As Robert and Tohru raced against time, Clark and the Avengers became busier, including Johnny Stone and his friends, who had just started enjoying campus life.
They weren't needed to assist in guarding Robert while he searched for Tohru, but because more shadow soldiers began to act once Tohru started competing with Robert. If they didn't intervene, more people would be harmed.
Shadow soldiers weren't easy to deal with. If they hadn't known about the shadow soldiers' ability to devour shadows beforehand, Johnny Stone and his friends might have been in serious trouble.
But knowing the shadow soldiers' abilities made most of them easier to handle. Still, it was impossible to stop every shadow soldier's actions due to their sheer number.
Tony Stark stood out in dealing with shadow soldiers. His armor was extremely effective against them since it didn't fear having its shadow devoured, nor could the shadow soldiers put the armor into a coma or absorb its energy.
However, despite the large-scale deployment of shadow soldiers, many people were still harmed. After Robert woke up the previous comatose individuals, the shadow soldiers began killing them outright, preventing Robert from tracing the source of the dark power through them.
This situation made the public aware of the hidden crisis, affecting human society. Even with numerous superheroes and official forces stepping up, people's minds couldn't be at ease until the situation was fully resolved.
"Shadows being devoured? Superheroes saving people everywhere? Could this be my chance?" During this crisis, Norman Osborn, who had been enhancing his equipment and strength, received intelligence. He learned about these events by closely monitoring Peter Parker and devised a new plan upon learning the details.
Under the night sky, New York's streets were brightly lit, but there were still many shadows where shadow soldiers lurked, attacking unsuspecting pedestrians in the dark.
However, on one street, the shadow soldiers' ambush failed. A group of bald men armed with various weapons launched a surprise attack on the shadow soldiers.
These bald men were not particularly strong, merely well-trained soldiers. But generally, shadow soldiers weren't very powerful either. A group of trained individuals was enough to pose a threat to them.
Behind these bald men was a huge, giant-like bald man. When he struck, the shadow soldiers were no match for him. With a single punch, he could shatter newly emerged shadow soldiers.
Notably, this giant bald man always wore a compassionate smile, as if he were not killing shadow soldiers but redeeming souls.
This giant bald man was none other than Kingpin, influenced by the Tiger Talisman, who had been under Clark's watch for a long time yet still strived to do good. In this crisis, Kingpin and his monks stepped forward without hesitation.
However, despite his notable efforts against ordinary shadow soldiers, Kingpin struggled against truly powerful shadow soldiers. After losing a fight against a similar-sized shadow soldier, he stopped targeting the stronger ones, focusing instead on preventing shadow soldiers from attacking ordinary people, achieving only moderate success.
"It's tough being a regular person. Dealing with everyday pressures is one thing, but facing these extraordinary events with no means to fight back..." Kingpin sighed as the shadow soldiers stopped appearing and left with his men.
Kingpin knew the mastermind behind the shadow soldiers didn't regard him as a threat, or perhaps they had too many areas to focus on to bother with him. Otherwise, a stronger shadow soldier would have been enough to overwhelm him.
As Kingpin vanished into the darkness, the alley fell silent. Unbeknownst to him, Norman Osborn was watching from above, his eyes filled with dissatisfaction as he looked in Kingpin's direction.
Norman Osborn had planned to use bait to attract both shadow soldiers and Peter Parker, hoping to ambush Peter. If the shadow soldiers devoured Peter's shadow and put him to sleep, Norman would be pleased as he only needed Peter's body, regardless of whether Peter was alive or awake.
However, his plan faced setbacks as others kept interfering. Kingpin was just one of many who disrupted his attempts.
"No, I can't delay any longer. I need to find an opportunity!" Norman Osborn decided after seeing Kingpin leave. He disappeared on his Goblin Glider, determined to act.
"Help! Is anyone there? Help!" A desperate cry echoed through the dark alley, piercing the night. A man lay on the ground, blood oozing from his leg, calling for help.
Soon, Peter Parker received a message from J.A.R.V.I.S. and rushed to the scene, unaware of the eyes watching him from the darkness.
Upon arrival, Peter saw a shadow soldier lunging at the injured man's shadow. Without hesitation, Peter shot an electric current along his web, striking the shadow soldier and knocking it away. He then dashed into the alley.
Inside the alley, Peter's spider-sense suddenly went off, alarming him. Anger surged as he saw the scene: the alley was filled with dozens of people with severed legs, their shadows being devoured by shadow soldiers. The injured man was the only conscious one.
This was Norman Osborn's plan. When waiting for shadow soldiers to appear failed, he decided to use bait to attract both shadow soldiers and Peter. It was a perfect setup to lure them both simultaneously.
Norman had failed before, with shadow soldiers devouring all his bait before Peter could arrive. But this time, he succeeded.
"Damn it!" Peter cursed, rushing at the shadow soldiers. The injured people's shadows were almost entirely devoured, but if he acted quickly, he could save them by killing the shadow soldiers.
Peter unleashed his full power, electricity crackling around him, illuminating the alley.
"Boom!" Suddenly, a terrifying explosion erupted, collapsing the surrounding buildings. It was Norman Osborn's new pumpkin bomb.
Peter's spider-sense had warned him, but he had misinterpreted it amidst the shadow soldiers' presence, failing to realize the real threat came from Norman. Caught off guard, he was thrown by the blast, his suit deforming to protect him as he bled profusely and lost consciousness.
As his vision blurred, Peter saw the Green Goblin, Norman Osborn, approach him with excitement in his voice: "Finally! It took a lot of effort to catch you, Spider-Man..."
"Why...?" Peter asked weakly, confused about why Norman targeted him so relentlessly.
"Why? You'll find out when you're dead. But before that, your blood is still very useful to me!" Norman sneered. But as he focused solely on Peter, a massive shadow soldier appeared behind him.
"Watch out!" Peter instinctively warned Norman. Realizing the danger, Norman tried to dodge.
The shadow soldier wasn't aiming to attack Norman but to devour his shadow. With a bite, Norman's shadow was partially devoured, leaving him weaker than before, even before injecting the serum. He collapsed.
"No!" Norman, terrified of the shadow soldier, mustered his strength to control his glider to crash into the shadow soldier, trying to stop it from devouring him entirely.
But Norman overestimated his glider's impact and underestimated the shadow soldier's strength. The glider only made the shadow soldier stumble, failing to halt its actions.
With another bite, Norman's shadow was completely devoured, and the shadow soldier lunged at his body, knocking him unconscious.
"Don't!" Seeing this, Peter forced himself to act, trying to stop the shadow soldier with electricity. But it was too late. The shadow soldier devoured half of Norman's body, spraying blood everywhere.