Summoning an S-Class Hero

After dozens of minutes of fierce fighting, Garou noticed the Deep-Sea Clan closing in from all sides and immediately decided to stop attacking this super punching bag—this thing was absurdly tough!

Although he had pushed his potential to the mid-Demon Level, every attack he landed on Hulk vanished without a trace. Conversely, the slow-moving Hulk could never touch the evasive Garou. The exquisite footwork of Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist was displayed to the fullest at this moment.

"I won't keep you company. I'll come back next time to teach you a lesson, you hunk of iron."

Flexing his swollen knuckles, Garou vanished from the battlefield in a flash. If he did not escape now, then once the hundreds of thousands of Deep-Sea Clan members completed their encirclement, even the finest movement technique would not save him from death.

Hulk, who tried to pursue him, was instead trapped by the thick stench of blood—the Deep-Sea Clan members he had slaughtered earlier were now crazily swarming toward him, forming an airtight encirclement in the blink of an eye.

The situation took a sharp turn for the worse. Before the Avengers could organize an effective defense, they had already lost over half their fighting strength: Captain America's arms had suffered severe injuries, temporarily leaving him unable to fight; Hawkeye and Black Widow had fallen unconscious, their lives hanging in the balance; and Garou, one of their key combatants, had actually fled the battlefield.

When S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Fury recruited Garou, he had purely valued his extraordinary martial arts prowess. As for his identity? Before absolute strength, it was not worth mentioning—just as simple as arranging for Thor back then. However, such "special consultants" could only ever access peripheral missions. This deployment had originally been intended to display force before the League of Heroes.

Although Hulk was still slaughtering enemies across the battlefield, the entire coastal defense line had already collapsed. As hundreds of thousands of Deep-Sea Clan members came ashore, civilian casualties were rising at a terrifying rate.

"Retreat immediately!" Captain America gritted his teeth and gave the order. Continuing to fight would not turn the tide and might only leave their severely wounded companions buried here.

"Hulk will crush them!"

"Take Natasha back safely—you want to watch her die here?"

"Hulk... obeys."

The normally rebellious Hulk finally lowered his head, carefully picked up the unconscious Black Widow, and retreated toward the rear.

Hulk gingerly supported Black Widow, terrified of worsening her injuries.

He was not nearly as gentle with Hawkeye—so long as Hawkeye still had a breath left, that was enough. Some bumps during transport were unavoidable, and Hulk did not care about such details.

Only the panting Falcon, War Machine with his energy nearly depleted, and Captain America with trembling arms remained on the battlefield. Tide-like Deep-Sea Clan monsters surrounded them, the sound of dripping slime sending chills down their spines.

"Damn it! Where the hell are the reinforcements?" Three claw marks had been torn across War Machine's shoulder armor.

"My pulse cannons only have enough energy for three more shots." Sparks crackled from Falcon's mechanical wings.

Captain America suddenly pressed his earpiece. "This is Steve Rogers! Garou has betrayed the Avengers. Two comrades have lost their combat ability. I repeat—emergency support is needed!"

A sharp burst of static suddenly erupted from the communicator, mixed with the crisp sound of tracks crushing something. Amid the endless screams, one soldier's sobbing cry was especially clear: "Deep Sea King tore open the armored vehicle! It's completely...!!"

Crack.

The transmission abruptly cut off.

Captain America's shield slammed into the ground with a clang—the nearest reinforcements would take at least twenty minutes to arrive, while Deep-Sea Clan slime had already reached their feet. War Machine suddenly fired his last **, the metal shell reflecting countless drooling fish faces.

"Looks like we'll be retiring early." Falcon gave a bitter smile and spread his last **.

When four hundred thousand claws flashed with cold light at once, Captain America suddenly recalled the warning in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files: when Deep Sea King appeared, immediately evacuate all civilians within a fifty-kilometer radius.

Or prepare funerals.

"Captain, we have to retreat. If we keep holding on, we'll be finished too."

"No!"

