Chapter 432 - Chase and Sweep

Boom! Crash...

As the river exploded, Yang Yan was flung backward at high speed, skipping across the water’s surface. Each skip left a splatter of blood behind until he barely regained his balance and spat out a mouthful of blood. He had never once been so helpless since joining the Gate Organization, nor had he ever been in such a wretched state as he was today.

His Qi had been completely overwhelmed. He could not match the opponent's speed or strength, and even his cultivated Covert Martial Arts appeared to be firmly suppressed. Worse still was the disparity in combat experience! White Aster looked barely in his early twenties, yet his techniques were astonishingly seasoned and watertight, without the slightest opening.

Each punch he threw was aggressive like fire, merging his essence, energy, and spirit into one. His every move exuded a domineering force of fist technique and mental will. He was clearly in the realm of a master of fist techniques that typically required decades of martial arts practice to achieve.

Yang Yan had explosively boosted his body's strength via the disk, increasing his strength by more than fifty percent. Yet while exchanging blows with Cassius while he was being pursued, he still faced repeated defeats. His bones were creaking and his muscles were trembling. Even so, he could not afford to let any of those cunning attacks slip through.

If he failed to block even one punch, he would die!

This constant brush with life-and-death danger sent tremors through Yang Yan's soul. It was only compounded by how Cassius had crushed him during their earlier Qi confrontation. Fear now saturated his heart, and the desire to flee grew stronger by the second, erasing any confidence he had upon arrival.

Boom, boom, boom...

He heard the sound of pursuit behind him, like an elephant wading forward with thunderous steps, splashing water in all directions.

Goosebumps rose on the back of Yang Yan's neck, making his hair stand on end. He felt a jolt along his tailbone as an intense sense of danger rushed from his spine to his brain. Yang Yan threw himself forward just as a massive fist slammed down on where he'd stood.

Boom!

Mud and crushed stone burst apart, some blasting five or six meters into the air like a geyser. The slanting orange twilight created a brief rainbow arc across the river's surface.

The rainbow vanished in the mist of water droplets as two figures sped through the river channel like a pair of hippos causing massive upheaval. Residents on both banks opened their windows and craned their necks to see, exclaiming at the sight of what looked like two coiling water dragons surging upstream. A few unlucky bystanders, far off in the distance, were struck by flying debris, leaving them with minor head wounds and scrambling to shut their windows in fear.

Viewed from above, there was now a segment of the silver-hued inner city river of Florence that was entirely turbid. It looked like a giant mud-colored serpent slithering toward the outer edge of District Six. A combat artist possessed a physique that surpassed normal humans, so even while traveling against the current, they moved much faster than a boat traveling downstream.

The scenery on both sides of the river had shifted from neatly arranged, pastel-yellow wooden homes to secluded woodlands, sandy and rocky banks, lush grass, and steep cliffs.

Bang!

A blood-smeared figure shot out of the river like a nimble flying fish, tracing a graceful arc in the air. He latched onto the uneven cliffs and then climbed them with a spider's grace. Still, he left a thick, winding trail of blood behind on the cliff face. A second or two later, Cassius shot out of the river. Cassius leaped twice, scaling the cliff to stand at its edge. He gazed calmly into the forest.

Framed by the setting sun, his sharply defined features half lay in shadow. His expression was cold as he watched a doomed man's final struggle. As he stepped forward, his body's fierce heat dried his clothes on the spot, sending trails of white steam rising into the sky.

Cassius's clothing was already dry after taking only five or six steps. Then, he dashed straight in.

Meanwhile, the Gate Organization's underground test site lay deeper within the forest.

Two elders were inspecting the lab's newest findings under Zhu Hun's guidance. One was bald, while the other wore a suit.

The bald elder, Louis, was a senior council member. Beside him stood a middle-aged man with empty hands, his white hair combed back into a small ponytail at his nape. Though his features were ordinary, his blue eyes glimmered faintly, radiating a subtle aura of mystery.

The elderly gentleman in a suit, Berry, was a duke of the royal family, and on his left stood a robust nobleman dressed in aristocratic attire, carrying a gleaming rapier on his belt. Intricate designs marked the rapier's guard, with floral motifs shaped like petals. It appeared splendid and ornate in every detail.

