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Chapter 548: Steppenwolf Arrives
On Earth, a white portal appeared.
A tall, mighty deity exuding an ancient aura emerged from the white portal. He carried a giant axe, a cold smile on his beast-like face.
He was about two and a half meters tall, wearing a battle helmet with what looked like curved bull horns. His face was flat and deathly pale, covered in fine wrinkles. He had an imposing stature, and the moment he set foot on Earth, the entire planet seemed to tremble slightly.
An immense sense of oppression spread out. The powerful aura of the ancient deity caused all life on Earth to feel a slight discomfort.
Humans lacked any clear understanding of a deity at this level. They simply attributed their sudden depression and anxiety to a poor mental state.
"To be on Earth again… this place that has caused my Apokolips so much grief."
Steppenwolf's mouth split into a grin, revealing a cold smile that seemed kind but was in fact incomparably cruel.
There was quite a fateful connection between Apokolips and Earth.
A long time ago, his nephew Darkseid had received news that the Anti-Life Equation might be related to Earth. However, it remained unknown which universe's Earth it was connected to.
It was at that time they decided to place Apokolips's most advanced technological creation—the Mother Box—on the Earth of the main universe. That was also the first time Steppenwolf came to Earth. He was ambushed by numerous factions from Earth and the universe, but he casually dealt with them and left.
Placing the Mother Box was his mission. Once it was placed, the mission was complete. Steppenwolf had no interest in that group of weaklings. After casually slaughtering a few thousand people, he swaggered off.
The main universe is the center of the entire multiverse, and Earth is one of the resonance points connecting many universes, making it of great strategic value.
Regardless, at the time, it was just something done on a whim. Neither Darkseid nor Steppenwolf took it seriously.
But in the end, they were royally screwed.
Steppenwolf suppressed his anger, irritably swinging his axe and smashing it into the ground. With a loud boom, a massive, hundred-meter-long fissure spread out.
"First Doomsday, and now some failed genetic product… Are you really treating my Apokolips like a garbage dump?!"
An incomparably sinister and violent emotion flickered in Steppenwolf's eyes.
During this period, all of Apokolips was on edge. Every resident had become paranoid, constantly looking over their shoulders as they walked, afraid that a white light would suddenly flash beside them and something unknown would appear.
It couldn't be helped. Apokolips, which had dominated the Sphere of the Gods for countless years, had recently been plagued by a streak of bad luck.
First, the ancient Doomsday, who had been deliberately locked in the Omni-Sphere World by the gods, suddenly leaped over the Speed Force Wall and ran straight to Apokolips. In the very first battle, he took down Darkseid.
Next, some lump of flesh appeared, which angered Eternity, one of the Five Great Gods. Mistaking that Darkseid was prying into the secrets of the Celestials, the enraged Eternity engaged Darkseid in a massive battle.
It was the perfect example of trouble falling from the sky when you're just minding your own business.
We've completely lost face!
Doesn't Apokolips have any pride?!
At this thought, Steppenwolf grew even more furious. With a low roar, he flew into the sky and commanded the Parademon Army behind him to conquer Earth.
"Whoever is responsible will pay the price! Likewise, this planet will be ruled by the great Apokolips, conquered by the great deity from Apokolips, the uncle of Darkseid, me—Steppenwolf!"
Steppenwolf's expression was incredibly furious, his face twitching. Every time he recalled the scene of his nephew being pinned to the ground and brutally beaten, he felt a wave of shame.
Back when Yuga Khan was still around, Apokolips was invincible. They killed whoever they wanted! If they wanted to destroy the multiverse, they destroyed the multiverse!
Not a single deity dared to confront Yuga Khan head-on! Not even the Living Tribunal, who was equivalent to the chief justice of all worlds!
Unfortunately, Yuga Khan grew tired of it all. He handed Apokolips over to his two sons and ventured to the farthest edge of the Sphere of the Gods, attempting to uncover the secrets of a great wall far vaster than the Speed Force Wall—the Source Wall.
Compared to the Source Wall, the Speed Force Wall was absolute trash, not even worthy of comparison.
The result was, of course, failure. Yuga Khan accidentally got himself stuck to it. Eternally undying but unable to move a single inch, his fate was tragic to the extreme.
