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Chapter 193: They're Gone?
In the depths of the universe.
A massive, seemingly dead planet, as if constructed from metal. Its gloomy surface was riddled with charred black craters and uneven hills. The planet and its inhabitants were steeped in extreme darkness. Blazing flames erupted skyward from the craters, their searing heat disorienting.
Countless civilizations had records of this place, and it was known by many names: the kingdom of gods, a dimension of hell, the embodiment of death and despair, the domain ruled by the most terrifying existence in the entire universe.
But the Divine Race who lived on this planet preferred to call their homeworld Apokolips.
Desaad was a member of this Divine Race known as the "New Gods."
This fellow was an interesting character. He was the right-hand man of the renowned Dark Lord, Darkseid, and the most important strategist on Apokolips. He was utterly loyal to Darkseid, yet he was born with a rebellious streak and a mouth that often spoke out of turn.
As the saying goes, accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger. One could imagine that being Darkseid's military advisor was among the most high-risk jobs imaginable. Consequently, every few days, Desaad would be ground to dust by one of Uncle Da's Omega Beams for his insolence. But then, not long after, once Uncle Da's anger subsided, he would feel that he couldn't do without him and would resurrect him again.
The Omega Beams were Uncle Da's trump card—a power of immense prestige and high conceptual might. It was said to be the destructive counterpart to the universe's creative force, "The Source," capable of directly erasing anything it struck from existence.
However, in Uncle Da's hands, this ability was somewhat like Amaterasu from the Naruto-verse. It was said to be able to obliterate anything, but in practice, its number of successful kills was negligible. The likes of Superman, Batman, and The Flash had all withstood or dodged the Omega Beams. It felt as if Amaterasu's best record, as the supposed strongest physical ninjutsu, was just burning a snake's shed skin.
If one were to tally up all the kills achieved by the Omega Beams throughout history, Desaad alone probably accounted for nine out of ten.
A tremendous roar echoed as a white vortex tore open with a tremor in space. Several Manhunters strode out from within.
The vortex swirled shut behind them.
"You are late," Desaad said coldly, turning around. "That Lord... does not like delays."
"The Green Lantern Corps may have become aware of us," the squad leader of the Manhunters stated stiffly.
"The Green Lantern Corps."
Desaad made no effort to hide the disdain on his face, letting out a soft chuckle.
"That Lord has never taken those green-light clowns seriously."
The Manhunters exchanged glances, all remaining silent.
In most parts of interstellar space, if someone dared to show such contempt for the Green Lantern Corps, they would definitely be seen as bluffing. But only in this place could no one question it.
Because anyone in the universe who had heard the name "Apokolips" knew that for That Lord, this was neither arrogance nor a bluff.
This was also why Apokolips violated almost every interstellar law established by the Green Lantern Corps, yet few Green Lanterns dared to meddle here.
"The Lanterns have never been the focus of That Lord's attention. As for our current mission, I believe we have already communicated about it," Desaad said.
"Of course." The Manhunter squad leader nodded. "Sector 2814, planet codename 'Earth.' The last son of Krypton... our 'Grandmaster's' only target is him."
"But remember," Desaad stressed, "the Kryptonian ultimately belongs to That Lord. Even after he is taken down..."
"We understand," the Manhunter said. "All the 'Grandmaster' needs is revenge. As long as his revenge against the son of Krypton can be completed, any condition is acceptable."
Desaad smiled sinisterly and asked, "So, are the arrangements on Earth proceeding smoothly?"
"Of course. Manhunters never make mistakes," the Manhunter squad leader said. "One of our reconnaissance teams is scheduled to return from Earth today. They will bring back a report on the recent situation, as well as new data collected from observing the Kryptonian."
"Excellent," Desaad chuckled. "This is why I like working with machines. Precise, efficient..."
With their discussion concluded, a harmoniously evil atmosphere settled between them. Suddenly, a Manhunter from behind the squad leader stepped forward and called out to him.
"What is it?"
The group of Manhunters turned and conferred for a moment.
Then, the squad leader turned back to Desaad and said, "Wait, there's a problem."
"What is it?"
"That team from Earth, the one scheduled to return today... they're gone," the Manhunter said emotionlessly.
The smile on Desaad's face vanished instantly.
*Wait a minute, I just asked you for a report, and now you're telling me they're gone? Do I really look that stupid, or am I just too easygoing?*
***
Elsewhere in the universe.
Two vortexes appeared out of thin air in the vacuum of space, one shimmering with lightning and golden radiance, the other a vibrant green.
