Chapter 163 - At 8 p.m., We Follow Big Brother Cassius

On the night of August 7, a large shipment of firearms was moved out of Pronk Manor and transported by overnight train from East Sea City to Anta City. The next day, what was initially a four-day journey for the disciples of the Northern Covert Martial Arts Alliance to head into East Sea City was condensed into a single day. Trains carrying various southern sects began arriving throughout the day.

Some of the senior elders from the northern Covert Martial Arts sects traveled to Anta City on August 9 to coordinate the plan in a careful and orderly fashion. Many disciples reached Anta City the day after. At dusk, Cassius and the other planners inspected the preparations for the final time.

On the outskirts of Anta City, a newly built warehouse stood tall. The last rays of the sunset pierced through the clouds, casting golden beams onto the top of the warehouse. Meanwhile, Cassius and the others stood on a gray stone path.

"Are all the carriages stored inside?" Cassius asked.

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Yes, they've been here for days, along with the firearms and explosives that were delivered earlier." Next to him, Mi An lifted the brim of his wide hat slightly. "Let's go inside and take a look. I've already checked it once before."

"Alright." Cassius followed Mi An, a few others trailing behind them. There weren't many since most of the elders and leaders from the northern Covert Martial Arts sects had gone to manage their disciples. Only those who had nothing better to do tagged along, like Hardy the Winged Serpent.

The two massive iron doors of the warehouse creaked as they swung open and a faint scent of fresh metal wafted out. It wasn't particularly unpleasant, but neither was it appealing.

Cassius gazed up, his eyes taking in the vast expanse of the warehouse. It was enormous, with a soaring ceiling and plenty of space. At first glance, he could see row upon row of black carriages lined up from left to right, connected like the segments of a massive centipede crawling across the ground.

The carriages looked almost identical to the armored ones Cassius had first used. They were plain, covered in steel plates, and looked heavy and ugly. However, they were secure. From Cassius's personal experience, there would need to be at least forty or fifty Decaying Knights attacking to break into any one of these carriages.

Naturally, tried-and-true things like steel armor were always reliable. Cassius took a few steps forward and suddenly struck the surface of the carriage with a powerful punch. A dull thud echoed through the warehouse, but the steel plates showed no signs of loosening. The welding was impressively solid.

"I've already inspected these carriages several times," Mi An said, knocking his knuckles against the heavy steel plate. "Their strength is about the same as the previous ones."

Cassius nodded and then started walking toward the right side of the warehouse. There, several items were covered by black cloth which was pulled away to reveal a collection of weapons. The most eye-catching of them all were the nearly a hundred heavy machine guns that Cassius had used before: the Silver Rain.

The Silver Rain hadn't been invented too long ago. Its body weighed 25.4 kilograms, and its barrel was water-cooled. It used to fire black gunpowder bullets, but after some modifications, it could now fire smokeless gunpowder bullets which greatly increased its power.

Along with an 11.4-millimeter caliber, the gun used a 5.8-meter-long canvas belt that could hold 333 rounds. The belt could be reloaded, with a theoretical firing rate of six hundred rounds per minute, and could fire both in single shots or in bursts, with a firing rate that could be adjusted down to a hundred rounds per minute.

It was a new type of machine gun, entirely in a league of its own. Its power was enough to pose a threat to Covert Martial Arts Practitioners. Even Cassius, with his third-level accelerated blood flow and his mastery of hardening Qigong, wouldn't dare to withstand the barrage of bullets for too long. It was clearly a powerful aid. The northern Covert Martial Arts disciples, who had yet to break through the human limits, could use those guns to inflict some serious damage upon Black Rain Manor.

Cassius glanced again at the heavy machine guns, noting the two wheels on each side that made them easier to reposition. The thirty-kilogram weight wouldn't be considered too heavy for Covert Martial Arts disciples. They could easily carry them while shooting, without being restricted by the heavy body. The only issue was the five to six-meter-long bullet belts, which they'd have to wrap around their bodies when they used it.

Cassius fidgeted slightly, then took a few more steps forward. One by one, he lifted the black cloth, revealing various items. Shotguns, grenades, explosives, and a host of other weapons were laid out before him.

