Chapter 33: Sparring with a Disabled Person

"My apologies." Roland placed his hands back on the steering wheel. "In short, your combat prowess hasn't reached the peak of human potential yet, so don't even think about fighting people like Batman or Nightwing. I suspect you’d struggle even against the Penguin right now."

"Huh?" Jason looked unconvinced. "That short, fat guy?"

"The Penguin has trained in martial arts and judo; he’s a nimble fat man," Roland replied. "You still have a lot of training to do."

"Then... what about the Mad Hatter?"

"Are you really going to compare yourself to a disabled person?" Roland rolled his eyes. "He weighs less than 50 kilograms; anyone would win in a fight against him."

"What about you? Is there really no one in Gotham City who can beat you?"

"Hmm... there certainly will be in the future, but right now... there are probably a dozen or so." Roland pondered. The Court of Owls' Talons were all highly skilled and agile, and they possessed immortality. He had heard that sixteen of them possessed abilities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. If he were to clash with them, the outcome would be hard to call.

The main issue was that the ability of immortality was simply too cheap; even if you could beat them, it was incredibly difficult to finish them off.

"There are really that many experts in Gotham?" Jason was stunned. He had only been joking earlier, but in his eyes, while he could criticize Roland's intelligence or character, he couldn't deny his combat skills. Yet, he was being told that someone like this—a superhuman—still had rivals in Gotham?

"Yeah, I'll probably run into them eventually." Roland thought about it. The Court of Owls' goal seemed to be the secret control of Gotham City, which had nothing to do with him.

However, beyond that, they had a conspiracy that transcended the multiverse level—connecting to Barbatos, followed by some kind of Dark Multiverse invasion...

That, however, had a lot to do with him. But such a major event wouldn't happen quite so quickly; he had time to develop.

Once he saved up enough goodwill points to draw the [Ability of the DC God], then the Batman Who Laughs, Barbatos, Darkseid, or Steppenwolf wouldn't be enough to handle him alone.

Thinking about the probability of the draw and his own luck, Roland sighed.

"By the way, how are we going to fence the stolen goods in Blüdhaven?" Jason, seeing Roland fall silent, suddenly thought of a question. "I don't know anyone here."

"What do you mean 'fence stolen goods'?" Roland corrected him. "Fencing is selling illicit goods obtained through criminal activity. Did we obtain these through a crime?"

"Didn't we?"

"Of course not," Roland said, coaxing him. "Think about it, where did these goods come from?"

"We snatched them from a gang."

"Nonsense. Are these goods theirs? They clearly fell into the river." Roland continued, "What’s wrong with us picking up ownerless things and selling them?"

"That makes sense." Jason was moved by his logic. "So we just go sell them?"

"Yes, sell them cheaply to a fur shop. If they don't buy them, we'll stand in front of their shop and give them away for free."

"...You really are wicked."

Blüdhaven.

It was a small city on the American East Coast, where the salty sea breeze carried moist air that felt exceptionally comfortable on the skin.

"The weather and air quality here are much better than in Gotham," Roland remarked. "Gotham is always gloomy and damp, and the air smells like kerosene."

"Well, there aren't many factories here, and the population density isn't high."

"True, and the greenery is well-maintained."

The two chatted as they walked, entering the largest local fur shop. They disposed of the cheap furs, half-threatening and half-selling, and then found a repair shop to change a tire on their large truck.

After finishing these chores, the two, who had been hungry for most of the day, found an Italian restaurant to eat.

"I have to say, Italian food is indeed quite good," Roland said. "I quite like spaghetti."

"I hope you aren't talking about the noodles you cook yourself."

"Stop slandering my cooking. I'm actually quite good at just boiling noodles."

"...Are you serious?"

"You don't know fine dining... I'll order." Roland called the waiter over. "Neapolitan pizza, double-cheese pizza, herb-roasted chicken, Italian sausage, baked prawns with cream sauce, traditional Italian roasted vegetables, cream soup, tiramisu, cannoli, and cannoncini."

With money in his pocket, Roland began to order boldly, ordering every signature dish in the restaurant.

"You have staples, meat, vegetables, desserts, and soup. Father, that's enough..." the waiter reminded him. "Our portions aren't small; what you've ordered is more than enough."

"Then let's leave it at that for now. Do you want anything else?" Roland handed the menu to Jason.

"That's enough... this is way too much..." Jason set the menu aside and swallowed hard. "How are we supposed to eat all this?"

"I could finish it all by myself." Roland shrugged. After acquiring part of the dragon lineage, his appetite had increased several times over.

This made him suspect that the dragon blood in his body didn't come from the King of Sky and Wind, but from the lineage of the King of Earth and Mountain.

"You really can eat..." Jason watched as Roland downed a slice of cheese pizza in two bites, and he hurriedly started eating as well.

Otherwise, at this rate, he might not get his fill.

"Alright, I'm full. Let's go back to Gotham." Roland patted his stomach, paid the bill, and went outside to drive the truck.

The road back was much calmer, and Roland slowed down.

While waiting at a red light on the way out of the city, he suddenly noticed an acquaintance sitting in the passenger seat of the car next to him.

It was the bald, muscular man from earlier.

When the bald man saw Roland, he appeared exceptionally agitated; he tore off his seatbelt, removed the car door, and stepped out.

"Looks like I'll have to take action after all." Roland jumped out of the truck and kicked the muscular man away.

"What are you doing!" The man in the driver's seat pulled out a gun and pointed it at Roland. "Don't mess around!"

"Oh, why does it suddenly feel like I'm back in Gotham?" Roland ducked with lightning speed to dodge a bullet, then picked up a shattered rearview mirror from the ground and headshot the driver.

"Bro... ther..."

The bald giant roared and charged at Roland, but Roland struck his wound directly and knocked him out with a few punches.

"Tch, he’s pretty tough." Roland shook his hand and was just about to call the police when someone in a blue bird suit suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Hello, what happened here?"

"You're Nightwing, aren't you?" Roland looked at the iconic blue bird suit and recognized the person. "This guy is a mentally ill super-criminal. Although his intelligence is low, he has super strength and endurance. He came looking for trouble and I took him down."