Returning to the Mysterious Era-Chapter 280 - The Three Without Any Sense of Fighting Ethics

"Had I known, I would've never come here!"

Adam's heart felt heavy. A flicker of regret arose in his mind as the ominous presence behind him closed in.

Yes, Adam was scared. After all, wouldn't anyone be scared if three experts of the same level were hunting them? Adam had gathered from the words of Feng Liusi and his compatriots that the three had set up a trap and deliberately waited for an Indestructible-Rank member of the Blood Spirit Society to show up.

They clearly had an exceptional understanding of the Society's various traits, and had the confidence to trap Adam. As a third-stage Indestructible-Rank Dead Blood, Adam possessed a terrifyingly powerful regenerative ability, rendering him nearly invulnerable. If it were a one-on-one duel with someone of the same rank, he would be confident in his ability to avoid injury. Even in a one-on-two fight, he could still escape, albeit at a cost. But against three?

At best, he'd survive with severe injuries; at worst, he'd die. Yet, at this moment, a strange sense of unease gnawed at him. He had the unsettling feeling that he would certainly die if they caught up with him. Two of the three pursuers carried an aura he found particularly threatening.

Whoosh!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Four figures streaked along the walls, moving at blinding speeds. They were like phantoms chasing each other in the shadows.

"No choice... I'll have to use the Berserk Serum!"

Adam pulled out a small vial from his coat as he darted through the darkness. The vial was made of translucent glass, filled with a deep red liquid that resembled blood. It glimmered with a tempting allure in the faint moonlight.

The Berserk Serum had been used in the Wind Elephant Sect's massacre, a ruthless battle that allowed the user to temporarily enhance their strength by a small level. It even gave the user the chance to enter a secondary stage of power. It also improved their physical defense and strength to a certain extent.

This serum wasn’t developed by the Blood Spirit Society, but obtained through a trade with the Gate Organization, more specifically from the mysterious man named Xiadu. Adam wasn’t aware of its specific formula, but he knew it could push a Dead Blood into a berserk state and potentially trigger a mutation.

The body would sprout quill-like spines, and the bones would distort grotesquely, turning the user into a ravenous, beast-like creature. The advantages of the serum were clear, but the drawbacks horrified the Blood Spirit Society. Overuse could lead them to live in a semi-permanent berserk state, turning the user into a mindless animal.

Even though Dead Bloods were dark creatures, not human, they still possessed intelligence. The Berserk Serum seemed to reverse this process, stripping away their wisdom and replacing it with pure savagery. In effect, it reduced them to primal beasts. For this reason, the Blood Spirit Society dared not use it frequently. Instead, they kept the remaining vials in storage for research and emergency use.

As the Vice President of the Blood Spirit Society and a third-stage Indestructible-Rank Dead Blood, Adam carried a vial of high-concentration Berserk Serum for emergencies. But he hadn’t expected to actually need it today.

However, faced with imminent danger, Adam couldn’t worry about the serum’s side effects. He crushed the glass vial in his mouth and swallowed its contents, his teeth crunching through the glass.

His foot slammed against the ground, propelling him forward like a black arrow. He shot through the alley at even greater speed. He burst out onto the main road, colliding with an unfortunate car that happened to be passing by. The car was sent flying, spinning twice in midair before miraculously landing back on its wheels. It wobbled but didn’t explode or fall apart. The body of the car, however, was badly deformed, with a massive dent about one-third deep into its metal frame.

"Holy crap..."

The shaken driver regained his senses and was about to curse when his car’s rear end was suddenly struck again, three times in rapid succession, as if something had slammed into it at high speed.

The car, which had been positioned at a slight angle on the street, now turned fully perpendicular. The road behind was marked with deep tire tracks.

"Did I just... get hit by a ghost?"

The driver pushed open his door and staggered out, staring at the deep dents in his car. When he looked down, he noticed a human footprint embedded in the concrete, as if someone had stomped straight into the ground and left a hole.

Turing Street was a mix of residential and commercial buildings, so its winding alleys were even more labyrinthine at night.

