Chapter 156 The Arrival of Death

Pa—pa—pa—

Suddenly, from more than ten meters away, a rhythmic clapping sound came.

Shiva retracted the trace of fatigue and relaxation on his face, turned his head, and looked in the direction of the sound.

In his sight, a strong man was walking over. He was wearing military pants, a long-sleeved t-shirt on his upper body, and a dark jacket over it.

"Qi Sha," Shiva directly stated the other party's name, obviously, they had fought before.

Qi Sha stopped clapping. "The fight was wonderful, but I personally don't like your miscellaneous skills." He said with a smile, "Men should decide the outcome with their fists."

"You're a weirdo," Shiva said. "Since you were already there... why didn't you take the opportunity to attack while I was fighting with Wu Si Can Xuan? That way, maybe you would have killed both of us by now."

"Heh..." Qi Sha laughed. "Because I'm a one-on-one person." As he spoke, he began to move his neck and snap his fingers, looking like he was about to use Hokuto Shinken (Fist of the North Star).

"I've never heard of that kind of ideology," Shiva said. While talking to the other party, he inconspicuously used a bottle of survival value supplement to restore his blood to full.

"It's very simple. Whether it's watching or participating, I hope the form of combat is one-on-one." Qi Sha said, "It's like sports... two top experts, giving their all, fighting to the last moment, but only one wins." He clenched his fists. "In that case... the winner is the strong, undeniably."

"Hmph... victory and defeat are always controversial. I have an excuse right now," Shiva said jokingly. "For example... I just finished fighting with Wu Si Can Xuan and suffered huge losses."

"Hahaha..." Qi Sha laughed heartily. "Come on, you still have plenty of stamina, I can see that, as for survival value, you refilled it a dozen seconds ago." He was a very direct person and always spoke his mind. "Besides, I'm not much better off than you. I met that little sister named [Cai Bu Pa Ne] earlier. I thought the little girl should be vulnerable, but I didn't expect the girls of this era to be more ferocious than the old men. I almost got killed by a small mistake."

"That's what makes Thriller Paradise interesting..." Shiva replied. "You've noticed it too, [Zhao Ying Wang] was actually killed." He paused and added in a deep voice, "And not by you, me, or Wu Si Can Xuan."

"Yeah, it's really unexpected. I lost to him once, that guy's Blood Stone Golem is really hard to deal with." Qi Sha changed the subject. "But... I don't think he was killed by [Cai Bu Pa Ne], that girl doesn't have the strength."

"So... are you trying to say that this was done by that guy named [Feng Bujue]... a player who is only level twenty-eight?" Shiva asked tentatively.

"Speaking of which, I seem to have heard this ID somewhere..." Qi Sha scratched his head. "But I can't remember when." He shrugged. "Whatever, we can't just assume that Zhao Ying Wang was killed by a player, there are many powerful characters in this city, aren't there?"

"That's right." Shiva replied after a moment of silence. "Stone Golems are too eye-catching. Maybe he provoked the police or superheroes and was killed by the characters in the script world."

"Okay, there's no point in analyzing, you just said that to Wu Si Can Xuan, didn't you?" Qi Sha said. "If you want to win this game, just stick to one thing—kill all the players except yourself."

"Okay, one-on-one person, happy to oblige," Shiva replied.

That was all that needed to be said. In the next second, the two were at daggers drawn, and a battle was about to break out.

After the conversation just now, Shiva and Qi Sha had reached a consensus that this battle might determine the winner of this killing game in advance. Because in their opinion, the other two players were not a threat at all.

Just as the two were about to make a move, another unexpected change occurred.

A figure suddenly rushed out, instantly appeared between them, and said in a low voice, "You are the so-called 'super criminals from another world'?"

Shiva and Qi Sha didn't know who this person was, but they both quickly retreated, opening a distance of more than ten meters. This was completely an instinctive reaction to danger from two powerful fighters in a combat state.

This uninvited guest who broke into the battle circle was wearing a black and gray tight-fitting suit, a black hood, a white cloth coat on the upper body, with a blood-red cross in the center of the clothes; he was holding two swords, a leather belt around his waist, and a pair of long boots, dressed like a Crusader in the Middle Ages.

"Who are you?" Shiva asked.

The figure turned his face to Shiva, revealing a mask under the black hood. The mask was white, with a pattern of unfolded red wings printed on the lower half, without revealing the mouth or nose.

"That's what I want to ask you," a deep response still came from under the mask.

…………

Hundreds of years ago, the Saint-Maure Assembly joined the Knights Templar.

A group of chosen knights participated in the Crusades and eventually broke with the Church.

They established their own secret organization, entrenched in Sweden, and created an avenging angel to guard the "Lord's Proverbs."

This guardian is called Azrael, the Angel of Death.