Orin Vale and Hal flew out of the vortexes simultaneously.
This time, Orin Vale had directly transformed into a human-sized form. When Hal turned his head to look at him, his expression was one of considerable surprise.
"How... how can you also... fly this far?"
"Interstellar jumping isn't a patented technique exclusive to you Green Lanterns," Orin Vale smiled.
As interstellar peacekeepers, Ultramen and Green Lanterns did indeed share many similarities. An Ultraman would normally move at a capped speed within an atmosphere, and a Green Lantern's power ring program would also lock their speed to an upper limit inside a planet's atmosphere.
When traversing between different sectors and galaxies, both relied on jumping through wormholes. After all, if they relied solely on flying, even reaching the next sector at lightspeed would take a lifetime.
A short while ago, they had cracked the program of that Manhunter spaceship and back-traced its navigation system to this location.
It was a mechanical planet, looking like a massive factory the size of an entire world.
Enormous boilers and pools of lava, shining with a metallic luster, filled the space with a scorching red. The boilers varied in size, some hundreds of meters tall, burning with high-temperature lava that was a restricted zone for almost any living creature. Massive guardrails surrounded the lava pools, from which fire would erupt from time to time, sending out searing heat waves that felt like they could melt metal even from a great distance.
"The power ring indicates this planet is called 'Biao.' Restricted Zone, highly classified," Hal said as he flew toward the planet, huffing, "I'd like to see what secrets the Guardians are hiding."
After landing on the surface, Orin Vale quickly activated his scan.
"No signs of life, but a large number of Manhunter identification signals have been detected," Pal reported through the bracelet.
Orin Vale glanced at the enemies appearing nearby. "Whoa, that's quite a lot of them... We'd better keep a low profile."
As he spoke, Orin Vale turned to Hal beside him. "There's no need to get tangled up with these weaklings. Keep a low profile, and we can—"
He stopped short, only then realizing that the space beside him was already empty.
*Where'd he go?*
He whipped his head around, only to see Hal in the distance, shining like a firefly in the night. Trailing a green light, he was charging toward a nearby Manhunter in a "come and get me" pose.
"Come on, you iron heads! Let's see which is tougher, you or my power ring!?"
Orin Vale: "..."
(end of chapter)
In the depths of the universe.
A massive, seemingly dead planet, as if constructed from metal. Its gloomy surface was riddled with charred black craters and uneven hills. The planet and its inhabitants were steeped in extreme darkness. Blazing flames erupted skyward from the craters, their searing heat disorienting.
Countless civilizations had records of this place, and it was known by many names: the kingdom of gods, a dimension of hell, the embodiment of death and despair, the domain ruled by the most terrifying existence in the entire universe.
But the Divine Race who lived on this planet preferred to call their homeworld Apokolips.
Desaad was a member of this Divine Race known as the "New Gods."
This fellow was an interesting character. He was the right-hand man of the renowned Dark Lord, Darkseid, and the most important strategist on Apokolips. He was utterly loyal to Darkseid, yet he was born with a rebellious streak and a mouth that often spoke out of turn.
As the saying goes, accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger. One could imagine that being Darkseid's military advisor was among the most high-risk jobs imaginable. Consequently, every few days, Desaad would be ground to dust by one of Uncle Da's Omega Beams for his insolence. But then, not long after, once Uncle Da's anger subsided, he would feel that he couldn't do without him and would resurrect him again.
The Omega Beams were Uncle Da's trump card—a power of immense prestige and high conceptual might. It was said to be the destructive counterpart to the universe's creative force, "The Source," capable of directly erasing anything it struck from existence.
However, in Uncle Da's hands, this ability was somewhat like Amaterasu from the Naruto-verse. It was said to be able to obliterate anything, but in practice, its number of successful kills was negligible. The likes of Superman, Batman, and The Flash had all withstood or dodged the Omega Beams. It felt as if Amaterasu's best record, as the supposed strongest physical ninjutsu, was just burning a snake's shed skin.
If one were to tally up all the kills achieved by the Omega Beams throughout history, Desaad alone probably accounted for nine out of ten.
A tremendous roar echoed as a white vortex tore open with a tremor in space. Several Manhunters strode out from within.
The vortex swirled shut behind them.
"You are late," Desaad said coldly, turning around. "That Lord... does not like delays."
"The Green Lantern Corps may have become aware of us," the squad leader of the Manhunters stated stiffly.
"The Green Lantern Corps."
