Actually, the Ancient One felt a bit helpless. Although Robert's strength might be lacking in some areas, Clark was already capable of becoming Earth's protector in terms of both strength and determination. However, both Robert and Clark had obvious weaknesses.
Robert, for instance, loved fighting, which was fine, but he always fought on Earth. The commotion from each battle was substantial. Without a mirror dimension or other subspaces, he could potentially tear the planet apart.
As for Clark, though he wasn't as battle-hungry as Robert, his sensitivity and resistance to extraordinary powers were far below his strength. He often couldn't even sense many extraordinary methods, let alone resist them.
So, while Earth seemed to have gained new powerful defenders and its overall strength had improved, it hadn't changed much from the perspective of many dimensions. To some planets, Earth still appeared as a primitive land waiting to be conquered.
"Have these demon kings been dealt with?" After the Ancient One left, Kara flew back and asked Robert.
Constantine had discovered a total of nine demon kings this time. Seladar had escaped, Robert had killed two, Kara killed one, Tony Stark was dealing with one, and Steve, Bucky Barnes, and Morbius were fighting another. Enhanced Lorna and Pietro were handling one, Barry Allen teamed up with Susan Storm and Johnny Storm against another, and Clark was overseeing Lana's fight with the last one. This distribution completed the assignments for the nine demon kings.
So far, only the three demon kings had been killed: the two Robert previously killed and the one Kara defeated. Lana's battle wasn't as quick as Kara's, but with Clark there, no problems were expected.
However, aside from Seladar, the remaining four demon kings were tougher to kill. It wasn't something that could be achieved quickly, especially since most of the fighters, except for the enhanced Pietro and Lorna, were not proficient in slaying demons.
Particularly, Steve's trio was not using Tony Stark's latest mechs but specialized mechanical equipment tailored for them, which didn't offer significant firepower advantages.
Yet, Robert wasn't worried about their safety. Clark was not only with Lana but also monitoring the others, ensuring none of their battles showed signs of defeat.
"No, most of them haven't been dealt with yet..." Robert sensed the situation and explained to Kara, "Let's check out the other battlefields. We might need to step in. Their strength is barely enough to fight or defeat the demon kings; killing them is too difficult!"
"When will this end? It's Christmas break, and our travel plans are ruined because of these demon kings!" Kara pouted, dissatisfied. "Should I just go and hammer them all to death?"
"We already celebrated Christmas. It just disrupted our family travel plans; we can find another time to go out," Robert laughed and shook his head. "We can't always be there for everything. Just like how I wanted you to improve your strength before, they also need to enhance their abilities and combat effectiveness. Otherwise, their capabilities won't improve for similar future incidents."
"Think about it. If I hadn't trained with you, where would your strength be now? You might be able to defeat a common demon king, but killing or capturing them would be impossible!"
"That's true..." Kara nodded. If not for having Robert as her boyfriend, Kara wouldn't have engaged in combat. Even if she encountered a demon king, she might not have acted against him, and her strength might have been insufficient.
"It's almost New Year's, and I'm another year older..." Kara muttered. She wasn't the seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl she used to be.
Soon, led by Robert, they arrived near Steve's battlefield. Steve, Bucky Barnes, and Morbius were struggling against a four-armed demon king.
Morbius was the main force in the battle. As a scientific vampire who could barely resist the Shadow Mask's influence, his strength was notable. Especially after Tony Stark treated his weaknesses, Morbius had made significant progress.
Facing the four-armed demon king, Morbius's agility and blood control abilities kept the demon king's attention focused mostly on him. Steve and Bucky, though not as strong, contributed by using advanced technology.
Tony Stark had invested heavily in the Avengers, giving Bucky a vibranium arm, which could store and release energy attacks. This discovery of vibranium's properties led Stark to new ideas for his suits, and Bucky's arm served as an experiment.
In the fight, the vibranium arm performed well, blocking the demon king's attacks and reflecting energy to injure him. Steve, using his vibranium shield, also rebounded the demon king's energy attacks, trapping him effectively.
However, their achievements ended there. Injuring and restraining the demon king was commendable, but killing him was too challenging. As the battle dragged on, Steve and Bucky's stamina waned.
Unlike Tony Stark, who relied on mechs, or the super-powered and battle-hardened Pietro, Steve and Bucky, who depended on their physical strength, were visibly more fatigued, especially given their initial disadvantage.
Although Steve and Bucky were super soldiers, their absolute strength wasn't the highest among them. Their current battle level far exceeded the super soldier level, and this fight couldn't be resolved in a day.
Thus, as the fight continued, Morbius maintained his performance, but Steve and Bucky struggled. The four-armed demon king noticed their weakness, feeling a burst of joy, yet he didn't plan to attack them to change the battle's outcome.
Like other hell demon kings, he believed this was a conspiracy. Arriving on Earth and being immediately discovered indicated something wasn't right. So, the four-armed demon king decided to drive Steve and Bucky away and escape to understand the situation.
With a roar, the demon king unleashed a powerful force, pushing Morbius away and making Steve and Bucky tense up.
"He plans to escape..." Robert, observing from above, identified the demon king's true intentions. The demon king's burst of energy lacked fighting or killing intent, indicating he wasn't desperate.
In a flash, the demon king vanished, making Morbius tense up, Steve raise his shield, and Bucky clench his vibranium fist.
But then a loud crash echoed. The speed difference was too great; the demon king collided head-on with Robert, stunning himself.
If this were an animated scene, stars and birds would swirl around the demon king's head. Even in reality, he saw stars flashing before him.
"What's this?" Morbius and the others were stunned, but quickly realized what had happened. Morbius, recognizing the opportunity, attacked decisively!
With a swift move, Morbius transformed into a swarm of bats, piercing through the demon king's heart and shredding it to pieces.
During this process, the demon king didn't react, as his consciousness hadn't recovered. He didn't sense the danger or pain.
Taking advantage of this, Morbius continued to attack the demon king's vital points, controlling the spilled blood for secondary damage.
By the time the demon king regained consciousness, it was too late. Morbius's blood control had destroyed his body and infected his soul, perfectly executing the plan to kill him.
"Thanks, Saiyan. If you hadn't come, this demon king might have escaped..." Morbius panted, looking at Robert with genuine gratitude.
For Morbius, even killing a defenseless demon king required immense effort. His energy was nearly depleted.
However, this battle benefited Morbius. Killing a hell demon king and controlling his blood would enhance his blood control abilities.
"No problem. Your strength hasn't reached the demon king level, but fighting him to this extent is impressive," Robert smiled, landing with Kara. "Considering my help, you didn't take too long to deal with this demon king."
"Are they all dealt with?" Steve hesitated, asking Robert. Worried about others still fighting, Steve avoided using communications to prevent distractions that might affect their battle.
"Yes, a few more battlefields left. You can rest now; Kara and I will check the other fields," Robert nodded, preparing to leave.
"Why are these hell demon kings here? Have you figured it out? You haven't faced so many before. Do they have a conspiracy?" Steve asked, concerned.
"Probably because the Shadow incident killed many people, and these demon kings came to take advantage," Robert raised an eyebrow. From Seladar and Hellboy's conversation, he deduced part of the truth.
But Robert didn't think this was the whole truth. While other demon kings might be here for that reason, Seladar wasn't.
Seladar's conversation with Hellboy mentioned his master's plan, indicating a hell lord was behind him. Summoning a hell lord to Earth wasn't easy, so Seladar was sent to complete some contract or rule, allowing the hell lord to descend...
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