Chapter 28 - Attack

"It's no big deal. It's just an old cane." Phil brushed his hair back, his eyes unconsciously darting to Tifa.

The four of them stepped out onto the street where it was gradually getting darker.

"I'm going home now, Instructor." Tifa waved. Her route home was different from Cassius and Phil's.

Cassius nodded. "

En

, go ahead. Be careful on your way back." Beside him, Phil waved, face blank.

The streetlights winked on, casting a faint yellow light on the dark gray cobblestone ground. An old newspaper, carried by the cold wind, drifted past the few black garbage bins lining the side of the road. The three of them walked along the small street, which stretched all the way toward the city’s main road. Occasionally, they could see car lights flickering in the distance.

There weren’t many people left on the street at this time. The three of them were silent as they walked but various random noises filled their ears; from the meowing of stray cats, to classical music, to the screeching sounds of furniture being moved. Every now and then, there were people angrily cursing at each other.

"Phil, Instructor Li Wei, I'm going this way." Milo separated from the two at an intersection and headed home, leaving Phil and Cassius alone.

The two of them walked beside each other and, perhaps to avoid the awkward silence, Phil said something. Peeking up at him, Phil asked curiously, "Instructor Li Wei, if you train hard enough to be a good fighter, can you beat people who have knives or other weapons?"

"It depends on the situation. Fighting barehanded isn't an issue as long as you're a hundred percent confident in your abilities. But if you're someone who's just casually learning combat, you should definitely run in the opposite direction if you see thugs or knife-carrying criminals. The faster, the better. It's only natural that people who fight with weapons are more likely to win. After all, you're pitting someone who fights with their bare hands against someone who fights with a firearm. Unless..." Cassius paused.

"Unless you're able to train your body to become harder than steel, your punches to be faster than bullets, and your blows to be as powerful as bombs. Otherwise, people with weapons will always have the edge over those who don't."

"Doesn't that kind of thing only happen in comics? Like the one that's really popular now...'Captain Hongli'?" Phil scratched his head. "Superheroes like that don't exist in the real world..."

"Perhaps not."

Cassius didn't sound so certain. He had only just lifted a corner into the Dao of the Covert Martial Arts; there were still so many mysteries shrouded in the deep fog. If he didn't rip the cover off completely, Cassius would never know what the limits of martial arts were, like whether it could counter guns, bullets, or even...nuclear weapons.

Oh right, this world hadn't developed nuclear weapons yet.[1]

The two of them continued walking, engaging in small talk until they reached a section of the road where the streetlights were considerably dimmer.

Crunch.

A black shoe stepped on a small pebble. Phil slipped, but Cassius quickly caught him.

"Thanks, Instru—" Phil's words were cut off as his eyes widened.

Ziing!

A shiny silver dagger launched out from the corner of the alley, its tip gleaming lethally in the light like a viper. Behind the dagger were a pair of cold, indifferent eyes.

"

Ah

!" Phil screamed. It was coming straight for his neck!

Whoosh!

A calloused fist swept through the air like a violent gust of wind, striking the man's elbow with a crisp crack.

Ding!

The dagger flew out of his hand and clattered to the ground.

The attacker stumbled to the right, his face ghastly pale. His arm flailed like a windmill and droplets of blood spurted from his sleeve. He was in agony, breaking out in a cold sweat. That single hit had broken the man's arm.

"Kill them!" the man shouted. He threw himself forward, using his other hand to draw another dagger from his waist at the same time.

"There’s more of them?!"

Cassius's heart tightened. It was like a switch had just flipped inside of him. He sprinted toward them, his agile body making him look like a nimble leopard. He faced the dagger head-on. His robust arms clamped down like two steel pillars and twisted at an incredible speed.

Crack, crack, crack.

The sound of bones breaking in quick succession echoed. The arm holding the dagger now looked like a pretzel. Its red muscle fibers were snapped in half, exposing the white bone inside. Blood splattered all over Cassius's hands.

"..." Cassius took a deep breath. The air tasted metallic. Rage bubbled from within him, and his iron fist swung like a steel pillar.

Thud!

The man's head was hit with the force of a heavy hammer and his whole body flew diagonally to the left. He smashed against the garbage can with a loud bang, and blood spurted out of his head uncontrollably. The surface of the iron garbage can had a noticeable dent.

"

Haah...

" The man exhaled once. And that was it.

I killed someone again

.

Cassius felt inexplicably calm. While the darkness hid his expression, it could not hide how his fists trembled with excitement. Every muscle in his arms seemed to be twitching. Bright red blood continued to drip down his knuckles.

What's happening to me?

Cassius thought.

In that moment, killing didn't fill him with fear like usual. Instead, an irrepressible thrill surged through him. His dark primal instincts were buried deep inside his heart and it was almost as if a blood-red balloon had been punctured, releasing those desires from within. His blood was boiling to the point of evaporation. An invisible hand squeezed his heart and it seemed to have taken control of his brain.

Somewhere deep inside of him, a bloodthirsty beast had awakened.

It's the Shadow Demon! It must be because of that inhuman monster's influence!

Cassius glanced at the elongated shadow behind him. The shadow seemed to squirm, as if in protest.

"You guys asked for this." Cassius whipped around, his legs muscles tensing up like a pair of springs. It released and he hurtled at the three incoming attackers with his bloodstained fists.

Phil stood at the side, dumbfounded.

All he could see was Instructor Li Wei charging straight for the assailants. In the next second, the leader was slammed directly into the gray wall. His sinister face caved in, his nose flattening from the impact, and one eyeball had exploded. Blood mixed with shattered bone ran down his face in large volumes.

Ding!

Cassius spun and delivered a side kick, sending the dagger in the attacker's hand flying. Then he crashed into the attacker's body, squeezing himself right below their noses. His hands shot straight up like a lotus blossom.

The second attacker's jaw made a cracking sound as his head snapped up so hard all they saw was the sky. His eyes were filled with shock and blood spilled from his mouth.

Thud!

His body slumped down.

Cassius kicked off the wall, using the momentum to throw himself in the opposite direction like a tiger pouncing on its prey. His fists came together, one on top of the other, slamming into the last attacker's chest like a javelin.

Immediately, the man staggered back, and his body trembled violently. He continued backing away until he hit a wall. It didn't take long before blood, combined with chunks of his shattered organs, gushed out of his mouth.

1. Author casually narrating a mental note to himself. ☜