Mechanical Alchemist

Rats in the gutter only bare their teeth at you when you lift the manhole cover and see them in the darkness.

Su Lun was aware that this matter was far from over.

Instead of running away and giving others another chance to scheme against him, it was better to take this opportunity to fully overturn the manhole cover.

Besides.

If he didn't pound these guys to death one by one, he couldn't suppress the tsunami-like rage in his heart!

With a clear self-awareness, Su Lun knew he was no match for the Great Grandmaster of Puppetry, Master Aubrey.

After all, being two major ranks apart, the gap in the comprehension of laws simply couldn't be bridged by skill and experience, especially not when it came to the major threshold of a seventh-tier professional.

However, the prospect of the other party killing him was nearly impossible.

If it were any other seventh-tier professional, there might still be some hope, but since it was a fellow Puppet Master, the old man had no chance whatsoever.

...

Listening to Su Lun openly planning to kill, Master Aubrey's face darkened.

He had also paid close attention to the much-hyped battle of the Moros City-State reported in the newspapers. Indeed, there were noteworthy aspects to it.

Laymen enjoy the bustle; experts discern the skill.

In the eyes of this Grandmaster of Puppetry, it was mainly the astonishing number and the mechanical puppets that had some appeal.

As for the combat power of individual puppets, only the gargoyle seemed noteworthy.

It wasn't that he underestimated his colleagues, but Puppet Masters naturally divided into schools because of different focuses.

Some factions prioritize quantity, focusing on large-scale group combat; while others prioritize quality, excelling in small unit warfare!

One-on-one, Aubrey didn't think this "Reaper," whose reputation was shrouded in mystery, was all that strong.

Perhaps due to being accustomed to high society, the old man was about to say a few more words.

But Su Lun didn't give him the chance to ramble. With hands forming the sorcerer's seals and chanting, alchemy patterns already began to glow beneath his feet.

"Hmph! Overestimating yourself!"

Seeing that his opponent was serious about making a move, Aubrey scoffed in his heart, and his hand movements were swift.

He raised a hand and with a single sorcerer's seal, conjured a bizarre-looking puppet over three meters tall.

This puppet, despite its height, had a body shape like an enlarged dwarf, with very disproportionate dimensions.

No sooner had the puppet appeared than it swallowed Elsa whole.

The next instant, the black magic runes on the puppet lit up, its body visibly turned transparent, and it vanished before their eyes.

After completing this action, the old man's white eyebrows raised slightly, his expression seeming to say: You were so eager to kill, now let's see how you manage!

Su Lun watched as Elsa disappeared, his gaze narrowing.

But he wasn't too surprised.

He recognized that puppet as one of the old man's set of dark gold puppets, the "Seven Dwarfs: Hidden Puppet Killer."

As a fellow professional, Su Lun had to admit the quality of this puppet was very high.

And this was not just simple optical invisibility; in Su Lun's perception, that space no longer contained the "object" known as the puppet.

This was clearly a highly skillful technique of spatial concealment.

The puppet was now hidden in a subdimension.

A typical professional facing this situation would not only be unable to locate the target, even area attacks would be unable to harm the Elsa hidden within the puppet.

Too bad they were up against Su Lun.

Not to mention he could clearly sense the hair-thin spatial rift left where the puppet connected to this prime material plane, Elsa's soul vibrations in his perception were also impossible to hide.

To him, this hiding tactic was meaningless.

However, Su Lun hadn't found an opportunity for a fatal strike, so he pretended not to notice anything unusual.

He was curious to see how big the gap was between himself and Master Aubrey, who was hailed as one of the current ceilings of the Puppet Master profession.

...

As the two prepared to engage, the onlookers that had been watching the excitement scattered, rushing out of the exhibition hall.

And in the instant that Elsa was concealed and disappeared, Su Lun completed his spell, proclaiming, "Puppet Mastery · Puppet Theater!"

