The quinjet was like a stray leaf weaving through a deadly storm of metal and energy, every maneuver dancing on the edge of being blown out of the sky. Outside the cockpit windows, the New York sky had been completely stained with the colors of the apocalypse by that eerie blue rift, as the locust-like Chitauri army seemed infinite. On the ground, fire, thick smoke, collapsing buildings, and fleeing crowds wove a tapestry of despair. The Avengers were fighting their own battles, exhaustion already showing, and the resistance of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the regular military seemed so thin in the face of the tidal wave of enemy forces.
Artoria's golden light sword shattered another pouncing aircraft, but the counter-shock in her wrist and the growing sense of powerlessness in her heart were equally clear. Their appearance was like throwing a pebble into a flood; while it could stir some ripples, it could not change the overwhelming tide. The defensive line along the East River had temporarily held under their efforts and sporadic resistance, but further away, at Times Square, Central Park, Wall Street... tragic scenes continued to come in through broken communication fragments.
There must be a stronger power! A decisive force capable of crushing the enemy on the main battlefield, or at least containing the tide to create an opportunity to close the portal!
Asgardian reinforcements were hopeless, and Earth's hidden powers wouldn't make it in time... The System! Only that mysterious and unpredictable System that could grant the Serenitea Pot might be the only variable! But the previous 'New Year's Money' incident felt eerie, and the System didn't seem omnipotent either; that phrase 'I should go ask for my New Year's money too' left her with a faint sense of unease. However, at this moment of desperation, there was no room for hesitation!
"System!" Artoria screamed in the depths of her consciousness, almost draining all her mental energy, packing her urgent, desperate plea along with the cruel scenes of the battlefield and shoving them over. "I need an army! An army capable of facing and even crushing this alien invasion! Right now! Immediately! The honkai universe! Schicksal! Whatever the cost! Lend it to me! Lend me the strongest, most numerous forces you can mobilize!!"
She didn't know how the System would interpret 'honkai universe' and'Schicksal,' but based on her knowledge, it was one of the organizations most likely to possess large-scale supernatural combat forces. She was gambling—gambling that the System had the ability to contact or even mobilize forces across Worlds, gambling on the connection and authority beyond imagination represented by that 'New Year's Money.'
[...]
This time, the System's stagnation was longer than ever before. In the depths of her consciousness, it felt as if countless complex data streams were frantically colliding, filtering, and calculating, and there was even a faint echo of distant and difficult 'communication' and 'negotiation' that crossed endless dimensions.
Artoria's heart sank bit by bit, just as she thought the System couldn't respond or the 'cost' was too high to pay—
[...Emergency confirmed... Authority verified... Establishing ultra-dimensional stable communication link... Target Universe anchored: Honkai Side Branch - Number Ω-7 'ember era'... Status confirmed: Intrinsic Honkai disaster has ended, civilization has entered a period of recovery, reconstruction, and order expansion...'Schicksal' organization, the core defense force of the Pan-Human United Civilization, responding to the Cross-World Crisis Mutual Assistance Protocol (Legacy Clause of the First Executor)...]
The System's electronic voice was more solemn than ever, even carrying a hint of an indescribable weight, as if it bore the burden of eternal time.
[Protocol activated. Based on crisis level, aid scale approved: Combat units directly under Schicksal Headquarters, 30% of standing mobile forces, temporarily requisitioned.]
[Warning: Large-scale cross-World troop projection. Energy consumption is exponential compared to the last time, which will cause severe spatial oscillations and energy tides in the current World. After projection, command rights are temporarily transferred to the Host. Schicksal units will act according to basic combat instructions and the protocol framework. Coordinate scattering errors exist in the projection.]
[Confirm application for'Schicksal' large-scale tactical combat group (Estimated units: 300-500 standard combat individuals, including various types of Valkyries, Tactical Mechs, and support vessels) for emergency intervention? Estimated arrival time: 5-8 minutes, accompanied by high-intensity spatial disturbance energy bursts.]
[Note: This is the first time'Schicksal' in this timeline has executed a large-scale cross-World intervention under the 'ember era' protocol. Causality disturbance level: Extremely High.]
300 to 500? 30% of Schicksal Headquarters' standing mobile forces?! Artoria's mind went blank for a moment. This wasn't just a squad; this was an army! An army from another civilization that had already conquered its apocalypse, with technology and individual power developed to their peak!
