Crossing the ocean to the Americans didn't take as long as I had expected; it was the first time I was traveling on my Ehangwen. It wasn't something I brought out often, being too big and eye-catching to take for a casual spin.
But right now, being eye-catching was exactly what I wanted. The entire world was watching what happened here — I had no doubt about that. Even those who normally kept to themselves, such as the Wakandans, watched and likely planned on entering the fray themselves.
After all, they had already been exposed, and the world was closing in on them, putting pressure on them. Like me, they wanted a chance to show their might, to stop others from targeting them.
And like me, they didn't want to fight humans — that could be the spark that ignited all-out war. They needed another target, one they wouldn't face backlash for attacking, but still strong enough to show off against.
And this war was perfect. Firstly, they had to win; if humanity lost, the Wakandans too would die, so yes, everyone paid attention to this.
From where I stood, I could see it — see so far. The monster that was the US military was waking up; this mostly dormant black hole of taxpayer money was finally starting to show its teeth.
Countless military personnel were called in, weapons rolled out, but this was the first time in modern history they fought a war on their own turf. They weren't used to worrying about collateral damage, and now… they suddenly found themselves in a dilemma.
Attack their own city? Or wait, and hope something changed?
Well, in the end their command structure was as rotten as they come, so I had no doubt they would try to bomb it. They had done so once, just to get rid of the Avengers, ordering a nuclear strike after the situation was pretty much handled.
And this time, things were countless times worse.
Now, I only knew the film version of this invasion, and yes, it was likely limited on purpose, but I still suspected that had Loki been leading things, it wouldn't be this bad.
No, this… this was bad.
Maw wasn't like Loki. Maw didn't want to rule… he wanted only to kill, to cut down half the population. And that, he could do. Against this force… humanity had no defense. The only reason they weren't already dead was the portal.
It limited the number of enemies that could come through, and it worked as a chokepoint, stopping the Chitauri host from descending all over the world at once.
But even limited to one location, I could see them spreading out, some already nearing the bordering states.
This had already grown beyond what humanity could handle on their own. Thankfully, they didn't have to face it alone.
"My Knights!" I called, as the light of my Bright Ehangwen faded and the enemy kept coming. "Are you with me?"
The wind howled over the deck as my voice carried across the shining platform, echoing in the heavens themselves. The sigils carved into Ehangwen's frame pulsed in rhythm with my words — every line of light answering its master's call.
And my knights — my faithful few — responded in kind.
Lancelot knelt first, blade planted before him, the glow of his armor reflecting the golden dawn of our approach. "Until the end, my King."
"Until beyond it," added Gawain, his tone as bright as the morning sun he drew his strength from. The fire of his will burned hot enough to make the air shimmer around him.
Bedivere stood beside them, hand resting over his heart, expression solemn. "Command us, my liege. The people of this world have seen enough despair. Let us show them that hope still answers when called."
Their loyalty warmed even this ancient heart of mine. Once, long ago, I had led men into battles for thrones and crowns. Now I led heroes to protect the innocent — and the irony was not lost on me.
I smiled faintly. "Then let it be done. We strike as one."
"Fuck yeah!" Mordred shouted, before she kicked off, shooting away from Ehangwen and bringing Clarent up as she crashed headfirst into an oncoming Leviathan. Those massive, building-sized creatures were true living war-machines.
Carriers that brought soldiers through defensive lines by simply breaking right through them — ramming beasts, not smart, but deadly.
While a few had been taken down by the Avengers, most were too tough for them to harm quickly. Yet before Mordred and Clarent, this beast met its match, her sword cutting through the alien metal and warped flesh.
Mordred tore through the Leviathan like a comet, the impact blooming into a violent cascade of light and debris. The creature's death cry rolled across the ocean like thunder, scattering smaller Chitauri fliers as if the air itself rejected them.
I could feel her exhilaration through the bond — reckless, furious joy. That same spark she had always carried since the day she first raised Clarent against me.
"Show-off," Gawain muttered, though the grin under his helm was unmistakable as he leapt from the deck after her, sword blazing. His solar burst cut through another Leviathan's wing, turning its armored plates molten. The monster spiraled down, crashing into the ocean with a plume of steam that rose like divine incense.
"Remember your limits," I called out, though I knew it was pointless. They would not — and in truth, I didn't want them to. This was the kind of battle the Knights of the Round were born for.
One by one my knights moved to join the battle below — well, not all of them. Tristan saw no reason to leave my side, as his bow allowed him to fight from here, and Galahad, the strongest of them all, also remained, serving as my shield.
I didn't need protection; as the Goddess Rhongomyniad, I was far stronger than I had been as the King of Knights. Anything that could match me, or even threaten me, was far beyond even Galahad. But they wouldn't listen.
