Heroes Return

"Solomon? Why did you come to find me?" Hearing Solomon's words, Lin Jie couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Is it just to find these things from me?"

"Hehe, of course not! I just think it's time to talk to you about Xiaoqian." Solomon smiled and took Lin Jie's arm. "Then let's go. Let's find a place to talk alone."

"I've been really busy lately!" Lin Jie said helplessly, looking in the direction of his home in the distance.

"Isn't it a very enjoyable thing to be with a beautiful woman?" Solomon said to Lin Jie with a smile, "Especially with me. Actually, I think we are quite a good match."

……

One hundred years later, somewhere high in the clouds, a flying city floats silently above the clouds.

"Is this the kingdom of the gods? It's amazing! Hahahaha! I love it here! The automation here is even more advanced than human cities! Although it's achieved through magic." Ivan's laughter echoed through the city's corridors. Just ahead, three old men were calmly watching Ivan.

"Then, tell me your next plan," an old man asked Ivan. "Mortal, we have witnessed your wisdom and madness, and we also share a common obstacle. Therefore, we will do everything in our power to help you eliminate Zero!"

“That would be my honor.” Ivan said with a smile to everyone present, “Zero, speaking of which, if we want to deal with an enemy, it seems we need to fully understand him.”

"We've already helped you with that." Just as Ivan spoke, a beautiful angel descended from the sky. If Lin Jie and the others saw her, they would be shocked to discover that she looked exactly like the Horned Angel Zero had defeated in the past. In other words, she bore the same appearance as Po Jun of the Hero Association. If there was any difference, it would be the six wings on her back.

"This crystal contains everything about Zero. Here you can see Zero's true identity, as well as his important family and friends." The six-winged angel calmly said to Ivan, "How you use him is up to you, you blind fool."

"I only have one question. Is this crystal solid or not?"

"Its hardness is only that of an ordinary crystal." Although he didn't know why Evan would ask such a question, the angel calmly answered him.

"That makes things easier." Evan said, taking out a sticky bomb and attaching it to the crystal. Then he threw the crystal away.

With an explosion, the crystal shattered into countless small pieces in the vast sky.

"Mortal, do you know how foolish you are to do this?" the angel said calmly to Ivan. "You are trying to destroy a card that is very important to you."

"My Archangel! When did angels learn the tricks that only villains like us use?" Ivan suddenly spoke to the beautiful angel before him. "You know what? For me, this means nothing! You have no idea what romance between men is! I have indeed killed family members of people who didn't kill, and I have indeed used the families of many people to threaten them. But I would never use such pointless methods on Zero."

Doing so would cross a line for both Zero and me, which would not only affect our game relationship but also be incredibly boring!

Besides, do you really think I care about Zero's identity? I have absolutely no interest in who he is in real life or what kind of family he has! Because all I'm interested in is Zero! What I want to see is what he looks like with that cloak on, not what he looks like without it!

It doesn't matter who's under his cloak; what matters is who can ultimately tear it off with their own hands! Only by tearing off his cloak will I achieve victory! Ahahahahaha! Alright, now let's deal with the biggest obstacle that has always prevented you from launching a full-scale attack on humanity! The antimatter furnace.

Chapter 47

All over the world, not only did all sorts of miracles begin to occur, but these miracles were accompanied by all sorts of disasters that were difficult for humanity to cope with. On a coast somewhere in the world, giant waves began to relentlessly crash against the shore, threatening to engulf everything around them.

"In the name of Noah's people! Only the good ones chosen by us can wait for this ark. Believe me, under the power of the Great Flood, all humanity will be submerged in this world."

On a massive ark, an old man holding a wooden staff proclaimed to the assembled people dressed in the robes of the Church of Gods: "Sinners will be judged! Now let me personally verify your qualifications to board the ark! And do not try to awaken yourselves; human ships simply cannot survive this divinely powerful catastrophe! The sea will destroy all ships except the ark!"

Upon hearing the old man's words, the members of the Church of Gods around him began to shout excitedly. Meanwhile, on the distant coastline, humans could already see the terrifying giant waves! It seemed as if, in a few minutes, the entire continent would be submerged.

However, just as everyone was preparing to board the ark, a cold laugh rang out from the outside of the ark.

"Humanity will no longer be submerged," Leng Yan said calmly. "With current human science and technology, we already have the ability to cope with any disaster."

As Leng Yan finished speaking, blue flames began to burn on the sea surface. Almost simultaneously, several powerful ice ability users also began to unleash their abilities.

In an instant, the entire sea area burst into flames right before everyone's eyes. Although the entire sea area was ablaze, the flames were not ordinary flames, but blue flames.

As the blue flames burned, the seawater began to freeze at an extremely rapid pace. Not only the seawater in this area, but even the distant giant waves were frozen, creating a scene that was both frenzied and spectacular. In the sky, a massive swarm of drones flew overhead, and as special energy projectiles were fired into the sky, the dark clouds were forcibly blasted apart.

