Returning to the Mysterious Era

Chapter 89 - Escape

"Out of the way!!!" Cassius barked. He put everything he had into his punch, his arm transforming into a powerful elephant's trunk striking his foes. He smashed a cloaked figure storming in from the right into the ground. The cloaked man coughed up blood, his chest caving in.

Thud!

A tall figure slammed into him from the left, making Cassius stagger. He planted his right foot firmly into the ground, burying it into the mud. Blood trickling from his mouth, he spun around and shattered his opponent's arm with a backhand strike.

"Teacher! Stay close to me!"

Cassius leaned back and sucked in a deep breath like a giant vacuum cleaner. Visible white vortices of air formed around his nose and mouth. Instantly, his muscles bulged, his skin turned blood-red, and his veins popped out in sharp relief.

"Die!!!" He stomped on the ground with both feet and hurtled out like a cannonball. The terrifying power from his accelerated blood flow caused Cassius to enlarge until he looked like a towering wall.

He crossed several meters in the blink of an eye, and smashed his huge fist into the cloaked figure's face like a battering ram. A loud, exaggerated explosion cut through the rain as the enormous impact behind his strike distorted the figure's cheeks, and it sprayed out a huge amount of blood.

The cloaked figure's tall and sturdy body soared through the air, crashing into a pillar about five meters away. Cassius's hit had practically obliterated its entire jaw, with at least a third of its facial muscles disintegrated.

"Run!" Cassius shot forward like a sharp arrow, carving a bloody path through the cloaked figures. Lisa followed closely behind.

Cassius dealt with the enemies in front, while Lisa defended against those surging in from behind. The master and disciple worked in perfect harmony, and it seemed like they had a good chance of escaping to safety.

"Azure Wind Flow!!!"

Cassius flung his arms out and shot into the air like a waterbird. A dense stream of air extended from his large, sturdy palms like blades. As he swung his arms rapidly, the white air sliced through the rain, cutting through droplets.

A cloaked figure in front lunged but was repelled back by eight of Cassius's hand strikes. It instantly froze in place. As Cassius and Lisa sprinted past, the figure trembled violently from the dozens of bloody gashes all over its body; the hand strikes had cut its blood vessels clean off.

"I can still keep going! We still have a chance!"

With his life at stake, Cassius was hyper focused. All the sounds around him—the pitter-patter of rain, the squishing of footsteps, the roars of the monsters, the heavy breathing—had vanished. It was a peculiar state to be in.

In that moment, all he could hear was his pounding heart. All he could think about was the Wind Elephant fist techniques. The previously difficult and unclear parts were all coming together, becoming one with his desperate combat moves.

When a Covert Martial Artist finds themselves in a life-and-death struggle, they would, driven by an intense desire to fight, be able to fully unleash the things they had learned, and move however they wanted. Cassius felt like he had been set free; his body, mind, and techniques were all liberated! If he wasn't so agitated, he would have noticed that, in the upper right corner, the progress bar for Wind Elephant Fist was rapidly moving up.

But Cassius had no time to think about that. Only three words consumed his thoughts: protect! Escape! Fight!

Bang!

Like a shadow, his arm smashed into a bandaged head and it exploded like a watermelon. The blood was quickly washed away by the rain. Cassius collided hard with a cloaked figure, and the two immediately started fighting. Finally, he punched hard into the figure's jaw, sending him flying into a wall which collapsed, burying the figure under rubble and pouring rain.

"Ah!!!" Cassius let out a pained holler. He whipped around, a cold and fierce wolf-like look in his eyes, and seized the cloaked figure attacking him from behind, snapping his neck. Glancing at his injured left shoulder, he saw his bleeding arm hanging limply. The bone felt broken, the only things holding it together were two-thirds of the muscle and a layer of skin.

He turned sharply and noticed Lisa who was a short distance away, struggling to stand, with blood streaming down from the corner of her mouth.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Violent coughing echoed around.

"Damn it!" Cassius cursed himself. Lisa was no longer the same as she was six months, let alone a year ago. The injuries that had plagued her for ten years had taken their toll, turning her hair gray and her body frail in just a few months. How could she withstand such intense fighting?

Cassius raced back frantically and hoisted Lisa onto his back. "Hold on tight to me, Teacher! I'll get us out of here!"

"Cough, cough, cough... I believe in you! I believe in you, Li Wei!"

Lisa didn't say anything like, "Put me down! I'll only be a burden to you." She knew her disciple better than that. Such words would only distract and worry Cassius who may be taciturn but was determined to accomplish whatever he set out to do.

However, Lisa's back was in excruciating pain and she could feel the deep wound in there. Her strength slowly drained away with each drop of blood that fell. She feared she wouldn't make it and would soon die. In that case, she might as well stay on Cassius's back. In a critical moment, she could perhaps shield Cassius from a fatal blow with her body. Her only successor must survive!

Lisa gritted her teeth as she came to this realization and tightened her hold around Cassius's neck. Droplets fell from her eyes—whether they were rain or tears, she couldn't tell.

"Huff, huff, huff..." Cassius moved like a black shadow along the path, breathing heavily like a bull. The rain poured down in thick sheets amidst the strong wind while a dozen black figures continued to lunge at him like hyenas.

Cassius was like a lone bull on the prairie, his stamina draining with each relentless pursuit and ambush. Fortunately, he was a little faster than the cloaked figures. Despite repeated attacks, he was putting more and more distance between them and the train platform. The endless cold rain shrouded everything in a gray mist.

Thud!

A figure wrapped in bandages was struck and sent rolling, spinning like a tumbling box across the muddy ground.

Cassius glanced over his shoulder and saw that they had shaken off all their pursuers. "No one's behind us anymore! Let's go!" He sprinted into the depths of the rain.

After what felt like an eternity, with only the sound of rain hitting the ground, Cassius dashed into a forest with Lisa still clinging onto his back.

They had successfully escaped. Maybe.