Soon, a figure resembling Martian Manhunter, but with circles of iron chains wrapped around his hands, feet, and neck, flew rapidly towards Zod and his companions.
After landing with a crash, he looked at Martian Manhunter and grinned, saying, "I thought my senses were wrong, but I didn't expect it to actually be you!"
"Although I don't know how you survived four hundred years ago, this time you won't escape!"
As he spoke, a strong killing intent appeared on his face.
His gaze swept over Zod and Dr. Ud, but he merely glanced at them and then ignored them, his eyes filled only with the joy of soon eliminating the last of his kind.
As for why he hated his own people so much that he wanted to annihilate all of them, the reason was actually very simple and ridiculous.
Because he and J'onn were biological brothers, but his older brother was born with great expectations, while his own genes seemed to have mutated, causing him not to awaken the Martian's psychic abilities at first.
Among the Martian race, daily communication does not rely on speaking with their mouths, but through psychic abilities, as this is an innate ability they possess.
Therefore, he, who had not awakened psychic abilities, was like a mute among ordinary people, becoming an outcast in the eyes of all Martians.
This led to his personality becoming dark and malicious from a young age.
However, before he reached adulthood, he was still allowed to undergo the baptism ceremony with his brother.
After the ceremony, his psychic abilities also awakened, but the first thing he did was to try to use his abilities to violate his own sister-in-law, who was J'onn's wife.
This was a serious crime on Mars, so he was sentenced to have his psychic abilities and memories sealed, and was sent to a volcano for low-level scientific research.
Unfortunately, the seal only blocked his memories but preserved his hatred. He believed that he was different from other Martians, that he was an anomaly, and thus a twisted idea formed in his mind.
He wanted to eliminate other Martians who were not like him.
So, he exploited the characteristic of other Martians using psychic abilities for communication, combined with their weakness to fire, and through research, developed a mental virus called "J'onn's Curse."
This mental virus was specifically designed to combat Martians; it would infect anyone through mental communication, and Martians had a vast mental network connecting all of them.
Thus, the virus began to spread rapidly; anyone who had any mental contact with an infected person would immediately contract the virus.
And once infected with this virus, one would first experience the illusion of seeing flames, eventually developing severe hallucinations of being burned alive, and ultimately turning to ashes.
J'onn, due to his unique nature, managed to survive, but all those he cherished were turned to ashes by this virus.
Now, the entire Martian race was left with only these two brothers, but today, they were destined for only one to survive.
"Malefic, today, I will also personally end all of this and avenge all our deceased kin."
J'onn's hatred for his own brother was even greater than his brother's hatred for their own kind.
His body exuded sorrow and anger, along with a hint of madness.
"Hahahahaha! You? Four hundred years ago you were no match for me, and now you still won't be my match. Do you think bringing two helpers will allow you to defeat me? Ridiculous!"
Malefic did not believe that Zod and Dr. Ud posed any threat to him, after all, Martians were already a uniquely gifted race!
And his only opponent, his brother, was a pathetic creature who feared fire.
Watching the one who had personally destroyed everything he cherished now stand before him, laughing wildly, all the sorrow and pain in Martian Manhunter's heart transformed into boundless rage.
"Bang!"
Without the slightest hesitation, he suddenly flew up, directly punching Malefic in the face, sending him flying, then quickly followed up, delivering furious punch after punch in the air.
"Boom!"
Finally, he slammed him down from the sky, shattering the ground beneath and forming a giant crater nearly a hundred meters wide.
At this moment, two scorching red beams of heat vision shot from Martian Manhunter's eyes, aiming deep into the center of the large pit, hoping to end all this animosity in one fell swoop.
But the next moment, his brother flew out of the pit like a phantom, the lasers passing through his body without causing him any harm.
This was an ability both brothers possessed, phasing, relying on powerful psychic abilities to temporarily shift their bodies to another dimension, thereby evading all damage.
"It seems I still overestimated you. You haven't grown at all in four hundred years. How disappointing."
"I originally thought your appearance this time would add some different fun to my four hundred years of boring life, but it seems you're no different from those other dead wastes."
Malefic's face showed disappointment. His own strength had undergone earth-shattering changes over four hundred years, but J'onn in front of him seemed to be stuck four hundred years in the past.
In fact, he wasn't wrong. Although it seemed that four hundred years had indeed passed, J'onn had truly traveled from four hundred years ago, so his strength naturally wouldn't have any substantial improvement.
Subsequently, Malefic increased his speed, wanting to close the distance with Martian Manhunter, but both possessed super speed, so they began a tug-of-war in the air.
Zod could see their movements, but Dr. Ud, being an ordinary person, could only hear intermittent loud noises from the sky, completely unable to see the two figures.
"Mr. Zod, will J'onn be alright? Do you want to help him? After all, he has already agreed to join your Krypton!"
Although he couldn't see the battle, Dr. Ud was very worried about his friend's condition, as there was a full four hundred years of growth difference between the two.
Hearing this, Zod casually said, "It's not time yet. Let him fight. It's best to release some of the grief and indignation in his heart; this might help him dispel his inner pain."
Zod did indeed have this consideration, but on the other hand, he wanted to gather more information about their phasing ability.
After all, he knew in his heart that Malefic was merely playing a game with Martian Manhunter right now; there was indeed a certain gap in their strengths.
When he got tired of playing, he might just unleash his ultimate killing move.
That would be the weakness that Martian Manhunter had not yet overcome - fire!
Therefore, his intervention was inevitable, and this was one of the reasons he had wanted to come along in the first place.
However, speaking of it, the Martians' fear of fire was also quite baffling.
Because this weakness wasn't that their bodies truly had no resistance to flames, but rather that their minds had been imprinted with a suggestion of fearing fire.
Just like Malefic in front of him, he was also a Martian, but because his memories were sealed, he also forgot his weakness to fire, and thus naturally overcame it!
"Rumble!"
The battle between the two smashed countless mountains, and the already desolate and broken surface became even more fragmented.
In the end, it didn't surprise Zod; Malefic, who had lived four hundred years longer, decided the outcome without even using the great weapon of fire.
At this moment, he gripped Martian Manhunter's neck.
As Martian Manhunter tried to escape by phasing, his body kept shifting between solid and ethereal, but he was always unable to break free from Malefic's grip.
Malefic sneered, "How foolish. We have the same abilities. Did you think I wouldn't have a way to counter your phasing?"
"Now, I'm going to burn you with fire, little by little, until you all turn to ashes."