Chapter 131: The Ultimate Boss

Amidst Hill's affliction with the spring toxin, Clark, in a moment of inspiration, woke the centuries-secluded ultimate boss, the formidable Mandarin!

Facing this sudden powerful enemy, Clark silently put on the teleportation ring and asked without revealing his intentions, "Who might you be, sir, and what brings you here?"

Seeing the familiar dark green attire and the ten terrifying rings, how could Clark not recognize this as the legendary Mandarin? This was indeed the genuine supervillain, not some comedic actor from the movies!

His question was merely a ploy to buy some time. While speaking, his left hand casually positioned in front of him as his right hand swiftly drew a portal.

"Thinking of running?"

The Mandarin scoffed disdainfully, extending his hand slowly, and a subtle ripple emanated from the ring on his ring finger, sending a concentrated shockwave straight towards Clark's chest! Before the attack even reached him, Clark sensed a fatal danger from this seemingly ordinary strike and quickly raised the healing artifact as a shield, instantaneously protecting himself.

Vibranium's properties, besides being extremely hard, include absorbing and releasing energy. The shockwave emitted by the Mandarin was amplified by the cloak and then redirected far away.

"Boom!"

The deflected shockwave hit the summit of a nearby mountain, causing half of it to explode on impact. A once lush green mountain was now bald at the top.

Astounded by the power of the shockwave, Clark seized the opportunity to wrap his arm around Hill's waist and threw her into the portal.

Just as he was about to escape himself, the Mandarin's attack descended once more.

Without waiting for the attack, Clark forcefully propelled himself with his feet, blurring out of sight to a distance of thirty meters away, simultaneously closing the portal behind him to prevent the Mandarin from attacking Hill.

Infusing his magic into the skywalking boots beneath his feet, Clark floated in the air, stopping only when he reached the same height as the Mandarin.

Facing the Mandarin's slightly mad black eyes, Clark spoke, "I'm still very curious why you're attacking us. Even if you want to fight, shouldn't you at least clarify things first?"

The Mandarin glanced at Clark disdainfully and said, "You look Chinese. If you can repeat what you just said in Chinese, I might consider answering your question."

Clark quickly analyzed the Mandarin's attack patterns while obligingly repeating his words in Mandarin, speaking perfect Standard Chinese.

Clark's knowledge of Marvel was limited before crossing over. He knew of the Mandarin more as a character who was replaced by a comedic actor in the movies, rather than the legendary figures like Odin or Thanos, making his understanding far less direct.

All he knew about the Mandarin was that his power came from the ten rings on his hands.

As for the specific names and effects of each ring, he was completely in the dark. However, from the fight, he had already deduced the effects of two of the rings.

Thinking this, Clark felt an urge to test himself.

Both being bosses, the Mandarin's power was undoubtedly much stronger than many of Earth's bosses, like the Red Skull.

But similarly, if he could defeat him, the loot would surely be satisfying. Just the ten rings alone were enough to excite him.

Calling the Mandarin the ultimate among bosses was no exaggeration. As Clark's fighting spirit rose, the Mandarin finally spoke calmly, "I was meditating in a cave beneath that stone mountain. Your disturbance nearly led me to deviate, causing potential disaster. Do you think you deserve to die for this?"

Clark nodded slightly, then with a smirk, said in Chinese, "I bought a watch last year!"

With a curse, Clark stepped into the void, becoming a blur as he charged at the Mandarin.

Knowing the Mandarin favored using his rings for combat, Clark decided to engage in close-quarters combat.

Seeing Clark charging straight at him, the Mandarin nodded slightly, "You're quite fast. I underestimated you."

As he spoke, the ring on his ring finger activated again, but this time it wasn't a shockwave but a white laser beam.

Even though surprised by the ring's dual capabilities, Clark didn't panic and changed direction just before the Mandarin made his move.

Simultaneously, Clark felt a mental energy trying to breach his mind, another ability granted by one of the Mandarin's rings.

With a disdainful smirk, Clark, whose mental strength had been fortified after two transformations, was unaffected as he moved beside the Mandarin, transforming the healing artifact into a sword and striking towards the Mandarin's throat.

The speed and angle of the strike were so unique that it perfectly embodied the essence of using a sword in an unconventional manner.

The Mandarin, even impressed, twisted his body in an almost boneless maneuver to dodge Clark's decisive strike.

Dodging and simultaneously kicking, the Mandarin's foot met Clark's full-powered kick.

"Boom!"

The impact sent them both flying nearly a hundred meters apart. Clark's cheeks flushed with effort, while the Mandarin's lips were tinged with blood.

It appeared Clark had the upper hand in this clash, even in the Mandarin's opinion.

However, only Clark knew how fortunate he was to have even a slight advantage.

That kick had been without reserve, using all his strength and energy, and even a rarely used dark energy to enhance its power.

Using his strengths against the enemy's weaknesses, Clark had done everything he could. Yet, he only managed a slight advantage, not a decisive one.

This showed that the Mandarin, having lived for centuries, was not like the five inept members of the Hand. His power had reached a terrifying level through years of cultivation, even surpassing Clark's current strength.

More importantly, while Clark had to be cautious with dark energy, the Mandarin's rings seemed to have no such restrictions.

It looked like he might be outmatched!

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