ushernet Chapter 160 - The Elite Have Arrived
Chapter 160 - The Elite Have Arrived
Chapter 160 - The Elite Have Arrived
Whoosh!
A shadow suddenly darted out from the black carriage. The moment the figure's toes touched the ground, it swerved in between the dense attacks of the Decaying Knights, and after a few agile maneuvers, it slipped into the armored carriage at the rear. With a loud bang, it slammed the iron door shut.
Cassius glanced inside the carriage; the eight people seated inside seemed intact, except for some tattered clothes and some minor injuries on a few people. Regardless, as he scanned from left to right, he noticed that everyone's spirits were exceptionally high. Especially the few older men, who seemed particularly exhilarated. After decades of cultivating their minds and bodies, they relished the chance to fight freely, thus awakening the vigor of their youth.
On the far right, Mi An, the Demon Lion, still maintained his elegant gentlemanly attire, with his striped suit perfectly intact. Only his slicked-back hair had come apart from the rain, loose, medium-length white strands coming down to frame his face and giving him a strangely wild and dashing appearance.
Cassius could sense a shift in Mi An's gaze.
In their first meeting, Mi An had exuded a kind of warm aura commonly associated with elderly people. Now, it had completely vanished, a sharp, devilish intensity in its place, like that of an eager young man. Mi An sat on one side of the carriage, continuously brushing his wet hair back. Cassius felt like offering him a cigarette, though he guessed Mi An was the type to prefer an old-fashioned pipe.
Mi An glanced at Cassius. "You're here? We're almost there, right?"
Cassius picked an empty seat at random and sat down. "About two hundred meters ahead. The carriage is starting to slow down."
Thuds echoed from outside as the Decaying Knights' weapons kept striking the steel carriage. The carriage was covered in multiple layers of iron plates, but most had already been stripped away. With enough time, the Decaying Knights would eventually break through the final layer.
Hardy the Winged Serpent, bare-chested and draped in a black cloak wiped a bloodstain from his hand as he turned to ask Cassius, "Cassius, did you count the number of Decaying Knights attacking us when you came over? It seems we're short three. Did they fall behind?"
Cassius smiled at his question from where he was sitting on his side. "Those three didn't fall behind. You took them all down, one at a time."
"Oh? How so?" Hardy raised an eyebrow.
He had already heard how Cassius described the Decaying Knights—undead skilled in various techniques, formidable masters of cold weapons, loyal guardians of Black Rain Manor, and ruthless enforcers against the Hellsings. As long as they were within the range of the Black Rain, the Decaying Knights could revive endlessly. No matter how many times they were killed, they would keep coming back until they wore their enemies down.
Earlier, Hardy and his old friends from the northern Covert Martial Arts world had experienced it firsthand. The knights weren't overwhelmingly strong, but they were impossible to kill, like annoying pests that refused to let go.
And so, what Cassius meant was...
"Fake-death pill. I used the pill," Cassius said, pulling a bottle from his pocket and gently shaking it. It sounded like only about a quarter of them were left.
While the Decaying Knights were fighting the Covert Martial Arts experts earlier, Cassius had taken the opportunity to conduct a small experiment.
When a few of the Decaying Knights were killed, Cassius shot the fake-death pills into their wounds. He repeated this process with several others, and in the end, his hypothesis was proven correct.
The true function of the fake-death pill was to block Black Rain Manor's perception, which had allowed the northern Covert Martial Arts representatives to sneak into the manor. However, the pill's effect wasn't absolute. When the group headed to the Baptism Chapel, the shielding was likely insufficient, which was why the gargoyles noticed them. The same principle applied to the Decaying Knights.
Using half of his fake-death pill, Cassius concluded that the Decaying Knights wouldn't be able to revive if the connection between them and Black Rain Manor was blocked. The connection between the Decaying Knights and the manor could be severed, but it was very strong and required quite a large amount of pills to break. Three Knights alone had cost Cassius half a bottle.