The launch of another batch of missiles also froze the seawater further away.

"Human, this is only temporary. Sooner or later, this ice will melt."

Although the sea was frozen, surprisingly, an ark was still sailing on the surface of the sea, which was undoubtedly the ark of Noah's people.

"Rest assured, our fleet will send them back to Antarctica before they melt. As for the ecological balance, you can also rest assured; we have already collected the genetic material of all fish species. If any food chain issues arise, our natural resources department can restore the ecosystem here immediately." A bespectacled hero stood openly before the old man and said, "Now, I'd better think carefully about how to face the trial! I've already been arrested on charges of inciting unrest."

"How ridiculous! Mortals, do you really think you can take me away?" The old man laughed loudly at this moment, and his body began to grow larger and larger, and his figure became as if it were an illusion.

"How will we know if we can take it or not if we don't try?" The voice of time and space suddenly rang out at this moment.

Not far away, the frozen giant wave suddenly vanished. Keep in mind, this wave was almost larger than the entire coastline, yet it disappeared in an instant. The sea reappeared on the distant shore.

As the spacetime phenomenon appeared, it conveniently helped Leng Yan and his group by using spatial abilities to send the frozen ice blocks back to the Arctic and Antarctic oceans.

"Welcome back, Time and Space." Upon hearing Time and Space's voice, Leng Yan simply replied calmly, showing no sign of surprise.

"Cold Flame! What on earth is going on? Shouldn't Time and Space have defected with Romanor? Why are they here?" an S-class hero asked Cold Flame in confusion.

“She has decided to come back.” Leng Yan said calmly, “I promised her that since she is willing to come back, I will accept her back.”

Leng Yan calmly said, then turned to the old man before him and said, "Now let's witness the power of the gods!"

……

For Leng Yan, anything that could become power, he would seize without hesitation. The reason for this was simple: they needed power. Therefore, Leng Yan was now unhesitatingly reusing the spacetime that was indistinguishable between good and evil.

Of course, the battle here at Lengyan is not the only one. Similar battles are constantly erupting all over the world. Miraculous events are occurring almost everywhere.

What's worse for the Hero Association is that even the smallest miracle requires a power level of S-rank or higher to participate. It's safe to say that, worldwide, heroes below S-rank power level have practically been relegated to the role of police officers for maintaining order.

But how many heroes in the world have an energy level of S or higher?

Of course, this is merely the calm before the storm. The gods haven't descended in force yet; only a few have appeared. Yet, it has already begun to cause headaches for heroes around the world. During this time, the casualty rate among heroes is also rising sharply. In this world, heroes will still be killed. The maintenance of peace and order will still depend on extremely fierce battles.

As the world-destroying monster of yesteryear, Fenrir has now completely stood against the gods. However, Fenrir's power alone is insufficient to secure victory in this war.

At this moment, almost all the heroes were hoping for the appearance of a hero. After all, if he appeared, perhaps the heroes could once again survive this crisis that they didn't think they could overcome.

Heroes have already begun to defect to the side of the gods. And not everyone is looking forward to the appearance of Zero.

At least for now, more and more ordinary people around the world are joining the processions of the Gods. Many cities have even been directly occupied by these rioting citizens. Taking advantage of the fact that heroes cannot attack ordinary citizens, these people have begun to constantly attack the heroes, even violently entering the Hero Association's base to carry out sabotage and destruction.

As the number of missionaries increased, naturally, many politicians who believed in the legitimacy of the Church of the Gods began to appear among the World Government's council members. They even started public elections demanding the disclosure of the true identities and information of all heroes. Ordinary people began searching for the heroes' families, and these families were persuaded to abandon their resistance against the gods and accept the Church of the Gods.

In an instant, banners of the gods were raised almost everywhere in the world. But faced with this chaotic situation, the heroes were helpless, for they had far too few allies. Dealing with even small groups of gods was already a huge problem, let alone dealing with this whole mess.

It was precisely through this opportunity that the Church of the Gods began its expansion. Furthermore, because the current Supreme Councilor refused to disclose the heroes' private information, a new election was launched in an attempt to oust him from his position.

Many of these individuals, possessing a certain social standing, began using their resources to pressure the world government. Actions such as halting factory production and manipulating the economic market began to occur.

Faced with this situation, the Hero Association is undoubtedly in a precarious position, attacked from both sides.

……

"Get out! Get out of here! We don't allow you to set foot here! Heroes aren't welcome here! You mechanical monster!" Words and stones began to appear around Rose, who stood before the desert inhabitants. Looking at the ever-glowing pyramid before them, these people, dressed in the uniforms of the Church of the Gods, began throwing stones at Rose, trying to drive her away.

But Rose remained expressionless in the face of this situation. Not far from the crowd, she saw several children secretly watching her. These children also seemed to tremble slightly when exposed to the light.

Completely ignoring the cursing residents, it flew to a window not far from the pyramids.

"You seem to have something to ask me."

"Are you a hero? Will you protect us, big sister?" a little boy asked Rose.

