**Chapter 442: Meeting, Surrender, Seeking Aid**
At the World Security Council Headquarters Building, a meeting concerning the safety of the entire world was underway.
"I want to know, how much time do we have left?"
In the Hall of the World Security Council, a High-Ranking Official looked at Tony Stark on the meeting room podium and the countless ironclad, menacing Alien Warships displayed on the Light Screen behind him, frowning, a rare sight.
"Three months!" Tony Stark held up three fingers. "According to the result of the negotiations between Master Ancient One and that Cosmic Overlord, we have three months to prepare!"
The reason Tony Stark was at the World Security Council Headquarters Building was naturally to convey the negotiation results from Ancient One, God King Zeus, and Thanos.
A war concerning the life and death of Humanity, and even the entire Universe, would have its decisive battle on a moon of Saturn, which was also Thanos's Homeworld.
"Three months!" The High-Ranking Official whispered a few words to The Great Emperor beside him. The two nodded to each other.
"How large is the enemy's Military force, and what about their Weapon Equipment?" The Great Emperor asked directly.
Tony Stark shook his head. "We don't have detailed Data on that, but it's not optimistic. After all, the enemy is an Alien Civilization that truly possesses Interstellar Travel, far beyond what Earth Technology can compare to!"
Tony Stark's words were undoubtedly like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads. The Venue erupted in a buzz of discussion.
The more Modern Society advanced, the more people recognized the military disparity brought about by Technological Level. It was like the Federal Army's lightning strike on Iraq back then, a complete dimensionality reduction attack.
Clearly, an enemy who could be called a Cosmic Overlord would have a Technological Level far exceeding the gap between the Federation and Iraq back then.
It was even possible that the war between them would be less of a war and more of a massacre, like a confrontation between Natives in Africa armed with Spears and a modernized Federal Army.
"Ahem! I don't understand what Earth has that's worth these Aliens coveting. Two waves of them have come now. What do they want? Earth's mineral resources, or its Population? I mean, is there no possibility of peace talks between us?"
Everyone in the Venue turned their Gaze towards the Gallian Leader who spoke. Truly worthy of being called the Gallian Chicken.
"With a three-month buffer period, perhaps we can seize this Time to see if there's any hope for peace talks! Couldn't that Master Ancient One negotiate with that Alien Leader? Why can't we? We here are the ones who truly represent Earth's Interests!"
His words immediately plunged everyone into thought. The leaders of various Countries and some of the High-Ranking Officials they brought with them began low-voiced discussions.
Facing an enemy they were utterly powerless to defeat, sometimes compromise might not be without a Way out.
The Alien invaders' iron hooves were close at hand. From the Space Monitoring Stations of various Countries, that massive Alien Fleet could be seen.
During this period, Military Countermeasure Simulations for this Alien Invasion had been repeated countless times in various Countries. Under absolute Strength, Earth often couldn't even last a single Bout against this Invasion.
This was even when the Human Faction made the first move, bundling all of Earth's Nuclear Weapons together to launch a mutually destructive attack towards the Alien invaders. But under Supercomputer simulations, even this would only cause insignificant damage to those Alien invaders.
This was different from the Chitauri Invasion, which was limited by a Spatial Wormhole and was just a minor skirmish. This time, the Alien invaders were launching a full-scale Attack. The Human Faction had no Chance of Winning.
Perhaps Surrender was the only choice to preserve the populace.
Tony Stark stood at the podium, looking at the Crowd below whispering and discussing. A hint of disgust flashed in his eyes.
He knew what these people were thinking right now: Surrender, or rather, how to secure greater Interests for themselves when surrendering.
Tony Stark knew this was human nature, but these people didn't know that what Thanos wanted wasn't Resources or Population.
That Environmental Idealist Terrorist wanted to turn half the Universe's Life into Ash. Having failed once, he might even turn the entire Universe into an Uninhabited Area.
"Ahem!" Tony Stark coughed several times, finally drawing the attention of the Crowd below back to himself. Facing their Doubtful Gaze, Tony Stark snapped his Fingers. On the Light Screen behind him appeared the Images of a Purple Giant wearing Golden Armor and holding a Double-Edged War Blade.
