Leixiao Gu remained vigilant, for moving in the dark was truly the ninja's specialty, as was their ability to transmit sounds from other places.
This method can thoroughly confuse the enemy, making it impossible to determine the direction from which the attack will come.
But this was of no use to him. As a Martial Arts Master who is proficient in swordsmanship, he understands that mastery of one technique leads to mastery of all techniques. He can detect even the faintest breath or heartbeat. Closing his eyes would not affect his combat ability, not to mention that he also fancied the darkness.
This world's Briss was not a student of the Assassin Alliance; her skills stem from her own practice.
Leixiao Gu sensed Batwoman was not far ahead of him, having not moved at all—the sound coming from behind was just a trick, and he would not be fooled.
"Hmph, childish! Are you women only capable of these tricks? Why not engage in an honorable battle to prove who deserves the glory?"
"Stop trying to provoke me; glory is irrelevant to me."
Briss's voice came from another direction again, yet Leixiao Gu could feel she still hadn't budged.
Chance!
Since she rejected the duel of honor, he did not need to adhere to the path of honor either. He swung the weapon in his hand toward the darkness, and the speed of his sword was so swift no one could see it clearly, and the special black Treasure Sword reflected neither light nor made any wind noises.
Intention leads, and the sword follows—this was a Sword Master's concentration of essence, energy, and spirit into a single sword strike, the most powerful initial blow.
Using the sword to propel his body, he appeared at the location where Briss originally stood in a mere instant; yet the Treasure Sword struck only air, missing Batwoman entirely—even a thread from her garment.
"How is that possible?"
Leixiao Gu was baffled because he was sure he had felt it, and his sensations were never wrong.
"Perhaps you should ask your daughter; she will explain how heartbeats and breathing can be simulated by computer programs and played through mini amplifiers."
Briss's voice resonated from all directions—she had somehow filled the hall with miniature speakers.
No one knew how long she had been here, nor how she installed such devices.
Leixiao Gu exhaled murkily and turned his head to look behind, seeing Briss appeared behind him during his attack, and taking advantage of the opportunity, Talia was knocked unconscious and lay on the floor.
"I didn't feel your heartbeat or breathing; you are like a corpse."
"Lady Siva taught me how to deal with Martial Artists—a South Asian Yoga Technique called Turtle Breath, quite effective." Briss maintained an impassive expression, eyes of blue gleaming behind the mask with a light he couldn't comprehend: "Now, am I terrifying enough? Will you abandon your plans against Gotham?"
"In your dreams! Foolish bat, charging into our fortress all by yourself—the one who should surrender is you!"
Leixiao Gu flipped his hand, throwing a small steel sphere out the window, which unexpectedly erupted into frightening flames, blossoming in the air like fireworks.
The buildings atop the cliff and the distant expanses of snowy plains were illuminated, appearing pale as if in daylight.
All the assassins, no matter which corner of the mountains they were in, could see the flames bursting in the sky—this was the signal from the Assassin Alliance, and they would immediately head to the hall to gather.
Yet what puzzled him was that Batwoman showed no intent to stop him; she hadn't even taken out Bat Darts, merely turned her head slightly.
Leixiao Gu originally planned to launch a second if the first was intercepted mid-air, but Bat's seemingly dismissive response made his breath catch in his chest, his face turning ashen.
"Arrogant! Do you think you can defeat three thousand assassins? Today this will be your grave; I'll hang your head at our fortress's front door, forever!"
"Leixiao Gu, you are the arrogant one, I've never told you I came here alone." Briss shook her head, adjusted her gloves, and adopted a fighting stance: "Come on, no one will interrupt us."
Leixiao Gu grunted coldly; logically, the assassins closest should have arrived by now, yet no one had.
He did not know what had happened to his assassins, but facing Briss head-on matched his plan.
However, facing Briss, and striking the Kenjutsu posture, he felt a heavy hit to the back of his head—instantly dizzy, as if hit by a car, unable to stand any longer.
Before losing consciousness, the last two words that surfaced in his mind were, "deception."
Then, a masked figure in a black hooded cloak, tightly wrapped, appeared where he fell, as if materializing from the air, previously not there.
