"What?"
"What's happening?"
Bruce Wayne, still monitoring the movements of the Seven Seas from the Batcave, looked at Diana. Alfred, the butler, handed her a cup of coffee.
"This alien invasion is far more serious than we imagined."
Diana personally unveiled the mystery of the Mother Box.
The Mother Box from Themyscira was now placed right before Bruce Wayne.
A perfectly square box, with a mechanical texture.
If he hadn't grown accustomed to the mystic oddities of this world, Bruce Wayne would have found it hard to believe that such a simple box contained enough terrifying energy to destroy an entire world.
"Explain."
"Darkseid."
Diana's face was solemn as she uttered the name Bruce Wayne had heard before.
"He is the leader of an alien civilization, an existence on the level of a cosmic overlord."
"In ancient times, the gods, the Atlanteans, humans, and even the Amazons united to repel him, saving Earth from the fate of subjugation."
"Now, he's coming again."
"Steppenwolf is his vanguard. Steppenwolf's pursuit of the Mother Boxes is a precursor to Darkseid's impending arrival on Earth."
"Earth is in great danger right now, Bruce."
"We cannot allow Steppenwolf to collect all three Mother Boxes. If he does, we'll be powerless to stop Darkseid's arrival."
Especially since Earth had lost its protector—Superman.
"Steppenwolf's movements are faster than we anticipated. In fact, if I hadn't happened to go back to review the files on Darkseid and Lothar, Steppenwolf likely would have already taken it." Diana took a sip of coffee and recounted the entire incident of Steppenwolf's invasion of Themyscira to seize the Mother Box.
"Clone?"
Bruce Wayne's focus, however, landed on the description of Steppenwolf disappearing after being defeated by Diana.
Queen Hippolyta, the leader of Themyscira, referred to it as a "clone."
"Yes, presumably his true body was severely injured by Lothar, so for now, he can only manifest through a clone." Diana nodded, stating her conjecture.
Bruce Wayne intertwined his fingers, lost in thought.
"Also, I couldn't find any data on Lothar on Themyscira, but I brought this for you."
Diana handed a USB drive to Bruce Wayne. She had specifically retrieved it; it contained all the information about the Olympian gods.
Such detailed analysis was Bruce Wayne's specialty. If he couldn't deduce anything from this, then nothing could be done. Unless Bruce Wayne now went and dug up the graves of the Olympian gods and performed genetic comparisons.
"By the way, how are Lothar and Mera doing?"
With the matters explained, Diana finally began to inquire about Lothar and Mera. Before she left, Bruce Wayne had told her he would handle it.
"All quiet." Bruce Wayne, who constantly monitored the Seven Seas, shook his head, his gaze fixed on the seven large screens before him. Whether through energy spectrum analysis or other methods, Bruce Wayne had detected no unusual activity in the ocean.
"Beep, beep, beep, beep!!!!!"
As he spoke, the top-left screen among the seven suddenly blared an alarm!
The rapidly fluctuating readings incessantly stimulated Bruce Wayne's sensitive nerves!
...
"Enough, Lothar!"
"The Trench Kingdom is right below us!"
Amidst severe weather with thunder and lightning and accompanying storms, Mera had to raise her voice to be heard.
"Are you sure?"
With an arm around Mera's waist, Lothar slowly descended with her onto the murky sea surface.
Gusting winds and heavy rain, mixed with surging waves, continuously battered their bodies. The natural forces, usually capable of claiming lives, utterly lost their intimidating power before Lothar.
"Yes—"
Mera nodded. Before she could finish speaking, several ferocious beasts suddenly leaped out of the sea, their gaping jaws lunging towards the golden-glowing Lothar!
"Watch out!"
Mera quickly changed her words. Before the last syllable left her lips, four corpses of Trench members had already disintegrated into dust before her, vanishing into the storm...
"Alright, forget I said anything." Mera instinctively wrapped her arms around Lothar's waist, pointing out the way to the Trench Kingdom.
Whoosh!
Lothar, with his naturally glowing body, was arguably the brightest presence in the entire Trench Kingdom.
The previously empty underwater world suddenly transformed after they advanced a certain distance.
After flying through a wondrous structure that could be called an underwater "line of sky," Lothar and Mera were instantly surrounded by roaring Trench creatures!
Countless monsters, covered in scales and armor, with hideous faces, stretched as far as the eye could see. Their jagged teeth emitted a putrid stench unbearable to normal people, and their dense claws reflected the golden light shimmering from Lothar's body.
Piercing screams, long and shrill, echoed continuously, as if calling out to friends to come witness Lothar, another eccentric who dared to enter the Trench Kingdom's territory after centuries.
Oh, no, it should be two. Besides Lothar, the self-illuminating one, there was also Mera, who was so nervous she tightly clung to the man's waist.
"Lo... Lothar..."
"We—Ah!"
The swarming Trench monsters, front, back, left, and right, seemed to receive a signal all at once, charging forward en masse, turning Mera's face pale!
Boom!
A surging energy storm, centered around Lothar, instantly threw the entire Trench Kingdom into chaos!
Flesh and blood flew, and bodies piled up everywhere.
All Trench members who dared to approach Lothar and Mera paid the price of their lives.
The thick scent of blood seemed to excite the Trench monsters even more, and their harsh, shrill cries were incessant!
"Lothar! Go!"
"Quickly!!!"
The overwhelming, dark mass of monster legions made Mera instinctively pull Lothar's hand, ready to retreat, but she found that he wasn't listening to her at all. Not only that, he actually charged alone into that overwhelming monster legion!!!!!
"Lothar! Are you crazy?!!!!"
Mera desperately chased after Lothar from behind, unwilling to let him be swallowed by the monster deluge alone.
"Crazy?"
"Are you kidding me?"
Lothar turned his head, the proud curve of his lips leaving an unforgettable impression on Mera.
A silvery-white energy beam erupted from Lothar's palm without warning, instantly piercing through the entire Trench Kingdom canyon!
Rumble!!!!!
The terrain shattered!
The seabed trembled!
The sky-obscuring monster legion instantly became fodder for fish, nourishing the ocean they had inhabited for countless eons!
"These guys are pathetically weak."
Lothar, who had obliterated the entire Trench Kingdom canyon with a single blow, shook his hand, disdainfully.
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