European Branch Director

"Your Majesty!"

The surrounding guards opened fire, trying to kill the rampaging Draven.

Yet to a powerful Noxian warrior, the impact of ** was like toy marbles.

"Clang—"

The sound of shattering glass came from above the conference hall.

Clad in black armor and radiating an aura of iron-blooded brutality, Darius crashed down through the ceiling.

Bloodlust and terrifying killing intent swirled around him. The battle axe in his hand had claimed at least ten thousand lives, and countless more had died indirectly because of him.

"Where is Wakanda's **?"

"I am here..."

"Then go die."

Before ** could finish speaking, Darius's battle axe had already cleaved off his head with savage force.

Only a headless body spraying blood remained, crashing heavily to the floor.

The entire sequence was as swift as lightning, without the slightest hesitation.

[Noxian Commander] Swain had not given the order to kill. This was purely Darius and Draven acting on their own, announcing Noxus's arrival to the world!

"NO!!!"

T'Challa watched his father die miserably before his eyes, his gaze splitting with rage as he let out a heart-wrenching roar.

Having succeeded, the two brothers carried **'s head and effortlessly broke through the army's encirclement before vanishing without a trace...

Ten days had passed since the Deep Sea King's execution and the retreat of the Deep-Sea Clan.

The devastated New York was gradually coming back to life.

The main force in that battle—the League of Heroes—had now become a holy land admired by countless youths.

Every young person carried the dream of becoming a hero in their heart.

After this battle, the League of Heroes' reputation in New York had completely crushed ****, reaching its peak.

All heroes who had participated received ample energy points, their strength and ranks now fully matching.

The entire organization was showing vigorous momentum for growth—

Vice Chairman Rank: Vacant

S Rank: Tatsumaki, Sosuke Aizen

** Rank: All Might, Ulquiorra, Yatogami Tohka

B Rank: Garen, Joan of Arc, Annie, Child Emperor (Vibranium Dreadnought Giant not completed), Iron Man (Mark 7)

C Rank: Grandis, Mash, Second Pillar (13 years old), Mine, Ken Kaneki (SS-rank ghoul), Kazuto Kirigaya, Armored Titan, Kakashi Hatake (Jonin stage), Hassan of the Hundred Faces

D Rank: Mumen Rider, Bao Xiaoheng (ninja), Clint Eastwood (cowboy), Thor (not awakened)...

Aside from Thor, that reckless fool who had been knocked down at the start and accomplished nothing, every other member had achievements to their name. Even the weakest, Mumen Rider, had completed a kill. The energy points contributed by hundreds of thousands of Deep-Sea Clan members caused Li Chen's assets to soar. Though nearly a million points seemed considerable, by the standards of "designated summoning," it was only enough to recruit one entry-level S-rank hero.

"Have they delivered the supplies they promised, Aizen?"

"Reporting to the BOSS, the Avengers have disbanded, and all members have joined the 'League of Heroes.' Aside from Hulk retaining his ** assessment, all other members will begin at D rank."

Li Chen nodded slightly. With the Avengers' dissolution, the League of Heroes he had founded had completely taken over their functions. The League was now unmatched in prominence: Garen, who had slain the Deep Sea King in a bloody battle, had become a spiritual symbol; Joan of Arc, who had appeared in the form of a Heroic Spirit, earned worship from every side through her battlefield command abilities. The French authorities and the Church even wished to venerate her as a living god.

"The one trillion dollars agreed upon earlier has arrived."

"Allocate it as research funding and operational funds." Li Chen casually assigned the enormous sum. For heroes focused on research, funding meant limitless possibilities; as for operational expenses, this money was enough to spend until one grew sick of it—after all, nations had to balance military spending and public welfare, while the League of Heroes only needed to consider its own operations.

"That isn't the important part." Li Chen changed the subject. "Where is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s core item?"

With a snap of Aizen's fingers, the answer appeared. "Here."

A black metal case was steadily pushed into the room by mechanical arms jointly developed by Child Emperor and Tony Stark.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had previously reached an agreement with Li Chen, allowing him to choose any one treasure from its collection.

When the case had fully entered the chairman's office, the black plating on its outer layer peeled away like a receding tide.

A pale blue cube was revealed, swallowing and releasing vast energy—this was the legendary Tesseract!

