Watching the commotion is not a habit limited to the Celestial Dynasty. In a place like Gotham, where things happen every few days, there are still some who love to watch or, frankly, aren't afraid to die.
When people saw a monster being beaten to death by the Justice League, the string of explosions and flames were so dazzling in the morning light. Some nearby pedestrians and residents immediately pulled out their phones to record it.
Yes, the internet and electricity haven't been restored yet, and many people's phones suffered water damage. But there are always some people who carry their phones everywhere like treasures, protecting them diligently.
No matter what, record it first, and once everything is restored, post it on Not Dead Yet to earn clicks ASAP.
Su Ming didn't want to conduct interviews with the few people. After casting the Teleportation Gate, he immediately left with them.
The new location was Gotham Police Station in the southern part of the city, the rooftop where Gordon often met with Batman. Su Ming casually turned off the still-operating Bat Lamp and touched its slightly hot shell.
"The Laughing Bat isn't together with the Gotham Nightmare. This guy is truly clever."
Su Ming slowly removed his Anti-Toxic Mask, took out a cigarette and started smoking. His tone was so plain, you couldn't tell whether he was feeling melancholy or disappointed.
"Batman and I are alike, lone wolves most of the time. They don't like teamwork, nor do they enjoy crowds. They have absolute confidence in their abilities."
Oliver crossed his arms and leaned against the nearby rooftop entrance.
"What conditions did you offer the Ratcatcher? He seems quite proactive," Su Ming nodded and asked a seemingly unrelated question.
Green Arrow chuckled, "An offer he couldn't refuse, like a monthly but stable cigarette supply, his tool for maintaining status in Arkham, which is essentially his power."
Instead of having rats steal cigarettes, being a stable dealer is obviously easier. Arkham is surrounded by rivers on all sides, and rats smuggling cigarettes inevitably incur huge losses.
Su Ming nodded in agreement; Green Arrow indeed handles things reliably. The modern-day Robin Hood doesn't shy away from the dark side's reality and even utilizes it for his advantage.
"Our next target is the Bat Owl. Be cautious of the Rebound Curse when dealing with the Mage. Try not to give him any chance to cast spells; this is your task. Use your Flash and arrows to disrupt him, preventing any successful spellcasting."
Oliver accepted the task confidently, pulling out several small vials from his belt and beginning to poison his arrows. It's not a potent poison, just aconitine.
This drug, used to treat tachycardia, can cause the heart to stop abruptly when exceeding the medical dose. It also stimulates the vagus nerve excessively, making the person's tongue swell, root numb, limbs stiff, and experience incontinence.
Poisoned Arrows can be considered a secret weapon against warlocks; Green Arrow actually learned this from his treasured little sister.
Mackenzie walked back and forth nearby, seemingly idle, her attention always focused on the scarce pedestrians on the road. Occasionally, she licked her lips as if looking at fried chicken legs.
"Stop having designs on human souls. Help me confirm if the Gotham Nightmare is dead," Su Ming turned towards her, clapped his hands to draw her attention.
"Haha, rushing forward with cold weapons, letting the opponent mistake you for a warrior, then suddenly revealing Super Warlock techniques to knock the poor shmuck down... you're as devious as we are," Mackenzie scratched Su Ming's chest with her nails, chuckling wickedly.
Su Ming pushed her hand away calmly, "Winning or losing, tactical moves can't be considered lowly. You haven't answered my question yet."
Mai Zi looked at her nails, blowing a little breath on them, "Hmph, the sun is still far off. Although magic boosts speed, it requires accumulation. Once he's vaporized, I'll inform you."
Diana frowned, "So you're still joining us for our actions?"
"Of course, I'm not often on Earth One; you won't even let me have a bite of flesh. Have you heard the Eastern saying, 'It's easy to invite the god, difficult to send the god away,' Amazon Queen?"
Mackenzie twisted her waist twice, tapping the extinguished Long Sword in her hand, the scorching blade bringing slight prickling pain, which made her happy.
Diana glanced sideways, made a 'tsk' sound, and turned to stand beside Deathstroke, finding demons truly difficult to communicate with.
Su Ming pondered for a moment; while Mackenzie's usefulness in upcoming actions seemed minor, she is undoubtedly a strong Warrior, with a knack for Evil Magic.
Previously, she didn't cast any spells, but that doesn't mean she couldn't. On the contrary, her Soul Magic and Flame Magic are innate Demon abilities.
If someone is willing to work freely, there's naturally no reason to reject. Although she speaks fiercely, Mackenzie has always acted with restraint, you could even say she completely follows orders.
She wants to quickly find Lucifer, which is her current weakness. With such a handle in Deathstroke's hand, she only has her fierce talk left.
The talk of sacrifices is fake, urging Deathstroke to quickly resolve the Gotham incident is genuine.
Su Ming isn't stingy; to thank her for her help, he's now sending Barry to the opposite side of the ocean to collect some top-ten torture materials for her to study back in Hell.
No matter whether she uses them on others or herself, as long as they bring pain—enjoyment is the key.
After pondering these connections, Su Ming nodded at her, indicating she could stay. Then Su Ming clapped Barry on the shoulder, draping an arm over his neck again.
