Barry crouched in front of the North American reindeer's corpse, covering his forehead.
A faint smell of blood entered his nostrils.
His mind was a mess right now; there was nothing working normally.
"Damn it, what's wrong with me?!"
Barry's headache grew worse.
After gaining lightning-fast running speed, he often thought by running, but now he didn't want to think about anything.
Gently pressing his forehead to alleviate some of the pain in his head, Barry stood up.
He stood on the highway in the wilderness, surrounded by sparse trees, and beyond the road stretched a horizonless distance.
It was already after dusk, and the dark red sunset cast blood-like, rich light, illuminating Barry and the North American reindeer.
Barry gazed at the distant horizon, took a deep breath, swung his arms, and ran forward quickly.
Only by running like this could he alleviate his current confused and painful emotions.
As for what he should do after reaching the end of the run?
He didn't want to think about that question right now.
Eric, who was fighting Clark in front of Gotham City Government, didn't know that Barry was experiencing some minor mental issues at this moment.
Right now, he stood in front of Clark, blocking his path.
"What, Clark, trying to run away already?"
Eric's voice was cold, and even Clark could feel the killing intent within it.
Wonder Woman put away her Vulcan Sword and shield and walked towards Eric.
"If you want to run away now, that's a complete delusion!"
Wonder Woman raised her Vulcan Sword and pointed it at Clark.
She had a good impression of Clark before, but now it was incredibly bad.
It was because she didn't want to see him indecisive and completely unaware.
This annoying posture is nothing like what a warrior should possess.
The two stood together, blocking Clark and Amy.
"Eric, this is between us. Amy is innocent."
Clark, holding Amy, frowned and glanced at her in his arms before saying to Eric, "Don't make it difficult for her, let her leave here."
"You are always so naive, Clark."
Eric's lips curled into a mocking smile as he said, "Since this is a battle between two factions, no one is innocent. Everyone is prepared. Whether it's you or Cyborg, your fates are the same; you will ultimately not escape the destiny of Death! Anyone who tries to stop me will become my enemy! No one will be an exception!"
"You can't do that!"
Clark gritted his teeth and said to Eric.
"Why not? Didn't you say this was the path you chose?"
As soon as Eric finished speaking, he suddenly unleashed a lightning strike.
Under his dishonorable sneak attack, Clark only managed to extend his arm to block Eric's attack, but the next second, he was sent flying sideways, just like Amy.
Bang! Bang!
Clark and Amy's bodies fell heavily to the ground.
The ground was shattered, creating cracks that extended outwards.
"Look, Clark, this is you. You always spout lofty principles, trying to be a flawless hero of truth, goodness, and beauty. The fact is, most of the time you just become a flustered defeated dog. Anyone can put you in danger just by grasping your weakness."
Eric slowly walked towards Clark, looking down at him with cold eyes.
At this moment, after Eric hit Clark's arm, he followed up with a lightning punch.
Intense pain radiated from his arm and chest, and his back felt like iron thorns were piercing it.
A numbing sensation traveled from his back to his brain, and waves of dizziness assaulted him.
He had never felt Eric's punches so heavy as he did today.
"You want to protect everyone? But the result is you can't even protect the people you care about most. It was like this with Alicia, and it's like this with Robin Girl."
"Ugh!"
Hearing Eric mention Alicia's name again, Clark gritted his teeth, trying to get up from the ground.
"Don't!"
Bang!
A fist transformed into angry flames, sweeping towards Eric.
Like lightning, it struck Eric's raised arm.
This time, the speed and force, in their explosive release, far surpassed before.
"Bring it up!"
After Eric dodged, Clark's eyes were red, and he immediately charged forward without stopping, his fists raining down on Eric's body.
Their fists collided, producing deafening sounds.
The surrounding air seemed to be torn apart, surging outwards.
The space where they stood became a forbidden zone for anyone.
"That name!"
Bang!
Clark punched Eric on the shoulder, sending Eric stumbling backward.
Where the two had originally stood, the ground was already shattered, and countless dust clouds rose from it.
Small pebbles on the ground were splashed up and then propelled outwards by the explosive airflow.
"Angry?"
After Clark sent Eric flying, Eric slid several meters along the ground before finally coming to a stop.
