Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun didn't go to the fervent battle in the North City but headed directly to West City.

Compared to the situation with Princess Mafa, the battle at the "Sun Slave Trade Firm" was a mystery to many and garnered little attention.

After all, few knew of the Luying royal family's plan to lure and kill Barrett and his followers.

Previously, Su Lun couldn't quite understand why the Luying royal family was so bent on killing Barrett.

But with the recent news from Mr. Hei, he had begun to grasp the reasons.

The alchemists held no belief in deities, which is why the two great empires had never permitted, nor allowed any followers of foreign gods to openly propagate their faith within their territories.

But now things were different.

Despite opposition, the Luying royal family had issued a new decree, allowing citizens religious freedom and permitting the activities of various religious sects within the empire's territory.

This was quite intriguing.

Various signs indicated that someone was manipulating the decision-making of Luying's upper echelons, seeking to gather faith within the empire with its massive population base.

As for who it might be, it was likely the "foreign god" that descended into Cursed Valley back then.

As long as Barrett was alive, that "foreign god" couldn't rest easy.

However, Su Lun had no interest in caring about the distant Luying.

Right now, he wanted to see the state of the battle on Barrett's side.

...

In West City, within Narachi District.

This was the area where several large slave trade firms were concentrated.

When Su Lun arrived, the battle was intense.

The combat prowess between high-ranking professionals was terrifying, even from a considerable distance, the shock waves and explosive air blasts from the fight were causing dust and debris to fly on the streets, and swathes of buildings collapsed as though bombed.

Su Lun approached cautiously.

He had been here before to observe the situation and knew that the few hundred soldiers from Luying, known as the "Sacred Judgment Legion," were typically imprisoned in the basement of building number 19 on the street.

High-ranking professionals were on guard around the clock nearby.

Now, his senses caught the presence of three powerful soul fires entangled in violent conflict, belonging to three sixth-order professionals.

One of them was the familiar Barrett.

Su Lun had wanted to find a place to get a clear view but had not gone far when he encountered two mysterious individuals peering around the corner of a small alley.

Seeing the sharp look in their eyes, Su Lun had no doubt about their identities.

Without waiting for them to act or signal, a black scythe swished twice, and two heads fell to the ground.

Su Lun harvested the "Gray Mist" from the corpses, and upon consuming it, confirmed they were indeed peripheral members of the Luying Military Intelligence Service.

He was now very close to the battle zone, and Su Lun chose not to approach rashly.

He carefully collected the communication devices from the bodies and then found a three-story building to climb up.

Looking through the window, he saw a large hole that had collapsed in the Narachi District further away.

Realizing the significance of the massive pit on the ground, Su Lun was secretly amazed, "So they dug tunnels to enter the city, no wonder there was no disturbance heard within the city."

The bottomless hole had swallowed several buildings of the "Sun Slave Trade Firm" along with it, seeming to directly push that batch of slaves into the pit. This approach saved a lot of trouble that would have been faced during a rescue operation, indeed a good method to conserve strength and divine power.

However, the subterranean of the Moros city state was made of hard and solid limestone. Digging such a large hole without being noticed was no easy task.

Su Lun thought that Barrett must have some special treasures for digging at his disposal.

However, those were obviously "bait."

Emperor Luying's most wanted target was always Barrett.

At the moment, it seemed like the batch of slaves had fallen into a pit, and it was unclear if they had managed to escape. However, Barrett and a few of his lieutenants were engaged in a fierce battle with several mysterious figures clad in black cloaks on the ground, and the situation looked grim.

Barrett, with unrivaled combat prowess, was holding his own against two sixth-tier professionals, which was the only reason the battle was at a standstill.

His lieutenants, too, were entwined in combat with a dozen others and couldn't extricate themselves.

They didn't flee immediately, probably hoping to buy time for their companions in the passage. As long as they could stall these experts, it would make it easier for the others to escape.

The most critical issue was that escaping probably wasn't an option.

The spies of Emperor Luying's military intelligence division had been preparing this trap for a long time, and it wouldn't be easy to shake them off.

