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Chapter 179: Outbreak

It's a basic strategy to tackle the easier targets first, and Thanos is no exception.

When Thanos launched his all-out assault, the Hong Kong Sanctum and the London Sanctum fell within just half an hour, before the Avengers had a chance to react.

Certainly, if Thor had rushed to the scene immediately, he could have repelled the siege, but he chose to stay behind.

Guarding all three Sanctums simultaneously was impractical; it would be impossible to manage everything effectively, and it would dilute the Avengers' strength.

Conversely, Thanos' forces were vast, and despite many of them perishing in space, their numbers remained formidable.

With the Sanctums destroyed, Kamar-Taj realized that this was a sign of Dormammu's impending arrival.

The Sanctum in New York would be the final bastion of defense, and the Avengers were preparing for the worst.

Thanos was aware that the remaining four Infinity Stones were in Thor's possession, and Thor was stationed at the New York Sanctum.

New York, constantly plagued by disasters, was once again a focal point of turmoil...

Indeed, New York seemed particularly cursed in this world. After numerous wars, it had been demolished and rebuilt, only to face destruction again.

After today, the city might need to be completely rebuilt from scratch...

Steve Rogers, now the president, passed a decision against objections—to evacuate the people of New York.

During this process, the mayor of New York, Kingpin, used every means at his disposal to enforce this decision.

War was imminent.

In the clear sky, a massive meteor descended, entering the atmosphere and transforming into a fireball as it hurtled toward the Sanctum.

This was Thanos' landing ship.

New York lacked the protective shield that Wakanda had. It was unrealistic to expect Thanos to land outside the battlefield.

A thunderous roar of a dragon sounded as the Black Dragon Princess transformed into her dragon form, soaring into the sky. She took a deep breath and unleashed a scorching dragon breath upon the landing ship.

The landing ship slowly disintegrated under the intense heat...

Before she could savor her victory, several massive fireballs fell from the sky. It would take considerable time for the Black Dragon Princess to deal with each one, and she couldn't stop them all.

From the skylight inside the Sanctum, Thor watched with a smirk as the Chitauri battleships approached, and declared loudly, "In my sight, no battleships will land here!"

He raised his hand, and Stormbreaker appeared.

Outside the Sanctum, the Avengers saw the battle axe soaring into the sky like lightning, piercing through the nearest battleship, and then spinning towards the next without losing momentum.

"Boom... Boom, Boom..."

Before Stormbreaker, even the most formidable ship and weapon were like paper, collapsing at the slightest touch.

At that moment, a massive squadron of fighter-bombers emerged from the Chitauri spaceship and dove towards the battlefield.

Their mission was to cover the landing of the main ship.

"Boom..."

A thunderbolt, tens of meters thick, split the sky, turning it almost entirely purple.

The colossal lightning shattered into countless smaller bolts, engulfing the entire squadron...

The elite pilots didn't even have time to scream before they were reduced to ashes.

Thor shouted, "I said, no flying over New York today!"

In the sky, Thanos grimaced upon seeing the seemingly omnipotent battle axe. Reluctantly, he abandoned the idea of a skyfall attack and landed the battleship outside the city, preparing for a direct confrontation with the Avengers...

Under normal circumstances, he would have used a barrage of naval guns as cover, but with Sanctum II still under repair, he was forced to engage directly. The weapon systems were still offline, leaving him with only an air carrier...

With a resounding crash, a landing ship finally slammed into the ground outside the city.

The hatch opened slowly, and countless ferocious creatures poured out of the battleship. After forming ranks, they surged towards the Sanctum in the city like a tidal wave.

The Vanguard, another of Thanos' formidable forces besides the Chitauri, were not known for their individual combat prowess, but their overwhelming numbers and fearless nature made them a threat that could overwhelm any opponent with sheer force.

These were the targets the other heroes needed to confront.

Stark and Rhodes immediately took to the skies in their Iron Man suits, releasing a barrage of missiles to clear the ground, taking down a significant number of Vanguards.

As the front lines fell, the rear ranks surged forward, as if reinforcements would never end.

In the background, numerous large portals began to open, and a contingent of fully armed Wakandan warriors emerged, brandishing Vibranium spears, and advancing against the Vanguards.

"Victory is essential! We must prevail!"