Shadow of the Beautiful World

Clark was flying among the stars.

His flying movements were not elegant, like a bullet being shot out of a gun, his body was full of strength, and his limbs were slightly twisted, full of embarrassment and pain.

He was thrown from the stars to the earth as a cannonball, or a stake.

boom

Under the impact of a huge force, Superman turned into a falling meteorite. He rubbed against the thin atmosphere of this world at high speed, just like a sky fire, and fell awkwardly on the ridge of an abandoned asteroid.

Like a war hammer swung by a world-destroying giant.

At the moment of landing, it pierced through the black mountain ridge like the roar of heavy artillery, and then pierced directly under the cracked ground amidst the roar of broken stones.

From the sky, to the mountain, and then to the earth, a straight line was pierced by this tyrannical force.

Anything in the way was ruthlessly destroyed.

Clark was rolling on the ground. He tried his best to move his numb and sore limbs. He buckled on the ground, causing the gravel to fly and the ground to tear apart. The bottom of the impact crater.

Among the tumbling fine stones, Clark's nostrils spurted blood, and his bruised cheeks were extremely distressed, like a drunk who had drunk too much and was severely beaten. Every bone in his body was shattered. groaning in pain.

And at the moment when he stood up with difficulty, his keen perception erupted into an extreme danger reminder, and the beating instinct of his heart made Clark wake up quickly after falling, and the moment he got up, he crossed his arms and blocked in front of him.

He didn't even have time to dodge.

Immediately, a black light descended from the sky, following the traces that Clark had blasted in this world, and with a roar of thunder, the clenched iron fist hammered on Clark's chest from left to right.

kuang

The moment the deadly force came into contact, Clark's cross-armed defense was defeated, and the second heavy punch hit his heart, making his tough heart almost stop beating at this moment.

Cracks like black cobwebs spread rapidly from under Superman's feet to all directions of the world.

Like a sudden earthquake.

It was as if the land had been struck by the double fists of giants.

In waves of vibrations, the sound of cracking and breaking came from below the rift valley, and the soil and heavy stones flew into the air and smashed into the ground under the pull of gravity.

After all the power of this punch dissipated, a rift valley several kilometers long was formed in the billowing smoke and dust of the entire barren plain, and the terrain change of tens of millions of years was completed in a few seconds.

The cracks and collapse of the huge mountains and the broad plains have triggered small-scale climate changes. The gray smoke and dust, which is completely different from the earth, rolled into several huge clusters of sand and dust on the rift valleys, and the gravel that was blasted into the sky swayed wantonly .

They obscured the light from the stars, and for a few minutes the world seemed to be covered with a dark veil.

This is quite a strange scene that an alien world should have.

It's hard to imagine that this transformative gesture was created by pure power rather than more mysterious magic.

After all, the Father is a hurdle.

No matter what kind of power it is, whether it is pure brute force from the body, or the magic accumulated from walking the mysterious path, once it surpasses the level of the Heavenly Father, it will undergo a radical change.

Warriors who walk the way of strength, after creating the body of the heavenly father, will not necessarily be inferior to the elegant and noble dharma masters.

Ten seconds later, on the ground that was gradually quiet and completely torn apart, General Zod with a calm face flew out from the deepest part of the rift valley carrying something.

It was a weak and painful Clark with a broken sternum.

Zod seemed to be carrying his own prey. He landed on the edge of the shattered crater. With the swing of the red cloak behind him, he stood up straight.

The Kryptonian general was also covered in dust, and his black combat uniform was also torn.

There were bruises on his emaciated face, and there was blood at the corner of his mouth, and he looked quite embarrassed.

But compared to Clark who was held in his hands, Zod's condition is much better.

Without that yellow sun, you're so weak, Carl.

General Zod grabbed Clark's calf, like dragging garbage, dragging Superman to walk on the barren land.

Their location has already left the solar system.

The sun's light can't reach here, so that Clark's unstable state of being radiated by the sun and entering the heavenly father is broken, and Clark returns to the state under the heavenly father.

