Qinuo flew towards Kandak City, the whistling wind roaring in his ears.
He looked down and saw the full scope of the city.
The city was dilapidated, with old and decaying buildings, potholed roads, and extremely poor infrastructure.
It formed a stark contrast with the modern, bustling urban landscape of the outside World; from the development level of its infrastructure, Kandak seemed to have been forgotten by time, possibly decades or even a century behind the outside World.
Hulu also saw the statue his leader mentioned; five thousand years of wind and sand erosion had blurred the statue, but the unique lightning symbol on its chest remained striking, narrating its past glory.
Below, the people of Kandak looked up at the sky, their eyes a mixture of fear and anticipation.
In this World, flight was a power belonging to heroes and villains.
They yearned for a hero's salvation, yet feared the disaster a villain might bring.
Qinuo landed on the ground, raising a cloud of dust under his feet. He walked step by step towards the ancient royal court.
Pamela and Venom were on his sides.
Black Adam followed behind, bringing Hulu and Aya, his expression stern.
Harley, carrying Diana, was at the very back, pausing to look at anything new and interesting she saw.
Wherever they passed, the crowds retreated, and though there were hundreds of people around, it was so quiet one could almost hear a pin drop.
The people of Kandak watched this group, their gaze particularly focused on Black Adam, especially the lightning symbol on his chest; they were excited and wanted to say something, but swallowed their words.
Hulu looked at the eyes of the people around him; though he was just a child, he dared not meet their gaze.
Their eyes were filled with fear and suppression.
Kandak was oppressed, he clearly understood.
This oppression was not only reflected in the hardships of life and material scarcity but was also deeply etched into the hearts of the people.
After an unknown period, a large crowd gathered behind Qinuo's group; they remained silent, simply following along quietly.
Soon, they arrived at a fenced-off area.
Tall fences stood around the area, entangled with sharp barbed wire.
"What are you doing!"
"This is the International Gang's territory, get out."
"Wait, you're not from Kandak, submit to inspection."
Dozens of armed individuals carrying guns and wearing black uniforms shouted fiercely, raising their weapons.
Qinuo's steps did not falter; he continued to walk forward.
"Black Adam," Qinuo said faintly.
Black Adam flew into the air, a blue lightning bolt illuminating in his hand, its light dazzling and brilliant.
"Shit..."
The armed individuals stared blankly at Black Adam, their faces filled with terror.
The next second, lightning struck, accompanied by a tremendous crackling sound and dazzling light, electrocuting all the armed individuals into charred remains.
The blocking railings and iron gate were also instantly shattered into pieces.
The people of Kandak were stunned for a moment, then erupted into a fervent cheer.
"The International Gang is dead."
"Hahaha, good riddance!"
"Teth-Adam, are you the demigod who saved us five thousand years ago?"
"Hero, hero, our hero has come."
Cheers rose and fell, echoing through the sky, and the faces of the people were filled with joy and hope; the long-standing shadow of oppression seemed to dissipate considerably at this moment.
Black Adam did not answer, landing to follow behind his leader, his expression still cold.
The surrounding crowd also reacted, realizing that this was the true boss, and they all cast respectful gazes.
"Why did you kill them? Their weapons couldn't harm you at all."
Diana questioned.
Wonder Woman was actually quite famous, but her face was covered in dust, her hair was a buzz cut, and her equipment was tied up with ropes, making it unrecognizable.
"They were in the way."
Qinuo answered concisely, his tone flat, as if it were a trivial matter.
"Even so, you shouldn't have killed them. You should have handed them over to the law; they had a chance to reform."
Diana argued passionately.
"In this country, they are the law!
I respect the law, but they first trampled the law with power, so I will trample them with power; that is my right.
Besides, can you say you didn't kill anyone during World War II? All the people who died because your appearance affected the outcome of the war should be counted against you, at least tens of thousands, right!
What, have you forgotten it all?"
Qinuo said without looking back.
Harley looked at Diana in her hand in surprise.
"I didn't expect you to have killed tens of thousands of people, so it's quite normal for me to lose to you."
"I was trying to stop the war; the people who died were because of Ares."
Diana roared angrily.
"..."
"..."
Pamela and Venom exchanged glances, not expecting Wonder Woman to be so naive, or perhaps self-deceiving.
"Dear, you mentioned earlier that the Egyptian gods collected faith for Shazam Power, so what about the Greek gods?"
Pamela deliberately guided the conversation, breaking the brief silence.
"It's also Shazam Power. The Greek successor hasn't appeared yet, but they put their eggs in two baskets."
Qinuo said, calculating the time, Shazam would appear in two more years.
"Then the other one wouldn't happen to be this guy, would it?"
Harley lifted Diana in her hand, a playful look on her face.
"Exactly. Gods cannot appear, but demigods can. The Greek gods truly dote on Diana.
Hephaestus forged her equipment, the gods bestowed their blessings upon these pieces of equipment, and then Ares appeared last, teaching her to use her power and strengthen her conviction."
Qinuo's words were calm and certain.
"Impossible, Ares almost killed me..."
Diana's words trailed off, her face filled with disbelief.
"You also said, 'almost.' Ares during World War II should have been able to fight Zeus to a draw.
He fought with you without even taking out his divine weapon, and with a pile of scrap metal, he almost killed you, teaching you to use your own power little by little during the process.
It can be said that the path the gods laid out for you, if you just follow it, no one on Earth can defeat you."
It's just that the gods didn't expect the appearance of Kryptonian.
Even so, Diana is still among the top ranks in the Justice League.
"..."
Diana fell silent, complex emotions reflected in her eyes.
"Demigod, a path laid by gods, a body full of divine artifacts? I remember now, the Hero King of Babylon, Gilgamesh, he's like you, also half-human, half-god. Do you know him?"
Harley's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
She had heard the story of the Hero King and even specifically researched it in detail.
In his era, gods still walked the Earth. The purpose of creating the Hero King was also to better rule humanity.
So, was her existence for the same reason?
And...
"Why do you know so many secrets, even the scene of my battle with Ares?" Diana asked.
"Go ask Batman."