The expression on Su Ming's face beneath the mask didn't change at all; it was already part of the plan for the Iron Arm to escape the Lasso of Truth.
After donning the War God's Helmet, he became a genuine god, although not complete, with almost no Divine Authority he could use—for instance, he couldn't summon an army of heroic spirits from thin air or incite the anger within humans' hearts.
However, the essence of the Divine Power within him remained unaltered, with his mortal body bearing an immense energy.
In the Olympian Pantheon, judging by battlefield performance, the strongest was undoubtedly Zeus, followed by the Eldest Son of God 'Primordial', then Poseidon and Hades, and next was the War God. Whether the Titans could still be considered members of the Divine System is debatable.
If they were considered, there were quite a few powerful ones among the Titans, but since they had a falling out with Zeus, even though their origins were in Greek Mythology, they never ventured to Mount Olympus.
Aside from his cruel and impulsive nature, War God Ares outperformed Apollo and the other children of Zeus by a significant margin on the battlefield.
The Lasso of Truth was a Divine Artifact forged by the Fire God, and it was impossible to bind the War God. Since everyone had Divine Power, it was just a comparison of strength, and a dead object could never surpass a living god.
This was Su Ming's initial plan; Diana would delay just a bit of time, and Su Ming would use the opportunity to stick close to the Iron Arm.
Actually, this kind of task should have been done by Barry, but unfortunately, Barry's combat skills were limited to 'pushing people and running', and 'hitting the back of people's heads', neither of which worked against the Iron Arm clad in War God Heavy Armor. Even if Su Ming lent him the Nightfall Greatsword, he wouldn't be willing to kill.
Thoughts racing in his mind, Su Ming leaped into the air, delivering a jump slash towards the head of the Iron Arm who had just broken free from the lasso.
Unsurprisingly, the Iron Arm easily caught the strike with a Warhammer that resembled a beehive.
The strong recoil transferred through the weapon into Su Ming's hands, as he expected. There wasn't much technique involved in this strike; to deal with such an experienced warrior, one must resort to tactical planning.
Using the force of the recoil, Su Ming performed a backflip, landing steadily on the ground, and followed with a thrust, continuing his plan: "Impressive strength. Should I call you Bruce or Ares?"
"Tsk, tsk... A dead man asking for my name? You won't have the chance!"
The Iron Arm's giant Warhammer deflected Su Ming's blade, immediately following with a sweeping backhand, which Su Ming quickly dodged with a roll, narrowly avoiding the hammer's path.
Su Ming could catch all of Iron Arm's attacks, but could not take his attacks head-on due to the vast difference in strength.
This was part of the plan. Su Ming didn't stand up, instead swinging his sword toward Iron Arm's ankle: "If you changed your name, your mother wouldn't be happy, would she? What was her name again? Martha?"
"Shut up, mortal!" Iron Arm lifted his foot to dodge the strike, followed by his Warhammer smashing down towards Su Ming.
Su Ming quickly supported himself with one hand on the ground, dodging to safety: "Oh? I seem to have remembered wrong, Martha must be the name of some street woman?"
Merciless Iron Arm didn't reply, continuing to swing his hammer at Su Ming, turning the previously flat ground into a crater-ridden surface, debris flying everywhere.
"Martha, oh, hehe..." Su Ming could no longer attack, all his energy focused on dodging, but he continued to laugh lecherously, repeatedly calling Batman's mother's name on purpose.
The red light in Merciless Iron Arm's eyes intensified. Even with Diana attacking desperately with two Fire God Swords, his focus remained on Su Ming, seemingly intent on eliminating him first.
Yet, defeating a Weapon Master in a melee fight isn't easy, and Deathstroke merely dodges without attacking, making it difficult to land a hit.
Despite being a War God, the force of Iron Arm means nothing if it doesn't connect, as Su Ming could anticipate his moves just by observing the direction of his strikes or weapon lifts.
With Sea King absent, Su Ming had to bear the role of the meat shield, without being as durable or strong as Sea King, he could only taunt and insult to draw Iron Arm's aggro.
Despite spewing insults constantly, Su Ming's mind was razor-sharp, without a hint of amusement; facing a god is a perilous task. He could disrupt Iron Arm with deranged laughter and nonsense, but he couldn't truly believe Iron Arm wouldn't be able to deal with him.
"Does your Diana solicit clients?"
"Actually, I'm your father."
"You're too weak, not as strong as your mother."
No matter how much abuse and slander, Merciless Iron Arm remained silent, but Su Ming could feel him exerting more force, the War God Divine Power seemed to affect everything around, stirring the bloodthirsty desire within Su Ming.
It seemed as if he were enraged, but Su Ming knew Iron Arm saw through his initial tactics, merely playing along. He wasn't truly affected by the trash talk. If Diana or Barry became careless, they'd immediately face a deadly move.
Barry stood not far away, massaging his knuckles, having landed thousands of punches on the Iron Arm with no result; the armor remained intact, while his fists started to feel sore.
Diana's two Fire God Swords had some effect, occasionally slicing or stabbing the Iron Arm's weak points while he attacked Su Ming, breaking a few joints in the War God Armor, but the Divine Gold Weapons couldn't cause effective damage to the Dark Knight.
Observing the situation, Su Ming realized the plan could proceed; he had already drawn Iron Arm's aggro, making him perceive Barry and Diana as minor threats for now.
Indeed, with Deathstroke wielding N-Metal Weapons, he was the highest threat, far surpassing the other two.
Once again evading the Warhammer, Su Ming seized the moment as Iron Arm seemed distracted by Diana's harassment, exposing a vulnerability.
He noticed Iron Arm's strategy and decided to play along.
Immediately, he swung his great sword towards Iron Arm's neck, knowing this wasn't a real opening but a trap set by Iron Arm.
The Warhammer returned with an exaggerated speed, forcing Su Ming to block with the great sword, utilizing Force Dissipation to minimize damage, but the strength difference was immense, and the Nightfall Giant Sword was sent flying.
Su Ming crashed through rows of display racks, scattering various items and weapons; he ended up carving a path across the ground like a rolling gourd, spitting out blood.
"Goodness... If that had landed clean, I'd be a pancake." Thinking this, he touched his chest, the Qi swirling within, and the bloodthirsty desire surged with overpowering memories; he was injured badly.
Gritting his teeth, he immediately drew the Godslayer from his waist, charging toward Iron Arm once more.
As per his will, the Godslayer transformed into Dual Blades, radiating intense golden light, amplifying Su Ming's bloodthirsty desire a hundredfold.
He felt as though he weren't wielding the weapon but was being wielded by the Godslayer, which sought simultaneous attacks on the neck and stomach, with Su Ming merely as its vessel.
This sword was wicked, possessing a sense of self, but it only knew death.
"Clang, clang, clang..."
A series of weapon clashes erupted, sparks flying between him and Merciless Iron Arm. He changed tactics, adopting a dual blade fighting style, significantly increasing his attack frequency.
Iron Arm sought to avoid the Godslayer's blade at all costs; it would utterly ruin his armor, representing his accolades and War God's honor.
In brief encounters, Su Ming managed to suppress him in martial skills.