Mechanical Alchemist

Just when the Dawn Era group fell into the sea ruins, numerous treasure hunting teams had already followed the treasure map to this area.

Perhaps because the fish had not yet been netted, these treasure hunters smoothly made their way into the sea ruins, joyfully excavating treasures on various islands.

While Su Lun was being pursued, in the forests south of Devil's Island.

A group of adventurers discovered an ancient shipwreck in the forest and were enthusiastically digging it out.

The forest had a rainforest climate, humid and sweltering, but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of the treasure hunters.

With every shovel into the soil, they found numerous Ancient Coins. Occasionally, various precious gold and silver vessels, ceramics, and gemstones were unearthed.

It was evident that this was a treasure ship from hundreds of years ago, laden with riches.

Having found such abundant treasure shortly after landing on the island, the crew was very excited.

"Hahaha... Captain, we've struck it rich this time. There really are treasures everywhere on Devil's Island! Just finding this shipwreck has nearly filled our hold. It's hard to imagine how much more treasure remains undiscovered in the depths of the island..."

"Exactly. Lucky we have a Captain with such reliable information, and who got hold of first-hand sea charts. When we return to Lindun, we're definitely going to shock those guild guys! Hahaha..."

"Our 'Black Panther Group' is really going to prosper this time. Oh, when I get back I must tell my son the stories of our treasure hunting, he will be so proud to have an adventurer for a father."

"But it's strange how suddenly the weather changed in this sea area, we can't even see the sun... and where did this dense aura of the undead come from?"

"Weren't there rumors that the nearby sea areas of Devil's Island were very dangerous? We did encounter a few undead creatures, but haven't seen any dangerous sea monsters."

"Who knows, maybe we're just lucky? As you know, luck is always an indispensable part of a treasure hunter's life."

"..."

The full name of this treasure hunting team was the "Twenty-Seventh Treasure Hunting Team of Prince Carnap, the Black Panther Group."

Indeed, this was a treasure hunting team sponsored by Prince Carnap of the Luying Empire, an official treasure hunting team and a well-known, established group within the "Luying Adventurers' Guild."

The leader was a burly middle-aged man with a rosacea nose, none other than the Captain of the "Black Panther Team," Red Nose Adolf Myles.

Listening to his team's lively conversations and observing the deathly still forest, he had a bad feeling and cautioned in a standard Lindun accent, "Hey, everyone be careful. 'Beibei' is very restless; it seems a great danger is lurking on this island."

"Beibei" was a sleek black panther with a glossy coat. It was a purebred from the rare mountain species of North Luying, known as the "Lan Youtong Spirit Panther." This magical beast was naturally a medium for spirits and had sharp senses towards danger, making it the best companion for Beast Tamers and many diviners.

Myles said this as he stroked his closest companion.

"Got it, boss!"

"Oh, we need to hurry a bit; more treasure hunters are coming up behind us. We need to find the 'Heart of the Four Elements,' commissioned by Lord Antonio of the guild, before they do..."

"Hey, we must be the first ones to reach Devil's Island. If that item is here, no one is going to find it before us."

"..."

The crew members dug and talked at the same time.

But just then, suddenly, a sense-oriented professional spoke, "Something has triggered the warning device I set up to the west, seems like a human!"

Captain Myles's face changed dramatically, "Someone's come? How many people?"

The man furrowed his brow and added, "Looks like... just one."

"One?"

Myles looked puzzled.

How could there be a lone wanderer on Devil's Island?

A grave expression crossed his face as he said, "Let's go and check it out."

...

At this very moment, on the western beach of Devil's Island.

"Crack~"

A crisp bone-cracking sound.

Su Lun released the head he had crushed, then gasped heavily and pulled the bone spear that the creature had thrust into him out of his body.

With this pull, a jet of blood sprayed from the wound.

He grew pale and took out a Potion to pour over the wound on his shoulder, which emitted white smoke with a sizzling sound, slowly alleviating the burning sensation caused by the undead corruption.

