The old lady had barely gone a hundred meters, still hugging her dog, when two alien aircraft landed on the ground. General Zod and Faora walked out.
Both wore black power armor and long black capes, though Zod's armor was sturdier and heavier than Faora's.
First, they surveyed the surrounding environment before turning back to look at Thea.
Thea's current armor was distinctly different from the Yellow Lantern combat suit she wore earlier, but relying on the unique aura interaction between powerhouses, the two still recognized her.
"Earthling, it looks like you want to fight us?" General Zod's stern face carried a hint of contempt. "I'm afraid you don't understand our true strength. I have conquered countless low-level planets like Earth in my lifetime!"
Thea put her hands on her hips and laughed aloud. "Kryptonian, let me tell you something too. My footprints cover the entire universe! I've herded cattle on Korugar, I've fought brawls on Oa! You Kryptonians have only conquered a few surrounding star systems. There are 3600 Sectors in the entire universe; do you know which Sector you belong to? I'll tell you, remember this: You are Sector 2813, the neighbor of Earth's Sector 2814. Next time someone asks you, you can answer them loudly, haha!"
After speaking, she looked at General Zod with the gaze one would use on a country bumpkin.
Holy crap! General Zod's face darkened. Half of it was anger, the other half was shame. Kryptonians had always considered their civilization advanced; every time they conquered another planet, they looked at the local natives with eyes full of pity for the mentally challenged. Now that the situation was reversed, the taste was extremely uncomfortable, giving General Zod the illusion that he'd stepped in dog poop.
Unfortunately, he had no comeback because he couldn't determine if Thea's words were true or false. Lantern Rings could open wormholes limitlessly to jump between different regions. Although their spaceships could also open wormholes, the energy required was boundless; they wouldn't do it lightly.
Originally descending to the surface aggressively, they ended up being treated as hillbillies. This blow to the head invisibly weakened their imposing manner by twenty percent.
"I won't argue with you. Hand over the Codex!" General Zod wasn't an eloquent person to begin with. Originally, he was condescendingly talking about Earthlings this and that, but now he didn't mention it anymore, focusing solely on the Codex.
Thea was also a bit puzzled. She remembered that in the movie, after Superman turned himself in and was captured, he had blood drawn and memories read, but he caught up very quickly. She had been spouting long-winded nonsense with them for half a day now; where was Brother Superman?
Was it because Lois Lane didn't get on the ship? So it took him a bit more time to escape? If she hadn't come to Kansas, wouldn't his adoptive mother be dead for sure?
She let out a long, steady breath. The White Dwarf Stabilizer on her chest began a violent energy output. The inner layer of magic runes all lit up. The large red cape moved without wind, and the air grew heavy.
"Let me see your capabilities!" Thea finished speaking, and the thrusters under her feet suddenly exerted force, driving her body to leap high. Drawing an arc, she punched towards General Zod.
General Zod roared, gathering his whole body's strength to strike back at her.
Bang!
A muffled sound. No lightning, no explosion—just pure physical confrontation.
Centering on the two, a shockwave spread in all directions. The lawn and wooden house of Clark Kent's home were completely shattered. A red pickup truck was flipped directly, tumbling over thirty meters away before crashing to the ground; barring any accidents, it was totaled.
Thea did a backflip to eliminate the impact force of the opponent's punch, while General Zod took a step back.
"Opponent's punch force: 1020 tons. Our armor withstood recoil: 95%. Slight cracks in the right arm armor. Armor damage area: 0.37%..." Gideon, acting as the auxiliary control system, quickly scanned the battle damage on both sides.
Truly a cheat-using race. This guy hadn't even sunbathed for a day, yet he possessed such immense strength. Calling them gods walking on the ground wasn't wrong.
"I'll hold her off! Faora, you go get the Codex!" The intense confrontation between the two had destroyed the Kent family's wooden house. Superman's childhood spaceship was particularly conspicuous amidst the rubble.
General Zod leaped high, launching a fierce attack on Thea while loudly reminding Faora.
"You'd better come help your General!" Thea sprayed a large amount of freezing air on Faora's inevitable path. Absolute Zero was something no technological armor could ignore. Faora knew exactly what that meant; her steps paused slightly. Thea seized the opening, grabbed her arm, and threw her towards General Zod.
Strictly speaking, General Zod wasn't a bad person. Moreover, although he was called a General, he only had two or three subordinates—barely ten people in total. Calling him General Zod was fine, but calling him Captain Zod would actually work too...
Naturally, he couldn't punch his loyal subordinate to death. He twisted his body in mid-air, avoiding Faora head-on. With a light tap on her leg, he changed her horizontal flight to a vertical landing. Faora coordinated well with him, turning 180 degrees in the air and landing back on the ground lightly.
The two exchanged a tacit look and pounced towards Thea together.
Thea blocked Zod's whip kick with her left fist and grabbed Faora's wrist with her right hand. The opponent drew a short knife that looked like a dagger—stabbing, slicing, hacking. It was completely different from Earth's martial arts; there was no distinction between feints and real moves. Every move was ruthless and merciless. Even Thea's armor, which could withstand nuclear bombardment, had a scratch carved onto it by her.
Unknowingly, Thea's attention was attracted by Faora. Faora's martial skills were gorgeous, possessing a dancing rhythm, yet fatal attacks were hidden within the graceful techniques. Zod was her exact opposite; his was the traditional Kryptonian fighting style, relying on strength, speed, and abundant stamina. Tireless and fearless of injury, he would firmly grasp any opportunity.
Counting the armor, Thea's individual strength was slightly inferior to Zod's. If it were a fair fight, going a few dozen rounds wouldn't be a problem. But adding Faora, who wasn't much weaker than her, made it a bit strenuous. She had to rely on spraying freezing air from the freeze gun to hinder the opponent's rush. The ambient temperature visibly dropped, and Zod and Faora's armor inevitably became a bit sluggish.
Damn it! Where the hell did Superman go? Should I retreat? Thea exchanged another punch with Zod, feeling a bit depressed.
"Hm?" What she didn't expect was that Zod didn't use much strength in this punch. Instead, borrowing the force of her punch, he flew into the wooden house behind him.
Thea was just about to chase when she saw Faora rushing up like she didn't care for her life. The short knife in her hand flashed with bright electric arcs.
It could scratch the armor without electric arcs; now that there were arcs, they definitely weren't for decoration. Not knowing the power, Thea didn't dare to take it head-on and dodged two moves in succession.
Faora completely abandoned defense, her moves never leaving Thea's vitals. Her intention wasn't hard to guess: to stall Thea.
"It's not here!! The Codex isn't here!" Following General Zod's roar, he leaped violently out of the wreckage of the wooden house.
His gaze immediately turned to Thea. Does this Earthling know something? But out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Martha Kent hiding far away, and a plan instantly formed in his mind.