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Chapter 680: Optimus Prime and the Green Lantern Corps
Just as the Cybertron Galaxy entered a state of war, with the entire race filled with a solemn, wartime atmosphere, emissaries from Oa finally arrived at the Cybertron Galaxy.
"Tell me, will the Guardians strip me of my Power Ring as punishment afterward?"
The good-natured Kilowog was very worried, reluctantly stroking his Power Ring.
Tomar-Re glanced at him, saying indifferently, "If you don't want to, you can go back. I intended to come find Optimus Prime alone from the start; I didn't ask you to come."
"What kind of talk is that! Am I that kind of person, Kilowog? I'm just worried about the Guardians' attitude!" Kilowog slapped his big belly, yelling loudly.
The Power Ring on his hand shimmered with green light, continuously emitting a soft light barrier that enveloped him, granting him the ability to fly and survive in space.
Tomar-Re calmly said, "Do you think the Guardians wouldn't know we left the main force? They knew from the very beginning, but they haven't stopped us until now. This indicates their tacit approval; they also want to see if we can bring Optimus Prime back."
"But Optimus Prime was exiled by their own hands," Kilowog grumbled.
Back then, Optimus Prime had privately released Sinestro, which led to his judgment by the Guardians. Tony, not trusting the character of those seven individuals, personally descended upon Oa, forcing the entire Green Lantern Corps to bow their heads and causing the Guardians to lose all face and prestige.
But now that the Great War is approaching, the Green Lantern Corps must participate, whether out of public duty — to maintain the stability of the universe's order, combat evil, and protect the weak — or out of self-interest — to limit the scope of deterioration to a few hundred galaxies centered around Andromeda before the situation completely unravels, preventing a greater impact on the entire universe.
Seven thousand two hundred Green Lanterns, a full half of their personnel, were dispatched to the battlefield – an unprecedented massive mobilization.
It should be noted that when the seven Guardians first took control of the Emotional Spectrum and established the Green Lantern Corps, in their burst of confidence, they declared war on Apokolips to gain prestige. They only dispatched 2400 Green Lanterns then, and were ultimately wiped out by an enthusiastic Darkseid, suffering total annihilation.
With such a massive, unprecedented assembly of troops, the Green Lanterns, who lacked experience in Legion-level great wars, were truly unsure.
They pushed and pulled, trying to select a commander capable of rivaling the former Sinestro and Optimus Prime, but after much deliberation, they found themselves at a loss, as no one was suitable.
A leader and a high-level commander are sometimes not the same thing: one is the supreme leader, akin to a president, while the other is the army's wartime commander, akin to a marshal.
Sinestro and Optimus Prime both possessed commanding talent, enough to simultaneously fulfill the roles of leader and commander, but their successors, after they left, were somewhat at a loss.
Most importantly, even the Guardians themselves were unsure.
Facing enemies numbering in the hundreds of millions at any moment, the Green Lantern Corps, with its limited numbers, would suffer a major rout with the slightest oversight, and a rout would mean certain death.
The art and form of small-scale warfare and large-scale warfare are completely different.
The basic rule of war is to make fewer mistakes than the enemy. So-called commanding talent, to put it plainly, is having sharp insight and exceptional decision-making ability. It means being able to create local advantages against the enemy's disadvantages, continuously eroding their effective strength, all while generally ensuring the overall situation doesn't collapse. Eventually, as the enemy grows weaker, our side naturally wins. Once the scales are severely tipped, even a mindless frontal assault can lead to a great victory.
No matter how strong an individual Green Lantern is, they can kill a thousand or ten thousand bugs, but their numbers are simply insufficient. If the Corps suffers a defeat and scatters to flee for their lives, can a single Green Lantern fight off millions or tens of millions of enemies?
With an unreliable leader and commander, unless they achieve victory in every battle, even a slight loss would lead to a frenzied encirclement and annihilation by the Annihilation Wave.
Just imagine, tens of millions of bugs, a dark, oppressive horde, surrounding a lonely, helpless ball of green light in the very center...
Damn it, such a tragic scene would make even the Guardians themselves unable to sit still.
The Green Lantern Corps had truly never faced a war of such magnitude. Perhaps the attack on Apokolips back then counts as one, but those 2400 suicide squad members and experimental subjects, aided by Darkseid's personal intervention and the Guardians' divine assist of decisively selling out their teammates when things looked bad, all perished.
Even the Corps' first leader, Rekt, was sold out by the Guardians to Darkseid for torture and revenge.
In this kind of Great War, even the Three Great Empires and the Nova Corps, united with countless mid-to-low-tier civilizations and races from hundreds of surrounding galaxies, were fighting such a difficult battle against the Annihilation Wave, inevitably showing signs of decline.
