American comics: Praising the sun, starting from Gotham!

Chapter 354 Is Lucifer lawful?

Watching the Gothamites, led by Joestar and Scarecrow, spiritedly singing their self-composed Sun Hymn, prepare to head to the Adrian Design Institute's First Construction Site.

Xiu En:

'

But then he frowned.

He looked at the diverse array of equipment worn by this group of people.

Some people wore iron armor, while others simply wore a tattered T-shirt with the sun printed on it, and the weapons were all sorts of strange things.

They're fine with carrying bricks and maintaining order, but the new refugees from Ximu Realm aren't all pushovers. They're a mix of space pirates and veterans from various races. If a conflict breaks out, with their current equipment, it's practically the same as running around naked.

"No, it's too brittle."

Xiu En shook his head.

He found Tony Stark again, who was having a heated discussion with Lucifer about whether the waistline of his armor should be tightened by one or two centimeters.

"Tony, hold on a minute. Add another order."

Shuen interrupted them.

"What? Another order?"

"Let me tell you, even you can't arbitrarily exploit my creativity! Unless you lend me that Kang core for three more days to study after this is all over."

Xiu En nodded and pointed to the Sun God Cult's guards marching in the distance.

"Get some clothes for my men too. I don't need your fancy high-tech stuff, just basic protective suits that are bulletproof, and preferably with a communicator. The sooner the better."

Tony looked in the direction he was pointing, and the sight of the undisciplined but spirited Gotham militia made his lips twitch.

"Give them to them? Shuen, are you sure? These aren't UN refugee uniforms."

"They are my men."

"Okay, okay, you're the boss now, you call the shots."

Tony surrendered immediately.

"Since they're your subordinates, they can't be too shabby."

He stroked his chin and began to design, and soon a set of design drawings appeared in the air.

It was a one-piece protective suit with a full-coverage helmet and a small life support backpack on the back.

"Stark Industries Security Uniform - Youth Edition"

"Fireproof, cut-proof, and bulletproof, with built-in short-range communication and GPS positioning. The life support pack on the back can provide 72 hours of drinking water and nutritional supplements. The mass production cost is very low, and the first batch of 300 sets is expected to be ready for shipment in one hour."

Tony added with a sly grin.

"Moreover, each uniform has a unique ID and backend monitoring access. If you want, you can know at any time whether each of your subordinates is slacking off during work hours."

Xiu En nodded. He wasn't interested in surveillance or anything like that, but ensuring the safety of his men was the most important thing. He would come back and make some changes for them after Kang's matter was resolved.

Even after resolving the equipment issue, Xiu En still felt a little uneasy.

Joestar is too fanatical, Alvin is too withdrawn, and Scarecrow is a ticking time bomb.

He was afraid that if he left such a large group of people with Adrian, Adrian would be driven crazy by these Gotham clowns before Adrian could even finish building the city.

After much deliberation, he finally approached Alfred, who was directing the robots to sort and register supplies.

"Ah Fu".

"Mr. Xiu En, is there anything I can do for you?"

Afu looked at him with a smile.

"I have a team from Gotham, you know, they're a little bit dim-witted, but they're all pretty good people."

"I want to formally hand them over to you for management."

"I'm leaving their logistics and daily routines to you. All I need is for them to live comfortably here, not cause me any trouble, and not be bullied by others."

Alfred looked at the young man before him, who was as radiant as the sun.

"Of course, my young master."

The old butler bowed slightly.

"I will take care of your employees as well as I would of Mr. Bruce. I will personally take care of their meals, clothing, and even their moral education."

"Please rest assured, I guarantee that within three months, I will have trained them all into well-mannered gentlemen."

Looking at Afu's confident smile, Huh, a gentleman? This group of muscular burly guys has been trained to be gentlemen? Suddenly, he started to feel a little sorry for Joestar and the others.

Which is more terrifying: a street tough guy honed by the hellish past of Gotham, or a gentlemanly upbringing?

This is a question worth considering. But in any case, it's always right to leave professional matters to professionals. Xiu En was completely relieved.

With Bruce's command, dozens of teleportation portals deployed in the Ximu Realm's preparation plaza lit up one after another, like stargates.

One after another, the fully equipped hero squads, after exchanging final fist bumps and farewells with their comrades, stepped into the time-space portals leading to their respective battlefields. In each squad, a clone of Xiu En accompanied them like a silent insurance policy, ensuring that no real casualties occurred during the performance.

The square gradually emptied out, leaving only a few logistics staff and a portion of the technical team.

"Alright, it's my turn now."

