(~˘▾˘)~~(˘▾˘~)
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"Who are you?
A human?"
Faora looked at him up and down.
In her search for information on Clark, this man kept appearing, displaying strength not inferior to the average Kryptonian warrior.
But among the known powerful races of the universe, none matched this man's characteristics.
"Who else would I be?"
David replied.
"You are not on the list of candidates General Zod has summoned."
Faora responded coldly.
"Summoned?"
David sneered.
"You brazenly fly your ship to the sky above Earth, came uninvited, and are saying that you were summoning us?
This is Earth; Let me clarify your identities!"
That a native of a backward civilization would dare to be so rude to a Kryptonian officer made Faora, clad in her black armor, sneer in contempt. She was about to say something when suddenly a voice from Zod came through her transparent force-field helmet.
"I understand."
She nodded in response to the communication channel, then looked at David with a threatening gaze.
"General Zod is very curious about you. You are allowed to board the ship with Kal-El.
I hope you don't do anything unwise."
David seemed to not hear her at all.
Zod had dozens under his command, most of whom were high-ranking officials who rebelled with him. Ordinary soldiers were not qualified enough to be imprisoned with him in the Phantom Zone.
With so many Kryptonians combined, even he had to take things seriously.
'Fighting in space is a bit more advantageous.' As he boarded the warship with Clark, David looked through the porthole at the space illuminated by the stars.
Moreover, if a war broke out on Earth, the destructive power of dozens of Kryptonians would be too much. Who knows how many would die or be injured?
"Let me remind you.
Our atmospheric composition is highly toxic to species not strong enough."
A spacecraft over ten meters long was drawn into the belly of the space mothership, and before opening the hatch, Faora crossed her arms and glanced at David, her posture oozing arrogance as if she were waiting to see him make a fool of himself.
"It's too late for you to retreat now."
"Whether I'm strong enough or not, you don't need to worry about that," David replied calmly.
Breathing? He didn't need to breathe at all.
And what kind of environment could be so harsh that just the air would kill a mutant Eternal?
Hiss!
A burst of steam, and the hatch opened. Before a massive transparent window, a tall and imposing figure stood with his hands behind his back, facing the space and bathed in the warm sunlight.
"Kal-El, I finally see you," Zod turned around, his voice resonating with the force of steel clashing.
"Living on this backward planet, you probably don't know how far we've come to find you."
"Are you Zod?"
Clark frowned.
The man in front of him looked somewhat different from what he had imagined. Apart from the strength and powerful physique he had imagined, Zod did not appear as aggressive or ruthless.
His majestic face seemed to carry a hint of sorrow, as if he were a general who constantly worried about his nation and people.
"It's General Zod," Faora immediately corrected in a stern tone upon hearing Clark's less respectful tone.
"You should use the proper title!"
"It's okay, he's not familiar with our customs yet," Zod waved his hand, appearing quite reasonable.
"Zod?
Your people should all be on this ship, right?"
David surveyed the seven or eight people inside the cabin.
Using his gravity force-field sensing, there were probably dozens of personnel on the ship.
He didn't want any leaks when the battle began shortly and caused trouble later.
"Our home world has already been destroyed.
At the same time as its destruction, we, the sinners imprisoned by the Council, were accidentally released."
Zod stated the actual situation without reservation, exuding strong confidence in his every gesture and word.
"What you see is all that is left of us Kryptonians."
Even with just a few dozen people remaining, he was confident in conquering Earth easily.
"That's good."
David smiled and stopped the small talk, initiating the communication of the gravity field. An intangible and immaterial power started to create a channel between Earth and the Moon.
"David, I don't feel quite right."
Dizzy and disoriented, Clark's body wobbled, teetering on the verge of collapse. Just as he was about to fall, David caught him and frowned as he looked at Zod.
Toxic gas? Could there be a toxic gas in the universe that could easily incapacitate a Kryptonian who had basked in the light of the yellow sun?
"Kal-El, you've been living on this planet for twenty years and have fully adapted to it.
The sad thing is that as a Kryptonian, you are not adapted to the atmosphere of Krypton."
Zod looked slightly unhappy.
"The ring."
David reminded, and Clark quickly retrieved the ring, putting it on. The green ring detected that its owner was injured and activated its healing function. Simultaneously, a burst of green light enveloped his head, forming a helmet-like space suit.
"The Green Lantern Ring..."
Zod recognized the Lantern Ring and squinted his eyes.
"You actually know about it."
David was slightly surprised.
