On the plane.
Rogers went to the cockpit, and he said to Falcon, "Drop to 2600, heading 0-3-0."
Falcon operated the controls and smiled. "I hope you're right about this. Or we're gonna land a lot faster than you want to."
The aircraft flew straight toward a forest, and it looked as if it was about to crash into the trees. Suddenly, layers of blue energy barriers appeared. After the aircraft passed through them, an entirely different world unfolded. A vast hidden land with lush green mountains and crystal-clear rivers, while countless high-tech buildings stretched across the landscape.
It wasn't only Falcon who was stunned by the sight before him; the audience on Terra was equally astonished.
"An illusion? Or something else?"
"This is incredible. No ordinary person would ever know there's an entire world hidden inside."
"Has Wakanda's technology advanced this far?"
"If something like this existed today, it would be the ultimate defense."
"It reminds me of the energy barrier created by the Tesseract. Is it the same kind of technology?"
"Wakanda is magnificent."
Norland Base.
Guerino was shocked by the layers of barriers they had just passed through. "How much power would something like that require? Could Wakanda possess something comparable to an Infinity Stone?"
A researcher said, "Sir, Tony's father may have become friends with Wakanda and shared the new element with them."
Guerino pondered for a moment, as that did seem possible.
He shook his head. "An energy barrier on this scale... We simply can't replicate it. What a pity. It was beyond their current technological level."
With a long sigh, Guerino continued watching the screen, hoping to discover more clues. Perhaps they could find something that would help humanity develop new energy sources.
The aircraft flew toward the heart of Wakanda.
Black Panther, T'Challa, dressed in black, arrived with his attendants. General Okoye looked ahead and said, "When you said we were going to open Wakanda to the rest of the world... this is not what I imagined."
T'Challa replied calmly, "And what did you imagine?"
Okoye smiled. "The Olympics. Maybe even a Starbucks."
Not far ahead, the aircraft slowed to a hover, then gently landed where the royal guards stood in two orderly rows on both sides. The hatch opened, and Rogers led everyone out.
Banner looked at the scene in surprise. "Should we bow?"
Rhodey replied casually, "Yeah, he's a king."
Rogers smiled as he approached T'Challa. "Seems like I'm always thanking you for something."
T'Challa smiled and shook his hand. Behind him, Banner coughed awkwardly before bowing.
Rhodey stared at him speechlessly. "What are you doing?"
Banner looked around in confusion, and T'Challa quickly waved his hand. "Uh, we don't do that here."
Rhodey couldn't help laughing at Banner before the group walked into the palace.
T'Challa asked, "So how big of an assault should we expect?"
Banner stepped forward. "Uh, sir, I think you should expect quite a big assault."
Black Widow asked, "How we looking?"
T'Challa answered, "You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and... "
Bucky walked out from inside the hall. Smiling at everyone, he said, "And a semi-stable 100-year-old man."
Rogers embraced Bucky. "How you been, Buck?"
Bucky's expression was calm, unlike his former violent self. "Uh, not bad, for the end of the world."
The scene shifted.
Inside a room filled with advanced technology, Vision lay on a medical bed.
Shuri reached out and waved her hand over him while the beads on her wrist emitted a scanning light.
As the scan passed over the Mind Stone embedded in Vision's forehead, Shuri turned around, and a holographic structure of the Mind Stone appeared above her palm. Countless streams of data and intricate structures floated through the air.
Shuri said in surprise, "Whoa. The structure is polymorphic."
Banner nodded. "Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially."
Shuri smiled as inspiration flashed across her face. "Why didn't you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?"
Banner pursed his lips. Looking embarrassed, he admitted, "Because we didn't think of it."
Shuri smiled. "I'm sure you did your best."
Wanda looked at Shuri. "Can you do it?"
Shuri answered confidently. "Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures."
Shuri turned to T'Challa. "It will take time, brother."
T'Challa nodded.
