Returning to the Mysterious Era-Chapter 476 - The Ultimate Insult!

The Moon God statue shattered, and the disc collapsed, which also meant that the Black Moon Clan Leader was about to meet his demise. He returned to silence like the fragmented moonlight filling the sky.

On the ground, the white ten-meter-tall jade statue gradually crumbled. Shimmering white dust drifted into the distance with the night wind.

Crack!

A metal hand suddenly seized the edge of the moon disc, while the other hand drilled into the center of the disc like an electric drill and burst through with a loud bang. However, there was no sign of an arm protruding from the opposite side of the disc, as if there were another space within it leading to a mysterious source of power.

Whoosh!

Cassius withdrew his arm from the moon disc with a squelch. Traces of moonlight-coloured viscous material clung to his palm. It seemed like mud but was actually composed of highly concentrated energy. The moment it touched the air, it burst apart and scattered.

All that remained was a fist-sized mass of indistinct flesh that pulsated like a heart. Cassius felt an extremely dangerous aura emanating from the chunk of flesh, though it was quite faint. He had sensed a similar oppression from the Totem King before, except that the Totem King's presence was more vibrant and alive. In contrast, the hunk of flesh resembled a candle flickering in the wind, like dying embers.

The Moon God was very likely an Ultimate Dark Form... But why would it lose a piece of its flesh? And what condition is the Moon God in now?

A stream of thoughts flashed through Cassius's mind, and he immediately realized that the Black Moon Clan Leader could not be allowed to die just yet; he needed to be interrogated thoroughly and drained of any remaining value before being dealt with. Hence, Cassius reached out with one palm.

Swish!

His arm transformed into a black spear and pierced into the moon disc again. However, the moon disc of the Moon God statue had accelerated its disintegration, and only a tenth of it remained. Shards tore through the air, unleashing a razor-sharp white radiance, as though the collapsed space within the disc was shredding everything nearby.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Two or three fragments struck Cassius's powerful arm, sending sparks flying. The sleeve of his coat was shredded to pieces, yet the skin and muscle beneath showed no sign of injury. Only a few faint white marks appeared, which vanished in the blink of an eye.

His rock-hard skin still gave off an indestructible metallic sheen. The body of an extreme combat artist allowed Cassius to act without scruples, performing feats ordinary extreme combat artists could never fathom.

Crack! Whoosh!

He suddenly yanked back his arm, causing a mangled figure to tumble out of the moon disc. It twitched slightly on the ground, clearly gravely wounded and on the verge of death.

Tap...

Cassius's black boots crushed the fragments of the statue beneath them.

Crack, crack-crack-crack...

Crushing the fragments appeared to trigger a chain reaction, causing the gigantic Moon God statue behind him to fully collapse with a thunderous rumble. Countless fragments rained down, along with powdery dust, as if a fluorescent rain had begun to fall. Surging air from the impact rolled out in waves.

The hem of his black trench coat flapped wildly from side to side, like a drifting, roiling dark cloud. Cassius's golden hair blew forward in the wind, and his calm gaze swept across the battlefield as he stood tall and imposing in the raging gusts.

His eyes focused on a dark patch in the distance, and he frowned slightly.

Boom, whoosh!

He vanished, leaving behind a gust of wind in his original spot as he formed a straight tunnel spanning nearly a hundred meters. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the eastern gate, where Fog Man and the Shadow Demon had been locked in combat.

Boom!

A hazy black figure forced its way in like a shooting star, and a fist flew out. A fierce gale exploded outward, and the air vibrated in unison. Planting his black boots firmly on the ground, Cassius slowly turned around.

A black, tar-like shadow burst open in a fan-shaped arc about five meters in front of him. Beneath that shadow stood the two legs of the Shadow Demon, still rooted to the ground. Everything above the legs had been demolished by a single punch, and Death's Fang Force was savagely consuming and tearing it apart.

Ten meters away, Fog Man had frozen mid-attack, his grotesquely swollen fog-like arm suspended in midair and shock written all over his eyes. Yet the moment he saw Cassius, the surprise and astonishment vanished, replaced by a kind of frenzy.

It was a sickly fanaticism, as if he were worshipping a deity!

Fog Man felt certain that the Director of the Treatment Ward was undoubtedly amongst the strongest beings in the world, one of the few at the apex of power. A single effortless punch that shook the air had instantly slain the undead Shadow Demon that had battled Fog Man for so long. The gulf between their levels was beyond comprehension.

