When Diana and Queen Hippolyta were teleported to this sacred place by Lucci, he used the power of space, something they both knew very well. What greeted their eyes was a scene that filled them with anger! On the ground lay Amazonian female warriors, unmoving, struck down. The air was thick with the smell of blood and a demonic, unpleasant burnt stench. And the most sacred artifact they had protected for generations—the Mother Box—was right now in the grip of a monstrous being clad in hideous armor, about to be taken away!
"No—!"
Diana let out a roar filled with anger and unwillingness!
Hippolyta's face instantly turned as pale as paper!
It was true... Was there really someone who dared to play with the idea of mastering the Mother Box? And could it be that, in this manner, they had become something fundamentally unstoppable? Lucci's fears... had they truly manifested into reality?
Steppenwolf looked over and saw Lucci, Diana, and Hippolyta suddenly appear before him. For a moment, a flash of surprise flickered in his crimson eyes. But in the next instant, surprise was replaced by a sneer and a proud, ugly smile. Clutching the violently trembling Mother Box, he rasped in a metallic voice,
"You're all too late."
With that, he stomped his right foot down and took a step forward, his tall figure vanishing instantly into a burst of energy!
Diana let out a furious shout and tried to rush forward.
But—it was too late! The transmission speed of the Boom Tube was extremely fast! In an instant, Steppenwolf's figure blurred, became a phantom, and was about to completely disappear!
"Trying to leave?"
"Don't even think about it!"
At that desperate moment for Diana and Hippolyta, a supreme, chilling aura resounded through the cave! Lucci didn't even move his feet. He simply let out a cold snort. With a thought, Path of Flame Sowrd, as if containing the stars of the universe, appeared instantly in his hand! He fixed his gaze on the rapidly vanishing, blurry figure.
And he swung the sword!
This sword had no earth-shaking light, no world-destroying force. It looked very ordinary, very plain. But within this sword resided Lucci's supreme understanding of the laws of "Time" and "Space"—the Sword of Space-Time!
A nearly invisible, transparent, and distorted Sword Intent shot forth from the blade! Ignoring the laws of physics, bypassing the distance of space and the passage of time, it directly—
Cut off Steppenwolf's arm that was holding the Mother Box!
A crisp, cutting sound echoed, as if a sharp blade pierced flesh!
Following that was a scream full of pain and disbelief.
From the explosion corridor that was about to close, something emerged!
And, to everyone's shock—
A figure, still encased in ugly metallic battle armor, clutching the silver-gray Mother Box in hand—unexpectedly, fell out of the closing cosmic channel with a "pop", landing right back at the original spot!
Diana and Hippolyta were stunned at the sight.
A sword? Through the nearly closed teleportation route, had it really cut off that monster's arm? And left the Mother Box behind?
This... What an unbelievable power!
At this moment, the remaining demon creatures, having lost their commander, entered a frenzy after a brief confusion, attacking the surrounding Amazon warriors indiscriminately, like madmen.
Diana quickly regained her senses.
"Kill them! Avenge our sisters!"
She roared with rage, brandished the God Killer's sword like a Valkyrie, and charged into the demon horde, unleashing a mad slaughter!
Hippolyta and the warriors behind her immediately joined the battle!
Hundreds of elite warriors, surrounding and suppressing the leaderless demons, quickly wiped them out!
Meanwhile, Lucci, still holding the Mother Box and standing before the severely damaged arm, walked into a chamber. He brought along the still buzzing cube.
As he touched the Mother Box, a realization shot through his mind!
In an instant, the enigmatic cube before him was no longer just a simple metal box.
Its interior was filled with energy circuits and information structures billions of times more complex than the most advanced human computers!
"I see..."
A flash of understanding lit up in Lucci's eyes.
"The essence of this machine is, in fact, a super life computer."
"And the reason it's so powerful lies in a special active element called Element X."
"It's precisely because of this Element X, that it possesses near-omnipotent powers—matter manipulation, life support, energy conversion, gravity control... and other unbelievable abilities."
In an instant, the Mother Box—a cosmic wonder not fully analyzed even on Apokolips—held no more secrets before Lucci!
Soon after, as the Amazon warriors finished off the last demon monster under their swords, the battle finally ended.
Hippolyta approached Lucci.
She gazed at the safely secured Mother Box in his hand, then at Steppenwolf's terribly broken arm on the ground, shame and terror written across his face.
She bowed deeply to Lucci.
"Prince Lucci, we are so glad you arrived. Otherwise, the Mother Box would surely have been taken, and we Amazons would have become the sinners of this entire planet."
Her voice was full of both fear and gratitude.
"You're right. This is safest only in your hands..."
Diana, who had been nearby, also came over.
She looked at Lucci, her beautiful eyes now devoid of resistance or fighting spirit.
All that remained was purity, awe, and... respect.
Now, she finally understood completely.
Her own strength was simply not on the same "dimension" as the man before her!
It was a gap that could never be bridged by effort or talent alone.
It was like the gulf between humans and true gods!
Lucci nodded slightly and put away the Mother Box.
His gaze fell upon the fallen Amazon warriors, who had been blown back by Steppenwolf, their breaths already faint, on the verge of death.
He frowned.
Though he didn't know these Amazons well, they had suffered grave wounds, nearly dying to protect the holy relic of the Earth.
"That's enough."
He sighed softly.
Then, under everyone's bewildered gaze, he extended his hand and gently waved it over the dying Amazon warriors.
A surge of emerald green light, full of vitality and warmth, the most original and life-filled, burst forth from his hand in an instant!