It had originally been an ancient sacred relic of the Asgardians, a treasured possession of Thor's family, before Odin, the Allfather, lost it on Earth.

Whoever possessed it could travel through space at will, or freely fold and reconstruct dimensions of reality.

Whether spatial teleportation or freezing time and space, such feats were as instinctive as breathing for this gem.

More importantly, it was itself an inexhaustible source of energy.

Its true nature was one of the universe's six primordial crystals: the Space Stone!

"Crack—"

Under Li Chen's violent telekinetic pressure, the Tesseract's shell was instantly covered in spiderweb-like cracks.

With one final crisp snap, the cube shattered completely.

Only a pale blue crystal remained, quietly floating in the air.

Li Chen curled a finger, and the gem obediently fell into his palm.

At the same moment, the Chairman's Ring on his finger suddenly glimmered:

[An energy source beyond standard specifications has been detected. Upon conversion, the authority to randomly summon a vice chairman-level hero may be unlocked.]

[Ding, an energy source beyond standard specifications has been detected. Upon conversion, the authority to randomly summon a vice chairman-level hero may be unlocked.]

Li Chen rubbed the gem in his palm, which contained one-sixth of the laws of this universe.

If it had been a functional supreme treasure like the Time Stone or Reality Stone, it might have been worth keeping.

But stones such as Space, Soul, Power, and Mind were far less practical to him than converting them into pure energy to summon top-tier combatants.

"Convert it."

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Chen calmly issued the command.

The Space Stone immediately transformed into countless streams of blue light, all of which were swallowed by the ring like rivers flowing into the sea.

A cosmic treasure that should have required all six stones to annihilate one another in order to be destroyed proved as fragile as a sugar cube before this mysterious ring.

[Ding, random summoning initiated (vice chairman level)]

1. Kusuo Saiki (esper)

2. Tang Sanzang (muscle-bound demon monk)

3. Haruhi Suzumiya (SOS Brigade leader)

4. Doraemon (robotic cat)

5. Saitama (One-Punch Man)

6. Little King Kong (time-space administrator)

7. Roman (King Solomon)

8. Madoka Kaname (Law of Cycles)

9. Sol (Aurelion Sol)

10. Zeno (ruler of the universe)

...

The list before Li Chen contained ten powerhouses capable of stirring up the world.

Even if these people had yet to display their true strength, as long as they joined the League of Heroes, Li Chen's special ability could instantly elevate them to chairman-level power.

"Begin."

The pointer spun at tremendous speed, becoming so blurred that it was dizzying—even with the S-rank peak physique gifted by All Might, Li Chen still could not see it clearly.

Realizing he could not predict the result, Li Chen simply stopped struggling and waited for fate to decide.

[Ding, summoning successful—Vice Chairman "Doraemon" has joined!]

"Dora...emon?"

Li Chen did not feel any increase in strength, because this blue, round fellow had not become powerful through brute force or supernatural abilities.

His strength came from the unimaginable gadgets inside his Fourth-Dimensional Pocket.

To say those gadgets came merely from the 22nd century was simply too absurd—could humanity truly develop something like the If Phone Booth in only two hundred years, something that could casually

Even more ironically, Doraemon claimed to be a mass-produced robot. If every robotic cat could easily acquire such divine artifacts, the universe should have long since collapsed under the conflict of countless wishes.

Clearly, Doraemon's surface setting was merely a disguise. His true nature might be a mysterious existence from a higher dimension.

"Yo, Chairman!"

As an Anywhere Door appeared out of thin air, the round blue fellow bounced out and casually stuffed the door back into his pocket.

"Who?!"

Sosuke Aizen's Zanpakuto flashed from its sheath, its cold blade pressed against Doraemon's neck.

"Hehe, don't be so nervous~ I'm a new companion."

Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto said in a deep voice, "Sheathe your sword, Aizen. This is the League's first vice chairman—[Miraculous Creation] Doraemon."

"Vice chairman? Forgive my bluntness..." Aizen pushed up his glasses and sneered. "This round mechanical body probably cannot even qualify as a seated officer."

