178

Chapter 178: The Eve of the Battle

Unexpectedly, the focus shifted back to Iron Man.

Doctor Strange's message was clear. In the future he envisioned, Iron Man was indispensable.

Strange's words were essentially a spoiler, highlighting that Thanos' death was not the end of the story. Even if Dormammu didn't appear, Thor would have to confront him sooner or later. After all, Dormammu was one of the masterminds behind Ragnarök, even if he did not succeed.

Thor couldn't help but chuckle, "It seems I'm about to steal your boss, and Dormammu will become your formidable opponent."

Strange shrugged, "Who knows, maybe you'll end up handling all my other tasks too."

"So," Thor teased, "I help Kamar-Taj out of a major problem, and you owe me a favor."

"The magic of unlimited refills, perhaps?" Thor suggested.

"Deal!" Strange agreed.

In the laboratory of Stark Tower, Stark, who had just returned from Wakanda, was typing away at his keyboard.

Wakanda's technology was indeed impressive, as his injury had healed 70% to 80% remarkably quickly.

On the nearby experimental platform lay a headless corpse.

This was Vision. Stark was attempting to recreate J.A.R.V.I.S. through the remaining data fragments, with the goal of reviving Vision.

"Friday, check the target equation."

"Eighty-five percent similarity to J.A.R.V.I.S."

Stark sighed.

Creating a truly intelligent robot was, in essence, creating life. He could replicate J.A.R.V.I.S. almost exactly, but he couldn't actually bring the robot to life.

"You can't do this," Thor's voice suddenly interrupted.

Stark glanced at him, seemingly unfazed by the intrusion but asked, "I know it's difficult, but there's always hope."

"No, there's no hope," Thor replied indifferently. "Imagine if Pepper Potts were to leave you, and you took a blood sample from her and used cloning technology to create a replica. Could you truly consider that clone to be Pepper Potts?"

Stark scowled. "Why such an inappropriate metaphor? It definitely doesn't count!"

Thor dispelled his illusions, "But you're essentially doing the same thing. Even if you manage to perfectly replicate J.A.R.V.I.S. and then transfer consciousness into a Vibranium body without using the Mind Stone, the new entity won't be Vision. It would only be a copy."

Stark was silent for a moment before murmuring, "How could I not know that? But what else can I do now?"

Whether it was Vision or J.A.R.V.I.S., their significance to him was immense.

"Indeed," Thor confirmed. "The primary function of the Time Gem is to control the flow of time, just as Doctor Strange was killed by Dormammu countless times before finally recovering."

"Really?" Stark was momentarily stunned, then grew excited. "So, if we retrieve the gems, we can revive Vision?"

"Definitely!" Thor assured, not kidding. After all, Thanos did this in the original timeline...

If Strange hadn't mentioned Stark's future usefulness, Thor wouldn't have bothered to enlighten him.

Asgard began to rebuild, with Thor, the rookie king, saving Asgard from its inevitable fate, earning widespread approval and unprecedented cohesion.

The Avengers, buoyed by the results of Thor's battle against Thanos, were full of confidence. The morale that had previously faltered now surged.

Many across the galaxy considered forming alliances to seek revenge against Thanos. Previously, no one dared confront Thanos due to his overwhelming power and lack of a counterforce, but now things had changed...

The only ones feeling dismal were the Kree. They had anticipated Thanos would deal with Captain Marvel after finishing his tasks, but they hadn't expected Thanos would be pushed to the brink of defeat.

On the battlefield, he was overwhelmed by Captain Marvel, who stood alone against his forces.

Once, her superior, Yon Rogg, had a sinking feeling—this time, it seemed the end was truly near!

Thanos was nearly cornered. If he delayed and allowed his former enemies to ally with the Avengers, he would have no chance of victory.

His only option now was to launch a full-scale invasion of Earth as quickly as possible, destroy the Asgard, and release Dormammu. Time was running out, and he had to act swiftly!

Thanos glanced at his newly installed robotic arm, then at Sanctuary II, which was still under maintenance, and finally ordered with resignation, "Prepare to attack Earth!"