blogombal Chapter 343 The Spirit of God's Wrath
Chapter 343 The Spirit of God's Wrath
Chapter 343 The Spirit of God's Wrath
Amanda Waller stood with her hands behind her back in her office. The strange thing was that Berelf Prison... was supposed to be Amanda Waller's own stronghold.
She should have made this place impregnable, but whether it was Maxwell Lord's invasion or the escape of Cheetah, Black Manta, and others, Amanda Waller herself never showed up, nor did she even pull out the trump cards she had stored up in the name of the government as a counterattack.
Throughout the entire event, only her samurai swords appeared, and she once attempted to stop Maxwell Lord, but was unfortunately defeated by Rostam, who wielded a flaming blade.
Moreover, if someone were to ask the other person after they wake up, they would easily find out that the katana's actions in protecting the prison were entirely his own doing, and not on Amanda Waller's orders.
That's impossible.
The leader of a large intelligence group usually only loses control of the entire organization upon death.
However, Amanda Waller was alive and well, jumping around and full of energy, which was very strange, extremely strange.
Even more bizarre was the state of Amanda Waller's office at that moment: the entire room was shrouded in a dark purple, semi-transparent shield, and a huge flower was placed in the corner of the room, creating oxygen for this almost completely sealed space.
"You've arrived." Amanda Waller looked out the window, which was covered by a thin purple film, and said, "I thought you would have come sooner."
She turned her head: "You've become lax."
"...I'm sorry."
A voice suddenly came from the shadows in the backlit part of the room, and then Amanda Waller saw the shadow begin to writhe and deform as if it were alive.
It spread across the table legs, flowed like a fluid onto the chair, and then reshaped into a human form...
It was none other than Batman.
Wait, shouldn't Batman be chasing Cheetah and dealing with his son Damian right now?
How did he end up here?
Amanda Waller pulled up a chair and sat down opposite Batman with her large buttocks.
She saw Batman's eyes narrow, then he extended a finger and tapped it on the table.
"Aren't you going to explain, Waller?"
Amanda Waller's face was expressionless. No matter how many times you looked at it, this top agent with the appearance of an older woman always gave off an unreal, disorienting feeling when she showed a serious expression.
"Maxwell Lord believed his telepathic abilities were unparalleled in the world."
Amanda Waller had already prepared his strategy. Elevating one's enemy is also elevating oneself.
"And that's certainly true of his abilities," Batman said.
"His abilities are very special," Amanda Waller said slowly.
"His abilities are not like those of many telepaths we've seen. Brain Demon, Mind Pirate, Black, Dr. Neuro, Brainiac... their telepathic abilities, though powerful, manifest as direct control over others' bodies. They overwrite their victims' minds with their own will, manipulating them like puppets."
"But Maxwell Lord was different. His telepathic abilities were more like a kind of super persuasion technique. He could make people unconsciously agree with the ideas he was telling them. He pretended to be a friend of the victims and wholeheartedly cared about them. This kind of control was more powerful and more terrifying than simple and crude mind manipulation."
Amanda Waller sighed: "So..."
"So...?" She heard Batman on the other end of the line ask in a slightly questioning tone. Her instincts as a secret agent made her keenly aware of the annoyance hidden beneath his calm question.
Amanda Waller lowered her head, trying to make her tone sound incredibly helpless: "So I never imagined that someone with mind control abilities like him could also be controlled by others."
"I don't believe it was a telepath who controlled Lord." Batman coldly interrupted her: "Maxwell Lord is already among the top tier of telepathic abilities; no telepath could influence his mind without him being aware of it. So there's only one possibility: the one influencing Lord wasn't human."
He paused, then said:
"Actually, I made a mistake in my previous suspicions, which is why I'm a little late in coming to you."
Based on previous intelligence, I mistakenly guessed that the person influencing Maxwell Lord's mind was Starro, the conqueror of the cosmic starfish.
Although the Cosmic Starfish's mind control ability is typical of turning others into puppets, in terms of the strength and quantity of his mental power, he still far surpasses Maxwell Lord. I once thought that Starro had used some method to sneak up on Lord, causing him to be defeated in the mental world and thus being manipulated at the mercy of others, but I never expected...
"But I never imagined it was my doing. I'm sorry, Batman."