Su Lun had just killed this undead creature and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The undead creature, identified as "Pirate Captain Parker (Gold)," was very strong. It was likely a seventh-tier pirate in life and was fifth-tier in death.

The fact that its bone spear could penetrate his Rune Vajra Body indicated its potency.

And such a fifth-tier gold undead, there were many more among those tens of thousands of undead creatures earlier.

"Trouble is no small matter..."

Su Lun looked at the dense jungle ahead, his eyes filled with solemnity.

Devil's Island was a vast island, so large that even with the shared vision of black crows, he couldn't see the end.

Finding the Sea God's divine grace was not easy.

He originally planned to keep the "Sea King Drake" and those undead creatures going around at sea for as long as possible.

After all, the longer he held them off, the higher the likelihood of success for Qiantiao and the others.

But unexpectedly, not long after Qiantiao and the others landed on Devil's Island, the "Sea King Drake" detected something. The horde of undead creatures then abruptly switched from their previous cat-and-mouse attitude to attacking him furiously.

Fortunately, the big BOSS was probably drawn away by Qiān Tiáo, so he didn't personally pursue Su Lun. Su Lun had strong life-saving tactics, and only after exhausting all his methods had he barely managed to escape to Devil's Island.

However, killing hundreds of monsters that pursued him also depleted most of his dark spiritual power, which left him somewhat exhausted.

But now was clearly not the time to rest; he had to meet up with the main force.

Cold flames emerged from Su Lun's hands as he burned the blood and bone spears on the ground together, not intending to leave any traces behind.

Just as he was about to catch his breath and leave, he sensed a group of people approaching.

In the blink of an eye, a sleek black panther and several wind wolves emerged from the dense forest, baring their teeth from a distance.

"Beast Tamer?"

Observing these magical beasts, Su Lun raised his eyebrows, naturally sensing humans in the jungle.

Having seen numerous undead creatures, suddenly spotting some creatures of the living world improved his mood. He did not attack, but merely cast a brief glance at the magical beasts.

Yet, with just that look, the creatures took a collective half-step back, their threatening expressions much subdued, betraying a hint of fear.

It wasn't even two seconds later that more than twenty people sprung forth from the dense forest.

They brandished their weapons, displaying both puzzled and shocked expressions.

The leader, a big-bearded man with a reddened nose, stared at Su Lun standing alone and asked incredulously, "Sir, are you an adventurer?"

"Hmm."

Su Lun sized up these people, guessing some information about them; they didn't have the signature smoke-stained black teeth of pirates but looked like well-off adventurers, probably people from Emperor Luying's domain.

That big-bearded man cautiously asked, "Which group are you with? Why are you alone here?"

Su Lun knew the other party was probing his background, but he wasn't interested in conversing further with these people.

He looked at the team and noticed three people with the brand of the "Sun Slave Trading Company" on their necks, identifying them as slaves.

Moreover, coincidently, the rolled-up sleeves of these three revealed delicately tattooed anchor symbols on their arms.

Very familiar with the mark, which was the favorite insignia of Captain Barrett's group, Su Lun directly asked the three, "Are you three from the 'Sacred Judgment?"'

Even with weapons drawn towards him, he harbored no hostility towards these people, precisely because of these three.

Hearing this, the big-bearded man's expression swiftly changed from caution to wariness, "What do you mean by that?"

He didn't know how Su Lun had figured it out, but the "Judgment Group" was now wanted by the royal family of Emperor Luying, and sheltering them was a serious crime. He had risked a lot by buying a few acquaintances from a slave trader due to his past connections with the judgment group, and now, being discovered made him wary.

Seeing that the three didn't appear coerced, Su Lun also guessed some of their circumstances. After a moment of thought, he straightforwardly said, "I mean no harm. Captain Barrett is my friend. And… he's also on the island right now."

Hearing this, the three men from the Sacred Group visibly showed expressions of anticipation and excitement, wanting to ask more.

But due to caution, they neither admitted anything nor dared to speak.

