Returning to the Mysterious Era

Shwaa… shwaa…

The Rainy World remained the same, the fierce wind carrying a black mist-like rain that fell to the ground. The sky was dark and gloomy, full of twisted and layered storm clouds. Whenever one looked up at the sky, it always gave the feeling that the heavens were about to collapse.

Splash.

A pair of black boots stepped into a puddle, sending mud and water splattering. A bald, powerful-looking young man stood behind a large tree, his gaze fixed on the distant Black Rain Manor. He wore a sleek black combat suit, a white fist emblem marked on the right of his chest, a silent indicator of his identity, with adjustable wrist and ankle bands.

Harvey, the top-ranked core disciple of the Steel Fist Dao, stood with his hands hanging loosely at his sides. His black, oversized fists—far larger than those of an average adult male—had a faint metallic sheen. Even without exerting force, the veins on the back of his hands bulged prominently.

Tap… tap… tap… tap…

Light footsteps came from the sparse forest as sixty to seventy black figures advanced through the downpour. They wore black combat uniforms, each with various emblems on their right chests representing over ten sects from the Northern Covert Martial Arts Alliance. Some were bare-handed while others carried swords, wielded knives, or wore gauntlets. Each of them emanated a chilling, murderous aura.

They marched through the forest in silence, treading carefully behind their leader. Once they were less than five meters away from the gray manor walls, Harvey raised his right hand, and everyone halted. Several figures quickly wove through the forest, taking position closer to Harvey.

"We're the vanguard this time, testing the Black Rain Manor's defenses so it's going to be dangerous. Everyone should be prepared for the possibility of dying in battle," Harvey said, casting a serious glance at the group behind him.

"We all volunteered. We know the risks. Let's move!" said an eager young man, the third core disciple of the Winged Serpent Fist.

The young man was right; joining the vanguard attack on Black Rain Manor wasn't mandatory. Yet, most of the sixty to seventy gutsy volunteers were hungering to lead the charge and earn the first merit in conquering the manor. Their resolve was unwavering.

After a brief pause, Harvey turned and asked, "Are the oil barrels ready? Explosives?"

"All ready," one member responded.

"Then let's blow up this wall first," Harvey commanded, signaling the team to set explosives along the manor wall.

One minute later…

"Three, two, one!"

Boom!

The explosives on the far left of the wall detonated, a swelling fireball engulfing the entire surface. Then came the second explosion, and the third; the intense blasts tore through the entire wall.

A horn-like sound pierced the air, drawing the vanguard's attention upward as it grew louder and more frequent.

Suddenly, a high-pressure air current burst from the center of Black Rain Manor, rippling out like a shockwave. The fierce wind carved wave-like patterns through the rain.

Almost simultaneously, every Hellsing within Black Rain Manor stopped in their tracks. The marks on the backs of their hands, symbols of their status as marked-ones, glowed and flashed red. As they stood in confusion, a deep and mysterious voice echoed in their minds, repeating over and over, "The west entrance of the manor has been breached by unidentified enemies. All marked-ones, heed this command: eliminate all of these enemies. Move out."

Boom!

From the east side of the manor, distant explosions could be faintly heard. With the Hellsings so silent, they could clearly hear the rumbles coming from the outskirts of the manor.

The next second, the mysterious voice echoed once more. "More have breached the east entrance of the manor. Marked-ones stationed on the east side, suppress the enemies immediately."

Boom! Boom!

Two more explosions followed, this time from the south and north. The vanguard wasn't just one group but four!

The Northern Covert Martial Arts Alliance had prepared four entire vanguard teams, each consisting of roughly fifty to sixty determined volunteers, all eager to secure their first merits. There were over two hundred people.

Meanwhile, Covert Martial Arts experts, three times the number of vanguard members, were lying in wait, with a strike force composed of only pugilists who had surpassed human limits. They remained motionless, first observing what Black Rain Manor's defenses were and assessing how many cards up their sleeve they'd need to reveal.

Not far from the manor, behind a dirt slope, dozens of armored carriages had formed a solid, protective circle around Cassius and the others who were watching the battle unfold in the distance.

Lowering his binoculars, Mi An glanced around. Several dozen disciples from the Covert Martial Arts sects were on high alert as they patrolled back and forth near the carriages. Since the main force wasn't far away, the protective circle was very secure.

"All four vanguard teams have made their move, and the walls on all four sides of Black Rain Manor have been blown apart. The manor should have reacted by now. I wonder what they'll do?" Mi An paused for a moment. "They'll probably send the marked-ones first."

"Yes, the marked-ones are nothing more than convenient pawns to the manor. Even if one group dies, there'll always be another. Naturally, they'll use them to probe the situation first," Cassius said, glancing down at his right hand, where his mark was glowing red.

Having taken a sufficient amount of fake-death pills, Cassius had severed Black Rain Manor's connection to him. He lowered his right hand and patted the black cloak draped over his body, shaking off the rainwater that had accumulated in its folds.

"The main combat squads should be in position by now, right?"

"Ready and waiting," Mi An replied.

The Northern Covert Martial Arts Alliance didn't strike Black Rain Manor without purpose—they had a carefully crafted plan. Intelligence reports indicated that there were several key buildings within the manor that were essential to its operations.

The Hellsings followed strict rules when entering the building where any violation could result in severe punishment or even death. Not only were these structures mysterious, but their special functions made them the core components of Black Rain Manor.

At Daybreak Hospital, for example, Hellsings could gain superhuman abilities via injections of beast blood. Then there was the Craniotomy Clinic for cerebral mercury infusions, and the Arthropod Hall for grafting dark biological parts onto the body. The Baptism Chapel was where regular missions were exchanged, and the Mission Hall was where marked-ones took on extra tasks. At the heart of Black Rain Manor stood the Central Clock Tower which rang at every hour, with each chime carrying some mysterious power.

