amaotonovel Chapter 4468 The Black Death (5)
Chapter 4468 The Black Death (5)
Chapter 4468 The Black Death (Part 5)
Hal became excited. In his view, he would be at the heart of Batman's plan, and this would be a golden opportunity for him to deliver a heavy blow to the mastermind behind it all.
“What do I need to do?” Hal asked.
"Although you now know the truth, as long as you drink the rest of the wine, those traces will remain for a while. The Black Death Emperor has already gathered at the bottom of the sea. When you rush to the rescue, they will definitely want to recruit you."
"I'll show them these traces when the time comes. Even if what they hear from the Black Death Emperor is that I haven't been corrupted yet, or that they're targeting me, as long as they see these traces, they'll think the Black Death Emperor has other plans. And because of the delay in their communication, at least in the next wave of battle, they won't focus on me."
“That’s it,” Schiller said with a smile and a nod.
"But this won't buy us much time," Hal said rationally. "At most, it'll only buy us one or two more attacks."
“That’s enough.” Schiller and Hal walked out the door together.
"It seems you've got a lead? Where is the power of White Lantern?"
You'll find out soon enough.
As Hal reminisced, they found themselves at the bottom of the sea. This place was originally a hydrothermal vent, where scorching hot water should have spewed forth near the surface. But now, it was shockingly cold, and the closer they got to the vent, the colder it became.
Hal stopped everyone from moving forward. He turned to Clark and said, "Cut it open here."
Clark nodded, took a deep breath, and a laser beam swept across, cutting a long crack in the ground. As soon as the crack opened, a thick stench of decay filled the air.
Everyone was so surprised that they took a step back. Rong En walked in front and said, "I'll go down and check first. You can come down when everything is alright."
Ron flew down, and the others were worried. Ron returned quickly, but he was pale. He said, "There are only bones down there."
"what?!"
“They weren’t just dead,” Rong En said after thinking for a moment. “And they weren’t just human remains either. There were all sorts of skeletons, including common animals and even what looked like dinosaurs. It looked like they were deliberately piled up here.”
“Looks like this guy was prepared.” Clark squinted and said, “Ron, you go up first, I’ll burn this thing.”
After Ron left the area, Clark repeatedly cut with a laser, eventually revealing the scene beneath the hydrothermal vent. Just as Ron had said, it was indeed filled with the bones of countless creatures, each bone imbued with the power of death, constantly spewing into the seawater above through the hydrothermal vent, thus polluting the entire ocean.
Because the death energy emanating from these bones was too concentrated, Clark dared not handle them rashly. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Hal, use Green Light energy to extract these bones, and I'll take them to the sun to destroy them."
After much deliberation, he still trusted the sun the most. The sun should be able to purify these impure forces. Hal followed his advice, using green light energy to transfer these things out, and Clark flew towards the sun with the bones.
When he returned, he was holding one in his hand. Hal looked at him, and Clark said, "Leave one for Batman to study."
Hal nodded. Actually, so far, they hadn't seized any real death power; they had only monitored some data. Having real power as a research sample would make it easier to uncover the weaknesses of the mastermind behind it all.
With one source removed, the seawater became clearer at a visible speed. The purifying power emanating from the environmental modification device swept across the sea, withered plants sprouted new buds, and fish eggs hatched one after another. It seemed that soon, the sea would once again be a vibrant and thriving place.
The Justice League members breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, the environmental modification device really worked. However, the thought of Batman made Clark's heart clench again.
“We can’t just defend passively; we have to take the initiative.” Clark sighed deeply and then said, “If the Atlantic Ocean has a source, then the Pacific Ocean should have one too.”
“That guy said he’s from Seaside City,” Hal said at the opportune moment. “Seaside City is a city on the west coast, and their base should be there too. The environmental purification device there is closer to Asia and farther from where they are, so they’re probably not easy to deal with.”
“We have to deal with it, even if it’s tough,” Clark said. “That’s why the disaster on the West Coast is likely to be even more severe. We need to get there and take a look.”
Hal wasn't without concern for the coastal city, but he knew that since these people had chosen to target the ocean, they probably wouldn't devote too much energy to the land.
Moreover, they probably didn't anticipate that the "nails" Batman had planted early on would be perfect for cleaning up ocean pollution, and that these three "nails" were so widely dispersed, scattered around the three major continents of Asia, Europe, and America. Besides the United States, the other two regions also boasted numerous capable individuals. With their limited manpower, causing trouble across the world's oceans was already a huge challenge; trying to manage the land as well would likely be impossible.
Thinking of this, Hal once again marveled at Batman's foresight. He knew that if it weren't for this nail, which allowed these guys to directly control the ocean, once a tsunami filled with deathly power was unleashed, coastal cities around the world would be doomed.
And that hooded fellow from Seaside City would show no mercy to his hometown; he might even make an example of him, turning Seaside City into a barren wasteland filled with death. At that point, Hal didn't even dare to imagine how he would face the people of Seaside City.
