Mechanical Alchemist

Mr. Jing's words directly broke the deadlock that Dawn Group faced.

The legendary Sea Ruins, which were said to have no way out, actually had a method of escape.

Watching Su Lun finish communicating, everyone on the deck exchanged glances, and the serious atmosphere suddenly eased.

Qian had always worn an indifferent expression, but now he was even more relaxed, laughing and saying, "I knew it, Philo should know."

Dr. Banks didn't speak, but the venomous look on his face suddenly didn't seem so fierce.

Relief filled Barrett's eyes as well.

Indeed, the "Isaac" surname seemed to be favored by fate.

To rebuild Dawn with a figure from legend was indeed a great honor.

High atop the mast, the half-grown youngsters Lolo, Kama, and Tanni, who had been eavesdropping just now, also bared their neat white teeth in a smile.

Su Lun let out a long breath.

There was a method now, but he also said, "Now we need to go to the due west of the Sea Ruins to find the 'River of the Underworld' before we can possibly get out. There are many dangers, so everyone be careful."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The magnetic field in the Sea Ruins was problematic, rendering the compass completely useless.

But the group had the "World Sea Map of Pirate King Black Sam," an alchemical item that would never allow sailors to lose their way.

And they had Tanni, an excellent navigator,

They were fully equipped to sail under adverse conditions.

...

And so, the three warships of the Dawn Group sailed calmly across the sea's surface.

The overall hue of the space in the Sea Ruins was dark aqua, like the world before dawn breaks.

The fog over the sea's surface wasn't very thick, and the water was very clear. But what was strange was that the sea water here seemed bottomless, the depths an endless blue-black. If you looked closely, your gaze would be sucked in, causing a dizzying sensation as if falling from the clouds.

Moreover, there were no marine creatures in the sea, making it eerily lifeless.

Even Tanni couldn't hear any sounds.

Unlike the previous storms and waves, there was no wind at all now, and the sea was as calm as a dead pond. The three ships were only able to move slowly forward by using the alchemical arrays on the sails.

The crew members were all on high alert.

Su Lun stayed on deck for a while, then he suddenly thought of something and went below deck.

Next to the captain's room, there was a small compartment, Pandora's private room, which no one could enter on normal days.

Knock, knock, knock!

Standing at the door, Su Lun knocked and asked, "Miss Pandora, may I come in?"

At that moment, a response came from inside, "Come in."

Su Lun's lips curled slightly, although the tone was cold, he still entered.

Upon entering the room, he was greeted by an intoxicating scent.

Pandora's body, when first created, was endowed with the most enchanting natural fragrance in the world.

That scent reaching his nose also brought Su Lun a sort of delightful pleasure.

Then looking up, that stunning visage appeared before his eyes. Thanks to the contract they had signed, he dared to look directly at her.

Hmm... indeed, her beauty was impeccable from any angle.

Pandora sat cross-legged on the bed, casting a sideways glance at Su Lun and asked, "What is it?"

Those clear blue eyes seemed to hide the world's most enticing depths. Even with a cold demeanor, that glance shimmered like the stars on a summer night.

Su Lun thought to himself, what a pair of soul-stirring eyes.

He said directly, "I want to thank Miss Pandora for your assistance in the previous battle."

He hadn't forgotten that during the naval battle, had she not blocked the attack by 'Pirate Emperor' Melidis, not to mention being killed, Su Lun himself was very likely to have received serious injuries.

Pandora listened without any change in expression, "It was only the contract."

Su Lun shrugged noncommittally and did not dwell on the topic further.

Instead, he took out the spoils of war he had salvaged from the sea earlier.

While treasures like "Heroic Spirits," "Muse Goddess's Quicksand Crystals," and "God Frey's Golden Wheat Ears" were precious, Su Lun had no immediate use for them.

However, upon re-assessing them, he found labels on these materials indicating "can carry faith."

Su Lun knew these items must be very important to Pandora.