Amanda Waller said, "It all started with something in the Sky Eye Bureau's collection: the Heart of Darkness, which, like the god-slaying blade that turned Barbara Minerva into a leopard woman, allowed the Sky Eye Bureau to collect many magical items with its vast manpower, resources, and materials."
"Even though you don't really understand what these magical items are for. I'm often amazed by your audacity in touching things you don't understand, or even know what they are."
Amanda Waller seemed oblivious to Batman's sarcasm, continuing, "And the Heart of Darkness, this magical artifact, can unleash the evil within anyone who gets close. Now it seems this artifact might possess its own consciousness, thus corrupting Maxwell—"
"It is not that the Heart of Darkness has its own consciousness."
Chen Tao interrupted Amanda Waller.
He clutched his head, feeling a headache coming on: "The Heart of Darkness is a sealed gem that contains Eclipse, a dangerous figure from the magic side."
"Eclipse? Who is that?" Amanda Waller had never heard of this name before.
"He was the former executioner of God, the embodiment of the spirit of God's wrath."
Then she heard Batman say:
"Initially, God created the spirits of wrath to punish the wicked and cleanse the world of evil and sin. The spirits of wrath are also known as the false angels Galid or LLadiz."
"In ancient times, in order to wash away sins, the spirit of wrath once caused a great flood."
"The spirit of wrath is driven by wrath, but wrath is not sharp enough, so God created the spirit of vengeance to replace the spirit of wrath. This spirit of vengeance is the ghost."
"To this day, the Spectre, the vengeful spirit of God, remains the most powerful superhero in the magical realm."
Amanda Waller listened silently to Batman's words. The other man seemed completely absorbed in his own world; he appeared somewhat frustrated and annoyed.
"Of course, Ghost is also the most useless superhero."
"Oh dear, the invincible ghost has fallen yet again!"
"Okay, just kidding."
Batman was rambling on and on, and Amanda Waller couldn't fully understand what he was saying, but she wrote down every single word he said.
This is intelligence that Batman possesses, and he would never share it with the Sky Eye if it weren't for this opportune moment.
"In short, the Spirit of Wrath was stripped of his rights and status by his successor, the Ghost. The Ghost sealed the Spirit of Wrath in the Heart of Darkness, a black diamond native to Apokolips that only brings sorrow and pain to people, and banished the embers of the Spirit of Wrath to the far side of the moon."
"And the spirit of wrath is the eclipse."
"Later, the Black Diamond Heart of Darkness, which sealed Eclipse, was found on the African savanna by an American explorer. He cut the Heart of Darkness into 1000 pieces and scattered them to every corner of the world. Each piece of the Heart of Darkness contains the evil essence of Eclipse. This allows Eclipse to extend his tentacles to the whole world, but it also weakens his power. Only when more fragments of the Heart of Darkness are gathered together can he unleash his powerful magic."
Chen Tao said:
"Although it is sealed within the Heart of Darkness, Eclipse can still control and possess anyone who comes into contact with it. Even just possessing someone grants it unparalleled magical power."
"The bad thing is, the Sky Eye Society found one of the larger pieces," Amanda Waller said without batting an eye. "This gem drove every staff member who came near it insane, so we had to keep it in a special area. But we didn't expect its mind-controlling effect to become so widespread. Every prison guard was torn between touching that Dark Heart and not touching it. Even repeated warnings had little effect. It was a control that humans couldn't resist, so we finally switched to using robots."
Chen Tao said, "But Eclipse still used his magic to influence Maxwell Lord. He made Lord want to obtain the Heart of Darkness."
"Not only that,"
Amanda Waller said:
"He's also influenced the entire Berelf prison. Apart from the few supervillains who escaped before, everyone in the prison is now mentally manipulated by Eclipse. That's why I'm hiding in this house now," Amanda Waller said. "I'm all alone."
Chen Tao looked very unwell.
The situation is now very clear: Amanda Waller and his Sky Eye Bureau are manipulating the Heart of Darkness, something they don't understand at all. They are fusing many small Dark Stars into a larger one, making the piece in their hands grow larger and larger, and then naturally restoring the power of Eclipse.
