*Chapter 143: Self-Conquest (Third Update)*

How do you properly communicate with an extreme Kryptonian supremacist?

The answer might just be: beat them!

Beat them mercilessly!

"Hahahaha! Hahahahaha—"

The queen's wild, arrogant laughter echoed across the vast, desolate desert, where few people roamed for hundreds of square kilometers.

Her beautiful legs moved at a speed imperceptible to human eyes, while one seemingly slender arm firmly pressed Faora-Ul's face into the ground, dragging it furiously across the desert’s mixture of sand and wind-eroded rocks.

The queen used Faora’s head like the world’s best plow, carving deep trenches one after another into the desert floor.

Faora didn’t try to fight back—well, she did, but every punch and kick was blocked by the queen’s overwhelming speed and strength.

Soon enough, the Kryptonian lieutenant’s limbs were once again broken.

Yet the damn sun kept providing her with immense energy, constantly repairing her battered body.

She couldn’t win!

No matter what, she couldn’t win!

“I... I will never surrender!”

“Really? Good! Keep going—”

Over and over, she was beaten to death, only to revive, and be beaten again.

Each time Faora died, the queen would take a brief rest. Then she’d resume, turning the Kryptonian into a human punching bag from noon until the sun went down.

Was Faora scared? No one knew.

But Catwoman, Helen, and the Canary sisters, who had accompanied Atreus to watch, were terrified.

Atreus sighed, pulling out a video clip of General Zod before his death:

"There’s no other way! To the end, General Zod saw humans as weak and lowly ants, and he viewed Superman, who chose to become one of them, as a 'disgraceful Kryptonian traitor.' To deal with someone like that, you must first be stronger than them. Make them realize you’re more powerful, more exceptional. Only then will they talk to you properly. And I just so happen to need someone who can pilot a Kryptonian spaceship.”

Atreus’s explanation reached Selina’s ears, and the proud Catwoman scoffed: “Hmph! So, in the end, you’re just using violence to conquer another woman.”

Unexpectedly, the queen’s cold laugh interrupted them.

“Don’t always assume women are the weaker ones. Back in the day, I slaughtered several Greek cities and took great pleasure in hearing thousands of men beg for mercy at my feet.” As she spoke, the queen lifted Faora’s limp body and tossed her to the ground. “There’s no grand philosophy here. This is simply the story of a failed conqueror who became the spoils of war.”

Brutal, straightforward, and the law of the jungle.

The queen’s words made so much sense, Catwoman couldn’t even come up with a retort.

It was true, modern women couldn’t understand the mindset of these fierce Amazon warriors.

And yet, Catwoman couldn’t adopt the Amazonian ways either—choosing a man she liked, taking him as a mate, and then discarding him, like in a matriarchal society.

So, she could only stew in her frustration.

Atreus found it amusing and turned to the Kryptonian lieutenant, who was barely clinging to life. He asked, “Who are you?”

“I am... Faora-Ul...” As she spoke, she felt a terrifying gaze fall upon her.

Faora suddenly shuddered. This vicious Amazon queen would truly kill her. Not once or twice, but no matter how many times she revived, she would be killed again and again, making her existence a living hell.

If it were someone else, she would never yield.

But she couldn’t forget that the first time, it was Atreus’s overwhelming power, far surpassing that of Penthesilea, that had instantly killed her.

Not to mention, Atreus controlled her very soul.

Even though she was filled with unwillingness, Faora still recited the words the queen had forced her to learn, like a schoolchild: “I am your most loyal... servant, Master Atreus...”

That word, laden with shame, barely left her lips. Just saying this much felt like she had thrown away all her Kryptonian pride and exhausted every last bit of strength in her body.

Faora immediately felt the slender hand gripping her throat tighten.

Am I going to die again?

At that moment, Atreus gave the queen a look, and she loosened her grip.

Air, long missed, rushed back into Faora’s lungs. She felt as though she had once again narrowly escaped death.

Suddenly, she noticed Atreus draping a cloak over her shoulders. In the freezing desert, where temperatures had plunged below zero, the cloak provided her with a faint warmth.

Despite being beaten continuously for over eight hours, she hadn’t shed a single tear.

Yet now, Faora’s tears burst forth like a broken dam, streaming down her once delicate face, turning her into a sobbing mess.

She felt like she was going crazy because, deep inside, a tiny sliver of gratitude toward Atreus was growing.

Abruptly, with a “clink,” two necklaces were thrown to the ground in front of her.

One of them had a green pendant that emitted a power that terrified her to her very soul—it was Kryptonite!

Faora immediately understood their intent: though Atreus and this powerful Amazon queen could have easily dealt with her in other ways, they had chosen brute force to make her realize the insurmountable gap between her and her “master.”

And the other necklace?

The golden one was beautiful, styled in a Kryptonian design, with Atreus’s name engraved on it.

When Kryptonians conquered a new planet, they used these necklaces during their grand triumphal parades, hanging them around the necks of the planet’s intelligent beings as a display of their might.

With trembling hands, Faora finally placed the golden necklace around her own neck.

What irony!

She once believed General Zod was always right!

She once believed that killing all humans would revive Krypton!

She once believed herself to be a fearless warrior who would never surrender!

Now, everything she once took pride in had been utterly shattered. She had willingly become the servant of a mere human.

No!

Master Atreus isn’t human!

Queen Penthesilea had said that he became a noble Olympian demigod by slaying a powerful one!

Hahaha! I understand now! General Zod didn’t lose to some mere humans; he lost to the divine power of the Olympian gods.

Krypton wasn’t wrong! We just foolishly picked a stronger opponent.

No wonder we lost!

We deserved it!

To Atreus, the scene unfolding before him was incredibly bizarre.

One second, Faora-Ul had been devastated and completely hopeless. The next second... could you believe it? There was a spark in her eyes.

She bowed deeply to Atreus, and when she lifted her head, there was a peculiar devotion and clear fanaticism in her gaze.

“I’ve figured it out.”

“Hm?”

“Kryptonians are strong, which is why I always believed Krypton shouldn’t have been destroyed. But in the face of the Olympian gods, Kryptonians are just small, pitiful creatures. In that case, there’s no shame in serving a true power. I—Faora-Ul—am willing to pledge my complete loyalty to you, Master Atreus.”

Atreus: ?????

Wait, did she just conquer herself?

(End of Chapter)