Mechanical Alchemist

```

First draft. The alternate space was filled with shattered flesh and tissue, and for some unknown reason, after Augustus’s monstrous self-destruction, the flesh fermented rapidly, emitting a hideous stench.

Luckily, Su Lun had plenty of puppets and threads. Before the space was completely filled with flesh, he managed to find what he wanted.

A ring as rustic as a ruby and a long dagger emitting red light, the treasures naturally being the "Lilith’s Vampire Ring" and the magic weapon "Siegfried’s Dragon Slayer Dagger".

As for whether there were other items in the space, such as Storage Rings and materials separated from the corpses, Su Lun planned to sort them out when he had more time.

Now, time was of the essence; he needed to flee at once.

After all, it was only after harvesting Augustus’s memory that Su Lun knew this was a creature that had lived for over a hundred years.

It was also the true power behind the Rodriguez family.

The Senior Councilor in Congress, Bog Rodriguez, was this monster’s own grandson!

Now that Augustus was dead, the Rodriguez family was bound to retaliate.

Su Lun was also relieved that this guy, probably to hide his identity, hadn’t brought any high-level bodyguards with him.

Moreover, if it hadn’t been for someone stirring up trouble in Lingdun’s political scene and launching a sneak attack last night, Su Lun really didn’t have the confidence that he could kill Augustus in his prime.

However, although the risk was great, the reward for killing this man was indeed substantial.

It wasn’t just about treasures but also alchemy knowledge and various secrets.

This old monster had been stuck at the threshold of rank seven for over a hundred years; in terms of the sheer amount of knowledge, depth of principles, and understanding of Alchemy, he was absolutely the best among all those Su Lun had harvested from!

Harvesting the knowledge of a hundred-year-old professional was not something that could be equated with harvesting that of five twenty-year-old professionals put together.

When knowledge accumulates to a certain depth, one’s ability to understand the world undergoes a qualitative change.

Moreover, Augustus was from a prominent noble family, one of the few at the pinnacle who had access to top-tier knowledge. His insight was certainly beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

But unexpectedly, he met his demise in a most unexpected way.

Su Lun didn’t know how the person behind the scenes had found out that this guy was an old monster.

But it sure did benefit him.

If he could assimilate this loot, Su Lun’s understanding of Alchemy would definitely take a huge leap forward.

But those were not the current considerations.

After securing the spoils of war, Su Lun asked the crow on his shoulder, "Mr. Crow, should we scram?"

The crow "cawed" in response: No biggie.

Reassured by this, Su Lun walked out of the "Alternate Space Gate" that had appeared once again.

...

"Guys, search! We must find those two!"

"Word from above, kill on sight! All squads, report your status!"

"The first floor corridor’s clear!"

"The second floor balcony is empty too!"

"…"

As soon as he emerged, Su Lun saw a sleazy-looking guy by the door, imitating the voices of the people upstairs, yelling, "The basement storeroom’s clear too!"

At that, the corner of Su Lun’s eye twitched.

With that sleazy manner, who else could it be but Old Cowboy?

The guy had changed into a mobster’s black leather jacket and pants, slung a shotgun over his shoulder, and wore a big gold chain around his neck. It was probably because of this getup that he had managed to infiltrate the enemy lines, evading the mobsters’ blockade.

What’s key was that nobody in the mob’s lair had yet noticed anything amiss.

Now that’s some real skill.

Seeing Su Lun emerge, the fellow quickly came over and said, "Oh dear, my dear client, you finally came out! That, um…"

Before he could continue, Su Lun saw the genuine anxiety in his eyes, and interrupted, "Amelia is still alive. My doctor is treating her right now; she should be fine."

Hearing this, Old Cowboy visibly sighed in relief.

He theatrically patted his chest and muttered to the air, "That reckless girl, I told her not to touch this case. She just had to go bam, now she’s prompted a big mess. She ought to learn her lesson..."

Though grumbling, his tone conveyed deep affection.

Su Lun didn’t hold a bad impression of Old Cowboy, despite his seeming cowardice.

Plus, Su Lun always felt that he saw a bit of himself in the man.

After murmuring to himself, Old Cowboy then remembered something and exaggeratedly said to Su Lun, "Whoa, a lot of folks have shown up outside. You need to be careful! And outside, they’ve activated some kind of barrier, flashing with blue light; it looks like a kind of spatial restriction barrier. You definitely shouldn’t use any Spatial Techniques."

Old Cowboy’s observational skills

Hearing this, Su Lun peeked through a vent in the wall and sure enough, he saw a blue barrier in the sky.

"Prism Barrier?"

Su Lun was slightly surprised.

Even without the All-knowing Eye, he recognized the sparkling blue barrier at a glance.

Because he had encountered this barrier before.

It had been used by the North Sea Fleet to limit his ability for Spatial Displacement during the battle at the City-State of Moros.

Su Lun thought to himself, "So the North Sea Fleet is involved as well? No, that doesn’t make sense; Duke Raphael and King Oleg of the North Sea are enemies, why would they cooperate now? And the North Sea Fleet should currently be infiltrated by the Lans family, so they shouldn’t be coming after me..."

But he wasn’t surprised.

Knowing that he was capable of using spatial abilities, they would naturally have some means to restrict him.

Now that he had killed someone, it was time to move on to the next phase.

That was to make him, the murderer of a top-tier noble, come to justice.

Yet, this was different than what he had expected.

Not a single sixth-rank?