Xiu En himself stepped forward. As the self-proclaimed commander-in-chief, he naturally had to go to the front lines, but his task was more flexible: to fill in any gaps and select his favorite teammates.

He spotted the figure dressed in red and blue at the edge of the crowd at a glance.

It's Peter Parker.

This kid is the youngest hero in the entire league. He's innocent and kind, always fantasizing that with great power comes great responsibility, but he doesn't know how deep the murky waters of this universe are.

"It's him. Take Spider-Man with him; with me here, nothing will happen to him."

However, as soon as he took a step, another figure had already walked up to Peter's side.

It's Bruce Wayne.

"Peter."

"You will be key to our team. Are you ready?"

"Yes, Mr. Wayne! Mission accomplished!"

Peter immediately stood up straight.

Without saying another word, the two walked side by side toward one of the portals marked as a technological utopia.

Xiu En stopped and looked at their backs, pursing his lips in a helpless manner.

"Tch, they beat us to it."

Since Batman had already reserved the kid he most wanted to take with him, Shum had no choice but to turn his attention to the alternative list.

He looked around and quickly locked onto a target that had made him feel uneasy from the very beginning.

In a corner of the square, Lucifer Morningstar, the Lord of Hell, was wearing his newly forged Satan's Pride armor, constantly adjusting the angle of his cloak like a top male model about to walk the runway at Fashion Week.

That suit of armor was so outrageously flamboyant it was almost offensive. The main body was a deep, dark color, but every joint and edge was etched with patterns resembling magma using hellfire. The black winged shoulder armor folded at the back exuded a decadent beauty.

He even added a miniature holographic piano keyboard to the bracers on his wrists, and was playing a jazz piece with his fingertips at that moment.

"This guy!?"

Xiu En looked at him with the air of someone who was preparing to attend a banquet rather than go to war.

"If we don't keep an eye on him, he'll definitely be the first to slip away."

Having made up his mind, Xiu En walked over.

"Hi, my entertainment consultant."

Hugh's voice interrupted Lucifer's improvisation.

"Your costume looks like it fits you quite well."

"Of course, this is a work that I personally supervised."

Lucifer stood up straight, making every angle of his armor exude a damnable charm.

"How about it? Don't you feel that the overall atmosphere of the battlefield has been elevated by more than one level because of my presence?"

""

"I just feel like there's a peacock's tail feathers in the air now."

"Alright, stop admiring yourself, let's go."

"Departure? Where to?"

"Isn't my mission here to use my charisma to offer spiritual encouragement and comfort to the heroes who are about to return?"

He actually wanted to stay behind.

Xiu En's smile instantly turned amiable.

"It seems you'd love to experience the life of a power bank?"

"Okay, okay."

Lucifer immediately changed his tune.

"What I mean is, as the chief performing arts consultant, I naturally need to be on the front lines, providing the most professional tactical guidance to the actors. So, which stage should we go to?"

"You'd have to ask that."

"Bruce and the others have all been chosen; the rest are the tough ones. You're full of clever ideas, so where do you suggest we go?"

Lucifer was taken aback; he hadn't expected that Shuen would give him the choice.

Who is he? He is Lucifer Morningstar.

His greatest skill is turning unfavorable situations into favorable ones.

His gaze swept over the remaining portal markers, finally settling on a world codenamed the Council of Saint Duma.

"This one will do."

Lucifer extended his finger, clad in a black armored glove, and touched the mark.

"Saint-Dumas?"

Shuen thought of the fanatical knights he had encountered in Gotham. Could this world be a bunch of tin cans?

"Are you sure? Those guys might all be a bunch of lunatics, their minds are full of ideas about purging heretics."

"Exactly. What could be more entertaining than sending a genuine King of Hell to visit a world teeming with religious fanatics?"

"I want to see with my own eyes what kind of wonderful expressions will appear on their faces when the divine punishment they have been praying for day and night comes."

Looking at Lucifer's wicked smile, Xiu En actually thought the suggestion was quite good. Watching a group of self-righteous fanatics' faith crumble was much more interesting than simple fighting and killing.

"make a deal."

He nodded.

Xiu En led the way towards the portal marked with the name of the Council of Saint Duma, and Lucifer adjusted his cloak and followed. The two figures, one in gold and one in black, one in front and one behind, disappeared into the spacetime tunnel.

Crossing dimensions.

The two appeared atop a Gothic spire.

Shuen sensed something was off about the sunlight here, and subconsciously used the power of the sun to make the sunlight of this world ignore him and Lucifer.

