Chapter 165 - Times Have Changed (I)

"Charge!"

At the same time, a swarm of black figures burst out from the forest surrounding Black Rain Manor. They rushed toward the manor at full speed, a flood of black dots crashing into the estate.

The crude defensive line constructed by the Hellsing residents inside the manor was quickly overwhelmed; they had no hope of stopping the torrent formed by the Northern Covert Martial Arts Alliance. Blood from the slaughtered marked-ones splattered across the walls in large patches. Although they possessed various strange and unique abilities, these abilities could only do so much in holding the elite Covert Martial Artists back.

To make matters worse, the northern Covert Martial Arts sects had also incorporated some human war technology, and combined with their cohesion and organization, they easily cut through the disorganized Hellsings who scattered like loose sand.

On the eastern side, within a particularly intense battle zone.

"Die!"

A thin, white-haired old man sprinted down a gray street. His slightly wrinkled face remained expressionless as his hands moved like a dense, dazzling black shadow, displaying an extremely intricate set of Covert Martial Arts combat skills.

A shadow would extend from his shoulder, giving a snake-like hiss at every enemy he passed. Immediately, the targeted Hellsing would freeze in place, its life draining away instantly.

There was a gaping black hole in each of their chests. The skin, ribs, and the all-important heart had all vanished as if the winged serpent had devoured them in a flash.

Winged Serpent Hardy had merely crossed a street, leaving over a dozen people standing frozen. One by one, they crumpled to the ground with a thud, blood gushing from the holes in their chests.

Splatter!

When he reached the end of the passage, Hardy's hands squeezed, crushing the hearts he had just captured. The blood streamed between his fingers, staining his hands, as dry as tree branches, a deep crimson.

"It's been a long time since I've felt this good killing...

Hehe

." Hardy chuckled as he twisted his neck, a hint of wickedness in his expression. His head swiveled to another street where he saw a figure charging toward him.

The figure's black combat suit was drenched in blood, and his strong physique radiated a fierce aura. A blue whale emblem adorned his right chest. It was Xuan Jing, sect master of the Raging Sea Sect.

Xuan Jing shook his hand, and asked, "Where are they?"

"We're a bit early. The rest of them are probably still enjoying the slaughter on the battlefield, so much so they've probably forgotten about the mission," Hardy said, shaking his arm to fling off the bloodstains.

"Forgotten? That's extremely unlikely," a clear voice echoed from a corner of the wall. At some point, a figure had appeared in the shadows. "It's been a long time since we've had the chance to kill so freely. Opportunities like this have been scarce in recent years."

Shrouded in mist and rain, the figure seemed to blend with the surroundings, as if they were being viewed through frosted glass. Though the figure was blurred, they could tell it was a woman—specifically, Oman, the third Elder of the Skyfall Rain Sect.

The Covert Martial Arts practiced by Skyfall Rain Sect was a rather unique assassination technique, with a combat style resembling that of an assassin. They rarely confronted their enemies in a head-on battle, so their methods of concealment were extremely refined, and they could suppress their aura to its lowest level.

It would take a considerable amount of time for martial artists of similar echelon to detect their presence if they chose not to reveal themselves.

"Good, all the leaders are here," Hardy said, clapping his hands.

Half a minute later, another dozen figures, temples bulging and eyes sharp, leaped into the passageway from both sides, all moving at incredible speeds and exuding a powerful aura. These were the pugilist-level masters of the Northern Covert Martial Arts Alliance!

The assault team had been divided into six groups. This was the second group and their target was Daybreak Hospital located on the eastern side of Black Rain Manor.

Their force comprised three Covert Martial Arts masters at the martial artist level and nearly twenty pugilists who had surpassed the limits of the human body. Their plan was to first demolish Daybreak Hospital with their explosives, then mark the location with the special fuel they had also brought, so the cannons outside the manor could obliterate it.

The main objective was to destroy key structures within Black Rain Manor, thus halting its operations and rendering it incapable of controlling the area.

"No one's left anything behind, right? If everyone's here, then follow me!"

With a wave of his hand, Xuan Jing led the twenty-strong team forward at a brisk pace, a clear goal in mind.

After charging through a ruined, pitch-black garden, a sinister-looking black hospital appeared before them. The hospital covered a vast area, with every window painted black and opaque. The rusted iron gate gave the impression that it was crawling with tiny insects.

Blood-red vines climbed the walls, their prickly thorns resembling human teeth. The vein patterns on the palm-sized leaves displayed the shape of human faces. At first glance, it seemed as though the vines were composed of countless twisted faces of entwined people.

"This place feels eerie." Xuan Jing frowned. Although he wasn't familiar with the specifics of Daybreak Hospital, the cold aura in the air was more than ten times stronger than that of an ordinary building and was so thick that it seemed about to overflow.

