Mechanical Alchemist

The centaur Makamul looked at the guards gathering around, his expression as rigid as plaster.

Literally hundreds of thousands of Tares divine clan warriors were not a matter to be taken lightly.

Even though he was reputed to have peerless combat strength among his peers, he had no confidence in breaking through the encirclement, even if he were not in a weakened state.

Moreover, this contractual partner by his side seemed somewhat unreliable.

For example: Even until now, this "Nicholas" hadn't shown any intention of unlocking the slave collar?

"Hey…" Makamul initially wanted to give a friendly reminder.

Although he knew that anyone summoned here by the gods and demons was certainly no ordinary person, the current situation looked bleak even for a demigod.

If it came to the worst, he had even prepared to break through and flee alone. After all, besides archery, the centaurs' teleportation speed was also exceptionally superior. Betraying his teammates wasn't honorable, but it was better than having no chance of survival at all.

However, before he could speak, he saw Nicholas produce a red blood orb from nowhere. Then, with an upward movement of his hand, a vortex of suction appeared, and the orb was absorbed into his body.

Upon closer examination, the emaciated body of "Nicholas" from the past half-month had suddenly plumped up!

"Vampire?" Makamul watched this scene, greatly puzzled.

He was not unfamiliar with vampires, but… wasn't this guy a Death Magician?

It was already surprising when he knew of his high draconic lineage.

And now he was using talents exclusive to vampires?

What exactly was the background of this guy?

Before he could ponder further, guards started appearing on the surrounding dunes, and Makamul unhesitatingly drew his Elemental Bow, unleashing a volley of arrows.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh…" The elemental arrows swept through like a torrential rain, swiftly cleaning out the guards on the hill.

...

Su Lun's eyes flicked to the side and he thought that even in a weakened state, Makamul's attacking power wasn't much less than that of a typical ninth-tier.

The mythical centaur race was indeed as formidable as legends claimed.

However, just then, something unexpected happened.

The guards had already surged over like a sandstorm, and before Makamul could fire a second volley, a streak of white light flashed across the sky and struck him with a "crack," hitting him directly.

In that instant, even as a ninth-tier, being hit by the light beam felt as if a "Weakening" aura had been applied to him. His entire body felt drained of magic power, and he nearly collapsed, barely maintaining his stance.

"Not good! It's a large-scale binding!"

Makamul tried to break free, but found the light beam clinging like a spider web; no matter what he did, he couldn't rid himself of the feeling of weakness.

With a double layer of weakening auras stacked, his current combat power was barely a fraction of what he could normally muster.

The dire situation had come more suddenly than expected.

He had wanted to fight to death and break through, but with a glance, he noticed something miraculous.

The strange white light seemed not to affect that "Nicholas" at all?

...

Actually, just before the white light had flared, Su Lun had spotted the anomaly through the eyes of his raven.

Right after they had assassinated Pharaoh Cleopatra IX, a great number of runes lit up on the pyramids near the Sun Temple. These pyramids acted like the angles of a magic array, quickly forming a huge net that covered the entire space.

This was a massive binding.

Su Lun had noticed it before.

With his profound knowledge of various magic arrays, he also figured out that this array was not lethal.

Wanting to observe the functioning of this super binding, he hadn't taken action.

Then what had just happened occurred: Makamul took a hit and fell into a weakened state.

And the All-knowing Eye clearly observed everything.

At that moment, Su Lun finally understood what those runes in the slave collar were for that he hadn't understood before.

"Tsk, tsk, so that's how it is." Su Lun realized thoroughly.

The reason he hadn't unlocked the collar around his neck was precisely this.

He hadn't been affected by that restraining light beam at all, as the collar had an "identity recognition" that made the binding avoid him and target those without collars.

Su Lun had previously deduced that managing so many slaves, thousands of times the number of guards, the functionality of these collars wasn't simple.

Beyond restraining and anti-magic, the most crucial was to maintain control over a massive number of slaves in the event of chaos.

A super-binding that covered all locations had become the best means to manage these countless slaves.

And if a slave wanted to unleash their strongest combat power, they would naturally remove the collar.

Once this logic became clear, he was in no hurry to remove the collar.

In times of turmoil, the collar actually became a lifeline.

But Su Lun hadn't done nothing.

He had also modified some settings of the runes inside the collar, such as the function that allowed the controller to detonate it, and he had also tinkered with the anti-magic effects.

To Su Lun, the collar was now a tool to exploit a loophole in the binding.

...

When Makamul saw that Su Lun hadn't been affected, he was initially stunned, his eyes filled with confusion.

Then that confusion turned into a glimmer of hopeful joy.

Seeing this, how could he not guess that this "Nicholas" knew some strange tricks to break the binding!

