Upon hearing the term "higher position," Darkseid's heart skipped a beat. This was a feeling he hadn't experienced in years. He had to admit that the warnings he gave himself were completely ineffective. Batman was indeed adept at offering conditions that others couldn't refuse.
Seeing Darkseid's expression, Batman knew he had gambled correctly.
Though it wasn't entirely a gamble. He remembered that long ago, around the time he sent the birds to the universe where Shiller was, he had written to Shiller to inquire about Darkseid. At that time, besides replying, the Professor also included an analysis of individuals like Darkseid. This gave Batman an advantage in subsequent confrontations with Darkseid.
To summarize the analysis, it mainly focused on two aspects: Darkseid's Psychic_Battlefield and his personality. Though they sounded similar, they were actually two completely different content areas.
Darkseid was a New God. Leaving aside the grudges between New Gods and Old Gods, overall, from a cosmic perspective, his birth was relatively late, belonging to those who rise later. As such, sometimes his pursuit of status outweighs his pursuit of profit.
It's akin to the old money versus new money, family lineage versus new wealthy families among the Human race. When the latter accumulates enough capital and rises, the path of seeking status inevitably requires sacrificing some benefits.
Although status itself is a form of benefit, sometimes there's a dilemma. People like Darkseid will undoubtedly choose status, even if it means giving up some readily accessible benefits.
In their world, the process of constantly climbing upwards provides them with spiritual satisfaction. Although, after reaching the top, there are many things to enjoy, the spiritual stimulus those things provide is actually far less than the pleasure derived from getting one step closer to the top during the arduous climb.
Many people aren't even aware of this. They find that suddenly, one day or even one hour later, their lives become empty: without goals or directions, they can't feel the original excitement or ambitious energy. As if they're suddenly dead.
They see this as a form of failure, but in reality, it's excessive success. However, a failure to make accurate judgments might lead them astray due to this emptiness; that's true failure.
Actually, Darkseid is one of these people. He climbed upwards, overthrew the Old Gods, became a New God, conquered planets, established domains... until one day he entered a void where he couldn't rise any higher.
Each person's world has a limit. It's not that you've reached the ceiling, but just touched the highest level you can reach. Darkseid is somewhat like this. In the Apocalypse Domain, there's no one more formidable; even advanced civilizations like the Guardians of the Universe don't dare to provoke him. If not for external interference, it's inconceivable that the Little Blue People would wage war against Darkseid.
Of course, he hasn't completely conquered the cosmos. However, what he has now and what he'd have after cosmic conquest are essentially no different. The cosmos is like his living room; nobody would dare to challenge him.
Conquering the cosmos remains his goal, but this goal has suddenly become vague. Sometimes he couldn't help but wonder what he'd do after conquering the cosmos. Could he enjoy this pinnacle for long periods without growing bored?
Darkseid felt he couldn't, yet he had no better solution. The cosmic plate is just that large, opponents diminish one by one. Even if he wins them all, would his long life just end here, unable to advance further?
Until one day, he came into contact with Battleworld.
It couldn't be considered contact, just hearsay. Because previously, a renowned Cosmic Warrior, Starfire, had a conflict with his son, Kalibak. Starfire was caught and brainwave scanned by Desaad's design. Though she eventually escaped, some of the information in her mind caught Desaad's attention. Eventually, this information was passed to Darkseid. It was his first time hearing about Battleworld.
Darkseid couldn't help but be intrigued by a platform allowing inter-Multiverse and inter-two-world intellectual exchanges. He commanded his subjects to search the cosmos for information and tried numerous times to locate this place, yet unsurprisingly he failed.
Until today, Batman brought it up again. This made Darkseid realize that the platform wasn't just for playing games—it would profoundly affect the dynamics between Multiverses. Batman had long been prepared, and the Multiverse situation was about to undergo a massive transformation.
Long bored with the cosmic conquest goal, upon thinking about participating in the Multiverse conflict, Darkseid felt as though a long-cooled engine had been refueled. Like when he first faced the Old Gods in his youth, a deep rumbling echoed in his chest. The last time he felt such wonderful emotions seemed like thousands of years ago.
This was Darkseid's Psychic_Battlefield. And it was also one of the reasons he couldn't refuse. He might not have originally resembled Batman so much, but previously due to Batman and Joker turning Apocalypse Star into the Gotham Domain during a battle, Darkseid was tricked immensely, almost transforming into Batman. Part of his personality began resembling Batman.
Of course, not the part of Justice Warriors' heart, more likely Batman's negative aspects, like the intense desire for control, or the somewhat excessive "Plan Ahead strategy."