After things went awry, Amanda Waller was forced to retreat to his room and activate a magical protective barrier to stop the Eclipse from invading his mind. However, this also prevented him from contacting anyone, leaving him to hope that Batman would find out about his situation through clues and come to his rescue.
"So to sum it up, you've been extremely wary of me, afraid that I'll find out even a little bit about what you're doing. Then you built a time bomb in your warehouse, and when it went off, you told me that you have to deal with it now because once it explodes, it will blow the entire Justice League to smithereens."
Chen Tao said, "Can I understand it that way?"
"This time bomb wasn't created by us. When we discovered the Heart of Darkness, Eclipse was already absorbing a lot of fragments of it."
Amanda Waller corrected, "No Heavenly Eye will bring the Heart of Darkness back; it will explode somewhere we don't know about, causing even greater destruction. But at least now we know who our enemy is."
She said, "I think you must already have a solution by now."
……
……
……
Maxwell Lauder closed his eyes.
He could still hear an old man's voice echoing in his ears.
That was the voice of the high priest of Devil's Island, a sorcerer. Maxiveld found him and forced him to brand himself with a holy symbol.
"This world is already incredibly fragile."
He recalled the dying voice of the old priest, whose beard and eyebrows had turned white.
Then his own voice rang out:
"That's right, isn't this world heading towards hell? He's gone mad, and someone has to end it."
The high priest shook his head, blood flowing from the wound on his face.
"It's not you. You were born a human being, but I see in your eyes someone who has chosen darkness."
He stared intently at Lauder, and to this day, Lauder still vividly remembers the look in his eyes before he died.
"Why bother? You and I both know that Eclipse will eventually regain its freedom," Maxwell Lord said. "Wouldn't it be better if someone could control it?"
"Control? Don't be ridiculous. Your abilities are useless. You might be able to control a pack of wild dogs, but you're not powerful enough to control him."
Maxwelllaud narrowed his eyes. Blood was flowing from his nose as he unleashed his power at the high priest.
His voice began to drift, becoming persuasive and suggestive, making it sound as if he were thinking of his own best interests.
"Alright, then give me what I want, and I can make the outcome beneficial for everyone. I promise you, if you help me, I can spare you from pain."
However, he was still rejected.
"I will never help you, Maxwell Lord."
"Is that so? Maybe you just need a little more motivation..."
Then came the desperate screams.
Maxwell Lord opened his eyes and saw the Wolves standing before him. They had completely submitted to him, and what he was about to gain would far exceed the comprehension of that old man.
A person who chooses darkness? Is there no way to control them?
Just you wait... I'll prove you wrong with facts...
He moved with lightning speed towards his goal. The Wolves followed silently behind him, like his honor guard.
As the breeze blew in anticipation of the impending battle, Maxivellaud gazed into the distance and saw the Belev Prison standing quietly not far away, swaying in the shadows of the trees, awaiting his arrival.
And at the very center of this prison was their target:
A natural eclipse!
Boom!!!
Several tens of minutes later, Wonder Woman, who had just sent several villains, including shrapnel and steel beams, back to Belrev Prison, dodged a concrete boulder reinforced with steel bars that Dr. Polaris was throwing at her with magnetic force.
She leaned on her longsword, half-crouched, and looked at the sudden appearance of numerous enemies before her. She turned to the Flash and asked:
"Can you contact Batman?"
Her hair was disheveled, and her face was covered in blood. This wasn't her own blood, but the result of her sword slashing into the wolf's chest. Yet, the wound vanished within seconds, failing to even slow its advance.
This black-haired, red-eyed, white-skinned alien mercenary is truly immortal; he can even regenerate from a blown-out head. Wonder Woman's piercing sword is like a tickle to him.
Clang!
Before Wonder Woman could even wait for the Flash's reply, she once again swung her sword to block the iron chain thrown by the wolf, and then kicked him flying backward.
"Is there any way to deal with this enemy?"
From the moment she spoke until now, she had already slashed at the wolf at least seven or eight times, but as the tank for the opposing team, the wolf's defense left Wonder Woman feeling helpless. She turned her head, but before the Flash could speak, she read "I don't know" in his pupils, leaving her speechless.