This also means that other Kryptonians can no longer gain power from the sun.

The sun is very kind to you, it generously gives you inexhaustible energy, even after absorbing a lot of sunlight in a short period of time, it makes you enter a state of being 'strengthened'.

Zod dragged Clark, who was covered in blood, walking in this barren world.

He came alone.

Before the one-on-one fight with Zod, Clark persuaded Fiora not to intervene in the duel. The adjutant fulfilled the agreement, but in the one-on-one confrontation with Zod, Superman lost miserably.

Zod walked forward step by step, and the rough gravel was blown on Zod's steel body in the fast-flying wind. This kind of bad weather was enough to destroy any sophisticated and powerful machinery, but it couldn't stop Zod's progress. pace.

As he walked, he said to Clark who temporarily lost his combat ability behind him:

That burning star gave you the ability to fight against the real heavenly father, but that kind of strength is just an illusion, it makes you full of confidence, it makes you feel that you can fight me.

But it turns out that you can't do it, Karl. Fake strength cannot match real strength. I hope you can learn this lesson from today's battle.

Believe me, this is a very important lesson for a fighter with a long career ahead.

General Krypton didn't seem to mind that Clark had persuaded Fiora, and he grabbed Superman's calf and pulled him into a crumbling mountain shadow.

This is a lee, which can block the harsh storm.

Zod threw aside Clark, whose sternum had healed, and took out a black blood collection device from the pocket of his combat uniform.

He half-kneeled beside Clark. Superman's powerful self-healing power has restored his broken sternum and bruises on his body, but he is still in a weak state. Seeing that Zod was about to take his own blood, Clark raised his hand to Destroy that device.

boom

Zod easily squeezed Superman's wrist.

Between five fingers, accompanied by a low bone cracking sound, Superman's hand bones were crushed abruptly, and hit the ground in an abnormal arc.

puff

Six sharp needles pierced Clark's chest, and the blood collector started working like a small water pump, and the blood from Clark was drawn out, but not much.

Judging from the volume of the instrument, it is at most the capacity of a normal fresh blood, which will not affect Superman's health.

While the instrument was operating, Zod was also sitting cross-legged beside Clark. He looked into Clark's eyes. The latter's larynx was cracked in the previous confrontation. The injury was healing, and Clark was still speechless. .

He could only look at Zod with a mixture of persuasion and anger.

Facing that look, Zod's expression didn't change at all. He sat there, raised his head, and looked at the sky.

Originating from the powerful vision of the Heavenly Father, he could see 15 Kryptonian soldiers hovering among the stars. Fiora was commanding them. Outside the battlefield, those soldiers were waiting for the command of the leader.

I'm curious how you convinced Fiora to stand by and watch you fight me?

It's like chatting with elders and younger generations.

Zod asked in his signature deep voice:

You reached some kind of agreement with her? No, no, Fiora is an excellent soldier. She has never disobeyed my orders since she joined my legion. She will not violate my orders at the mission level. instructions.

So, I guess, personal reasons?

Zod touched his chin, and he shook his head, letting out a short laugh.

After a few seconds of silence, he said:

Well, I probably guessed it, but unfortunately, I am destined to be unable to respond to this beautiful expectation, not because I am hard-hearted, but because...

Carl, I'm dead, and three times.

Zod turned his head to look at the silent Clark, and he said seriously:

I died for the first time when my adventure to save my world failed, that time I broke my oath and lost my soldier's honor.

After I was released from long captivity, when I heard the news of the destruction of Krypton, I died for the second time. I lost the homeland and the people I wanted to protect, and I lost the meaning of my existence.

I died for the third time when the Collector sent my remaining 14 compatriots into the arena of Saka, and when I heard the news of their deaths...

Zod lowered his head, looked at his blood-stained hands, and said hoarsely:

I swore to them that I would lead them to rebuild the world. They trusted me, incredible trust, and I failed that trust.