Rogers asked, "How long?"
Shuri replied, "As long as you can give me."
The audience couldn't stop exclaiming.
"That girl is amazing!"
"What are those beads on her wrist? They look like the devices we saw earlier."
"She's brilliant! Banner and the others never considered that solution, but she figured it out immediately"
"Wakanda's technology is unbelievable."
"Operating on neurons individually? Are there any medical students here? Is that even possible?"
"Hurry and remove it before Thanos arrives!"
"As Banner said, they're probably facing an overwhelming army."
At the Federal Hospital.
Tetsuo and the heads of every major department stared at the screen, and the conference room erupted with astonishment.
Tetsuo narrowed his eyes. "Operating on neuron-level units... Without sufficiently advanced technology, it's simply impossible."
Although neurology wasn't his specialty, he understood how far Terra's medical science lagged behind in this field.
Several people of the neurology department nodded.
"Director Tetsuo is right."
"If we can record this procedure, we may learn how it's done."
"Even better if we can observe the entire process. We might eventually reverse-engineer the technique for neural adaptation."
The more they discussed it, the more enthusiastic they became. Even acquiring a tiny fraction of this knowledge would be an extraordinary advancement.
Tetsuo smiled. "Very well. I'll leave this to all of you."
A director patted his chest confidently. "Don't worry, Director Tetsuo. I'm already recording everything."
Jay suddenly exclaimed, "This is bad. They're here!"
Everyone immediately turned toward the screen.
The beads on General Okoye's wrist sounded an alarm. She placed one into her palm, and a holographic projection of the entire planet Earth appeared. "Something's entered the atmosphere."
The scene shifted.
In the endless darkness of space, a massive ring-shaped warship hovered silently. Multiple cone-shaped metal drop pods detached from the ship, and they plunged directly into the atmosphere. Friction turned them red-hot, but they continued falling without slowing down in the slightest.
The soldiers guarding outside the palace looked up while Falcon immediately reported over the comms, "Hey, Cap, we got a situation here."
High above the sky, a gigantic fireball trailing thick smoke hurtled straight toward Wakanda.
In the Administration.
The faces of the Director and others changed.
"Such a high height, such a large volume, the kinetic energy is enormous. It could easily completely destroy the area!"
Odom said in amazement, "A space-based weapon? We once envisioned a space-to-ground strike superweapon! Drop a dense metal object from outside the atmosphere directly onto the planet's surface, and the tremendous impact would produce unimaginable destructive power! Just one metal rod could unleash the explosive force of a nuclear weapon! It could easily destroy any building!"
That massive fireball... It was clearly even more powerful than a metal rod and everyone's expressions turned grim. The Mind Stone had only just arrived in Wakanda, and now it was facing such a devastating attack.
Xiaotian suddenly asked, "Could the Soul Stone be destroyed by an impact like this?"
Everyone fell silent, understanding what he meant. If the Soul Stone could be destroyed directly... Then this would, in a way, stop Thanos.
Hawking shook his head solemnly. "Probably not. The Soul Stone's energy is extraordinarily powerful. A concentrated energy burst might work, but an attack on this scale..."
The gigantic fireball roared across the sky, like a blazing meteor streaking through everyone's minds. But the next moment, just when everyone believed there was no hope, suddenly, layers of blue energy barriers appeared, blocking the fireball's path. In an instant, the entire fireball exploded. The enormous spiked metal capsule shattered into countless fragments.
"My God! That barrier is incredible!"
"Damn! If we were covered with something like that, wouldn't it be invincible?"
Hawking and the others were even more astonished. The scene was truly breathtaking, and it also gave everyone a much clearer understanding of Wakanda's technological prowess.
The Director shook his head. "Unfortunately, we still haven't found any clues about this place. It has been suggested that it might be located in the polar regions, but the information coming from there is far too limited."