Therefore, Wenmingda University's fake-death pill formula was still indispensable. Whether it was to smuggle large numbers of northern Covert Martial Arts Practitioners into the Rainy World or to sever the link between the Knights and the manor, a large supply of fake-death pills was essential.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Cassius was pleased to hear that he was nearly done. Professor Tennessee's dedication was evident in his haste to decipher the formula. Of course, Tennessee's diligence was undoubtedly fueled by the money in Cassius's pocket. The faster the decoding was completed, the more Federation currency Tennessee would receive.
Since Tennessee said there was just a little left, Cassius decided he could wait. He stole a rare moment to relax by spending the afternoon napping by a window in the library. For years, every spare moment Cassius had was spent training. It was unusual of him to empty his mind and rest in the warm sunlight as he did then.
"Hey, student, student! The library is about to close." A pleasant voice echoed in his ears.
Cassius opened his eyes and sat up. A cute bespectacled girl with a delicate and fair face and blonde hair that shimmered in the sunset stood before him. She held a few books and notes in her hands, and her entire being exuded a faint scholarly demeanor.
"..." Cassius looked at the girl but said nothing.
The pale red sunset spread in stripes across the table.
"Are you still sleepy from your nap? The library is closing in ten minutes, and the staff will be coming by to clear everyone out." The girl waved her slender fingers in front of Cassius.
Cassius still didn't reply. The situation quickly became awkward and silent.
"Y-you're so rude! I'm leaving." Angrily, the girl turned on her heel to leave.
Cassius rested his hands on the table, expressionless as he watched her retreating figure. He wasn't being rude nor was he groggy from waking up. It was just that Cassius didn't know how to react when he beheld the sight of prey flaunting itself before a hunter, and trying to engage him. Should he crush it into a meat patty? Gut it? Or just walk away?
After all, they were inside Wenmingda University. While he'd be fine if he killed that little Blood Race member here, that wasn't going to be the case for Professor Tennessee, who was working for him; he'd likely face significant trouble.
The girl's figure disappeared from his view as she walked through the doorway. Cassius rubbed his chin, suddenly feeling that he might have some charm...or perhaps his blood was just that appealing.
Two minutes later, Professor Tennessee sprinted down the corridor, looking very excited as he handed a notebook to Cassius. Cassius opened it to find a piece of parchment inside, along with a large amount of translated content. The content included numerous annotations of relevant terms.
"Well done, Professor Tennessee, you've done an excellent job this time." Cassius patted Tennessee on the shoulder, then picked up a suitcase from the ground and handed it to him.
On the afternoon of July 25 at Wenmingda University, Cassius obtained the decoded fake-death pill formula and began acquiring raw materials through various means to mass-produce the pill.
The next evening, a girl named Tina suddenly died near Wenmingda University Town, her head decapitated as if it had been torn off by a tremendous force.
On August 2, news arrived from Solar Steed in Anta City at noon, informing them that all the armored carriages were ready.
On August 5 at the White Manor, with the assistance of many elders from the northern Covert Martial Arts world, Cassius successfully broke through to the third stage of the Stone Armor Technique. He shattered the bottleneck and advanced to the Entry Level of the third stage Stone Armor Technique.
On the evening of August 6, Mi An brought news that the southern Covert Martial Arts sect, Cloud Dog Sect, had agreed to cooperate with the northern Covert Martial Arts world and would leverage their influence within the southern government forces.
Early in the morning of August 7, Cloud Dog Sect had temporarily reserved the entire train station in East Sea County. There were no other passengers on the platforms. The only people present were those from the northern Covert Martial Arts world and an elder from Cloud Dog Sect. They gathered at the far right side of the rectangular platform.
Cassius, wearing a black hat, looked into the distance as the steam locomotive approached, thick smoke billowing out as it let out a long, loud whistle.
The black-and-red square-shaped carriages finally came to a halt. The doors opened, but there were no conductors in sight. Instead, one by one, brawny men with imposing auras disembarked in silence, their bodies evidence of frequent Covert Martial Arts training. The northern Covert Martial Arts world elites had arrived!
Black Rain Manor...