Mechanical Alchemist

"The Queen Rodrica" cruise ship had turned into a living hell in no time.

The fight in the banquet hall was intense, with multi-faced monsters pushing the people to their limits, and more and more were getting infected.

Suddenly, intense fighting erupted from below the deck.

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"..."

It was as if someone was firing cannons inside the hull; the exaggerated noise made the entire giant ship violently shake.

The lower-tier professionals who weren't very perceptive might not understand what was happening, but a fourth-tier professional like Caroline instantly realized something and was shocked, "A top-tier fighter is battling!"

She thought of "Mr. Nicholas," her eyes filled with disbelief.

Although she had guessed that he might be powerful, she hadn't expected the commotion to be so grand.

She also realized that what they had previously thought as a dangerous situation was merely a minor skirmish, the real fierce battle was still below in the cargo hold?

Caroline hadn't overlooked the possibility of other arrangements by the followers of the outer gods on the ship, but right now she had to protect that young master, Alexis.

Moreover, the cabins below were the most densely populated, with thousands packed together; it was unthinkable what monstrous horrors had manifested there.

If the "multi-faced monsters" above were nearly invincible, who would dare to go down?

At the same time, Caroline also sighed in relief.

She had been worried that he might deem the situation too hopeless and withdraw.

He had made a move, meaning he wasn't just watching from the sidelines.

Although she didn't know who Mr. Nicholas was facing, it was hard to imagine that without him holding back that powerful follower of the outer gods, this would probably be a completely disastrous outcome.

In her heart, Caroline prayed, "I hope he can win."

She glanced again at the siblings engaged in fierce battle, keeping an extra vigilant eye.

She now had to not only protect the young master Alexis, but also look after the two disciples of Mr. Nicholas.

Otherwise, if something unexpected happened, it would really be a disservice to that gentleman's efforts.

...

The noises of the battle from below the deck grew even more exaggerated, and now, even the lower-tier professionals could clearly feel it.

Alexis continuously flipped his tarot cards, but he could not divine any information about the battle.

But at this moment, he also realized something, "The one who's involved is at least a sixth-tier professional; it looks like Professor Virginia really is problematic. But who might the other party be?"

Under normal circumstances, with the situation being this dire, as the leading professor of the expedition, she should have shown up by now.

Being a sixth-tier professional herself, she should be able to handle this "multi-face monsters."

She even had the capability to turn the tides.

But she was nowhere to be seen.

Therefore, one of the parties in the cargo hold's fight must be her.

And by now, the conspiracy had become completely clear, someone had used the "Hanged Man" card to lure him onto the ship.

To dare to strike knowing the expedition leader is a sixth-tier, they must either have overwhelming power or... there's something wrong with this sixth-tier.

The tarot cards told Alexis the latter was more likely.

Meanwhile, the battle at the bottom of the ship shocked not only the passengers on the cruise ship but also the followers of the outer gods who plotted this scheme.

Normally, the Archbishop and Cardinal Vigilia would have joined forces and subdued Alexis and his shadow guard in a moment, settling the fight.

But now, someone had directly gone to the hidden altar in the storages, and the Cardinal was entangled with a mysterious strong fighter?

This was unexpected.

Moreover, orders had already come through the communicator, instructing them to resolve the matter quickly.

Just at that moment, the gentlemanly middle-aged man with glasses who was hidden in the crowd, suddenly acted up and charged at the group of royal academy students.

"Be careful!"

Caroline's face changed drastically.

Although she knew this senior lawyer from Zero Degrees Special Jenkins Law Firm was a follower of the outer gods, she hadn't thought he was a fifth-tier!

Watching him charge towards Alexis, Caroline could no longer care for anything else; her exceptional agility as Catwoman allowed her to instantly break free from her opponent and position herself in front of him.

Unfortunately, the middle-aged man with glasses merely scoffed, and his iron fist clad in a leather glove smashed into Caroline's waist. This rapid punch shattered the air, visibly condensing a spiral ripple on the fist and exploded. Luckily, Caroline's cat-transformed body was extremely supple. With a flying cross hold, she caught the man's arm, using the momentum of the punch to deflect and throw him away.

Alexis, who was not far away, glanced at Caroline, his gaze revealing a trace of an upper-tier's indifference.

But at this moment, he was also sure; this woman was trying to help him.

If he could survive, he would surely need to thank her afterward.

"Bang!"

In a clash, the bespectacled man was hurled backward, about to crash into the banquet hall's pillar when suddenly, he flipped mid-air and tread on the air.

With a "snap" sound, the wall exploded half a meter away with web-like cracks.

