Chapter 73: Only a Clown Can Be Broken by

As the saying goes, the stranger the move, the faster the death; the second half can be said either to oneself or to the enemy.

The Joker felt unprecedented pressure at this moment—he had fought many cold-weapon experts in Gotham City before: katana, rapier, bat-shuriken, long staff, dual blades, hand-and-a-half sword, longsword, and even nunchucks, which had made his close-combat style increasingly mature; although it was still a madman's tactic of trading injuries, most of the time this approach did give him some maneuvering ability and even the possibility of victory.

But the way Ma Ma Zhaodi wielded the single-handed Han sword was something he had never seen before.

Maybe Batman would? But Batman had never chopped him with a hand-and-a-half sword; most of the time, he could knock the Joker down using only martial arts.

Yet the Joker's face still wore a grin at this moment.

"Hehehe! Why aren't you afraid of pain now? It's fine; if it hurts, just scream!"

Slic—

The dagger tore the cotton robe again, leaving a deep, bone-exposing wound on Ma Ma Zhaodi's shoulder, but at the same time, the Han sword in his hand stabbed and flicked, carving away a large chunk of flesh from the Joker's waist along with the belt holding the laughing gas.

Seeing this, the Joker did not dodge; one hand swung the crowbar again, smashing toward Ma Ma Zhaodi's head. Ma Ma Zhaodi blocked it with a cloud-sword technique using one hand, grabbed the Joker's crowbar-holding hand with his left, surged forward, followed up with his right hand, sliced off the corsage on the Joker's suit that could spray corrosive liquid to eat through Batman's costume, and took a dagger stab in the back.

Amidst flying blood, the two traded blows back and forth; with the help of the fruit candy, Ma Ma Zhaodi immediately used the injury-trading tactic to neutralize the Joker's various sinister gadgets, a strategy that threw the Joker into a dilemma he had never experienced before.

In the past, he had grown accustomed to using a blood-for-blood fighting style to make opponents hesitate, so he always seemed like a madman, rarely defending except for vital areas; but today, this tactic had become his weakness instead, because the guy opposite him had far too strong a recovery ability—the more injuries they traded, the more disadvantageous it became for himself.

"Unfair! Unfair! Unfair!" he screamed: "This isn't fun at all!"

Ma Ma Zhaodi did not plan to spare attention to answer the Joker's question for now; he stared fixedly at the Joker's movements. After gripping the long sword and beginning the exchange, he had already gained the ability to maneuver and strategize, and his brain had gradually begun to adapt to the pain brought by blades and crowbar strikes. He could not determine whether this was an inherent effect of Master-level swordsmanship or if he simply possessed some innate combat talent, but he was indeed gradually becoming more at ease.

Clang!

The curved hook of the crowbar became entangled with the long sword, unable to move. The Joker, still laughing wildly, swung the dagger again with his other hand, yet Ma Ma Zhaodi was not panicked; he knew his teammate had been waiting for such an opportunity.

Sure enough, in the next second, Clinton, who had been seeking an opening, pulled the trigger repeatedly. Gunshots rang out, bullets left the barrel, and three consecutive shots precisely struck the hand holding the crowbar and the Joker's shoulder.

Ma Ma Zhaodi stepped forward immediately, slashed with his sword, and cut off the Joker's suit along with the gun holster. The Master-level swordsmanship experience time still had five minutes remaining, but in reality, the Joker no longer had any chance of turning the tables.

The belt holding the laughing gas and flying cards and the suit were removed, the corsage was destroyed, the revolver was knocked away; he was left with only the dagger and crowbar in his hands—but Ma Ma Zhaodi could summon Grandy to join the battlefield again. Even if the swordsmanship experience card's time expired, the injured Joker could no longer cross two teammates to reach Ma Ma Zhaodi.

But Ma Ma Zhaodi did not summon Grandy to join the fight immediately; the Master-level swordsmanship experience time was extremely precious. He wanted to finish the full ten minutes, perhaps to retain a portion of it in his skill slot.

"Grandy! First, carry this Christmas tree out! Don't let him detonate it manually!"

"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday."

Grandy had been waiting outside for his friend's voice. The moment Ma Ma Zhaodi finished speaking, he jumped straight into the room, hugged the Christmas tree along with the bomb on it, and then jumped out of the room again.

"No! No no no! My Christmas tree! My firework Christmas tree!"

The Joker glared at Ma Ma Zhaodi through gritted teeth; the smile on his face had now vanished completely: "A shameless, boring, dull, gun-wielding Santa Claus has ruined my entire Christmas! My fireworks! My Christmas presents!"

Their figures crossed each other; another sword strike landed in the popliteal fossa behind the Joker's knee. At this very moment, his stamina was already beginning to falter.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Ma Ma Zhaodi replied: "I personally brought you a bucket of milk, a big reindeer, and even helped you save your Christmas tree—you should thank me."

"I will definitely find a chance to properly thank you in the future!"

The figures of the Joker and Ma Ma Zhaodi crossed rapidly under the moonlight; the small knife and long sword reflected the cold moonlight, bringing forth splashes of blood.

"You have never even fought; why go to such lengths? Look at yourself; you were even sniffling just now!"

"Normal people snivel. If someone is always smiling, then they have never truly been happy!"

Ma Ma Zhaodi's sword technique grew increasingly skilled; the precious sword in his hand shimmered like three feet of moonlight, almost dazzling the Joker so he could not open his eyes.

"Ha! A boring Santa Claus actually thinks he understands an interesting madman!"

The Joker's small knife became even more frantic; his fighting style turned more aggressive, and his desire to attack surged sharply.

Ma Ma Zhaodi wielded the long sword; this was the peak moment of his close-combat ability. He deflected the Joker's attacks one by one, then seized an opportunity to thrust straight through the opponent's palm, knocking the small knife to the ground. He immediately kicked it into the room to prevent escape through the window—but the Joker did not stand up again; instead, he lay on the ground and began to giggle.

"Hehe, hehehe, hehehehe... So, if someone never smiles, it means they have never truly been normal either, right?"

Hearing this, Ma Ma Zhaodi raised an eyebrow, immediately realizing something. He instinctively looked around. Sure enough, a low, hoarse voice suddenly rang out the next second, and a black bat appeared from the night.

"You deliberately went to Maroni first, lured me over, and then came to Harvey's house to plant the bombs."

Ma Ma Zhaodi asked from the side: "When did you arrive?"

"Just now—he lured me to Diamond District, so it took a little time to get here."

Ma Ma Zhaodi let out a long breath. He watched the countdown for the Master-level swordsmanship experience on the panel reach zero, then finally collapsed onto the ground: "Twelve full minutes have passed from the moment I shouted the word 'Joker' until now. Shouldn't you reflect on yourself properly?"

"You know I left other listening and tracking devices on you."

"Isn't that your style? Otherwise, why would I have removed the signal jamming?"

At this moment, the Joker nearby seemed to have completely lost his composure.

"Damn it, you two stop talking! —That red-clad Joker, don't let me find your ridiculous Santa Claus hut! Otherwise, I will definitely blow you sky-high!"

(End of this chapter)