American comic book: Scarlet Witch's Multiverse

Chapter 82 Choice

The battle erupted in full force inside the spaceship.

After Clark sent General Zod flying with a punch, he didn't pause at all. His figure transformed into a blue lightning bolt and chased after him. His speed was astonishing. He appeared behind Zod before Zod even hit the second wall.

"Bang!"

Another heavy punch sent Zod crashing to the ground like a cannonball, instantly creating a huge crater in the metal floor.

The other two Kryptonian warriors immediately pounced on Clark, attacking him from both sides.

Without turning his head, Clark swung both hands outwards simultaneously.

He precisely gripped the fists of the two Kryptonian warriors, and with a sudden twist of his five fingers, the sound of bones shattering was clearly audible.

"Ah!" The two Kryptonian warriors screamed and fell to their knees uncontrollably.

Clark released his grip and delivered two elbow strikes to the back of the neck of both men, knocking them unconscious on the spot.

The entire exchange lasted no more than five seconds.

Meanwhile, the battle between Diana and Fiora has also reached a fever pitch.

Fiora's fighting skills were extremely superb, and every punch was deadly precise. She dodged Diana's Lasso of Truth several times, but instead, Diana seized the opportunity to launch a close-range combo.

"clang!"

Fiora slammed her fist into the divine shield, and Diana's arm went numb, causing her to stagger back two steps.

"Your strength is not bad, but your technique is too crude." Fiora sneered and pressed forward again.

Just then, a red beam of light shot out from the side and struck Fiora precisely in the chest.

The immense impact sent her flying, crashing through three layers of metal walls on the spaceship before coming to a stop.

Clark lowered his still-reddened eyes and nodded to Diana.

Diana, slightly out of breath, smiled and said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome, Aunt Diana," Clark replied briefly, then turned his gaze to General Zod, who was climbing out of the pit.

Zod's face was covered in blood, and his chest armor was shattered, but his eyes remained fierce.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stared intently at Clark.

"You are stronger than I thought," Zod said in a deep voice.

Clark did not respond, but simply looked at him calmly.

"But you are ultimately just one person, while I have an entire fleet," Zod suddenly smiled.

He abruptly raised his right hand, and a device on his wrist emitted a piercing alarm.

Almost simultaneously, the two black warships outside the spaceship began to turn, their massive cannons aimed at the brightly lit city below.

"You think I'd fight you fairly?" Zod sneered. "This is war, Karl El. War has no rules, only victory and defeat."

Clark's super hearing instantly picked up the scream coming from the ground.

Countless civilians looked up at the two black warships that blotted out the sky, their eyes filled with fear. Among them were the elderly, children, and countless ordinary families, all teetering on the brink of life and death.

"Stop!" Clark roared.

"Too late." Zod pressed the device in his hand.

The main guns of both warships fired simultaneously, the blinding blue beams like the scythe of death, slashing straight down at the city below.

Wherever the beam of light passed, the air was ionized into plasma, emitting a piercing shriek.

Clark vanished from his spot in an instant.

His speed instantly broke through dozens of times the sound barrier, and white sonic boom clouds exploded behind him. He was like a shooting star flying in reverse, rushing towards the falling beam of light.

Just before the beam of light was about to strike the city, he shielded it with his body.

"boom!"

The blue beam of light slammed into Clark, the immense energy pressing him downwards.

He gritted his teeth, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and withstood the blow.

The beam of light exploded in front of him into countless tiny streams of energy that scattered in all directions.

The people on the ground witnessed this scene: the person in the blue battle suit shielded them from a devastating attack with his own body.

"Go back!" Clark's eyes suddenly burst forth with blazing red rays of heat. The two beams of red light collided head-on with the blue beam, unleashing a blinding white light.

The energy shockwave spread outwards, shattering the surrounding glass curtain walls, but he successfully pushed the beam back.

He then turned and charged toward one of the warships like a blue lightning bolt.

His speed was so fast that the warship's defense system couldn't react in time. He crashed through the hull of the warship and burst out from the other side.

"Boom!"

A chain of explosions occurred inside the warship, and the massive hull began to list and plummet. Without pausing, Clark charged towards the second warship and destroyed it in the same manner.

The wreckage of the two warships crashed in the no-man's-land outside the city, raising towering flames and dust.

Clark hovered in mid-air, his red cape fluttering in the wind.

He glanced down at the city below, and after confirming that there were no civilian casualties, he turned his gaze back to Zod's spaceship.

He took a deep breath and rushed in again.

Inside the spaceship, Diana is locked in combat with Fiora, who has regained her footing.

Although Fiora was hit by the heat ray, the Kryptonian regenerative abilities allowed her to quickly return to the fight.

The two exchanged blows, each collision causing the surrounding metal walls to vibrate and hum.

Clark crashed between the two like a meteorite, instantly creating a huge crater in the metal floor beneath his feet.

He stood up and looked at Fiora.

"Get out of the way," he said to Diana.

Diana immediately withdrew and retreated.

Fiora watched Clark warily, assuming a fighting stance.

Clark gave her no chance, appearing in front of her in a flash and throwing a punch.

Fiora crossed her arms to block, but the force of Clark's punch far exceeded her tolerance limit.

"Snap!"

The sound of bones cracking rang out as Fiora's arms snapped simultaneously. She flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily against the wall and sliding down, never to rise again.

