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Barbara seized the opportunity and launched a frenzied attack, swinging her fists, all aimed downwards, and finally kicking Xu Fu away.

"I won!"

The girl put her hands on her hips, raised her head, and a faint sneer appeared on her delicate face. This guy was indeed a silver arrow shot from a wax spear; he wouldn't last five seconds.

Chapter 1305 The Angry Owl

The person on the podium had a deep, hoarse voice, which must have been corrected.

According to his father's letter, the Court of Owls has no hierarchy, but there are three administrators, also known as the Chiefs, who handle the day-to-day affairs of the court and control all resources, including the most mysterious and fearsome force, Claw.

Unless he is mistaken, the person standing on the platform must be one of the leaders.

Thomas scrutinized him, hoping to find something in his physique and demeanor, but after a moment, he shook his head helplessly; he didn't remember the man at all.

"The courthouse existed when Gotham was just a small town. Our ancestors built this city, provided shelter for the homeless, nurtured and educated the children. Every corner of Gotham is imbued with the blood and sweat of our ancestors. Our ancestors created all of this."

"Similarly, it is we who, following the wishes of our ancestors, have made this city prosperous and strong, have bestowed upon it a great name, and have transformed a small city of hundreds of thousands of people into a metropolis of millions. It is we who have made this city what it is, and it is we who have brought hope and the future."

The leader delivered a thunderous speech on the podium, his hoarse voice emanating from every corner, seemingly piercing the soul and involuntarily bringing back memories for the audience.

The hall was completely silent; everyone seemed bewildered by his words.

“We have given everything for Gotham, but this city is abandoning us, suppressing us, and erasing us. These people are gradually diminishing our existence and even trying to erase the achievements of our ancestors and create a false history.”

"They intend to replace us, take away our property, status, power, and families, and discard us like trash, all of us..."

The chief paused deliberately, placed his hands on the platform, looked around at everyone present, and said...

"At this time last year, there were fifty-seven members in the court; now there are only thirty-six. Do you know where the other twenty-one went?"

A deathly silence fell over the atmosphere, and even Thomas, who was unfamiliar with the situation, could feel the hatred and resentment that permeated the air.

"Yes, they're all gone. Some were sent to Blackgate, some were hanged by thugs, some became members of Arkham Asylum, and some died quietly in accidents."

"Bruce Wayne, Jim Gordon, Harvey Dent, Frey Cohen... and of course, the most familiar and most disgusting Batman."

Upon hearing the last name, Thomas instinctively looked up.

"The despicable usurpers have sharpened their knives and are cutting our flesh piece by piece. Are you ready to bow your heads and be slaughtered?"

"Kill them!"

Someone roared, and the atmosphere in the hall instantly became heated. Everyone waved their fists and roared hoarsely, "Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

...

"Yes, kill them! Rebuild this city, restore the glory of our ancestors!"

The leader released his hands, glanced around at the crowd, and waited for the noise in the hall to subside before speaking slowly and deliberately.

"Now let's discuss the third thing: revenge!"

"The night of vengeance will arrive tonight. I will unleash my claws to rid the court of this scourge. This requires your consent."

The leader waved his hand, and two officials dressed as servants entered through a side door carrying cards, a box, and quills. They approached each member of the court, handing them cards and quills, and the members placed the cards into the box in turn.

Soon it was Thomas Elliott's turn.

The card has three options: "For", "Against", and "Abstain".

Thomas thought for a few seconds, then checked the "abstain" option with an X. The waiter looked at him with surprise, said nothing, put away the card, and moved on to the next target.

Once all thirty-six cards were collected, the box was placed on the speaker's podium.

The chief opened the box, flipped through the cards one by one, and then excitedly announced...

"Thirty-five votes in favor, one abstention. Thank you all for your support. Stay home tonight and wait for news. The night of the owl's revenge has officially begun."

After the speech, the crowd, filled with anticipation and feeling no remorse for the murder, left the main hall and entered a lavish side room, where various drinks and food were laid out.

Thomas, as a newcomer, couldn't help but look around. He was eager to know the identities of the people gathered together, as well as the identities of the audience. After decades of living together, the people here had developed shared interests and knew exactly what the faces behind the masks looked like, but for the sake of tradition and mystery, they continued to wear masks.