Both the white-haired man and the rapier-wielding gentleman were clearly exceptional. They were clearly Dark Gold Hunter fighters nurtured by the Hongli Federation council and the royal family, respectively.

"Over here." Zhu Hun led the group through a gray, rectangular corridor lit by torches of red flame until they reached an isolated cell. Part of its enclosing wall had been replaced by some glasslike material that allowed those outside to see in, though not the other way around.

The five of them halted. The bald elder and the suited elder turned to Zhu Hun, who tapped on the translucent wall, shifting it from opaque to clear. Inside stood a neatly dressed human. He was the same vagrant used for the previous experiment. However, his hair and beard had been shaved, and he wore fresh clothes like any ordinary resident of Florence.

Yang Yan had originally planned to dispose of this test subject, but given Cassius's recent purge of dark creatures in Florence, the royal family and council collaborators had requested a visit to the test site. Thus, the vagrant had not been taken away and instead had been set aside for a demonstration.

"This is your newest specimen?" asked the bald elder, narrowing his eyes. "He appears devoid of any aberrant traits, just like a normal person..."

"Yes, outwardly that is the case," Zhu Hun replied. "After the experiment, I conducted a thorough check. This specimen, codenamed 'Gargoyle,' showed no physical mutations, and his internal structure remains unchanged. However, he does bear a new totem on his body. A mark that releases supernatural powers."

Zhu Hun smiled faintly, took out a key, and entered the cell while the other four remained outside, watching through the transparent wall.

The moment Zhu Hun stepped into the room, the specimen rose swiftly to its feet. A second later, Zhu Hun launched an immediate attack, injuring the specimen's shoulder. The man's eyes turned red, and the totem on his body lit up all at once.

A gargoyle over two meters tall emerged abruptly from the specimen's body, revealing a towering figure like an iron tower. Two sets of broad wings hung at its sides, their bony edges glinting with a metallic sheen. It hurled itself at Zhu Hun, lashing out viciously with its claws.

Bang, bang, bang...

Zhu Hun remained motionless, occasionally lifting a hand to swat the gargoyle away. After about a minute of demonstration, he simply squeezed the gargoyle's neck, shattering it like an annoying fly swirling around him.

The specimen groaned, blood streaming from his nostrils and ears. His complexion turned pale and his gaze vacant. He had clearly suffered some mental trauma.

Zhu Hun immediately retrieved some healing items and continued the demonstration. They conducted reading and writing tasks, language communication, sanity tests, and desire evaluations.

The specimen showed fairly positive results, retaining rational thought and decent intelligence, though exhibiting an almost manic aggression. Of course, that level of aggression was still far milder than the savagery of dark creatures.

Moreover, the test subject still experienced normal human desires. He enjoyed good food and never refused the beautiful women brought in for testing. Although he still displayed cannibalistic urges, he managed considerable self-restraint. For instance, after the test with the beauties, he refrained from devouring anyone. It was quite a noticeable improvement compared to the hundreds of previous trials.

If progress continued at this pace, the technology desired by the royal family and council could be fully refined in six months to a year. Both the bald elder and the suited elder were very pleased, nodding repeatedly in approval.

Next, Zhu Hun invited them to witness the transformation experiment. The five of them proceeded toward the transformation pool, where staff members were already in position. It was the same scene as before: the same specimen, the same stone slab.

As countless Blue Tear Eyes embedded beneath the transformation pool began to glow, the vortex atop the slab turned into a mirror, expanding from distant to near, from the outside inward, revealing a terrifying parallel world...

"Those... are all dark creatures?!" The bald elder's eyes brimmed with shock, for this was the first time Zhu Hun had shown them the true secrets behind the transformation experiments. He now beheld a murky terrain resembling layers of sludge, covered by black fluid that looked like patches of mold. Across it swelled lumps of flesh too numerous to count, occasionally splitting open to reveal horrifying, misshapen aberrations. Some of them took flight, while others slaughtered each other.

"Is that some hidden corner of our own world? So that's where dark creatures are born?" the suited elder murmured.

