Chapter 4776

"Damn it." Arkham Batman cursed inwardly. Why the hell is he running into the garden in this downpour?!

Having learned the enemy's exact position, Arkham Batman no longer hid; he stood up directly and faced Shiler. He saw that Shiler's skin was still pallid, and in his hand he held a bone-piercing dagger as long as an adult's forearm, its blade gleaming with cold light, slowly moving toward this spot.

His movement speed absolutely could not be this slow, Arkham Batman realized. He was doing this merely to apply psychological pressure, to make the person turn and flee. It works well on those who don't know him well.

But if Shiler also recognized him, then he should know that Arkham Batman understands him, so there's no need for this tactic. Even if he only saw his appearance and knew he was Batman, he should know that Arkham Batman simply doesn't succumb to pressure—doing this would be a complete waste of time. Could there be any other reason?

Arkham Batman made a bold decision. He simply stood there, waiting for Shiler to approach. When Shiler reached about fifty yards away, Arkham Batman could see through the misty rain those gray eyes, and then he noticed that Shiler's gaze was unfocused.

Those desolate gray eyes seemed not to be fixed on him, but merely looking in this direction, as if unable to pinpoint his exact location. Yet his gaze was changing, appearing to gradually solidify. Arkham Batman immediately realized that Shiler might have impaired vision.

Not completely blind, at least severely nearsighted. It's even possible he cannot see the real world's scenery and is observing the world from another angle, which is also limited, allowing only a rough direction to be determined. To focus in the real world, one needs to stare at the prey for a while, or have some other triggering condition.

What Arkham Batman could think of was probably that if he turned around now, Shiler's focusing speed would greatly increase, possibly even instant focus. At that point, some of his skills might become guaranteed hits.

Arkham Batman really wanted to test the limit distance. But as he hesitated, suddenly, a burst of music sounded. Arkham Batman swiftly retreated.

"What the hell?" Batman, having retreated to the fence, muttered lowly, "Why is there even background music?"

The music just now was a hurried violin piece. Arkham Batman had never heard this tune before, but he temporarily named it "Something's Wrong," both from the piece itself and the atmosphere it brought.

There is never gratuitous music in the game. Arkham Batman knew this well. This music was likely a hint, indicating that this distance might already carry a mortal risk. He recalled it was probably around thirty yards. He silently noted it in his mind, thinking he could warn other players later if he encountered them.

Arkham Batman looked up, and Spider-Man was still on the balcony. He quickly gestured to Spider-Man to leave. Don't look—Shiler is now in the garden, but returning to the castle won't take long. If he didn't pursue, he must be going after someone else; Spider-Man might be one of the targets.

Arkham Batman could basically confirm that Shiler had already recognized him just now. That was also the main reason Shiler didn't pursue. Batman is a tough nut to crack wherever he is; killing him first would be unwise.

After confirming Shiler had left, Arkham Batman still went to the pavilion as originally planned. Upon entering the pavilion, he saw a mirror placed on the table. Worried there might be a curse, Arkham Batman dared not touch it. He walked over cautiously, made sure no one was around, and peered at the mirror.

He didn't think a lethal item would be placed like this—that would be too poorly designed. Still, he leaned in to look, and the mirror faithfully reflected his face. But soon, the edges of the mirror began to seep blood, and the blood on the mirror formed a Roman numeral "3".

Arkham Batman raised his eyebrows. What did this number mean? Was it some kind of clue? However, after this number appeared, the same number also appeared in the upper left corner of his field of vision, somewhat resembling an identity prompt.

So he was Number Three? But why assign each person a serial number?

If it were the former Batman, he would basically have no way to guess, since he truly doesn't understand mysticism. But after experiencing the magic academy and constructing magical defense networks, he really has gained some understanding of such matters.

If a person wants to perform a sacrificial ritual to a demon, especially a live sacrifice, the sacrificial offering cannot be randomly chosen; it must possess certain attributes, such as having committed certain sins, or being born on certain special days, so that the demon will be satisfied.

Having such a person is not enough; one must sacrifice in a specific order. For example, if it's the Seven Deadly Sins, then they must be sacrificed one by one in that order, not reversed. These are ritual requirements and cannot be tampered with.

Therefore, this serial number is very likely the same. This so-called eldest son of the Vale family controlled by the demon, the role Shiler is playing, must also be sacrificed in order along with these exorcists.

Shiler's retreat just now might not have been because he didn't want to provoke Batman; more likely, it was because Batman is not Number One. Even if he killed Batman now, he couldn't sacrifice him—it would just waste resources.

