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Chapter 823: The Death of Krona
"Too strong. Not only is the New God terrifying, but his subordinates are also absurdly powerful..."
"How long has it been? How could such a horrifying monster rise up in the Prime Universe? Damn it!"
"With a guy like this blocking my path, how am I, Krona, supposed to achieve my goal of ruling the Prime Universe?!"
A Guardian, with tattered clothes and a twisted, gloomy face, cautiously roamed through the universe.
Krona, the culprit behind the birth of the Anti-Matter Universe, firmly believed in the necessity of emotion. He had once modified the programming of the First Army's Manhunters, causing them to lose control and massacre the entirety of Sector 666.
For this, he was exiled by the Guardians and became a wanderer.
And now, he had returned!
Originally self-satisfied and planning to seize the seven Lantern Entities to reach the pinnacle of his life, Krona's confidence suffered a massive blow after watching the war where Cybertron exterminated the Celestials.
"They're too strong. How am I supposed to snatch the seven Lantern Entities from such a terrifying group?"
Krona's expression was incredibly grim. His small body was carefully hidden in a cave as he looked up at the sky.
The Guardian race was immortal. After such a long period of research, Krona finally felt he had thoroughly mastered the Emotional Spectrum. Brimming with confidence, he emerged from his seclusion, intending to make his damned former companions pay a terrible price and to use the Emotional Spectrum to establish a new order for the Prime Universe.
But reality was too dark, so dark that Krona could not accept it.
"I can only go after them one by one. I must get my hands on a Lantern Entity, any one will do. Without a Lantern Entity, I am nothing..."
Krona looked up at the sky, patiently waiting for something.
"According to my investigation, there's a fool on Cybertron named Hal Jordan. He's easy to deal with, and he's responsible for imprisoning Parallax. He's the perfect target for me."
Krona mused.
Coincidentally, Parallax was the most suitable target. He knew that his foolish fellow Guardians had installed the Yellow Impurity within the Green Lantern Corps. As long as he could capture Parallax, he could use the power of fear to control the entire Green Lantern Corps!
Then he continued to wait.
He waited for over a month, but there was still no trace of Hal Jordan.
"Could it be that he's not returning to Earth?" Krona was a little confused.
As long as Hal Jordan left Cybertron, he would be able to sense the power of the Yellow Light of Fear, track Hal, and control Parallax.
But... there had been no news of Hal Jordan for over a month.
Finally, Krona got some information from a mercenary who had come from Warworld.
"Go to Earth? Ha, Cybertron has a Space Bridge. You can get to Earth in one second."
Krona was thunderstruck, unable to recover for a long time.
Were things so convenient now?
As a Lantern, he actually took some kind of teleporter for convenience instead of flying himself... Krona felt a sense of moral decline in the world.
What happened to the virtues of hardship and diligence? So greedy for comfort that you won't even endure such a small effort, what right do you have to be a proper Lantern?
Bah! Shameless!
Krona cursed inwardly and reflected for a long time. He felt as though he had been shoulder-thrown by the times...
He kept reflecting and decided he needed to change his approach.
"The ones on Cybertron who like to use the power of a Lantern Ring are Hal Jordan and Optimus Prime. I can choose Optimus Prime as my first target."
Krona's gaze was gloomy. This was very risky, but if he could pull off this job, he could snatch many Lantern Rings at once. Combined with his own research into the Emotional Spectrum, he could instantly mobilize its power to sweep away all enemies.
At worst, he could still escape.
As a cunning old fox, Krona immediately began to prepare his plan in earnest—until a wisp of greedy emotion drifted past him...
Larfleeze touched the replica on his hand, a subtle melancholy rising in his heart. Starscream was just too stingy. He refused to lend him the Orange Lantern Ring, only willing to give him a replica with limited energy.
"I, Larfleeze, am immensely powerful. Am I not worthy of a tiny Lantern Ring?"
Larfleeze was indignant.
He wanted the Orange Lantern Ring, but Starscream wouldn't give it. He wanted other Lantern Rings, but Optimus Prime wouldn't give them, instead spouting a bunch of high-minded nonsense at him. Larfleeze nodded repeatedly as he listened, feeling that Optimus Prime's admonitions made perfect sense—like hell they did!
Larfleeze then coveted the power of the White Lantern Ring and went to the Life Entity to demand ten of them. But the Life Entity just gave him a slap, and he still had a bruise on his face.
"They're all a bunch of barbarians you can't communicate with, even more barbaric than an interstellar thief like me." Larfleeze sighed deeply, cynical and bitter, feeling the world was too unfair.
