amaotonovel Chapter 3886 The Nameless Bat (56)
Chapter 3886 The Nameless Bat (56)
Chapter 3886 The Nameless Bat (Fifty-Six)
Darkseid snapped out of his reverie and looked down at the battle situation on the Oa Vanguard Shield satellite. This was an outpost base on Oa, the main base of the Guardians of the Universe, and one of the deployment points for the Vanguard Shield. The Vanguard Shield was the last line of defense for Oa; once it was breached, Sector 0, where Oa was located, would be annihilated.
The Vanguard Shield, which used to shine day and night, has dimmed under the relentless attacks of the Parademon army. Meanwhile, the Lanterns, who were supposed to protect this planet, are also using the power of their emotional spectrum to relentlessly attack the shield, even more frenziedly than the cruel and bloodthirsty Parademon.
Green Lantern led the charge, followed closely by Yellow Lantern, with Blue and Purple Lanterns not to be outdone, and even Red Lantern, usually playing the villain, stepped in to lend a hand. Countless colorful lights flashed around Oa, dazzling like neon lights.
Inside the central conference hall of Planet Oa, the guardians of the universe were engaged in a frantic discussion. The little blue figures, dressed in robes, sat around the circular conference hall, first arguing, then coming to blows. Their short bodies and large heads were tangled up in a heap, a far cry from their previous composed and elegant demeanor.
"Enough!" a small blue figure standing on a high place shouted, waving his scepter forcefully. "We've done enough wrong! This is our retribution! The only way now is to abandon Oa and go back to our home planet. Otherwise, Darkseid will not let us off the hook!"
"Ganther! You coward!" another Guardian of the Universe roared at the person above, "Why should we bow down to that brat who hasn't even grown his first hair?! When the Guardians of the Universe were developing the universe, his ancestors were still digging for food in the dirt!"
"Why are you so unrepentant?!" the little blue man called Ganther said in anguish. "To suppress Hal Jordan, you actually stole the power of the Lamp Ring at the crucial moment of his duel, killing him outright. Not just him, but Sector 73, Sector 98, Sector 106... you've killed so many people, you probably can't even count them all!!"
"If you hadn't repeatedly pressured us, how could the Lanterns have ever rebelled against us? Now, instead of reflecting on your mistakes, you're shifting blame onto each other and belittling Darkseid, who fought his way here!"
Ganther took two steps back and said, "I founded the Blue Lantern Legion, and they were all my children, yet they were sacrificed in vain because of your wrong decisions. My wife and I will never allow such cruel and shameless behavior from you! I will leave this place and never come back!"
After saying that, he turned to leave. Suddenly someone called out to him, "Wait! I'll go with you."
Another small blue man in a long robe walked towards Ganser. The two men on the right exchanged a glance and followed Ganser; a little further away, others also headed in that direction.
Just as the little blue man standing in the center of the court was about to say something, a little blue man who looked obviously a bit old spoke up: "Gansher is right. You went too far this time. Hal Jordan shouldn't have sacrificed himself in vain, and we will pay the price for it."
"But are we really going to abandon everything on Ou'a Star?! This is all the result of our years of hard work, are we just going to let that damned new god benefit from it?!"
“If they wanted Oa, they wouldn’t still be struggling to break through the Vanguard Shield,” the old blue man said. “They want to swallow us whole. If we don’t leave now, we might never get out.”
"No! We still have our ultimate weapon!" said the little blue man in the center of the field. "The experiment is about to be completed. As soon as we bring it out, they will definitely retreat!"
"You're insane!" Ganther yelled, turning around. "If you want to destroy the universe, then go ahead. I can't stand you bunch of lunatics for even a second longer. I shouldn't have come back in the first place!"
He strode to the door, but as he was about to leave, he said in a deep voice, “The lie has been repeated too many times, and you yourselves have come to believe it. Is the Emotional Spectrum really what we discovered? Does the power of the Seven Lamps really come from us? Do you think that if you don’t bring it up, he won’t come back? I told you, this is our retribution.”
After speaking, he left the conference center with about a dozen guardians of the universe. As his words fell, the others in the room seemed somewhat shaken, and some even displayed obvious fear.
"Could it be him returning?" someone asked. But no one could answer him, not even the oldest guardian of the universe.
Ganser, along with his like-minded little blue men, boarded a small spaceship. Although they could fly, in such a chaotic battlefield, unmarked UFOs would be shot down immediately. The little blue men weren't physically strong enough, and they didn't want to get hit.
"Report, Your Majesty, a small spaceship has taken off from the surface. Should we intercept it?"
"Can you detect their communication signals?"
"Yes, he sent us a request. It seems he wants to talk. Would you like to answer?"
“Bring him in,” Darkseid said.
“Greetings, Your Majesty Darkseid,” Ganther spoke first. He said, “Time is of the essence, so let’s get straight to the point. The Emotional Spectrum wasn’t discovered by the Guardians of the Universe, nor did we invent the technology to utilize it. It was all stolen from the First Lantern, whom we call the First Lantern. Later, the Guardians of the Universe, fearing his power, set a trap and imprisoned him. The location wasn’t on Oa, but I don’t know exactly where.”
