Adjusting her breathing, Thea drew her bowstring taut and aimed her arrow at the distinctive sharp nose of the Penguin.
The arrow streaked like a shooting star, incredibly fast and accurate. If all went as planned, the Penguin's face would be pierced by the sharp arrowhead, and his loyal henchmen would joyfully attend his funeral tomorrow, while the day after would see the selection of a new leader.
However, when the arrow was less than twenty centimeters away from his ugly face, a figure swooped in from the side, and a pair of emerald green gloves swiftly caught the arrow.
Hmm? It wasn't strange that her arrow was blocked. After all, her archery skills weren't at their peak. The previous madman, Azrael, could also block arrows. But to catch a high-speed flying arrow with bare hands was not something an ordinary person could do.
People with great strength and good dynamic vision could achieve this, but the person before her was not that type. She was familiar with her own archery skills, using the specialized arrow-catching technique passed down from the ninja masters. This technique was something she knew as well, but she never had the chance to use it before. Today, unexpectedly, she encountered a woman who used it against her.
"Talia," Thea said softly, looking at the woman not far away.
"Who are you?" Talia al Ghul, wearing a dark green leather jacket, carrying a recurve bow, and with a long sword hanging from her waist, scrutinized Thea. She was also wondering who this person was. Seeing her martial and archery skills, which were passed down from her father, she wondered if she was from the League.
How should Thea answer her question? The story behind this was very complicated and couldn't be explained in detail, especially since she wasn't prepared to tell it in front of so many people.
As she gazed at Talia's face, which bore features of mixed ethnicity—not the fair complexion typical of Caucasian Europeans but rather exhibiting traits from the Arab world and East Asia—with dense black hair accentuating her amber eyes, she emitted a peculiar yet dangerous charm.
"Defeat me first, then I'll tell you!" Thea retorted, eager to see the difference between herself and the daughter personally instructed by Ra's al-Ghul. She swiftly drew another arrow, aimed at Talia, and shot.
"Your archery skills still need honing," Talia remarked contemptuously as she skillfully deflected the arrow with her bow, her words dripping with disdain. Nevertheless, her movements were not slow, as she pulled her bowstring at the same speed and frequency as Thea and fired an arrow back at her opponent.
But under Thea's powerful perception, this arrow was as conspicuous as the sun in the sky. She gracefully sidestepped two paces to the left, avoiding the arrow's trajectory, while continuing to shoot back at Talia.
The two of them continued to shoot arrows at each other, like a performance. Arrows of almost the same size and weight constantly intersected in the air. Both of them needed to dodge each other's arrows while simultaneously aiming to shoot at their opponent, occasionally creating the classic scene of two arrows colliding in mid-air.
After a while, the two of them shot all twenty arrows from their quivers at each other. Neither could do anything to the other. Talia's archery skills were indeed exquisite, but Thea's powerful perception compensated for any deficiencies in her archery skills.
The intense, rapid shooting resulted in a significant consumption of physical and mental energy. Neither of them possessed superhuman endurance. Simultaneously, they ceased their attacks, adjusting their breaths as they locked eyes, preparing for the next round of confrontation.
After reaching this point, Talia completely confirmed that the person in front of her was using the archery skills of Ra's al-Ghul. After all, old habits die hard, and if someone was taught in a certain way, they would likely continue to teach the same way. The consistent style of archery displayed by Thea was unmistakable. If Talia failed to recognize this, it would only mean she was blind.
By carefully observing her opponent's movements and various aspects of strength and speed, Talia could deduce that she was facing a woman—a young woman at that. Her first reaction was to think of her younger sister, Nyssa al-Ghul.
Having left Nanda Parbat many years ago, she didn't know how skilled her sister had become. However, she felt that her sister's abilities should be similar to those of the woman before her, and the ages of the two women were also very close.
Was it possible that her sister knew she was in Gotham and came to deal with her? Was their father, Ra's al-Ghul, also nearby?
Feeling a bit uneasy, Talia ordered her subordinates to remain hidden and avoid exposure.
Luckily, Thea couldn't read minds. Otherwise, if she knew that Talia mistook her for her sister, she would definitely exclaim angrily, "What kind of eyes do you have?"
At this moment, Thea was feeling conflicted. This person was the biological mother of Batman's son, and it wasn't appropriate to fight her. Furthermore, she would play a crucial role in Oliver's development as the future Green Arrow. Without her guidance, there would be no Green Arrow, and Thea didn't want to ruin this important opportunity for her brother.
Furthermore, if Talia is here, would Bane be far behind? Thea couldn't figure out how to deal with a guy whose strength was measured in tons. With fists, the size of cooking pots and the strength of two tons, even Iron Man in the first movie wouldn't be able to withstand it.
Talia feared retaliation from the League of Assassins, while Thea feared Bane emerging from the shadows. Both were wary of potential threats, so they unconsciously retreated into their respective groups.
"Commissioner Gordon, how's the situation on your side?" Thea asked over the earpiece, inquiring about their situation.
"It's going relatively smoothly, but these guys are putting up a tough resistance. To be honest, I suspect they have some sort of conspiracy going on," replied the old commissioner, his voice accompanied by continuous gunfire.
Not only did he suspect a conspiracy, but Thea also had a bad feeling about it. With the Court of Owls, Talia, and possibly Bane lurking somewhere, the enemy had the upper hand in terms of high-end combat power.
Making a quick decision, Thea issued the order to retreat.
"Commissioner, arrange for personnel to prepare our retreat route. We're pulling out of Arkham Asylum slowly," she instructed.
"Lyla, command your snipers to shoot and retrieve Robin."
"Selina, Barbara, prepare your smoke bombs. And Selina, have Bridgit assist in covering our retreat," she added. Lady Firefly hadn't been included in their dedicated channel, as Thea wasn't entirely trusting of her. Additionally, the woman had little affection for the Batman team.
Following Commissioner Gordon's commands on the police channel, the main force began to consciously shrink their formation. Two sniper shots rang out, and the two Talons besieging Robin, who had keen intuition, dodged the bullets at the last moment, allowing Robin to smoothly rejoin the main force.