Indeed, without relying on those miraculous gadgets, this blue cat's combat strength was no different from that of an ordinary person. But what was truly intimidating was the Fourth-Dimensional Pocket on his belly—aside from Li Chen and Doraemon himself, even someone as powerful as the Captain-Commander could not retrieve so much as half a Take-Copter from it.

"His value will soon leave you astonished." The old man turned away with his cane. "After all, this vice chairman position..."

Golden light suddenly erupted! A towering wave of air surged from the summoning array.

"Activate the hundred summons!"

As ten thousand energy points evaporated, countless cards flew out:

▶ Trap Formation Warriors (internal-energy version) ×81

▶ Fortress God of War · Gao Shun (can kill enemies above his rank while commanding the Trap Formation)

▶ Passerby A (certified fodder)

▶ Illusory King · King (pseudo-god rating)

"So this is... the conservation of luck?" Li Chen smiled bitterly as he held King's card. This man known to the world as the "** Engine" had combat power inferior even to ordinary cannon fodder.

Suddenly, all the summoning cards shook violently!

[Notice: A special Heroic Spirit has responded to the time-space summons—]

A silver-armored general tore open a spatial rift, his Dragon Gallant Bright Silver Spear pointed toward the heavens. "Li Zilong of Changshan, reporting for duty!"

So... he intimidated opponents with his reputation?

Li Chen silently grumbled to himself.

Even without actual combat ability, as long as they made the display grand enough, perhaps he could be used as a strategic deterrent?

A deterrent was a trump card that did not need to be used. Its mere existence made others afraid.

As long as he did not actually fight, perhaps his special "** Engine" could... probably... maybe...

"Forget it. I shouldn't hope to pull several SSR-level characters from a single draw."

Li Chen muttered to himself as he rubbed his temples.

If he got a few more characters like King, he was genuinely afraid he would suffer a sudden heart attack.

The members currently possessing top-tier combat power included All Might, Ulquiorra, Tohka, and Hulk.

The promising prospects were the unawakened Garen, the growing Annie, Joan of Arc who had yet to break through, Child Emperor developing new mecha, and Iron Man upgrading his armor.

The basic requirement for establishing branches around the world was a top-tier combatant capable of holding the fort.

Tohka was too innocent to shoulder such a responsibility; as for Hulk... unless Dr. Banner could completely control his dual personalities, this mobile ** simply could not be sent out to stand alone.

Thus, the tentative arrangement was for All Might to lead the North American branch, stationed in Ottawa, while Ulquiorra would oversee the Arctic branch.

"The Asian branch needs a reliable Chinese director."

Li Chen selected candidates who met the criteria: they needed both exceptional strength and administrative talent.

After repeated consideration, he finally settled on the undefeated general whose name had been recorded in history.

"Designated summon—Li Yun."

[Notice: Historical version (C rank) requires 500 points; Heroic Spirit version (SSR) requires 500,000 points.]

The reasons for choosing him were compelling: calm and wise judgment, experience in local governance, outstanding martial prowess, and absolute loyalty.

As for top-tier existences like Qin Shi Huang... after glancing at his account balance, Li Chen decisively gave up on that money-burning thought.

"Confirm the Heroic Spirit version."

In the blink of an eye, five hundred thousand energy points were spent, leaving Li Chen with only a little over five hundred thousand in his account.

The energy points were being consumed far faster than expected. In the blink of an eye, half of them had vanished.

After a brief moment of regret, Li Chen quickly adjusted his mindset.

The directors for the other four major regions had yet to be decided, and every choice required the utmost caution.

The next target was clear—the European branch director!

"European branch director..."

Li Chen tapped the tabletop lightly with his index finger, searching through numerous historical figures for the most suitable candidate.

The ideal candidate should enjoy great prestige in Europe itself, like Saint Joan of Arc. Unfortunately, Joan of Arc's strength had yet to meet the standard.

If Joan of Arc could be sent to take up the post, then with the full support of the French government and the Church, the League of Heroes' European branch could be established with ease.

"Heroes in European history..."

"They must also possess immense public appeal..."

"There is probably only one person who meets the requirements."

With a slight movement of his thoughts, the best candidate appeared within the vast Heroic Spirit compendium—

The ruler of ancient Britain, a legendary existence who possessed ** bearing and combat power at the threshold of S rank, comparable to Heroic Spirit Li Yun.

"Designated summon—Artoria Pendragon."