ushernet Chapter 224 - Red Falcon Fist
Chapter 224 - Red Falcon Fist
Chapter 224 - Red Falcon Fist
Cassius glanced down. The black tattoo beneath the man's neck dispersed like mist, vanishing without a trace. Blood continued to flow from his neck. A shoe crushed the cigarette underfoot, snuffing out its flame.
"Smoking is bad for your health," Cassius muttered, averting his gaze as his sharp, hawk-like eyes scanned his surroundings. Within a hundred meters, he could spot even the slightest movement, yet he found no trace of the enemy.
Pondering for a moment, Cassius inspected the man—or rather, the headless corpse. Within seconds, he had a rough guess. While the man was merely an ordinary human and not a dark creator, dark essence lingered around him. Resorting to firearms suggested desperation.
Was it a test? A warning? Cassius slowly stood up, retreating four or five steps to avoid staining his shoes with the spreading pool of blood.
The man had mentioned a place earlier—Owl Town, home to the Beiliu County branch of the Black Ops Agency.
His conversation with Ole replayed in his mind—rumors of a mysterious faction that had been investigating the Beiliu County branch. This man who just offered himself up might have been part of that faction, or perhaps, a pawn on the outermost layer.
Although he worked with the Agency, Cassius wasn't particularly interested in the conflicts between the two groups; he wasn't their babysitter. The Black Ops Agency, as the official supernatural force of the Hongli Federation, had its own operating system to handle such affairs, making it difficult for other organizations to take advantage of them.
He didn't want to get involved. His duty here was clear: report the incident and deliver the body to Owl Town. The Beiliu County branch would certainly be on guard after the reminder. Plus, Cassius's car had broken down, so he needed to return to the branch for a replacement anyway.
Five minutes later, Cassius and his two companions began to retrace their steps along the hilly road.
The distance to Owl Town was about a half-hour walk for the average person, but Cassius and Amos could cover that in a few minutes if they went at full speed. Franz, who was an ordinary, elderly butler, wouldn't be able to keep up though. Then there was issue of the dripping headless man draped over Cassius's shoulder. Running too fast called for the risk of blood spraying everywhere.
It was already summer, and the weather was hot. Thankfully, it was only around eight in the morning, and the temperature hadn't climbed too high yet. With the relatively cool breeze blowing against them, walking leisurely along the road was still relatively refreshing. Occasionally, bees buzzed by from the roadside.
In the distance, a small black dot gradually grew larger, accompanied by the sound of a car engine. As it got closer, a black, boxy car ascended the slope, picking up speed as it cruised down the hill.
A middle-aged man steered with one hand, with his left arm resting on the window ledge and his head tilted slightly. He seemed in a good mood, humming a tune as he drove. The weather was pleasant, with blue skies and fluffy clouds, and a morning breeze that swept through his collar, filled with the scent of fresh plants, cooling him down. He admired the scenery on both sides of the road, musing on what he might buy once he arrived at the town.
As the car moved forward, three oddly dressed figures on one side of the road caught his eye. Two were wearing black and white butler uniforms—both men, one was elderly and one was young. The third was a slender girl in an oversized trench coat.
Wait! What is that? Is she carrying somebody on her shoulder?
No, it's a "body"! A headless somebody!
Crap! The middle-aged man's heart skipped a beat, and he jerked the steering wheel, sending the car veering off the road and plunging into a ditch on the side of the slope.
He struggled to open the door of the tilted car, but it seemed slightly warped and stuck. Suddenly, a loud bang came from outside, and the door was ripped off. A hand reached in and pulled the man out.
His vision blurred, and he was seeing stars. The man's head swam, his heavy breathing making everything a bit hazy. However, he was still conscious enough to feel grateful.
He reached out, shaking his rescuer's hand vigorously, mumbling, "Thank you, thank you so much..."
"No need to thank me. It was nothing," a deep male voice replied. "But I think you might be shaking the wrong hand."
