It could be seen that Black Manta's body hadn't fully recovered; his steps were still a bit unsteady.
Although Diana's punch hadn't used full strength, and most of the impact was absorbed by his wetsuit, the remaining force was still far beyond what a normal human body could endure. Fleeing the rainforest desperately had aggravated his injuries. He had injected some recovery agents, but the effect wasn't great.
Thea carefully examined the surroundings. The opponent seemed defenseless, but under the Eye of Horus, many guys wearing similar diving suits were exposed around them. Chances were, those were Black Manta's men. He might have anticipated that Aquaman's group had a teleportation artifact and vigilantly set up an ambush around the perimeter.
It had to be said, as Aquaman's nemesis, Black Manta understood his enemy deeply. If not for the two variables—Thea and Diana—Aquaman would have definitely charged headfirst into his encirclement.
"Everyone." Thea spoke to attract their attention. "The enemy has an ambush around us. Their layout is like this..."
Thea used magic to draw a sketch in the air, marking out the hidden enemies.
"Besides Black Manta, there are fifteen enemies in total. Eight on the east side are ours. Seven on the west side are yours. Arthur, you and your wife go directly to capture Black Manta. Everyone, prepare your gear. In a minute I'll open the portal. Remember: go through fast—no hesitation!"
Thea was really tired of their "charge in without thinking" tactics. Like instructing subordinates in her own corporation, she assigned specific tasks to everyone: one, two, three, four. The few silent types had no objections to the mission. Aquaman also felt it was appropriate for him and his wife to deal with his nemesis. The Operative was a bit dissatisfied, but considering her status, he forcibly endured it.
"Go!"
Seeing they were ready, Thea opened a deep blue portal at maximum speed and stepped through first.
Several people followed closely, filing out one by one.
"Attack!"
"Enemies!"
Black Manta suddenly saw a deep blue portal appear not far away and immediately knew it was bad. He shouted orders at the same time as Thea, who stepped out of the portal.
Thea's artifact longbow was swift and fierce. In the blink of an eye, she shot down four men in diving suits. Diana's ranged attack methods were slightly inferior and slower; she lassoed two, then leaped over to the remaining two, knocking them down with one punch each.
On the other side, Aquaman's five teammates also took down seven ambushers. Everyone looked toward the fighting Aquaman.
"Stay out of this! This is between him and me!" Aquaman Arthur Curry even blocked Mera's help. He insisted on defeating Black Manta with his own hands.
Black Manta also realized this was his last chance for revenge. Swinging his two long blades like windmills, he stopped thinking about escaping or his injuries. He only had one thought: Kill Arthur Curry!
Clearly, Aquaman's physical abilities in all aspects could crush Black Manta, an ordinary human. But Black Manta's entire suit of tech gear was prepared specifically to deal with Aquaman. For a time, the two fought to a draw.
The lightning sprayed by Aquaman's Trident was canceled out by the lasers fired from Black Manta's helmet.
From their very first clash, it was already a fight to the death. Aquaman's tactic was trading blows. But his massive strength hitting Black Manta's diving suit didn't cause much damage. Instead, the shirtless Aquaman was slashed twice. Fresh blood gurgled out, flowing down his pants onto the ground.
"Should we help?" Diana asked.
Thea shook her head. The grudge between Aquaman and Black Manta was their own problem; it wasn't good for outsiders to interfere.
Black Manta was greedy; he tried to forcibly take Aquaman's blood and accidentally injured Aquaman's father. Aquaman naturally went for revenge, but after he accidentally killed Black Manta's father, he learned that his own dad was only injured at the time and died of a heart attack later.
The target of revenge reversed instantly. In his grief and indignation, Black Manta spent his family fortune to challenge the King of the Seven Seas as an ordinary human. Setting aside his actions for a moment, his courage was worthy of praise.
Thea saw in him a courage not inferior to the Green Lanterns. Ganging up on Cheetah was fine because that was an evil god possession. But a bunch of people ganging up on Black Manta... Thea felt she would become the villain. Better let him and Aquaman fight it out slowly.
Black Manta used all his skills. Spotting an opening, he used a giant fishing net to trap Aquaman, then stabbed at him with two sharp blades.
The fishing net was made of unknown material; the more he struggled, the tighter it got. The tall Aquaman was balled up. The Trident in his hand was a long weapon and couldn't be swung, so he had to discard it and use both hands to tear the net.
Pfft!
This was the opportunity Black Manta was waiting for. Two long blades stabbed instantly. Unfortunately, no matter how well he calculated, he was just an ordinary human. Aquaman was a hybrid of human and Atlantean; his natural strength, agility, and reaction speed were all above human limits.
Facing two fatal blades, Aquaman turned sideways slightly. One blade stabbed into his left shoulder, the other into his arm.
Muscles tensed all over, clamping down on Black Manta's blades. Using his free hand, he clenched his fist and desperately hammered Black Manta's helmet.
One punch, two punches, three punches... Black Manta also realized his miscalculation. He wanted to abandon the blades and let go to reopen the distance. But Aquaman switched from hitting to grabbing. He grabbed the air hose at the edge of the helmet, then used his own head as a hammer to smash hard against Black Manta's helmet.
"That fight is too ugly..." Thea had the urge to cover her face.
The fighting Aquaman looked heroic, but once you compared their physical attributes side by side, it was obvious that he was completely bullying people relying on his own high stats and high regeneration.
Diana, who upheld classical Greek ideals of beauty, also turned her face away. Relying on brute force to take down an opponent clearly inferior to oneself... it really didn't reflect the glory of a warrior.
Mera didn't care; she was happy with whatever her husband did. Aquaman's teammates were all excited, just short of applauding and cheering for him.
Black Manta was knocked dizzy by him. The lasers on the helmet fired continuously, blasting Aquaman's face and chest into a bloody mess.
Aquaman ignored these injuries. As if going berserk, he kicked Black Manta to the ground. Almost instinctively, he copied Batman's tactic against Bane: Pull the tubes!
Grabbing the tubes on Black Manta's helmet, he yanked outward. Crack! An oxygen tube was forcibly pulled off by him, taking a large chunk of the helmet with it, revealing the face of an African-American man.
The laser on Black Manta's mask was completely ruined, but he still had plenty of gear. The two engaged in close-quarters combat. Every punch from Aquaman caused immense damage, but Black Manta also got vicious, hammering at Aquaman with every weapon he could get his hands on.
Water jets, brass knuckles, tasers, ropes with blades—Black Manta used whatever he grabbed. Finally, he even shoved a miniature naval mine into Aquaman's wound.