As he pulled off the last cloth, Cassius found himself momentarily at a loss for words. Before him stood around eight black cannons, modified with wrapped barrels of high-strength steel, and filled with powerful smokeless gunpowder.

The cannons used compounds fused with potent explosives and increased shell weight to boost shrapnel damage. They were clearly siege weapons. There were even instruments for measuring angles on top of the cannons.

"Ah, this..." Cassius was shocked, glancing from the cannons to Mi An, who merely smiled, the very picture of calm.

Cassius had only intended to remind the northern Covert Martial Arts sects not to remain stagnant and to take advantage of humanity's rapid advancements in war technology. Little did he expect that the old-fashioned folks had not only surpassed his expectations, but they figured out how to get cannons on their own!

This was likely stemming from the Northern Covert Martial Arts Alliance's eagerness to attack Black Rain Manor. As they took the operation very seriously, they brought along anything they thought could be effective.

"Well, what do you think? Is everything ready?" Mi An asked, gently patting the steel cannon.

"Yeah." Cassius nodded slightly. "This is more than enough."

With that, the group left the warehouse for now. Meanwhile, the northern Covert Martial Arts personnel, who had been resting in Anta City, began to stir, knowing that the assault on Black Rain Manor was set for that night.

At 8 p.m., they would follow Big Brother Cassius's lead and storm Black Rain Manor.

As time passed, the night slowly overtook the bright sky. Wisps of clouds drifted between the twinkling stars, and a crescent moon hung high, casting its silvery glow over the land.

On the outskirts of Anta City, near the edge of a quiet, small town, a woman in a trench coat carrying a suitcase walked along the deserted road. The pale moonlight faintly illuminated the gray road lined with piles of weeds and stones.

It was a rural area with barely any passersby except for a few drunken farmers. One drunkard staggered along the roadside, and when he caught a blurry glimpse of the woman walking by, his eyes lit up.

"Hey..." He barely got a word out before—

Smack!

The drunkard was sent flying with a solid slap, a bright red handprint blooming on his face. He rolled once on the ground before his head flopped to one side. He landed directly in a pile of sharp gravel and began sleeping there peacefully like a baby.

The woman retracted her hand, revealing the sword emblem branded on the back of it. She had planned to submit a regular mission at Black Rain Manor over ten days ago, but an unexpected event had occurred.

Back then, the scene had been, to be honest, quite terrifying. Thirty to forty Decaying Knights! The woman had nearly wet herself from fear at the time.

As the enforcer of Black Rain Manor, Decaying Knights were the epitome of cold-blooded cruelty to the Hellsings. Their power was immense and they had the ability to continuously resurrect. Not to mention, their forms were both mysterious and eerie.

Normally, encountering even a single Decaying Knight would scare a low-level Hellsing out of their wits, let alone thirty or forty of them. At the time, the woman made the snap decision to run straight back to Anta City, where she spent over ten days recuperating and comforting her fragile soul.

That night, she had finally recovered enough so she planned to summon the black carriage several kilometers away from the previous carriage location. Her deadline for the regular mission was still about two days away, so time was on her side. She figured she could complete it either the next day or the day after without any rush. However, the woman still preferred to start early, in case something unexpected happened again. Going two days in advance would give her enough time to be prepared.

Walking along the rural streets, she reached the edge of an exit. As she stepped forward, the woman instinctively scanned her surroundings. On her left, across the moonlit fields, there seemed to be a black convoy moving in the distance, though it was hard to make out clearly.

She walked a little further in that direction. "Wait! That convoy... it's just like the last time!" The woman suddenly realized something, her eyes widening in shock. She immediately stopped in her tracks, hiding behind a tree.

No way... How could I have such rotten luck to run into them again!

she thought, speechless. She peeked out from behind the tree once more.

Under the hazy moonlight, she could see dozens of black carriages rolling along the muddy road. They looked incredibly heavy, and the light glinting off them gave a sense of dense, metallic weight.

Around the carriages were muscular men, their bodies rippling with power, all dressed in tight black combat suits designed for easy movement. Their expressions were stern and cold as they marched in silence, exuding a strange, foreboding atmosphere.

