Norman Osborn, in his Green Goblin persona, was meant to instill fear in others, but right now, he was the one caught off guard by Batman.
Almost on instinct, the Green Goblin—who had been injected with the Super Soldier Serum—kept up his "startled" expression while subconsciously lifting his arm to shield himself.
In that raised hand, the short knife he'd been clutching tightly was now cleverly concealed.
He was just waiting for Batman to lunge, so he could drive the blade into him.
"Everything's going just as I planned!"
Beneath the mask, the Green Goblin's lips curled into a wide grin. He could hardly wait to see his short knife slice into his opponent, disable him, and then gut him.
His excitement made the Green Goblin's breathing grow rapid, and he tightened his grip on the short knife even more.
Buzz!
Just as Batman was mid-leap, on the verge of colliding with the Green Goblin, the short knife cut through the air and thrust viciously toward Batman.
"Everything is within my plan."
Batman's face remained impassive. He'd been ready to battle the Green Goblin from the moment he entered the secret room and spotted the pumpkin bombs, along with the long and short knives, bullets, and miniature missiles.
No matter if the Green Goblin came into the secret room or what weapons he picked up, Batman had swiftly devised his countermeasures.
These included pressing the "Bat-Transmitter" button on the sole of his combat boot the instant he heard footsteps, as well as the serrated blades that had already extended from the outer edges of his gauntlets.
The moment the two clashed, a sharp "ding" rang out. Batman precisely parried the Green Goblin's supposedly well-hidden short knife with the retractable blade on his gauntlet. Then, with a slight push of his arm, he sent the short knife flying.
The Green Goblin was stunned. After the short knife was knocked away, he instinctively threw a punch.
"Based on the destruction Norman Osborn caused on the third basement level of the Osborn Group, his physical strength surpasses that of 'Captain America,' as I discovered when I hacked into the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division."
"But I still need to hold back and test him, to avoid accidentally killing him with too much force."
"With Peter Parker's repeatedly tested physical strength, combined with the protective capabilities of the Batsuit, Norman Osborn's punches and kicks should fall within a tolerable damage range."
This was the strategy Batman had formulated while his body was pressed against the ceiling of the secret room.
Now, facing the Green Goblin's punch, Batman simply crossed his arms to block it, rather than reaching out to twist his opponent's arm.
Boom!
Batman's body hurtled backward, slamming hard into the secret room's wall and shattering a large chunk of the solid concrete, leaving half his body embedded in it.
"Norman Osborn hasn't had professional training. From his earlier attack and the way he hid the short knife, his close-quarters combat relies entirely on the enhanced reactions, strength, and instincts granted by the Super Soldier Serum."
Batman leaped down from the wall, having already gauged Norman Osborn's power.
"Ho ho—"
The Green Goblin let out a manic laugh. He pushed off the ground with his feet, charging ferociously at Batman, while another short knife appeared in his hand.
Gazing at Batman, who had just pulled himself free from the wall, the Green Goblin drove the knife straight toward Batman's heart.
But this time, Batman didn't keep testing him. Instead, he seized the Green Goblin's wrist and twisted it with force.
Capable of smashing walls bare-handed and sending Batman flying into one, the Green Goblin's physical attributes had been massively boosted by the Super Soldier Serum, allowing his body to handle superhuman power.
However, the Green Goblin's tremendous strength couldn't match Peter Parker's twenty-five tons of force, which—combined with Batman's expert techniques for generating power—could even reach thirty tons.
Crack!
The Green Goblin's arm broke.
Batman didn't endure pain needlessly. He didn't abandon Peter Parker's precisely honed abilities just to pit "Bruce Wayne's" strength against the Green Goblin.
He prioritized efficiency, not self-indulgent sentiment.
As a result, the Green Goblin's mouth, which had been grinning upward moments ago, now twisted downward in agony. He didn't bother clutching his broken wrist; instead, he quickly pressed a button with his good hand.
Whoosh!
The green long knife, which had been stored alongside the pumpkin bombs, flew into the Green Goblin's hand in an instant. He gripped the hilt single-handedly, and then his green armor and the long knife seemed to connect to an electric current, igniting with light.
The Green Goblin backed away while swinging the long knife with ferocious power.
Though there was no real technique to it, thanks to the speed enhancement from the Super Soldier Serum, the green blade glow formed an impenetrable barrier.
Hiss.
Batman raised his arm. With a barely audible hiss from the nitrogen spring, the high-pressure nitrogen gas inside rapidly ejected the web fluid. In a flash, it solidified on contact with the air, forming a strand that shot toward the Green Goblin.
With a ripping sound, the black web strand met the green blade glow but failed to slow its swinging speed. Instead, the web itself seemed to evaporate and vanish.
Pat, pat, pat.
Inside the secret room, the freely flying bats showed no instinct to evade danger. The instant they touched the green blade glow, they all dropped to the ground.
Staring at the Green Goblin, who had turned himself into an unapproachable hedgehog, Batman couldn't help but frown.
If he had his cape, Batman could easily use it to breach the Green Goblin's blade barrier and take him down without issue.
But now, he had no cape on his back—only a device salvaged from the Spider-Slayer's glider.
The Green Goblin, relentlessly swinging the green long knife, slowly retreated to the glider in the secret room. Then he leaped backward onto it.
The glider steadily lifted the Green Goblin's body into the air. Just as Batman was about to fire his web fluid again to snag the glider, a whistling sound suddenly came from behind him.
Besides this glider in the secret room, there was also the one the Green Goblin had used when he went out!
The latter was now barreling wildly toward Batman. During its flight, two sharp spikes extended from its front, which would surely punch two massive holes through anyone they impaled.
Boom!
Batman dodged the glider with a sideways twist. The moment it grazed past him, he grabbed it and smashed it hard into the ground.
At the same instant, the Green Goblin sliced open the secret room's ceiling with his long knife and rose into the sky on the original glider from the room, soaring away.
"Ho ha ha ha!"
Mad laughter echoed through the night sky. When Batman gave chase, all he could see was the trail of fire from the glider's tail vanishing into the horizon.
The guy had escaped.
Batman stayed composed and didn't keep watching. Instead, he turned back and re-entered the secret room.
Switching off the Bat-Transmitter on the sole of his combat boot, Batman turned his attention to the bombs and weapons in the secret room.
Just as he was about to gather up all these items—lest Norman Osborn return someday to cause more trouble with them—Harry Osborn's voice suddenly called out:
"Father?"
Harry Osborn, jolted awake by the noise of Batman and the Green Goblin's fight, stood before the bookshelf in the study, gazing uncertainly at the eerie green secret room inside.
Thump!
A smoke bomb flew out from the secret room and exploded with a pop. Harry Osborn was immediately shrouded in white smoke.
Before he could react, Batman's figure had already burst out of the secret room, delivering a precisely controlled chop that knocked him unconscious.
When Harry Osborn slowly came to, got up from the floor, and stepped through the bookshelf, he saw an empty room, lit only by an eerie green glow.