Solomon Grundy

Chapter 37: Solomon Grundy

BOOM!

Poison Ivy, piloting a wooden dragon and plant crabs, slammed hard into Bane. Bane, over 4 meters tall, lifted the giant crab made of plants with just one hand, tossed it aside, and then leaped onto it. He started pounding it like a drum, laughing maniacally—one, two, three—as he rained down blows.

Chen Tao didn't know what to say.

Robin stood beside him and asked, "Should I call Ventriloquist?"

Chen Tao's lips trembled. "I'm not a fighter by nature."

"So, are you going to call or not? I don't think Poison Ivy can beat Bane. She's only managing a brief suppression of him right now..."

"Damn it, call for backup! Hurry!"

Chen Tao was furious internally but maintained a calm, unruffled expression externally. He stood on a large boulder in the swamp, striking a heroic pose looking down, and forced himself to say:

"No problem, I predicted this outcome." He tried to encourage Robin, then added:

"Everything is going according to my The Batman Who Laughs... ah, no, my Batman's plan!"

Below, five people were being brutally beaten by Bane alone. So far, no one had been injured—

Poof!

Dizzy Earl suddenly rushed into Bane's attack range as if he'd lost his mind.

Deathshot couldn't understand why the fool was doing this. Oh! Perhaps he was relying on his stun ability, which was stronger the closer he was. He was trying to press his head against Bane to activate his power, aiming for a one-hit knockout—

Deathshot could only call him an idiot.

Outmatched in strength, speed, experience, and combat skills, stealing right in front of the shop owner—what else could he be but an idiot?

Before Dizzy Earl could get close, Bane grabbed him. He gripped the upper body and sides of Dizzy Earl, lifting him high above his head. With a heave—

Squelch! Dizzy Earl's black blood poured all over Bane's head.

Every Saturday, the Gotham Gazette dedicated a small section to a lifestyle column called "Gotham is...".

In this column, randomly selected Gotham citizens would complete the sentence "Gotham is...", using no more than three words.

When Bane first came to Gotham, he really liked this column.

Here are some of the words used to describe Gotham in past weeks:

"Damned." "Cursed." "Asylum." "Bloodthirsty." "Gotham is vicious." "Gotham is slim odds." "Gotham is hopeless."

Bane agreed wholeheartedly. He once thought that such a sinful city should be conquered by him. If he didn't hold such sin in his grasp, it would be a major regret in his life.

But he had now bid farewell to those past thoughts.

At this very moment, his heart was soaring, his mood was joyful, and he felt as if he were floating on air.

All the worries and dissatisfaction of recent days had vanished with his loud laughter.

He felt an inexhaustible surge of energy, and he was both happy and insane—

It was strange. He used to be so serious, so burdened by past suffering, but all of that lost its meaning after inhaling the laughing gas. What plans? What about taking over the city?

None of that mattered to him now.

He just wanted to kill Batman. He didn't care who wanted this rotten city; he certainly didn't like it.

He felt he could do it.

Because, because he was the warrior of justice, the hero who punished evil—

It's Bane!

With that thought, Bane grinned and burst into loud laughter.

His chilling laughter made Deathshot's legs go weak.

Trees couldn't stop his advance. The winding, twisting branches that slithered like pythons across the ground were only fit to be torn apart by his monstrous strength.

Bane felt better than ever. No one could stop him. He didn't need to consider any plans. He just had to tear down the green shell summoned by Poison Ivy piece by piece, then—go straight for the heart, kill everyone present, and then—

Until a large, dark gray zombie came to stop him.

Solomon Grundy.

Unlike the many Gotham monsters, this giant zombie had almost zero intelligence. Manipulating him... would require some special methods.

"Solomon Grundy... born on a Monday."

Killer Croc stood panting beside Chen Tao, dripping wet with his tongue hanging out.

"Good heavens! This zombie swims almost as fast as I do. I thought I was the only amphibian. I had to carry that cow and struggle for ages to lure him here successfully."

The giant zombie was devouring the golden cow. Killer Croc said to Chen Tao, "Alright, Batman, uh..."

He turned his head away and let out a muffled sound, "This feels weird."

"You'll get used to it after a while, Killer Croc," Chen Tao replied. "Times change, and Batman has to adapt."

While connecting Alfred's call, he said to Killer Croc, "You know, 'no man is an island'."

"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday!"

The giant zombie mumbled while gnawing on the meat, "Solomon Grundy, on Tuesday..."

"No, Solomon Grundy was born on a Tuesday!"

"?"

The giant zombie paused his eating. The next second, he became enraged.

"Nonsense! Born on a Monday!"

"Batman, can you hurry up? We can't hold on much longer!"

Deathshot screamed, "If we all get beaten to a pulp, we'll die right now!"

"Solomon Grundy, died on a Monday!"

"Married on a Tuesday!"

"Christened on a Saturday!"

Loud voices echoed from the sky. The grey giant zombie's face showed a mixture of confusion and anger.

"No, no, all wrong!"

As expected, the grey giant zombie was provoked.

He looked up sharply, trying to find the arrogant fool who dared to alter his nursery rhyme, but in the clear sky, there was no sign of Batman's stealth fighter.

So, his furious gaze... predictably turned to Bane, who was wreaking havoc.

"Who tampered with Grundy's nursery rhyme?"

Deathshot and Poison Ivy exchanged glances, then stepped aside in unison, pointing at Bane.

"He did it."

"What? Hic hahaha..."

Bane was still cackling madly. The next second, the grey giant zombie's fist smashed into his face.

Bang!

His face caved in violently, like a cake that had been pressed down.

The sound of tearing bone echoed. Even the combined effects of Titan Venom and Joker Toxin couldn't suppress this immense pain.

Bane let out a painful groan, unable to laugh anymore.

"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday! Grundy told you, Grundy was born on a Monday!!!"

"Why can't you understand? Born--on--a--Monday!"

"You bastard, I didn't say that!"

Bane, who had barely regained his senses, lifted his head. Half his face was caved in by Solomon Grundy. "You..."

But just then, before anyone could react, the pool of black sludge on the ground lunged towards Bane's face, merging with the black blood that Dizzy Earl had dripped onto Bane's face earlier.

Chen Tao's heart leaped.

The Black Rot he had been waiting for... had finally made its move.

He saw Bane's eyeballs turn greyish-white.

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