Heroes Return

However, she clearly underestimated the speed at which the woman in front of her swung her sword! Not only was her strength immense, but each of her attacks consisted of six strikes in an instant.

"Damn! I remember now! This is the legendary killer from a hundred years ago!" Lin Jie suddenly said after careful consideration. "I heard that she fought people in the street with a forty-meter-long sword and stabbed them six times in an instant."

“Kuhuhu, I’ve heard about her too!” Alice’s gaze also fell on the woman in the distance whose sword swings were completely erratic. “But then I heard she was subdued by a policeman wielding an eighty-meter-long baton! I can’t believe Ivan can summon someone like that? This is getting more and more interesting! Kuhuhu!”

"Teachers! Are you just going to watch this show? Aren't you going to help?" Harry asked Lin Jie from the side.

"This woman with the forty-meter-long sword shouldn't need my help." Lin Jie's gaze turned to the Swift Light Girl in the distance. Although the Swift Light Girl looked a bit disheveled, her dodging was effortless.

"Kuhuhu, is that really true?"

"What do you mean? Do you really think Ivan would only prepare enemies like this?" Alice looked at the battlefield with great interest. Just as she finished speaking, a giant several hundred meters tall, holding an eighty-meter-long baton, suddenly stood up from the street.

"Holy crap! The police who subdued that woman have also shown up!!!" Lin Jie exclaimed in surprise.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, the enormous police baton descended straight down upon them.

In that instant, everyone felt as if someone was throwing a twenty-story building at them.

"This is so boring, let me go and chop them both up." Zhu Xian'er's voice rang in Lin Jie's mind once again. At the same time, several S-class heroes with the ability to grow to gigantic size also enlarged their bodies to block the attack of the eighty-meter-long baton. However, even though they grew to a height of tens of meters, they still only barely touched the knee of the giant in front of them.

"Everyone, focus fire on his legs!" Explosion's voice crackled through the communicator. "I'll draw this big guy's attention!"

Immediately afterwards, everyone saw countless red leaves rise from their sight. Blast's figure stood amidst these red leaves. Soon after, he disappeared into the thick fog above, and after Blast's figure vanished, a series of dense, enormous explosions resounded in the sky.

"Wow, this is quite a scene!" Alice glanced around; most of the heroes present were using various powers to attack the giant leg. She, however, turned and led the little girl beside her in another direction.

"Where are you going? Are you going to back down now?" Anya's figure suddenly appeared beside her.

“Kuhuhu! I’m different from you guys!” Alice gave a slightly mocking look. “Do you know what the best way to end a game is? It’s to kill the game organizers, Kuhuhu. So I’m not going to waste my time here! I’m going to take care of those game organizers first.”

With that, Alice bypassed Anya and walked towards another place.

"Don't think I'll let you go just because you say that! If it weren't for my dear not wanting me to kill you, I would have already killed you all! Ahh!" Anya looked at Alice with a hostile expression: "Anyway, you are definitely a problematic woman! So even if I don't kill you, I won't let you out of my sight."

"Oh? That's quite unexpected! How did you come to the conclusion that I'm a problematic woman?" Alice then squinted at Anya.

"Of course it's your scent! I smell an unpleasant odor on you!"

“Kuhoo! If you said it was a woman’s intuition or something, maybe I could believe it, but what you’re saying about smells is just too interesting!” Alice laughed at this point.

Just as the two women were about to clash, Lin Jie suddenly appeared beside them from not far away. At that moment, a long sword gleaming with white light appeared in his hand.

"Could you two please stop causing trouble here? Oh, by the way, I found Ivan!" Lin Jie said to the two women, and then he disappeared from the spot.

The next second, he appeared in a pile of ruins not far away. With a light slash of his longsword, the space within the ruins seemed to crack open. And Ivan's figure appeared in front of Lin Jie.

"Hahahaha! I can't believe we've been found! This device definitely needs some improvements, hahahahaha!!!" The male Ivan looked at Lin Jie.

“We’ve finally caught one. I happen to have something to ask you,” Lin Jie said to Ivan in front of him.

"What is it? Let me make it clear first, I refuse to answer questions involving my personal privacy! And if you want to arrest me, I'd like to ask you to hire a lawyer, hahaha! Speaking of which, the last person willing to defend Ivan seems to be dead!"

"What exactly are you planning to do?" Lin Jie completely ignored Ivan's long speech.

"Just like you see! I'm having a life-or-death game with the heroes of the Hero Association, ahahahaha!"

"You've only ever played games with Zero, haven't you?" Lin Jie looked at Evan with some curiosity.

"Of course it's because..." Before Ivan could finish speaking, countless nanobots flowing like mercury around him swept towards Lin Jie.

But at that moment, Ivan was suddenly shot in the head and his head exploded. The nanobots, having lost control, also fell silent.

"Damn! You really went straight for the kill!" Lin Jie couldn't help but turn around and look at Alice behind him.

