Speed Combat and Poison Needles Against Arrows
Zeus's roar shattered the glass facades of the entire Washington District, and lightning crackled between his beard, enough to destroy the city.
"You lowly ants!" His golden lightning tore through the sky. "How dare you blaspheme the power of Olympus! Hand over my useless daughter! Then! Kneel and die!"
His roar once again caused golden lightning to flash, and several tall buildings were reduced to ashes in the lightning.
Ares walked down Pennsylvania Avenue in his burning military boots, and with each step he took, blood-stained swords sprouted from the ground.
The God of War casually grabbed a chariot and tossed it into the air, where his black-flaming sword cleaved it in two. "Father, no need for further words! They deserved to die for blaspheming the power of Olympus! Let us utterly destroy this mortal kingdom!"
Artemis stood atop a tall building, her silver bow freezing three city blocks simultaneously with each full draw.
Her emerald eyes reflected the fleeing Washington District garrison. "Pathetic mortals, they don't even know the joy of hunting." A Crystal arrow pierced through five armored vehicles, freezing them into ice sculptures.
Tony, carrying Batman on his back and holding Barry in one arm, fled in a disheveled state, with Hermes constantly leaving afterimages in the air behind him, sometimes appearing on the walls, sometimes on the roof.
Sometimes, he would appear in front of Tony, legs crossed, tossing his scepter around, and say, "Iron Man, run faster, I've been waiting for you for ages."
Tony's nanotech armor blared with alarms, its thrusters spewing chaotic sparks. "Attention all!" he roared into the comms, "That old man with the electric shocks is turning Washington D. C. into a barbecue grill! We need—"
"Watch your left."
Quicksilver's voice was exceptionally clear amidst the explosion. Tony whirled around and saw a golden streak of light glide past his visor. The Libra Cloth reflected twelve weapon phantoms as Quicksilver's right leg, accompanied by a sonic boom, slammed into Hermes' chest.
"Bang!"
The divine messenger's scepter flew from his hand, smashing into the ground and creating a crater twenty meters in diameter. Hermes crashed through three buildings before barely coming to a stop. Wiping the golden divine blood from the corner of his mouth, he stared incredulously at the dented footprint on his chest. "Mortal... dared..."
Quicksilver had already assumed the Libra stance, twelve phantom weapons spinning behind him. "Courier delivered, super fast!" He winked at Tony, "Captain and the others are on their way—atop Zeus's head."
The sky suddenly tore open, Thor, enveloped in a thunderous roar, swooped down, Mjolnir trailing a hundred-meter-long bolt of blue lightning. "Zeus!" Thor's roar echoed as the lightning struck.
The Odin sneered and raised his hand. Golden lightning bolts soared into the sky like a giant dragon. The moment the two divine lightning bolts collided, the entire city was illuminated by a blinding light, and the shockwave overturned buildings within a radius of a thousand meters.
Ares was about to Charge when a huge shadow suddenly fell over his head. Hulk, clad in the Taurus Cloth, fell like a meteorite, his molten fist slamming into the face of the God of War: "Hulk —crush Red Eye!" The black flame longsword collided with the bull-horned gauntlets, and the sparks ignited the entire street.
Fifteen crimson streaks ripped across the sky as Natasha's scorpion stinger precisely intercepted Artemis's ice arrows. "Goddess of the Hunt?" A cold glint flashed in Black Widow's eyes. "Let me teach you how to assassinate." She suddenly appeared behind Artemis, her stinger aimed straight for Artemis's back.
Steve's Vibranium Shield clashed violently with Hercules' mace, the shockwave shattering the remaining glass around them. The Leo Cloth erupted with golden light, constantly flowing over Steve's body, while the demigod hero's muscles bulged like mountains.
"Captain America?" Hercules grinned. "A mortal can withstand my power? You're a worthy opponent!!"
Hermes' figure suddenly transformed into twelve afterimages, his scepter drawing golden trails in the air.
"Ding ding ding--"
The sounds of metal clashing mingled together as Quicksilver's Libra Sword and the Divine Messenger's scepter clashed hundreds of times in 0.01 seconds, sparks weaving a web of light between the two.
"Interesting!" Hermes' voice came from all directions. His afterimage was still speaking on the left, while his true form had already appeared behind Quicksilver on the right. The scepter slammed into the back of Quicksilver's head with a whooshing sound, but was blocked by the suddenly appearing Holy Shield.
