Chapter 448: War Interlude, Decapitation Strike
The island was covered in lush tropical jungle.
The dense jungle was not only home to over a dozen species of tropical birds nesting and breeding, but also animals like wild boars and wild goats, presenting a picture of a secluded paradise.
Three sides of the island were steep cliffs. Sea waves crashed against the sharp, blade-like rocky cliffs, producing countless pearl-like white foam.
To the east of the island was a considerable-sized white wild beach.
From time to time, flocks of seagulls could be seen diving into the sparkling shallow sea to hunt fish underwater.
These seagulls had clearly not been disturbed by the Human World; their wildness undiminished, they didn't know to go to the dock to try some French Fries.
Catching small fish and shrimp from time to time was enough to make these seagulls cry out for a long time.
Strictly speaking, this island didn't even have a dock.
Looking at the map, this scenic island was not located on any commercial shipping lane, and because it was quite remote from the nearest land, it didn't have much development value.
This island, isolated from the world, was only bought thirty years ago by a Federation tycoon who spent a fortune building his private resort manor and a small airport on it.
That Federation tycoon used to travel here for vacation on his private jet.
Now, at the significantly widened airport on this island, several S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjets were parked. Planes took off and landed frequently, bringing large quantities of supplies and personnel.
"How is the base personnel training going?"
A Quinjet broke through the cloud layer and approached the tropical island from a distance. Director Fury, sitting in the front passenger seat of the Quinjet, looked down through the Quinjet window.
Looking down from the sky, the island now clearly appeared as a massive barracks. Fully Armed Federation Soldiers and spear-wielding Natives in tribal attire were spread across the entire island.
Everywhere on the island were stirring training slogans and sharp whistles from the instructors. Outside the barracks, there were even soldiers wearing highly technological Exoskeleton Armor, training the flexibility of their armor in the jungle.
As for the Black warriors from Wakanda, they shouted the slogan "You are whiter than me" and used the most advanced Vibranium Spears in their hands to practice shooting accuracy and stabbing on wooden targets.
"Very good, these soldiers have skillfully mastered that Alien Equipment! At least high-intensity combat training is not a problem!"
Agent Natasha, wearing a Black Tight Combat Suit, piloted the Quinjet towards the airport on the island. Judging from her attire and skin tone, this Agent Natasha should be the original Black Widow of this universe.
"After all, they were the elite of the elite, selected from twenty million soldiers across the entire Earth."
"How is the quality of these Wakandan Soldiers?" Director Fury, who had just finished the World Security Council meeting on the Helicarrier, turned his gaze towards the window.
As the Quinjet landed, the faces of the Wakandans on the ground, wearing beast hides and holding spears, became clearer and clearer in his sight.
Nick Fury didn't feel a sense of immediate familiarity with these Black brothers who shared his skin color. In fact, after obtaining the detailed files on Wakanda, his first reaction was that there was actually a country in this world that wasn't within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s monitoring range.
If it weren't for the current situation of Thanos' Forces pressing down, this shrewd and experienced agent would definitely have immediately sent capable agents to infiltrate Wakanda to find out Wakanda's background.
In the eyes of this King of Agents who suspects everything, Wakanda, having been independent from the civilized world for hundreds of years, must be hiding some grand scheme.
"These Wakandan Soldiers have good physical condition, and the Vibranium Weapons in their hands are very advanced!" Agent Natasha's complexion was a bit strange. "It's just that their dietary habits are somewhat traditional!"
Nick Fury looked out through the front passenger seat window and saw two Wakandans wearing beast hides who seemed to have hunted some prey, shouting something loudly in Wakandan Language. Soon, several people ran out from among the training Wakandan Soldiers and followed them into the surrounding jungle. Not long after, the few people carried out a wild boar weighing two to three hundred pounds from the jungle.
Looking at these Wakandans with white totems painted on their bodies, acting like Natives, Nick Fury even somewhat doubted the authenticity of the intelligence regarding Wakanda.
Is Wakanda really a modern nation with technological development far surpassing the Federation? Or are they just a bunch of primitives!
"These Wakandan Soldiers claimed to be from the Jabari Tribe. Their Leader is called M'Baku. It is said that he once gained the strength of a White Gorilla by killing a rare White Gorilla, possessing the strength of a White Gorilla.
This time, Wakanda's reinforcements were also led by him and the Wakandan Prince T'Challa. A total of two thousand people came! However, it's clear that their relationship is not harmonious!"
After the Quinjet was parked, Nick Fury, accompanied by Natasha Romanoff, got into an open-top Military Humvee. The S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent driving the Military Humvee stepped on the accelerator, and the vehicle headed towards a Villa Area in the distance. Natasha Romanoff reported the intelligence she had gathered over the past few days to Nick Fury On the Vehicle. Natasha Romanoff was indeed a professional intelligence operative; in just over ten days, she had figured out the background of these Wakandans.
