Chapter 140: Orb of Apocalypse, Launch!

Despite her petite stature, the woman showed not the slightest fear of the nine-meter-tall mecha giant. The light spear in her hand, forged from some unknown material, still posed a massive threat to the combined Voltron.

Facing this formidable general under Thanos, the Voltron combination provided Luke with very few advantages.

Originally, this was never prepared for such a scenario. Voltron was his combat solution specifically designed against the Leviathans.

Who could have anticipated such a massive variable as Proxima Midnight.

"Recall the G-3 Predators! Scatter and attack the grunts at will! Phantom Sword Dance! Draw Sword! Vengeance of Light! Damn it, everyone, full firepower!"

Facing Proxima Midnight's fierce, entangling attacks, aside from his initial tyrannical strike, Luke could no longer spare the energy to deal with those Leviathans.

At this moment, at least eight Leviathans were beginning to ravage the skies and weave between the buildings of New York, causing immense destruction to urban architecture in just a short while! One could only imagine the resulting death toll.

The chatter of the Four Roses echoed through the communication channel:

"Great General, this enemy is too powerful! However, she is still somewhat inferior to the Apostles we've slain. What a pity that the Great General's strength is currently a far cry from its peak. If we had a Supernova Nuclear Blast, an enemy of this caliber could be wiped out by the dozen with just a single bomb!"

"Rozana, are you trying to raze this city to the ground as well?"

"Oh, Amy, quickly think of something! Otherwise, the Great General will grow weak again."

"Analyzing now. The enemy has virtually no weak points, her physical functions are dozens of times those of a normal human, her self-healing ability is astonishingly high, her movement speed is terrifyingly fast, and she is proficient in a variety of martial arts. Especially the attack form of that spear—it is something I have never seen before. Even a Nen Master's Qi Guard is pierced through in a single blow, which shows her immense power..."

Luke's voice came through: "Don't panic, everyone! We haven't lost yet!"

Despite saying this, he felt completely devoid of confidence inside.

During his battle with Proxima Midnight, he occasionally cast his gaze toward the others. In the skies and across the chaotic battlefield in the streets below, the situation clearly looked anything but optimistic.

The sheer number of enemies far exceeded the original plot...

The Avengers were practically each fighting against a hundred, or even a thousand.

Iron Man alone was facing thousands of Chitauri soldiers pouring into the sky, while the space portal continued to spew out endless enemy reinforcements.

The ammunition carried by the Mark VII seemed to have been exhausted from the very beginning. Tony was now relying solely on the repulsors in his palms and the unibeam on his chest to attack. Constantly maneuvering and dodging in the air, fighting while retreating, he was already at a distinct disadvantage.

Though Thor possessed formidable personal prowess, he was beginning to find himself stretched thin against the mighty, swarming hordes of Chitauri soldiers surrounding him, and he would likely exhaust his stamina soon.

On the ground, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Peter Parker, and Christina the Snowman had been trapped on a single street and were unable to move.

All around them were enemy soldiers launching endless attacks, desperately and recklessly surrounding and boxing them in.

Peter Parker, wearing the Spider-Man suit, was the most active figure on the field. His web-slinging distractions solved well over half the troubles for this hero squad.

By this time, both Black Widow and Hawkeye had sustained injuries.

They were merely ordinary mortals, possessing far lower physical capabilities than Captain America, and lacked a signature shield.

Under the dense and tricky firepower coverage of the Chitauri soldiers, Black Widow's arms and thighs were burned by lasers, her suit torn, revealing shocking wounds on her fair skin.

Hawkeye bore a massive, terrifying patch of blood on his chest, but he kept gritting his teeth. His arrows were long gone, and he was currently relying on his archery-combat skills. Both of them were gritting their teeth to persist in engaging the enemy.

Because they both knew that the moment they relaxed even a fraction, they would be completely swallowed up by this tidal wave of enemies and would never rise again.

Captain America was one of the few who could still fight. His genetically modified body possessed stubborn shock resistance, and with the protection of his shield, he still had the spare capacity to provide some support to his teammates.

