Heart-Piercing Soul Snare!!
Undead were appearing all over the world. Police were flooded with reports—figures lost to history were rising from the dead.
But strangely, this wasn't happening in China. Liu A'dou had already heard from Superman and Batman—things were going sideways in America. The Black Lantern Corps had started their attack. Yet looking around at the rings that had sunken into the ground here, nothing was happening. That didn't make sense. Statistically speaking, China had just as many ancient heroes as any other country. So why was the rest of the world in chaos while it stayed peaceful here?
"General, have there been any reports of undead attacks?" Liu A'dou asked.
"None. I find it strange too. The rest of the world's going nuts. Why's nothing happening here? Don't tell me the Black Rings that fell on us are fakes?" the general replied, just as confused.
That probably wasn't it. Liu A'dou would rather believe this was just part of the logic in a superhero world—maybe monsters only showed up in foreign lands and left China alone. But could that kind of setup really be applied to the real world? Or maybe villains just didn't care about China and went straight for powerful places like the United States?
Either way, peace in China wasn't a bad thing. Liu A'dou exchanged a look with the Green Lantern. "Can you turn into a plane?"
"Totally."
"Kailan, Ben, let's go!"
"Got it!"
With the undead rising all over, the more people they had, the better their odds.
"You two stay with Li Cong and don't wander off. The general should be here to pick you up soon," said Kaitou Kid.
"Teacher," Ming Wu suddenly called out. "Please… avenge my brother."
Kaitou Kid glanced at Ming Wu. He'd had his eye on the kid for a while, and revenge was the right thing to do. "Leave it to me. Study hard, rise every day!"
"Let's move!" the Green Lantern said.
A glowing green jet assembled in mid-air and launched straight off the ground, streaking into the sky. Liu A'dou, still uneasy, focused his senses on the land below—and felt waves of dark energy pulsing underneath. It was spreading all across the land of Huaxia.
"What the hell…?" Liu A'dou muttered. He figured this had to be some kind of delay. The ring was just a receiver, after all. The one doing the controlling was still the Black Lanterns. Their signal had to cover the whole universe, so a delay was expected. But even so, there was no turning back now. He had to regroup with the others and figure out a counter-strategy.
Taking out the source was the only solution. They had to pool their minds. But it had to happen fast. If the hive fell, the eggs would shatter with it. The Earth couldn't afford to be destroyed by the Black Lantern Corps.
"What is that?!" the Green Lantern flinched as something suddenly burst from the ground. Looking down, he spotted an entire regiment of troops.
Black-armored soldiers, organized and massive in scale. Banners bearing the cross flapped in the wind. They looked nothing like the undead.
"No way… Crusaders?" Yep—undead Crusaders had crawled out to resume their sinful business from life.
Crusaders vs. terrorists—it would've made for a cinematic classic. But now wasn't the time to watch the show. They had to link up with the rest of the heroes and figure out the next move.
This wasn't something the Justice League alone could handle. The Avengers had been called in too, plus the X-Men. With the Black Lantern Corps being this numerous and unkillable, everyone needed to step up—or there'd be no stopping this evil.
"The disaster zone's getting bigger. If we don't stop them, the casualties will be irreversible," Hal said grimly.
Things were spiraling out of control. The mood in the aircraft was heavy. The Black Lantern Corps' assault was overwhelming—there was no way to fully defend against it.
"There's not much we can do. All we can hope for now is to stall their advance. Hopefully Batman figures out a way to resolve this crisis," Liu A'dou said. "I'll go on ahead. You two head for Superman."
"Got it. We'll split up." Hal focused his willpower, and a hole opened beneath Kaitou Kid's feet, lowering him to the ground.
Kaitou Kid locked on to his target and flew straight toward Gotham City.
Gotham looked like hell. The dead were crawling out of the ground, and it made Liu A'dou's skin crawl. 'This is what happens when you don't cremate. So many corpses… Just looking at them makes my scalp go numb.'
Gunfire echoed through the city nonstop. Liu A'dou didn't hesitate—he rushed straight into the Batcave. Sure enough, Batman was already deep into analysis. But the Black Lantern ring was only a terminal. If the source wasn't destroyed, none of it mattered.
That was bad news. And worse, there wasn't time to work out a solution. Batman was already suiting up in full gear.
"Cool. When do I get a power suit like that?" asked the second-generation Robin, clearly jealous.
"Stay home. Stay with Alfred." Robin wasn't fully trained yet. He couldn't go into battle. "Kaitou Kid, let's go."
"Yeah, let's move."
The Black Lantern Corps was gathering—across the Earth, across the galaxy—all converging on North America.
At this rate, by sunset, every single person would be facing over a billion Black Lanterns.
"My God, what the hell is happening?" Flash gasped. He looked up to see an endless stream of undead pouring overhead like a river, stretching across the sky. It was terrifying.
"You see it? They're all heading to one location."
"Everyone, move in that direction!" Suddenly, the Justice League, X-Men, and Avengers were all heading the same way.
"Eighty-two percent..." Across the galaxy, the slaughter had given the Black Lantern Corps a massive energy boost. Now they were converging on North America for one final massacre—a feast to welcome death into this universe.
In the sky, ancient Chinese armies flew alongside Crusaders, and even troops from World War I and II. Soldiers from different countries and time periods had crossed through the ages to gather in one place. Their enemy this time? Modern armies armed with advanced tech—and the world's superheroes.
"That giant black swarm up there... don't tell me that's who we're fighting?" Tony Stark was dumbfounded.
"This is like the freaking apocalypse," said Hawkeye, stunned. Everyone followed the flood of Black Lanterns to Star City—Green Arrow's home turf.
The Green Lanterns were having the worst luck imaginable.
But being Americans, and bold as ever, Star City's civilians were getting the show of a lifetime. Every single superhero—Gotham's, New York's, Central City's, and Metropolis's—had gathered right here.
Star City had become the battlefield where heroes would make their final stand against the Black Lantern Corps. The overwhelming numbers were enough to crush all hope. That black tide wasn't just a horde—it was death itself dancing across the skies, arms wide open to embrace the living.
"Damn!" Kaitou Kid couldn't help but feel weak in the knees. He didn't even know if he could last long in a fight like this.
"Based on the numbers, each of us will need to take on 1 billion enemies," Batman said calmly.
Unfortunately, Iron Man ran the same numbers—and reached the same conclusion. The black army opened its jaws, baring sharp teeth, already prepared to swallow the superheroes whole.
This was a battle they couldn't afford to lose. Because losing meant death.