Adam's strength and speed surged as the serum kicked in. Each stride now covered a third more distance than before. Gradually, Cassius and his compatriots began to fall behind. What had been a chase was now merely a pursuit.

"Run, get out of here! Even with the Berserk Serum, I can't take all three of them. I need to get back and warn Lotus! Only together can we stand a chance..."

Adam’s thoughts raced as he darted forward, his plan clear in his mind. He had no intention of recklessly fighting them. The purpose of taking the Berserk Serum was to escape, not to turn and fight.

Behind him, Cassius and the others rounded a corner, only to catch a fleeting glimpse of a black figure disappearing down the end of the alley. Feng Liusi cursed under his breath.

"Too cautious. He ran the moment he saw us. And now he's getting faster, like he's on something."

"Time to go all out. We can't expect to catch him without making a move ourselves," Cassius said calmly. "This guy is rational. He knows he can't beat us, so he's running for his life. Expecting him to turn and fight is unrealistic. We'll have to push ourselves if we want to catch him. We need to hurry; he's probably heading back to the Blood Spirit Society headquarters... If he makes it there, it’ll be harder to take him down."

Feng Liusi and Saint Feinan both nodded in agreement. Just as they were about to unleash their full strength, they saw a familiar figure at the end of the alley—the very same Adam who had just fled!

He had a sinister expression on his face. Half his body was hidden in shadow while the other half was illuminated by the faint moonlight. His body had swelled grotesquely to a towering two meters in height. His bones and muscles twisted unnaturally beneath his tightly stretched clothing, while red quill-like spines protruded all over his body.

A dark, evil aura surrounded Adam’s face.

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"What’s going on?" Saint Feinan squinted slightly.

"He's got backup. Looks like the real leader of the Blood Spirit Society has shown up. The true master of the Dead Bloods," Cassius mused, after a moment of thought.

"Heh... Finally, a real fight. I’ve had enough of picking off small fry," Feng Liusi said, cracking his neck. A blood-red aura formed behind him, taking the shape of a ferocious, twisted vulture. Its massive, clawed talons rested menacingly on his shoulders.

The air rippled layer by layer, as if it too was gripped by fear.

Saint Feinan remained silent, but his body was growing colder by the second. Fine white snowflakes began to drift through the air and stick to his clothes.

A sense of deathly frost spread through the cracks in the ground, glowing blue.

Cassius extended his perception to its limits, constantly on guard for any Indestructible-Rank experts from the Blood Spirit Society that might appear from the darkness. Yet, he found nothing. The other party’s ability to conceal their aura was flawless.

He sighed inwardly, "No wonder they are the leader of the Blood Spirit Society..."

Since Adam was standing openly in the light, Cassius and the others were forced into a passive stance, as Cassius searched for an opportunity from the shadows.None of them could afford to ignore the presence of the B-rank expert lurking like a viper in the dark.

Cassius didn't dare to be careless and immediately entered his most powerful Golem state. His muscles swelled, his body expanded, and he clasped his hands in front of his chest. The air between his palms was pierced by the relentless radiation of Death’s Fang Force.

The three of them cautiously assumed a triangular formation, with their terrifying Qi confronting Adam at the other end of the street. The air became still, and an eerie silence fell over the surroundings. It was so quiet that even the sound of a needle dropping could be heard.

"Roar~~~"

It was Adam who finally shattered the silence. He threw his head back and roared, keeping his blood-red eyes fixed intently on the trio. Unrestrained malevolent desire surged within him. His mind had become nothing more than pure, single-minded hunger.

"Eat... eat... food... delicious!"

Adam suddenly vanished from where he stood as he shot toward Cassius and the others like a cannonball.

"Be careful!" Cassius issued a warning before stepping forward forcefully. He sent a powerful punch crashing forward.

Bam!

Two equally strong arms clashed like iron, and sparks burst in the air from the impact. The enormous force shook Cassius’s arm, causing a slight tremor. For the first time, he had encountered an opponent whose physique was almost comparable to his own. However, it was still slightly inferior, so he remained unfazed.

