Reading settings
Chapter 358: In the End, the Yellow Lanterns Endured It All
The Yellow Lanterns were not doing well. Not at all.
This was completely different from what they had initially envisioned. It was supposed to be a backward, Level Three Planet. It was supposed to be a comfortable little fishing trip. This supposedly easy and pleasant leisure tour had somehow turned into a long, torturous imprisonment in the depths of hell.
Never mind the unscientific, heaven-defying natives of Earth. Forget the deus ex machina that was Ultraman. The joint counterattack by the Green and Blue Lantern Corps was at least within the realm of reason.
But could someone please tell them what the hell was up with that Parallax over there!?
It was clearly a Yellow Lantern Emotional Entity, yet it was gleefully trailing the Green Lantern Corps, slaughtering the Yellow Lanterns. It even shamelessly blended in with the Green Lanterns, shouting their oath along with them, saying "Fear My Light" and all that. Seeing its enthusiasm, it was as if it already considered itself a Green Lantern.
The Yellow Lanterns were in utter disarray.
Holy shit, you're our Emotional Entity! Have some goddamn shame, will you?
But in all honesty, even though Parallax had thrown all sense of shame to the winds, it was a true beast in a fight. The current battle situation, in particular, was one where it was completely in its element.
The Yellow Lanterns learned a painful lesson today: in the Emotional Spectrum, the entity that the Yellow Lantern entity countered the most wasn't the Green Lanterns, but their own Yellow Lanterns. It's just that no one ever thought about this when discussing the counters of the Emotional Spectrum, because who the hell would be bored enough to fight their own Emotional Entity?
Thus, whenever the Yellow Lanterns saw that giant flying bug, they could only turn and flee, desperate to avoid it. Yet, after running just a few steps, they would often run right into a member of the Blue Lantern Corps. The moment the blue light shone on them, the energy in the Yellow Lanterns' power rings would start draining rapidly.
Then, Parallax would open its mouth and inhale from behind, and the power ring energy of the nearby Yellow Lanterns would be sucked into its mouth like strands of mist. Parallax feasted gleefully, while the Yellow Lanterns' energy continued to plummet.
With Blue Lanterns in front and Parallax behind, they thought about bullying the Green Lantern Corps instead. But the Green Lantern Corps, who should have been countered by their power rings, were all pumped up like they were on steroids today, each fighting with the ferocity of a hundred men.
That was the natural supportive effect the Blue Lanterns had on the Green Lanterns. The Blue Lantern Corps itself possessed no combat power; they only unlocked their full strength when near a Green Lantern. Conversely, the Blue Lanterns could simultaneously grant a supercharge BUFF to the Green Lanterns. With the two Lantern Corps now working together, every Green Lantern started at 200% energy, with those possessing stronger willpower at over 400%.
Although the yellow light had a spectrum-based counter against the green light, you couldn't argue with a miracle born from overwhelming power. Their energy was draining away, while the Green Lanterns' energy was surging. Naturally, a fight was impossible.
So, the Yellow Lanterns came to a realization. They weren't here for a relaxing beatdown of weaker foes; they were here to be suppressed and endure a miserable imprisonment.
The enemy's Emotional Entity was super effective against them, the enemy Lanterns were super effective against them—everything was out to kill them. They were tanking the firepower of an entire army while dealing chip damage. The experience was enough to make anyone utterly demoralized.
However, although the vast number of Lanterns and the sky-filling, light-pollution-like special effects made it seem as though the legions of the three color Lanterns were the main force in this battle, most people knew that the core of the fight wasn't actually here.
The true powerhouses carrying the fight for both sides were Orin Vale, who had just returned to Earth, and Sinestro's off-site support, Brainiac.
In fact, the reason Old Bu had agreed to join Sinestro's alliance was largely to join forces and take down Earth. Of course, he would also be very satisfied if he could add some Green Lantern Corps action figures to his collection along the way, but he was still more concerned with Earth.