"But we have nowhere left to retreat to!"

"Hah—" Captain America clenched his fists, his gaze resolute. "Contact Iron Man. Ask the League of Heroes for help."

"What?! Captain, do you understand the consequences? ** strictly forbids requesting help from the League of Heroes! Violators will face court-martial!"

"Compared to obeying orders, I want to save people more! I'll bear the responsibility!"

"But... sigh, understood."

Right now, this was the only way.

Even young children lay among the corpses strewn across the streets, yet they could do nothing.

Only by borrowing the strength of the League of Heroes could they turn this desperate situation around.

The ** military had been utterly defeated by Deep Sea King. Reinforcements had become a hopeless dream.

The irony was that saving the people would violate military regulations. Even hardened soldiers could not help cursing—had those ** lawmakers been kicked in the head by a donkey? Their stubborn refusal to let the League of Heroes intervene had led to countless deaths.

(Newcomer begging for support, meow~ QAQ)

League of Heroes Headquarters, Chairman's Office.

Li Chen sat in a swivel chair, sipping black coffee as he stared intently at the battlefield displayed in the holographic projection.

In the footage of the Deep-Sea Clan's rampage, Garou had betrayed his side during battle and joined forces with Deep Sea King to heavily wound the Avengers. Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye had fallen one after another, while the ** forces that rushed over for support had proved utterly helpless before Deep Sea King. Three fully organized regiments had been completely wiped out.

Now, only scattered patrol officers remained in New York, futilely running through the ruins.

"Heh, childish."

Li Chen sneered and turned off the screen.

Without Thor and Iron Man, the Avengers could not stop the tide-like Deep-Sea Clan with Hulk alone. Even if they risked their lives, they would only destroy a tiny fraction of the Deep-Sea Clan army.

The screams and deaths beyond the screen did not move him in the slightest—after all, they were not citizens of China.

What was more, when the Avengers had first been established, the United States had eagerly smeared the League of Heroes, ordering all unregistered heroes to leave New York and handing the city over to the Avengers for "protection."

Since they were so eager to monopolize power...

Li Chen smiled and pressed the recall button, withdrawing the last squad left behind.

Li Chen narrowed his eyes slightly. He wanted to see how these people would resist the Deep-Sea Clan army without the League of Heroes' support.

"Let's wait and see how long you can hold out."

He closed his eyes and calculated silently. Unless the United States lowered its head and begged for aid, he would not spare New York a second glance even if it became scorched earth.

Rather than worry about the situation on the brink of collapse, he might as well use his accumulated points for a satisfying round of summons. By now, the League of Heroes' reputation was gradually spreading across Earth.

However... this was still far from enough.

Not to mention Garou, who possessed Super-Dragon-Level potential, there were also monsters lurking among humanity and about to awaken. In the coming years, this blue planet was destined to know no peace—the Chitauri Legion, the Dark Lord Dormammu, the King of Shadow Elves, all seemed to have made an appointment to visit one after another.

Even more troublesome was that cosmic population-control director, Thanos, also known as the purple potato. If he gathered all the Infinity Stones, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Begin summoning."

Recently, he had only saved a little over two thousand energy points. Ever since the League of Heroes Headquarters suffered its first wave of attacks, the monsters within the United States had nearly been wiped out. The ones born afterward were mostly weaklings, so energy points naturally accumulated slowly.

The summoning array on the Chairman's Ring began to rotate.

[Ding! Obtained C-Class Hero: Kazuto Kirigaya]

[Ding! Obtained C-Class Hero: Mine]

[Ding! Obtained C-Class Hero: Ken Kaneki (SS-Class Kakuja Form)]

[...]

It was not an outrageously lucky haul, but the gains were decent. At least three C-Class Heroes had been added to his ranks. If Ken Kaneki could evolve into his "Dragon" form, his combat power could reach B-Class.

Just as Li Chen thought the draw was about to end, the final slot suddenly burst with dazzling light.

