Dane threw a punch, and Wonder Woman, shield and all, flew backward, crashing through the surrounding wall.
The stone wall, brittle as tofu, shattered upon Impact, sending up a cloud of dust two to three feet high.
He showed no mercy, taking advantage of Wonder Woman's fall and momentary imbalance to unleash his lightning, striking her accurately.
Wonder Woman felt the pressure, but it only intensified her fighting spirit.
She leaped up, letting out a high-pitched battle cry, and the godfire sword cleaved down.
Dane retreated, dodging, as if he could still feel the sharp cutting power of the blade.
He swung a punch, and Wonder Woman dodged it.
Not only was he absorbing Wonder Woman's fighting techniques, but Wonder Woman was also adapting to his fighting rhythm.
She fiercely shield-bashed Dane's waist with her Divine Shield, and in the brief moment he bent over, she raised her long leg and kicked the lightning pattern on his chest.
Dane flew backward with the momentum, hovering at a low altitude, and then threw another bolt of lightning.
Wonder Woman blocked it with her shield, stopping the lightning offensive.
Seeing Dane approaching again, she quickly moved her shield to her back.
With a forceful clash of her wrists, a divine Impact erupted outwards!
The air shrieked with an ear-piercing buzz from the Impact, and Dane, rooted to the ground, was pushed backward by the Impact.
His feet plowed two furrows in the ground, and he stopped using the friction.
Suddenly, Dane felt his arm tighten; he looked down and smiled. It was the Lasso of Truth.
Wonder Woman used all her strength, yet she couldn't make Dane move an inch.
Hercules possesses the immense strength to hold up the heavens; if you, Wonder Woman, wish to shake him, you might be a little short.
Clark would be more appropriate.
Dane channeled strength into his arm, grabbed the Lasso of Truth, and yanked hard, pulling Wonder Woman close.
He grabbed her shoulder strap, which she used to secure her shield, lifted Wonder Woman, and then gave her a fierce headbutt.
With a 'dong' sound, a loud bang echoed far and wide, and Wonder Woman flew backward again.
Clark, listening from the stands, felt the pain of that sound.
That collision nearly gave Wonder Woman a concussion.
She shook her head, her dark hair flowing in the wind.
Dane stood still, waiting for her to recover.
This was just a spar; there was no need to kick someone when they were down.
A demigod is a demigod; Wonder Woman recovered very quickly.
Although she didn't possess 'Achilles's courage,' she still held the highest passion and vigorous fighting spirit for battle.
"Again!"
"Good!"
Dane was equally ready to fight to the end.
As the scope of their collisions gradually expanded, half of the coliseum collapsed again, and Dane increasingly felt that fighting without a weapon was a disadvantage.
Although most weapons couldn't harm him, divine artifacts could. He couldn't always fight bare-handed against such opponents, could he?
A large reason for the stalemate between him and Wonder Woman was his lack of a suitable weapon.
Facing the godfire sword, even a divine body had to give way.
No! He must have his own divine artifact. He might not use it, but he absolutely couldn't be without one.
He didn't know where else he could get an ownerless divine artifact, but he thought, perhaps he could forge one himself?
What if he took Poseidon's trident? Would he be unhappy?
Never mind. If the Atlanteans found out, it would probably start a war, which was really unnecessary.
As the battle progressed, Wonder Woman became more and more accustomed to Dane's lightning.
She knew this was because Dane himself had no ill will, and the lightning divine power originated from Zeus.
She also realized that although Dane struck harder than Clark, overall, he fought very restrainedly.
He didn't use super speed to bully her, nor did he exploit his excellent aerial maneuvering capabilities.
Fighting an Amazon on the ground was a way of showing her respect, which was why this seemingly evenly matched situation had come about.
She had also had her fill of fighting, so this spar could conclude.
"This is enough, isn't it?"
Wonder Woman voluntarily stopped her movements, and Dane also reined in his power in time.
"Are you satisfied?"
She nodded, sheathing the godfire sword and shield on her back.
"So, that person named Zod, is he as strong as you all?"
Dane nodded: "He will probably be a bit stronger, but our strength is still in a growth phase, so by then, we should be about the same."
