Returning to the Mysterious Era-Chapter 327 - Handsome Appearance

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Air currents surged like waves as they swept down the streets from the plaza.

The members of Ace of Spades who had just emerged from a corner ran straight into it. Gravel carried by the wind scraped painfully against their faces. They hurriedly raised their hands to shield their eyes; their black trench coats floated parallel to the ground. It took them a while to finally take stock of the situation and walk toward the oval plaza.

A tall middle-aged man wearing a uniform black trench coat and leather boots led the way. He sported a long, black slender mustache and a slightly pointed beard on his chin. His sideburns connected his hair to his beard. He also had signature white gloves with the organization's emblem, Jack of Clubs, on the back.

Red Fang took the lead, looking toward the plaza. A tall, slender figure with golden hair stood with his back to them, slowly turning his head.

He stood in front of the sun, and his face was in shadow. Red Fang could only see a pair of deep and dark eyes.

"Wind Elephant?" Red Fang tentatively asked.

"It's me..."

***

The joint mission between the antique and assassination departments of Ace of Spades was a great success. Although there were some unexpected twists along the way, the final outcome was excellent.

As expected, Duststorm's antique transit warehouse was hidden in the cathedral in Mensa Village. It also seemed to have just been replenished as there were nearly a hundred antiques of various kinds stored there. This included many invaluable paintings and porcelain. Judging by their worth, Duststorm suffered a significant loss.

However, that wasn't the biggest gain. A whole bunch of Duststorm's assassins had died, including some high-ranking members. Six of the top sixty ranked Duststorm members and three of the top fifteen had perished. The assassins who died, from lowest to highest rank, were: 52, 44, 21, 14, 8, and 5.

That was an extremely severe loss of personnel, especially among the top fifteen. They were all powerful individuals capable of undergoing Black Blood transformation. They were the Duststorm's main force. Losing a fifth of them in one fell swoop was undeniably significant.

Among them, Duststorm's eighth ranked assassin had been killed by Wind Elephant, a high-ranking member of the assassination department of Ace of Spades, codename Jack of Diamonds.

The other personnel had been preemptively killed by an unknown expert. According to the information provided by Wind Elephant, it was an expert combat artist with extremely formidable combat moves. He wore a black robe, but his exact appearance, age, and organization were unknown. It was only known that he seemed to have a grudge against Duststorm and came specifically for revenge.

He was not interested in the antiques and had no intention to harm bystanders. He had also left immediately after eliminating Duststorm's people. His whereabouts were unknown.

The huge disturbances and damage to Mensa Village were also a product of this expert's battles. It had little to do with Wind Elephant.

Red Fang and others quickly got in touch with the rest of the Ace of Spades personnel. Black Vine Manor quickly dispatched a large number of people to Mensa Village to start transferring the looted antiques.

Cassius, Red Fang, and their group boarded a black carriage for the return journey since the bumpy, pothole-ridden country roads in the suburbs were unsuitable for cars. It was currently 1 p.m. in the afternoon.

Lush green woods with chirping birds lined both sides of the rural muddy road. A black carriage bearing traces of modern metal craftsmanship smoothly passed by, neither too fast nor too slow.

Red Fang sat on the right side of the carriage seat as the wind intermittently slapped his face. He still couldn't shake off a sense of discomfort. He took a deep breath and glanced to his right.

The youth sat with his eyes closed, back resting against the seat, and arms crossed. Golden strands of hair danced like a lion's mane.

For some reason, Red Fang felt that this Wind Elephant before him was completely different from the one yesterday. The aura around him had undergone a complete change. He had been merely cold before, but now it was an aloof disdain. This disdain wasn't subjective but instinctive, as if there were a gap between species.

It was a blatant instinct called survival of the fittest, the bloody law of the jungle. Sometimes, he even had the illusion that the other was not human but a terrifying monster wearing human skin!

