The Land I Protect

"Senior, I have arrived at the front line."

"Good. I'm leaving New York's defense to you." "Can I really handle it?" "Believe in yourself."

Standing atop New York's tallest clock tower, Mash took a deep breath and silently steeled herself under Li Chen's encouragement.

Even though she had considerable confidence in her own defenses, the C-Class Hero could not help feeling uneasy when facing the simultaneous barrage of hundreds of **—after all, she had never endured such ferocious bombardment before.

However, Li Chen knew that Mash's ultimate defense could even withstand Demon God King Goetia's attack capable of destroying humanity's history. "Remember, Mash. As long as your will does not break, the walls will never fall." "Understood, Senior."

The pink-haired girl stood against the wind in pitch-black heavy armor, holding a shield-shaped Noble Phantasm. As a Servant, the more magical energy her Master supplied, the stronger every aspect of her abilities became. At this moment, she continuously drew upon Li Chen's vast, ocean-like magical power—enough to sustain thousands of Heroic Spirits at once with ease.

Rather than fleeing, the citizens below in New York shouted "League of Heroes" in unison. Countless beliefs took tangible form and poured ceaselessly into the Shield of the Round Table in Mash's hands. This Noble Phantasm, transformed from the sacred table where the Knights of the Round Table once held council at the heart of Camelot's royal city, shone brilliantly in her grasp.

"This is our homeland, which heals all wounds and dispels every grudge—"

"Appear!"

"The distant ideal city—Camelot (Lord Camelot)!"

She drove the holy sword in her hand fiercely into the earth, and a pale blue six-pointed star suddenly blossomed with light.

The magical power within her body flowed endlessly into the Noble Phantasm. Before the eyes of the masses, the once-glorious castle of Camelot appeared once more.

Its towering walls became an impregnable barrier, standing high above New York.

Solemn, magnificent, and awe-inspiring, it was like an absolute fortress that could never be breached, protecting the entire city without a single gap.

A few seconds later, hundreds of *** descended at once.

"Boom—!"

A mushroom cloud surged skyward as a violent nuclear shockwave swept across hundreds of miles...

### Members of the League of Heroes appeared one after another in several major cities.

Billy King, a muscular man clad in black shorts, stared into the sky as every muscle in his body instantly tensed.

He stomped the ground, leaving behind a deep crater. His explosive strength launched him thousands of meters into the air, where he seized a *** one-handed and hurled it into outer space with tremendous force.

Then he crashed down like a meteor, smashing out an enormous crater.

With strength close to the limits of **, he flung dozens of *** into space in rapid succession.

"My, my, how frightening~"

Not far away, a sleazy middle-aged man with a monkey-like face pretended to be terrified, though his expression remained perfectly calm.

He had curly black hair, wore a yellow-and-white striped suit, sported stubble and sunglasses, and possessed a lean, tall frame—

The user of the Logia-type Glint-Glint Fruit, a Marine Admiral, and the League of Heroes' ***-Class Hero, Kizaru.

"Mr. Kizaru, please stop slacking off."

"King, the strongest man on Earth... As an S-Class Hero, aren't you going to make a move?"

"The chairman assigned me to supervise you and make sure you work seriously, so you don't slack off as usual."

"Sigh, this old man still has to work overtime. The chairman really is heartless~"

Just as Li Chen had expected, without someone watching him, the slippery old fox Kizaru would simply coast along.

For him, kicking *** away at the speed of light was effortless. If he went all out, clearing every *** across the United States would take no more than an instant.

King lowered the brim of his hat. A minor scene like this should not have required him to personally step in, but the current situation had already exceeded the scope of normal response measures.

"Let's call it a warm-up."

"Speed is absolute power."

"Have you ever experienced a kick of light?"

Kizaru's body gradually turned into photons as dazzling golden light leaped swiftly through the clouds. Wherever that golden glow passed, the falling ** changed course and shot directly into the depths of space.

In an instant, the ** over North America had been cleared. Meanwhile, at the League of Heroes branch in South America, Accelerator, who was stationed there, looked up at the sky and watched the constantly falling ** with a manic smile curling across her lips. (cdeb) Dark Plasma rapidly collapsed in her palm before she raised her hand and hurled it skyward, detonating the approaching ** in midair. She did not care about any ** side effects; having fun was the only rule that mattered. Ikaros, passing by, also spread her wings and used the Eternal Spear to precisely shoot down aerial targets.

