What Makes a Hero

Settling the bill for magic was always troublesome. Like monetary debt, the more powerful the magic one wielded, the more frequently it was used, and the more debt one accrued.

Just now, Zhang Ye had barely removed the price of "food turning into sand the moment it entered his mouth," yet he was immediately about to face another round of costs. If this continued, no one would be able to repay this endlessly compounding debt. No one.

However, just as a skilled accountant could precisely calculate the relationship between debts to balance income and expenses, as long as he held a massive mountain of gold in his hands, Zhang Ye could use it to offset those ever-growing costs.

His fingers danced through the air as though playing a piano. Zhang Ye could feel a steady stream of magical energy flowing through his body, originating from the dark energy within Baron Mordo.

But now, under Zhang Ye’s control, this bizarre energy capable of bewitching the human heart was continuously broken down and transformed into something else, then connected through more than a dozen complex magical wheels to the Justice League members in New Times Square.

Summoning the Justice League was an exceedingly difficult task. Before Zhang Ye had mastered Abstract Magic and astral projection, it would have been utterly impossible.

Not only did it require immense power, but Zhang Ye had never come into contact with every member of the Justice League. Under such circumstances, all he could imitate were flimsy figures wearing the appearances of Justice League members, the kind that shattered at a touch.

Fortunately, as a reserve member of the Justice League, Black Canary had worked with those frontline superheroes many times. Hidden in her memories was all the information on the heroes from another world.

It was like a player with targeted storage. All Zhang Ye had to do was extract a segment containing the Justice League’s forms and wills, allowing them to appear in this world with wills of their own.

Under Zhang Ye’s magical control, they would temporarily forget their pasts and devote themselves wholeheartedly to the command he had set: "Save Red Hood." In this state, all their actions operated according to their own minds.

Of course, this approach also had serious drawbacks. For instance, if Zhang Ye’s command clashed with their instinctive thinking, it would create cracks in their consciousness, causing the magic to fail and the entire illusion to vanish in an instant.

But that drawback would not appear here, because defeating evil in the name of justice was the guiding principle of the Justice League heroes. Not to mention that this operation was to rescue Red Hood. Zhang Ye had not sensed even the slightest thought of giving up from any of the Justice League phantoms.

If this spell had a single flaw, it was probably the incompatibility between the two universes.

Because both universes had different origins and developments, the combat power of most phantoms had been affected to varying degrees. Even though Zhang Ye had done everything he could to use Abstract Magic’s "thought illusion" to make them adapt to this universe, it was still unavoidable.

The main effects were concentrated in their combat abilities.

Aquaman could not control this universe’s seawater, leaving him able to fight only with his trident and his formidable body. Cyborg had quite a few high-tech weapons that could still be used, but without the Mother Box, he could not invade Dr. Zola’s network and launch cyberattacks.

Then there was The Flash, who lacked the Speed Force. The Flash’s phantom in this world was merely a speedster who could run fast; traveling through time faster than light was even more impossible.

As for Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern, they had not been weakened. However, the combat power of all three was entirely tied to Zhang Ye’s magic.

Since they had been summoned on the foundation of Zhang Ye’s magic, the threshold of that energy set an upper limit on their combat power, and that upper limit was equal to Zhang Ye’s current magical energy.

In other words, if someone was powerful enough to ignore Zhang Ye’s mental magic, Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth would lose its corresponding ability. Likewise, if someone possessed magic comparable to Zhang Ye’s, he would be able to find the phantoms’ weaknesses.

But unfortunately, Red Skull had severed the path of magic in this universe.

To Zhang Ye, however, that was excellent news.

Quietly watching the seven stars floating before him, Zhang Ye’s lips curled upward as he murmured.

"Come, heroes. Let Red Skull witness the invincible army from another universe."

"Hah!"

Wonder Woman let out a sharp cry, raising her shield in her right hand to block Shadow Knight’s curved blade. Then she spun fiercely, and the sword in her hand sliced directly through Leap-Frog Batroc, who had been preparing a sneak attack.