```

...

In his perception, although the Martin Arms Company headquarters was filled with many people and constant noise, they were all low-rank thugs from the gang.

Su Lun had originally envisioned that by the time he came out, the place would be swarming with sixth or seventh level experts from the Lingdun police department, the military intelligence services, or some other organization.

The moment he showed his face, he would be captured within seconds.

Then the conspirator behind the scenes would have succeeded.

Once captured, Su Lun would be interrogated; only by admitting he was "Fick" would he have a slim chance of survival, followed by the phase where he was at others’ mercy.

Because he anticipated this outcome, his plan after killing August was to immediately consume a large chunk of a "Planar Crystal" and escape, denying his pursuers the opportunity.

But now, was that unnecessary?

Yet, why hadn’t any experts come to capture him?

In an instant, Su Lun reviewed all his arrangements and realized with a start, "Tsk tsk… that ’Shadow Duke’ really has significant influence."

The Lingdun police department and military intelligence were controlled by the Bonaparte royal family. Even if the various nobles had some connections there, they definitely couldn’t exert total control.

So, this couldn’t possibly be the work of Yekaterina.

The only possibility left was the query Su Lun had Sabina ask the "Shadow Duke": how much trouble could his "Smoking Pipe Gold Coin" resolve?

Now it seemed, the coin was extremely helpful.

Relieved from using a life-saving "Planar Crystal," Su Lun had no intention to waste it.

Moreover, he wanted to see what other tricks the person behind the scenes had up his sleeve without the anticipated capture. Maybe it would force some of the rats hiding in the shadows to jump out and expose themselves.

If the people who came were from the Rodriguez family, Su Lun wouldn’t mind killing a few more.

The followers of the Evil God were essentially part of a large-scale PUA scene; Su Lun didn’t think that those infested with bloodline parasites had any chance of turning over a new leaf. The best way to convert them was to send them to hell.

Besides, he could harvest some experience in the process.

The private soldiers from top noble families were usually academy-trained from various Alchemy Academies. Harvesting one of them would yield more knowledge than killing a hundred pirates.

With that in mind, Su Lun walked up the stairs, intending to leave the building directly.

The Old Cowboy had no idea how extensive the incident was and saw Su Lun walking out, he asked, "You’re... just going out like this? Wouldn’t you consider other routes?"

Then the man answered his own question, suggesting a retreat route that suited his cautious personality, "What I mean is, I took a moment to check the building’s drainage pipes earlier, and they’re quite spacious. Hmm... a bit dirty, but at least safe."

Su Lun didn’t bother to explain much, just smiled and shook his head, "I have other arrangements. Take care yourself."