“Let’s go to safety. It’s dangerous here,” Rose said calmly.

“It’s okay, I believe the heroes will protect us, no matter what happens,” a child said to Rose.

Right next to him, another child suddenly asked, "Sister, are you really facing a god?"

"If we use the terminology from human legends, then they are gods," a child asked.

“But isn’t God good? Why does Daddy say they’re going to judge humanity and kill so many people? What did we do wrong? Why are we being judged?” another child asked.

“You have done nothing wrong,” Rose said calmly. “You don’t need to be judged. If anyone tries to harm you, the heroes will protect you.”

"Sister, will you protect us?"

“Yes, I will protect you,” Rose said calmly. After once again urging the children to take refuge, Rose looked up at the light emanating from the pyramid. There, a man dressed in pharaoh’s robes and holding a scepter stood atop the pyramid.

"Power analysis complete. New ability evolution, new mode evolution. Please select the most suitable plan direction: God Mode or God Destroyer Mode." The system's voice rang in Rose's ears.

Rose didn't speak, but the system beeped again.

"God-Slaying Mode activated."

Chapter 48

Looking at the entity atop the pyramid in the distance, Rose's eyes showed no intense light or emotion. After all, her bionic eyes only revealed vast amounts of data and analysis.

However, with the emergence of the God-Slaying form within the girl, another terrifying evolution of power quietly erupted within her. Undoubtedly, Gear is a successful scientist, and her research will one day unleash a tremendous force. Because she has endowed Rose with technology that current human civilization cannot possibly master: the ability to self-evolve.

Although the Star Armor is not a product of Earth, Rose, who can carry the Star Armor and unleash its power perfectly, is undoubtedly terrifying.

With this near-terrifying rate of evolution and growth, Rose's alien body underwent another transformation. The mechanical parts that were originally part of her body vanished in this change, replaced by a human-like physical form. The instant an inexplicable new energy began to emerge within Rose's body, her body also shed all its mechanical structure, replaced by human components.

This was something that was almost impossible before, but at this moment it became a reality.

A magical imprint imbued with mysterious power erupted at this moment. The transformation between technology and magic was perfectly realized in an instant. Just seconds before, some scholars even considered the fusion of science and magic a pipe dream.

The people dressed as pharaohs on the pyramids naturally saw Rose as well.

“That’s wonderful, I like you very much, girl. How about being my queen?” As the man spoke, his gaze began to sweep over Rose.

"I'm here to destroy you," Rose said calmly. "Whatever you say, you are creating an abnormal disaster."

"Disaster? As long as you are willing to live in my holy city, you will not be buried by the yellow sands outside the world." The man said calmly, "I have already bestowed enough mercy before the world map was deliberately changed."

As the two were talking, a terrifying sandstorm swept across almost the entire desert region, threatening to engulf everything. But this place alone remained untouched.

In the distance, a mummy honor guard dressed in golden armor was silently worshipping the man before them.

"The way to stop the sandstorm—begin the search." The system in Rose's mind immediately issued this message.

"The source of the sandstorm has been identified." The moment the sandstorm was confirmed, Rose flew directly towards the person in front of her, a technologically advanced knight's lance appearing in her hand without her noticing. A shield also appeared in her other hand.

As the knight's lance spun wildly, the energy swirling like a storm appeared extremely frenzied and explosive.

Seeing that Rose was actually stabbing directly at him, the word on the pyramid simply stretched out its hand calmly, and a barrier was erected in front of Rose.

"Energy gun cannot penetrate, increase energy output, energy gun begins to overload, weapon structure altered. Material retrieval in progress, new material retrieval complete, material synthesis in progress. Increase penetration capability, improving penetration structure." A series of changes appeared on the screen. Meanwhile, outside, Rose's energy gun was also directly blocked by the energy barrier.

"While I don't know how the mortal who created you infused your body with divine power, the power it unleashes is indeed extraordinary," the man said calmly, a smile appearing on his face. The next second, a beam of energy appeared before him, transforming into terrifying golden flames the instant it struck Rose: "Destroy under the power of the Sun God's fire!"

As the man spoke, a dozen enormous golden eyes, each larger than a skyscraper, appeared around the city amidst the sandstorm outside. All the eyes turned to look at Rose, who was flying backward.

Rose's shield burned and melted under the power of the golden flames.

"Adjusting hardness, replacing materials, increasing energy absorption performance. Material generation in progress, new structure generation in progress." A series of peculiar characters appeared in Rose's mind. However, the girl had already begun to fly backward, the flames burning the giant shield and then the girl herself.

"New weapons are being generated, and the Godslayer mode is being adjusted."

"As far as humanity is concerned, you have already reached the pinnacle. But unfortunately, you will never be able to step into the realm of true gods, even with divine power." The man had appeared in front of Rose at some point, looking at the burning Rose: "It would be a great pity to destroy you like this. Since you have gained self-awareness, let me try to see if you can be transformed into my puppet."