With the sorcerer's seal completed, fine threads emerged all over the exhibition hall.

Aubrey squinted at the threads covering the entire hall. Though unafraid, he also praised, "Your puppet secret technique is indeed interesting. Even within the guild, few can match it. However, the disparity in ranks is too great, and skill alone cannot make up for it!"

With that said, his hands also quickly formed sorcerer's seals, "Prosthesis: Dispel!"

It was fine. The ignorant young generations always doubted the power of the Puppeteer Guild compared with some 'Reaper' who came out of nowhere.

Today, he, as the chairman, would restore the honor of the guild.

As the sorcerer's seal was formed, Aubrey's face appeared mantis-like, and he grasped at the void with both hands, suddenly spraying out a large amount of black, metallic luster threads from his fingertips: "Puppet Secret Technique: Thousand-Blade Grid House!"

Su Lun's gaze narrowed when he saw the old man's thread control technique.

This was a mythological grade prosthesis, no less effective than his own "Wailing Witch's Hair," the "Silk Gland of the Scaly-winged Stone Cicada."

The mythical insect Scaly-winged Stone Cicada had long been extinct for eons, and it's a testament to the centuries-long accumulation of the Puppet Master Guild that they managed to find a retrograde breed to refine into a prosthesis.

The threads made by this prosthesis were incredibly tough and could bear high-tier runes' inscriptions. Once inscribed, they were as sharp as blades.

While the threads could not be elementalized, they could virtually cut through any obstacle in the way of the threads because of their sharpness.

Puppet Masters typically engaged in combat with methods that controlled the area within range.

Now, "Puppet Theater" was up against "Grid House."