"Now, let me introduce our enemy, Thanos!"
The Crowd below all looked at the Giant with the huge vertically-lined chin on the Light Screen.
This photo of Thanos naturally came from his Parallel Universe self, who had thoughtfully attached a detailed Data sheet to Thanos's photo.
Name: Thanos
Gender: Male
Height: 6 Feet 7 Inches (201cm)
Weight: 985 Pounds (447kg)
Nationality: Saturn's Moon - Titan
Race: Eternal Titan
Subordinates: Black Order (Black Order Generals), and Affiliated civilizations (Quantity unknown)
"Saturn's moon, this Alien named Thanos is also from the Solar System. According to the Galaxy division, everyone is a Compatriot from the Solar System. Doesn't that increase our chances for peace talks!"
President Ma of Gaul looked at Thanos's Homeworld marked on the Light Screen, as if he had discovered a new continent, feeling excited.
"Unfortunately, I may not have marked it clearly. The reason this guy named Thanos left Titan was precisely because he personally massacred his entire Race! He is now the only surviving Eternal Titan in the entire Universe!" Tony Stark looked at President Ma with Mockery.
"Massacred his entire Race? Why would he do that?" President Ma was somewhat surprised.
Tony Stark explained in a deep voice, "This Thanos is an extreme Environmentalist. In his view, his Homeworld's Population was bearing a burden it shouldn't, and the Eternal Titan Race's living Environment was also extremely harsh. To save his Homeworld, he simply killed his entire Race!"
"What?" The Master of the White House looked speechless. "Are you sure this guy is an Alien and not someone from Japan pretending? I've only seen this kind of Brain in Japanese Comic Books. Slaughtering his own Race, is there something wrong with his Head?"
"From a Height perspective, this Mr. Thanos is indeed a genuine Eternal Titan, and should have little to do with those guys from Japan!" someone nearby interjected.
"The key issue is that after Thanos massacred his Race, his Ideology didn't change at all; instead, it intensified. In the Time that followed, he conquered countless Civilizations. Every Planet he captured, he would randomly massacre half of that Planet's Population without discrimination!"
"Whoa!"
As soon as Tony Stark finished speaking, the entire Venue erupted in an uproar.
"Are you saying that after he conquers Earth, he will also massacre half the Population!" A well-dressed White Person Old Man stood up with a serious expression.
"No!" Tony Stark looked at the Certain Country Prime Minister who asked the question and denied his Guess. But before the Certain Country Prime Minister and the Crowd below could breathe a sigh of relief, he added, "He will directly destroy Earth, turning this Planet beneath our Feet into cosmic Dust!"
"Do you have any Evidence?" a High-Ranking Official from Gaul questioned.
"What Evidence do you need? Huh?" Tony Stark couldn't stand these Politicians anymore. He pointed upwards and said sternly, "The enemy is at our Entrance, about to break in, and you're still finding reasons to Surrender!"
The atmosphere in the Venue instantly became almost Frozen with Tony Stark's accusation.
For this small group of people standing at the peak of Human Power in the Venue, it had been a long Time since they had experienced the feeling of being almost pointed at and cursed.
Many people's faces immediately showed embarrassment.
"Mr. Stark, we understand your feelings, but you must also understand the Responsibility we bear! Behind us are the Lives of seven billion people on the entire Earth. If we make one wrong decision, the entire Human Civilization will come to an end! We have to be cautious!"
Tony Stark took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Sorry, my emotions were too agitated. This is not just a Crisis for Earth, but a Crisis for the entire Universe. If Thanos succeeds, all Life in the entire Universe will turn to Ash!"
"Mr. Stark, do you know something? If Thanos succeeds, does that mean he came to the Solar System to find something?"
Tony Stark glanced at the Crowd in the Venue. The words of his Parallel Universe self flashed in his mind. He understood that when it came to Things like the Infinity Stones, some Things couldn't be said truthfully, as Interests could sway people.
If these people were to know the Use of the Infinity Stones, even if Thanos was driven away, the Human World would face endless Chaos.
"Thanos has created a Weapon that can instantly destroy all Life in the Universe. Some of its components are on Earth. His Purpose in coming here is to find these Things. Once he completes this Weapon, all Life in the entire Universe will turn to Ash in an instant!" Tony Stark said, half-truthfully. "One of the components is something everyone should know, the Cosmic Cube. That's one of them!" Tony Stark added.