Su Lun observed their defensive postures and attitudes, all indicating they didn't want him intruding into the forest behind them. He guessed they probably discovered some treasure and were excavating it. Otherwise, treasure hunters wouldn't bother intercepting anyone.

But it was impossible to explain it quickly, and Su Lun didn't want to linger there any longer. He kindly warned, "The treasure hunt on Devil's Island has been a conspiracy from the start. The high priest from the Temple of Aghaparnon has lured adventurers here to sacrifice them alive. This place is a 'Sea Ruin.'"

"Forget it, you're on your own now. Staying here will only harm you. Head west, there you'll find the River of the Underworld. If you can successfully navigate up its current, that's your only chance of leaving alive."

Having said that, he didn't look back and turned toward another direction, walking deeper into the forest.

[Sea King]Not dead, no one could leave the Sea Ruin alive.

Even his group from Dawn Era might not make it out alive, reminding them was already a sign of good faith.

...

Watching the stranger walk away, the group from Black Fang were dumbfounded.

At that moment, someone still hadn't grasped the severity of the situation, asking, "Captain, are we just letting that guy go? What if he's a spy sent by some pirate group..."

"Red Nose" Myles shook his head, his expression complex, "Didn't you notice how that man, faced with so many of us, remained completely composed from start to finish?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the black panther beside him and added, "Moreover, 'Beibei' sensed that that person is extremely dangerous!"

The words "extremely dangerous" were heavily emphasized,

Hearing this, everyone's faces changed simultaneously, the memory of the young man's composed attitude spontaneously recurring in their minds.

This realization came a bit too late.

Moreover, the stranger obviously had no interest in any treasure.

Rather, his words were deeply terrifying when pondered.

Another person asked, "Captain, how credible do you think his words were? Is this place really a 'Sea Ruin'?" Your journey continues with My Virtual Library Empire

Myles grimaced, "Even if they can't be entirely trusted, we might still be in big trouble."

The few words spoken earlier were laden with significant information.

As adventurers who had drifted at sea, who hadn't heard of the "Sea Ruin"?

The Temple of Aghaparnon was using the treasure hunt to sacrifice them alive?

Although it seemed unbelievable, it… didn't appear to have a motive for deception.

The more they thought about it, the colder the members of the Black Fang felt.

Just then, they looked toward the misty horizon at sea and slowly saw some strange shadows emerge.

"Captain, look, what is that!"

This warning caught everyone's attention.

In the midst of intense focus, a shadow emerged from the thick fog, revealing itself to be a decrepit old ship with thousands of failures.

And on the ship, there were countless undead creatures packed densely together.

Seeing this scene, everyone from the Black Panther Group, having never seen such an extravagant display, was terrified to the point of turning pale.

Myles was beside himself with fear and shouted, "Damn it, retreat to the jungle and prepare for battle!"

It turned out that Devil's Island was not without danger; the dangers had just not yet found them.

Now, they had!

At the same time, nearly all the adventure groups that entered the ruins at sea encountered attacks from undead creatures.

...

Devil's Island was said to be an island, but its area was vast; Su Lun estimated that it was at least several dozen kilometers in diameter.

There indeed were many treasures on the island; Su Lun traveled through the forest, repeatedly seeing gold and silver utensils in the mud. Digging deeper, there were sure to be treasures.

All these were the accumulated "offerings" over countless years, including some valuable steles and artifacts from lost civilizations.

But Su Lun was not in the mood to dig for treasures because at that time, the main force led by Myles had already started fighting the undead creatures.

With the enhancement of an eight-armed spider spear, he moved swiftly through the jungle, and soon, he could hear the sounds of fierce combat.

"Boom" "Boom" "Boom"...

The sounds of gunfire became clearer and clearer.

However, Su Lun did not join the battle right away; he first released the Raven of Death to overlook the entire battlefield from the sky.

From this view, the creatures in the jungle surged toward one direction like a tide.

The members of Dawn Group were completely surrounded by a sea of undead creatures, a situation worse than any naval battle; no matter which direction they broke through, endless creatures awaited them.

