Chapter 428 - Killing Three Birds With One Stone

He had heard of the Treatment Ward before. It was considered a highly influential branch within the Hunters' Association. It conducted operations throughout the Hongli Empire and maintained personnel and outposts in many counties.

Once Cassius became a Shadow Hunter, it was clear he would not limit his attention to the small area of Florence. Hence, the Treatment Ward served as a perfect springboard. Whether it was his open or covert clashes with the Gate Organization, or his current mission involving Black Rain Manor and the Eternal Archipelago, controlling a well-informed and capable subordinate agency would undoubtedly offer him considerable support.

"Thank you." Cassius inclined his head in acknowledgment to Krog before continuing to sip his tea.

"Who's thanking whom remains to be seen." Krog patted the pocket with the black-bait wood. If its origin could be pinpointed, its value would greatly benefit the entire Dark Hunter Organization.

The group chatted idly in the living room for a while longer until Cassius took his leave for his residence before night fully set in. However, instead of entering his bedroom, he went to the training room. He casually destroyed two or three practice iron posts, closed his eyes, and activated the Mark of the Spirit Bearer within him, feeling a surge of warmth rise in his chest.

When he reopened his eyes, the same dim view stretched out before him. A sudden

whoosh

heralded the glow of pallid flames. Cassius stepped down from the revival altar with a neutral expression, then made his way to the third floor to activate a defense array. He had hunted so many monsters that the Blood of the Spirit he collected could easily support the continuous operation of the Tower of Refuge.

He then went down to the second floor to read some of the precious tomes in the Library of Misfortune, filling in the gaps in his understanding of the World of Calamity. After roughly twenty minutes, he returned to the first floor. He opened the main doors of the Tower of Refuge to find two figures at the threshold, Ghost-Man and Iron Knight, who promptly stepped inside, each drawing on their own abilities.

All three moved to the second floor and settled beside an antique desk. They discussed their plans for the day and exchanged news about their own affairs. Since they had fought for their lives together in the World of Calamity for a while now, they had grown to understand each other more closely. They were like friends bound by shared interests.

Ghost-Man and Iron Knight did not exclude Cassius as they spoke about numerous matters concerning Black Rain Manor. The pair's privilege level had been sufficiently elevated.

This time, they brought up a longstanding rivalry between two formidable figures within Black Rain Manor. One was the rampaging beast user called Tyrant Black Dragon, and the other was the mysterious Ripple Master.

Both were top-tier knight-level Hellsing combatants, though they had forged their reputation earlier than most. These two were already widely renowned when Ghost-Man and Iron Knight joined Black Rain Manor. Now, their strength had become unfathomable, matched by an absurdly high privilege level.

Both Tyrant Black Dragon and the Ripple Master had access to a sealed-off, mysterious zone within Black Rain Manor, which granted them a host of additional capabilities. No one knew the true upper limits of their strength, or how many resources the Black Rain Manor had invested in them.

To put it simply, one might compare them to what Ghost-Man could become, given another ten years of development. Without question, they stood at the pinnacle of all Hellsing, ranking at least in the top five, if not the top three.

However, Tyrant Black Dragon and the Ripple Master's feud stretched far back. Whenever they happened to cross paths in Black Rain Manor, they invariably fought before parting. Some marked-ones who tried to witness those confrontations were often torn apart in the aftermath.

However this time, something unprecedented had happened. A marked-one spotted the two mortal enemies sharing drinks at the same table. They had even conversed, seemingly discussing some matter at length. It was the first time in living memory that something like this had happened.

It was big news indeed. The Ripple Master was notoriously taciturn, who spoke sparingly to others. Tyrant Black Dragon, in contrast, was aggressive and hot-tempered. He was well known for his impatience and preference for brute force. No one had imagined these two nearly incommunicable figures to ever sit down and talk to each other.

Furthermore, it appeared it was because they had received the same mission within some secret part of Black Rain Manor. The mission was perilous but came with huge rewards, enough for two sworn enemies to join forces.

According to rumors, the mission would take place in the southeastern seas of the Hongli Empire, though no one knew what there might warrant such caution from the two. Inside the Library of Misfortune, Cassius listened quietly while flipping through a book.

