HCB Chapter 345 All of this may seem too cruel to me.
Chapter 345 All of this may seem too cruel to me.
Chapter 345 All of this may seem too cruel to me (5000-word long chapter)
You see... things always happen like this.
As Chen Tao stepped onto the dark blue-green floor tiles of Berelford Prison, he suddenly and inexplicably recalled that night long ago when he faced Bain.
He heard Bain's breathing like ocean waves, rising in a quiet, deep roar, as clear as a whisper in his ear.
The specific details of the encounter have long since faded with time, but he remembers feeling so pitiful, weak, and helpless, and more importantly...
Alone.
You can never count on anyone, you should never count on anyone...
This voice had whispered in his ear countless times, and he had once regarded it as a gentle breeze, but now it seemed to be a premeditated curse.
He seemed to be standing once again in the center of a massive arena, surrounded by countless demons and monsters. And amidst that tremendous roar, he confronted his enemies, surrounded by a multitude of people.
One enemy falls, another rises. He is like Hercules (the ancient Greek hero) who slays the Hydra, constantly swinging his sword and beheading one head after another, but as soon as one head falls to the ground, two more grow from the Hydra's neck, while he has no torch to burn off his own neck.
So he mechanically swung the sword. Be careful, don't be distracted for even a moment. If you slow down even a little, you'll be stung by the venom sprayed by Hydra.
The world is waiting for you to save it; only you, and only you.
You hold up the heavens, so you can't catch your breath for even a moment.
Yes, I know, I've always known.
Chen Tao paced back and forth across the broken ruins. The two guard robots had been reduced to scrap metal. This must have been the technology Waller had modified based on Brainiac.
Even from a great distance, he could hear the sounds of the battlefield through the nanobots that had been deployed there in advance.
"...Stop thinking about Batman. Is that all you can rely on in a fight? Let me guess...The Justice League? Batman and his six or seven henchmen?"
The voice belonged to Maxwell Lord. He sounded like he was trying very hard to activate his ability, using words to dismantle Wonder Woman's fighting spirit. This method of using telepathy was very Lord's; his ability was activated by "persuading" others. However, it now seemed that this ability was ineffective against demigods, and it was also greatly less effective against speedsters who could accelerate their brains with the Speed Force.
Then Chen Tao heard a female voice, which sounded like the Jade Queen.
She is a timeline error, and the eyeball next to her can use green light energy.
"...Very fast, not bad, darling. I know this stuff...the Speed Force, right?"
she says:
"Inventor Barry... wait... Alberdeswan? No, something doesn't seem right... damn it, this messed-up timeline... but none of that matters to us right now. What did I just say? Beautiful dodge."
Immediately following was a deafening roar, and then the Emerald Queen's next words rang out:
"But you forgot about Doctor Polaris. A beautiful attack, but all expected. Oh, I imagine it must have hurt. Hey, to be honest, you're not really familiar with Green Lantern energy, are you? Where's your Green Lantern? Haven't you consulted with him properly? Or ever practiced with him like a superhero army?"
(Note: The Emerald Queen comes from the 30th century and is the villain of the 30th-century superhero team, Legion of Superheroes. However, this superhero team from the future was wiped out after the time reboot, and the Emerald Queen became a bug left over in the timeline.)
"Oh, wait, let me think... Green Lantern and Batman fell out, didn't they? Even though I've only been out of jail for a while, I can still go online. Green Lantern isn't in the League anymore, why? Because he didn't want to be Batman's dog like you?"
"You talk too much nonsense, Emerald Queen." Then came the deep male voice of Doctor Polaris, which, under the influence of the magnetic field surging around him, seemed to resonate in an empty cave: "We should hurry up and take care of the enemy in front of us, and then go and kill Amanda Wore."
"Dr. Polaris is right. The universe's only true man is getting impatient. Is this all you can do, tickle me, Your Highness?"
Another intense exchange of fire.
Immediately after hearing Wonder Woman's reply, Chen Tao could sense just from her voice how overwhelmed she was when facing the entire villainous army all by herself.
"Even if it's just the two of us, we can stop you, Maxwell..."
Chen Tao sighed.
While he was distracted by using his mud-faced clone, which was infused with nanobots, to secretly control the timing of Damian's attack, he was also keeping an eye on Wonder Woman and The Flash's situation.
He used the green of all things to create an eyeball flower in the room, thus clearly conveying the scene inside to him.
This is a creation that perfectly combines the red of all living beings and the green of all things, integrating the eyeballs of living beings and the roots of plants, and of course, the power of some metallic spirits as lubrication and energy.
Through long-term use, Chen Tao had become quite adept at using such synthetic creations.
"Wonder Woman, it's in your best interest to stand by and let us get the job done."
Maxwell Lord was still trying to use his powers on Wonder Woman, his nose was bleeding, but Wonder Woman remained unmoved.
She stood up from the ground and then stood with her sword drawn.
