Chapter 38: Run!
There was one trait of Batman's that Orin Vale greatly admired: always being prepared.
There's a saying in the DC Universe: you can get into a fight with Batman, but you must never schedule one. This is precisely the reason. If you're a superpowered individual with an unusual ability and you encounter him by chance, Batman might just be an ordinary person, and you'd actually have a chance of winning.
But if you schedule a life-or-death duel with him on a specific date, you're finished. He probably wouldn't even leave his house until he'd developed dozens of targeted plans to trap you until you couldn't move, backup plans for those targeted plans, and backup plans for the backup plans.
Orin Vale deeply agreed with this philosophy. After all, in the Land of Light, Orin Vale was just a scientist with no physical prowess, so relying on his intellect was naturally more important than relying on his muscles. It was crucial to thoroughly research an opponent and set traps beforehand.
Fortunately, he had his memories of the DC Comics, which was equivalent to having a god's-eye view to a certain extent, allowing him to know the abilities and weaknesses of many characters in advance. Plus, he possessed the science and technology he had studied in the Land of Light, making it easier for him to develop countermeasures for various abilities.
Just like now.
The A.R.G.U.S. agents were completely dumbfounded. A moment ago, the Strong Man with the axe seemed like an invincible god of war in their eyes. Bullets bounced off him, and a missile blast felt like a sauna. With just an axe, he could slaughter his way through the entire base, like a demon straight out of Hell.
Then, as soon as this guy in the mecha arrived, the entire atmosphere changed. The man who had been nearly invincible just moments before suddenly turned into some kind of comedian, performing two highly difficult backbends and sliding kneels in a row, after which he was basically just getting beaten up.
It felt like when they were fighting, the opponent was a god-tier player putting on a clinic, getting a one-versus-five team kill like a god of slaughter. But as soon as their own ace player took over, the opponent suddenly seemed to have forgotten how to play, his skills degenerating from King to Bronze, completely disoriented and clueless.
"ROAR!"
With another roar, Watox charged out from the curtain of fire like a wounded beast!
His face was covered in blood, his body was a mess of injuries, and his shirt had been blasted to shreds. But he ignored the pain, his eyes bloodshot, and lunged desperately toward Orin Vale.
He looked absolutely miserable, but the fact that not even the Specium warhead had dealt a fatal injury was a testament to his overpowered durability.
Moreover, it was somewhat unexpected that the blast hadn't even induced a hit stun. Orin Vale immediately activated his super speed while the powered armor's thrusters ignited, preparing to fly aside with a short-distance boost.
But Watox's super speed was faster. He extended an arm and, in the instant before Orin Vale could fly away, grabbed his ankle. He smashed the thruster on the sole of Orin Vale's left foot with one punch and violently slammed the armor back onto the ground.
The moment he landed, Orin Vale immediately raised his right palm. A flash of light appeared as an energy cannon prepared to fire straight at Watox's face. But Watox was incredibly fast, gripping his wrist. Under that terrifying grip strength, the armor on his wrist buckled and caved in with a crackling sound, letting out faint electric sparks. The light in his palm died out, and the right palm's energy cannon went offline.
*Looks like it still needs optimization,* Orin Vale quickly concluded.
He felt that his strategy and preparations were sound. It was just that the current first-generation powered armor was still struggling against an enemy of this caliber; its base performance was being suppressed.
Another point was that his opponent's super senses were far less impressive than a Kryptonian's, so the weapons targeting his senses failed to achieve their optimal effect.
In fact, Watox's vision was slowly recovering. Although his eyes still stung and his vision was like looking through a thick mosaic, he had already regained his basic combat capabilities.
In any case, the objective of the test had been achieved, and the data collected from this battle was invaluable. After some analysis and improvement, it should play a key role if he ever needed to face a Kryptonian enemy in the future.
The test was over. It was time to wrap things up.
"Pal, take control of the armor," Orin Vale said calmly.
"Yes, sir," Pal's voice rang out inside the helmet. "Engaging automated control."
As he spoke, the armor was already pinned down by Watox, who roared and raised his fist high, preparing to bring it down.
In that instant, a brilliance bloomed like a lotus constructed from energy.
The piercing white light momentarily blinded everyone on the scene. Watox instinctively closed his eyes and shielded his face, his raised fist ultimately failing to fall.
He then instinctively felt a chill on the back of his neck, an extremely ominous premonition.
He turned his head and saw it—the red-and-silver giant, its radiance not yet fully dissipated.
And the fist that was hurtling toward him at supersonic speed like a cannonball.
BAM!
A massive boom echoed throughout the base as a white vapor ring exploded in the air. Watox, who took the punch head-on, was sent flying backward, crashing through countless layers of debris and soaring into the open mountain forest outside the base.
Witnessing this terrifying power up close, hearing the deafening explosion and the roar of the air bursting open, the A.R.G.U.S. agents stood frozen on the spot.
On this Earth of the pre-Superman era, who had ever witnessed such might?
This god-like strength made the firearms and cannons in their hands seem as laughable as Lego bricks.
In the base, Dyson swallowed hard, glancing at the equally stunned Commander Nicholson beside him.
"Sir, the Ultraman you requested has arrived... Should we... capture him?"
Nicholson shot him a vicious glare.
His expression seemed to say, "Please, use that tiny brain of yours, the one smaller than a fly dropping. Do you hear the nonsense you're spouting?"
Orin Vale pushed off with his feet, and his fifty-meter-tall body shot forward in a flash, kicking up a transparent hurricane behind him.
In his transformed state, all his base attributes instantly soared to unbelievable levels. In a flash, he had already caught up to where Watox had fallen.
The alien was sprawled face-down in the forest. He had just started to get up when he felt an overwhelming shadow fall over him, a silver fist descending like a rolling wave of burning air.
BOOM!
Watox, who was only halfway through getting up, was slammed back down by the fist. The ground sank violently, trees were uprooted and plunged downward, and the earth cracked and collapsed outward.
In truth, if he had encountered Orin Vale at full strength, Watox might have stood a chance. With his base attributes, he could have at least traded blows for a few rounds.
But after the ordeal just now, his ears were ringing, his eyes were in agony, and his retinas were covered in a mosaic. His head was spinning, his movements were half a beat slow, and on top of that, the bombardment from the Specium warhead had left him with torn skin and injuries all over...
Watox couldn't even use half of his strength, while Orin Vale had a full mana bar and was in peak condition. He had also used the flash from his transformation as a surprise first strike, following up with a combo that pressured his opponent as he tried to stand, giving him no chance to even retaliate.
Another punch landed on his body, and Watox felt as if he had been struck head-on by a comet. His body went limp as if his bones had been removed, not a shred of strength remaining. He was swept limply into the air by the sheer force and whirlwind.
Orin Vale crossed his arms in the shape of a cross, and they lit up with a blue radiance, crackling with thousands of electric arcs.
Watox now seemed to finally understand why his two previous team members had gone completely silent on this primitive, backward planet.
It wasn't that his teammates were too weak.
It was that this place held a great terror!
Treacherous, despicable, and underhanded methods, using every trick in the book...
And the key was, his strength was freaking off the charts!
How were you supposed to fight this?
In the final moment before being engulfed by the Specium Ray, he desperately sent a message to his teammates.
"Earth is terrifying! Run!"
(end of chapter)