And the current ruler, Darkseid, was the one who had schemed against and killed his own brother while seizing the Omega Effect, becoming the God of Apokolips.
But to be honest, Darkseid was far inferior to his old man.
The more he thought about it, the more agitated he became, so Steppenwolf decided to stop dwelling on it. He looked back at the closed portal, then closed his eyes to search for the Mother Box's presence.
But he quickly opened his eyes, astonished. "Why isn't it here?"
In an incredibly short time, Steppenwolf had already searched the entire Earth but found not a single trace of the Mother Box.
The Mother Box had been taken.
Steppenwolf's face turned extremely grim, a cold light glinting in his eyes. "No matter who it is, if you dare touch something from Apokolips, you had better be prepared to die!"
"But for now, I'll go to Paradise Island first. That bunch of Amazon women might know the specific whereabouts of the Mother Box."
A cold light flickered in Steppenwolf's eyes as he flew into the sky, ruthlessly heading toward the Atlantic Ocean.
Large numbers of Parademons spread out in all directions. These bio-weapons were sent out by the enraged Steppenwolf to search for the Mother Box's presence.
Although these Parademons were cannon fodder, their strength lay in their versatility and adequate intelligence.
A harsh buzzing, like that of giant insects, emanated from the Parademons. They shrieked, sniffing out the scent of living beings as the desire to kill spread through their minds.
Tens of thousands of Parademons descended upon the world, plunging the entire Earth into chaos.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s newest Helicarrier quickly ascended, opening fire with all its weapons to engage the Parademons.
Agent Coulson attempted to contact these otherworldly visitors but was completely ignored.
Meanwhile, a war fortress like the Helicarrier proved to be incredibly fragile before the Parademons.
Each Parademon wielded an energy weapon manufactured on Apokolips. A single shot was enough to blast clean through the Helicarrier; its fragile materials were simply no match for technology from Apokolips.
Soon, the Helicarrier was engulfed in flames and plummeted from the sky.
Fear spread, and the entire Earth once again descended into panic. People stared dumbfounded at this new group of suddenly appearing monsters, who were all impervious to blades and bullets. The conventional firearms of humans couldn't harm them in the slightest.
And these Parademons only needed to lift a finger to tear human bodies to shreds.
"Where did these aliens come from this time?"
"Oh God, why is Earth so plagued by disasters!"
The people of Earth wailed in despair.
High-ranking officials from various organizations gathered, their faces grim.
Someone spoke up, "These guys are from a planet called Apokolips. The people of Earth defeated them thousands of years ago."
Many people's eyes lit up.
The person paused, then said with a bitter smile, "But we didn't rely on our ancestors. It was a joint effort by superhuman factions like the Mutants, the people of Atlantis, Paradise Island, K'un-Lun, Kamar-Taj, and numerous magic families. Furthermore, cosmic powers like the Green Lantern Corps joined the fight, and even then, Earth only managed a pyrrhic victory. And that time… the enemy had no desire to fight the people of Earth. It was more like they were just sightseeing."
He spoke the last few words with great difficulty.
Everyone fell silent, their eyes filled with confusion.
The Mutants? They left with Tony. Or rather, they were rejected and driven away by ordinary humans with their own hands.
Atlantis? Wiped out by Tony.
Paradise Island? K'un-Lun? They seclude themselves from the world. The only one they can contact is the one named Diana.
Kamar-Taj could be relied upon, but the strength of the newly appointed Sorcerer Supreme was still an unknown. The various magic families were also a force to be reckoned with.
As for help from cosmic powers…
Everyone revealed a bitter smile. Not long ago, when Warworld descended and Coast City was destroyed, that guy named Hal had been possessed by an enemy of the Green Lantern Corps—some kind of fear entity.
They had long since acquired this intelligence, so they naturally had a vague impression of the Green Lantern Corps.
But… how could they contact them? Even if they did, would they help? Thousands of years ago, they barely managed a pyrrhic victory against a powerful enemy from Apokolips that wasn't even serious about fighting…
"Contact A.R.G.U.S...." another person said with great difficulty. "We need him to come back..."
