Chapter 285: Allen Solo Challenges the Seven-Light Corps
So far, Allen had collected a total of eight Lantern Rings.
In addition to the standard seven-spectrum Lantern Rings, he also possessed the Black Ring—bringing the total to eight.
However, the Green Ring was currently inside Mimi's belly.
Of course, Allen didn't care much about the Green Ring; after all, its abilities largely overlapped with those of the Black Ring.
Looking at the six Lantern Rings in his hand, a plan to recast them had already taken shape in his mind.
The Black Ring, naturally, wasn't under consideration. That ring was practically on par with a divine artifact—far beyond what Allen could hope to recast at his current level.
Besides, its abilities were already near perfection.
Rubbing his chin, Allen mused, "I have the divinity of the God of Thunder. I should be able to summon dimension beings on the Supreme Mage level."
Based on his own base stats, the best he could summon were beings at the Crown Phantasm level.
But if judged by the power of his divine essence, the resulting spell effect was clearly on par with a Supreme Mage.
Which was precisely why Allen intended to summon the Hammer of the Thunder God.
Using mere Crown Phantasm–level rings was far too low-grade.
After all, the emotional spectrum entities that existed outside of the physical universe were clearly dimension lords—otherwise, they couldn't possibly supply enough energy for so many Lanterns.
"Capturing dimensional creatures to make pacts and treat them like lantern beasts to drain mana—what a genius move."
Allen couldn't help but praise himself. Then he recalled, "Speaking of which, Erha is also my contracted beast. I wonder if it's been born yet. I'll summon it in Gotham later."
Erha was the anchor of his spells, and since Allen rarely met opponents in the main timeline who forced him to go all out, they hadn't reconnected.
[Smack!]
He slapped the ground with one hand.
A flow of thunder divine power traced out a glowing summoning array.
Allen gripped his hammer, entered stealth mode, and quietly waited for the summoned creature to appear.
Ripples emerged at the center of the array, like a stone dropping into a still lake.
A lion wreathed in blood-red flames slowly rose from the formation.
Roooar...
"Who dares summon the great Bloodflame Lion King? If no worthy sacrifice is offered, I shall rip you—"
Thud!
A muffled thump.
The Bloodflame Lion King's eyes rolled back as it collapsed unconscious to the ground.
Allen, hammer in hand, grinned slyly as he examined his new summon.
"Damn, this one looks pretty good."
Thud!
He lifted the lion's hind legs and dragged it out of the array. To ensure it didn't wake up mid-way, Allen thoughtfully gave it another whack.
A large bump rose on the lion's head.
Scanning the area, he dragged the Bloodflame Lion King into a grove, covered it with branches, and cheerfully returned to continue the summoning.
He injected more divine power into the array.
And vanished once again into stealth mode.
Before long, a pure white nine-tailed fox slowly rose from the circle, surrounded by a pink magical aura. Its gaze was curiously humanlike as it looked around. Then it spoke:
"Summoner, show yourself. I am Fox Spirit Jiunianger, and I do not lightly acc—"
Thud!
Thud, thud!
"What's with the sexy fairy?"
Allen tilted his head. The fox spirit reminded him of those seductive fox spirits from Eastern mythology who preyed on men's essence.
Out of caution, he gave it two more whacks to ensure a deep sleep.
"I get it now."
Picking his nose, Allen muttered with sudden realization, "Marvel must've run out of ideas, so they started ripping off Eastern mythology. Shameless."
He dragged Jiunianger into the grove and covered her with branches to keep her from catching cold.
Returning to the summoning array, Allen eagerly said, "What's next?"
He repeated the process. Soon, the formation glowed again.
This time, a divine bird wreathed in brilliant golden flames rose, lifting its proud head to gaze at the crouching Allen.
"Human, are you the one who summoned me, the Solar Luann?"
The radiant heat from the Solar Luann unintentionally disrupted Allen's stealth.
"I have a question for you."
Allen sheepishly stepped forward.
But the Solar Luann warily asked, "What's that hammer in your hand for?"
"I'm a repairman. Carrying a hammer's totally normal," Allen deflected, eyes shifting guiltily.
"A repairman is… a subclass of mage?"
Thud!
Allen didn't bother answering.
To be honest, the Solar Luann seemed pretty courteous—likely due to its divine lineage.
But Allen believed in treating all dimensional creatures equally, with fairness and impartiality.
"Lowly human, I am the Greedy Hydra of—"
Thud!
