American comic book: After mastering resurrection, I became incredibly popular.

Chapter 84 The Court Is Not My Brother

After a fierce battle.

Hedwig glided low in front of Wang Baixi, the court messenger as familiar with the underground labyrinth as if it were her own living room.

At each fork in the road, it would peck lightly at the right-hand wall twice, then tilt its head and wait for Wang Baixi and the others to catch up.

“It must have delivered a lot of messages for the Court of Owls in the past.” Zatana followed behind, sealing a metal door behind her.

Just as Wang Baixi was about to speak, Batman's voice came through the communicator first: "Wang, we've cleared out the last outer stronghold and are advancing towards the core area. What about you?"

"Soon. Hedwig led us through a shortcut that wasn't even marked on the map. We should be able to meet up with you in about five minutes."

They passed through the last section of the passage, and suddenly the view opened up before them.

It was a huge underground dome that had been carved out by human hands. The highest point of the dome was at least twenty meters above the ground, and it was engraved with an owl symbol.

The group of fishermen seemed to have stumbled upon a hidden paradise, feeling as if they had entered a secluded haven.

Several tapestries embroidered with owl emblems hung on the surrounding walls, each with a high-backed chair beneath it. In the very center of the dome stood a round stone conference table, its surface intricately carved with maps of Gotham's streets, while a figure dressed in grey tactical clothing, but without a mask, stood beside it.

Beneath the mask was a resolute white face.

He removed his owl mask as soon as he heard footsteps, opened his arms wide, palms up, and smiled as brightly as if welcoming a distinguished guest from afar.

Friend or foe?

No clues about the deceased popped into Wang Baixi's mind. Either the other party had fought with him, or he was very young and hadn't lived for over a hundred years like William Cobb.

"Caw!" Hedwig let out a sharp cry, landing on Wang Baixi's arm.

Zatana took two steps back, glaring at the newcomer with hostility, and cast a spell on Hedwig: "Speaking of which!"

Hedwig then chirped again, but this time the chirp had clearly identifiable syllables.

"Kelvin Ross!"

"Oh, how come it can talk?" the man laughed.

Kelvin Ross? It seems that's the name of this claw.

“Nice to meet you,” Kelvin said respectfully from a distance, without approaching them. “I’ve delivered so many letters for the Court of Owls, but I never expected that the last one it would bring back would be the court’s gravedigger.”

Wang Baixi looked him up and down, with only one thought in his mind: What does this guy want to do?

"Are you waiting for us here to surrender, or to ambush us? Where are your Claw brothers?"

“Of course, it’s surrender, and the kind of surrender with a gift.” Kelvin looked down at his owl mask and sighed heavily. “Anyone with eyes can see that this old house is due to collapse, and I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time. I’ve been raised and abused by the court since I was a child, and now, it’s all coming to an end.”

"As for 'brothers'? They are not my brothers, we are not on the same path."

Those who were destined for the Western Paradise have already gone to the Western Paradise!

Zatana scrutinized Kelvin's undisguised face and cast a cautious glance at Wang Baixi. Wang Baixi nodded knowingly, indicating that Zatana could boldly do what she wanted.

"To be honest!"

Zatana shouted, and Kelvin Ross poured out his heart: "Please believe me, I was abused by that damned father when I was little. I escaped when I was eight and was taken in by the Harry Circus. I learned escape techniques in the circus, but I was sold to the Court of Owls. I'm ready to escape from here at any time. Even if you don't show up, I'm planning to leave!"

"I don't care about any court!"

Kelvin was clearly surprised by his unusual behavior, but by doing so, he dispelled the doubts of Wang Baixi and the others.

Hmm, it seems like he's genuinely surrendering.

But Wang Baixi remained businesslike when dealing with this "surrenderer": "Alright, Mr. Ross, welcome to the Owl Court Victims' Rights Protection Group. You can lead the way then, I'd like to see the Owl Council."

“Please follow me, everyone.” Kelvin turned and walked toward the east side of the dome, leading them through an archway hidden behind a tapestry and into a narrower, older stone corridor.

Every few steps along the walls on both sides of the corridor was an oil lamp, its wick burned down to the length of a fingernail. At the end of the corridor was a set of stone steps leading upwards, each step worn down, with a large dent in the middle.

But just as they stepped onto the first stone step, a dark shadow suddenly swooped down from the shadows above the steps.

Wang Baixi looked up...

It's Batman

When this big guy landed, his cloak wasn't even fully open yet, and his fist was already aimed at Kelvin's face.

In a flash, Kyle instinctively closed his eyes, and the next second, Batman's fist stopped half an inch in front of his nose.

“Batman! He’s one of us!” Wang Baixi took a big step and stepped between the two, placing one hand on Batman’s chest and pointing at Kelvin with the other. “This is Kelvin Ross. He’s a ‘collaborator,’ you know what that means.”

Batman's gaze swept over the claw from head to toe like a scanner.

“I’ve confirmed it, Bat,” Zatana added from the side. “Trust me.”

