Spider-Man

Some smashed straight through load-bearing walls, bringing entire buildings crashing down; some fell into crowds, instantly causing thirty or forty casualties; some struck the roads, completely cutting off supply lines...

"This is bad. Those immensely strong Deep-Sea Clan members are troublesome."

"If we let them keep going, the defensive line we worked so hard to build will collapse again."

"Lady Saint, what should we do?"

Everyone turned their eyes toward their commander, Joan of Arc.

They waited for her command to turn this critical situation around.

Everyone firmly believed that as long as the Lady Saint was holding the line, any difficulty could be overcome.

"Carry out a decapitation strike!"

Joan of Arc took a deep breath, as though she had made an enormous decision.

Their forces were limited. Once the decapitation strike began, there would be no backup. Those charging into the enemy ranks would have to fight their own way out through the encirclement.

Li Chen had not sent any high-level combatants to join this battle. Among the crowd, only Joan of Arc and Garen possessed the greatest strength.

As for Annie, who was also B-rank, she seemed to have run off to play somewhere and was nowhere to be found.

"Who is willing to take part? The risks are great."

"Taking the enemy general's head from the midst of an army? Sounds heroic."

The speaker was a handsome young man with black hair and black eyes, draped in a cloak as dark as night, with one black and one white longsword on his back.

Kazuto Kirigaya, a C-rank hero of the League of Heroes, specialized in dual-wielding swords.

"I'm not going."

Mine folded her arms and refused without hesitation.

Her long pink hair was tied into twin tails, and she wore a pale pink dress with pink eyes and the Imperial Arm Romantic Cannon: Pumpkin in hand.

As a ranged shooter, she was fragile even among the fragile. Charging into a crowd was no different from throwing her life away.

Although the power of Romantic Cannon: Pumpkin rose with the level of danger, Mine had no intention of seeking death.

"A decapitation strike? Count me in."

Ken Kaneki spoke blandly, his fingers constantly cracking.

He wore a black skintight suit with white stripes, covered by a reflective short-sleeved jacket and black knee-length pants. A black mask embedded with fangs covered his face, while his right ghoul eye glowed a dazzling crimson. Behind him, six kagune formed from RC cells writhed viciously.

"I'll carve a path for everyone," Reiner, the steel giant, said in a low voice, clenching his fists.

The newcomers Kakashi Hatake and Hassan of the Hundred Faces, both C-rank heroes, also joined the decapitation strike. Two D-rank heroes joined as well: the ninja trainee Bao Xiaoheng, and Clint Eastwood, the cowboy nicknamed "God**." Most of Li Chen's heroes were D-rank. Aside from people like Mumen Rider, who possessed a pure hero's heart, the names of the others were difficult to recall.

"We'll lend you a hand." Captain America took the initiative to propose joint action. Though there were differences in their positions, he could not afford to care about them now. Falcon, War Machine, and the Hulk, having completed their preparations, returned to the battlefield.

"May the Lord bless you all to return safely." Joan of Arc clasped her hands and spoke softly. Though she was not a fanatic, she had still received divine grace and gained the near-prophetic ability of Revelation. "Until you return victorious, I will hold this defensive line."

"How exactly are we supposed to defend it?" Falcon Sam asked, utterly confused.

Joan of Arc did not answer. She merely gripped the holy banner from her lifetime as magical power surged around her. The saint's radiance swirled around her like stardust. "Let this moment be the boundary!" "Grant protection to all living beings!" "Noble Phantasm Release—My Lord Is Here!"

Dazzling golden light instantly enveloped the human defensive line on New York's main battlefield, creating an absolute defensive domain. Whether arrows or thrown stones, every outside attack was completely blocked by the sacred barrier. "Until everyone returns victorious, I will continue maintaining the Noble Phantasm's release," she promised solemnly.

"Is everyone ready?" Reiner, the steel giant serving as the vanguard, swept his gaze over his companions. Though no one answered, an unwavering determination to win surged through the silence.

Seeing that no one objected, Reiner, the Armored Titan, leaped from a thirty-meter-tall building. He pressed his hand to his lips and bit down with all his strength. "Boom—" A thunderous roar immediately resounded through the sky.

A fifteen-meter-tall steel colossus abruptly formed in midair. First came a stark white skeleton, then veins and flesh spread over it like a tide, and finally it was covered in cold, hard armor.

