Under the relentless assaults of the demon army, the Skrulls quickly began seeking reinforcements as Robert had anticipated. What if the reinforcements turned out to be too powerful for the hell demons to handle? That wasn't Robert's concern. After all, weren't the so-called hell demons and hell lords just expendable resources? As long as they lured the Skrulls from elsewhere into the trap, their mission was considered complete—even if it cost them their lives.
Moreover, replenishing the ranks of hell lords was a trivial task for Robert. Even the territorial overlords of hell wouldn't dare to intervene, fearing the potential losses from opposing him.
As Robert watched, the Skrulls fell one by one to the demon horde. Similarly, many demons perished at the hands of the Skrulls. However, the sheer numbers of the demon army far exceeded the Skrulls, and the demons held no fear of death.
In fact, under the orders of their hell lords, the demons had no choice. Dying to the Skrulls was far preferable to facing their masters' wrath.
Thus, the Skrulls suffered heavy casualties under the unrelenting attacks. Fortunately, their advanced technology provided some reprieve—not only in the form of robust defenses but also through superior long-range space travel capabilities.
Some Skrull ships began retreating through wormholes back to their homeworld, intending to mount a coordinated counteroffensive against the demons.
As for how much of the Skrulls' technological prowess was self-developed and how much was stolen or copied from other civilizations? That remained unknown.
What was clear, however, was that their technology had so far managed to safeguard their home planet, holding off a full-scale invasion until reinforcements arrived.
"Hell demons? Why are they attacking us?"
"It doesn't matter! Kill them all first; we'll figure out the reasons later!"
"Damn it! If only we could find a way to elevate all our people to Super Skrulls, we wouldn't be struggling with these weak demons!"
Even though some of the hell demons were weak enough to lose to an armed civilian, ordinary Skrulls couldn't mimic their forms. This limitation seemed rooted in a genetic lock within their bodies, preventing them from replicating any extraordinary powers that exceeded these genetic confines—unless they evolved into Super Skrulls.
However, Super Skrulls were not particularly common. They weren't as rare as Super Saiyans from Dragon Ball, but they were scarce enough.
Robert's capture of several dozen Super Skrulls hinted at this rarity. When the Skrulls invaded Earth, they had sent tens of thousands of troops, but among them, there were only a few dozen Super Skrulls. Even if this wasn't their total number, it underscored their scarcity.
As a result, it wasn't the mightiest and fastest Super Skrulls who returned first but rather ordinary Skrulls, forced to abandon their missions in other civilizations.
Robert's strategy had completely disrupted the Skrulls' broader invasion plans. Their species had been simultaneously infiltrating multiple civilizations. Now exposed, resuming these plans would require significant time and effort, possibly even new disguises.
Unless the Skrulls faced extinction now, these plans were irreparably derailed.
"Hell demons? Perfect! Let's deploy our newly developed pseudo-demon army against them!"
As time passed and more Skrulls perished, the first wave of Super Skrull reinforcements arrived. This group was disguised as a strike force from Apokolips, complete with an army of pseudo-demons that rivaled the scale of a true Apokoliptian invasion.
It was unclear how these Super Skrulls achieved such a feat. The pseudo-demon army, though massive, was clearly not created by Apokolips, as all original Apokoliptian pseudo-demons and their planets had been eradicated. Evidently, some civilization had been overrun by this group of Super Skrulls, enabling the production of such a force.
"A pseudo-demon army?" Robert's eyes showed a flicker of surprise when he saw them. For a moment, he thought some of Darkseid's forces had escaped earlier battles.
But once he realized the army was the handiwork of the Super Skrulls, Robert refrained from intervening. He was well aware of the pseudo-demons' strength; they could handle multiple ordinary demons at once. It suited him perfectly to let both sides deplete each other's forces.
Unexpectedly, while Robert chose not to act, the Super Skrulls made him their primary target.
Initially, Robert's hidden chamber remained unnoticed amidst the chaos between the Skrulls and the demons. But with the arrival of the Super Skrulls, the situation changed.
Some among them seemed to possess special sensory abilities, detecting the captured Super Skrulls within Robert's chamber. These captives, who had revealed the coordinates of the Skrull homeworld under soul-wrenching torment, were still alive—trapped in unbearable agony.
Perhaps through a shared connection or copied abilities, the newly arrived Super Skrulls swiftly identified Robert as the root cause of their crisis.
"Attack! Blow that thing apart!"
Gathering outside the chamber, the Super Skrulls hesitated momentarily at the sight of a seamless structure floating in space. However, they quickly launched a coordinated assault.
Rays of dazzling energy lit up the void, but their attacks failed to leave a mark on the chamber's walls or even push it out of position.
"What is this?" The Super Skrulls were bewildered. Despite their ability to dismantle starships with ease, they couldn't even scratch this peculiar structure.
"That material is extraordinary," Silver Surfer remarked to Robert.
"Yes, it's a special metal I developed," Robert replied with a slight smirk.
He wasn't entirely lying. The metal wasn't native to this universe—it was from the Dragon Ball universe, an upgraded version of the material that had once broken the Z Sword: Katchin.
Katchin, while incredibly durable, wasn't indestructible. Every material had its limits, including Vibranium and Katchin. But the Super Skrulls before him clearly lacked the means to breach it.
Frustrated and unable to penetrate the chamber, the Super Skrulls' efforts only resulted in their capture by Robert. Like their predecessors, they were subjected to excruciating torment.
Meanwhile, the hell demons, now facing less opposition, continued their slaughter of ordinary Skrulls and their families.
Ironically, if the Super Skrulls had coordinated with their pseudo-demon army instead of targeting Robert, they could have annihilated the demon forces entirely. But their misjudgment sealed their fate.
One after another, Super Skrulls fell to Robert's traps, while the pseudo-demon army succumbed to the hell demons' overwhelming numbers.
As the pseudo-demon army was wiped out, the Skrulls on the planet were left defenseless. The demons unleashed their full savagery, massacring every Skrull indiscriminately.
With the ordinary Skrulls exterminated, the remaining Super Skrulls grew increasingly desperate, launching frenzied assaults to save their comrades, only to fall into Robert's hands. His chamber expanded continually to accommodate the growing number of prisoners.
"Robert! What are you doing?" Suddenly, Carol appeared outside the chamber, her expression filled with anger and despair. "Why are you attacking the Skrulls? I worked so hard to help them rebuild their home…"
Before she could finish, Robert's energy blast pierced her body.
His cold voice echoed in her mind: "This is why I despise your race. Your shameless masquerades are revolting."
"You…" Carol's form shifted into that of a Skrull, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"Did you really think such pathetic tactics could fool everyone?" Robert sneered, his disdain unmistakable.
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