The Old Cowboy, looking slightly embarrassed, couldn’t help adding his two cents, "I think being cautious is more important. I always feel... it seems to be aimed at you."

Su Lun raised his eyebrows noncommittally and replied indifferently, "Hmm. It is aimed at me."

This old detective knew that the game was set up for him with that little information, which was indeed unusual.

The Old Cowboy frowned upon hearing this but had nothing more to say.

Su Lun didn’t waste any more words and proceeded directly up the staircase.

A gang member spotted him instantly and shouted, "He’s here!"

Before the sound of his voice had fallen, a gunshot rang out, and a bloody hole appeared in the man’s forehead.

No sooner had he shown his face than the entire building instantly buzzed with activity.

Like a summer thunderstorm bursting forth, various gunfire "crackled and popped," deafeningly loud.

...

The secrecy around August’s hiding here to extend his life was extremely high.

Not to mention outsiders, not many within the Rodriguez family itself were aware.

After "Raging Bear" Lawrence from the Razor Party was killed by Su Lun, even fewer knew what had actually happened.

However, Parrot Street was the hub for various kinds of arms smuggling gangs in Lingdun, and the major gangs had just started to shake people up, setting half of Lingdun City’s underworld into motion.

When Su Lun emerged, the district was already piled high with various modified motorcycles, and gang members armed to the teeth crowded like a sea of people.

Suddenly, gunshots sounded, and the gang members at the door hadn’t even figured out what was happening before they saw a man with a steady gait emerge, holding a black umbrella to ward off the rain and carrying a black scythe in his hand.

It was this young man in black who strode out from amidst the bullets and gunfire; at that moment, a terrifying aura of death instantly enveloped the entire scene, causing hundreds of people to retreat in unison.

Su Lun looked up at the sky, and at this moment, the densely packed curtain-like rain seemed to have been stained with blood in his eyes.

A faint mist had started to rise above the district.

Lingdun with its mist, even during the daytime, appeared gloomy.

At this time, Su Lun seemed to sense some gazes and turned his face toward several open-vista towers, Delin Street at seven o’clock, Fish Market Street at nine o’clock, Tailor Street at three o’clock... It seemed like many people were hiding behind the scenes, watching the battle.

But it seemed like none of them meant to intervene.

Seeing this, the corners of Su Lun’s mouth lifted slightly, "The waters of Lingdun are indeed very deep."

...

At the same time, as Su Lun looked over, the observers on the various towers also spotted him.

From the clock tower at the crossroads of Delin Street, a kilometer away, several people dressed in black police uniforms were observing through telescopes.

The man leading them, with a goatee and wearing a Cyclops eye patch, exuded an aura of authority that demanded respect without anger.

He had three silver stars on his shoulder.

This was Megan Charlez, the Chief of Police of Lingdun’s total police force, a seventh-tier professional known as ’Solo Dragon.’

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By his side, the communicator was incessantly buzzing.

He had been here for nearly ten minutes now, watching the show without any intention to get involved.

Finally, a subordinate received a particularly troubling communication, and despite his reluctance, spoke up, "Chief Charlez, are we really not going? The word from over there is that the assassinated might be a big shot from the Rodriguez family. Moreover, the council just confirmed that the Senior Councilor is furious on the other end, demanding our force to rescue the person. The pressure from the higher-ups is immense..."

Charlez didn’t lower his telescope, his voice complex as he said, "It’s not about not going, it’s about not being able to go."

The subordinate again spoke, "But if something really happens, how will we explain to Senior Councilor Bog?"

Charlez said, "Didn’t you notice that the people from the Intelligence Department have also arrived, yet no one has made a move? The issue isn’t as simple as you think. The big shots up there are struggling for power; it’s not something we, mere police officers, can intercede in. Don’t hastily take sides; it can provoke big trouble..."

"..."

The subordinate seemed to understand but didn’t say anything more.

...

Meanwhile, eight hundred meters away on Fish Market Street, on the rooftop of a three-story building.

A few men in trench coats were also closely monitoring the battlefield.