"Kuhuhu, you're not angry that I stole your kill, are you? Don't worry, I have no interest in the credit for killing this Ivan. Kuhuhu!"

“That’s not what I meant. I was going to ask him something else.” Lin Jie looked at Alice and said, “But never mind, there are still a lot of Evans here anyway.”

Just as Ivan was killed, the figure of the woman who had been wielding the forty-meter-long sword also rapidly disintegrated and vanished into thin air. The girl in the blink of an eye watched this scene with some surprise.

However, they had no time to think, because a giant was still standing there. And many evil spirits were constantly watching them from all sides.

However, not long after, a shout resounded throughout the entire holy city. Accompanying this shout was a massive explosion.

Along with the sound of the explosion in the sky came a terrifying shockwave powerful enough to easily lift a person away.

The giant wielding the eighty-meter-long baton also collapsed to the ground at that moment. However, before his body hit the ground, it was enveloped in a blue light. When the blue light disappeared, the enormous figure vanished into thin air.

After defeating the giant, the girl in the instant sat down on her bottom, exhausted.

"Are you alright?" An explosion fell from the sky.

"It's nothing, just a bit exhausted. It's my first time trying to separate something this big," the girl wiped the sweat from her brow. At that moment, all the other heroes gathered around.

"Haha! Look who I've caught!" A man wielding a long spear suddenly rushed in: "I told you my spear is invincible! Haha!"

And on the spear he was looking at from his shoulder, there was an Ivan.

"I demand that prisoners be treated well. Also, congratulations on defeating me this time," Ivan said, looking at the people around him.

"You captured him alive?" The girl in the blink of an eye looked at the hero holding the spear with some surprise.

"I am Ling Yu, an S-class hero, and I will become an SS-class superhero sooner or later! Of course, I have no problem taking action! Haha!" Ling Yu said as he threw Ivan in front of everyone.

"Where are the other Ivans? And where is the Necronomicon you mentioned hidden?" Blast grabbed Ivan by the collar as soon as Ivan was thrown out.

"Dude, your saliva is about to spray onto my face!"

"I have no interest in arguing with you right now! Tell me, where is this damned necromancer you're talking about? And why are you insisting on activating it only after three days?"

"Uh... if I tell you, could you consider reducing my sentence? Hahahaha."

"At least you'll suffer less!" Blast said coldly.

"Fine, you win! For my own safety, I'll tell you what I know. I can even be a witness. Hahahaha!!" Ivan's face still wore that repulsive smile: "Actually, the Necronomicon is in the Central Temple! As for the others, they're scattered throughout the Holy City."

"What did you say? Why are you scattered?" The girl in the blink of an eye looked at Ivan with some confusion: "Wouldn't it be better if you stayed together?"

"Because we're not a team, hahaha! We're all doing our own thing! Hahaha!!"

"You're all the same!" the girl in the instant said with some surprise.

"That's why we're not united! Because one Ivan is enough, hahaha!"

"How do we destroy the Necronomicon?" Blast suddenly asked.

"Actually, activating the Necronomicon takes three days, which is the game time we've given you! Hahahaha! Also, the luckiest one among us, Ivan, who won the lottery, is now dominating the entire Central Temple! Hahahaha! That means if we're just mini-bosses or minor monsters, then I, in the Central Temple, am actually the biggest boss this time! Hahahaha!!"

Chapter XIII

"Damn it! Tell me what that Ivan set up in the central temple?" Blast looked at Ivan in front of him.

"Who knows? But thinking about it carefully, even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you, right? After all, this kind of spoiler-like approach is just too boring for me! Ahahahaha!" Ivan's expression was still full of mockery, as if he were not a prisoner but someone who had the upper hand.

"You'd better get your facts straight," Blast said coldly to Ivan.

"Hahahaha..." Upon hearing Blast speak, Ivan burst into maniacal laughter. It was a laugh that made everyone present feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Shut up!" A powerful superhero beside him couldn't stand it any longer, or rather, he couldn't tolerate the man's mocking voice any longer. He punched Ivan hard in the stomach, sending Ivan flying backward.

"Hahahaha!" But the laughter did not stop at all. Even after being punched and sent flying to the ground, Ivan continued to let out that ear-piercing laughter.

"I'll teach you..." When the superhero realized his punch hadn't shut Ivan up, he was about to punch him again, but then he was shocked to discover that the fist he had just used to hit Ivan was starting to rot: "Aaaaah..."

A painful scream mingled with Ivan's piercing laughter rang out before all the heroes.

At that moment, a hero wielding a sword decisively severed his rapidly decaying arm. The severed arm turned into a bone shortly after hitting the ground.

"You bastard!" Several people immediately stepped forward to attack Evan, but were stopped by Blast.

"Hahahaha..." Ivan's laughter finally stopped. After spitting out a mouthful of blood, Ivan looked at the two SS-class heroes present: "You two just told a really funny joke! Ahahahaha! Helping me figure out my current situation was hilarious! Ahahahaha!"

