Why are there so many extraordinary organizations in the DC or Marvel universes?
It's simple—individual power alone isn't enough to face stronger and broader challenges.
In this life, Atreus figured that there probably wouldn't be a self-established Squad. After all, both Black Canary and White Canary were with him, and there was no way he'd tolerate Harley Quinn, that crazy woman.
But to deal with **Huntress** and **Katana**, forceful persuasion is needed, not seduction.
When Atreus confidently declared he would take on both of them, the two women instinctively took a deep breath.
Looking at the imposing and muscular Kratos, they didn't feel nervous. Instead, their hearts were stirred with excitement.
No matter how many times they had watched him on TV, it could never convey how powerful the real Kratos truly was.
Even though they were aware of their own limits, testing their strength against this recent up-and-coming hero seemed like a good opportunity.
Both women couldn't help but feel eager.
**Katana** raised her long sword, feeling every cell in her body ignite with energy.
After dealing with a bunch of gangsters, she was curious just how big the gap was between herself and a top-tier hero.
What she hadn't expected was that while chasing down some leads for a friend, she would stumble upon this rare opportunity.
Although Katana couldn't exactly be considered a traditional swordsman, Katana was confident in her mastery of combat arts, equaling or surpassing anyone else.
She lifted her head, her eyes burning like flames beneath her mask. With her soul-devouring blade raised, she took a combat stance.
At **Katana's** level, a stance wasn't just a simple pose; her natural aura immediately captured the attention of the Lance sisters standing behind Atreus.
And the moment **Katana** assumed her stance, **Huntress** vanished in a blur, her figure almost disappearing into thin air.
With enough focus, you could still catch a glimpse of Helena. Her stealth techniques perfectly complemented Katana's menacing presence.
One was an open blade, the other a hidden arrow.
Even knowing their strategy, this duo was difficult to counter.
Ordinary people certainly couldn't handle this kind of combination.
But Atreus could.
He stood in the middle of the warehouse, bathed in the light, becoming the center of everyone's attention.
He didn't pay any attention to the Lance sisters; they naturally didn't feel threatened.
To **Huntress** and **Katana**, however, his figure meant something different.
Helena felt her scalp tingle. She had always been confident in her assassination techniques, but against Atreus, they seemed completely ineffective. Even though she had moved to his rear left, she still felt as though she was being locked onto, like a giant, invisible eye was fixated on her.
This feeling made Helena very uncomfortable.
This was the effect of Atreus's ridiculously high 40-point perception, combined with his **Heat Sensing** ability!
Unless Helena could completely hide her body's heat signature and escape Atreus's superhuman-level five senses, any movement was futile.
Helena started to feel anxious. She shot a glance at Katana.
Their teamwork wasn't long-standing, but each time, **Katana** took the lead in attacks.
This time, however, Katana hesitated.
The aura Kratos exuded was something she had only ever felt from her master, the Japanese martial arts grandmaster **Tadashi**.
No!
Her master was even less imposing than this.
By the time she apprenticed under him, her master was already old.
But this man before her not only gave off the sensation of standing on the edge of a cliff, but his strange eyes seemed capable of seeing through all her secrets.
The feeling of being thoroughly analyzed from head to toe was terrible!
This filled Katana with an inexplicable sense of agitation.
Finally, under the mysterious tension of the moment, she shouted.
"Slash—!"
**Iai Strike** unleashed!
With a sharp cry, her sword sliced through the air like a silver ribbon, flashing above her head and arcing downward.
A moment ago, there had been about five meters between her and Atreus.
In terms of sword fighting, this was quite far—but in the blink of an eye, the chilling blade, humming with a strange soul resonance, was already upon Atreus's head.
Atreus didn't even need to look up to understand how deadly this strike was.
Those without enough **Willpower** wouldn't be able to withstand the spiritual intimidation of the soul-devouring sword, their minds easily overwhelmed.
Those with low **Perception** wouldn't even be able to track the sword's movement.
To take this strike head-on also required a combination of both strength and agility.
Katana herself was a benchmark for attribute checks; if any one of your attributes was too low, you wouldn't stand a chance.
As her blade came down, it felt like a massive building was collapsing overhead, tons of stone rolling down in an avalanche.
Even before the sword struck, its sheer presence was overwhelming.
This strike was definitely the peak of mortal swordsmanship!
"Such a shame," Atreus sighed softly.
Why a shame?
Because, in the end, it was still a mortal's blade.
Without even drawing his **Blades of Chaos**, Atreus casually raised his right hand in a horizontal motion.
"What?" Katana was stunned.
From her perspective, Atreus had to be insane.
Her sword could cut through gold and iron with ease; if it landed, Atreus's hand would be useless.
But the momentum of the blade wasn't something she could stop even if she wanted to.
If anything went wrong, it would be Kratos' fault for underestimating her.
With a slight twist of her wrist, she tried to avoid hitting Kratos' vital areas—this was **Katana's** greatest act of mercy.
To her shock, when Kratos made his move, his broad hand gave her the feeling that no matter where she aimed, she couldn't escape it.
She had never experienced such a bizarre technique before, especially how his palm's acceleration made her blade feel like it was voluntarily presenting itself to him.
As planned, her sword followed its intended trajectory, but when the blade met Atreus's palm, a bright spark erupted.
The once razor-sharp sword, which had cut down countless enemies, emitted a groan, as if on the verge of bending to the point of breaking!
This man named Kratos was constantly adjusting the strength in his hand. Katana felt as though what she was facing wasn't a human hand, but the force of a tank, an unstoppable surge of power creeping along her sword and up her arms.
What's worse, Atreus was holding her sword with just three fingers—his thumb, index, and middle finger.
Katana quickly realized she had no way to retreat or escape.
She could either withdraw her sword or switch to hand-to-hand combat.
Otherwise, she was going to lose.
Had she been alone, she would have gone all-in with a fistfight, but luckily, she had a teammate.
At the same moment she slashed at Kratos, **Huntress** launched a well-timed shot.
Helena didn't expect the arrow to wound Kratos; she just wanted him to instinctively dodge, lean back, or shift his weight slightly. That way, **Katana** could break free.
But even this small calculation failed.
With a soft *snap*, Atreus didn't even turn around. He simply reached out with his left hand, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, and expertly caught the arrow with three fingers.
With a slight squeeze, the arrow shattered into splinters, floating like butterflies in the air.
Silence.
Stillness.
Such quiet!
Everyone realized that Atreus hadn't even exerted his full strength.
Clearly, if he wanted, both **Katana** and **Huntress** could have been dead in an instant.
"Alright! I admit defeat."
"You're my boss now."
(End of Chapter)