socalfunplaces Chapter 99 The Court of Owls
Chapter 99 The Court of Owls
Chapter 99 The Court of Owls
In response to Mr. Grayson's heartfelt thanks, Jung Eun simply replied casually, "It was nothing."
Actually it is not.
He specifically waited near the circus because of Dick.
Because he didn't know when the turning point that would lead to the Graysons' deaths would arrive, he returned to the vicinity of the circus after sending Jason and Casey back to wait.
Although he had disposable protective gear, someone wanted the Graysons dead. The first one was a gangster from the comics, but next time it could be an assassin or something else. If they didn't find the mastermind, they wouldn't have enough lives to survive.
Zheng En had guessed that they would encounter danger, but the appearance of the claws was still beyond his expectations.
Harry's Circus is a secret affiliate that provides the Court of Owls with reserve Claws. Even though it's clear from most people's reactions that they were completely unaware of this and knew nothing about the sudden appearance of Claws, the Court has no reason to do such a thing from any perspective.
Killing the Graysons would bring them no benefit whatsoever. Even if human life meant nothing to them, Dick was the chosen child. Without a guardian, he might be forcibly taken away and auctioned off.
and many more.
Zheng En realized the misconception in his thinking. Dick was able to escape the control of the Court of Owls after losing his parents because his guardian was Bruce Wayne. The Owls' reach couldn't extend into Wayne Manor.
But even if the Graysons are dealt with, Dick's custody will most likely fall into the hands of the circus owner.
If the Graysons realized something and wanted to stop the circus owner from getting rid of Dick, then they would indeed be the ones to be eliminated.
"wrong."
Tong Bat pulled Jung Eun out of her brainstorming session. Given that there was still a group of circus members in front of her, Jung Eun didn't ask any more questions and temporarily suppressed her doubts.
He spotted the circus owner, who was acting suspiciously, in the crowd.
The other person had come out with Mr. Grayson to investigate, but upon seeing the claws, their behavior was the exact opposite of Mr. Grayson's. While Mr. Grayson strode forward, the other person slowly retreated, trying to escape Zheng En's sight before anyone else noticed.
Jung Eun called out to him, "Stop."
Following Zheng En's gaze, everyone looked into the corner and caught the circus owner red-handed.
He gave an awkward laugh. "What's wrong?"
Zheng En immediately had Crazy Diamond throw its claws forward, which landed right at his feet. The circus owner was terrified and jumped to the side, afraid of being hit.
When others saw his reaction, they immediately realized that he might know something.
"You know this guy?!" The man who had questioned Zheng En spoke first, glaring angrily at the circus owner. "Wasn't it supposed to be gang extortion? What's the background of this thing?!"
Even without knowing Claw's identity, his attire alone is enough to tell that he is a dangerous individual.
The round eyepiece, the bird-like mask, the tight-fitting clothes made of extremely high-tech fabric, the daggers stuck in the straps tied diagonally across the chest, and only two of the whole row were left.
He carries two long swords crossed on his back, and his hands are clad in arm armor, one side of which is carved with a shape resembling an owl, which is more symbolic than practical.
He looks exactly like an assassin from some organization in a movie.
Although he is indeed.
Pressed for answers, the circus owner shouted anxiously, "How could I possibly know him!"
"Then why are you so scared?"
Seeing that the others didn't believe him, the circus owner couldn't help but defend himself, "Anyone from Gotham would do the same, right? This guy's dressed as an owl!" He swallowed hard. "Watch out for the Court of Owls, they're always watching your every move; secretly spying on Gotham City, hiding among the low walls and buildings—"
As he began to softly sing the nursery rhyme, the wind blowing across the open space seemed to grow a bit colder, and some people hugged their arms tightly.
"But—isn't that just a legend?"
"I also hope that it's just a legend."
Seeing that the claws were showing signs of resurgence, Zheng En had Crazy Diamond beat him up again, and incidentally, he also had the nerves in his spine mixed and reassembled.
