Superman's Saiyan little brother

"Thank you for your efforts. If it weren't for your intervention, Murphy might have succeeded this time..." The Ancient One looked at Robert and Clark and nodded. These two had done a good deed and deserved acknowledgment, especially Robert.

Clark could be somewhat overlooked by the Ancient One, as this god among men typically refrained from killing unless it involved someone like Robert, a close relative. Even when rescuing people, Clark was mindful of the impact of his actions on ordinary people. As long as his family was safe, he remained in control.

However, Robert was different. Robert enjoyed fighting, and the ferocity of the Great Ape's Rage was never hidden. Additionally, Robert had killed countless people, most of whom had provoked him. Nonetheless, in Robert's eyes, life wasn't particularly precious.

Therefore, the Ancient One felt it necessary to praise Robert a bit, to give him a sense of accomplishment. While it wouldn't guarantee that Robert would firmly stand on the side of lawful good, keeping him neutral was already quite an achievement.

"Were you unaware of Murphy's plan, Ancient One?" Clark asked, a trace of surprise in his eyes. If it were a mundane supernatural event on Earth, the Ancient One might not have paid much attention. However, a major player like Murphy in action should have caught the Ancient One's notice.

"You overestimate me. You aren't omniscient, and neither am I. Regarding events in the dimensions, even if they involve Earth, I can't know everything. Not to mention, Murphy probably covered his tracks quite well..." The Ancient One shook her head and softly explained.

"When I was in the Mirror Dimension with the Saiyan, I did know Murphy had a scheme. But unfortunately, I was unaware of the subspace aspect. If it weren't for your intervention, this would have been troublesome..."

"Even though you defeated Murphy just now, if he had fully manifested his power, neither of us would be his match. With absolute home-field advantage, even together, we wouldn't have been guaranteed a win. Luckily, that scenario didn't occur..."

"It's alright. We're part of Earth too, so this is our duty..." Clark shook his head slowly, smiling.

"It was a bit rushed, though. If he hadn't come over in a hurry, we could have had a proper fight. But due to the urgency, I had to destroy that subspace..." Robert sighed, feeling somewhat regretful.

An opponent like Murphy was rare, especially when Murphy initially controlled the Earth Demon, not yet at an invincible level.

But regardless of his love for battle, Robert couldn't ignore Earth's safety to duel Murphy. If Murphy had achieved his goal, Robert would have been Earth's sinner.

"How about this: in the future, if any dimension lords invade Earth, I'll contact you, okay? Of course, if their power reaches the sub-father level or higher, I won't force you to intervene!" The Ancient One suggested with a smile, her eyes twinkling.

For the Ancient One, this had two benefits: it would let Robert vent his combat desires and save her a lot of effort.

Since helping Wanda capture dimensional creatures and taking a brief vacation, the Ancient One longed for more rest. Unfortunately, her position and responsibilities prevented any real rest.

As for a successor, the Ancient One discovered that before Robert came to Earth, when she could still glimpse through the Time Stone, there was no successor in sight. From her birth, she had been destined to work for Earth's dimension and protect it indefinitely.

In a way, the Ancient One's role was no different from the Shadow Hunters', except her power and range of activities were much greater.

"Sure, if you find any suitable strong opponents, you can contact me. But it needs to be in an appropriate battle arena. This subspace was perfect, where I could fight without holding back..." Robert's eyes lit up as he looked at the Ancient One, smiling.

"Alright, it's settled then. I'll contact you when there's an opportunity." The Ancient One nodded, and a portal of fiery rings opened once again, her figure disappearing.

In comparison, the fiery ring portal made a larger commotion, but it had offensive capabilities and could transport over greater distances, unlike the Guardians' portal, which was limited to Earth.

"Well, I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be off." After the Ancient One left, Clark glanced at Robert, not intending to converse with Constantine, and vanished.

"I'll leave too. If you can't manage, try owing less debt or becoming stronger..." Robert looked at Constantine, shaking his head, advising, "You could have sacrificed Blackheart directly to boost your strength. Why repay the debt? Your debts are already numerous..."

"No choice. The Hell dimension has been too long without a big demon falling. If I don't repay, they'll come for me..." Constantine looked weakly at Robert, the rest of his words unsaid but suggesting Robert might help carry some debt.