But he also knew clearly that even though she needed them, she would definitely not ask a second time.

It was a matter of etiquette.

Su Lun thought this was also part of her deeply ingrained 'tsundere' attitude,

As well as the pride she should possess as a deity.

Su Lun said directly, "These things don't have much use in my hands for now, and it seems Miss Pandora needs them more. I've brought them to you. As part of the spoils of war, Miss Pandora is also entitled to a share."

He spoke politely, arranging the step-down all too well, just waiting for the response.

He wasn't doing this to curry favor.

Offering these items served two purposes: one, to thank her for her assistance in the battle, and importantly, they might need her help soon.

Su Lun suspected that whatever 'Sea King' resided in these Sea Ruins was a false god.

Facing an enemy that was not within the normal human category, whose methods and abilities were unknown, it would be best to consult this likewise divine lady.

Upon hearing his words, Pandora, well aware of how receiving gifts could create obligations, did not refuse, simply saying, "I understand."

Su Lun set down the Storage Ring and smiled faintly.

Having accepted the item, regardless of whether it was a trade, there was now an exchange of good will.

No need for excessive talk between the astute, Pandora clearly understood his additional purpose.

Su Lun was about to make some small talk when she went straight to the point, "The existence that controlled the storm earlier is a very special undead creature, I felt fluctuations of faith. If possible, I would still like to ask for your help."

"Oh?"

Su Lun wore a look of quiet expectancy.

As expected, that "Sea King" turned out to be a false god-like being.

Pandora's gaze narrowed slightly, and after a moment of contemplation, she said, "I want to take His faith."

The word "take" was very spiritual, Su Lun listened and his eyes flashed with brilliance before disappearing; he immediately agreed, "Okay!"

They planned to leave the Sea Ruins, and that "Sea King" was definitely an enemy.

Since Pandora had spoken, she obviously had some kind of method.

Dealing with the biggest threat in Su Lun's mind couldn't be better.

He then asked, "What do you need us to do to cooperate with you?"

Pandora looked at him, seemingly revealing a secret of her own, "You should have guessed that I have the ability to take the Power of Faith. When the time comes..."

Su Lun could guess some of it even without her saying.

Previously in the Mountain Hermit country, Pandora became "Moon Reading Great God," obviously using some special method.

Possibly, this was an "out-of-the-box setting" given to the alchemically created being by his teacher Cereia at the time of her creation.

Although Su Lun met Pandora in a rather unpleasant way, they had gradually forged a beneficial relationship and had developed a tacit understanding.

Su Lun also felt that since Pandora confirmed he was Cereia's disciple, that hostility seemed to have never been felt again.

....

While they were speaking, suddenly someone on the deck shouted loudly, "Everyone, watch out, there are strange shadows in the water!"

Upon hearing this, Su Lun glanced at Pandora and said, "I'll go out first!"

With that, he teleported and appeared on the deck.

At that moment, everyone was watching the water with their full attention, on alert.

Su Lun held a black umbrella and had already sensed clusters of cold Spiritual Bodies appearing in the water.

"Eh, aren't those the Priestesses from the Temple of Aghaparnon? What are they doing in the sea?"

"Not to mention, their figures really are impressive."

"Are these alive or dead? How can they swim in the sea?"

"Be careful, I feel something wicked about these things. They seem to be the 'Drowned Corpses' from the legends."

"..."

By the time Su Lun arrived, the crew was already pointing at something beneath the sea surface.

He too approached the ship's rail and took a careful look, to find that the water was filled with lifelike female corpses!

Blonde and blue-eyed with charming features, their semi-transparent dresses in the water made their proud breasts fully visible, and their elegant figures were crystal clear. They floated in the sea like sleeping beauties, eyes closed...

The number was increasing, and they moved through the water like fish, wandering underneath the three warships.

Su Lun's left eye flickered and he identified them.

