"Heh... You're using the language of those corrupt officials in the Council of Elders to judge me?"
Val-Zod, kneeling on the ground, coughed violently, a pool of blood seeping from between his teeth.
Those bloodshot eyes were fixed on Zod:
"General... I am only responsible for the last remaining spark of Krypton."
We only dispatched one patrol vessel, which is far from sufficient in terms of observation capabilities!
Around Val-Zod, dozens of Krypton soldiers clad in black armor stood silently with their heads bowed.
In front of these soldiers.
Faora looked at Zod in silence, but a barely perceptible tremor flickered in her eyes.
"Oh...?"
Zod took a slow step forward, his boots slamming heavily onto the deck.
He then bent down, his blood-stained fingers suddenly reaching out and, like liquid clamps, clamping down on Val-Zod's jawbone.
He then lifted Val-Zod, who weighed nearly 300 pounds, off the ground with a forceful pull.
"Responsible?"
Zod's lips curled back into a sinister grin.
In his eyes, the sickly, sallow light contracted, and his black pupils stared fixedly down.
"I was born for war... From the very first day I was conceived, the land and blood of Krypton have been etched into my life's duty."
It is precisely because of the price this body bears that I absolutely cannot allow myself to slack off at this point...
So close to our only hope... even a second's hesitation...
With that, Zod, carrying Val-Zod, strode through the silent military train.
I don't care what's on the surface of that basketball...
I must drive the World Engine into the heart of that planet; it's the only way to revive Krypton.
Zod stopped and bent down.
He picked up the sticky, severed arm from the ground with his five fingers and focused his gaze on the one-way pressure relief valve on the right side of the battle bridge.
at the same time.
"Boom--"
The titanium alloy isolation door, half a meter thick, sensed Zod's presence and slid open smoothly to the right.
Behind the door, it was pitch black.
The frigid temperature was nearly three hundred degrees below zero, separated only by a thin layer of netting.
Zod turned around and raised the bloody severed arm in his hand.
His gaze, like an ice blade sharpened with icy coldness, slowly swept over each soldier in their battle station:
"Look carefully at all of them..."
Before he finished speaking, he exerted force with one hand.
Then he hurled the severed arm into the decompression chamber!
"Laugh--!!"
The outer airtight gate locked instantly.
On the transparent observation screen outside the porthole, the severed arm was instantly sucked out of the mothership's hull by the violent outflow.
Extreme cold stripped away all moisture in the blink of an eye, freezing the entire arm into a frosty statue.
Then, dragged by inertia, it tumbled and fell to the ground line next to the azure water sphere.
"Uh..."
Kneeling on the ground, Val-Zod stared blankly out the porthole at the rapidly receding white limbs.
Nervous system, blood loss, despair.
Val-Zod managed to squeeze out a muffled groan of resentment before everything went black, and his body crashed heavily into the pool of blood.
He fainted at that time.
"..."
Zod stood with his hands behind his back, looking out at the Black Sky without even turning his head.
After a long while, he flicked the dirt off his fingers with some disgust and gave the order:
"Drag it out."
"Throw him into the central regeneration tank at the bottom, soak him in the highest concentration of inhibitory solution, and keep him alive—"
Make him open his eyes and see for himself how I lead Krypton to its revival!
Hearing Zod's words.
The two soldiers trembled as if they had been suddenly awakened from a dream, and quickly stepped forward to support the unconscious Val-Zod.
The heavy armor dragged two glaring bloodstains across the deck.
But it was quickly engulfed by the disinfectant foam sprayed by the self-cleaning machine.
Amidst the soft rustling sounds, Zod slowly walked back to the circular command platform and stepped onto the high ground.
He pressed his rough, large hands against the railing of the command platform, leaning forward.
Fellow countrymen... I know you are afraid too!
Zod spoke.
"I know you'd rather protect yourselves or strive for the revival of your home planet without sacrifice..."
You might even think Val-Zod is right, that your general has gone mad.
Zod's words were blunt and realistic.
The entire bridge was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"Bang!!"
Suddenly! Zod's fists slammed down, creating a tremendous bang!
Stop dreaming! Everyone! Drain those spineless, Council of Elders -era ideas from your heads!
Zod suddenly sat up straight, his eyes wide open!
Deep within his sunken eye sockets, the previously barely perceptible waxy yellow glint suddenly surged forth like grease.
The yellowing and withering are becoming increasingly severe.
When the superstar collapsed... who did those noble elders save?!
In the icy sea of Phantom Zone, we devoured the condensate for twenty cycles like wild animals.
Back then, who stood up and told us how to live with dignity?! Answer me!!
As he spoke, Zod's breathing became heavier and hotter.
The emotion, mingled with fear, resonated violently within everyone's consciousness, exploding with a deafening roar.
"Everyone... we're all already Deadman!"
From the Krypton shattered!
Everyone standing on this ship is nothing more than a group of ghosts who have crawled out of the dead!
Do undead and evil spirits have the right to fear death?!
Give me liberty or give me death... If Krypton wants to continue, we must fight!
This is a war that will bleed!
Zod flicked his wrist, and the holographic star map on the nail plate unfolded with his gesture.
Above the star map.
A blue, water-covered planet was magnified to ten meters square and hung straight in the center of the hall.
It resembles a tempting berry.
"Let's move forward! Let's smash our World Engine into the heart of this planet!"
The earth's soil will be reshaped into the bedrock of the mother planet... and billions of new people will be reborn from this planet in the future!
And you are the witnesses to history!
Zod looked down at the planet, the evil fire in his eyes fading, and a chilling fanaticism appeared at the corner of his mouth:
"If we retreat, we'll only rust slowly and rot in this wilderness, becoming pathetic and moldy."
But as long as we keep pushing forward, there's still a glimmer of hope!
This roar was deafening.
The soldiers' initially stiff expressions suddenly became distorted and morbidly twisted as their emotions reached a certain threshold.
And... the ferocity that had been suppressed for over thirty years.
"For Krypton!!"
At the control panel, a soldier punched himself in the chest, making a loud thud.
"For Krypton!!"
In an instant, dozens of short blades clashed with the heavy armor.
A brutal, unified battle cry instantly engulfed the entire cabin.
But behind that fervent clamor...
Faora stood beside the equipment base, leaning wearily against the wall.
However, inside the uniform that clings tightly to the body.
Unbeknownst to her, a light sweat had broken out on her back, accompanied by a chill that seemed to rise from her lower abdomen.
Others may not understand.
But as an adjutant who had spent several stellar cycles with Zod, she knew very well—
Zod's personality and style have completely changed.
The veins on the back of his neck were swollen and dark yellow, like translucent worms wriggling under his skin.
Reason seems to be being eroded little by little.
Val-Zod's doubts were not wrong.
Perhaps... Zod really has gone mad.
Faora's right hand, hanging by her side, twitched slightly.
Her fingertips touched the short blade hanging from her lower back.