On a further look, the man charged again.

Caroline still didn't dodge or evade, relying on her superior hand-to-hand combat skills and agility to engage him for several moves.

Unfortunately, the suppression from the major rank made it completely impossible for her to defeat him.

Experts brought by the guild were also entangled by the followers of the outer gods and couldn't lend a hand, and the group of students from the academy seemed paralyzed by fear, not even daring to shoot.

Caroline's eyes were filled with seriousness, and she was very aware that she couldn't hold on much longer.

Indeed, it was just a minor mistake, and she was caught by the man with glasses, who hammered her brutally. "Bang" "Bang" "Bang" his fists smashed into her body, sending her flying backward like a punching bag, her crimson blood already soaking the lapel of her wet dress.

However, Caroline did not retreat an inch, dragging her heavily injured body to charge forward once again.

She thought, if she died here and someone could get the message out, it would at least reduce some trouble for her big boss behind the scenes.

The man with glasses showed no mercy, seizing Caroline again and clasping her neck with one hand as if it were an iron clamp, continuously exerting force. The intense squeezing of his fingers against her delicate skin made sounds akin to bones cracking.

Caroline's face turned purplish, veins bulging on her forehead, ready to be strangled to death on the spot.

Just then, no one heard Alexis murmuring to himself from afar, softly chanting, "Move!"

At that moment, the expression of the man with glasses suddenly changed.

Because in his shadow, there suddenly appeared an assassin holding a black dagger!

Before the man with glasses could react, the assassin stealthily slashed a terrifying, wide gash across his neck, causing blood to spray out like a fountain instantly.

Caroline felt the powerful hand on her neck lose its strength instantly, and the choking sensation finally disappeared.

She fell to the ground, breathing heavily, feeling immensely relieved and lucky that this young master had brought a Shadow Guard with him.

But before Caroline could relax, her perspective from the ground allowed her to see the "dead body's" wound rapidly sprouting some flesh-like blood tissues, which upon closer inspection, turned out to be red parasites.

"Be careful of him..."

Caroline wanted to warn, but before she could speak, she couldn't help but spit out another mouthful of blood.

The Shadow Guard was no ordinary either; he didn't fail to notice the anomaly.

At the moment the man with glasses had his throat slit, he also delivered an extra blow, digging out the man's entire heart with his dagger and cutting it into several pieces.

Unfortunately, it also didn't prevent this guy's resurrection.

The man with glasses, completely ignoring the bullets firing toward his body, slowly stood up, the blood-colored parasites quickly connecting the cuts on his neck: "Heh heh heh, death is only the beginning... You lower beings, how could you understand the 'master's' greatness."

At that moment, a sinister black-patterned cross appeared on his forehead, and the aura around his body suddenly turned chillingly sinister.

Caroline smelled the scent of a monster, her face drastically changing, finally catching her breath, she urgently cried out, "Be careful, he's transformed into a monster!"

If it were human, there might still be a chance to kill him, but if it transformed into a kind of monster that couldn't be killed, what were they to do!

Not dallying, the Shadow Guard raised his hand and delivered several swift slashes, deftly dismembering the man with glasses' limbs.

This dagger was clearly no ordinary weapon; it harbored a corrosive, deadly poison.

With each slash, the monster's wounds would rot significantly.

However, the speed of the rotting could ultimately not keep up with the monster's regenerative speed.

The more he cut, the stranger the body of the man with glasses revived by the parasites became, even merging with nearby multi-faced monsters, gradually losing any human form.

The number of red parasites bursting from the monster's body grew increasingly numerous, dense like seaweed, trapping the Shadow Guard within.

The Shadow Guard's dagger swung more laboriously, cutting ten strands only for a hundred more to sprout, never-ending...

Seeing his attacks were ineffective, he could only retreat, merging back into Alexis's shadow.

...

"Damn it! More and more monsters are coming out of the ventilation shaft!"

"Who will save us... Professor Virginia, where are you? Please come and save us!"

"..."

For the vast majority of noble descendants, studying alchemy was merely a hobby and a necessary part of their education.

They had never experienced a real life-or-death crisis.

The lower decks were being overrun by an increasing number of monsters, creating an unstoppable, unkillable tide that left everyone struggling for breath in utter despair.

Moreover, the students realized that the majority of the monsters were targeting them.

No, they were targeting Alex!

After fighting for so long, these young nobles of Luying knew something was amiss and instinctively distanced themselves from Alex.

Even those who were normally close associates made the choice for survival, with only a few staying by Alex's side to confront the monsters together.

