Nobody can stop me from drawing cards in Gotham!

Chapter 18 The King Descends from the Sky, His Fury and Ferocity

The fog has dissipated.

On the rooftop, where the view had returned to normal, Jaeger and the imposter faced each other less than ten meters apart. The imposter made the first move—he raised his pistol again, but his movement carried a clear hint of hesitation.

After all, the fog field had clearly been advantageous to Jaeger, yet he voluntarily gave up this advantage, forcing the counterfeiter to suspect the other party's true intentions.

Besides, that monster... that mist crow that at first glance appears to be made entirely of mist, with only its eyes burning with blue flames, and that can manipulate the dense fog at will, is still watching him intently from the side, its gaze fixed on him.

"What are you up to?" The fake glanced at the restless fog crow beside him, and almost instinctively felt fear at the monster. He could only hide his subconscious trembling and take a few steps away from the creature before looking at Jaeger again.

"I don't care why you gave up on the fog—but from now on, if you try to make any move, I will shoot."

"Relax, buddy," Jaeger laughed nonchalantly. "The gun's in your hand... why do you look more nervous than I am?"

"Shut up! Where did all this nonsense come from..." The fake was about to retort when he was interrupted.

"Gurgle—!"

Just then, the raven suddenly let out a shriek, causing the already tense imposter to almost instinctively pull the trigger.

"Bang!"

Gunshots rang out, echoing through the sky.

The fake man's eyes widened involuntarily at the scene before him—no, not because his shot had missed, nor because Jaeger had dodged the shot with astonishing reaction speed or sheer luck.

Rather, it was because the bullet that left the barrel... hovered in the air in a bizarre and comical way just before it was about to hit Jaeger's heart.

It stopped.

"Forgive me for my lack of skill; I don't know many so-called spells."

The culprit who caused this scene was stroking his chin, examining his masterpiece, seemingly unsurprised.

"—But thinking about it carefully, it's enough to disable your pistol."

The moment the words left his mouth, the bullet that had been suspended in mid-air fell to the ground with a thud, making a crisp sound.

The fake's expression changed accordingly; he began to look at Jaeger with a look of surprise and uncertainty.

This scene was far more astonishing than Jaeger's sudden appearance earlier. After all, Jaeger wasn't the only one in Gotham who could appear and disappear at night, but stopping bullets out of thin air was unheard of.

"You asked me before why the fog dissipated, and this is the reason." Jaeger's right eye, which was flashing with an eerie light, grew even deeper, faintly revealing the shape of a rune. "Because I suddenly remembered something."

"That means bullets mean nothing to me."

"How about it? Want to try another shot?"

Jaeger spoke so casually, making it impossible to tell that he had actually been cheating.

Yes, "Hovering Bullet"? That's not something you'd find in the beginner spells that come with a level 1 Wizard!

But Jaeger still managed to do it, using a levitation spell that required time to chant and a little psychological foresight.

His previous actions and movements were all deliberately designed to guide the fake to fire, and the sudden opening of the fog crow caused the already nervous and overly vigilant fake to subconsciously pull the trigger.

—This kind of stress response triggered by a sudden interruption of deep concentration is also known as the Denniman effect in behavioral psychology.

In any case, by cooperating with the Mist Raven and by chanting the levitation spell at the pre-calculated time, Jaeger was able to achieve what he wanted... or rather, what he wanted the imposter to think he could achieve.

The imposter on the other side, of course, had no idea about Jaeger's thought process; he simply remained silent in the face of the surreal scene before him.

He was wavering.

The next second, the fake took a deep breath: "...You win, charlatan. Shooting really was pointless."

"—But what if I try a different approach?"

The situation suddenly reversed. The fake man decisively threw away his gun, took a few steps forward, and in an instant pulled out a tactical dagger from his cloak, slashing straight at Jaeger!

If ranged attacks don't work, what about melee attacks?