In an instant, the threads of both parties entangled, each striving for control of the exhibition hall's domain.

```

But it was quite clear that Su Lun was at a disadvantage from the onset.

The black threads sliced through the pale blue witch's hair like scythes with ease.

Up against an equal number, the quality of Su Lun's threads was far inferior to those of the seventh-grade Master Aubrey.

Unfortunately, if the quality was insufficient, he just needed to make up for it in quantity.

Master Aubrey's painstakingly refined lifebound iron threads numbered only in the thousands, yet Su Lun's witch's hair was endless.

For every hundred strands cut, he still had ten thousand, a million more!

He also had the endless dark spiritual power provided by the "Isaac Alchemy Heart" to support his frivolous use of the threads.

Strand by strand, the witch's hair converged into bundles, and bundles into bales. If severed, they would reconnect, unceasingly entangling the black lines.

Master Aubrey's black iron threads cut into the walls of the gallery as if slicing into soft mud.

In an extremely short time, the two top-level puppet masters had silently and without a sound reduced the entire three-story exhibition hall to rubble using the threads.

...

"Boom~"

Rubble collapsed, revealing two figures amidst the wreckage.

Master Aubrey gazed at his threads being entangled and was quite shocked. Squinting at the endless threads, he mused, "So you've integrated some kind of extremely high-grade energy reproduction device; no wonder you can control so many puppets."

A regular person would experience declining spiritual power after such wasteful use of energy and wouldn't last long, but this fellow showed no signs of exhaustion; instead, the threads were gushing forth more abundantly.

In that moment,

Master Aubrey truly took Su Lun seriously.

Legends are legends, and they often contain exaggerations.

Witnessing such a strong junior puppet master for the first time, Master Aubrey instantly felt a tremendous threat.

This was still a clash where they were leagues apart in terms of class rank.

If they were of the same class, this masterful control of threads would be a challenge indeed!

Knowing he could not win with threads alone, he raised a hand and grabbed, and two dwarf puppets each over three meters tall appeared by his side.

Top-ranked professionals have an absolute control over the battlefield, far from the flawed combat of those with lower ranks. Once they find an opportunity, they don't give their opponents any time to react.

The moment Master Aubrey predicted that the threads would be at a disadvantage, he had already settled on his plan for this moment.

A red and a blue puppet materialized by his side and suddenly opened their mouths; one exhaled a jet of black fire, and the other spat out a green liquid that corroded the air into white smoke.

"Fire Mystery: Hell True Flame!"

"Water Magic Secret Technique: Great Water Dragon Technique!"

Both sixth-grade spells coalesced into two elemental serpents and charged ferociously towards Su Lun.

Wherever the water and fire serpents passed, whether it was the threads or crumbling walls, all were instantly incinerated, leaving behind two terrifying scorched trails on the ground.

This is the professional advantage of a puppet master, who can use puppets as vessels to solidify spell patterns, pre-store energy, and launch attacks in battle nearly instantaneously.

Moreover, the two puppets Master Aubrey used were not ordinary elemental spells but were enhanced by cursed objects.

One was inlaid with a "Dark System Flame Demon Heart," the other stored a "Viper Venom Sac."

These two elemental puppets themselves are cursed objects with strong curse properties, and the spells they used also carried additional fire and water poison damage.

If a real person were to cast these spells, it would involve even more complex sorcerer's seals, which would make the casting slower right from the start.

But in the eyes of Su Lun's All-knowing Eye, there were no secrets at all.

Furthermore, he himself was also a top-notch puppet maker, able to discern the operational principles of his opponent's puppets within moments of battle.

The instant he saw these near-seventh-grade puppets, he felt impressed and also extremely emotional, "Really wealthy... the royal puppet masters really are all rich tycoons. Such foundation is truly terrifying."

While strong, the cost of these puppets was also an astronomical figure.

A decent fourth-grade puppet would require tens of millions in material costs, and these two near-seventh-grade ones, just thinking about it felt like burning a massive hole in one's pocket.

Seeing some of the components were already quite old, it was evident that these were antique inherited from the elemental puppet mastery lineage.

Money is combat power; in the field of puppet masters, this is indeed very real.

Two sixth-grade sorcerer's seals were enough to turn Su Lun and the area where he stood into ashes.

However, Su Lun showed no intent to move. With a beckon, a giant bat-winged puppet appeared before him.

The gargoyle extended its arms forward, and rapidly condensed two vortex-black holes in its palms.

The two elemental serpents, several meters in diameter, surged towards him, but before they could unleash their ferocity, they were devoured by the immense suction of the black holes.

Almost at the same instant, Su Lun sensed that the "wind" around his body had suddenly been immobilized.

Another sixth-grade spell "Wind Alchemy: Wind Realm Lock"!

Even without looking, Su Lun knew the puppet hidden in the sky had made its move, just in the moment his focus was drawn to the two spells in front of him.

This was one of the seven elemental dwarves, the "Wind Howler Puppet."

This wind-element restrictor spell made the air in the area as sticky as glue, and even someone as powerful as Su Lun found it increasingly difficult to move.

Normally, such coordination would be enough to put a fifth or sixth-grade professional in mortal danger.

Unfortunately, for Su Lun, who mastered Spatial Displacement, this spell had no restraining effect.

With a slight teleportation, Su Lun avoided the ensuing onslaught of sharp assaults.

The next moment, the gargoyle's black holes pulsed with energy once again.

Looking again, the previous two sixth-grade spells came back untouched.

The water and fire serpents swept towards Master Aubrey not far off.

These were instantly cast spells, and though their power was on the lower end among sixth-grade elemental spells, their speed was extremely fast.

```

Master Aubrey watched the spell he had cast racing back toward himself, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

The elderly Grandmaster's mage-like demeanor was unshaken; with an effortless motion, he raised a hand and suddenly, a yellow barrier materialized in front of him.

The two ferocious spells crashed against the barrier and dissipated without causing the slightest harm to Master Aubrey.

Witnessing this, Su Lun muttered to himself, "Tsk, tsk, he finally resorted to using his domain..."