Kryptonians had long implemented a policy of isolation, no longer exploring the stars and staying inside the planet. They should have lost contact with the Green Lantern Corps probably at least a thousand years ago.
"There are many wondrous things in the universe. My heart has always longed for the stars."
Zod spoke slowly.
"Longing for the stars? I'm afraid it doesn't have anything to do with conquest and colonization of other worlds?" David responded coldly.
"I've seen visual data about you from that planet. You possess powers nearly close to ours. What race are you from in the universe?
Czarnians, Durlans, Daxamites?"
As he examined David's appearance, which resembled their own, Zod mentioned a few powerful races in the universe with a touch of curiosity.
He still didn't believe that David was from Earth.
How could such a weak and backward planet nurture such a powerful life form?
"None of those."
Suddenly, the spacecraft experienced turbulence, and the others looked around in surprise.
David smiled.
He happened to know about the powerful races Zod mentioned. Czarnians were the species to which the interstellar hunter Lobo belonged, possessing super strength, speed, and other abilities, with strength similar to Kryptonians and even the power of immortality.
Durlans had evolved the ability to mimic the abilities of other species because they lived in extremely hostile environments.
And then there were the Daxamites, located in the same star system as Krypton, with abilities almost identical to Kryptonians. They were one of the oldest colonized planets by Kryptonians, but their Kryptonite was lead.
"General, we're being pulled by some sort of force field, deviating from our orbit!"
Suddenly, the spacecraft veered off Earth's orbit, and the ship's operator quickly reported the situation.
He sat at the console and attempted to control the ship to resist the huge pull of the force, but to no avail.
The several-hundred-meter-long spacecraft spewed intense engine flames, as if an invisible giant hand had seized it and was rapidly and forcefully pulling it away from Earth.
"The target is - the far side of the Moon!"
"It's your doing!"
Zod's expression turned cold as he looked at David, who had the power to manipulate gravity fields listed in the data.
"Zod, Earth does not welcome you."
David's face was cold.
In just a moment, he had connected the gravitational fields of Earth and the Moon, sending this spacecraft towards the Moon's dark side, away from the sunlight.
As for why he didn't use the Sun that had helped eliminate the Parasite or scared off Sinestro, it was because these guys drew power from the Sun.
"Take him down!"
Zod ordered in anger.
Several Kryptonian warriors in armor lunged at David.
"Don't even think about it!"
Although he didn't yet understand Zod's purpose, Clark didn't believe that Zod and his group had come with the sole intention of retrieving their people. He threw a punch at one of the soldiers.
David stood his ground, his eyes emitting cosmic energy. A purple energy surge with great force struck the Kryptonian soldiers, sending them crashing into the ship's bulkhead as if they'd been hit by a runaway truck, causing the entire mothership to tremble.
"This has nothing to do with you.
You're not my target."
Nervously glancing at the ship, Zod stared at him, his fists clenched.
Inside the ship was a planetary transformation device related to the grand plan to restore Krypton. Once it malfunctioned, it couldn't be repaired with the materials at hand.
"Leave this planet, and I can pretend nothing happened."
"I still like this planet to remain as it is."
As David spoke, the Moon was right there, and the massive mothership crashed heavily onto the Moon's cold surface, sending up lunar dust like a tidal wave that rose several miles high.
The Kryptonian soldiers inside the ship staggered and struggled to maintain their balance.
Only David and Clark flew up gracefully, remaining composed.
Crash!
Clark punched through the hull, gazing at the unfamiliar far side of the Moon.
"What do we do now?" he asked.
"Stop!"
Before David could respond, the angry Zod lunged at Clark, his steel-like fist connecting with Clark's head. The ferocious strength easily shattered the protective barrier created by the Lantern Ring, making Clark feel as if a satellite had dropped from the sky and landed on his head. His eyes rolled back, and he was sent flying through the hole.
Zod was about to pounce on David, but David unleashed a punch that sent him flying through the air. A torrent of terrifying purple energy overwhelmed Zod, propelling him into the distance like a stone skimming across the water, colliding violently with the Moon's surface several times and traveling hundreds of meters.
"General!"
Seeing Zod under attack, the loyal Faora and several Kryptonian warriors roared and charged towards David.
Once they started moving, they were incredibly fast, especially on this surface, where the gravity was much lighter than Earth, and moved like lightning.
However, as soon as they entered a ten-meter radius around David, their speed drastically dropped, as if they were trapped in quicksand.