[Drowned Corpses]

Details: Undead creatures, sacrificial offerings to the "Sea King" Francis Drake by the Temple of Aghaparnon; in other words, they are the Sea King's wives; skilled in spiritual power attacks, do not look directly into their eyes;

Having seen the identified information, Su Lun's heart tightened, and he immediately shouted through the communicator, "Be careful, don't look into the eyes of those corpses."

But it was a moment too late, the female corpses in the water suddenly opened their eyes, and those blue pupils emitted a faint glow.

Professionals of tier three and above were only slightly dazed by the sudden shout, woke up, and quickly came to their senses.

But those crew members with weak spiritual power on the battleships were like soulless shells, reaching out to grab the female corpses from the sea.

The moment they reached out, they leaned forward and involuntarily fell down.

Fortunately, Su Lun was quick to react, pulling seven or eight people who were just about to fall overboard back onto the ship with his threads, but still dozens of people fell from the other two ships.

"Plop," "plop," "plop"...

The sound of falling into the water was incessant.

"Quick, get the people up!"

"Spellcasters cast mental dispersion!"

"Medic team, inject the dazed brothers with Wakefulness Potion!"

"Open fire, kill those..."

"..."

Thousand and Barrett, the higher-tier professionals, also sprang into action, diving into the water and unleashing their powers on the group of corpses.

Su Lun deployed several mechanical octopuses, and their efficiency in slaughter was extremely high, instantly turning the water red with dark blood, with numerous severed limbs and body parts floating upwards.

Just at that moment, the lookout from the mast suddenly issued a warning, "Commander! At six o'clock there are numerous unidentified ships approaching! Not... also at nine o'clock, and three o'clock... we're surrounded!"

With these words, the tension in the atmosphere spiked instantly.

Su Lun looked up and indeed saw countless warships emerging from all directions within the mist.

Upon closer inspection, these warships looked very old and came in various styles, both new and old, the majority of which didn't match the shipbuilding style of this era. But what these ships had in common was that they were riddled with holes, their sails in tatters, and covered with a large amount of coral and other marine growth, as if they were sunken ships recently raised from the sea floor. It was a mystery how they were sailing at all...

Soon, ships broke through the mist and entered the sight of the Dawn Group. Only then could everyone see clearly that there were around a few thousand Ghost Ships, crammed with all sorts of decaying undead monsters aboard, holding their rotten weapons and staring over with their ghastly faces...

[Undead Ship Captain Drake (Gold Tier)], [Undead First Mate Anita (Iron Tier)], [Undead Sailors], [Undead Vultures]...

Because it was a monster, Su Lun identified it immediately.

Ordinary monsters, from black iron, silver, gold, even to lord-level monsters, were all present.

The numbers were so great that they were uncountable.

Barrett, as the group battle commander, also reacted immediately. He quickly assessed the situation and issued combat instructions, "Arrange the fleet in a 'line' formation, full speed ahead. Prepare the first round of cannons!"

"The first ship is loaded!"

"The second ship is loaded!"

"The third..."

In less than half a minute, all three ships' gun decks had reported back that they were ready to fire.

"Fire!"

At the command, almost two hundred cannons on both sides of the three ships simultaneously spewed flames.

There was no need to aim; the undead warships were everywhere.

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

The cannonballs hit the undead warships' hulls, immediately bursting them into countless splinters.

But, to everyone's surprise, the targeted ships that should have sunk were defying the laws of physics and continued to sail.

"Ghost ships?"

Su Lun's gaze sharpened as he realized that these ships themselves were a kind of monster infused with the aura of the undead!

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Unless completely shattered, even if riddled with a thousand holes, these ships would not take in water and sink.

This also meant that despite the fierce firepower from the Dawn Group's three warships, it did not stop the undead ships from the surrounding waves that were closing in on them.

Seeing that it wouldn't be long before they would be submerged in the tide made up of the undead warships.

Barrett was on the leading ship, Tanni was on the rear ship, and Su Lun was on the middle ship.

He unleashed the Octopus Spear, and the cross on his head nearly covered all three ships.