"According to that Prince, the tribesmen of the Jabari Tribe relatively worship nature, so they look somewhat savage!"
"How many people did they send?"
"They sent two thousand warriors!"
"They only sent two thousand people!"
"That's right, the Wakandan King's explanation is that their Wakanda suffered a severe famine, and the population is severely insufficient, so they can only send two thousand soldiers!" Natasha Romanoff pursed her lips and said helplessly.
"Not long ago, East Africa indeed suffered a severe drought. the World Security Council even specifically provided food aid!"
Nick Fury's complexion turned a bit unpleasant. He had a detailed file on Wakanda in his hand, compiled by Hawkeye from a parallel universe.
With Wakanda's advanced Vibranium Technology, how could they lack food?
This was clearly an excuse to shirk responsibility, but they even sent their own son.
Even if Nick Fury wanted to use the name of the World Security Council to exert pressure, he couldn't find a good excuse for a while.
"How is the recruitment of other manpower going? These soldiers can only perform conventional missions.
We need some powerful manpower to complete this mission!"
"According to the internal list, we have currently recruited a total of twenty-seven people, all of whom are individuals who truly possess Supernatural Powers!"
The Humvee swayed as it drove on the island's rugged and uneven road.
The bumpy, potholed road made our Agent Natasha's body ache.
But soon the Humvee reached its destination.
In the central plain of this tropical island, a considerable-sized Villa Area had been built. Within the Villa Area, a private Swimming Pool was even built. From the scale of the Villa Area, it was clear that the Federation tycoon who bought this island back then was quite wealthy.
......…
"So you're telling me that the true identity of the Federation tycoon who bought this island was actually an Alien, and before he left, he gifted this island to you!?"
By the private Swimming Pool of the resort villa, Tony Stark held a coconut in his hand, lying on a Beach Chair, looking up at Nick Fury standing beside him, his face full of surprise.
"To be precise, they are Skrulls!" Nick Fury carefully stroked the Orange Cat lying on his body. With that cautious expression, anyone who didn't know would think he was holding a nuclear bomb in his hand.
Of course, in the eyes of someone who truly knows their stuff, the deterrence of a Flerken far exceeds Earth's Nuclear Weapons.
This thing is known as one of the most terrifying creatures in the Universe.
Don't look at its appearance as just an ordinary Orange Cat, but from its mouth, countless tentacles can extend to devour everything. It is said that its stomach is connected to another parallel universe space, so no matter how much it devours, it won't affect its main body.
Back then, Nick Fury hid the Cosmic Cube in its belly.
Moreover, if scratched by this thing, the wound will never heal.
And the reason Nick Fury became one-eyed was that eye of his was scratched blind by this Flerken! This is also the reason why Nick Fury is so cautious with an Orange Cat.
"Later, I used this island as one of my safe houses!" Nick Fury explained to Tony Stark.
"I didn't expect you had Alien Friends. Since that's the case, why not call them over to help?" Tony Stark asked curiously.
Facing Thanos' Allied Forces, any amount of strength was precious at this time. Listening to Nick Fury's tone, these Skrulls had a deep relationship with him.
To say that Nick Fury was worried about implicating them, Tony Stark didn't believe that Nick Fury, this veteran agent, would have so many concerns.
Based on his understanding of Nick Fury, facing this crisis, Nick Fury would definitely use every method he could think of at this time, mobilize all the resources at hand. At the very least, transferring a batch of Earth immigrants through these Skrulls to preserve a spark for Earth would also be good.
Doing nothing, this is not the style of Nick Fury that he knows. "The Skrulls and the Kree had a protracted interstellar war. They were defeated. The once glorious Skrull Empire has now become a refugee civilization in exile among the stars! They can barely protect themselves!"
Nick Fury stroked the Orange Cat in his arms, looked at Tony Stark, and said slowly with a deep tone, "After the Skrulls' homeworld was occupied, they can still blend in with other civilizations using their unique mimicry ability, leaving a spark for their own civilization! If we fail, Earth Civilization will completely vanish!"
Tony Stark picked up a champagne glass from the side, scooped out the red cherry used as a garnish, and put it in his mouth. He confidently looked around the Swimming Pool, "We won't fail, you have to have confidence in yourself!"
Nick Fury followed Tony Stark's gaze and saw dozens of people standing or sitting around the Swimming Pool. It was clearly a grand Swimming Pool party.
Except that no one at this party was wearing swimsuits, and most people's complexions also weren't very good.
After all, a large portion of them were invited out semi-forcibly! Nick Fury was not unfamiliar with most of these people. Except for the few Avengers he personally selected, among them were many names familiar to Nick Fury. Most of them were recorded in his Database.
