HISD Chapter 99 Ancient Doomsday's Recognition
Boom!
The bone-spiked monster plunged straight into the thousand-meter abyss of Mars' battlefield, disappearing without a sound. Its energy and life force seemed to vanish.
"Huff… huff…"
Martian Manhunter Ron and dozens of his kin supported each other as they dropped weakly onto the edge of the abyss, peering downward.
The battlefield was silent. No words, no telepathy—only ragged, exhausted breaths.
Ten seconds passed. Still no movement.
"It's finally over," one hunter muttered in relief, collapsing limply to the ground like a jelly of green slime.
"Yeah, I thought we were all dead."
"Too terrifying. I'll never forget this battle for as long as I live."
"What was that thing anyway? Are there really such terrifying creatures out there in the universe?"
The hunters exchanged weary telepathic thoughts, trembling at the memory.
Martian Manhunter exhaled heavily, his own mind weakened.
This was no victory—only a pyrrhic survival.
The Martians' greatest strength was their mental power, but directly launching psychic attacks was dangerous. If their minds were torn apart, at best they reverted to primal Martian forms, and at worst they died outright.
That was their trump card, their last resort. Fail, and they were finished.
Fortunately, that gray-white bone-spiked monster couldn't withstand the strike.
After all, dozens of Martians had combined their telepathy into one overwhelming assault.
If such a being not only had terrifying physical defense and endless energy absorption, but also an equally unbreakable psychic defense, then it would be truly invincible.
Unstoppable? Who knew. But the Martians, at least, would never have been able to overcome it.
The universe has its balance. Surely it would not allow such an ultimate creature to exist…
Ron thought this as he watched several hunters fly down into the abyss to recover the monster's corpse.
And then—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Those hunters shot back out like rubber balls, slamming into the ground, their bodies broken and useless.
Every Martian froze. Their relief turned to horror as they stared down at the abyss.
From the darkness below, a pair of blazing scarlet eyes reignited.
"No… impossible… it's still alive…"
Dust roared upward.
The black-clad, bone-spiked monster soared out of the abyss, hovering a hundred meters above, looking down at the Martians with cold disdain.
Yi Meng, as Ancient Doomsday, had truly thought he was dead.
Dozens of Martian minds combined, piercing his Kryptonian armor and Doomsday's steel body like psychic blades.
That layered mental assault had briefly surpassed even Dragon Maiden's Phoenix Force.
The psychic blades pierced through his destructive will, striking at the shadow of the Mind Stone. Even the shard's brilliance dimmed, nearly breaking through into his very core of consciousness.
In that instant, Yi Meng felt it—his first true taste of death as Doomsday.
But almost doesn't mean done.
The destructive will had weakened the psychic blow, and the Mind Stone's projection bought him a fraction of time.
At the brink of death, Yi Meng's Kryptonian genes evolved again, repairing the breach in his mind and hardening his defenses even further.
If he were struck again by that same psychic assault, he knew he could withstand it far more easily.
The battle hadn't killed him. It had only made him stronger.
An unexpected gift.
Yi Meng realized even his true mind had gained resistance, feedback from this clash.
Yes. Coming to Mars had been the right choice.
So many durable bodies to fight—self-healing, shape-shifting, limb-regrowing. And now, unexpected growth from their psychic strength. The Martians were growing more and more fascinating…
Of course, Yi Meng would never admit he was some perverse monster. At worst, he was simply… a monster.
While he felt satisfaction, the Martians were drowning in despair.
One by one, the hunters collapsed, their will broken. No matter how Ron called out, they ignored him.
How could they keep fighting? There was no chance of victory left.
"Don't give up! Fight to the last breath!" Ron shouted, teeth clenched. He was terrified too, but he thought of his wife and daughter waiting for him. He had no choice but to rise again, rallying the few who still had courage.
The battle erupted once more, earth and sky shattering.
…
Five minutes later.
Over a hundred hunters lay scattered across the battlefield, not a single one maintaining their humanoid forms, all reverted to weak green slime, drained and broken.
No—one hunter still clung on.
"Everyone… lost…"
Ron lay at the bottom of the abyss, barely conscious, his telepathic link to the others gone. Every hunter had fallen.
Regret? There was no room for regret.
He had only done what he must—fought until the end.
His blurred eyes lifted, seeing the towering bone-spiked monster hovering low before him. With his last strength, he tried to crawl forward.
The monster's gaze fell upon him. Yi Meng's massive figure descended, holding the metal Mother Box in his left hand while his right closed around Ron's skull, lifting him effortlessly.
The Martian's body dangled limp, unable to resist.
As Ron's vision faded to darkness, a deep voice rumbled with grim amusement.
"You… are not bad."
The monster spoke?
Ron had no time to wonder. He collapsed into unconsciousness.
Yi Meng's jagged grin widened. He flung Ron's body away, sending him crashing into the canyon wall hundreds of meters distant.
Then he shot upward, breaking the sound barrier as he left Mars' atmosphere, gazing back down at the planet.
"I'll be back. Don't disappoint me."
His trip to Mars had been very satisfying.
Destroy the Martian civilization? Why bother?
He had his reason and his limits. If the Martians were wiped out, who would he fight? Who would he vent upon?
No—he hoped they lasted much longer. Extinction would only spoil the fun.
But his satisfaction had its end. The Mind Stone's projection was nearly spent, and it was almost time to shift back into the Marvel dreamscape.
Would his old anchor still work?
As Yi Meng pondered, he soared toward Earth.
Then he sensed it—turning his head, he saw a silver alien warship emerging from the depths of space, racing toward Earth as well.
Could it be…
He glanced at the Mother Box in his hand.
Of all times, it had to come now.
Yi Meng shook his head with a grim smile, then angled toward the alien craft.
After the main course, dessert was welcome.
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