Feeling death approach, every hair on Batroc’s body stood on end. He hurriedly stopped his charge and twisted sideways, trying to dodge the blade cutting toward his neck.

The next moment, blood splattered. Batroc felt a chill in his arm, followed by a burning pain in his shoulder.

After a moment’s pause, Batroc realized too late that he could no longer feel his arm. That strike had severed his entire arm without the slightest resistance.

"Urgh… Aaargh!"

Leap-Frog Batroc clutched his wound and fell to his knees. Pain filled his aged, wrinkled face. He had forgotten that he was no longer the young man who had dared to contend with heroes. He was old.

Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably. The excruciating pain had numbed his other joints. Now, he could not even endure pain itself.

"I heard they call you Leap-Frog? Hmph. It’s time for you to retire, athlete."

Wonder Woman cast Batroc a cold glance. Seeing that he had lost the ability to fight, she did not finish him off. Instead, she spoke indifferently. Then a flash of steel came at her as Shadow Knight charged forward again.

"Worry about yourself first, demigod. We exiled this universe’s Olympus God Realm. Yours will be no exception!"

"Mortal, you have no idea what a true ‘god’ is."

Though she did not know what had happened to the Olympian Gods of this universe, Shadow Knight’s words truly enraged Wonder Woman.

A blinding light erupted from Shadow Knight’s eyes. Then a visible bolt of divine lightning tore through the void and blasted straight toward Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman crossed her arms. Golden light flashed, and the silver-white lightning as thick as a bucket could not advance even an inch before her arms.

"You are history, demigod. Your only purpose is to lull children to sleep in storybooks. The future will be written by Hydra. Why can’t you understand that?"

"Oracle told me the world would be ruled by humanity, but I am certain that ‘humanity’ does not mean scum like you!"

Two forces of divine power from different universes and different divine realms erupted at that moment. The violent explosion instantly cleared out everything around them, blasting all nearby objects away.

The entire battlefield had become a chaotic mess. Every Justice League member unleashed terrifying combat power, leaving everyone around the world watching this battle stunned.

They did not even know where to look, because every battlefield was so eye-catching. All kinds of energy, explosions, and glowing spheres filled New Times Square. No one dared blink too much, afraid of missing an important moment.

A middle-aged man of average build, appearing to be around forty, stared unblinkingly at New Times Square. His mouth had not closed since the Justice League appeared.

As editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, he knew that no reporter had dared come to witness Red Skull’s trial of the superheroes. No one was willing to gamble with their life under such circumstances.

Yet he had accepted that burden without hesitation and come alone to the execution site. He had been born near the end of the old days and had grown up listening to stories of superheroes. After struggling through half his life, he had long since fallen into despair over this world.

If there was still anything worth living for in this world, it was hoping that superheroes would reappear and bring hope back to it.

And now, he stood here. He stood at the crossroads of an era.

Brilliant energy and miserable cries filled the battlefield, chilling the heart while setting the blood ablaze. Countless Hydra soldiers fell one after another, while yellow sand carrying the stench of blood swept through the air.

He stared blankly at the scene, as though he had been transported back to the war of the old days. Two streams of tears slid down his face. He could not imagine how brutal that war had been, much less how vibrant and beautiful the age of heroes before the old days must have been.

His throat felt dry, and breathing became difficult. At that moment, the editor’s body jolted as he felt someone bump into him.

Turning around, he saw an elderly man carrying a bundle walk past him.

The old man was broad and powerfully built. His full head of white hair did not make him appear frail with age. Instead, it gave him a distinctive presence.

For some reason, the editor could sense an indescribable murderous aura from the old man.

"Sir… sir."

Without realizing it, the editor called out to him.

"…Don’t go any closer. The front is a combat zone."

The old man paused, then removed the bundle from his back and took out an alloy compound bow. Only then did the editor realize that he did not seem to be a reporter, and that his bag did not contain a camera tripod.

"I know."

The old man spoke, but he did not seem to have any intention of stopping.

"It’s dangerous up ahead," the editor warned again.

This time, the old man smiled at him, then headed toward the battlefield without looking back.

Only his light words remained, echoing by the editor’s ear.

"I know."