I can return to the age of mysterious
Chapter 723 - 723 380 Hey are you listening Kid (4200)_2

Chapter 723: 380 Hey, are you listening? Kid (4200)_2 Chapter 723: 380 Hey, are you listening? Kid (4200)_2 On the left, stood a tall, skinny man in a hooded jacket, his icy gaze emanating a ruthlessly cold expression, akin to a lone wolf. He was missing his left middle finger, making it easier to shoot the sleeve sword tucked away in his sleeve.

The man was known as Shadow Wolf, a possessor of Qi Source Energy, capable of moving in dead silence while maintaining incredible speed, following his targets like a shadow.

On the right was a woman wrapped in bandages from head to toe, half of her face obscured by a mask, making it hard to discern her features. Her wrists were tightly coiled by rolls of bandages, looking almost like big bracelets.

Her codename was Bonecrusher. She took great pleasure in blowing her mission targets’ heads to smithereens with a single punch. Given the chance, she reveled in exploding others with a blow. Bonecrusher loved the sound of bones shattering beneath her fists.

In the middle stood a man of slight and hunchbacked physique, clad in a black cloak that hid his deformed body from view. Based on appearances alone, he was the grossest and least noticeable member of the trio. Yet, ironically, Bloody Hand was one of the strongest assassins in the Shadow Stab Organization, a master of Qi Source Energy.

Once activated, his hands would ooze a dark red power that would spread and consume upon contact with any flesh.

Slowly, it would erode the target into a puddle of blood.

The three assassins each had their unique abilities and formidable strengths. To deploy them to assassinate a mere low-ranking youngster was indeed somewhat of an overkill. Hence, the middle-aged man dispatched Shadow Wolf to check on the address that Bai Kui was supposedly visiting, in order to validate his suspicions. The other two assassins were instructed to take action as soon as night fell and the horse carriage left the city.

“Clang…”

A wooden box the size of a human head was placed on the desk.

The middle-aged man glanced at Bonecrusher and Bloody Hand, slowly speaking.

“Bring me back the head, intact. The other parts are irrelevant. Oh, and make sure his face contorts in agony before dying. Is that understood?” He concluded, as Bonecrusher and Bloody Hand exchanged glances.

Making people suffer was a simple task. Bonecrusher’s favourite thing was to shatter someone’s limbs with her fists and let them experience the agony of their bones splintering inch by inch. Bloody Hand was even more brutal; the spreading Dark Red power devoured the flesh, as painful as countless insects gnawing the body from within, a torment that penetrated the marrow.

“Understood.”

Both immediately responded, their faces twisted into cruel smiles.

“Then go now. It’s five o’clock. Return before seven, any problem?” The middle-aged man cast a glance at the pocket watch, slowly lifting his head.

“Certainly not. You must trust the strength of the Shadow Stab Organization, sir…”

As the voice trailed off, three silhouettes had already disappeared from the room.

The area of Florence City was extensive. Casio’s horse carriage took half an hour of zigzagging just to get out of the bustling commercial district. After reaching the spacious residential area, the carriage was finally able to speed up.

By around six o’clock, they should be able to leave Florence.

At five fifty-five, in an abandoned church on the outskirts of Florence.

The ground was strewn with withered grass, the stone path was covered in shattered stones. Inside the church, cobwebs thrived in every corner, the dim light offered by the red sunset barely providing any illumination.

In the courtyard, a broken stone table and two silent black figures awaited, a dilapidated stone table sat between them.

One wore a heavy black robe, a white mask twisted like tree roots concealing his face. His pupils were a sinister white encircled by pitch darkness.

He sported a black glove, holding a sharp, massive scythe.

The other person was clad in heavy armor – not a shiny white, but rather a dull, dangerous black. The armor was rugged and intimidating, its cracks showed signs of dried blood.

The machine had an ominous look, with a shadowy reflection and brought out a sense of danger with its thickness.

Next to the armored figure, a cross greatsword that’s as tall as a man stood erect.

“Ghost Man, are you really going to collaborate closely with that man called the Wind Elephant?”

“Do you trust him that much?” The man in armor suddenly spoke. His voice had a rich quality to it, sounding as though it was the clashing of cold weapons, powerful and resonant.

“…” Ghost Man remained silent for a moment: “I owe him a life…”

“Besides, my collaboration with the Wind Elephant holds plenty potential. The reason I asked you to meet me on the outskirts of Florence this time, is that I actually want to recruit you, Iron Knight.” Ghost Man took out two things from his pocket and placed them on the desk.