Su Lun could clearly see that Barrett and his group were visibly marked with a tracking substance similar to "Visibility Dust."

...

You should know, anyone who advances to the sixth rank is a child of fortune, especially those from the Luying royal family.

Su Lun noticed one of them emanating a vaporous pale blue flame, which was unmistakably the complete form of the "Servantless" Secret Technique, a signature of Emperor Luying's top-tier experts.

Even so, Barrett, fighting desperately, was giving the two opposing sixth-rankers a hard time, leaving them with no temper at all.

Whether it was because of the recent overwhelming changes he had gone through or the enhancement from the "Hand of Silver," Barrett's combat strength was even greater than before. The layer of power emanating from him seemed as though it was about to solidify into a "domain."

Transformed into a giant ape, his fists moved so fast they were airtight, and the wind from his blows was like a bass cannon, sending wave after wave through the air.

"Boom," "Boom," "Boom"...

The vibrations were enough to rupture eardrums.

Su Lun could not interject in such a battle; he could only watch from afar.

He also realized that the two sixth-tier professionals were not only failing to gain any advantage but seemed to be helplessly unable to take Barrett down.

Gradually, as the two continued to fight, their movements became increasingly anxious.

It wasn't that they had a poor mindset.

You must understand, this wasn't the territory of the Luying Empire.

It was Romman, a vassal state of their sworn enemy, the King of the North Sea.

If the people from Emperor Luying's military intelligence division took action here and managed a swift capture, it would have been fine.

But lingering too long risked unforeseen consequences.

The North Sea fleet and the "Frost Moon Princess's" followers were not welcoming to Luying's people.

However, seeing no one from the North Sea fleet had come so far, Su Lun guessed it probably wasn't out of reluctance to get involved.

These pirates were more likely to be watching the show, waiting for both sides to suffer and then come in to clean up.

And this was why Su Lun felt it was a "dead end."

No matter what, it seemed that Barrett was bound to die today.

After all, those pirate fleets from the North Sea's Eighteenth Fleet who were pursuing Barrett had "vanished," and by no means would the pirates give up the only clue to the "Sacred Judgment Group."

...

Su Lun was intently watching the battlefield, looking for any chance to help.

Just then, a voice came through the communication device in his hand: "Number Seven. Is it raining over there?"

Upon hearing this, Su Lun immediately responded, "I brought an umbrella!"

This was Emperor Luying military intelligence division's temporary battle code, freshly devised.

Had there been no response, someone would have come to check immediately.

"Number Eight!"

"Foxes pretend grapes are sour when they cannot reach them."

"Number Nine!"

"..."

After a conversation, Su Lun also realized that there were seven other hidden outposts nearby.

To ambush Barrett, it seemed Emperor Luying had used up many of his undercover spies planted over the years.

It was then, frustrated by the prolonged battle, curses began to be heard over the communicator.

"Damn it, what are your information department folks doing, eating shit? Didn't you say Barrett's battle strength dropped to level five after he lost his arm? What the hell is this situation, how is he even stronger than when he was at his peak?"

"I don't know! Even if it's a mechanical arm, it shouldn't be this flexible. There's something fishy about that silver arm..."

"Am I blind not to see that there's something fishy about the indestructible 'Hand of Silver'?"

"The undercover agents from the North Sea Fleet are trying their best to delay further. They've sent a message, if we don't kill Barrett soon, they will take action!"

"Captain Glinton, more talk is useless, we must make it quick! Plan B, logistics group, use the 'Bow of Time'!"

"Yes!"

"..."

As Su Lun listened to the messages on the communicator, his brow furrowed immediately.

At that moment, he turned his gaze and spotted several heads poking out from the rooftop of a small building approximately five hundred meters away.

In the blink of an eye, those sneaky individuals took out a radiant longbow from a sealed case.

Su Lun narrowed his eyes slightly, recognizing the forbidden artifact at a glance, and murmured to himself, "The 'Bow of Time Curse of Chronos' has been brought here too..."

