Chapter 126: Knull's Reinforcements Are Actually…
The entire solar system had already erupted into a massive brawl.
An incalculable number of Symbiotes, each transforming into a ferocious form, endlessly swarmed toward Earth.
This was a terrifying scale, ten or even a hundred times larger than the last time the Symbiote Legion invaded Earth.
The superhumans of Earth all brought out their strongest might and threw themselves into battle.
Tony, piloting the Celestial Armor, took the lead and charged out of the atmosphere. He carefully avoided the magic array and positioned himself right at the forefront.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. waited until now to unlock the control authority for the Celestial Armor. I honestly don't know whether to call them cautious or ridiculously stupid."
Tony was extremely dissatisfied. He pushed his brain to its limits to wield the armor, which had been converted from the remains of a Celestial. Every moment, he relied on his brain to receive an unbelievably vast amount of information, which he cataloged and calculated in an instant, then issued commands directly via brain signals to control the armor.
Energy cannon after energy cannon fired from the Celestial Armor. With every passing instant, a large swath of Symbiotes was blasted into a vacuum.
But for the massive Symbiote Legion, such losses were acceptable.
Tony wasn't the only one who charged out from Earth.
Reynolds, shimmering with golden light, quickly overtook Tony. He was like a brilliant golden sun, generously scattering his afterglow, dyeing the black cosmos with the bright light of hope.
People across Earth cheered Reynolds' name, loudly praising him.
"Did you hear that? Everyone adores me."
Reynolds was extremely pleased with himself, his mood growing even more euphoric. He was truly like a star, crashing through the black tide of Symbiotes. A casual swing of his fist could unleash a golden energy blast stretching for dozens of kilometers, and a simple blast of heat vision could pierce a planet.
More Xenomorph Heroes also took action, constructing defensive lines with various means.
Likewise, the Alien Legion, with nearly every member equipped with a Symbiote, also entered outer space to engage in fierce combat with the Symbiotes.
Beyond Earth, as far as the eye could see, the once boundless void was now filled with all kinds of brutal slaughter.
At first glance, it looked as if the Symbiotes were slaughtering each other, with powerful individuals like Tony and Reynolds mixed in.
"Tony, how's the situation on your end? Do you need me to turn into the Hulk and help you?" Banner sent a signal to Tony.
"Don't be silly, buddy. Even if you became the Hulk, could you fight in outer space without gravity? You're better suited to stay on the surface. When we can't hold them back anymore, you can step in and eliminate the Symbiotes that break through to Earth."
"Alright, but you could have let me wear the Hulkbuster Armor."
Dr. Banner hated the Hulk, but he wasn't averse to piloting controllable tech armor as a human.
When he seriously estimated the number of Symbiotes outside Earth, he went numb.
Every Earthling watched as countless Symbiotes madly extended, enveloping the outside of Earth, covering even the magic array that protected the planet.
The entire Earth was sealed off by innumerable Symbiotes, cutting off the sunlight and plunging the world into endless darkness.
In an instant, the entire Earth fell into chaos. Everyone panicked; when had they ever seen such a spectacle?
Such a large planet was completely wrapped up by the Symbiotes, without a single ray of sunlight getting through. What a terrifying outcome! If this continued, without the sun, the Earth would gradually cool. They could only rely on geothermal energy for heat, but how insignificant was that?
Everyone realized that the war had to end as soon as possible. The longer it dragged on, the number of human deaths would only rise exponentially. If Earth was sealed off by the Symbiotes for a few months... it would become Hell.
Thor raised Stormbreaker high, his body erupting with endless lightning, violently tearing countless gaps in the black Symbiote barrier.
But new Symbiotes would always rush in to fill the breaches.
"I won't let you succeed! As long as the King of Asgard still stands here, you outsiders can forget about establishing a foothold within the World Tree!"
Thor roared as the power of a thunder god and the power of Odin began to merge within him, providing him with a continuous stream of divine power.
Honestly, Thor alone had indeed broken through the vast Symbiote formation time and time again; he had become exceptionally powerful.
