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Chapter 194: You Be Careful
Hal Jordan stood silently, staring at the battlefield before him—the lingering gunsmoke, the burning flames, and the scattered debris. For a moment, he was speechless.
He was a man without fear.
As a child, he had watched his father's fighter jet plummet from the sky, perishing before his very eyes in a sea of fire. A childhood trauma like that would have instilled a fear of flying in any other child, but not him. Not only that, he defied his mother's wishes to join the Air Force, following in his father's footsteps, all to prove he was fearless.
Even as a newcomer to the Lantern Corps, he displayed a Willpower that veteran Green Lanterns couldn't match. Someone had modified a Manhunter with a purpose-built absorption device capable of extinguishing any Lantern's Power Ring. But even then, Hal had conquered it through sheer Willpower, forcibly ignoring the attribute suppression.
He once thought he was invincible, that no enemy or obstacle could stand in his way. That was what he thought when he flew all the way to the Manhunters' Headquarters. But back then, Hal Jordan never would have dreamed that the greatest difficulty in this battle wouldn't come from the enemy, but from his own teammate.
That unknown species the people of Earth called "Ultraman."
He was so damn fast, Hal couldn't even snag a single kill!
Shortly after arriving on Biot, Hal had immediately locked onto the location of the first wave of enemies, letting out a great shout as he charged forward, Power Ring brandished. He was just about to engage in a satisfying, all-out brawl with that squad of Manhunters when a blue electric arc flashed past him from behind. Before his raised Power Ring could even descend, the Manhunters before him had been reduced to a pile of parts.
And it continued like that as they pushed deeper.
Manhunters would appear, and Hal would bravely charge forward. An electric arc would flash from behind, and the Manhunters' metal heads would hit the ground.
Can you imagine the suffering for a hothead who thinks with his muscles, to be in a steamroll of a battle where he can only follow his teammate, shouting "Nice one!" without being able to land a single kill?
The instant his Power Ring detected enemies again, the green light in Hal's eyes flared. Without even waiting to lock onto their specific positions, he roared and unleashed a Green Lantern missile.
However, just as his missile took shape from his will, he saw his red-and-silver alien buddy fire a brilliant blue energy beam. It swept across in a massive arc, and another whole row of Manhunters collapsed with a clatter.
Hal's missile, along with his entire body and expression, froze in mid-air.
Orin Vale lowered his hands, transparent electric arcs still flickering on his arms.
He had to admit, Hal's approach wasn't without merit. Traditional infiltration emphasized stealth—hiding one's tracks, evading sightlines, radar, and scans. It was all a bit troublesome. When your strength allowed for it, simply blasting through the front gate wasn't necessarily less efficient.
In any case, as long as every target they saw was eliminated, the outcome was pretty much the same as a successful rear flank.
Shaking the electric arcs from his hands, Orin Vale turned his head and was met with Hal's somewhat resentful expression.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"N-nothing," Hal said sullenly, looking completely dejected. The light from his Power Ring even seemed to have dimmed a little.
On the surface, everything was fine, but inside, he was grumbling.
Heh heh.
Fight, my ass.
Apokolips.
"Sir, it's Biot. Our factory has been invaded," the same communications Manhunter from before reported.
"No one escapes the Manhunters," said the Machine Hunter Captain. "Activate Defense Protocol. Intercept the target."
"Acknowledged."
Desaad narrowed his eyes. "Is there a problem?"
"Just two little bugs. The Grandmaster said we can handle them." The Captain paused, then asked, "However, there is something the Grandmaster has always wondered. For That Lord, why is that Kryptonian so worthy of attention? He is powerful, but compared to the scope of That Lord's vision, he should be insignificant, should he not?"
"Your narrow perspective is insufficient to comprehend That Lord's actions. The universe in his eyes is completely different from what you see. A mere mortal would naturally find it difficult to understand," Desaad said coldly.
"You only need to fulfill the agreement and do your part. And as things stand, I must say, we are not satisfied..."
"This time was an accident," the Machine Hunter Captain said. "We will quickly ascertain what happened on Earth. We will bring back news soon... what is it now?"