"If I had enough Lantern Rings, I could fight a Celestial all by myself! Those trash models would quickly turn into a pile of scrap metal before the great Larfleeze!"
Larfleeze cursed under his breath.
Krona followed behind him like a ghost, listening quietly for a moment before suddenly speaking: "Young man, do you desire power?"
"No, I desire a Lantern Ring... Who the hell are you? A Guardian?" Larfleeze immediately became vigilant, his body shooting backward as the Orange Lantern Ring on his finger lit up, aimed at the ghost-like Krona.
Krona's deep voice sounded: "I am not a Guardian... I once was... that's not important. I can give you great power, allow you to possess all the Lantern Rings, on the condition that you do as I say..."
Larfleeze's dead-fish-like eyes widened. He looked at this Guardian, whose tattered clothes were worse than a beggar's, a trace of vigilance and cunning flashing in his eyes.
"The great Larfleeze does not trust any partnership without tangible assets, nor will he risk offending Cybertron to talk to a liar," Larfleeze said with a sincere expression.
Krona pondered for a moment, glancing at Larfleeze's finger out of the corner of his eye. Greed and regret flickered and vanished.
A pity, it was just a worthless replica, not worth snatching at all.
"This Green Lantern Ring is for you, as a token of our cooperation." Krona was very magnanimous, directly tossing a Green Lantern Ring to Larfleeze.
Krona had no shortage of things like Green Lantern Rings; he just had to kill a few unknown Green Lanterns.
Larfleeze's eyes lit up with ecstasy. He snatched it, and after confirming it was genuine and not a replica, his eyes almost filled with tears of joy. Then, under Krona's expectant gaze, Larfleeze eagerly... stuffed it into his pocket.
The next second, Larfleeze turned and ran...
He ran...
He ran so incredibly fast...
In the dark vacuum of space, Larfleeze's shrill voice rang out.
"I am the brilliant Lord Larfleeze, and I want to report something!!!"
"I've discovered a Guardian! This guy is acting suspiciously and intends to harm Cybertron! Fortunately, the great Larfleeze discovered him, and his conspiracy has been foiled!"
"Quick, dispatch the special emergency unit, or he'll get away!"
"This is a great service rendered by Lord Larfleeze! I want a reward! Just give me ten... no, twenty different Lantern Rings! Lord Larfleeze isn't greedy at all!"
Krona's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. It contorted for a moment, and he nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
(end of chapter)
"Too strong. Not only is the New God terrifying, but his subordinates are also absurdly powerful..."
"How long has it been? How could such a horrifying monster rise up in the Prime Universe? Damn it!"
"With a guy like this blocking my path, how am I, Krona, supposed to achieve my goal of ruling the Prime Universe?!"
A Guardian, with tattered clothes and a twisted, gloomy face, cautiously roamed through the universe.
Krona, the culprit behind the birth of the Anti-Matter Universe, firmly believed in the necessity of emotion. He had once modified the programming of the First Army's Manhunters, causing them to lose control and massacre the entirety of Sector 666.
For this, he was exiled by the Guardians and became a wanderer.
And now, he had returned!
Originally self-satisfied and planning to seize the seven Lantern Entities to reach the pinnacle of his life, Krona's confidence suffered a massive blow after watching the war where Cybertron exterminated the Celestials.
"They're too strong. How am I supposed to snatch the seven Lantern Entities from such a terrifying group?"
Krona's expression was incredibly grim. His small body was carefully hidden in a cave as he looked up at the sky.
The Guardian race was immortal. After such a long period of research, Krona finally felt he had thoroughly mastered the Emotional Spectrum. Brimming with confidence, he emerged from his seclusion, intending to make his damned former companions pay a terrible price and to use the Emotional Spectrum to establish a new order for the Prime Universe.
But reality was too dark, so dark that Krona could not accept it.
"I can only go after them one by one. I must get my hands on a Lantern Entity, any one will do. Without a Lantern Entity, I am nothing..."
Krona looked up at the sky, patiently waiting for something.
"According to my investigation, there's a fool on Cybertron named Hal Jordan. He's easy to deal with, and he's responsible for imprisoning Parallax. He's the perfect target for me."
Krona mused.
Coincidentally, Parallax was the most suitable target. He knew that his foolish fellow Guardians had installed the Yellow Impurity within the Green Lantern Corps. As long as he could capture Parallax, he could use the power of fear to control the entire Green Lantern Corps!
Then he continued to wait.
He waited for over a month, but there was still no trace of Hal Jordan.
"Could it be that he's not returning to Earth?" Krona was a little confused.
As long as Hal Jordan left Cybertron, he would be able to sense the power of the Yellow Light of Fear, track Hal, and control Parallax.
