All along, Zod's goal had been to rebuild a Kryptonian homeland on Earth.
But now—
The World Engine was gone!
His loyal subordinates were gone!
And just moments ago, he'd watched Clark destroy his last shred of hope!
Krypton's future… gone too!!
He'd lost everything—what reason did he have left not to go mad?
Amid the ruins of the city, Zod stepped out of the crashed ship, one foot at a time. He reached out, catching a piece of ash drifting down from the sky—like his dreams.
Reduced to ashes!
"My people were my everything!"
Zod dropped to his knees with a thud.
"Everything I did—all of it—was for Krypton! For its people!"
"But now—"
Zod snapped his head up, bloodshot eyes locking onto Clark standing in the distance.
"But now I've lost my people!"
"It's you! You, Kal-El! You destroyed my hope! Krypton's hope!!!"
Zod roared with fury, his voice so powerful it kicked up waves of dust.
"Zod, I didn't want this either. You forced my hand!"
Clark's face was etched with sorrow. Destroying Krypton's future with his own hands hurt him too.
But between Krypton and Earth, he'd chosen Earth.
Krypton's future mattered, but it shouldn't come at the cost of sacrificing Earth!
Zod's insane plan had left him no choice.
"You chose these humans over Krypton!" Zod bellowed. "Kal-El! You're Krypton's sinner!!!"
Clark had no rebuttal.
To Krypton, maybe he was a sinner.
But if being a hero to Krypton meant sacrificing billions of humans—
He'd rather be the sinner!
"Now, I have nothing left!" Zod stared coldly at Clark. "All I have is this one life."
"Zod, you still have another choice!"
Clark shouted.
Too many had died today.
He didn't want to fight anymore—or kill Zod, possibly one of the last three Kryptonians alive!
"Another choice?" Zod suddenly burst into laughter.
"You think I, the supreme military commander of Krypton, would fear a traitor raised on a farm?!"
Bang!
A figure landed beside Zod.
A hand clapped onto his shoulder.
"Zod, give it up," Azuma said, appearing behind him.
But in reality…
Ding!
[Would you like to extract a character trait from the target "Dru-Zod"?]
[Detected that the target "Dru-Zod" possesses multiple character traits. Please select one for extraction!]
Whoosh!
A list unfurled before his eyes.
—
[Great General]
[The morale of the army you lead will be harder to break, and your subordinates will be more loyal to you!]
—
[Kryptonian Criminal]
[You've committed grave crimes, making you repulsive in the eyes of the lawful good. First impressions will be terrible, but conversely, you'll seem especially appealing to the chaotic evil, making it easier to gain followers from that alignment!]
—
[Steel Body Big Boss]
[You'll gain the full power of General Zod, the big boss of the Man of Steel universe. However, one mountain can't hold two tigers— the original boss, General Zod, will despise you to the core!]
—
Zod had three traits.
The first two were useless—Azuma had no army to lead and no interest in cozying up to chaotic evil types.
And—
Compared to the third trait—
The first two were trash!
Without hesitation, he chose the third.
"System, extract the [Steel Body Big Boss] trait!"
Azuma commanded silently.
The next second—
Ding!
[Extraction successful!]
The trait was pulled in an instant.
Just like when he'd extracted Clark's [Steel Body Superman] trait—lightning fast.
In a flash—
Azuma felt his power surge to new heights.
Not just strength—
Every aspect of his physical stats and abilities spiked dramatically!
Whoosh!
He opened his system panel to check the updates.
—
[Name: Azuma Shoyo]
[Gender: Male]
[Lifespan: 17/400 (years)]
[Strength: 1.68 million tons]
[Defense: Can withstand a 20-million-ton equivalent nuclear blast]
[Speed: 416 Mach]
[Bloodline: Kryptonian]
[Superpowers: Stellar Energy, Heat Vision, Bio-Force Field, Super Breath, Super Vision, Super Hearing, Super Brain…]
[Extracted Traits: Steel Body Superman, Steel Body Big Boss]
[Extraction Count: 0]
—
On the panel, his strength had jumped by 850,000 tons!
Speed rocketed from 206 Mach to 416 Mach.
And—
Defense had doubled.
Even a 20-million-ton nuclear blast to the face wouldn't faze him!
Beyond that—
His superpowers and bloodline didn't seem to change much on paper.
But in reality, their effects had nearly doubled!
Not bad!
Worthy of General Zod, the big boss of Man of Steel—damn impressive!!
Azuma gazed at the kneeling Zod with appreciation.
But Zod whipped around, glaring at him with pure hatred.
"I almost forgot about you, traitor!"
Zod snarled through gritted teeth.
The next second, he swung a fist.
BOOM—
Dust billowed as Azuma caught Zod's punch with one hand.
"That all you got? Didn't eat breakfast?"
Azuma grinned, then—under Zod's furious, splitting gaze—slammed a fist into his face.
Bang!
A figure skidded across the ground.
With a BOOM, Zod crashed headfirst into the half-ruined husk of a building!
Whoosh!
Azuma floated into the air, calmly looking down at the wreckage.
Almost instantly—
BOOM!!!
A towering beam of heat vision erupted from the ruins, blasting toward Azuma in midair.
--- Translator Note ---
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