He lowered his gaze slightly, feeling like he should delve deeper into Black Rain Manor's affairs. The ancient White Bone Tree was located in the Black Rain Manor, and the Manor had also issued a mission tied to the Eternal Archipelago. The combination had left Cassius rather wary.

The old Holy Fist master had not yet appeared on the Eternal Archipelago in this era. Though that land and its ruins remained perilous, the Tyrant Black Dragon and the Ripple Master mentioned just now by Ghost-Man were far from ordinary opponents.

They possibly had the strength of veteran combat artists or were close to top-tier combat artists. Since the Black Rain Manor was in its prime, it was not impossible for them to have created a few unconventional, exceptionally powerful mutants. If those two entered the Eternal Archipelago while possessing the ancient White Bone Tree from the Black Rain Manor, Cassius could not predict the final outcome.

He frowned as Ghost-Man and Iron Knight continued their conversation, mentioning that one of Ghost-Man's friends had apparently been invited to join the two masters. In fact, Tyrant Black Dragon and the Ripple Master were openly recruiting allies, targeting only the true elite among top-tier knight-level fighters.

They seemed to be forming a powerful team to tackle this dangerous mission assigned by the Black Rain Manor. Cassius was struck by inspiration.

He spoke abruptly, "Did they mention when that mission starts? I suspect they may invite the two of you..."

"Likely in two or three months. They need a lot of preparation, and most top-tier knight-level fighters are spread all over the Hongli Empire on assignments, so it'll take them that long just to send out invitations." Ghost-Man glanced at Iron Knight. "As for the two of us, no way. Even if they ask, I won't join..."

Ghost-Man thought Cassius was worried they might return to Black Rain Manor for the mission and abandon their cooperation with him, so he made sure to explain. Standing beside him, Iron Knight exchanged a glance with Ghost-Man, then nodded at Cassius.

While joining forces with those two mighty individuals could reap certain benefits, it paled in comparison to collaborating with Cassius. They merely needed to follow Cassius in the World of Calamity to both be guided and protected. The efficiency was exceptional. They had finished two precious missions that raised their privilege in under a month. It was practically a guaranteed victory.

All they had to do was act as go-betweens to exchange resources that Cassius needed. It was undoubtedly safer and more lucrative than the risky mission with the Ripple Master and Tyrant Black Dragon. Given that both Tyrant Black Dragon and the Ripple Master were recruiting others for that mission, the danger must be immense. It seemed inevitable that multiple knight-level fighters would perish on the mission, and neither Iron Knight nor Ghost-Man cared to be among the fallen.

Cassius did not look reassured in the slightest at their declarations of loyalty. Instead, he said, "No. If you receive their invitation, both of you should go. In fact, I'll be going too..."

"Huh?" Ghost-Man stared blankly, not grasping Cassius's meaning.

Cassius narrowed his eyes and asked, "You recall how I asked you earlier about that ancient White Bone Tree inside Black Rain Manor?"

"Tyrant Black Dragon and the Ripple Master's mission site is likely the location I need to visit. I’ve been wondering how to remove that tree from Black Rain Manor. At one point, I even considered launching a direct assault on the Manor but it seems that's unnecessary now. Since the tree is inside the Manor and those two are headed on this mission, they'll probably bring the tree along as part of the mission.

Heh heh...

" A chilly smile tugged at Cassius's lips.

"I had planned to deal with Black Rain Manor more gradually, but now that things are moving quickly, we'll simply hasten our pace these next two or three months. Both of you, listen carefully..." He paused, letting his gaze drift over Ghost-Man and Iron Knight in the silent Library of Misfortune. Only his words echoed in the stillness.

"I have a method that would allow you marked-ones to break free of Black Rain Manor's grip completely without drawing ongoing pursuit from the Decaying Knights..."

Both men let out heavy audible breaths. Ghost-Man swayed, the veins bulging along his grip on the scythe until his knuckles whitened, while the clear sound of a gulp cam from behind the knight's visor. Both were visibly agitated.