Now he was completely docile, as if his shrimp vein had been removed.
Others couldn't see Crazy Diamond, but they saw Claw suddenly twitch on the ground and then quiet down. Those who were close by retreated one after another, and the open space around Claw instantly expanded.
"Forget about today's events. Knowing them won't do you any good." Zheng Enrang Crazy Diamond picked up the claws. "By the way, can I borrow your boss for a bit?"
The circus owner, being lifted into the air by the collar, screamed loudly, and as the claws drew closer, he screamed even louder.
Jung Eun pretended not to hear, as did the other members of the circus.
The circus owner's explanation failed to dispel their suspicions. In contrast, Jung Eun, who appeared out of nowhere but saved their lives, seemed more trustworthy.
Today, Jung Eun appeared in her original form, wearing only a monocle with enhanced vision and hearing, without a mask or hood. This made it easier for her to gain the trust of others, but also made her more likely to attract attention.
If the person behind the scenes really wants to do something, then they should come and find him.
Zheng En is ready to wait at any time, if the other party can find him.
He rarely reveals his true identity to others, usually using the item [Shinpachi's glasses] to conceal it. His only instances of using his original identity are in Arkham and during the public trial.
If the other party tries to find out his identity from this angle, he can use that opportunity to uncover the other party's background.
As usual, Jung Eun used a bamboo dragonfly to fly, but compared to before, the bamboo dragonfly was now more concealed, and others would only think that he was flying in the air.
All of this is thanks to the stickers on the bamboo dragonfly's stem.
Chameleon Stickers
These small and convenient stickers allow people or objects to blend into their environment like a chameleon, becoming almost transparent.
When Jung Eun feels lucky, she will do a 10-pull and often manages to pull out useful little items like these.
Crazy Diamond's range is about two meters from its main body. When Zheng En flew, he also flew alongside him, carrying the circus boss. Following the location shown on the locator, Zheng En landed in the woods not far away. Batman was crouching on a tree branch and frowned when he saw him coming.
"You put a prop on me."
Batman's tone was very certain, and Jung Eun scratched the back of his head and chuckled, not denying it at all.
The ordinary locator didn't last a single round with Batman, but the one produced by the system was different.
"Look, I haven't removed the GPS tracker you installed, so don't remove mine either."
Jeong Eun was staking out the area near Harry's Circus to change the fate of the Graysons' deaths, and Batman's appearance in the vicinity was entirely due to Jeong Eun.
While watching the circus performance, he felt that the other party had come for something else. Later, the locator showed that Zheng En returned to the circus and lingered for a long time.
Batman knew that something was about to happen, or had already happened.
The tracking device he placed on Jung Eun was repeatedly removed and reinstalled, while the tracking device Jung Eun placed on him was also repeatedly removed and reinstalled. If both sides initially approached the matter with caution, it later devolved into a pure contest of wills.
The two then installed locators on each other as a gesture of goodwill.
Zheng En was too lazy to dismantle it anyway, but to be fair, Batman couldn't dismantle it either. Although he could call on Batman for help even if the other side dismantled it, there was always a feeling of wanting to complain to the authorities if he couldn't win.
Batman ignored Zheng En's suggestion and instead looked at the circus owner who was suspended in mid-air.
"What do you know?"
"What? I'm just an ordinary person, I don't know anything."
Seeing that the circus owner was still trying to play dumb, Zheng En threw him to the ground and squatted down on the same tree branch as Batman. "I'll leave the interrogation to you."
Batman jumped down from the tree branch, ignoring Jung Eun who was still shouting "Go, Batman!"
"No, don't come any closer—"
Batman's in-suit was far more intimidating than Jung Eun's in his regular clothes. The circus owner tried to put up a fight, but he couldn't hold out for long. When his second arm was dislocated, he cried out and begged to confess.
Having watched the whole thing from the tree branch, Jung Eun couldn't help but scoff. He was curious to see what Batman would unload next.
