Boom!
The curtain behind the stage in the banquet hall was drawn back, revealing a giant cage.
Inside the cage was a monstrous creature several meters tall.
Two thick chains bound its arms, crackling with blue electricity.
"Oh ho ho! This was originally prepared for that bat freak, but I think it'll do just fine for you!"
Penguin danced with excitement, freeze gun in one hand, firing cold rays wildly at White Samurai and Black Gold.
The temperature in the hall plummeted, a white mist of frost rising up.
Hardy stepped back, his right hand flicking out a high-voltage electric sword, slashing down two Titan-enhanced men who lunged at him, decapitating them in a few swift strokes.
Seeing they couldn't hold Hardy back, the remaining Titan-enhanced men immediately turned their attention to Black Gold.
Among them, a one-armed Titan-enhanced man stood out, clearly stronger than the others—even able to go toe-to-toe with Black Gold for several rounds.
His name was Ibrahimovich, a Russian with the same name as a certain footballer-turned-oligarch who had run afoul of the British.
Hardy had read this man's file: despite having only one hand, he was one of Penguin's top enforcers, able to hold his own against Batman for a while even without enhancements, with physical abilities near the human peak.
And the stronger your base, the greater the boost from the Titan serum. Even the weakened Titan III formula had made this guy incredibly powerful.
He wasn't quite Bane, but he was definitely a mini-boss. With one of Black Gold's hands frozen, he and a few other Titan-armored men managed to barely hold the golem off.
But not for long.
Penguin, wielding the freeze gun, fired madly at Hardy .
Hardy swept his arm, conjuring countless blades of wind that surged toward Penguin in a storm.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"
With his ability to manipulate air currents and his recent training, Hardy was now able to…
Able to perform some C-rank ninjutsu without any seals.
The Penguin was startled and hurriedly conjured several thick ice walls to shield himself.
Seeing this, Hardy changed direction and unleashed another Wind Cutter Jutsu, this time targeting the Titan-enhanced soldiers.
In an instant, blood splattered, landing on the ice walls and quickly freezing into blood-ice under the chilling aura they emitted.
Even though they were clad in highly defensive alloy armor, it didn't provide full coverage.
Under the wide-area, saturation attack of the Wind Release, only the Russian named Abramovich managed to block part of it with his massive, door-like curved blade, while the rest of the Titan-enhanced soldiers were killed on the spot, blood spraying everywhere.
Even Abramovich only managed to protect his vital points with the large blade; his body was drenched in blood, suffering serious injuries.
Two ninjutsu techniques unleashed, and the results were remarkable.
Outside the ceremonial hall, the sounds of fierce gunfire could be heard.
Clearly, people from the Hog United and the Two-Face Gang had also broken in.
However, Hardy's expression grew increasingly serious.
Even though his view ahead was blocked by the ice wall, he could still hear the monstrous roars behind it and see flashes of blinding electricity.
"Solomon Grundy... Born on a Monday, christened on Tuesday, married on Wednesday, took ill on Thursday, worse on Friday, died on Saturday, buried on Sunday. I am... Solomon Grundy! Lived my whole life through!"
Taking advantage of this moment, Hardy pulled Heijin back to his side, adjusted the high-voltage electric sword, and used the heat from the current to melt the ice on his arm. Then he looked toward the ice wall.
"Boom!"
The iron cage was violently torn apart, and the chains binding Solomon Grundy became weapons, crackling with electricity as they whipped about.
"Oh! This collection piece of mine is really something! Oh hey! That's my subordinate!"
The Penguin barely had three seconds to gloat before Solomon Grundy went berserk, swinging his massive fists and chains wildly.
Abramovich, who hadn't died at Hardy's hands, was instead smashed to pieces by a single punch from Solomon Grundy.
The ice wall shattered, shards flying everywhere, cracking open a huge gap, prompting the Penguin to hurriedly patch it up with his freeze gun.
But Hardy's eyes lit up as he watched Solomon Grundy.
Solomon Grundy—a zombie born from an accident, possessing immortality, not only with incredible regenerative abilities but also able to resurrect in the swamp after being destroyed.
Each resurrection varies in method, resulting in different levels of strength and intelligence. Sometimes, he can even go toe-to-toe with Superman.
This time, the Penguin used the energy contained in electricity to stimulate Grundy's resurrection, causing lightning to surge through his veins, forming golden and blue glowing patterns on his skin.
Among all of Solomon Grundy's forms, this one isn't weak, but it's not strong enough to face Superman head-on either.
Look at this body, this power!
And that powerful regenerative ability.
Isn't this the perfect material for a human puppet?
At this moment, the Penguin also changed tactics.
Solomon Grundy was rampaging out of control; it seemed this resurrection had left him with low intelligence and difficult to reason with.
Another prolonged freezing ray shot out, creating an even larger and longer ice wall, cutting off the Penguin and Hardy with a super ice barrier.
"Boom!"
The main doors of the ceremonial hall were blasted open by a rocket, revealing Harvey Dent and a dozen Titan-enhanced soldiers.
"Crack..."
The hall's walls were frozen by the Penguin's freeze gun. He hastily opened his high-tech umbrella with his other hand, using it as a shield in front of him.
A small rocket shattered the brittle wall, and the panicked Penguin immediately fled through the breach.
"Boom!"
Heijin fired four mounted rockets at the ice wall, blasting open a crack, then charged at it like a heavy tank, both pneumatic fists at full power, smashing the ice wall to pieces.
"Dent, take your men and go after the Penguin. Leave this guy to me."
Hardy instructed Harvey Dent, then fixed his gaze on Solomon Grundy.
Harvey Dent gave Hardy a deep look, seemingly displeased that Hardy had revealed his previous hideout on New Mod Street to the Penguin.
But he said nothing more. Given the situation, he could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger, motioning for the dozen Titan-enhanced men to follow him through the breach in pursuit.
The Penguin was no longer a threat; it was time to focus on dealing with Solomon Grundy and obtaining this perfect human puppet material.
Meanwhile, a bat silently infiltrated the Penguin's private museum...