Directed Summoning: Reinhard van Astrea

This unexpected alliance had put the African branch at a complete disadvantage.

In its confrontation with Noxus, the African branch had already lacked top-tier combat power.

It only had the S-Class Heroes Yugi Mutou and Garen (War God Ryze), along with the B-Class Hero Child Emperor... Strictly speaking, he should count as a top-tier hero—after all, with Wakanda as an ally, obtaining thousands of tons of Vibranium to build the "Vibranium Brave Giant" mech should not be a problem.

However, Noxus possessed two Dragon-Level combatants and nine Demon Level combatants.

Although the African branch's Dragon-Level (**) combat power could barely contend with them, the gap in Demon Level (B-Class) combat power was enormous. They simply could not form an effective check.

Black Panther T'Challa, strengthened by the Heart-Shaped Herb, was roughly equivalent to a C-Class Hero in combat ability. Combined with the latest Black Panther suit, he could barely reach the early Demon Level and was probably capable of fighting Draven to a draw.

**

Although Draven was a long-range combatant, even Wakanda, with its cutting-edge technology, had been suppressed until it could not fight back. "Then who should be sent as reinforcements?"

The Monster Association had at least one Super-Dragon-Level (S-Class) member and twelve Dragon-Level (A-Class) members. Though they were scattered across the world, deploying just two or three Dragon-Level disasters would be enough to turn the tide on the African battlefield.

Although Yugi Mutou was an S-Class Hero, he was not omnipotent and could not support every front at once. "As unwilling as I am to admit it, the League of Heroes truly cannot spare any additional combat power right now." "This is not something one or two ordinary heroes can solve. We need at least S-Class strength." "Tornado of Terror's whereabouts are unknown, and Koro-sensei is busy preparing matters for Hero Academy." "The only idle S-Class Heroes at present are King and me." Sosuke Aizen adjusted his glasses and analyzed the situation calmly.

Most of the League of Heroes' main forces had been dispatched around the world to serve as branch directors. Only Yatogami Tohka and Hulk remained at headquarters. After expanding globally, the shortage of combat power had become increasingly apparent. If the African branch director had not been an S-Class Hero, Noxus would likely have crushed it long ago.

"This plan won't work." Li Chen shook his head, rejecting the proposal to deploy an S-Class Hero. Sosuke Aizen had to remain at headquarters to coordinate the affairs of the seven major branches. His importance far exceeded that of the African branch. Even if he personally acted, if Noxus adopted delaying tactics, the situation would still be difficult to settle quickly.

As for King, he was a special case. With the Mark VII suit gifted by Iron Man Tony Stark and Child Emperor's technology, he had solved the energy problem. Against ordinary disasters, he was practically invincible, but against an early Dragon-Level opponent, his gaming skills would be useless.

Yet this guy's luck was unbelievably good. He could always "pick up" credit for defeating Tiger, Demon, or even Dragon-Level disasters without doing anything. According to him, whenever he went out to buy fighting games, a purple rift covered in densely packed eyes would mysteriously appear beside him, its edges decorated with pink bows. Then, a flash of white skirt would pass by, and the monster's remains would fall from the sky.

The instant the trash cleanup ended, the rift silently closed as though it had never existed.

King had been staring worriedly at the mottled bloodstains on his uniform when a passing citizen happened to spot him. People immediately imagined the heroic sight of him single-handedly wiping out a horde of monsters—just look at all that blood; it was the best proof!

No matter how the man involved tried to explain, the public took it as humility from a strong man. In this age of information **, King's legend spread like wildfire: terrifying power that instantly killed monsters, a perfect record of protecting cities without a single casualty, noble character that never claimed credit... Even the title "Strongest Man on Earth" spread on its own among both civilians and monsters.

"This luck is simply heaven-defying." Li Chen could neither laugh nor cry as he looked at the latest report. They were clearly randomly deployed battlefield wreckages, yet they happened to land near King every single time.