Though Alex's forehead was already covered in sweat, his expression remained calm.

His Shadow Guard was currently using a cursed dagger, surrounded by a green ghostly fire, which was temporarily keeping him unharmed.

However, it was unlikely to hold for long.

The dagger exhibited ghostly fire abilities beyond its rank but also drained the life of the Shadow Guard.

Just as Alex had resolved to fight to the death, suddenly, he noticed a disturbance on the other side of the banquet hall.

...

From the beginning, by intentionally avoiding the young master Alex, the Ablok siblings faced relatively little pressure.
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Moreover, with Phantom Thief Kit secretly protecting them, there was no real threat to their lives.

Hearing the intense noises coming from the cargo hold, Ablok suddenly said to Kama, "Sister, I'm going to use the 'Thousand-Mechanical Demon War' now."

Hearing him, Kama asked in confusion, "Are you going to help? Didn't you say you wouldn't help earlier?"

Ablok analyzed calmly, "I didn't help earlier because I was afraid of drawing attention. Now that everything that needed to be exposed has been, if we don't help and that guy gets killed, we'll be next. Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, these monsters acting so urgently probably means there's a situation in the cargo hold that's unfavorable for them. In other words, our teacher must be confident in defeating that sixth-rank enemy, otherwise the fight wouldn't be so fierce. If we just hold on for a little while, we should be able to see the victory. And since the monsters' attacks are merely physical, our Mechanical Demon War is specifically designed to counter that, so there isn't much danger."

As he spoke, he had already taken out several mechanical boxes and glanced at the young master Alex again, adding, "Since the teacher chose to cooperate with that woman, she certainly doesn't want this young master to die. That woman is seriously injured now, and the teacher can't spare any effort to help, so naturally, we can't just stand by and watch. While they still have some fighting capability left, concentrating our forces might help us hold out a bit longer."

The siblings knew that Su Lun had left them here instead of taking them into the mini void world specifically to give them a chance to train.

Of course, there was another force at play here, that was Phantom Thief Kit.

However, his methods were very unique, and using them would almost certainly reveal his identity as "Phantom Thief Kit." Naturally, they could not expose themselves unless absolutely necessary.

Having considered this, Kama also felt it made sense and responded, "Oh."

Then, she too took several mechanical boxes out of her Storage Ring.

This was their Boyle family's heirloom "Thousand-Mechanical Demon War," but the siblings were too low-rank to fully control it, so each sibling guarded a portion.

As soon as they took it out, the dense sounds of "click" "click" from interlocking gears erupted, and intricate mechanical compartments disassembled and covered their arms, then rune armor spread all over their bodies. Suddenly, long mechanical arms sprouted from their backs.

The moment these fantastical transformer-like enhancements were donned, their combat power surged immensely and could no longer be measured by ordinary ranks.

This is the advantage of a Puppet Master—if one possesses a sufficiently advanced puppet, their combat power can skyrocket immediately.

In an instant, dozens of extraordinary arms, like long spears, charged toward the many-faced monsters and that "Hundred-Faced Beast."

The mechanical arms of the [Thousand Arms War Demon], utilizing various gear winches, each matched the strength of three to four power-type professionals.

The siblings simultaneously controlled dozens of mechanical arms to break into the mass of monsters, coordinated a few arms, and managed to subdue several beasts. They did not kill them, for as soon as the mechanisms on the arms activated, various hinges and ropes shot out, restraining each monster tightly.

The mechanical arms were not at risk of being infected by the monsters, and soon more than ten arm tips transformed into sharp rune spears, piercing into the flesh-mountain-like "Hundred-Faced Beast."

The spears, engraved with fourth-tier [Breaking the Firmament Rune], could easily penetrate the elemental barriers of fourth-tier professionals. Against such clumsy monsters, almost every stab was accurate.

"Hiss," "hiss," "hiss"...

Blood plasma erupted, the monster was pierced with many bloody holes, and several mechanical arms even penetrated the thick body of the beast, firmly embedding into the floor.

It was somewhat like embedding steel bars into a pile of mushy mud, and although it didn't completely immobilize it, it prevented the mud from moving flexibly.

The Aberc siblings knew well that the monsters could not be killed.

They did not have any delusions about inflicting severe damage on the "Hundred-Faced Beast"; they simply used various steel ropes to securely trap it.

With this massive creature controlled, the pressure on the surviving people in the banquet hall was greatly reduced.

However, at the same time, those watching the siblings maneuvering dozens of mechanical arms were left speechless in amazement.

Are all Puppet Masters this outrageously strong?

...

