"Magic?"
The Green Goblin scanned the surrounding ninjas and then looked at the already missing Dutch, becoming instantly agitated.
"My target isn't you, get lost!"
No matter how angry the Green Goblin was, the ninjas continued to carry out the mission given to them by Bruce, to kill the Green Goblin.
Having witnessed the Green Goblin's strength, the ninjas immediately changed their tactics. They kept their distance from the Green Goblin, showering him with throwing weapons such as kunai and shuriken.
The Green Goblin's armor was specially thickened during its design. The seemingly dense attacks at the moment caused very limited damage to the Green Goblin.
However, the ninjas didn't expect to kill the Green Goblin with these small projectiles; they only intended to disrupt its vision.
While the Green Goblin was getting annoyed and distracted by the various throwing weapons, a shadow quietly moved beneath the Green Goblin. Then, a shadowy ninja wielding a ninjato emerged from the darkness and slashed at the Green Goblin's armor.
The ninjato cut through, leaving a long scratch diagonally upward on the Green Goblin's tough armor.
Just as the Green Goblin was about to deal with the shadow ninja who had ambushed it, another shadow ninja appeared behind the Green Goblin and thrust a blade directly at its chest.
By the time the Green Goblin realized what was happening and rapidly ascended in its glider, it was too late. Although it avoided a fatal blow, the ninjato still pierced the Green Goblin's abdomen.
"Ah! All of you die!"
The intense pain stimulated the Green Goblin's nerves, and its pent-up emotions erupted instantly.
Ignoring the bleeding wound, the Green Goblin piloted its glider and unleashed a barrage of indiscriminate fire, killing all the shadow ninjas surrounding it.
After venting its rage, the pain also allowed Norman's sanity to recover slightly. He took a syringe gun from his suit and sprayed a white foam onto the wound, covering it.
At this moment, the sound of police sirens outside made Norman realize he had no more time. If he didn't leave now, it would be troublesome once SHIELD intervened.
With that thought, Norman threw two pumpkin bombs, blasting a hole in the wall in front of him, and piloted his glider away.
Meanwhile, Bruce, after summoning the shadow ninjas to intercept the Green Goblin, fled with Dutch to a storage room on the first floor. He activated a hidden mechanism and entered the secret safe room before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Dutch collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. As a man of privilege, it was the first time he felt death was so close.
After this crisis passed, Dutch vowed to sweep out all the incompetent people and give the villa's security system a major upgrade.
"By the way, Mr. Bruce, what were those shadows just now?"
Just moments ago, Dutch had noticed that after Bruce spoke, several shadows detached from his silhouette and moved rapidly upstairs.
Bruce did not answer, and the intelligent Dutch did not ask further questions.
Bruce took out a first-aid kit from the safe room and, with Dutch's assistance, cleaned the wounds caused by the explosion.
Half an hour later, seeing police cars rushing in on the monitor, Bruce and Dutch emerged from the safe room.
"He's gone?"
After confirming the Green Goblin had left, the hiding guests cautiously emerged from behind their cover.
Looking at the strewn bodies and their tragic deaths, no one had the heart to dance anymore. Those with poor psychological resilience saw the hellish scene before them and vomited uncontrollably, leaning against the walls.
Soon, the recovered guests began to search for their relatives.
Some were reunited with their living relatives, embracing and weeping with relief at their survival, while others held the corpses of their loved ones and cried uncontrollably.
Dutch was among them, his eyes red and his breathing heavy as he looked at the bodies scattered everywhere.
As the host of the party and the owner of the house, Dutch's wife, the long-serving old butler, the servants, and his brothers had all perished, taken out in one fell swoop by the Green Goblin.
The most tragic was Dutch's eldest son, whose upper body lay across the sofa, while his lower body was in the ballroom.
Dutch wept inconsolably, holding his eldest son's remains.
Although his eldest son had caused him much trouble, he was still his blood, and now he was gone just like that.
Bruce stood silently beside the grief-stricken Dutch, saying nothing. He had seen too many such scenes.
Soon, the long-delayed police and ambulances entered the villa. The police began questioning the guests about what had happened.
Facing the police, these guests who had lost loved ones were far from polite. They berated the New York Police Department as incompetent, parasites of the city, who took their tax money but accomplished nothing.
The police couldn't say much about it. Not only were they late, but every one of these people was a major patron of their precinct. The renovations of the police station and the upgrades to the officers' equipment and supplies were all funded by these people.
Meanwhile, the arriving medical personnel began treating the injured. Some were rushed to the hospital by ambulance for emergency treatment, while those who had already passed were directly reported to the funeral home for pick-up.
Dutch's eldest son clearly belonged to the latter category.
Compared to the police, the medical staff received much better treatment. If one paid close attention, many people were seen discreetly slipping cards into the pockets of the medical personnel, with the obvious intention of ensuring their loved ones received special treatment in their care.
Indeed, it proved the old saying: comparing people leads to death, comparing goods leads to being discarded. Simply the difference in uniforms resulted in vastly different treatment.
Watching his eldest son being carried away in a hearse, Dutch slowly stood up, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Bruce behind him, and asked, "Bruce, who do you think the Green Goblin is? I want him to pay for my eldest son's life."
Bruce felt a surge of joy upon hearing this; it was exactly what he wanted.
However, he maintained a solemn expression and said, "Mr. Dutch, do you remember the first thing the Green Goblin said when he arrived?"
Dutch paused, his pupils contracting, and said, "Are you saying it's Norman Osborn?"
Bruce nodded and said, "Exactly. Even if the Green Goblin isn't Norman Osborn, he must have some connection to Norman. Don't forget, our meeting was about how to deal with Norman. If he got wind of it, he wouldn't do nothing."
"Norman Osborn," Dutch spat out the name through gritted teeth. He then looked at Bruce again and said, "Mr. Bruce, can you help me kill this bastard? I want revenge for my dead family."
Bruce replied, "You can rest assured about this. As one of us, I am equally saddened by the death of your family. The organization will not let those who harmed them go unpunished. Soon, your rage will be ignited."
After speaking, Bruce turned and left.
This attack had exceeded Bruce's expectations, but it was a blessing in disguise.
If Dutch had previously joined only to save his son's life, now, his hatred for Norman Osborn had firmly bound him to Bruce's chariot of war.