Of course, the retreat of a few bombers didn't mean this surprise attack ended so hastily.
Soon, large numbers of ground troops appeared on the Sokovian border.
Among these ground troops were not only clearly US-armed forces but also a larger number of disorganized armed forces from neighboring warlords.
Remember, Eastern Europe wasn't just Sokovia.
Sokovia was just lucky to have Luca step in to end the chaos, but the surrounding small countries weren't within Luca's scope of assistance.
It was unknown what benefits the Skrulls promised them, or if they simply replaced the leaders of these warlords in secret.
Warlord forces that usually beat each other's brains out were now all gathered together, eyeing Sokovia hungrily and surrounding it.
However, unfortunately for them, Sokovia didn't just have this "little" standing drone force.
Mech units, robot legions, super-powered squads.
Military forces sufficient to fight the Hell Dimension poured out entirely, staging a crushing slaughter for all the hidden forces watching this battle.
Even the "Medical Robots" that had entered most Sokovian households took up specialized weapons and marched onto the battlefield, becoming a formidable force.
However, Luca, the de facto Lord of Sokovia, wasn't paying too much attention to this one-sided battle.
Because at the ruins of New York, even more forces under the Skrulls were also launching their first wave of attacks.
"Sir, detected eleven military bases across the US launching ultra-long-range ICBMs at us. Seventy fighter jets took off simultaneously. Two carrier strike groups are approaching New York from offshore. Ground forces are mainly from military bases in North Carolina to the southwest. It is estimated that a small number of airborne troops will also depart simultaneously with the ground forces."
In the temporary war room at the New York ruins.
Little Vision, changed into a Sokovian military uniform, was solemnly reporting the radar intel to Luca.
This place was originally just an office Tony used during the reconstruction of New York. But after Luca took over, anticipating that the Skrulls wouldn't let him build the "Scanning Spire" in peace, he simply modified it into his command center.
Listening to Vision's report, Luca waved his hand casually without looking up.
"Understood. Lock onto the locations of those Skrull-controlled bases as soon as possible and dispatch Haro units to strike them."
"As for those missiles, leave them all to Spot. Intercept the rest according to plan!"
"Roger!"
Little Vision in uniform gave a proper military salute.
Then he immediately operated the equipment, ordering interception drones to deal with the long-range missiles.
In an instant, dozens of drone swarms took off rapidly, rushing towards the flight paths of the ICBMs calculated by Hakimi.
Of course, calling it "drone interception" was a bit misleading. These drones merely served a long-range positioning function.
Whenever a drone swarm appeared on an ICBM's flight path, Spot would remotely open an ink-black portal in front of the drones that achieved optical lock, swallowing the incoming missile directly and sending it into space.
This was mainly because Luca worried the Skrulls might pull something big like a nuclear strike, so he intercepted these missiles outside New York as much as possible.
However, compared to these seemingly most threatening missiles which were easier to deal with...
The armies composed of ordinary soldiers were actually the tricky part for Luca.
"Luca, those soldiers are just bewitched by the Skrulls. Should we..."
Dr. Banner, also in the war room, looked at Luca with a troubled face.
Although various operational plans had been arranged and everything was proceeding step-by-step...
When these human soldiers actually launched attacks under Skrull command, Banner's kind nature made it hard not to want to show mercy.
However, hearing this, Luca simply shook his head slightly.
"You know, these people aren't all innocent. We can only minimize casualties as much as possible, but we cannot give up resistance completely!"
Hearing this, Dr. Banner muttered a few words but didn't speak further.
In fact, he knew clearly that Luca was right about them "not being all innocent."
According to intel from Natasha and the Skrulls under Luca's mind control, a significant portion of the US troops attacking New York had defected directly to the Skrulls.
Yes, defected to the Skrulls!
Due to the Skrulls' population shortage, they valued their troop sources highly.
For these US military units, they not only invested heavily in replacing the upper echelons but also planted Skrulls in grassroots units for disguise and replacement, constantly guiding and brainwashing ordinary soldiers.
Of course, not all soldiers would "turncoat" because of this.
But when a series of welfare benefits like medical aid, salary increases, food improvements, and retirement settlements were thrown at them like free candy...
Contrasted with the miserable fate of becoming bankrupt homeless veterans after retirement... a large number of US troops still became accomplices, knowing full well these green-skinned aliens wanted to rule Earth.
Plus, after some soldiers who insisted on opposing the Skrulls were arrested...
The result of this carrot-and-stick approach was that these US troops, lacking a backbone—especially the Army—defected at a speed beyond everyone's imagination.
Of course, none of this concerned Luca much.
Luca wouldn't feel bad no matter how many Yanks who defected to the Skrulls died.
The reason he chose tactics to minimize casualties in his tactical arrangement was mostly to maintain his upright and glorious image before the world, saving him from people nitpicking after the war ended.
And Luca's so-called "minimize enemy casualties" tactic was...
"Sir, the Gundam Schwarzette units have completed pre-launch checks!"
"Is that so? Then launch!"
As soon as Luca finished speaking, without Vision relaying the order, Hakimi had already transmitted the command.
Outside the base, three large mechanical doors disguised as ordinary supply warehouses suddenly opened.
Three mass-produced Gundam mechs, painted entirely black and simpler in design than Luca's Boxer Gundam, rose rapidly into the air, flying towards their respective battlefields.
However, anyone knowledgeable about Gundam technology would notice...
The particle flames ejected by these three black Gundams upon activation were different from the brilliant blue particles of the Boxer Gundam's "Hextech GN Drive."
Instead, they were eerie, evil-looking scarlet particle streams!