Chapter 490

The next morning, at the Green Lantern Corps headquarters, just as Hal walked out of his bedroom, a rather beautiful female Green Lantern greeted him.

Ignoring her purple skin and the six arms on her back, she was quite a hot beauty. Hal turned his head away, blushing slightly. The female Green Lantern smiled and then said to him:

"I didn't expect Ion to be such a shy little boy... Alright, no more jokes. The Corps Leader wants to see you; go to his office after breakfast."

"O-okay, thank you."

After saying goodbye to the female Green Lantern, Hal took the elevator to the cafeteria.

There were all kinds of creatures here: Star Spirits floating in mid-air, spherical creatures bouncing around on the ground, and even a long-necked dinosaur whose full form couldn't be seen, only its head poked in through the window. Hal walked and watched, marveling constantly.

No matter where he went, everyone praised him, even those Green Lanterns who hadn't participated in the operation and had just returned from their sectors couldn't stop sighing with emotion after hearing about Hal's deeds.

What happened in Cat Getan, though not as grand as some interstellar war scenes, was filled with a sense of eeriness and terror. Every Green Lantern who had been there could deeply feel that chaos and madness, so their descriptions inevitably added embellishments, and as it spread, it became more and more exaggerated.

The Green Lanterns praised Hal to the skies, and the severely injured Carol was no exception.

The person who attacked him was Constantine. He hadn't managed to survive a single move against this mage and had unfortunately been defeated. To cover up this failure, he excessively exaggerated Constantine's power, claiming Constantine had summoned five or six terrifying hell lords from who knows where, summoned magma and hail, and used hundreds of arcane orbs. The two fought for hundreds of rounds before he was barely defeated.

Other Green Lanterns held this mentality to varying degrees. After all, attacking a city in a group and being defeated in a sorry state was truly embarrassing. As long as they blew the opponent up to be strong enough, they wouldn't look so weak. Therefore, all the combat reports submitted showed that the people living in Cat Getan were not ordinary Earthlings.

They were chaotic, crazy, and elusive, each equipped with dozens of large bombs. Not only did they know all kinds of magical spells, but they also seemed to have X-ray vision. They were not only fearless of death but also extremely intelligent.

Likewise, Hal was described as a god descending to earth. As they kept blowing it up, people began to call Hal "the greatest Green Lantern in history," saying his achievement in saving everyone was unprecedented and should be recorded in history.

Amidst these praises, Hal felt somewhat lost because he was very clear-headed. He knew that this incident was far from as terrifying as they described.

Perhaps the process of the Green Lanterns' defeat was a bit undignified, but in reality, the losses were not great. The vast majority were minor injuries. The only unlucky one who was seriously injured was Carol, who ran into Constantine. Most people just exhausted the energy in their Green Lantern rings and suffered some mental fatigue, and after resting for one night, they all returned to duty.

Yet Hal still received unprecedented welcome and gratitude. Amidst these cheers, he began to feel uncomfortable, not only because he was receiving rewards without merit, but also because he felt the organization's style was too frivolous and its attitude toward failure was not serious enough.

There was no reflection on strategic decisions, no tactical troubleshooting, not even a summary meeting. It was as if as long as the enemy was portrayed as a terrifying natural disaster and the person who saved them was blown up as an unprecedented hero, the matter was just over.

Anyone with military literacy would feel that this organizational method was truly amateurish.

With this mood, Hal arrived at Thaal's office, an office on the side corridor of the central hub. Hal's office was also here.

He knocked on the door, and Thaal's voice came from inside: "Please come in."

After Hal walked in, he found Thaal's expression was somewhat serious. Before Hal could ask, Thaal said: "I saw that you submitted a report to leave headquarters last night. What's going on?"

"Uh... the matter on Earth hasn't been resolved yet, I have to go back to clean up the mess, and the security of the Earth sector also needs someone to maintain it."

"No, Hal, I have received orders to temporarily abandon the sector where Earth is located and abandon all security work related to Earth and Cat Getan."

"Why?" Hal asked, eyes wide with shock.

Thaal pursed his lips, patted Hal on the shoulder, and said: "You've just started working and don't understand the situation yet. Although I haven't been the Corps Leader of the Green Lantern Corps for long, I have been responsible for some personnel scheduling before."