He deliberately overstated Zod's strength to put some pressure on Wonder Woman.
From today's spar, it was clear that too long without an evenly matched battle had caused her condition to decline somewhat.
No wonder a character like Steppenwolf dared to fight four against one and almost succeeded.
Wonder Woman, the main damage dealer, hadn't stepped up; she could clearly solo even the God of War.
Now she should have some motivation to enhance her own strength.
Indeed, hearing Dane say this, her expression also became solemn.
"I need to intensify my training."
"Don't worry, Umbrella will prepare the training grounds and tools for you."
"Umbrella? I thought your company was called Vanguard."
"That's my other company, specifically for people like us…"
Dane gave her an 'you understand' look.
At this moment, Clark flew down from the stands.
"Finished fighting?"
"Finished."
Dane looked at them and nodded with satisfaction.
The Justice League already had three god-tier combatants; the surface strength was sufficient. Now, a tactical master was needed to plan the combat power.
Bruce Wayne, what is your situation now?
...Gotham, Wayne Manor.
Today, three special guests arrived.
Three 'gods' descended from the sky, landing on the lawn in front of Wayne Manor.
More than half a year had passed since Clark's last visit, and the place had undergone drastic changes.
Of course, for the worse.
Weeds grew almost as tall as a person, as if no one had ever tended them, and fallen leaves piled up on the straight path, uncleared.
The autumn wind blew, and the bare tree branches swayed gently.
Leaves flew up from the ground, striking the door of the old manor, as if no one had ever lived here.
In just one year, it felt as if this old manor had completely fallen into disrepair, becoming an uninhabited haunted house.
But the three could clearly feel that there was someone inside the house, though only one.
"This is where the person you mentioned lives?"
Wonder Woman looked at the dilapidated scene before her, frowning slightly.
"He doesn't seem to be doing well."
"Bruce Wayne's butler is a very excellent person. When he operates as Batman, besides helping him manage the company's assets, he also provides logistical support for Batman."
Dane channeled his magic, changing them into suitable casual clothes; wearing their battle suits would be too conspicuous.
Wonder Woman looked at the women's trench coat on her, smiled, and thanked him.
He continued: "With such an excellent butler, Bruce Wayne shouldn't have let his home become like this."
"Unless he is intentionally exiling himself, giving up."
"It seems that Jason's incident earlier dealt him a huge blow; his indifference at that time was feigned."
Clark frowned. He would occasionally visit Gotham after that day.
At that time, Bruce was still operating normally as Batman, and he had thought the other party had long since moved on.
"Let's go, let's go inside and see."
Dane led the way, pushing open the manor's front door.
The wooden door creaked with the sound of disrepair; how strange, it had only been a few months.
The three walked in and found that the interior furnishings were still very clean.
It seemed only the outside was neglected; the inside was as always.
Dane now truly envied Bruce; with such a good butler, no wonder he dared to wander around outside.
Dane felt that Alfred could totally use his abilities on a higher stage, like the Justice League; just staying in Gotham was too much of a waste.
Although Cortana was also good, some things still needed to be done by a human.
"Clark, can you see him?"
"Of course, he's in the Underground Room, a place that looks like a kitchen."
Clark's x-ray vision was always convenient for finding people.
"What is he doing there?" Wonder Woman asked, puzzled.
"I see wine bottles," Clark replied.
"Drowning his sorrows in alcohol, this won't do. Alcohol can easily corrode the brain and spirit. Let's go."
The three walked into the kitchen and found empty wine bottles scattered everywhere, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of alcohol.
A man with messy hair lay sprawled like dead on the floor covered with wine bottles, motionless.
"He smells bad."
Wonder Woman sniffed, then covered her nose and stepped back in disgust.
Seemingly sensing someone, the man on the ground stirred, and then... continued to sleep.
Clark couldn't believe this was Bruce Wayne. He quickly took two steps and easily lifted him.
The messy hair spread out, revealing Bruce Wayne's face.
He slightly opened his hazy, sleepy eyes and exhaled a breath filled with alcohol:
"Who. The. Hell. Are. You? Motherfucker!"