Chapter 480: Talents Emerge in Arkham! (1)
Previously mentioned, the first law of Gotham is that no matter how correct and standardized the beginning of something is, the people of Gotham will always make a mess of it. The second law of Gotham is that the people of Gotham distrust anything supernatural.
It is hard to say that the citizens of a city located on the East Coast of the United States, Gotham, are staunch materialistic warriors. The truth is, when the people of Gotham encounter something they cannot understand or that does not exist within common knowledge, their first thought is never paranormal events or divine punishment. Instead, they grab their guns, load their magazines, and go forward to confirm whether those things they cannot understand are truly dead.
This is actually a manifestation of survival of the fittest because those who only know how to run away cannot survive in Gotham.
Therefore, after the first witness of the haunting incident, Fisherman, shouted those words, all the gangs in the third-floor corridor of the mental hospital opened fire simultaneously. The muzzle flashes lit up the dark night sky like giant searchlights, and white light shot out from the windows at both ends of the corridor.
How can we describe the intensity of the firepower at this moment? In simple terms, Batman and Joker cowered and scurried, Penguin and Scarecrow rolled and crawled, and Hellblazer Constantine almost caught the express train to hell.
Although the gangs of Gotham do not have a good appearance, their inner qualities are not much better.
On this night, they were first awakened by a mysterious ghost, then provoked into a fierce shootout. After fighting for a while, they realized they had been played and had to painstakingly search the building to track down this ghost. The gangs had long lost their patience.
Pulling the trigger and emptying their magazines is the simplest way to vent their anger. Regardless of whether they can kill their opponents, when the bullets spray out with rage, the inherent violent factor in the people of Gotham is ignited. The rage burns hotter and tends towards madness, and everyone relentlessly attacks everything green within their sight.
This gave the newly arrived Green Lanterns no time to react. They didn't even have time to activate their shields; they simply relied on the green light of their Blink to withstand the bullets.
The green light energy attached to their bodies did indeed block the bullet attacks, but it couldn't stop the explosions. When the first rocket entered with a sonic boom, everyone except Hal, who had anticipated it, was blown away.
And after they got up, the first thing they did was not to counterattack but to run away.U//ppTodated fr/o/m nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)\/m
Indeed, Green Lantern energy is powerful, but it is still wielded by intelligent beings, and with intelligence comes fear.
The Green Lanterns knew in their hearts that humanity's bullets and explosions were not beyond the defense capabilities of Green Lantern energy. Theoretically, even if they stood in the most heavily fired area, they would not be in mortal danger. But theory is just theory.
For example, humanity knows that geese are unlikely to kill them, but when a group of large geese aggressively flap their wings and charge towards you, you panic and run.
The Green Lanterns had just landed and encountered the angry gangs. They were chased like ducks, running around the corridor in panic, resembling headless flies emitting green light.
"Don't run! Don't run! Come back and organize a counterattack!"
Lieutenant Carol shouted loudly, but the Green Lanterns, who had never seen such a scene before, were indeed panicking. They fought individually, diving into any available space, desperately trying to find something to shield themselves. The formation became a mess.
In the end, Hal used his Green Lantern energy to phase through the walls and pull them all back, barely holding the line.
"Damn it! Didn't you just receive training?!" Carol angrily yelled, "Didn't the instructor tell you? When under attack, the first thing to do is to organize a defense line and form a united shield!"
But Hal turned his head and asked her, "They 'just received training'? Don't tell me they are all rookies?"
Carol cursed and said, "I think you should be able to tell that the Corps Commander didn't take your words seriously. The entire second squad is made up of rookies who just took office. They probably don't have as much experience as you!"
Hal said in despair, "Don't run! Stay put and hold the line! Form a united shield! Can't you even take a look at the tactical manual inside your rings?"
However, there were still several Green Lanterns who wanted to escape through the windows. They looked young, indicating that they had recently become Green Lanterns. These Green Lanterns resembled humanity in appearance, indicating that they came from a civilization similar to humanity's and could better understand the danger of heavy firepower.
After organizing for a while, Carol and Hal finally stabilized everyone. The Green Lanterns, representing the power of will, only took a few seconds to overcome their fear of bullets and explosions. They barely formed a united shield at the end of the corridor.
They withstood the first wave of firepower and now had to defend and counterattack. Soon, waves of green energy beams shot down the corridor, directly knocking several gang members out.The leading Fishermanrage was burning with anger as he raised his gun and shouted, "Ghost is counterattacking! Punish them! Kill them! Let them go to hell!"
Carol, the deputy officer, took the lead. After floating into the air, all bullets and explosives within half a meter of her stopped and hung in mid-air. Her deep roar echoed through the corridor, filled with unparalleled might.
"For justice!"
The light grew stronger, and a dense green glow condensed on her right arm. She extended her hand and aimed at the Gang members in the corridor...
The initially small energy beam suddenly grew immensely, but the expected scene of everyone being blown away and scattered did not occur.
Constantine raised both hands, his body covered in a radiant magical light. The Magic Circle beneath his feet expanded once again, changing from silver to a deep, sinister dark red.
Boiling magma surged out from the center of the Magic Circle, but disappeared in an instant, like a bursting bubble or a fleeting illusion. However, at the same time, a tall figure stood up, directly breaking through two floors of the ceiling. It was a demonic figure filled with evil energy and hatred from hell.
An evil and deafening voice echoed through the corridor, "Who... has summoned me..."
Constantine swung his arm and slapped the demon's leg, saying, "It's me, now stop talking and beat them!"
"Damn it, Constantine, why aren't you dead yet?! When do you plan to die?!"
The towering demon lowered its head, glaring at Constantine with its massive vertical eyes. At that moment, the beam of green energy arrived, but the demon waved its hand, igniting a Fire barrier that flew out along the corridor.
As the Fire passed by Carol, the green energy protected her from the heat and the erosion of dark energy, but cursed runes ignited around his body.
These runes had no offensive power, but they meant that she had been marked by a demon. Anyone who could communicate with demons could follow these marks to find him, and it seemed that the green energy could not dispel them.
The demon shifted its gaze away from Constantine and looked at Carol. As it moved towards Carol, it said, "Constantine, you better prepare the sacrifice quickly..."
Saying that, it spewed Fire from its mouth and reached out with its claw, surging with molten lava, aiming for Carol. Carol, unwilling to show weakness, activated a green shield, and the energy Havok struck the demon's eye.
As the Green Lanterns and the demon fought, a burst of maniacal laughter came from the hole in the ceiling. They heard a high-pitched voice shouting, "Joker's surprise has arrived! Rejoice!"
Boom!
After a loud noise, the main building of Arkham Asylum collapsed entirely.
When it came to attacking buildings with explosives, Joker was an expert. Even the sturdy buildings constructed by the Wayne Family, with their layers of defense, could not withstand the bombs set up by Joker, let alone an old and ravaged mental hospital.
In a moment when Joker's laughter echoed, Constantine teleported everyone away. They appeared by the side of a road, some distance away from the mental hospital.
Looking at the slowly collapsing building, Constantine chuckled heartlessly.
But soon, his laughter faded because in the dark night sky of Gotham, a meteor-like light streaked across the sky from the edge of the horizon. It grew larger in their field of view, and the missile's trail illuminated the entire sky as if it were daytime.
In Schiller Manor, Merkel had arranged guest rooms for the two children who were staying over. Just as Dick was about to go to sleep, he felt a slight tremor beneath his feet.
Curious, he turned around and widened his eyes in shock. Outside the bedroom's floor-to-ceiling window, on the city's skyline, a massive mushroom cloud rose into the air after the explosion.
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