Constantine figured that compared to the debt from healing magic, his own debt wasn't much, and Robert could handle it...

"Heh." Robert sneered at Constantine, disappearing, leaving only a voice, "See if you can find more demon lords to help repay your debts!"

"I'll do my best!" Constantine's eyes brightened with renewed hope because Robert's words implied he could continue sacrificing demon lords like Blackheart to repay debts.

As for Robert's suggestion to first increase his own strength, Constantine didn't choose it. His remaining debts were almost due, and a short-term boost in strength wouldn't compare to those dimensional debt collectors.

Especially since Constantine didn't have Robert's audacity and strength to confront and challenge those collectors, sending them back to call for reinforcements...

With a buzz of excitement, Constantine returned to the magic base, searching for opportunities to tempt Hell demon lords.

Murphy's plan had failed, so the Hell dimension demons would continue targeting Earth, giving Constantine his chance.

Meanwhile, in Thor's base, the brainwashing of the Asgardian Four was complete. This time, the brainwashing content and process were planned by Thor himself.

Feeling guilty towards his former companions, Thor couldn't let them follow other Hydra members. Post-brainwashing, he kept them as the highest-ranking members in the base, second only to him.

The special brainwashing kept the Asgardian Four mostly unchanged, except for loyalty to help Thor establish his own empire on Earth.

Their strength also saw a significant boost as they successfully injected the Super Soldier Serum.

Thor's success with the serum wasn't accidental. It enhanced the human part of the Asgardian Four's power, not their divine strength, which wasn't affected by the serum.

The revival of Hydra's base strength was gradual under Thor and the Asgardian Four's training. Though the number of beast soldiers didn't increase rapidly, the number of super soldiers grew significantly.

The individual strength of the beast soldiers also saw notable improvement, thanks to the Asgardian Four's unique interpretation of their experiments.

Though the Four hadn't seen beast soldiers before Earth, similar beings existed in the universe. Their understanding helped improve the original experiments.

This divergence meant Thor's Hydra base evolved differently from Baron Strucker's, whose current status was unknown.

Baron Strucker likely didn't anticipate that while he hid and developed quietly, Hydra leadership shifted from Valmont to Tohru, and then to Thor, a rapid succession surprising other Hydra factions.

This speed made other factions look down on Thor's, seeing it as lacking heritage, a "new money" group. They couldn't imagine Thor's plan to eventually absorb all Hydra...

However, before Thor's plan began, he faced a challenger: Tohru had returned!

In the mountain previously breached by Barry Allen, in a dark corner, a shadowy space concealed Tohru's body. The Shadow Mask's power was eroding Tohru's consciousness.

But Tohru wasn't to be underestimated. A martial arts master who successfully injected the Super Soldier Serum, Tohru walked his own path of strength with firm will and extraordinary power, surpassing regular super soldiers. Even Thor, before awakening his divine power, hadn't progressed as far on this path.

The Shadow Mask struggled to control Tohru's body. Without Tohru's injuries, it wouldn't have had much time to confront his consciousness, let alone cause his prolonged coma.

Now awakened, Tohru suppressed the Shadow Mask's consciousness and harnessed its power, gaining formidable dark abilities.

"Shadow Mask, Shadow Legion... I never expected to gain this power!" Tohru murmured, wearing the horned Shadow Mask. "The Saint Lord controlled the Shadow Legion but never had the mask. How did he manage that? The Shadow Mask's power exceeds my imagination..."

With a hum, shadow soldiers appeared around Tohru. Unlike previous Shadow Legion members, these soldiers looked like small sharks, tiny compared to pets but with superior stealth.

More importantly, they had a latent power surpassing other Shadow Legions: consuming other creatures' shadows.

As they devoured more shadows, their power would grow, potentially surpassing all Shadow Legions.

"Let's see where my subordinates are and what they're doing. I hope they haven't been killed by those electricity wielders or fast runners..." Tohru's eyes glinted as he spoke, and shadow soldiers melted into the darkness, seeking his original subordinates.

With the Shadow Mask, Tohru no longer feared Peter Parker or Barry Allen, as the mask granted formidable escape abilities and the shadow soldiers' shadow-consuming power was a hidden trump card.

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