"Have him stay at headquarters." He rubbed his temples and adjusted the deployment. "It's time to recruit new heroes."

His energy point balance showed 1.3 million—global branches had contributed quite a lot this month. Before drawing cards, Li Chen did not forget his mystical ritual: "Let me borrow some of King's luck..."

System prompts flashed in succession:

[D-Class Hero · Grey Wolf, a genius inventor (accompanied by family members Red Wolf and Little Grey)]

[B-Class Hero · Nine-Tailed Enchanting Fox]

[XX Hero · Kizaru, Blade of Light]

[XX Hero · Billy, Master of Philosophy]

[System Prompt: Successfully summoned C-Class Hero—Yan Lingji]

The current lineup was fairly decent: two **, one B-Class, one C-Class, plus Grey Wolf, whose research capabilities were exceptional.

He directly assigned Grey Wolf to the laboratory to put his talents to use. The League of Heroes lacked nothing but places to spend money now, with trillions of dollars sitting around unused. Come to think of it, Grey Wolf's family was rather pitiful too. They had lived for most of their lives without ever eating mutton.

This all-purpose genius was bad at nothing except catching sheep. He was also a family man. Thinking of this, Li Chen felt that he should send this Mr. Wolf some premium mutton to let him have a taste. "But this alone still isn't enough..."

He had not drawn the S-Class Hero he wanted. The existing lineup truly could not change the African situation by itself. Kizaru was a professional slacker; sending him to work would definitely mean a discounted result. Billy had a decent work attitude, but Li Chen somehow felt that headquarters would be filled with a philosophical atmosphere in the future.

As for the fox and Yan Lingji, from a man's perspective, they were indeed extremely charming. "Still not enough people..."

"Boss?"

"It's nothing. I was just a little too absorbed in thought." Li Chen came back to his senses.

This lineup certainly had distinct styles: one ** Hero who coasted through work, one B-Class Hero obsessed with philosophy, but this was far from what he had expected.

"I'll use a targeted summon." Li Chen did not choose the riskier special summon. Since he had more than 1.3 million energy points in hand, it was better to play it safe.

In his impression, there were neither too many nor too few S-Class Heroes. "Targeted summon: Reinhard van Astrea."

[System Prompt: Summoning Reinhard van Astrea requires 1 million energy points. Adding the Dragon Sword "Reid" requires 1.2 million points.]

This knight, hailed as the "Strongest Sword Saint," was the very model of perfection. Even on his days off, he would voluntarily help civilians, forming a sharp contrast with someone like Kizaru, who slacked off at work. He strictly adhered to the knight's code, and every word and action of his carried a gentlemanly grace. He possessed more than fifty Divine Protections and was said to be able to gain new ones at any time. The price was indeed steep, but considering his value, these energy points were well spent! "Confirm the summoning of Reinhard van Astrea, with Dragon Sword Reid included."

As his energy points rapidly drained away, Li Chen's account balance plummeted to just tens of thousands.

He had returned to the days of scraping by.

Fortunately, the seven major branches generated considerable income, and the energy points produced by hunting monsters flowed in every day.

"The African matter has a solution now. What about the other issues?"

"Quite a few cross-branch matters and authority applications requiring headquarters coordination have piled up."

"Handle them all today."

"Understood. Hashirama Senju, the Oceania branch director, reports that the overbreeding of kangaroos and wild rabbits has caused ecological imbalance..."

"Have him decide how many to keep. Ship the rest ** by sea to China, or recruit Chinese food enthusiasts to carry out ecological eradication. Contact Li Yun, the Asian branch director, directly to coordinate approval."

Problems like this were not difficult at all. Chinese food culture was enough to solve the overpopulation of any edible species.

The key was that the Oceania and Asian branches needed to coordinate their operations.

As long as headquarters issued the order, cooperation would naturally fall into place.