"Confirmed! Project immediately! Cover the airspace of Midtown Manhattan and surrounding enemy-dense areas as much as possible, avoiding confirmed large civilian shelters and critical infrastructure! Hurry!" She didn't hesitate for a second, a massive surprise and a heavy sense of responsibility weighing on her heart simultaneously. But now, she could only accept it.
[Instruction finalized. Initiating 'ember era' Protocol: Cross-World Strategic Projection. Guiding energy flood... Deploying multi-dimensional coordinate array... Deploying stable anchors... Warning, high-intensity spatial distortion is about to occur, please prepare for Impact.]
The System's voice was replaced by a low rumble that seemed to originate from the dawn of the Universe. This roar didn't come from the outside World but vibrated directly from every 'point' in space, from every'string' of the rules!
The entire New York battlefield—no, the entire North American East Coast and even further, every being with spatial perception capabilities looked up in horror at this moment!
Atop Stark Tower, Loki, who was maintaining the Tesseract portal, suddenly turned his head, his icy green eyes showing unbelievable shock for the first time. He felt a spatial power far more vast and 'orderly' than the Tesseract, as if carrying the heavy will of an entire World, forcibly squeezing into this Universe and creating violent repulsion and interference with his portal!
Tony, fighting hard in the air, heard Jarvis issue a piercing alarm: "Detected an unresolvable large-scale spatial warp! Energy readings... immeasurable! The source... is all around us!"
On the ground, Steve knocked back a Chitauri soldier with his shield and looked up at the sky, his resolute face filled with shock. The Hulk also seemed to sense a threat, letting out an uneasy roar. Natasha and Barton exchanged glances from behind cover, their eyes filled with the same confusion and vigilance.
The next moment, above Manhattan, above New York Bay, and across the vast firmament surrounding the Manhattan war zone—
Dozens, hundreds of spatial rifts of varying sizes—the smallest of which exceeded a hundred meters in diameter—swirling with brilliant gold and deep blue energy vortices, burst open without warning, like lethal flowers blooming in the sky!
These rifts weren't like the ones Loki opened, which were filled with coldness and predatory intent; instead, they carried a sense of solemnity and order, as if a precision instrument were operating, with edge-flowing energy runes and data light streams of extreme complexity.
Then, a scene that the entire battlefield and all humans on Earth witnessing through satellites and surveillance would never forget descended.
It was like the descent of an angelic legion from myth, or the jump arrival of a future interstellar fleet.
First to emerge from the largest rifts were giant Bio-ships over a kilometer long, their streamlined silver-white hulls engraved with golden cross emblems and complex energy circuits! They weren't purely metallic creations but seemed like miracles of biology fused with cutting-edge technology, emitting a soft yet heart-stopping pressure. Along the broadsides of the ships, dense arrays of cannon ports and missile silos were already open, their cold locking beams sweeping over the Chitauri army below.
Closely following the giant ships were countless slightly smaller but equally formidable Assault Ships, Escort Boats, and High-speed Interceptors. They swarmed out like a hive, instantly filling every corner of the sky, their numbers so great that they instantly reversed the Chitauri army's original numerical advantage!
Simultaneously, from the medium-sized rifts, agile figures clad in various gorgeous armors filled with technological and biological beauty fell like raindrops—Valkyries! Some carried massive tactical armaments, some held lances and greatswords flowing with light, and some were surrounded by Floating Cannons and energy wings. Although their armor styles, colors, and weapons varied, without exception, they all radiated the aura of battle-hardened elites and a stern, inviolable majesty. A quick scan revealed their numbers certainly exceeded three hundred!
Even more shocking was that mixed among these Valkyries were giant Tactical Mechs over ten meters tall, with either ferocious or solemn designs full of power, as well as heavy support platforms hovering in mid-air like mobile fortresses.
In just one minute, the New York sky, which had been filled with the Chitauri's eerie blue light, was covered and suppressed by the radiance of silver-white, gold, and various Valkyrie armors! The massive Schicksal fleet hovered in the air like mobile mountains, their cold cannons locked onto every Chitauri unit; hundreds of Valkyries and Tactical Mechs cut into every key node of the battlefield like scattering petals; and the High-speed Interceptor groups engaged the Chitauri aircraft, instantly creating a one-sided slaughter!
Overwhelming numbers! Overwhelming quality! Overwhelming levels of technology and power!
The entire battlefield fell into a moment of dead silence. Even the frenzied Chitauri seemed stunned for an instant by this sudden, completely unexpected, and terrifying military force.