Fortunately, this was on land, where the undead creatures, being "the dead from the sea," had significantly reduced strength.

The Dawn Group members also found a terrain advantageous for trench warfare, and with powerful modern firearms and sufficient ammunition, they were not wiped out.

Of course, Su Lun could not stand idly by; he wielded his black scythe, followed by gargoyles, chopping and teleporting his way through.

....

"Mr. Su Lun is back!"

"Wow! It's so great that Mr. Su Lun is back..."

"..."

As soon as Su Lun rushed into the encampment, members of the Dawn Group burst into cheers.

Earlier, he had alone held off the creatures in the sea, providing the Dawn Group members with a chance to escape. Now, seeing him return safely, everyone naturally cheered and celebrated.

The battle appeared fierce, but the casualties among the Dawn Group members were not substantial.

Under the command of Captain Barrett, a professional military, the camp fought scientifically and efficiently. With three shifts alternating at the frontline managing the monsters, there was time to rest and efficiently kill monsters, and the wounded also received effective treatment.

Because the undead creatures did not revive, Su Lun initially wanted to cut off that "gray mist" when he entered, but Myles stopped him.

Now entering, he also understood why.

Previously, because no one harvested the souls, it was difficult for the Dawn Group members to kill the undead creatures, but through continued battle, they discovered a trick.

That is, in situations where the enemy numbers hugely outnumbered theirs, there were benefits to not killing them outright.

The number of creatures was vast, but the actual number that could participate in the attack were only those few circles at the core of the encirclement (very few airborne units).

Once the creatures' bodies were battered, their combat effectiveness sharply dropped, but they still occupied the front "output position".

And most of the creatures were not very intelligent; they had only a few simple instincts: to encircle and kill.

Barrett discovered this point and decisively changed the tactics.

The members of the Dawn Group now aimed not to annihilate the creatures but to batter the low-tier creatures and then pile them up outside.

This way, the creatures behind could not surge in, and the actual number of creatures they had to deal with was only a fraction of a percent, or one thousandth.

Of course, if they did not resolve the issue, the number of creatures would continue to increase, and they would eventually be exhausted.

...

Perhaps because they were being blocked, the high-tier creatures also were no longer in a hurry to come and die.

After all, the strength of the Dawn Group was not weak.

Whenever a few high-tier creatures came in, they were immediately taken down by concentrated artillery fire or beheaded by Myles and Barrett.

After killing a few more, it became a lot calmer.

Myles even had time to come over and rest.

Seeing the blood on Su Lun, she asked, "Are you hurt?"

Su Lun shook his head: "A minor issue."

Now that they were trapped, the urgent matter at hand was to figure out how to resolve the predicament.

Su Lun was puzzled and asked, "Sister Myles, what did you trigger earlier?"

Qian Tiao said, "After we landed on the island, we searched the forest for the Sea King's 'Divinity.' Then, Miss Pandora discovered an ancient stele, which seemed to document some ancient secrets. But before the 'archaeologists' in our team could decipher it, it attracted a monster."

Hearing this, Su Lun realized why the Sea King had abruptly turned around—it was because of this.

As he spoke, Qian Tiao took out the previously taken rubbings of the stele.

When Su Lun saw those twisted ancient characters, he immediately recognized them and said, "These are 'Seram characters,' a script from a bygone civilization before the Dawn Era, at least a hundred thousand years old."

Upon hearing this, the few archaeologists and Scholars who were proficient in ancient scripts were overjoyed: "Mr. Su Lun recognizes it? Oh, that is wonderful."

Everyone knew that touching the stele had attracted the monster; it must be something crucial.

The inscription had already been partly deciphered by the experts in the team, and Su Lun also understood some of it.

He didn't need to decipher everything completely. After scanning it, he pretty much understood the meaning of the inscriptions, and with shock in his eyes, he said, "This sea ruin might indeed be the burial site of an ancient Sea God named 'Himinlewa'! This Devil's Island should contain the Sea God's altar, or perhaps a grave. The inscription records the deity slaying a nine-headed sea monster and repelling invaders from the River of the Underworld..."