"I am the Abyssal Despair Gou, who—"
Thud!
"I am the Apostate of Pain, summoned in service of—"
Thud!
The next three dimension creatures were all neatly knocked out the same way.
He lined them up—six in total, perfectly matching the six Lantern Rings.
The Apostate of Pain wore a hooded sack over its head and was covered in torture tools—like a demonic executioner from hell.
"Sh*t, the sack's part of its body."
Allen had tried to lift the hood to see its face, only to realize that was just how it looked.
From their names alone, he could roughly infer their traits:
Bloodflame Lion King – blood red, perfect for the Red Ring.
Solar Luann – blazing gold, fitting for the Yellow Ring.
Greedy Hydra – clearly matched with the Orange Ring.
Apostate of Pain – festooned with torture gear, suited the Blue Ring of Compassion.
Abyssal Despair Gou – looked like a mix between a dog and a tiger, matched the Blue Ring of Hope.
Then his gaze fell on the fox spirit Jiunianger. The only one left was the Violet Ring of Love.
Allen touched the pink magical aura swirling around her body. Suddenly, his eyes turned pink, and he gazed at her with dazed, lovestruck eyes.
"Why not take advantage of the moment and—"
Bzzt…
A spark from the Thunder Hammer zapped him, dispersing the lustful thoughts.
Slap slap!!
Allen smacked himself twice, furious. "Beast! Even a fox? Have you no shame?"
"But she is really pretty…"
Slap slap!!
Another pair of self-slaps.
With firm resolve, Allen declared, "Damn seductive spirit, just as shameless as the Violet Ring."
In mythology, nine-tailed foxes were infamous for charm magic, and that pink aura clearly had a similar effect.
But now came a new challenge:
How could he fit six Supreme Mage–level dimension beings into Lantern Rings?
Strictly speaking, lantern beasts were physical embodiments of emotional forces. Since emotions weren't spatially bound, they weren't limited by material constraints.
So shoving them into a ring or battery wasn't realistic.
"I've got it."
Allen's eyes lit up. "I'll etch anchor marks into their souls and use the Lantern Rings as conduits to borrow their power."
In truth, it was theft.
Without the Thunder Hammer, attempting to steal power from Supreme Mage–level beings would've been suicidal.
Allen himself wasn't strong enough to fight them head-on.
But storing the stolen energy in the Lantern Rings let him safely use it without risking backlash.
As for why he wasn't worried about Erha turning on him?
Simple. Erha had been summoned as a juvenile, and Allen had branded it on a soul-deep level from the start. That brand would only grow stronger with time, ensuring Erha remained under his control.
These other beings, though? No such guarantees. The master-slave relationship was far from stable.
Unless Allen ascended to full godhood, truly enslaving them was impossible.
And by then, he wouldn't need them anyway.
Why bother with all this when he could just forge a new set of divine rings?
First, he re-cast the Lantern Rings, fusing ring and battery into one.
He kept their basic functions, but the core abilities would now be fueled by emotion-based magic and reshaped to match each creature's attributes.
After a full day's work—
The new rings were complete.
Each Lantern Ring had taken on a new hue, reflecting its host's traits.
Done with them, Allen, like a total scumbag, dismissed the six dimension beasts.
None had ever woken up.
When they finally did, each found themselves back in their own dimension. Had it not been for the dull ache in their heads, they would've thought it all a strange dream.
From that day on, they began suffering from mysterious and random energy loss.
"Bewitching Pink Ring."
"Bloodlust Red Ring."
"Vitality Gold Ring."
"Greed Crimson Ring."
"Pain Silver Ring."
"Despair Gray Ring."
He slipped the six Lantern Rings onto both hands—index, middle, and ring fingers fully adorned.
"Damn, I look awesome."
Admiring his new gear, Allen muttered, "Every Lantern Ring has an oath. Should I make some up for style?"
His literacy was limited, but after straining his brain, he came up with a few he was pretty pleased with:
"Pink Ring—steamy and flamboyant. Red Ring—burns your blood alive. Gold Ring—vitality in every breath. Crimson Ring—greed beyond recognition. Silver Ring—pain and pleasure entwined. Gray Ring—despair in fifty shades."
Allen stretched and smirked, "What a poem, what a poem. A true master of abstract verse, that's me."
Of course, given his personality, Allen had to show off his work.
He kept the Red, Blue, and Indigo Ring bindings active to lure enemies in.
"With new rings defeating the old, I can't wait to see the look on their faces. Kekekeke..."