He took another step forward and engaged Adam in close combat. With techniques honed through countless battles, he used every joint of his body as a lethal weapon, fighting fiercely against the monstrous, fur-covered beast that Adam had become.

At the same time, Saint Feinan and Feng Liusi did not join the fight. Instead, they stayed alert, their attention spread out cautiously over the surroundings. It seemed they were trying to lure out the hidden enemy, but nothing went as they had expected.

Only Adam and Cassius continued to clash repeatedly, their bodies colliding like combat machines, separating and then colliding again. The immense power of their exchanges caused the air to tremble and hum, the shockwaves compressing and exploding outward in white rings.

Boom!

The two clashed again, only to be bounced apart by the recoil. Cassius landed with his feet firmly on the ground, while Adam crouched low like a beast. His blood-red eyes glowed, and drool seemed to drip from his fanged mouth as he muttered obsessively,

"Eat! I’ll eat you! Eat... eat..."

Cassius watched this absurd scene unfold, frowning deeply. Something didn’t feel right.

"Feng Liusi, let’s both go in together," he said suddenly, his gaze never leaving Adam.

In a flash, Adam lunged forward like a frog leaping into the air. But this time, there was no back-and-forth exchange. Cassius and Feng Liusi worked together, treating Adam like a punching bag. Both of them practiced Death's Fang, which was highly effective against those with undying blood traits, and each attack seemed to take its toll.

Although Adam’s defense had skyrocketed in his berserk state, the tearing and disintegration effects of Death's Fang Force still worked terrifyingly well, especially with Feng Liusi’s fourth-stage mastery.

Feng Liusi’s fingers were as sharp as the world’s finest blades, and his slashes effortlessly carved out chunks of flesh. Even the berserk Adam couldn’t withstand it for long. Soon, most of his left arm, along with his shoulder, had been stripped to bare bone. The remaining bits of flesh tried to regenerate but were constantly shredded by lingering energy, leaving him in a grotesque limbo between life and death.

"Still not coming out? You’ve got some patience!"

A flash of viciousness crossed Feng Liusi’s eyes, and his hands came down like guillotine blades, slicing off a large chunk of Adam's body.

"Let’s finish this," Cassius muttered, his face darkening slightly.

He suddenly realized he might have been played—no, he had been overly cautious. He had imagined an enemy lurking in the shadows and wasted precious energy on a phantom.

Adam’s earlier outburst was likely the result of some secret technique. But when the side effects kicked in, he’d lost his mind and turned to attack them. Meanwhile, the three of them had been tricked by Adam’s insane confidence and concocted a more complicated explanation.

The more Cassius thought about it, the more irritated he became.

Glaring at the mad-dog-like Adam, he let out a deep breath of frustration. "Beat him until he’s on the brink of death!"

Cassius wasn't one to seek petty revenge. That wasn’t his nature. But Adam did need to be severely injured before he would no longer pose a threat. It would also make it easier to interrogate him and absorb his life vibration energy. Whether there was anything else to gain didn’t matter in the end.

And so, under the dark night sky, three seasoned combat artists mercilessly ganged up on Adam, unleashing a continuous barrage of punches and kicks. What looked like venting was, in fact, a calculated and efficient beatdown, which went on for a full five minutes.

Finally, the trio’s methodical assault ground to a halt. Adam’s mangled body lay in a two-meter-wide crater in the middle of the street. He had been beaten to the point where he resembled a shrimp that had been boiled.

Cassius exhaled two streams of white mist from his nose and mouth as he slowly descended into the pit. Grabbing Adam by the head, he was about to interrogate him when he realized that Adam was still muttering incoherently about food and its deliciousness. Clearly, there was no hope of getting any information out of him.

Cassius sighed inwardly but wasn’t too disappointed. What he needed was Adam’s life vibration energy and a breakthrough. Everything else was secondary. Strength was the priority.

The Golem's life magnetic field activated as Cassius placed a hand, pulsing with a special frequency, on Adam’s head, spreading his fingers wide.

"Come... I can’t wait any longer..."