Who was the mastermind behind it all?
This question had been circling in Batman's mind, and after more than half an hour had passed, the alert protocol he had set for himself finally activated.
If a mastermind had failed to leave any trace throughout Batman's half-hour of reasoning, it meant they were bound to be extremely troublesome. It also meant Batman had to give it his all.
He and Joker really did understand each other, Batman thought. Joker had probably realized that someone had plotted against all of them, using every one of them as a weapon to achieve their own ends.
Then what was the mastermind's goal?
Who would benefit from this war?
To explore that question, he had to carefully analyze the war currently unfolding in the new city.
But the war had erupted too suddenly, and Batman had little information at hand. He had no choice but to go deep into the front lines to investigate. Fortunately, Batman had fought in wars before and had more than enough weapons and equipment. Moving through the bases of warlords large and small was no problem.
He first arrived at several of the larger bases in Queens. Following the edges of their compounds to the front line, he witnessed a small battle involving around two hundred people.
A company of over seventy men was attacking a street defended by twice their number. They skillfully hurled weapons into the street, taking turns attacking under crossfire cover—frontal assaults, flank ambushes, frontal feints, and precise shots from the sides.
Batman found this astonishing. He had expected to see a battle between Crouching Dragon and Phoenix. Even now, the armies of most countries fought terribly, with tactics and strategy still stuck at the level of the early stages of World War II.
The attackers