General Zod stood in the center of the command room, watching his men being shot down one by one on the monitor screen, his face grim. He turned to look at Clark, who was walking towards him step by step.

"You are truly strong," Zod said slowly, "much stronger than I expected."

Clark stopped a few meters in front of him and looked at him calmly.

"But your power won't change anything," Zod continued. "Krypton is destroyed, and only a few of my people remain. If you don't help me, the Kryptonian bloodline will be completely extinguished."

"You're doing it the wrong way," Clark finally said.

"Then tell me what the right way is?" Zod's voice suddenly rose: "To watch our own genocide?"

Clark paused for a moment, then said, "Krypton was destroyed because of your own mistakes. Overexploitation of resources and internal decay and division are not Earth's fault. You shouldn't make Earth bear the sins of Krypton."

"I just want my people to live," Zod said with a hint of sorrow.

"Me too," Clark said calmly.

"My family is here, and there are seven billion innocent people on this planet. I will not let you hurt them."

Zod looked into Clark's eyes and finally understood one thing: this young man in front of him had never considered himself a Kryptonian.

His identity, his sense of belonging, his loyalty—all belong to this blue planet.

"Then there's nothing more to say." Zod clenched his fist.

The two charged at each other at the same time.

Fist collided with fist, unleashing a deafening shockwave. The spaceship's hull was torn apart, metal fragments rained down, and two figures were ejected from the ship, plummeting downwards.

They struck from tens of thousands of meters above the clouds, and then from the clouds back down to the ground. Each collision was like a thunderclap, shaking the earth. They smashed through mountains, shattered glaciers, and left huge craters in the earth.

Clark grew stronger with each fight, each punch heavier and each attack faster than the last.

Zod was gradually losing his strength. His armor was completely shattered, his face was covered in blood, and one of his eyes was closed.

"It's over." Clark threw a punch, hitting Zod squarely in the chest.

Zod was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into a mountainside. Debris tumbled down, burying him beneath, and dust filled the air, obscuring his vision.

Clark landed on the ground and waited, knowing that Zod was not dead.

Sure enough, the rubble exploded, and Zod crawled out of the ruins.

He was covered in wounds and could barely stand, but his eyes remained fierce. He staggered toward Clark, leaving a bloody footprint on the ground with each step.

"I—will not—give up," Zod said in a hoarse voice.

Clark looked at him, his eyes showing no anger, only a complex emotion.

This man was one of his last remaining clansmen, a former comrade of his father, and he didn't want to kill him if he could.

But Zod won't stop; he'll keep fighting until he kills Clark, or is killed by Clark.

This was the path he chose, and also his destiny as a soldier.

"I'm sorry," Clark said softly.

Zod roared and threw his final punch. Clark dodged to the side, and at the same time, his right hand reached out and precisely gripped Zod's throat. He tightened his grip and exerted force.

"Click."

Zod's body went limp.

Clark supported his body and gently laid it on the ground. He knelt beside Zod and remained silent for a long time.

Diana descended from the sky and walked to Clark's side. She didn't speak, but simply stood quietly to the side.

"I killed the last of my people," Clark said in a low voice.

"You protected seven billion people," Diana replied softly.

Clark looked up at the city in the distance.

The place was brightly lit, and countless people were celebrating their survival. They might not know what had just happened, or what choices had been made for them, but Clark knew, and that was enough.

He stood up, picked up Zod's body, and flew away into the distance, with Diana following behind him.

The two dug a grave in the Arctic permafrost and buried Zod there. There was no tombstone, no marker, only endless ice and snow.

"Let's go." Clark took one last look at the simple grave, then turned and flew into the sky.

Diana followed in silence.

Clark didn't go home. He told Diana to go back first, and then flew to geostationary orbit alone, hovering there and looking down at the blue planet.

He watched like that all night long.

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight illuminated the Earth, Clark returned to the ground. He wasn't wearing his battle suit, but just ordinary clothes, and walked into the United Nations headquarters in Metropolis.

At this time, the United Nations was dealing with countless journalists.

His appearance caused a huge commotion; reporters flocked to him, cameras were pointed at him, and the eyes of the world were focused on him.

After Clark landed, he flew straight to the podium. The people on the podium who were preparing to give a speech quickly made way for him. Clark looked at the dark mass of people below and took a deep breath.

"My name is Clark Maximov." His voice echoed throughout the world through the microphone.

"Yesterday, a group of invaders from a distant planet came to Earth. They demanded that Earth hand over me, or they would destroy the planet."

"I stepped forward."

"I defeated them."

A few short words, yet they silenced the entire venue.

"But that's not what I wanted to say," Clark continued.

"What I want to say is that I grew up on Earth, my parents are Earthlings, my friends are Earthlings, and everything I love is here."

"From this day forward, I will use my power to protect this planet, not for power, not for fame, but simply because this is my home."

"But I am not above the law. I will respect the laws of every country and the rights of every individual. I will not make decisions for anyone, nor will I force anyone to accept my will."

"I will only use my power in one situation, and that is to protect."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

"At the same time, I will also dedicate myself to promoting the improvement of the law. This era has changed. Superpowered people are no longer a legend, and extraterrestrial life is no longer a fantasy."

"We need new laws to adapt to this new era, and we need clear rules to define what is right and what is wrong."

"I will work with legal professionals to drive the creation of new laws and prepare for the coming era."

"This is my promise."

Clark told reporters.

"The era of superheroes officially begins on this day."