novelnext Chapter 68 The Changes of Krypton
Chapter 68 The Changes of Krypton
As a Green Lantern Corps member, how do you determine whether a Kryptonian you encounter is malevolent when you're patrolling a sector of the universe?
It's very simple: the one who strikes first and retaliates is the malicious Kryptonian, while the one who doesn't retaliate is the evil Kryptonian who is good at disguising himself.
This is the ironclad rule of sector 2828 of the universe, where the Vega Nebula is located.
Not for any other reason than that the vast majority of residents in this sector had just experienced the second Dark Age in nearly ten thousand years, the second "Kryptonian Expedition".
Unlike the one tens of thousands of years ago, the Kryptonians at that time were relatively mild-mannered, only expanding their colonies on primitive planets. Their interactions with other intelligent races were primarily based on trade, and they would only resort to force if trade influence could not resolve the issue.
The Kryptonians nowadays only use warships to clear the way, and they never hesitate to use force against any civilization that dares to resist them.
The Kryptonians' home planet has become unstable and could explode at any moment. They urgently need to expand their territory and secure their own living space.
After listening to Chip, the Green Lantern, Joey felt as if the world had suddenly turned upside down, and everything began to feel unfamiliar again.
If what this squirrel lantern man said is true, then all the plans I had made for the Earth would have to be scrapped and started over!
He went to great lengths to make the Amazons and Atlanteans submit to him, and even moved the capital of Atlantis from the seabed to the shore.
He could then use these two races plus the human world as a tripartite balance to prevent humanity from having only one opposing him.
He could then begin by providing asylum to Third World countries, subtly eroding legal and administrative power by mitigating local conflicts, until most people on the planet felt that his actions were justified.
Now everything is different—humanity may willingly accept an alien orphan leading them to create a better future.
No one with a sound mind would accept being ruled by an alien whose home planet still exists!
This is a very simple matter of stance.
No, now is not even the time to think about these things!
When Joey first witnessed Krypton's Sunstone technology, he couldn't understand how such a technologically advanced civilization could be so reckless as to trap itself on a planet.
Now it seems that my initial suspicions were correct. Krypton has not been destroyed at all, and they are willing to pay any price for the continuation of Krypton!
And since both my and Kara's spaceships are set to Earth as their destination, could Earth be the price to pay?
Joey retorted to Chip the squirrel, "Aren't you, the Lantern Crew, supposed to help the weak and punish the strong? How can you tolerate something like this happening?!"
Chip the Squirrel could only manage a wry smile. The Green Lantern Corps was supposed to be helping the weak and punishing the strong, but the Kryptonians were simply too powerful.
"We've tried, but this is the first time in nearly ten thousand years that the Kryptonians have expanded their territory into a non-M-type star system. We've found that the Light Cluster simply can't compete with the Kryptonians in a place like the Tamaran system!"
The Battle of the Tamaran system was the Green Lantern Corps' most devastating defeat in nearly a century. By the time Chip arrived in Sector 2828 from the distant Sector 1014 to join the battle, the war was already nearing its end.
He heard that a Guardian of Oa had even brought the Green Lantern Corps' superweapons to the battlefield, but ultimately failed to prevent the defeat.
Chip didn't even have time to enter the galaxy to join the battle before he received the Guardians' order to retreat.
In his final moments of retreat, he saw only hundreds of Green Lantern rings fly out of the Tamaran system, and the news of the Green Lantern Corps members' deaths echoed throughout the universe. The entire Green Lantern Corps had been wiped out.
Even Chip, a battle-hardened and determined Green Lantern member, couldn't help but show a hint of fear in his eyes when talking about this past event.
"Soon the Guardians forbade the Lamp Troupe members from engaging in direct combat with the Kryptonian army again, as they needed to redeploy their forces to deal with a more pressing crisis."
This time, it was because the four of us saw you alone in deep space during our patrol, so we thought we'd capture you again to see if we could get any information.
"I never imagined there was such a powerful individual among the Kryptonians. Even our elite four-person Light Squad team couldn't withstand you."
When Joey heard this story, he felt that the Green Lantern Corps was indeed a dangerous job. Just the idea of going to the Tamaran system to fight against the Kryptonian army was not something a sane superior could imagine.
About 80% of the stars in the universe are M-type stars, which are the red stars of the home star system that Kryptonians are familiar with. Bright yellow stars like the Sun are extremely rare in the universe, accounting for only 5%-15%.
Unfortunately, the star in the star system where Starfire's home planet, Tamaran, is located is such a bright star, even brighter than the sun.