Many of them were even individuals he personally designated as dangerous.
Nick Fury watched from afar as a Strong man with a bullseye painted on his forehead and a Blind Person wearing sunglasses and holding a Blind Cane wrestled together. Next to them, a middle-aged fat man shamelessly promoted the reliability of his experiment to a stern-faced Elder. If he didn't have those eight menacing Metal Tentacles behind him, this picture might be much more harmonious.
In the corner by the Swimming Pool, a mage wearing a Yellow Robe constantly drew circles in his hand, practicing Space Gate Spells.
Next to him, a mage who looked like Hannibal was holding a black-covered book in his hand and reading it with great interest.
A young man who looked very much like Captain casually approached Agent Natasha, using flames to conjure roses. But soon he was dragged aside by his ear by a Blonde Woman wearing a black hip-hugging skirt.
His gaze passed over the siblings Human Torch and Invisible Woman. Nick Fury noticed another unkempt Middle-Aged Man wearing a green military vest.
Nick Fury remembered this guy's name, Emil Blonsky, an agent from Former Yugoslavia. Of course, he also had a name familiar to everyone, Abomination.
A product of the Military's failed Super Soldier Serum Program, he was later defeated by Dr. Banner and had been imprisoned and researched by the Military. Nick Fury only managed to coordinate with the Military to release him after obtaining authorization from the World Security Council.
For the sake of safety, Nick Fury specifically had Tony design a High-Current Stun Device. Its force, personally verified by Dr. Banner, involved tens of millions of units of high-intensity electric current instantly attacking the brain, enough to stun the Hulk for over ten minutes.
Inside the villa, like Abomination, at least a dozen people were wearing Shackles. Most of them had either committed crimes and were detained by S.H.I.E.L.D., or were Supervillains like Bullseye. At the very least, they were Anti-hero Characters.
But Nick Fury didn't hold any hope for just relying on these people to save Earth.
In the real plan, these people were just smoke grenades used to attract enemy firepower.
The real Trump Card still depended on those in Asgard!
Nick Fury was not someone who placed hope on others, but facing an enemy they were powerless to resist, he could only resort to a risky move.
Even if that Alien called Thanos was incredibly powerful, could he still withstand the power of two teams of Avengers, plus half of the Justice League?
Not to mention Captain Marvel as reinforcements.
"Director Fury, where is Bruce Banner, where did he go?"
When Blonsky arrived on this island, he had been searching for the Hulk's figure, but the Hulk didn't seem to be on the island.
Not only the Hulk, but the other few members of the Avengers were also not present. Only Tony Stark was here presiding over the overall situation.
After Blonsky searched without success, seeing that Nick Fury had come to the island, he directly sought him out.
As for why he was looking for the Hulk, Nick Fury could tell at a glance the eagerness in this guy's eyes. He clearly wanted to fight the Hulk again.
"The Hulk is currently on Titan, fighting for Earth against those Aliens!"
"Titan! I want to go there too!" Blonsky clenched his fists. "Send me over, I also want to fight for Earth!"
Are you saying you want to fight for Earth? You're just coveting the Hulk's body, I'm too embarrassed to point it out!
"No, you have a more important mission! This mission concerns the safety of the entire Earth!"
Nick Fury naturally wouldn't send Blonsky to Titan. It wasn't because he was afraid he would fight the Hulk, but because Dr. Banner wasn't on Titan at all.
Blonsky, who was refused, had a very unpleasant complexion. But after touching the collar on his neck, he still forced himself to calm down. He let out a muffled snort, walked to the side, and kicked the corner of the wall with his foot, throwing a tantrum by himself.
Inside the villa's spacious Living Room, over thirty people were standing or sitting, watching Tony Stark in front of them explain the Battle Plan for this operation.
A massive Light Beam descended from a machine on the villa's Ceiling, displaying a real-time image of Thanos' Fleet outside the solar system in front of everyone.
Even though they had seen it many times, seeing that vast steel jungle composed of Alien Warships once again, everyone still couldn't help but frown.
The biggest advantage of High-level Civilizations lies in the assembly and deployment of their Military is abnormally convenient.
The frontal decoy plan on Titan was remarkably effective. In three months' time, the Joint Fleet of over a thousand civilizations surged towards the vicinity of Titan in a mighty torrent.
Each civilization deployed a fleet of fifty or more warships on average, as well as a large number of auxiliary vessels and transport ships. The total number of vessels exceeded two hundred thousand.
Furthermore, when Thanos' Large Fleet approached the Solar System, roughly half of the warships dispersed to blockade all Space Lanes and Jump Channels in the solar system.
"Therefore, the number of enemies we have to face is greatly reduced. It's roughly a Joint Fleet composed of less than two million warships!" Tony Stark, who was responsible for explaining this operation plan, shrugged his shoulders, pretending to be relaxed.