Quicksilver turned around, creating a sonic boom. "Extreme Speed, and express service!" His spinning kick Wind Cutter the entire building, and in the instant Hermes dodged, the Libra Sword was already pressed against his throat.
"Boom!"
Both were thrown into the air by the explosion— Zeus's thunderbolt had struck the battlefield by mistake.
Hermes adjusted his posture in mid-air, his scepter striking the ground to bring him to a stop; Quicksilver, meanwhile, used the falling rubble to bounce back, his Cloth shimmering with golden light.
"Mortal, what is your name?" Hermes wiped the golden blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Quicksilver!" Quicksilver's Holy Sword shone with golden light once more, and the two transformed into intertwined beams of light that pierced through the entire street, leaving behind only the continuous clanging of metal in their wake.
Two golden streaks of light collided wildly amidst the city ruins, each collision unleashing a blinding burst of light. Hermes' scepter suddenly changed its attack, splitting into twelve afterimages the instant Quicksilver parried—"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The Holy Sword barely blocked the first eleven blows, and the final blow slammed into Quicksilver's left shoulder, shards of his Cloth mingling with blood.
"Cough..." Quicksilver staggered and knelt on one knee, but suddenly revealed a blood-stained smile. Hermes' pupils shrank sharply—he had stepped into the Libra Cloth's weapon trap. Twelve golden weapons burst from the ground, instantly piercing through the messenger's limbs.
"Ah!!" Hermes screamed as Quicksilver charged forward, his golden three-section staff merging into one long staff and slamming heavily into Hermes' abdomen.
"Boom--"
Hermes crashed into the Capitol Building, his scepter clattering to the ground. He was in excruciating pain and struggled to his feet.
A golden light appeared before him, Quicksilver, shielded by the Libra Shield, slammed into Hermes once more.
"Puff!"
Hermes spewed out a sky full of divine blood.
Quicksilver pressed his advantage, nunchucks appearing in his hands as he flashed around Hermes, each strike landing heavily on Hermes' head.
"Lie down!"
With his final blow, Quicksilver, wielding his club, descended from the sky like a meteorite, striking Hermes on the head.
"Boom!!"
The Capitol Building collapsed under the immense impact, sending dust and debris billowing into the sky.
As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, Quicksilver slumped onto the ruins, his chest heaving violently.
"Huff... huff..." Each breath carried the stench of blood. He looked down at the unconscious messenger of the gods— Hermes' golden crown shattered, his face, which always wore a mocking smile, now contorted in agony.
The distant thunder of Thor and Zeus's battle echoed through the air. Quicksilver smirked, "Looks like... my delivery... is faster than Thor's..." He tried to stand up, but coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The rubble suddenly rolled. Quicksilver's pupils contracted sharply, only to see that Hermes' fingers were merely twitching unconsciously—the divine messenger had indeed completely lost his fighting ability.
Quicksilver lay on his back on the ruins, gazing at the sky torn apart by the war of gods, his blood-stained fingers slowly making a "V" sign.
On the other side, a fierce battle is raging between Black Widow and the goddess of the hunt (who is also the moon goddess).
Natasha's stinger sliced through the frozen air, suddenly turning three inches behind Artemis's neck—"Clang!"
An icy arrow precisely intercepted the poisoned needle, and the figure of the goddess of the hunt disintegrated into seven phantoms under the moonlight, each phantom holding a different bow-drawing posture.
"You are more interesting than those fleeing prey." Artemis's voice came from six directions at the same time. A seventh arrow suddenly shot out from Natasha's shadow. As Black Widow spun to dodge, the arrowhead grazed her waist and instantly froze her tactical belt.
Natasha ripped the frozen belt off with a backhand motion, the poisoned needle flashing crimson arcs between her fingers. "Who the prey will be remains to be seen, goddess."
She vanished suddenly, leaving five footprints on the ground that gradually froze. Artemis's emerald pupils contracted sharply, and her silver bow veered rapidly to the left—only to pierce the afterimage.
The real attack came from above. Natasha fell backward, twelve poison needles spreading out in a fan shape. Artemis touched the ground with her toes and leaned back, firing a barrage of ice crystal arrows. The needles collided and exploded into a red and blue icy mist.
"Got you." Natasha's voice rang in her ear, and Artemis felt a chill run down her spine as the scorpion stinger pierced her divine robes.
But the goddess of the hunt suddenly transformed into a herd of silver deer and scattered. The farthest deer shadow reformed into human form, a bowstring drawn taut. "A mortal's trick!"