The terrifying aura inadvertently emanating from him caused his heart to pound uncontrollably. Red Fang could feel it even more clearly after boarding the carriage, with two high-ranking members of the Ace of Spades organization sitting together in such an enclosed space. It was like sitting on pins and needles.

If Wind Elephant weren't a companion in the Ace of Spades organization, Red Fang would have already pointed a gun at his head!

He felt very unsafe...

"Why are you staring at me? Are we almost there?" Cassius, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly spoke.

Red Fang awkwardly looked away, coughing twice. "I remember your hair used to be black..."

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"That was a disguise. My hair is naturally golden," Cassius replied emotionlessly, his lips barely moving.

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"But why do I feel that even your appearance has changed..." Red Fang chose his words carefully. "Hmm, you've become much more handsome and refined..."

"Perhaps it's your imagination. Maybe my face suits this golden hair more," Cassius remained motionless. The tips of his hair were already at his earlobes, but they unintentionally grew another half centimeter.

"Hey, you..." Red Fang seemed to notice something from the corner of his eye. Just as he was about to speak, he saw a half-open eye, like a tiger awakening from slumber.

A faintly suppressed blood-red glow flickered in the eye and Red Fang felt his heart skip a beat!

"Oh, we're almost there, about half an hour more." Red Fang decisively backed down, quickly changing the subject.

"Hmm, let me know when we're close..." The eye closed again.

"..." Red Fang quietly swallowed, his tense body relaxing suddenly.

Cold sweat had unknowingly soaked his back. He didn't know why he was so afraid of Wind Elephant, but instinct told him not to court death. No matter how many questions he had, he could only swallow them.

He licked his dry, cracked lips and gave Cassius one last glance. He suddenly saw the skin and flesh on his face wriggle slightly. The nostrils contracted and the nasal bone subtly straightened, transforming from rugged to much more delicate and straight.

"This..." Red Fang blinked rapidly when he saw Cassius frown. He forced himself to turn his head and started looking at the scenery outside the window. "I didn't see anything..."

The carriage rocked as it drove straight into the distance.

On July 21, year 156 of the Hongli Federation at 3PM in the outskirts of Black Sand City, at the organization's base, Black Vine Manor.

A carriage slowly entered the building that looked to be several decades old. The wide white stone road was simple and straight, with rows of street lamps on both sides. The black carriage stopped beside the flowerbed, and two figures stepped down one after the other.

Tap.

Black boots stepped onto the hard floor. The golden-haired figure in a trench coat stood before the flowerbed, glancing at the villa.

"I'm a bit tired. I'm going to my room to rest for a while." Cassius walked straight ahead as he relied on his vague memories to navigate.

"Hey, Wind Elephant," Red Fang called out from behind. "Your two subordinates who were transferred from other high-ranking members arrived at noon. Also, several other high-level members of the antique department should arrive soon. There will be a banquet tonight around eight o'clock. If you're free, please attend..."

He didn't even realize his tone had inexplicably softened, sounding less like an equal-ranking superior and more like a subordinate.

Cassius glanced at him. "You mean Shulan and Sonia? Hmm, have them come to my room at five o'clock. As for tonight's banquet, I'll attend. The high-level members of the assassination and antique departments should all be there, right?"

Red Fang, who had previously been somewhat at odds with Cassius, nodded obediently. He then stood there, watching Cassius leave.

At 3:10 p.m., sunlight slanted in through the window of a room on the right side of the manor, forming irregular elongated beams on the reflective white floor that illuminated the entire space.

There was a large and comfortable soft bed, white bedside table, black bookshelf, brass phonograph, sofa and coffee table, brown carpet...

Everything was furnished as it should be. The only pity was the absence of a potted plant, and so the room lacked a touch of freshness.

A golden-haired figure sat cross-legged on the carpet near the window, under the warm sunlight. His entire body was covered in sweat, soaking the black training pants. His skin was flushed, and faint wisps of steam curled off his skin.

Crack, crack, crack...