But... there had been no news of Hal Jordan for over a month.
Finally, Krona got some information from a mercenary who had come from Warworld.
"Go to Earth? Ha, Cybertron has a Space Bridge. You can get to Earth in one second."
Krona was thunderstruck, unable to recover for a long time.
Were things so convenient now?
As a Lantern, he actually took some kind of teleporter for convenience instead of flying himself... Krona felt a sense of moral decline in the world.
What happened to the virtues of hardship and diligence? So greedy for comfort that you won't even endure such a small effort, what right do you have to be a proper Lantern?
Bah! Shameless!
Krona cursed inwardly and reflected for a long time. He felt as though he had been shoulder-thrown by the times...
He kept reflecting and decided he needed to change his approach.
"The ones on Cybertron who like to use the power of a Lantern Ring are Hal Jordan and Optimus Prime. I can choose Optimus Prime as my first target."
Krona's gaze was gloomy. This was very risky, but if he could pull off this job, he could snatch many Lantern Rings at once. Combined with his own research into the Emotional Spectrum, he could instantly mobilize its power to sweep away all enemies.
At worst, he could still escape.
As a cunning old fox, Krona immediately began to prepare his plan in earnest—until a wisp of greedy emotion drifted past him...
Larfleeze touched the replica on his hand, a subtle melancholy rising in his heart. Starscream was just too stingy. He refused to lend him the Orange Lantern Ring, only willing to give him a replica with limited energy.
"I, Larfleeze, am immensely powerful. Am I not worthy of a tiny Lantern Ring?"
Larfleeze was indignant.
He wanted the Orange Lantern Ring, but Starscream wouldn't give it. He wanted other Lantern Rings, but Optimus Prime wouldn't give them, instead spouting a bunch of high-minded nonsense at him. Larfleeze nodded repeatedly as he listened, feeling that Optimus Prime's admonitions made perfect sense—like hell they did!
Larfleeze then coveted the power of the White Lantern Ring and went to the Life Entity to demand ten of them. But the Life Entity just gave him a slap, and he still had a bruise on his face.
"They're all a bunch of barbarians you can't communicate with, even more barbaric than an interstellar thief like me." Larfleeze sighed deeply, cynical and bitter, feeling the world was too unfair.
"If I had enough Lantern Rings, I could fight a Celestial all by myself! Those trash models would quickly turn into a pile of scrap metal before the great Larfleeze!"
Larfleeze cursed under his breath.
Krona followed behind him like a ghost, listening quietly for a moment before suddenly speaking: "Young man, do you desire power?"
"No, I desire a Lantern Ring... Who the hell are you? A Guardian?" Larfleeze immediately became vigilant, his body shooting backward as the Orange Lantern Ring on his finger lit up, aimed at the ghost-like Krona.
Krona's deep voice sounded: "I am not a Guardian... I once was... that's not important. I can give you great power, allow you to possess all the Lantern Rings, on the condition that you do as I say..."
Larfleeze's dead-fish-like eyes widened. He looked at this Guardian, whose tattered clothes were worse than a beggar's, a trace of vigilance and cunning flashing in his eyes.
"The great Larfleeze does not trust any partnership without tangible assets, nor will he risk offending Cybertron to talk to a liar," Larfleeze said with a sincere expression.
Krona pondered for a moment, glancing at Larfleeze's finger out of the corner of his eye. Greed and regret flickered and vanished.
A pity, it was just a worthless replica, not worth snatching at all.
"This Green Lantern Ring is for you, as a token of our cooperation." Krona was very magnanimous, directly tossing a Green Lantern Ring to Larfleeze.
Krona had no shortage of things like Green Lantern Rings; he just had to kill a few unknown Green Lanterns.
Larfleeze's eyes lit up with ecstasy. He snatched it, and after confirming it was genuine and not a replica, his eyes almost filled with tears of joy. Then, under Krona's expectant gaze, Larfleeze eagerly... stuffed it into his pocket.
The next second, Larfleeze turned and ran...
He ran...
He ran so incredibly fast...
In the dark vacuum of space, Larfleeze's shrill voice rang out.
"I am the brilliant Lord Larfleeze, and I want to report something!!!"
"I've discovered a Guardian! This guy is acting suspiciously and intends to harm Cybertron! Fortunately, the great Larfleeze discovered him, and his conspiracy has been foiled!"
"Quick, dispatch the special emergency unit, or he'll get away!"
"This is a great service rendered by Lord Larfleeze! I want a reward! Just give me ten... no, twenty different Lantern Rings! Lord Larfleeze isn't greedy at all!"
Krona's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. It contorted for a moment, and he nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
(end of chapter)