He had seen this bow once before, in Gadronte Harbor, when Emperor Luying's Military Intelligence tried to intercept Princess Mafa purchasing the "neuro-mechanical blueprints."

Both sides struggled fiercely, and the battle was exceptionally brutal.
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This cursed longbow could ignore defenses and steal the life span of its targets, making it the most troublesome aspect.

No matter how strong Barrett was, if he were hit by a few arrows, he would likely meet his end right there and then.

"Bow of Time Curse of Chronos"

Quality: Legendary

Description: Time flies like an arrow, fleeting in a moment

Cursed Trait: An 'Arrow of Time' shot at the target ignores obstacles that are not more powerful than the bow's own law on the law level, seizing the target's lifespan upon impact; Those who have not mastered the Time Law need to use their lifespan to concentrate arrows; The amount of lifespan taken from the target depends on their life's destiny;

Explanation: If your life's destiny is not as strong as the target's, more of your lifespan is required; The 'Sand of Time' can be used to activate this forbidden item;

As Su Lun once again identified the information of the bow, an additional line appeared.

"Can be activated with the 'Sand of Time'? Does that mean I could use it?"

Su Lun happened to have a jar with him.

An idea suddenly popped into his head.

....

Meanwhile, those on the other side were resolute, taking out the bow and arrow and shooting without hesitation.

A pale green light arrow formed and, with a "whoosh," shot out.

The cursed trait of the bow instantly sapped the life of the archer, and visibly, the man aged from his prime to a decrepit old man in an instant.

At the same time, two level-six professionals from Emperor Luying's Military Intelligence were also working hard to entangle Barrett, preventing him from dodging.

Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, an adjutant not far from Barrett shouted, "Watch out, Captain!"

He didn't hesitate at all, with a single leap he positioned himself in the middle of the light arrow's trajectory.

Almost the instant the bowstring was released, the light arrow pierced through his chest.

The muscles on the adjutant's face shriveled rapidly, like a piece of dried book leather, before he collapsed to the ground, dead on the spot.

Barrett watched his subordinate block the fatal strike for him, erupting in a choked bellow of rage, yet he was powerless to do anything.

And then, seeing that a single arrow hadn't killed their target, someone else on the opposite balcony picked up a longbow and started to shoot.

Su Lun watched, his brows tightly furrowed.

Reality didn't give him any chance to hesitate, he had to act now or Barrett would eventually meet a dead end. He might be tough enough to take a few more arrows, but these military intelligence agents, just like those he had seen before, had no scruples about going on suicide attacks.

"The risk is not small, but... it's worth a try!"

Determination flared in Su Lun's eyes, and in an instant, he made his decision.

He pinched a sorcerer's seal with one hand and peeled open the space in front of him. With one step, he was already hundreds of meters away in a small alley.

Two sixth-rankers were holding Barrett back, and likewise, Barrett was also holding them back.

The rest... were not much of a threat to Su Lun!

This was an unexpected situation for Su Lun; Barrett was surprisingly robust, fighting to a standstill with those men. (Originally, he thought it would be a one-sided situation with no room for interference)

...

No sooner had Su Lun stepped out of the spatial rift than he spotted two military intelligence agents guarding the small building.

Now was not the time for killing, lest he alert the enemies to his presence.

His face stern, he walked straight over to them.

Before the two could even cast an inquisitive look, the cold flame of "Invisibility" leaped from Su Lun's body. He also smoothly pulled out a badge from his chest and flashed it, uttering the password rapidly, "Night eternal, stars illuminate the path ahead."

This was the exclusive password and badge of the high-ranking military intelligence officer Yegor, which Su Lun had stripped from him previously in the Cursed Valley.

By now, Su Lun had a clear understanding of some of the basic operations within Emperor Luying's military intelligence.

For an operation at this level, the lower ranks wouldn't know how many higher-ups were involved, and they might not even recognize each other.

But they were certain to know the "password".

Moreover, with the special badge and Emperor Luying's royal secret technique "Invisibility," there was no way to fake it.

As expected, upon hearing the password, the two men didn't just refrain from stopping him; they saluted respectfully, "Officer!"