The sound of bones cracking came from deep within his body. His muscles kept compressing, organs wriggled, and even his facial features were undergoing noticeable changes. His face was enveloped in steam as it was reformed and reshaped.

Cassius had brought back his strength now that he had returned to the real world, but the fusion and transformation with his body were still ongoing. He had gained much from the fourth time-travel, so the changes were taking longer. Moreover, Cassius had been deliberately suppressing them along the way. So the transformation had yet to end.

White mist enveloped Cassius's body, which gradually began to shrink. He was only 1.9 meters tall before the fourth time-travel. However, at this moment, his formidable physique was being compressed. His height gradually fell to about 1.8 meters. His rugged muscular physique rapidly shrank to become smooth and slender muscles.

It wasn't exaggerated, nor did it appear thin. It was just right, like the body of a swimmer—Balanced, powerful, and quite aesthetically pleasing.

Since he had a muscle density that was three times that of a typical combat artist, the shrunken body looked far more terrifying and formidable than before!

At 4:30 p.m., Cassius opened his eyes and walked into the washroom. He took a cold shower, washing away all the grime and sweat. Water droplets slid down his hair and bounced off his muscled body. He looked like a monk practicing under a waterfall.

He wiped the water off his face and walked over to the mirror. He had a solid waist, a tall and lean figure, and smooth muscle lines. Fine sunlight sprinkled over him, giving him a majestic beauty.

He now had high brows and deep eyes, a straight nose and broad forehead. His eyes were a lake-like azure blue. A high nose bridge exuded a masculine beauty. His lustrous golden hair framed sharp features that traced shadows along his brow bones and jawline.

In a word, he was handsome.

In the real world, his body had been overly masculine and strong. During his time-travel, his body had been slender and androgynous. Combining the two resulted in a balanced aesthetic of beauty and strength. The changes were significant, but familiar people could still recognize him through his eyes.

He resembled about fifty percent of his previous appearance. The evolution and transformation of the Golem Covert Martial Arts allowed the body to develop toward perfection, even adding a few more organs.

Cassius tugged at the corners of his mouth in the mirror, but it didn't look like a smile at all. His entire aura was icy and stern, as he gave off an imposing presence that kept others at a distance.

Boom...

White steam emanated from all over his body. He dried himself off and slowly walked out of the washroom door. At Cassius's current level, appearance no longer mattered. Of course, no matter how handsome his normal appearance was, once he switched to battle mode, he would still become fierce and terrifying. It's just that he looked more pleasing in daily life.

Putting on clean clothes, Cassius quickly thought of his subordinate Bass, nicknamed "Magician". He was a descendant of Hellsing after the fall of Black Rain Manor, and proclaimed himself to be a neo-human. He possessed psychokinesis that could manipulate small metal objects. He seemed to come from some Psychokinesis Association.

He stood there pondering for a while, but he decided to first use his own subordinates for experiments. Cassius had already learned the effects of the Golem Seed from his time-travel.

First, Cassius could locate the position of the Golem Seed and remotely manipulate the Golem's life magnetic field to affect the state of the injected individual.

Second, the injected individual could, relying on the seed, cultivate the Golem Breathing Technique and stimulate the Golem's life magnetic field to strengthen the body. Like a weakened version of Golem Covert Martial Arts, this process would consume the practitioner's nutrients and had addictive properties.

Third, the injected individual would crave life vibration energy and have their personality influenced by the seed. They would become bolder, more aggressive, and more enterprising. At the same time, due to the seed in their body, they would develop closeness and admiration toward Cassius, just like a daughter and her mother.

He planned to first repeat the process with Bass and two other subordinates to confirm if there were any anomalies. If everything went well, then he would give the high-ranking members of the antique and assassination departments of Ace of Spades a surprise at tonight's banquet at eight o'clock. Presumably, no one would refuse...

If someone really didn't know better, Cassius wouldn't mind using his fists to beat them until they gladly accepted.