Chapter 298 – Successfully Recruiting the Seven Lantern Corps
Planet Ysmault.
Red Lantern Corps Headquarters.
As the darkness receded, the six other Lantern Corps waiting in space beheld the pitiful scene unfolding below.
Once fearsome and savage, the entire Red Lantern Corps now lay face down on the ground, each of them wearing a look of utter despair.
The humanoid Lanterns had their heads buried deep in the ground, no longer daring to lift their once-proud faces.
Other bizarrely shaped beings had contorted themselves into strange, unnatural positions.
One Lantern that resembled a giant eyeball was now rolling on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
And all of it stemmed from one simple reason—Atrocitus had uttered a single word, "Scram," to Allen. In return, the Red Lantern Corps suffered yet another humiliating defeat.
Floating mid-air, Allen held one hand in a sword-finger gesture and smugly said, "Happy now? Bleh…"
As the sword-fingers passed beneath his nose, a strange and pungent odor made Allen gag.
"Ugh… Even my left hand reeks."
For the first time ever, Allen looked at his left and right hands with disgust and said with disdain, "Lefty, Righty—you're both tainted now."
Dude, you were the one who insisted on stabbing people in the butt…
Well then.
You can't expect a lunatic to behave normally.
The six other Lantern Corps, watching from the sidelines, breathed a collective sigh of relief that they hadn't spoken recklessly. Apparently, this guy held grudges.
"I'll never agree to your terms! If you've got the guts, kill us!"
Atrocitus, true to his hot-headed nature, was now in a blind fury. Shame and dignity were tossed aside—if it came down to it, he'd rather die.
"Oh-ho!"
With a face full of mischief, Allen grinned and said, "I love a man with backbone. I'll gladly help you back-break."
"..."
Wait, wait—bro, that was just something said in the heat of the moment! Don't take it seriously!
Atrocitus's eyes widened in panic. He immediately regretted his words and realized all too clearly: this guy was a certified lunatic. He might actually wipe out the entire Red Lantern Corps.
If it had been the Green Lantern Corps instead, it wouldn't be a big deal—Green Lantern rings have built-in safeguards against lethal force.
"Banana Fairy Transformation~!"
With a flamboyant spin, Allen materialized a pink princess dress on himself in full view of everyone, adopting a bashful tone: "Sorry you had to see me like this…"
Gasp!
What's he trying to do now?
Could it be he wants to gross out the Red Lantern Corps?
All the Lanterns strained to keep straight faces, doing everything they could to avoid laughing, lest it be mistaken for mockery.
And they weren't wrong—Allen did want to gross out the Red Lantern Corps. Just not with his outfit.
"Time for me to bless you all with sparkly doom~ Hehehe…"
At some point, a glittery fairy wand had appeared in Allen's hand. He waved it casually, showering everyone with a pink mist of glowing light.
The Red Lanterns looked at each other blankly as the pink radiance fell on their faces, unable to tell what it was supposed to do.
Seconds passed, and still, no obvious changes.
Was it just for show?
They started wondering what the real power of Allen's Pink Lantern Ring was. To be honest, none of them had seen the abilities of the six special rings up close.
"Dude, you smell… amazing."
"Why do you seem... weirdly attractive?"
"What do you mean weird?"
"Weirdly hot."
"..."
Strange remarks began slipping from the mouths of Red Lanterns who normally couldn't stand each other.
Suddenly, the entire atmosphere was uncomfortably tender and flirtatious.
Shock!
This Pink Lantern Ring is totally busted!
Burly, battle-hardened Red Lanterns now acted like shy little girls, and the sight couldn't be more revolting.
The Lanterns from the other six Corps began trembling all over.
Compared to this, even the infamous "One Thousand-Years of Death" was no big deal.
Under the horrified and contemptuous gazes of the others, several pairs of Red Lanterns couldn't hold back and immediately began passionately embracing and nibbling on each other.
Ugh…
There's drool. They're slurping.
"My Pink Lantern Ring doesn't just charm people. It also makes any two charmed targets fall in love with each other."
Allen cheerfully explained while twirling his fairy wand.
The six Corps immediately retreated a long distance in unison, terrified of being touched by the pink glow.
They'd rather die than be turned gay.
Of course, the full potential of the six special Lantern Rings was still waiting to be uncovered.
So far, Allen had discovered that the Pink Ring had charm and emotional bonding powers, while the Gold Ring provided flames and healing.
Possibly due to the Phoenix lineage of the Solar Luann—after all, the Phoenix is famous for its power of rebirth.
With another flick of his wand, Allen recalled the pink charm mist.
"Ugh, get away from me!"
"Screw off! Just looking at you makes me sick!"
"I'm done, DONE! I swear, I just made out with a giant eyeball!"
"I…"
"..."
As the charm effect faded and sanity returned, the Red Lanterns looked around and finally saw whom they had embraced.
Their stomachs churned.
For a moment, they truly wished they were dead.
It was the ultimate humiliation.
Especially when they saw the looks of disgust and disdain on the faces of the six other Corps—it made them feel like there wasn't a single clean spot left on their bodies.
From this day forward, the Red Lantern Corps would never again be able to hold their heads high among the other Corps.
"You there."
Allen pointed at the Red Lantern leader and said with a sinister grin, "I've recorded every shameless, scandalous moment just now. If you don't agree to join the Rainbow Corps, I'll post it all to the interstellar web. You'll be ruined forever. Hehehe…"
"You're a monster."
Atrocitus's eyes welled with tears. He couldn't even speak threateningly anymore. The overwhelming sense of shame made him feel like a violated maiden after a brutal assault.
"Aw, come on now…"
Allen taunted with a grin, "What's a man got to be afraid of? So people point at you on the streets in the future—'Hey, isn't that the Red Lantern Corps from that video? So embarrassing!' They'll say, 'Who would've thought? All bark and no bite, and secretly into that kind of stuff!' But I get it, really. The Red Lantern Corps does recruit criminals. After years locked in prison with no women around, it's not surprising they'd turn to each other. Ew… stay back! What if one of you falls for me…"
"Uwaaaahhhh…"
Mimicking the tone of internet trolls, Allen successfully pushed Atrocitus past his breaking point.
The proud leader began bawling on the spot, utterly disregarding his image.
They had run into a lunatic—one they couldn't beat and who was damn good at making people miserable.
Smack smack smack…
Atrocitus began slapping himself hard across the face, sobbing, "What the hell is wrong with me?! Why did I provoke him?! Should've just agreed from the start! I'm such an idiot!"
Unfortunately, there's no cure for regret.
While the Red Lanterns loathed Allen, their hatred toward Atrocitus was even greater.
If he hadn't insisted on showing off, they wouldn't be in this mess.
When Allen extended the invitation once more, this time they obediently accepted.
And so, with the Rainbow Corps now involved in the war, the tide quickly turned.
The allied forces of the Three Galactic Empires, the Spartan Empire's expedition fleet, and Allen's Seven Lantern Corps launched a counteroffensive against the Zerg swarms across various star systems.
Among them, the Spartan Empire not only cleared out the Zerg but also launched attacks on the Empire's former allies.
In response, the Three Galactic Empires adjusted their strategy—retreating temporarily and ceding territory to the Spartans while waiting for the Zerg to be exterminated, after which they could refocus on handling the invasion crisis.
Allen and the Seven Lantern Corps primarily supported the Three Empires across different battlefields.