Death Valley, barren and yellow, desolate and dry. Yellow sand rolled through the sky like a startled flock of birds, waves of sand surging and scattering rapidly from the area around Bardi.
The air carried the acrid stench of sulfur. The scorching, crater-like heat radiated along Route 50, searing the atmosphere.
Bardi stared into the distance, his eyes fixed on the horizon where The Flash had fled. His cold gaze held a deep, frigid meaning.
This was the second time The Flash had escaped from him.
The first time was in New Guinea, when he had tried to recklessly travel through time to change his fate. In response, Bardi had angrily sunk New Guinea in order to capture him.
Now, Bardi had given a clear warning: if he tried anything again, not even the loved ones of Earth's heroes would be spared.
"Am I being too kind?"
Bardi's expression was icy, the corners of his mouth lifting into a mocking sneer.
He felt he had been too merciful. Whether it was spending a decade deploying across nations or establishing the Barmulodi Empire—which ruled over 15 countries and provided a safe, prosperous life for over 170 million ordinary people.
Whether it was advancing Earth's science and technology, propelling it into a new era ahead of its time.
All of it only proved his mercy and weakness. It allowed The Flash to repeatedly test his limits. From the incident on New Guinea onward, even the death of 50 million had not been enough to make The Flash submit. It had only proven one thing:
They were not afraid of him at all. Fear was lacking. He had not been brutal enough.
He was still too kind!
"So, your loved ones will die because of you!"
Bardi spoke mercilessly. Within his cells, he was connected to Hera—an artificial intelligence far superior to any retinal network, a smart link program built on protons. When he returned to this era, it already had wireless capabilities that connected to Hera across time.
"Hera, locate all the superheroes who opposed Barmulodi. Execute their entire bloodlines."
Bardi's eyes opened and closed with a glint of icy light. He issued the command in a cold tone.
The so-called extermination of nine clans refers to the following:
Paternal lineage (four parts): One's own clan, the married aunts and their sons, the married sisters and their children, the married daughters and their grandchildren.
Maternal lineage (three parts): The grandfather's family, the grandmother's family, the aunt's family and her children.
Spouse's family (two parts): The father-in-law's family and the mother-in-law's natal family.
This implicates entire families. If large, it could involve thousands; if small, it could be hundreds. Including superheroes, the number could exceed the 50 million who died in New Guinea. Their deaths would not be in vain.
"Master, shall we execute them now? Deathstroke is planning to lead the world's heroes in an assault on the Building, intending to eliminate them all in one decisive strike," Hera replied.
Bardi raised an eyebrow. He didn't respond immediately, but instead paused in thought, accepting another set of ten years' worth of memories.
In his mind, a strange yet familiar memory had long been trying to infiltrate his consciousness. It wasn't forced, but rather felt familiar and even comforting.
Yet Bardi knew clearly—these ten years were merely memories, not something he had experienced himself. They were memories filled in by the changes of this universe.
Bardi had a unique trait. This memory could not enter unless he allowed it. It could only linger outside his consciousness until he chose to accept it.
Without dwelling further, Bardi relaxed his mind and body, allowing the memory to flow into him.
In an instant, ten years of experiences unfolded before his eyes. Bardi watched them carefully, as if he were reliving them in person.
But in reality, he had never truly lived them.
Many people and events had changed.
Superman, Jor-El, was still killed by him, but the Kryptonian ship had already been sent into space by Batman. Barring any surprises, General Zod's ship would arrive on Earth earlier.
New Guinea had not been destroyed by his own foot. The Flash had saved 50 million people. When Bardi threatened him, The Flash had simply knelt before him, saving all those lives.
Batman still died during Mike's confrontation with Orm (Bardi was unaware that Mike was now Batman).
Aquaman still died by his hand the night the Green Lantern Ring emerged.
Diana, misled by Victor into believing Bardi was a brutal tyrant, had opposed him. She was captured that same night and remained comatose, currently being studied in a lab within the Imperial Palace.
Hal still absorbed fear, but was defeated by Bardi in space. His body floated away and was absorbed by the Parallax entity.
Across the world, over a dozen nations launched nuclear strikes against him. They failed to kill him. In fear, they let Deathstroke lead a final offensive, rallying Earth's surviving forces to storm the Imperial Palace and seize kryptonite.
But Bardi had already anticipated this. Not only was Deathstroke his agent, but so was Amanda Waller, the mastermind behind the initiative. Among the alliance, four were his people.
In the anti-Bardi alliance, six out of the total were his operatives—nearly half. They could practically declare victory.
Other minor details hadn't changed. Raven was still forging magical weapons for him and constructing a massive planetary magic array. However, there was a new development—he was creating a super magic weapon for himself. Even after several years, it was not yet complete, and Bardi didn't know what it was.
Pamela remained the same. A woman under Bardi's command, in charge of greening efforts across the Barmulodi Empire. Known as the Queen of Plants, she commanded the plant kingdom on the 392nd floor of the Imperial Palace. She still loved plants and remained loyal to him.
"Track the whereabouts of their families. Build a file. Execute them after the assault is over."
Bardi ordered coldly.
"Report all recent events classified as Level 1 priority."
"Yes, Master."
"General Ott is heading to Atlantis."
"The Amazons have sent envoys to negotiate Diana's release."
"Preparations are underway to seize control of various governments. The full transition is expected to take one month."
"Located in the southern constellation of Corvus, the main Kryptonian flagship has been detected. It is 27.1 light-years from Earth. Based on its faster-than-light engine, it is expected to reach Earth in approximately 90 days."
"According to prior faster-than-light transmissions, the presence of General Zod has been confirmed."
"On the far side of the moon, an unmanned probe has detected a suspected Brainiac Sentinel base. Two Kryptonians sent to investigate have vanished."
(To be continued.)
***
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