"Li Yun, the Asian branch director, reports that the Tushan faction in China has expressed an intention to cooperate."

"Have Li Yun make preliminary contact first. I'll personally travel to China later to discuss the details."

When Li Chen had established the Asian headquarters in Shanghai, he had already foreseen the possibility of making contact with Tushan.

From a certain perspective, Tushan was a rational force that could be won over.

"Li Yun also reports that an alternate-dimensional space called 'Gensokyo' has been discovered in the waters near Japan. Its administrators, Dragon God and Yukari Yakumo, are seeking cooperation."

"Handle it according to the previous plan."

Gensokyo's request for an alliance meant another force that could be united.

Establishing alliances with Tushan and Gensokyo would bring the League of Heroes nothing but benefits.

"Ulquiorra, the Arctic branch director, has discovered Void creature larvae on the ice fields and requests instructions."

"So the Void invasion has appeared this quickly?"

"Order Ulquiorra to capture specimens and hand them over to Grey Wolf for research."

"Also notify all branches to heighten their alert. Classify Void creatures as Super-Dragon-Level threats, with priority higher than Noxus and the Monster Association."

Drawing on his abundant experience, Li Chen deployed each task with ease.

Earth remained fraught with danger today.

New York, League of Heroes headquarters.

Inside the chairman's office, Li Chen and Sosuke Aizen were speaking in low voices when a vast mental force suddenly swept across the entire globe. Their conversation abruptly stopped, and they exchanged a glance.

The League of Heroes base was shrouded in a mysterious force field. That mental power could not penetrate it and simply bypassed it.

"The intensity of that mental force is abnormal." Aizen narrowed his eyes slightly.

Li Chen looked out the window, his voice low. "Professor X activated the Brainwave Amplifier? With his abilities and that machine, he could reach quasi-S-Class... Is he searching for the missing Magneto?"

Before he had even finished speaking, a blinding glow suddenly lit up the distant sky.

"The situation is worse than expected." Li Chen's voice sank. "Apocalypse has probably awakened—he has controlled Professor X and is mobilizing the world's nuclear weapons systems."

If all the warheads detonated at once, the entire planet would be reduced to ashes.

"Immediately order every branch into combat readiness and intercept all **." Li Chen gave the order decisively.

"Understood." Aizen rose to his feet and calmly walked toward the communications terminal.

In an instant, the enormous League of Heroes machine began operating at full speed.

--

New York streets.

Crowds looked up at the ** clusters rising into the sky, and terrified screams erupted one after another. Nuclear weapons, humanity's ultimate instruments of destruction—each one was enough to trigger a Demon Level disaster. Yet at this moment, the number of warheads filling the skies above North America was enough to erase the entire continent from the map.

"God! Who pressed the launch button?!"

"Where is the League of Heroes? Their headquarters is right here!"

To the residents of this city, the League of Heroes was a mythic guardian. Even when faced with a rain of death that blotted out the sky, countless people still believed that those caped heroes would hold up the heavens.

--

Atop the New York Sanctum.

The Ancient One gazed at the ** trails streaking across the sky and gently shook her head.

She believed that the League of Heroes was fully capable of stopping those hundreds of **. "Master Ancient One, what happened?"

"It's nothing. Continue practicing, Annie." The Ancient One withdrew her gaze from the window and said gently, "Doctor Strange, focus. You are currently the slowest student."

"Comparing me with magical geniuses like Annie is too unfair. Besides, my hands are injured. I simply can't precisely control magic circles."

"No, Doctor Strange. You possess extraordinary magical talent, and the problem with your arms is not serious." Looking at this successor who would one day inherit the title of Sorcerer Supreme from her, the Ancient One shook her head slightly and offered calm encouragement.

To be honest, with the emergence of the League of Heroes, the future had become difficult to predict.

Perhaps letting Annie inherit the position of Sorcerer Supreme... would be the better choice?

The thought flashed through the Ancient One's mind and vanished.