Bucky and Falcon looked up at the sky. The enormous explosion, shockwaves, and flying debris had no effect on them. Bucky stared in disbelief. "God, I love this place."
Rhodey, wearing the War Machine armor, replied, "Yeah, don't start celebrating yet, guys. Yeah, don't start celebrating yet, guys."
No sooner had he spoken than another gigantic fireball appeared in the sky, and it was even faster. This time... It seemed capable of controlling its landing point. The enormous fireball plunged directly toward the ground, and instead of striking the blue barrier, it landed outside its protected area.
The earth trembled violently, and a massive shockwave spread in every direction. When it reached the barrier's edge, the blue energy shield appeared once again, stopping it completely. As the dust settled, gigantic prismatic metal pods stood upright across the devastated landscape, while the surrounding forest ecosystem had been completely obliterated.
Inside the laboratory, everyone watched the scene, and their expressions were solemn.
Vision struggled to sit up. "It's too late. We need to destroy the stone now."
Black Widow scolded him, "Vision, get your ass back on the table."
T'Challa stepped forward calmly. "We will hold them off."
Rogers frowned before turning to Wanda. "Wanda, as soon as that stone's out of his head... you blow it to hell."
Wanda nodded. "I will."
T'Challa gave orders to the guards. "Evacuate the city. Engage all defenses. And get this man a shield."
He pointed toward Rogers. Ever since his last fight with Tony... Rogers had returned his shield, and he had fought without one ever since.
Large numbers of Wakandan aircraft flew low overhead as they headed toward the defensive perimeter.
Falcon flew ahead to scout the enemy's position while Black Widow asked, "How we looking, Bruce?"
Banner exclaimed, "Yeah, I think I'm getting the hang of it."
Jets of flame burst from behind him as Banner flew forward wearing the anti-Hulk suit. Its controls clearly weren't very smooth, so he stumbled awkwardly across the ground, almost falling.
Inside the cockpit, Banner laughed excitedly. "Wow! This is amazing, man. It's like being the Hulk without actually..."
The words had barely left his mouth when he tripped over a rock, and he immediately rolled across the ground.
"So... Banner is wearing armor designed to fight himself."
"Haha! Didn't they consider this during the design process?"
"Banner is hilarious. He's spent too much time with Thor."
"Why is this scene so spectacular? This is becoming a full-scale war!"
"The Mad Titan really didn't come alone. He brought an entire army!"
"Can Wakanda survive? I'm getting worried."
"The most important thing is Thanos. If he gets the Soul Stone, will he come here himself? And if he does, what can anyone do?"
Everyone was filled with countless thoughts. More than anything... They were worried about whether Thanos would snap his fingers. No one dared imagine the consequences.
After tripping, Banner slid a long distance across the ground, covered in dust. General Okoye walked past him, and after seeing his embarrassing state, she looked at him with obvious disgust as she frowned.
Banner quickly said, "I'm okay. I'm okay."
Rhodey descended from the sky. With a serious expression, he reported, "I've got two heat signatures breaking through the tree line."
At the forest's edge, Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive stepped out, sneering as they looked at the humans before them. Behind the two, towering metal pods stretched toward the sky.
The Wakandan army assembled. Ranks upon ranks of soldiers formed into battle formations while Black Panther, Rogers, and the others stood at the very front.
The two sides faced each other as the war was about to begin.
"Those two aliens aren't seriously planning to fight everyone by themselves, are they?"
"This is really happening! It's so exciting!"
"There are so many soldiers in Wakanda!"
Black Panther and Rogers walked toward the barrier while Proxima Midnight touched the energy shield with her spear. Trying to break through it, but she failed. The barrier was far stronger than she had expected.
Black Widow mocked, "Where's your other friend?"
Proxima Midnight replied coldly, "You will pay for his life with yours. Thanos will have that stone."
Rogers answered calmly, "That's not gonna happen."
T'Challa declared, "You are in Wakanda now. Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood."
