Chapter 585: Chapter 585

All the senior figures had already gathered inside the Golem Sect's conference hall. The attendees included forces from the Treatment Ward, sect masters and elders of the Covert Martial Arts world, and top-tier knight-level Hellsings from Black Rain Manor.

Representatives who radiated formidable auras sat upon heavy seats around a rectangular metal council table. Its surface was draped with a smooth dark red velvet cloth, exuding a faint fragrance. It was a herb scent that calmed the spirit.

However, no one present felt soothed. Instead, the atmosphere was unusually heavy, as though the very air of the hall were about to solidify. Covert Martial Arts powerhouses and Hellsing alike fixed their gazes on the head seat of the long table.

There sat a blurred, burly silhouette in silence. Having yet to fully adapt to the terrifying might of the Dominator Fist realm, he could not completely control the violent surge of Qi and aura.

At the moment, Cassius could not reveal a concrete visage. He appeared only as a faint crimson humanoid outline, at times illusory, at times solid. His form was scarcely discernible.

Seated there, his chest, shoulders, crown, and face all emitted sparks of scarlet-glowing Qi. They drifted like embers, lending a gorgeous and mysterious hue. All could see that the humanoid outline of Cassius held a roughly palm-sized bronze ring, imbued with a heavy, archaic feel. Its surface was uneven, as though meant to couple with something else.

At that instant, the ring glimmered softly, blinking on and off. It seemed to be transmitting some vital message over distance.

Yes, it was a communicator. A simple device from the era of the Hongli Empire.

Originally, it consisted of a pair of bronze rings that could be joined. Separated, the bearers could exchange information even a thousand kilometers apart. It was practically a low-grade telephone.

Cassius had obtained the device in the first level of the Dark Hunter Organization's treasury and had entrusted it to Evil Mother. That allowed Evil Mother to correspond with him in the dark and enabled him to direct her in various tasks.

The bronze ring proved priceless in an age where long-distance communication was notoriously difficult. Thus, after the Eternal Archipelago incident, he collaborated with the Dark Hunter Organization to research and develop the bronze rings on a large scale.

The organization's workshops had labored day and night for over two years on this treasure, and at last bore fruit a month ago. However, the materials were exceedingly rare, demanding a singular mineral and harsh forging conditions, with a low success rate.

Therefore, the bronze rings could never become widespread. They remained special tools for limited circles. The workshops could naturally not craft thousands, but producing a hundred or so posed no problem. That was enough to support communication among the Black Rain Manor, the Covert Martial Arts community, the Golem Sect, and the Dark Hunter Organization.

For example, agents currently dispatched across the continent by the Golem Sect alliance had discovered three Special Zones. They could immediately report detailed circumstances and exact coordinates through the bronze rings across thousands of kilometers. Thus the leadership could grasp the circumstances of the front line at the earliest moment. Discover more novels at nοvelfire.net

A hazy hand placed the bronze ring onto the tabletop. Cassius slowly surveyed the hall; his aura briefly quieted, revealing a deep, impassive face.

"Three weak points have appeared in total on the Northern Reef Continent. A calamity tide from the underworld is coming. The calamity is pouring into the surface world..."

"The first weak point lies near our Golem Sect, on the coast of East Sea City, roughly over two hundred kilometers in a straight line. The second weak point is north in Farr County, close to the imperial capital Florence, and nearly encircling the city. The third weak point is in Gania County, roughly at the center of the Hongli Empire. Its distance to East Sea County and Farr County makes the three form an equilateral triangle..."

In truth, the situation was still relatively favorable. At least the three weak points had not emerged at the empire's far-flung corners. Had they been in such remote reaches, the vast separations would have made deploying forces immensely difficult. As it was, center, north, east, it was easier to concentrate their strength.

Listening to the specifics, those in the hall first relaxed their brows slightly, then furrowed them once more. A Hellsing hesitated, then asked, "Master of the Golem Sect, what is the Dark Hunter Organization's plan? Are we to split three ways? They go to Farr County, the Golem Sect to East Sea County, and the other forces to Gania County..."

Cassius shook his head, flatly rejecting the idea. "No. Front-line intel shows that two of the three weak points already display terrifying destructive power. Calamity and dark creatures are already pouring forth without end. If not for the brief membrane formed by the clash of the two worlds' forces, they would have burst out long ago and wrought havoc. Of course, that membrane will vanish in at most a day or two. It buys us but a moment to prepare... As for the remaining weak point in Gania County, only cracks have appeared in the sky with red light shining through. There is no visible danger yet. Hence, we will ignore it for now."

Cassius's gaze was profound, like a pitch-black well.

"Black Rain Manor, the entire Golem Sect, and the various Covert Martial Art sects will all head north to the imperial capital Florence. Assist the Dark Hunter Organization in resisting the calamity tide there. Odo, Blood Mist, Nine Serpents, and Hermit... You shall go as well."

"Then, My Lord, what of the weak point at East Sea City?" Odo asked in some confusion.

Cassius's expression did not change as he said slowly, "Naturally, I shall go alone. This is the most rational distribution of force at present."

He was neither arrogant nor showing off, but truly determined to resolve this calamity tide that threatened to upend the entire world.

Cassius was also being extremely cautious. Any major event connected to the World of Calamity would never be easy to solve, considering that realm's horrific environment, its endless dark creatures, and its dreadful Ultimate Dark Forms that existed solely to destroy worlds.

One could never be too wary when facing such entities. Thus, Cassius ordered every other supernatural force to converge on Florence.

Black Rain Manor, the Covert Martial Arts community, and the Dark Hunter Organization; three of the greatest powers would join to stand against one of the weak points. Cassius himself would go alone to the weak point at East Sea City.