Everyone thought they were doomed, but upon seeing Nicholas's calm demeanor, for the first time, he harbored a thought so incredulous he could hardly believe it himself: perhaps there was still hope?

But, how did he manage that?

It had always been assumed that the five summoned by the demon were of equal strength, and Makamul had thought so too.

But now, he suddenly discovered that it seemed one of them was an oddly peculiar figure.

Before he had time to think further, at that moment, the guards on the sand dune had become densely packed, and they assembled into an army, yelling, "%&...*￥...&￥..."

Although the language was incomprehensible, he understood the message: Capture that slave!

Makamul's face instantly turned a shade paler again.

Because besides seeing countless guards, he also saw more than one beast-headed human body of the ninth-tier Tares Gods!

In his own plane, as a top power experienced in numerous large-scale wars, he knew that such a level of the legion was not something one or two heroes could influence.

The brief excitement from just a moment ago vanished in an instant.

He was astonished "Nicholas" had cleverly avoided the restrictions, but he held no hope that they could break through the encirclement anymore.

In today's situation, they could only fight desperately.

How far they could rush out was up to fate.

The atmosphere became extremely tense for a time.

But turning his head, he saw his teammate's expression still as impassive as a zombie's.

Makamul wondered for a moment if this "Nicholas" had facial paralysis?

...

Su Lun was unaware that his teammate was undergoing such complex psychological activities.

Observing the approaching soldiers on the distant dunes, his eyes sharpened, and he suddenly moved!

With a fierce swing of his blade, the Power of the Laws of Death surged into [Xiupunos's Night Scythe]. The large scythe emitted a trace of black luminescence, and, without a sound, the blade sliced through the air. In an instant, a crescent moon-shaped fissure hundreds of meters long formed on the distant sand dune.

Su Lun, now a ninth-tier, was touching the ultimate boundary of human Power of Laws. The restricted weapon in his hand had now reached its ultimate power!

With just that one slash, the figures on the sand dune did not even react; everything was instantly severed into two, turning into fountains of half-bodies.

Just that one strike cleared a large area of the sand dune.

This scene left Makamul staring, dumbfounded, as the effect of that one slash was even stronger than his volley of arrows!

Only a fellow ninth-tier could truly sense the dreadful power at the level of Laws.

However, after slashing with that exaggerated power, Su Lun still seemed to be just testing out his strength, muttering to himself, "Still restricted by nearly half of my fighting power by the collar, not very handy..."

He had adjusted the Anti-Magic Rune on the slave collar earlier, but it still couldn't be fully resolved, otherwise the collar would collapse.

But this strike, being only at fifty percent strength, was already much better than the previous ten percent.

Su Lun thought to himself, "But it should be enough."

Yet, watching his demeanor, Makamul's eyes twitched uncontrollably and he couldn't help asking, "You're not affected by the collar's Anti-Magic effect?!"

Su Lun lifted an eyebrow and showed no intention of explaining.

Because at this moment, the surrounding dunes had already teemed with people.

The two were surrounded.

Su Lun glanced at the direction where the three warriors of the Sage Tier were fleeing, and then he glanced toward the direction of the Sun Temple, and made a quick decision.

He calmly announced his battle plan, "I'll charge at the front, just follow me, I'll try to protect you."

Having signed the contract, of course, he still had to protect this teammate.

Upon hearing this, Makamul glanced surreptitiously at the legion of Tares Gods covering the hills and countered, "How can we charge?"

Before confusion could surface on his face, a scene unfolded before him that he would never forget.

Tactics couldn't be explained in just a few words, Su Lun had no intention of explaining, his expression became stern, and behind him a specter of Grim Reaper rose.

Now at the ninth tier, the Grim Reaper's specter was as tangible as reality.

As soon as this dual image appeared, the terror from the Power of Laws of Death spilled forth, his whole being rose higher, gradually creating a horrifying pressure as if the real Grim Reaper was descending from hell.

With the appearance of the specter, Su Lun's momentum skyrocketed a hundredfold, finally revealing some of his strength for the first time.

Eyes fierce, he declared, "Domain: The Realm of Nonexistence."

In an instant, centering under his feet, a domain as dark as tar rapidly expanded, quickly covering the sand dune.

....

Looking at this scene, Makamul was so shocked he was at a loss for words: What's this about?

Although he knew that a very small part of humanity awakened some peculiar, rare abilities.

But witnessing this apparition, akin to the descent of the Grim Reaper, Makamul's eyes widened.

He had never seen it before, but that did not mean he could not understand the terrifying aspect of this phenomenon.

To think that it made him, a ninth-tier demigod archer, feel a hair-raising terror?

Luckily it wasn't directed at him...

Just then, Su Lun turned to look back and said, "Let's charge."