By his side, Kama's face was deathly pale as she prepared for what was to come.

Surrounded by ten mechanical puppets, her heavy breathing betrayed how nervous she was confronting such a situation.

A thousand people versus hundreds of thousands, even millions of undead monsters; this was a scene not everyone had the courage to face.

Especially a young girl.

Su Lun glanced at his disciple and patted her shoulder, offering a slight smile, "Relax a little. The right amount of tension can bring out the best in our bodies, but too much negative emotion can cloud your judgment in battle."

"Teacher..."

Kama trembled slightly as she turned her head to look.

She then realized that no matter what the situation, her teacher always remained incredibly composed.

Seeing the smile on her teacher's face, she suddenly felt courage in her heart and nodded seriously, "Yes."

...

"The rear ship, lay mines on the sea surface, incendiary shells..."

"Keep firing! Full speed ahead! All but the gunners, get on deck, prepare for boarding combat!"

"..."

On the ship, the members of the Dawn Group, weapons in hand, watched nervously as countless ghost ships drew closer.

Five hundred meters, three hundred meters, one hundred meters... Closer and closer.@@novelbin@@

Those who could shoot began sniping at a distance with their firearms.

For a time, the sound of gunfire and cannons blazed incessantly.

The Dawn Group was armed with Mafa standard equipment, some of the best firearms on the market, and there were even several temporary heavy machine gun positions added on deck.

"Tatatata..."

With covering fire, tons of shell casings poured onto the deck.

But then, everyone noticed a major problem: the monsters that seemed to be badly damaged could still stand!

"Damn it, these undead creatures can't be killed!"

"Truly bizarre. These monsters are blown in half, and they can still thrash around while lying down."

"Be careful, these are the legendary undead. Use Holy Light spells, Holy Light bullets!"

"..."

Nearly no one had ever seen undead creatures before.

The members of the Dawn Group looked at these unkillable monsters and felt equally troubled.

While Holy Light spells and Holy Light bullets were indeed effective, they were in limited supply, with too low an efficiency in killing monsters.

If this continued, they would eventually be worn down here.

Anxiety spread quickly.

Su Lun had been observing everything, already understanding the monsters' characteristics.

Sensing the crew's panic, he suddenly shouted, "Let the monsters board the ship later, just focus on fighting, I have a way to deal with them completely!"

At these words, as if injected with a shot of adrenaline, everyone's spirits were instantly lifted!

All members of the Dawn Group knew that "Mr. Su Lun" was someone who could always create miracles.

"Fight!"

"Fight!"

"Battle!"

The fighting spirit of the crowd flared up in an instant.

...

These undead creatures were indeed special; in this peculiar "Shipwreck Space," they were truly "dead" yet able to resurrect endlessly.

Su Lun had encountered such situations a few times before.

Because he had encountered them, he also had the confidence to face them.

A moment ago, he had also discovered that these undead monsters could indeed revive, but after being hit, their souls went from a stable state to a free-floating one.

Although they would recover after a short period, in Su Lun's eyes, that free-floating process turned into groups of harvestable "gray mist."

.....

A short while later, the Dawn Group's battleships charged like daggers into the pile of undead monsters' ghost ships.

The mechanical octopi cleared the path of undead ships with their cannons, ensuring that the three battleships were not completely trapped. But as the distance closed, countless undead monsters with rotting flesh leaped onto the ship, engaging in close combat with the Dawn Group's warriors.

Su Lun controlled hundreds of runic puppets, joining the fray.

With every sweep of the black scythe, one fell; with each punch from the gargoyle, another; the puppet legion was also slaughtering in swathes.

Clouds of gray mist rose.

Su Lun swiftly moved across the three ships, harvesting the mists.

'You harvested the soul fragments of a "Dead Sailor," spiritual power +0.7'

'You harvested the soul fragments of an "Elite Dead Sailor," spiritual power +1.1'

'You harvested the soul fragments of a "Silver First Mate of the Undead," spiritual power +3.2; you have obtained intelligence: "Lord Sea King orders, kill these humans"'

'...'

