Battle Against Jeremy (Part 2)

When Clark collided with that ball of lightning, he only felt his body go slightly numb. Then, he felt a sharp pain in his face before being sent flying by the electrical energy.

The ball of lightning, its momentum undiminished, whistled toward Dilos.

Ever since Jeremy's gaze had shifted to Dilos, the latter had sensed a strong feeling of impending danger. Instinctively, Dilos engaged every muscle in his body, twisting his waist and shifting his feet rapidly to dart away from his original spot.

The next instant, the thick bolt of lightning struck where he had been standing, scorching the earth black.

As soon as he dodged, Dilos shouted indignantly, "Are you kidding me, man? I'm not participating in any 'Scarecrow' activities. I even saved the guy you just sent flying. Clark, tell him, isn't that right?"

As he spoke, he gestured for Jeremy to look at Clark, who was off to the side.

"He's telling the truth; he saved me," Clark's voice came through, though something about it made Dilos feel a bit puzzled—Clark's voice sounded incredibly weak.

Dilos took a subconscious glance, and the moment he saw, he wanted to curse. It turned out that after Clark was sent flying, he had crashed into the surrounding soil, and as luck would have it, there were fragments of Green Kryptonite nearby. Clark was now in such agony that even moving was excruciating.

Was this Clark's bad luck, or Dilos's? Dilos wanted to know, but the current situation didn't allow for contemplation, as Jeremy, that lunatic, was on the move again.

"You've just been fooled by him! He's one of them!" Jeremy roared at Clark, his eyes bloodshot as he pointed a finger at Dilos. Suddenly, thick, rope-like currents of electricity erupted from his body, and he thrust both hands toward Dilos, sending the lightning surging forward!

While this attack wasn't as massive as the previous one, it was faster and covered a wider area. To Dilos, the range of Jeremy's lightning was so broad that it essentially sealed off his path forward, leaving him no choice but to retreat.

A sharp sense of crisis forced Dilos to channel his internal energy, circulating it rapidly through his limbs. His feet moved backward with a gust of wind; his strides were short, but his frequency was incredibly high. In an instant, this allowed Dilos to retreat five or six meters.

However, space was limited, and after those few meters, he collided directly with the corn stalks. Using the strength in his legs, Dilos exerted force through his waist and shoulders to vault himself two or three meters into the air. By then, Jeremy's attack had arrived. Because Dilos's evasion technique was so precise, the lightning missed him, instead striking several stalks of corn.

In mid-air, Dilos pressed his hand against a stalk, using the rebound force to perform a backflip, clearing another few meters before landing deep in the cornfield.

Hiss, hiss...

A dull sound echoed. The stalks struck by the lightning first sparked, then the fire began to spread rapidly.

In a cornfield, aside from specific cleared paths, the vegetation was packed tightly together. Once one spot caught fire, the others followed suit, igniting a blaze.

Jeremy, having lost his sanity, regained a sliver of reason upon seeing the scene. He looked at the expanding fire with a hint of fear and actually turned and ran!

As for Dilos, the moment he landed in the cornfield, he used his movement technique to weave his way out, taking a path adjacent to the direction Jeremy had fled.

Seeing Jeremy's panicked state, Dilos cursed him as a "coward" with disdain. He then rushed back to the original spot, knowing Clark was still trapped there by the Green Kryptonite.

After rushing back, Dilos hoisted the immobile Clark onto his back, plunged into a section of the cornfield untouched by the fire, and fled the area at top speed.

Once they were out, Dilos realized Jeremy had vanished. Not long after moving away from the Green Kryptonite, Clark gradually regained his strength. Seeing this, Dilos set him down. However...

Watching the cornfield being slowly swallowed by flames, Dilos felt conflicted. Business wasn't easy these days, especially for farmers. It wasn't easy to grow such a large field of corn every year; if it kept burning, the entire harvest would be ruined, and the farmer would be devastated. Although it wasn't his fault, he was partially responsible, which left him feeling uneasy.

But when he looked at Clark, his eyes lit up. He feigned regret and said, "If only there were a super-powered mutant around. I hear those types have massive lung capacity. A full breath and a powerful blow could create a gale and put this fire out."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was just enough for Clark to hear.

Dilos knew everything about Superman's abilities. Since this young Superman hadn't fully mastered his powers, he didn't mind "accidentally" guiding him in this situation.

Seeing Clark's eyes flicker, Dilos said, "You stay here; I'll go check LuthorCorp to see if they have a fire extinguisher." Since Clark didn't want to reveal his secrets, he would play along.

With that, he ran off. Once he reached a certain distance, he turned his head and witnessed the scene he had seen countless times in movies from his past life.

In Dilos's eyes, Clark blew furiously at the burning cornfield. A hurricane-like force erupted from his mouth, and within seconds, the flames were extinguished.

"Truly a god-like ability," Dilos sighed. In his past life, Superman was revered by everyone, not just for his noble character, but for his invincible, god-like powers.

Dilos had walked quite far, hiding in a lane near LuthorCorp where Clark couldn't see him. He planned to wait a while before coming out, just to avoid having to listen to whatever bizarre lies that terrible liar Clark might come up with.

But it seemed the heavens didn't intend to let him off. Just as his focus wavered, a sense of crisis surged in his heart again. This time, however, he couldn't dodge in time. The moment he moved, he felt something strike him.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Dilos couldn't stop his body from convulsing. The pain ferociously corroded every nerve in his body, and the smell of burning flesh began to waft from him.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap...

In Dilos's field of vision, a familiar figure slowly appeared, stepping closer and closer.

It was Jeremy!

A sick, twisted smile played on Jeremy's face. "Found you. You'll be the first one..."

Dilos roared in his heart, a surge of fury—or rather, a murderous intent—welling up within him!!!