mtl008 Chapter 4471 The Black Death (8)
Chapter 4471 The Black Death (8)
Chapter 4471 The Black Death (Part 8)
The Parademons that followed Kalibak were numerous, but not many. There might be several million, but this force was dispersed to major cities around the world, and each city received only a few tens of thousands.
Moreover, human heavy firepower can kill Parademons, and now it's finally the turn of ordinary human armies to show their skills. Before this thing even landed, it had already been plowed by missiles; and once it landed on land, it faced artillery of various calibers and high-yield bombs.
Parademons are not purely carbon-based life forms; they are monsters that have been mechanically modified. This means they possess the advantages of both carbon-based life forms and mechanical life forms, but it also means they have the disadvantages of both.
Human artillery is far too rudimentary compared to Darkseid technology, unable to destroy the mechanical parts of a Parademon. However, Parademon bodies, like humans, are carbon-based, and carbon-based life forms cannot withstand temperatures of thousands of degrees and explosions.
The moment he saw Calibak, countless orders were issued from the presidential palace. Of course, this wasn't Schiller's doing; Batman was the mastermind. He mobilized the army, surrounding major cities on both the East and West coasts, and relentlessly using artillery and missiles to force the Parademons to land in the central states.
This is unavoidable. The interior of the United States has a relatively small population and its cities are not very developed, providing ample space to suppress the Parademons with firepower. After all, those national parks and farms are usually sparsely populated, so bombing them is no big deal; but if they landed on the East or West coast, destroying any office building would mean hundreds or thousands of lives lost. Large-scale firepower wouldn't be necessary; it would be a matter of street fighting, in which humans have no advantage.
Most countries adopted similar measures, using firepower to drive the Parademons into uninhabited areas. Fortunately, there are enough places on Earth unsuitable for human habitation; almost every continent has such places, and the millions of Parademons were quickly eliminated.
Schiller glanced at the monitor screen and realized the Parademons hadn't been resurrected. He cursed the Lamp Creed for being useless. Seven Lamp Creed members besieging Apokolips, yet Darkseid still managed to send troops to attack Earth—wasn't that a clear sign they didn't take the Lamp Creed seriously?
However, Darkseid, now a unified entity, should not be underestimated. He possesses ample experience fighting the Justice League and has also dealt with the Lightbringers, knowing their weaknesses. Meanwhile, the Lightbringers, having lost their main source of energy, are without resupply; their defeat is only a matter of time.
Schiller sighed and turned to Batman, saying, "Let's prepare to execute the final plan. We need to get rid of the Black Death Emperor first so we can deal with Darkseid."
Batman nodded; he knew it was time. While the Black Death Emperor posed a significant threat, the Justice League of the Multiverse was there to resist. Their greatest crisis was Darkseid, who was too close and in his complete form; a major battle was likely brewing.
Before dealing with Darkseid, the Black Death Emperor must be eliminated first; otherwise, with each wave of enemies killed, another will revive, and no one can compete. The sheer number of Darkseid's resurrected elite troops alone will be enough to give humanity a run for its money.
“I informed Hal and told him to get ready,” Schiller said.
When they received Schiller's message, Hal and Clark were about to eliminate the last source of contamination. But things were clearly not that simple. Atlan informed Kalibak of their movements, and the general, as strong as a barbarian, charged straight towards them.
Clark made a move to defend himself, but was instead sent flying by Calibak. This guy's strength was astonishing; although he lacked technique, he could fight Superman to a standstill with sheer brute force.
Hal grew increasingly nervous, but dared not act rashly. At this critical juncture, he absolutely could not afford to get infected, or all his efforts would be in vain. Fortunately, that guy was also focused on attacking Clark and didn't care about him at all.
Hal intended to continue providing support from a distance, but discovered that Clark was struggling to keep up. He noticed that Clark's injured arm was somewhat unable to lift, while the resurrected Kalibak was in full strength. When the two fought in close combat, Clark suffered a great loss.
Hal rushed forward and used the barrier of green light energy to block an attack for Clark, then blasted Kalibak away with a single shot.
"Are you alright?" Hal asked with concern.
Clark clutched his arm, his face grim. This death energy was clearly very stubborn and conflicted with his life force, making it far from easy to absorb. He had tried for a long time without any progress, but the death energy continued to encroach, leaving half of his body numb and unable to move freely.
"Hang in there a little longer," Hal said. "It'll be over soon."
But it seemed that Hal's actions angered Kalibak, who roared and pointed the golden trophy at Hal, who was immediately struck as if by a heavy blow.
The Beta Trophy can emit incredibly painful neural lasers with exceptional penetrability, almost ignoring all energy. Caught off guard, Hal was struck, the pain momentarily disorienting him.
Thankfully, Clark caught Hal. Hal trembled and took a deep breath. But by then, Kalibak's massive fist was already upon them. Clark flew back with Hal, but the opponent continued his relentless assault, crashing into them like a cannonball.
