Steppenwolf was eliminated, but his soul was not obtained by Dane.
Unlike the Old Gods, who can now only hide and eke out a meager existence in the New God Realm, the New Gods are currently on the rise.
As one of the important figures of the Apokolips gods, Steppenwolf's soul was already bound to Apokolips; once he died, his soul would immediately return to Apokolips.
Perhaps one day, given the right opportunity, he might even be resurrected.
And the moment Steppenwolf's soul returned to Apokolips, Darkseid, as the ruler of Apokolips, immediately sensed it. The Omega Effect, through its connection with the Planet, informed him of this event.
So he immediately summoned his capable assistant, DeSaad.
"My loyal subordinate, DeSaad." Darkseid's voice seemed to echo.
DeSaad bowed deeply before him: "Your loyal servant comes at your command, Great Darkseid."
"My uncle, the one who once betrayed me and was punished by me with exile from this Planet, Steppenwolf, he is dead, dead in an obscure World."
DeSaad was very surprised. It had only been a few days since his last contact with Steppenwolf, and he didn't expect him to die there so quickly.
Although Steppenwolf was dead, DeSaad still didn't forget to badmouth him. He quietly said, "I told you, Steppenwolf would fail."
"Yes, you did," Darkseid's eyes seemed to burn with an unquenchable divine light. "But no matter how incompetent he was, he was a New God of Apokolips, and his life should be judged by me."
DeSaad bowed deeply: "Of course, all things are in your hands, My Master."
"Therefore, since you had contact with Steppenwolf before, this matter is entrusted to you.
You must find out which World Steppenwolf died in and bring that World under Apokolips and my rule!"
DeSaad felt this task was very troublesome, but he dared not disobey Darkseid's command, so he could only reluctantly accept it.
But as he walked out of the palace gates, he began to get a headache over the mission again.
Although Steppenwolf had communicated with him, he had not given the specific coordinates of the World he was in at the time.
The Universe is vast, and furthermore, Apokolips is located in a dimension outside the normal Universe, which causes them additional trouble when trying to pinpoint locations.
This is also why Apokolips created the mother box back then.
Only the mother box could freely and unhindered travel to any World and open a Boom Tube to bring the people of Apokolips there as well.
Now that Steppenwolf had failed and the mother box could no longer function, DeSaad trying to find that place was like looking for a needle in a haystack… No, it was harder than looking for a needle in a haystack; this was clearly looking for a needle in a sea of stars.
Unless DeSaad was willing to personally enter the mortal World like Steppenwolf, but what would be the difference from exile then?
Steppenwolf could not survive without the nourishment of Apokolips, and DeSaad likewise could not.
Just as he was feeling a headache, another high-ranking official of Apokolips approached.
"My Lord DeSaad, you look like you're troubled by something."
DeSaad looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the newcomer was Granny Goodness.
Granny Goodness was not benevolent; she was a native of Apokolips and a rare leader who rose from the lower ranks to the high echelons of Apokolips.
Her main job was to train a team that was completely obedient to Darkseid—the Female Furies.
Every member of the team possessed combat skills comparable to the highest-level Amazon warriors and basic abilities comparable to Diana.
If Diana was a representative descendant of Old Gods' power, then the Female Furies were the representative new generation of New Gods' power; each of them possessed the potential to become a "God."
DeSaad and Granny Goodness's relationship wasn't particularly good, but it wasn't particularly bad either; they were just colleagues working for Darkseid.
"Granny Goodness? What are you doing here?"
Granny Goodness walked up to DeSaad with a cunning smile like that of Mother Rong: "I sense your confusion, My Lord DeSaad. Coincidentally, the girls I've trained are already capable of standing on their own. Why don't you tell me your troubles, My Lord? Perhaps I can offer you a little help."
DeSaad's heart stirred; this might not be a bad idea. He didn't want to leave Apokolips, but he could have others go in his place.
However… DeSaad wasn't very confident in Granny Goodness's team: "Are you sure your subordinates can complete this task?
I must warn you, that World was able to kill Steppenwolf, so it must not be simple. Even if your subordinates do find it, it will be difficult for them to return unscathed."
But Granny Goodness appeared completely unconcerned: "If that's truly the case, then it can only mean their abilities are insufficient, and the useless should be eliminated.