The rain pitter-pattered down, yet eerily, it appeared to be blocked by an invisible barrier before it could wet their coats.

"Boss, are we really not getting involved? Just now, a big shot from the Congress put pressure on our intelligence service, insisting that we must catch that person from Parrot Street. We’ve been here for a while without showing up; I’m afraid there will be a lot of pressure in the department tomorrow."

"Then let the bald director worry about it himself. Who in the vast Lingdun City would dare intervene once he asks to protect this person?"

"Ah...? So we’re just going to watch?"

"What else? We can’t get involved in this matter anymore. Just enjoy the show. Haven’t you noticed that the old foxes from the police headquarters have also been here for half a day just watching? Hahaha, interesting. It looks like some big shot has set the stage, letting us clean up the mess. Now that he has stepped in, the matter has gotten out of hand, tsk tsk... The real show is about to start."

"..."

"Take note of all the department’s combat personnel who disobeyed orders, those who applied pressure, and those who used connections... Someone will deal with them later."

"Yes, Boss!"

....

Three o’clock direction, Tailor Street.

"Oh my, my darling girl, look, look, someone’s coming out! Hahaha, they’re fighting again..."

Bartolo was enjoying the view through his binoculars.

Watching the fight unfold, the Duke himself, like a true spectator, provided commentary and opinions, "Oh wow, this kid has become so much more dominant in the past few months, tsk tsk... Not bad, not bad. It seems he’s received guidance from a master. Oh, I forgot, Mr. Jing, that mysterious person from the Dawn organization..."

As he spoke, he also smirked, "But to speak of it, this kid really has some clout. The folks from the police headquarters, the Royal Security Service, and the intelligence service have all been here for quite a while, and yet no one dares to intervene. Haha, I was thinking I might need to lend a hand, but it seems unnecessary now."

Hearing this, Yekaterina, beside him, also turned her gaze over, apparently guessing something and murmuring, "I didn’t expect that person would stand up for him..."

Bartolo clearly knew whom his daughter was referring to, and he agreed, "Yeah, that person has been out of the political scene for so long. He didn’t show up even when the ’Mist Moon Coup’ was such a big deal. It’s quite something that he’s intervening now — and for this kid, tsk tsk..."

At that point, the tone of the usually serious Duke turned light-hearted as he went off-topic again, "This way, it seems that my precious daughter, your eye for people is indeed good."

Yekaterina, long accustomed to her father’s teasing, didn’t change her expression, saying, "That old man has grand visions; he only has eyes for Ruying and Alchemy civilization. Perhaps he finds the Dawn’s ideology agreeable. Approaching the end of his life, maybe he wants to leave something behind for the world to remember him by."

Bartolo listened, pulling a face, obviously less interested in political affairs.

In contrast, he continued to watch the battlefield, his curiosity rekindled, "Katyusha, who do you think that kid killed? Since he came to Parrot Street, the entire intelligence department of Lingdun has almost exploded. Just now, the intelligence group reported that there’s been a big stir within the Rodriguez family, blatantly ignoring the royal decree and assembling a knight’s order in the city. If I didn’t know it was for this matter, I would have thought they were going to stage another ’Mist Moon Coup’ like a few years ago."

Hearing this, a hint of doubt but also clarity appeared in Yekaterina’s eyes, "It seems that it must be the so-called ’Shadow of Rodriguez’ from the legends."

At that, Bartolo’s eyes shone, "Hehe, if it’s really him who was taken down, then this is going to be quite entertaining."

After a pause, he seemed to think of something else, "However, looking at the situation now, with the officials not intervening and General Rostov suppressing the military side, even top professionals can’t come. These people probably can’t keep that kid. Hehe, Duke Raphael has put so much effort into setting up this big game, and now I’m afraid it’s all for nothing, I’m really curious to see how colorful his expression will be..."

...

Su Lun burst out of the headquarters building of Martin Company.

The strongest of these gangsters, merely third or fourth-tier, couldn’t stop him at all.

However, after all, it was the firearms district, where the activity was lively, and various types of guns that could be seen on the market all made an appearance.

