What's more, Bruce was there to assist. A rapier appeared in his hand as he stabbed fiercely at the attackers.
Like Selina's whip, Bruce's rapier also delivered powerful strikes. It could even be said that the rapier was the weapon Bruce had mastered most skillfully among all his combat techniques.
This was the first weapon Bruce had learned when he began his training. The combat style Marcus had demonstrated back then left a deep impression on him. Now he could finally execute the techniques his teacher had shown him.
The rapier danced wildly in Bruce's hand like a silver snake. The combination of feints and actual strikes made his attacks almost impossible to defend against. Several puncture wounds appeared on the bodies of the attacking beast-men, blood flowing from their injuries and dripping onto the ground.
This drove the three beast-man killers into a frenzy. They gasped and inhaled more poison gas from their masks. The clothing on their bodies began to tear as their muscles expanded.
Bruce had completely mastered the essence of rapier combat. The swift, precise attacks allowed him to face these significantly strengthened beast-men with relative ease.
As the rapier continued to weave through the air in Bruce's hand, its shadow seemed to strike from everywhere at once, leaving the three beast-men unable to mount an effective defense.
Working together, Bruce and Selina took advantage of the beast-men's deteriorating mental state caused by the poison gas, essentially toying with their three opponents.
Eventually, the beast-men couldn't withstand prolonged exposure to the gas. Their bodies continued to expand like balloons until they finally exploded before the vigilantes' eyes.
"Good job!" Selina praised.
"You too!" Bruce responded.
The two had gained considerable experience during their recent activities, especially in combat techniques, which had improved through constant battle training.
If before they were merely proficient in using their fighting styles, now their mastery had reached the level of instinctive response.
No matter what their opponents did, they could react the instant their enemies moved.
After exchanging compliments, they turned their attention to the exploded remains of the beast-man killers.
They had clearly observed how these beast-men gradually lost their minds as their combat effectiveness increased.
At first, the beast-men maintained a certain degree of rationality, occasionally launching attacks that exceeded Bruce and Selina's expectations.
But later, after losing their rationality completely, the beast-men's strength improved dramatically, yet they behaved like actual animals, all their attacks stemming from pure instinct.
Their reactions were those that any threatened beast would make—counterattacking against Selina's whip or going berserk after being stabbed by Bruce's rapier.
"If I'm not mistaken, there's something wrong with their gas masks," Bruce observed.
The beast-men they had defeated previously didn't wear gas masks, and their strength had been consistent. They hadn't gradually lost their minds as their strength increased, unlike these creatures.
But these three beast-men who had just been blown to pieces had all worn gas masks that seemed to continuously enhance their strength.
As he spoke, Bruce pressed the control key on his wrist, causing his black mask to expand into a complete suit that fully enclosed his body.
This was the battle suit's full defense mode, designed to protect the wearer from any harm.
After activating full protection, Bruce carefully collected the three gas masks from among the scattered remains on the ground.
"I need to ask Alfred to bring in Wayne Enterprises equipment to study these carefully."
He glanced at Selina, and they exchanged a slight nod before disappearing together into the darkness.
Not long after they left, a claw-wielding figure dressed as an owl, with two swords strapped to his back, appeared at the scene.
He carefully examined the body fragments on the ground, the lenses of his owl mask emitting a faint green light in the darkness.
After assessing the situation of the beast-men killers, the claw-man suddenly leaped away, vanishing into the nearby bushes.
Wayne Manor
Meanwhile, Marcus was studying advanced knowledge from the void. He had gained new insights into amplitude crystals and empowerment techniques.
Although he still hadn't mastered the creation of rift crystals, he had developed a deeper understanding of amplitude crystals. He could now manufacture special amplitude crystals according to the principles of fusion and power enhancement.
Taking out a casting cabin from his space module, Marcus began operating it, attempting to create an amplitude crystal of his own design.
He didn't have overly high expectations for this crystal. After all, he hadn't fully mastered amplitude crystal manufacturing and could only modify existing ones.
To be safe, he chose to modify the lowest-level red copper amplitude crystal, specifically selecting the [Pressure Point] crystal for its straightforward effects.
The Pressure Point was an amplitude crystal that provided destructive power to melee weapons. A decent weapon would become significantly more powerful when enhanced with a Pressure Point.
Now, however, the Pressure Point had been modified beyond recognition in his hands.
Marcus hadn't made random changes. He had altered it according to the most basic spell circuit patterns from Kamar-Taj.
After completely transforming the amplitude crystal, Marcus fused it onto a half-meter-long short staff.
He waved the staff a few times, and a light blue energy whip materialized from its tip. When it struck the ground, countless blue sparks scattered across the surface. This was the transformed Pressure Point amplitude crystal at work.
As a modified crystal, it no longer provided destructive power for melee weapons. Instead, it could now generate a magic whip similar to those used by the mages of Kamar-Taj.
"Ha, a magic weapon that summons a whip? This is perfect for me," Marcus said with satisfaction.
Normally, anyone could use equipment fused with a Pressure Point and benefit from its enhancement effects.
But now that he had replaced the enhancement circuit with a magical circuit from Kamar-Taj, not only had the original enhancement properties disappeared, but only those who mastered energy manipulation could feel the true power contained within it.
Except for people like him who had mastered energy control, others couldn't unleash the full potential of this staff. In their hands, it would be little different from an ordinary stick.
"By the way, if we integrated Kamar-Taj's portal magic circuit into the amplitude crystal, could we open portals anytime, anywhere?" he mused.
Just as he was pondering this possibility, Bruce and Selina returned to the manor. Alfred immediately took the blood-stained gas masks from Bruce's hands.