He believed the power the Director possessed could only be described as monumental.

Covert Martial Arts—yes, that was the name of that power!

That rascal, Odo, had already stepped onto the path of Covert Martial Arts with the Director's assistance, and Fog Man refused to be left behind! He planned to seek the Director's guidance in a few days so that he too could come into contact with this power that led straight to the pinnacle...

Fog Man's emotions surged, and a band of blood-red mist around him flared violently in excitement. In the distance, several doctors from the Treatment Ward approached. They first glanced at the remains of the powerful Shadow Demon, then turned their fervent gazes to Cassius.

"Golem! Golem! Golem!" They raised their arms high, torches blazing and illuminating the darkness.

Their fierce, thug-like faces brimmed with adoration in the orange-red glow of the flames. It was unclear whether they worshipped Cassius, the Golem Seeds and totems on themselves, or both, though it seemed at least eighty percent of their fervor was directed at Cassius.

After all, they had just witnessed with their own eyes how the Moon God statue had unleashed its Moon Burial, cloaking the world in a terrifying cascade of moonlight, only for Cassius to descend from above and annihilate it with a fist.

The formidable image of Cassius in his Golem state had been etched into the heart of every doctor present. From that day onward, the Treatment Ward would face no further hindrance.

The ruined cathedral was encircled by the fiery glow of the torches and rising waves of cheers and shouts.

At 6:55 p.m., the operation to destroy the Eclipse Society ended in great success. All the dark creatures of the first branch were captured in one fell swoop, with two elders of the Eclipse Society killed outright and two more elders taken alive.

In addition to that victory, the doctors of the Treatment Ward spent another hour clearing the residential district of Beiyun City, where numerous dark creatures were slain on the spot.

It could be said that this mission was the most successful and most fruitful in the Treatment Ward's centuries-long history. Destroying the first branch of the Eclipse Society would rank quite highly even within the larger historical operations of the Dark Hunter Organization. And that was without taking the Moon God statue into account...

A top-five or even top-three achievements in all of the historical records would not have been an exaggeration. Honestly, the Eclipse Society was quite unlucky. Initially, the newly rebuilt Treatment Ward had only intended to take action against Blood Shark, the target that had previously eluded capture. Unexpectedly, following his trail had uncovered the Eclipse Society as well.

Had it been a normal reconstruction of the Treatment Ward, they certainly would not have dared to provoke the Eclipse Society, but the Treatment Ward was clearly different this time. Cassius, the four commanders, and the numerous doctors released straight from the Savage Beast Den feared nothing.

Thus, the largest branch of the Eclipse Society had been wiped out in one swoop. Even their sacred artifact, the Moon God statue, had been punched into rubble. It was truly a devastating loss.

***

A night steeped in blood passed, and it was now June 16.

Everyone from the Treatment Ward returned to their headquarters in Florence to recuperate. However, some remained where they were, seemingly to observe whether the fall of such a large force like the Eclipse Society would attract the attention of more dark creature organizations. They could then follow leads, gather more information, and secure further hunting targets.

The weather was overcast, with dark clouds looming and dim light all around. A secret warehouse in the outskirts of Florence had been converted into a prison cell.

Alloy chains hung in the air, giving off a chilling gleam, with dried, blackened bloodstains on them. Various bizarre torture instruments lined both walls. A row of red-hot iron rods had been placed in a nearby fire pit. The flames flickered, casting eerie shadows on the walls.

Two figures hung from the ceiling in the center of the cell. Their limbs were bound by chains, stretched taut so that their bodies formed the shape of an "X”. The one on the left was covered in wounds. Shockingly, it was the once-invincible Blood Shark. Blood was dripping from his hair as he barely clung to life.

To the right was the Black Moon Clan Leader, who was also half-dead after having suffered prolonged torture. Directly in front of them, by the fire pit, stood a burly giant of a man who was two meters tall. He was humming a casual tune and rolling heated torture devices as if he were grilling kebabs.

This man was none other than the interrogation expert, Jack!

After returning to the Treatment Ward, he had specifically sought out several veteran jailers in Florence. After a barrage of monetary persuasion, Jack quickly mastered a variety of genuine torture methods, thereby filling in his own gaps in expertise!

He had already become adept at wielding dozens of tools that could bring unimaginable "delight" to his interrogation subjects. The two abominations before him had been weakened to their limits by the Director, leaving them only marginally stronger than ordinary humans. Though they were monsters, they still felt pain and still had their breaking point.