Meanwhile, the Cybertron Galaxy's greatest strength was their ability to rapidly produce troops — even though their numbers were terrifyingly paltry compared to the Annihilation Wave, they remained supremely confident.
Although individual Green Lanterns possessed high individual quality, when deployed on the vast battlefield, a single wave of enemies would simply wipe them out.
Therefore, everyone tacitly turned a blind eye to Tomar-Re and Kilowog's "secret" departure from the main force to Cybertron. Even the Guardians, who monitored the Power Rings, simultaneously feigned blindness, pretending not to notice.
"I won't listen, I won't look, and I don't know. Don't tell me, and I don't want to know what you're doing."
The wise Tomar-Re boldly arrived at the Cybertron Galaxy, seeking an opportunity to speak with Optimus Prime.
He brought Kilowog with him, lingering outside for a long time, searching for an opportunity to enter the Cybertron Galaxy. Without entry qualifications, they couldn't breach the portal and reach the other dimension.
"Tell me, will Optimus Prime return?" Kilowog grumbled gloomily.
Tomar-Re calmly replied, "He will."
"But the Guardians exiled him."
"He won't return for the Guardians, but for us old comrades. He can't bear to watch us die," Tomar-Re said lightly. "At this critical juncture, no one is more suited to command us than Optimus Prime. Back then, when a thousand warriors went to Earth to battle Apokolips' army, Optimus Prime personally led them. Compared to others, Optimus Prime is the one most accepted by everyone."
"The Green Lanterns are willing to obey Optimus Prime's commands, but would hesitate with others' orders. This is reality; reality will compel things to move forward. Remember that, Kilowog."
Tomar-Re circled the Cybertron Galaxy many times, in the interim exchanging words with some mercenaries and regular soldiers who had the qualifications to enter and exit the Cybertron Galaxy.
Soon, a Transformer emerged and led them into the dimension.
In a magnificent hall, the two finally met with Optimus Prime, whom they hadn't seen in a long time.
"Welcome, my friends."
Optimus Prime rose, opened his arms to them, bent down deeply, and gently embraced his two old partners.
An 8.5-meter-tall Optimus Prime had to be careful when embracing Tomar-Re and Kilowog, who were less than two meters tall.
(end of chapter)
Just as the Cybertron Galaxy entered a state of war, with the entire race filled with a solemn, wartime atmosphere, emissaries from Oa finally arrived at the Cybertron Galaxy.
"Tell me, will the Guardians strip me of my Power Ring as punishment afterward?"
The good-natured Kilowog was very worried, reluctantly stroking his Power Ring.
Tomar-Re glanced at him, saying indifferently, "If you don't want to, you can go back. I intended to come find Optimus Prime alone from the start; I didn't ask you to come."
"What kind of talk is that! Am I that kind of person, Kilowog? I'm just worried about the Guardians' attitude!" Kilowog slapped his big belly, yelling loudly.
The Power Ring on his hand shimmered with green light, continuously emitting a soft light barrier that enveloped him, granting him the ability to fly and survive in space.
Tomar-Re calmly said, "Do you think the Guardians wouldn't know we left the main force? They knew from the very beginning, but they haven't stopped us until now. This indicates their tacit approval; they also want to see if we can bring Optimus Prime back."
"But Optimus Prime was exiled by their own hands," Kilowog grumbled.
Back then, Optimus Prime had privately released Sinestro, which led to his judgment by the Guardians. Tony, not trusting the character of those seven individuals, personally descended upon Oa, forcing the entire Green Lantern Corps to bow their heads and causing the Guardians to lose all face and prestige.
But now that the Great War is approaching, the Green Lantern Corps must participate, whether out of public duty — to maintain the stability of the universe's order, combat evil, and protect the weak — or out of self-interest — to limit the scope of deterioration to a few hundred galaxies centered around Andromeda before the situation completely unravels, preventing a greater impact on the entire universe.
Seven thousand two hundred Green Lanterns, a full half of their personnel, were dispatched to the battlefield – an unprecedented massive mobilization.
It should be noted that when the seven Guardians first took control of the Emotional Spectrum and established the Green Lantern Corps, in their burst of confidence, they declared war on Apokolips to gain prestige. They only dispatched 2400 Green Lanterns then, and were ultimately wiped out by an enthusiastic Darkseid, suffering total annihilation.
With such a massive, unprecedented assembly of troops, the Green Lanterns, who lacked experience in Legion-level great wars, were truly unsure.
