Spider-Man

Some smashed 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 powerful Deep-Sea Clan members are troublesome."

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

"Saint, what should we do?"

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

Waiting for her command to turn this critical situation around.

They all believed that as long as the Saint was here, any difficulty could be resolved.

"Execute 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, they would be unable to provide support. Anyone charging into the enemy ranks would have to rely on personal courage to fight their way out.

Li Chen had not dispatched any high-level combatants for this battle. The strongest people in the crowd were only Joan of Arc and Garen.

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

"Who is willing to take part? The risk is great."

"Taking the enemy general's head from the midst of ten thousand troops? Sounds heroic."

The speaker was a handsome young man with black hair and black eyes, wearing a cloak dark as night. Two longswords, one black and one white, were strapped to his back.

Kazuto Kirigaya, a C-Class 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, her eyes were pink, and she wore a light pink dress while holding the Imperial Arm, "Romantic Cannon: Pumpkin."

As a ranged shooter, she was fragile even among the fragile. Charging into a crowd was practically suicide.

Though the power of the Imperial Arm, "Romantic Cannon: Pumpkin," rose according to the severity of the crisis, Mine had no desire to court death.

"A decapitation strike? Count me in."

Ken Kaneki spoke blandly, his fingers continuously making cracking sounds.

A black bodysuit with white stripes, a reflective short-sleeved jacket and black knee-length pants, a black mask set with fangs, and a brilliant scarlet ghoul eye in his right eye. Behind him, six grotesque kagune formed from RC cells writhed wildly.

"I'll clear a path for everyone." Reiner, the Armored Titan, clenched his fists and spoke in a deep voice.

Also joining the decapitation strike were the new C-Class Heroes Kakashi Hatake and Hassan of the Hundred Faces. Two D-Class Heroes joined as well: the ninja trainee Bao Xiaoheng, and the cowboy Clint Eastwood, nicknamed "God**." Most of Li Chen's heroes were D-Class in strength. Aside from people like Mumen Rider, who possessed pure heroic hearts, the names of the rest were already difficult to recall.

"We'll lend you a hand." **Captain took the initiative to suggest cooperating in battle. Though their positions differed, he could no longer worry about that now. Falcon, War Machine, and Hulk, having completed their preparations, returned to the battlefield.

"May the Lord bless you all and bring you safely home." Joan of Arc pressed her palms together and spoke softly. Though she was not a fanatic, she had still received divine grace in the form of an almost prophetic ability called "Revelation." "Until your triumphant return, I will hold this line."

"How exactly are we supposed to defend it?" Falcon Sam asked with a puzzled expression.

Joan of Arc did not answer. She merely gripped the holy banner she had carried in life as magical energy 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, forming an absolute defensive domain. Whether arrows or thrown stones, every external attack was blocked by the sacred barrier. "Until your triumphant return, I will continue maintaining the Noble Phantasm release," she promised solemnly.

"Are you all ready?" Reiner, the Armored Titan acting as the vanguard, swept his gaze across his companions. No one answered, but silent certainty of victory surged among them.

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

A fifteen-meter-tall steel giant suddenly condensed in midair. First came its pale skeleton, then veins, blood, and flesh spread over it like a tide, and finally, cold hard armor covered its body.

"Boom—"

The armored giant crashed onto the ground, sending out a circular blast wave. The warriors behind it leaped down one after another, gripping the giant's joints as though climbing a mountain cliff.

Other than Hulk, who could tear open the enemy formation alone, the rest of the warriors needed the momentum of this steel fortress to break through the Deep-Sea Clan's defensive line. The giant's joints rang with the metallic clatter of interlocking gears, and every stomp of its iron boots sent up **waves. Fishman warriors blocking its charge were blasted away like scarecrows, while twisted limbs littered the path carved out by its tread-like advance.

"Hulk! Smash wherever you want!"

A dark green storm rampaged through the enemy ranks, exploding into foul-smelling sprays of blood wherever it passed. Hulk was a humanoid **—he needed no precision, only to disrupt the battlefield as much as possible.

"Everyone, spread out!"

Kazuto Kirigaya's sword traced a silver arc as he gave the command amid cutting down three fishman warriors. He saw the situation clearly: the Armored Titan's Tiger-Level impact was like a cannonball leaving its barrel. They had to move before the breach it tore open could close.

"Captain, need a lift?"

Falcon's wings swept through the smoke, and **Captain grabbed his combat boots, dangling beneath him as he rose into the air. Nearby came the roar of War Machine's engines—Bao Xiaoheng and Clint hung 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 scarlet tail kagune bloomed into a vortex of death as Ken Kaneki transformed into a mobile meat grinder and charged into a weak point. Kazuto Kirigaya's twin swords spun out a blue-white curtain of light, every slash precisely severing the fishmen's vulnerable gills. Kakashi Hatake, meanwhile, transformed into a fishman scout and was stealthily approaching the stone-throwing troops—his hand forming seals trembled slightly. His chakra had to be saved for the most crucial Lightning Cutter.

