Chapter 174: Gathering of the Strong (Third Update)

Right after Atreus finished speaking, he saw Superman (Big S) getting hit by Doomsday again, knocked to the ground on the spot.

Unfortunately, some unexpected guests appeared in the sky.

Reporters! Damn reporters again!

Even when S.H.I.E.L.D. is handling business, there are always some reckless people waving the banner of "Freedom of the Press Above All" and barging into the official cordon, trying to capture first-hand news.

Sure enough, they paid the price for it.

Doomsday leaped two hundred meters onto a tall building, and with its left hand, snapped off a massive antenna pole as thick as a meter, like breaking a matchstick, and casually threw it.

"Whoosh—"

A news helicopter flying too close got hit and exploded in mid-air, bursting into a brilliant but terrifying fireball.

Watching the rapidly enlarging antenna pole through the camera lens, the audience in front of their TVs simultaneously shrank their necks in fear.

"Ah!"

Thanks to the sacrifice, the reporters who were shouting "Freedom of the Press!" on the open radio channel just a second ago immediately tucked their tails between their legs, invoking God's name in their hearts as they fled as fast as they could.

This drastic change made Atreus grit his teeth.

"Give it a try, and you might die" isn't just an empty phrase!

Atreus, without mercy, spoke into his earpiece, "Cover us and distract that monster."

Nick Fury didn't hesitate: "Everyone! Maximum firepower! Ten-second burst!"

With his order, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Captain America, Black Widow, and all the S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet pilots at the scene unleashed their most powerful firepower on Doomsday.

Missiles, machine guns, and lasers bombarded the enormous evil body from all sides.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Against any other enemy, even if it didn't cause serious harm, they'd be left dazed and confused by the barrage.

After all, even if it’s immune to fire damage, it should still take some physical impact, right?

However...

"Roar!" Doomsday was only infuriated.

The explosives invented by humans couldn't hurt it at all.

In the blazing sky, the clouds rolled like boiling porridge, and in the center of the flames, a golden dot suddenly appeared, like a glowing red-hot iron rod emerging from a furnace, radiating even more blinding light.

Its brilliance seemed deliberately restrained, merely opening a small passage in the explosion's shockwave, creating only a circular ripple as it surged through.

With a soft "pop," Doomsday only noticed the sudden change above its head when it felt a strong tugging sensation on its neck. The grotesque, bald head raised stiffly, looking at the golden shadow swiftly passing overhead.

It was a golden chariot racing through the sky—

Through the high-magnification footage from a helicopter several kilometers away, viewers in front of their televisions gasped in shock.

"It's Kratos!"

"It's the Chariot of the Gods!"

The unexpected appearance of a powerful stranger finally affected the battlefield. Not only the audience, but even the National Guard soldiers responsible for clearing the area looked up to watch the chariot traversing the night sky.

Including the viewers, at least a billion people watched as Wonder Woman used her Lasso of Truth to tightly lasso Doomsday's neck, dragging this terrifying beast into the air.

"Roar! Roar—" Doomsday roared deafeningly, struggling desperately.

Following the shining golden lasso, immense force was transmitted back, and even with Wonder Woman's extraordinary strength, she could barely hold on.

"Hang in there!" Atreus grabbed the carriage handrail with one hand and helped pull on the lasso around Diana's waist with the other.

A similar surge of force came through, and Diana could clearly feel her burden greatly reduced. She looked back at Atreus in surprise. "Your strength is already comparable to mine?"

No wonder Wonder Woman was surprised; she is a bona fide warrior demigod, Zeus's daughter. Even putting aside her identity as the "God Slayer," purely in terms of raw power, she's among the top of demigods.

She knew that Atreus was a demigod too.

Don't forget, she had sparred with Atreus for a long time—well, it could also be called a one-sided beatdown.

But Atreus's growth rate was simply astonishing.

How long had it been?

Atreus chuckled awkwardly, "Last time, I picked up some strength from the Cursed Warrior."

Wonder Woman gave Atreus a side-eye, as if blaming him: Did he take some cursed power he shouldn't have during an adventure?

But there wasn't time for that now. Even with both their powers combined, the resistance from the lasso was becoming increasingly violent.

Atreus gritted his teeth and tied the other end of the Lasso of Truth to "The Tragedy of Troy."

Now, with the power of two and a half divine horses, plus the divine strength of Penthesilea and Diana, they forcibly dragged the monster away.

Doomsday's power was ridiculously overwhelming. This monster indeed dominated Superman purely with brute force.

Even with the divine might of the enchanted chariot, they still couldn't suppress its strength.

Though it was floating mid-air with no leverage, Doomsday rolled horizontally with great force, causing the chariot to wobble and fly in a bizarre arc through the sky.

"No good! Release the lasso!" Atreus shouted.

Diana had wanted to hold on a bit longer, but she glanced down and realized they had already dragged the monster out of Gotham City.

Gotham City is a massive island; outside the urban area, the population density drops dramatically, not to mention that the area below had been devastated by the Chitauri and was still under reconstruction.

She no longer insisted; as she released her grip, the Lasso of Truth, which had been glowing just moments before, instantly shrank back like a small snake, leaving Doomsday with nothing to grab onto.

Losing its grip, the monster plummeted spectacularly into the ruins below.

"Boom!" The half-collapsed forty-story building couldn't even keep the remaining half intact and crumbled into dust.

The previous dragging wasn’t enough to pose a substantial threat to this Kryptonian monster, but the intense burning pain from the lasso and the feeling of being controlled enraged Doomsday against Atreus and his companions.

How long had it been since it crashed through the building?

Seven seconds?

Eight seconds?

The monster recovered immediately and rocketed out like a missile, targeting the rear of the chariot.

Just then, a red and blue light shot from the direction of Gotham City, instantly reaching the scene like a torpedo, slamming into the monster's left flank and sending it flying.

Superman was back.

Normally, taking a blow like that would cause Superman some damage too. But just as Doomsday's massive fist was about to land, another figure flew in from the horizon and delivered a powerful kick, sending it flying again.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The enormous figure smashed through the ruins of two buildings before stopping.

Superman was a bit surprised, but not entirely, as he eyed the well-built woman in a strange, elliptical metal mask standing in front of him.

Instinctively, he knew she was Faora.

But where had he seen this outfit before?

(End of the Chapter)