"Sir, the chief requests your presence."

Just as Thomas was about to speak with this familiar person, a servant came over and gestured for him to enter. Seeing this, Thomas had no choice but to abandon his plans and walk with the servant to the office in the distance.

Sitting in the study was none other than the director sitting at the spokesperson's desk. He waved his hand, and the servant bowed and left, closing the door behind him.

"Mr. Elliott, how was your first day?"

Thomas silently shook his head: "It's very different from what I expected."

The chief laughed loudly, "As expected of a member of the Elliott family, your eyes are as sharp as your father's." A sigh appeared on his lips, "This year has been a terrible year for the court, with many changes. We need fresh blood, especially someone of your caliber."

Thomas took off his mask and placed it on the table.

"I prefer face-to-face conversations."

797

“I like it too, but unfortunately…” the bureau chief spread his hands, “reality doesn’t allow it.”

“Mr. Elliott, we invited you here because of your family’s tradition. A hundred years ago, the Elliott family was a member of the court, the very core of the court. Your father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather all left a glorious mark here. We hope this tradition can continue. We need your talent. In this way, you can have everything here.”

"everything?"

"Yes, money, wealth, women, power, even mayor, we can do it all."

Thomas narrowed his eyes: "What if it's Batman?"

"Batman is the court's mortal enemy, and of course, I sincerely hope you don't tell me that you are Batman."

Thomas grinned: "I'm certainly not Batman, but I want to take his place and have everything he has."

Oh!

The director raised an eyebrow in surprise: “A very interesting idea, to replace Batman and have him take orders from the owl. Very good, a very creative idea, Mr. Elliott. It seems we can work together.”

Thomas shook his head.

"Cooperation is based on strength. The Owl Court has a long-standing reputation, but I haven't seen your strength yet."

"You want to see Claw?"

"Not only the claws, but also the missing hundred Tesla powered armor sets. I know this robbery is related to you."

Chapter 1306 Unhurried

"These 100 sets of power armor were specially made by Tesla for the FBI and the Sky Eye Society to deal with superhumans with superpowers. It is rumored that as long as you wear this armor, even an ordinary person can become a super soldier capable of fighting one-on-one."

Thomas stared intently at the chief: "I want this suit of armor."

The chief silently shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I can't give it to you."

Thomas grinned: "Of course, you guys are really bold to attack the FBI and Sky Eye Association."

“Mr. Elliott, we’ve gone off-topic.”

Thomas lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and the smoke billowed from his mouth, filling the entire room. After thinking for a long time, he spoke slowly and deliberately.

“When I was in college, I studied clinical medicine. My four years of experience taught me that no matter how good the theory is, it is not as good as practice. The Sov Court aroused my interest, but I never heard a word about you from my father.”

"The purpose of cooperation is to win, but unfortunately there are too many foolish people in the world, and most of them end up failing miserably in cooperation."

The chief narrowed his eyes, his tone becoming low.

"You think we're stupid."

"Is not it?"

Thomas spread his hands, looking slightly innocent: "I admit you guys are very powerful. The FBI and Skynet are nothing in your eyes, but Xu Fu-Xiao is an exception."

"You hijacked his cargo and even tried to launch a terrorist attack using mechs. Do you think he'll let you get away with it?"

The leader smiled slyly: "Elliot, one of Gotham City's four great families, is actually afraid of an Asian?"

"Fine, we stole 1.5 billion dollars worth of his goods, so what?"

The director raised his hand and tapped the table, his eyes revealing a strong sense of pride: "This is Gotham City, not Seaside City. There is no fertile ground for the Hongmen to survive here."

A flicker of pity crossed Thomas's eyes: he saw confidence, arrogance, and swagger in this man, but not the ability to see through everything.

Such a person is not worth cooperating with.

"I'll be back in a month, if you're still around."

The chief's face immediately darkened: "An invitation sent by an owl will absolutely not be taken back."

Thomas put on the mask and said with a light laugh:

“I know the rules.” He paused, then added, “If you can succeed, I’m willing to pay the price… to make all the members happy.”

After saying this, he stood up and walked towards the exit, while the chief stared coldly at him until he left the office before looking away and saying...

"Did you let him leave for nothing?"