Gradually, the convoy passed through the area. The woman, with her hand still over her mouth, hadn't even had a chance to catch her breath before she saw a dense crowd of black-clad figures coming down in waves.

Some were bare-handed, while others carried weapons on their backs. Each one, without exception, emanated a powerful aura. Their sharp gazes and agile movements indicated that they were far from ordinary fighters.

The woman even caught glimpses of a few old men weaving swiftly through the dense crowd like nimble fish darting through the water, leaving behind trails of black afterimages.

"Holy crap, they even brought cannons!" the woman muttered as she spotted a group of strong men in the middle of the formation, jogging forward with cannons on their backs instead of pushing them.

Those "soldiers" had strength far beyond normal humans. At that point, the woman was convinced that the northern Covert Martial Arts practitioners were some sort of elite army. It seemed like the Hongli Federation's special forces were conducting a covert operation or maybe even a military exercise.

From the cannons, she guessed they must be launching a siege. But where was the location of that secret exercise? And who was their target?

The woman tamped down her curiosity. Despite finding it strange, it wasn't the time to dwell on it. It seemed her luck had been especially bad lately, with two failed attempts to head to Black Rain Manor due to unforeseen obstacles. Seeing such large-scale movement, she decided it would be best to head back for now. She'll set out early the next day and choose a random carriage point. Hopefully, there will be no further surprises.

Running out of time on her mission was no laughing matter as the Black Rain Manor's punishments were severe. Determined, she made up her mind to act quickly. With a deep exhale, she quickly retraced her steps back to her starting point.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at a carriage point leading to the manor. Mi An glanced at Cassius, unable to hide his concern. "Are you sure this will work? We've got so many carriages."

"It'll definitely work. Have some trust in the Black Rain Manor's rules," Cassius said, brimming with confidence.

Both of them turned their heads toward the road ahead. A black carriage stood next to a bronze pillar, with two strong black horses in front. Their nostrils flared as they breathed heavily and shifted their hooves uneasily.

Behind the carriage, another carriage, this one large, heavy, and armored, was connected with thick iron chains. Beyond that, one carriage after another formed a long train, stretching as far as the eye could see, resembling a black, segmented train.

Ordinary trains used steam engines, but that makeshift train's only power source was the two horses. Even though the black horses looked strong, it seemed like an impossible burden for them to haul hundreds of tons of carriages behind them.

"No problem. I trust they can handle it," Cassius said confidently, reaching out to stroke the thick manes on the horses' necks. To his surprise, one of the black horses jerked its head, snorting loudly as it shook off Cassius's hand, clearly a bit reluctant.

"

Heh

." Cassius squinted his eyes slightly.

Five minutes later, all the northern Covert Martial Arts Practitioners who were going to participate in the mission were crammed into the armored carriages. Each carriage held over a dozen people, all of whom had consumed the special potion Cassius provided.

The Covert Martial Arts elites closed their eyes, quietly restoring their strength as they waited for the battle. Cassius glanced at the row of carriages with satisfaction before stepping onto the black carriage.

Immediately, the mysterious black-robed driver began urging the horses forward. The two black horses that Cassius had placed his trust in began to push forward, their hooves leaving deep imprints in the ground.

However, the weight of the armored carriages was simply too much. The two horses gasped heavily like bellows, and the entire structure of the carriages creaked as if it was about to fall apart at any moment. Just as Cassius furrowed his brow, one of the black horses took the crucial step forward.

Creak... creak...

Boom!

All the armored carriages rolled forward slightly, their wheels rotating with a deafening noise.

Thud!

The horses' hooves struck the ground again, causing cracks to shoot out in a spiderweb pattern for several meters. Then came the second step, the third, and the fourth...

Just like that, the long train of black carriages began to move. The black carriage at the front slowly picked up speed, and as it progressed, the cracks in the ground continued to spread outward.

The wheels rumbled, and the ground echoed like rolling thunder. From above, as black rain came down in a drizzle, a massive black line moved steadily forward like a deadly serpent winding its way toward a rabbit—the Black Rain Manor!