Thud

...

thud

...

thud

...

As if to confirm Xuan Jing's words, a dozen massive tumors, at least two to three meters in diameter, began to grow on one side of Daybreak Hospital's wall. They expanded and contracted rhythmically, their surfaces covered in revolting fascia that dripped slime. The stench of rot was overwhelming even from a distance.

"It seems Black Rain Manor came prepared..."

Hardy caught sight of the nearest tumor and squinted his aged eyes. Its surface layer was thin, revealing a creature within that resembled both a humanoid and a beastly monster.

With how quickly its sharp claws and fangs were maturing, it would only be a matter of seconds before these creatures broke through the tumors and engaged in a deadly battle with the Covert Martial Arts masters present.

Whoosh!

A shadowy figure dashed over from the other side of Daybreak Hospital and approached Xuan Jing. "We're ready."

"Good, light it up," Xuan Jing ordered.

Immediately, all members of the second assault team retreated to a safe distance of about a hundred meters away, where they watched from afar. Explosives had been stacked around the hospital, and with a hiss, the fuse was lit. The one who had set the fire bolted away.

A few seconds later...

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosives went off, the sounds overlapped each other, and a massive red flame erupted and expanded rapidly, like a giant sphere bursting open. The intense heat and terrifying eruptive force instantly hit the walls of Daybreak Hospital, the blood-red vines, and the large, fleshy tumors.

"

Roar

!

Roar

!

Aaargh

!"

The tumors were blown to pieces in an instant, releasing malformed monsters that hadn't fully developed yet. These creatures exhibited both human and beast characteristics, with large fanged mouths and stood nearly three meters tall. Their blood-red manes, sticky with blood, clung to their bodies. The creatures struggled in the sea of fire, crawling and wriggling forward on the ground.

The violent explosions earlier had blown off the lower half of one such monster, leaving its upper body drenched in blood. Despite this, it clung tenaciously to life and could have crawled out of the inferno had it not been for the fuel-doused area around the hospital.

As the monster wriggled across the ground, it became soaked in fuel and continued to burn even after crawling out of the fire. The fat on its body sizzled as the robust muscles began to shrink and twist, and soon its body was nothing but black, charred marks. A nauseating scent of cooked flesh wafted through the air.

The monster lay still, its ugly head bowed. It, along with a dozen others, had met a tragic end. A single wave had wiped them all out.

"The times have changed. If this had happened when I was young, we would've had to engage them in hand-to-hand combat. Judging by how these stubborn things refuse to die, we would've likely had to pay a hefty price." Hardy sighed lightly.

In the distance, there was a blast at Daybreak Manor, a large section of the wall breaking apart. Thick black smoke billowed out from within, making it hard to see what was going on inside, even through the enormous holes in the wall.

Suddenly, the smoke surged outward, and humanoid figures rushed out in an endless stream. They looked almost identical to the marked-ones of the Werebeast Sect, except these people had pale faces, dull, lifeless eyes, and even signs of patched-up wounds on their bodies. Their facial features emitted black smoke like they were puppets controlled by something sinister.

These half-wolf, half-lion, and half-bear creatures charged right at the assault team's front line with an unusually tall figure leading the attack. After transforming into a half-human, half-beast form, it stood at an impressive three meters.

Its reverse-jointed hind legs, resembling wolf claws, created deep craters with each step. Its upper body had three pairs of arms, moving like a giant spider when it attacked.

Bang!

Hardy suddenly threw a punch, his once-small frame swelling as if inflated, with muscles bulging around his joints. With a push of his legs, he shot forward like a cannonball.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fists flew out from the black shadow in quick succession. The speed of Hardy's fists accelerated in the short distance between them, delivering massive power with each precise, forceful, and controlled strike!

The six-armed werewolf in front of him also went berserk, slapping its hands wildly. Taking advantage of its many arms, it created a barrage of black claw shadows in front of it. The two blurry figures collided, and a series of explosions echoed in the air and sounded like a string of firecrackers going off.

The speed at which the two figures moved left craters in the ground as stones exploded and flew in all directions. Hardy's attacks were vicious, quickly finding several weaknesses in the werewolf's defenses and capitalizing on them by delivering heavy blows to its vital points. However, the werewolf didn't dodge. Its muscles were formidable, and its regeneration was strong, the wounds Hardy inflicted rapidly healing.

Bang!

Hardy was sent flying back, spinning all the way around in the air before lightly touching down beside Xuan Jing.

"It's strong for a combat artist, with good regenerative abilities and decent strength. But it lacks any real skill and relies purely on its instincts to fight," Hardy summarized, then exchanged a glance with Xuan Jing, who had looked over. He said, "Let's go at it together!"