Godfather Owl: Guardian of Batman [178]

Bruce and Diana departed from Ares’ manor.

After discussing the theory about the seventh individual in Diana’s dream, Bruce felt a headache coming on.

“I agree with your theory,” Bruce admitted. “But there are far too many possible candidates, and we don’t have the resources to narrow it down.”

The nations that emerged or gained independence after World War I were numerous:

The Soviet Union, Poland, Finland, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia…

And that’s just Europe. Look globally, and the list grows even longer.

Of course, if he had to bet on the most likely candidate, Bruce would place his money on Comrade Vladimir, the founder of the Soviet Union.

He had every reason to stand among the world’s most influential leaders.

But for now, Bruce and Diana simply didn’t have the means to verify their suspicions.

War was about to begin.

—

The alliance between France and Atlantis had accelerated the outbreak of war.

Historically, Austria-Hungary presented its ultimatum to Serbia on July 23, 1914.

But the Kaiser’s early assurances emboldened Emperor Franz Joseph I to act sooner.

On this day, July 17, 1914, Austria-Hungary issued a speech—a full week ahead of schedule.

As the wheels of a carriage rolled over cobblestone streets, Bruce and Diana sat inside, observing life outside.

Shops bustled with activity; people walked to and fro.

Young women carried flowers, chatting with their male companions about the latest gossip.

Newsboys darted through the streets, waving papers from their bags.

It was as if the looming shadow of war didn’t exist.

At that moment, Bruce was reminded of a documentary he’d once seen: They Shall Not Grow Old.

“That summer, people talked about the endless conflicts in the Balkans.”

“But it seemed so far away from us, and we weren’t worried.”

“It was Serbia’s problem, wasn’t it?”

“The empire was so strong, we feared no one.”

“Back then, there was no sense of impending doom.”

Bruce lowered the carriage curtain and exhaled softly.

“The doom has arrived,” he said. “The war has begun.”

—

After issuing its ultimatum filled with impossible demands, Austria-Hungary received Serbia’s outright rejection.

There was no turning back now.

If that was the case, then war it was!

Austria-Hungary formally declared war on Serbia.

Hundreds of cannons lined up, unleashing a torrent of firepower upon Serbia’s capital, Belgrade.

The empire’s mighty army marched across Serbia’s borders, determined to crush the nation entirely.

History began to unfold as it had before:

Russia joined the fray. Germany entered the war. France followed suit…

The conflict spread rapidly, consuming all in its path.

“Every nation is mobilizing its military forces now,” Bruce remarked in their hotel room. “But this time, the true players aren’t armies—they’re the Descendants.”

Defeating the Descendants and reclaiming the wishes they embodied was the only way to set things right.

Their first battlefield: the Fortress of Liège in Belgium.

—

As dawn broke and fog lingered over the land, the German First and Second Armies, over 100,000 strong and armed with 200 cannons, advanced under the Schlieffen Plan.

Under General von Emmich’s command, they pushed into Belgium, aiming to breach the natural barrier of the Meuse River and seize the strategically vital Fortress of Liège.

Whether Germany sought to invade France or France wished to retaliate, Liège was key to their plans.

Historically, the Germans had eventually captured the fortress, but not without suffering over 25,000 casualties and allowing France time to respond, dooming the Schlieffen Plan.

This time, history would not repeat itself.

Because Black Adam was here.

Above the fortress, dark clouds roiled, blotting out the morning sun and casting shadows over the massive structure.

Thunder rumbled incessantly, and amidst the flashes of lightning, a cloaked figure hovered in the sky directly above the fortress.

General Gérard Leman, commander of Liège, gazed out from his command room.

When he saw the figure, it was as if he were staring at a god.

“Mortals!”

Black Adam’s voice boomed across the fortress, devoid of emotion. He issued his ultimatum:

“Surrender now. Lay down your weapons and open the gates, and you will be spared my wrath!”

General Leman did not flinch. On the contrary, he felt a strange sense of relief.

“So, it’s true…”

As the French had warned, the gods were watching this war.

Extraordinary forces would shape the battlefield, rendering mortal strength insignificant.

For some reason, Leman felt a peculiar calm wash over him.

He stepped out of the command room and onto the fortress’s ramparts, meeting Black Adam’s gaze.

“I am Gérard Leman, commander of the Fortress of Liège,” he announced. “I have been entrusted by His Majesty to defend this stronghold. Surrender is not in my orders!”

His reply was resolute: the fortress would never surrender.

“Is that so?”

Black Adam shook his head.

“A pity…”

With that, he raised a finger, summoning bolts of lightning.

The blinding flashes reflected in Leman’s eyes, making him appear even smaller against the backdrop of divine power.

So, this is the power of the gods, Leman thought grimly. What happens next is beyond my control.

This was no longer a battle for mortals.

As Black Adam prepared to strike, a disturbance rippled through the Meuse and Ourthe Rivers.

The waters churned violently, shadows darting beneath the surface.

A massive waterspout surged upward, carrying figures into the air.

The waterspout then collapsed, unleashing a torrential downpour.

Emerging from the rain were soldiers armed with spears and mounted on seahorses.

Their armor, while resembling ancient designs, incorporated technology far beyond anything of this era.

The Atlanteans had arrived.

This lost civilization, allied with France, had come to the battlefield at Liège.

Drawing power from the Meuse and Ourthe Rivers, the Atlanteans aimed their advanced weapons at Black Adam.

When the triggers were pulled, dense clusters of blue energy beams shot skyward, seemingly intent on piercing the heavens.

Black Adam frowned.

