Returning to the Mysterious Era-Chapter 422 - Artificial Dark Creature

Roar!

The ghoul, whose entire face was dominated by its massive jaws, bellowed ferociously. Fetid steam rose from its mouth, and it instantly charged forward on all fours. Since it had no fur, only streamlined shark-like skin, one could clearly see the muscle swelling beneath its hide. Its limb joints jutted out and rotated like wheels. It resembled an enlarged, reinforced cheetah.

Its limbs dug into the ground, gouging fist-sized pits with each step. The ghoul blurred through the air, its vicious features contorted in a savage attempt to bite Cassius.

Bang!

The ghoul slammed into Cassius's body at incredible speed, only to rebound an instant later with even greater force. It looked as though it were launched into the sky, as its entire spine was bent into a hooked arc.

Thud!

The two-meter-tall body smashed straight into the surrounding wall, bringing it down in a spray of bricks and rubble. The ghoul got stuck in the gap, its neck twisted at an unnatural angle as though its spine had snapped. Its huge, crooked jaws twisted as its shark-like teeth splintered. Crimson blood seeped through its wounds.

Crumble...

The ghoul struggled, sending gray bricks tumbling from its body. Shuddering, it tried to rise, but a black-booted foot came crashing down on its chest. A resounding thud sent dust billowing outward, scattering debris everywhere. The ghoul, pinned by the enormous force, felt its organs all but erupt up into its throat. The sheer strength of the blow left it utterly unable to fight back.

The blond giant looked down at it coldly, meeting the ghoul's green, beady eyes. For reasons it couldn't fathom, some primal dread flickered through the ghoul's crazed mind. This man was unlike an ordinary hunter; his gaze was that of a predator eyeing prey!

A massive hand reached down from above. He seized the top of its bald head and his thumb pressed down as though it would drill into the creature's skull, ready to turn the ghoul's head into a bowling ball and carry it off on the spot.

Yet he paused, shifting his grip downward to clamp tight on the ghoul's nape. He hoisted it clean off the ground, then his left hand sank into its side with a thud, knocking the ghoul unconscious on the spot.

Cassius turned and strode out of the dark alley. No sooner had he emerged than he spotted Soss in the distance. Soss watched him in silence, harboring a wary, resentful, and hesitant look in his eyes.

Cassius walked step by step toward the central garden, glancing first at the still-burning black-bait wood in the plaza, then turning to meet Soss's gaze. As he drew closer, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Soss's heart skipped a beat, and he decided it was best not to linger. He backed up a couple of steps, then wheeled around and disappeared into an alley.

Cassius's expression remained unchanged as he stood atop a set of stairs. He looked down slightly, seeing that Claire was still engaged in her battle with the werewolf. They fought and shifted their battlefield, vanishing without him noticing exactly when. The central garden fell quiet once again, leaving only the black-bait wood at the plaza's center, still burning with about a quarter left.

Cassius dragged the ghoul along as he casually made his way downward. He was not about to waste the remainder of the black-bait wood. If he was careful, he could use it again next time. After all, even Ghost-Man couldn't exchange for such a precious resource without effort.

After extinguishing the flames, only a palm-sized chunk of the black-bait wood remained. Cassius tucked it into his clothes, planning to take his spoils back to the Dark Hunter Organization's headquarters. Unexpectedly, another group of dark creatures arrived, seven or eight in total, all at least at Wild Beast level.

Cassius glanced around, letting the creatures creep closer as they sniffed hungrily at the lingering scent. He raised his hand slowly, then lowered it again. He vanished again, and suddenly appeared in front of one of the dark creatures. He locked eyes with the three-eyed aberration, and his arm blurred. A streak of blood flew across the air, leaving an eyeball in Cassius's hand.

It was roughly the size of a human eye and semi-translucent, with a single pupil at the center that held a deep oceanic blue. It was strangely reminiscent of the Gate Organization's unique tool: the Blue Tear Eye. However, the Blue Tear Eye was usually preserved in amber and contained two pupils within, which made this particular eye slightly different.