It was that same communications Manhunter again, who stepped forward and said, "Sir, the second line of defense in the factory has been breached. The enemy is still advancing deeper."
The Captain pondered for a moment, then said, "Wait, we need the Grandmaster's instructions."
As it spoke, its scarlet eyes flashed twice, as if it were communicating with someone. A moment later, the red glow dimmed. The Captain said flatly, "The Grandmaster says it's not a major issue. Activate Manhunter 'Beta.' You are authorized to leave no survivors. Kill on sight."
"Acknowledged."
"No one escapes the Manhunters..."
It was a Manhunter from who-knows-which wave of the offensive that appeared before Orin Vale and Hal, but this time, its style was a little different.
Its entire body was covered in silver metal that glinted coldly, as if clad in a metal battlesuit. It had sleek lines and cold, scarlet eyes that shimmered like malevolent gems. The red sections of its armor were like solidified blood—deep and intense, exuding an ominous aura.
Its style was different from the previous Manhunters. The earlier models had human-like facial features and could even make expressions like an intelligent creature—though they rarely did so. This one, however, looked more like a cold machine, born only to kill.
"Hold on," Hal warned cautiously. "My Power Ring indicates this one is much stronger than the others. The component on its head doesn't just absorb energy from the Emotional Spectrum, but almost any known type of energy. A light beam attack on it should be usele—"
Before he could finish, a hissing sound tore through the air as a beam of light shot past him, striking the Manhunter head-on.
The device on the Manhunter's head did indeed activate; the azure stream of light turned into a vortex, pouring continuously into its head.
It absorbed, and absorbed, and absorbed—
And then it exploded.
A blue radiance spread out in all directions as a huge fireball expanded. The robot's body was torn to pieces by the impact, its silver metal fragments scattering like meteors. The flames erupted like a furious beast, and the shattered red-and-silver debris danced within the sea of fire.
Hal was frozen on the spot, his mouth still open, the half-finished sentence abruptly cut off.
As burning fragments rained down, Orin Vale lowered his arms and turned to Hal. "Were you about to say something?"
"N-no," Hal mumbled indistinctly. "I said, you be careful."
"Oh."
(end of chapter)
Hal Jordan stood silently, staring at the battlefield before him—the lingering gunsmoke, the burning flames, and the scattered debris. For a moment, he was speechless.
He was a man without fear.
As a child, he had watched his father's fighter jet plummet from the sky, perishing before his very eyes in a sea of fire. A childhood trauma like that would have instilled a fear of flying in any other child, but not him. Not only that, he defied his mother's wishes to join the Air Force, following in his father's footsteps, all to prove he was fearless.
Even as a newcomer to the Lantern Corps, he displayed a Willpower that veteran Green Lanterns couldn't match. Someone had modified a Manhunter with a purpose-built absorption device capable of extinguishing any Lantern's Power Ring. But even then, Hal had conquered it through sheer Willpower, forcibly ignoring the attribute suppression.
He once thought he was invincible, that no enemy or obstacle could stand in his way. That was what he thought when he flew all the way to the Manhunters' Headquarters. But back then, Hal Jordan never would have dreamed that the greatest difficulty in this battle wouldn't come from the enemy, but from his own teammate.
That unknown species the people of Earth called "Ultraman."
He was so damn fast, Hal couldn't even snag a single kill!
Shortly after arriving on Biot, Hal had immediately locked onto the location of the first wave of enemies, letting out a great shout as he charged forward, Power Ring brandished. He was just about to engage in a satisfying, all-out brawl with that squad of Manhunters when a blue electric arc flashed past him from behind. Before his raised Power Ring could even descend, the Manhunters before him had been reduced to a pile of parts.
And it continued like that as they pushed deeper.
Manhunters would appear, and Hal would bravely charge forward. An electric arc would flash from behind, and the Manhunters' metal heads would hit the ground.
Can you imagine the suffering for a hothead who thinks with his muscles, to be in a steamroll of a battle where he can only follow his teammate, shouting "Nice one!" without being able to land a single kill?
The instant his Power Ring detected enemies again, the green light in Hal's eyes flared. Without even waiting to lock onto their specific positions, he roared and unleashed a Green Lantern missile.