After losing my glory, my existence, I lost my trust.

You said, a person like me, who has already lost everything, has no right to promise more to a woman who loves me deeply?

I don't deserve it, Carl.

Zod reached out from Clark's chest and grabbed the instrument that had drawn blood.

He looked at the blood rippling in the center of the instrument, and said:

Maybe Fiora told you something, and maybe you know what I'm going to do with your blood, Karl.

Yes, I never thought of recasting Kryptonian civilization in the wrong way. I knew that Joe had found the right way when I knew you were about to have a child. This made me very relieved and enough to make me No more worries.

I have made up my mind to die. I can no longer survive in this cruel world.

I was born to be the best fighter, and I hope to die as a fighter should. I know that we can start a new life on Earth like you, which is a better choice, but...not Give it to me.

Zod stood up and patted the dust and blood stains on his body.

He looked at Clark struggling on the ground, and said:

When everything is ready, when I am about to set foot on the final battlefield, I will send Fiora and some warriors who want to continue to the earth, and then I will trouble you and Kara to help them.

This is my last plea to you.

After speaking, Zod turned around and was about to leave.

Behind him, Clark used his unrecovered larynx and asked with difficulty in a stone-like rubbing voice:

Why?

Um?

Zod looked back at Clark lying on the ground, and said:

what why?

Since you don't want to rebuild Krypton, why did you make a three-month agreement with me?

Clark supported his body with his still intact arm and let himself lean against the stone. He stared at Zod and asked in a stubborn tone:

This is a trial? What do you want me to prove to you?

I just wanted to see, Carl, see what you can do for your fellow man.

Zod walked forward without looking back, he said:

Facts have proved that although you are still slightly lacking in strength, you are already a qualified Kryptonian warrior in terms of will and spirit.

You didn't procrastinate, you didn't choose to escape, you just went to the meeting so calmly, I admire your courage, but recklessness is a big problem, but it doesn't matter, you are still young, young people are like this.

Zod shook his head, he glanced back at Clark, a rare gentle smile appeared on his serious face, and then he walked into the wind and sand of this world again, his back became blurred.

His unclear voice also became softer and softer in the wind and sand, as if he was asking for the funeral.

You haven't realized your full potential yet, Karl, but I believe that with just a little more time, you can become a better Kryptonian warrior than me, a Kryptonian lord who grew up on Earth...

I come from the old era when Krypton has been destroyed. Karl, I am a failure, but I will also look forward to the reconstruction of Kryptonian civilization in the hands of you and your descendants. I will bless you.

Don't come to me again, go back, go back to welcome the birth of your child, and train him well.

Tell him about Zod the Kryptonian. Tell that kid, the last Kryptonian general, a best soldier until his death.

whoosh

Under Clark's gaze, Zod's figure rushed from the ground to the stars, Superman shook his head, and he took out the deformed syringe made of vibrating gold from his pocket with difficulty.

He looked at the syringe in his hand, and to be honest, he didn't intend to use it at all in the first place.

But now, he doesn't have to.

Zod does not need the strengthening of the sun, and he is already a powerful heavenly father, but in this place where the sun cannot reach, Clark does not have enough strength to complete the rescue.

Is he willing to just watch his clansmen and elders embark on the road of revenge with the will to die, and then return to Earth to live their lives as if nothing happened?

No!

Never!

Zod has given up all hope and resigned himself to becoming a death-seeking Avenger.

But Clark didn't want to just give him up.

There are only so few Kryptonians left, and each one is very precious, not to mention, he promised Fiora that he would save his people.

puff

The silver needle pierced the artery in Clark's neck, and the orange liquid was injected into Clark's blood vessel. In the cold and tingling sensation, Clark threw the empty syringe in his hand aside.

He leaned against the rock and closed his eyes.

Merlin, if you could hear...

Clark felt the strange sensation oozing from his trembling body, and he called the name of the raven, like a drowning man calling for help.

He gave up without knowing it, and said softly:

just like before...

Help.