However, Robert's punch did more than just shake the World Engine—it also drove the nanobots into a frenzy. They instantly expelled the golden trident and, once again, surged toward Robert in a form that would terrify anyone with a fear of dense clusters.
"Shh!" Faced with the oncoming swarm of nanobots, Robert's expression remained unchanged. A terrifying aura erupted from his body, not only repelling the nanobots but also sending the surrounding seawater flying, creating a massive tsunami in the distance.
"Snap!" Mera, who was nearby, caught the golden trident that had been flung out of the nanobots. She cast a cautious glance at Robert, then quickly dove into the ocean and disappeared.
"Boom!" Robert didn't concern himself with Mera's departure. Ignoring the nanobots that his aura continued to repel and burn to ash, he struck the World Engine again with a powerful punch.
"Boom!" With another deafening explosion, the ship's hull, which had already been partially dislodged, now completely separated from the Earth, toppling into the ocean.
"Buzz!" At the same time, the other World Engine, which had been shaking the ground in America, suddenly stopped as if it had encountered some issue and could no longer channel its mysterious energy.
This was because the two World Engines were originally one unit, embedded at opposite ends of the Earth to simultaneously release the energy needed to terraform the planet. If one side encountered a problem, the other would be affected, losing its ability to continue the transformation process.
"It's pretty tough—seems to be on par with vibranium..." Robert's eyes flashed as he observed the World Engine. Despite hitting it twice, he had only managed to topple it rather than penetrate or destroy it.
This spoke volumes about the advanced level of Kryptonian science. A spaceship capable of interstellar travel and planetary transformation had to be durable enough to withstand the hazards of space and wormholes without disintegrating.
"Buzz!" Just as Robert was about to unleash a powerful energy wave to destroy the World Engine, it emitted a bright light, as if realizing that the nanobots could no longer stop him. It switched tactics, redirecting the energy meant to terraform the Earth straight at Robert.
"This feels familiar!" Robert's body was suddenly subjected to immense pressure, his eyes lighting up with recognition. This was the gravity he had sensed earlier. The World Engine was attempting to crush him with overwhelming gravitational force, or at least drive him away.
This was a force capable of reshaping or even destroying a planet, and it was terrifying. Even Robert didn't dare take it lightly and immediately transformed into his Great Ape Power—Wrath form.
Although he didn't transform into a Super Saiyan, this state still gave him Super Saiyan-level combat power. Facing the relentless gravitational assault, Robert not only held his ground but also steadily advanced, stepping across the ocean towards the World Engine.
"It seems this must be your core, right? These nanobots were protecting it. If Tony were here, he'd definitely want to study it. Unfortunately, there are too many enemies right now, and I don't know what's going on with Clark—his energy is still up in space…" The energy wave in Robert's hands grew more intense as he mumbled to himself.
"Buzz!" The World Engine, sensing the impending destruction, unleashed even more power in a last-ditch effort to push Robert back.
"Heh." Robert didn't advance any further. Instead, the energy wave in his hands flared with a blinding light, enveloping the World Engine.
"Boom!" In the next moment, a terrifying explosion rocked the area. The surrounding seawater instantly evaporated, and the remaining water didn't flood back in but instead formed a void, held back by the ongoing explosion's violent energy.
After a while, when the chaos subsided, the seawater finally rushed back in. But before it did, Robert saw the World Engine reduced to scattered debris, dissolving into the ocean…
"I only spent a short time on the remote island, training Hulk, and all of this happened? Not only did the Kryptonians invade, but another group of aliens has arrived? Has Earth been targeted by some cosmic force, or is this the Skrulls' doing?" After confirming the World Engine's destruction, Robert's eyes flickered as he glanced at the sky, then vanished from his spot.
Meanwhile, Kara and Hulk, after splitting from Robert, quickly arrived at the battlefield. Faced with multiple battlegrounds, Kara hesitated before deciding not to assist Diana in fighting General Zod. Instead, she rushed toward the rampaging Kryptonian who was wreaking havoc on Earth.
After all, the Kryptonian who had fought Johnny Stone had lost the ability to fight, and although the other Avengers were struggling, they could hold out a bit longer. But the rampaging Kryptonian was different—if left unchecked, the casualties would be enormous.
And it wasn't just Kara who had come to fight. Hulk, who had undergone significant growth under Robert's guidance, also joined the fray to help the Avengers.
"Bang!" In midair, the rampaging Kryptonian, who was slaughtering civilians and destroying cities, was suddenly struck and slammed into the ground, momentarily stunned.
This Kryptonian was not weak among his group. Previously, even Lorna and Susan Stone together could only restrain him, unable to inflict any real damage.