However, just as his missile took shape from his will, he saw his red-and-silver alien buddy fire a brilliant blue energy beam. It swept across in a massive arc, and another whole row of Manhunters collapsed with a clatter.
Hal's missile, along with his entire body and expression, froze in mid-air.
Orin Vale lowered his hands, transparent electric arcs still flickering on his arms.
He had to admit, Hal's approach wasn't without merit. Traditional infiltration emphasized stealth—hiding one's tracks, evading sightlines, radar, and scans. It was all a bit troublesome. When your strength allowed for it, simply blasting through the front gate wasn't necessarily less efficient.
In any case, as long as every target they saw was eliminated, the outcome was pretty much the same as a successful rear flank.
Shaking the electric arcs from his hands, Orin Vale turned his head and was met with Hal's somewhat resentful expression.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"N-nothing," Hal said sullenly, looking completely dejected. The light from his Power Ring even seemed to have dimmed a little.
On the surface, everything was fine, but inside, he was grumbling.
Heh heh.
Fight, my ass.
Apokolips.
"Sir, it's Biot. Our factory has been invaded," the same communications Manhunter from before reported.
"No one escapes the Manhunters," said the Machine Hunter Captain. "Activate Defense Protocol. Intercept the target."
"Acknowledged."
Desaad narrowed his eyes. "Is there a problem?"
"Just two little bugs. The Grandmaster said we can handle them." The Captain paused, then asked, "However, there is something the Grandmaster has always wondered. For That Lord, why is that Kryptonian so worthy of attention? He is powerful, but compared to the scope of That Lord's vision, he should be insignificant, should he not?"
"Your narrow perspective is insufficient to comprehend That Lord's actions. The universe in his eyes is completely different from what you see. A mere mortal would naturally find it difficult to understand," Desaad said coldly.
"You only need to fulfill the agreement and do your part. And as things stand, I must say, we are not satisfied..."
"This time was an accident," the Machine Hunter Captain said. "We will quickly ascertain what happened on Earth. We will bring back news soon... what is it now?"
It was that same communications Manhunter again, who stepped forward and said, "Sir, the second line of defense in the factory has been breached. The enemy is still advancing deeper."
The Captain pondered for a moment, then said, "Wait, we need the Grandmaster's instructions."
As it spoke, its scarlet eyes flashed twice, as if it were communicating with someone. A moment later, the red glow dimmed. The Captain said flatly, "The Grandmaster says it's not a major issue. Activate Manhunter 'Beta.' You are authorized to leave no survivors. Kill on sight."
"Acknowledged."
"No one escapes the Manhunters..."
It was a Manhunter from who-knows-which wave of the offensive that appeared before Orin Vale and Hal, but this time, its style was a little different.
Its entire body was covered in silver metal that glinted coldly, as if clad in a metal battlesuit. It had sleek lines and cold, scarlet eyes that shimmered like malevolent gems. The red sections of its armor were like solidified blood—deep and intense, exuding an ominous aura.
Its style was different from the previous Manhunters. The earlier models had human-like facial features and could even make expressions like an intelligent creature—though they rarely did so. This one, however, looked more like a cold machine, born only to kill.
"Hold on," Hal warned cautiously. "My Power Ring indicates this one is much stronger than the others. The component on its head doesn't just absorb energy from the Emotional Spectrum, but almost any known type of energy. A light beam attack on it should be usele—"
Before he could finish, a hissing sound tore through the air as a beam of light shot past him, striking the Manhunter head-on.
The device on the Manhunter's head did indeed activate; the azure stream of light turned into a vortex, pouring continuously into its head.
It absorbed, and absorbed, and absorbed—
And then it exploded.
A blue radiance spread out in all directions as a huge fireball expanded. The robot's body was torn to pieces by the impact, its silver metal fragments scattering like meteors. The flames erupted like a furious beast, and the shattered red-and-silver debris danced within the sea of fire.
Hal was frozen on the spot, his mouth still open, the half-finished sentence abruptly cut off.
As burning fragments rained down, Orin Vale lowered his arms and turned to Hal. "Were you about to say something?"
"N-no," Hal mumbled indistinctly. "I said, you be careful."
"Oh."
(end of chapter)