"Boom—"

The armored colossus crashed into the ground, kicking up a ring-shaped shockwave. The warriors behind it leaped down one after another, gripping the colossus's joints as though scaling a mountain cliff.

Aside from the Hulk, who could tear through the enemy formation alone, all the other warriors needed the momentum of this steel fortress to break through the Deep-Sea Clan's defensive line. The colossus's joints rang with the clang of meshing gears, and every stomp of its iron boots sent out shockwaves. The fishman warriors blocking its charge were blasted away like scarecrows, while twisted severed limbs littered the path behind it like tracks left by steel treads.

"Hulk! Smash wherever you want!"

A dark green storm rampaged through the enemy ranks, exploding into foul-smelling blood mist wherever it passed. He was a humanoid bomb to begin with—there was no need for precise targeting, only the greatest possible disruption of the battlefield.

"Everyone, spread out!"

Kazuto Kirigaya's blades traced silver arcs as he gave the order in the gaps between cutting down three fishman warriors. He saw the situation clearly: the Armored Titan's Tiger-Level charge was like a cannonball leaving the barrel. They had to act before the rift it tore open could close.

"Captain, need a lift?"

Falcon's wings swept through the smoke, and Captain America gripped his combat boot as he was hoisted into the air. Not far away came the roar of War Machine's engine—Bao Xiaoheng and Clint dangled from Iron Patriot's legs like they were clinging to a helicopter, the brim of the cowboy's hat whipping wildly in the airflow.

Six crimson tail kagune bloomed into a vortex of death as Ken Kaneki transformed into a moving meat grinder and charged into the weakened sector. Kazuto Kirigaya's twin swords spun out a blue-white curtain of light, every strike precisely severing the vital gills of the fishmen. Kakashi Hatake, meanwhile, transformed into a fishman scout and was stealthily approaching the stone-throwing unit—his hand signs trembled slightly, for his chakra had to be saved for the crucial Lightning Blade.

Over a hundred black figures leaped into the enemy ranks at once. Hassan of the Hundred Faces' clones danced on spearpoints in poses that defied human anatomy. Whenever one clone was pierced through by a harpoon, it would always use its last strength to make a shooting gesture. "Pew~"

Beside Joan of Arc, Mine gripped Romantic Cannon: Pumpkin and continuously provided long-range fire support. She made sure the assault team was not ambushed, preventing the group from falling into danger.

"Joan of Arc, how are you holding up?"

"I'm fine for now. The Master's abundant magical power is enough to support my Noble Phantasm release for a long time."

By Heroic Spirit standards, Joan of Arc's magical energy reserves were already considerable. Li Chen, however, possessed EX-rank magical energy capacity and could provide her with an almost limitless supply, so there was no risk of exhaustion at all. Even if magical power ran short, Li Chen still possessed vice-chairman-level Reiatsu within him. As long as their attributes did not conflict, these energies could be converted and used interchangeably, with only minor losses.

"However, after the Noble Phantasm is released, it will continuously accumulate damage. Once it reaches the critical point, the defense will be forcibly lifted and enter a cooldown period." Worry appeared between Joan of Arc's brows. Though the stone attacks were far less powerful than a Heroic Spirit's anti-fortress Noble Phantasm, the constant erosion would eventually break through the defense. More troubling still, thousands of Deep-Sea Clan members along the entire battle line were launching attacks at the same time.

Joan of Arc could not move after activating her Noble Phantasm. At that moment, all she could do was pray quietly. "I hope everything goes smoothly."

Meanwhile, the Deep Sea King had originally believed conquering humanity would be effortless. But humanity's fierce resistance and the deaths of large numbers of Deep-Sea Clan soldiers made him realize that this war would not be easy. Especially those so-called "heroes" who kept appearing and standing in his way.

At that moment, he glared at the man in the spider suit before him, veins bulging on his forehead. "A circus performer, little spider?"

"Listen up, big guy! I'm Spider-Man! You've turned New York into a complete mess, and today I'm going to tie you up in all kinds of embarrassing poses for public display..."

"You're awfully noisy." The Deep Sea King picked at his ear. This chattering loudmouth had been talking nonstop for three minutes. He bared a mouthful of shark-like teeth, and his gaze gradually turned dangerous.

Skinny as he was, he looked like a tender little morsel with fine meat.

"Hold it! Don't tell me that look means you really want me for dinner? Take some advice from me—too much meat is bad for you. Eating more vegetables is healthier..."

