Chapter 273: Deng Deng Deng Deng Deng Deng (1)
Chapter 273: Deng Deng Deng Deng Deng Deng (1)
"So, what's going on now? You said you came into my dream and brought me here? But if I may be frank, this is a bit... hard to understand."
In the Gotham night sky, on top of a certain building, Gordon in a trench coat lifted the hem of his coat to the back, then crossed his arms and looked at the glowing figure in green. He said, "I don't think he's a local from Gotham, is he?"
Hal landed on the ground and asked Gordon, hugging his arms, "How do you know?"
"Do you realize you look like a Green Lantern now?"
"I am Green Lantern, to begin with. I am the Green Lantern."
"I mean the kind of green light from traffic lights. If you were a local, you wouldn't be floating in mid-air with green light all over you because we all know that the traffic lights at Central Roundabout get shot at thousands of times every day..."
Schiller interrupted the conversation between Gordon and Hal, saying, "The cause of the situation is as I mentioned before, and now, I have to figure out how to solve it."
Gordon took a deep breath, observing the colossal monster wreaking havoc in the city. He said, "Thank goodness, this isn't the real Gotham."
"If we don't stop it, one day it will enter the real world. I brought you here to prepare for eliminating this monster."
"Tell me, no matter what your plan is, I will cooperate. This is for Gotham, and for Batman."Gordon's tone was resolute, "Regardless, this peculiar vigilante in a tight suit has saved the police of Gotham several times. If he's in danger now, then I believe I should go save him."
"I will discuss this with you privately because I must teach you how to fight in the dream realm, Sheriff Gordon."
"Hold on!" Hal interrupted Schiller, saying, "Even if this is a dream, we can't just chat here, right? What if that yellow lantern beast really enters the real world? It will cause massive destruction!"
Just then, the three individuals standing on the rooftop felt a slight tremor on the ground. The monstrous creature, both terrifying in its size and appearance, let out a roar. A massive wave of darkness surged from the horizon, instantaneously flooding the city, submerging the entire Gotham.
"It seems like it was provoked by something," Hal squinted his eyes as he hovered in mid-air.
"Do you really think that the few things I mentioned, once combined, will be united? Never mind the yellow lantern beast and the yellow lantern ring, even if I talked about the laughing egg and the owner of this body, Batman, they are sworn enemies."
"This monster is merely a temporary product of compromise. At this moment, chaos is likely consuming its body."
At that moment, Schiller also gazed towards the sky, stating, "It seems like the other friends I invited have arrived."
A distinct "gudong" sound echoed in the ears of the three, yet they didn't see anything falling into the water. Then, a soft "swish" sound followed, and in an instant, a gigantic penguin leaped out of the sea, using its sharp beak to sever a section of the monster's tail.
Hal widened his eyes and exclaimed, "A penguin? Why a penguin?"
"It appears you aren't familiar with this bird species," Schiller explained. "Perhaps the penguins you've seen on land waddle and are incredibly clumsy, but in reality, these avians are very fast underwater, agile in their movements, and skilled hunters."
As soon as he finished speaking, the gigantic penguin, several times larger than an ordinary penguin, dove back beneath the water, evading the claw attack of the Laughing Demon. Shortly after, it leaped out of the water from the right side, which was out of its line of sight, and fiercely bit into his rib. The Laughing Demon let out a cry of pain, but when he turned to continue his attack on the penguin, he found that it had disappeared once again.
"...Who was that?" Gordon asked.
"That's Copperpot, Sheriff. I was just about to tell you about this part," replied Schiller.
"In the dream world, the best way to enhance your combat abilities is to fight as the image you are most familiar with in your heart. Once you completely unleash your true self, your coordination with the dream will improve, granting you greater strength, much like this penguin."
Gordon narrowed his eyes, gazing into the distance, and said, "It seems somewhat different. I don't recall normal penguins having such sharp beaks."
Indeed, as Gordon pointed out, the agile penguin possessed a pair of incredibly sharp beaks. Each peck caused the monster to cry out in pain, and if it struck a joint, it would even make it wobble.
While Schiller was explaining to Gordon, he glanced back at Hal and asked, "Gordon Detective is just an ordinary person, so I need to instruct him on how to fight. So, what are you doing here?"
"I..." Hal was caught off guard for a moment but still managed to say, "But this is also my first time fighting in a dream. I feel that the power of the Green Lantern here seems somewhat sluggish. I think I could learn something too."
Schiller turned around and continued speaking to Gordon, "Sheriff, you can give it a try. Relax and follow your instincts, and imagine who you should be..."
Gordon took a deep breath and said, "That's a bit challenging."
He then turned his head to glance at the massive monster beside him and slowly closed his eyes.
Soon, a ripple appeared in the dream, but Gordon himself didn't undergo any changes. Instead, phantom images began to materialize behind him, displaying various large-caliber weaponry.