"I still can't understand lunatics!" Lin Jie, standing at the back of the crowd watching this scene, couldn't help but sigh. In fact, if there weren't too many people around him preventing him from moving, Lin Jie could have used his divine sense to locate all the Ivans and then simply gone over and killed them all.

“Kuhuhu! I think Ivan is right!” Alice suddenly said to Lin Jie, “I think Ivan is now very clear about his current situation, but conversely, none of us here have figured out our own situation yet. Kuhuhu! But this state of complete uncertainty might be the most interesting thing, I actually quite like the surprises of the unknown!”

"Hmph! If you can understand what that madman is saying, does that mean you're a madman too?" Anya said to Alice from the side.

"Kuhuhu! When it comes to madness, you have absolutely no right to call me crazy! At least I won't keep pestering a man who doesn't like me!"

"Hmph, aren't you the same, always clinging to our darling?" Anya said, her aura suddenly rising. Just then, a vine suddenly sprouted from the flowerpot in Dailis's hand.

"Although I've encountered the battleground of my dreams, why does it feel completely different to me?" Lin Jie looked at Anya and Alice and scratched his head in confusion.

"Teacher...aren't you going to stop them?" Felicia asked timidly from behind Lin Jie.

Just as they were starting to veer off-topic, the captured Ivan suddenly smiled and looked at all the heroes present: "Alright! As a qualified NPC, I've given you all the hints I can. It's time to exit this game. Have fun! Ahahahaha!"

Upon hearing Ivan's words, everyone realized what was going on.

"Stop him! He's planning to self-destruct like the one we saw before!" Blast shouted immediately at the girl in the blink of an eye.

At the same moment of the explosion and shout, the girl of instant light reacted quickly, raising her hand towards Ivan. A blue energy enveloped Ivan's entire body, and when the girl of instant light withdrew her hand, Ivan's body had completely vanished!

"I have to say, these Ivans are a bit too halal! I've seen two so far, and both of them have self-destructed!" the girl in the instant said helplessly.

“Ivan has always been a notorious madman, so it’s normal.” Blast said nonchalantly, “By the way! I just received news that Mr. Torus’s side has been completely wiped out.”

"Impossible, right? Mr. Torus and his team are so strong! And their team should have nearly two thousand A-level or higher superpowered individuals, right?" the girl in the instant said in surprise.

"It was Captain Justice who notified us, so it seems to be true!" Blast said. "We need to be very careful in our next move! Since the enemy has the power to wipe out Mr. Torus's entire team in one go, it will be very difficult for us to defeat them if we encounter them."

"This is too troublesome!" The girl in the blink of an eye said after thinking for a moment, "Forget it, I can't think of any way to deal with all the Ivans at once! Let's figure out a way to destroy that necromancer's book first! That's our primary goal."

At that very moment, inside the central temple...

"Hahahaha! I didn't expect so many casualties so quickly. Over thirty of me have already died! Hahahaha! Twenty-six of them died from infighting, hahahaha! As expected of me!" Ivan laughed heartily as he looked at the scene inside the Crystal Cube. "But I wonder which heroes or myself will come to challenge me in a while? Hahahaha, I'm really looking forward to it! It seems that the luck to win the lottery is the key to the protagonist's aura! Hahahaha! I love this feeling of being the Great Demon King! Speaking of which, being scattered like this is boring! Let me change the battlefield terrain! Hahahaha!!"

As he spoke, Ivan placed his hand on the crystal cube in front of him. Instantly, the crystal cube was divided into countless small pieces, which then randomly rearranged themselves. When Ivan looked at the crystal cube again, the scene inside had also been completely rearranged, with many land and building components even defying the definitions of physics, floating in mid-air.

"Hahahaha! This scrambles everyone's positions! Hahahaha!" Ivan looked at the crystal cube in front of him with amusement: "I like this kind of treasure that can freely assemble space."

The only building in the crystal cube in front of him that had not changed was the central temple located in the center of the crystal.

"Hahaha, just as I imagined!" Ivan said, turning to look behind him. "Do you think this game can bring him out? Hahahaha!!"

Behind Ivan, however, a beautiful, petite blonde angel appeared.

"..." The angel simply stared at the crystal cube, making no attempt to respond whatsoever.

“Speaking of which, this should be our second meeting, right? Hahahaha!” Ivan looked at the angel in front of him: “But this is really interesting! If you count it that way, I’ve saved you twice! Hahahaha! Little angel blowing the trumpet.”

“I’ve only met him once!” the blonde angel said calmly. “The person who saved me last time had the same physical form as you, but a different soul.”

"They're really strict, aren't they? I didn't expect the church to have a penchant for imprisoning angelic lolis! Hahahaha! Does helping you this time count as helping God? Actually, I've always felt that if I'm properly reformed, I still have a chance to go to heaven! Hahahaha!!"