The best merchandise was the military firearms smuggled from Mafa.

But in Su Lun’s view, that was all there was to it.

Thousands of guns and personal cannons fired at him in a barrage, most of which were blocked by the gargoyles.

The rest, which didn’t break through the body of the "Rune Vajra" surrounded by an imposing aura.

Firearms weren’t entirely without threat, if there were enough alchemy bullets, they could still injure people.

But even the richest gangs in Lingdun couldn’t possibly burn millions on ammunition.

Moreover, whenever they faced a threatening heavy firepower spot, the Reaper’s scythe would swiftly strike several times, instantly extinguishing the threat.

Whoever dared to shoot, the next second they were certain to be decapitated.

After several killings, the streets quieted down.

Besides, the outfit of the Reaper, the crows, and gargoyles were too distinctive, and those gang members recognized the person they were surrounding was actually the legendary... "Death" himself!

Without a top professional coming, nobody could stop Su Lun.

He also had no intention of troubling these gang members who didn’t even know why they were involved in the matter. If nobody took action against him, he did not indulge in further slaughter.

Su Lun, holding his black umbrella, walked leisurely down Parrot Street.

The rain washed the blood from the bodies onto the street, and his leather boots splashed in the crimson puddles.

Su Lun looked at the "Prism Barrier" surrounding the neighborhood and then at the black crow on his shoulder.

He once again marveled at the substantial influence of "Shadow Duke", for even now he had not seen a single seventh-tier professional come to intercept him.

If no one else came, Su Lun felt he really might slip away.

However, clearly, they wouldn’t let him go so easily, at least the Rodriguez family had shown up.

Just then, he suddenly heard the "clang, clang" of orderly marching.

Looking up, at the misty end of the street, a fully-formed contingent of Gold Knights in golden armor appeared. They wore full-body formal golden armor, held long spears and huge shields, and rode on third-order magical beasts called "Scaled Bone Horses".

The entire army shone with a golden luster, looking like a golden torrent appeared on the street.

"The Gold Shield Heavy Armor Knight Legion?"

Su Lun recognized these golden knights and knew that people from the Rodriguez family had arrived.

Like Barrett’s "Sacred Judgment Legion", this was regarded as one of Ru Ying’s top-notch and most impressive military forces, with extraordinary combat power.

At a glance, there were as many as three hundred knights.

In his Soul Perception, these fellows had strong soul fluctuations, starting at the third order, with the fourth order as the core, along with several fifth-order professionals and two sixth-order legion commanders.

They were not like those scattered gang members on the street corners.

Three hundred men, their aura united as one, gave the impression of an impregnable steel wall.

It was the appearance of this group of Gold Knights that caused the gang members to all scurry away far off.

On the vast street, there was only Su Lun standing alone, confronting the three hundred golden knights whose faces were indistinguishable.

...

Seeing Su Lun with a black umbrella on the street, the legion commander raised his hand, and everyone stopped.

Then, with the knight’s spear pointed, the warhorses took their first coordinated step, and immediately, the entire legion of knights charged.

The aura of the three hundred golden knights became sharper and sharper until it converged into a visible golden spear of light!

As the sharp edges clashed, Su Lun’s pupils suddenly contracted, locked by the murderous intent of the legion, causing a numbness in his back as he thought to himself, "What strong combination attack technique from the legion!"

He had no doubts that even if a gargoyle stood in front of this charging legion, it would be instantly killed.

He had heard of the exceptional quality of the "Golden Shield Heavy Armor Knight Legion’s" heavy armor.

Looking at it now, it certainly was extraordinary.

The overall quality reached the "Gold Grade," and even the few sets of officer armors achieved the "Dark Gold Grade."

Su Lun identified the defense grade of the armor at a glance, which would not easily be broken by fifth-tier professions.

But the cost was also extremely high, a single suit being no cheaper than Su Lun’s fifth-tier puppet!

Not to mention the forging costs, the annual maintenance fees for such armor reach hundreds of thousands, often requiring taxes from a small town to support the maintenance of such knightly equipment.

