What's wrong with Superman's brother wanting to be Homelander?

Chapter 50: Shadow Armor

Back at the farm, it wasn't too late.

Despite going through several major battles, except for the final encounter with the combined Mind Flayer Garvekner, which took a little longer, the rest of the battles ended almost effortlessly, seemingly long but actually lasting only a few minutes.

In addition, after obtaining the Abyss, he could travel through dimensional rifts, which indirectly shortened his travel time.

Inside the farmhouse.

Ms. Martha has just finished preparing dinner for tonight.

Some hollow pasta with stewed beef and potatoes, and dessert, some cheesecakes drizzled with chocolate sauce.

Lucas didn't like the desserts, so he gave them all to Clark and Rachel.

After helping Ms. Martha clean the kitchen, he didn't rush to train. Instead, he found a secluded corner and entered the Abyss World again.

After gaining recognition from the Abyss World, Lucas discovered that the Shadow Particles could not only construct creatures such as Mind Flayers, Demon Hounds, and Demon Lords, but also be used for other purposes.

For example, it can attach itself to its own body and form some kind of biological armor.

Perhaps because the recognition he received was of a higher level, Lucas figured out a few tricks in less than ten minutes.

His mind was connected to the Hive consciousness. As each thought came to mind, after a brief moment of calm, the deep black particles around him instantly adhered to his limbs like flowing inky fireflies.

At first, it was just a fine black mist swirling around the body, but it quickly condensed and compacted, transforming into a close-fitting suit of armor that conformed to the body's shape.

The armor's main color is a pure, matte black, not the glossy surface of cold metal, but with a frosty, matte texture, like a solidified dark night.

Furthermore, the texture of the aggregated particles is clearly visible, like fine flowing lines crawling all over the body, without any harsh seams, making it look seamless.

His entire face was covered in particle armor, and the area around his eyes shimmered with a dark brown hue similar to the earth beneath his feet.

On his chest was a scarlet, fiery lightning mark.

Lucas then made some further adjustments to the details.

For example, controlling shadow particles and exotic energy to construct a pair of huge, powerful wings on the back of the armor, resembling Ankaragang.

The wing's skeleton is entirely made of hardened armor, incredibly thick, spreading out from the shoulder and branching into countless slender segments to support the entire wing membrane.

The wingtips are sharp like scimitars, with a ring of fine black thorns along the edge. They are slightly curved, both sharp and with a touch of gorgeous arc, gleaming with a cold, hard, black, metallic luster.

Lucas gave it a try, and to his surprise, he could actually fly.

Its flight speed is even faster than when he runs at full speed. With all its power turned on, its top speed can reach 300 to 400 kilometers per hour, and its altitude can reach about 5,000 meters.

It is comparable to American combat helicopters.

Of course, the only drawback is that it lacks growth potential.

However, being able to fly already makes up for all the shortcomings.

Lucas soared excitedly through the skies of the Abyss for nearly half an hour before reluctantly landing on the ground.

Thanks to these particle life forms with collective consciousness, even on his first flight, he was able to master the skill instantly.

"These shadow particles are extremely malleable, but they also have a fatal weakness: their attack and defense are not very strong."

Lucas sat down heavily on the ground, pondering to himself.

Although those demon kings and demon dogs could easily slaughter soldiers and send ordinary people flying several meters away, they couldn't withstand concentrated firepower for more than a few seconds; their bodies simply couldn't withstand the barrage of bullets.

Similarly, once faced with human high-tech armor, one's strength is almost useless.

Not only the Demon King and the Demon Dog, but even the Mind Flayer, which was finally formed by fusion, could not withstand the attack of ordinary firearms.

In other words, his Shadow Armor is also unable to resist ordinary firearms such as bullets.

Although his physical body could compensate for this, entering the second form right away was clearly not in line with Lucas's plan.

Lucas was pondering whether he could enhance these shadow particles.

For example, they can be allowed to decompose certain rare metals and ores, absorbing their components and energy.

Shadow particles possess both the power to construct life forms and the ability to decompose matter.

But it's unclear whether it can be absorbed, since it's never been tried before. Vikner was only focused on his purification efforts and hadn't experimented in this area.

He doesn't have any rare metals at the moment.

However, there are quite a few rare minerals.

When his brother came to Earth, he brought not only a large amount of scattered kryptonite, but also more than one mother mine.

Besides some that fell into the Pacific Ocean, others have been incorporated into the underground mines of Smallville.

The reason Lex Luthor was able to deal with Superman later on was because he controlled a large number of kryptonite veins, which allowed him to conduct experiments continuously.

However, although Lucas knew there were large kryptonite veins beneath his feet, he was unsure of their exact location.

While [Divine Insight] granted him more magical abilities, it did not allow him to see through things.

Of course, Lucas wasn't in a big hurry.

He already had quite a lot saved up, which he could use to conduct experiments with the Shadow Particles.

"Besides Kryptonite, DC also has other well-known metals such as the Ninth Metal, Amazon Metal, Carbon Alloy Steel, Star Core Ore, Azure Ore, Dream Stone..."

Lucas rattled off the details with great familiarity, his desire growing stronger as he thought about it, making him eager to bring these rare minerals back immediately for research.

Once it becomes feasible, he could practically run rampant with his Shadow Armor.

Thinking this, he immediately manipulated the black gate and went to the place where he usually hid his kryptonite.

It's worth mentioning that although the Black Gate can be opened without restriction, the landing point must be a place that you have personally visited before.

In other words, you must have a real impression of this place in your mind.

Having obtained the kryptonite, Lucas threw it directly into the abyss, controlling the shadow particles and strange energy to surge towards the stones that shimmered with a ghostly green light.

Take advantage of this moment.

Lucas continued his research on the Shadow Armor, connected by the collective consciousness of the Hive.

All it takes is a thought.

The armor can appear or disappear instantly, making it even more convenient than Iron Man's nanotech armor.

After practicing several times and becoming more proficient, Lucas looked at the kryptonite again.

No chemical reaction occurred.

Obviously, this cannot be accomplished in a short time.

Lucas simply withdrew from the Abyss and began his training for the night.

...

The two-day break passed quickly.

On Monday, on the school bus,

Lucas controlled his mind and entered the abyss.

After two days of exploration, he realized that he didn't necessarily have to physically enter the abyss.

With the help of [Divine Insight], one can completely control their consciousness to enter into it independently.

As soon as his consciousness entered, Lucas was stunned by the scene he perceived.

In the field of vision, those shadow particles were no longer purely dark.

Their surfaces are covered with a flowing, ethereal green glow, as if the luster of kryptonite has been blended into the darkness.

The originally matte black surface of the particles is now entwined with fine emerald green patterns. The green light travels along the trajectory of the particles, and the black and green intertwine and become indistinguishable from their original boundaries.

More magnificent, more mysterious, more profound!

At the same time, the Hive Center transmitted relevant information to him:

After merging with Kryptonite, the density of Shadow Particles increases dramatically, acquiring a metallic crystalline texture, making them immune to conventional bullets and fire; they also possess a weak Kryptonite radiation field.