Chapter 4706: House of X: Fierce Battle (14)

Apocalypse's offensive was unexpectedly fierce; the oldest mutant was not just a name. Although Apocalypse performed poorly in many comics, in "House of X," his performance could be called a rare highlight. He had both wisdom and martial power, arguably one of the strongest versions of Apocalypse in the multiverse.

Thor had fought him before and even defeated him, but for some reason, he found it difficult to gain an advantage against Apocalypse this time. He swung the hammer in his hand and slammed it hard into Apocalypse's body, but it didn't send him flying; instead, he took a punch himself. He had to summon lightning, relying on the electric light to force Apocalypse back.

On the other side, Doctor Strange also encountered a formidable enemy. The title of Omega-level mutant for Vulcan relied entirely on his versatility. He not only possessed powerful psychic abilities but also psionic shields, super speed, intangibility, shockwaves, and super-healing capabilities.

But in reality, having just these didn't necessarily qualify one as Omega-level; more importantly, he had an ability similar to Superman's but with a higher ceiling. That is, the more confident he was in himself, the stronger his abilities became; at the same time, the more others trusted him, the stronger his abilities would also become.

Once, after the Scarlet Witch shouted "No more mutants," Vulcan was one of the very few who did not lose his mutant abilities, simply because he did not believe he lacked superpowers, nor did he believe mutants had no future. Relying solely on this idealistic power, he even directly immunized himself against the Scarlet Witch's causality weapon, showing his strength.

Now, he was naturally incredibly confident in himself, and at the same time, the success of Krakoa filled Vulcan with confidence in the future of mutants, and his abilities were greatly enhanced. Under the blessing of this power, he punched and directly shattered Doctor Strange's shield.

This exceeded everyone's expectations, even the mutants, because few had ever seen Vulcan take action. Almost simultaneously, a psychic storm swept across the entire Orchis factory. Everyone thought Professor X had arrived, but that kind of brainwave was more aggressive. All the Avengers felt a momentary dizziness and a sharp headache.

"Ugh!!!" The local Iron Man let out a scream and almost fell. The darkness before his eyes almost made him lose control of his armor, but fortunately, he adjusted quickly.

He knew this group of mutants was not easy to deal with, but he didn't expect them to be this strong. Fortunately, they had already joined forces with the main universe. After connecting to the communication channel, the local Iron Man said: "Come quickly, we are about to be unable to hold them back."

"So fast?!" The main universe Iron Man was still fiddling with the Orchis factory's system, trying to find the mutants, but he didn't expect the local Avengers to be unable to delay them even for this long. He had to respond and hurried over there.

In fact, his search had been effective. The mutant consciousnesses currently inside the system felt that outsiders had invaded, but they were not sure if they were here to save them, fearing it was another trap of the Mother Mold's security system, so they didn't dare to show themselves.

When Magneto went over, he happened to pick up a ready-made opportunity. He directly input his brainwave data into the system. Cyclops Scott was the first to discover it.

"It's Magneto," Cyclops said. Now they were all in a phantom state, a bit like a completed information stream.

"They really came to save us?!" Wolverine said with some disbelief, "What is Magneto thinking?! This will kill a lot of people!"

"We have to find a way to meet up with him," Cyclops said.

"What about the previous plan?" Phoenix asked, "We are already close to the Mother Mold's core. As long as we can control the Mother Mold, we can turn the super weapons created by humans against mutants..."

"That's right," Mystique said, "If we just leave like this, Nimrod robots will be produced, and mutants will still be extinct."

Cyclops bit his lip, then said in an unquestionable tone: "You go, I'll stay."

"What?! No!" Wolverine was the first to jump out and object, "Either we go together, or we all stay. How can we leave you here alone?!"

"I am the captain, listen to me," Cyclops said unrefusably, "If you leave here, you can reshape the core power of mutants at the fastest speed and continue to fight for the mutant nation. I will stay and see if I can hack into the Mother Mold and win a glimmer of hope for the mutants."

Wolverine wanted to say something else, but Mystique stopped him. She stepped forward and looked at Cyclops, but Cyclops was wearing a visor, and Mystique couldn't see his eyes clearly.

"Have you made up your mind, Scott? It is almost impossible for you to control the Mother Mold on your own. You may never be able to return to Earth."

"I know," Cyclops's tone became calm, "Give my regards to the Professor and tell him that I have never regretted it for a moment. Even if death comes, I am still proud of what we have done."

"Scott!" Phoenix also stepped forward to dissuade him, "Since it is almost impossible to stop it, why don't we go together..."

