War Comes to an End

New York was a complete wreck, filled with ruined walls and broken rubble. At this moment, it looked as though it had been soaked in blood, with a thick stench of gore rising into the sky.

Tony watched the completely sealed Space Teleportation array. The taut string in his heart finally relaxed, and he slowly descended.

Even though they had planned an ambush against the Chitauri army, this battle had not been an easy victory.

If not for the Precognitor directly seeing through all of the enemy’s plans,

this ambush might have brought a catastrophic disaster to Blue Star, one that would go down in history.

A hundred or a thousand years later, assuming humanity still existed by then, people would still speak of how America had been wiped off the map.

Fortunately, after learning of the Precognitor’s abilities, he had considered every possible scenario.

He had made preparations in advance. Otherwise, even with the Precognitor’s warning, they could not possibly have brought in Mushroom Clouds in just over two minutes.

At most, they could have closed the portal and spared Blue Star from this disaster.

But if they had not thoroughly frightened the Chitauri,

then the next time the Chitauri attacked Blue Star,

it would no longer be a clash between soldiers and humans. It would be a direct technological crushing, using terrifying cosmic technology to bombard Blue Star until they had no chance to fight back.

"Did we succeed?"

Captain America Steve looked at the Space vortex that had vanished from the sky, then at Tony as he descended, and spoke.

"We can say we succeeded for the most part. Even if we did not completely destroy the Chitauri this time,"

"we still dealt them a devastating blow. They will not be able to gather such a massive army and launch another full-scale assault on Blue Star anytime soon."

"They will probably come again, but as long as we have time to recover, we will have greater strength to deal with war when that time comes."

Tony let out a long breath at those words and slowly replied.

If they had lost this battle, he would have become a sinner in history.

After all, it had been his suggestion to lure the enemy deep in, hoping to strike the Chitauri hard enough to make them abandon their ambitions entirely.

But putting himself in their shoes, if an army under his command had been driven back by a civilization whose technology and military strength were far inferior to his own,

then even if he suffered devastating losses, he would certainly plot another attack in the future.

The Chitauri had been too arrogant and dismissive of the humans on Blue Star this time, but after this lesson, they would no longer underestimate them.

So when the Chitauri army came again after making full preparations, that would be the true head-on confrontation between civilizations.

"Jarvis, show me a panoramic map of New York."

"Also, calculate how many people were killed or injured in this battle, as well as the total losses."

"Give me a detailed report and list of names."

Tony immediately issued his instructions.

Although the statistics could not be compiled so quickly, Jarvis immediately pulled up satellite imagery and transformed it into a three-dimensional projection before Tony.

"We won this battle, didn’t we?"

Tony looked at the devastation throughout New York, his feelings complicated.

Driving back the Chitauri and inflicting grievous losses upon them had been something Blue Star had needed to accomplish.

Otherwise, the Chitauri would have attacked Blue Star like mad dogs without giving them any time to catch their breath.

Yet even though they had caught the Chitauri off guard, the Chitauri’s repeated charges and barrage of energy blasts had still caused enormous destruction across New York.

"Compared to being forced to use Mushroom Clouds at the very end, New York is at least still inhabitable now."

"So we did win."

"And that is all thanks to you, Tony Stark."

Seeing Tony’s lack of confidence, Steve spoke to comfort him.

Unlike Tony Stark, this was not Steve’s first time participating in a war.

He had fought in wars long ago and seen flames of war spread across every corner of the world.

But now, after awakening decades later, aside from the Japanese whose days were not going very well,

every place that had not been struck by Mushroom Clouds had developed rapidly over those decades.

Thanks to Tony’s plan and efforts, Steve considered the outcome of this battle a good one.

After all, compared to New York being wiped off the map outright, its current condition could at least be rapidly rebuilt within a short time as long as enough money was invested.

"I never thought you would say something like that."

"Shouldn’t you be blaming me?"

Hearing Steve comfort him, Tony glanced at Steve in surprise and spoke.

"I have participated in wars, so I know that if they had a choice, the vast majority of ordinary people in the world would never want war to break out."

"But war never goes as people wish, because certain politicians are always willing to push for it in pursuit of profit and make fortunes from war."

"You should not have gained much from this war, so it cannot be said that you were the one who pushed it forward."

"Naturally, I have no reason to blame you."

"And most importantly, we won this war, didn’t we?"

Steve’s expression turned somewhat complicated at those words as he slowly replied.

"I understand your principles, but if I had not been confident of winning this war, I would not have allowed it to arrive so soon."

"But Steve, it seems you are finally no longer a frog at the bottom of a well."

Tony’s eyes flickered as he listened. He became even more certain that his decision had been correct, clenched his fist, and spoke confidently.

"I have seen many people and things I never would have dared imagine before. Even if reality feels somewhat surreal, I can only accept it, can’t I?"

Steve was stunned for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on his face.

"There are more powerful beings in the universe, and Blue Star may face even more disasters in the future."

"Your strength is clearly insufficient for that kind of future."

"If you wish to seek greater power and change your fate,"

"then after I finish dealing with my work and a few other matters,"

"you are welcome to come find me. I cannot guarantee that you will gain that person’s recognition,"

"but if you do not receive that person’s recognition, I can make you an Iron Man armor suited to you."

"Superpowers are usually innate. They are difficult for humans to control or replicate."

"But the power brought by sufficiently advanced technology can be created and controlled."

Seeing that Steve was no longer arrogantly convinced that he was the strongest, but had accepted that there were always greater people and greater worlds beyond his own, Tony’s eyes flickered as he spoke.

"That person’s recognition?"

Steve looked puzzled.

"When you have made up your mind and come to find me, I will explain it in detail."

"I still have many things to do now."

Tony glanced at Steve and replied calmly.

Afterward, Tony greeted Renoli and the others, and the group returned to Stark Mansion together.

If Tony stayed any longer, his Iron Man armor might fall apart entirely.

Third chapter of the day.