The Cosmic Cube, this mysterious Gemstone, was no Secret to the High-level Staff of many Countries.
Moreover, not long ago, Loki directly used the Cosmic Cube to open a Portal to Earth, launching an attack deep within the Federation's territory.
If not for the Avengers turning the tide, the Federation might have lost New York, a major City.
Of course, on this point, some people secretly felt regret, such as The Great Emperor who was gesturing something to the Certain Country Leader.
After learning that the Chitauri were repelled, he had publicly mocked the Chitauri for being less reliable than the Brown Bears of Siberia, saying that at least brown bears hunting in a certain country never come back empty-handed.
Because of this incident, the Western Media launched a massive Public Opinion retaliation against this iron-fisted President, even implicitly accusing the Chitauri Invasion incident of possibly being a Conspiracy planned by people from a certain country.
Below the Venue, people gathered in small groups, engaging in heated discussions, even leaving Tony Stark stranded on the podium.
Tony Stark simply turned on his wireless headset, listening to the even more important Information coming through.
"Captain, how are things on your end?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has located Ulysses Klaue! Agent Natasha and Agent Barton have taken people there. After we catch this Meeting Gift, we'll head to Wakanda!"
"Thor! How many Reinforcements can Asgard give us?"
"Not many, five thousand Berserkers, but they are Elites!"
"Five thousand? We might be facing billions of enemies! Can't you tell your Father not to be so stingy!"
"Stingy? You should know that Asgard also bears the Responsibility of guarding the Nine Realms. Asgard's Military has to defend against the Frost Giants of Jotunheim and the Fire Demons of Muspelheim. These five thousand Berserkers were squeezed out of Asgard's teeth! Tony, you shouldn't talk like that when you don't know what it's like!"
"Hmm, you're right, my waist still hurts a bit. I suspect those female celebrities at Lake Heart Island Manor are part of Tang's Conspiracy. They want to ruin my Body, but they forgot that the great Stark relies on a smart Brain!"
"And your foul mouth!"
"Alright, you two stop messing around! Thor, do you think Diana can get Reinforcements from the Pantheon!"
"I don't have high hopes for her. And that's not just me saying it, Master Ancient One said it, and my Father agrees. That guy Zeus, with his Brain filled with lust, the only Thing he thinks about when he sees Diana is how to get her into bed. That short-sighted guy won't come to support us even if he knows Thanos's plan! There's a high chance he'll wait until we and Thanos are both heavily wounded, then lead those Gods over to pick up the pieces, turning Earth back into a Religious Civilization where Gods rule everything!"
"Everyone knows the Ability of the Time Stone. It looks like Diana will return empty-handed this Time. Don't place any hope on the Pantheon. Clark, how are things on your end?"
"There are many enemies! And more enemies are constantly arriving!" Superman stood on a branch of Yggdrasil, looking at the massive, Planet-sized Steel Camp formed by Warships. With his eyesight, he could even see through the Portholes of the enemy Warships, the Alien Soldiers who were preparing for battle intensively, and various Bio-War Beasts.
If Bruce Wayne hadn't told him not to act rashly, he would have already rushed into these Steel Camps to cause a ruckus.
"Tony, how are things on your end?"
Tony Stark heard the familiar Voice in his ear. The subtle feeling of calling himself made him pause for two seconds.
He reacted after confirming that the Microphone in front of him was off, then quietly said, "They're still discussing. The situation is very bad. Someone in the Venue even suggested Surrender!"
"That's normal. During the WWII Period, they suggested Surrender more than once when facing Red Skull's offensive! I'm used to it!" The Captain's Voice sounded in the Communication Channel.
"Even if all the Military forces of the entire Human World were combined, it would be difficult to resist Thanos's Military force! Unless we have Reinforcements or Plan C succeeds!"
"But according to reliable Intelligence, the Power Stone and Soul Stone have fallen into Thanos's hands. It's hard to gather all five Infinity Stones. Even if we could use the Quantum Tunnel to travel back to the past, we couldn't change the predetermined Reality!"
