I, V, Gotham Legend

"It's different. I've always fought for Krypton, and you're just a coward who ran away with your son." Zod stiffened his neck.

"You are wrong. You have been wrong from the beginning." Joe shook his head helplessly. "Zod was not such a paranoid and crazy person before."

"If you had wandered in the Phantom Zone for two hundred years like me and watched your home planet explode with your own eyes, you would have been like me." Zod's tone was filled with depression. "You are just an AI. When Joe entered you into the spacecraft database and fled to the universe with his son, Krypton was still a peaceful place."

Zod came close to Joe's phantom, he opened his swollen eyes wide, there seemed to be fire burning in them: "You have never experienced true despair, so you can ridicule me like this, am I wrong? My men and I have given everything for Krypton!"

Joe looked at Zod, who had none of the decency that a Kryptonian general should have, and his code-operating brain sighed heavily.

"Zod, remember how we stood face to face like this before we parted ways, arguing over our increasingly divergent ideas." Joe changed the subject and recalled the past, "Back then, you were full of vigor and vitality, as if you would never be defeated..."

"I'm not defeated now!" Zod suddenly jumped up and shouted excitedly.

Zod's sudden reaction startled Joe. He looked at Zod strangely, only to find that his former best friend was staring at him as if he were an enemy.

"Don't think you won! Jor-El, I will tear your son to pieces in a second!" Zod screamed. "Just like I told you! I was right!"

After hearing this, Joe finally understood the real reason why Zod had been paranoid.

It's not some grand goal for Krypton or for the survival of the race. All this is just an excuse for Zod to whitewash himself.

The real reason Zod insists on staying on Earth is simply because Joe chose this place.

Seeing the crystallization of Joe's technology, the tall and bright appearance of Carl, the son of Krypton, Zod's hostility and jealousy towards his opponent engulfed his heart, which had already gone crazy under endless pressure.

Especially when Superman refused to join Zod and denied Zod's plan with an extremely resistant attitude, the remarks that were exactly the same as his father's made Zod even more angry.

He no longer cared about the plan, he had to kill Carl because he didn't want to admit that he lost to the damn old Joe!

"Even if it's a blood feud, it's nothing more than a trivial matter now that our home planet has been destroyed. What's more, we parted ways just because of a disagreement." Joe's tone was filled with sorrow. "You've really changed, Zod. I have nothing to say to you now."

Seeing Joe's painful expression, Valerie, who had been sitting at the operating table and watching, sat up straight and interrupted the two: "You don't look like old friends reuniting...Are you done arguing?"

The angry speech was interrupted, and Zedd turned around and glared at Valerie: "Who are you?"

"Looks like the quarrel is over." Valerie curled her lips and then turned on the instrument at hand.

NO93. The final battle

Valerie had already prepared a room full of red sun devices. After pressing the mechanism, the red light almost immediately filled the room.

Especially the light shield next to Valerie, the red light emitted by it was visible to the naked eye, just like a searchlight.

Zod was directly exposed to the red sun, and he clearly felt the endless power in his body dissipating at a rapid speed.

"Is this your trump card to kill Fiora and Norn?" Zod's eyes were buried in the shadows.

"And to kill you too." Valerie hid behind the light shield, but her tone was not at all timid.

Zod raised his arm and pressed a mechanical device tied to his forearm.

Then, black substance flowed out of the machine and climbed up Zod's body like slime, solidifying after overlapping with the body.

A piece of armor with the texture of burnt coal gradually took shape. The armor wrapped around Zod's head, and a light blue transparent mask covered his face.

This is the armor that all Kryptonian soldiers carry, which can adapt to the environment when performing missions on different planets.

After a long journey, Zod and his two companions could only afford one set of armor each.

Since his own armor was easily destroyed by Superman when he first came to Earth, Zod wore Norn's suit.

The armor blocked the red sun's rays. Although it wouldn't allow him to regain his world-destroying power immediately, it wouldn't suppress him for too long.

Zod raised his arms, black blades formed on his arms, and he got ready: "I am a general of Krypton, I have been through many battles, I am not a loser who can't do without super powers."

"You copied me!" Valerie protested against Zod's posture.

The Kryptonian armor forms arm blades on the arms, which look almost the same as Valerie's mantis blade.

Since Valerie was shouting in Earth's English, Zod didn't understand for a moment, but he was not interested in understanding the barbarian language.

Zedd roared and rushed towards Valerie, his arms open as if he was going to give the girl a hug.