Schiller chuckled and remarked, "Sheriff, it seems you have an acute fear of insufficient firepower?"
Gordon opened his eyes and looked at the floating weapons behind him. He sheepishly replied, "Actually, I've always wanted to try out these weapons. Unfortunately, even though the police department is equipped with numerous heavy weapons, these ones are just too exaggerated..."
Schiller turned his gaze towards the weapons behind him. Among them was not only an automatic machine gun with an expanded caliber but also something resembling a missile launcher.
At that moment, Hal touched his face, raised his head, and said, "Is it raining? Why does it feel like..."
"Oh, wait! It's snowing!" Hal reached out his hand and discovered that some snowflakes had landed on his hand. He expressed his confusion, saying, "Does it snow in Gotham?"
Just as he finished speaking, a violent storm surged, and all the recently fallen snowflakes spun around like Blades. Hal had to shield his face with his arm and shouted, "What the hell is this?!! How did it suddenly turn into a blizzard?!!!"
"This is what I'm going to explain next. The manifestation of willpower can take countless forms, not limited to the human form. It can manifest as natural elements like storms and lightning, even in dreams..."
"You mean!" Hal yelled in the midst of the storm, "This blizzard is also a person???"
"That's right, it's the manifestation of Victor's inner self."
"Victor?" Gordon asked in surprise, "His inner self is so wild. I never noticed it before!"
"There are serene snowfields, and there are raging blizzards. People's hearts contain various images. Victor, in particular, emphasizes the release of his inner violent nature, resulting in this effect."
"That's what I want to emphasize. By focusing your attention, you can manifest the emotions you desire the most, such as anger, violence, the desire to kill, and so on..."
Both Gordon and Hal tried, but they didn't undergo significant changes. Schiller speculated that it might be because both of them are hero characters and have fewer extreme emotions within them.
On the other hand, even though Victor appears gentle and refined on the surface, he is ultimately the precursor to Freeze and has the potential to become a villain. Therefore, his inner self harbors plenty of violent emotions.
On the battlefield, the wind and snow grew more intense. After each snowflake fell from the sky, it rapidly spun, surrounded by a blade-like air current, before elegantly slicing through the Laughing Demon's body, leaving a wound on its arm in an instant.
Countless snowflakes of this kind descended, attacking the monster from various angles, followed by floating ice crystals.
The ice crystals first arranged themselves in mid-air, resembling soldiers in formation, then shot towards the monster like bullets. Upon contact with the monster's skin, each ice crystal produced a large patch of freezing blue substance, impeding the Laughing Demon's movements.
"I don't quite understand," Hal said.
"This is a dream. How could you be injured in a dream? If, according to what you said earlier, the attacks in the dream are all imaginary, then couldn't this monster simply imagine that it won't be harmed?"
"That might be true in your own dream. When you realize you're dreaming, you can give yourself wings or conjure a gun. However, this is a shared dream..."
"In this kind of dream, any attack and defense is a test of willpower. If your willpower surpasses your opponent's, you can effectively damage them. On the other hand, you may be defended against. That's how it works."
"Okay, I think I understand..."
Hal flexed his wrist, and the green light on his body grew brighter and brighter. Clearly, the energy of the Green Lantern was abundant, and the sluggish and dark feeling disappeared. Instead, due to Hal's powerful willpower, the Green Lantern energy grew stronger and stronger, and his strength continued to increase.
"Before we proceed, we have one more friend who will take the lead."
After Schiller finished speaking, he looked towards the sky again. At that moment, a sharp cry echoed, and a figure with wings appeared overhead the Laughing Demon. The sharp claws slashed across the monster's shoulder, leaving deep wounds.
It was a monster resembling an owl, with wings on its back and claw-like hands. Its body was covered in countless feathers. Accompanied by a piercing screech, numerous feathers materialized behind him and swiftly shot towards the Laughing Demon, creating a shower of blood on its back.
"I don't particularly enjoy using this form," came Alberto's cold voice. He continued, "But I have to admit, the claws and feathers of birds are the best weapons."
"Who is this?"
"You should be familiar with this one, yet you don't recognize him. However, that doesn't matter. Sheriff Gordon, I believe you now understand the rules here. Now, you can go and demonstrate your abilities."
Hal finished his warm-up routine, while Gordon, although still adjusting, didn't hesitate and headed straight to the battlefield.
Before leaving, Hal looked at Schiller, who stood motionless, and asked, "If we're going to deal with this monster, what about you?"
"Do you really think that by simply trading blows, you can completely eliminate this monster?"
"In that case, what do you plan to do?"
Schiller suddenly changed the topic, saying, "Currently, you are the only Lantern on Earth, right?"
"Uh, if we don't count the Yellow Lantern monster, then yes, I'm the only one."
"Alright," replied Schiller. Hal looked suspiciously at Schiller's departing figure and suddenly had a sense of unease.
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