"Captain! I'm sorry to tell you, I tried. Theoretically, we can indeed travel to different Timelines in this Universe, but something unknown seems to have mutated within the Quantum Tunnel. We can only exist in one Space-Time of one Universe; we can't go back to the past!"
"Are we only left with seeking aid from "He"? Thanos is a Bastard, but "He" might not be a good person either!"
"Excuse me, who is this "He" you're talking about?"
Tony Stark listened to the arguing and discussion in the Communication Channel and asked curiously.
"A Bastard just like Thanos!" The Tony in the Communication Channel said irritably.
""He" since exists, then "God" should also be real, right? Why don't we seek help from the "God" of this World!"
"When the Followers are in trouble, will the "Lord" we believe in just stand by and watch? After all, Thanos's Finger Snap doesn't distinguish whether you are a God!"
"I think Agent Natasha's suggestion is good. Why don't we go to a Church and try!"
"Absolutely don't go!" Thor's Voice sounded in the Communication Channel. "God might be different from what you imagine. Heaven is not the same Dimension as us. Strictly speaking, "He" is also a God that we Asgard and your Earth Sorcerers expelled from the Reality Dimension!"
"Why? Is it because you Asgard were fighting over Territory with them?"
"The reason Master Ancient One expelled many Divine Pantheons back then was because these Gods not only started god wars everywhere on Earth, affecting the lives of half the Earth's creatures, but they also raised Humans like Lambs! You should know about the Papal States in the Middle Ages, Tony. In that Environment, what do you think your proud Wisdom could bring you? Heh heh, I'll tell you, the Pyre. You would be sent to the Pyre like a Witch in the Middle Ages!"
"What about you Asgard?"
"We Aesir have our own dwelling place and have no intention of raising Earth Humans like sheep. This might be the reason Master Ancient One reached a Cooperation with us Asgard. Earth is Nominally subservient to us Asgard, and we Aesir also bear the Responsibility of protecting Earth. Just like when the Frost Giants invaded Earth back then, it was we Aesir who repelled them!"
"I see! But Thor, that doesn't sound like something you would say!? When did you become so knowledgeable?"
"My Knowledge has always been profound, I just usually don't like showing off how smart I am everywhere like you!"
Earth, New York, somewhere in Hell's Kitchen. Thor rubbed his large belly while refuting Tony's words.
Of course, the Truth was, ever since he learned about the god war from that brother-in-law of his, he had specifically gone to Asgard to ask his Mother, Goddess of Magic Frigga, about the Beginning and End of the Divine War on Earth, which was why he knew so much.
Naturally, this didn't prevent him from showing off a bit to that arrogant guy Tony.
"Master Ancient One said the person is in this Bar! It should be correct!"
Thor walked to the Entrance of a Bar with extremely gaudy decor. Looking at the Bar flashing with various neon Lights, he violently pushed the Door open and walked straight in.
It wasn't dark yet, but the Bar was playing noisy Heavy Metal Music.
In the Dance Hall, young men and women with pierced noses and ears, and Dreadlocks, were swaying their Bodies freely to the Heavy Metal Music.
Seeing them shaking their Heads wildly, one could tell they were extremely high at the moment.
After Thor walked into the Dance Hall, he immediately saw the guy playing the drums in the center of the Dance Floor!
He was clearly an Old Man, wearing only small leather pants, but his Body was unbelievably muscular, a Monster-like Body. At a glance,
His muscles were like steel, piled up like a graveyard, one on top of another, squeezing and overlapping, layer upon layer, piece upon piece, block upon block, desperately protruding outwards to seek space for survival and development.
New tendons and knots grew between the muscle blocks, making the whole Body look like a large mass of Muscle.
Even more terrifying, from Thor's perspective, in a vision that ordinary people couldn't see, on this guy's almost naked Body, the exposed parts of his Body were densely covered with purple-fire Infernal Markings.
The Markings were twisting and changing, constantly flashing. Inside each Magic Pattern, countless human faces were faintly visible, emitting desperate wails. Those were the Souls of the creatures he had killed, imprisoned within those Markings, bringing him extremely powerful Evil Demonic Power.
Thor had seen this Old Man before, not long ago at that brother-in-law's Banquet. He was said to be a new partner who had recently joined his Company.
