Returning to the Mysterious Era

Both men were stunned.

"Run?"

They had never heard such words from the Blood Spirit before. In fact, they didn't even know the Blood Spirit could say anything unrelated to food. Ever since they had been parasitized by the Blood Spirit and became its servants, they had gained power far beyond ordinary humans.

They had also become caretakers, responsible for continuously feeding the Blood Spirit within their bodies. They only knew the Blood Spirit as a sticky, blackish-red mass of blood, similar to mud or glue, residing within their bodies. It granted the host special abilities, but they had to hunt healthy humans to feed it their blood in return.

If the quantity or quality of the blood was insufficient such that it left the Blood Spirit hungry, the host might meet the fate they were trying to avoid—being devoured by the Blood Spirit as a snack. Thus, the relationship between them was that of master and servant. This was why the two men called themselves servants. As servants, they had no choice but to obey their master's orders.

Although the Blood Spirit's command was abrupt, the two men quickly reacted. They hurried toward the nearby car, no longer paying attention to their original target.

Vrr… Vrr…

The engine quickly started, and the tires trembled as the car picked up speed. Soon, the black car sped off along the empty road. In the driver's seat, the long-haired man, Chernault, stepped on the gas at the Blood Spirit's command. The car accelerated to its limit, reaching around forty miles per hour, which was considered very fast for that time.

The maximum running speed of a human was about the same. But that was only for short bursts; over long distances, even ten miles per hour would be considered fast.

Chernault felt the cold wind blowing through the window, relaxing slightly as he glanced at the rearview mirror. To his surprise, his view was blocked by a dark shadow that looked like someone's billowing coat.

Suddenly, the hem of the coat seemed to drop, revealing a face with an indifferent expression. The man had blond hair, sunglasses, a sharp jawline, and a hat that stayed firmly in place despite the high-speed chase and strong wind.

In the passenger seat, the short-haired man looked out the window. Two figures were effortlessly running alongside the speeding car. Their strides weren't particularly quick, but each step covered an impressive distance.

At a glance, it looked as though they were casually strolling, but in reality, their speed was nearly fast enough to take flight. They were surrounded on both sides.

Chernault's eyes narrowed in determination as he jerked the steering wheel. The car's rear swung violently to the left and toward Cassius.

Pa.

Just as the rear of the car jumped across the street to hit him, Cassius reached out and lightly pressed back on the car's body. The car immediately corrected its course and resumed moving straight.

It looked no different from before. However, the smooth black-painted metal body now had fine cracks radiating out from a visible handprint.

Chernault narrowed his eyes warily, thoughts racing. The three hadn't attacked yet. Perhaps they wanted to force him to drive to a more secluded location. He quickly glanced at the short-haired man in the passenger seat.

"We can't shake them. We'll have to fight."

"There's a gun in the back seat. Use it with the Blood Spirit's power!"

The two men nodded at each other, a fierce aura spreading across their scarred faces. They were no pushovers and wouldn't let anyone control them. With the Blood Spirit's power and high-caliber firearms, they were confident.

***

In a secluded alley, the two men, beaten black and blue, knelt on the ground in front of a moss-covered green wall. However, their backs were still straight.

Clack, clack, clack… Ding, ding, ding…

The sound of a gun being dismantled rang out behind them, followed by the sharp clink of metal pieces falling onto the brick surface.

"Didn't expect the Dead Blood to keep up with the times and use firearms," a deep voice sounded behind Chernault.

The final piece of the gun, the metal barrel, hit the ground. It rolled a few times, then came to rest in a corner of the alley. Chernault could clearly see two distinct fingerprints on the twisted gun barrel, which had been bent like a pretzel.

"Tell me, what's your relationship with the Dead Blood?" A shadow dressed in a black trench coat loomed over Chernault.

"Dead Blood? I don't know what that is. I've never heard of it," Chernault muttered, trembling from the recent beating.

"Don't know?" He heard the person behind him chuckle.