This is the logic behind counterfeit products; it's very simple and crude.

But the idea that sorcerers don't fight in close combat was actually a lucky guess on the part of the fake – Jaeger's heart sank. If he were to get into close combat with the fake, given the latter's skill level, which allowed him to exchange a few blows with the real Batman, he would most likely be stabbed to death before he could even cast a spell.

Fortunately, there's one move that doesn't require a spell!

Space tore open, and a large hole suddenly appeared in the ground. The counterfeit blade almost grazed Jaeger's collar before being swung into the air, as Jaeger narrowly disappeared before him through the opening of the "door" in the ground.

With a "whoosh," the door opened again, this time behind the counterfeit item whose knife had missed its mark.

Using the door as a springboard, Jaeger appeared above and behind the fake. As he descended from the sky, he ruthlessly used the momentum of his fall to kick the other man hard in the back!

Unexpectedly, the kick felt like hitting a steel plate against the fake. Jaeger's leg went numb from the shock, and his pupils dilated in shock: "Damn it, is this guy stuffing steel plates into a high-quality replica bat costume and running around like that?!"

Who would imitate Batman's bulletproof suit and cape in this way?!

But even more absurd than Jaeger's physically inept act of kicking a brick wall is that this bizarre action can trigger an achievement:

[A new achievement has been unlocked!]

[Achievement Completed - "The King Descends from the Sky, Wrathful and Ferocious!"]

[Unlock condition: Attack someone for the first time by falling from the sky.]

[PS: Previous chapter - Desperados have nowhere to retreat.]

Next Chapter: The King Descends from the Sky, His Face Furious and Ferocious!

Jaeger: "..."

Who designed this achievement system?!

A chill suddenly ran through his body, and Jaeger immediately became alert, almost turning around the instant the message "You sense danger from your surroundings" appeared...

The imposter seized the opportunity, swiftly turning around and grabbing Jaeger's ankle before he could retract it, attempting to pull him over by brute force!

But water suddenly overflowed from nowhere, and the fake man slipped and stumbled, instinctively letting go of his grip.

The Water Cleansing Spell, originally intended as a spell for drinking water, was used by Jaeger in his haste to make the fake slip and fall. He then took the opportunity to pull back his foot, retreat a few steps, and enter the room. A few seconds later, he was 20 meters away from the fake.

After landing, Jaeger remained expressionless, but his mind was racing.

The problem is obvious: he won't die, since he can use the [door] and the fake to stall for time... but how can he kill the fake with a bunch of low-level spells within the time limit?

The requirement for the card 【Slaughter】 is not necessarily to kill the fake, but to subdue the other party—but can you really subdue the fake by using the Water Cleansing Charm for drinking water, the Levitation Charm for retrieving items, or the Lockpicking Charm and the Glowing Charm?

A level 1 Wizard can't really be expected to have many high-level spells...

Wait, level 1 [Wizard]?

A flash of inspiration struck him, and Jaeger suddenly remembered something.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. By then, the fake had already adjusted its posture and turned to charge at Jaeger again!

In the brief exchange, he realized that although the charlatan on the other side did have some magic, it was nothing more than some minor tricks that rendered his pistol unusable or made him jump around randomly.

If the opponent really had a powerful spell, they would have used it long ago, instead of waiting until now.

"You're finished, you charlatan." The imposter's chin, peeking out from behind his mask, revealed a sinister grin. "I'll catch you sooner or later—and then I'll chop your head off myself!"

Twenty meters isn't actually that far, and even with a load, the imposter's physical abilities are visibly superior to those of an ordinary person... In almost a few breaths, he raised his knife and swung it at Jaeger again!

3 seconds.

Jaeger didn't move; he looked like he was frozen in fear.

2 seconds.

The dagger in the fake's hand gleamed coldly.

1 seconds.

A hint of a triumphant smile flashed across Jaeger's right eye, which was etched with runes.