"It's been a while, Thor. The fact that you obtained Father's power means he completely approved of you before he died. Otherwise, an incredibly proud old man like him would have rather taken his power with him than give it to a successor he looked down on. For example, me."
A voice entered Thor's mind. Thor's eyes widened, and he snapped his gaze in a certain direction.
Loki was protected by a large group of Symbiote dragons, his expression complex as he looked at Thor.
"Loki!"
Thor was overjoyed. With a shout, he prepared to forcibly destroy all obstacles to bring Loki back.
But in the next second, a figure radiating blue energy forcefully blocked his path.
"You're that guy called Captain America? I don't care if you've really betrayed Earth or if you're being controlled by Knull. Get out of my way right now, or I can't guarantee I can hold back in time."
Thor was incredibly impatient, but Captain America, completely controlled by Knull, fully activated the Cube Shard in his body. He was practically like Captain Marvel, continuously unleashing blue energy beams that collided with Thor's divine lightning.
"Loki, I don't care what you're plotting, but find a way to turn back now! Otherwise, not even I can protect you! You know the consequences of angering Du Wa!" Thor roared anxiously, sending Captain America flying with a swing of his axe. "Du Wa is not the same as he was before! He must have grasped the power of the World Tree and become the Deity of the World Tree!"
Loki's expression remained impassive, but his heart was filled with helplessness.
"Although he's gotten a bit smarter, it doesn't seem to be enough to change my opinion of him... I shouldn't have had high expectations for his intelligence in the first place. With that brain of his, he'll probably never figure out that if Knull wins, I'll lose all hope, whereas if Du Wa wins, he might generously spare my life..."
After all, not just anyone could bring Du Wa such a massive reserve of military force in one go.
At the very least, during the last Symbiote Legion invasion of Earth, Loki had put in a great deal of effort. The tens of millions of Xenomorphs now charging out of Earth, equipped with Symbiote gear, were partly his handiwork—though this was also because Du Wa's own strength was enough to hold out during the last war. Otherwise, he would have died long ago.
Loki's cold voice sounded out, "Thor, you are still far too inferior to Father. You don't have what it takes to change the course of this battle. If I were you, I'd immediately hide far away and wait for this war to end."
"Don't be ridiculous! The King of Asgard will never retreat, nor can he allow outsiders to defile anything within the World Tree."
"Is that so? Such bravado. You're always like this, saying things that are rousing but prove useless upon closer inspection... You are the king of Asgard, not the king of the World Tree. The king of the World Tree is the one Knull is dealing with," Loki sneered.
Thor calmed down a little. "You can't win. Du Wa has many powerful individuals under his command. If I don't capture you right now, you might be killed by them in the next second. Look, they're already here."
Loki saw Sunspot, transformed into a ball of flame. From a distance, he looked like a frantically burning sun, radiating light and heat.
As the vice-captain of the Superman Corps, the mutant Sunspot could store the sunlight he absorbed daily and use it when necessary.
Behind him were the Hyperion Xenomorph and the Ikaris Xenomorph—two powerful Xenomorphs—along with several other Xenomorphs who also possessed Superman-like abilities.
This made Loki frown. He then shifted his gaze, carefully observing the battlefield. Even at this point, a steady stream of powerful Xenomorphs clad in Symbiotes was still charging out from within Earth.
Both their quality and quantity were astounding.
"I don't see any of the old kind of Xenomorphs that burst from ordinary animals... Of course, that's understandable. A Xenomorph that can obtain a Symbiote must be an elite at the very least. But this number... could it be as I thought, that a large batch of Xenomorphs with transcendent strength have already transformed into Queens and begun to reproduce exclusively?"
That would explain it.
The number of Symbiotes that survived Du Wa's counterattack during the last invasion of Earth was not this large. They had clearly been captured by Du Wa, then rapidly bred internally to expand their species' numbers, and distributed to the burgeoning number of powerful Xenomorphs.