The left object is a metal bottle half the size of a fist. Despite being made of metal, it had a wooden texture, even retaining mystic ring-like patterns on the surface. The bottle contained a highly concentrated Secret Soul power.

The right object was a badge in the shape of a triangle, engraved with patterns resembling the steps of a solar stairway. Once black essence was absorbed, each step would light up, until the pinnacle of the pyramid-like stairway was filled up.

“A Hunter’s Badge? You intend to enter the World of Calamities? That’s considered the most hazardous area in all of the Black Rain Villa’s missions; staying there too long might lead to severe beastly mutations. Even purging the calamities invading one’s body at a Baptism Church once would cost quite a bit of black essence.” Iron Knight frowned slightly. He was friends with Ghost Man, having known him since the Sword Rank.

Ghost Man proposed a cooperation plan, he probably wouldn’t let him suffer losses.

Iron Knight thus turned his head to look at Ghost Man, waiting for his answer.

“The things you mentioned are part of why I’m cooperating with Wind Elephant…”

The corners of Ghost Man’s mouth, hidden beneath his dress, tugged slightly. It was clear that he had been in contact with Casio over the past ten days: “Wind Elephant owns a sanctuary in the World of Calamities that can regularly remove calamities in a Soul Holder’s body. This way we can hunt and rest intermittently, and the cycle can just go on and on…”

“Oh?” Iron Knight seemed interested immediately. After contemplating over the matter thoroughly for a minute or two, he asked,” What do you have to sacrifice in this collaboration?”

“Help Wind Elephant get a new Hunter’s Badge, and serve as a free middleman to help him exchange for Secret Soul power. Then, we will absorb all the dark creatures we hunt in the World of Calamities using something called the demon seed. Every time we seek refuge, we need to submit this demon seed to him….”

Ghost Man began to explain slowly. However, he didn’t mention some private deals he agreed to with Casio. First, to repay for saving his life, he promised to secure Casio a Marker level from Black Rain Villa. The other was to search inside the Black Rain Villa for an ancient white bone tree the size of a palm.

“If it’s just that, I am certainly willing to cooperate…”

After deliberating for a while, Iron Knight readily agreed. Compared to the benefits obtained, the sacrifice required for this cooperation seemed insignificant.

Although it was a win-win situation, Iron Knight felt that he gained more than he invested, fostering a sense of having taken advantage. In reality, Casio wasn’t bothered by this. As he had an ace up his sleeve to allow Markers to escape the Black Rain Villa’s control, the False Death Elixir. This both Iron Knight and Ghost Man would find strongly tempting, as well as the Eerie Night Guest. Casio, being new to the place, could not possibly organize a powerful force from scratch. However, he could certainly cherry-pick top Knight Rank agents from the Black Rain Villa. They were comparable to Fighters in combat ability.

Casio didn’t plan to climb his way to the top by playing by the rules of the Dark Hunt Organization. It was like a juvenile playing house, he would rather turn the tables by establishing a strong, esoteric force outside the Dark Hunt Organization. This way, Casio could transfer resources from one to the other swiftly, achieving his first obsession. Should anyone attempt to hinder him, he could order Ghost Man and the others to discreetly eliminate them, framing the Black Rain Villa. After all, it wouldn’t be strange for a place like the Black Rain Villa, which was associated with malicious activities, to be involved in such incidents.

Moreover, this force was preparing for the collapse of the Dark Hunt Organization three years later. It might have to face the hidden mysterious organization.

Casio already had a plan in his mind, it’s not about the number but the quality. Why not establish an extraordinary force made up entirely of individuals with Fighter-level strength in this Era of Retrospection. This would also be a great help in subsequent trips to the Immortal Island.

As the sun set and darkness began to envelop the high walls, Ghost Man and the Iron Knight were sitting at the stone table, reminiscing, chatting, and waiting for Casio’s arrival. Suddenly, Iron Knight turned his head, his eyes sharply focused on the dark corner of the wall of the courtyard, and asked, “Did Wind Elephant send you?”

“!!!!!”

The Shadow Wolf, who had just located this place, was stunned; he did not expect his location to be exposed within a split second! As he prepared to flee by scaling the wall, he suddenly realized that the other figure sitting at the stone table was gone.

“Jing!” A sharp scythe with gleaming cold light was placed on his neck.

“Hey, I asked you a question, kid. Why aren’t you answering…”

A black figure had already emerged behind the Shadow Wolf in the darkness; he was as silent as a ghost. The set of glowing red eyes slowly lit up.