(end of chapter)
On Earth, a white portal appeared.
A tall, mighty deity exuding an ancient aura emerged from the white portal. He carried a giant axe, a cold smile on his beast-like face.
He was about two and a half meters tall, wearing a battle helmet with what looked like curved bull horns. His face was flat and deathly pale, covered in fine wrinkles. He had an imposing stature, and the moment he set foot on Earth, the entire planet seemed to tremble slightly.
An immense sense of oppression spread out. The powerful aura of the ancient deity caused all life on Earth to feel a slight discomfort.
Humans lacked any clear understanding of a deity at this level. They simply attributed their sudden depression and anxiety to a poor mental state.
"To be on Earth again… this place that has caused my Apokolips so much grief."
Steppenwolf's mouth split into a grin, revealing a cold smile that seemed kind but was in fact incomparably cruel.
There was quite a fateful connection between Apokolips and Earth.
A long time ago, his nephew Darkseid had received news that the Anti-Life Equation might be related to Earth. However, it remained unknown which universe's Earth it was connected to.
It was at that time they decided to place Apokolips's most advanced technological creation—the Mother Box—on the Earth of the main universe. That was also the first time Steppenwolf came to Earth. He was ambushed by numerous factions from Earth and the universe, but he casually dealt with them and left.
Placing the Mother Box was his mission. Once it was placed, the mission was complete. Steppenwolf had no interest in that group of weaklings. After casually slaughtering a few thousand people, he swaggered off.
The main universe is the center of the entire multiverse, and Earth is one of the resonance points connecting many universes, making it of great strategic value.
Regardless, at the time, it was just something done on a whim. Neither Darkseid nor Steppenwolf took it seriously.
But in the end, they were royally screwed.
Steppenwolf suppressed his anger, irritably swinging his axe and smashing it into the ground. With a loud boom, a massive, hundred-meter-long fissure spread out.
"First Doomsday, and now some failed genetic product… Are you really treating my Apokolips like a garbage dump?!"
An incomparably sinister and violent emotion flickered in Steppenwolf's eyes.
During this period, all of Apokolips was on edge. Every resident had become paranoid, constantly looking over their shoulders as they walked, afraid that a white light would suddenly flash beside them and something unknown would appear.
It couldn't be helped. Apokolips, which had dominated the Sphere of the Gods for countless years, had recently been plagued by a streak of bad luck.
First, the ancient Doomsday, who had been deliberately locked in the Omni-Sphere World by the gods, suddenly leaped over the Speed Force Wall and ran straight to Apokolips. In the very first battle, he took down Darkseid.
Next, some lump of flesh appeared, which angered Eternity, one of the Five Great Gods. Mistaking that Darkseid was prying into the secrets of the Celestials, the enraged Eternity engaged Darkseid in a massive battle.
It was the perfect example of trouble falling from the sky when you're just minding your own business.
We've completely lost face!
Doesn't Apokolips have any pride?!
At this thought, Steppenwolf grew even more furious. With a low roar, he flew into the sky and commanded the Parademon Army behind him to conquer Earth.
"Whoever is responsible will pay the price! Likewise, this planet will be ruled by the great Apokolips, conquered by the great deity from Apokolips, the uncle of Darkseid, me—Steppenwolf!"
Steppenwolf's expression was incredibly furious, his face twitching. Every time he recalled the scene of his nephew being pinned to the ground and brutally beaten, he felt a wave of shame.
Back when Yuga Khan was still around, Apokolips was invincible. They killed whoever they wanted! If they wanted to destroy the multiverse, they destroyed the multiverse!
Not a single deity dared to confront Yuga Khan head-on! Not even the Living Tribunal, who was equivalent to the chief justice of all worlds!
Unfortunately, Yuga Khan grew tired of it all. He handed Apokolips over to his two sons and ventured to the farthest edge of the Sphere of the Gods, attempting to uncover the secrets of a great wall far vaster than the Speed Force Wall—the Source Wall.
Compared to the Source Wall, the Speed Force Wall was absolute trash, not even worthy of comparison.
The result was, of course, failure. Yuga Khan accidentally got himself stuck to it. Eternally undying but unable to move a single inch, his fate was tragic to the extreme.