Valerie was in no mood for Zod's dangerous embrace, she also raised her arms and stabbed out with her mantis blade carrying a blue electric current, horizontally across her face, blocking Zod's knife from looking at her cheek.

"For self-righteous enemies, I like to defeat them at their best." Valerie hesitated, and raised her eyes, "Are you best at this kind of mantis blade? What a coincidence, I am also good at it."

Zod raised the knife, swung it, and slashed at Valerie's abdomen.

This time he used all his strength, just to reach the maximum speed so as not to be caught up.

But his knife suddenly trembled before it struck Valerie's waist, and the violent movement pulled the wound.

Valerie immediately pulled her right arm sideways to deflect the knife at her waist, and at the same time, the blade in her left hand slashed Zod's shoulder, but she did not go any further.

Zod sneered, "Backward technology. You can't even break my armor."

"I don't think so." Valerie pouted, and the blades on both of her arms lit up blue at the same time. Then, she raised her right arm and collided with the blade of her left arm on Zod's shoulder.

Blue electric current burst out, this time spreading from the point where Valerie's mantis blade touched the Zod armor.

The electric current sank into Zod's armor as if it was sprinkled into the sea, easily passing through layer after layer of obstacles and flowing into Zod's body.

His physical strength had reached its limit, and he had just been soaked in the sea, so the effect of the electric current was very significant. Zod was shocked and straightened up, his body shaking uncontrollably.

Valerie took the opportunity to retract the mantis knife and took out a green, crystal-clear dagger from her pocket.

This was the special weapon that Valerie had just made for fighting Kryptonians. Valerie leaned slightly to the right, held the kryptonite dagger in her left hand, and stabbed it towards Zod's masked face.

However, just before the dagger pierced Zod's face, Zod, who should have been in a state of stiffness due to the electric shock, suddenly raised his right arm and grabbed Valerie's wrist.

Zod lowered his head slightly, rolling his eyes as he regained his spirit.

"Is this kryptonite?" Zod recognized the mineral in Valerie's hand.

"I think so." Valerie answered casually. She stabbed out the mantis knife with the arm that was held by Zod again. The blade collided with the knife on Zod's forearm. The force and electric current made Zod's arm numb for a moment.

Then Valerie exerted force on her captured hand, rotated her upper body to the left, pulled Zod's right hand aside, and then Valerie swung out with her right fist, pointing directly at Zod's face.

Zod thought for a moment and gave up the opportunity to grab Valerie's fist. He wanted to catch the punch with his face, and then take advantage of the woman's unpreparedness and chop off her head with a knife.

Valerie's white fist enlarged in front of Zod's eyes. By Earthling standards, the punch was fast and fierce, but Zod didn't think it could break through his defense.

He raised his arm, ready to swing with the knife.

Valerie's fist had already hit Zod's face, and the transparent light blue glass cover was shattered. Zod's nose came into close contact with Valerie's fist.

After touching Zod's nose, Valerie immediately let go of her hand, and the green crystals that were crushed into powder were sprinkled into Zod's armor. Then Valerie clenched her fist again and hit Zod's face hard.

Zod's head was knocked back by the punch, and the knife that was originally aimed at Valerie's head chopped down randomly, but missed.

Because Valerie had been holding Zod's right hand, Zod was not knocked away. Valerie then pulled Zod's arm and threw him over her shoulder, knocking him to the ground like a sledgehammer.

The armor hit the floor with a harsh sound. Zod gritted his teeth in pain and struggled to get up.

Valerie, however, was already straddling him, squeezing Zod's joints to death.

Zod raised his arms, and Valerie's mantis knife was already against Zod's arm blade. She blocked Zod's knife and smashed it to the ground.

The blade hit the ground and broke abruptly, with fragments flying like broken teeth.

Valerie raised her fist, sheathed the knife, and smashed it hard on Zod's head.

The back of Zod's head made close contact with the floor. The shock and pain made him dizzy for a moment, and blood flowed down his forehead.

Valerie had no intention of letting him go. She threw punch after punch, and her fists and Zod's bones played a symphony like drums.

Zod's muffled groan trembled with the sound of his skull hitting the floor, and blood mist floated.

Until Zod's body completely collapsed, no more struggles and resistance, he lay in his own blood and armor fragments.

Valerie stood up, her hands folded over the sides of her trouser legs, blood running down her knuckles.

Zod did not get up again, and it was difficult to tell whether he was still conscious from his bloody face.

Valerie didn't think she would win so easily. Just when she wanted to try again, Zod suddenly spoke in a delirious voice.

"Kill me...Earthling..." His voice was as weak as a mosquito, trembling and desperate.