With the changing times, the candidates and images of the Angel of Death continue to change.

The person standing in front of Shiva and Qi Sha at this moment is named Michael Washington Lane. He was a linebacker on the football team in college, then joined the Marine Corps, and after retiring, he joined the Gotham City Police Department as a patrolman.

Let's put aside the setting that his whole family died and the cause of death was strange, and talk about the key point... Lane once participated in a secret project of military and Gotham City Police Department cooperation.

The content of the project was... to select and train a group of people who could act as substitutes when Batman was injured. Lane was one of the three final candidates, but the project ended without success as the other two candidates became mentally unstable.

But Lane's story did not end. Now, he is wearing the Suit of Sorrows, with "Original Sin" (a red flame wrapped around the sword) in his right hand, and "Redemption" (a blue flame wrapped around the sword) in his left hand, becoming the new generation of the Angel of Death, active on the stage of Gotham City with the Bat-Family.

…………

"Judging by your tone, you seem to be a vigilante too. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with you that we're fighting here, buddy," Qi Sha said. As a "one-on-one person," being interrupted just before he was about to make a move undoubtedly made him very upset.

The Angel of Death heard the words and turned his eyes to Qi Sha again. At that moment, a suffocating baleful aura and pressure emanated from under the white mask. Just this invisible momentum had already hinted at how powerful the superheroes in this script were.

"You were one of the two who were making holes in the streets of the East Side before, right?" The Angel of Death replied. "Just because of what you call 'fighting,' an innocent taxi driver and a couple died on the spot, and many people were injured in the car accident."

Hearing this, Shiva was overjoyed. Seeing this situation, he could completely use the NPC to eliminate Qi Sha without risking himself. So, he said loudly to Qi Sha: "It seems he's here for you, I won't accompany you." After saying that, he wanted to leave.

"I don't think so," another voice sounded.

Shiva turned his head sharply and realized that two people were standing behind him. Although Shiva was not a big otaku, he still recognized these two. The handsome guy with long hair in a blue-black tights was Nightwing, and the beauty in purple soft armor with exposed thighs was Huntress. The one who spoke just now was Nightwing, Dick Grayson.

"I don't remember doing anything to harm the citizens of Gotham," Shiva reacted quickly, "You have no reason to be enemies with me."

"Maybe..." Nightwing replied, "But... just a few hours ago, an extraterrestrial visitor calling himself 'Nameless' entered a bank, killed three robbers who were robbing the bank, and three police officers, and sprinkled millions of dollars in cash on the street. And before running away, he specifically hinted to the police that there were six extraterrestrial criminals like him who would turn Gotham City upside down." He paused and continued, "Dude, I'd like to hear your opinion on this."

"I know nothing about this... The extraterrestrial traveler you mentioned has nothing to do with me," Shiva replied. When he heard the other party's description, he gradually realized the truth of the matter and thought to himself: Is that guy named [Feng Bujue] trying to frame us...?

"Is that so, then can you explain what's going on with the stone disk behind you?" Huntress obviously didn't believe him.

Before Shiva could respond, Nightwing interjected: "Sir, in my opinion, your power is very dangerous to yourself and others. If you really have no malice, I suggest you disarm and explain the matter clearly."

"Why waste time talking to them? Shiva, I think it's better to take down these three people first, and then we'll find another place to settle the score," Qi Sha said. Despite saying that, the deterrent force of the Angel of Death was there, and Qi Sha didn't dare to act rashly. He had to see Shiva's attitude first.

"This reckless man... If you want to die, go ahead, don't drag me down as a scapegoat..." Shiva thought to himself that Qi Sha's nonchalant tone would definitely arouse the hostility of the NPCs.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Nightwing and Huntress both adopted a defensive posture, their hands already on their respective darts.

"I surrender," Shiva said, slowly raising his hands, and the spiritual energy weapons were also put away and directly dissipated, "I was just fighting in self-defense." He glanced back at Qi Sha, "The other five are lunatics and murderers, and there's nothing I can do."

Seeing this, Qi Sha instantly understood that he had been sold out. He was a straightforward person and the least able to "act." It was impossible for him to pretend to surrender to the NPCs. For him, either he surrendered sincerely, or he continued to resist.

"Tch... You don't dare to attack them yourself, and you want to borrow a knife to kill..." Qi Sha said angrily, "You're ruthless!"

Before he finished speaking, he stomped his feet and kicked up a cloud of dust, then used the force to rush out in another direction.

"Want to leave?" That low voice sounded again.

The Angel of Death stared at Qi Sha and had already predicted his escape. At this time, he blocked Qi Sha's path at an even faster speed.

"So fast..." At this moment, Qi Sha was shocked. He originally thought that his physical skills in the game had far surpassed ordinary people, and the skills he possessed could compete with the so-called "superpowers," so he didn't take these superheroes from Batman's stories seriously. But he never expected... these heroes would have such exaggerated strength.

