With Angelina at the front, Ryan, Cindy, Maeve, Starlight, Ice Princess, Electro, and Element Woman spread out on either side, forming a line.
Looking at the eight of them, Black Skeleton laughed, "Looks like you humans aren't as united as I imagined. You have so many superhumans, yet only a few of you are here."
"How pitiful."
"So this is what your heroes are like."
Through the livestream, those words struck every viewer to the heart.
[Even though he's the enemy, I think he has a point. Even the president of the Cayden Group has gone onto the battlefield. How can the other superheroes have the nerve to hide?]
[Whoever wants to go can go. I'm not going. So what if they're superheroes? Aren't they people too? Can't we be afraid? Do we really have to go onto the battlefield?]
[Look, there's a superhero here.]
[Don't talk about heroes. It makes me sick. Only those people on the screen deserve to be called heroes.]
[You all talk like you're so noble, so why don't you go? All you can do is sit in front of a screen and type. You're all the same. Nobody gets to laugh at anybody else.]
Online, ordinary people and superheroes soon got into a huge argument.
However, on the battlefield in New York, none of this offered any real help to Angelina and the others.
Black Skeleton, still possessing the Secretary of Defense, continued, "I admire your courage."
"But as you can see, you're only doing something futile."
"Come on. Join us."
"I can grant you the rights of special citizens. You won't have to become food, and you can enjoy the same rights we do."
Angelina rejected him without even thinking, "We refuse."
"Refuse?"
Black Skeleton sighed, "That isn't wise, madam."
"You've missed an opportunity to change your fate."
"I don't know what you're holding out for. Perhaps you're placing your hopes on that superhero called Homelander."
"But where is he?"
"He isn't here. He's a coward. He's hiding."
"And yet you idiots have come out here to fight with your lives. Is it worth it?"
"Besides, do you really think the eight of you can defeat us?"
Black Skeleton's voice was still echoing through the sky when a figure descended from above and landed beside Angelina.
The figure raised his head, "There are more than eight."
'Druid' Levin!
His body changed, transforming from a bird-man into a bear-man with immense strength.
Black Skeleton laughed, "Even nine won't be enough."
"Who told you there are nine?"
The bear-man Levin turned and looked down the street behind him.
The street was a complete mess. At that moment, a can shook, then began rolling along the ground, finally stopping at Angelina's feet.
Angelina narrowed her eyes. At the far end of the street, heads and figures began appearing one after another.
A fat man in a plaid shirt, a black woman wearing round glasses, a little girl with two braids, a hip-hop youth riding a skateboard, an office worker in a suit, at a glance, there seemed to be no end to them.
Countless people stood shoulder to shoulder, coming from the other end of the street like a wave.
Black Skeleton froze, "What are these civilians trying to do?"
Levin smiled, "They're not civilians."
The 'Druid' suddenly shouted, "Family, show these bastards what you can do!"
The fat man in the plaid shirt shouted, took off his shirt, and tried to tear off the T-shirt underneath. But after pulling at it without success, he was left looking embarrassed.
Angry and humiliated, he roared. His body rapidly expanded, ripping through the T-shirt, and he transformed into a winged crocodile.
Then, the woman took off her glasses and threw them aside. Thick fur rapidly covered her body, transforming her into a black gorilla with tiger claws.
The little girl, the hip-hop youth, the office worker, and all the other residents coming from the street underwent rapid transformations.
They became creatures that existed only in nightmares or works of fantasy.
They all shared one name: Chimeras.
The internet immediately exploded.
[Holy crap! Are these people victims of the 'Midnight Boiling' incident?]
[Yeah, that's them. They'd been kept in isolation and under control before. How did they end up in New York?]
[They're so damn cool! A hundred times cooler than those superheroes who only know how to hide! No, ten thousand times cooler!]
[Wait, won't they attack each other?]
[Charge! I don't dare go to the scene myself, but I'll support you in spirit!]
Charge!