This time, with so many powerful allies, Old Bu seemed to have made up his mind to seize this opportunity to capture his long-coveted planet and the various alien races mysteriously gathered here in one fell swoop. And that was why he had come personally, bringing an entire fleet with him.
If the previous encounters were just tentative skirmishes, this time Old Bu was getting serious.
However, the Orin Vale of today was no longer in the same league as when he first met Old Bu.
Dense firepower from various warships closed in from all sides, a magnificent curtain of light nearly engulfing Orin Vale. But he charged fearlessly through the artillery fire, the immense firepower completely blocked by a spherical Ultra Barrier. Explosions continuously washed over the outside of the shield, creating layers of ripples.
Orin Vale raised his hand and fired an Ultra Shot. The light ray aggressively pierced through a spaceship, blasting it to smithereens. At the same time, several spaceships flanked him from the left and right, each firing powerful artillery.
Orin Vale swung his left palm out. As it met one of the light beams, he twisted his wrist. Light energy poured from his palm, forming an incandescent vortex. The spaceship's powerful energy was drawn into the vortex, and when it shot out, it had been redirected ninety degrees from its original path, piercing a friendly ship nearby.
He continued to accelerate, his lightning-wreathed body stretching into a blurry afterimage. The Spacium Ray swept out as if piercing the very stars. The barriers of the surrounding spaceships were easily penetrated wherever the ray touched. Their hulls exploded and disintegrated one after another, falling as burning wrecks.
During his trip to Oa, Orin Vale had referenced the design of Krona's armored gauntlet. Combining that with the insights he gained from studying the blue light, he had successfully connected to the Green Lantern Spectrum, and his power level had risen to a new stage.
Moreover, the green light is different from the other parts of the Emotional Spectrum. The green and blue lights are the two most closely connected, destined to complement each other from birth.
Hope grants a firmer will, and only with will can one bring hope to fruition. A Blue Lantern can only unleash their full strength alongside a Green Lantern, and vice-versa, making them natural power-ups for each other.
And now, Orin Vale was connected to both the blue and green spectrums simultaneously.
So Brainiac was dazed to discover that, after a mere few days' absence, his opponent had powered up yet again.
Brainiac could be said to have made ample preparations for this battle. Besides the Cryo-Mech he had encountered last time, his fleet had prepared more than one countermeasure this time.
Orin Vale's initial estimate was that Old Bu had used at least twenty different weapons from various extinct, advanced civilizations to attack him within a mere half-second, but without exception, Orin Vale neutralized them all with ease.
Some he dealt with using a bit of the Speed Force, others with a bit of the spectrum. But for the most part, he relied on the inherent abilities of his race.
The Ultraman Race was just like that; as long as he had enough energy, there was very little he couldn't do. He didn't really need other methods.
All the frantic bombardments from the interstellar warships were futile, and Brainiac's defensive line was ultimately and inevitably torn apart. The afterimage within the electric arc blasted straight through, locking onto Brainiac's mothership hidden in the very back.
The close-range defense systems activated, but Orin Vale waved away the various concentrated energy blasts. Metal tentacles extending from the mothership reached out to grab him, but Orin Vale met them head-on in a straight line, neither dodging nor evading. A brilliant light flashed, and the Eight-Split Light Wheels dancing around Orin Vale, as if sentient, sliced off all the tentacles. The eight Light Wheels circled around him like funnels.
The Spacium Ray blazed a path, piercing even the mothership's indestructible shield and blasting a hole through the entire vessel. Orin Vale smashed right into it, tearing through layer after layer of obstacles and rushing into the deepest part.
"You're a hard man to find."
Orin Vale flew into the warship's central command room, the lightning from the Speed Force intertwining with the residual electric arcs from penetrating the warship's barrier.
"We finally meet, Brainiac."
In the center of the dim room, a tall, green figure rose from the sole seat. Countless tentacle-like cables were plugged into his head, the other ends seemingly connected directly into this warship.
