In the glow of the array, Su Ming's armor was coated with a faint purple hue, as waves of powerful magic swept over him like a tangible tide, gradually engulfing him.
"Your defenses are solid. What do you want me to do? Speak." He fastened his helmet, observing the scene.
Constantine's thick-skinned nature was like a city wall; previous failed deceit did not seem to affect him: "First, tell me what you want from us."
Su Ming sneered, "You guess."
Constantine turned his head, pretending to be smug: "You're the ones who came looking for us, now you want me to guess? Is this how you do business?"
Business is done this way, with both parties having their own needs. Whoever speaks first is at a disadvantage. If it were someone else, Su Ming might directly communicate, but not with Zha Kang.
He must be kept uncomfortable at all times to ensure he doesn't have the mind to con others.
"Now is not the time for business, the whole world is in danger." Su Ming glanced at Barry, who was still exchanging pleasantries with the mages: "Barry, look at Constantine, only thinking of his own safety. Isn't that selfish?"
Barry's eyes darted, and although he couldn't see Su Ming's expression, he decided to fully cooperate with him. Compared to these sinister mages, Su Ming made him feel more at ease, as at least Deathstroke's actions could be explained by science.
"Hmm, that's right."
"Alright, then use your Divine Speed to wipe out their array, so these people will join us in facing the enemy directly on the battlefield."
Su Ming and Barry performed like a comedic act.
Zha Kang frowned: "Hey, wait a minute, you're going to harm others without benefiting yourself. Facing Barbatos, going to the front lines won't allow us to use our full abilities; it's suicide."
"I know, but doesn't it hurt your face to talk about harming without benefiting, Constantine?" Su Ming calmly replied, crossing his arms: "Either tell me what you want us to do now, or we'll all board the Titanic and ride the waves together."
Zha Kang took several deep puffs of his cigarette, feeling more annoyed than ever. This guy had just put on his helmet, and with the high magic resistance of N Metal, hypnosis spells wouldn't work anymore.
If he used large-scale magic, the surrounding Flash wouldn't just watch him chant; a casual push would cause backlash enough to make him cough up blood.
He thought of many things but ultimately sighed: "Alright, I shouldn't have let you in from the start... We also want to resist Barbatos, but using our method, this array is just a defensive one; for it to have additional functions, a larger power source is needed..."
Su Ming merely nodded, having accused them of being selfish as a setup; mages aren't short-sighted, especially with Lady Shangdu among them, who could somewhat predict the future.
"So, you want an energy amplifier, is it the Cosmic Tuning Fork or the Mobius Chair?"
The most famous energy amplifiers in the DC World are these; the Cosmic Tuning Fork was created by the Anti-Monitor, which can control the flow of energy in the Multiverse, but has now been taken by the Dark Knight Order.
The Mobius Chair, crafted with X Metal by the Anti-Monitor, is currently missing. Sitting on it grants a series of unscientific abilities like instant teleportation, telepathy, and omniscience.
Actually, the Mother Box from Apocalypse Star can also be considered an energy coordinator, just that it resembles a supercomputer, probably not in line with the magical style here.
Constantine's eyebrows turned into an inverted V, and his expression was like a burst chrysanthemum: "I can't take it; even if you manage to get those things, Barbatos would probably arrive the very next second, and we couldn't hold him off."
Su Ming was just saying it; those two items were unattainable, but since Zha Kang was still beating around the bush, he simply held his ground.
"I understand your plan: hiding in the Spirit Thin Prison, using the Bright Magic Array to tug at the cosmos and play tug-of-war with Barbatos."
"Yes, he's planning to sink Earth-0 into darkness, triggering a chain reaction that involves all the Light Universes. So now, while we still have a chance, we reinforce Earth-0's position in the Blood Domain to buy more time." Constantine walked to the array, placed his hand on it, whispered a phrase, and injected some magic power, then immediately stood up as if losing more power was a disadvantage: "Even if we complete the new array, it's just prolonging the inevitable, but it's the best we can do. We need your Bat Gold."
"Wouldn't it be easier if you said so earlier? Your habit of trying to con people is already incurable, huh? Did Lady Shangdu's divination magic 'see' the Bat Gold I have?"
Su Ming continued to analyze calmly, Zha Kang remained silent, but a female mage dressed like a Gypsy smiled and nodded towards Su Ming, affirming he was correct.
"You can have the Bat Gold, but in exchange, you must provide us with magic props capable of handling Doomsday and Steel Bone."
"A monster, an iron man... Deal." Zha Kang's eyes glinted as he calculated and nodded in agreement.
Su Ming took out the Bat Gold, which emitted a faint red light, but it was still smeared with blood and fragments of internal organs. Without hesitation, he tossed it to Zha Kang. This thing was like a brick in his hands, so it was better to let professionals handle the magic metal.
He had already acquired Hawkman's Warhammer, so the Bat Gold was basically useless in his hands. Even if Barry got it, he wouldn't use it to stab anyone, so let the mages use it. This not only buys time for the world but also for Su Ming, as even if they didn't organize themselves, he had similar ideas.
Barry looked at the bloody ore, which covered Zha Kang's hands in blood, and he showed an embarrassed expression: "But with just this small piece, what can it do?"
Zha Kang flicked away the cigarette butt, extinguishing it with his foot, and the blood got onto his beard: "That's the view of outsiders. To mages, the existence of a substance is more important than its quantity."
Su Ming seemed to suddenly remember something and reached out to him: "Then break off a piece and give me back the rest."
"Cough, cough... but sometimes, more is always better."
Zha Kang immediately changed his tune, silently lamenting. Why did he have to act cool for no reason? Could it really be as Deathstroke said, that his conning-disease was terminal, and in its flare-ups, he even conned himself?
Despite his distress, he quickly placed the dirty metal cluster on the ground, bit his finger, and drew a small array on the ground, one far more complex and intricate than the previous one.
After depleting one finger, he bit the second, then the third... just as he had gnawed all ten fingers and couldn't squeeze out any more blood, thinking of taking off his shoes, Su Ming simply stabbed his arm, which provided enough blood as he pressed down on the arterial spurt to carefully complete the array.
He shot a pained glance at Su Ming, who was leisurely wiping the Fire God Sword. This Divine Artifact had decent magic-breaking properties, although ineffective against the Nightmare Bats, it sliced through Zha Kang's protective magic like paper.
Zha Kang sighed in resignation and submitted to his fate, pressing down on the small magic array as he chanted in an incomprehensible language.
The Bat Gold, initially a metallic cluster, began to glow red and melt gradually until it transformed into spots of light, merging into the giant magic array.
Su Ming couldn't discern what had changed, but several mages nodded slightly or smiled, indicating its effectiveness.
"All set, Barbatos is producing energy through the nightmares of ordinary people to pull the world. Now with the Bat Gold from the Bat Tribe, we can at least hold for three days. The rest is up to you." Constantine covered his wound, sat directly on the floor, fumbling for cigarettes in his chest pocket.
"If we get through this safely, this giant array won't be destroyed but will remain in the Mysterious House. Since it's your territory, that means your influence and strength increase because a magical miracle exists here." Su Ming, with keen insight, saw through Zha Kang's scheme; he was still trying to pocket benefits for himself.
Constantine paused, flashing a shameless grin: "Well, it's a win-win for both of us..."