A huge number of Chimeras took to the battlefield. Some flew into the sky, some ran along the streets, some leaped between streetlights like monkeys, and some climbed straight up the sides of buildings like geckos.
Using their own methods, these creatures charged toward Black Skeleton and the other parasites.
This was Levin's achievement.
After leaving the Eden base, he followed Alex's instructions and went to the containment camps outside New York. By demonstrating his three forms, he convinced the residents to follow him into New York and drive out the alien invaders.
The entire neighborhood shook.
The parasites were startled by the hundred thousand Chimeras and involuntarily began retreating.
Compared with the Chimeras, they did not have the advantage in numbers.
Only Black Skeleton did not retreat.
"Don't be afraid!"
"We've faced situations more dangerous than this, and creatures stronger than them."
"But what was the final result? Those powerful creatures contributed their excellent genes to us."
"Besides, the great Hive is watching over us."
"Even if we die in battle, we will be reborn within its warm body."
"So what do we have to fear?"
Black Skeleton pointed forcefully at the humans and Chimeras opposite him, "Defeat them! Let our actions show them that we are the finest species in the universe!"
The parasites were greatly encouraged. Whether human-shaped or animal-like, they all shouted and roared as they charged toward the Chimera army.
Angelina shouted, "We're going too!"
As she spoke, her body suddenly grew taller and expanded. Her skin turned green, and muscular lines appeared across her body.
Her evening gown naturally tore apart, but the 'Shadow Robe' beneath it adapted to Angelina's changing body at the same time, wrapping her in a robe that seemed to be woven from black mist.
Ice Princess glanced at Maeve beside her, "Want to skate?"
She pushed both hands forward, and an ice track extended ahead. It twisted and turned like a roller-coaster track, rising into the air and dropping back down before plunging deep into the parasites.
Maeve jumped onto it without another word and began skating along the ice track. When she reached its highest point, she leaped off and landed among the densest group of parasites.
With a shout, she brought her longsword down, cutting down a parasite.
Maeve landed and immediately charged forward. Her longsword swept through the parasites in front of her.
Ice Princess spread her hands slightly, icy wind roaring beneath her palms. She strode toward the parasites.
A group of parasites charged at her. She pushed both hands forward, sending a freezing wind toward them and continuously turning the charging parasites into ice sculptures.
At that moment, Levin, in his bear-man form, charged over and smashed all the ice sculptures apart. He roared as he plunged into the enemy ranks, his bear paws striking the parasites.
Any parasite he hit in the head was taken down instantly.
Others were torn apart by his claws.
Levin soon found himself surrounded. Dozens of parasites kept jumping onto him until they formed a small mountain.
Just as Levin was being pinned down, a brilliant stream of light suddenly blasted over, sending the mass flying.
The bear-man immediately broke free. Turning around, he saw Starlight, brilliant light shining from her eyes.
Levin shouted, transformed into a bird-man, and shot into the sky. He grabbed a parasite with his talons and tore it apart.
At that moment, a figure flew over Levin's head.
It was Ryan.
This child-sized version of Homelander flew over a group of parasites. His eyes lit up, and deep-red laser beams shot from them.
The beams swept across the ground, taking down countless enemies.
A sneaky parasite flew behind Ryan and was about to attack while Ryan was distracted when it suddenly went down.
The little boy unhappily turned around and looked at Cindy, who was waving at him in the distance, "I just bought these clothes."
Cindy rubbed her head, "It's okay. I'll buy you new ones after the fight."
She then raised both hands and clenched them at the same time. More than a dozen parasites in front of her were taken down, leaving Cindy covered in the aftermath as well.
Electro and Element Woman also joined the battlefield, charging and fighting alongside the huge Chimera army.
Using the Secretary of Defense's body, Black Skeleton repeatedly raised both hands and fired black fireballs from his palms that looked like clouds of mist.
The fireballs did not explode when they struck their targets. They simply continued burning, with extremely strong adhesion and corrosiveness.
