The ground trembles.
Fierce winds howl.
The vacation cabin located by Calver Lake, with the shock wave passing by, in the blink of an eye, the exquisite wooden house turns into complete ruins.
The ground beneath Hawk's feet has already cracked.
A low growl continually emanates from the ruins of the wooden house, growing louder, closer.
Until—
"Boom!"
A massive, pure green figure erupts like a projectile, blasting through the rubble covering it and stomps back into Hawk's view.
In the next second.
Hulk roars, the ground shattering underfoot with thud after thud, charging at Hawk like a massive wild bull.
Hawk hesitates not for a moment, his feet stomping down fiercely, turning the cracked ground to powder, his entire being becoming a stream of light in the afternoon sun, rushing toward Hulk.
"Hulk!"
"Roar!"
"Bang!"
"Bang, Bang!"
In the Little Cosmos, flames of fire constantly burst forth.
Hawk's entire body becomes a projectile, crashing directly into Hulk's massive form, sending Hulk flying backward with unabated momentum.
Hulk's massive body shatters tree after tree in the forest by the lake.
As Hulk is sent flying backward by Hawk, he roars, fist after fist pounding into Hawk's back.
Hawk's face flushes, the flames of the Little Cosmos shine ever more brilliantly.
No combat techniques.
No fancy combat moves.
While dragging Hulk towards Calver Lake not far away, enduring Hulk's punches, Hawk throws shadowy punches, one after another landing on Hulk's waist.
Hulk's eyes grow angrier.
Hawk's eyes grow colder.
Boom!
Hawk dives with Hulk into Calver Lake, their bodies shattering the ice surface of the lake, and as two hefty water columns rise, leveraging his sheer size advantage, Hawk, at the moment of submersion, steps directly on Hulk's massive body, his eyes still cold as he rains punch after punch down on Hulk below him.
He had picked his battleground during previous onsite reconnaissance.
It is Calver Lake.
Specifically, it's the water of Calver Lake.
Since awakening the Little Cosmos, Hawk has full control over his five senses.
Even when fighting underwater, he can still maintain his combat power while shutting off his breathing by relying on the Little Cosmos.
But not Hulk.
No matter how strong Hulk is, he needs to breathe; in the movies, Hulk once fainted from oxygen deprivation at high altitudes, and during the battle with Thanos, he also had to expose his head above the water to breathe.
Therefore…
At present, Calver Lake is what Hawk has chosen as Hulk's burial ground.
Yet, Hulk is clearly dissatisfied with this.
After smacking Hawk away with a palm as big as a small hill, Hulk attempts to head towards the water's surface, but as nimble as he is on land, Hawk pauses for a moment under the water, unleashes a burst of air, and appears beneath Hulk, dragging Hulk by the leg, continuing their descent to the waterbed.
The entire Calver Lake seems to be boiling right now.
Water columns continually explode on the water surface, and the ice layer keeps breaking.
Witnessing this whole scene, Gwen is left utterly stunned, and after coming to her senses, she quickly runs to the riverbank, peering beneath the lake's surface.
With a massive physique, and green color, Hulk is highly distinguishable.
But not Hawk.
However…
Gwen strains to open her eyes wide, watching beneath the water's surface, where Hulk seems to be thrashing his limbs, seemingly in resistance to something, but she feels relieved inside nonetheless.
A single statement.
If Hawk had lost, Hulk would have already surfaced.
And presently, since Hulk hasn't surfaced and appears to be in a defensive stance underwater, it only indicates the advantage is on Hawk's side.
As this thought passes through Gwen's mind, footsteps sound behind her.
Gwen quickly snaps back to the present, as if she thought of something, she turns around and looks.
In her line of sight.
She sees the form-fitting combat woman who had just fallen asleep on top of her car is now awake, arriving by her side albeit with a slightly pale complexion.
Natasha also directs her gaze below the water's surface, where water columns continually explode as if an epic battle is unfolding.
While actively searching for Hulk below the water's surface, she retrieves a communicator from her pocket, preparing to contact headquarters.
As for Gwen?
Because she didn't appear along with Hawk, Natasha assumes Gwen is just an ordinary passerby.
And then…
Bang!
Just as Natasha is about to dial the headquarters number, she suddenly halts, instinctively rubbing the back of her head, then turns around to look.
In her line of sight.
Gwen, from somewhere, picked up a stick, and with eyes conveying a mix of tension, apology, determination, and a hint of concern, she looks at Natasha.
What kind of pie chart is in those eyes?