Deciding not to continue the battle within the ship, David flew upwards, breaking through the ceiling and hovering above, looking down at them.
Zod was concerned that the planetary transformation machine inside the ship might be damaged, and he was also interested in Kryptonian technology.
"Is this the last technological achievement of your Kryptonian civilization?"
Zod had searched various technology representatives in the Kryptonian colony outpost. This mothership was a kind of Noah's Ark of Kryptonian technology.
"Kryptonians have armor that can resist each other's attacks and possess a world engine capable of altering planetary environments and gravity. In the entire universe, this is cutting-edge technology."
"Even if Krypton is left with only us, it's not something you can look down upon!"
Looking up at David, Faora was furious and leaped through the breach with the other Kryptonians and attacked David.
David engaged in a fierce battle with them, creating deafening explosions. The lunar surface was blasted with massive craters, and the scorching heat melted it into molten rock.
These Kryptonians had been bathed in yellow sunlight filtered through their armor, and their physical attributes, such as strength and speed, had reached astonishing levels. While they hadn't acquired other abilities, their strength alone was astonishing.
Despite being surrounded by dozens of Kryptonian officers, David remained composed. Their punches, capable of shattering mountains, landed on him as if they were soft and weak, and he effortlessly sent them flying far away with his counterattacks, shattering lunar craters in the process.
However, he couldn't establish a clear advantage, and the battle remained evenly matched.
On the other side, Zod, who had been sent flying, got up and glanced at the slightly reddened armor on his chest. He turned to look at Clark, who had also taken to the air not far away.
"Kal-El,
Hand over the Central Growth Codex!"
He leaped forward, throwing a powerful punch at Clark. Clark channeled his full strength to defend against the attack and engaged in a fierce battle with Zod, barely withstanding his intense assaults.
"What Central Growth Codex?
I don't know!" Clark retorted as he blocked Zod's forceful punch. He knelt on one knee, groaning as the solid lunar rock beneath him cracked and split, extending for dozens of meters.
At this time, Clark's body had not fully matured into its peak strength.
In comparison, Zod was already an adult, and his position as a general, determined by his genetics, gave him an edge in strength over Clark.
"Before Krypton's destruction, your father, Jor-El, took advantage of the chaos, infiltrated the Chamber of Origins, and seized the Central Growth Codex containing the DNA information of all Kryptonians. Without it, Krypton cannot be rebuilt!"
Zod angrily threw another punch, sending Clark flying.
"You want to rebuild Krypton?!"
Clark gritted his teeth and looked up with pain pulsating through his abdomen.
"I don't know if there's a misunderstanding here.
I've never seen any Central Growth Codex."
After learning that he was an alien, Clark thoroughly searched for the spacecraft that had brought him to Earth. After all, it was the only connection he had to his home and parents.
Clark hoped to find something other than the black emblem they left him. However, he had found nothing.
"It's impossible.
Are you telling me Jor-El risked his life to steal the Codex, just to carry it with him to his death?
He must have hidden it on the ship that brought you."
Zod was furious, delivering a powerful kick that Clark blocked with both hands. Zod then spun, delivering another swift kick that sent Clark flying backward.
"Your combat skills, if you were on Krypton, you wouldn't even be able to fight a corporal. Not even worthy of being a soldier!"
Zod approached with overwhelming force, lifting Clark by the collar. He was emotionally charged and not holding back on his contemptuous comments.
Inside, he felt a tinge of unease and rising panic.
Kal-El didn't look like he was lying. If the Codex was not sent to Earth by Jor-El, How could he rebuild Krypton?!
"Then how about this!"
Clark, battered and bruised, was enraged. His eyes blazed with red heat vision, which he directed at Zod's helmet, causing it to explode and sending Zod tumbling backward.
Seizing the opportunity, Clark followed up with several attacks, generating visible shockwaves that kicked up lunar dust across hundreds of meters.
He pinned Zod to the ground, pummeling his head with punches while trying to reason with him.
"Zod, listen to me. If you want to rebuild Krypton, maybe I can help. We don't need to resort to violence against each other."
He was also a Kryptonian, and if it was just to rebuild a homeland he had never seen before, he would be more than willing to help.
Bang!
Amidst the confrontation, another Kryptonian warrior was sent flying, leaving a long trench on the lunar surface. Floating in mid-air, David interrupted the brawl with a cold tone.
"Clark, do you know where they plan to rebuild Krypton?"
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(~˘▾˘)~Don't forget to send your power-stones!~(˘▾˘~)