"The Guardian Silver Bracelets were forged by Hephaestus, the god of fire," Victor said as he examined the shining metal on Diana's wrist. "Their material comes from fragments of the Aegis of Zeus, king of the Olympian gods. They automatically draw attacks toward themselves and protect the wearer from stray weapons. Anyone wearing them becomes nearly invulnerable under their protection."
There was a hint of admiration in his voice.
As the daughter of Zeus, Diana—the second generation of the gods—was naturally equipped with divine weapons of extraordinary power.
Diana struggled fiercely.
Unable to free the arm Victor had seized, she swung her other fist toward him with all her strength. Victor caught that one too.
Her teeth clenched as she poured every ounce of power into breaking free, but it was useless. His grip felt like iron clamps locking her wrists in place.
"Let go of the princess!"
A tall Amazon warrior leapt forward.
Her expression was stern and resolute, her bearing like that of a seasoned general. She launched herself from dozens of meters away like a cannonball, raising her long sword high above her head.
The blade descended with the momentum of a mountain-splitting strike.
Victor's hands were occupied.
Purple energy flared in his eyes.
Buzz!
Twin beams of searing cosmic energy shot forward. The scorching heat distorted the air itself as the attack slammed into the charging warrior.
She was blasted backward instantly, flying hundreds of meters like a kite with its string cut.
Her sword spun away from her grasp as she crashed to the ground. The armor covering her chest and abdomen had been pierced through, the metal scorched black around the wound.
"Antiope!"
Seeing the mentor who had taught her swordsmanship since childhood injured like that, Diana's expression changed instantly.
She slammed her head forward with all her strength.
Boom!
A circular shockwave burst outward as their foreheads collided.
But instead of injuring Victor, the impact felt like she had struck a solid wall. Diana staggered back, her vision spinning slightly.
In the next instant, Victor moved.
Before she could react, one of the silver bracelets vanished from her wrist.
Victor hadn't even moved his head during the clash. He casually examined the bracelet in his hand before flicking it away.
The shining metal streaked across the air like a shooting star before embedding itself deep into the mountainside nearby.
With only one bracelet remaining, Diana's expression changed.
When the two bracelets were slammed together, they could unleash devastating power capable of splitting mountains. It was one of her strongest techniques.
Yet the enemy had removed one before she even had the chance to use it.
Victor casually waved his arm again, knocking aside another wave of Amazon warriors rushing forward.
Then he drove his fist through the air toward Diana's forehead, intending to knock out the most troublesome opponent first.
Diana raised her remaining bracelet to block.
A groan escaped her lips as the terrifying force crashed into her arm. It felt as though a massive hammer had struck her bones.
Whoosh!
A finely crafted long sword suddenly flew through the air toward Victor.
As he lifted his hand to deflect it, the momentary distraction created a gap. Diana pushed off the ground and twisted free of his grip, retreating quickly.
Boom!
On the cliff above, Hippolyta's face darkened as she watched her warriors fall one after another like leaves in autumn.
Her beloved daughter had nearly been captured as well.
"Paradise Island is under the protection of the gods!" she shouted angrily. "This is not a place where you can run wild, man!"
She hurled her sword to create an opening for Diana's escape and then jumped down from the hundred-meter cliff herself.
Her body moved with fierce precision as she unleashed a storm of punches from every angle.
Unlike Diana, who had never experienced true war, Hippolyta had fought in the age of the gods. She had battled divine beings and even invaders from beyond the world.
Every movement she made had been forged through countless battles of blood and fire.
But there was one fatal difference.
Their physical strength was not even close.
Victor avoided two of her attacks almost lazily.
Then he waved his hand and knocked her aside.
"Where are these gods you speak of?" he asked with a faint smile. "If they really are watching this, I'd actually be happier."
Unfortunately, Paradise Island clearly wasn't important enough to command the constant attention of Olympus.
Even though Hippolyta had once been Zeus's lover and Diana was his daughter, Victor hadn't sensed a single emotional fluctuation from the Greek gods.
Boom!
"Mother!"
Diana rushed forward and caught Hippolyta as she was knocked backward. Blood trickled from the corner of the queen's mouth.