A second later, Chernault’s head was slammed into the wall. His head buzzed, and everything went black before his eyes. He felt like he'd been hit by a truck. After two or three more slams, the pounding finally stopped. Warm blood from his forehead trickled down over his eyelids.

As Chernault regained his senses, he smelled the familiar scent of blood on his nose. It was something he was used to from his time finding bait for the Blood Spirit. He had always been excited to watch people die, begging for mercy. But now, it was his turn, and Chernault felt a boundless terror, as if countless hands were reaching for him.

It felt like the vengeful spirits of those he had once wronged, now reaching out from hell. The eerie, skin-crawling sensation made Chernault shudder involuntarily, as he stammered out, "I don't know anything about the Dead Blood, I only know the Blood Spirit!"

Chernault felt a hand lightly pat his head, as if caressing a watermelon. It was firm and practiced.

"Oh? Then why don't you tell me all about it."

Ten minutes later, Cassius and the other two had gotten the gist of things. Chernault and his companion came from a group called the Blood Spirit Society, a supernatural organization that had been active in the eastern six counties for nearly a decade. Every member of the group had been chosen by the Blood Spirit to become servants.

They followed the Blood Spirit's orders, and in return, the Blood Spirit granted them extraordinary powers and enhanced physical strength. They never got sick, and had incredible regenerative abilities.

As long as they provided regular blood bait to the Blood Spirit, they were virtually immune to any accidents. The Blood Spirit, in turn, kept its end of the deal.

Chernault had joined the Blood Spirit Society three years ago, and now he was in East Sea County to carry out its orders. About five days ago, the Blood Spirit Society had gathered its members from various counties and sent them to East Sea County. Their destination was East Sea City, as well as Kura City, where an antique exhibition was being held.

The Blood Spirit Society had not revealed the exact purpose of the mission to all its members. They were simply ordered to wait in the two cities for further instructions. Notably, a few days ago, the Blood Spirit Society had launched an operation targeting the Tulip Antique Exhibition. The clash with the guards from the Cloud Dog Fist had left both sides with casualties.

Chernault hadn't participated in that particular operation, though he had heard about it. He had been stationed at the train station to prepare blood bait for the Blood Spirit in his body, in anticipation of possible upcoming battles, and to find suitable sacrifices. Unexpectedly, he had run into Cassius, whose sharp senses had detected him.

Cassius had already been affected by the Shadow Demon, and this time-travel event had further darkened part of his soul. No dark creature, unless it was of the highest order, could hide its aura from him. His gaze could pierce through the truth, discerning whether the being before him was human or something far more sinister.

"If you were parasitized by the Blood Spirit and could use some of its powers, why didn't you use them earlier? You just fired your guns uselessly," said Feng Liusi, who was standing nearby.

"Useless..." Chernault forced a bitter smile. Though they could use the Blood Spirit to manipulate their blood and create powerful weapons, in reality, nothing matched the firepower of rapid gunfire. Bullets had greater penetration, a longer range, and a quicker kill rate.

"It's not that we didn't want to use the Blood Spirit's power. Suddenly, it just stopped responding, no matter how we called out to it." The short-haired man, also kneeling beside him, spoke up.

"Can't use it?" Cassius's expression immediately darkened.

He swiftly reached out and placed his hands on the tops of both men's heads. A powerful, unique frequency pulsed from Cassius and spread through their bodies. The Golem's life magnetic field easily overpowered their human life magnetic fields.

Chernault and the short-haired man felt like a liquid was flowing through every corner of their bodies.

A few seconds later, Cassius withdrew his hands, his expression grim.

"It's gone. These are just regular humans infected with the aura of dark creatures," he said, glancing down at the two men's backs. "Also, you two won't live much longer. Most of the supernatural energy you used came from the Dead Blood, but some of it came from your bodies. Your seemingly strong bodies are now riddled with holes and completely ruined. You've only been holding on through the power of the Dead Blood. Once that leaves them, the accumulated damage will hit you all at once..."