"First, help me with something, then go to Ron and Superman. We won't be using Divine Speed on this side; they might need you more."
Barry sighed, he couldn't use weapons, and he didn't kill, which made his current position a bit awkward.
In the Deathstroke Squad, they were all about killing; Oliver, Thomas, Diana, Arthur all had murder on their minds, not to mention Deathstroke and that witch.
He seemed to have noticed something, non-lethal superheroes were left by Deathstroke for Superman and Mars Hunter, while the ruthless ones were all grouped together.
Just now, four people were hacking at the Gotham Nightmare together, and there was no room for him to intervene. Even if he used Divine Speed to push in, he had to worry about being accidentally injured.
If it were Deathstroke commenting, he'd say the melee position was full...
"Alright, if you need me again, let Oliver call me. Now tell me what you want me to help with?"
Su Ming hooked his neck, spoke back and forth, back and forth, and Barry's expression became more and more strange. Collecting ancient Eastern torture device design diagrams? What's the point of that?
But Deathstroke didn't intend to explain, he just finished speaking, patted his shoulder, gave him an encouraging look, and went to gather the others to discuss plans.
It's actually not difficult to drag a warlock out of Gotham, it's just that Su Ming wanted to deal with the Laughing Bat first so that they would be headless dragons before dealing with others, making it easier.
But now, the Laughing Bat is hiding very well, so the only option is to clip his wings one by one.
And apparently, the Laughing Bat and the Bat Owl wouldn't be together again. Reasonably, the Laughing Bat shouldn't be ignorant of the cost of dispersing people, yet he still did so.
The real question is whether it's the insanity from the Joker Poison causing him to do this, or if he has another plan.
But for now, stop thinking about it and drag out the Bat Owl and kill him first.
"By the way, Deathstroke, what did you mean by shaking your head at me during the battle earlier?" Arthur controlled the accumulated water to wash the mud off his armor, still pondering this matter.
"Uh, I was asking you to expose a flaw to him." Su Ming shrugged, nodding in affirming his contribution: "You did well, playing dumb seemed real."
"Really? Haha." Arthur scratched his wavy long hair, showing an awkward smile from a lucky hit.
"Alright, everyone listen to me, our next target is the Bat Owl, a Hawk Priest serving the Owl Court. Just follow the standard preparations for dealing with a warlock, and we'll first confirm his location."
Su Ming stubbed out the cigarette butt, put it away, took the materials from Barry who had just returned, and bid him farewell. Then he clapped his hands to signal everyone to gather closely, once again teleporting them to a mysterious dark room.
Around them, one could smell a hint of sea water, suggesting this was some abandoned room near the coast.
Because spider webs were above everyone's heads, and the rotting floor had been soaked in water, there was a kind of foul stench, with a few sporadic pieces of shabby furniture around, as if they had been trampled by a giant, damaged and crumbling.
"Owl Court...." Thomas stepped out of the teleportation gate, stroking the stubble on his chin, his aged face showing that expression of recalling dark pasts: "I heard about them from my grandfather when I was little, but I thought they were just legends."
"Court, council, they are no legends." Su Ming quickly explained: "They are an evil cult organization formed by elite groups from Gotham, expanding globally, worshipping the Dark God Barbatos, but after Barbatos played them like fools last time and abandoned them, their organization fell into confusion, and now they are lying low."
Oliver also spoke up: "We conducted some investigations before, and in this timeline, your and your wife's deaths might have had the Court's handiwork. Plus, Bruce mentioned that his great-great-grandfather, the patriarch of the Wayne Clan 150 years ago, who was responsible for designing and building Gotham, Allen Wayne, was killed at the hands of the Owl Court."
"The body was thrown into the sewers, eaten clean by rats, and could only be identified by gold teeth."
Su Ming put away the Sleep Demon's anti-toxic mask, strangulation with the Holy Image's helmet covered his face again, in the darkness, the red monoscope lit up:
"The last time I clashed with the Court, it feels like a long time ago. In Gotham's underworld, indeed, you can't avoid the Owls."
Diana was indifferent to the rats, she liked larger prey, rats were not meaty, in the past, she wouldn't kill them.
To survive, one could slaughter, but to kill the weak just to showcase one's strength was not her style.
"Let's talk about how to find the enemy, save storytelling for another time."
"Alright, let's talk about the new Dark Knight Order's composition, first is the Cruel Knight, the Laughing Bat set his sights on his firearms and technology, plus his ability in using guns, so he recruited him."
Su Ming went along with the flow, changing the topic:
"Next is Gotham Nightmare, the Laughing Bat valued its soul-reaping ability and its power to summon 'other kinds'..."
Oliver nodded in understanding: "So the Laughing Bat recruited the Bat Owl, it must be for his ties with the Owl Court, so what does the Owl Court have that makes it so valuable to him?"
"Quite a bit, at least Gotham has many secrets only the Owls know, like the existence of the oldest Final Smile, a huge Mummy Army, Amber Gold and Bat Gold, or criminal connections...."
Su Ming answered with a smile, he knew Green Arrow already understood, both of their thoughts were similar, so their conclusions should be the same.
Truly, dark people should deal with dark people, it really saves trouble.