Chapter 36: Sliding Bow of Respect

With a loud bang, the red lights of the alarm went off.

Following that was the sound of gunfire, a cacophony of shots echoing through the air, accompanied by muffled explosions. Grenades blasted craters into the ground, and flames shot skyward.

And the intruder? There was only one.

The tall, burly man wielded a battle-axe, charging forward under the hail of bullets. Countless rounds deformed upon impact with his skin, bouncing off like raindrops.

With a quick step, his figure transformed into a whirlwind. It seemed like only a second had passed as he darted through an entire squad of operatives. In an instant, they were sent flying, with one of them launched tens of meters into the air, landing as a mangled mess.

The sharp battle-axe cleaved through flesh, slicing through armored vehicles as if they were tofu. The automatic turret's large-caliber bullets were punched back into the barrel by a single punch, causing the turret to collapse and be engulfed in flames.

A sharp whistling sound pierced the air—the sound of a missile launched from a camp helicopter. The missile, a laser-guided anti-tank weapon, streaked towards its target, capable of turning the armor of an M1A2 main battle tank into paper.

Direct hit!

The burly man was holding a soldier who was desperately struggling. The soldier was frantically emptying his handgun into the man's face, to no avail.

The next moment, the anti-tank missile detonated. The soldier was instantly obliterated, and the shockwave, along with the intense heat, enveloped the burly figure.

"Target hit! Repeat, target hit..."

But before the words were fully spoken, the battle-axe sliced through the flames, spinning like a disc. The helicopter's shell was torn apart as if by a hot knife through butter, and the pilot was decapitated on the spot.

The axe cut through the aircraft, spinning back into the dissipating fire, landing in the burly man's hand. The damaged helicopter crashed into a lookout tower in the base.

The structure collapsed, and the burning metal debris fell. Explosions erupted again, as if the entire world was ablaze.

Even the most steadfast warriors felt a chill down their spines as they witnessed the enemy walking out of the flames unscathed.

It was something beyond their understanding, a being beyond comprehension.

Something godlike!

Bullets couldn't hurt him; even taking a direct hit from an anti-tank missile left him unscathed. That seemingly normal skin was clearly tougher than steel—high temperatures, shockwaves, or shrapnel couldn't leave even the slightest scratch.

The burly man, wielding his axe, walked through the flames like an executioner bringing judgment and doom, exuding a suffocating aura of despair.

And in that moment of hopelessness...

A beam of light pierced the darkness.

The burly man, extremely alert, sensed danger and quickly turned around, raising his battle-axe defensively.

In the next moment, a spinning light wheel, resembling a circular saw blade, struck the alloy axe!

The light wheel, entirely composed of energy, rotated at an incredible speed. Sparks flew as it ground against the axe, like a saw cutting through steel.

The burly man gritted his teeth, struggling against the tremendous force and energy contained within the small wheel. He roared, pouring all his strength into his arms, and managed to deflect the light wheel.

The spinning wheel veered off course, disappearing into the night sky.

As it passed, it grazed the burly man's cheek.

Half a second later, a thin cut appeared, and blood began to trickle from the steel-like skin.

A cold sweat broke out on the back of the man's head.

Just a second ago, he had been completely relaxed. The weapons of this planet were clearly no threat to him; primitive bullets and shells were no more harmful than a steam bath.

But from that sudden light wheel, he felt a genuine threat.

The burly man turned abruptly, spotting the source of the danger.

It was a red and silver humanoid armor, with a crystal-blue glow shining from its chest.

At first, Shen You didn't recognize who it was.

It was the axe, wielded by the man, that gave him a hint.

It was the first supervillain from the first episode of the American TV show *Supergirl*. In the original comics, he was a superhuman similar to Superman. In the TV adaptation, he was reimagined as a superpowered criminal from Krypton, imprisoned in the Phantom Zone and following Supergirl to Earth.

This was Vartox, from the Hat Star system, an alternate version of Superman. His abilities were similar to Superman's: invulnerability, immense strength, super speed, and super endurance, among other powers.

He also had that formidable axe, capable of slicing through steel and even harming Supergirl. Although it was eventually destroyed by Kara's heat vision, it was still a powerful weapon.

Of course, while his abilities were similar to Superman's, they were not on the same level. He couldn't compare to Superman, who was essentially a cheat code.

When Shen You detected the disturbance in the base, he quickly connected to the surveillance system and saw Vartox in action.

He immediately realized that this was another valuable experience package, though he was also concerned it might be too much for him to handle.

It was a bit of a dilemma. He worried that the opponent might be either too weak or too strong.

Fortunately, with the help of PAL's analysis, they had made a rough estimation of the threat level.

It might be challenging with just the exosuit, but with his true form, there was a good chance of winning.

At the very least, he could safely retreat if necessary.

Since he had the upper hand, Shen You decided to test something.

With the advantage of surprise, Shen You initiated with the Hakkeshu Rings.

Vartox was alert enough to block the energy wheel with his axe.

Even though the Hakkeshu Rings released through the exosuit were a weaker version compared to the original, Vartox still demonstrated his capabilities by withstanding the attack.

However, Shen You noticed a small cut on Vartox's cheek.

This meant that the rings could pierce his skin.

Good, this fight was winnable.

Vartox immediately recognized Shen You as the primary threat. He roared and charged.

But Shen You had already raised his right arm without haste.

With his right hand clenched into a fist, the mechanism in his wrist clicked open. The device activated, and an invisible force shot towards Vartox.

"Argh!!!"

Vartox suddenly clutched his head and screamed, collapsing to his knees. He continued to slide forward, propelled by his momentum, and stopped right at Shen You's feet, clutching his head in agony.

Everyone around was stunned by the sudden change in the situation.

To them, it looked like the burly man had slid on his knees at high speed to Shen You, bowing down in submission...

Was this some kind of move?