amaotonovel Chapter 3885 The Nameless Bat (55)
Chapter 3885 The Nameless Bat (55)
Chapter 3885 The Nameless Bat (Fifty-Five)
Darkseid's heart skipped a beat when he heard the words "higher position." It was a feeling he hadn't experienced in years. He had to admit that his internal warnings were completely ineffective. Batman was indeed adept at offering someone an offer they couldn't refuse.
Seeing Darkseid's expression, Batman knew he had made the right bet.
It wasn't entirely a gamble. He remembered a long time ago, around the time he sent the birds to Schiller's universe, he had written to Schiller asking about Darkseid. At that time, the professor had included a psychoanalysis of Darkseid in his reply. This gave Batman a significant advantage in his subsequent encounters with Darkseid.
To summarize the analysis, it can be divided into two main points: one is Darkseid's spiritual world, and the other is Darkseid's personality. Although they may sound similar, they are actually two completely different parts.
Darkseid is a new god. Leaving aside the conflicts between new and old gods, from a cosmic perspective, his birth was relatively late, a case of the latecomer surpassing the old. Because of this, at times his pursuit of status outweighs his pursuit of profit.
It's like the old money versus the new money, the inherited family versus the newly rich from humble beginnings within the human race. The latter, after accumulating a certain amount of capital and rising to prominence, will inevitably have to sacrifice some interests in their pursuit of status.
Although status itself is a kind of benefit, sometimes there are difficult choices. A person like Darkseid would definitely choose status, even if it means giving up some readily available benefits.
In the world of these people, what provides them with spiritual satisfaction is the process of constantly climbing upwards. Although there are many things to enjoy after reaching the top, the spiritual stimulation they receive is far less than the pleasure they derive from the achievement they gain step by step while striving upwards.
Many people are unaware of this. They find that one day, or even just an hour later, their lives suddenly become empty: they have no goals, no direction, and can no longer feel that original, excited, and ambitious energy. It's as if they've suddenly died.
They see this as a failure, but in reality, it's an excessive success. However, those unable to make accurate judgments might be led astray by this emptiness. That would be true failure.
Darkseid was actually this kind of person. He climbed all the way up, defeating the old gods, becoming the new gods, conquering planets, creating realms... until one day, he began to enter a void where there was no way to rise any higher.
Everyone has a ceiling in their world. Sometimes it's not that you've reached the top, but simply that you've touched the highest level you can reach. Darkseid is pretty much like that. He's invincible in the Apocalypse Realm, and even advanced civilizations like the Guardians of the Universe don't dare to easily touch his beard. If it weren't for someone interfering, the little blue man would never have fought Darkseid, no matter how hard he tried.
Of course, he hasn't completely conquered the universe yet. But what he has now is no different from what he would have after conquering the universe. The universe is like his living room; no one would dare to provoke him.
Conquering the universe remained his goal, but it suddenly felt vague. Sometimes he couldn't help but wonder what he would do after conquering the universe. Could he enjoy this pinnacle of power for a long time without growing weary?
Darkseid knew he couldn't do it, but he had no better option. The universe was only so big, and each opponent he defeated was one less to be defeated. Even if he won them all, would his long life end there, with no way to go any further?
Until one day, he came into contact with the Battle Realm.
Actually, it couldn't really be called contact; it was more like hearing about it. Previously, a renowned cosmic warrior named Starfire had a conflict with his son, Kalibak. Starfire was captured by Desard's scheme and her brainwaves were read. Although she escaped, some information from her mind caught Desard's attention. Ultimately, this information was given to Darkseid. This was the first time he had heard of the Fighting World.
Darkseid couldn't possibly be uninterested in a platform that could allow intelligent life across the multiverse, or even between two great worlds, to communicate. He ordered his men to search for the location throughout the universe and made countless attempts to find it, but unsurprisingly, all attempts failed.
Until today, when Batman brought it up again, Darkseid realized that this platform was more than just a place to play games; it would profoundly impact the multiverse. Batman was already prepared; a major shift in the multiverse was imminent.
Darkseid, who had long since grown bored with the goal of conquering the universe, felt a surge of energy when he thought about participating in the multiverse wars. It was like a long-dormant engine being refueled. A rumbling roar reverberated through his chest, just as it had when he first faced the Old Gods in his youth. The last time he experienced this wonderful feeling seemed to have been thousands of years ago.
This is Darkseid's mental world. His personality is also one of the reasons he couldn't refuse. Perhaps originally he wasn't so similar to Batman, but because of the battle between Batman and the Joker on Apokolips, which turned Gotham City into the Gotham Realm, Darkseid was badly tricked and almost became Batman himself. A part of his personality began to resemble Batman's.
Of course, it's not the part about justice; it's more likely the negative aspects of Batman, such as his strong desire for control and his somewhat overly cautious "precautionary thinking."