Chimeras struck by the fireballs were quickly reduced to little more than remains.
At that moment, a strong wind sounded overhead.
Black Skeleton looked up and saw Angelina, transformed into a green Hulk-like form, descending from the sky. Without hesitation, he threw several black fireballs at her.
But at that moment, a shadow suddenly rose from the ground like a tall wall, blocking Angelina and stopping the black fireballs.
Angelina landed on the ground and grabbed Black Skeleton by the head, squeezing hard.
But Black Skeleton did not die from this. He continued controlling the Secretary of Defense's body, broke free from Angelina's grasp, and then fired streams of black flames from both hands. Angelina blocked them with a wall of shadows rising from the ground.
"Weren't you just wondering where my master, Homelander, is?"
"Now I can tell you."
"He's here. He just can't be bothered to deal with a little minion like you."
A mass of black liquid suddenly rose from the Secretary of Defense's neck, forming a featureless face.
The face suddenly raised its head and looked toward the meteorite suspended high in the atmosphere.
'Destroyer'!
At the same time, a squadron of fighter jets was flying toward the super-meteorite surrounded by various energy fields in the sky.
Inside the lead fighter, the pilot called out, ["Ground Control, this is Falcon. I have visual on the target. Awaiting instructions."]
["Falcon, this is General Mike Elvis. You are authorized to attack."]
The pilot nodded, ["Falcon received. We'll begin the attack in five minutes."]
———
[Inside Ground Control]
General Mike put down the radio and looked at Archibald nearby, "Mr. President, I don't think our fighters can mount an effective attack."
Archibald nodded, "I know, but we have to do it."
"You've seen it yourself. The Seven and those superhumans who appeared out of nowhere are all fighting. Even the residents contaminated by Compound 6 have stepped forward."
"As the federal government, we can't do nothing."
"Even if it's useless, we have to show the people through our actions that we've tried."
"That way, if we ultimately still lose, at least we'll have given everyone an explanation."
General Mike was silent for a moment before looking toward the large screen.
On the electronic display, the 'Destroyer' meteorite had already entered the fighter squadron's range.
High in the sky, the fighters opened fire. Their overwhelming firepower poured onto the multicolored energy fields surrounding the meteorite.
Fireballs erupted one after another. The shockwaves from the explosions caused the fighters' wings to tremble slightly.
After completing the first round of bombing, the fighter squadron split in two and began circling the 'Destroyer' while launching missiles one after another.
Unfortunately, even the missiles could not break through the energy fields surrounding the 'Destroyer'.
The people inside Ground Control could only sigh at the result.
Suddenly, someone shouted, ["We've detected a high-speed object!"]
Hearing this, General Mike and President Archibald immediately looked up at the large screen.
A red dot marked the high-speed object on the screen. It rapidly charged toward the 'Destroyer' and collided with the super-meteorite in an instant.
———
[High in the Sky]
After launching a missile, one of the pilots saw a shadow break through the sky from outside his aircraft. It split apart the high-altitude clouds and slammed into the layers of dazzling energy fields surrounding the 'Destroyer'.
In an instant, the energy fields around the super-meteorite flared brilliantly. Cracks spread across them, and finally, they shattered like glass.
Streams of energy blasted outward in every direction. The fighter jets performed various evasive maneuvers, but the energy streams were too numerous and dense, and several fighters were still hit and fell.
Soon, several parachutes appeared in the sky.
Under one of the parachutes, a soldier looked toward the 'Destroyer' and saw that the energy fields surrounding the super-meteorite had disappeared.
A figure hovered above the super-meteorite. Under the sunlight, the red cape behind him fluttered, while the black suit was outlined with a golden edge by the sunlight.
The soldier caught his breath, then shouted.
["It's Homelander!"]
["Homelander is finally here!"]
["He just shattered the energy fields around the 'Destroyer'!"]
Inside Ground Control, hearing this news, many people broke into cheers.
Even the president showed a faint smile.