Smoke Arrow

Thea observed from a distance and nodded in approval. The effect was good; she had effectively balanced the power dynamics between the two sides. This time, the enthusiastic civilians who had come to help should be able to make use of their numerical advantage, right?

Neither group suspected her interference. The magnetic pull was too fast for them to see the arrow clearly. All they saw was numerous guns being pulled together by some unknown force, forming an irregular cylindrical shape in the middle of the road.

What is this thing? Why did my gun fly up? This question echoed in many people's minds. 

Realizing that their side had lost its weapon advantage, the Scarecrow's team reacted quickly. Two of them jumped back into the truck. Fighting unarmed wasn't impossible, but it would inevitably result in injuries, like losing a few teeth or breaking fingers. Before, they had completely relied on a mindset of crushing their opponents with weapons. Now that injuries were involved, they immediately reconsidered, and their leader saw their wavering determination, so he decided it was time to retreat.

They wanted to run, but Thea couldn't let them have their way. Concealed in the woods behind the crowd, she activated her voice modulator and hoarsely shouted, "They're trying to run, charge!"

After saying that, she pulled out a regular arrow and aimed at the fastest runner on the opposite side, then shot it from a distance. The distance was quite far, about two hundred meters, and Thea wasn't very confident. She had aimed at the torso of the person.

It was too far to clearly see where the arrow hit the person, but she heard him scream. As the person was about to step onto the truck, the arrow struck their leg which wasn't protected by body armor, causing intense pain. He couldn't take that step and fell off the truck.

Some of the Scarecrow's team were quick to realize that something was amiss and urged a few others to hurry into the truck.

But they forgot the nature of Gotham citizens: they were crazy. They were inherently reckless, with a somewhat barbaric demeanor.

The hot-blooded citizens had initially trembled in fear, preparing to scatter and flee, but Thea's unexpected intervention revived their morale. When they saw one unlucky guy fall and the remaining few showed signs of fleeing instead of seeking revenge, the enthusiastic citizens felt that the enemies were not as formidable as they thought. Why were they running? It was obviously because they were afraid of them.

Of course, they decided to take advantage of the situation. Most of the weapons they carried were melee weapons, like clubs and baseball bats. Therefore, Thea's magnetic arrow didn't have much effect on them.

Seeing that the enemies were unarmed and preparing to escape, several rough guys who seemed to be eager for death rushed forward, cursing profusely.

The Scarecrow gang, who had intended to retreat, couldn't bear facing the fists and clubs that were coming at them. They couldn't tolerate this any longer; it wasn't that they couldn't fight back. Since these people were so determined to seek death, they would oblige them.

Many of them drew their concealed knives and daggers and stabbed the enthusiastic citizens.

As cries of pain filled the air, Thea realized that these people were indeed formidable in combat. Even if she went bare-handed, she might not be able to take down these eleven people. Yes, there were only eleven left; the guy who had been shot by her arrow earlier might have sustained a second injury when he fell, and he was currently lying on the ground, gasping for breath.

This couldn't continue. The remarkable and coordinated combat abilities of these eleven people had already knocked down two of the vagabonds who had rushed forward, including the big-bearded man who had previously blocked the road. His face, which had been quite presentable before, was now covered in blood from being stabbed repeatedly, with foam constantly bubbling from his mouth as he lay on the ground.

She couldn't just stand by and watch anymore. Roll up her sleeves? That wasn't an option. Thea always remembered that she was here to help, and she couldn't abandon that principle. In order to make the fight between the two sides more fair and exciting, she decided to target whichever side was stronger!

Thea quickly notched an arrow and began to aim. Soon, she spotted a guy wielding two short knives, swinging them up and down like windmills. However, these guys were wearing bulletproof vests, which made things tricky. She could only aim for their unprotected limbs.

With the continuous sound of arrows whizzing, Thea shot one arrow after another, constantly changing positions. This was where the excellent maneuverability of her Glider came into play, as she moved unpredictably like the wind with almost zero physical exertion. Although the Scarecrow's team had already noticed something amiss, they were helpless. The guys blocking the road only saw their enemies falling to the ground and didn't realize that someone was supporting them from the shadows. They thought it was their own doing.

Soon, Thea managed to shoot down four members of the eleven-man team, and the homeless had banded together to take down another, changing the situation to six against eighteen.

With such a huge numerical disadvantage, the elite training and skilled coordination of the Scarecrow's gang couldn't be fully utilized anymore. If they could retreat and fight at the same time, they might still stand a chance of winning despite the odds. However, they couldn't run. If the people in the truck couldn't be sent to the Scarecrow, knowing their leader, they might actually be frightened to death.

The six members of the Strawman gang could only team up in pairs, backing each other up as they struggled to withstand the encirclement of the homeless people, muttering prayers to God for protection.

Whether God knew about this, Thea wasn't sure, but she indeed played her part. Watching the eighteen formidable homeless men, she felt a bit uneasy. If they all rushed at her, she would indeed be in trouble. The numerical advantage can be quite intimidating when individual strength hasn't reached a certain level.

Dealing with dozens of people was out of the question. Thea wasn't that capable yet. She estimated that it wouldn't be easy to take down this group of people on her own. Fortunately, there were ready-made meat shields available.

Setting aside her grievances for now, she decided to help the Scarecrow's team this time. Her wicked bow and arrow once again aimed at the "kind-hearted" citizens of Gotham. Dealing with these guys without bulletproof vests was a breeze.

In less than half a minute, she managed to knock down another eight homeless people.

The situation once again returned to a balance: six against ten!

At this point, even the dimmest of them realized that there was another enemy hidden nearby. They couldn't possibly believe that the arrows sticking out from their comrades were self-inflicted wounds. Several beefy men stopped their assault on the Scarecrow's team and looked around with wide eyes and gaping mouths.

Thea couldn't let them stop. If the homeless people found her and attacked fiercely, and the Scarecrow's gang drove away, she would have to go to the trouble of chasing them. It would be best to take care of them all now.

She drew out an arrow and nocked it. This arrow was not her special design; it was a smoke bomb provided by the Batman team at the campus, modified into an arrowhead. She had never had the chance to test them, but today she would see their effect.

With a "whoosh," the arrowhead pierced the ground, and a slight tremor triggered the mechanism inside the arrow. A white fog instantly enveloped the area.