"Join me in overthrowing the Kree Empire."
Even now, deep in the quiet of night, those words still echoed in Carol's mind from time to time.
Three months had passed since the Kree fleet's failed attempt to wipe out the remnants of Krypton. What should have been a decisive victory for the empire had instead turned into the beginning of an ongoing nightmare.
During these three months, the Kree Empire had suffered a series of devastating attacks.
Sometimes the strikes came openly. Other times they appeared out of nowhere like shadows in the dark. Nearly ten military bases across more than a dozen planets had been destroyed, and six separate star fleets had been completely annihilated.
The culprit behind all of it was the same person.
The new generation of Kryptonian Superman.
No matter how hard the Kree high command tried to understand what was happening, they couldn't figure out how their enemy kept obtaining such precise military intelligence. The Supreme Accusers investigated their own ranks repeatedly, convinced that a traitor must be leaking information from inside the empire.
Naturally, they never discovered the truth.
Even if they searched forever, they would never imagine that the one feeding information to Ethan Drake was Captain Marvel herself.
The attacks continued with terrifying precision.
Unfortunately for the Kree Empire, their situation was already far from stable. The empire had been locked in a long and exhausting interstellar war with the Skrull Empire. Fighting an open war on one front while suffering devastating covert strikes on the other made the situation increasingly unbearable.
"Damn those Kryptonian remnants."
"If I ever find you, I swear I'll tear you apart piece by piece."
Rage-filled vows echoed inside the halls of Kree command, but none of their anger changed the reality of the situation.
Far away from the conflict, Neptune remained peaceful.
Under Ethan's command, the Kryptonians had spent the past three months quietly recovering and rebuilding their strength. Instead of drawing attention, they focused on laying a solid foundation for the future.
And in that short span of time, the Kryptonian population had finally broken through its previous limitations.
Seven newborn Kryptonian soldiers had successfully emerged from the incubation pools.
Thanks to the stimulation of the nutrient solution, each of them appeared fully grown the moment they emerged. Their bodies were already as strong and developed as adult warriors.
Still, the method came with a heavy price.
"Their lifespan will be greatly reduced," Adjutant Lilith explained calmly at the time. "This is the result of accelerated development. It's essentially forcing growth too quickly."
Ethan had raised an eyebrow.
"How much lifespan are we talking about?"
Lilith answered without hesitation.
"About fifty years."
The moment he heard that number, Ethan nearly burst out laughing.
Fifty years.
To someone from Earth, a lifespan exceeding half a century would hardly be considered tragic. Yet among Kryptonians, a life lasting only fifty years was considered severely defective.
But once Ethan thought about it from their perspective, the logic made sense.
He himself had drastically underestimated the natural lifespan of Kryptonians.
Take Faora, for example—the icy beauty who served as one of Krypton's most formidable warriors. Although her skin showed no sign of aging, she was already more than two hundred years old.
Compared to that, human life spans were unbelievably short.
As for Ethan himself, he had no idea how long he might live.
But that question wasn't important right now.
Population.
For Krypton, the population problem had finally begun to change.
And that alone was something worth celebrating.
Long ago, Kryptonians had abandoned natural reproduction entirely. Instead, they relied on artificial embryo cultivation to create new life.
Because of that system, population growth was remarkably straightforward.
The real limitation wasn't biology—it was infrastructure.
The original reconnaissance ship simply didn't have enough incubation capacity to sustain large-scale growth. The nutrient pools inside it were far too small.
So under the direction of Kryptonian engineers, a new incubation facility had been constructed on Neptune.
"Your Majesty, the next batch of Kryptonians should number at least several hundred," Lilith reported excitedly.
Ethan chuckled and shook his head.
The entire process reminded him strangely of playing a real-time strategy game. Population growth happened through something resembling factory production.
The only drawback was the limited selection of units.
Currently, Krypton possessed only two genetic templates: soldier and engineer.
"If you think about it like a game," Ethan murmured thoughtfully, "then creating new types of units means developing new genetic templates through technology."
Unfortunately, Krypton's greatest scientific treasure was missing.
The central genetic archive—an enormous collection containing the genetic samples of every Kryptonian lineage—had disappeared along with another Kryptonian survivor: Clark.
And Clark was now on Earth.
"Even if we recover it someday," Lilith added carefully, "incubating a template based on a 'general' class gene would take far longer than expected. The success rate would also be extremely low."
The reason was simple.
The higher the level of a genetic template, the more complex and refined its cellular structure became. Superior genetics meant fewer flaws, but also far greater difficulty when attempting artificial reproduction.
Given Krypton's current circumstances, focusing on mass-producing soldier units remained the most practical strategy.
"Still," Ethan said quietly, clenching his fists, "Krypton's future ultimately depends on how strong I become."
Power surged through his body.
Over the past three months, his strength had increased dramatically.
Feeling the cosmic energy inside him reaching its peak again, Ethan decided it was time for another breakthrough.
He closed his eyes briefly and established a connection with the cosmic energy surrounding Neptune.
"Oracle."
The familiar interface appeared in his mind.
His gaze immediately locked onto one particular line.
Transcendent Defense – Level 39.
Behind it was a glowing plus symbol.
Without hesitation, Ethan activated the upgrade.
Instantly, the energy inside his body was drained away.
It felt as if a miniature black hole had appeared within him, devouring every trace of power he possessed. Yet even after the energy vanished, the system still gave no indication of completion.
Clearly, it wasn't enough.
Ethan inhaled deeply and began drawing in cosmic energy from the surrounding universe to fill the enormous deficit.
The higher the level of an ability, the more energy was required for each upgrade.
The process lasted half a day.
Finally—
Ding.
The long-awaited notification appeared.
"Transcendent Defense – Level 40."
Ethan let out a slow breath of relief.
The energy siphoning he had just performed had turned an entire region of Neptune's sky into something resembling a vacuum. If he had continued any longer, the planet might have been completely drained of nearby cosmic energy.
But the results were worth it.
Ding.
"New special skill unlocked: Magic Immunity."
Ethan burst into laughter.
That was an excellent ability.
Among Superman's few weaknesses, magic had always been one of the most troublesome. In countless comic storylines, powerful sorcerers had been able to challenge Superman precisely because his abilities were overwhelmingly physical.
It had even become a running joke among fans.
Apparently Superman was strong in every field—except magic.
"Perfect," Ethan said with satisfaction.
Now he finally had no obvious weaknesses.
At that moment, the door behind him opened quietly.
Lucini stepped inside wearing soft pajamas. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her chin gently on his shoulder.
"Your Majesty," she said with a smile, "Captain Marvel has sent another message."
Ethan turned his head slightly.
"Is it the location of another Kree fleet?"
Lucini nodded.
"Yes. According to her report, a Kree fleet will soon pass through the outer star field near Nidavellir, the world of the dwarves."
....
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