"Is that for real? Wind Elephant, you... you're not tricking us...?" Ghost-Man's speech was stilted with excitement.

"Trick you? I never deceive friends." Cassius rose slowly from his chair, closing the book and laying it on the desk. He glanced at the pair. "There's an item in this world known as a fake-death pill, which can put a person into a dormant state with no detectable aura..."

"All you'd have to do is accept some mission from Black Rain Manor with the penalty being certain death, then deliberately fail to execute it. When the Decaying Knights arrive, you'd take the fake-death pill and fool them, along with the Manor."

Slowly recovering from his shock, Iron Knight posed a foolish-sounding question. "What if the pill's effect isn't that great, won't we just..."

However, he cut himself off, realizing how idiotic that sounded. Naturally, they would test the fake-death pill on others first, like various Hellsing members of differing power tiers to confirm its reliability before ingesting it themselves.

Awkwardly, he chuckled. "Uh, sorry, I meant... How many of those pills do you have?"

Cassius nodded. "Don't worry, we have plenty, and they've been thoroughly verified. It's just that they're currently locked away in some ruin..."

Ghost-Man's brow twitched beneath his mask, clearly intrigued by Cassius's "thoroughly verified" remark. Though he doubted Cassius had tested it personally, perhaps a marked-one ally of Cassius's had once tried escaping Black Rain Manor's control. That person may have discovered a genuine route to freedom under dire circumstances, and Cassius had learned the crucial details by being involved.

While Ghost-Man focused on that possibility, Iron Knight latched onto the latter half. "A ruin? So we need to enter it first to retrieve the pills..."

"There’s no rush. Let me spend the next half month knocking out a few minor competitors to become a Shadow Hunter. Once I'm free, I'll take you both there," Cassius replied, then paused. "As for leaving Black Rain Manor, there's no need to hurry. We may as well seize some more benefits in this final stretch and complete a few more of Ghost-Man's pending missions. I think the best time for you to break away would be after the Ripple Master and Tyrant Black Dragon's mission is done, giving you two or three months to prepare."

He replaced the book on the shelf as he continued, "There are plenty of fake-death pills. What we need is more allies and more friends..." Cassius grinned as he looked at Ghost-Man. "If more marked-ones break away from Black Rain Manor's grasp, that unites their common interests and concerns. Perhaps we should form a group, offering fake-death pills to recruit top-tier knight-level fighters.

Heh...

From what I see, the marked-ones Tyrant Black Dragon and the Ripple Master plan to invite allies would be perfect. Why not have you two become the first ones to join their team, then volunteer to handle inviting the other top-tier knight-level fighters? How does that sound?"

Ghost-Man blanked for a moment, then suddenly laughed. He understood Cassius's plan. It was nothing less than a clandestine approach. Ghost-Man and Iron Knight could, just as Cassius had tempted them, lure others in using the fake-death pills too. If they did enough character research and selected people carefully, the success rate would be high. Those who did not cooperate would be eliminated to prevent any breach of secrecy.

If they had two or three months of maneuvering, by the time Tyrant Black Dragon and the Ripple Master led their team into the southeastern seas, likely half the group would be turncoats, plus an inserted Cassius.

Tyrant Black Dragon and the Ripple Master would pour their heart and soul into their mission, only to end up paving the way for Cassius's success. Along the way, Cassius would fulfill his objective of exploring the Eternal Archipelago while establishing a fledgling group of top-tier Hellsing allies. That was killing not two but three birds with one stone!

On top of everything, the ancient White Bone Tree would be brought out for him as well. Thus, Cassius simply needed to acquire the bronze key from the Dark Hunter Organization's vaults. All his additional objectives in this time-travel would be met. From that point on, he could focus on handling the body's original lingering attachments.

Cassius gazed at the bookshelf in the Library of Misfortune with glimmering eyes. Once again, with each return to an earlier era beyond one's strength, Cassius agreed that the most vital factor was indeed insider information!

Whether it was a large undisclosed patch of Lanxin Grass or the fake-death pills hidden in the Akaba Ruins, when used wisely, they provided him with immense advantages...