The Beautiful Sword

Originally, Thea had planned to pretend to retreat, lure out these people, and set up an ambush. But unexpectedly, the entire intersection was sealed off by ice, forcing her to reluctantly abandon the entire plan.

Bridgit wanted to leave on her own, but Thea half-dragged her onto the command vehicle. She was a valuable asset now, and Thea couldn't let her go until she figured out how to deal with Mr. Freeze. Together with Selina, they managed to persuade her to stay.

Inside the vehicle, none of them spoke, each silently reflecting on the gains and losses of this battle.

Thea took out the sword she had retrieved earlier, intending to use it for scientific research. She lightly tapped the sword, emitting a low hum. It was difficult to determine its material. The entire sword was a deep black color, 85 centimeters long, with the handle adding a bit more than a meter in total.

Its design was that of a traditional English broadsword, but with thinner blades on both sides, capable of thrusting and slashing. The Latin inscription on the hilt read "Sword of Azrael."

Was this lunatic named after this sword? If he were still alive, he could change his name now. Thea held the sword in her hand and gently waved it. It was truly a fine sword—not too light, not too heavy. Its length and strength were just right for her height. It was fate!

Inside the vehicle, everyone unconsciously glanced at her as she swung the sword. Bridgit and Lyla, who weren't interested in cold weapons, quickly looked away.

The Bat-Family members watched for a while.

"Is this the Sword of Azrael?" Robin seemed to have a deep impression of the sword. However, he was too far away during the fight and didn't see Thea in action. Seeing the sword now, he was somewhat puzzled.

Thea glanced at him and didn't bother to respond. What kind of nonsense was this about the Sword of Azrael? From a legal and moral standpoint, no matter what, this is her sword now. Who is Azrael anyway? She didn't even know him!

Just as she was about to sheathe the sword, the sharp-eyed Selina noticed the exceptionally magnificent scabbard. "Is this also something you confiscated?"

Faced with Selina's intense gaze, Thea instinctively took a small step back. "What? Is there something wrong with this scabbard?"

There was nothing wrong, but Selina couldn't help but feel that the gemstones on the scabbard were dazzling. As someone who had been in the jewelry business for over a decade, she immediately judged that they were all genuine. She wanted to look away, but couldn't control her own eyes, thinking to herself: Just one more glance, and another, and one last look.

It's said that women and dragons are similar creatures. Thea's flaunting of wealth here attracted the attention of Bridgit, who usually remained indifferent. Not to mention the other women.

As a mature woman, Lyla glanced over a few times and forcibly calmed herself down. Barbara, coming from a relatively affluent background, had a stronger immunity to jewelry. She envied and resented it for a while, then turned to Robin to share her feelings.

But for the two women from poor backgrounds, facing the temptation of these colorful little stones wasn't so easy.

As the designated beauty of the Green Arrow's team, Felicity, who changed her clothes three times a day and wore a different pair of earrings every day, held onto the sleeve of Thea's battle dress, her eyes gleaming as she stared at it. She was almost shouting, "This item is destined to be mine!"

Selina was also somewhat attracted, her eyes fixed on the scabbard. She kept calculating how much money she could get by selling it, secretly resenting Azrael's inadequate combat skills. Such a precious Gotham treasure ended up in the hands of someone from Starling City and was even confiscated openly. There was no way she could rightfully claim it for herself.

Of course, Thea wasn't going to be generous and say, "Everyone, come and take a gemstone!" She was currently struggling to make ends meet, and whether she used this scabbard herself or sold it, it had nothing to do with the folks from Gotham. She wouldn't give up the fat sheep she had in hand.

To divert everyone's attention, Thea decided to ask them about their thoughts on today's battle.

"What do you think of those enhanced individuals? Have you fought against enemies like them before?"

The women, including Dick, exchanged glances and unanimously shook their heads. Of course, their shaking heads didn't indicate that the enhanced humans weren't powerful, but rather that they hadn't encountered such enemies before and couldn't judge.

Seeing them shake their heads, Thea knew she had asked in vain, and she felt a pang of disappointment. If she had to deal with hundreds of enhanced individuals, she wouldn't stand a chance.

Fortunately, at this moment, the experienced Commissioner Gordon spoke up. "I've seen them when I was young. Back then, their abilities were varied, ranging from aging people rapidly to controlling minds, but they all required physical contact."

After pondering for a moment, he added, "This time, I feel like their physical abilities have been enhanced, but they don't seem to possess those strange powers."

"Do you know how to deal with them?" Thea asked politely, her face full of expectation.

The Commissioner felt a bit embarrassed. "Back in my day, I just used a stick to beat them. They were a bit stronger than ordinary people, but nothing extraordinary."

His words made Thea want to facepalm. Was he so hot-tempered when he was young? Just brute-forcing his way through without any strategy? Barbara must have inherited his personality too.

This method was too brainless. It might work against a few, but how does one handle hundreds of them? Thea, who considered herself intelligent, wasn't prepared to adopt such a suggestion.

"You mentioned earlier that they emitted trace radiation." Thea turned to her companion, Felicity.

"Yes, there was a noticeable radiation spike before they appeared."

"Could it be that they're enhanced with nuclear material?" Thea could only rely on Commissioner Gordon to answer this question since he had seen them before.

Commissioner Gordon, nearing retirement at almost sixty, struggled to recall. He couldn't quite remember the specifics of those experiments. Back then, he hadn't cared about how they enhanced these people—just solving the cases mattered. With Gotham's never-ending stream of major and minor crimes, it had been over twenty years. How could he remember?

He shook his head to indicate that he couldn't remember.

Thea didn't have high hopes for the Commissioner's memory either. Even if he remembered, they likely would have evolved their methods in the twenty-plus years since then. Memories from that time could only serve as a reference at best.

Thankfully, Sia had been researching weapons of mass destruction lately, with nuclear weapons being a focal point. She pondered for a moment.

"Later, attach a Geiger counter to the drone and measure the radiation levels on-site," Thea instructed Felicity. Then she suddenly remembered something and turned to the people from Gotham.

"Do you have a Geiger counter?"

They were about to shake their heads in denial when Lyla answered.

"We have one at A.R.G.U.S. I'll have them bring one for you."