His feet plowed a furrow in the ground.
"Your anger is because I exposed your disguise, Clark. You pretend not to care, but you care more than anyone."
Eric said coldly as he walked towards Clark.
"You know how to use your abilities, but you cling to a ridiculous bottom line. You clearly had a chance to save Alicia, but you still hesitated for a moment. Is this the right path you speak of? Stop making excuses for your fragility and weakness, Clark. You are destined to live such a disguised life. Born to be a savior, destined to be abandoned!"
Bang!
Eric moved forward with lightning speed, punching Clark in the chest.
With a bang, a shockwave surged outwards.
The air exploded violently, and a deafening sound spread in all directions.
Clark was directly sent flying by Eric's punch into Gotham City Hall.
The shockwave from the battle caused Gordon and Harvey Bullock, who were watching from the side, to sway precariously.
Even from such a distance, they could still feel the surging airwaves and roaring thunder from the battlefield, which showed how intense the battle was.
With a thunderous crash, the section of Gotham City Hall that was struck immediately began to collapse, and steel bars, concrete, and debris completely buried Clark.
Fortunately, there were few people in the City Hall building, and it had already been evacuated.
Clark had not lost consciousness; he remained awake.
He moved slightly, and a piercing pain shot through his chest. His ribs must have been damaged, and his internal organs were also injured.
A wave of fatigue washed over him, as if he wanted to fall asleep.
Between semi-consciousness and semi-drowsiness, he seemed to see his birth father—Jor-El.
In a white glow, Jor-El stood smiling at him.
"Kal, remember the conviction you fought for. You would refuse to be a Kryptonian for your family and choose to be an Earthling. At that time, you would fear your family being harmed, and you would fight me for that conviction. So where is your conviction now? My son, you are not so fragile!"
Jor-El extended his arm, trying to pull up the other person who had fallen to the ground.
And slowly said to Clark, "Stand up, accept your destiny, Kal, my son, you have nothing to fear! No need to be confused!"
"I…"
Clark's mind was a bit hazy, but then he felt a surge of shame.
Indeed, all his conviction during his battle with Eric had been lost.
Without conviction, how could he be a match for Eric?
After all, since childhood, his younger brother had been the one to suppress him.
He would never lose!
He absolutely could not lose to his increasingly bastardly and hateful younger brother!
Clark gritted his teeth, desperately pushing away the debris piled on him.
The Kryptonian genes within Clark began to operate.
That was self-activated potential when facing danger.
When Kryptonians face danger and the fear of Death, the adrenaline and other hormones in their blood surge dramatically, and their cells, exposed to yellow sunlight, activate the gene editing tools within the Kryptonian body, enabling it to perform human repair work through "chemical" means.
Clark's self-healing ability began to work.
Although this healing ability was not as strong as Eric's "Doomsday" template healing ability, it was enough to allow him to stand up and continue fighting.
He could feel the pain in his chest gradually easing, and the fatigue also began to diminish.
A strong will erupted from within his body!
On the other side.
The spectator on the battlefield, Harvey Bullock, watched the scene before him in shock.
Collapsed buildings, overturned earth, shattered trees, and scattered cars were all laid out before this observer.
The entire battlefield seemed to have been plowed over and over again by bombers.
He was almost stunned into idiocy by the scenes unfolding before his eyes.
Barbara, who had understood what was happening through Commissioner Gordon's communication, also fell silent!
Having been in Gotham for a long time, a common sight was Batman fighting criminals.
Their perception of a superhero was someone like Batman, punishing criminals, catching some unfortunate person jumping from a building, at most to that extent.
But today's god-like battle made everyone realize a problem: superheroes of this level are completely beyond human scope; the destruction they cause is comparable to strategic-level weapons!
Although superhero movies also feature various cool scenes, and some people had watched the Battle of Metropolis on TV, it was far from the realism and shock of reality.
Being able to send an opponent flying hundreds of meters with a single punch, the thunder-like explosive sound of colliding fists, and the shockwaves from high-altitude impacts that could shatter the ground—such sights could not be simulated even by the most realistic movies.
Commissioner Gordon suddenly felt a little unsure of himself.
He wondered if he should still go in.
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