The war is over.
Incredibly, Earth won the war in just one night.
Over a million Kryptonian criminals and Zod's Kryptonian soldiers were taken captive.
The massive Kryptonian spacecraft, after the surrender of the think tank, was converted into data and integrated into the ship's system along with Hera, preventing its self-destruction protocol. The entire vessel was successfully claimed by Bardi.
Though Hael had died, he still held immense value. His head was removed, and the full-memory image data was extracted from the Kryptonian ship—recording all of Hael's thoughts, memories, and knowledge. His research insights and the entire Kryptonian Academy of Sciences' data were transferred into Hera's database.
Still, the death of a genius like Hael was an unfortunate loss.
"What a pity."
Bardi gave a sigh for Hael's end, though his indifferent expression betrayed no real regret.
He hadn't wanted to kill Hael. But Hael had disappointed him deeply.
As expected, the recovered memory images confirmed that Hael truly intended to use the Kryptonian spacecraft to convert the faster-than-light engine and destroy the solar system in an attempt to go back in time and save Krypton.
There was no doubt Hael was a super scientist. His scientific capabilities were astonishing. Given enough time, he might have actually managed to reverse time and change history.
But this kind of delusional genius, whose creations could bring about devastation, was far more dangerous than any villain. A single miscalculation could have destroyed the solar system and everything Bardi had built.
He had already ruined his career once on Krypton.
How could Bardi allow Hael to make the same mistake again? No matter how brilliant his mind was, if it couldn't be used for Bardi's goals, then the only option was to eliminate him—before he brought about more trouble.
After the war, Bardi immediately executed all of Zod's loyalists, leaving only the criminals in the Phantom Zone. He ordered Ott to take control of the Kryptonian ship and lead many soldiers and prisoners to Mars, as well as Venus and Jupiter, to conquer planets in the asteroid belt.
At the same time, strategic positions were being established throughout the asteroid belt.
As for Earth, now victorious after the defense battle, some remnants of resistance were rooted out. After witnessing Bardi and Zod battle each other—smashing into the moon repeatedly and ultimately blowing it up—how could a few ordinary humans even think of resisting?
The entire planet was left in a state of stunned disbelief and euphoric excitement.
Across every street, nearly everyone was chanting Bardi's name. People on the streets hugged each other, crying and cheering in celebration of victory and Bardi.
The earth was brimming with joy. The alien invaders had been defeated. Nearly everyone—Diana, Pamela, the Amazon warriors of Themyscira, the Atlanteans, and ordinary humans—looked up at the star-filled sky.
They saw the divine figure of Bardi, dressed in white, descending slowly to Earth, igniting an overwhelming wave of adoration.
This intense excitement and emotional fervor continued for more than a week before it gradually faded.
It was only then that humanity began to realize the consequences of the moon's destruction.
Though the large-scale magical tech array pre-installed by Bardi had stabilized the planet, preventing immediate turbulence, the aftereffects slowly began to emerge.
First was the weakening of the tides. The ebb and flow had become nearly static. Famous tidal phenomena, had almost completely vanished. While the moon's absence severely weakened tidal forces, they didn't disappear entirely, thanks to the sun still contributing to tidal movements.
Next, ocean water began shifting laterally, triggering tsunamis across the globe. The continuous impact of seawater moving from east to west or west to east created sweeping floods across lower-altitude land. While this situation would eventually stabilize thanks to the large magic array and Atlantean water technology, some islands had already been submerged.
The moon also helped slow the Earth's rotation. Its destruction led to an acceleration of that rotation. Now, a day on Earth had shortened from 24 hours to just 17. This rapid change was deeply unsettling.
If nothing was done, the Earth would eventually experience 6-hour days. Such an extreme acceleration was nearly impossible to suppress, even with the help of the large magic array.
The moon also played a role in stabilizing the Earth's axial tilt. Without it, the axis would begin to fluctuate, disrupting seasonal patterns. The poles would no longer be permanently frozen. The equator would no longer be blisteringly hot year-round. The temperate zones would face chaotic, shifting seasons. In time, Earth could become as barren as Mars.
Not to mention the cultural impact—the moon had long been embedded in mythology, religion, philosophy, calendars, literature, art, and traditions.
The loss of the moon meant that Earth and its inhabitants would once again face dramatic cosmic shifts. The entire human race was gripped by panic and fear.
If a day shortened to just 6 hours, it would wreak havoc on human circadian rhythms, work schedules, and daily life. It would be a disaster for humanity.
After only a week, calculations across multiple fields had predicted every change the Earth would undergo.
Bardi frowned. This was the last thing he wanted. Six-hour days? Not only would it be unbearable for humanity, but even Bardi himself couldn't accept it.
He was used to 24-hour days and had no intention of changing Earth's natural time cycle.
So, after Hera recalculated, Bardi flew back into space, past the asteroid belt, and found a carbon-crystal planet with an extremely dense diamond core—in other words, a diamond planet.
Bardi was very satisfied. With his own hands, he carved the diamond planet down to the size of the moon. Its surface refracted light and cast a cool, glowing sheen—brighter than the original full moon. Its light was softer, more comfortable at night, and moonlight once again spread across Earth.
Bardi was pleased.
He began pushing the diamond moon through space. Passing by Mars, he saw Ott executing the Martian resistance and continuing the conquest. Everything was proceeding smoothly.
In the void of space, Bardi pushed the glowing diamond moon back toward Earth.
By the time he returned, more than a month had passed. Earth's day had shifted to 15 hours. Together with the entire space base, Bardi officially began the process of setting the new moon in place.
(To be continued.)
***
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