neither Hydra’s exposure nor the Sokovia incident from Avengers 2 had happened, the Avengers still had a high degree of trust in S.H.I.E.L.D.

With Chu Yang fanning the flames, Tony had produced a large number of war robots and handed them over to S.H.I.E.L.D. to fight special criminals around the world.

After several years, the number of war robots had become extremely impressive. Aside from the Avengers, they were Earth’s greatest source of confidence against aliens.

The Bifrost never stopped. Brilliant pillars of light stretched between heaven and earth as one Asgardian soldier after another emerged.

Until… Loki appeared, and the atmosphere immediately became tense.

Tony had already put on the Iron Man armor and aimed the laser cannon in his palm at Loki, clearly ready to blast straight through him at the slightest disagreement.

The others were much the same, each holding their weapons and watching Loki warily.

"Wow, I’m here as reinforcements. Are you sure you want to treat me like this?" Loki raised both hands in a surrendering gesture.

"Everyone, I know he has done some bad things, but the situation is urgent. Can you give Loki a chance?"

Frigga, the Queen of Gods, slowly emerged from the Bifrost and smiled gently at everyone.

"That’s my mom," Thor quietly reminded them from the side.

Everyone seemed to wake from a dream. Faced with the friendly Frigga, they still put away their weapons.

"Hello, ma’am. My name is Tony Stark, president of Stark Industries. I have to say, you look very young, just like Thor’s older sister."

Tony, who had always known how to please women, immediately showered her with flattery, making Frigga smile even more happily.

"Thank you, young gentleman." Frigga turned to Thor and said, "I like your friend very much, Thor."

"No, no, anyone but this guy. Don’t talk with him too much." Thor immediately shook his head. "He’s a playboy. He says the same things to every woman."

"Thor, how can a well-mannered prince speak badly about his friend?" Frigga frowned and rebuked him, then smiled at Tony. "I hope you do not mind."

"Of course, beautiful lady." Tony winked playfully. "He is still an immature child. I forgive him."

Hearing Tony call Thor a child, Frigga was delighted and laughed so hard her body trembled.

"FUCK, I’m already fifteen hundred years old!" Thor said through gritted teeth.

Seeing Thor suffer, Loki was delighted as well, and even found Iron Man more pleasing to the eye.

However, when he saw Hulk and Black Widow walking over from the distance, he immediately stopped smiling, as though he had recalled some unpleasant memories.

Odin had not come because his body could no longer support him through a war. Even if he came, he would not be able to contribute, and might even end up destroying Earth.

Therefore, Thor was the leader of the Asgardian soldiers, and he was responsible for commanding the battle.

The problem was—

Thor was an absolute brute. Even though he had learned some political wisdom under Chu Yang’s influence, he was still accustomed to charging into battle personally rather than staying behind to command.

The current situation required someone to command the battle in Thor’s place, so Frigga had come.

She was not only Asgard’s foremost spellcaster, but also the wife of Odin, the King of Gods. Having accompanied him through countless wars, she was more than qualified to serve as commander.

As the Asgardian soldiers finished assembling, the prewar mobilization was nearing its end. Some people were silent, some were praying, while others cracked jokes without a care.

Everyone displayed different emotions in the face of war, and Chu Yang took in each of them.

Frigga found the quiet Chu Yang among the crowd. Seeing Chu Yang, who had vanished for several years, she could not help showing concern.

"Child, are you well?"

"I’m fine, Lady Frigga. I’m sorry for making you worry."

"I am happy to see you here, but also saddened. War should not involve young people like you."

"This is Earth, and I am an Earthling, so there is no reason for me to hide. But you, and Asgard, did not actually need to take part in this war…"

Looking at the gentle Frigga, Chu Yang suddenly felt somewhat sad and ashamed. He said softly, "The Tesseract is no longer in Asgard. You have no reason to fight."

Frigga did not look surprised in the slightest. Instead, she smiled and said, "I am glad you can tell me the truth, but I have known about this for a long time."

Chu Yang was stunned and looked at her in surprise.