Chapter 168 The Showdown

Beneath the castle, the fierce battle continued.

Although Joey had the assistance of "Bane's Blood," and his original fighting skills weren't bad, he was still outmatched by the_Bruce.

Moreover, the performance gap between the two's Batsuits led to Joey gradually falling into a disadvantage.

"What's wrong? Kid." the_Bruce said as he attacked, "Already running out of steam?" He began to circle Joey, as if toying with his opponent, "You really think… I can sit firmly in this god-like position, relying solely on the equipment Clipper created?"

Joey naturally didn't think so. He knew very well that in those past years, the_Bruce relied on genuine skills every time he fought challengers. Even without wearing "combat armor," he was still very formidable.

"Compared to my ancestor, I am indeed far behind…" the_Bruce continued, "Bruce Wayne was the most outstanding combat master of that era. He was proficient in 127 martial arts and almost all weapons. His fighting style was unique… a mixture of Taekwondo, Judo, Muay Thai, boxing, ninjutsu, Jujutsu, and other strengths. No one could imitate it." He paused. "The combat techniques I've mastered, whether in quantity or quality, are far inferior to his. However… it's still more than enough to deal with you."

Before the words finished, the_Bruce launched another fierce attack. His figure was as swift as lightning and as fierce as a tiger. Not only were his punches and kicks capable of delivering a thousand pounds of force, but the killing weapons on his armor were not to be trifled with. No matter how far Joey was from him, he couldn't be careless in the slightest because his attack methods were very diverse.

"I won't lose to you…" Joey persevered through gritted teeth, at least in terms of willpower, he wouldn't lose.

"Heh…" the_Bruce sneered, "Very good… very courageous. I knew you were someone who could achieve great things."

Bang, bang, bang—

As he spoke, the_Bruce landed three more punches, each hitting Joey's chest squarely. Cracks had already appeared on the latter's Batsuit.

"But those who achieve great things either succeed greatly or fail greatly…" the_Bruce continued. He was fully qualified to instruct Joey in this regard because he himself was a good example. "You think anyone can wear that cloak? Do you have the same awareness as me?" He raised his voice as he advanced, "If you did, you wouldn't have said such a foolish statement as 'I don't want to be a god.'"

"No… almost at my limit… my consciousness is becoming blurred, this is bad…" At this moment, Joey had no energy left for verbal responses. His body was enduring unprecedented pain, and all he could do was try his best to concentrate and prevent himself from fainting.

"Joey Collins." the_Bruce's attack was finally coming to an end. He successfully knocked Joey to the ground, preparing to deliver the final blow, "You and my ancestor made the same mistake. Your idealism is just a painkiller, while my philosophy… is surgery." He raised an arm, and the laser beam on his wrist had already aimed at Joey, "This city needs a god, not some dark knight. You don't want to be a god… then die!"

Chi—

The next second, a beam of light shot out, hitting the target.

But… the person hit was not Joey, and the person who fired the beam was not the_Bruce.

"Tch… more uninvited guests?" the_Bruce covered the gunshot wound on his shoulder, turning to look back.

In the night sky, Maya was wearing a traditional Robin costume, gliding down on a wingsuit. The laser gun equipped on her right arm was still emitting a faint glow.

It turned out that at that critical moment, Maya launched an attack from the air, shooting Bruce. With the opening created by this shot, Joey was able to catch his breath. He immediately rolled over, got up from the ground, and created distance from his opponent again.

Bane's Blood greatly enhanced Joey's metabolism, an ability that ordinary people couldn't match, and it was his only advantage at the moment.

"Hmph… since your helper struck first…" Seeing that the situation had changed, the_Bruce instantly came up with a countermeasure, "Then I won't be polite…" He opened the communicator near his mouth and immediately ordered, "Robins, come out! Fight for your god!"

Following his order, a large number of suspended airships emerged from around the Bat-Castle and came to the square's airspace.

"The farce should end." the_Bruce said, "I had a pretty good time playing with you, Joey." He grinned hideously. "However… now I want to hunt some more challenging prey, so I'll leave you to my troops…"

"Are you referring to me?" Suddenly, Feng Bujue's (Joker's) voice came from above, interrupting the_Bruce's words.