It was Jack's job to make them talk!

In truth, Evil Mother possessed a more direct method of hypnosis. However, the hypnotic totem was particularly effective on humans, whereas its impact was much weaker on dark creatures. Moreover, the hypnotic totem's power, once activated, would crush its target's psyche, rendering them an idiot and making it difficult to conduct any follow-up interrogations.

Hence, it remained safer for the interrogation expert to proceed first.

Jack felt the weight of his responsibility. He had promised the Director on August 18 that he would produce results within three days. Now, it was already the evening of the nineteenth, meaning half the time was gone. Jack had indeed gleaned a great deal, but the Black Moon Clan Leader remained tight-lipped on the most critical points, refusing to divulge a single detail no matter the torture.

It concerned the Moon God statue, the very thing that interested the Director!

Jack took it very seriously, so he had called in reinforcements, intending to shatter the prisoners both physically and mentally. By his estimation, it was time for them to arrive.

Tap, tap, tap...

A series of dull, forceful footsteps sounded from outside. Jack, who had been heating iron rods, felt a burst of delight. He immediately went over and opened the door, and three hulking men clad in minimal clothing entered.

They were tall and muscular, their bulging muscles fully exposed, and their eyes shone with a piercing gleam.

The first man had chest hair as abundant as a grizzly's and held a greasy butcher's knife. He eyed Blood Shark and the other prisoner as though they were livestock ready for slaughter. He was looking for where the bones were, where the tendons lay, and where the organs might be. He just needed a single glance to start coming up with a precise, step-by-step dismemberment plan, much like an expert butcher. He flexed his broad hand, feeling an irresistible itch in his palm.

The second giant had a face as pale as a corpse, though a flush of excitement colored his cheeks. His body was covered in ugly scars—on his wrists, neck, collarbones, and face. Even his ears, nostrils, tongue, and wrists were pierced with black steel rings.

Thin streams of blood seeped out where the rings met flesh and bone. Yet the man felt no pain; instead, his expression suggested he relished it. Originally, he had been normal, but he had gone insane after his mind had been broken by dark creature transformation. He had become a self-torturer who spent every day in his cell experimenting on himself.

Gradually, by experimenting on himself, he created a series of addictive torture methods; the more pain, the more excitement, and the more excitement, the greater the vulnerability. Jack had heard of the man's reputation and specially invited him over, hoping to have him employ those self-torture techniques on Blood Shark and the Black Moon Clan Leader to see what would happen.

The self-torturer looked over across the two interrogation subjects, feeling a certain itch in his heart. He had never before used his techniques on others. Would they unravel in the same euphoric way he did? The thought alone stirred a bit of excitement within him.

The third giant appeared the most normal, except that his gaze was far too keen when he looked at the two badly tortured prisoners. But there seemed to be a trace of lecherous depravity within that keen stare.

Jack kept his distance from the man and eyed him warily. The man's nickname was "Three Hands”. He had one on the left, one on the right, and, unfortunately, one in the middle. It was a tragic tale, for dark creature transformation varied greatly from person to person, affecting different body parts. As for this man, fate had been crueler, causing him to sprout what resembled a cluster of five-stem bananas.

Ever since then, he had become excessively formidable in certain respects, and the influence of dark creature transformation had changed his tastes to become ever more perverse. Jack had initially been reluctant to invite him, fearing trouble, but after boasting to the Director, he had no choice but to bring out this final method.

The lighting in the cell was dim, and only the glow from the fire pit flickered.

Blood Shark and the Black Moon Clan Leader, suspended in midair, abruptly looked up. Their gazes fell upon the three hulking men whose grins were turning ever more deranged, and they sensed that something was off, as though the very air had begun to burn.

A wave of fear instinctively welled up in both of them, prompting them to yank on their chains uselessly. They could only watch as the three giants closed in, forming a tight circle around them.

Jack gripped the door and said by way of warning, "This is what happens when you refuse to cooperate! Each of the three experts I've invited has exceptional talents and unique, unrivaled techniques. Their patience and resolve put even me to shame. So what if you're dark creatures? Aren't you still afraid of these scorching, red-hot iron bars? Enjoy yourselves,"

He cackled. "Hehehe~"

Bang!

Jack slammed the door shut. Immediately, the air was filled with wails and screams, as if someone's mother was being killed.

"Ugh! Just kill me already!"

"You damned bastard, no... you can't do that!"

"Gah! No, you mustn't!!!"

"Hmmph... Aaaaargh..."

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