Relief washed through Su Lun's heart: His gamble had paid off!

He ignored them entirely and swiftly ascended the stairs.

Upstairs, he saw seven or eight people drawing their bows. Su Lun walked straight up, flashed his badge again, uttered the password, then commanded authoritatively, "Hand me the Bow of Time! I'll do it!"

As he spoke, he didn't wait for the group to react, snatching the longbow right from them.

The few archers didn't understand why a "senior officer" would want to take over this death-defying job.

But before they could figure it out, Su Lun turned around with the longbow and headed downstairs.

The few left behind looked at each other in bewilderment.

Military intelligence's secrecy protocol was incredibly strict; subordinates had to obey superiors unconditionally, and lower-ranking officers weren't entitled to question any of their superiors' decisions.

Although they also felt that something was amiss.

But... what if it was a secret operation?

Just seconds later, as the shooting stopped, roaring came from the combatants on the battlefield belonging to the sixth ranks.

"Support group, what's going on there, why have you stopped shooting arrows!"

"Commander! A leader from the 'Spade Group' just came by; he took the Bow of Time..."

"What 'Spade Group'? This mission is under the sole responsibility of our 'Spade Group'; no other department is involved! Oh... damn it! You've been tricked, go after the cursed longbow now!"

"..."

The people on the rooftop were all horrified, finally realizing what had just happened, and they chased after the thief.

But once downstairs, where was there any sign of the thief?

...

A few hundred meters away, Su Lun emerged from a spatial rift once again.

Looking at the longbow in his hands, he too found it hard to believe.

How could he have imagined that he would so easily deceive them out of a sealed weapon?

Upon inspection, there was still a tracking mark on the bow.

Having anticipated this, Su Lun pinched a sorcerer's seal, and a black hole appeared in his palm, sucking the longbow in.

Thanks to his prior experience of stripping spatial law insights from over a thousand members of the eighteenth fleet, his spellcasting speed was now more than ten times faster than before.

Looking at the black vortex in his palm, Su Lun's eyes shifted as he suddenly came up with a rescue plan.

Although it was a bit risky.

...

Meanwhile, all sides on the battlefield were dumbfounded.

Nobody expected that a mysterious "third party" force would get involved in the battle.

Not being targeted by the Bow of Time, Barrett felt the spine-chilling threat of death suddenly disappear.

Was someone intervening on his behalf?

As he pondered in confusion, he suddenly saw a spatial rift open opposite him.

The military intelligence operative nearly got split in half, crying out as he dodged.

"It's Su Lun!"

Recognizing the familiar technique, Barrett finally understood who was helping him from the shadows.

And it should have occurred to him, under these circumstances, that only the Dawn Squad could be involved.

At the same time, he also felt a pang of guilt.

At this critical moment, help from anyone would be a hopeless situation.

Whoever helps would be dragged to death!

But thinking it over, Barrett still activated his communicator.

In the final moments of his life, he sincerely thanked, "Young friend Su Lun, thank you, and your Dawn Squad! But don't concern yourself with me, get out of here!"

Where Barrett knew, anyone else might escape, but he was destined to die.

Because he was the one who had directly encountered and fought against that "Outer God."

The heretic hidden deep within Luying's higher-ups would never let him go.

Over the communicator, Su Lun didn't mince words but simply commanded, "Find a chance to head north, the western exit of Coral Alley, you only get one shot, three seconds at most!"

Barrett, heart skipping a beat, wondered, could there really be a way out of this situation?

Su Lun had always been steady and would never do something uncertain.

Thinking back to when he was at sea, haven't the seemingly hopeless situations all been miraculously resolved?

Barrett responded, "I have magic markers on me, I can't escape."

Over the communicator, the tone was still decisive: "I know."

"..."

Hearing this, Barrett was at a loss for words.

He had already braced for death, thinking if he could delay the enemy, the brothers fleeing through the tunnels would have a better chance of getting further away.

Now... it seemed like there was a chance to escape.

He himself was not afraid of death.

