I Just Want to Beat You All to Death, or Be Beaten to Death by You All!

Not far outside the building, Frank pressed the detonator.

BOOM—!!

In a flash of fire, the dozens-story-tall building collapsed instantly. Billowing smoke curled endlessly upward, and black soot spread across a twenty-meter radius.

That was not all. After the building exploded, a series of muffled explosions echoed from the bottom of the underground pit.

"Phew."

Frank waved away the dust before his eyes and lifted his finger from the detonator button. Drawing on his military experience, he made a confident judgment.

"There's no way an ordinary human body could survive an explosion of this magnitude."

With that, Frank leaned against the wall and calmly lit himself a cigarette.

"That's right. Even if Fire Cloud Evil God somehow survived the blast, he'd be buried alive beneath tons of collapsed earth and stone!" Matt agreed.

Supporting Danny, Luke added, "Even with my defensive abilities, I couldn't possibly survive an explosion like that!"

Chun-Li holstered her gun and nodded. "Frank's analysis is logical and well-supported. Very convincing!"

Everyone's responses made Jessica feel like she had to say something. She smacked her lips twice, then forced out a dry, single word.

"Right!"

Everyone turned to look at her strangely.

"Perfect. You're all right!"

Awkwardly clapping her hands, Jessica wished she could crawl into a crack in the ground if one existed beneath her feet.

This was too embarrassing.

Why did she always feel so out of place with these guys? So depressing...

Leaning against the wall, the group relaxed, all convinced that Fire Cloud Evil God was dead this time.

But reversals were like slaps to the face—they came fast and loud!

"Hahahaha! I, Fire Cloud Evil God, am out!"

With a thunderous crash, the ground not far ahead rapidly caved in, revealing a hole.

Flames and black smoke rose from Fire Cloud Evil God's entire body as he laughed wildly, kicked his legs, and shot out of the hole with a whoosh.

His face was covered in soot and blood, and large patches of his skin had been burned. His blackened undershirt hung from him pitifully like strips of tattered cloth.

Even his pants had burned away, leaving only a ridiculous thong on his body. His slippers were spitting sparks, with less than half of each one left.

His cracked lips trembled twice, then he spat out a mouthful of black smoke. Under the Defenders' stunned gazes, he declared:

"Now... I just want to beat you all to death, or be beaten to death by you all!"

Matt: "..."

Luke: "..."

Chun-Li: "..."

Jessica: "..."

[Emotion Points from Matt Murdock +603]

[Emotion Points from Luke Cage +611]

[Emotion Points from Jessica Jones +607]

They all turned in unison to look at the person who had been so certain just moments ago.

"..."

The cigarette dangling from Frank's mouth fell to the ground with a smack. His eyes widened, and he looked as though he had seen a ghost.

[Emotion Points from Frank Castle +700]

"Hmph."

Fire Cloud Evil God naturally saw the shock in their eyes.

To be honest, the explosion had been so powerful that even if his strength had doubled, he still would not have been able to escape alive!

The main reason he had managed to get out was the mysterious energy contained within the Dragon Bone.

This energy was of extremely high quality and had remarkable healing effects.

"Unfortunately... the explosion came just as I was at the critical stage of absorbing it."

Not only had more than half the energy been wasted, but in order to withstand the immense pressure of the earth and stone and escape, he had also released the already precious energy to blast open a path!

If not for the remaining energy still supporting his body, Fire Cloud Evil God would have been unable to hold on any longer.

His martial arts prowess had plummeted, and his body was covered in injuries. Like a wolf driven into a corner by hunters, he was at his most dangerous moment.

"It was those self-proclaimed heroes who ruined my plans!"

The thought only deepened his killing intent.

Thus, the battle erupted without any suspense.

Luke charged at the front, with Jessica and Matt covering the left and right flanks.

Frank provided long-range support as the gunman, while Chun-Li temporarily stayed out of the battle to move Danny and Elektra's bodies somewhere safe.

Bang!