In the lower cargo hold of the "Queen Rodrica" cruise ship, the battle was intense.

Just as Aberc had guessed, Su Lun tested and found that he indeed had a chance to kill this Professor Virginia.

"Tsk, tsk... Second form of [C-001-Magic-Banisher]. Lucky it's me dealing with you; otherwise, ordinary folks really couldn't handle it."

Su Lun looked at the panting dark-skinned woman in front of him and felt that this giant from the reclusive sect was really unlucky to have encountered him.

This woman was extremely formidable. Her second form talent allowed her to create a "Magic-Banishing Circle" with a radius of one to two hundred meters around her body, within which any elemental energy was cut off.

This meant that within her control range, any alchemy dependent on external energy sources was useless.

It was like fighting without being able to breathe, where almost every professional only had their inner strength to rely on, and once that was used up, they would face death.

Even Su Lun's Puppetry Technique was severely limited.

The best way to deal with such an ability was long-distance casting.

Unfortunately, the space inside this cargo hold was limited, almost leaving no room for avoidance.

And this Professor Virginia herself was an exceptionally strong close-combat professional, always ready to deal damage up-close.

She likely integrated some sort of implant during her advancement that provided extra energy, not requiring external supply. This combination of profession and talent was a perfect match, directly engaging in close combat with Magic-Banishing, making any encounter headache-inducing for anyone. If caught off guard, it could lead to an instantaneous fatal outcome.

Unfortunately, Su Lun had now integrated "Isaac's Alchemical Heart," and his dark spiritual power was inexhaustible.

Even without the need to absorb and convert external energy, he possessed a limitless supply of energy.

The enemy's greatest natural advantage was instantly rendered useless, and their close-combat capabilities were also negligible.

Not to mention, it was two against one.

The gargoyles, possessing a "Four Elements Heart," didn't need external energy either and almost overwhelmed Professor Vigilia with a fierce beating.

However, Su Lun also discovered that this fellow couldn't be killed.

The bloodline worms on the walls provided her with continuous wounds' healing.

It could be said, the monsters on the entire ship were sharing her damage.

Su Lun knew he had to destroy that blood altar.

Although the outer god system and alchemy appeared nearly the same in magical manifestation, their essences were almost completely different—they were two different systems. Through the battle, he finally understood the structure of this "Blood Refining Altar."

Finally finding a chance to act, Su Lun took out the dark scythe and with several slashes, destroyed several key nodes, and through an "Element Stealing" operation, he directly crippled the altar.

In an instant, the previously intangible "Thousand-Men Blood Refining Crystal Core" suddenly materialized.

Under the desperate and shocked gaze of that dark-skinned woman, Su Lun teleported over and directly stored the crystal core into the mini void realm.

Professor Vigilia let out a piercing roar from her mouth, "Foolish and ignorant humans, do you know what you have done! You are desecrating a great deity!"

"Hmph!"

Su Lun snorted coldly, though fearless, he was not careless.

He still thought she might also have some divine will descending tactic, always ready to flee.

But after fighting for a while, he saw no abnormalities in her.

Although she was moving desperately, making a lot more noise than before, as long as it wasn't some inexplicable will descending, she was still just a sixth-level.

"Is that all?"

Su Lun concluded that this woman didn't have the ability to summon an outer god, and he felt more confident.

Suddenly, his momentum surged dramatically, his body enveloped by an invisible aura, dominantly imperious!

Showing weakness to the enemy for so long was just waiting for this moment to deliver a fatal blow.

Su Lun did not want her to escape.

He was well aware that this woman had a type of parasite inside her body, and unless her body was incinerated to ashes, it was extremely hard to kill her.

Only dominance could completely resolve the problem!

Watching Su Lun's body suddenly enveloped in dominance, Professor Vigilia was filled with shock, "Dominance type aura! Who exactly are you?!"

At this moment, she truly felt the arrival of death.

No matter how intense the battle before, she was well aware that the opponent did not have the capability to kill her. Even if that dark scythe was a rare sealing item, it was not possible!

But now it was settled!

Su Lun gave no chance for the enemy to react, raised his hand and formed a triangle with his sorcerer's seals, "Void Alchemy - Tenfold Gate Binding Technique!"

Looking out from the triangle, he could clearly see the dark-skinned woman nearby whose face was stricken with terror.

She naturally realized that the space around her body seemed to have solidified, pinning her in place as if she were "embedded" there.

After all, this woman was a professor at the Royal Academy of Luying, possessing considerable combat strength.

