lerbook Chapter 149, Section 46: The Court of Owls
Chapter 149, Section 46: The Court of Owls
Chapter 149, Section 46: The Court of Owls (The origins of the court are tied to the Wayne family's feud; it contains a lot of information)
This organization dates back four hundred years. Its members came to the Americas with the Mayflower. Initially, it was just a Jewish merchant group eyeing the gold and spices of the Americas. However, with the outbreak of westward expansion, they discovered that the vast land of the Americas was an inexhaustible treasure trove compared to trade goods.
So the members hired the first cowboys and embarked on the path of expelling the Native Americans and enclosing land.
However, the westward expansion was not smooth. The brutal counterattacks of the Native Americans caused heavy losses to the civilized army, and the land they had gained was in danger of being taken away.
At the time of the French Revolution, the League of Assassins shone brightly, uniting the forces of workers, peasants, and capitalists to deliver a fatal blow to the corrupt and decadent Bourbon dynasty.
Inspired by the covert operations of the Assassin Brotherhood, Jewish merchant groups in the Americas trained a group of assassins who operated at night.
One night in the early 19th century, the Claws carried out the first assassination in the history of the Court of Owls, launching a surprise attack on a heavily guarded Indian tribe on the border while wearing owl masks.
These Claw Assassins had only been trained for three months, and after silently stabbing down the Night's Watchman, they were so unprofessional that they forgot to finish him off.
The dying Night Watchman sounded the horn of the enemy attack, throwing the entire camp and tribe into chaos.
The Claws were utterly despondent. There were only seven or eight of them, and under the spears and arrows of the Indian warriors, they would be devoured alive in an instant.
But they soon realized they were being too pessimistic.
So think about it: why would a Jewish financial group equip their assassin units with realistic owl masks?
Is it because cosplay is fun?
Of course not, because owls are sacred symbols in Native American culture, and people from the civilized world naturally don't believe in such things, but that doesn't stop them from using superstition and legends to attack their opponents.
The Jewish idea proved to be correct.
The natives dared to resist the cannibalistic and skinning American cowboys, but they dared not resist the assassins wearing owl masks.
Under the enemy's blade, all the strong Native American men knelt and prayed, while the women held their children and wept amidst the splattering blood.
The Native Americans, who thought they were being punished by their ancestors and gods, could never have imagined that the sharp blades that cut their throats were not given by heaven, but were forged by the dark hearts of men mixed with savagery and greed.
The massacre lasted all night, and nearly 800 people from the camp perished.
The claws looked as if they had been pulled from a pool of blood; they were soaking wet, and when you gently pinched a handful of their hair, blood would splatter onto the ground.
The Jewish merchant caravan originally intended only to create an ominous atmosphere to drive away the Native Americans, but the result was better than they had imagined. From then on, legends about "owls" and "claws" spread across the Americas.
This massacre marked the beginning of the court's glorious history, but was merely an insignificant part of the westward expansion movement.
Even without the "claws," the slaughter continues.
Subsequently, the Court of Owls invested in the construction of several railways, transporting tobacco, gold, and spices from its jurisdiction inland. Through trade with Europe, the court members quickly amassed a considerable fortune.
As the Civil War approached, the court secretly invested in Abraham's Union army and received a promise from the president that once the United States was unified, the port city of Gotham in New Jersey would be placed under the court's control and granted a high degree of autonomy.
The reason for choosing Gotham was that a branch of the court, the Wayne family, had settled there. Charles, the then head of the Wayne family, showed the court "something" he had found underground, which successfully piqued their interest.
But when the owls had fully taken over Gotham and were trying to take control of the city from the Wayne family, some unexpected things happened.
Charles died suddenly, without even having the chance to explain to his two sons his cooperation with the court.
From then on, the Wayne family unexpectedly escaped the control of the court.
The Court of Owls repeatedly sent Talons to assassinate the head of the Wayne family, attempting to find a descendant willing to cooperate with them through a continuous screening process. However, the thicker the blood on the Talons' blades became, the more the Wayne family hated the Court of Owls.
Ultimately, the court realized that their hatred for the Wayne family had run too deep, and that cooperation was no longer an option.
That night, several gunshots rang out in the crime alley, and Wayne and his family of three fell into a pool of blood.
Actually, saying it that way is somewhat inappropriate.
Because the Wayne family has never consisted of more than three people.
Thomas Wayne Jr., the one who was born with encephalitis and is now in a vegetative state in the hospital, is the real target of the court.
After the Wayne family's deaths, Thomas Jr. was cured by the court with an amber-gold compound and, through this connection, naturally gained control of the Wayne family's entire business empire.
Unfortunately, they searched all over Gotham but couldn't find "that thing" that Charles Wayne showed to the court a century ago.
All that remains in the Owl Court archives is a parchment with a rubbing of the strange script of the native Massachusetts people.
"Approach madness, approach truth. It arrives amidst chaos, granting death to all equally."
"That's absolutely right. For us, death is the most equal destination, isn't it?"
In contrast to Joseph Bowles, Thomas Jr. had a serene smile on his face.
He grabbed the former's neck, and as he slowly pulled his claws out of the other's chest, warm, lively arterial blood spurted onto his face.
But Thomas Jr. didn't flinch, he didn't even blink.
The opportunity to watch one's enemy slowly die in resentment and regret is rare, so he wanted to savor the moment and deeply etch Joseph's dying face into his mind.
"Jew, when you conspired with Falcone to kill my father and brother, did you ever imagine this day would come?"
Joseph tried to argue something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a large amount of blood gushed out.
Tonight, the Claws have come out in full force, leaving the Court of Owls undefended. Thomas, who has been lying in wait for twenty years, has finally gotten his chance. Using his status as a collaborator with the Court of Owls, he effortlessly arrived at the secret hideout and slaughtered all the Court members present.
Joseph Powers, the highest-ranking official in the court, was left until the very end.
When the Joker talked to him about the plan a year ago, Thomas Jr.'s response was very perfunctory.
No one would trust a madman with heavy makeup on his face who occasionally bursts out with a sickly laugh.
But now that he stands before his enemy, the truth forces him to believe it.
That madman is indeed quite capable.
"So what's the price? You did me a favor, I should at least give something in return."
He turned and looked toward the corner, where a man in a wide-brimmed hat was hidden in the shadows, his gleaming false teeth reflecting the flickering candlelight.
"Hahahaha, of course, I want you to deal with Wei, that's my goal!"
"In a way, he's my brother. Besides, he attracted Claw's attention on the front lines, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to infiltrate so easily."
"Oh—of course! So you're just dealing with him, not killing him. There are many ways to deal with someone, like killing someone important to him." The Joker pulled a photograph out of his pocket.
"I wholeheartedly recommend Miss Selena Kyle, Falcone's illegitimate daughter, the daughter of my enemy!"