togophonebook Chapter 503 Batman: Cow, Cow: Goose, Shadow Cabinet
Chapter 503 Batman: Cow, Cow: Goose, Shadow Cabinet
Chapter 503 Batman: Cowboy, Cowboy: Cowboy, the first Lantern of the Shadow Cabinet
Chen Tao knew that everything he had done to the first Lantern Knight had made them enemies. This meant that no matter how eloquently he spoke, Huo Rong would only be thinking about rejecting him and taking revenge for the humiliation Chen Tao had caused him.
Chen Tao had every reason to believe that the first Lantern Man was unlikely to be foolish enough to gamble away all the power he had painstakingly transmitted through the Ring of Calamity by leaving it on this ring, only for the Ventriloquist to wear it and wave it around right under Batman's nose.
The confident attitude of the first Lantern Knight confirmed Chen Tao's guess. He didn't need any bargaining chips. He was confident that he could escape. There was no other explanation than that he had already made preparations for it.
(Note: Please refer to the end of Chapter 381 where the original Lantern Man, looking down on Hal Jordan, the cowardly version of the Night Owl universe, planned to divide his ring into three parts!)
Therefore, in order to persuade the first Lantern Knight, Chen Tao had to come up with a reason that the Lantern Knight couldn't refuse.
Yes, Chen Tao could certainly use Batreign's abilities to read his memories, since the first Lantern was extremely weak at the moment, and Chen Tao's Batreign transformation was permitted by Night Owl, allowing him to use Starro the Conqueror of the Universe's immense mental power.
This is equivalent to connecting a large fuel tank to a diesel engine. Chen Tao felt that he was fully capable of forcing the other party and then getting what he wanted from his mind—but then what?
He already had a grudge against the first Lantern Man, and now he's recklessly forcing him into a corner, making the feud even bigger.
If they were merely strangers before, with Batman clearly rejecting the first Lantern and having established no relationship with each other, their trust level was practically zero, then if he were to pull this stunt now, that trust level would likely turn negative, bringing immense uncertainty to his plans.
For example, if he is forced into a corner, he needs to release the first Lantern Man.
As a result, the first Lantern suspects that releasing him is a trap, or that he doesn't believe anything Chen Tao says, not even Batman's claim that he can save his hometown. He wishes Chen Tao were dead and would rather stay in prison for hundreds of years and then release himself than do anything that might benefit Chen Tao...
Don't underestimate these possibilities. If they happen, it could be fatal. Even if the first Lantern Knight hesitates for half a second, the entire plan could fail.
Therefore, Chen Tao needs him, and needs him to help him willingly.
"No, these memories are just your lies..." The first Lantern Knight clutched his head, while Chen Tao looked at him: "You know it's not true, Calamity."
The first Lantern Man calmed down a bit. In his long life, only his hometown could move him and make him break the decision he had already made.
"If all of this is true... what do you plan to do?"
"I'm not going to do anything, Calamity. I never promise you anything." Then he heard Batman say, "The only promise I'll make to you is that you can create avatars. I'll temporarily seal these avatars, and the seal will be strong enough for your avatars to struggle until I defeat the Anti-Monitor and they can escape."
"With the help of these incarnations, you can compress what might have taken thousands or tens of thousands of years to escape into a time-consuming process measured in years or months."
He said, "And all you have to do is share your experience with me."
"And what about my hometown?"
"I'm afraid I have to be honest, Huo Rong, I make no promises."
"But I still have a chance." The first Lantern Man lowered his head and muttered to himself, then said decisively, "Deal."
In the next second, Chen Tao obtained the exact location of the Shadow Cabinet through their mental connection. Chen Tao stopped speaking, and then the sonic boom channel opened in front of him. He stepped through it and arrived...
Kent Farm.
Martha Wayne, the adoptive mother of Superman Clark Kent… oops, Martha Kent. She still runs this small farm. The insurance company under the Wayne Enterprises paid for the lawnmower and related farm tools that General Zod had thrown into the house. Martha also hired two temporary helpers, and she lives a peaceful and comfortable life.
Well, now there are only two two-headed monsters left on the farm. Chen Tao had notified Martha, the Justice League, and some of their families to take refuge in the Crimson Realm.
After all, while most members of the league are orphans, there are still a few members with families, such as Hal's lover Carol, the Flash's lover Patty, and his father who is serving time in prison.
Martha and her team learned from their experience, the only difference being that they didn't know that Batman himself was the one who caused this disaster.
In short, Chen Tao's arrival brought tears of joy to the two two-headed monsters at Kent Farm. Led by them, Chen Tao broke into the cowshed at Kent Farm and soon found a live cow.
"A cow!"
Chen Tao said, and then, under the horned gaze of the bull, he grabbed its horns and lifted the entire bull into the air. It was forced to be dragged into the sky by that dragon-humanoid bat monster with pointed ears and long horns—
Chen Tao deactivated the transformation of the bat-like creature, which caused it to fully reveal its form after being possessed by the plunderer.
Although he had mastered the Raiders, it was with the help of countless two-headed monsters. Therefore, he could not maintain his original appearance like Parallax Demon Sinestro or Parallax Demon Hal. Instead, he transformed into a horned, crimson giant wielding a giant axe when Blood Bull possessed James King. This transformed Chen Tao into a half-dragon with bat-like pointed ears and horns and barbs all over his body.
(Note: James King, one of the hosts of Blood Bull, in the major event "White Day", a death row inmate named Joshua Hayes was convicted of rape and murder and was about to be executed by electric chair.)
Despite being about to receive his due punishment, he remained defiant and even provoked the deceased's father, James King. The grief-stricken father, James, was enraged and wanted to kill him with his own hands. This immense rage attracted Blood Bull, who eventually stabbed him to the ground. Later, Atositas and the Ghost joined forces to extract Blood Bull from his body.