That was Brainiac's true body.
(end of chapter)
The Yellow Lanterns were not doing well. Not at all.
This was completely different from what they had initially envisioned. It was supposed to be a backward, Level Three Planet. It was supposed to be a comfortable little fishing trip. This supposedly easy and pleasant leisure tour had somehow turned into a long, torturous imprisonment in the depths of hell.
Never mind the unscientific, heaven-defying natives of Earth. Forget the deus ex machina that was Ultraman. The joint counterattack by the Green and Blue Lantern Corps was at least within the realm of reason.
But could someone please tell them what the hell was up with that Parallax over there!?
It was clearly a Yellow Lantern Emotional Entity, yet it was gleefully trailing the Green Lantern Corps, slaughtering the Yellow Lanterns. It even shamelessly blended in with the Green Lanterns, shouting their oath along with them, saying "Fear My Light" and all that. Seeing its enthusiasm, it was as if it already considered itself a Green Lantern.
The Yellow Lanterns were in utter disarray.
Holy shit, you're our Emotional Entity! Have some goddamn shame, will you?
But in all honesty, even though Parallax had thrown all sense of shame to the winds, it was a true beast in a fight. The current battle situation, in particular, was one where it was completely in its element.
The Yellow Lanterns learned a painful lesson today: in the Emotional Spectrum, the entity that the Yellow Lantern entity countered the most wasn't the Green Lanterns, but their own Yellow Lanterns. It's just that no one ever thought about this when discussing the counters of the Emotional Spectrum, because who the hell would be bored enough to fight their own Emotional Entity?
Thus, whenever the Yellow Lanterns saw that giant flying bug, they could only turn and flee, desperate to avoid it. Yet, after running just a few steps, they would often run right into a member of the Blue Lantern Corps. The moment the blue light shone on them, the energy in the Yellow Lanterns' power rings would start draining rapidly.
Then, Parallax would open its mouth and inhale from behind, and the power ring energy of the nearby Yellow Lanterns would be sucked into its mouth like strands of mist. Parallax feasted gleefully, while the Yellow Lanterns' energy continued to plummet.
With Blue Lanterns in front and Parallax behind, they thought about bullying the Green Lantern Corps instead. But the Green Lantern Corps, who should have been countered by their power rings, were all pumped up like they were on steroids today, each fighting with the ferocity of a hundred men.
That was the natural supportive effect the Blue Lanterns had on the Green Lanterns. The Blue Lantern Corps itself possessed no combat power; they only unlocked their full strength when near a Green Lantern. Conversely, the Blue Lanterns could simultaneously grant a supercharge BUFF to the Green Lanterns. With the two Lantern Corps now working together, every Green Lantern started at 200% energy, with those possessing stronger willpower at over 400%.
Although the yellow light had a spectrum-based counter against the green light, you couldn't argue with a miracle born from overwhelming power. Their energy was draining away, while the Green Lanterns' energy was surging. Naturally, a fight was impossible.
So, the Yellow Lanterns came to a realization. They weren't here for a relaxing beatdown of weaker foes; they were here to be suppressed and endure a miserable imprisonment.
The enemy's Emotional Entity was super effective against them, the enemy Lanterns were super effective against them—everything was out to kill them. They were tanking the firepower of an entire army while dealing chip damage. The experience was enough to make anyone utterly demoralized.
However, although the vast number of Lanterns and the sky-filling, light-pollution-like special effects made it seem as though the legions of the three color Lanterns were the main force in this battle, most people knew that the core of the fight wasn't actually here.
The true powerhouses carrying the fight for both sides were Orin Vale, who had just returned to Earth, and Sinestro's off-site support, Brainiac.
In fact, the reason Old Bu had agreed to join Sinestro's alliance was largely to join forces and take down Earth. Of course, he would also be very satisfied if he could add some Green Lantern Corps action figures to his collection along the way, but he was still more concerned with Earth.
