Indigo-1 herself was as detached as a Buddhist monk. The Violet Lanterns had only sent Carol Ferris—more symbolic than practical. Everyone nodded in agreement to Saint Walker's temporary leadership.
To avoid being isolated, Hal Jordan rushed back to Oa, and leveraging his high reputation, he returned with over a hundred more Green Lanterns, much to Thea's surprise. This roughly balanced forces with the Yellow Lanterns.
Batman hadn't returned to Gotham in two weeks, spinning like a top with constant work. But his busyness proved valuable. After his coordination, the Lanterns deployed over three hundred times across the new continent, capturing ninety-one Parademon scouts alive. The rest self-destructed. They'd also recovered twenty-two Mother Boxes. The enemy's main force would definitely emerge from here.
He also handled battlefield preparation. Moira signed a special pardon releasing Lex Luthor, with one condition: perform meritorious service to atone, or rot in prison forever.
"Batman, heh..." The middle-aged Luthor, sporting his signature bald head, regarded Batman with a knowing smirk.
This guy knows my real identity! The thought flashed through Batman's mind. Both brilliant men chose not to address it, turning instead to the task at hand.
"What can I help with?"
"We're planning to set the battlefield in Zone East-12. It's coastal with open space. Atlantis and human naval forces can attack from the water while human ground forces strike from land, creating a pincer movement..."
"We could set some traps..."
As two of Earth's smartest men, they quickly checked each other's blind spots. Soon a problem emerged.
"Could Earth have collaborators working with them?" Luthor spoke from experience—Steppenwolf had once secretly taught him how to create Doomsday. Putting himself in the enemy's shoes, he figured more such people existed.
Having studied over a dozen psychology texts, Batman had even more authority on this. "We can't stop it. There will definitely be traitors, and plenty of them."
"Our current methods can't track them down. Magic, powers, technological devices—all can brainwash. Too many methods. Whether VIPs, soldiers, or even civilians—anyone could be controlled. Too many variables. Screening is impossible."
Batman wasn't exaggerating. He'd discussed this with Thea, and even she had no solution. Magic wasn't omnipotent. What about people who willingly betrayed humanity, wanting to serve Apokolips and curry favor with Darkseid? With no transaction involved, purely voluntary, how could she detect that?
Moreover, her current energy focused on comprehending the Soul divine domain. Apokolips's New Gods knew she held the Trade domain—they wouldn't be so crude as to recruit openly. If they conducted covert transactions with a little concealment, she couldn't sense them.
You can't stay on guard forever. We'll have to meet them head-on and rely on strength. That was the only option.
"We could design an algorithm. Human traitors will definitely target key points—around commanders, near armories, personnel directly responsible for nukes... Identify these critical nodes, cross-reference for anomalies, then screen..."
Luthor's mind remained sharp. Batman supplemented with several additional points. The two quickly got to work.
Meanwhile, Thea returned to New Genesis. As predicted, Highfather couldn't help her anymore—Darkseid's true form had personally led his main force to a small asteroid less than eight thousand kilometers (about five thousand miles) from New Genesis to set up camp.
All of Darkseid's Elite were present. Thea and Diana had been summoned back. The council had expanded to ten members, and with Highfather, eleven New Gods gazed into the distance together.
"Mantis, Kalibak, DeSaad, Steppenwolf, Virman Vundabar, Mad Harriet, Kanto, Granny Goodness—they're all deployed." The three-meter-tall (nearly 10 feet) Sky Commander spoke gravely.
Setting aside the two leaders, it appeared Darkseid's eight faced New Genesis's ten—seemingly advantageous. But actual combat told a different story.
Knowledge God Metron had been recruited by Highfather to pad numbers. He never fought—calling him neutral faction wouldn't be wrong.
Forge God Himon was technical talent too. Even Highfather's favorite warrior Big Bear had never seen him fight. His combat power appeared modest.
And Thea, the strongest fighter, couldn't participate in this battle. Under divine scrutiny, Darkseid attacking with such force was weaker than ever before, having split off an avatar. Regardless of the avatar's likelihood of reaching Earth, Thea had to return to defend her homeworld.
Even the avatar would defeat Thea. Once she left, Diana had to follow. From eight versus ten, subtracting here and there, it became eight versus six. Justice faced dire straits.
Though the generals worried themselves sick, they couldn't complain. Darkseid splitting his essence was good news for Highfather. For the first time in eons, his comprehensive strength surpassed Darkseid's. The Eternal War might end soon. Highfather had no reason to abandon this chance.
"Goddess Thea, I'm truly sorry. I must keep Darkseid pinned here, so..." Highfather felt awkward—after all, he'd made promises. Now he was backing out.
Thea had mentally prepared for this. Earth—or rather, she herself—would face Darkseid alone. Scared? Not particularly. If one person couldn't win, a group could swarm him!
Neither mentioned having Highfather send an avatar to help her fight. The big man wanted to settle this in one decisive battle—strongest Highfather versus weakest Darkseid. That offered real victory chances.
If he split divine power into an avatar, it would become a thorough mess—weak commander versus weak general. Guaranteed loss.
Darkseid had made a brilliant move. Using himself as bait, he'd activated the entire board, attacking on two fronts, forcing the already disadvantaged New Genesis to split forces.
"Take the entire Mystic Legion." Highfather proved quite generous, though Thea considered and declined.
"Your Majesty, New Genesis needs magic more. I'll take one-third of the mages and all the Spellbreakers. Give me some close-combat troops to supplement."
This wasn't self-interest but thinking strategically. Earth's forces were basically all ranged. Bringing another million ranged mages? Only those few hundred Amazons at the frontline? They'd be wiped out instantly.
New Genesis had abundant melee troops but sparse ranged units. Leaving most mages in exchange for close-combat forces benefited both sides.
The gods' intelligence was considerable. The advantages were obvious. Highfather nodded approval.