"I know all too well how ruthless you are in achieving your goals, Lord. You not only force others to do what you want, you drive them to the brink of collapse. My mind won't be manipulated by someone like you."
"You're right." Maxwell Lord tried again, then sighed.
"Your mind is a locked box, Amazonian princess, and I believe the key to open it is magic. But I have no key... I never had one."
He said.
Then, a purple light flashed in his eyes the next second, Wonder Woman clutched her head and let out a shriek, then suddenly covered her head.
Even so, Wonder Woman's sword remained firmly in her grasp:
"This...this isn't enough to twist me!"
She tapped her forehead with the wrist holding the sword, then charged at Lord like a bull, forcing him to scramble to avoid her.
His nose bled profusely, and even his ears bled; the purple light in his eyes flickered erratically.
"That's true... but it's enough for you to tell me what I want to know..."
What does she want? Wonder Woman didn't have time to think about it.
She tensed up instantly. No matter how Maxwell Lord managed to interfere with her, a demigod, she was prepared to resist his manipulation.
Among the entire Justice League, Wonder Woman has one of the closest ties to the government. Thanks to her friendship with Colonel Steve Trevor and her past work for the government, which she has not severed ties with and has no intention of doing so, Wonder Woman's authority in Berelf Prison is second only to Amanda Waller and Steve Trevor.
If Maxwell Laudler were to force Wonder Woman to relinquish control of the prison, he could use that control to bypass many of the defenses that would otherwise require brute force, allowing him to find Amanda Waller much faster. Wonder Woman would not allow that to happen.
But now she is injured, and Lord has used unknown magical means to break the flaw in his superpowers that prevent him from controlling demigods. Wonder Woman herself is not sure if she can withstand the other party's power.
She bit her tongue. She knew that Lord's ability was similar to coercive persuasion, meaning that he wouldn't use his mind powers to forcibly control her body like Brainiac did, but would use his abilities to make her genuinely believe that what he said was absolutely right, and then obey him without question.
But that won't happen, absolutely not. She's a warrior; she'd rather bite off her own flesh than speak…
However, what she heard Maxwell Lord ask was:
"I'm not going to ask about Amanda Waller, but rather I'd like to know something else that's harmless:"
Why did Batman and Green Lantern fall out? To the point that Green Lantern, aside from fighting alongside the other members of the League against Darkseid, never appeared in any League appearances again, yet Batman still insists that Green Lantern is a member of the League?
What? Isn't it asking for my permission?
This unexpected question eased Wonder Woman's mind. Influenced by Maxwell Lord's abilities, she subconsciously answered, "Because Batman manipulated Green Lantern's mind to ensure that when dealing with Darkseid, the latter wouldn't deviate from pre-set commands and do anything beyond control."
Wonder Woman's face darkened as soon as she spoke. Damn bastard!
"I see..." Maxwell Lord said, "Thank you so much, you've answered a question that's been lingering in my mind for a long time."
Wonder Woman charged at Lord in a rage, her loss of composure and fury a major vulnerability. Lord Lord, meanwhile, turned and shouted at Johnny Solo at the opportune moment:
"Now is our chance. Don't forget why you came here!"
The magician, whose head was a mask, slowly opened his hands and then drew a fiery doorway in the void.
"Don't rush, my performance still needs guest performers..."
Maxwell Lord tumbled awkwardly to avoid the flying debris caused by Wonder Woman's shield slam into the ground.
"I'm sure I can find plenty of good ways to entertain our hosts. When I was imprisoned in Waller's dungeon, I wasn't alone; the screams in the darkness were my constant companions. That was the army of the King of Tears yearning for... freedom!"
Clang!
As a tidal wave of fleshy tentacles surged toward Wonder Woman, Maxwell Lord's eyes flashed purple again. With a deafening roar, Wonder Woman's sword flew to the side. With a shout, she used the sharp edge of her round shield to sever a huge, sharp, toothy tentacle summoned by Johnny Solo. But she was immediately struck by three more tentacles at once and sent flying backward.
The Flash lay on the ground, his foot twisted unnaturally, revealing his white shinbone. It seemed the enemy had already planned how to deal with a speedster on the move; breaking his shin was indeed the right choice.
In desperation, Flash ignored his cries of pain and used his only remaining leg to get up from the ground, jumping up and down in a one-legged stance.
It's a slightly comical move, but with the speed boost from the Speed Force, even with only one leg, the Flash is still incredibly fast.
"My name is Barry Allen, and I'm the fastest cripple in the world..."
Chen Tao imagined what the opening sequence of The Flash TV series on CW would look like in this situation, then shook his head and stepped inside.
Lustam was still wielding his flaming blade at the Flash, who was hopping around on one foot, but at some point, everyone on the field stopped moving.
Chen Tao slowly walked out.
No one speaks.
People watched as Batman slowly walked across the chaotic battlefield. With a wave of his hand, Rostam, wielding a flaming blade, was sent flying.