The souls of these undead monsters were very simple, almost entirely acting on instinct.

Those gray mists could only shed a bit of spiritual power and didn't hold much useful information.

As Su Lun harvested along the way, those monsters that leaped onto the deck died and could not revive.

Soon the deck was piled high with mountains of undead monsters' bodies.

But those undead creatures, oblivious to pain, still kept coming relentlessly...

The terror of the undead monsters lies in their trait of "immortality."

Now that they could be killed, their combat power was about the same as a skeleton's, not a significant threat.

Even if there was one "Gold Monster" among a thousand, it was only at the standard of a third-tier professional.

The Dawn Group's warriors were formidable, especially Qian Tiao and Barrett. One's sword qi soared hundreds of meters; the other's punches blasted half a ship with each strike, slaughtering large numbers without reasoning.

All kinds of heavy bombs were fired into the monster pile as if they cost nothing, and alchemy technology also gave these legendary creatures a clout on the head...

....

Normally, if the Dawn Group continued to confront the endless tide of monsters head-on, they'd probably be worn down to death before they even found the "Stygian River."

But Su Lun wasn't worried because that "Sea King" certainly wouldn't stand by and watch his subordinates continue to be slaughtered.

Especially since Su Lun's mechanical octopi specifically targeted his "beloved consorts" for killing.

In total, at least dozens had been killed.

Just a few sacrifices at the Temple of Aghaparnon would equal to several hundred years of accumulation.

Sure enough, as the battle raged, a warning from Pandora came by Su Lun's ear, "That guy is coming!"

It was then that Su Lun looked up and saw, amidst the distant mist, a colossal sailing ship slowly approaching!

Atop the mast of the ship hung a tattered flag, but it was still possible to make out the image of a skeleton set against a black sun.

"A Sea Emperor-class battleship!"

"Could it be... that's the 'Eternal Night Emperor' of the Pirate Emperor Francis Drake!"

"My goodness, that legendary great pirate from over two hundred years ago? I grew up on that legend."

"Is this guy the 'Sea King' from the Shipwreck?"

"..."

Seeing the over three-hundred-meter-long ship with three levels of cannon decks, everyone from the Dawn Group revealed faces of shock.

The Dawn Group's three battleships, with the best one barely qualifying as a "second-rate ship of the line."

With a single layer of cannon chambers and twenty regular-caliber cannons on one side.

The largest sailing ship currently available on the market is the "Sea King-class" battleship.

The "Princess Stika" that Su Lun had seen before was only over a hundred meters in total length, and when compared to the imposing black-sailed ship before him, the difference was simply immense.

It wasn't that larger ships couldn't be built; it was a matter of material limitations, and this was nearly the limit for sailing wooden ships.

And legend has it that there is an even higher class of ship that reigns over the sea—the "Sea Emperor-class" battleship!

Thirty years ago, Pirate King Black Sam's flagship was a "Sea Emperor-class" battleship. But after they went silent at sea, there has not been any other sail-powered wooden ship since that could be called a "Sea Emperor-class."

Moreover, upon closer inspection, Su Lun realized that this battleship was actually a legendary alchemical construct!

[Eternal Night Emperor]

Quality: Legendary

Description: A battleship made from the trunk of a "Gold Oak Tree Cursed by a Demon God," crafted by master shipbuilder Moises based on the dwarven race's "Stygian River Ship" blueprints; it has extraordinary natural corrosion resistance, unmatched toughness; the ship has wandered the Shipwreck for hundreds of years, shrouded in a rich undead miasma, and it has developed a powerful ghostly presence, making this warship sentient; it can self-repair; it can carry people to the Underworld; this is a super warship that can only be steered by a maritime overlord;

And on the deck of that ship stood a man nearly three meters tall, one of whose legs was a wooden peg.

The name displayed by the assessment was: [Sea King·Drake]