Listening to him, everyone appeared thoughtful.

The inscription was full of mythological stories, which didn't seem to offer any useful clues.

Qian Tiao, however, bypassed the thoughtful process and directly asked, "Su Lun, what did you figure out?"

"Hmm. Knowing this is the deity's purpose, many things can be inferred."

Su Lun nodded and picked up the currency to draw a map.

While he had been fleeing earlier, he hadn't been idle, and through the vision of the telltale bird, he had memorized the layout of some of the islands near Devil's Island.

Others didn't know what he was doing, but they all watched intently.

Su Lun's highly developed cerebral area allowed him instantly to match the map on the paper to some patterns he had seen before, and suddenly, inspiration burst forth.

He continued with his pen, linking those islands together.

Although it was only part of it, Tanni who was watching suddenly exclaimed, "Mr. Su Lun, could this be the 'Sea God Constellation' sky map?"@@novelbin@@

An excellent navigator is deeply familiar with the stars, which serve as guiding lights for ships at night.

Su Lun nodded. He had not noticed it before, but after reading the inscription, insight struck him.

Then he said, "Sister Qian Tiao, where did you encounter that stele before?"

"Here."

Qian Tiao pointed out the location.

Su Lun marked it with his pen then used that point as a starting place, drawing several mystical geometric figures, and when combined with the "Sea God Constellation," everything seemed clear.

"Religions must have followers, but the 'Pirate Emperor,' Francis Drake, was just a great pirate; he didn't have a foundation of beliefs. Hence, such belief could only come through special means... If it indeed is a god's tomb, it all makes sense."

This was some divine knowledge that Pandora had told him before. Connecting all the clues together, he immediately figured out the situation.

He pointed out a few spots and said, "The locations where his divinity might be. These three points are the most likely."

Once the pattern was drawn, they no longer had to search blindly on such a large Devil's Island—the three points were highly likely.

Watching quietly under her cloak, Pandora didn't speak, but a flicker of something different passed through her eyes as she watched Su Lun adeptly analyze the situation.

With this sudden turn of events, Qian Tiao again said, "The current situation is that we've been discovered. A large-scale breakout is impossible. Moreover, it would alert the Sea King to personally come and surround us..."

At that moment, Captain Barrett also approached and interjected, "We can hold out for a long time, Su Lun. You could take Miss Pandora and a few elite members to sneak in. The smaller target, the less noticeable."

"Hmm."

Su Lun nodded, which was also his plan.

They needed to switch roles now, with Captain Barrett and others acting as the decoy.

The situation allowed no room for hesitation. He also said, "My 'Mummy Wraps of the Ossian Iceman' can avoid detection from those monsters. Just Miss Pandora and I should go. Fewer people, easier to maneuver. Later, you can be at this position... If anything happens, you can also support each other."

Direct confrontation with the Sea King was risky.

If they were discovered, sheer numbers wouldn't help much.

The duo of Su Lun and Pandora, capable of both fighting and fleeing, was the optimal choice.

This plan almost considered everything, and people like Qian Tiao and Barrett didn't say much, just "Good! Be careful."

"Hmm."

Su Lun said this and glanced at Pandora beside him.

Pandora nodded slightly without speaking, implicitly agreeing.

...

Qian Tiao and the others reengaged in the battlefield.

No one noticed that Su Lun and Pandora stayed in the marching tent.

Alone now, Su Lun looked at Pandora and said, "Forgive me."

Pandora nodded, "Hmm."

Su Lun, without any hesitation, stood behind her and formed a very close posture with her.

This was the first time the two of them had physical contact. Pandora's body was truly unique, incredibly soft and supple, irresistibly so. The contact of large areas of skin and her perfectly sculpted body were keenly felt.

Any stray thoughts vanished almost immediately as Su Lun used the 'Mummy Wraps of the Ossian Iceman' to wrap them together, completely vanishing into thin air.