In fact, Qi Sha made a common-sense mistake. This was the "DC Universe," not the "real world." Here, even heroes without superpowers cannot be regarded as "ordinary people." They are all comic characters protected by the author.

For example, Batman, this guy often jumps down from the third or fourth floor without injury. The explanation is just that his cape has a slow-descent function.

Heh...

Also, the fifth Robin, Damian, survived being shot in the chest, and was alive and kicking a few hours later. Alfred's calm explanation for this was: "Your Kevlar bodysuit saved your life, but you still lost a lot of blood and suffered severe lung contusions. Fortunately, my sewing skills are good, and sewing up blood vessels severed by bullets is not the first time for me."

It can be seen that for the heroes of this universe, tights are comparable to bulletproof vests. After suffering a fatal injury, they can get up and continue fighting half an hour after the operation, and maybe their combat power will be improved.

Unfortunately, ordinary people and extras do not have this treatment. They are the real "ordinary people."

And if players regard the superheroes and supervillains who don't have superpowers as ordinary people wearing strange clothes, they would be very wrong...

"God is a righteous judge, pouring out anger on the wicked day after day." The Angel of Death's theistic nature broke out, and he began to mystify by quoting scriptures. "If anyone does not turn back, his sword will be sharpened, his bow will be strung, ready to go..." The two swords burning with red and blue flames spread out on both sides of the Angel of Death's body, and his close combat ability was flawless. Even if the assassins of the League of Shadows joined forces to besiege him, they had never gained any advantage from him.

Qi Sha had not yet exchanged a single blow with the other party, but he was already soaked in cold sweat. His fighting specialization had reached B-level for a long time, and with the cooperation of many fighting-type active and passive skills, he was rarely defeated in close combat. Even when facing Shiva, the second-ranked player on the combat power list, he felt that he had a 50% chance of winning. But he didn't expect... facing the pressure of the Angel of Death in front of him, he couldn't even fight back.

A master like Qi Sha would naturally have a prediction in his mind of what would happen next before attacking. But when facing the Angel of Death, all the fantasies that appeared in Qi Sha's eyes were that he would be dismembered by the flaming sword within two moves...

"Wait..." Seeing that the other party was about to make a move, Qi Sha quickly shouted, raising his hands, "I surrender too... You shouldn't kill people casually, right? Heroes."

…………

Night fell on Gotham City, and this night was destined to be restless.

The top of the Gotham Police Department, the tower.

The glass of the Bat-Signal was smashed, and the black bat pattern projected in the air revealed three light characters, 'RID', as if announcing something to the city.

Commissioner Gordon always wears a brown trench coat, with a shirt and tie. He stood in the wind, his hairstyle remained undisturbed, and his eyes under his glasses showed a firm and sharp gaze.

A young man wearing a red tights, a black cloak, and a mask came to his side. "The good news is... Nightwing and the others have found two and subdued them, and they are being taken to the police station." He paused. "The bad news is, there are still four... their whereabouts are still unknown. But the Bat-Family will find them soon."

"For me, these news are no longer good or bad," Gordon said. "The families of three police officers lost their fathers, husbands, and sons today... These new super criminals suddenly appeared during this sensitive period, and it's hard to imagine what will happen next..."

Tim Drake (the third Robin) replied: "No matter what happens, the Bat-Family can handle it."

"Child, it's good that you have confidence," Gordon sighed. "Undeniably, the Bat-Family has prevented the collapse of Gotham. But now Gotham City is like a dam with a thousand holes. Every time we patch one hole, three new ones appear. Breaching is only a matter of time..." He looked at Tim. "Nightwing knows this, we know this, and the criminals lurking in the darkness know this... They are ready to destroy this fragile city like paper."

"We won't let this happen," Tim said with excitement. "Batman... will stand up." He also knew very well that in the end, either himself or Dick would eventually put on that cape.

"By the way, child, I have a possible clue about those extraterrestrial travelers," Gordon changed the subject. "This evening, the police station received a tip that someone provided us with the whereabouts of Professor Victor Fries."

"Mr. Freeze?" Tim's expression changed slightly. "Where is he?"

"In a factory owned by a company called 'Northern Shelter', but that's not important anymore," Gordon said. "About half an hour ago, it was razed to the ground by a huge explosion. The specific cause of the explosion still needs to be investigated, but my intuition tells me that it is directly related to those 'extraterrestrial travelers.' Maybe you can try your luck there..."

As Gordon said this, he turned his head to Tim, but he only saw air, so he didn't finish his sentence.

In the wind, the commissioner lit a cigarette for himself and smiled wryly. He couldn't help but recall another man who often disappeared suddenly when the conversation was nearing its end. Unfortunately, that old friend was already dead...