"Uh, did I go too hard on him? He's 800 years old, right?" The figure scratched his head and shrunk his neck: "I didn't kill him, did I? Who's going to call an ambulance?"
Briss pulled Talia up from the ground; she was pretending to be unconscious because she couldn't face either her father or Batwoman, so she acted as if she'd been knocked out.
"You can't kill him. If what you told me is true, then he won't die. Lazarus' Spring will heal his injuries and even speed up his recovery. We have limited time."
"Okay, that's good. Whew... scared me for a second." The cloaked man laughed, lightly patted Leixiao Gu's back as if comforting him, then stood up and said to Talia: "Sorry, Talia, first time meeting again, and I hit your father. You've gotten younger, uh... we don't seem to know each other, your father should also..."
Talia: "???"
Briss shook her head, interrupting their awkward banter: "Firstly, you've never seen this Talia before, so you can't compare or conclude she's younger. Secondly, if Lazarus' Spring can grant immortality, then your Talia must be the same, so if you say this to your Talia, you'll be immediately found out as lying."
Talia: "???"
She seemed to never understand, Briss appeared to be insane, what's yours and ours? Is there another self in the world?
The cloaked man seemed to suddenly realize: "I see, no wonder Talia wants to talk to Superman but not me. It's surely a lifespan issue?"
"It's not about lifespan, just about mood." Briss retorted, turning to Talia, pressing her forehead against Talia's, ignoring her scarlet face, and said: "Listen, Talia, I'll be brief. To save our world, I need the water from Lazarus' Spring. Give it to me, or we'll find it ourselves."
Talia bit her lip, not saying anything nostalgic. They come for the Assassin Alliance's treasure, really...
So she obediently led Briss and the mysterious man to the back mountain and opened the secret chamber.
No way, she just loves the Bat.
This was constructed behind the castle, a secret chamber built into the mountain. Inside the chamber was a small pool, not much bigger than a bathtub. Entering the room, the red liquid bubbling in the pool emitted faint smoke.
"Is this the Pool of Lazarus?" Briss asked the mysterious man beside her.
"Uh, probably? Sorry, I've never seen it before." The cloaked man shrugged.
"You're the one who told me about this, said the pool water has special effects, but you've never seen it?" Briss raised her eyebrows, teasingly asked.
Talia hurried to explain, not wanting Briss to think she was deceiving her: "This is Lazarus' Spring, but for resurrection, you need to be fully immersed; taking water only grants self-healing ability."
Briss nodded, her Bat Gold Medal around her neck also swaying with the motion: "Enough."
With that, she took out a large metal can from under her cloak, filled it with a 'glug glug,' as the silver-white metal gradually sank into the pale red pool water, which bubbled like boiling water despite being cold. She watched the spring water fill the can and then stored it away.
"Aren't you going to use it yourself? My father doesn't know; you can use it." Talia quietly suggested to Briss, thinking that if both of them could be immortal, they'd have more opportunities to spend time together.
Briss didn't even turn around, returning to the secret path. Her cloak billowing with the wind created by her walk, like a bat spreading its wings in darkness.
"No need, this can of spring water won't be used on me. I suggest you hurry back to the hall and lie in your original position; you've all been knocked out. We're leaving first."
"But Bane..." Talia intended to mention Leixiao Gu contacting Bane.
"Bane has already been dealt with, and I've confiscated his nuclear bomb. Once everything's over, you can come to Gotham to find me. If there's spare spring water, I'll return it to you."
Briss didn't give her a chance to finish talking and hurried back the way they came. The group returned to the hall from before, with Briss staring at the cloaked man beside her, pursing her lips tightly, not uttering a word.
"Hmm? Is that it? Oh... got it. Then, goodbye, Talia!" The cloaked man glanced at Briss and then Talia, as if just realizing they needed to leave.
"What things... passed?"
Talia initially wanted to inquire, but with a flash of golden light, the Bat and the man were gone, leaving the room empty. Leixiao Gu still lay on the floor, snowflakes blown in by the wind from the window landing on his face.
He seemed to move slightly.
Talia immediately, resolutely, slapped herself in the neck. Only by truly passing out could she deceive Leixiao Gu.
Before losing consciousness, she felt the pain from the back of her head and thought about the 'date' Briss promised, her face displaying a hint of joy.