Such a thought crosses Natasha's mind, right before her eyes roll back, dropping the communicator from her hand to the side, and she topples over sideways.
Just like that.
The renowned S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff, was knocked down by a female high school student who wouldn't turn eighteen for a few more days.
Who would believe it?
Gwen watched as Natasha fell to the side, gasping in shock, hurriedly dropped her stick, and then supported the unconscious Natasha.
She looked at the unconscious Natasha, pursed her lips, thought for a moment, and then put her arms around Natasha's waist, hugging her from behind, and slowly moved Natasha backward, trying to drag her off the battlefield.
Gwen had no other thoughts when she made her move.
She just saw Natasha standing with Bruce Banner, clearly on the same side, and Natasha's actions obviously intended to call for support.
How could that be allowed?
Hawk came for revenge for his sister; that was only just.
So...
Gwen instinctively swung a stick at Natasha, but she didn't want to hurt Natasha, and if Natasha were left there, the battle between Hawk and Hulk might harm the unconscious Natasha, so Gwen thought of dragging Natasha away from the battlefield.
This was a war between Hawk and Hulk.
Hawk hadn't used unfair tactics nor harmed innocents.
Then Hulk couldn't either.
One-on-one.
Only then would it be fair!
Beneath the surface of the water.
Accompanied by a huge splash, Hulk, who had sunk to the bottom of the lake, carved two deep trenches in the lakebed like a plow cutting through the ground.
Carry on the struggle to the end, do not learn from bygone kings who sought fame!
Bam!
Hawk, whose sole purpose was to take Hulk's life, exploded with a massive splash behind him as he moved, and then appeared before Hulk once more, punching with his right fist.
In an instant.
The Hulk, already lying on the lake bed, instantly arched his body, and even the lake bed collapsed again, muddy water gushing up as the silt beneath the lakebed churned, burying Hulk and obscuring Hawk's view.
The next second.
The lakebed of Calver Lake began to writhe at this moment, as if a massive worm beneath were churning, and in a blink, it had wriggled ten meters away.
"Trying to escape?"
"Can you get away?"
Hawk sneered coldly, watching the rapidly writhing lakebed, and pursued again, punching with his right fist.
At this moment, Hulk burst through the earth, his eyes wide with fury, roaring as he braced himself with his chest against the blow, then flew backward once more, but as he flew back, he threw what he had dragged out from beneath the lake bed at Hawk.
It was a surfboard, presumably lying dormant at the lake bottom for who knows how long, covered in moss.
Hawk faced the flying surfboard, neither dodging nor evading, charging straight forward.
Boom!
Hawk's body halted.
The surfboard shattered into two pieces, passing over him and continuing backward without slowing down.
But it was this brief pause that gave Hulk an opportunity.
"Bam!"
The water surface of Calver Lake frothed with boiling water flowers, as a green head suddenly burst through the surface, taking large gulps of fresh air.
Having just dragged Natasha to safety and panting heavily, Gwen turned her gaze to the lake, startled by the emerging green head.
At this moment.
Most of Hulk's body broke through the water's surface, his body paused in midair, seemingly recalling something, lowering his head to roar at the surface.
At the last moment, Hawk, who seized Hulk's right leg, gave a cold smile. As his Cosmos exploded, he exerted a sudden force in the water, once again dragging the escaping Hulk back into Calver Lake, flinging him towards the lakebed.
Hulk, flung back into the water, stretched his limbs, trying once more to break through the surface.
But there was no chance.
Boom!
Hulk's entire back slammed heavily into the lakebed again. Just as he prepared to repeat his earlier escape maneuver, Hawk had already caught up, landing a punch that flipped Hulk over as he attempted to burrow into the lakebed.
"Don't you know, the same trick doesn't work twice on a Saint Warrior?"
"Die!"
"Hulk!!"
"Roar!"
"Sound Speed Fist!!"
"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"
Below the water, splashes churned.
Above the water, columns of water shot up.
Column after column of water rose into the sky accompanied by loud booms from beneath the water. Gwen, running to the lakeside again, was dumbfounded by the continuously exploding water columns on the lake surface.
But soon.
As the final boom subsided, as the last water column fell, the once-boiling lake surface visibly regained its calm.
By the time Gwen realized, the entire Calver Lake had restored its former tranquility.
This was…
Has the battle ended?
Who won?
At this moment, Gwen's eyes widened, unblinking as she stared at the lake surface, hopeful and anxious that the next moment wouldn't reveal an outcome she didn't want!
...