A twenty-ton heavy truck, driven by one of Falcone's loyalists, barreled towards Qingshui.
Even with Black Gold's upgraded pneumatic system, it absolutely couldn't withstand kinetic energy of that magnitude.
Qingshui had no choice but to raise his left hand and launch a second rocket.
*"Boom!"*
The explosion occurred on the bottom left side of the truck's front, not only disorienting the driver but also instantly blowing out the tires underneath.
Losing balance, the heavy truck flipped over, crushing several cars. Propelled by inertia, it finally came to a stop not far in front of Qingshui.
Just as Qingshui breathed a sigh of relief, the truck's cargo bay exploded with a deafening roar.
It had been loaded with high explosives!
A searing blast of air surged out, and the powerful shockwave generated by the explosion made Black Gold involuntarily recoil two steps.
Several bundled grenades were thrown by burly men with thick arms and waists, landing around Qingshui.
"Damn it! Is this ever going to end?!"
Qingshui cursed, no longer hesitating.
The pneumatic system reversed its operation, the valves opened, and all the compressed gas hidden within the rubber inner cylinder instantly erupted, propelling Qingshui more than ten meters into the air.
From a distance, Deathstroke inwardly thought, What a shame.
Qingshui's move had disrupted the plan he had meticulously laid out. Otherwise, Qingshui would already be caught in a minefield of anti-tank mines.
However, tactical masters like Deathstroke and Batman always have a Plan B.
A bullet made of Promethium slowly loaded into the chamber.
Promethium is one of the ten great metals in the DC Universe, similar in function to Marvel's Vibranium. It is extremely durable and possesses the ability to absorb and store energy. Furthermore, it is a memory metal, capable of a certain degree of self-repair.
Deathstroke's main battle armor was primarily constructed from Promethium.
Qingshui's hand, hidden within Black Gold's thick metal arm, seized the opportunity to form a hand sign.
"Wind Release: Turbulent Dance!"
It was a simple Wind Release Ninjutsu that he could perform with a single hand sign.
A small whirlwind kicked up, roughly controlling the wind direction. Swift wings unfurled and deployed, transforming into gliders, causing Black Gold to pause momentarily after reaching its highest point.
*"Bang!"*
The bullet grazed the side of Black Gold's head.
Swift's glide caused Deathstroke to misjudge Black Gold's descent trajectory, and it also revealed to Qingshui the person who had turned the battle into this.
"Deathstroke?"
Qingshui's brow furrowed. He manipulated Swift in conjunction with Wind Release, dodging bullets from below while in the air. At the same time, he changed direction, flying towards Deathstroke's position.
Deathstroke silently picked up another rocket launcher from his side.
Qingshui's mouth twitched as he watched the rocket, trailing a fiery exhaust, launch towards him. He made a gesture similar to Superman flying.
The modified Black Gold arms were equipped with four built-in small rockets with high explosives. Two had just been used, leaving two remaining.
The computational assistance chip, purchased from Quinn Industries, began processing, accurately locking onto the rocket's trajectory.
*"Boom!"*
Flames exploded in the air, forming a fiery spectacle.
Black Gold, like a raptor, retracted its gliders at the last moment of its descent, accelerating its fall. Harnessing gravity, it accumulated momentum and kicked out with both feet towards Deathstroke.
Deathstroke held his long blade in front of him, blocking the powerful blow. His body naturally retreated, and he threw the half-drawn long blade.
Elastic potential energy transformed into mechanical energy, carving brilliant sparks on Black Gold's thick chest. It then bounced back with an odd trajectory, landing in Deathstroke's hand.
"I want to know how much Falcone paid to get you to show up."
"Not a small sum. Two hundred and fifty million dollars."
Deathstroke tilted his head left and right, stretching his muscles. He gripped his blade and assumed a combat stance towards Qingshui.
His previous tactical arrangements and that strike with the long blade had given Deathstroke a rough understanding of Black Gold's defensive capabilities.
As long as he avoided the heavily armored areas and struck the joints and other relatively weaker armored points multiple times, Deathstroke was confident he could reach Qingshui's main body or damage parts of the internal structure of the armor using his physical strength and his Promethium-infused alloy battleblade.
"Too bad. I don't think you'll be getting that money."
A Pneumatic Fist slammed towards Deathstroke.
"I wouldn't be so sure."
Deathstroke's voice, muffled by his mask, was as hoarse as a demon's.
With an agile turn and leap, he dodged the Pneumatic Fist. At the same time, he crouched low, his Promethium alloy long blade slashing sideways, directly targeting Black Gold's leg joints.
Qingshui's fingers moved the Chakra Threads, and Black Gold's leg pneumatic system instantly reversed operation, retracting the mechanical rods. Under the effect of leverage, it changed direction. Combined with the manipulation of the Chakra Threads, Black Gold's massive body agilely spun 180 degrees in mid-air, avoiding Deathstroke's attack while simultaneously slamming a foot down.
However, with Deathstroke's agility, he had already rolled and dodged, his body flying horizontally in mid-air, attempting to leap onto Black Gold's back.
*"Clang!"*
Two rows of rotary gun barrels rose from Black Gold's shoulders, unleashing a volley of fire at Deathstroke.
However, the bullets from conventional weapons only left sparks against the Promethium armor.
"Clang!~"
The pneumatic device on Black Gold's arm activated again, delivering an elbow strike that collided with the alloy combat knife.
"This is getting a bit troublesome..."
Deathstroke was arguably the first truly formidable enemy Qingshui had encountered since his Avatar descended into the DC Universe.
The layered tactical arrangements, both before and during their engagement, made Qingshui uncomfortable.
Deathstroke's superhuman agility and strength, Promethium armor that was virtually impervious to conventional attacks, masterful combat skills, incredibly accurate use of firearms, and an arsenal of weapons truly made Qingshui feel threatened.
Meanwhile, Two-Face had been worried when he saw that the person who had killed several of his men was Deathstroke.
His reputation preceded him. As the world's strongest mercenary, Deathstroke was someone who could go toe-to-toe with Batman, and he didn't adhere to Batman's no-kill rule. Whether he completed a job after taking payment depended entirely on his willingness, and he had even killed superhumans before.
Now, seeing that Qingshui could at least hold his own against Deathstroke, and even seemed to be holding his ground, Harvey Dent finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After a quick count, Harvey Dent still had seven Titan-enhanced individuals at his disposal.
Aside from the one Qingshui had killed with a rocket, half of them had been wiped out by Deathstroke.
"That's enough!"
Harvey Dent pulled out a cigar and took a deep drag.
Before the white smoke could fully exit his nostrils, some escaped from the "leaky" half of his mouth.
"Give the order: Everyone, focus fire on Carmine first!"
At the same time, atop a distant church.
A bat-like shadow leaped from the rooftop, gliding silently past the tall buildings.
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