"We have blood to spare." She waved her hand.
The next moment, the triangular hatches of the metal pods slowly opened. Everyone stared at the opening pods as no one knew what was about to emerge.
Bucky asked Rogers in surprise, "They surrender?"
Rogers shook his head. "Not exactly."
When the words had barely left his mouth, the entire forest suddenly began to shake, and a terrifying roar echoed through the trees.
The next instant, countless monsters burst from the forest, and they moved with incredible speed. Rows of razor-sharp teeth glistened as they roared ferociously while charging wildly across the ground. Their claws were like sharpened blades.
There seemed to be no end to their numbers; looking into the distance, the horizon was completely filled with them.
Bucky and the others stood frozen.
"What the hell?"
"Looks like we pissed her off."
The viewers shuddered even more.
"Damn it! What monsters are these? It's scary just looking at them!"
"There are so many monsters. If they invade Terra, can we even stop them?"
"It feels more powerful than the Chitauri creatures that invaded before."
"This group of monsters is large in number, completely crazy, and their lethality must be terrifying."
"How many troops does Thanos even have?"
"This is really a beast tide!"
Facing the onslaught of so many monsters, no one was not shocked. Especially by the appearance of these monsters, as some timid people were about to cry. These monsters were like mindless machines as they crazily slammed into the barrier. Even if they smashed themselves apart, they continued charging without hesitation. They were using their own bodies and flesh to consume the barrier's energy.
The Director stared at the screen with a solemn expression. "If this continues, the barrier will eventually consume an enormous amount of energy. If it's completely destroyed, I'm afraid Wakanda will be wiped out."
This was no joke; even ants can kill an elephant, not to mention these creatures, which were far more dangerous than ants. On the screen, everyone could see some monsters frantically scratching and biting. The blue barrier could no longer block every attack as the arms of many monsters began squeezing through the barrier.
The entire process looked brutal, yet it did nothing to stop the monsters' madness. Many monsters forced half their bodies through, only to be sliced in half by the blue barrier.
Black Panther T'Challa narrowed his eyes while General Okoye frowned. "They're killing themselves."
Among the monsters, Proxima Midnight sneered while the endless horde behind her continued reinforcing the assault. That Infinity Stone had to be taken.
"Not good! A monster got through!" The audience in the broadcast said.
Finally, they managed to forcefully break through the barrier, and they rushed into the inner area, opening their bloody mouths. Their four arms supported them as they leaped toward the crowd.
The Wakandan troops immediately shouted, and they pulled the cloaks behind them to the front. The cloaks were clearly extraordinary. The moment the formation was completed, massive blue energy shields appeared one after another. The entire squad became an indestructible wall.
As more and more monsters rushed in, T'Challa ordered them to attack. From behind the blue shields, javelin-like weapons extended outward. Their tips fired electromagnetic blasts, bombarding the incoming monsters. Working together, they quickly eliminated the monsters that had broken through. However, there were simply too many outside as more continued forcing their way inside.
Falcon flew into action. He performed difficult aerial rolls, casually eliminating several monsters. With the press of a button, three triangular drones launched from behind him, piercing through monsters one after another.
Falcon said. "You see the teeth on those things?"
Rhodey flew in from the distance, following the arc of the barrier. "All right, back up, Sam. You're gonna get your wings singed."
The moment he finished speaking, bombs launched from the weapon pods behind him. As he flew, the bombs fell evenly below, right where the monsters were pouring in. Flames shot into the sky as a long chain of explosions erupted and the monsters were blown to pieces.
The Director gripped his marker tightly. "This battle is even bigger than the Chitauri invasion. They don't fear death at all."
His heart grew heavier. There were still two major enemies who hadn't made their move, so the original Soul Stone might still be taken away.
Johan smiled bitterly. "Thor already has Stormbreaker now. There's still hope!"