The Northern Covert Martial Arts Alliance planned to send out the vanguard to probe the Black Rain Manor's defenses before the main combat squads composed of Covert Martial Arts experts launched a full assault. Upon entering the manor, they would mark the locations of these important buildings with a special fuel. The eight cannons stationed outside the manor would then come into play and bring down those critical buildings.

Additionally, the Northern Covert Martial Arts Alliance had a defense unit. When the main force entered the manor, the defense unit would take a portion of the armored carriages and set up firing points around the perimeter to repel any incoming Decaying Knights.

The plan was set and already in motion. Now, it was just a matter of watching the events take place.

At the west entrance of Black Rain Manor, a large section of the wall had collapsed and the base of the wall was steaming. It would take quite some time to repair.

Over sixty black-clad figures stepped over the collapsed wall, their boots clicking against the hard stone path as they entered Black Rain Manor. They hadn't gotten very far when Hellsings suddenly surged out from the distant street corners and buildings.

Those Hellsings had been stationed near the west entrance and forcibly dispatched by the manor, meaning if they didn't go voluntarily, they'd be considered traitors and executed by the enforcers.

Since the marked-ones were already in the manor, the manor likely had simpler and more effective methods of punishing those who betrayed it. The Hellsings didn't dare to defy the manor's orders.

A dozen or so marked-ones appeared on the avenue with more Hellsings rushing toward them.

"Roar!" One of the Hellsings sprinted forward. Growling, his entire body swelled as he burst out from his clothes. His half-man, half-beast form dashed ahead with wild, tangled fur fluttering as his tusks and blood-red eyes radiated a savage bloodlust.

Another Hellsing ripped off his clothes, revealing three large mouths on his chest. Those extraordinary organs, clearly from some dark creature, began to pulsate and glow blood-red. The mouths emitted high-pitched screams, sending out circular soundwaves.

Yet another Hellsing pressed his fingers against his temples, manipulating invisible psychokinetic forces to twist the air into a light-blue protective shield around him. His eyes turned deep blue, and floating fist-sized spheres appeared in the air, spinning rapidly as they hovered up and down like bubbles.

The sixty vanguard members stopped in their tracks as Harvey, the bald leader, waved his hand sharply. The foremembers of the vanguard immediately stepped aside, revealing a dozen or so other members behind them.

All of them were robust individuals, holding Silver Storm heavy machine guns as long as their arms. The guns gave off a brutal, mechanical feel—black barrels, sharp-edged metal designs, and thick canvas ammo belts wrapped around their bodies.

A dozen dark barrels aimed at the far end of the street. Then…

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!

The gun barrels erupted in flames as large-caliber bullets shot out, forming a solid chain of fire through the air. The Silver Storm could theoretically fire six hundred rounds per minute; that was ten bullets per second!

The continuous firepower was equivalent to hundreds of rifles! And with more than a dozen Silver Storm heavy machine guns, this was equivalent to over a thousand rifles! The bullets instantly covered the entire street.

Thud, thud…

The tall werewolf who had been charging forward suddenly erupted in a spray of blood. He shook violently as his body became riddled with holes. The force of the bullets drove him backward, step by step until he found himself pinned against the wall.

The werewolf's eyes widened. His once powerful body was now more holes than flesh, his organs decimated from the nearly a hundred bullets firing at him. His heart felt heavy, filled as it was with metal rounds.

Looking down, he saw that his entire abdomen and half of his chest had been turned into gaping holes. He could see right through his body to the wall behind him.

How can a weapon be so powerful?! the werewolf roared inwardly, unable to comprehend such firepower. Frustrated, he crumpled down, blood pouring out and pooling around him.

He was just one of the many souls claimed by the machine guns. A marked-one from the Dark Sect with eyes all over his body had barely advanced a few meters before every eye was shot out by metal bullets.

A psychokinetic master from the Mercury Sect tried to escape by protecting himself with a light-blue shield. However, the concentrated fire from the bullets shattered the shield in an instant and the next second, his body, which was no different from a normal human's, was torn to shreds.

"Ah!" Hellsings screamed as they died one after another. However, more marked-ones kept coming in from all directions, rushing toward the vanguard team.

At the same time, figures in tight black combat suits clashed with the Hellsings, all powered up in various ways, on all four sides of Black Rain Manor. Fists and bullets flew through the air.

Strange powers and Covert Martial Arts techniques collided chaotically. Blood splattered in the air and then evaporated into mist upon hitting the ground. Fire exploded everywhere as the black rain fell silently.

On the western battlefield, two black figures clashed in a narrow alley, their attacks exploding with intensity as their limbs tangled and struck at lightning speed. A fist as heavy as a hammer smashed a watermelon-shaped hole into a wall. There was a thunderous boom.

Amid the flying debris, Harvey, the bald-headed fighter, swung back with another punch, colliding with his opponent's claw in midair. A knight's insignia glowed red on its claw.

Thump, thump, thump…

Both sides took a few steps back. Just as Harvey was about to leap forward again, he abruptly halted, looking up at the sky.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Seven or eight black objects whistled through the sky, landing where everyone could see, and triggered a string of intense explosions.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

"That's the signal! The main combat squad is entering Black Rain Manor!" After the cannon blasts, the main force of the Northern Covert Martial Arts Alliance, which included the main combat squads and vanguard teams, would begin their full-scale assault on the manor. The true offensive had begun.

Harvey withdrew his gaze, his eyes gleaming with fierce intent. A savage expression spread across his face as he lunged forward like a wolf on the hunt.

"Kill!"

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