"Huh?" The man froze, his heightened emotions briefly calming down. He blinked a few times, his vision clearing. Standing before him was an eerie, golden-haired youth with a faint cross mark on his forehead, who was now calmly staring at him.
Cassius had managed to control his power fairly well as the Azure Blood Stream hadn't punched through the wall completely.
Cassius suddenly pulled back his arm, his body arching like a drawn bow. What followed was a loud inhalation and a white vortex of air forming at the tip of his nose.
Third Breath technique!
Cassius could only manage the first stage at the moment. However, the effect was already quite terrifying.
Once he activated the Third Breath technique, his already smooth moves became even more fluid, like flowing mercury.
The training room echoed with sounds like firecrackers, each footprint accompanied by a flurry of fist and leg shadows. It was as if Cassius appeared everywhere within a ten-meter radius, his entire body enveloped in a swirling cloud of gray and black limbs.
Whoosh...
Cassius abruptly halted, transitioning from extreme motion to complete stillness. A ring of air exploded outward, like a shockwave, slamming into the training room walls.
He exhaled a long, heated breath. He had finished his terrifying state of continuous, breathless strikes. With such a technique in his arsenal, Cassius felt confident that he could challenge even the most reclusive combat artists of the highest level.
After three days of adjusting and preparing, Cassius was in peak condition. He felt a shivering anticipation deep in his heart, the mere thought of it making the hairs on his skin stand on end.
Fighting dark creatures could only sharpen Cassius's improvisation and survival skills, but sparring with Covert Martial Arts masters was the best way to elevate his fist techniques and find the path forward in martial arts. Only through this could he forge an unstoppable fighting style and cultivate an indomitable aura.
Cassius took a deep breath and clasped his hands together. He still maintained a delicate youthful appearance, but some of his muscles had begun to show a streamlined shape. Cassius's body wouldn't always stay in this young form—he would continue to train it, becoming lean and strong.
However, due to the density of his muscles, it would take Cassius several times longer to bulk up compared to others, and even then, his physical limit was far different. Even at its peak, his body would never become that of a massive muscle-bound man. At most, it would be lean and toned, but tit was still a vast improvement to his current fragile form.
Cassius glanced out the window. He left the training room immediately for a cold shower. After that, he put on some casual clothes and went downstairs.
The old butler, Franz, was already sitting on the couch, waiting. Xiala, ever considerate, had brewed a cup of tea for the elderly man.
"Any news?" Cassius, with a white towel around his neck, asked. His golden hair fell over his forehead, complementing his delicate features, and giving him an inexplicable aura of youthful fragility.
Judging by appearances alone, Cassius looked vastly different from his previous image. He didn't want this, but the situation wasn't something he could control.
"There's some news, indeed." Franz nodded, still dressed in his signature suit with his classic gentlemanly hairstyle. A stack of white documents lay on the table.
"Let's hear it," Cassius said as he plopped down on the white couch opposite Franz.
"The East Sea County branch of the Black Ops Agency is the largest in the six eastern counties. It contains extensive records on supernatural beings. Some reclusive combat artists have their whereabouts briefly documented—some are vague, while others are more detailed," Franz explained, taking a sip of tea before handing Cassius the stack of documents.
Cassius glanced down at the papers. The first thing that caught his eye were the words: Red Falcon Fist.
"Wenxia County, located northeast of Beiliu County, and bordering East Sea County, has the Loka Mountains, which is covered in dense, primeval forests filled with poisonous snakes, fierce beasts, risky terrain, and toxic mists. In the southern part of this range lies a Death Canyon, through which the Mata River flows, connecting Wenxia County and East Sea County. According to intelligence from the Wenxia branch of the Black Ops Agency, there is a combat artist living in seclusion there named Feng Liusi, and he goes by Blood Fist, Kill Fist, and Death's Fang. However, the martial art he actually practices is the Red Falcon Fist."@@@@