In his view, a storm is brewing in the multiverse, but he knows nothing about it and has no control over it—it's the most terrifying thing in the world. So even if Batman doesn't offer him any generous terms, he'll still cooperate—just to stick his hand in the soup and stir it up.
In conclusion, even if Batman didn't come in person or bring any friends, but simply delivered a message, Darkseid would still reply. Moreover, given Batman's sincerity this time, what reason does Darkseid have to refuse?
"When will the Lanterns rebel?" Darkseid asked, walking down the steps with his hands behind his back. But he wasn't asking Batman; he was asking Dessaid. Clearly, this was one of their backup plans for defeating the Guardians of the Universe. They hadn't used it before because they weren't confident, but with Batman and Green Lantern working together from the inside, it would be a piece of cake.
Disadard bowed to him and said, “Your Majesty, in just this week, 30 sectors have suffered casualties due to the Guardians of the Universe’s erroneous mobilization orders, bringing the total number of casualties to more than 200.”
Even though Darkseid had anticipated this, he was still taken aback by the number. The Lanterns couldn't just create millions of Parademons at will. While wearing the ring granted superpowers, training was required to wield its power effectively. Furthermore, many surface creatures had no experience in space combat; it would take at least a month or two of combat to gain any real understanding. The cost of training personnel was terrifyingly high.
Before the war, the Green Lantern Regiment had approximately 7000 members; currently, there are probably fewer than 6000 left. Despite having seven regiments, some consisted of only one person, while others had only a handful of members, meaning the total number of regiments combined was only a few tens of thousands. The fact that 200 people died within a week due to command errors is an unforgivable mistake.
Darkseid couldn't help but turn around and look at Disadad, saying, "And they still haven't rebelled?"
He appeared extremely displeased. Dessard, of course, knew what the Dark Lord meant: "You said the Guardians of the Universe were acting so outrageously, needing Batman's help to turn the Lightbearers against us?"
Disad wiped the sweat from his brow and said, "Although the number of casualties is high, the battle lines are too long and information sharing between the various regiments is slow, making it impossible for many units to reconcile accounts. If this were a local unit, these losses would be acceptable. Therefore, although the soldiers and middle-level managers have complaints, it hasn't reached the point of mutiny."
Darkseid immediately understood. The Guardians of the Universe must have done it on purpose: they didn't allow the Lanterns to exchange battle reports, and since this was the first time the Lanterns had fought such a large-scale cosmic war, they lacked any professional communications personnel. Everyone was fighting their own battles in a daze, and the only reason they were able to hold out against the Legion of Apocalypse was because the energy of the Emotional Spectrum was too powerful and there were enough able-bodied men in the universe; otherwise, they would have collapsed long ago.
Furthermore, the relationships between the different light groups are not good. Yellow and green lights are mortal enemies; how can one expect these two groups to exchange information or resources?
Dozens of people died on the green light side due to command errors, and dozens more died on the yellow light side. On both sides, it seemed acceptable, but when combined, it was a different story.
“Put more pressure on them,” Darkseid said. “And let our spies who’ve infiltrated the country spread the word. Aren’t those champions of justice all they love to talk about, ‘putting aside past grievances and cooperating sincerely’? And I have to teach them that? How utterly foolish!”
"They didn't realize the losses caused by the command error because you weren't putting enough pressure on the front lines," Batman said. "Once the battle gets intense, even the loss of one or two people is unacceptable. At that point, they'll naturally be full of complaints. I'll have Hal take the lead and bring together the leaders of the Light Brigade for a meeting, and they'll naturally discover what the Guardians of the Universe have been up to."
“That’s not enough,” Darkseid said, turning to Batman. “They might complain, they might disobey orders, but they won’t besiege the Guardians of the Universe.”
“That’s where I need to give them a push,” Batman said. “Resentment builds up gradually, but intelligent beings are more patient than anyone thinks. And the Lamp Rings mostly only target good people, and they can endure it until death. So we need to find a way to detonate their emotions.”
"What are you going to do?"
"Tragedy is about showing people how something beautiful is destroyed. I have created a near-perfect war hero, Hal Jordan. Now, all I have to do is elevate him to godhood through an unprecedented battle, and then destroy him."
"Do you need my cooperation?"
“That’s right. Step forward, and when your army is overwhelming you and on the verge of collapse, Hal will challenge you to a duel. You accept his challenge and state that if he wins, you will withdraw your troops.”
"Then……"
"His lamp ring will lose its power at the crucial moment when he is about to defeat you, and he will be killed by you. You just need to say regretfully, 'You are a hero, but unfortunately, the Guardian of the Universe only wants an obedient dog,' and then turn and leave."
The instant Darkseid's eyes met Batman's, he felt even the Omega Rays in his vision sting from Batman's coldness and darkness. Looking at Batman's black cape, Darkseid couldn't help but wonder, sometimes, who truly was the Dark King.