“This can’t go on,” Clark said through gritted teeth. “We have to distract this guy so we can deal with the source of the pollution.”
"Or maybe I should..."
“No,” Clark said. “If we don’t stay together, he’ll pick us off one by one. It’s a pity we don’t have enough men…”
Just as they finished speaking, several figures suddenly appeared at the edge of the sky. Leading them was an enormous giant, none other than General Zod, who had transformed into Doomsday, and following behind him were the Kryptonians who had come to Earth.
The two Kryptonians who had become the president's bodyguards waved to Clark. After being exposed to the yellow sunlight, they both gained the ability to fly and superhuman strength. Although they weren't as strong as Superman because they hadn't spent much time on Earth, they were at least a third of his power.
More importantly, this group was large; besides General Zod, there were seven or eight others, all of whom were professionally trained soldiers, skilled in combat techniques, and worked together seamlessly. Their arrival on the battlefield instantly turned the tide of the battle.
With so many superpowered individuals surrounding and attacking Kalibak, his fists flew in a relentless barrage, yet he couldn't break through the encirclement. General Zod, transformed into Doomsday, was the strongest among them, able to exchange blows head-on with Kalibak. The two fought fiercely, neither gaining the upper hand, while the others assisted from the sidelines, eventually managing to push Kalibak to the surface of the sea.
Atlan was clearly desperate, constantly churning up waves to attack the group. Initially, this caused some chaos, but the group was well-trained and quickly devised a countermeasure, relentlessly attacking Kalibak's lower body to force him upwards. As the fight progressed, the group was nearly leaving the atmosphere, and Atlan's attempts to interfere were futile.
Taking this opportunity, Hal used Green Light energy to surround the source of pollution, while Clark used laser beams to cut through the seabed and remove the contaminated bones once again. As the Indian Ocean became clearer, the nails driven into the earth began to emit a faint glow.
Hal and Clark initially thought this was part of the purification process, but the more they looked, the more something seemed off.
They had initially thought the clearing of the seawater was due to the power emanating from the nails, which had dispelled the force of death. But now, upon closer inspection, the light emanating from the nails seemed remarkably like the power of death itself.
Hal seemed to understand a little. The so-called purification of the ocean wasn't about dispelling the death energy within it through the power of the seven lamps. They had already experienced firsthand just how stubborn the death energy was; it didn't seem to be directly dispellable. Otherwise, Hal would have already purified those undead with green lamp energy the moment he had physical contact with them.
The nail actually uses the power of the seven lamps to absorb the death energy in the ocean. The power of the seven lamps is like a large net, scooping all the death energy into the tower. This is the truth behind the purification of the ocean.
If that's the case, then absorbing all the death energy in the ocean would be enough, so what's the point of all this?
The light emanating from the nail grew stronger and stronger, and the thick, corrupting odor began to gradually subside, but it was not sealed away. Instead, it solidified and solidified, eventually becoming like a sharp arrow that shot into the Earth's core through the outlet where the nail was driven into the Earth's crust.
Hal was stunned. What was going on? Who was Batman targeting?
He soon found out. For just seconds after the three nails, with the power of death, struck the earth's core, he heard a resurrected heartbeat from underground.
It was a very strange feeling, affecting all living things on the earth at the same time. Whether on the ground or in the trees, whether on the surface or in the air, their heartbeats became synchronized with those of some ancient creature.
An endless life force emanated from beneath the Earth's surface. The Kryptonians who had already entered space looked back and saw that the once azure planet was now bathed in a faint white light, appearing both sacred and beautiful.
Hal finally understood what Batman's backup plan was—the White Lantern Power they had been searching for was hidden deep within the Earth.
The burst of life force caused immense suffering to the undead who possessed the power of death. Atlan was the first to scream, melting away like a vampire exposed to light.
He had to leave the ocean and fly into the sky to escape the increasingly intense life force purifying him. The flesh and bones shaped by the power of death kept falling off his body, and he fell back into the sea like a skeleton.
Damian and Steve, who were in the presidential palace, also felt the same pain. But perhaps because their love for Batman and Diana had been rekindled, and they had become part of the rules of life, this pain did not completely tear them apart. Instead, it constantly fought against the death force within them and purified them.
Kalibak was naturally affected as well, but the death energy emanating from him was exceptionally strong, suggesting that the Black Death Emperor had high hopes for him. Moreover, as Darkseid's son, he clearly knew more.
He began looking around, searching for something. Suddenly, points of light coalesced in the sky above the Pacific Ocean. Hal immediately realized that this was the ring of the White Lantern's power; he had to obtain the ring and become the host of the White Lantern's power to have any chance of defeating the Black Emperor.
But then he rolled his eyes and said to Clark, "Quick, Clark, go steal the lamp ring!"