As the tablet advanced, the aberrations grew more horrifying, more grotesque, and more indescribable, instilling an indescribable dread.

Zhu Hun observed their reactions, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly. This scene would surely cement the royal family and council's resolve to research dark creatures.

They wished to find alternative means of strength and free themselves from dependence on the Dark Hunter Organization. They desired long life and supernatural powers once outside their reach. Their ambitions ran high, and their appetites were great. The Gate Organization loved collaborating with such confident individuals, as clearing them out in the end merely required letting their inflated ambitions devour them from within. From start to finish, Zhu Hun had never viewed these two parties, or even the Dark Hunter Organization, as worthy opponents.

He had only ever been wary of the worldwide sphere of Covert Martial Arts, those who remained separate and had their own ancient Covert Martial Arts. The Gate Organization knew its own roots; most of its members had ties to that realm and thus understood its terrifying strength...

Were it not for internal disputes and their lack of interest in outside affairs, there would be no room for the Dark Hunter Organization or Black Rain Manor to enjoy such notoriety in the extraordinary realm. Over the millennia, the Covert Martial Arts community had long harbored secluded Holy Fist masters. Whenever fortune was at its peak, the unstoppable holy fist of the heavens would emerge.

On the other hand, once masters broke the limit and reached the realm of Holy Fist, they often vanished, spending time in extended seclusion with very limited interest in worldly matters so their sightings became rare.

Bang, bang, bang, bang...

Suddenly, a series of dull thuds echoed from above, shaking the entire cavern. They sounded like footsteps or repeated impacts. Zhu Hun jerked his head up, eyes sharply scanning the vicinity. Several disordered footsteps approached in haste down a passage. A uniformed guard appeared, pallid with terror.

"What's happening?" Zhu Hun flashed instantly to the man's side, seizing him by the collar.

"Sir, an unbelievably strong enemy has broken in! Lord Yang Yan has been chased the entire way, and it looks like he's badly wounded!" The guard took a deep breath and went on, "The enemy has smashed through all manner of traps, killing every guard along the path. And now, he's heading toward the transformation pool..."

"Yang Yan is being hunted down!?" It was as if two ghostly green flames sprang to life in Zhu Hun's jet-black eyes.

"How is that possible?! Yang Yan, like me, is nearly a top-tier combat artist. He was also armed with the Red Tear Eye our leader gave him for emergencies, not to mention the short burst of strength from destroying the disk. How could he be overwhelmed to this extent? Could it be Radiant Hunter Thunder Prison Deleshart? Or maybe the Chief Mechanist himself!?"

Uncertainty plagued him, but he quickly made a decision. Zhu Hun took the royal and council elders' bodyguards and darted upward at once.

They had only ascended about two levels when they reached a hall where a thunderous clash boomed like a rolling tank, echoing through the enclosed space. Airflow and dust whirled into a vortex in the hall.

A moment later, Yang Yan, bleeding from nearly all his orifices, staggered out of the passage and dropped to his knees. He was followed by a towering figure, nearly one meter ninety in height. A hand the size of a woven fan descended toward Yang Yan's head with a popping rush of air, revealing terrifying force.

"Stop!!!" Zhu Hun shouted in a deep voice, blurring momentarily as he shot forward. Behind him, a half-transparent figure shaped from a ghostly green flame mirrored Zhu Hun's every move, as though his spirit had separated from his body.

"Extinguishing Soul, Double Strike!" He shouted. The two forms accelerated in midair, ultimately merging as one. Their overlapping fists slammed into Cassius's shoulder.

Thud!

The floor tile shattered beneath a pair of black boots, but Cassius did not yield a single step, channeling all the force downward. He looked at Zhu Hun, who had been sent flying. A moment ago, Cassius's punch had somehow passed through the man's arm and body, striking empty air, whereas the other's fist had hammered solidly into his shoulder with a savage double impact.

That made him recall Black Peacock, who was adept at the Secret Techniques of phasing.

The torches crackled as Cassius glanced at his shoulder, where his defensive layer of Qi had been torn, opening a gash on the tough surface of his skin. Five or six droplets of blood dripped, staining his clothes at the chest.

"Interesting... you actually managed to injure me. That's worthy of praise!"