As a sorcerer empowered by six Egyptian gods, Black Adam’s divine wisdom had foreseen the Atlanteans’ involvement. Their appearance wasn’t unexpected.

However, the absence of their leader, the Sea Queen, struck him as an insult.

“Do you think these foot soldiers are enough to challenge me?”

He raised his hand, clenched it, and unleashed a barrage of lightning.

Boom!

The bolts crashed down, tearing through the waterspout and sending Atlantean soldiers plummeting into the rivers.

In a flash, Black Adam became a blur of lightning, moving faster than the eye could follow.

“I possess the stamina of Shu!”

He roared, grabbing two soldiers by their necks and soaring into the sky. Breaking through the clouds, he hurled them into the void of space before returning to Earth.

“I wield the speed of Horus and the strength of Amon!”

His movements surpassed the speed of sound, his kinetic energy ripping through soldiers like paper.

No Atlantean armor, no matter how advanced, could withstand him.

With ease, he tore a soldier in half.

The Atlantean energy weapons that struck his body left no mark.

“I command the power of Aton.”

Black Adam’s calm voice carried as he summoned a lightning spear, sweeping it in a deadly arc and annihilating all soldiers around him.

When he hurled the spear, it tore through the battlefield, each strike chaining to others, reducing Atlantean bodies to ash.

In mere moments, the Atlantean army was decimated.

“What foolish mortals.”

Black Adam surveyed the battlefield, his voice cold and disdainful.

No one dared respond.

The German forces and Liège defenders alike stood frozen in stunned silence.

Before them was power that defied their understanding of the world—divine power, laid bare.

But Black Adam’s gaze turned toward the horizon, piercing through the river’s surface.

A new foe had arrived.

Boom!

Water erupted violently, and more Atlantean soldiers surged from the river.

Leading them was a woman clad in golden-scaled armor, wielding a golden trident.

The Sea Queen had arrived.

Her identity was no longer concealed.

She was not merely a queen consort of Atlantis or a human blessed with aquatic powers.

The Sea Queen was Atlantis’ ruler, a counterpart of Aquaman Arthur Curry, from the dark universe of Earth-Minus-11—a realm where matriarchy reigned, and men were subservient.

She hailed from a world drowned in sorrow, commanding legions of vengeful souls.

With the Trident of the Seven Seas in her grasp, she had won the allegiance of the entire ocean upon her arrival in this timeline.

“Black Adam.”

The Sea Queen’s golden hair flowed in the wind as rivers formed stairways beneath her feet.

Her expression betrayed no sorrow for her fallen soldiers; her gaze was fixed solely on her adversary.

“In my world,” she remarked softly, “you were far more charming than you are now.”

She spoke a simple truth: on Earth-Minus-11, all heroes and villains were female.

Batwoman, Superwoman, Green Lantern, and Flash Woman…

The exception was Wonder Woman, who had been gender-swapped, becoming the sole male hero, Wonder Man.

As such, Earth-Minus-11’s Black Adam had been a woman.

This, for the Sea Queen, was merely a fact.

But to Black Adam, her words sounded like mockery.

“I don’t care which world you come from,” Black Adam said coldly. “Opposing me means only one thing—”

Death!

Before finishing his sentence, he launched his attack.

His body transformed into a streak of lightning, his immense power surging forth like an unstoppable storm, aimed directly at the Sea Queen.

Then—

Facing his divine wrath, the Sea Queen calmly raised her trident.

The lightning veered off course, drawn to the trident. She extended her hand into the crackling electricity and clenched her fist.

Black Adam materialized within the currents, his body shimmering with lightning.

Her grip closed around his neck.

“What you can do, I can do too.”

The electricity coiled around the trident, surging as she drove it into Black Adam’s abdomen.

Boom!

The battlefield erupted with thunder.

“Aahhh!”

Black Adam screamed in agony as his own magic lightning turned against him.

Though she had not yet unleashed her full power, the Sea Queen had already seized control of the battlefield.

But seizing control was not the same as securing victory.

As Black Adam writhed in pain, dark smoke began billowing from the wound left by the trident.

The smoke writhed like a living entity, hurtling toward the Sea Queen.

Caught off guard by the sudden shift, she released her grip and leaped backward to evade the attack.

At the same time, Black Adam retreated, activating his divine powers to heal his wounds.

The smoke, however, did not dissipate.

Instead, it coalesced around Black Adam, splitting into seven distinct forms that solidified into grotesque, demonic creatures.

“This is—”

The Sea Queen’s eyes widened in realization.

These were the Seven Deadly Sins, manifestations of pure sinfulness that should have been sealed within the Rock of Eternity.

“You released them?” she asked incredulously.

Black Adam did not answer.

Instead, he cracked his neck and said coldly:

“Let’s continue where we left off.”

His wounds now fully healed, Black Adam stood at his peak once more.

If the Sea Queen could summon the Atlantean army, then summoning the Seven Deadly Sins seemed an entirely fair countermeasure.

The second battle of Liège was about to begin.

—

Far off in a hidden vantage point, Bruce and Diana observed the unfolding battle with intense focus.

Bruce held a small notebook, meticulously documenting every ability displayed by Black Adam and the Sea Queen.

“Way to go!”

Kathoom cheered, holding a pair of binoculars with one wing while pumping the other in the air.

“I told you the Sea Queen was insanely powerful! Let’s see anyone mock Aquaman now! With her, there’s no way France can lose this!”

The bird’s enthusiasm echoed an old saying:

France only wins wars when led by women or foreigners.

The Sea Queen happened to be both.

France was destined to win.

—

T/N: JEANMNE

This is a fan translation of 蝙蝠侠的猫头鹰教父 by 巴巴罗萨光年. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!