And the current ruler, Darkseid, was the one who had schemed against and killed his own brother while seizing the Omega Effect, becoming the God of Apokolips.
But to be honest, Darkseid was far inferior to his old man.
The more he thought about it, the more agitated he became, so Steppenwolf decided to stop dwelling on it. He looked back at the closed portal, then closed his eyes to search for the Mother Box's presence.
But he quickly opened his eyes, astonished. "Why isn't it here?"
In an incredibly short time, Steppenwolf had already searched the entire Earth but found not a single trace of the Mother Box.
The Mother Box had been taken.
Steppenwolf's face turned extremely grim, a cold light glinting in his eyes. "No matter who it is, if you dare touch something from Apokolips, you had better be prepared to die!"
"But for now, I'll go to Paradise Island first. That bunch of Amazon women might know the specific whereabouts of the Mother Box."
A cold light flickered in Steppenwolf's eyes as he flew into the sky, ruthlessly heading toward the Atlantic Ocean.
Large numbers of Parademons spread out in all directions. These bio-weapons were sent out by the enraged Steppenwolf to search for the Mother Box's presence.
Although these Parademons were cannon fodder, their strength lay in their versatility and adequate intelligence.
A harsh buzzing, like that of giant insects, emanated from the Parademons. They shrieked, sniffing out the scent of living beings as the desire to kill spread through their minds.
Tens of thousands of Parademons descended upon the world, plunging the entire Earth into chaos.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s newest Helicarrier quickly ascended, opening fire with all its weapons to engage the Parademons.
Agent Coulson attempted to contact these otherworldly visitors but was completely ignored.
Meanwhile, a war fortress like the Helicarrier proved to be incredibly fragile before the Parademons.
Each Parademon wielded an energy weapon manufactured on Apokolips. A single shot was enough to blast clean through the Helicarrier; its fragile materials were simply no match for technology from Apokolips.
Soon, the Helicarrier was engulfed in flames and plummeted from the sky.
Fear spread, and the entire Earth once again descended into panic. People stared dumbfounded at this new group of suddenly appearing monsters, who were all impervious to blades and bullets. The conventional firearms of humans couldn't harm them in the slightest.
And these Parademons only needed to lift a finger to tear human bodies to shreds.
"Where did these aliens come from this time?"
"Oh God, why is Earth so plagued by disasters!"
The people of Earth wailed in despair.
High-ranking officials from various organizations gathered, their faces grim.
Someone spoke up, "These guys are from a planet called Apokolips. The people of Earth defeated them thousands of years ago."
Many people's eyes lit up.
The person paused, then said with a bitter smile, "But we didn't rely on our ancestors. It was a joint effort by superhuman factions like the Mutants, the people of Atlantis, Paradise Island, K'un-Lun, Kamar-Taj, and numerous magic families. Furthermore, cosmic powers like the Green Lantern Corps joined the fight, and even then, Earth only managed a pyrrhic victory. And that time… the enemy had no desire to fight the people of Earth. It was more like they were just sightseeing."
He spoke the last few words with great difficulty.
Everyone fell silent, their eyes filled with confusion.
The Mutants? They left with Tony. Or rather, they were rejected and driven away by ordinary humans with their own hands.
Atlantis? Wiped out by Tony.
Paradise Island? K'un-Lun? They seclude themselves from the world. The only one they can contact is the one named Diana.
Kamar-Taj could be relied upon, but the strength of the newly appointed Sorcerer Supreme was still an unknown. The various magic families were also a force to be reckoned with.
As for help from cosmic powers…
Everyone revealed a bitter smile. Not long ago, when Warworld descended and Coast City was destroyed, that guy named Hal had been possessed by an enemy of the Green Lantern Corps—some kind of fear entity.
They had long since acquired this intelligence, so they naturally had a vague impression of the Green Lantern Corps.
But… how could they contact them? Even if they did, would they help? Thousands of years ago, they barely managed a pyrrhic victory against a powerful enemy from Apokolips that wasn't even serious about fighting…
"Contact A.R.G.U.S...." another person said with great difficulty. "We need him to come back..."
(end of chapter)
