Barry focused, electric arcs flickering in his eyes, his feet poised to spring.
Marden roared in anger, "Coward, will you only run? Will you only flee?"
The Compressed Blade flew out of his hand once more, slicing through the air.
However, it only managed to sever birch trees, causing them to fall with a rustle.
The Flash had already transformed into a yellow lightning bolt, a red blur, and dodged the instant Marden made his move.
Marden, this time, I won't run.
A resolute gaze emerged from The Flash's pupils; he continuously cheered himself on internally.
Following Lin Li's instructions, he zipped around Marden's back in a diagonal circle, trailing yellow electric arcs.
The Flash adopted a boxing stance and delivered a straight right punch to Marden's back.
Marden suddenly felt an intense pain from his back, his internal organs severely jolted.
He stumbled forward a few steps, his waist bending backward from the impact, in extreme pain.
Marden roared in pain and fury, "You hurt me, you hurt me, you useless, cowardly, weakling who only runs away!"
The Flash, having landed the attack, did not pursue further; he was reveling in excitement.
He joyfully said into the communicator, "Lin Li, I hit him, I did it!"
Lin Li encouraged him, "Of course you can do it, you are The Flash!"
Ever since Joe's distrust last time, coupled with being severely injured by Marden, The Flash had always lacked confidence. He had always felt like he was just running, just as Marden said, fleeing. Running since he was a child, running to save people, running into confusion. Joe's distrust made him disappointed and doubt himself, so he ran over 600 miles seeking answers. After returning, he continued to run, feeling empty inside. Only running made him feel real. This punch, delivered against a formidable enemy who had once nearly killed him, shattered his confusion and made him truly feel his abilities. He was capable of facing any strong enemy, of protecting Joe, of protecting others, of protecting his city. As Green Arrow said, believe in yourself, believe in yourself.
The Flash confidently provoked Marden, "Hey, Marden, do you want to take a few more punches?"
After speaking, The Flash transformed into a yellow electric arc, circling around Marden.
Dazzling yellow electric arcs zipped around Marden, enveloping him.
Run… run… run…
Lin Li was right, if I run, I can achieve what I desire.
The Flash smiled confidently, his red afterimage mixed with yellow electric arcs, radiating a glorious will. At this moment, he felt fearless.
Marden's eyes were red, his disheveled hair flying wildly. He looked left and right at the yellow lightning encircling him, trying to find the red figure.
Suddenly.
The Flash's confident face appeared before him, and he even saw that faint smile.
Then Marden felt his left cheek being violently struck by a right hook. His gums bled, his teeth loosened, and his face swelled with a burning pain.
Marden's mouth splattered blood, and his body tilted, about to fall.
In a blur of pain.
The Flash appeared in his sight once more, delivering a left hook to Marden's right cheek.
Blood splattered. This time, his already loose teeth were knocked out, and Marden was knocked back upright.
Slowly, teeth, saliva, and blood flew out.
Time seemed to slow.
The yellow lightning still circled Marden, so fast it seemed like an illusion. Marden's cheeks swelled up, like a hamster with its mouth full of food.
Pain, humiliation, surged from Marden's heart. To be scorned, looked down upon, beaten to near death, by a useless, cowardly fellow who only ran away. Now, that same person was violently striking and hurting his body, making it feel surreal.
His aching face told him it was real.
This feeling of pain drove him mad.
Marden pressed his hand, and everything around him seemed to solidify, then violently reacted, as if bombs were exploding.
'Boom'
The air blast erupted, a powerful shockwave rolled back, tearing up trees, dead leaves, and the yellow lightning bolt that was circling.
Marden created a large-scale air explosion around him, directly blasting The Flash away.
His eyes were bloodshot, the anger in his heart erupting like lava, his swollen mouth roaring, "You deserve to die, you all deserve to die, you need to die to atone, destruction, I will destroy all of you!"
Between heaven and earth, everything suddenly stopped for a moment.
Then a strong wind picked up, trees and dead leaves spun and rolled back, and dirt and dust were torn apart by the rotating air.
Countless white mists condensed around Marden, beginning to swirl. The vortex attracted everything around it.
Broken trees, dead leaves, and dirt were swept up towards Marden by the rising air currents near him. The tottering trees were almost uprooted, and it wouldn't be long before they were completely torn from the ground.
Marden had created a tornado.
The Flash was directly blasted and rolled to a spot not far from Joe. Fortunately, the Speed Force allowed his body to recover unusually quickly, and the pain dissipated rapidly.
"Barry… Barry…"
Joe called out to him anxiously, very afraid that something had happened to The Flash.
The Flash lifted his head from the dirt, letting out a breath, and said, "That was really exciting, Joe, I'm fine."
The Flash stretched his stiff and aching waist, and used his hand to wipe the dirt and clinging dead leaves from his face.
The Flash smiled at Joe and said, "Joe, don't worry, I'll protect you."
Joe was a little touched, and also worried.
The strong wind picked up, and the air currents along the tornado Marden created intensified and converged.
All the dead leaves and dust swept up by the tornado made him appear grayish, and the sky and earth seemed to connect with the tornado.
The Flash watched the sweeping tornado in astonishment.
He said into the communicator, "Hey, guys, we're in big trouble, Marden created a tornado."
Caitlin had already detected it in the control room hall. She said rapidly, "Barry, this thing's wind speed is very fast, already up to eighty, a hundred, one hundred thirty miles per hour, and it's still strengthening. I have reason to believe that if the wind speed continues to increase, it could form an F5 tornado."
An F5 tornado is the largest type of tornado, capable of completely destroying houses in Central City, sending cars flying like cannonballs, stripping asphalt from roads, and lifting trucks, trains, and carriages completely off the ground.
Once formed, if it swept through Central City, it would basically cause very thorough destruction.
Lin Li almost jumped up when he heard about the tornado. Marden, are you serving yourself up on a platter, or is it like before, creating a tornado? Lin Li already felt like he could predict the outcome.
The Flash shouted into the communicator, "I can't stop him, what do I do?"
Seeing such a powerful tornado, The Flash didn't think of other solutions. His first thought was that he couldn't stop it. He once again felt his powerlessness, his inability to do anything, just like when he was 11, when his mother was killed, his helplessness, unable to do anything.