“What I’m about to tell you is that since the Lamp Corps was founded, the Guardians of the Universe have been stealing the power of the Emotional Spectrum through the Lamp Furnace. They’ve hoarded a great deal of that power and are trying to use it to create a weapon that can deal with the first Lampman. Right now, the weapon engine containing all that power is at the core of Oa. If you push them too far, they might detonate that giant bomb.”
"The way to deal with this bomb is to go to the core of Oa while they're not paying attention. Note that you must send a Lantern Knight. Only those with the power of the Seven Lanterns can get close there. As long as we can find a way to extract the power from the engine core, the bomb won't explode. You'll be safe then. I believe this information is enough for you to let me go. Is that right, Your Majesty?"
Darkseid twirled his fingers slightly. This could be a conspiracy by the Blue Man, but he was more inclined to believe it was true, because there was no need to lie about something that could be confirmed by a Lantern. Even if he were lying, he would be exposed quickly.
If, as he says, these little blue men have intercepted the power of the Seven Lamps and are even trying to use it to create some kind of weapon, then that would indeed be a problem for them. Putting aside everything else, Darkseid has his eye on this planet, and if they were to actually destroy it, the loss would be enormous.
“Let them go,” Darkseid said. “And send men to follow them and see where they are going.”
The communication was still ongoing, and Darkseid was clearly threatening Ganther. But Ganther didn't care, thanked him, and left.
“Send our spies to check,” Darkseid said, waving his hand.
After a moment's hesitation, Dessard said, "Should we keep it from Batman? If we really have that much power, we can take it ourselves..."
“What would we do with energy?” Darkseid raised an eyebrow. “If we really had energy, we’d give it all to Batman. All I want is this planet at the center of the universe. I’ll move Apocalypse Realm here.”
"Even so, there's no need to let Batman get away with this..."
“Do you think he doesn’t know?” Darkseid sneered. “He definitely knows the situation at the center of Oa, and even has a basic estimate of the amount of energy. He’s testing me. If I’m going to keep it from him, he’ll definitely try to trick me.”
“Besides,” Darkseid paused for a moment before saying, “the situation in the multiverse is very complicated. If he doesn’t get something good to protect his little planet, where will he get the energy to care about other universes? If that guy weren’t so suspicious, I would have just persuaded him to move Earth next to Apokolips, so at least it wouldn’t be wiped out by some third-rate civilization.”
Disad didn't ask any more questions, but bowed and left. He could understand Darkseid's thoughts: within a single universe, Earth was a stumbling block to Darkseid's destruction and expansion; but in the multiverse, Earth and Apokolips were one, belonging to the same single universe, so they could be said to share both prosperity and ruin.
Whether this single universe improves or deteriorates, Earth and Apokolips cannot escape it. Therefore, for the greater good, they have no choice but to help each other and unite against a common enemy. Otherwise, let alone contend for dominance in the multiverse, they would probably be wiped out by someone else in no time.
Darkseid's invitation to Earth to come to Apokolips wasn't about kidnapping it. He simply couldn't stand Batman's constant antics on that wretched planet: if you have the ability and the ambition to conquer the multiverse, then go for it! Why be a street hero?
Darkseid's ideal scenario was that he would protect Earth from the universe, freeing the Justice League to fight for dominance in the multiverse.
Although Darkseid wanted to go himself, he couldn't because he didn't receive an invitation from the Battle Realm. He also understood that his greatest asset was the Apocalypse Domain, but this was only effective within a single universe. Outside of it, his fighting power might not even be comparable to Superman's. It was better for him to remain behind the scenes and manipulate the Justice League.
When Batman received Darkseid's message, he was sitting by Green Lantern Hal's bedside. Hal wasn't dead, of course; it was all an act. But to fool the other Lanterns, Darkseid had still severely injured him. Although he had mostly recovered after being healed by Green Lantern energy, Batman still wanted him to rest a little longer.
"You damn bastard!" Green Lantern cursed.
"This is the sixth time you've said that today," the main universe Batman said without looking up as he worked on his copywriting.
"But you haven't responded to me even once!"
“Because you’re right, I’m an asshole,” the main universe Batman continued, then wrote a reply on a battle report.
"At least you shouldn't have kept it from me!" Green Lantern roared again. "Do you know how cold my heart was the moment the Green Lantern energy disappeared? I didn't even want to fight Darkseid anymore; I just wanted to go and take those sons of bitches of the Guardians of the Universe down with me!"
“Your chance has come,” the main universe Batman said, looking at the message on his communicator. “I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to go to the center of Oa. There are the Seven Lamps’ power that the Guardians of the Universe have intercepted there. As long as we can get that energy back, the magical defense network can be built.”
"When Earth is able to protect itself, I will be able to focus more on cosmic affairs and even operate in the multiverse. This will benefit Gotham, Earth, and our entire universe."
Green Lantern was surprised to hear a hint of expectation in Batman's tone, something he hadn't heard since the Justice League's inception. His anger slowly dissipated, replaced by a rising hope, much like Batman's.