Chapter 450: Hell's Kitchen Strikes Back
Ethan felt the plan had been a solid success.
The moment he'd come back from the Spider-Society, he'd called a meeting in Hell's Kitchen.
It was late at night, but one hidden corner of Hell's Kitchen blazed with light. Heroes of every stripe had gathered there, every one of them with resolve and anticipation in their eyes.
Ethan stood before them, his voice steady and strong, as if it could pierce the night and reach straight into every heart. "We can't sit by any longer. Hell's Kitchen's future is in our hands." His words set everyone's blood on fire.
After heated debate and a clash of ideas, they'd finally drawn up a detailed plan.
The first priority was to send an elite team traveling across the multiverse to find and rescue Hell's Kitchen residents scattered across different worlds.
That team had strict orders: avoid direct conflict with the mysterious Reincarnators as much as possible. Saving lives came first.
The second strategy was subtler, and far more cunning.
Ethan decided to quietly spread rumors about "Chen Ye" through other universes. That name would be the bait to lure the Reincarnators.
Their carefully crafted information drifted like seeds on the wind, falling as if by accident into the Reincarnators' ears. And every lead pointed to the dimensional space Ethan had so carefully prepared.
Ethan himself held the fort inside the dimensional space. He was betting that the Reincarnation Space would use him as a bridge to transport the Reincarnators here.
But he also knew no plan was foolproof. So the key intel from the Spider-Society, that the Lord God's space always transported Reincarnators to a single concentrated location, became his other trump card.
If the Lord God's space didn't take the bait and the Reincarnators broke into the real Hell's Kitchen, Ethan had already arranged everything.
He'd secretly assigned a few trusted allies to keep watch on any spatial changes. The moment they detected any unusual spatial ripple, they'd immediately contact the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj, who would use their portals to quietly lead the Reincarnators into this carefully designed trap.
That step was far more complicated than simply luring the enemy straight in. But Ethan believed any sacrifice was worth it for Hell's Kitchen's safety.
Fortunately, the Lord God's space fell into Ethan's trap after all.
In the moment the Lord God's space froze time, Ethan's sharp instincts caught that barely perceptible spatial ripple right away.
He was the creator of this dimensional space, after all. If he couldn't notice that, he might as well retire on the spot.
He moved fast, summoning the elite of the Brotherhood of Mutants and Hell's Kitchen's most trusted fighters into the dimensional space, ready for the challenge ahead.
As for people like the High Table's assassins or Hell's Kitchen's residents, Ethan kept them out of this dangerous fight. They might be stronger than ordinary people, even stronger than S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, but against Reincarnators that still wasn't enough.
His decision was cold, but it was meant to minimize casualties and ensure the plan's success.
The facts proved him right. The Reincarnators really were stronger than them. Letting the residents in would have been feeding them to the enemy.
It was this series of careful arrangements and decisive calls that led to the Reincarnators being caught completely off guard.
As for the powerful Reincarnators, Ethan had transported them straight into Strange's Mirror Dimension the instant they arrived. With Kang's Kyōka Suigetsu, they'd been confined there.
Otherwise, if those powerful Reincarnators had joined in, the attacks wouldn't have been nearly this effective.
After all, Ethan had recognized many familiar faces among the Reincarnators. Every one of them had been an overlord in their own world.
Madara, the legend of the Naruto world, famous for his mighty Susanoo and undying will.
Enel, the One Piece world's Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, commander of lightning, unstoppable in battle. Bardock, the Dragon Ball world's first Super Saiyan, whose potential and fighting power were not to be underestimated.
And Voldemort, the Dark Lord of the Harry Potter world, whose dark magic was unfathomable.
And the cosmic overlord from One-Punch Man, with power enough to destroy stars, a name that struck terror into all who heard it.
A casual glance was all Ethan needed to roughly gauge their strength. He didn't even have to try to sense it.
His gaze then swept over the battlefield. The surprise attack had already felled at least a hundred Reincarnators. Their bodies dissolved into the void, becoming specks of dust in the Lord God's space.
The Lord God's space didn't seem to be backing down, though. It kept sending in new Reincarnators, but always holding the number at about two hundred, in a delicate balance.
He wasn't sure how many Reincarnators the Lord God would end up sending.
But with his Family's fighting power behind him, and this being his home ground,
he didn't believe the Reincarnators would throw away everyone they had just to deal with him.
If it came to that, Ethan wouldn't mind stepping in personally.
The reason he hadn't yet was that his sixth sense told him something bad would happen if he made his move now.
He also had to stay on guard against an attack by Earth's Celestial. But after observing the battlefield, Ethan found that Tony and the others, with their own strength and teamwork, were fully capable of handling the strongest few Reincarnators.
It was the perfect chance for them to train and grow.
So Ethan decided to hold his forces back and see how things played out.
At the thought, he turned his head without meaning to, and his gaze fell on Captain Universe Spider-Man, still standing there in a daze.
The Spider-Man's face was full of shock and confusion. His eyes, normally bright with intelligence, seemed to have lost their focus, fixed on some distant point.
Ethan could clearly feel that Captain Universe was going through a violent upheaval inside. For a battle-hardened superhero, that kind of emotional turmoil was rare.
"What's wrong? You're up soon. What are you thinking about?" Ethan's voice was gentle but firm, trying to pull the Spider-Man out of his daze.
There was a note of concern in it. Only after Ethan's reminder did the Spider-Man slowly come back to himself.
He jolted as if waking with a start, and his eyes gradually came back into focus. "Right, right, I'm going now."
He answered mechanically, a lingering bewilderment still in his voice. Then he walked toward the battlefield with heavy steps, his back looking a little unsteady.
Watching Captain Universe Spider-Man go, Ethan was puzzled. "What's with him? He's suddenly gone all dopey."
He muttered to himself, baffled. The strongest Spider-Man, and suddenly he'd gone soft in the head?
Ethan stopped paying attention and went on watching the fight, hidden in the sky.
He was the very sun Ye Liangchen had found so strange. Ethan couldn't create a real sun, so he'd used his powers to conjure an illusion of one.
Meanwhile, Captain Universe Spider-Man muttered as he walked, "This is no Hell's Kitchen. I've never seen a Hell's Kitchen like this!"
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