NO94. My own fault

Zod was lying on the ground with his limbs spread out in the shape of a "big" character. His face was beaten so badly that even his voice was unclear.

He could still move and even fight back, thanks to some of the hidden technology in this armor, he was far from at the end of his rope.

But he didn't want to struggle anymore.

For the sake of his pride, he gave away all his capital, and his subordinates who had been with him day and night also died in battle one after another. What would it matter even if he won here?

Fighting out from here would only mean being beaten back by Carl again. Even if he successfully defeated the opponent's creation, what was the point?

Valerie's continuous personality correction punches woke Zod up from his crazy rage. Endless emptiness filled his heart and he gave up resistance.

"Kill me." Zod spoke to Valerie again. His vision was blurry and he couldn't even see the ceiling.

"I had no intention of letting you go." Valerie said in a cold tone, a little unhappy, "Are you pretending to be your mother? You asked for death before I took action, as if I was following your orders. What? Does this make you feel that your death is more dignified?"

Valerie's words hurt Zod's heart, and he realized that he had come to this point just for the so-called dignity.

What hurts him even more is that he is still angry about the offense to his dignity.

"You know nothing!" Zod shouted, "You are just an insignificant speck of dust on a backward planet! You relied on our Kryptonian technology to defeat my people by chance, and now you want to stand on your high ground and humiliate me?!"

"You look quite energetic." Valerie looked up. "Not long ago, you were still bragging about your hundreds of years of combat experience. How come I am now a despicable villain who relies on technology to win?"

Valerie's use of Kryptonian technology only brought Zod to a level equal to her own strength. The real victory over Zod depended on the information gap in the game mechanism.

Zod wanted to roar again. He had many reasons for his defeat, including the serious injuries caused by the previous battle with Carl and the green-skinned Martians; the strange green powder that he had never seen before and which directly deprived him of his strength; the fact that he had not yet adapted to the sudden change in his physical fitness, etc.

But Zod swallowed these reasons piled up like a mountain back into his throat before he could actually say them out loud. He realized that these were just excuses.

He imagined himself falling to the ground in an ungraceful manner, with a bruised face and nose. If he really shouted out like that, he would be like a child who couldn't stand the loss.

Zod breathed heavily, his body trembled again, and then he struggled to get up.

Valerie subconsciously took a half step back, crossed her arms over her chest, and considered whether to continue.

Zod stood up shakily, turning his head and looking around the room with his swollen eyes.

Valerie feels that Zod is not looking for her, and Joe apparently thinks so too, as his shadow appears next to Valerie.

"Zod...is this all worth it?" Joe asked with concern not as a Kryptonian scientist, but as an old friend.

Zod's facial muscles twitched, as if he wanted to sneer, but his shabby face was unable to make any expression.

"You've always understood me, Jor-El. I never admit I'm wrong." Zod finally said like squeezing toothpaste.

As if to prove that what he said was true, Zod took off his armor and exposed himself completely to the red sun.

Then he rushed towards Valerie with unsteady steps.

This time Zod's movements were no longer fierce, but as slow as an ordinary old man.

But the look in his eyes beneath the redness and swelling was still fierce.

Valerie looked at the Kryptonian general who was roaring and rushing towards her, pursed her lips with mixed feelings, and silently raised the Kryptonite dagger.

……

The joint military exercise was interrupted by a sudden attack by aliens. Even though the incident was over, the atmosphere in the army could not return to its previous happy state.

Having said that, the military exercise did achieve one of its original purposes, and they successfully gained international reputation through this war.

Presumably, until foreign spies discover that the reinforcement robots and Kryptonian spacecraft are not the creations of the US military, the international reputation of this army will remain at its peak.

After learning that the war was basically over, General Ryan no longer maintained the temporary peace and immediately sent his men to blast their way into the hatch.

After breaking into the cabin, they saw a scene they would never forget: several robot assembly lines that had stopped working, with unformed robot parts lined up in an orderly manner, giving people a solemn feeling.

There was no one at the bottom of the cabin, there was only a rectangular operating table.

When the soldiers found the operating console, the display on it was lit up red, with a countdown in small white letters, and the count was almost over.

As the value on the display returned to zero, the spectacular robot factory suddenly exploded, shattering like a pair of Lego Death Star blocks dropped to the ground, and the empty cabin was soon filled with scrap metal.

I don’t know if it was calculated in advance, but the collapsed assembly line did not damage the spacecraft itself, nor did it injure the soldiers who came to investigate the situation. The South Boston was still sailing normally on the sea.