A lightning-fast, ferocious combo. This had become the hardest fight Spider-Man had ever faced. He simply couldn't get close to the enemy—didn't even dare to face that edge head-on. All he could do was use his agility to evade. His spider-sense screamed at him, and he rolled aside, narrowly dodging a lightning-quick thrust. But the moment the thrust missed, the spear flipped, twisting from a stab into a brutal horizontal sweep that swatted Spider-Man away, smashing him into two parked cars on the roadside.
Spider-Gwen dropped from the sky, cutting into the warrior's path. She crossed her arms, blocking. She didn't quite understand what was going on, but she knew one thing: she couldn't let that armored warrior keep going, or the newly emerged Spider-Man wouldn't last.
The spear turned slightly. The warrior had absolutely no intention of communicating. His war boot stomped down, the ground exploding as he launched himself forward. But in the blink of an eye—still several meters from Spider-Gwen—he swept his spear out. A beam-like impact collided with the spear, and the shockwave roared, swirling dust and debris in a mad haze.
Wearing the latest nanotech armor, Tony landed beside Spider-Man, who had just scrambled up off the ground. His voice carried a note of exasperation and headache.
"I go out to buy a burger and I see you getting beaten up. My dear Pajama Baby, I think I should install two sets of combat techniques for you."
The latest nanotech armor?
Zod watched the scene with keen interest. A Lothric Knight—Soul World vs. Marvel World. And it was the Marvel World he had modified, enhanced, and upgraded himself. He wondered if they could actually beat the Lothric Knight.
Meanwhile, the three on the field thought otherwise.
Just a graze from that spear had torn away chunks of flesh. A kick had broken several ribs. The kind of combat strength that could go toe-to-toe with those lunatics seemed utterly insignificant before this knight. Without a weapon, recklessly closing in against that fierce spear's edge was no different from suicide.
Clang!!
Sparks flew. A missed energy pulse was met with an even fiercer counter. The spear swept across the iron suit, the rust-pocked blade ripping through the armor that Tony had practically been treating as everyday wear like it was shredding cloth, tearing a huge gash. Tony, absorbing the impact, was sent hurtling backward.
"Damn it! I'm making a new armor the second I get back!" Pain made him grimace, though the massive wound was already being re-covered by the nanotech. Tony looked on as Spider-Gwen and Peter launched a fierce assault right after him.
"Ranged suppression, you two! You can't win in close combat, don't just rush in like that! Pajama Baby, get back here!"
He had no idea what was up with this knight, but JARVIS's assessment was clear: close-quarters combat could not be suppressed. To beat him head-on, you'd need unimaginable martial skill. Yet right here, right now, Tony himself was relying on JARVIS's simulated combat programs. Peter was flailing around using spider-sense, fighting with no pattern whatsoever. Spider-Gwen was also just scrambling. Not one of them had anything resembling real technique.
Couldn't win one-on-one, couldn't win as a team—what the hell were they supposed to do?
"…JARVIS, divert all remaining power to the chest!" Like the timer light on an Ultraman when time runs out, the Arc Reactor on Tony's chest blazed with dazzling brilliance, locking onto the Lothric Knight, who was toying with Spider-Gwen and Spider-Man as if it were a game.
"Get clear, I'm going big!"
Like a laser beam, a blinding energy pillar erupted. But the Lothric Knight seemed fully prepared. He swung the spear horizontally like a hurricane; webs fired from the multi-web shooters were swept away by the howling gale. His left fist punched the shield, and Spider-Gwen, having just taken the impact, hadn't even been sent flying before the Lothric Knight hooked the shield with his foot and yanked her right in front of him.
"Fuck, what kind of idiot teammate pulls this!" Just as the energy beam was about to hit, Spider-Gwen's figure was inserted right in between. Tony hastily redirected the blast, blowing a hole through a shop on the side street, and couldn't help cursing out loud.
But at that moment, the Lothric Knight suddenly dropped into a low crouch. A right leg sweep tripped Captain America, and in the same motion, his spear sent Tony Stark flying away.
The Lothric Knight tossed aside his shield, turned his spear point-down, and walked slowly toward them. The spear blade scraped the ground, throwing sparks. A crushing pressure radiated outward in all directions.
Zod was disappointed. So they, too, were just taking turns getting pummeled by the Lothric Knight. The knight's raw stats weren't even that high. He'd beaten them with sheer, unimaginable martial skill, hadn't he?
Thankfully, Hulk and the others arrived right then. The Lothric Knight was strong, but there was no way he could withstand enemies this powerful. He was quickly brought down and naturally degraded.
Next time, I'll bring out a Demon Prince, a Greater Daemon, a Possessed Warrior, a Khorne Chosen to play.
Zod stretched lazily.
At home, Angel Yan sat on the windowsill, the pair of wings on her back making her look beautifully ethereal and otherworldly.
These wings were from the angel-type mutant gene that Zod had finally managed to find after great difficulty.
Among mutants, there are angel-type and demon-type variants—those whose outward appearances resemble angels or demons. Nightcrawler, Azazel, and Mystique, for example, are all demon-type mutants.
The angel-type mutant is, naturally, "Angel."
Long, long ago, these two mutant populations clashed. Back then, ordinary humans thought it was a great war between angels and demons, and the legend was passed down through the ages.
Of course, in this world, there were no mutants, because those latent X-genes lacked the possibility of awakening. And it also ruled out the universe where the Scarlet Witch's words made all mutants disappear… because in that case, all superpowered beings would have vanished, and the X-gene wouldn't exist at all.
Fortunately, though, the Deadpool in this world was still just an ordinary mercenary—at least for now. If he ever turned into that ridiculously flamboyant, crazy red spandex guy, Zod would probably go find the Ancient One and team up to send Deadpool off to wreak havoc on some other universe.
He would absolutely do that. After all, Deadpool was just way too uncontrollable.
It's just a pity that each parallel universe has its own set of Infinity Stones. That makes Zod's desire to use the Space Stone for adventures in other universes nothing but wishful thinking, because the Infinity Stones from his own universe become useless in another—meaning he wouldn't be able to come back.
No single universe can have two usable sets of Infinity Stones.
But if he could switch to the movie universe, Zod would probably laugh himself awake from his dreams.
When Angel Yan saw Zod return, she turned her head and smiled.
/-\
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