Such was the confidence his entry into the Dominator Fist realm granted him. All beneath such a realm were but ants. Cassius alone was an entire army. Bringing the Golem Sect's strength would offer no aid and was merely a waste of manpower.

In some sense, it would even distract him and prevent him from unleashing himself fully. A Dominator Fist's strike shook the earth and mountains; a slight misstep could cause collateral harm.

It was better to let the Golem Sect and the others aid Florence instead. As for the weak point in Gania County, leaving it be for now was a helpless choice. If the force sent to Florence was split into two, he suspected both would collapse before long.

It was better to hold one location and preserve some gains. Taking heavy losses was far preferable to losing everything. Moreover, if Cassius could break the deadlock first, he could finish at East Sea City and then move on to Gania County, thereby, in theory, resolving the calamity tide perfectly.

The discussion in the conference room lasted a full hour. Many crucial points were raised and reiterated.

Cassius rose from his seat, his entire figure becoming blurry in an instant. "All right, now depart. Go to Farr County and assist the Dark Hunter Organization. Hold that weak point until my return..."

He then turned into a glowing scarlet humanoid outline and vanished from the hall. The next moment, he appeared at the heart of God's Tears Lake.

Back in the Golem Sect's meeting hall, figures shot out of the windows, flying like bats in the night toward every direction. The entire sect was mobilized, ablaze with lights. Elite members, who were long since prepared, streamed after the experts and elders at a rapid march. Long lines like black serpents extended outward, all headed north!

Not long after the Golem Sect set out, an eerie pulse that had built to irrepressible strength erupted like a volcano beneath the glass-like crimson cracks in the sky of Gania County, howling across the entire Special Zone.

The air warped into a hazy mist so scouts monitoring the zone could no longer discern what lay within. They knew only that the haze grew redder, brighter. Finally, it resembled a cloud mass crackling with crimson lightning.

A tremendous detonation echoed swiftly through the sky and the mist cleared at once. They saw that the web-like cracks had vanished. Instead, the sky became a gaping void that projected the night sky of another world.

Blood red moonlight washed over the land. The air, trees, and soil all took on an eerie hue. The air was filled with a simmering sense of doom that seemed about to erupt. This was the first-stage Blood Night of the World of Calamity's night, rousing dark creatures, driving beasts and savage beasts to riot, their aggression far above the norm.

The eternal blood moon appeared to transform in the sky. A dark speck emerged within the moon, then another, and soon they merged into a patch. Slowly, the blot consumed the moon's center.

A dim luminous ring appeared; this was the second-stage Moon Halo Night. The calamity in the air spiked violently, staining the clouds and creeping outward.

This moment was extremely perilous within the World of Calamity, since it sparked tides of beasts across the continent and drove undead Cataclysmic Spirits berserk. In fact, if the changes were confined to that realm, it would matter little. The horror lay in the dark-red Moon Halo within the Special Zone, which emitted wisps of scarlet vapor.

These vapors drifted outward, infecting the surface world's moon, causing red blotches to bloom upon it and spread like a plague.

The moon of the surface world was soon wholly stained red. Though it was a pale red, not a dark crimson, this was already an exceedingly terrifying change, signifying that the World of Calamity's invasion had reached a certain stage.

But the blood moon of the surface world brought other dreadful shifts! Almost simultaneously, everywhere touched by moonlight, supernatural beings who harbored calamity within them shuddered violently.

They started to hear chaotic whispers, male and female, old and young, layer upon layer, like an illusion. The whispers stirred an indescribable bestiality within them, flowing from every cell to coalesce into a chaotic will. It was a savage beast embodying humanity's most primal, feral desires. No one could wholly resist; they could only restrain it.

But this blood moon's light also seemed to erase that restraint in every being tainted with calamity. Some quaked violently with steel bristles sprouting from their skin. Others clutched their faces in agony, lips bulging as two huge ivory fangs burst from their mouths. Still others were shrouded in black vapors, their bodies twisting into monstrous shapes.

This mirrored the beast transformation problem once rampant in the Dark Hunter Organization, except the blood moon accelerated the process hundreds or thousands of times. People were mutating in scarcely the time required to eat half a bowl of rice.

It struck without warning and was utterly unavoidable! This was the inevitable harbinger of the World of Calamity's invasion into the surface world!

A vast wave of calamity slowly swept across the entire world. In Florence, atop the high spire of the Dark Hunter Organization's headquarters, the Chief Mechanist trembled all over, every hair standing on end. Something within him seemed ready to stir, yet in the end did not emerge.

The Chief Mechanist slowly exhaled a hot breath. His keen gaze swept over the headquarters. No beast transformations had arisen. He relaxed, and he looked southward.

Thankfully, over the past two years, Sect Master Cassius had cooperated with the Dark Hunter Organization to purge calamity from most members who had used the sacred spring water. The long-stored calamity within them, once untouchable, had been expelled.

They had been left with only the faintest residue, which was far from enough to trigger beast transformation. Otherwise, at this mere prelude to the calamity tide, the appearance of the blood moon would have dealt the organization an unprecedented blow.

The stronger one was, the more savage their beast transformation would twist and cripple them! Even someone like the Chief Mechanist would likely keep little sanity or strength, utterly unable to rally the organization.

"The Dark Hunter Organization has dodged a disaster! Cassius, both I and the organization owe you a great debt..."

At the same moment, within the dark clouds, a figure who had been streaking at extreme speed halted, hovering in the air to gaze at the blood moon.

"So this was the reason the Dark Hunter Organization perished in the original timeline. The blood moon manifested in the surface world, stirring the calamity inside every member, and the entire front collapsed outright..."

Cassius’s eyes narrowed as he glanced up at the upper right of his vision.

"The Dark Hunter Mask's owner, White Aster's second lingering attachment has finally been fulfilled."