The instant the ice arrow left the bowstring, Natasha flung her frozen belt off course, sliding down the icy mist to Artemis's side.
The poisoned needle and the arrowhead pressed together, producing a teeth-grinding scraping sound.
"You missed one." Natasha suddenly loosened her grip and pulled back. As Artemis staggered forward, the poisoned needle that had missed its mark earlier suddenly bounced up from the ground and pierced her ankle precisely. The goddess groaned and knelt down, her silver bow crashing into the ice.
Natasha, panting, wiped the ice shards from her brow, her scorpion stinger pointing at the goddess's throat: "Assassination Lesson One—" She suddenly rolled to the side to avoid the ice arrow shot from behind, "Always keep a backup plan."
Artemis knelt on one knee, her emerald eyes blazing with fury for the first time. Countless ice spikes began to condense on the ground within a hundred meters radius, each spike tipped with a miniature silver bow.
The goddess of the hunt raised a blood-stained corner of her mouth. "Prey that fights back is good prey."
The icy thorn forest grew wildly under Artemis's moonlight power, and ice flowers instantly formed on the soles of Natasha's boots.
She threw three miniature bombs; the heat from the explosions tore a path through the ice spikes, but new spikes immediately regenerated from the scorch marks.
"Clang!" The poisoned needle shattered an incoming ice arrow. Natasha suddenly ducked and rolled, and a ring of ice spikes exploded where she had been standing.
Artemis hovered atop the ice spikes, moonlight coalescing into new arrows at her fingertips. "Run, little mouse."
Natasha suddenly ripped off a frozen strand of hair and flung it at the goddess; the hair transformed into a fine wire mesh in the air.
The instant Artemis parried with her bow, Black Widow leaped up, stepping on the ice thorns—"Crack!" The scorpion stinger pierced the goddess's right shoulder, but only penetrated half an inch before being stopped by the ice armor.
"Got you." Artemis grabbed Natasha's wrist with her left hand, and ice spread down Natasha's arm.
Natasha's pupils reflected the goddess's fully drawn silver bow, the arrow tip pressed against her brow.
The instant the ice arrow left the bowstring, Natasha suddenly twisted her wrist, flicking out crimson Venom from her fingertips. Artemis dodged to the side, the ice arrow grazing Natasha's ear and leaving a trail of blood. Black Widow seized the opportunity to knee the goddess in the abdomen, using the recoil to flip backward and land on the ground.
"Lesson Two." Natasha wiped the blood from her ear and flicked out the last three poisoned needles. "Always be prepared for Plan C."
The first needle was shot down by the silver bow, the second was blocked by the ice wall, and the third suddenly split into hundreds of fine needles.
Artemis retreated rapidly, her ankle suddenly going numb as a dozen thin needles pierced her neck. The goddess swayed, and her emerald eyes began to glaze over.
"Scorpion venom, even a god can't withstand it." Natasha approached, panting heavily, when suddenly a burst of ice thorns slashed her thigh.
Artemis knelt on the ground, yet still sneered, "You think... this is all..."
Natasha extended her index finger, crimson Venom seeping from its tip, and touched the Frigga. Artemis finally collapsed onto the ice.
Natasha, dragging her injured leg, leaned against the broken wall and pulled out half a tube of hemostatic agent from the wreckage of her tactical belt, injecting it into her thigh.
The hunting goddess's long eyelashes were covered in frost, and her previous arrogance was gone.
"Phew, let's hope there aren't any more accidents."
No sooner had she finished speaking than a furious roar echoed from the sky, "Sister!!"
Natasha looked up at the flaming chariot descending from the sky, a helpless smile tugging at the corners of her lips, "This is... never-ending..."
She used the broken wall to support herself as she stood up, blood seeping from the wound on her thigh as she moved.
Apollo's golden chariot shattered the clouds, its four fiery steeds neighing and spewing sparks. The sun god's handsome face was contorted with rage; the instant he drew his golden bow, sunlight condensed at his fingertips into an arrow. "Mortal! How dare you—"
Apollo's golden bow hummed and trembled. The instant the arrow of sunlight left the bowstring, Natasha's pupils contracted sharply. The golden light of the Scorpio Cloth had just flowed to her left shoulder when she stomped her foot on the ground.
"Crack!" The excruciating pain of the wound on his thigh bursting open slowed his movements by half a beat.
"Whoosh-- Boom!"
The entire street was engulfed in flames amidst the roar.