Cassius's gaze grew grave, and with one swift slash of his right hand, every dark creature around him lost its head. Seeming to recall something, he turned back to inspect the mound of corpses. A bit of searching later, he found yet another discovery.

He soon found identical eyes; some were even hidden inside the dark creatures' brains. In mere moments, Cassius held ten such eyeballs in his hand, and there were likely more within the corpse mountain. Were these aberrations connected to the Gate Organization?

He grew wary. It was now the last few years of the Hongli Empire era. In two or three years, the Dark Hunter Organization would collapse entirely, taking the empire down with it. At such a critical moment, dark creatures that seemed linked to the Gate Organization had shown up in Florence. It was impossible not to see a connection between the two events.

Moreover, why would the Gate Organization embed the Blue Tear Eye into dark creatures? Experiments? Surveillance? Tracking? There had to be some purpose.

While Cassius pondered, the ten Blue Tear Eyes in his palm merged together, emitting a faint blue glow. Moments later, they combined into a single orb, a Blue Tear Eye with two pupils. He could finally confirm beyond doubt that this was the handiwork of the Gate Organization.

Cassius collected himself once more. He gripped the eye in his hand and dashed away from the plaza.

Around five minutes later, a black-robed figure appeared unnoticed in one corner of the plaza. His presence was so faint he was like a plant growing in a dim corner. Stepping forward, he surveyed the central plaza drenched in blood.

He paused for a moment and turned to the towering mound of corpses.

Tap, tap, tap...

He walked over, stopping at the base of the corpse pile. A chilly breeze laden with the stench of blood swept by, gently stirring the hem of his robe.

"Almost half of Florence's dark creatures were lured here... and most of those ended up in this pile. All of our test subjects were wiped out?" The black-robed man murmured, taking an amber-sealed eye identical in shape to the Blue Tear Eye from his robes. However, this one was red instead of blue.

He tapped it thrice with his fingertip, and the Red Tear Eye floated into the air. A crimson beam projected from its pupil and landed on the mound of corpses. It scanned the pile from top to bottom like a laser.

Three seconds later, the scan concluded. No blue lights appeared among the corpses.

The black-robed man's face darkened. Not detecting any trace of the Blue Tear Eyes was not a good sign. It meant someone had removed the Blue Tear Eye prototypes! Having the test subjects killed was one thing, losing a few prototypes was not disastrous—but now every single one was gone. Once the number of prototypes exceeded ten, they would fuse together.

Whoever took those prototypes must have discovered the unusual nature of the Blue Tear Eyes. That meant part of the Gate Organization's plan might have been compromised.

"Who was responsible for tonight's slaughter in the central garden?" The black-robed man glanced around and drew in a deep breath. He then seized the Red Tear Eye and sped off into the shadows.

He needed to inform Zhu Hun of what had just happened as soon as possible, to make up for the losses. After the black-robed man vanished down the alley, five seconds later, a tall figure emerged from another dark alley nearby.

It was Cassius!

Five minutes earlier, he had made like he was leaving but had actually circled back and kept out of sight. Cassius wanted to see if anyone else would come investigate the source of Florence's dark creature rampage that night.

Sure enough, he had caught someone in the act. The Gate Organization was indeed deeply tied to these dark creatures. Cassius suppressed his Qi to its absolute minimum and followed the black-robed man into the side alley.

Though members of the Gate Organization were formidable combat artists, there were still levels among them. If Cassius deliberately concealed his Qi , one would have to be an extreme combat artist to notice his presence.

He trailed him the entire way. Though separated by several backstreets, the two of them slipped through the darkness so quickly that it seemed like they were flickering.

After a few minutes, they arrived in Florence's District Two. It was the location of the Hongli Federation's council and other public institutions.

Once he rounded a certain corner, the black-robed man slowed his pace. Ahead stood a small, dimly lit house, its structure cast in shadow by the towering buildings nearby. The black-robed man looked around briefly, then walked toward it at a brisk pace.

