Chapter 664: Death Gods Are Immortal?
The Gods Intervene
The will of the people, let alone the will of the Gods, cannot be ignored. Facing over a hundred pairs of excited eyes, the Old Woman could only nod, despite her reluctance.
In truth, she had no choice. If the humans lost, the guy named Luke Shaw would surely reveal the location of the core tentacle to save his life.
"I should have killed them earlier," the Old Woman gritted her teeth in silent regret.
Upon receiving her nod, the Gods immediately sprang into action, quickly closing the distance to the battlefield via the underground passages of the Plain of White Bones.
No Easy Kill
The battle entered a white-hot phase. The sky-filling green flames transformed into an inwardly collapsing energy sphere that slammed heavily into one of the attacking Death Gods.
The air fell silent, followed immediately by a deafening explosion.
The energy sphere shrank inward and then violently detonated. Green flame surged out, instantly engulfing the Death God's body, creating a brilliant, green mushroom cloud in the sky.
The shockwave swept outward like a hurricane. A massive pit appeared on the ground, the soil glowing faintly green as if infected.
The fiery impact lasted for over ten seconds before slowly dissipating. Luke raised his hand, and the green flames lingering in the air quickly condensed, reforming into eighteen Fire Dragons. The Death God was held within the Dragons' mouths.
Its body had been destroyed by the explosion, leaving only bone. Its soul flickered precariously; had it not been for the protection of its Death God power, it would have already turned to ash.
"Not dying even from that—truly worthy of being called a Death God."
Luke flew up to it. His face darkened upon seeing the remnant soul protected by black light. Unlike the Underworld Dragon, this entity's soul had completely fused with its Death God power. To kill it, they would have to grind it down little by little.
"Consider yourself lucky."
Luke sneered, spreading his fingers to draw the black short blade that had fallen to the ground into his hand. The blade was pitch black and dull, with a constantly flowing, liquid-like surface, looking utterly bizarre.
This was the weapon that left the wound on Clark's body. Luke correctly guessed the short blade was an Artifact-level piece of equipment.
Luke pocketed the blade and flew back up.
This single strike changed the dynamics of the entire battlefield and signaled that reconciliation was impossible. Clark, J'onn, and Diana abandoned their opponents and gathered around Luke.
"What's the plan? Do we keep fighting?"
"Five minutes. We leave after five minutes."
Diana hesitated. "You're still waiting for..."
Luke nodded. "This is a window of opportunity, an opportunity for everyone. We can't let it slip away."
"But what if they don't come out?"
"They will come out. They have only this one choice; they have no other option."
The others couldn't grasp Luke's full intent, but seeing his certainty, they decided to trust him.
Luke handed the poisonous short blade to the Martian Manhunter. "Be careful. The poison is potent. Don't hurt yourself."
J'onn said helplessly,
"I don't like using poison."
Despite his words, he gripped the short blade. Among the four, Diana was armed with artifacts and was swift and lethal with the Sword of Hephaestus. Clark had the strongest physique and was an all-around tank/fighter. And Luke was too powerful to mention. Only J'onn was left in the middle, becoming an auxiliary role.
Death Gods have high psychic resistance, which drastically reduces the damage from J'onn's mental abilities, and their physical strength is immense. Compared horizontally, J'onn had virtually no advantage.
Acquiring the short blade was the perfect way to compensate for his lack of offensive power.
Luke whispered, "The next target is the archer. Try to take him out of the fight."
The three nodded. The Death God archer's attacks were silent and terrifying; if Luke hadn't been distracting him, the situation would have already turned against them.
"This time, let me handle it!"
J'onn leaped into the air, heading straight toward the Giant Death God, who was now only a head. Then, he suddenly changed direction, shooting like an arrow toward Death God Carmor nearby.
Carmor anticipated this. Wings sprouted from his back and flapped, making his figure blur into a wispy cloud. Unknowingly, eight illusions appeared around him. Each illusion was him, impossible to distinguish from the real one.
All eight illusions drew their bows simultaneously. The bowstrings twanged, and the next second, J'onn's chest was pierced.
"J'onn!"
Diana's pupils contracted in disbelief.
"The Underworld has its own rules. Death Gods cannot casually kill living beings. To violate this brings retribution and suffering to the soul."
"To nip the problem in the bud, we must do this."
Carmor drew his bow again. The black lightning arrow condensed on the string.
Bang!
With a resonant shockwave, the black light, silent and sudden, appeared behind J'onn, then vanished into the distant sky.
Martian Manhunter's Specialty
The speed was too fast. Clark and Luke could see it, but J'onn couldn't. He didn't have abnormal microscopic vision or powerful soul perception, but he had his own unique abilities.
His body writhed and changed. Every muscle shifted. The tissue infected by the black lightning arrow automatically sloughed off, and the wound recovered to its original state at a visible speed.
The entire process did not shed a single drop of blood.
Death God Carmor was stunned. He couldn't help but say,
"You're not human?"
"I never said I was human. I am a Martian."
Red light permeated J'onn's eyes. Red rays of energy sprayed out, sweeping up, down, left, and right. Seven illusions were hit and vanished, leaving only the real Carmor.
J'onn charged forward, closing in on his target.
Carmor retreated while drawing his bow, constantly firing black lightning arrows at J'onn. Some were dodged, and others hit directly, piercing his body and leaving holes.
In just a moment, J'onn's body was riddled with holes.
Just then, a fierce killing intent came from behind.
"Die!"
The long sword struck. Carmor instinctively leaned sideways to avoid it. Diana, having missed her strike, was about to continue the pursuit when a puddle of black liquid appeared in her peripheral vision.
"Damn it, not you again!"
She cursed fiercely and immediately flashed away. The black liquid relentlessly pursued her. It seemed to have fixated on Diana, or more accurately, on her Valkyrie Armor and her many artifacts. The black liquid was a Death God from a metal civilization, naturally possessing the power to fuse with metal. Artifacts were no exception, and Diana's gear was very much to its liking.
The two chased and tangled with each other.
Clark and Luke were also engaged with their respective opponents and couldn't break free. Now, only J'onn and Carmor remained, one-on-one, without aid.
"Mars is different from Earth. Our civilization is a process of decomposition and rebirth. There is no concept of death, and no Death Gods in our myths."
"Before this, I never imagined coming to the Underworld and fighting a Death God."
"Life is unpredictable, always full of surprises."
J'onn closed his eyes. His battered body began to shrink inward, forming a sphere. In a flash, his speed increased several times. Breaking through the void, he appeared abruptly in front of Carmor after leaving a series of sonic booms.
He brought the short blade down.
Pfft!
Carmor's heart was pierced by the short blade. The poison was injected, flowing through his bodily fluids to every part of his being.
His eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "You... you... how is that possible?"
J'onn pulled out the blade, took the long bow, and whispered before leaving,
"I am a modified Martian. I have no muscles, no blood, and no organs. My body is composed of high-molecular organic matter. Your attacks have little effect on me."
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