Chapter 13 - The Tricks of the Court of Owls

A translucent white tiger emerged from the white mist, but perhaps because it was a Patronus, it didn't look fierce."It worked..." Rune understood. The Patronus Charm didn't necessarily have to be constructed from happiness; all positive emotions should work. Rune turned his head, smiling at Alfred: "Thank you for your hospitality these past few days. I think I've also found what I need to do.""It seems I'm the only one left in this manor," Alfred sighed. In just a few days, Zatanna and Bruce had left, and Rune was also leaving... Alas, he truly preferred a livelier home.Rune looked at the Old Men, his heart softening, and immediately said, "Maybe I'll come back for a meal sometime. Just don't dislike me then." But inwardly, Rune sighed, the young master Alfred was waiting for would die in this long trial, and only Batman would return... Alfred would be very busy then.Just as Rune turned to leave, Alfred tugged at his sleeve: "Please wait for me."Not long after, Alfred reappeared, holding a small travel bag in his left hand and a phone in his right: "Take these. When you meet Miss Zatanna and other mages again, you can't be wearing what you have on now."Rune looked at his clothes and couldn't help but smile.Leaving Wayne Manor, Rune returned to the area near the slums. Although Wayne Manor was more luxurious, had a more comfortable bed, and better food, living under someone else's roof always felt a bit restrictive. He had only lived in this cramped rental room for a few days, but he felt more at ease here.Splash—Rain began to fall from the sky. Rune muttered 'bad luck' to himself. Just as he was about to open the door, he heard a whoosh. He watched as his pocket was slashed open, his bone wand was cut in half, and a throwing knife struck Rune directly in the chest. Fortunately, with Hogwarts's protection, the throwing knife only grazed his body.What was that... Rune watched in astonishment as the throwing knife fell. His defense could already ignore small-caliber bullets, so logically, this throwing knife shouldn't have been able to penetrate his defense, but it inexplicably left a wound.Seeing Rune's wand destroyed, a Men in black armor with an Owl helmet emerged from the darkness.Rune's pupils constricted. It was a Talon, a minion of the Court of Owls. This also explained how the throwing knife penetrated his defense—that throwing knife must have been made of n metal. This metal not only negates gravity, allowing the user to fly, but also grants immortality and limb regeneration. Most importantly, this metal inherently has a magic-breaking effect.Rune quickly retreated and summoned Fiendfyre. From the crimson flames, a Basilisk made of fire charged out, biting at the Talon, but the opponent showed no intention of dodging, instead staring directly at Rune, with intense killing intent surging in his eyes.Whoosh—A portion of the flames was blocked by the n metal, but Fiendfyre was not without effect. The powerful flames penetrated the glass eye-cover on the opponent's Owl helmet, igniting his head.Nothing more than this... Rune thought to himself, but he did not relax his guard. Instead, he continued to retreat, casting a Shield Charm on himself to prevent the opponent from making a desperate move. However, at this moment, two sharp blades easily shattered his Shield Charm, even leaving him with a deep, bone-deep X-shaped wound.Rune turned his head, and another Talon came into view. He wore the same black armor as Talon One, but his owl-shaped helmet was not full-faced.Rune instantly understood their strategy: one guy strong enough to threaten him would draw fire, while the other would ambush. He also immediately realized their weakness—the chin!Fiendfyre appeared again, rushing directly at Talon Two, but Talon Two didn't need to attract attention and nimbly leaped away. Fiendfyre's speed couldn't even keep up with him, and Rune's heart sank. Talon One, on the other side, was surprisingly not dead and had rushed within three meters of Rune."Impedimenta!"Hold him off, at least until Talon One dies!Talon One swung his blade, chopping down. A shattering sound echoed in the air. He tried to move forward but found there was still an obstruction, but he could no longer persist and fell to the ground. However, Talon Two threw multiple throwing knives, completely blocking Rune's escape route.Rune had not received systematic evasion training, so he was immediately struck hard in the body by two throwing knives. He felt his body go cold, and even more despairingly, in the darkness, red eyes appeared one after another. Next to Talon One's burning corpse, two Talons wearing Owl helmets emerged, and four more Talons walked out from behind Talon Two.Escape, must escape!Rune frantically used Shield Charm and Impedimenta, while also retreating. The rainwater on the ground also transformed into ferocious beasts, charging forward to tear at the Talons. Talon Two horizontally caught the giant bear's palms with his blade, then pushed and slashed, and the giant bear's head fell, turning back into rainwater. The other Talons nearby also easily dealt with the beasts and continued to run towards Rune, their throwing knives constantly flying out, but they all fell to the ground after passing through two or three protective magic spells.They have rich combat experience; they can't waste magic!Rune changed his approach, turning the rainwater into barbed wire, entangling the Talons. The high-speed running Talons, caught off guard, all fell face-first. Seeing that the obstruction tactic was effective, Rune immediately breathed a sigh of relief.The solid concrete road suddenly softened, then turned into a swamp. The Talons had just cut their restraints with their n metal blades when they immediately sank into the mud, struggling aimlessly, but this only made them sink deeper.One of the Talons frantically hacked at the swamp, but the result was that the Transfiguration failed, and everything below his knees, including part of his blade, merged into the ground.Solved!Rune finally relaxed a bit, but then he suddenly felt a chill on his shoulder, followed by a loud gunshot.A sniper with superhuman marksmanship, and the bullets contain n metal!After being carried away by the bullet's impact, Rune no longer hesitated, immediately got up and turned, sprinting towards the river. He couldn't stroll leisurely as before; facing this precise sniper, an extra second could mean an extra shot.Bang!A direct hit! It pierced his left arm and lodged in the muscle of his right leg. The throwing knives behind him were blocked by Impedimenta. There were still two hundred meters to the river.Bang!Perhaps due to the unpredictable wind in the rain, this shot missed. The sniper on the other side grew anxious. Rune, meanwhile, used the rainwater to conjure a leopard, which carried him, who could no longer run, forward. One hundred meters remained to the river.Bang, bang!Two shots in a row, one missed, and the other hit the leopard. The leopard instantly turned into rainwater, and Rune was thrown off. He now felt cold all over, his breathing was rapid, and his brain was throbbing from the frequent spell-casting. Only three meters remained to the river.Disordered footsteps approached from not far away. A stern Men walked over, followed by a large group of gang thugs.It's Falcone...He approached, with someone holding an umbrella for him. The distant sniper also stopped firing."What a pretty little face." He reluctantly took out a pistol: "What a pity, someone paid a high price for your life..."The trigger was pulled...Bang!