When he completely deactivated the other Batman transformations, this terrifying state was finally fully revealed on his body.
"Moo!" the cow cried out in fright, "Gurgle! Gurgle!"
It thrashed about, kicking and stomping at Batman, but it couldn't stop Batman from dragging it by the head and pulling it directly into the sonic boom tunnel that suddenly opened up in the sky.
With the two two-headed monsters, who were Martha's temporary helpers, bidding him farewell, Chen Tao crossed the portal and quickly reappeared in the Hall of Justice. He then raised his hand, and the cursed ring that the Ventriloquist couldn't get off flew into his hand. Chen Tao then collected the little blue man corpses that he had thrown on the ground to show the first Genie, transformed into Flameiah again, and put the ring on.
"That's amazing." Chen Tao heard the voice of the first Genie in his ear:
"Do you know that all hosts possessed by the Plunderer will fall madly in love with what they once loved? The Lantern Beasts choose creatures whose emotional energy matches theirs as hosts, amplify that emotional energy, and then feed on it. But your mind has hardly been affected at all. You haven't fallen madly in love with anyone, and you haven't even experienced the inevitable situation of going insane."
He said, "This goes against the emotional spectrum. Are you sure you're enduring this erosion of your sanity and not just feeling nothing?"
Chen Tao felt nothing. He didn't realize how much the Predator amplified his obsessive love for someone, or rather, the Predator's influence on human thought was even less than that of the Batman characters with strong negative emotions that Chen Tao was experiencing simultaneously. With a thought, he swept these emotions from the Lantern Beast into the trash heap.
"Perhaps those two-headed monsters that I modified fed the predators in my place." Chen Tao told the first Lantern Knight this. Before the other party could figure out how Chen Tao became a predator host through those two-headed monsters, he opened the sonic boom channel again and soon arrived in the depths of a certain universe.
In the far distance of the sky, a huge purple vortex slowly rotates.
"The Shadow Cabinet is inside," Chen Tao heard the first Lantern Knight say.
"I will use those corpses to help you reshape your avatar."
They flew through the vortex, and soon, a huge shadow cabinet, bound by countless green iron chains, appeared before Chen Tao.
"Yes, that's right, this is it..."
Chen Tao heard the urgent and eager voice of the first Lantern Knight: "I have been imprisoned here for billions of years."
"Tell me how to activate these green light energy chains."
The first Lantern Knight did as instructed. Soon, as the green light sign turned on, Chen Tao heard a surprised voice from the Shadow Cabinet, followed by countless glowing eyes appearing in the darkness.
Before the first Lantern Knight could react, Chen Tao pulled out a large number of Little Blue Man corpses.
"What do you want to do?" he asked.
Chen Tao ignored him.
Under the somewhat surprised gaze of the first Lantern Man, he saw Batman manipulating these little blue men who were already dead. Soon, their faces showed serious expressions as if they were alive, and they floated beside Chen Tao.
"Who is it? Who's there?"
"I can only see light."
"No, look! Our compatriots are back!"
Below, more little blue men cheered and jumped for joy. They were the little blue men who had been left in the Shadow Cabinet. They were responsible for protecting the first Lantern Man, so their emotions were not erased.
Chen Tao had no intention of harming them.
"Did the robot hunters succeed? Brothers and sisters, can we finally rejoin the team? Has the universe been saved?"
Chen Tao's little blue figures stepped forward, and he looked at them bouncing around.
Over billions of years, their hair and beards have turned white, and the beard of the leader of the little blue men has even dragged on the ground.
Their clothes were tattered and ragged; there was simply no way to change clothes in such a place.
Their eyes, pierced by the light from long periods of darkness, were almost blinding, yet they still jumped and laughed with joy. According to their agreement, once the darkness was lifted, it meant the universe had been completely redeemed, and they could live happily with their brothers and sisters in a peaceful universe free from violence.
This was their original agreement, and also the initial wish of all the little blue men.
The former guardians of the universe... they were not the masterminds behind more murders and evil.
Their actions were all righteous, but as time went by, they became corrupt and degenerate, eventually becoming the kind of people who could kill any of them without feeling any injustice.
"I'm sorry," Chen Tao thought silently.
Then, manipulating those people, he said, "Let's seize the power of Genie #1."
"The robot hunters failed. We failed. The universe is still full of violence, hatred, and evil. We came here seeking a solution. We came for Lantern Evolution, whose power can help us save reality."
Chen Tao, manipulating the group of little blue men, said, "The first Lantern Man doesn't understand why Batman is going to such lengths."
"You all know how dangerous his power is," the remaining survivors replied, and Chen Tao saw the surprise and fear in their eyes.
"Things haven't gone as we hoped. The universe is no longer as simple as it was when you left. Make way."
"Absolutely not." He heard the other person say, "When we parted years ago, we already made an agreement. We willingly dedicated the rest of our lives to guarding the Shadow Cabinet. Whoever dares to come here and release the Lanternman, we will fight back with all our might... Ah!!!"
Before he could speak, Superman appeared behind him and knocked him unconscious with a karate chop.
Chen Tao had already quietly released the Supreme Little Superman. He needed the other Little Blue Men to help him attract their attention so that he could defeat them all before they could react.
As the jailers who imprison the first Genie, these little blue men also possess great power, just like the guardians of the universe.
Chen Tao could control the Supreme Little Superman to kill them all, but if he wanted to take them down without taking any damage, it would be better to use some tricks.
Although this may be cruel to these little blue men, this is indeed what those little blue men who stayed outside ended up looking like.
As for the mission of these little blue prison guards...
Sorry, everyone.
You are a good group of people...
But the situation has changed.
(End of this chapter)