With that glance, Makamul felt as if the Grim Reaper had turned back for an instant, and immediately he felt a spine-chilling sensation.

Looking again, the man was already charging toward the thousands of guards.

"No wonder he was the last one brought by the Cursed Ship; he's so strong!"

Makamul couldn't describe his current emotions.

Although the other three "accomplices" were also strong, he could more or less understand them somewhat.

However, this "Nicholas" gave him a feeling of ever-increasing mystery, unfathomable depth!

Even after seeing his two slashes, Makamul not only failed to see through his capabilities, but found them even more enigmatic.

His instinct told him, this Death Magician, still concealed even stronger abilities!

...

Reality could no longer afford much contemplation.

When Kamul heard the call to "charge!" he saw the figure shrouded by the shadow of Death burst forward.

Kamul dared not delay and immediately rushed forward as well.

The centaur clan possessed exceptional teleportation skills, yet as he ran, he found the distance between himself and that person remained consistent.

It was this detail that made him realize the ferocity of that Nicholas.

However, what was even more outrageous was yet to come!

Kamul looked at the black domain under his feet, and though he knew it was a domain condensed by the Power of Death Laws and that it was normal for a Death Magician to have such a power, the next second, he realized how naive he had been.

He had thought that Nicholas would use some trump card, but instead, the man just plunged headfirst into that army of ten thousand!

No tactics!

Just charging forward like a brute!

This was what truly made Kamul's heart race.

Having once been the commander of an army of a million, no one knew the strengths of an army formation better than he did.

Each race had its own military system suitable for its journey of cultivation, which was like turning sand into a tower, combining quantity and quality in the most potent way.

It could be said that a leader of the eighth rank leading an army of ten thousand could unleash the power to kill a ninth-rank.

To his professional eyes, this battle formation of the Taris divine race guards seemed very formidable, almost flawless. The cooperation between legions could unleash even more terrifying destructive power.

Kamul was confident that at his peak, he might have been able to break through a few ten-thousand-man troops.

But now, it simply wasn't possible!

The leaders of the Taris divine race's battle formation included beings of the eighth and ninth rank, and even a demigod!

For just the two of them to go up against them, death was certain!

However, what Kamul had never anticipated happened right before his eyes.

That "Nicholas" charged forward, swiftly swinging his black scythe a few times, and like lightning that strikes before one can cover one's ears, he burst into the ten-thousand-man army.

Even more bizarrely, the ten-thousand-man army hardly launched any effective counterattack, and thousands of guards fell like cut wheat?

Kamul, weakened himself, instinctively charged in after him.

And then... he saw the ground littered with corpses.

They were horrifically dead, their life's essence drained by some mysterious power.

How could this be?

How did he do it?

Kamul could hardly believe his eyes, knowing that these corpses had been reaped by that domain of Death, but... could a ten-thousand-strong legion's prohibition really not withstand his domain?

Generally speaking, any transcendent capable of understanding a domain from the seventh rank upwards could more or less resist the power of a domain. And a legion formation was a whole—integrating the formation could share out damage.

Just as Kamul was filled with question marks, he saw "Nicholas" slice down a few times again and charge into another ten-thousand-man troop.

Wait!

That guy had seen the flaw in the legion and disrupted the structure of the battle formation!

In an instant, Kamul understood everything.

The more he observed, the more shocked he became.

He found that although the black scythe seemed to swing randomly, upon closer inspection, each strike precisely targeted critical points within the legion's battle formation.

Like striking a snake at its seven inches, Nicholas disrupted the overall structure of the battle formation at the minimal cost, then used his domain to reap the guards en masse!

However, having understood this, Kamul was again shocked.

I understand the theory.

But how could that guy have pinpointed a flaw in a battle formation so quickly?

It's known that each civilization's legion battle formation has its own characteristics, and well-established legion formations have very few flaws.

This was an immensely terrifying insight!

Their centaur race possessed extraordinary insight, but even Kamul himself had no certainty.

He might have been capable of doing so with one ten-thousand-strong legion, but there were dozens here!

It seemed like only a moment had passed, yet it felt as though time had stopped while a huge advisory team worked out the flaws behind him, and when time resumed, he charged forward, effortlessly devastating everything.

Yet even so, to Kamul, this seemed like a gamble with one's life!

He simply charged headlong into it. If he had not thoroughly understood the flaws, it would have been like diving headfirst into a trap filled with blades, with certain death as the only outcome.

Kamul followed all the way, his heart racing the entire time.

It felt like returning to his youth, his first time participating in warfare, completely bewildered and amazed at everything.

This was a level of intense emotional turmoil he hadn't experienced for many years.

But outrageously, that man seemed to gamble correctly every time?

He tentatively guessed that this Nicholas's insight might have been an innate ability.