Expensive as it was, it also had its value.

With this armor, it was as if there were three hundred fifth-tier golden knights here!

"It’s all about money, what a pity..."

Su Lun sighed to himself.

This legion’s charge was something even a seventh-tier professional would not dare to contend with directly, and he naturally didn’t have the capability either.

Moreover, this charge was not just a physical collision; the legion’s combination attack technique could also remotely ignite a spear force, equivalent to condensing the combat power of the entire knight order into one combined attack technique, roughly on par with… a seventh-tier technique!

This was Rudin’s most traditional and most powerful legion attack pattern.

Under normal circumstances, within the charge distance, once locked by the knight order, one would not even be able to escape.

Unless Su Lun could teleport thousands of meters away, he wouldn’t care about the knight order’s energy lock.

And clearly, these full-body armored brutes were kryptonite to his puppet legion.

With defense reaching the fifth grade, they were completely "immune" to attacks below that level of physical and magic attacks.

They also came with legion auras like inspiration, fervor, and rage, nearly immune to most negative status attacks.

Su Lun didn’t have the luxury of a three-hundred fifth-grade puppet legion, and if it came to a head-on collision, he would be instantly shattered.

The Black Scythe could indeed kill.

But if he had to hack away one by one, he wouldn’t kill many in a short time.

With that time, these cavalrymen would have already charged back and forth chopping him into mincemeat.

Unfortunately, times had changed.

The Mafa Empire had been fighting with Rudin for hundreds of years and had long studied the countermeasures to this kind of legion charge.

Su Lun had previously kidnapped a batch of Mafa mechanical engineers in the North Sea and happened to know some secret research projects.

Facing the oncoming golden surge, Su Lun didn’t dodge or flinch. With his spells condensed, the space by his side fluctuated, and with a loud crash, several strangely shaped machines appeared.

These machines looked like cannons and also like hammers.

But they were not large-caliber barrels but densely packed gun barrels like a honeycomb, with thirty-six barrels on one machine.

The Mafa military called this secret weapon the "Thirty-Six Barrels Thunder God’s Hammer."

But Su Lun felt that the name "Metal Storm" from his previous life was more fitting for a weapon with similar effects.

For a mechanical soldier, all fears start with an insufficient firepower.

As long as the firepower is sufficient, fear?

It doesn’t exist.

The top-tier Six-Wheeled Fire God Cannon that Mafa military had already revealed in battle had an extreme firing rate of 6,000 rounds per minute, which was already a terrifying number.

And the "Thirty-Six Barrels Thunder God’s Hammer" could reach up to 60,000 rounds per minute for a single barrel. The machine’s theoretical firing rate was nearly a million rounds per minute—an entirely different level.

Even the Mafa Empire considered this kind of "super weapon" to be at the laboratory stage only.

Because there was a problem—that is the volume of individual ammunition.

While the firing rate was terrifying, the premise was having enough ammunition.

A minute’s consumption of one million rounds would require a very large ammo magazine!

If one round weighed ten grams, one million rounds would be ten tons!

Su Lun’s ability with the laws of void perfectly solved this problem. He could arrange folded space inside the barrels, turning what was theoretically on paper into several physical machines.

This thing had quite a few drawbacks; it was imprecise, and loading ammunition was troublesome, but its use was simple and crude.

It could work better than shells, easily tearing apart all sorts of sturdy defense mechanisms.

Like ripping through the decks of mechanical ships, solid walls...

And, like this traditional heavy armored cavalry legion of Rudin!

Watching the oncoming golden surge, Su Lun flicked his fingers, activating the switch of the "Thirty-Six Barrels Thunder God’s Hammer."

In an instant, alchemical bullets of various colored flames poured out from the barrels, spewing forth like the breath of fire dragons.

In a moment, the Metal Storm swept across the vast street block!

...

Witnessing this terrifying and exaggerated scene.

In the distance, the various factions watching the battle were all utterly shocked!

They had never seen such a terrifying super firearm before, nor had they ever felt such an intense sensation of being left behind by the times!