The latter looked up, and his expression instantly changed…

At this moment, a figure appeared on the high platform of the Bat-Castle.

He was wearing Batman's suit, draped in Batman's cape, and wearing Batman's mask. But the lower half of his face, which was exposed, showed a grinning smile.

"What a joke?" the_Bruce said in a deep voice, "Why are you there!"

"Well… I just infiltrated your castle again through 'some means,' killed everyone who dared to stop me along the way, and then came here." Feng Bujue replied in a playful tone.

"What do you think you're doing? The Joker dressed up as Batman…" the_Bruce glared at Jue Ge, "This is simply an insult…"

"A Batman who kills is an insult." Feng Bujue replied with confidence, "A Batman who pursues domination is an insult…" As he spoke, he shook his cape and suddenly fell from the air, "A ninety-year-old Batman who turns himself into a Frankenstein because he is afraid of losing power is a complete and utter insult."

As he said this, he landed perfectly.

Jue Ge smiled slightly and continued, "Bruce, you are a generation of heroes, but like many heroes, you are not preserving your integrity in your later years…" As he spoke, golden light lit up between his fingers, "The rules of the game should be changed, and I will change them!"

"Fire! Kill him!" the_Bruce roared and ordered the airship group in the sky to attack.

However… what happened next once again exceeded his expectations.

Boom, boom, boom—

Two seconds later, the suspended airships began to shoot at each other… hundreds of artillery fires intertwined and exploded in the air. Soon, airships that had been shot down, emitting thick smoke, rushed toward the ground, smashed into the crowd, and exploded and caught fire.

"Oh! God!" "Run!" The crowd began to riot, and screams were endless.

"Hehehe… look, your attitude changes when you encounter this kind of situation that touches your bottom line." Feng Bujue approached the_Bruce step by step, "You were very domineering when you jumped into the crowd, and you were also domineering when you fought Joey, but… your aura as the King of Gotham ultimately comes from your confidence in your own strength and your certainty of victory."

Jue Ge grinned and stopped two meters in front of the other party: "Why don't you repeat what you said earlier to me."

"What's wrong with you? Why are you shooting at each other!" the_Bruce began to retreat slowly, shouting into the communicator, "Answer me! Anyone!"

"Sir, our airships are out of control… ah!" Someone finally responded in the communication channel, but this person was finished before he could finish speaking.

"What? Are you unable to think due to fear?" Feng Bujue laughed, "Can't you figure out such a simple thing… Since I have a way to take over all the big screens in this city, then I naturally have a way to control those suspended airships. Don't forget… the hardware technology and operating system of these things are all from the same person."

"Clipper!" the_Bruce roared to the sky, "You traitor! I'm going to kill you!"

"Heh… you should worry about yourself first." Feng Bujue sneered and suddenly struck.

Chi ying—chi ying—

Two golden rays led to two crisp sounds.

Jue Ge held the Death Poker and launched two close-range slashes. The_Bruce used the fin blade on his forearm to meet the attack and exchanged two moves with him.

"Hmph… that's all you are…" After blocking the attack, the_Bruce was overjoyed. After this brief confrontation, he found that Jue Ge's strength was not as exaggerated as he had imagined. Although the glowing weapon in his hand could not be analyzed, its power did not leave any scars on the Bat armor.

"Don't get me wrong." Feng Bujue continued, "I attacked so lightly mainly to test your strength." He dispersed the poker in his hand and scratched his head. "This makes it easier for the next step of the plan…"

Hearing this, the_Bruce's heart was filled with surprise. He became vigilant again.

But Jue Ge didn't attack again. Instead, he took out something from his pocket and said, "This device was temporarily modified by Dr. Clipper using the existing equipment in the Batcave. Its effect is very interesting." He held a walkie-talkie-like device and said, "It can release a special electronic signal that interferes with a specific system."

Before he finished speaking, the_Bruce had already understood what "system" the other party was referring to, but he was powerless to do anything about what was about to happen. He could only grit his teeth and stand in place, remaining silent.

"According to my test…" Feng Bujue held the jamming device in one hand and extended his index finger with the other, hanging it on his lips, as if he was acting cute, "Reducing the output of your combat armor by about 40% should be enough…" He did what he said, clicked a few times on the device, and the operation was completed.