The output of a Puppet Master is considerable; even without their own physical involvement in battle, they can compensate for any lack of combat power through various puppets.

Yet their own defense is a significant weakness.

Therefore, the Domain comprehended by this Great Grandmaster of Puppetry was the "Domain: Absolute Barrier," specifically designed for stationary spellcasting.

With this ability, not to mention facing Su Lun, even amongst his peers, the old man was unlikely to be defeated in a short period of time.

This was also one of the most important reasons why Su Lun felt it was basically impossible for him to kill him.

But there's a trade-off.

Since it was a defensive Domain he had comprehended, the offensive capabilities brought about by his rank were greatly reduced.

Master Aubrey also lost his means of effectively killing Su Lun.

With mere puppets, it was enough against others.

But for Su Lun, it was still far from sufficient.

...

The two exchanged blows with thread and puppets for two rounds, which was over in a flash.

Now, they tacitly paused for a moment.

Su Lun, holding a black scythe, looked at Master Aubrey, radiating golden light, and said, "Master Aubrey, if you only use a bit of skill, I'm afraid you won't be able to stop me."

Although he said this, there wasn't the slightest hint of underestimation in Su Lun's heart.

Whether it was casting speed, thread control skill, control of the battle timing, or understanding of Puppetry Technique, the old man was indeed worthy of the title of Great Grandmaster of Puppetry.

He spoke this way only to witness the true capabilities of his peer Great Grandmaster within the limited time.

Legend has it that it's only when "The Seven Dwarves" all appear together that the old man reaches his strongest battle state.

Currently, he was only using a fraction of his abilities.

Master Aubrey looked at Su Lun in front of him, his gaze growing ever more solemn.

He also admitted in his heart that this was indeed the case.

Although he couldn't be defeated, he didn't see any opportunity to overcome the man before him either.

Peers understand each other the best, and after crossing hands, Aubrey was clear that although the fellow before him was insufficient in rank, his understanding of Puppetry Technique was certainly among the pinnacle of the current world.

A huge latent threat!

If such a person couldn't be kept for oneself, then it would be best to eradicate them.

At this moment, Master Aubrey truly harbored the intent to kill.

Su Lun, however, didn't give the old man time to contemplate.

Seeing the tricks of a top-tier peer was one thing, but he hadn't forgotten that his goal was to assassinate.

It was then that he pulled out a rune-inscribed black umbrella.

Next, he tore out several "Smoke Puppets," and upon activation, the puppets' mouths erupted with thick smoke that soon covered the entire ruins of the exhibition hall, rendering visibility to virtually nil.

This tactic wasn't meant to conceal his presence from a seventh-rank professional's senses but to avoid having his methods seen by the gathered reporters and onlooking crowd.

At this point, he was not in a particular hurry.

Because he was firmly convinced that until he killed Elsa, it was highly unlikely that higher-ranking professionals would intervene.

...

Su Lun and Master Aubrey fought fiercely in the exhibition hall, bringing the building to collapse in no time.

Moreover, the commotion from their battle grew larger, gradually affecting the entire street.

A thick cloud of smoke enveloped most of the street block, within which figures could barely be made out.

"Bang," "Bang," "Bang"...

The sounds of gunfire, clashing swords, exploding spells, and slicing threads... a mishmash of noises blended into one.

What was merely a fight between two Puppet Masters managed to give off the impression of an army clashing.

The elemental energies of the entire street block were thrown into chaos.

The patrolling mounted police had taken notice, but none of these first or second-rank officers dared to approach, each of them hiding behind cover.

"Quick, notify the main police station—Winery Street is the scene of a large-scale melee, involving high-ranking professionals. The number of participants is unclear, and they may be armed with heavy weaponry!"

"..."

As the commotion of battle became greater, the crowd of onlookers increasingly kept their distance.

It was at this moment that an unassuming steam car pulled up to an elevation not far from Winery Street.