Then, a clear, cold female voice, seemingly devoid of emotion yet containing supreme authority and will, rang out through a wide-area communication method beyond current Earth technology, instantly echoing in the receiving devices of every combat unit—including the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., and even some enemy forces—and directly across the sky:
"Announcement to all combat units in this realm. We are the Pan-Human United Civilization Defense Force, belonging to 'Schicksal.' In response to the 'ember era' Protocol and cross-World crisis aid request, we are performing a temporary intervention in this local planetary invasion event."
"Now, based on Protocol Article One: Eliminate all alien invasion units that pose a threat to the survival of civilization."
"All hostile units not identified with this World are to be annihilated unconditionally."
"Indigenous resistance forces of this realm, please assist in friend-or-foe identification to avoid collateral damage."
"Combat, begin."
The moment the last word fell—
"Vrrr——!!!"
The main cannons of the poised Schicksal fleet roared in unison! Hundreds of massive beams containing Honkai energy and cutting-edge kinetic lethality descended like the judgment spears of Gods, instantly drowning dozens of Chitauri 'Leviathan' behemoths and the dense aircraft groups around them! After the blinding flashes, those giant Bio-ships and their escorts were silently vaporized and annihilated like snow under the sun, leaving behind hardly any wreckage!
"Fight for all that is beautiful in the World!" Hundreds of Valkyries shouted in unison through their armor amplifiers, their voices temporarily drowning out the roar of explosions. They turned into streaks of colored meteors, boldly crashing into the enemy ranks! Ice, fire, thunder, Impact waves, energy blades, physical munitions, Floating Cannon fire... countless forms of attack beyond the understanding of Earth's conventional weaponry bloomed in the Chitauri army like a most precise dance of slaughter! The Valkyries coordinated seamlessly, clearing the ground in groups of three, hunting sky beasts in teams of five, or thrusting alone to decapitate enemy command nodes. The combat literacy, power levels, and killing efficiency they displayed left all the witnessing Earth warriors dumbfounded.
Those giant Tactical Mechs were like meat grinders, rampaging through the enemy crowds, each attack causing wide-scale destruction. Support platforms continuously projected energy shields to protect key buildings, fired tractor beams to rescue trapped civilians, or released swarms of autonomous drones to sweep up any stragglers.
In less than three minutes, the situation of the battle underwent an Earth-shattering, subversive reversal!
The Chitauri army, which had originally flooded the city like a black tide, met this sudden, armed-to-the-teeth 'Heavenly Army' and was evaporated, cut, and routed at a visible speed, like snow meeting a raging fire! The sky was cleared, the ground front was stabilized and quickly pushed back, and countless blocks on the verge of falling were reclaimed.
Tony hovered in the air, his mouth behind the faceplate wide enough to fit an egg, as Jarvis continuously reported the terrifying combat data of those unknown units. Steve leaned on his shield, watching a Valkyrie with black hair and purple armor, her dual pistols dancing like the scythes of a God of Death as she easily dispatched an entire squad of Chitauri elites who had given him such a hard time, remaining speechless for a long time. The Hulk seemed a bit dissatisfied with this new group of 'little ones' radiating powerful energy fluctuations, but seeing them also pummeling the aliens, his roars quieted down. Natasha and Barton stood back-to-back, watching the suddenly cleared battlefield around them, only able to gasp in shock.
And inside the quinjet, Artoria looked at the silver army outside that almost obscured the sky, and at those Valkyries harvesting enemies like cutting grass on the battlefield. The surge in her heart was not just shock and relief, but also an indescribable, complex emotion.
The System's power... or rather, the power of the 'honkai universe Ω-7' connected behind the System, was actually this terrifying. And those phrases 'Legacy Clause of the First Executor' and 'ember era Protocol' made her thoughts wander. Could the so-called 'First Executor' be... a transmigrator senior like her? And seemingly an incredible senior who had solved the Honkai problem of that World?
"Artoria, the battlefield situation has completely reversed. The enemy's main force is being rapidly cleared, and their morale has collapsed. But the energy source atop Stark Tower remains stable; Loki and the Tesseract are still there." Minerva's voice pulled her back from her thoughts, as the optical sensor locked onto the distant building still emitting that discordant blue glow.
Artoria took a deep breath, suppressing the waves in her heart. The reinforcements had arrived, and the overall situation was set. But the ultimate culprit had not yet been dealt with.
"Minerva, let's go. It's time to have a final reckoning with that God of Mischief." Her gaze sharpened as she looked toward Stark Tower.
The jet adjusted its direction, and under the cover of the silver ship shadows and Valkyrie radiance crisscrossing the sky, it shot like an arrow toward the original and final core of the storm.
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