Having understood this, Arkham Batman did not feel relieved. Because he is Number Three, not Number One, and Number One's identity is unknown. If he isn't strong enough and gets directly stabbed by Shiler and sacrificed, then his power might be enhanced.

More troublesome is that if he hadn't found the mirror, he might still not know his number. If, like him just now, he wanted to test Shiler's skills and ended up getting himself killed, that would be game over.

However, Arkham Batman wasn't overly worried. Those who dare challenge such a difficult dungeon should have no weaklings. That Spider-Man just now, aside from climbing skills, should also have danger-sensing abilities or the like, so he could accurately lock onto this direction—perhaps a variant of spider-sense. If he were Number One, the situation would be much better.

Just as he was thinking this, Arkham Batman noticed a shadow near the garden pond, which didn't look like Shiler. It must either be a plot character or a player.

Arkham Batman lowered his steps, quietly approaching along the bushes. From afar, he saw a man holding an iron shovel digging soil. Then came a flash of light, followed by a crack—yet the lightning had no effect whatsoever on the man's movements.

But it was this flash of lightning that allowed Arkham Batman to recognize the blond man before him—John Constantine, renowned across the multiverse.

Good news: a professionally matched mage has arrived. Bad news: this mage specializes in screwing over teammates.

To be honest, when Arkham saw Shiler become his opponent, he didn't feel as much pressure as when he saw Constantine become his teammate. Shiler as an opponent means a thrilling fight; Constantine as a teammate means heart-pounding guesswork. You never know when he'll make you fall just short.

Arkham Batman didn't even want to go up and talk to him. But seeing Constantine digging with a shovel, wanting to know what he was doing, he still approached.

"Heaven, you scared me." Constantine said this, but showed no sign of being startled, as if he had long known Arkham Batman was there.

And Arkham Batman, seeing the pit on the ground, was also startled. For inside that pit lay a skeleton, and Constantine had already dug out the person's hip bone.

"This is..."

"Someone from the Vale family." Constantine said, "I don't know exactly who. I have a skill that can see where their family members are. The first target I locked onto was already buried in the soil."

Arkham Batman didn't believe a word of what he said. But he still had a question: "Do you know your serial number?"

"What serial number?" Constantine glanced at him.

Arkham Batman also didn't know how to put it, since that mirror, after displaying his serial number, turned into a puddle of water—obviously a one-time item. So he could only explain: "Demons should only kill in order. Go look for a mirror, see what number you are. If you're Number One, you'd better hide first."

After saying this, Arkham Batman felt he had already done his duty and didn't want to linger with Constantine. But Constantine clearly had no intention of letting him go; he propped himself on the shovel with his elbow and said: "What number are you?"

"Three." Arkham Batman told the truth; lying on this matter would be pointless.

"Too bad," Constantine said, "If you were Number One, you could buy me quite a bit of time. Hope Number One gives some strength. By the way, have you seen any other items?"

"No, but I've seen the ghost."

Constantine then turned his head to look at him properly. Arkham Batman briefly described Shiler's possible abilities, and Constantine's expression finally turned serious.

"The plot says to seal them." Constantine said, "But our skills don't include sealing or anything like that, meaning we need to find items. I guess we need to take the designated item to the designated location, and sealing a specific location will weaken him..."

"I'm going into the castle." Arkham Batman said, "Where do you think the possible sealing locations might be?"

"Probably evenly distributed," Constantine said, "upstairs, downstairs, basement, possibly even in the garden. And these places definitely aren't just one door each; otherwise it would be too hard for us."

"I see." Arkham Batman didn't ask anything useful; he had already guessed as much.

Constantine waved the shovel again and started digging, as if this skeleton were very useful to him. Arkham Batman guessed he might be making some magical items or the like, so he didn't bother him.

After Arkham Batman left, the garden wind and rain swayed, water droplets continuously sliding from the tips of Constantine's blond hair. Suddenly, Constantine saw the sharp shadow cast by lightning fall upon the white bone he was digging.

He lifted his head, seeing a figure almost merging with the night, the blade light as pale as the white bone, slowly, slowly approaching him.

Constantine swallowed, forcing himself to stop the impulse to turn and flee. He first bent down to pick up a piece of white bone, then began to retreat, but precisely because of his greed, he missed the best chance to escape. When Shiler closed to thirty yards, the stirring music sounded, and the blade light flashed instantly.

"Ugh!!!!!!!"