"Now you don't have to worry about civilian casualties," the Flash appeared in front of Superman and said with a smile.
With a bang, Wonder Woman and Aquaman fell in front of Flash, Shin, and Superman. Wonder Woman got up and said, "No, guys, I think we're in trouble now. A big guy is coming up ahead."
As she spoke, the parademons parted, and a tall figure clad in hideous-looking armor strode forward.
"Humans, surrender to the gods of Apokolips!"
"Sorry, man, but these days, we live in a free society where everyone is equal. Your ideas have been outdated for hundreds of years," Aquaman said, standing up despite his battered state. The trident in his hand had already been broken into two pieces, leaving him with no choice but to adopt a Fish-Man Karate stance.
During this period, Shin had taught him Fish-Man Karate, but as a beginner, Aquaman's level was mediocre at best. It was slightly better than the other fighting techniques he had learned, but still far from mastery.
"I will use fear to remind you humans, Atlanteans, and the remnants of the old gods of the horror of Apokolips. Your ultimate fate will be submission to me, Steppenwolf!"
"I don't think you are the boss of Apokolips, am I correct?" Shin asked sarcastically. "If I surrender to you, what will the real rulers of Apokolips think of me?"
"How dare you question my loyalty to Lord Darkseid?! I will gut you personally and let you wail for a thousand years!" Steppenwolf roared, his expression darkening.
"Are you just trying to impress me? How terrified are you of Darkseid?" Shin scoffed. "I remember he's supposed to be your nephew, isn't he?"
Of all things, Shin couldn't even remember Darkseid's real name clearly, but he had somehow remembered the gossip that Steppenwolf was his uncle.
"Curse you! How dare you insult the great Dark Lord!" Steppenwolf swung his massive axe at Shin. But instead of dodging Shin's entire body turned intangible. The axe struck, but there was no resistance. Steppenwolf's face twisted in confusion, but having already committed to his attack, he couldn't retract his force.
In the next instant, Shin's eyes gleamed coldly as reality bent at his will. A black rotating shuriken materialized in his hand and sliced directly at Steppenwolf.
Sensing danger, Steppenwolf lunged forward, but with a loud crack, the armor on his back split in two, and blood began to seep from his waist.
"Spatial abilities… quite rare," Steppenwolf muttered, eyes narrowing as he slowly raised his axe with a more cautious expression.
Shin, however, was equally surprised. The Kamui Shuriken was a spatial-cutting technique that should have been nearly unstoppable. In the world of pirates, even the hardest materials—Black Blades, Seastone, and Poneglyphs—could be easily severed by it. Yet now, against Steppenwolf's armor, it had met resistance.
Under normal circumstances, that attack should have left Steppenwolf with an exposed spine or, worse, torn him in half.
Clearly, as the level of the world itself rose, even devastating techniques like space-cutting weren't invincible anymore.
It was a reminder of how strong the current playing field had become. Even in his past battles, Shin had rarely relied on space-cutting. Against someone like Im, whose life force was monstrous enough to regenerate instantly, the technique had been almost meaningless.
But this? This was the first time Shin had actually encountered resistance when using it.
While Shin was momentarily shocked, Steppenwolf was outright alarmed.
A technique that could cut through space itself and another that allowed Shin to phase into another dimension—one for attack, the other for defense. Against an opponent without spatial abilities, Shin was practically untouchable.
If Steppenwolf had a way to teleport, he might have considered retreating right then and there.
Unfortunately for him, Shin did have a teleportation ability, but the Flying Thunder God Technique wasn't as instant as true teleportation. Against an opponent of Steppenwolf's level, simply throwing a marked kunai wouldn't be enough. A better approach would be to land a mark directly on Steppenwolf at the right moment.
Still, the battle wasn't a one-on-one fight. Aquaman and Wonder Woman launched their own attacks without hesitation.
With her protective silver bracelets destroyed, Wonder Woman immediately threw out the Lasso of Truth, while Aquaman followed up with a powerful Fish-Man Karate strike.
Superman, however, remained cautious. Steppenwolf's body contained Kryptonite, forcing the Man of Steel to rely on long-range heat vision rather than engaging directly.
Ordinarily, Steppenwolf was more than capable of handling Wonder Woman and Aquaman alone. Even with Superman's laser attacks chipping away at him from a distance, he still maintained the upper hand.
But with Shin lurking in the background, everything changed.
The Kamui Shuriken had the ability to sever space itself. While Steppenwolf could withstand punches from Superman or even survive direct heat vision blasts with minimal injury, a well-placed shuriken to the neck would be instantly fatal. Naturally, he had no choice but to remain on high alert.
Even so, the battle was intense, unlike the neatly choreographed action scenes one would see in a movie.
Instead, everything moved at supersonic speed, with shockwaves tearing apart the buildings around them. To any normal observer, the battle was an invisible storm of destruction, with only the deafening booms and explosions signaling their presence.
Shin's improved physique, speed, and combat strength—enhanced by absorbing some Kryptonian blood—allowed him to keep up with the battle. If he had still been relying solely on his original abilities, he would have struggled to match the sheer pace of the fight.
As the battle raged on, more and more parademons descended from the sky. These creatures, though fearless and physically powerful, were still cannon fodder in the presence of powerful superheroes.
However, with Steppenwolf holding them back, the parademons quickly became a serious problem.
Superman, in particular, found himself in a desperate situation. No one knew exactly how much Kryptonite the U.S. government had stockpiled, but it seemed that every stronger parademon carried at least a piece of it.
To make matters worse, Steppenwolf kept forcing his way closer, preventing Superman from fully engaging in combat. Forced to remain on the defensive, the Man of Steel dodged frantically, unable to unleash his full strength.
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