leetcode 23 Merge k Sorted Lists

Merge k sorted linked lists and return it as one sorted list. Analyze and describe its complexity.

/**
 * Definition for singly-linked list.
 * struct ListNode {
 *     int val;
 *     ListNode *next;
 *     ListNode(int x) : val(x), next(NULL) {}
 * };
 */
class Solution {
public:
    typedef vector<ListNode*>::size_type sz;

    // [b, e) be sure (e - b) >= 2;
    ListNode* dividAndConquer(vector<ListNode*>& v, sz b, sz e) {

        sz n = e - b;
        sz mid = b + (e - b) / 2;
        ListNode* left = NULL;
        ListNode* right = NULL;

        if (mid - b >= 2) left = dividAndConquer(v, b, mid);
        else left = v[b];

        if (e - mid >= 2) right = dividAndConquer(v, mid, e);
        else right = v[mid];

        ListNode dummy(INT_MIN);
        ListNode* tail = &dummy;

        if (left == NULL) return right;
        if (right == NULL) return left;

        while (left && right) {
            if (left->val < right->val) {
                tail->next = left;
                left = left->next;
            } else {
                tail->next = right;
                right = right->next;
            }
            tail = tail->next;
        }   
        tail->next = left ? left : right;
        return dummy.next;
    }

    ListNode* mergeKLists(vector<ListNode*>& lists) {
        sz size = lists.size();
        if (size == 0) return NULL;
        if (size == 1) return lists[0];
        return dividAndConquer(lists, 0, size);
    }
}; // runtime contribution 18.70%