"What!" both Chernault and the short-haired man panicked and struggled to stand up. Unexpectedly, Cassius didn't stop them. Instead, he led Feng Liusi and the others toward the alley's exit without looking back.

"Three." Just as Chernault got to his feet, he heard a voice from the mouth of the alley.

"Two."

His eyes widened in disbelief.

"One."

Crack, crack, crack...

The two men's bodies were instantly twisted into pretzels by an unknown force that erupted from deep within them. White bones, red muscle fibers, and pale skin mixed together in an instant. Chernault stood frozen in place as his body quickly tore itself apart. In the end, he died a horrific death, his body half-bone and half-flesh, with darkened blood oozing through the cracks in the alley.

Outside the alley, Cassius strode forward into the evening breeze. For some reason, he was in a surprisingly good mood. The so-called Blood Spirits were actually the Dead Blood entities and had become involved in the Tulip Antique Exhibition. It seemed that something at the exhibition was causing the Dead Blood to converge.

This was very good! Cassius had been delaying the completion of his lingering attachment, partly because the Dead Blood had been hiding so well, and partly because he hadn't been strong enough.

But now, the Dead Blood had nearly fully mobilized all its assets in the Eastern region and come out of the shadows. Meanwhile, Cassius had spent his time honing his skills, learning the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist and creating his own Golem Covert Martial Arts. He had broken through to the combat artist realm and had even defeated a veteran combat artist while in a berserk state. The grudge he had held since the massacre of his family could finally be settled here!

Furthermore, what exactly was the Dead Blood trying to acquire at the Tulip Antique Exhibition? If Cassius could figure that out, he could use it as the lynchpin of his plan and seize the initiative. After all, he wasn't alone. Feng Liusi and Saint Feinan were trustworthy allies.

Three veteran combat artists! And there was a chance that the Black Ops Agency, which might have an interest in the Dead Blood, would get involved. That butler who was nicknamed "Reaper Amos" had also reached B-rank in strength. If they joined forces, they might just be able to set up a trap and wipe out the Dead Blood in one fell swoop!

Cassius quickly weighed these possibilities in his mind. There were only two concerns left on his mind.

First, the mysterious Gate Organization and the original Covert Martial Arts force in East Sea County, the Cloud Dog Fist, were wild cards. Second, the Dead Blood had escaped, and Chernault and the other man had been used as decoys. The Blood Spirit Society might have taken notice of Cassius and his companions, making future confrontations more difficult.

However, with things as they were, some complications were inevitable. What Cassius needed to do now was to focus on achieving his goals. As for the recent slip-ups…

Beep!

A sleek, black luxury car with rounded corners rolled toward them. The window lowered and a boy's somewhat cute face peeked out. "Hey, are you martial artists? You were running so fast."

A smile suddenly appeared on Cassius's face. He took a few steps forward and slightly lifted the car with his right hand. Two wriggling clumps of black and red blood were stuck to the front tire.

The blood had a face that had already been flattened on the road—it was the Dead Blood that had escaped! Once separated from its host, the Dead Blood was slow and weak, barely more dangerous than a blob of glue. It had tried to escape from the two men of the Blood Spirit Society but had unfortunately been caught by the spinning car tires.

By a stroke of fate, it had been brought right back to Cassius. Everything, it seemed, was pure coincidence.

Zing!

The Golem life magnetic field activated. For parasitic dark creatures like the Dead Blood, there was no way they could resist now that they had lost their hosts. It was instantly killed by the vibrating frequency.

What had once been soft and slimy like glue turned gray, resembling dried chewing gum. Cassius stood up and crumbled it into dust between his hands.

The boy, watching from the car window in astonishment, said, "You really are martial artists! So strong!"

Cassius shook his head. "No, we're gangsters."

He retrieved the short-haired man’s handgun from his belt and twisted it apart, leaving only the cylindrical metal barrel intact.

Cassius handed the barrel to the boy. "A small gift. It's been fired recently so it probably still smells like gunpowder."