Upon hearing Zheng En's seemingly dissatisfied tone, the circus owner trembled even more, afraid that he would be punished if he spoke too slowly.
He didn't really know the inside story of the Court of Owls, but when he took over the circus from his father, his father repeatedly told him to be respectful and to have awe for those people.
"I saw my father talking to those people when I was a child."
The father, who was bossy to everyone in the circus, was extremely respectful when talking to others. This stark contrast left a deep impression on the circus owner. "I was very young then and didn't understand what it meant."
He followed in his father's footsteps and developed a lawless nature in the circus. So when he was caught peeking at them talking through the gap in the curtain, he felt no shame whatsoever. Instead, he thought the other party was too arrogant and shouted something like, "How dare you talk to my father like that?"
As soon as he said that, his father slapped him to the ground.
He felt wronged and wanted to burst into tears, but then he saw his father kneeling on the ground, slapping himself, and bowing his head to apologize to the man.
The other person's contemptuous expression was deeply etched into his mind, and he still remembers it vividly.
Only after that day did he realize that his seemingly tall and imposing father was just someone else's dog.
In the lullaby my mother sang before bed, the Court of Owls was a real organization, its members the owls' henchmen, who would provide provisions for the great court.
"But I don't actually believe in that."
The disillusionment of his childhood may have had a profound impact on him. Compared to his devout parents, the circus owner cared more about money. "After that day, the circus business gradually declined. They all thought it was because I had angered the court. To appease the court's anger, my father hanged himself."
"And then the circus business really took off."
Having gone through all that, it was hard for him not to feel disgusted with the court, especially after he became a Christian, in which the Court of Owls seemed like a heretical place to him.
After taking over the circus, the responsibility of selecting juveniles for the court fell to him.
He didn't think the court was particularly noble; he just felt they were there to make people do shady things.
His attitude wasn't as proactive as his parents', but he wasn't stupid; he wouldn't do anything that would make it obvious he was slacking off. He disliked the Court of Owls and also deeply feared it.
The number of people selected gradually decreased, and then some less talented teenagers were chosen instead. This continued for decades, and the Harry Circus was no longer as highly regarded as before.
"They probably have many circuses like ours under their control," the circus owner guessed. "They occasionally mentioned similar information during our conversations, but I don't know exactly which circuses they're referring to."
He smiled wryly, "I've told you everything I know, can you let me go now?"
Upon seeing Batman nod slightly, the circus owner immediately scrambled away.
He said this under considerable psychological pressure. Although he used some rhetoric in his words, he didn't mention that the main reason for staying away from the court was fear of death, but everything else was true.
Upon seeing the claws, he became even more terrified. He had previously assumed that the chosen boys were being offered to wealthy nobles for the dirty work often featured in the news, but seeing the claws made him realize a new possibility.
After hearing what the circus owner said, Jung Eun's previous assumptions were completely overturned.
In fact, it wasn't long before he realized the flaw in his assumption. The Graysons might be an obstacle, but the Court of Owls didn't need to send its claws to deal with them in a big way.
The reason is simple: they are not qualified. Their lives have little weight in the court. Even if they were to be dealt with, it would only be the circus owner's business.
Now that we've finally gotten a lead from the circus owner, it seems like everything has gone back to square one.
Why is the Owl Court doing this?
Zheng En was puzzled, and Batman was also clueless, but he had many more questions than Zheng En: "How do you know that?"
Batman's gaze, rather than diminished, intensified through the white goggles.
Jung Eun felt immense pressure from being watched so closely. There was no point in pretending to be stupid anymore, since his behavior had already revealed everything about him.
After all that had happened, Batman had a clear understanding of the situation, and revealing it to others would only have completely exposed the truth.
"Predicting the future, traveling through time, or perhaps, I'm not even from this world." Zheng En sat cross-legged on a tree branch, looking at Batman. "These are the only explanations that can be made."
"As for what it is, you probably already guessed it, after all, you're Batman."
He had already explained the situation to Batman once, so this time he would let him hear what Batman thought.
>