"Then how many people do we have?" A Black fat man with a face full of coarse flesh, weighing at least several hundred pounds, sat on the Sofa, leaning on his Cane with both hands, looking at the Light Screen. Bullseye stood behind him. Around them, at least three or four pairs of eyes were staring at the two of them unkindly.
Clearly, the two had made many enemies.
Tony Stark glanced at the man, "Twenty thousand people, and of course, including everyone present, twenty thousand and twenty-seven people!"
"You want us, just over twenty thousand people, to fight against their two million Space Battleships! Mr. Stark, do you think everyone here is Superman from a Comic Book?" The man spread his hands, with a sneer on his face.
His arm just moved slightly, and under that Suit, clear muscle outlines bulged.
Beneath his seemingly obese body, it was surprisingly all tightly-packed muscle.
"Could the infamous Underworld King Kingpin also be afraid?!" Nick Fury looked at that Middle-Aged Man with his one eye.
That's right, this Black fat man full of muscle was indeed Kingpin.
When the strength of all countries on the entire Earth was twisted together like a rope, the so-called Underworld King was nothing more than a chamber pot.
The Conscription Order issued by Nick Fury to Kingpin in the name of the World Security Council was also very clear: Either come and participate in the war, or turn to ash along with your Gang! Whether this was a threat, no one knew better than Kingpin. This respectable man, after refusing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s requirement, had over a dozen of his territories directly raided by the Federal Police and Special Forces in one day.
He himself was even directly detained in Prison. As for those councillors who supported him from behind the scenes, not even his phone number was answered by anyone.
These bastards even deprived him of the right to see his Lawyer.
If he hadn't been sensible and agreed to cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D., he would have already died inexplicably in Prison by now.
"I'm not afraid! There's nothing left in this world for me to be afraid of!" Kingpin, facing Nick Fury's threatening gaze, grinned, revealing a mouth full of stark white teeth, like a Great White Shark choosing its prey to devour.
"It's just that I don't want to die confusedly. Did you prepare an Alien Warship for us, so we can sit in the warship and charge towards this Alien Fleet!"
"Based on my experience, we'll be directly shot full of holes! We won't even need cremation! I don't want to be treated as Cannon Fodder!"
Kingpin's words instantly plunged the Room into noisy discussion. Even Superheroes don't want to die, and die meaninglessly.
"Of course, I won't let you sacrifice yourselves so meaninglessly! We have a plan!"
Nick Fury walked to the front of the Light Screen, pointed a finger at one of the thousands of warships, a vessel several thousand meters long, and said, "This is Sanctuary II, the flagship of this Alien Joint Fleet. We received reliable information that Thanos is on this warship. Your mission is to go onto this warship, find Thanos, and eliminate him!"
"It sounds easy, but how can we board this warship? There are millions of Alien Warships escorting it! Just with us?"
Wakandan Prince T'Challa looked at Nick Fury and raised a question.
"That's simple. We have the assistance of Asgard's Rainbow Bridge / Bifrost, which can accurately transport you to Sanctuary II!" Nick Fury glanced at the crowd, "Everyone present is a true elite of Earth. Some matters don't need me to say, everyone should also understand why we are planning this Decapitation Strike!"
"With the current military level of Earth Civilization, no matter how hard we try, on the frontal battlefield, it's impossible to defeat an Alien Civilization whose technological level far surpasses ours by centuries! So the war on Titan is just a facade. Millions of warriors are using their lives to buy you time!"
"What you need to do is board that damned Alien Spaceship, find the guy who instigated this war, and then twist his head off to end all of this! You will be the Savior of Earth, and will be recorded in history like Moses."
Nick Fury's passionate speech made the Superheroes present feel their blood boil.
But there were also many who didn't buy into this, for example, Kingpin. As a Gang Boss who had dealt with politicians and councillors for years, he knew deeply how dark the hearts of those who played politics were.
He didn't believe Nick Fury's words, at least not entirely.
Handing the heavy responsibility of saving Earth to them? What a joke. Is there no one left on Earth that they need these Supervillains to save it?
Kingpin looked around. Among these selected unlucky fellows, there were quite a few of his old acquaintances.
Kingpin let out a Cold Laugh. Savior of Earth? I think they are more like Cannon Fodder.
"From now on, keep a close eye on Tony Stark and those few guys!"
Kingpin beckoned. Bullseye lowered his head and leaned in. Bullseye followed Kingpin's gaze and looked at the Fantastic Four.
"Once they try to slip away, we'll quickly follow suit! Hmph, I don't believe S.H.I.E.L.D. would be willing to use Tony Stark's clever head as Cannon Fodder!"
(end of chapter)