Chapter 3873: Third thousand nine hundred and twenty-first: The Nameless Bat (Fifty-four)

Darkseid sat upon his throne. Although he was already much taller than the three of them, at this moment, the physical height difference truly gave him more confidence.

Darkseid could not possibly be an insecure person, but the problem was that he truly didn't understand the Justice League's game plan right now. What exactly were these three here for?

Of course, it couldn't be to surrender. Otherwise, with their personalities, they would have been shouting from outside the shield long ago. Nor could it be a fake-friendly assassination attempt—the entire universe knew he was invincible on Apokolips; even the Guardians of the Universe couldn't come up with such a stupid plan, and Batman certainly wouldn't.

Eliminating all impossible answers, the remainder must be the truth. But this truth circled in Darkseid's mind dozens of times without landing in a range he could trust, instead spreading its wings and flying toward an absurd conclusion.

"We are here to talk about cooperation." Main Universe Batman opened his mouth, nearly scaring Desaad off the steps.

Fortunately, Desaad's speed in tumbling down the steps was fast enough to mask Darkseid's momentary shock, preventing him from losing face in front of the Justice League. Darkseid steadied his mind and said, "Cooperation? Batman, could this be another one of your schemes..."

"Battleworld." Main Universe Batman spat out a single word coldly. Darkseid's hand on the armrest tightened instantly.

"I know you have been spying on Battleworld, but you haven't found the way. I can tell you, that place cannot be entered by any conventional means; without an invitation, even if you ruled the universe, you'd have no chance."

Main Universe Batman used a rather mocking tone: "However, it just so happens that the three of us can enter, my adopted son can enter, and even the Gotham Police Commissioner can enter."

As Batman drew these comparisons, Darkseid's face grew darker and darker. He finally couldn't help but stand up and roar in a deep voice: "Batman!"

"Don't be impatient." Main Universe Batman continued, "You can't get in, but that doesn't mean you can't reach it. To be precise, you have other ways to reach the multiverse."

"What way?"

"Through me." Main Universe Batman met Darkseid's gaze fearlessly and said, "We traded a few blows before over the Anti-Life Equation, and fortunately, there were no casualties. Neither of us could take anything useful from the other. I'd say this round was a draw; you should admit that, right?"

Darkseid's face was dark, but he wasn't so lacking in grace. Although admitting to a draw with a mere human was a bit embarrassing, the fact that Batman could stand before him so righteously proved this guy wasn't an ordinary human. If Earth counted as a domain, he should be the King of Earth.

"Let bygones be bygones." Main Universe Batman continued, "I also admit that you are a respectable opponent, not only in knowledge and strategy but also in possessing divine power and the Apokolips domain. Otherwise, I wouldn't be approaching negotiations in this posture."

Darkseid reminded himself that this was just Batman's cunning linguistic trap, but his mouth seemed to have a mind of its own.

Darkseid knew from experience that Batman was an extremely efficiency-oriented person. Anyone he could manipulate, he would choose to manipulate directly rather than reason with them; he was very good at leaving others with no choice.

Yet he came today, and even brought his two companions. While they looked like bodyguards, they were actually there to show his sincerity.

Darkseid also knew that the Justice League partners were Batman's strength, but also his weakness. Batman didn't need the Justice League that much; he could accomplish 100% of things on his own, and in most cases, 120%. The emotional comfort the Justice League provided him outweighed their physical help. Batman would never let his friends come to harm.

But today he brought two people at once; this was not only a show of respect for Darkseid's strength but also a compliment to his character—similar to saying, "I know you, a noble monarch, would never harm my friends, which is why I brought them."

Even Desaad wouldn't use the word "honorable" when flattering Darkseid. But Batman simply used his actions to indicate: I acknowledge you as an honorable monarch.

Darkseid reminded himself a thousand times that this was moral kidnapping, but his mouth seemed to have a mind of its own.

"I am indeed surprised you brought friends." He said, standing before the throne with his hands behind his back, "But I am even more surprised by your understanding of me. This war means nothing to me; I just want to tell everyone who dares to provoke me that they will never get what they want. But at the same time, I can tell those who trust me that cooperation with the right person brings a hundredfold or thousandfold return. Tell me what you want to do, Batman."

"I want to eliminate the Guardians of the Universe." Main Universe Batman's voice echoed through the vast palace, cold enough to make even Darkseid's heart tremble.

"Do you know what you are saying?" Desaad spoke up first, "The Guardians of the Universe are at least a hundred million times more advanced than the Earth you come from. They are an ancient race from the dawn of the universe, not only the first to discover the Emotional Spectrum but also the founders of the Lantern Corps. Even now, they are one of the strongest races in the universe."