Inside the vehicle, a man and a woman watched the distant battle without surprise, as if they had expected it.

"They arrived quite quickly. To think that in such a short time they've confirmed the clues and found Elsa, that person's intelligence capability is really strong."

"There's no need to be too surprised. The 'Dawn Group' had previously snatched a void resource that the Northern Sea Fleet was developing in the Northern Sea secret realm. These messages haven't been made public, and are unknown to outsiders. The Dawn Group has a large amount of void material in their hands; that person has likely fused with some high-quality void material, and their teleportation ability is very strong."

"..."

The conversation was between a man and a woman.

If Su Lun were here, he'd instantly recognize the man as William, the eldest son of the Regalith family.

The woman, however, had her face hidden beneath her cloak, indiscernible.

William watched the commotion of the battle, his brows tightly furrowed, muttering to himself, "I didn't expect that failing to kill him last time would bring me such trouble..."

He then looked at the battle and asked the cloaked figure beside him, "Can that guy really kill Elsa under the protection of Master Aubrey?"

If it weren't for the cloaked figure's solemn promise, he would never believe such an outrageous plan.

After all, Master Aubrey was a famous powerhouse in Lingen, and even he, William, couldn't manage such a feat.

Hearing this, the cloaked person spoke indifferently, "The prophecy shows that Elsa will undoubtedly die today."

After a pause, she continued, "You know who I am, so you know I have a death feud with that person. You don't have to worry about me being partial."

William listened with an expressionless face, seemingly accepting this statement, "But even if he can kill Elsa, can he really get involved in the scheme?"

The cloaked person replied, "Before, I only suspected he had some special information-gathering ability, and I wasn't completely sure what it was. But now... I've determined it must be a power similar to 'necrointerrogation' or 'mental hypnosis,' which can directly extract the desired information from a person's consciousness. Otherwise, he wouldn't have arrived so quickly. This is almost certainly related to his Tier-2 Death Talent. However, such a talent is too rare, and there is too little information available about it, so it's difficult to know the specifics..."

William's expression grew increasingly troubled.

A suspected double S-rank Talent, this posed a significant threat to him, the primary heir to the Regality family.

The cloaked figure seemed to see what was on William's mind and continued, "However, talent is irrelevant now. He is certain to die this time."

When talking about Su Lun, this woman's tone seemed to carry a deep-seated hatred.

She added, "It's not enough just to kill a young lady from the Bach family. Only after that old fellow from the Rodriguez family dies will the matter finally be settled. Once he is caught, he will undoubtedly die if he doesn't reveal his identity. Once his identity is exposed, the Lance family can't protect him either, and the strategic marriage will fall through, resulting in his death all the same. But the marriage alliance between Regality and Lance will still continue, and you, Young Master William, will naturally get what you want. Furthermore, once the old man from the Rodriguez family is dead, the political scene in Ruying will surely undergo major turbulence, and the Senior Councilors will certainly engage in intense infighting. At that time, the opportunity for the Regality family will truly arrive, and it might even be possible to completely change the empire's power structure..."

Hearing this, William's eyes narrowed slightly, and his gaze hardened.

The cloaked figure went on, "But before Su Lun kills Elsa, we absolutely cannot allow high-ranking professionals to intervene and prevent it."

William nodded, "I have already made arrangements. The alert reception at Lingen's central police station has been misled, and no high-ranking agents from the military intelligence will be going there for a short while."

At this point, he hesitated for a moment, his tone complex, "I hope that guy is really as you say, having the ability to kill Elsa."

...

Meanwhile, in a luxurious mansion in the affluent district north of the Lokwarren River.

A middle-aged man with a big beard, wearing flowery shorts, was eagerly knocking on the door of a study, exclaiming, "Oh, my darling daughter, I have explosive news!"

The servant opened the door, and Big Beard stepped in briskly.

This unkempt fellow was none other than "Tulip Duke" Bartolo Lance.