This time, with so many powerful allies, Old Bu seemed to have made up his mind to seize this opportunity to capture his long-coveted planet and the various alien races mysteriously gathered here in one fell swoop. And that was why he had come personally, bringing an entire fleet with him.
If the previous encounters were just tentative skirmishes, this time Old Bu was getting serious.
However, the Orin Vale of today was no longer in the same league as when he first met Old Bu.
Dense firepower from various warships closed in from all sides, a magnificent curtain of light nearly engulfing Orin Vale. But he charged fearlessly through the artillery fire, the immense firepower completely blocked by a spherical Ultra Barrier. Explosions continuously washed over the outside of the shield, creating layers of ripples.
Orin Vale raised his hand and fired an Ultra Shot. The light ray aggressively pierced through a spaceship, blasting it to smithereens. At the same time, several spaceships flanked him from the left and right, each firing powerful artillery.
Orin Vale swung his left palm out. As it met one of the light beams, he twisted his wrist. Light energy poured from his palm, forming an incandescent vortex. The spaceship's powerful energy was drawn into the vortex, and when it shot out, it had been redirected ninety degrees from its original path, piercing a friendly ship nearby.
He continued to accelerate, his lightning-wreathed body stretching into a blurry afterimage. The Spacium Ray swept out as if piercing the very stars. The barriers of the surrounding spaceships were easily penetrated wherever the ray touched. Their hulls exploded and disintegrated one after another, falling as burning wrecks.
During his trip to Oa, Orin Vale had referenced the design of Krona's armored gauntlet. Combining that with the insights he gained from studying the blue light, he had successfully connected to the Green Lantern Spectrum, and his power level had risen to a new stage.
Moreover, the green light is different from the other parts of the Emotional Spectrum. The green and blue lights are the two most closely connected, destined to complement each other from birth.
Hope grants a firmer will, and only with will can one bring hope to fruition. A Blue Lantern can only unleash their full strength alongside a Green Lantern, and vice-versa, making them natural power-ups for each other.
And now, Orin Vale was connected to both the blue and green spectrums simultaneously.
So Brainiac was dazed to discover that, after a mere few days' absence, his opponent had powered up yet again.
Brainiac could be said to have made ample preparations for this battle. Besides the Cryo-Mech he had encountered last time, his fleet had prepared more than one countermeasure this time.
Orin Vale's initial estimate was that Old Bu had used at least twenty different weapons from various extinct, advanced civilizations to attack him within a mere half-second, but without exception, Orin Vale neutralized them all with ease.
Some he dealt with using a bit of the Speed Force, others with a bit of the spectrum. But for the most part, he relied on the inherent abilities of his race.
The Ultraman Race was just like that; as long as he had enough energy, there was very little he couldn't do. He didn't really need other methods.
All the frantic bombardments from the interstellar warships were futile, and Brainiac's defensive line was ultimately and inevitably torn apart. The afterimage within the electric arc blasted straight through, locking onto Brainiac's mothership hidden in the very back.
The close-range defense systems activated, but Orin Vale waved away the various concentrated energy blasts. Metal tentacles extending from the mothership reached out to grab him, but Orin Vale met them head-on in a straight line, neither dodging nor evading. A brilliant light flashed, and the Eight-Split Light Wheels dancing around Orin Vale, as if sentient, sliced off all the tentacles. The eight Light Wheels circled around him like funnels.
The Spacium Ray blazed a path, piercing even the mothership's indestructible shield and blasting a hole through the entire vessel. Orin Vale smashed right into it, tearing through layer after layer of obstacles and rushing into the deepest part.
"You're a hard man to find."
Orin Vale flew into the warship's central command room, the lightning from the Speed Force intertwining with the residual electric arcs from penetrating the warship's barrier.
"We finally meet, Brainiac."
In the center of the dim room, a tall, green figure rose from the sole seat. Countless tentacle-like cables were plugged into his head, the other ends seemingly connected directly into this warship.
That was Brainiac's true body.
(end of chapter)