Since the main impact zones of the ** were concentrated across Asia, Europe, and North America, there were only a handful of ** above South America.

Oceania branch base.

Hashirama Senju scratched his cheek with a troubled expression. Although the number of falling ** was limited...

"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees!"

As he completed the hand seals, an enormous amount of chakra drove giant trees from the ground, weaving them into a towering barrier. Handling a few scattered ** was still effortless for him.

African war zone.

The armies of Noxus and the League of Heroes stopped fighting by mutual understanding, joining forces against the calamity falling from the heavens. Wakanda's Vibranium weapons, Noxus's rune magic, and Child Emperor's "Vibranium Dreadnought Giant" unleashed their power one after another.

"Descend, my other half!"

Yugi Mutou, the African branch director, raised the god card high. Osiris the Sky Dragon, one of the three Egyptian Gods, tore through the clouds and descended. The crimson dragon's winding body, stretching for ten thousand meters, drew worship from the masses. It was the embodiment of ancient Egyptian faith.

European front line.

Joan of Arc, drawing upon Li Chen's magical power, raised her flag. The faith of the continent's people became tangible streams of light sweeping into the sky. A torrent of steel and magical radiance intertwined, reducing every falling threat to dust.

The Noble Phantasm was deeply embedded in the ground as surging magical power roiled around her.

"Noble Phantasm release—My Lord Is Here!"

A magical barrier covering all of Europe suddenly unfolded.

Hundreds of ** fell from the sky. Cracks spread across Joan of Arc's flag, as though it could shatter at any moment.

"I can't hold on much longer..."

"Then let them be destroyed in midair."

The Lion King of the European branch stepped forward, holding the legendary holy lance.

Divine light coiled around the holy lance as boundless power erupted and vast magical energy poured into it madly.

"Holy Lance—Unanchor!"

"Shine at the End!"

"Rend the heavens, connect the earth! Storm Anchor!"

"Noble Phantasm release—Spear Shining at the End!"

The tower-like holy lance that pierced the surface of the world burst forth with starlight, becoming a fatal strike that spanned heaven and earth!

A blinding beam swept across the skies, and every ** before it was reduced to ashes.

Asian continent, League of Heroes headquarters.

"Need help?"

"No need. I protect this land."

Faced with Tatsumaki's offer of assistance as she passed by, Li Yun, the Asian branch director, politely declined.

As an ancient Chinese Heroic Spirit, standing upon his homeland granted him inexhaustible power.

A thousand years of valor, peerless wisdom, fearlessness and courage—the faith of countless Chinese people blessed his body.

At this moment, Li Yun was the guardian of this land, the inheritor of the dragon soul!

"Soul of China, burn to the end!"

"Essence of the dragon, gather within my body!"

"At this moment, I am the incarnation of China's dragon soul!"

"Noble Phantasm release—Dragon Soul Awakening: Pure Radiant Crystal Dragon!"

Vast power poured into Li Yun's body, and his form rapidly transformed.

He became a branch of an ancient divine beast—the Pure Radiant Crystal Dragon, pure and flawless, majestic and imposing, hailed as a legendary guardian!

Li Yun's realm rose step by step, reaching quasi-vice-chairman level, enough to contend even with gods and demons.

Though this state could not last long, destroying thousands of ** would be more than enough.

"Roar—!"

The Pure Radiant Crystal Dragon released a roar that shook heaven and earth, its body turning into a streak of light that surpassed all limits of speed.

In a single instant, every ** was utterly annihilated by dragon breath...

New York City, deep within Supernatural Academy.

The mutant Havok Alex had just destroyed the Psychic Amplification Device, successfully severing Apocalypse's psychic control over Professor X.

In the eyes of the ruler of the Apocalypse Era, this pathetic age relied too heavily on steel and machinery. But how could such mundane creations possibly harm a god?

Those alliances who called themselves heroes were nothing more than petty fools who dared usurp divine authority!

Now, he would use humanity's proudest technological weapons to thoroughly cleanse this twisted age and return the world to the righteous path of divine rule!