"Security work in sectors also has priorities. Our manpower is limited, and the energy of the Central Power Battery is also limited. Therefore, we must prioritize maintaining those important sectors..."

"But!" Hal raised his voice and asked: "What kind of sector counts as an important sector? Isn't Earth important?"

Thaal sighed, sat behind the desk, and signaled for Hal to sit down, but Hal just stood there. Thaal said helplessly:

"I know every Green Lantern thinks the sector where their hometown is located is the most important. I can understand your desire to protect your hometown, but all of this is for the future of the Corps."

"To achieve healthy development, we must invest limited power into the most important places. So-called important sectors are actually more prosperous places where there are more civilizations and they are closer to headquarters..."

Thaal showed a troubled expression and said: "The sector where Earth is located is relatively remote, and there are fewer civilizations."

"More importantly..." Thaal lowered his head, his tone becoming low, and said: "This operation failed, and we paid a great price: draining half the energy of the headquarters' battery, a dozen Green Lanterns injured, former deputy Carol seriously injured..."

"Compared to the strategic position of the Earth sector, this loss is almost unacceptable."

Hal stood silently in place, looking at Thaal. His Adam's apple moved, his fingertips trembled slightly, but he still said:

"Then what about justice? What about peace?"

Thaal spread his hands on the table and said: "We must first ensure the healthy development of the Green Lantern Corps to bring peace to more civilizations. For this, there will definitely be sacrifices."

"Then what about those sacrificed civilizations?" Hal continued to ask.

Thaal sighed again and said: "I know you were just a surface creature before and haven't been in the universe for long, so you don't know enough about it. Among all civilizations born in the universe, only about one percent can leave the surface and fly into the universe."

"And among this one percent, less than one in a thousand can sail in the universe, join interstellar society, and become a member of the cosmic civilization society."

"And the rest, no matter where they were born, no matter how glorious they once were, will eventually die in the cradle of civilization."

"The development of civilization depends on timing, geography, and human harmony. Only a very few star systems with excellent conditions can give birth to a civilization that joins interstellar society, and those star systems are exactly what we need to focus on protecting."

"But obviously..." Thaal shook his head and said: "Earth is not included."

"I know you feel disappointed. I was like that once too." Thaal stood up from in front of the desk, walked to Hal, and said: "But one day, you will understand that everything is for a greater justice."

Looking into Thaal's eyes, Hal was silent for a while, then slowly shook his head. His tone had calmed down, but it carried a startling power. He said: "Justice delayed is not justice."

"On the road to pursuing greatness, those civilizations you abandoned, those groups treated as sacrifices, are also one living life after another, just like my fellow countrymen on Earth."

"But if we don't do this and waste our power in hopeless places, it will only lead to the collapse of the Corps. And without the Green Lantern Corps, more civilizations will fall into the flames of war."

"Against the Gods"

Looking into Thaal's eyes, Hal knew he probably couldn't convince him. He said: "Sorry, but I cannot agree with this reasoning."

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, raised his right hand, and then used his other hand to forcefully pull the Green Lantern ring off his finger.

"I renounce my status as a Green Lantern. I will return to Earth and then, as an ordinary human, fight for my civilization."

Thaal's eyes widened slightly. He had never thought that anyone could renounce Green Lantern energy. Such power, which came so easily and was so strong, was like a pie falling from the sky; no one had ever voluntarily given it up.

However, he saw another kind of power in Hal's eyes, which made his eyes shine like the sun in the universe.

"I have always firmly believed that my fellow countrymen and I will create the greatest civilization in this universe."

"Perhaps I am leaving today, but one day, when humanity sails into the depths of the universe, we will meet again."

Saying this, Hal turned and left. Thaal watched his back. He saw the shadows of many people in Hal's back; they had all once been called the greatest Green Lanterns in history.

But Hal was completely different from the shadows of these people. He did not have the rich green light symbolizing powerful strength, nor the prestige brought by powerful strength. Just like all weak surface creatures, he could not fly, could not teleport, and could only step on the ground one step at a time.

Yet the more a race cannot fly, the more it longs to fly. As an ordinary human, Hal could have chosen to be a Green Lantern and soar freely in the universe, but he gave it up.

Thaal thought, perhaps, he really would become the greatest Green Lantern in history... a true Green Lantern.