Even so, his stamina was depleting rapidly. Genetic modification did not mean limitless endurance. No matter how strong, one could not defeat a sea of bodies.

Christina the Snowman's snow-monster outfit was now tattered and torn, turning her into a little gray creature.

It wasn't until shortly before that the others discovered that this girl with a crisp, childish voice—whom Cap and the others had always assumed to be a child—revealed metal-lustrous alloy bones beneath her snowman suit, making them realize that Christina was actually a robot!

Christina was also one of the most active participants on the battlefield. Everything produced by Luke was driven by colorless small crystal cubes, providing an abundant energy supply. Naturally, her body was no exception.

At this moment, Christina's diminutive body was hugging a cannon completely disproportionate to her frame—the very same one Agent Coulson had used on the Helicarrier.

This weapon possessed formidable power, and Christina had taken a liking to it immediately. After all, it was an advanced weapon manufactured using S.H.I.E.L.D.'s years of research into the Tesseract.

Every single shot Christina fired blasted several charging Chitauri into tiny fragments. The powerful recoil was completely absorbed by her alloy physique.

It was fortunate that Spider-Man and Christina had joined as fresh reinforcements; otherwise, relying solely on Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye to face ten times the number of Chitauri from the original plot, they likely would have collapsed long ago. Even now, they were barely holding on.

Aside from those growing increasingly heavy-hearted on the field, the happiest among them was probably Hulk.

Hulk was smashing things with utter glee, as there was simply far too much that could be smashed. At that moment, he was hitching a ride, standing atop a Leviathan rampaging through the buildings, venting his endless fury.

Before long, Hulk brought that Leviathan crashing down to the earth with sheer, unadulterated brute force.

Along the way, burning vehicles and buildings were countless. Cries and calls for help rose one after another. However, the superheroes were too busy holding off the endless enemy forces to save anyone else.

In the distant sky, formations of US military fighter jets roared in, intercepting those Chitauri attempting to break out of New York and spread outward.

Jets were constantly shot down and crashing. Missiles and machine-gun fire intertwined densely with the Chitauri firepower in the air, while deafening explosions echoed constantly over the skies of New York...

Gradually, the superheroes' stamina grew increasingly exhausted, and the wounds on their bodies multiplied. Even Iron Man and Thor were panting, their mistakes gradually increasing.

The Mark VII was a semi-finished product and had already become battered under such high-intensity confrontation, experiencing frequent malfunctions that forced Tony to lower his operating altitude.

The situation steadily slid toward an even more unfavorable outcome for humanity; without a doubt, the superheroes were at the end of their tether.

Across the entire battlefield, only the most conspicuous nine-meter-tall mecha giant still retained vibrant combat effectiveness, clashing with the woman who was clearly the enemy leader, yet still unable to gain the upper hand.

This also meant that their most heavily relied-upon trump card had lost its utility.

Defeat seemed to be looming on the horizon.

A bone-chilling cold gripped everyone's hearts. The power of the aliens far exceeded anything they had ever imagined. Facing such an enemy, Earth's defense seemed hopelessly frail; how could humanity possibly win?

Some were even harboring thoughts of desperate prayer, wishing the US military would use nuclear weapons to bomb this location. At the very least, it could stop the aliens from spreading outward... In that case, the sacrifice of everyone present would at least be worthwhile.

Such thoughts were not isolated instances.

Black Widow, Hawkeye, and even Captain America couldn't help harboring these thoughts in their hearts. They knew that if things continued this way, certain death awaited them. Better to hold out a little longer and trust that the US government would make the correct choice...

Luke waited anxiously in his heart.

While dealing with Proxima Midnight's attacks and finding ways to counterattack, he constantly counted down the seconds in his mind. Every second felt as agonizing as a year.

Right at that moment, a voice like heavenly music rang out—it was Christina: "Master, the main body of the Pearl of Apocalypse is complete."

Without a single moment of hesitation, Luke shouted, "Launch immediately!"

A single point of light slowly rose from not far within the city.