"Hey! Hey! Stop! Harley!"
Homelander's eyelid twitched.
This crazy woman is truly insane.
This is a live broadcast!
Hundreds of millions of eyes around the World are watching!
Although he didn't mind showing off his prowess, his current persona was a "tragic savior," a "hero who shed his last drop of blood for humanity," not a pervert hosting an orgy on a livestream!
This would lose him fans! He'd definitely lose fans!
Homelander had to reach out and grab one of Harley's dirty hands, which had already started wandering downward, and used a bit of force to pull her off him.
"Calm down, Little Pumpkin. Calm down."
Homelander tidied his lapel, which had almost been torn open, maintaining that weak but gentle tone.
"I know you're in a hurry, but don't be in such a rush yet..."
"Why?" Harley pouted dissatisfiedly, pointing at Superman on the ground. "The villain is defeated, so isn't the next part that page? That's how it's drawn in the comics!"
He leaned into Harley's ear and whispered quickly in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"You're as dirty as a little pig that just rolled in a mud pit right now."
"Go on, go back and take a shower first."
Homelander pointed at the camera on the ground that Harley had just tossed aside, which was still stubbornly working.
"Besides, our work isn't over yet."
Harley froze for a moment, then looked at her filthy clothes and sniffed her armpit.
Gag... it really did smell bad.
"Fine..."
She reluctantly let go of Homelander, licking her lips with a seductive look in her eyes.
"Then don't run away. Tonight, you're mine."
With that, Harley picked up the camera. Despite her look of unsatisfied desire, she obediently walked a few meters away, set up the lens again, and aimed it at Homelander.
Prompt! special popularity value +20,000 - 15,000 gained (from Harley Quinn).
Homelander: "..."
Is this woman crazy? Deducting points just because she can't sleep with me?
...Whatever, why argue with a nutcase? Business first.
Homelander adjusted his expression and posture, maintaining the state of "holding on despite being heavily injured."
He walked in front of the camera.
At this moment, in the shot, the background behind him was the fallen Superman and a landscape of ruins.
The wind blew his tattered cape, making the scene look exceptionally desolate.
He walked to the front of the camera and didn't speak; instead, he first leaned down and grabbed a handful of scorched Earth from the ground.
Then, he slowly began to speak.
"Fellow citizens..."
"The tyrant who brought nightmares to Earth has fallen."
Homelander turned sideways so the camera could capture Superman lying on the ground behind him.
"He was once a child raised by humans, but he forgot how to be human."
"Therefore, he has paid the price he deserved."
Homelander opened his hand, and the scorched Earth trickled through his fingers, scattering over Superman's body like a crude funeral.
"But..."
Homelander changed his tone, suddenly raising his voice.
"The war is not over!"
These words stunned the crowd that had just been cheering.
"Look around you."
"Look at those alien monsters still wandering the streets; look at this sorrowful World, riddled with scars."
"Though that alien tyrant has fallen, his alien lackeys still occupy our cities, and his army still holds our homes!"
"Can we just let it go like this?!"
Homelander clenched his fists, his eyes burning with a blazing fire.
"We cannot stop!"
"This battle is only the beginning!"
"My fellow citizens, my comrades-in-arms!"
"I know you are tired. I know you are in pain."
Homelander patted his scarred chest.
"I am the same... I even feel like I might collapse at any second."
"But!"
"As long as a single invader stands on Earth's soil, I will never fall!!"
"I will shed my last drop of blood until these alien scum are completely driven off Earth!!"
His voice grew higher and more impassioned; every word was like a war drum beating against people's hearts.
"Listen! All warriors who are still breathing!"
"Whether you are the Resistance or civilians hiding in corners!"
"Pick up your weapons! Whether it's a gun, a knife, or a stone!"
"Stop waiting for miracles! No need to wait for heroes!"
"From now on, you are the miracle; you are all true heroes!!"
Homelander whipped his cape, turned his back to the camera, and pointed toward Metropolis—the fortress of Superman's regime and the headquarters of the Apokolips army.
"Our only goal—Metropolis!!!"
"A full-scale counterattack!!"
"Pursue! Hunt! Settle the score!"
"Find every last alien scum still breathing on Earth for me!"
"Let us tell the whole Universe: Earth is not their backyard! It is their grave!!"
"Attack! Attack! Attack!"
"For humanity! For Earth!"
With Homelander's final roar...
The global silence was broken.
If the previous cheers were the relief of surviving a disaster, then the current roars were the spreading fires of revenge.
The rage suppressed for too long under the shadow of doomsday found its outlet at this moment.
"Kill!!"
A Resistance soldier rushed out of cover, his machine gun spitting fire, riddling a lone Parademon with holes.
"Fight them to the death!"
A group of Guerrillas, carrying homemade incendiary bombs, rushed toward the nearest concentration camp.
Across the globe, the fires of counterattack were ignited simultaneously.
Prompt! popularity value +1,254,477 gained!
Prompt! popularity value +1,365,520 gained!
Prompt! popularity value +1,588,802 gained!
...Listening to the pleasant prompts, Homelander nodded inwardly.
Exactly. This was the effect he wanted.
He certainly didn't need this bunch of weaklings to help him fight; he could easily handle those alien grunts by himself.
But he needed an audience. If there were no viewers, no witnesses, then his performance would be meaningless.
The vacation voucher only allowed for a seven-day stay, and it was already the third day.
He didn't have the time to tour city by city and slowly stage his poses.
The most efficient method was to launch a global general offensive.
To involve everyone, to let them see with their own eyes how Homelander descended like a God in their most critical moment, saving them from dire straits.
Only this kind of firsthand sense of redemption could reap the most fanatical popularity!
"Alright."
The speech was over.
Homelander turned and glanced at Harley beside him.
"You stay here and watch this big guy. He's my trophy."
"Mission guaranteed, Officer!" Harley gave a proper salute, though her eyes were still wandering over Homelander. "What about you?"
"Good girl."
Homelander patted her head.
Then he slowly rose into the air, his cape unfurling in the wind.
"Me? To save the World, of course."
BOOM—!!!
A sonic boom cloud exploded.
Homelander's silhouette turned into a red and blue meteor, vanishing into the horizon.