So while the rest either went to help the civilians or threw themselves into the fight, those two remained by my side as I watched the chaos unfold.
In particular, I watched Stark Tower, the center of everything. I had thought it might change, but no. This wasn't just Maw alone — this had also been planned by Reed, and he would naturally know what the best place would be.
Somewhere he could easily get everything he needed and at the same time have the power. Even his own tower couldn't compare with one powered by an arc reactor.
It was one of the first outside the ones powering Albion; after all, I was the sole authority back home. If I said a new type of untested reactor was to replace the old ones? No one disagreed.
So despite America being the place they were invented, they were never allowed to be fully used. Stark had spent years just getting permission to use one for his tower, and those reactors were a marvel.
Clean, nearly limitless energy — no spikes, no drops, just a steady outflow for as long as you wanted. Sure, they could overheat, but that was hardly a problem; just build the right cooling and it was fine.
The large ones weren't like the one in Stark's chest, where placing a cooling system was difficult due to a lack of room — more so since I closed that hole, forcing him to make the reactor even smaller as it had far less space.
No, they were safe, but few wanted to see Stark in control of the energy sector. Foolish — but here it had led to events mirroring the film.
Stark Tower was the key; from where I stood, I could see the machine responsible for everything. I could see the Tesseract, the cosmic cube hiding the Space Stone. I understood nothing of the machinery, but the cube itself was a wonder.
It shared some similarities with my lance, with Rhongomyniad. Both were anchors of space. Mine far lesser, for sure, but I also saw through the shield protecting it — it was simple, just a wall of pure space.
Indeed, nothing could break it, not unless it could shatter space itself, and few things could do that… maybe only Gilgamesh going all out could cause that level of devastation. Anyone else would have to overcome it without relying on brute force.
I couldn't help but wonder if Mana Burst (Wrath) would allow me to break it. It did give me Ignore Invincibility. But I didn't know if this counted as that… Maybe Summer Splash EX would be better; that did give me Sure-Hit.
"Your Majesty. They just keep coming — their number is endless." Tristan's voice was calm, almost eerily so, even as his bowstring thrummed like the heartbeat of the battlefield. Every note he released was a death knell — a soft hum followed by the crash of burning metal and alien flesh below.
"Endless…" I murmured. "That word loses meaning when applied to the armies of the stars."
I had learned a lot about the cosmos while in Asgard, in particular about the forces of the Mad Titan. Which naturally included the Chitauri. They were a locust swarm, endless and bio-engineered. Cheap and mass-produced.
They were pretty much endless; billions could come, and a billion more the next day, and it would continue as long as needed.
The ability to field an unending number of forces was what made them so feared. Thanos only had a small group of elite warriors — his Black Order — but this swarm still allowed him to be a powerhouse in the universe.
My small group of knights could surely match his Black Order… but to match his army? Even Battle Continuation skills likely wouldn't allow them to fight his entire host.
"It seems they failed," I muttered, watching from above as the small cluster of heroes broke away from the tower — Iron Man's armor flickering from damage, Captain America holding his shield high to cover the others as they pushed through the chaos. The Fantastic Four were with them now, Reed still unsteady, his face pale even at this distance.
Tristan's bow hummed again, the arrow streaking downward to intercept a Chitauri dropship before it could flank them. The explosion bathed the rooftops in brief light, enough for me to see the desperation in their movements.
"They carry the weight of the world upon their backs," Galahad said softly, lowering his shield slightly. "Yet they are only men."
"They are heroes," I corrected him. "And for now, that is enough."
I paused and looked up — up at the sky, beyond the portal. "For when mortals falter, gods shall lift up the heavens!"
As my words sounded, the sky lit up with multicoloured lights. Beam after beam of rainbow radiance smashed into the ground throughout the entire city and beyond; wherever there were Chitauri, the Bifrost opened.
Noble and brave warriors of Asgard appeared, and without pause, threw themselves into battle, their individual might far beyond the Chitauri. Laser and plasma fire were brushed off as the Asgardians used swords and axes to cut down the creatures of metal and flesh.
Even here, even on Ehangwen itself, the Bifrost slammed down. As the light faded, a small group appeared, Loki in their center with Gungnir in his hand.
"You really did make quite an entrance. I didn't know you had something like this hidden away," he said, knocking his spear against the surface of Ehangwen.
"Well, I never had much of a reason to bring it out," I replied. "But for war… war I shall hold nothing back!"
As my words ended, I fired off a dozen rays of light from Ehangwen, instantly turning a dozen Leviathans to dust.
"Show-off," he scoffed, and fired his spear, turning another one to dust with such casual ease that it made the Hulk's previous efforts look like a joke.
The spear of destiny indeed.
(End of chapter)
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