But at least, before they die, they can still offer a small, insignificant contribution to the Great Master, and that would count as them dying a worthy Death."
Granny Goodness's words exposed her cold and ruthless nature. DeSaad said nothing more upon hearing this. Since she was willing to use her subordinates as expendable resources, what did he have to regret?
So, the matter was decided. DeSaad tasked Granny Goodness with helping him find the World where Steppenwolf met his downfall. Granny Goodness would assign this task to her Female Furies.
Her purpose was naturally not to curry favor with DeSaad, or rather, that wasn't the most important reason.
Granny Goodness's main goal was to use this mission to show Darkseid her value and the potential of the Female Furies she had trained. Essentially, she wanted to use this to advance further.
She returned to her Base with DeSaad's mission.
The New God's World inherited from the Old Gods, so even on Apokolips, which was technologically advanced, there were many relics from ancient times.
For example, Granny Goodness's stronghold had a huge ancient Roman-style coliseum, and she had preserved and even reinforced this structure.
It became the training ground where the Female Furies fought.
At this moment, five Female Furies were undergoing combat training in the coliseum, with four of them ganging up on one.
However, in the coliseum, the one being ganged up on actually held a slight advantage. She was Big Barda, the current Captain of the team, whose strength surpassed that of the other goddesses.
Besides her, the others who were attacking her were, in order:
Lashina, skilled in using long whips or other corded weapons;
Steppenwolf, whose physique was more robust than an average man, possessed immense strength, and whose metal boots could crush dense materials;
0 Seeking Fresh Flowers
Mad Harriet, a nimble assassin wearing steel claw-hooks on both hands;
Guillotine, a female warrior skilled with dual swords, and the only one who could truly contend with Big Barda in terms of technique.
But Big Barda was too familiar with their moves. Although it always looked like she was in perilous situations, she always managed to precisely avoid the combined attacks of all members and find a way to break through.
Thus, after forty-five minutes of combat, Big Barda, with a slight advantage, once again defeated the combined assault of the other Female Furies.
But she was also exhausted, with almost no strength left to fight.
Don't think this makes her weak. In fact, against any single Female Fury, Big Barda's demonstrated strength would allow her to defeat them in a few minutes, even Guillotine, who was the closest to her in power.
Granny Goodness watched from the stands for a while, nodding with satisfaction.
Although her own strength was ordinary, she could cultivate Female Furies who were far stronger than herself yet fiercely loyal. This made her very proud, but it was still not enough.
"Girls, look over here!"
Granny Goodness clapped her hands to get the attention of all the goddesses. Seeing that they were all looking at her, Granny Goodness then spoke about their mission.
"The great Darkseid has issued a very important mission to you, this is the first time!"
Granny Goodness emphasized the word "first time," and as she expected, all the goddesses instantly perked up their ears, listening intently to her.
Even Big Barda, who already harbored disloyal thoughts, feigned interest.
"The great Master Darkseid has an uncle named Steppenwolf. He was once punished for betraying Master and exiled to the mortal World.
Recently, Master learned that Steppenwolf died in one of those Worlds. This is an unbearable disgrace for Master! The New Gods of Apokolips can only be judged by Master!"
Big Barda narrowed her eyes slightly upon hearing this. She roughly guessed what the mission was.
"Therefore, to wash away this disgrace, all of you must enter the mortal Universe, find the World where Steppenwolf was buried, and then offer it to the great Darkseid!"
"For Darkseid"
The Female Furies likewise roared fanatically: "For Darkseid"
So, on the second day, each of them, carrying a detector personally made by DeSaad, entered the Universe through a boom tube.
Because DeSaad had conversed with Steppenwolf, he recorded the mother box's radiation signal from that time.
However, since the mother box had returned to dormancy, the detector he created would only react when very close.
This was also why DeSaad found the mission very troublesome. The Universe was so vast; he might wander for thousands of years like Steppenwolf and still not necessarily find the target.
The Female Furies set off in spaceships manufactured with Apokolips technology.
Big Barda could not hide her excitement. She had wanted to leave this damned Planet for too long, but only now had the opportunity.
Mission? To hell with the mission!
Once Big Barda was out, she would die before returning to this living hell.
Big Barda searched the spaceship's navigation system and finally chose a cosmic region: Sector 2814.
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