They pushed and pulled, trying to select a commander capable of rivaling the former Sinestro and Optimus Prime, but after much deliberation, they found themselves at a loss, as no one was suitable.
A leader and a high-level commander are sometimes not the same thing: one is the supreme leader, akin to a president, while the other is the army's wartime commander, akin to a marshal.
Sinestro and Optimus Prime both possessed commanding talent, enough to simultaneously fulfill the roles of leader and commander, but their successors, after they left, were somewhat at a loss.
Most importantly, even the Guardians themselves were unsure.
Facing enemies numbering in the hundreds of millions at any moment, the Green Lantern Corps, with its limited numbers, would suffer a major rout with the slightest oversight, and a rout would mean certain death.
The art and form of small-scale warfare and large-scale warfare are completely different.
The basic rule of war is to make fewer mistakes than the enemy. So-called commanding talent, to put it plainly, is having sharp insight and exceptional decision-making ability. It means being able to create local advantages against the enemy's disadvantages, continuously eroding their effective strength, all while generally ensuring the overall situation doesn't collapse. Eventually, as the enemy grows weaker, our side naturally wins. Once the scales are severely tipped, even a mindless frontal assault can lead to a great victory.
No matter how strong an individual Green Lantern is, they can kill a thousand or ten thousand bugs, but their numbers are simply insufficient. If the Corps suffers a defeat and scatters to flee for their lives, can a single Green Lantern fight off millions or tens of millions of enemies?
With an unreliable leader and commander, unless they achieve victory in every battle, even a slight loss would lead to a frenzied encirclement and annihilation by the Annihilation Wave.
Just imagine, tens of millions of bugs, a dark, oppressive horde, surrounding a lonely, helpless ball of green light in the very center...
Damn it, such a tragic scene would make even the Guardians themselves unable to sit still.
The Green Lantern Corps had truly never faced a war of such magnitude. Perhaps the attack on Apokolips back then counts as one, but those 2400 suicide squad members and experimental subjects, aided by Darkseid's personal intervention and the Guardians' divine assist of decisively selling out their teammates when things looked bad, all perished.
Even the Corps' first leader, Rekt, was sold out by the Guardians to Darkseid for torture and revenge.
In this kind of Great War, even the Three Great Empires and the Nova Corps, united with countless mid-to-low-tier civilizations and races from hundreds of surrounding galaxies, were fighting such a difficult battle against the Annihilation Wave, inevitably showing signs of decline.
Meanwhile, the Cybertron Galaxy's greatest strength was their ability to rapidly produce troops — even though their numbers were terrifyingly paltry compared to the Annihilation Wave, they remained supremely confident.
Although individual Green Lanterns possessed high individual quality, when deployed on the vast battlefield, a single wave of enemies would simply wipe them out.
Therefore, everyone tacitly turned a blind eye to Tomar-Re and Kilowog's "secret" departure from the main force to Cybertron. Even the Guardians, who monitored the Power Rings, simultaneously feigned blindness, pretending not to notice.
"I won't listen, I won't look, and I don't know. Don't tell me, and I don't want to know what you're doing."
The wise Tomar-Re boldly arrived at the Cybertron Galaxy, seeking an opportunity to speak with Optimus Prime.
He brought Kilowog with him, lingering outside for a long time, searching for an opportunity to enter the Cybertron Galaxy. Without entry qualifications, they couldn't breach the portal and reach the other dimension.
"Tell me, will Optimus Prime return?" Kilowog grumbled gloomily.
Tomar-Re calmly replied, "He will."
"But the Guardians exiled him."
"He won't return for the Guardians, but for us old comrades. He can't bear to watch us die," Tomar-Re said lightly. "At this critical juncture, no one is more suited to command us than Optimus Prime. Back then, when a thousand warriors went to Earth to battle Apokolips' army, Optimus Prime personally led them. Compared to others, Optimus Prime is the one most accepted by everyone."
"The Green Lanterns are willing to obey Optimus Prime's commands, but would hesitate with others' orders. This is reality; reality will compel things to move forward. Remember that, Kilowog."
Tomar-Re circled the Cybertron Galaxy many times, in the interim exchanging words with some mercenaries and regular soldiers who had the qualifications to enter and exit the Cybertron Galaxy.
Soon, a Transformer emerged and led them into the dimension.
In a magnificent hall, the two finally met with Optimus Prime, whom they hadn't seen in a long time.
"Welcome, my friends."
Optimus Prime rose, opened his arms to them, bent down deeply, and gently embraced his two old partners.
An 8.5-meter-tall Optimus Prime had to be careful when embracing Tomar-Re and Kilowog, who were less than two meters tall.
(end of chapter)
