Angelina's pupils dilated as far as they could, but even with all her focus, all she saw was a fleeting blur when Homelander made his move.
She couldn't track his movements at all.
Master is so fast!
Her breathing grew heavy as the realization sank in. She'd thought she had a decent understanding of his strength, but now she knew—she'd only scratched the surface.
On the other hand, Brad, the "Midnight Clown," stood frozen, staring in horror at Fat King's lifeless body.
It's over!
Without Fat King's Interdimensional Projection to neutralize energy attacks, Homelander's beams would incinerate him.
No, calm down. Think, Brad!
He forced himself to steady his breathing.
I can still escape using my Substitute Technique and illusions! It's not over yet!
With a desperate burst of speed, Brad took off running. He wasn't particularly fast—at most, slightly quicker than an average human.
Homelander glanced at the fleeing clown, then called out casually, "Angel, get out of here. As fast as you can."
Without waiting for a response, he launched into the air. His eyes ignited with blinding golden light, radiant and intense, like the scorching midday sun.
The veins around his eyes glowed as heat surged through them, making the air ripple with pressure. The atmosphere roared, crackling with a sound like thunder.
On the ground below, Brad felt terror grip his chest. It's like a volcano is about to erupt behind me!
A quick glance over his shoulder was all it took to make his eyes burn as if pierced by a thousand needles. Pain blurred his vision, and hot tears streamed down his cheeks.
The raw energy radiating from Homelander's heat vision was too much for even a superhuman to bear.
Brad shouted in desperation, his eyes flashing with vibrant, shifting colors.
A wave of illusions rippled out from him—dozens of identical clowns scattered in every direction, each sprinting as if their lives depended on it.
Now let's see if you can find the real me!
---
Homelander's lips curled into a smirk.
"Idiot."
Without holding back any longer, he unleashed the full power of his heat vision.
BOOM!
A deafening blast echoed across the landscape, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.
Yuri and his soldiers looked up just in time to see a colossal beam of golden light descending from the sky.
The beam cascaded down like a radiant waterfall, bringing with it a wave of searing heat that roared with destructive fury.
The instant it hit the ground, it triggered an explosion of flame—an inferno that spread outward in a massive tidal wave of fire.
The wave of flames consumed everything in its path, leaving nothing but ash in its wake.
It didn't merely burn; it vaporized.
All of Brad's illusions vanished the moment the fire touched them, snuffed out like candles in a storm.
The real Brad managed to let out one last, desperate scream—"No!"—just as the flames and shockwave engulfed him.
His body blackened in an instant, charred beyond recognition. The heat caused him to fracture, his form crumbling into ash and debris before shattering completely.
The firestorm swept across the entire town, rolling all the way to the highway beyond. It stopped just short of where the army and the other heroes stood, sparing them by mere meters.
---
Starlight staggered backward, struggling to keep her balance.
She yelped in surprise as the heat radiating from the ground forced her to leap up—it was like standing on a red-hot iron plate. Even with her enhanced physiology, the searing heat was unbearable.
The soldiers fared far worse. They scrambled to retreat, not stopping until they were at least two kilometers away from the scorching battlefield.
---
Hovering in the sky, Homelander frowned.
"Mission not complete yet?"
He muttered to himself, reviewing the objective.
"Hmm, Brad's dead. So is the circus… Ah, right. The thralls."
His gaze swept across the landscape until he spotted the remnants of the night thralls—a black mass moving along the highway.
They were racing toward the distant city, heading straight for New York.
Some smaller groups had broken off, scattering in different directions, but Homelander paid them no mind. His focus remained on the horde charging toward the city.
He ascended higher into the sky, adjusted his course, and shot off toward the highway like a missile.
---
Meanwhile...
On the interstate leading to New York, a group of soldiers huddled beside a tank, seeking shelter in its shadow.
"Any news from Silverwood?" one of them asked nervously.
"No clue. Even if something happened, the brass wouldn't tell us."
"Figures. We're just grunts to them."
Suddenly, a lookout atop the tank let out a sharp whistle.
"Hey! We've got movement!"
Moments later, the radio crackled to life.
"Attention! This is Colonel Yuri. The situation at Silverwood has spiraled out of control. Mutated civilians are en route to your position!"
"These civilians are highly dangerous. They exhibit extreme aggression and possess superhuman durability."
"Your orders are to aim for the head—that's the only way to stop them!"
A soldier fumbled with his cigarette, dropping it to the ground.
"Oh god… Oh god!"
The lookout shouted from above, "They're here! They're coming!"
The soldiers scrambled to man their positions. One grabbed a pair of binoculars and scanned the road ahead.
What he saw made his blood run cold.
A massive horde of blackened figures surged down the highway, moving at terrifying speeds. Their eyes glowed red, their movements animalistic, and they came in overwhelming numbers—easily two thousand strong.
"Are you kidding me?"
He lowered the binoculars and glanced at the barricade. They were just a small unit—barely a hundred soldiers.
"How the hell are we supposed to stop that?"
As the black wave closed in, some soldiers began to pray, while others kissed photographs of loved ones hidden in their helmets.
Then they heard it—a thunderous boom from above.
A streak of blue light shot down from the sky, slamming into the highway with earth-shaking force.
"It's him! It's Homelander!"
"We're saved!"
The soldiers erupted into cheers, some tossing their helmets into the air in celebration.
But doubt crept in almost immediately.
"Wait… Can Homelander handle that many of them by himself?"
The jubilation quickly faded, replaced by uneasy silence.
Two thousand thralls. One Homelander. Could he really win?
They watched nervously as Homelander rose into the air, positioning himself between the horde and the city.
His eyes blazed to life, burning with golden fury.
---
In the next instant, twin beams of searing light shot from his eyes, sweeping across the highway in a devastating arc.
Where the beams struck, the thralls fell in waves. The ground ignited in their wake, creating a burning path that stretched for over a kilometer.
The thralls caught in the inferno became living torches, their bodies consumed by the relentless blaze. Those that didn't die immediately melted in the sweltering heat, collapsing one by one.
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