The atmosphere in the conference room was heavy.
The last time the Council decided to drop a nuclear bomb was during the Battle of New York.
On that occasion, the nuclear missile was carried into the spatial wormhole by Iron Man at the risk of his own life, thereby saving the world.
However, the subsequent fallout had been extremely severe.
The representatives of the five major nations and Minister Pierce, who made the decision to deploy nuclear weapons, all suffered the worst public relations crisis in history.
Now, a year later, they were once again facing such a major decision.
The Council representatives all fell silent.
Fortunately, this time the proposal to drop the nuke had come from Nick Fury.
Later, the Council could simply shift the blame for deploying nuclear weapons onto Nick Fury's head.
Thus, after a moment of silence.
The five Council representatives conducted a show of hands.
Except for the representative from England, who resolutely dissented, the other four representatives unanimously agreed to deploy nuclear weapons.
Minister Pierce had remained silent, but when the results came out, he spoke slowly:
"I agree to the deployment of nuclear weapons, but we still need to take precautions."
"In case the nuclear weapons fail, we need the Helicarriers as a vital force to change the situation."
Before the five Council representatives could speak, Nick Fury impatiently opened his mouth to stop it.
"No, the Helicarrier is currently just a flying empty shell; aside from a few 120mm anti-aircraft guns, it carries almost no weaponry."
Minister Pierce countered: "That is enough. Even if it is just a shell, it can provide confidence to the citizens of London."
"Do you know the terrible consequences that panicked civilians can cause?"
"We need a visible Helicarrier to stabilize the chaotic situation in London."
"Furthermore, even if the Helicarrier is not loaded with weapons, being able to launch F-35 fighters and B-2 Spirit bombers is enough!"
Nick Fury looked at Pierce thoughtfully; it was very obvious the man was a bit too eager for success.
This was unlike Pierce's usual calm and collected style.
The other English representatives, hearing that it could stabilize the situation in London, had their eyes light up and were the first to support Pierce's proposal.
"Agreed. We need the Helicarrier as insurance!"
"Agreed. Director Fury, please adjust your attitude; this is not the time for power struggles. We demand the immediate activation of Stage 3 emergency protocols."
Seeing the gazes of the Council representatives fixed on him, Nick Fury wanted to storm out, just as he had when he received the order to drop the nuke last time.
But since that act of blatant defiance against superior orders, the Council had each dispatched five trusted officials to occupy the positions of department heads within S.H.I.E.L.D.
This was to prevent Nick Fury from resisting orders again, allowing the Council to seize back substantial control of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Therefore, Nick Fury fell silent for a while, before agreeing to all the Council's decisions as if resigning to his fate.
Minister Pierce, seeing the greatest obstacle no longer existed, smiled and comforted him:
"Nick, I am glad you made the right decision. For the lives and safety of nearly ten million Londoners, we must do this."
Nick Fury looked at this superior who felt like a stranger to him, forced a tiny smile, and said:
"I understand. Time is pressing; let's end this online meeting here."
The holographic projections of the five Council representatives and Pierce vanished.
Nick Fury's smile instantly turned cold as he silently felt for an old-fashioned pager in his pocket.
After thinking it over, he believed the situation had not yet reached the point of being uncontrollable.
He strode out of the conference room and took a private elevator, descending rapidly toward the secret Helicarrier construction base on the 9th basement level of the Triskelion.
He had no intention of launching the Helicarrier as ordered, but he had to make some thorough preparations.
First, he had to contact Tony Stark to inform him that the Council had decided to deploy tactical nuclear weapons.
...
The abandoned factory on the outskirts of London.
"Boom... Roar roar... Bang bang bang...!"
The roar of artillery and the howling of monsters blended into one.
This place had become a meat grinder in a bloody battle.
England had dispatched two infantry divisions totaling 18,000 men to join this glorious defensive war!
The tracks of a hundred Challenger 2 main battle tanks rumbled as they drove across the muddy ground, weaving flexibly through the battlefield.
"Boom...!"
Every roar represented a depleted uranium armor-piercing shell or a tungsten-core sabot being fired from a main gun.
And the targets hit—whether they were Frost Giants or the smaller Frost-maned Snow Leopards—were all blasted clean in half by the shells.
Flesh and blood fragments flew everywhere; the aftermath was absolutely horrific.
But these bizarrely shaped monsters seemed to know nothing of fear, frantically charging the defensive lines as if their lives didn't matter.
On the perimeter, over 60 FV510 Warrior infantry fighting vehicles formed a five-kilometer defensive line encircling the entire abandoned factory.
The L21A1 30mm RARDEN cannons and L94A1 coaxial chain guns on the two-man turrets of these IFVs fired frantically.
The metal torrent formed by the shells held the dense swarm of monsters two hundred meters back from the defensive line.
American single-tube anti-tank missile launchers on both sides of the welded aluminum armor hulls occasionally supplemented the fire when the line was in danger.
A massive number of soldiers wielding L85A3 assault rifles used the IFVs as defensive cover, struggling to slaughter every monster rushing out from the factory.
In the sky, thirty Typhoon-class fighters that had been rushed in as support circled high above as aerial reinforcement.
Occasionally, Brimstone air-to-surface anti-armor missiles howled down from the sky, accurately hitting Frost Giants in full sprint.
"BOOM!"
The power of humanity's cutting-edge missile weaponry was terrifying.
They were often capable of clearing a radius of over a hundred meters around the target.
Yet the monsters seemed endless; they hadn't stopped since two hours ago, pouring out of the abandoned factory in a continuous stream.
Near the main entrance of the factory, Captain America, Hawkeye, Iron Man, and the Hulk—four Avengers—were working together, trying to fight their way inside to find the cause of the monster sightings.
But Captain America's shield was already stained red with monster blood. After two hours, they had only managed to push to within twenty meters of the front gate.
Because this was the front line of the monster defense, they had to push through massive pressure with every step forward.
Countless monsters were in every direction; Hawkeye, as a top-tier agent among ordinary humans, was gradually starting to flag under the pressure.
"Swoosh!"
After firing his last explosive arrow and clearing a small opening, the team advanced another 0.2 meters.
Clint, using his high-tech bow as a melee weapon, slammed a spectral violet wolf away before proposing a retreat over the comms channel while panting heavily.
"Sorry, guys, I'm out of arrows. If I go any further, I'll just be a liability. I've got to pull back."
Steve's voice rang out over the comms.
"You retreat first. Have the Apache attack helicopters fire a volley of rockets to clear an extraction route!"
"ROAR—!"
A familiar roar echoed.