Maxwell Lord's face darkened, and he wiped the blood from his nose. Then he slowly said, "It's quite surprising that you'd be here."
"Aren't you going to take your son's life anymore?"
"..."
The moment Maxwell Lord saw Batman, he immediately tried to communicate with the Titan Tower, only to discover that the person there wasn't Batman himself, but a child who had appeared alongside Batman in the past—a Robin from a previous generation.
This is strange, very strange. He had made it obvious enough, with Cheetah suddenly escaping... Given Batman's intelligence, he should have easily realized that Cheetah was just a pretext to lure him away from his child, and thus immediately understood that his son was in danger.
At this moment, a father's duty, above all else, is to protect his child to ensure the crisis trapping Batman is fully realized. Maxwell Lord also manipulates Talia; if Batman appears on Titan Tower, she, hidden there, will immediately appear, and then…
That's right. The Brain Demon, the Leviathan incident, and Jinx, with her shrapnel and steel beam inventions, and other villains...
All of this is the result of a collaboration between Maxwell Lord and the Super Queen of the Crime Syndicate.
Maxwell Lord brought Talia and her son back to Batman's side, all in an attempt to use them to keep Batman in check. Lord even deliberately exposed Supergirl and the Syndicate to Batman to dispel his suspicions, making Batman believe he had found the real "mastermind."
In Lauder's opinion, this so-called criminal syndicate was nothing more than a bunch of low-class villains cosplaying as the Justice League, no different from third-rate characters like Jinx and Little Inventor.
He didn't know these people, nor did he need to. He just needed Batman to keep his attention off him, and the Crime Syndicate proved to be an excellent front.
Although Batman didn't know why the villains hadn't harmed them, they also hadn't noticed him. His plan had gone smoothly, and it was time to lure Batman away completely at the opportune moment.
But now things are a little different...
This was definitely a minor accident, and Lauder hates accidents.
"You have to go save your son."
Maxwell Lauder said.
He pressed his middle and index fingers against his temples. "If you don't hurry, they're probably going to die. You sent a villain called Killer Croc there, didn't you? That scum from Gotham City, that ugly, scaly beast. You gave him a Robin outfit without pants as fodder and sent him to save your son? Ridiculous! Don't you know he's already been taken down and controlled by Damian, and it hasn't affected the outcome at all?"
Lord threatened, "I advise you to go back to Titan Tower right now and save your precious son Damian. He will teleport the entire Titan Tower to a black hole in the universe. If you leave now, you might still be able to save everyone before they are torn apart by the black hole."
He said, "Think about it, my only goal is to kill Amanda Waller. What does her life or death matter to you? Hmph—"
Maxwell Lord was speaking when suddenly a spurt of blood gushed from his nose. Chen Tao slowly lowered the corners of his mouth that were turned up below his nose, and then pursed his lips.
As a telepath, Maxwell Lord had gathered ample intelligence beforehand. While Batman's abilities might have remained a secret to the average person for a long time, nothing stays hidden forever.
Having witnessed the unfortunate past of so many telepathic predecessors, when facing Chen Tao this time, he only used his "forceful persuasion" ability, and was not foolish enough to try to enter Chen Tao's mind.
It's such a pity. If he had dared to come in so boldly, the two of them could have held hands and laughed together.
However, after discovering the other party's caution, Chen Tao decisively turned his head into a block of iron, rendering Maxwell Lord's ability useless.
However, nosebleeds were commonplace for the other party. Chen Tao had always suspected that in addition to his telepathic abilities, Maxwell's blood-producing function was also very powerful. Otherwise, it would be truly bizarre that he had not bled to death for so many years despite the side effect of his superpower of frequent nosebleeds.
"Don't even think about it, Maxwell Lauder."
Facing Lauder's direct threat, Chen Tao shook his head and said, "If I were here, the first thing you should do is not ask me why I'm here, but think about how badly your plans have been disrupted."
He said, "Do you know what?"
Chen Tao turned his head and looked at Wonder Woman and Flash lying on the ground.
"You may have fooled me for a time... I'll admit that was quite remarkable."
"But you should know even more... that my presence here means you've already lost, completely and utterly."
Maxwell Lord looked up and saw Batman's cape billowing, moving without wind, as ethereal as smoke drifting down in the night in Gotham.
"And if you lose, it means I will win, I will win, I will win very soon. Although..."
The Flash got up from the ground. Chen Tao looked at his broken leg, which was still broken before he arrived, but in the short few minutes after he arrived, the injury was completely healed under the acceleration of the Speed Force, as the owner of this body was excited.
Wonder Woman stood up from the ground, a smile on her face. When she saw Batman arrive, her body, which had previously been powerless, once again burst forth with divine power.
Maxwell Lord looked at Batman with a puzzled expression, noticing a mixture of joy and sadness on the other's face. Maxwell had no idea why this was happening.
"Although...although all of this seems a bit too cruel to me."
(End of this chapter)