#552 - Thanos' conspiracy

"S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, Wakanda, Asgard—all four factions were attacked almost simultaneously, attacks sufficient to destroy them."

Clint, just waking up, couldn't help but shiver, as if recalling something unpleasant.

"The previously established alliance is practically non-existent. None of the factions can spare the energy to support the others; we've been scattered."

Yang Le's eyes flickered. In the Marvel comics universe, Thanos is an extremely powerful military strategist. More than his unmatched combat power stemming from his Eternal heritage, Thanos in the comics prefers to use his brain.

Almost all of Thanos's actions are carefully considered before being carried out. Except for a brief lapse in intelligence when facing Death, the cosmic emperor has almost no weaknesses.

Almost every time he appears, Thanos uses his all-encompassing intellect to devise brilliant schemes, playing superheroes, supervillains, and even gods like puppets.

But in the movies, frankly, although Thanos always puts on an all-knowing act, Yang Le still feels that the movies only showcase Thanos's powerful combat abilities and hardly demonstrate his military and strategic capabilities. This is a small regret.

But now it seems that the movie universe Thanos is not weak in this regard. After learning that his opponents were prepared, he didn't rashly attack. Instead, he began to gradually understand the various opposing forces on Earth.

The most brilliant move was contacting Hydra. Having infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. to the point of being a sieve, Hydra knew all the information Thanos wanted to know. It can be said that once he got Hydra, everything would shift in his favor.

Hydra's frequent appearances are likely related to Thanos. Although it's unknown how he did it, it's estimated that Hydra was already under Thanos's command at that time.

Earth had almost no secrets from Thanos. For this planet that once contained four Infinity Stones, Thanos gave it enough respect, laying out his plans step by step, and finally taking the victory with thunderous force.

"Asgard was the first to collapse. With Surtur and Hela joining forces, King Odin and Queen Frigga were killed in battle. Thor was seriously injured and fled with the remaining Asgardians. Thanos successfully retreated with the Reality Stone."

Natasha leaned back in her chair, looking dazed.

"Then came S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers. During the Avengers' Civil War, Hydra suddenly jumped into the open, catching us all off guard. Thanos sent two capable subordinates to enter the fray, killing Vision and seizing the Mind Stone. That's when I lost my eyes."

Clint touched his eye socket, revealing a wry smile.

"Wakanda was the last to collapse," Steve said, folding his arms and looking serious. "T'Challa had just fallen into the grief of losing his father. His cousin Erik took advantage of the situation to attack him, winning the selection battle and causing T'Challa's entire family to become prisoners. During this time, Erik voluntarily offered the Space Stone."

Yang Le couldn't help but click his tongue. Just listening to the description, he could tell how tragic the battle was. He estimated that the number of heroes who had died in the past few years was definitely more than those they mentioned, otherwise, they wouldn't have brought Hawkeye, the blind man, out.

"Sounds like Earth is in a desperate situation," Yang Le sighed. "How much remaining strength do you have now? Is it just those in front of me?"

"Although our numbers are dwindling, we're not down to just enough people to play a beach volleyball game."

Steve smiled sadly and then said, "I won't introduce Natasha and Clint. The young man who came with us is named Sam, codenamed Falcon. Before the 'Great Collapse,' he was just an ordinary soldier. I discovered and trained him, and now he can be considered a capable warrior."

"Sorry to interrupt," Yang Le reached out to interrupt Steve. "What does 'Great Collapse' refer to?"

"It's when Earth completely collapsed," Clint took over the explanation. "Don't think we're making it sound simple, but we held on for a long time before we lost. And our defeat doesn't mean Earth's defeat."

"Thanos knows that there is a Time Stone on Earth. We talked about this during our meeting with the Ice Ghosts. I guess it was those traitors from Hydra who told him."

Clint slammed the table next to him before continuing, "After obtaining three stones, he naturally set his sights on the fourth. Fortunately, no one knows exactly where the Time Stone is."

"After that, Thanos launched a full-scale invasion of Earth for the Time Stone. Earth's technology was almost no match for Thanos's army. Countries around the world began to fall gradually, and human society began to collapse. This is the 'Great Collapse.'"

Yang Le nodded to show he understood, then raised his hand to signal Steve to continue.

"Besides the four of us, there's also Princess Shuri of Wakanda. Her brother and the Royal Guard rescued her, but unfortunately, T'Challa and the others died in the breakout."

Steve sighed, as if mourning for the dead, before continuing.

"Rhodes, or War Machine, died on the front lines of the battle between the United States and Thanos's army. The Maximoff siblings are still alive, but their condition is not good, especially Wanda. She is now very afraid of fighting."

"Banner is also still alive, but Thanos broke his legs. Hulk is afraid to come out now. Tony is still alive, but unfortunately, Pepper died, which has made him a bit neurotic."

"Thor's injuries don't seem to have healed yet. He should have recovered long ago. Banner says it might be psychological, just like himself."

"Oh, right," Steve said as if he suddenly remembered something. "We also have a lot of new members, including two magicians. One is named Wang, who seems to be Chinese, and the other is Stephen Strange, who used to be a surgeon."

"The rest are just ordinary people. We all live in shelters, hiding from Thanos's pursuit to this day. We came here today because the resources in the base have run out, and secondly, Tony and Shuri joined forces to find your location, so we came to try our luck."

"Looks like we came to the right place," Steve rarely showed a smile. What he said was not absolute. After all, Earth is in this state now, and forcing the other party to help would be like dragging innocent people into the fire pit.

Although Steve desperately needed the other party's help, he didn't have much hope.