Only three or four hours had passed.
Homelander had single-handedly wiped out Apokolips' major urban strongholds across every continent.
For a global war, this was an unbelievable speed.
Hundreds of millions of Parademons were eliminated.
Except for Metropolis, 99% of the Earth's land had been reclaimed.
The system notifications for gaining popularity value had become a dense wall of noise; Homelander had to temporarily mute them.
And the name "Homelander"...
...had already surpassed "Superman," and even "God," becoming the World's sole savior... Finally.
Metropolis.
This was the core of Superman's regime; even though the armies elsewhere had been wiped out, the defensive forces here remained terrifying.
Batman, Deathstroke, The Flash, Cyborg, along with the Amazon Warriors and Mera's Atlantean Guard, were currently trapped in the plaza at the city center.
It was a literal mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
The corpses of Parademons were piled high, yet more enemies continued to pour in from all directions.
Layer upon layer, row after row.
It seemed as if all the Parademons in Metropolis had concentrated here.
The sky was a dark mass, as if even sunlight couldn't penetrate through.
"There are too many... We can't kill them all!"
The Flash, Barry Allen, was already foaming at the mouth from running, his stamina nearly exhausted; he could only weave through the battlefield on pure grit now.
Deathstroke's Scottish broadsword was already chipped and dull; he was currently stabbing a dagger fiercely into the eye socket of a Parademon.
"I'm out of juice, Bat. Do you have any more trump cards?"
Queen Mera brandished her trident, her divine power depleted, her entire body covered in blood and grime.
Taking advantage of her exhaustion, a heavy-armored Parademon swung a massive axe, hacking down fiercely toward her head.
"Mera!!" Bruce tried to move to her rescue, but he was pinned down by several Parademons.
Mera looked at the falling axe and closed her eyes in despair.
THUD—!!
A dull thud sounded.
The expected pain did not come.
Mera opened her eyes in confusion.
She saw a red boot stepping on the head of that Parademon commander.
The massive monster had been crushed into the pavement by this single foot, its head bursting like a watermelon.
And before her...
...stood a man draped in a bright red flag. His blonde hair remained dazzling even amidst the smoke. The blood on his face didn't make him look pathetic; instead, it added a touch of wild charm.
Homelander leaned down and extended a hand to Mera.
"It seems I made it in time, beautiful lady."
"You are..." Mera instinctively reached out, placing her hand in Homelander's palm, her heart skipping a beat.
Homelander smiled slightly and didn't answer directly.
With a slight tug, he pulled her up and casually brushed some grime off her shoulder.
"Who I am isn't important."
Homelander turned his back, facing the tidal wave of the Parademon army.
"What's important is... I absolutely cannot tolerate someone harming such a beautiful and heroic lady in front of me."
Mera stared blankly at his back.
As a member of the Atlantean royalty, she had seen countless handsome and powerful men.
But the man before her... he not only possessed power but also had an indescribable elegance and sense of control.
"Though your entrance was quite cliché, handsome."
Mera smoothed her fiery red hair and offered an equally charming smile.
"But I have to say... it's very effective."
"Thank you, my late-arriving knight."
Notification! special popularity value +8000! (From YMera Xebella Challa)
"The honor is mine, lady..." Homelander turned his head with satisfaction, "Next... leave it to me."
Electricity flickered across Homelander's body.
CRACKLE—!
Thunder Vision swept across, and energy erupted.
With Homelander as the center, thousands of Parademons in a fan-shaped area ahead were harvested clean.
This stunning scene finally gave the struggling group a moment to breathe.
At that moment, Bruce used a grappling hook to land beside Homelander, his eyes full of shock.
"How did you get here?" he asked, panting heavily. "Weren't you supposed to hold off Superman? He..."
"He's dead."
Homelander said it nonchalantly.
"What?!"
Everyone present cried out in shock.
"Dead? Superman... is dead?" Barry asked stutteringly, "You killed him?"
"Are... are you serious?"
"Serious. He's dead as a doornail," Homelander shrugged. "If you go to Kent Farm now, you might still catch his memorial service."
"Not just him."
"In these past few hours, I've also cleared out all the trash across the globe."
"Paris, London, Moscow, Los Santos... all of Apokolips' strongholds have been uprooted."
Homelander pointed around, his words astonishing.
"Right now on Earth, except for Metropolis..."
"...everywhere else has been fully liberated!"
A dead silence followed.
Everyone's eyes widened, as if they were listening to a fairy tale.
Even Batman, with his extreme mental fortitude, was shocked beyond measure.
A few hours?
In just a few hours?
One person killed Superman and liberated the entire World as a side task?
What kind of efficiency was this? What kind of power?
"Don't believe me?"
Homelander smiled.
"Listen."
He pointed into the distance.
The group was stunned and strained their ears to listen.
At first, there was only the sound of the wind.
Gradually, the ground began to vibrate.
Then came a low rumbling, like a tsunami or rolling thunder.
The sound grew louder and closer.
It was the roar of engines, the sound of tank treads grinding over ruins, and even more so, the sound of countless people shouting.
"KILL—!!!"
"For humanity!!"
"Long live Homelander!!"
"Attack—!!!"
"Revenge—!!!"
Countless modified combat vehicles, countless Resistance members holding weapons, and even ordinary civilians.
They were like an unstoppable torrent, pouring in from all directions and converging on Metropolis.
Bruce fell silent.
He had never seen humanity so united.
Nor had he seen such pure will.
"They are here... to liberate Metropolis," Homelander's voice rang in his ear.
"Look, Bat."
"This is the answer I'm giving you."
"No need for time travel, no need for a reboot."
"Humanity's spine has never been broken."
Homelander slowly rose into the air, flying to the very front of the army.
He raised his right fist high, surging his magic to amplify his voice, and roared loudly.
"All forces—ATTACK!!!"
"KILL————!!!"
Millions of humans let out a roar.
At this moment, humans were no longer lambs for the slaughter, but a pack of vengeful wolves.
Led by that man in the red cape, they launched a charge toward the final darkness.
This scene completely overturned the understanding of superheroes like Batman.
Earth... was truly being reclaimed.
By this man, in just a few hours... In the far reaches of deep space.
Oa.
This was Sector 0 of the Universe, the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps, the center of the Universe's light.
But now, the green Light of Will had dimmed, and corpses of Green Lanterns were everywhere.