While dispatching a large number of drones to steal the country's fossil fuels, Bai Qi arrived at the Southern Federation.
Originally, he thought that a federation capable of standing against the other two major powers, even if weaker, would certainly have its own advantages and something worth plundering.
But as soon as Bai Qi arrived here and conducted a comprehensive probe of the entire federation through the network, he was disappointed.
Compared to the other two countries, this federation was dirt poor, lacking any strategic resources. Instead, it boasted highly developed humanities, producing all sorts of saints, extreme vegetarians, gender-antagonists, and various bizarre religious beliefs.
To Bai Qi, these things were utterly useless.
With the support of the Empire, the Federation was not entirely without purpose. Its vast plains made it the largest food production base on the entire planet. Once the crops matured, they were processed into food and sold to the Empire, which then sold resources like electricity back to the Federation.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Federation had become the Empire's backyard. Of course, as time went on, the other major power also gradually began to interfere in the Federation.
Oh, and besides the things mentioned above, the Federation's officials were all corrupt to the core; you couldn't find a single person who wasn't greedy.
Such a deformed federation existed because two powers did not want it to perish and instead used it as a potential battlefield for their own conflicts.
Tell me, this shabby place, with no resources and no technology, only a pile of food—was Bai Qi lacking this little bit of grain?
Unable to help it, seeing that there was nothing substantial to take from the Federation, Bai Qi turned his attention to the other two countries.
Finally, after some machinations by Bai Qi, he obtained a large amount of fossil resources from within the major power and then took over a thousand nuclear weapons from both the major power and the Empire.
This time's haul, while not exactly abundant, was still something. After all, to avoid attracting the attention of the Green Lantern Corps, Bai Qi didn't absorb all the magma and core energy. Coming to the surface and causing such a commotion, he seemed to have gained a lot. However, when everything he transferred was added up, the total quantity was still less than what he had obtained underground. Still, it was better than nothing, at least it had passed the boring time.
As soon as Bai Qi left this planet, he sensed a Boom Tube appearing in the space near Oa.
Alone, with his hands behind his back, Darkseid, like a king, had arrived.
Facing this most powerful New God, the Dark Lord, the ruler of Apokolips, the entire Green Lantern Corps dared not be careless. All the Green Lanterns stationed on the planet immediately took action, heading into space to intercept this mighty New God. At the same time, they did not forget to send out a summons to all Green Lanterns across the universe, urging them to return to Oa as quickly as possible to protect the foundation of the Green Lantern Corps.
Facing an array of grotesque, green-clad Green Lanterns, Darkseid showed no fear, slowly advancing.
"Come, let me show you what despair is."
With that, scorching Omega Beams shot from Darkseid's eyes. A few Green Lanterns at the forefront, unable to react, were instantly pierced through their bodies by the Omega Beams and burned into mummified husks.
Yet, even so, the remaining Green Lanterns did not forget their duty; not a single one flinched or retreated. Their power rings flashed, and the weapons they conjured attacked Darkseid.
Victory in battle was not solely achieved through fearless courage and unwavering will; it also depended on one's own strength and equipment.
Unfortunately, apart from the first two criteria, these Green Lanterns' personal strength and equipment were vastly inferior to Darkseid's.
Thus, the various weapons or creatures materialized by the Green Lantern rings shattered upon impact with Darkseid, while Darkseid himself remained as immobile as a statue.
"Demon! Die!"
A Green Lantern with a wolf's head, the fastest, had now detached from the main force and rushed before Darkseid, raking his ring-enhanced claws at him.
However, the next moment, he was grabbed by the throat by Darkseid. Without giving him any chance to cry for help, Darkseid applied a slight force, and with a crack, the wolf-headed Green Lantern's neck snapped.
The death of the wolf-headed Green Lantern was merely a microcosm. Facing Darkseid's extraordinary power, these Green Lanterns were utterly unable to harm him. Even though they had unleashed their full might, their attacks were merely tickling Darkseid due to the immense power disparity.
A couple of cunning ones even tried to sneak attack Darkseid's more vulnerable areas, such as his eyes. But as soon as they got close, before they could act, they were pierced through their bodies by Omega Beams, becoming cosmic garbage.
On this day, many Green Lanterns died, and many Green Lantern power rings lost their hosts, drifting into the depths of space to find their next wielders.
Facing the deaths of numerous Green Lanterns, and despite the continuous arrival of reinforcements from across the universe, they still could not halt Darkseid's advance.
Especially when Darkseid grew somewhat weary of this unchallenging slaughter, he directly contacted Batman on Apokolips.
Soon, a massive Boom Tube opened behind Darkseid, and a vast swarm of Parademons flew out, surging past Darkseid and straight towards the Green Lantern Corps.
When they were already struggling against Darkseid alone, with casualties mounting, a swarm of creatures with Doomsday DNA, the Parademons, appeared, making it even harder for the Green Lanterns to resist.
However, this also had its benefits: the Green Lantern Corps' kill count finally broke zero.
Although the Parademons with Doomsday DNA were extremely powerful, they were not entirely invincible. As long as the power rings were used to simulate Kryptonite weapons, they could inflict some damage on the Parademons.
In terms of combat ratio, it was roughly 1.5 Green Lanterns for every 1 Parademon.
Facing such a brutal battle, the Guardians of the Universe on Oa could no longer sit idly by. Although they disliked engaging in combat, the current situation demanded it. If all the Green Lanterns were wiped out, it would be a fantasy for them, these little beings, to hold back Darkseid and his Parademon army.
To increase the probability of victory, the Guardians of the Universe, after brief hesitation, chose to participate.
However, not all Guardians went to space to fight alongside the Green Lantern Corps. Only a small portion headed into battle, while a larger part was preparing something in the central council hall on Oa.