The moment Clark's "okay" landed, the air in the entire wooden house changed.
It was no longer the warmth of a family gathering, but the tension before a major battle.
Tel-Rol grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and the joints in his body popped loudly.
He turned to look at the spirited Kara, then glanced at the serious-faced Clark, and whistled.
"Alright, a family should always stick together."
"Shall we go?"
He was already impatiently walking outside.
"You go."
Lois stood up, pulling Martha's hand back a few steps, her expression quite calm.
"We'll wait for your triumphant return here."
She also picked up the unfinished apple pie.
"Remember to finish quickly, the pie won't taste good when it's cold."
Martha patted Clark's arm, her eyes filled with unconcealed worry, but she said, "Be careful, we'll wait for you here."
Clark nodded heavily, giving his mother and lover a reassuring look.
The three exchanged glances, and with a flicker, they appeared in the open farm outside the house.
As soon as they stood still, the whistling sound overhead became deafening.
The black shuttle, carrying immense wind pressure, plunged directly towards the Kent Farm's cornfield.
"Boom—"
A dull, massive thud.
The ground trembled with it.
Large swathes of corn stalks were flattened and torn by the violent airflow, and a huge circular crater was forcefully smashed into the ground.
The shuttle lay still in the center of the crater, its black metal shell gleaming with cold light under the Kansas sun.
"Tsk, no public decency at all."
Tel-Rol watched the cornfield being destroyed, pouting unhappily.
"Wasting food, they deserve a beating."
"Zzz—"
At the front of the shuttle, a hatch slowly lowered, kicking up a cloud of dust on the ground.
A figure, entirely encased in black metal armor, emerged, her steps steady and powerful, her posture swaying.
Immediately after, four more warriors in identical attire followed, moving in unison, quickly fanning out on either side of the shuttle, forming a standard combat formation.
The leader made a "click" sound as her helmet retracted and folded, revealing a woman's face.
It was a face with sharp features, cold eyes, and a serious expression.
Her gaze swept over Tel-Rol and Clark, finally settling on Kara.
The moment Kara saw that face, her body visibly stiffened.
"Faora..."
She almost instinctively uttered the name.
This name was like a key, unlocking her long-sealed memories.
General Zod's most capable adjutant, a cold-blooded, ruthless female warrior with astonishing combat power.
"Wait."
Kara frowned, pointing towards the sky.
"That's not right, this shuttle came from the ship to the south."
"But Faora... you are General Zod's people, your battleship should be to the north."
Clark also noticed this.
Why would this woman come from another unknown spaceship?
"Who cares where she came from!"
Tel-Rol didn't care about such details at all.
He took two steps forward, beckoning to Faora opposite him, his attitude utterly arrogant.
"Hey! You in the black armor!"
"Making such a big scene, landing wherever you please in someone else's field, without even a greeting?"
"Don't you know the rules?"
Faora's gaze finally shifted from Kara, falling upon Tel-Rol, but her eyes were like looking at a roadside stone, without any ripple.
She didn't even bother to answer.
Seeing himself ignored, Tel-Rol chuckled, not only not getting angry but becoming even more invigorated.
"Alright, not talking, huh? Then let's just get to it."
He cracked his knuckles, saying nonchalantly, "There are three of us here, and five of you over there. Why don't you all come at once? I'm a fair person, I can let you have one hand."
His words made Lois, who was eavesdropping at the door, can't help but palm her face.
"This guy... he's really afraid there won't be a fight."
Faora still ignored Tel-Rol's provocation.
Her gaze passed him, shooting directly at Clark behind him.
"Kal-El."
She spoke, her voice cold and devoid of emotion.
Clark's heart sank.
This address represented the opponent's clear identity and purpose.
"We are not here to be your enemies."
Faora's tone was flat and direct, like reciting a military report.
"We are here to rebuild Krypton."
"Rebuild Krypton?" Kara stepped forward, asking excitedly, "By what method? Turning Earth into a new Krypton, and then sacrificing all the humans on it?"
"The continuation of one species is inevitably accompanied by the demise of another."
Faora's reply was chillingly ruthless.
"This is the law of the universe, regardless of right or wrong."
"Bullshit!"
Tel-Rol cursed directly, "If you went extinct, it's because you weren't capable, what does that have to do with Earth? Want to seize territory, did you ask us first?"
Faora finally looked Tel-Rol directly in the eye.
"The bloodline of a Kryptonian, mixed with other things. A hybrid?"
The four Kryptonian soldiers behind her immediately raised their energy weapons, aiming them at Tel-Rol.
"Oh ho? Ready to fight?"
Tel-Rol laughed in anger, advancing instead of retreating, the qi in his body surging.
"Come on! Let's see who turns whom into dust first!"
"Enough!"
Clark let out a low growl, stepping between Tel-Rol and Faora.
"I won't let you harm this planet."
"This is my home."
Faora looked at Clark with an arrogant smile.
"We are not here for that, Kal-El."
Her tone shifted.
"A while ago, we detected a huge energy burst, the source of which was on this planet. That was the energy fluctuation of the Genesis Chamber."
She was referring to the energy generated when the mother box was activated.
"That energy also confirmed one thing for us."
Faora's gaze locked onto Clark's chest.
"The future of Krypton is stored within your cells."
"The Codex."
"As long as we obtain it, we can re-cultivate pure-blooded Kryptonians on any planet. We can rebuild our civilization!"
Her cold, arrogant voice finally gained some warmth.
"Give us the Codex, Kal-El. For our common race."
"I refuse."
Clark's answer was simple and direct.
"What's inside your body does not belong to you personally, it belongs to the entire Kryptonian race!"
Faora's voice suddenly rose, filled with oppressive force.
"You have no right to refuse!"
"Then come and take it."
Clark slowly raised his fist.
A great battle was about to erupt.
Tel-Rol was already grinning from ear to ear; he loved this simple and direct way of communication.
Kara also assumed a fighting stance; she would never let Zod's plot succeed.
The atmosphere on the farm froze to an icy point.
Faora slowly raised her hand, and the soldiers behind her were already ready to charge.
Just at this critical moment—
"Ding-a-ling-ling-ling—!"
An extremely untimely cell phone ringtone echoed across the entire farm.
Everyone's movements froze.
The Kryptonian warriors looked bewildered.
Tel-Rol was also stunned, turning to look at the source of the sound.
At the door of the wooden house, Lois was fumbling in her pocket for her phone, looking embarrassed.
"Sorry, I forgot to put it on silent..."
She mumbled softly, pressed the answer button, and put it on speakerphone.
The next second, a familiar one-eyed, dark-faced man appeared on the screen, with the busy S.H.I.E.L.D. command center in the background.
It was Nick Fury.
His expression was unusually serious.
"Kent, don't move!"
Fury's voice came through the phone, clearly audible to everyone.
"I know you have uninvited guests, but there's a bigger problem now!"
"Stop for a moment! Listen to me!"
Fury watched the standoff on the screen, speaking very quickly.
"Just now, that ship to the south... that thing that looks like a star battleship..."
"They... broadcast a message to the whole world."
Clark frowned: "Broadcast? What did they say?"
Fury's single eye stared intently at the camera, speaking word by word.
"They said..."
"They are the Kree Empire fleet."
"They came to Earth to arrest the wanted criminal who killed a kree last time."
Fury paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully.
"The name of that wanted criminal... is..."
"Tel-Rol."