With this in mind, Hal quickened his pace, and the group headed to the west coast, wanting to remove the source of pollution in the Pacific Ocean as quickly as possible.
Batman, of course, wasn't idle either. He was standing in the equipment room above the nail, constantly changing modes. Although the purifying power was still being output, and the Atlantic was returning to its former glory, he continued to make adjustments, as if he wanted to do something more.
Schiller seems to be the most idle person right now. However, since the president is absent, he has to temporarily assume the presidency. Fortunately, there's nothing difficult to do; it's mostly just collecting taxes and appeasing the public.
But as evening approached, an unexpected visitor arrived at the president's office. Schiller heard a noise behind him, turned around, and was surprised to see Damian.
"Shh!" Damian gestured to him, then raised his hands to indicate that he meant no harm.
"Why are you here?" Schiller hadn't planned to call anyone, and he already had a guess about Damian's purpose in coming.
Damian took a deep breath. He seemed a little embarrassed to speak, but some force compelled him to sit down opposite Schiller and say, "I want your help."
"How can I help you?"
Damian's face showed a conflicted expression, but it was quickly replaced by fear. He said, "I don't want... I don't want to become that kind of monster. I'm not a monster! I'm Damian Wayne, I'm not a monster!!"
By the end, Damian was roaring. Schiller poured him a glass of water and said, "Calm down."
Damian realized his outburst, but he had no time to think about anything else. He slammed his fist on the table and said, "Did you see what Amanda looks like? My God. If she turned into that, I'd rather die!"
Then, his whole body trembled slightly, and he said, "Batman was right. I really am a monster. I'll become like that too. I'll soon..."
Schiller sighed and waved his hand in front of Damian's eyes. Seeing that Damian had come to his senses, he said, "If I'm not mistaken, Amanda wasn't controlled by the Black Death Emperor to become like that; she willingly used that power."
Damian was taken aback. Schiller said, "You resurrected people were originally meant to sow discord among the Justice League members, not to fight Superman head-on. The Black Death Emperor didn't expect you to be of any use in a direct assault. Or rather, compared to formidable fighters like Steppenwolf and Atlantis, you wouldn't be of much use."
"You mean we've already been abandoned?"
"Pretty much. Amanda was unwilling to be abandoned, so she unleashed the power within her, turning herself into a monster. You can control that kind of power too, can't you?"
Damian's expression changed, and then he said, "Things have come to this point, and I have no reason to lie to you. I do have superpowers after my resurrection, but those powers are very weak and can only be used for sneak attacks. I have never fully activated them."
“It’s a good thing you didn’t,” Schiller said, taking a sip of water. “Otherwise, you would have become just like Amanda by now.”
Then Schiller thought for a moment and said, “Every bit of power that the Black Death Emperor can infiltrate into the multiverse is precious and will not be wasted on useless people. You pawns who have been abandoned are destined not to receive new power. In fact, if the battle goes poorly, the power you have will be taken back and transferred to the undead who are better at direct combat. So, it was wise of you to come to me.”
Do you have a solution?
"Not yet. But at least, you're here and they won't capture you to drain your strength. That's the best outcome we can hope for."
Damian looked incredulous and said, "Batman must have a way, right?"
“Then you’ll probably have to wait,” Schiller said. “Batman isn’t going to disrupt his plans for you guys. He’d be lucky to get you along.”
Damian wasn't disappointed; instead, he said excitedly, "He really does have a way, right? We still need Batman to make the final decision."
Schiller was somewhat exasperated. Damian coming to them for help was entirely expected. After all, they'd gone to so much trouble to fool him; this was the effect they wanted. But Batman's charisma was just too much; no Robin could resist Batman.
“And Steve,” Damian began, “he didn’t want to do it anymore either. But he didn’t come with me; he went to the Amazon instead.”
Schiller thought for a moment about the location of the nail in Europe, and then said, "Let it stay there."
Although they only managed to swindle two people back, if you include Victor's mother, who is being controlled by Dr. Stone, and the El couple who are still on Krypton and unable to return, that's already half the population.
Batman and Schiller had long suspected that it wouldn't be so easy for the Black Death to reclaim the powers from these people. Otherwise, he would have done so the moment the plan completely failed. It seems they would have had to be taken somewhere or made contact with them in some way.
If these people are controlled by them, it's equivalent to the Black Death Emperor's investment in them being completely wasted. And he doesn't have much power to invest to begin with, so this will be painful for him for a while.
Their initial plans, seemingly scattered, were actually interconnected. First, they used the Martian invasion plan to thwart their divisive tactics. Then, they used the guise of aliens to drive the Nail into Earth as a cover. Once the main attack began, they attacked Oa, eliminated the hindrance of the little blue man, and reclaimed the power of the Seven Lamps, which they then infused into the Nail to purify the ocean. Next, they controlled a portion of the undead, putting the Black Death Emperor in a difficult position. This ebb and flow led to their current successful situation.