Desaad made no effort to hide the disdain on his face, letting out a soft chuckle.
"That Lord has never taken those green-light clowns seriously."
The Manhunters exchanged glances, all remaining silent.
In most parts of interstellar space, if someone dared to show such contempt for the Green Lantern Corps, they would definitely be seen as bluffing. But only in this place could no one question it.
Because anyone in the universe who had heard the name "Apokolips" knew that for That Lord, this was neither arrogance nor a bluff.
This was also why Apokolips violated almost every interstellar law established by the Green Lantern Corps, yet few Green Lanterns dared to meddle here.
"The Lanterns have never been the focus of That Lord's attention. As for our current mission, I believe we have already communicated about it," Desaad said.
"Of course." The Manhunter squad leader nodded. "Sector 2814, planet codename 'Earth.' The last son of Krypton... our 'Grandmaster's' only target is him."
"But remember," Desaad stressed, "the Kryptonian ultimately belongs to That Lord. Even after he is taken down..."
"We understand," the Manhunter said. "All the 'Grandmaster' needs is revenge. As long as his revenge against the son of Krypton can be completed, any condition is acceptable."
Desaad smiled sinisterly and asked, "So, are the arrangements on Earth proceeding smoothly?"
"Of course. Manhunters never make mistakes," the Manhunter squad leader said. "One of our reconnaissance teams is scheduled to return from Earth today. They will bring back a report on the recent situation, as well as new data collected from observing the Kryptonian."
"Excellent," Desaad chuckled. "This is why I like working with machines. Precise, efficient..."
With their discussion concluded, a harmoniously evil atmosphere settled between them. Suddenly, a Manhunter from behind the squad leader stepped forward and called out to him.
"What is it?"
The group of Manhunters turned and conferred for a moment.
Then, the squad leader turned back to Desaad and said, "Wait, there's a problem."
"What is it?"
"That team from Earth, the one scheduled to return today... they're gone," the Manhunter said emotionlessly.
The smile on Desaad's face vanished instantly.
*Wait a minute, I just asked you for a report, and now you're telling me they're gone? Do I really look that stupid, or am I just too easygoing?*
***
Elsewhere in the universe.
Two vortexes appeared out of thin air in the vacuum of space, one shimmering with lightning and golden radiance, the other a vibrant green.
Orin Vale and Hal flew out of the vortexes simultaneously.
This time, Orin Vale had directly transformed into a human-sized form. When Hal turned his head to look at him, his expression was one of considerable surprise.
"How... how can you also... fly this far?"
"Interstellar jumping isn't a patented technique exclusive to you Green Lanterns," Orin Vale smiled.
As interstellar peacekeepers, Ultramen and Green Lanterns did indeed share many similarities. An Ultraman would normally move at a capped speed within an atmosphere, and a Green Lantern's power ring program would also lock their speed to an upper limit inside a planet's atmosphere.
When traversing between different sectors and galaxies, both relied on jumping through wormholes. After all, if they relied solely on flying, even reaching the next sector at lightspeed would take a lifetime.
A short while ago, they had cracked the program of that Manhunter spaceship and back-traced its navigation system to this location.
It was a mechanical planet, looking like a massive factory the size of an entire world.
Enormous boilers and pools of lava, shining with a metallic luster, filled the space with a scorching red. The boilers varied in size, some hundreds of meters tall, burning with high-temperature lava that was a restricted zone for almost any living creature. Massive guardrails surrounded the lava pools, from which fire would erupt from time to time, sending out searing heat waves that felt like they could melt metal even from a great distance.
"The power ring indicates this planet is called 'Biao.' Restricted Zone, highly classified," Hal said as he flew toward the planet, huffing, "I'd like to see what secrets the Guardians are hiding."
After landing on the surface, Orin Vale quickly activated his scan.
"No signs of life, but a large number of Manhunter identification signals have been detected," Pal reported through the bracelet.
Orin Vale glanced at the enemies appearing nearby. "Whoa, that's quite a lot of them... We'd better keep a low profile."
As he spoke, Orin Vale turned to Hal beside him. "There's no need to get tangled up with these weaklings. Keep a low profile, and we can—"
He stopped short, only then realizing that the space beside him was already empty.
*Where'd he go?*
He whipped his head around, only to see Hal in the distance, shining like a firefly in the night. Trailing a green light, he was charging toward a nearby Manhunter in a "come and get me" pose.
"Come on, you iron heads! Let's see which is tougher, you or my power ring!?"
Orin Vale: "..."
(end of chapter)