But compared to Kara, this Kryptonian was vastly outmatched. He was only as strong as Kara had been when she first appeared, whereas Kara had since grown several versions stronger!
"Bang!" Before the Kryptonian could recover from being slammed into the ground, Kara descended and struck him again, shaking the Earth itself.
If the first punch hadn't drawn blood, the Kryptonian's face was now bloodied and mangled.
This punch snapped the Kryptonian back to his senses. Anger flashed in his eyes as he fired a powerful heat vision at Kara.
"Shh!" But Kara wasn't intimidated. She glared at the Kryptonian, her eyes also firing heat vision. The two beams clashed in midair, but Kara's quickly overpowered the Kryptonian's, pushing back toward him.
It was clear that Kara's overall strength far exceeded the Kryptonian's—in speed, power, and even the intensity of her heat vision.
Realizing that he was being overwhelmed, the Kryptonian panicked. As if understanding the situation, he urgently shouted at Kara, "Wait! You're a Kryptonian too?! There's more than just Kal-El on Earth? We're the same people! We're the last of our kind in the universe. We should be family…"
"I do have family, but unfortunately, you Kryptonians aren't them!" Kara replied coldly, intensifying her heat vision.
"No!!!" Feeling the heat vision closing in, the Kryptonian finally understood what fear and the threat of death felt like. He also realized what the ordinary people he had killed had gone through.
"Thud!" With a final, desperate roar, the Kryptonian's head was pierced and blown apart by Kara's heat vision.
Even with his formidable Kryptonian vitality, he was now lifeless, his body gradually losing its energy as Kara finally relaxed.
Killing a Kryptonian didn't bother Kara much. To her, Kryptonians were no different from Earthlings. And frankly, Earthlings killed each other all the time, so what was the big deal about a Kryptonian killing another Kryptonian?
"Huh? What's that?" But just as Kara began to relax, she heard a strange noise. Turning her head, she saw the Chitauri emerging from a space portal.
"More enemies?" A hint of confusion flashed in Kara's eyes. But seeing the Chitauri immediately start wreaking havoc, she quickly realized they were enemies and that she had to stop them!
"Bang!" Kara shot out of the ground, her heat vision blasting the Chitauri, killing them as swiftly as the Kryptonian had killed humans. The problem, however, was that there were just too many Chitauri. Even though they had no chance against Kara, she couldn't kill them all at once.
Meanwhile, in another part of the battlefield, Hulk, after being dropped off by Kara, understood what he needed to do. During his time on the remote island, Hulk had grown a lot—not just in strength but in intelligence too. He could now communicate effectively.
This wasn't solely Robert's doing. At first, Hulk had rampaged across the island, especially after adapting to its environment. Even with some of his power suppressed by Robert, Hulk became the top predator on the island.
During that time, Hulk's ego had inflated considerably, and he began to see himself as the king of the island—until he encountered the T-Rex and Kong.
The T-Rex was manageable. Its strength hadn't changed much since Robert first saw it, and while it was stronger than Hulk, Hulk eventually defeated it after Robert lifted the suppression.
But Kong was a different story. Hulk was utterly outclassed by Kong in every aspect—size, strength, and weight.
If Hulk could grow as large as Kong when enraged, he would undoubtedly be stronger. But unfortunately, Hulk wasn't capable of that yet. He was still far from reaching Kong's level.
Under Kong's absolute dominance, Hulk gradually became more receptive to orders. Especially when he didn't listen to Robert, he didn't need Robert to intervene—Kong could just sit on him and keep him pinned down.
So when Hulk entered the battlefield, he immediately identified friend from foe. He didn't rush to help Bruce Banner, knowing that Banner's thick skin could take care of itself. Instead, he decided to assist Morbius and the others who seemed to be in worse shape.
However, before helping Morbius, Hulk happened
to pass by the weakened Kryptonian who was slowly recovering after the flames had subsided.
"Thud!" The Kryptonian, feeling the flames recede and thinking he might survive and rejoin the battle, was suddenly crushed under Hulk's foot.
"Thud!" Realizing that the Kryptonian wasn't dead, Hulk began stomping repeatedly like a pile driver, his anger growing as his size increased.
"WTF?" Nearby, Johnny Stone watched Hulk's actions, his mouth slightly agape. He wanted to say something but was too exhausted, only managing to silently curse in his mind. He also felt a bit regretful.
If he hadn't exhausted his strength, that Kryptonian would have died by his hands, not under the feet of Hulk, who had just arrived.
Indeed, after a series of furious stomps from Hulk, the Kryptonian died—much more gruesomely than the one Kara had killed. While Kara's kill left a headless body, Hulk's victim was reduced to unrecognizable mush, indistinguishable from the surrounding soil…
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter] [+5 Reviews = +1 Chapter]