[Ding! Obtained B-Class Hero: Joan of Arc]

"Heh, hit the jackpot."

A smile appeared on Li Chen's lips as he looked at the holy girl with golden hair in the light screen. Her silver armor reflected a black cloak bearing a cross emblem, while her azure eyes complemented her braided hair. She held the flag of France and wore a sword at her waist—the [Saint of Apocalypse], Joan of Arc, had descended upon the world as a Heroic Spirit!

If the current French Empire learned that the Saint of Heaven had returned to the world, it would undoubtedly gain unprecedented popular support and prestige.

As for why Joan of Arc was rated only as a B-Class Hero, it was because she excelled more at defense than offense.

"While my luck is hot, let's draw again."

Glancing at the thousand-plus energy points remaining, Li Chen decided to seize the moment while fortune was on his side.

Another ten-pull might just bring him another powerful Heroic Spirit.

[Ding! Successfully summoned C-Class Hero—Armored Titan]

[Ding! Successfully summoned C-Class Hero—Kakashi Hatake (Youth)]

[Ding! Successfully summoned C-Class Hero—Hassan of the Hundred Faces]

[...]

Whether it was the reckless Armored Titan, the young Kakashi Hatake, or the elusive Hassan of the Hundred Faces,

they were all timely reinforcements for the current League of Heroes.

Unfortunately, he had not summoned Kakashi Hatake at his peak. Otherwise, he might have possessed B-Class or even ** combat power.

And the Hassan of the Hundred Faces summoned into this world was not King Hassan. The latter was a genuine S-Class powerhouse.

[Ding! Successfully summoned S-Class Hero—...]

"It's actually him? I thought he would be classified as Calamity Level..."

Tony Stark's seaside mansion.

Although this was not the main battlefield, danger was everywhere here as well.

Thousands of Deep-Sea Clan members came ashore here, and the first thing in their path was that conspicuous glass villa.

Tony, who was developing a new suit of armor, felt rather helpless. "Sitting at home and disaster still falls from the sky."

"Oh well, although the chairman told me not to act, since they've come knocking—"

Tony rose and walked toward the brand-new armor gleaming with a cold light—Mark VI.

After inheriting his father's legacy, he had broken through a technological bottleneck and developed a new generation of Arc Reactor.

Its energy reserves were greater, completely eliminating the risk of palladium poisoning. The armor's defense had also improved enormously, and it would never again suffer the humiliating fate of being scrapped by a single punch from an electric-wire monster.

The newly added wrist-mounted laser weapon could easily cut through hard objects. Unfortunately, its energy consumption was too high, and it could currently only be used once.

Having completed this technological breakthrough, Tony now possessed quasi-B-Class strength. If he could solve the laser weapon's energy consumption problem, he could officially join the ranks of B-Class Heroes.

"Click—"

Seventy-seven

The red-and-white metal suit rapidly covered Tony's entire body, instantly transforming him into an iron warrior.

Naturally, he was not arrogant enough to face thousands of undersea aliens alone. Leaving aside whether his energy could sustain a prolonged battle, any gap in the defense line would be enough to let stray enemies rush into the villa. Although this billionaire owned countless properties worldwide, who would want to watch their main residence get wrecked beyond recognition?

"Activate the automated armor legion. Execute the clearing and defensive support directive."

"Directive received. Assault formation activation complete."

At the command of the AI butler, the dome of the underground hangar opened, revealing thirty Mark II suits standing in neat formation. As their engines roared, the mechanical legion tore through the sky, their arm-mounted weapons locking onto the fish-men charging forward with howls.

[Ding! Wolf-level Threat target eliminated. Energy +0.47]

[Ding! Wolf-level Threat target eliminated. Energy +0.63]

Prompts kept flashing across his wristwatch, and the previously depleted energy meter was now refilling at an astonishing speed. Tony watched the vast black mass of enemies over the sea and calculated silently: even if they were all low-level fish-men, clearing them out would net nearly a thousand energy points. This was much more profitable than doing ** business.