"Mutant House of Evolution? Lancelot?"
On an abandoned street in Las Vegas, Sebastian Shaw—wearing a psychic shielding helmet—stared at the battlefield in shock.
At some point unknown to him, the Hellfire Club had completely withdrawn from the stage of this mutant conflict.
The entire Hellfire Club—along with the Red Devil Azazel and the Riptide—had fallen under Professor X's psychic control.
Only Shaw himself, and the Dragonfly girl Salvador who had just crawled out of the rubble, still retained their full combat capability.
On the other side, although Professor X had only Magneto and Wolverine with him, his psychic power alone was enough to control two level-five mutants in battle. Magneto was injured, yet still capable of fighting. As for Wolverine, with his terrifying regenerative healing factor, his combat strength had already reached the level of a fourth-tier mutant.
This dramatic reversal was enough to push Sebastian Shaw to the brink of collapse.
At that moment, Professor X stared intently at Matthew "423" Harlan, the Toad. Seeing the crimson flames burning in Matthew's eyes, Professor X knew he could not control him with psychic power.
And not just Matthew. Professor X glanced to the left, where more than a dozen mutants from the House of Evolution were standing ready—eager, restless, and prepared to strike.
"Roar!"
Just as Professor X looked toward them, a mutant who had been standing still suddenly let out a thunderous animal roar.
A mutant with strength like a raging bull transformed instantly into a gigantic ox, standing three to five meters tall.
"Damn it—what kind of monsters are these mutants from the House of Evolution?"
Watching the massive bull rampage forward, Magneto frowned and swiftly manipulated metal, lifting it into the air while forming a metal wall in its path.
Boom!
The bull slammed its head into the metal wall, collapsing it instantly. The mutant ox staggered, shaking its head as the tremendous impact left it briefly dazed.
"Change and glory."
And this bull-shaped mutant was only the beginning. More than a dozen newly awakened mutants fully unleashed their powers.
Pff.
The mutant girl Gray sprouted enormous butterfly wings from her back, her body transforming into a two-meter-tall giant butterfly. With a powerful flap of her wings, she rose into the air, scattering clouds of shimmering scales.
"Huh? What's happening? Why do I feel dizzy?"
Wolverine—Logan—who had been stomped earlier by Matthew the Toad, was the first to be affected.
After inhaling the scale powder, his vision blurred and hallucinations flooded his mind.
First, Magneto appeared.
Then Sebastian Shaw.
Finally, Professor X himself.
Even with his formidable psychic power, Professor X could not avoid hallucinations after inhaling the scales.
Because of this, his control over Azazel and Riptide collapsed. Both mutants regained their free will.
"Riptide—blow the scales away!"
Shaw, now also seeing distortions, turned pale and immediately issued the order once he realized Riptide was back to normal.
"Tornado!"
Multiple tornadoes collided and merged into two massive vortex clusters, rapidly sweeping across the battlefield and lifting the scale powder into the air.
Roar.
Ahead of the tornadoes, another mutant from the House of Evolution rapidly expanded, transforming into a five-meter-tall wild boar. It charged forward with terrifying momentum.
The sheer weight made the ground tremble.
"Tornado!"
Facing the oncoming boar, Riptide's expression turned grim. His body spun at extreme speed, transforming into a colossal tornado that surged toward the beast.
Boom!
The tornado collided violently with the charging boar. Under the brute force of the animal mutant, Riptide struggled to maintain stable output.
"Where did these animal mutants come from?!"
Inside the tornado, Riptide was filled with terror. He was forced to overclock his abilities, generating even stronger winds just to restrain the massive boar.
Boom!
Azazel teleported into the air, attempting to seize the giant butterfly—but then he noticed someone above it.
"Meow."
The mutant Clementine's pupils shrank as she transformed into a black cat the size of an adult human. She leapt out from Gray's body and latched onto Azazel.
Boom!
The sudden attack made Azazel try to throw her off, but no matter how many times he teleported, the agile black cat clung stubbornly to him.
"Fake!"
Azazel cursed furiously and teleported straight in front of Sebastian Shaw.
Shaw's eyes were ice-cold. He struck the black cat with his right hand, unleashing a powerful surge of energy that sent her flying. Clementine tumbled across the ground, her fur and bones badly damaged.
"Hiss… that hurts."
She cried out in pain and collapsed, clearly suffering multiple severe injuries.
"What terrifying regeneration…"
The three Hellfire Club mutants stared in disbelief as Clementine rapidly healed—and then looked toward the giant demonic frog, whose wounds had also vanished.
Even Sebastian Shaw was shaken by such terrifying resilience.
"Azazel, let's go."
After closely observing the mutants of the House of Evolution, Shaw realized that compared to these dozen powerful mutants, his Hellfire Club was utterly inferior.
From what he could see, most of these mutants were clearly animal-type mutants.
Shaw understood very well what such a system represented.
A mutant legion.
A smaller force, but highly organized—unlike his own Hellfire Club.
He had once dreamed of commanding such an army, but had never found a way.
"House of Evolution… Lancelot."
"After the world war, you will all kneel beneath my feet."
After finishing his assessment, Sebastian Shaw vanished from the street along with Azazel, Riptide, and the Dragonfly girl Salvador.
The Hellfire Club was defeated.
The dozen mutants from the House of Evolution turned their attention toward Professor X and Magneto. Facing so many animal-type mutants, the two future legends felt a chill down their spines.
"Let's go too, Magneto."
Professor X smiled helplessly. Magneto waved his hands, gathering metal fragments into a massive circular disk. He extended his right hand, pulling Wolverine—still pinned beneath Matthew the Toad—into it instantly.
Metal filaments had been embedded inside Wolverine's X-suit.
Whoosh.
Within seconds, Magneto and the others were gone. The street was left empty—save for the mutant legion of the House of Evolution.
"Return, my mutant brethren."
Through the legion's vision, Lancelot saw both Professor X and Sebastian Shaw retreat. He gave no order to pursue.
This battle had merely been a test of the House of Evolution's strength.
And the performance of Matthew the Toad King and the others left Lancelot deeply satisfied.
After awakening, every mutant in the legion had reached the power level of a fourth-tier mutant.