At the same time, a pile of error message prompts immediately popped up on the lens in front of the_Bruce's right eye. The tactical analysis system and weapon remote control system of his armor collapsed in an instant.

"Okay, now…" Feng Bujue said the first half of the sentence when he was still several meters away from the other party, but when the second half of the sentence came out, he had already appeared behind Bruce, "Get up there for me!"

He suddenly grabbed the other party's cape, pulled it hard, and threw the script Boss into the sky.

The_Bruce was completely confused by the other party's incredible speed. It seemed that… his previous estimate of this "Joker" was completely wrong. The other party's limit was not something he could test at all…

By the time Bruce came back to his senses and thought about stabilizing his body, he had already crashed diagonally toward the high platform of the castle. So, he simply landed there.

At the same time, Feng Bujue had followed closely behind, jumping up from the square with Joey.

"Now, you no longer have self-powered remote-controlled Batarangs, no thermal induction system, no laser weapons… and the power output of your powered armor has been reduced by 40%." Feng Bujue said, "The technological gap brought about by the times has been erased, and your strength and speed are basically the same as Joey's at this moment." He smiled, "You want a game, I'll give it to you; you want fairness, I'll give it to you; you want an audience…" He raised his arm and waved, and the big screens all over the city turned on again and began broadcasting the scene here, "...I'll give it to you too."

Feng Bujue laughed wildly, and his laughter resounded throughout the city.

"Citizens of Gotham! I bring you a real, genuine show." He laughed a few times and said, "Let's see… who is stronger when wearing the most basic Batman equipment that is not designed to kill."

Jue Ge stopped abruptly at this point and cast a strange look at Joey. After the latter met his gaze, he seemed to understand something but didn't express anything.

"The birth of Batman… let you witness it yourselves…" After Feng Bujue finished speaking, he shook his cape and swaggered toward the inside of the Bat-Castle.

When he brushed past the_Bruce, the latter was so nervous that he didn't dare to move, let alone attack.

"I think we have a second round." After Jue Ge left, Joey took a few steps forward and said, looking directly at Bruce.

At this time, behind Joey were the streets filled with smoke and the sky filled with gunpowder smoke.

In this battlefield-like scene of solemnity, Joey Collins' figure seemed to have become taller than usual. His eyes, hidden under the Batman mask, also revealed an unprecedented look of determination.

The black cloak swayed in the wind. In a trance, people seemed to see another person, a great figure who had passed away a hundred years ago. His real name didn't really matter, because he was—Batman.

"Heh… hehe… hahaha…" the_Bruce suddenly laughed, a miserable laugh, but also a relieved laugh.

In this darkest moment before dawn, none of the Bat-signals in the sky remained. However, those bizarre light pillars still enveloped the city.

All of Gotham fell silent, and everyone… was paying attention to the duel here.

"Okay… okay…" the_Bruce shook his head and smiled, "You want to be Batman, is that it?" He looked at Joey, "Alright… then come and defeat me, surpass me…" As he spoke, he took off the lens and communicator on the right side of his face and threw them aside.

At this moment, this emperor who had ruled Gotham for more than thirty years finally abandoned the hypocrisy and timidity deep in his heart and faced everything before him with composure.

"I want to warn you… the path you've chosen is more difficult than becoming a god…" the_Bruce said, "I couldn't persevere on that path, so I became what I am today…" As he spoke, he untied his cape and threw it on the ground, "I have to admit that I failed to inherit Bruce Wayne's will." He paused, "But I did eliminate evil and chaos and maintain the peace of Gotham."

"You brought peace through dictatorship." Joey interjected.

"Yes, I have no regrets about this and am proud of it." Bruce replied, "Because I have witnessed firsthand… the chaos brought about by freedom."

"You should stand on the dividing line between order and chaos, defending the weak, not protecting them through control." Joey added.

"Heh…" Bruce smiled bitterly, "It's a great irony that you should say such a thing to me…" He moved his neck a couple of times, clenched his fists, and got into a fighting stance, "In terms of ideals, you are the heir that Bruce Wayne wanted… but whether your ability is enough, I, the last descendant of the Wayne family… will personally test it."