In the memory screen, the monsters suddenly changed tactics, causing Tonio to immediately sit upright. "Are they trying to flank? They're not just fearless, they're intelligent. That's going to be difficult."
A huge number of monsters began circling toward the rear.
Inside the communication channel, Falcon said, "Cap, if these things circle the perimeter and get in behind us... there's nothing between them and Vision."
Rogers stared ahead. "Then we better keep 'em in front of us."
General Okoye looked at T'Challa. "How do we do that?"
T'Challa pressed his lips together. "We open the barrier."
The audience became tense. Opening the shield meant exposing themselves directly to the monsters, and the situation could become disastrous.
T'Challa immediately gave the order. "On my signal, open North-West Section Seventeen."
"Requesting confirmation, My King. You said open the barrier?"
T'Challa answered firmly, "On my signal."
Someone behind him said gravely, "This will be the end of Wakanda."
General Okoye replied fiercely, "Then it will be the noblest ending in history."
When the blue energy shields vanished, T'Challa stepped to the front line, and he roared, "Wakanda Forever!"
The moment the words fell, dual blades extended from his hands and his mask activated. When he dashed forward, everyone behind him charged as well, and battle cries echoed across the battlefield. The final battle had begun. If they couldn't repel Thanos' army, then Wakanda would truly meet its end.
While charging, Black Panther shouted, "Now!"
A beam of blue light appeared across the barrier, and a gateway opened, allowing an enormous number of monsters to pour through. Countless monsters roared wildly as they charged.
Black Panther and Rogers bore the brunt of the attack, plunging directly into the monstrous army. Rogers' new shield consisted of twin arm shields, capable of both offense and defense. He battled countless monsters head-on.
Black Panther completely ignored attacks from every direction. His sharp claws flashed, and monster after monster was torn apart.
Tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands, of monsters collided head-on with the Wakandan army. From above, the battlefield looked like two different-colored tides crashing together, and casualties appeared almost instantly. These monsters were not only fearless and insane, but their offensive power was also terrifying.
Within the monster horde, Black Panther tore another creature apart. His panther suit glowed with blue energy as he urgently asked, "How much longer, Shuri?"
Inside the laboratory, Shuri carefully isolated Vision's neural connections. "I've barely begun, brother."
Black Panther kicked another monster away. "You might want to pick up the pace."
The more monsters they killed, the more monsters seemed to appear. Their numbers weren't decreasing; they seemed to be increasing.
Banner controlled the Hulkbuster armor, and one punch destroyed one monster.
Bucky fired his machine gun without stopping.
Black Panther's kinetic energy reached its maximum. Then, he released it all at once, and the resulting shockwave tore apart a huge number of monsters.
Rhodey hovered overhead, and the weapons bay of the War Machine armor opened. Its enhanced arsenal unleashed devastating firepower, and it became a flying fortress.
But the next moment, a chained weapon flew from the battlefield. It struck Rhodey directly, sending him crashing down. Proxima Midnight strode forward from outside. At the same time, countless monsters found an opening. They crazily charged toward Rogers, Black Panther, and the massive Hulkbuster armor.
They were hopelessly outnumbered. Within moments, they were overwhelmed.
Black Panther was tossed around by the monsters like a toy.
Rogers disappeared beneath the sea of monsters.
Monsters were everywhere.
The Hulkbuster armor burned brightly as dozens of monsters tore into it with their claws. In some places, its internal framework was already exposed.
Dr. Banner panicked. "There's too many of 'em!"
The battlefield changed in an instant as Rogers' side, along with Wakanda's forces, was immediately pushed onto the defensive.
Viewers watched the tragic scene, and they could hardly bear to look. It was heartbreaking.
"Are they really going to lose already? Thanos hasn't even shown up yet."
"There are too many! Far too many monsters!"
"Damn it! This is so frustrating!"
"Wait! Look at the sky!"
"A rainbow! It's the Rainbow Bridge!"