Scapegoat

Tim breathed a sigh of relief when no one chased after him after they left the Batcave.

Although it's dangerous to expose them face-to-face, it's worth the risk compared to everyone's safety.

However, several pieces of information were also confirmed.

First: This uncle knows Bruce, so Batman did not disappear.

Second: The Court of Owls should be real, while the two Wayne Family are fake.

Third: Barbara is in the other party's hands, but the other party has no malicious intent.

But the reason why we are being asked to deal with the Court of Owls is unknown.

Tim frowned, lost in thought.

There's too little intelligence, and not enough clues.

They soon reached the ground.

"Tim, what's wrong?"

"I'm worried, "Dick asked.

"I'm fine, I'm just making plans for the future."

Tim didn't tell anyone his guess. Although he didn't know his uncle's purpose, he would follow the other party's plan for now and take it one step at a time.

Kino, inside the Batcave, also withdrew his mental energy, and the Professor X symbol on his chest core shone brightly.

"Little Red, your Little Pudding has crashed! Want to come with me and have some fun?"

Harley invited Pamela with a smile.

"Who said it backfired? A true strategist, even if exposed, is fine as long as the other party follows my plan."

"Kino said confidently."

I underestimated these Robin.

Red Robin, who could deduce Batman's true identity at the age of thirteen, was not much less intelligent than Bruce.

It's normal for a plan that comes to mind on a whim to have some minor flaws.

In Gotham at night, darkness shrouds everything.

Dick and his group cautiously navigated the sewers, the damp air and unpleasant odors filling the air around them.

Their uncle's description was too general; they could only rely on experience and reasoning to deduce the most likely locations to investigate.

"How much longer are we going to search? Is that guy lying to us?!"

Jason had been searching for over an hour without finding a single sign of an owl, and his enthusiasm was waning. He complained impatiently.

"Calm down, Jason, we only have one last place to investigate before we're done."

Tim said.

"Phew, where else?"

Jason let out a breath; after the injection of the Enhancement Potion, his volatile emotions became easier to control.

"The site of Allen Wayne's death."

Tim's voice echoed through the sewers.

The group quickened their pace, splashing dirty water underfoot, and soon arrived at their destination.

This is a spacious, dry space, more like a meticulously crafted enclosed room than the damp, muddy sewers.

Standing there, everyone had a strong premonition that this was the place.

"Everyone be careful, split up and search."

Dick lowered his voice and said.

The group dispersed and carefully searched every corner. A short while later...

"Come here, everyone, I have a lead."

It was Oliver's voice; he was knocking on the wall with a serious expression.

The sound was subtly different from the surroundings; if his senses hadn't been enhanced after his body was strengthened, he wouldn't have been able to hear it.

"Get out of the way."

Jason roared, charged forward, and braced his shoulder against the wall. The immense force he unleashed shattered the wall.

"That's too reckless, Jason."

Dick frowned, his face showing displeasure.

"Otherwise, are you going to wait for me to slowly find the traps? The enemy will have already escaped."

Jason replied dismissively, and then finished speaking.

Jason holstered his pistol and quickly surveyed his surroundings.

He wasn't simply being reckless; he was more interested in catching people off guard.

A vast, white, labyrinthine space appeared before them.

In a dark room, a faint candlelight flickered.

Countless people wearing white masks gathered around a chair, the atmosphere so heavy it was almost suffocating.

"I hope whoever used the Talons without permission will come forward."

The old man sitting in the main seat had a somber voice.

However, he was met only with deathly silence.

"You all know the punishment for using your Talons without prior notice. Speak up now and I may be lenient; otherwise, you will all be punished."

The old man's tone grew increasingly stern, his eyes flashing with a cold light.

Everyone couldn't help but shudder.

"Sir, please believe me, we would never do such a thing."

Finally, someone spoke, their voice trembling.

"Could it be that Talons ran away on their own? Without our medicine, they're just corpses. They should come forward as soon as possible and not drag us down with them."

"Exactly, I don't want to go into the White Maze."

"Shut up..."

The people in the Court of Owls started arguing amongst themselves, each with their own ulterior motives, hoping someone would step forward quickly, or that they could choose a scapegoat to avoid punishment.

The so-called punishment is to throw the offender into the White Maze for three days, without food, and to be hunted by Talons. As long as they survive, they will be fine.

But each of them is a high-ranking official or a wealthy man, someone who stands at the top of Gotham. How could they possibly endure such torment?

Put them in the White Maze, and they won't survive a single day.

Actually, using the Talons without permission can be a big deal or a small deal. I've used them a few times before, and we've always kept it from each other, following this unspoken rule.

But today is different. People from the Owl Parliament have arrived to investigate the matter of the 100 Batman.

Just as they arrived, Talons died, and the legend of the Court of Owls was almost exposed.

This plunged the entire court into extreme panic and chaos, fearing that it would anger Parliament and lose everything it had.

The old man, sitting in the main seat, watched the noisy scene with a hint of indifference in his eyes.

Several massive figures emerged from the shadows behind them, seemingly ready to pounce at any moment.

"Wait, sir, give us some time. We'll definitely find the real culprit. Right now, the most important thing is a hundred Batman; he's undermining Owl's position."

"It is," a member of the Owl Parliament said hastily, his voice trembling with pleading.

The old man paused for a moment, then said coldly, "... I'll only give you one day."

As the figure in the shadows behind them gradually disappeared, the members of the Court of Owls breathed a sigh of relief. They knew this was the old man's greatest act of leniency, and they now had to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

They've given up on finding out who did it; a day isn't enough, and trying to find the real culprit is just wishful thinking.

However, finding a scapegoat is not a problem.

The lowest-ranking owls present lowered their heads in despair.

They knew they were likely to become the scapegoat, yet they were powerless to resist and could only silently pray that misfortune would not befall them.