Batman paused for a moment, then withdrew his fist.

“You made a wise choice, Mr. Claw.”

"Thank you." Kelvin exhaled, and the muscles in his shoulders relaxed at a visible speed.

Just then, footsteps sounded behind Batman again. Tim Drake, dressed in full Robin gear, came down the stone steps, with Mr. Freeze Victor following behind him, the muzzle of his Freeze Gun still emitting a faint chill.

“We were just defusing a bomb, so we were a little delayed. King, it’s so good to see you’re all alright,” Tim said with a smile.

“Me too,” Wang Baixi said with a smile.

At this point, the two teams officially met in this underground chamber that belonged to no one.

Looking at Batman, Robin, Mr. Freeze, Zatanna, Cassandra, and the newly surrendered Kelvin, Wang Baixi suddenly thought that if this scene were filmed and sent to the Gotham Gazette, the title could be "Batman and His Amazing Companions".

However, he resisted the urge; it wasn't time to go home and open the champagne yet.

“Lead the way, Mr. Claw.” Batman snapped out of his thoughts and commanded in a low voice, “Where is the Council?”

Kelvin's gaze traveled across the corridor above the stone steps, and he suddenly frowned. His intuition told him that someone was missing.

“Wait,” he said. “Hasn’t the Gray Child come?”

“He has other matters to attend to,” Batman replied briefly, “so he won’t be participating in the operation tonight.”

Kelvin's expression changed slightly. This change was fleeting, but both Batman and Wang Baixi noticed it.

"What's wrong?" Wang Baixi asked.

“I hope he’s alright…” Kelvin’s voice was a little dry. “The court sent a Claw to assassinate him today, even before your operation began.”

Wang Baixi's heart skipped a beat.

Why didn't you say so sooner?

“I assumed one of you was with him. You always do this, don’t you?” Kelvin’s voice carried a hint of unease. “The Bat Family always acts together, looking out for each other…”

Batman didn't reply. He turned around, took two steps back, and dialed Dick's channel using his special communicator. There was only a faint static on the other end before the call automatically disconnected.

“The signal is blocked,” Tim said, quickly pulling a portable repeater from his belt to try and boost the signal, “but I can try.”

“Take us to those guys in the council first,” Mr. Freeze said quietly.

Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly awkward, Kelvin finally calmed down. He led the group away at a jog and eventually stood in front of an old oak door.

[Sign of the deceased detected *7]

[Experience points +350...]

Well, it seems the other members of the council aren't the "new generation" like the Bowers, but rather ancient beings like these claws, who have lived for hundreds of years.

On the other side, Kelvin gently pushed the doorknob.

The door opened.

A huge brass chandelier hung above the secret room, its numerous candles illuminating the entire room as if it were daytime.

The rectangular stone conference table was covered with a deep red velvet cloth, on which several documents, several rolls of maps, and... were neatly arranged.

And nine crystal goblets filled with dark red liquid.

Nine high-backed chairs were arranged in a semi-circle around the conference table, and seven of the chairs were occupied by people wearing masks.

The two empty ones were reserved for the Bowlers... wait!

Upon closer inspection, all those people were slumped over the backs of their chairs!

There weren't seven people at all; they were actually seven corpses.

Wang Baixi opened his mouth.

No wonder he could detect the aura of the dead.

That's not surprising, that's not surprising at all.

This is the Feast at Hongmen? He'd never heard of a Feast at Hongmen where Xiang Yu killed him.

Chapter 85 The Enemy's Suicide

Batman walked to the nearest corpse, removed the man's mask, observed his complexion, and immediately made a judgment.

"They were poisoned, and the poisoning couldn't have taken effect in more than an hour. If I'm not mistaken, someone must have poisoned their drinks."

"In other words, someone took care of these people before we could even storm in." Wang Baixi walked halfway around the conference table, then suddenly slapped his forehead. "Wait a minute, these guys are supposed to be high-ranking members of the Court of Owls, don't they even have Amber Gold? And they were just sent off with a cup of poison?"

“Normally, high-ranking officials don’t use Amber Gold.” Kelvin Ross stood in the doorway, his tone tinged with subtle resentment. “The side effects of Amber Gold are far greater than you imagine. Amber Gold is both a means of strengthening us and a means for the court to control us. The court has many ways to remove the Amber Gold from our bodies at any time, or even freeze us permanently.”

"So, amber gold is a shackle for claws, not a gilded plating for council members," Mr. Freeze finished his sentence for him.

"Yes, they never put themselves at risk."

Wang Baixi then walked to the corpse on the far left of the conference table and reached out to remove the owl mask from its face.

Beneath the mask was a face that was neither entirely unfamiliar nor entirely unfamiliar to him. He vaguely remembered that this guy owned many deep-water berths and container terminals, and had recently given a speech in support of Batman at the Gotham Chamber of Commerce annual meeting.

He placed the mask on the table and moved on to the next corpse.

After the second mask was removed, Zatana gasped softly. It was the face of a woman who was very well-maintained and looked no more than forty years old.