He would rebuild order amid the ashes of the apocalypse, forever free humanity from the shackles of technology, and make them kneel before the gods once again!

"Charles! Wake up!"

Jean Grey anxiously shook Professor X in his wheelchair.

After the brutal clash in the psychic realm, Professor X had fallen into a deep coma, as though his soul had been drained away. First, Apocalypse had forcibly invaded his consciousness and used him to control the world's nuclear weapons systems; then he had suffered the backlash from the ** of the Psychic Amplification Device. The telepathic master's mental power had already fallen to rock bottom.

"Looks like we're in ** trouble."

A cold gleam flashed between Wolverine Logan's fingers as his Adamantium claws slowly extended.

Havok Alex and Cyclops Scott immediately formed a human wall, shielding the unconscious professor behind them.

As ripples spread through space, five figures stepped through the void:

-World-End Apocalypse, beyond Dragon-Level (S)

-The enhanced Four Horsemen:

*Magneto (**)

*Storm (B-Class)

*Psylocke (B-Class)

*Angel (B-Class)

"Where is Koro-sensei?"

"What unfortunate timing. He took those two children into the wilderness for training."

"Damn it! Jean, contact the nearby guardians quickly! This monster is making every hair on my body stand on end."

Wolverine Logan stared fixedly at Apocalypse, who stood at the front. His beastly instincts were issuing their most intense warning of death. Even if the opponent had only just entered Super-Dragon-Level, he was not someone the few of them could possibly contend with.

Only Jean, with the Phoenix Force fully awakened, was qualified to challenge this most ancient mutant.

"Erik... is that you?"

Jean stared in disbelief at the old acquaintance among the Four Horsemen. They had originally activated the Psychic Amplification Device to find the missing Magneto, but she had never expected him to be standing with the Apocalypse Era faction.

Faced with his old friend's call, Magneto's gaze was as cold as ice, with only deep-seated hatred for humanity remaining in his eyes.

He was not under Apocalypse's control; his mind was exceptionally clear.

Following the advice of his close friend Professor X, Magneto had secluded himself in the mountains and forests, living as an ordinary man, marrying and having children.

However, when he saved a stranger at a construction site, he accidentally exposed his identity as a mutant and drew humanity's frenzied pursuit.

His wife and daughter died because of it.

Magneto had longed to live as an ordinary person, but this cruel world had never given him that chance.

Humanity rejected mutants and regarded them as freaks.

Since humanity could not tolerate mutants, then he would create a world inhabited only by mutants!

Kill every ordinary human and leave only mutants behind!

To achieve that goal, he had to borrow Apocalypse's power—this was why Magneto had willingly become one of the Four Horsemen.

"Erik, we can talk this out calmly."

"There's nothing to discuss." Magneto replied coldly as he activated his magnetism, dragging the unconscious Professor X in his metal wheelchair before him.

Apocalypse needed Professor X's abilities. He planned to use a special ritual to take over Professor X's body and seize his telepathic power.

Having once been betrayed and sealed away for thousands of years, Apocalypse intended to turn everyone into his devout believers after establishing the new world.

"Stop!"

Wolverine Logan was about to pounce to the rescue when he found that his body could no longer move.

His skeleton was made of Adamantium, stronger than Vibranium and the hardest metal on Earth.

Even under temperatures of five hundred thousand degrees, it would not melt, possessing properties that no element on the periodic table could match.

But before Magneto, all metal was useless.

As if perfectly countered, Logan had not even made a move before magnetic force pinned him firmly to the wall, leaving him unable to move.

"The age of Apocalypse is about to descend, my children," the blue-skinned Apocalypse said.

To him, every mutant in the world was his child.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, he would not strike **.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Cutter!"

Kakashi Hatake launched a sudden assault. Violent lightning-nature chakra gathered in his right hand, turning into blinding electrical currents as he charged directly at Apocalypse.

Lightning Cutter possessed an effect similar to the Lightning Release that activated the Raikage's cells, greatly increasing speed and unleashing astonishing power during short-distance bursts.

Such an extreme-speed assault had to be used in conjunction with the Sharingan, otherwise it would be difficult to hit the target.

"Crackle—"

The lightning in the silver-haired ninja's hand pierced through Apocalypse's body, and dazzling arcs of electricity scattered in every direction.