But looking at the bodies of his comrades on the ground, and the remaining two brothers desperately holding off the enemy, Barrett's gaze revealed his unwillingness to let them die.

If there was really a chance to survive, he didn't want to watch his brothers die while he did nothing.

Barrett was a decisive man and made up his mind in an instant.

He gave a "rally" hand signal, and the two surviving subordinates understood and immediately regrouped with him.

Just then, Barrett let out a mighty roar, his momentum surging as he took out a high-explosive bomb.

The two sixth-tier professionals thought they were going to self-destruct and instinctively moved away.

"Boom!"

A loud explosion shattered the surrounding buildings, leaving rubble everywhere.

As the mushroom cloud of fire dissipated, three figures were blasted out.

On closer inspection, although Barrett's right arm was blasted to shreds, the three of them were clearly still alive. They picked a direction and rushed forward without any thought of fighting back.

Seeing this, the Luying military intelligence operatives immediately understood.

"Damn, they're trying to escape!"

"Hmph! As if it'll be that easy!"

"Notify the perimeter to close in, keep sensing the target's location, and report their bearing!"

"..."

The battlefield was quickly shifting.

To take advantage of the explosion to break free, Barrett's right arm was blown off. But that right arm, now a silver mush, began to miraculously heal as they fled.

"Captain, you go ahead, we'll stay and hold them off."

"Yeah, Captain, we can't escape like this!"

The two vice-captains, not understanding what happened, shouted anxiously.

Barrett didn't explain but led the two, racing through the streets and alleys, and bellowed, "Follow me! And whatever you do, don't look back!"

Close-combat professionals have a significant advantage in short-distance bursts, and they ran through the winding alleys with no enemies in sight for the moment.

And at that moment, they saw the alley ahead completely obscured by fog.

Desiring to rescue, Barrett was certainly familiar with the city's layout, and now he was facing what Su Lun had mentioned over the communicator: the western exit of Coral Alley!

Under normal circumstances, encountering such an obscured area, they would never rush in.

But at that moment, Barrett didn't hesitate and plunged straight into it.

The two vice-captains, with determination in their eyes, followed close behind.

...

Inside the alley, Su Lun, already sensing Barrett's soul flame, had been waiting a long time. As the three approached, the spatial vortex in his hand opened just wide enough for one person.

Upon entering the mist, Barrett saw Su Lun, and Su Lun saw them too.

Su Lun bellowed, "Get in!"

Concern for Su Lun flickered in Barrett's eyes, yet he knew there could be no hesitation. He twisted his companions and charged headlong forward.

As Su Lun watched the group being sucked into the "Mini Void Realm," he didn't delay and activated the Spatial Displacement Alchemy Array he had prepared nearby.

With one step, the scenery around him shifted, and he was already in another alleyway.

Meanwhile, a violent explosion occurred near the original Coral Alley, obliterating all traces in its wake.

After several more teleports, Su Lun had moved from the west of the city to the south!

Hurrying through an alley, Su Lun took off his clothes, sprayed himself with odor-removing potion, and applied every tracking countermeasure available.

Only then did he exhale a long breath, "Huff..."

....

At the same time, on a cliff by the sea outside the city, inside the Temple of Aghaparnon,

a mysterious priestess with a light veil over her head was engaged in divination.

Opposite her, a handsome blond young man lay back in a chair, leisurely sipping fine wine and eating delicious grapes.

This man was none other than Oleg's second son, Onis Popov.

Suddenly, the mysterious priestess seemed to sense something and exclaimed, "Barrett's location can't be detected, he has escaped!"

Hearing this, Onis sprang to his feet in surprise, "How is that possible! Incompetent though the Luying Intelligence might be, they couldn't possibly let someone escape under these circumstances, right?"

The priestess also seemed puzzled, muttering to herself, "Barrett's trace has vanished without a trace. This is highly unusual... unless... there is some treasure or a person with a powerful fate shielding him, interfering with my divination."

Suddenly, she thought of something, her expression growing grave, "It could be 'the person who will bring disaster upon you' mentioned in the prophecy!"