The door opened, revealing a cloaked figure standing at the threshold.

"Yang Yan? What are you doing here all of a sudden...?"

"Let's talk inside."

Creak. The door closed behind them.

At almost that same instant, Cassius appeared beside the house like a phantom. He emerged from the shadows unhurriedly, as though he had been there all along. Cassius had kept some distance to avoid triggering any resonance with the Gate Fragments while tracking the black-robed man.

The moment the man met his companion, Cassius rushed forward at high speed within range of their resonance. That way, these two Gate Organization members would think the resonant energy came from each other's Gate Fragments rather than suspect someone else was spying.

Of course, there was a chance it could fail. If the black-robed man had met someone without a Gate Fragment, Cassius would have been discovered immediately. In that scenario, he would have had no choice but to kill everyone present. That would mean abandoning the trail and resorting to interrogation instead.

Inside, the lighting was as dark as ever. An unlit candle stand sat neatly on the table as if the owner preferred the gloom. The black-robed man frowned slightly, snapping his fingers.

The single candle flickered to life, casting a deep yellow glow. Yang Yan lit no more; he understood Zhu Hun's preferences.

"What's going on? You've rushed here in such a hurry." Zhu Hun sat at a small writing desk in the corner, with paper and ink in front of him. His voice was low and carried a chilling undertone.

"We have a problem with our test subjects," Yang Yan said from his position at the door.

"Oh? How many?" Zhu Hun asked.

"All of them..."

"What?!" Zhu Hun immediately stood up, setting down his pen.

He eyed Yang Yan. "What happened? Did the Dark Hunter Organization stage a citywide sweep in Florence? Why didn't I hear about this...?"

Yang Yan shook his head. "I'm not sure. But most of Florence's dark creatures ended up converging on District Four's central garden, where a literal mountain of corpses now stands. Over ninety percent of the dark creatures in Florence have been wiped out in one go..."

"Ninety percent..." Zhu Hun paused, then hastily asked, "What about the Blue Tear Eyes?"

Yang Yan shook his head once more. "Not a single one was present. By the time I got there, someone had already removed every prototype."

"..." Zhu Hun fell silent for a moment, a rare occurrence. "We must find out who did this! Have you—no, go yourself and get to the bottom of it. Have the royal family and those old council codgers help us. If this experiment is exposed, it won't be our heads; they'll be outright traitors, and dead for sure. They'll do everything they can to assist you..."

Yang Yan nodded and mused. "Should I head to District Six's test site and bring out more dark creatures?"

"Do as you think best. We've pretty much taken all the vagabonds in Florence over the past month, so we can't continue the transformation experiments here. Let's do it this way. I'll have Qi She gather more from a few of the surrounding counties."

"Alright," Yang Yan agreed, then asked, "How are things on your end? Have the people we sent found the source of the sacred spring water yet?"

Zhu Hun slowly shook his head. "Locating the sacred spring water's source won't work. Those two old fogies in the Dark Hunter Organization are too cautious. As for the Shadow Hunter who's been there once before, even he doesn't know the route or location. We have to rely on another plan. We need to let that young man I'm backing win the competition..."

"The contest for the Shadow Hunter position started five days ago. I don't need to intervene in the first phase. Solomon will pass the trial without trouble. Once the external operations begin, I'll help him secure victory ahead of time," Zhu Hun said, sounding supremely confident.

"Right. Yours is more critical. I'll head over to the test site first." Yang Yan remarked.

They exchanged a few more words, then Yang Yan hurriedly took his leave for District Six. Cassius's face remained frigid in the shadows of the room. He left the house at the same time as Yang Yan, following him from a distance.

It seemed the Gate Organization could transform humans into dark creatures. Cassius couldn't help but wonder how they had achieved such a feat. Even the seasoned hunters of the Dark Hunter Organization could only force a beast transformation, but never truly a transformation into a dark creature. He sensed that the Gate Organization was playing a far more elaborate game...