Deathstroke squatted atop the Lighthouse, put down his binoculars, and picked up the walkie-talkie to speak to the person below: "I still haven't seen any monsters yet. I think it's because the two of us live too far out. Over."
The Shiller below had just put on his tactical gloves. He pressed the walkie-talkie and replied, "If they're coming from Falcone Manor, it would take them two hours to get here at least. Are we just waiting around?"
"Brainiac," Deathstroke shouted, "put in some effort. The gun's ready, if you don't let me go on a killing spree, I'll give you a bad review."
"Monsters will randomly spawn in the nearby fog," Brainiac said, "The time for the attack hasn't arrived yet; it'll start when the progress bar appears."
Deathstroke sighed. "I've never seen such a sluggish artificial intelligence in my life."
Perhaps this comment spurred Brainiac, as soon enough, monsters started spawning in the fog. The monsters were ordinary mob members, but with Gotham-level firepower.
"Well, I'll be damned," The Shiller exclaimed, "even rocket launchers have shown up. They better not roll out a tank later, right?"
Deathstroke jumped down with a loud bang, twirling his great sword before him in a flourish. "Been waiting for you. Let's start killing!"
Honestly, ever since he's had all the money he needed, the Prime Universe's level was a bit low for him. After all, he couldn't go attacking the Justice League, his benefactors. The N Metal Great Sword was impervious to wear and tear and had unlimited use; who could be his rival?
It's like spending money, investing in a ton of great equipment, only to find the strongest monster is instantly killed by you. Unable to showcase your full strength, you might start attacking the game developers if stronger monsters don't come your way.
So, seeing the Gotham Gang with a pile of refined equipment, Deathstroke licked his lips and instantly charged into the crowd like a tornado, completely ignoring the barrage of bullets. The sword's edge tore everyone to pieces.
The Shiller wasn't as reckless. Unlike Deathstroke, he didn't have such strong regenerative abilities. He took up a sniper and picked off targets from atop the Lighthouse. Nearly all the vehicle drivers were taken out by him.
The Shiller's sniping skills were decent, but the main reason for such effectiveness was the bat equipment sniper rifle. Though the caliber wasn't large, its power was immense and it had been modified for incredible penetration. One shot could pierce through a vehicle's bulletproof glass, a person's skull, and the remaining vehicle components, sinking the bullet into the ground.
This made The Shiller seem like he had a death note; whoever he targeted died. Some tried to counter-snipe him, but the Lighthouse itself was a great sniping point, impervious not only to bullets but even rocket launchers. Some rockets landed on the lower part of the Lighthouse, but caused little damage, leaving only charred marks on the walls.
Deathstroke wasn't just mindlessly killing. He first dealt with those wielding rocket launchers, which were cumbersome to run with, allowing Deathstroke to move unhindered as he jumped in and spun around quickly, scattering equipment everywhere.
These waves of attacks seemed paper-thin in the face of the two of them. Occasionally, a few managed to get close to the Lighthouse but were blown up by mines. By the end, Deathstroke's armor was unrecognizable, a larger version of The Flash, red with blood and yellow with cerebral matter.
Fortunately, the sea was right nearby. After the killing, he jumped into the sea to wash off, returning with a long exhale, clearly satisfied with the slaughter.
The Shiller had already descended from the Lighthouse. He was inspecting the scattered equipment on the ground. Because these were humanoid monsters, the equipment they dropped was usable for them, but when Deathstroke was satisfied with the killing, he wasn't very discriminating, and most of the armor was hacked to bits, leaving only the weapons usable.
But the most surprising find was the preservation of a combat vehicle, the windshield only had a hole shot through it. Deathstroke carried his sword over and said, "I specifically avoided this thing during the fight; it's a treasure. We've got a vehicle now."
The Shiller opened his personal terminal and glanced at the mission list. Several missions had been spawned, marked on the map, but possibly because they were in such a remote area, the nearest one was still about twenty miles away, which would be difficult without a vehicle.
The Shiller got in the car and checked its operability, finding it could run normally but had low fuel. He checked the map and marked a location. "Let's get some fuel first."
Deathstroke got in the vehicle, sitting in the driver's seat, and once the door was shut, the two of them sped towards the city. They were the first group to leave the base, heading into the city to scavenge supplies.
Those handling things smoothly were one thing, but some were also scurrying about in a fluster. At the moment, Gotham Cathedral was already surrounded by monsters.
Due to its central position and large area, and its wide contact with the fog, when all the fog started spawning monsters, the entire Cathedral was completely surrounded.
The monsters spawned outside the Cathedral resembled Deep Divers but were far scarier. Based on the setup, it seemed a certain Outer God infected the Gothamites, making these monsters exceptionally powerful.