The cosmic mercenary who had just been kicked away quickly returned. He leaped up, raised his chained hands high, and slammed them into the ground like a gorilla. With a deafening roar, the seemingly solid ground shattered instantly, sending debris flying. He and his teammates worked together seamlessly, chasing Wonder Woman and the Flash all over the place.
"Can't get in touch with Batman," said Barry the Flash. "Damn it, I can't concentrate because this guy's in my head..."
Across from them, Maxwell Lord was bleeding from his nose, a sign that he was activating his powers. The Flash, meanwhile, was constantly using the Speed Force to accelerate his thought process in an attempt to evade Lord's telepathic abilities. This was a common tactic used by speedsters against telepaths, but the Flash was not very skilled at it and was finding it quite difficult.
In the Flash's original career, the strongest and longest-lasting telepath he faced was the gorilla Groud. However, in this universe, Groud had long been used as a rechargeable battery by Chen Tao. Lacking Groud's training, Barry's ability to contend with telepaths was naturally...
"What about the other Justice League members?" Wonder Woman asked. "Will they be able to get back in time?"
As she spoke, the heroine rolled away to dodge Rostam, who was wielding a flaming sword. His strike set the ground ablaze, and then the Emerald Queen's green eyes unleashed a burst of green energy that struck her back. However, the heroine only let out a muffled groan as she deflected the follow-up attack with her longsword.
The Flash followed her at breakneck speed, constantly checking the messages on his communicator.
"Let me see... My message is that Martian Manhunter was accidentally hit by a missile made of magnesium. A few minutes ago, he jumped into the river to heal his wounds while he was on fire, and he hasn't come out yet."
"The entire gang of scoundrels is dealing with a group of thugs who are the masterminds of a train robbery. But those guys somehow managed to create a small earthquake... How did they do that?"
"Shazam has become embroiled in a magical battle from another small plane, a magical continent ruled by a man called the Child King... Everyone seems to be having some kind of trouble. It can't be that much of a coincidence."
"Someone is targeting the Justice League."
Wonder Woman gritted her teeth and said, "What about the others?"
"I'm afraid we might be ambushed," the Flash said, looking somewhat distracted. He then added in a low voice, "None of that matters. The most important thing is that I haven't been able to contact Batman for over ten minutes. Do you think it's possible...?"
"That's right, just as you imagined, we've prepared a big gift for Batman as well."
"Maxwell Lord said. His nose was bleeding profusely, but he seemed completely unaware of it."
He seemed to be in a good mood. Wonder Woman was fighting the villains again. Johnny, whose face was just a mask, summoned countless limbs of the King of Tears from the void, constantly attacking Wonder Woman and forcing her to defend with a shield. Meanwhile, the Emerald Queen's eyeballs launched energy shocks to exert pressure.
"With careful observation, we can prepare for the entire Justice League." Maxwell Lord remained as gentle and refined as ever.
He said:
"Everyone has a weakness, right? And Batman's weakness is his son. He can't abandon him, especially after he abandoned his son to deal with the league's problems first."
"...What did you do?"
"The Flash asked."
Although he had always had great faith in Batman, what he was seeing before him gave him the feeling of facing Batman himself.
The same targeting, the same direct attack on vitals, and the same intricately linked plan that leads everyone by the nose. And Batman just happens to have a new son, which is indeed his Achilles' heel.
Damn it, Batman, you wouldn't...
"And do you know what? Now you're the only ones left in the entire alliance."
Maxwell Lord said, "The only two people who didn't get targeted, please forgive me. It's not because I didn't value you. On the contrary, you may be more unfortunate than those who were targeted, because you are going to face all of us."
"We need to wait for Batman to come to our rescue," the Flash whispered to Wonder Woman. "I don't believe Batman is that easy to get..."
He gritted his teeth: "Batman is always prepared. He can deal with every enemy he sees, and these guys are no exception."
He said to Wonder Woman, "Batman must have prepared a plan to deal with these people beforehand. I just need to hold out long enough..."
"Completely wrong."
But his voice was quickly interrupted by Maxwell Lord, who spoke even louder.
"Batman is only able to target you because he spends so much time with you. He's good at civil war, but incompetent at foreign wars."
He said, "He can only target his own teammates, not real, dangerous enemies..."
"Admit it, Batman isn't coming back."
(End of this chapter)