"Jean, I am not just the captain of the assault team, but also the leader of the X-Men and a role model for mutants. If I cannot lead by example and fight for a glimmer of hope for mutants, how can I let others sacrifice their lives to defend our country?"

The other mutants had tears in their eyes, but Cyclops's firmness left them with no choice. Finally, Mystique sighed. She placed her hand on Cyclops's shoulder and said like an oath: "Regardless of whether the plan succeeds, if you are still alive, we will spare no cost to save you."

Cyclops's lips moved, seemingly wanting to refuse, but Mystique didn't give him the chance and turned to lead the other mutants away.

Magneto successfully met them. However, when they entered Magneto's mental realm, Magneto was stunned for a moment and then asked: "Where is Scott?"

"He refused to leave," Mystique explained simply.

Magneto's expression became heavy: "If he doesn't go back, I can't explain it to the Professor."

"Erik..."

"Scott Summers is the eldest son of the X-Men and the Professor's. He is the child he has the highest hopes for, the successor he has cultivated, and will be one of the rulers of the mutant nation. We cannot let him die here."

Magneto looked up at the huge Mother Mold. He knew that Cyclops had no hope of shaking the Mother Mold, like a mayfly shaking a tree. But just like the questions he raised when he made this decision—ultimately, why can't mutants have a happy ending?

Once Nimrod is out, it will be another "No more mutants," and this time it will be even more tragic. They will be slaughtered, exterminated, and completely erased from this homeland that should have belonged to them. Before that, any absurd and ridiculous attempt is worth doing. That represents hope and their will to never admit defeat.

Magneto took a deep breath and said to the consciousness in his mind: "Sorry, according to the plan, I should have taken you away immediately, but I'm afraid I have to wait a while."

Magneto could already hear the heartbeat becoming more and more intense. Something was breaking out of its cocoon, and that terrible threatening aura had already permeated. It was still time to retreat now, but if going back was only temporarily safe, why live in vain?

Before this, Magneto still had hope, perhaps there was another way to deal with Nimrod. But after facing the Mother Mold and feeling that indescribable threatening aura, he no longer had any illusions.

None of the consciousnesses in his mind raised any questions. Wolverine said: "If I have to die, let me die here."

"Not necessarily yet," Magneto lowered his eyes, and a bold, even crazy idea appeared in his mind, but he knew this might be the only hope.

"Vulcan," Magneto communicated with the psychic in his mind, "Take the consciousness in my mind away, and then tell Apocalypse that the moment the Mother Mold wakes up, take all mutants and evacuate."

Vulcan had a bad premonition and wanted to say something, but Magneto had already cut off the connection. Vulcan's temper was not as good as Professor X's, and he wanted to force his way in on the spot, but unfortunately, Magneto had already put on his helmet.

This helmet seemed useless, but Vulcan had no way to concentrate on attacking Magneto at this time. Finding that the connection was gone, he could only give up and passed a message to Apocalypse.

Apocalypse didn't say anything. He just knocked back the main universe Iron Man again and turned to look at the Mother Mold bathed in light. Nine lives of reincarnation, success or failure depends on this one move.

He took a deep breath, restrained the power around him, looked at the Iron Man opposite, and said: "I advise you to leave quickly. The fate of mutants is not decided by you."

"I also advise you to give up," the main universe Iron Man said, "I will never allow the Orchis factory to fall into your hands."

Apocalypse was not angry. In the radiance of the sun, one side of everyone was illuminated brightly, while the other side sank into thick darkness. There were no shadows in space, but something else was reflected more magnificently.

"How strong the enemy is only determines how great the heroes in a race are, determines what sacrifices they have to make, and also determines what glorious victory they can achieve."

"On a planet like Earth, struggle is the destiny of every race. Our enemy has never been just humans, but fate, rewriting fate in this endless reincarnation. Because of this, if we win, this will be a greatness you can never imagine."

The main universe Iron Man never expected Apocalypse to say such things. This was like some kind of omen, and also like a prophecy. Just as he was trying to understand these words, he suddenly felt that in this silent vacuum, something began to tremble.

Not just the vacuum, the entire Orchis factory trembled slightly, and some kind of power was on the verge of erupting. The main universe Iron Man turned his head suddenly, but didn't see Magneto's figure, and he immediately guessed what Magneto wanted to do.

"No!!!" The main universe Iron Man's eyes were about to split, "Stop!!! Stop!!!"

The local Iron Man also showed a shocked expression, but he had no time to shout, and roared at his teammates behind him: "Go!! Run!!!"

Amidst the running figures of everyone, the huge factory actually began to move slowly, throwing itself towards the sun without hesitation. The violent magnetic field wrapping the factory was like a rushing river, decisively rushing towards the sea.