Diana's eyes burned with anger as she seized the Lasso of Truth at her waist.
She held it tightly with both hands like a cowgirl preparing for a life-or-death duel.
If anything could restrain this man, it was the divine rope.
"Attack!"
The Amazon warriors surged forward again like a tidal wave.
Victor watched them calmly.
"It's time for your powerless attacks to stop."
He stretched out his hand and clenched his palm.
The air itself seemed to shatter.
A dense wave of energy exploded outward.
Centered on Victor, a spherical ripple expanded across the battlefield. Within seconds it swept hundreds of meters in every direction.
Thousands of Amazon warriors who were still capable of fighting were blown away like insects caught in a hurricane.
Their bodies slammed violently into the surrounding rock walls before they collapsed unconscious.
Diana quickly stepped in front of her injured mother.
The approaching energy wave struck her like a raging typhoon. She was forced to shut her eyes against the pressure.
Then suddenly—
The storm vanished.
When Diana opened her eyes again, a tall figure was standing directly in front of her.
They were less than a meter apart.
Her heart tightened.
The distance was so short that she didn't even have time to swing the Lasso of Truth.
Victor's fist struck first.
Her injured arm dropped instantly, the rope slipping from her grasp.
Boom!
A concentrated blast of energy slammed into Diana's abdomen and sent her flying backward through the air.
Before she could even recover from the pain, Victor flicked his wrist.
The Lasso of Truth shot forward like a bolt of golden lightning.
The rope extended endlessly, wrapping tightly around Diana's body while she was still in midair.
Victor tugged sharply.
Diana was dragged back toward him like a powerless bird pulled by a leash. She crashed onto the beach at his feet, completely bound by the glowing rope.
"Daughter!"
Hippolyta's eyes widened with fury as she struggled to rise.
Victor raised his hand again.
Another energy blast knocked her unconscious instantly.
The battlefield fell silent.
Thousands of Amazon warriors lay scattered across the beach under the blazing sunlight.
Victor stood alone, holding the rope in his hand.
At the other end, Diana lay on the ground staring up at the sky, her body tightly bound by the Lasso of Truth.
[Template Integration: 61%]
Before coming to Paradise Island, the progress had been stuck at sixty percent.
After only one battle, it had already increased by one percent.
"This really is a long-term source," Victor thought calmly.
"But the next step is the most important part."
…
At the center of Paradise Island stood the grand and ancient palace of the Amazons.
For thousands of years, no man had ever set foot here.
Yet now a man sat upon the throne that belonged solely to the Amazon Queen.
Below him stood rows of battered Amazon warriors glaring upward with fury.
Queen Hippolyta stood among them with her generals. Her entire body trembled with anger, yet she did not dare take a single step forward.
"Are you dissatisfied?" Victor asked casually.
He rested his chin against one hand as he looked down at the furious faces below.
The reason for their humiliation was obvious.
Diana—the princess of the Amazons and the queen's only heir—sat beside the throne.
Her long dark hair spilled over her shoulders, giving her a strangely vulnerable appearance.
The Lasso of Truth bound her tightly from head to toe, preventing her from even sitting upright. She could only lean against the side of the throne while glaring angrily at the invader.
Victor held a shining sword loosely in his other hand.
It was Hippolyta's own blade.
The sword rested casually between Diana and the ground.
If she moved even slightly forward, her body would immediately press against its edge.
The threat required no explanation.
"What do you want, outsider?" Hippolyta asked, forcing down her rage.
Her daughter was in his hands, and this man had single-handedly defeated the entire Amazon tribe. She could not risk acting recklessly.
"It's simple," Victor replied.
"Surrender to me."
"You're dreaming!" Antiope shouted angrily. "The Amazons may die, but we will never be conquered!"
The surrounding warriors echoed her fury, glaring at Victor with burning hatred.
Unfortunately, hatred alone could not harm him.
"Really?" Victor said slowly from the throne. "But as far as I know… the Amazons have already been conquered by outsiders before."
Hippolyta's face changed instantly.
"How do you know that?"
....
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