"Enough nonsense."

The Deep Sea King's figure suddenly blurred, and a fist carrying immense force shot straight toward Spider-Man's face.

Spider-Sense exploded instantly. His nerves, as sensitive as a spiderweb, caught the tremor in the air. If that punch landed, an entire skyscraper would be reduced to dust. Even with his enhanced body, taking that blow would put him out of commission on the spot.

Relying on reflexes that surpassed thought, Spider-Man narrowly evaded it by millimeters, leaping backward to open up a safe distance as cold sweat seeped down his back.

"Damn! Even the wind from that punch made my face burn..." he clicked his tongue inwardly. The pressure coming off this monster is completely insane!

None of his previous opponents were even in the same dimension as the one before him. As a monster at the peak of Demon Level, the Deep Sea King alone was enough to bring New York City to ruin.

"Very interesting."

"What the hell are you?!"

Spider-Man tensed every nerve. Against a monster like this, the slightest lapse would be fatal. The enemy's punches carried over a thousand tons of force, his movement speed broke the sound barrier, and his knotted muscles displayed terrifying defense. Spider-Man's own thirty-ton punches might match him in speed, but their durability was worlds apart—the opponent could take hundreds of his punches head-on, while Spider-Man would be finished after taking just one hit.

"I am the king of the deep sea, ruler of the seven oceans! All things in this world shall ultimately submit to me—" A vicious grin full of sharp teeth flashed in the darkness. "Will you defy the king's command?"

Three fully organized legions had once tried to resist him, yet they had not even been enough to loosen him up. If this little spider wisely submitted, he could be rewarded with some official post and help rule the land. If he stubbornly refused... the undersea prison was in need of a new specimen.

"Ha! You think that bunch of shrimp soldiers and crab generals under you can rule the land? The League of Heroes only rated you Demon Level! Wouldn't it be better to stay at the bottom of the sea and be a salted fish? How pathetic..."

"Is that so... Then you should disappear."

"That's what I should be saying! I was going to spare your life, but now that's off the table. Get ready to become grilled seafood!"

"Bang—"

The Deep Sea King's figure flashed as he unleashed a murderous heavy punch.

Spider-Man flipped backward in midair with his keen senses, the punch's wind grazing past his suit.

"You're as slow as a beached whale. I can see through your next move already!"

"Aren't you afraid of biting your tongue with all that bragging?"

The Deep Sea King's tongue suddenly twisted and transformed into a hideous moray eel that lunged and bit toward the air. Spider silk snapped onto the wall, and Spider-Man forcibly twisted his body in midair. The eel's teeth came within a hair's breadth of his suit.

"Ugh... This biological weapon should be patented."

He clung to the glass curtain wall like a gecko, frowning in disgust at the writhing tentacles in the other's mouth.

"Time to get serious, aquarium escapee."

His ten fingers flicked rapidly, and spider silk wrapped around a roadside sedan, swinging it like a meteor hammer toward the enemy.

"Crash!"

The several-ton mass of metal shattered into scrap beneath the Deep Sea King's fist.

"You dare show off circus tricks like that?" The Deep Sea King shook flakes of car paint from his fist. "Why not change careers and perform as a flying trapeze artist at a carnival?"

"I suggest you leave that disgusting tongue at the morgue first."

Spider-Man leaped between buildings like a nimble cat, using spider silk to stick cars together and hurl them one after another along the way. The Deep Sea King, treated as a target, finally narrowed his vertical pupils irritably.

"The game should be over."

"Funny, my trap just finished."

Crisscrossing spiderwebs wove a massive net between eight skyscrapers. As he yanked it hard, the entire block was enveloped by a silver cage—New York's top science student might not possess Tony Stark's genius mind, but Newtonian mechanics were more than enough to handle a seafood thug.

Eighty-Eight

Several skyscrapers shook violently, as though their central supports had been pulled away.

Under Spider-Man's control, these high-rises toppled toward the center at the same time, crashing down upon the Deep Sea King like enormous waves, seemingly intent on burying him completely.

"Heh... Don't embarrass yourself with such petty tricks."

The Deep Sea King's muscles suddenly swelled, his body becoming as ferocious as steel. He looked up at the collapsing buildings and threw both fists upward in a storm of blows.

Even casual punches carried hundreds of tons of force. The piercing explosions and the thunderous sounds of concrete and steel reinforcement shattering continuously battered Spider-Man's eardrums.