In the study, Yekaterina was leisurely reading a book. She glanced at her father as he entered, "Oh?"

Bartolo said excitedly, "I just got word that your fiancé is having a big fight with the Puppet Master Guild's Master Aubrey in the Queen's District, causing a huge commotion."

His expression was that of someone eager to join in the excitement, showing no sign of the dignity expected of a Duke.

Yekaterina listened without any change in expression, simply asking indifferently, "Why?"

Bartolo explained, "It seems one of his disciples was kidnapped by that little girl from the Bach family, Elsa. Upon confronting her, Su Lun ran into old Master Aubrey, and they started fighting."

"Oh."

Yekaterina listened, and only then did her expression show a slight change.

Her gaze scanned another line on the page before she spoke, "It seems they must be targeting the Lance family. Thinking about those with motives... it should be the handiwork of Duke Raphael and young master William."

Bartolo Lance laughed when he heard this, obviously having come to the same conclusion.

Moreover, he knew it was to sabotage the marriage alliance.

However, this didn't seem to matter to him.

Instead, Bartolo was more interested in the spectacle and asked, "Say, Katusha, aren't you planning to help? If he gets caught, this marriage alliance is definitely going to fall apart."

"There's no need."

Yekaterina seemed uninterested.

Her slender hand toyed with two dazzling purple meteorites as she said indifferently, "If he made a move, he must be confident in his actions."

Listening to his beloved daughter refusing to go, Bartolo's enthusiasm for the spectacle dropped a notch, "But... what if that kid is relying on you as his confidence to act? If you don't go, won't that be bad?"

Yekaterina raised her eyebrow, glanced at him, and shook her head slightly, "I may be one of his confidences in acting in Lington. But I'm definitely not the only one. Don't worry, he's not so easily manipulated by others."

Bartolo pursed his lips, seeming a bit uninterested, "Oh... is that so?"

He tilted his head and thought for a moment, unable to suppress his curiosity, and the fire of gossip in his eyes reignited, "Anyway, I'm going to check out the spectacle. Tsk tsk, when I beat up that kid before, I only thought he was barely passable. Didn't expect that in just a few months, he's now capable of crossing hands with old man Aubrey. He's progressed quite quickly... no, I must see this spectacle."

Seeing her father about to head out the door, Yekaterina didn't forget to throw cold water on his plans, "Father, I think you're going to be disappointed. By the time you get there, you're probably going to miss the excitement. If he's taken action, he will surely kill the man before anyone can intercede."

Hearing this, Bartolo became somewhat unhappy, grumbled, "Hey, hey, hey, I've never seen you have so much confidence in your old dad before. Is that kid as good as you say, everywhere you say?"

Yekaterina glanced at her father dismissively, too lazy to explain.

Thinking of something, the Duke muttered without the dignity of a master, "Oh, it seems I was too soft on him last time. No, I need to see him again!"

The endless prattling continued at her ear, buzzing like a bee.

She couldn't even focus on her book anymore.

Yekaterina looked at her father with a somewhat helpless expression, knowing full well that he just wanted her to join him in watching the spectacle.

She finally stood up and said, "Well then, let's go have a look. There should be more developments to come. Just a Marquis of Purple Mountain isn't significant enough. His choice to act within the city is probably also to make a big scene, to expose all those rats in the sewers to the light..."

Bartolo immediately became happy.

"Hey, let's hurry then! Maybe we can still catch the climax. Hahaha... let's go quickly, I've already had the butler arrange the carriage, it's perfect timing now."

"..."

"When do you plan on stepping out from behind the scenes to the forefront? Your old dad is ready to give up his position for you. And then I plan to embark on my own dream journey. Oh, being the Family Head is truly boring."

"Soon."

"Oh, you'd better hurry up. Otherwise, your old dad won't even be able to catch the tail end of his youth. There are so many beautiful sights waiting on the road ahead for your old dad to encounter..."

"..."