Trapped for but a moment, she immediately prepared to save herself, her muscles tensing visibly as she was about to forcibly break the spatial confinement.

Unfortunately for her, Su Lun's mastery of Space Law was now at a sixth-tier professional level, and trapping her momentarily was still within his capability!

He changed his sorcerer's seals once again, his ten fingers moved through the air as if grasping something, "Control Silk Secret Technique - Titan's Grip!"

Upon closer inspection, dense transparent threads suddenly appeared and solidified into a giant hand that firmly trapped her on the spot.

Su Lun, holding a black scythe, charged ahead and swung the blade toward her neck!

This time, he utilized not only the spatial rift but also a physically dominating attack.

With a "swoosh" of the blade, her head fell to the ground.

The sheer force directly shattered the nearly two-finger-thick tissue of the woman's neck into smithereens; even the red parasites attempting to reconnect were, due to missing a segment, instantly deactivated.

Su Lun didn't wait for her to have a chance to come back to life, his scythe swiftly chopped the corpse into pieces.

Moreover, due to the severe damage to the body, this woman's soul also entered a "free-floating" state.

Su Lun showed no courtesy, immediately unleashing the second stage of his reaper power, and swallowed the cluster of Soul Shards.

With that swallow, he struck it rich!

"You have stripped 'Vigilia Pozad's soul' "

"You acquired 'Sixth Tier Power-Oriented Law Insight', experience +2214"

"You stripped target's reading experience, gaining substantial alchemy knowledge"

"You acquired extensive research understanding of 'Magic-Banishing Field,' comprehending formulas [Elemental Stealing Proficiency], [Seventeen Ancient Magic-Banishing Formulas]..."

"You have acquired a fragment of a soul shard: I am the Cardinal Archbishop of the Giant Hermit Society, the church in Lington... the great deity can..."

"Spiritual Power +991"

"..."

The knowledge volume of this woman, a sixth-tier professor at the Royal Academy of Luying, was frighteningly vast.

It was like entering a library and, after much selection, Su Lun finally chose some fragments he wanted.

He had intended to strip some intelligence about the "Giant Hermit Society," but still encountered some interference from mysterious forces, managing only to get some fragments.

However, even so, he gained a deeper understanding of this foreign god sect.

This "Cardinal Archbishop" belonged to the top echelons within that sect.

Those ranking higher than her seemed to be the covert followers of the foreign deity within the royal family.

Accordingly, she knew many secrets.

Even some incomplete clues were enough to direct the specialized intelligence personnel.

Names, locations, names of buildings...

Truly following these clues would definitely yield significant gains.

Su Lun wasn't very familiar with the situation in Luying's capital; he thought about organizing the information a bit and passing it on to Mr. Hei, letting his side try to investigate first.

This Hermit Society was a small group, yet its members were all from various elite layers of Luying.

From the royal family of Luying to various members of parliament, high officials, and intellectuals.

These elitist controllers held most of society's resources, and their influence was immeasurable.

Su Lun felt that the political situation in Luying was really deplorable.

Externally, the war was ongoing, and internally, there were believers of deities causing chaos.

It was like this time's conspiracy to assassinate the young Lord Alex and sacrifice an entire cruise liner. The resources they used even involved some secretive methods from the military intelligence and the royalty, making investigation extremely troublesome. Moreover, should their plan succeed, it would undoubtedly cause a severe upheaval in Luying's political landscape.

But fortunately, since the "Faith Freedom Act" hadn't been implemented for long, the infiltration was not beyond salvage.

Su Lun thought that going to Lington this time seemed fraught with many troubles.

...

And just as Su Lun had destroyed the altar and killed that Cardinal Archbishop, the battle in the banquet hall continued.

The less than two hundred survivors remaining were fighting desperately against the monsters, but suddenly realized that the monsters could no longer revive!

Moreover, those high-ranked fused monsters seemed as if their energy had been drained, their combat effectiveness also drastically reduced!

"Look, those monsters can be killed now!"

"Good heavens, it really is!"

"..."

As long as they could be killed, these monsters were no longer something to fear.

For a moment, all manners of weapons bombarded them furiously.

In the midst of the hard battle, Aberc and Kama immediately understood something: the teacher succeeded!

The severely wounded Carolin, hearing the quieting battle din below the cabin, also realized something and incredulously thought: Did he really succeed?

Finally, with everyone's combined efforts, they killed all the monsters in the banquet hall.

No, rather than saying they killed them, it was more like the monsters seemed drained of energy, suddenly becoming incapable.

Looking over the bodies strewn across the floor, an expression of relief from having survived a calamity spread across everyone's faces.