"Ugh."
Clark opened his eyes.
Amidst the dust-shrouded ruins, an uncontrollable pain racked his entire body.
He looked down and found his lower body buried in the rubble, with only his head and shoulders exposed.
The most luxurious hall of Luther Manor now lay in ruins, silently beside him.
"What just happened?"
Clark shook his head to clear his mind.
He had been fighting Owlman when a crazed guard tackled him to the ground, followed by an explosion detonating beside him.
Then, several rocket launchers continuously barraged the entire hall, causing it to collapse.
Who did it?
The police?
No!
It couldn't be the police.
He had never heard of the police directly using rocket launchers to deal with criminals.
Lex Luthor's people?
Not likely either. Lex Luthor didn't seem like the type to do something so insane.
"Hmph."
Exhaling forcefully, Clark pushed his confusion aside, preparing to get up first.
But as soon as he moved, he realized something was wrong.
His entire body felt weak, unable to exert any strength, exactly like when he was under the influence of green meteorites.
"How could this be? There are meteorites here?"
Clark was greatly surprised, and then his heart was filled with anxiety and panic.
He had already seen Owlman standing outside Luther Manor, in front of several corpses (mercenaries), walking towards him.
Now that he was in a weakened state, if they discovered him, his fate would be miserable.
He used all his strength to try and lift the stones pressing down on him, wanting to free himself from the debris.
But after being bombarded by rockets and affected by the meteorite, he was in an extremely weakened state and couldn't move any of the debris.
As Clark anxiously attempted to rescue himself, Owlman had already walked up to him.
The assassins, wielding Talons, had their faces obscured by Owl masks, revealing no expression, only a nearly palpable killing intent emanating from their bodies.
They raised the sharp weapons in their hands and stabbed at Clark without hesitation.
At this moment, Clark was completely desperate.
"Zzz!"
Suddenly!
A beam of red Heat Vision pierced the air, like a meteor through the night, directly striking the claw-shaped blade in Owlman's hand, instantly melting it.
"?"
Owlman, holding the melted weapon, had not yet recovered from his stunned state when, in the next second, the red light, carrying energy, slammed into his body.
Owlman's heart was instantly pierced, and he collapsed, dead.
In the darkness, a pair of crimson eyes appeared in the sight of the Owl assassins.
They felt a chill run down their spines, as if a raptor was watching them in the night.
"E-Eric!"
Seeing the figure appear in the darkness, Clark was greatly surprised.
He never imagined Eric would appear here.
After all, he had said such harsh words to him before, creating an unbridgeable chasm between them.
Based on his understanding of Eric, even if Eric knew what was happening here, he certainly wouldn't care about him.
Now that Eric had appeared when he was in danger, he suddenly felt that he didn't understand his brother at all.
It turned out that the prejudiced, stubborn one was himself!
He had chastised Eric for never opening up to him, for being like a riddle and not being completely honest, but by forcing Eric to live the way he wanted, wasn't that also a form of prejudice and unfairness?
Clark, reflecting, had a complex mix of emotions swirling within him.
At this moment, Eric, standing in the dark night, was completely unaware of Clark's inner turmoil.
The plan had reached its final stage, so it was naturally his turn to make an appearance.
"Zzz!"
Heat Vision struck the second Owl assassin, splitting him in half from the middle.
Blood spurted out with a "whoosh."
Such a brutal and bloody method sent a chill down the spines of even the battle-hardened Owl assassins.
"This guy is Homelander!"
Hidden in the darkness, emanating a strange and powerful aura, with chilling orange-red eyes—these characteristics perfectly matched Homelander, who was listed as an enemy of the Council.
After confirming Homelander's appearance, the Owl assassins exchanged glances and immediately scattered, rushing towards Eric.
"Zzz!"
Heat Vision first struck the assassin in the lead, slamming into his chest with immense force, directly sending him flying.
Bang!
Eric delivered another punch, sending an Owl assassin who had jumped down from mid-air, preparing to strike, soaring into the sky. Then, without moving his feet, he raised his arm, blocking an incoming assassin, and with a straight punch, sent him directly into the rubble, causing a deafening explosion.
Whoosh!
An assassin using a rope to control a Talon blade took advantage of Eric's punching motion, swinging the rope to tie Eric's arm.
But before he could exert force, Eric yanked the rope, pulling the assassin's body towards him. He gripped the assassin's neck with his right hand, his crimson eyes staring directly at him.
Bang, bang, bang!
Loud impacts sounded. The remaining Owl assassins, seeing Eric's right hand "controlled," seized the opportunity and rushed forward, grabbing Eric's arms and legs, attempting to restrain him.
"Crack!"
Eric didn't hesitate, directly twisting the neck of the one he held in his right hand. Then he shook his arms and legs.
With a "bang," the air exploded, and an invisible shockwave rippled outwards.
The few Owl assassins who had been restraining his body were instantly thrown away.
Accompanied by deafening roars, the thrown Owl assassins crashed heavily onto the ruins of the manor.
Immediately following was Heat Vision, scorching the air. The assassins were pierced the moment they landed, dying beyond any doubt.
The Owl Council's Talons, reapers of lives who carelessly took human lives, were thus annihilated by Eric in an instant.
Clark watched Eric, who was unleashing his power, with wide eyes, and only snapped back to reality when Eric walked in front of him.
"You don't look so good, Clark."
Eric looked at Clark, whose lower half was buried in the rubble. "The buildings of Luther Manor contain meteorite material. I imagine being crushed by these things isn't a pleasant experience."
Clark instantly understood why he had become so weak.
"But Eric, why aren't you affected by the meteorite?"
"If I weren't affected by the meteorite, I would have dealt with those Owls instantly."
Eric turned his head, his expression cold as he looked at the "bait" he had deliberately left—a straggling survivor who was staggering to his feet, preparing to escape.
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