Chapter 158: Tears of Blood

The Martian Manhunter was in a pitiful state, his physical injuries were manageable, and his body could recover, although it caused him immense pain.

But the direct impact on his psyche, the damage he had suffered when H'el had pushed him out of his intangible state, was unprecedented. The telepathic blow, which he couldn't defend against with his intangible state, had almost killed him.

Once proud of his invincible telepathic power against Earthlings, had been unable to withstand H'el's mental assault.

He had seized an advantage against H'el, using his intangible state to save the Flash the first time, but the second time H'el had struck him out of it, causing the most severe harm.

The source of physical and psychic injuries was one thing, but what troubled him the most was the psychological impact of the Marshal's Sacrifice cannon being aimed at Mars.

He couldn't accept that his home and homeland would be destroyed because he had been a superhero on Earth, saving both the planet and the Flash.

"No!!!"

The Martian Manhunter lay helpless in a crater two hundred meters wide. His mental breakdown had rendered him unable to control his body. He could only lie there, his eyes bloodshot, staring at the brightening energy of the Marshal's Sacrifice cannon, which was converging in the cannon's muzzle.

For every 1 candela increase in the cannon's brightness, Mars's destruction drew one step closer. He helplessly watched, in excruciating pain, as his fear escalated with each incremental surge of brightness.

In this vast, icy wilderness of snow and desolation, H'el stepped on the white snow and ice. The biting cold wind rustled his black hair and his black cape billowed behind him in the cutting Arctic winds.

He reached the edge of the crater created by the Martian Manhunter, looking down on him from above with an icy and emotionless gaze.

The Martian Manhunter, with every ounce of his remaining psychic strength, struggled to re-establish the connection between his mind and his battered body. In agony, his eyes flickered black and white. He weakly raised his left hand, trying to prop himself up. However, his strength was uneven, and he collapsed back to the ground.

He strained himself to roll towards H'el, using the last remnants of his telepathic power and willpower. This simple movement proved exceptionally arduous. He gasped for breath, his bloodshot eyes bulged, and his face was drenched with sweat that turned into ice. With great effort, he moved his legs backward, settling into a kneeling position roughly 100 meters away from H'el.

"Respected and mighty Lord of Krypton, I implore you to spare Mars!"

The Martian Manhunter was utterly humbled in this moment.

There was no outburst of anger, like the one that had erupted when he had seen H'el threatening Mars, ready to kill H'el. There was no moment like when he had possessed the Flash, been struck out of intangibility by H'el, and still confidently said, "A telepathic assault of this magnitude won't stop me." There was no ease in his words.

In this moment, he knew deeply why Jor-El had warned him not to face H'el a second time.

It was only the second time, and his intangibility, that can be regarded as almost Invincible in both Earth and the comos, had been shattered. He was even on the verge of death and destruction.

Though, if he died, the Martian Manhunter had no regrets. He was willing to die for his career as a superhero. But when it came to his homeland, Mars, he finally understood.

H'el hadn't come to play the game of superheroes and supervillains with him. He had come to conquer and destroy.

The Martian Manhunter also finally understood the meaning behind H'el's words, "Wait until you beg me."

"Please don't treat my homeland this way. I will bring the Flash back to your lab; I won't oppose you. I can do anything for you. Please don't harm Mars."

In this moment, the Martian Manhunter was genuinely begging, kneeling and pleading with his eyes shedding blood, creating crystalline drops of blood in an expression of fear and agony. But who would believe the loyalty of a superhero?

"Don't be this way. I came here not to hear your pleas, but to watch the last Martian spark with you."

H'el's voice was barely audible amidst the chilling winds and snowstorms, even the sound of his fluttering black cape behind him was louder than his voice. Yet it pierced the Martian Manhunter's ears with a cruelty no sound could match.

"Lift your head and gaze at the stars. Bear the consequences of your actions."

H'el's merciless gaze revealed a smile, and he raised his head, looking towards the stars.

"Don't be this way, Ruler of Krypton. Please don't be so cruel to Mars! I beg you, I implore you, I beseech you to spare Mars!!"

The Martian Manhunter let out a howl of agony like a wounded dog with a broken spine. He raised his tear-filled, blood-streaked face, looking at the vastness of the cosmos, in excruciating pain.

In the brilliant starry sky...

In the outer space near Mars, the Grand Admiral-class warship Sacrifice's cannon had completed its energy charge. The cannon's steel barrel, over seven hundred meters in length, emitted a radiant light like a small sun shining in space.

"Buzz..."

There was no sound in outer space, but when everyone saw the powerful high-frequency beam emitted from the seven-hundred-meter steel barrel, it resonated like thunder in their minds.

Each of the seven Grand Admiral-class warships had a weapon of star destruction, each uniquely tailored to the personality traits and preferences of the seven admirals. The Sacrifice's star-destroyer cannon was a high-frequency particle motion beam with incredibly strong rotational constraints, akin to a high-frequency oscillating blade.

The high-frequency particle motion beam was aimed directly at the middle latitudes of Mars. Its immense kinetic energy tore through Mars's fragile atmosphere, reaching the surface and blasting a seven-hundred-meter diameter hole in the Martian desert.

The beautiful high-frequency particle motion beam radiated a kaleidoscope of colors and pierced through the ground, breaking through the crust, rock layers, mantle, and into the Martian subterranean world. Unbeknownst to the Martians residing there, disaster struck suddenly, as the beam accurately hit the core of Mars.

The Mars core, approximately 1,800 kilometers in size, was forcibly driven into the mantle by the high-frequency particle motion beam, causing a violent eruption of unstable volcanoes. Lava and flames streamed into the Martian subterranean world, resulting in a horrific loss of life.

The Martian core, forced into the mantle, pierced through the crust, the rocky layers, and finally erupted from the other side, reaching outer space.

But the destruction did not end there.

The Sacrifice's star-destroyer cannon continued its path upward, slicing the upper half of Mars into pieces. It severed continental plates, cutting Mars in half, gradually coming to a stop.

What remained were the Martian core, propelled into space, and Mars, cleaved into two halves like a sliced watermelon. Inside, the Martians from the subterranean world were clearly visible, screaming in agony and facing their impending doom.

The Sacrifice's star-destroyer cannon was like a toothpick plunged into a lychee, pushing the lychee seed out, then slashing upwards and downwards, splitting the lychee in half.

The Martian Manhunter witnessed this scene, his eyes bursting with blood, leaving him blinded as his entire body trembled uncontrollably.

The terror of this moment etched itself into his heart, and he could hardly believe it.

°°°

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