Deep Divers might just look fish-like, but Gothamites instantly grasped the essence of mutation. Many turned into octopus-headed creatures with tentacle-like limbs. Some were stretched thin, resembling floating hanged ghosts, while others transformed into pitch-black masses. Regardless, all sorts of monsters surrounded the Cathedral.
Constantine was struggling to hold on, with the Statue of Jesus behind him emitting light, albeit much weaker than at the start. The Shiller gazed out the window to see the monsters using dark powers to erode the shield of faith, while they were powerless to kill these creatures.
Constantine had brought a lot of equipment, such as the fire-sprouting gun and materials for creating magic arrays. But the sheer number of monsters meant he couldn't spare a hand for these.
Constantine glanced back at the Shiller, who hadn't done anything. This was a key reason for his current struggle. Although Constantine didn't want to blame his teammate, he couldn't help but ask, "Do you really know how to use Magic?"
"That depends on how you understand Magic," Shiller said, "You can think of me as an undertaker. It's my job to bury the bodies and pray for them, guiding them to the place they belong."
"But the prerequisite is to have a body," Constantine said helplessly, "Right now, we can't even kill a single Monster."
Shiller shook his head and said, "No need for you. Someone else will bring about Death."
Although Constantine is considered a master in mysticism, he still wanted to say that this wasn't the time to beat around the bush.
Then, he saw Shiller walk to the podium, close his eyes, and draw a cross on his chest as if beginning to pray. However, the Faith Power on the Statue of Jesus didn't increase.
After a while, Shiller opened his eyes, glanced around, as if surveying the situation. He turned back to look at Constantine, and Constantine felt the gaze, meeting his eyes. Seeing those slightly unfocused gray eyes, his hand trembled, and the seal holding the door broke. The Monsters began to roar.
As Shiller, who was sitting in the passenger seat with his eyes squinted in a nap, suddenly opened them. Deathstroke happened to turn his head to look at him, and Shiller sighed, "Change course, let's head to Gotham Cathedral."
"What's wrong?" Although Deathstroke asked this, he immediately changed direction.
"Someone can't handle it, we need to go help."
The vehicle entered the Fog, gradually approaching the most prominent Bell Tower of Gotham Cathedral.
The Shiller sitting on the sofa also opened his eyes. He looked towards the Bell Tower and asked, "Did any of you hear the bells?"
Gordon looked at him strangely and said, "Bells? What bells?"
Charles, however, stared at Shiller and said, "A peculiar Psychic connection. It's not Psychic Ability, but more like some subconscious bond, linking you all together with something?"
"Death," Shiller stood up and said, "We need to go to Gotham Cathedral."
"Uh..." Lilith, who was eating at the dining table, suddenly let out a cry of pain. She half-knelt and began to breathe heavily.
Pamela quickly reached out to support her, but Ted stopped her, saying, "Her prophecy ability has activated, don't touch her."
Lilith suddenly tilted her head back, her hair swinging behind, her eyes rolling completely upwards. She let out another shout, her entire body relaxing as she exhaled, then said, "Go to Gotham Cathedral."
"What's up?" Ted asked.
Lilith opened her mouth as if trying to say something but then shook her head and said, "Death links us all. That connection flows within the grave..."
"Let's go," Ted said, "She's always like this; not fully conscious after activating her prophecy ability, but the prophecy is definitely correct. Better head over quickly."
"Wait, don't all of us go," Pamela said, "Ted, you stay behind to guard the house. Tim, grab the gun, you and I will head over."
They all knew that currently Pamela and Ted were the two strongest individuals, and naturally, they couldn't both leave together. Harley also wanted to go with Pamela but since there was only one gun, and without a gun, she wouldn't be much help, she eventually gave up.
"Grab my arm," Pamela said to Tim as she stood by the door, "We'll take the underground route."
The plant roots spread throughout Gotham. Pamela used the root systems to carve a path, moving swiftly throughout Gotham. Her powers were entirely unrestricted, still placing her among the most powerful superpower users, allowing her to arrive quickly.
Yet, someone arrived even faster. Charles' brainwave directly connected to Constantine's mind. In a moment of distraction, Constantine saw a blue-eyed youth in the corner of the Cathedral.
"Professor Xavier?" A somewhat shocked Constantine, who had been forced back to near the podium by the Monsters, said, "What are you doing here?"
"It seems you're having a hard time coping," Charles said, "Everyone's on their way here. Relax your mind, I will ensure that you are not attacked by the mental attacks of these Monsters."
Constantine took a deep breath. He slowly relaxed his tense mind, then withdrew his mental defenses—something he couldn't do before because the Monsters besieging the Cathedral were the kind that, with just one look, would leave you mentally drained—and finally focused on attacking.
Shiller stood behind him, appearing to zone out. Charles' brainwave avatar circled around him a few times, marveling, "You always surprise me, Shiller. You've done a lot in exploring how to connect all your traits together. The concept of working together as one to make progress has also become a tangible trait. Bishop, or should I call you 'Death'?"