Red Ring Oath:
"Scorching blood burns crimson bright.
Drawn from corpses in the night.
Hatred brews in shattered bones.
Onward now to Hell's own throne!"
Blue Ring Oath:
"Fear at dawn, pain at night.
Raging flames expel the blight.
All are lost in war's cruel debt.
Look to the stars—hope burns yet!"
Indigo Ring Oath:
"Compassion is with you."
With that said, Allen waited for the Spectrum Corps.
These newly forged Lantern Rings were now entirely under his control. Not even the Corps leaders could take them away.
Mere moments later—
The space around him began to warp. Multicolored light bled through from all directions.
For the first time ever, all Lantern Corps were united against a common foe.
Thanks to Blue Lanterns suppressing both Red and Orange Rings, internal strife had been avoided.
They immediately locked down the surrounding area—clearly well-prepared.
The Blue Lanterns were in charge of mass teleportation and had quickly summoned all members.
Each Corps encircled Allen, even twisting space to prevent him from escaping via teleportation.
"His rings!?"
Larfleeze gasped in shock, his eyes flashing with greed.
His obsession with hoarding every kind of ring flared wildly upon seeing Allen's radically different ones.
Even the orange constructs he summoned began to stir restlessly, sensing their master's eagerness.
"Attack!"
Red Lantern leader Atrocitus charged first, the intense red glow blazing with fury as his aura exploded.
Allen raised the Blood Ring on his right index finger.
With a casual gesture—
He pointed.
A streak of blood-red flame shot forth.
The Bloodflame Lion King's Bloodfire, a flame that fed on blood and grew stronger with killing intent.
"Hot! Hot hot hot… it's burning me alive!"
Halfway through the charge, Atrocitus was suddenly engulfed in flames. He flailed about wildly, trying to beat them out.
But it was useless—like maggots clinging to the bone, the fire refused to be extinguished.
"Everyone, attack together!"
The next moment, all the corps leaders struck at once.
Allen raised both hands, unleashing the full power of his six rings.
Pink light swirled around him, blocking off Gillian's violet glow.
The gold ring manifested into a radiant golden divine luan, charging straight at Sinestro.
The red ring took form as a nine-headed hydra, winding its way toward Larfleeze.
The silver ring fired a silver beam that transformed into an execution device, clamping down on the Indigo-1 and binding her in place. Pain instantly surfaced on her face.
The gray ring conjured a killer exuding pure despair, who lunged at Saint Walker.
"Suppress them!"
On the battlefield, only Abin Sur remained unimpeded. He materialized a massive meteor and hurled it at his target.
Allen remained unfazed, hands on his hips with a devil-may-care smile. "I'll take it!"
He thrust his waist forward—
And from it extended an infinitely elongating golden staff, formed of solid green light.
Boom!
In an instant, it shattered the meteor and blasted straight toward Abin Sur's face.
Smack—
It landed squarely on his cheek. Caught off guard, Abin Sur had no time to evade. The blow sent him flying, dragging a shimmering string of spittle from his mouth.
Hiss—
Defeating the Green Lantern leader with a single blow—it was nothing short of a scene nailed to the pillar of shame.
To stand alone and clash against seven corps leaders—it was simply beyond belief.
"All hands, attack."
Finally realizing the severity of the situation, the various corps abandoned all pretense of honor. Every Lantern joined the assault to suppress him.
Seven beams of light, like a meteor shower, swept toward Allen with overwhelming force, each representing the core abilities of a different ring.
"Lights out."
The extinguishing protocol activated.
In that instant, a pinpoint of pitch-black rapidly expanded.
The colors of the spectrum, upon entering this field of darkness, vanished like stones sinking into the sea.
Darkness spread in the blink of an eye, swallowing the Seven Lantern Corps whole.
Within the domain of darkness, not even a hand could be seen in front of one's face. It absorbed all light, rendering every ring utterly useless.
The Black Ring was the fated nemesis of all spectrum rings.
"What is this power?!"
"Why can't I access my ring's energy?"
"How can there exist an ability that counters all rings?!"
"…"
Panic overtook every Lantern present—even the Yellow Lantern Corps were gripped by fear.
"Horse, Boar, Tiger, Rat…"
Allen enunciated word by word, his voice echoing crisply in every ear.
Only Gillian's expression changed abruptly. His body instinctively tensed, and with a jolt of reflexive dread, he clamped both hands tightly over his rear end.