He could imagine the fighting power that Kryptonians could unleash in that environment, especially as a well-organized interstellar Kryptonian army.
Let alone hundreds of Green Lantern Legion soldiers, even if Darkseid brought the entire Apokolips army in person, they would probably be in deep trouble.
The Green Lantern Corps is clearly unreliable; they have already suffered a crushing defeat in the Tamaran system, and they certainly wouldn't care if the Kryptonian fleet entered the solar system.
Fortunately, Kara can temporarily hold the fort on Earth. Wait, Kara...
Grass!
Joey tossed the three green light rings to Chip the squirrel and flew off towards Earth at the fastest speed he'd ever traveled, without looking back.
He suddenly remembered many things, including how Kara was furious when she first heard that she had an Earth name.
Because they don't resemble themselves, nor do they resemble Superman Clark Kent. They have lived on Earth since they opened their eyes, have Earth names, and have a past life on Earth.
Supergirl Kara Zo El was sent to Earth by her parents after living on Krypton for more than a decade.
Joey remembered the two corrupted crystals Kara had taken; those crystals likely contained some crucial information, including the current state of Krypton.
Krypton was on the verge of destruction when Krypton and Kara's ship left, but somehow the Kryptonians found a way to stop this destructive trend.
What if those two crystals contained this information, or what if they allowed direct communication with Krypton?
As a planet shrouded in a yellow sun, wouldn't the Kryptonians, who are conquering the universe, want to include Earth in their territory?
It wasn't even a simple matter of incorporating them into the territory. Starfire's home planet, Tamaran, was completely wiped out, leaving only Starfire as the sole survivor of the entire race. If the Kryptonians were to arrive on Earth, what would happen to the planet?
On one side is her home planet where she grew up and lived for more than ten years, and on the other side is the savage planet where she has been imprisoned and studied for more than ten years. What choice will Kara make?
Joey remembered the two corrupted crystals Kara had taken, and her unusually low mood a few days ago.
He was too focused on how to subdue the Amazons and Atlanteans, and on how to pave the way for Earth's future, to notice Kara's worried expression.
In Joey's view, it's impossible not to worry when you first awaken super vision and super hearing. Only by gradually controlling and filtering can you truly adapt to those exceptionally sensitive senses.
Currently, it seems that Joey himself has the least sensitive senses.
The red cape drew a red line in the depths of space. For him, traversing distances of light-years was just a breath away. In Earth's atmosphere, Joey could never fly that fast, because doing so would likely create a devastating gust of wind capable of sweeping across the globe.
When Joey arrived on Earth, he looked at it from afar and felt that Earth was very nice and peaceful.
Joey rolled his eyes and saw Kara wandering outside the gates of Lonely Fortress. He landed from space and came to Kara's side.
Kara, who was sitting in front of the door lost in thought, noticed Joey's arrival and, as if waking from a dream, her eyes regained their clarity:
"Karl Al, where have you been?! A lady asked me to give this to you."
Joey looked at the card in Kara's hand. It was a tarot card, and from his perspective, it was the card of 'Death'.
Tarot cards have the function of divination. In Joey's memory, there was at least one great magician in this world who was proficient in destiny and used tarot cards for divination—Lady Shangdu.
In the tarot's original meaning, "death" is clearly not a good one. Even if it doesn't represent death, it represents the transition from the old to the new, change, and the end.
What is the transition between the old and the new? What is being prepared for change or has come to an end?
Joey didn't want to believe in this kind of mystical stuff; he was willing to crush the Helmet of Destiny to pieces.
Joey accepted the tarot card and put it in his pocket. He dared to carry the fragment of Doctor Fate's helmet with him, so why would he be afraid of Lady Shangdu's tarot card?
Playing detective games under the noses of Kryptonians is really unnecessary, so Joey chose to ask Kara directly:
"Kara, those two crystals, were they really broken back then?"
When Kara heard Joey ask such a question, she knew she could no longer hide it, and the turmoil in her heart brought tears to her eyes.
"I... I was going to tell you later, Karl El, the crystal records our mission for coming to this planet."
"You should have told me sooner! Tell me, what's written in there?!"
Kara is a soft-hearted girl who is willing to distinguish right from wrong in many things.
But on the issue of Krypton, she had to admit that what Joey said back then was correct—it's just a matter of perspective, not right or wrong.
"It says...we came to this planet with a sacred mission."
While no one was paying attention, the tarot card in Joey's arms changed again, reverting to the position of "The Fool".