The moment they clashed, Luke realized something was wrong with Fire Cloud Evil God's condition.

His strength had dropped severely. Just taking one of Luke's punches made both his arms tremble, forcing him to use some incomprehensible technique to deflect the force.

Though it looked impressive, Luke knew exactly what was going on.

"Matt, Jessica, his physical condition is terrible. He's seriously injured!"

Hearing Luke's warning, Jessica and Matt seized the opportunity and swiftly launched a fierce assault.

Jessica's punch had too many openings, and Fire Cloud Evil God gritted his teeth and dodged it. But Matt's baton struck him squarely across the left side of the face, throwing off his balance and making him stagger backward.

Bang!

From behind, Frank seized the chance and followed up with a shot, landing a vicious hit on Fire Cloud Evil God's thigh.

Blood sprayed, blossoming into a crimson flower on his thigh. Fire Cloud Evil God's right foot twisted, and he nearly toppled over.

"Nice one, Frank!"

"Don't let your guard down. Victory is right in front of us!"

"I'll hold the front and find a way to trap him. You three focus on attacking!"

With delight in his eyes, Luke shouted as he threw punch after punch.

Their eyes shone as though they could already see the hope of victory.

But as he blocked their attacks, Fire Cloud Evil God saw things differently.

Because of his injuries, he could currently unleash less than thirty percent of his strength.

Yet the power of the Dragon Bone was continuously healing his body, allowing his strength to slowly recover.

"No choice."

A trace of reluctance flashed through Fire Cloud Evil God's heart as he crazily circulated the Six Treasury Immortal Thieves, accelerating the consumption of the Dragon Bone's power.

This would raise his strength for a short time, but it would leave behind serious aftereffects.

Still, at least for now, he had to make sure he killed every last one of them!

As the Dragon Bone's power was rapidly consumed, his strength soared, breaking through to an entirely new level in a short span of time.

The situation on the battlefield changed just as rapidly.

First, he struck Luke squarely in the chest with a palm, sending him flying. Then he kicked Jessica and Matt heavily away with his left and right legs.

Frank kept firing bullets, trying to disrupt Fire Cloud Evil God's movements.

But this time, Fire Cloud Evil God turned his attention to him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

His footsteps shifted in rapid succession, his body flashing repeatedly in a Z-shaped path. With a powerful leap, Fire Cloud Evil God reached out and grabbed for Frank's throat.

Frank reacted with exceptional decisiveness. He first threw out a flashbang to blind his opponent, then immediately pulled out two grenades, tossed them forward, and rapidly retreated.

Hearing something flying toward him, Fire Cloud Evil God instinctively extended his palm.

But what awaited him was not some hidden weapon, but grenades with their pins pulled.

The instant his palm made contact, Fire Cloud Evil God's heart skipped a beat. He exerted force through his hand, trying to slap the grenades away.

But Frank had anticipated that move.

With two booming explosions in the air, one of his arms was blown to pieces on the spot.

"Frank—"

A flashbang was useless against a blind man. Seeing what had happened, Matt was so tense that his heart nearly leaped from his chest.

[Emotion Points from Matt Murdock +631]

"Cough, cough. I miscalculated. My contempt for firearms made me overlook something like grenades."

Holding Frank high in the air by the throat with his right hand, Fire Cloud Evil God coughed up blood and reflected on his mistake.

After being hit by two grenades, the Dragon Bone's power within him had nearly run dry, and his left arm had been severed and was bleeding profusely.

"Since I made my name, I, Fire Cloud Evil God, have never suffered such a great loss.

"Especially not at the hands of some brat who uses firearms and knows nothing of martial arts!"

The more sincerely he spoke, the more his killing intent boiled.

Watching the Defenders in the distance desperately charge toward him, Fire Cloud Evil God slightly tightened his grip and sneered.

"Be on your way."

Thanks to Fengdu714 for the tip.

Special thanks to reader 20220727190332578 for the 20,000 Qidian Coins tip (●ˇˇ●).