"Everyone ready?!"
Reiner, already acting as the vanguard, scanned the team one last time.
No one answered.
They didn't need to.
Reiner stepped off the thirty-meter rooftop and bit hard into his hand.
Thunder cracked.
A fifteen-meter skeletal frame manifested midair. Flesh surged over bone. Then iron-like armor sealed across the body.
Boom.
The Armored Titan crashed into the street.
One by one, the strike team leapt down and grabbed onto parts of his armored body.
Only Hulk could break through the Deep Sea ranks alone. Everyone else needed the Titan's momentum to punch a hole through the enemy wall.
The Titan began to charge.
Each step shook the street. Metal armor shrieked as it collided with Deep Sea bodies. Anything in front of him was blown aside like toys.
A path was forced open.
"HULK GO WHERE HULK WANTS!"
Hulk roared and dove into the battlefield like a living war machine, smashing anything that moved. No one expected him to follow the plan. Chaos was enough.
"Split up! Move now!" shouted the Black Swordsman, reading the battlefield instantly.
The Titan's charge wouldn't last. Once the momentum died, they would be surrounded.
They had seconds.
Falcon lifted Captain America into the air by one leg and flew toward a Tiger-Class target.
War Machine carried Packhound and Clint through the sky toward another.
Ken unleashed his six tendrils and tore forward like a red storm.
The Black Swordsman weaved through the battlefield with twin blades flashing.
Mirrorblade Sage used transformation technique to slip unnoticed toward the stone-throwing Deep Sea units.
Hundred-Face Hassan split into dozens of bodies, vaulting and flipping through the enemy ranks like a troupe of lethal acrobats.
From far behind the lines, Crimson Sniper fired precise long-range support shots, eliminating threats before they could ambush the assault team.
Near the command point, Jeanne remained planted in place, banner raised, Noble Phantasm still active.
"Jeanne, you holding up?" Falcon asked over comms.
"I'm fine. The Master's magical reserves are… overwhelming. I can sustain this for a long time."
Aiden Cross's energy supply was practically bottomless.
"But the barrier accumulates damage," she added quietly. "Once it reaches its limit, the protection will collapse and enter cooldown."
Thousands of Deep Sea monsters were constantly attacking the boundary.
She could not move.
All she could do…
…was pray.
"May everyone return safely."
--------------------------------------------------
Read Chapters ahead: [email protected] / KaiOynx