Over a hundred black shadows leaped into the enemy formation at once. Hassan of the Hundred Faces' clones danced atop spearpoints in poses that defied human anatomy. Whenever one clone was pierced by a fish spear, it would always use its last strength to make a shooting gesture. "Piu~"

Beside Joan of Arc, Mine gripped the Imperial Arm, "Romantic Cannon: Pumpkin," and continuously provided long-range fire support. She ensured the assault team would not be ambushed, preventing them from falling into danger.

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

"For now, I am unharmed. My Master's abundant magical energy 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. Furthermore, Li Chen possessed EX-rank magical energy capacity and could provide her with an almost limitless supply. There was no risk of depletion at all. Even if magical energy somehow ran short, Li Chen still possessed Reiatsu energy at the level of a quasi-vice guild leader. So 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." Concern appeared between Joan of Arc's brows. Though the stone attacks were far weaker than a Heroic Spirit's anti-fortress Noble Phantasm, constant attrition would eventually break through the defense. More troublesome still, the thousands of Deep-Sea Clan members along the entire battle line were attacking simultaneously.

Unable to move after activating her Noble Phantasm, Joan of Arc could only pray quietly. "I hope everything goes smoothly."

Meanwhile, the Deep Sea King had initially believed conquering humanity would be effortless. Yet humanity's fierce resistance and the deaths of so many Deep-Sea Clan soldiers made him realize this war would not be easy. Especially those so-called "heroes" who kept appearing one after another, always standing in his way.

At this moment, he stared at the man in the Spider-Man 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 and put you on display..."

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

Skinny as he was, he looked like a tender, high-quality piece of meat.

"Hold it! Don't tell me you really want to have me for dinner? Take some advice from your friendly neighborhood hero: too much meat is bad for your health. Eat more vegetables..."

"Enough nonsense."

The Deep Sea King's figure suddenly blurred, his fist carrying tremendous force as it shot straight at Spider-Man's face.

Spider-Sense exploded instantly. His nerve endings, as keen as a web, caught the tremor in the air. If that punch landed, the 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 faster than thought, Spider-Man barely avoided it by millimeters and sprang backward to open a safe distance, cold sweat already covering his back.

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

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

"How interesting."

"What the hell are you?!"

Spider-Man tensed every nerve. Against a monster like this, even the slightest lapse would be fatal. The opponent's punches carried over a thousand tons of force, his movement speed broke the sound barrier, and his knotted muscles proclaimed terrifying defensive power. In comparison, Spider-Man's thirty-ton punches might match his speed, but their durability was worlds apart—the other side could endure hundreds of his punches, while he would be finished in a single hit.

"I am the king of the deep sea, ruler of the seven seas! All things in this world shall eventually submit to me—" His vicious grin of sharp teeth gleamed in the darkness. "You dare defy the king's command?"

Three fully organized legions had once tried to resist him, yet they had not even been enough to loosen his muscles. If this little spider submitted obediently, perhaps he could be granted a minor post to help rule the land. If he remained stubborn... the underwater 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 obediently at the bottom of the sea as a salted fish? How pathetic..."

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

"That line should be mine! 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 launched a killing punch.

Relying on his sharp senses, Spider-Man flipped backward through the air, the force of the punch brushing past his suit.

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

"You're talking big. Aren't you afraid of biting your tongue?"

The Deep Sea King's tongue suddenly twisted and transformed into a savage moray eel, lunging to bite at him in midair. Spider-Man's web snapped onto a wall, and he forcefully twisted his body in the air. 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, webbing wrapping around a roadside sedan before he swung it like a meteor hammer at his enemy.

"Crash!"

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

"You dare show off circus tricks?" 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 check that disgusting tongue into a funeral home first."

Spider-Man leaped between buildings like an agile cat, using webs to stick vehicles together and hurling them one after another along the way. The Deep Sea King, being used as target practice, finally narrowed his vertical pupils in irritation.

"The game should be over."

"What a coincidence. My trap is finally complete."

Interweaving webs formed a vast net between eight skyscrapers. As Spider-Man yanked it hard, the entire street was enveloped in a silver cage—New York's top science student might not possess Tony Stark's genius intellect, but Newtonian mechanics were more than enough to handle a seafood thug.

Eighty-Eight

Several skyscrapers swayed violently, as though their central supporting pillars had been pulled out.

Under Spider-Man's control, those high-rises toppled toward the center at once, crashing down on the Deep Sea King like enormous waves, seemingly intending to bury him completely.

"Heh... Don't embarrass yourself with such a petty trick."

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

Even his casual punches carried hundreds of tons of force. The piercing explosions and the thunderous cracking of concrete and steel reinforcement battered Spider-Man's eardrums without end.