Honestly, it wasn't just Loki; even Knull would be astonished by the overall strength displayed by the Xenomorph army. The average level was simply too high. Any random one you picked out would be a special Xenomorph at a superhuman level.
It was likely that even some of the Xenomorph Heroes themselves had not anticipated that their Alien Army had expanded to such an extent.
In this world, only Du Wa was fully aware of the development of his military force.
Therefore, on this incredibly grand battlefield, although the Alien Legion was outnumbered by the Symbiotes, it still held its ground, carrying out a relentless, silent slaughter.
And this was only the beginning. If Knull dallied for a while longer, giving Du Wa more opportunity to develop, Du Wa's legion might even catch up in terms of numbers.
Loki's heart pounded with fear. This guy, Du Wa, expanded like a snowball every time you learned something new about him, making it impossible to figure out where his limit was.
Attaining godhood by relying on the World Tree through some unknown means was one thing, but for his Alien Legion to have silently reached such a terrifying mass was another.
The problem was, Knull, this god of Symbiotes, was not a completely brainless fool.
"I don't know what Du Wa did to integrate the power of the entire World Tree into himself—it completely shatters my understanding of the World Tree—but within the scope of the World Tree, Knull also has his own helpers."
Loki looked at the impatient Thor rushing over. He looked murderous and fierce, but in reality, he was trying to defeat him first as a way to prevent others from killing him.
"What are you talking about, my brother? I don't believe any race in any of the worlds would defect to a god like Knull."
"There are. Though I also haven't figured out why they're so stubborn... Knull didn't tell me much either."
Loki pointed in another direction.
Sure enough, a large number of space battleships crossed through a wormhole and entered the solar system.
"The structure of these battleships looks familiar. I think I've seen it in the library. Which chapter was it mentioned in?"
Thor quickly remembered, and a look of horror appeared in his eyes.
"Dark Elves? That exiled God Race?!"
...
Du Wa was perfectly clear about the situation on Earth. Every Xenomorph was an extension of his senses.
No surprise appeared on Du Wa's face at the reality of Earth being completely sealed off by the Symbiotes.
When the Knull of the Main Universe attacked Earth, he had effortlessly insta-killed Sentry, devoured Sentry's dark personality, Void, and casually sent a horde of Symbiotes to wrap up the Main Universe's Earth.
Although this universe's Knull was certainly not as powerful as the Main Universe Knull, commanding a horde of Symbiotes to seal Earth airtight was still no problem.
"It seems my immediate action was correct. Against a strange thing like you, I can't give you too many opportunities."
The battle between Knull and Du Wa had already reached a white-hot stage, and wounds had appeared on both of them.
Even more shockingly, as their battle gradually delved into the level of rules, Knull was horrified to discover that the trauma he was suffering was intensifying. The darkness he represented was being eroded and torn apart, bit by bit, by Du Wa, who was empowered by the World Tree.
The mass of the World Tree was too astonishing, and the overall concept it represented was too vast. Now, all this power had fallen into Du Wa's hands. Not only could Du Wa mobilize the divine power of the World Tree, but he also controlled a super-massive cluster of divine power, as if he had been storing it for many years and was now using it all at once.
Knull found this unacceptable. Even though he had battled across the universe for countless years, challenged innumerable Deities, and suffered many defeats, he had never encountered an opponent like Du Wa. A short while ago, he was an ant that Knull should have been able to crush at will. Now, the ant could actually suppress him in return.
Du Wa swung his sword, mobilizing various types of pure divine power, inscribing runes onto All-Black the Necrosword and piercing through the darkness before him.
The newly-ascended rune god looked into the distance.
"So that's how it is. These are the helpers you found, the Dark Elves? Those guys are also chasing after darkness, so at least in principle, there's no major conflict with you. But this God Race alone is not enough to change the situation."
The Elves, like the Giants, were divided into many branches, such as the Light Elves, Dark Elves, and so on.
The leader of the Dark Elves, Malekith, was at best an old-school Skyfather.
(end of chapter)