In his view, a storm was brewing in the Multiverse, but he knew nothing about it and couldn't control it—a truly terrifying prospect. So even if Batman didn't offer him favorable terms, he would still cooperate, just to dip his hand in the soup.
In summary, even if Batman doesn't come personally, nor brings any friends, just sends a message, Darkseid would still respond. Especially when Batman's showing so much sincerity this time, what reason does he have to refuse?
"When will the Lamp heroes rebel?" Darkseid asked as he came down from the steps with his hands behind his back. But he wasn't asking Batman, he was asking Desaad. Evidently, this was also one of their contingency plans to defeat the Guardians of the Universe. They hadn't used it before because they weren't confident, but if they had Batman and Green Lantern working from within, it would be easy.
Desaad gave a bow and said, "Your Majesty, just within this week, there have been sacrifices in 30 sectors due to the Guardians of the Universe's erroneous deployment orders, totaling over 200 deaths."
Even though Darkseid had anticipated it, he was still startled by the numbers. The Lamp heroes are not something you can create by the millions like the Type Demons. Although the ring grants superpowers, using the Lantern ring's power requires training, and many surface creatures aren't suited for space combat; they need to fight for at least a couple of months to gain some understanding. The cost of training such talent is terrifyingly high.
The Green Lantern Corps had about 7000 members before the war, and now there may be less than 6000 remaining. Don't be misled by the fact that there are seven Lantern Corps; some only have one member, and others just a handful, so in total, there are only tens of thousands. Losing 200 in a week due to command mistakes is an unforgivable error.
Darkseid couldn't help but turn around to look at Desaad and said, "Even then, they haven't rebelled?"
He seemed very dissatisfied. Desaad understood what this Dark Monarch meant: You always said the Guardians of the Universe were so chaotic with their operations, and we need Batman to help incite the Lanterns to defect?
Desaad wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Though the casualties are numerous, the frontline is stretched too thin, and communication between the Lamp Corps is slow, making reconciliation between forces difficult. If put among various local troops, these losses are still acceptable. Thus, while warriors and middle management have complaints, it's not to the point of mutiny yet."
Darkseid immediately understood. The Guardians of the Universe must be doing it on purpose: they don't allow the Lamp Corps to exchange reports, and it's the first large-scale cosmic war for the Lamp heroes, who have no communications experts. Everyone's muddling through on their own, and if they manage to fight the Apocalypse Army to a draw, it's only due to the Emotional Spectrum Energy being so strong, and a plethora of cosmic recruits. Otherwise, they wouldn't hold on for long.
Moreover, relations between Lamp Corps aren't good. Yellow Lanterns and Green Lanterns are arch-rivals; you can't expect them to exchange intel.
Because of command blunders, the Green Lanterns lost dozens, and the Yellow Lanterns lost dozens too. Both sides can seemingly accept it, but together it's not the same story.
"Put more pressure on them," Darkseid said. "Have our spies we've infiltrated stir things up. Aren't those Justice Warriors always talking about 'setting aside past grievances, cooperating wholeheartedly'? Why should I be the one to teach them this? What fools!"
"They haven't realized the losses due to command mistakes because you're not putting enough pressure on the frontline battlefield," Batman said. "Once the battle heats up, even the loss of one or two becomes unacceptable. By then, they'll naturally be full of complaints. I'll have Hal take the lead, gathering leaders from several Lamp Corps to a meeting, where they'll surely discover what the Guardians of the Universe have done."
"That's not enough," Darkseid turned to Batman and said. "They might complain or disobey, but they won't besiege the Guardians of the Universe."
"That's where I need to give a push," Batman said. "Resentment will gradually accumulate, but life's ability to endure is stronger than anyone thinks. Lantern rings mostly choose good people, and even to death, they can endure endlessly. So we need a way to ignite their emotions."
"What do you plan to do?"
"Tragedy is destroying beauty for all to see. I've crafted the near-perfect war hero 'Hal Jordan', now it's time to push him to the pedestal through an unprecedented battle, then destroy him."
"You need my cooperation?"
"Yes. When the army encroaches and collapse is near, Hal will propose a duel with you. You'll agree to his duel request, and say that if he wins, you'll retreat."
"And then..."
"His lantern ring will lose its power just as he's about to defeat you, and you'll kill him. You simply need to say regretfully, 'You were a hero, but sadly, the Guardians of the Universe only wanted an obedient dog,' then turn and leave."
When Darkseid's eyes met with Batman's for a moment, he even felt that his eye's Omega Ray was pained by Batman's ice-cold darkness. Looking at Batman's dark cloak, Darkseid couldn't help but wonder, at times, who really was the Dark King.