Looking out, the entire world was shrouded in a blood-red twilight created by some kind of energy field. Countless towering buildings, blending futuristic technology with religious sculptural styles, rose and fell in a continuous line.

In the sky, a constantly rotating mechanical cross floats, and at the center of the cross is a holographic projection of Kang from this world. He is dressed in a magnificent robe like that of a pope, with a compassionate face and a solemn expression.

On the ground, at every intersection, stood Saint Duma Knights wielding energy halberds. Countless civilians, under the knights' watchful eyes, offered endless prayers day after day to the holographic statue of Kang.

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a clumsy imitation."

Lucifer looked around and gave a disdainful assessment.

"Look at this cross and this prayer. He hasn't even grasped the most basic logic of faith, yet he's trying to steal the authority that belongs to God. This is worse than the worst false god I've ever seen."

Just as Lucifer was making his comments, a group of three Saint Dumas knights, riding flying motorcycles, roared past the spire where they were.

The knights had clearly noticed the two uninvited guests as well. They came to an abrupt stop, hovering their flying motorcycles in the air and scanning Shuen and Lucifer.

"Unregistered energy entities detected! State your identities and purpose! Be subject to Pope Kang's judgment!"

The leading knight demanded.

Shuen turned to Lucifer and gestured to him with his eyes: It's your turn to perform.

He thought that this King of Hell would snap his fingers and turn these three arrogant tin cans into ashes, so Xiu En was prepared to save them.

However, Lucifer was observing the expressions on the faces of the civilians in the distance with great interest, as if he were admiring something.

He had absolutely no interest in the provocations of these few lackeys in front of him.

Shuen waited for a long time, but Lucifer didn't make a move. However, the three of them were about to attack. He was puzzled, so he simply raised his hand and casually waved it at the group of knights.

A soft golden light swept across, and the engines of the three flying motorcycles shut down, falling to the ground like three pieces of scrap metal.

The three knights, however, were supported by Shuen's strength and placed on the roof of another building, where they fell on their backsides and lost consciousness. There were no casualties throughout the entire incident.

Xiu En frowned and looked at the King of Hell, who was still admiring the scenery.

"What's wrong with you? Are you slacking off? I thought a demon king like you would just extract the souls of these clueless guys and stuff them into a bottle as an aperitif."

"Oh? So that's how you see me?"

"It's an honor. However, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I never do anything without class."

"Lacks class?"

"Of course. Slaughter is the act of barbarians. Threats are the roar of the weak. I am Lucifer Morningstar. I never waste any energy on impurities that are not worth my attention."

Looking at the "I don't believe you" expression on Xiu En's face, he unusually put away his cynical attitude and explained seriously, "I am indeed the Lord of Hell. But you can think of Hell as an ultimate prison commonly used in the multiverse to house those who deserve it."

He held up one finger and tapped his chest.

"And I am the warden of this prison."

"My job is to set the rules, maintain order, and ensure that every soul that enters my territory receives a just punishment commensurate with the sins committed in their lifetime. This is a long and systematic project, not like those fools outside who swing knives and hack at each other just because they disagree."

"Of course, some Lucifers or Satans might kill indiscriminately, but most of me are lawful, my dear Sun God. My pleasure comes from watching those self-righteous sinners walk towards their inevitable punishment under the manipulation of the rules, rather than enjoying the lowly pleasure of blood and brains splattered on my face."

Shuen looked at Lucifer in front of him.

He had initially thought the other person was just a powerfully narcissistic, chaotic, neutral spectator.

After all, that's the feeling Xiu En got from the dark energy emanating from him, but he only now realized that this demon king seemed to have a set of strict and strange order and logic in his heart, similar to Bruce's.

Well, it's probably about the Demon King controlling the darkness rather than being controlled by it.

Xiu En asked tentatively.

"So you mean you won't bother with them unless they've committed some heinous crime that you feel they deserve?"

"That's one way to understand it."

Lucifer nodded and added a sentence.

"Furthermore, do you think it's an act of mercy or a punishment to let these pathetic creatures, immersed in false faith, die like this?"

"For them, wouldn't the greatest punishment be to watch as everything they've believed in throughout their lives crumbles before their very eyes?"

His smile was as radiant as an angel's, but his words were as vile as a devil's.

"I see."

Shuen gained a deeper understanding of Lucifer, which made him even more curious about why Lucifer chose this place.

After all, given this guy's character, it's unlikely he's only doing this for the sake of his major.

As if seeing through Xiu's thoughts, Lucifer took a few steps forward, stood on the edge of the spire, and looked down at the steel kingdom below.