"If that weren't the case, why would I want to eliminate them?"

At this moment, Darkseid heard his own heartbeat echoing like drumbeats in his chest. He licked his slightly dry lips and said, "Indeed, if they weren't so strong, why would I be fighting them?"

Desaad wasn't sure what his boss meant, but he was very clever and chose an angle that could never be wrong: "Regardless of what ambition you have, the Justice League cannot do it. I know you want to say there is the Apokolips Legion, but our fighting the Lantern Corps doesn't mean we want to go against the Guardians. After all, the Emotional Spectrum is the source of universal power, and those Lanterns are just containers; they won't care if a few die. Our two sides have no feud; you'd best not think of using His Majesty."

"Cooperation is mutual utilization." Main Universe Batman overturned Desaad's previous words with a single sentence, "Believe me, the benefits I gain from using you are no more than the benefits you gain from using me. I am just a street-level hero on Earth; it's not me who wants to dominate the universe."

Darkseid's fingers moved again. He certainly understood what Batman was saying. Batman was a guardian-type hero; as long as you didn't do anything particularly outrageous, he wouldn't actively oppose you.

Even when Darkseid tried to snatch the Anti-Life Equation from him, he only offered limited resistance. You could call it conserving strength or call it reactive, but in any case, Batman never thought about ruling the universe. The one with huge ambition who wanted to rule the universe had always been Darkseid.

The greater the ambition, the more power needed to support it. That was why Darkseid kept waging wars across the universe, destroying civilizations, and doing everything possible to enhance his power. Therefore, eliminating a powerful civilization like the Guardians of the Universe was something Darkseid would definitely gain more from than Batman.

So only one question remained. Darkseid asked: "Do you have a way?"

He didn't even ask why Batman wanted to do this, or how they would split the spoils if they succeeded. Because they both knew that in such matters, nothing said now counted; only when the meat was bitten off would it be a matter of who had the better skills.

"Yes." Main Universe Batman said very firmly, "I can make the Lantern Corps turn against them."

Even Darkseid couldn't help but gasp. He observed Batman's expression carefully, but there was only darkness behind the mask; yet the other's tone didn't sound like a joke at all.

Darkseid was also very clever; he immediately thought of the Green Lantern Hal Jordan. His fingers brushed over his ring twice, then he said: "Through that little Green Lantern? I have to say, he does have some skill; he can go back and forth with Granny Goodness's army. But him alone is not enough."

"It's not him, it's the stupidity of the Guardians of the Universe." Main Universe Batman said, "Let's put it this way: even if we do nothing now and just maintain the status quo for a while, the Lantern Corps under the Guardians' rule will fall apart. And if you apply a little bit of pressure during the war, we'll see fireworks in a few days."

Darkseid narrowed his eyes. He didn't know whether to believe Batman's judgment. In fact, as a monarch and a strategist, he sometimes didn't understand the Lantern Corps' operations—not leaving when they should, not staying when they should; many sacrifices were in vain.

But Darkseid himself was a tyrant, and he didn't have any real subjects, only generals and Parademons. Those generals born in the Apokolips domain were naturally loyal to him, and it didn't matter if the Parademons were loyal or not. So it was indeed very difficult for him to fathom the complex thoughts of emotionally rich intelligent life, and he didn't know enough about the internal instability of the Lantern Corps.

"You mean, the Lantern Corps is already dissatisfied with the Guardians?"

"'Dissatisfied' is probably not the right word." Main Universe Batman shook his head, "They are already very dissatisfied. If you and I strike together, it will be enough to ignite the flames of rebellion."

Darkseid had to admit he was tempted. The path of contending for the universe was like sailing against the current; if you didn't advance, you retreated. A year of stalemate was long enough.

This was a one-way street; no matter how many obstacles were ahead, they had to be turned. So the Guardians of the Universe were opponents that had to be dealt with sooner or later. If he missed this opportunity where Batman was willing to help, he didn't know how much effort it would take to deal with this problem later.

The Guardians of the Universe were not easy to deal with; even Darkseid didn't have a sure chance of winning. No matter how much Batman's addition improved the odds, it was a great opportunity; missing this village meant missing this shop.

"To be precise, this isn't cooperation, it's me asking for your help." Main Universe Batman said, "If you are willing to help me, I can pay another reward. Although it might not be effective in the short term, you will never regret your choice."

Darkseid was truly interested. He asked: "What reward?"

"Remember Battleworld I mentioned earlier? I can tell you that things aren't peaceful in the multiverse right now. You don't have an admission ticket to participate in multiverse affairs, so you can only go through me. And I can lead our universe to a higher position."

?? Went swimming, body hurts all over, never racing again.