"Oh, my dear mother, you worry too much. Who could pose a threat to our North Sea Fleet here in Romon? That prophecy of yours is too vague. Perhaps you have misinterpreted it?"

Arrogance and nonchalance were written all over Onis's face.

But in the depths of his eyes, a flicker of chill went unnoticed.

He lazily stood up and walked over to the side, picking up his gleaming golden spear, his tone flippant, "But anyway, since that's the case, I do want to see how tough the person from your prophecy really is... to make you feel he's a threat to me!"

As he spoke, he gazed toward the distant massive city. Grasping the spear in his right hand, his arm muscles bulged, and after a running start, he hurled the golden spear with force.

With a "whoosh".

The spear tore through the air.

Onis watched, a smug smile forming on his lips.

...

Having not been pursued for a long while, Su Lun felt that the precautions he had taken must have fooled the people from Luying Intelligence.

This was the escape route he had thought of in advance for times when he might encounter danger.

Leaving the city was clearly not a good option now; the open countryside would make detection easy, whereas blending into the city would offer more safety.

Su Lun wandered through the city streets.

But just as he was starting to relax, suddenly, the death-warning bird on his shoulder let out a frantic cawing.

It was a lethal warning.

"Dammit!"

Su Lun was startled; he didn't sense where the danger came from, but instinctively used the "Flash," teleporting several meters in an instant.

Almost at that very moment, a golden light shot toward him, piercing the afterimage he left at his previous spot.

Su Lun, his back slick with cold sweat, looked and realized it was a gleaming golden spear.

[War God Tyr's Causality Gold Spear]

Quality: Legendary

Description: The cause is wanting to kill you, the effect is your death.

Detailed Explanation: The heirloom of the Temple of Aghaparnon; a divine spear driven by the power of faith, it can lock onto its causality target from an ultra-long distance and inflict piercing damage; after the attack, the spear automatically returns to the hands of the user; only those who have inherited the 'War God Heritage' or have been blessed by 'Tyr' can wield it.

"Damn it!"

Swearing inwardly, Su Lun felt a surge of frustration.

He had been worried that some being with strange abilities or an unusual object might appear.

And sure enough, whatever he feared came to pass!

This spear turned out to be a causality weapon, which meant... if someone had locked onto him, he couldn't escape no matter what.

In that instant, he saw the golden spear stuck in the ground dissolve into points of light.

And the next second, the crow cawed loudly again!

Obviously, the spear was on its way back.

Suddenly, Su Lun felt a real pain in the neck.

This kind of "tracking spear" was completely unavoidable. If he dodged one spear, what about the next? And the one after that?

He had the nagging feeling that the spear-thrower wasn't targeting Barrett, but him!

But he couldn't afford to think about it in detail.

Su Lun focused his attention on the sky, and at that moment, he saw that streak of golden light coming at him again.

This time, he chose not to dodge; with a slap of his hand, the sorcerer's seals appeared, and a black hole coalesced in his palm once again.

In this vast world, anything is possible.

As for dealing with treasures akin to sealed relics, Su Lun didn't think he could handle them.

But he could gamble on it.

He was also curious to see if in another dimension, the spear could still be recalled by its user!

Though the golden spear was fast, within the vision of the All-knowing Eye, its trajectory was still captured in a fleeting moment.

Su Lun raised his hand, and in a sheer moment of danger, right before the spear could pierce him, he placed the twisted black hole in front of him.

"Whoosh~"

The golden spear pierced into the miniature void realm.

Su Lun immediately transformed his open hand into a fist, crushing the black hole together.

Looking again, this time the ominous bird didn't react.

The whole world grew silent.

A gleam of joy flashed in Su Lun's eyes: "As expected, it's been sucked in!"

He didn't dare delay and darted into the dense warren of buildings in the civilian area within the city.

....

Meanwhile, in the Temple of Aghaparnon.

Onis Popov, whose face changed dramatically as he lost the sensory connection with his beloved spear!

PS. Had to go out today, wrote this late at night, sending it now.