Seeing how resolute Su Ming was, Diana also looked up at the sky. The rift was getting bigger, and it seemed the Main World's Earth was about to 'squeeze' through.
"Alright, hold on to the lasso, we'll fly over."
Diana threw the Lasso of Truth, letting Su Ming and Barry grab hold, and soared skyward towards the rift.
After leaving Ring Mountain, they immediately noticed the condition of the surrounding cosmos.
Though it appeared like the cosmos, it wasn't a vacuum environment. Not far off, Earths were lined up like beads on a necklace—this was the Dark Multiverse, and they were waiting for something.
Barry felt uneasy. The last time he had seen all universes lined up and manifested in the same space was during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, which had led to the rebooting of the Multiverse.
If not for the Divine Speed preserving some of his memories, he would've forgotten many important people and things. He valued his friends dearly, and losing precious shared memories was his biggest fear.
Superman, holding Bruce from behind, caught up. Bruce remained silent, the reflections of the multiverse Earths shining in his Bat-mask's eyepieces.
"We don't have much time," Su Ming said flatly as Diana flew them towards the Main World. "Now, should we set tactical objectives? Any objections?"
Bruce turned his gaze to Su Ming. Equipped with a silver half-body armor, he looked quite different than usual. "That will be a large-scale battlefield. You're the professional; I'd like to hear your thoughts."
"Currently, we face three types of enemies. First is Barbatos, the Dark God. His power level is beyond measure, but he won't leave the Cosmic Tuning Fork for now. He's tied to it, managing energy manipulation. In the first phase, we maintain our distance from him, focusing on eliminating the other two enemy types."
Su Ming outlined his clear tactical plan: cut off Barbatos's wings first.
Bruce thought briefly, then nodded. "Feasible."
With Bruce's acknowledgment, there was no need to worry about Superman and Diana's attitudes.
"The second enemy type comprises villains summoned by Barbatos from the Multiverse. There are around a thousand of them, so that's Superman's task. Use frozen breath or other means to contain them, to buy us time. I expect reinforcements will arrive soon."
"What reinforcements?" Barry was quite uplifted; reinforcements were surely good news.
"I don't know," Su Ming replied tersely.
"What?" Barry's jaw dropped, like a robot suddenly powered down and seized up.
In mid-flight, Diana stumbled slightly, giving him a sideways glare. Her large eyes clearly conveyed her thoughts.
"So why do you believe reinforcements will come?"
Su Ming looked at their destination—Gotham City's outline was becoming clearer. "Because this is a crisis threatening the Multiverse. We're not the only ones fighting Barbatos; heroes from across the Multiverse are waiting for the right moment, for someone to lead the charge. Time is running out; we will start the decisive battle first. Those unwilling to submit to Barbatos will undoubtedly join us."
Batman naturally considered this reasoning, but he remained silent, gesturing for Su Ming to continue. Despite being tightly held by Clark from behind, which made things look odd.
"The third enemy type is the Dark Knight Order, those deranged Batmans."
Su Ming continued explaining his plan. Everyone couldn't help but glance at Bruce, but his expression didn't change. Those were Dark Multiverse Bruces, entirely different from him, and he bore no burden for them.
"Currently accounted for are the Tyrant, Drowned, Killing Machine, Laughing Bat. It's uncertain if the Dawn Deceit Lantern survived, but he was scared witless by Sinestro and couldn't use the Deceitful Lantern Ring. I even cut off half of his body, so even if he's alive, he's a cripple."
"They must be handled separately, just as the Dark Knight Order aims to handle us separately." Batman interjected; understanding himself, these Batmen were like nightmares.
Su Ming raised an eyebrow, Batman's thoughts completely aligned with his. "So, we divide and conquer. Unlike before, we'll select who's best to counter whom. I'll take on the Killing Machine and Tyrant."
Opting to handle the two most formidable foes left others perplexed, but Su Ming offered no explanation. Only Bruce understood it as the ancient Eastern tactic of Tian Ji's horse racing.
Use a weaker horse against an opponent's strong horse, a medium horse against their weaker horse, and a strong horse against their medium horse, achieving two out of three wins.
Besides, in this scenario, Deathstroke might not necessarily lose. Battle isn't a horse race, he only needs to delay.
The truth was, Su Ming had long been ready for this moment. Wasn't that the point of waiting? Continuing with assignments: "Diana, take on the Laughing Bat. You must kill him quickly; remember, only complete annihilation is safe."
Diana glanced at Bruce, Batman nodded, so she followed suit. "No problem."
"Once Diana finishes with him, she'll assist Barry," Su Ming said effortlessly, looking to Barry. "Your job is to handle the Drowned. It's a land battle; just keep pushing him, poking his eyes."
"Alright." Barry readily agreed, once having dealt with the Sea Queen, which bolstered his confidence.
Finally, Su Ming turned to Batman. "Bruce, your task is to find Steel Bone and Sea King on the Cosmic Tuning Fork, and rescue them right under Barbatos's nose. With your stealth and opportunistic skills, you're the best candidate."
Batman acknowledged the briefing, initially thinking Deathstroke intended to abandon the two. Could his previous judgment have been wrong?
Yet, Su Ming merely wanted him out of the way to command the tactical battles of specific areas himself. Whether Batman saved the two or not, it wasn't in Su Ming's consideration, but the strategy left Bruce no room for refusal.
Everyone received their assignments, and none were light tasks. Only Diana's was somewhat easier, but she was the breakthrough point for the entire battle.
As tactical assignments concluded, the group of five descended from the sky, landing at a corner of the plain atop Challenger Mountain.
Purple lightning sliced through the sky; in the darkened world, blood and death were all you could see.
While aloft, Su Ming sensed Barbatos's awareness of them, his dark, deep gaze seemingly fixed on them. For an instant, he felt his insides turn cold.
But he quickly overcame it, and they swiftly descended.
Before them, countless villains from the Multiverse surged like waves.
These foes bore traits of some Main World villains, yet differed in many ways, such as Su Ming spotting a Cheetah donned in Wonder Woman's armor, or Mr. Freeze wielding a flamethrower.
Clark immediately soared into the air, inhaling deeply to freeze the oncoming swarm with his frozen breath. Yet, several Kryptonite bullets or rays quickly fired from the enemy lines, alongside energy projectiles of red sun origin, striking his armor.
Superman wasn't adept at dodging attacks, but these previously effective measures merely struck his X Metal armor, reflecting or absorbing them. He shone silver, impervious.
Realizing his foresight in armor-making was spot-on, initially compelled by Bruce's insistent demands. Did Bruce foresee this?
Feeling invincible, Clark touched the silver-glowing 'S' emblem on his chest, inhaled deeply, then unleashed it upon foes, instantly entrapping dozens who couldn't evade within ice.
This wasn't lethal, just mere containment.
"Diana, strike your silver bracelet," Su Ming requested upon seeing Clark's performance had temporarily stabilized the front lines. Her gear, plated with X Metal, now shone beautifully silver.
"Is it to announce our presence to the Dark Knight Order?"
Diana raised her arms, clashing her wristbands forcefully. A shockwave soared into the sky as her bangles emitted a crisp chime, barely audible yet resonating through the battlefield into everyone's hearts.
"It's both a signal and a war cry. X Metal's unique property transmits this sound across the Multiverse, letting our allies know the Justice League has begun the fight."
Su Ming observed as Superman fended off hundreds of various villains, then pulled out his phone.