Partner my foot, this was clearly a Hell Lord. These Bastards, Master Ancient One was right, they really followed them to this Universe.
And those unlucky people in the Dance Hall weren't truly immersed in the Heavy Metal Music; their Heads were simply blank. As for their constant arm-waving and Saliva-splashing appearance,
That was the Instinctive Fear of lower-level creatures towards a higher-level creature, which had completely shocked their Souls, causing their Bodies to stiffen, harden, and tremble uncontrollably.
Thor looked around. Good heavens, the guy DJing next to him was also an Acquaintance.
A faint Black Smoke lingered on that handsome face, a Giant Fly Phantom Face.
His Eyes flashed with eerie green Radiance, and faint green Infernal Markings flickered on his Skin.
Each Magic Pattern was composed of countless tiny, wriggling light patterns like Flies. The overall feeling he gave off was like being suddenly covered by countless Flies in a deep dream, sending shivers down one's spine.
The lead singer on stage, holding a guitar, shirtless, wearing only a T-shirt with a Skull print, singing his heart out, who else could it be but Frank, that brother-in-law's capable subordinate? So he came to this Bar to hold a concert!
"Fatty! Why are you here?"
A Figure familiar to Thor, with his arm around a young White Person girl who looked quite small, squeezed out from the Dance Floor. With one arm around the White Person girl's slender waist, he held a bottle of Beer in the other hand and gulped it down.
"Wade Wilson? You're here too. Where's my brother-in-law? Did he come too!"
Thor looked at the Deadpool in front of him, thinking that brother-in-law of his had also come to this Universe, and looked around for Tang Song's Figure.
"Stop looking, Boss didn't come! Just us guys! Why are you here?"
"That's what I should be asking you. Didn't he promise us not to start god wars casually? Is he going back on his word!"
"You've misunderstood Boss. We just wanted to change Universes to have a drink and have some fun," Deadpool said with a bitter face.
"Tang made me try to win over that Woman, you don't know how hard my Life has been!"
Thor blinked, looking speechlessly at Deadpool's hands moving up and down.
Deadpool patted the White Person girl's curves, signaling her to go play by herself, then looked at Thor. "Right, you haven't said why you found this place?"
"I'm here to seek aid!" Thor explained his Purpose to Deadpool.
"Come with me, Boss Kane is in the Private Room on the second floor!"
Deadpool led Thor through the chaotic Dance Hall. Thor watched as the guy's hands were restlessly touching the women in the Crowd, and he somewhat believed that this guy really came to this Universe to have fun.
Soon, Wade Wilson led Thor to the Private Room on the second floor. Wade Wilson didn't knock, he just pushed the Door open and entered with Thor.
As soon as Thor entered, he saw an extremely horrifying scene. In this Private Room that looked like a place for karaoke, on the Sofa opposite the Big Screen.
A guy wearing a Black Windbreaker and sporting a Burning Skull for a Head was leaning over a listless appearance and an incredibly high Hairline, making a swallowing motion.
If there wasn't still some distance between the two, Thor would have been worried that the Flaming Skull would directly kiss him.
"Johnny, Ghost Rider? Uh, Boss Kane, what's going on?"
Thor looked at Johnny lying on the Sofa, then looked at another Johnny who had transformed into Ghost Rider? He didn't quite understand the situation before him. He looked at Kane, who was sitting to the side, with a questioning Gaze.
Kane held a bottle of black Beer, drinking it while watching the commotion nearby. Seeing Wade Wilson enter with Thor, he was slightly surprised, but merely nodded towards the two of them.
"Heh heh! He wants to absorb the Spirit of Vengeance. Don't dream about it. If the Spirit of Vengeance were that easy to get rid of, I wouldn't have bestowed it upon my Knight!"
Kane hadn't spoken yet, but a Voice came from a remote corner! Who was speaking?! Thor was startled. He searched for a long Time in the dim Lights before noticing someone under Kane's Foot.
At the World Security Council Building, closed-door meetings were held three times in one day, lasting from morning until ten o'clock at night. The Member States of the World Security Council were unable to reach a consensus, and the meeting had to be postponed until the next day!
(end of chapter)