Like the gentle spring breeze, like sweet rain and dew upon parched earth!
The green light formed soft ribbons, slowly merging into the bodies of those warriors!
And then, a miracle happened!
The terrifying, deep, and visible wounds on their bodies rapidly healed at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Broken bones snapped back together with a "crack"!
Damaged internal organs, wrapped in green light, instantly regenerated!
Faces as pale as paper gradually regained color!
After just a few short breaths, those warriors who had set foot in the realm of death slowly opened their eyes!
Though their bodies were still weak, the fatal wounds had been healed!
They had been given new life!
"This... this..."
Hippolyta, Diana, and the other Amazon warriors stood frozen as if petrified by magic, mouths agape!
Their minds were blank, all thoughts lost!
This was no ordinary healing—it was... resurrection from death!
This was true resurrection!
Their understanding had been refreshed once again!
This mighty and mysterious Prince Lucci... could actually do something so miraculous?
Having finished all this, Lucci nodded lightly.
The Mother Box on Themyscira was now secured.
The next target, naturally, was Atlantis' Mother Box.
With that in mind, he bid farewell to the still-shocked Hippolyta.
"I must now go to Atlantis as well."
Diana heard this and was moved!
She looked up at Lucci, her beautiful eyes glowing with an unprecedented light.
"Prince Lucci!"
"Please... take me with you! Let's go together!"
She no longer wanted to stay on this paradise island like a bird in a cage!
She wanted to witness this man's power with her own eyes!
She wanted to participate in this battle that affected the fate of the entire Earth!
Lucci was a bit surprised at her request and glanced at Queen Hippolyta. After all, this was someone else's daughter.
But to his surprise, after considering for a moment, Hippolyta nodded in agreement!
She looked at her daughter with eyes full of relief and pride.
"Go, Diana," she said in a low voice. "The issue of the Mother Boxes concerns the safety of the entire world. We Amazons cannot stand by. You just follow Prince Lucci and do your best to protect this world on behalf of our Themyscira!"
"Yes, Mother!"
Diana was overjoyed at this!
Lucci, seeing the queen's agreement, naturally had no objection.
It was always good to have one more demigod powerhouse. He nodded.
"Alright."
He reached out and placed his hand on Diana's shoulder.
With a thought, the power of the cosmos activated once again!
In the next instant, the two of them vanished in a flash before the awe-struck eyes of Hippolyta and the Amazon warriors.
…
In the far north, Pozharnov.
This was the site of a long-abandoned nuclear power plant. Desolate, remote, uninhabited.
The cold wind swept up snow and ice, cutting through the dead, silent land like countless sharp knives.
But in this place where any life would freeze into an ice sculpture, a strange, unnatural scene unfolded.
A massive hemispherical energy shield enveloped the entire site of the nuclear plant.
Inside the shield, the world of ice and snow had vanished, replaced by a living hell of fire, brimstone, and wailing!
The earth was scorched, with crimson magma constantly bubbling up from cracked fissures.
The sky was filled with nauseating, toxic smoke.
Countless ugly demons swarmed about, drifting like flies in this place called the Apokoliptians on Earth.
It had become Steppenwolf's temporary lair.
At the center of the nest, atop the ruins of the power plant—
Boom!
A popping noise tore through the air!
A figure tumbled out of the corridor, landing with a heavy thud on the cold metal ground.
It was Steppenwolf, who had escaped via teleportation from Themyscira!
But at this moment, was he even half the god of Apokolips, with his former majesty and authority?
His ugly living armor was now dim.
He knelt on one knee, supporting his tall body with his tomahawk, breathing heavily.
And on his right shoulder was a shockingly smooth cut—blood long since stopped.
But the emptiness and pain from losing an entire arm made his entire body tremble violently!
His eyes, glowing crimson like molten lava, were now filled with fear and dread...
That man! The mysterious man who had severed his arm with a single sword!
Who was he?
In Steppenwolf's mind, the scene replayed over and over—the ordinary yet transparent Sword Intent!
How exactly did it work?
It had seemingly ignored the spatial barriers of the Boom Tube, even sliced through the chains of time itself!
This miraculous attack method was completely beyond the comprehension of the Apokoliptians God, who had fought for tens of thousands of years and destroyed countless civilizations!
Just now...
If that man had aimed the sword at his neck instead of his arm—
Would he still be alive?
The thought sent an icy chill racing up Steppenwolf's spine!
He truly felt the threat of death on this primitive, backward planet!
How could this be possible... on Earth?
And with the dead Kryptonian, how could such powerful and terrifying beings exist here?
He simply couldn't understand!
But...
Steppenwolf's gaze fell on the countless demon corpses and the strange altar of Apokolips metal at the center of his lair.
Atop the altar hung a quietly suspended cube, emitting an ominous aura and constant buzzing—that was the Mother Box stolen from humanity!
Fortunately...
He still had the Mother Box in his hand.
He managed to struggle up, dragging his broken body to the altar.
He pressed his left hand to the cold Mother Box and closed his eyes, connecting his consciousness to the Mother Box.
Buzz—
Vast, primordial energy filled with life and creation surged through his palm into his body!
On his broken right shoulder, countless buds began to struggle and multiply vigorously!
Bones, muscles, nerves, blood vessels... Driven by the power of new god genes and the near-omnipotent material reshaping ability of the Mother Box!
But it only took a few short seconds!
A brand new, identical, ugly arm grew out!
Steppenwolf flexed his regained arm, feeling the return of strength.
The fear and humiliation from his defeat finally faded away.
…