A Death Magician who is a dragonkin and also has vampire capabilities, along with his Death phantom-like talent... his capabilities were already shocking enough.

Yet, what was this newly discovered terrifying insight?

Kamul had encountered many races, but none so unique—it almost felt like beholding an ultimate hybrid monster.

He knew everything, understood everything!

This was a situation he had never seen before.

Normally, a human body could not possibly combine so many special abilities.

Yet a thought flashed through his mind.

Huh...

Suddenly, Makamul thought of an ancient legend in his tribe.

Wasn't that civilization known as the "God-Thief" infamous for producing these terrifying stitched monsters?

Could it be...

However, before he could think further, Makamul glanced at their breakout direction and barked, "Wrong way! Is that the Sun Temple?!"

Seeing his teammates so fiercely making a breakthrough seemed promising.

Makamul was delighted.

But observing the direction they were heading cooled his enthusiasm by half.

Weren't they supposed to head west to meet with the other three who had betrayed them and then open the tomb's grand door?

Why head east towards the heavily guarded Sun Temple?

Before he could figure it out, Nicholas had already charged ahead.

Makamul could only follow closely.

...

In the sky, countless black crows flew chaotically.

Master Crow had now mastered the ability to split, and as long as there was enough energy, he could almost infinitely clone himself.

This also provided Su Lun with ample vision and perception.

He precisely broke through the battle formation and then went on a rampant killing spree.

He had thought it would be a bit troublesome, but the Taris god tribe guards seemed to have grown complacent. Even though they had formation enhancements, they were riddled with flaws due to lack of practice.

At most, they were a second-rate legion.

Su Lun's evaluation was that they were nowhere near the army of ten thousand on the divine plane.

This also made things easier for him, saving him a lot of trouble.

He now possessed the "God Profaner" ability and level two "All-knowing Eye," which allowed him to discern everything on the battlefield.

To him, the flawed battle formation seemed like an invitation to slaughter.

As for those ninth-tier commanders, they indeed posed a significant threat, but Su Lun had no intention of engaging them in a death battle, opting instead for hit-and-run tactics.

What they needed to do now was break out, not kill people.

And he ignored the centaur Makamul's shout of "going the wrong way" behind him.

Because Su Lun's target was the Sun Temple all along.

Though surrounded, he had already surveyed the entire field.

Had he not noticed that Dou Saint Jay, Barbarian Ralph, and Dragon Maiden Masia were also in a dire situation?

Once the restriction was set, although the trio wasn't surrounded by many, they struggled immensely.

They also had the critical task of opening the tomb's grand door, and if Su Lun joined them, it would draw the entire army to them.

That could very well end in annihilation.

Su Lun felt there was a strong possibility of that.

On the other hand, heading to the Sun Temple would make the guards think they intended to desecrate the temple, drawing all the elite troops there.

This could be considered a strategic diversion.

It would alleviate the pressure on their side and give them a chance to open the tomb first.

Besides, Su Lun had another objective: Intelligence!

After Pharaoh Cleopatra IX had died, her body remained on the site with her four ninth-tier personal guards, three of whom also died, along with a bunch of guards...

Looking at that mass of "gray mist" provided the best source of intelligence.

Now in this yellow sand realm, the biggest problem was intelligence.

Apart from the scant information harvested from the slaves about the Pyramid Tomb, they knew almost nothing.

The unease in Su Lun's heart subtly pointed toward the recently killed Pharaoh Cleopatra IX.

He had to confirm something.

And after a furious slaughter of a ten thousand-man battle group, he felt it was imperative to visit the Sun Temple.

...

Su Lun charged furiously, as fast as lightning.

Although weak, the centaur Makamul had to admit that four legs indeed outrun two, and he surprisingly kept pace.

This unexpected attack also baffled the Taris god tribe guards.

The temple guards never expected these slaves, after killing the pharaoh, to storm the temple?

However, the temple elites had chased after the three who had stolen the "Key of Immortality," which allowed Su Lun and his companion smooth access to the assassination site of the former pharaoh, touching the still-warm bodies.

But it was then that Su Lun noticed something amiss.

"No souls...?"

He had reaped the souls of the guards and the three ninth-tier guards as he came.

But he unexpectedly discovered that the soul of the most crucial Pharaoh Cleopatra IX was missing!

It had completely disappeared!

Su Lun immediately realized there was a problem.

He then looked towards the other side, where Dou Saint Jay and the others were opening the tomb's grand door, his eyes gradually deepening.

Memories flashed through his mind, extracting some highly confidential intelligence from the souls of the recently separated personal guards of the pharaoh.

In an instant, Su Lun pieced all the clues together in his mind, deducing several plausible scenarios, and mused, "Indeed, this mission is not going to be easy..."

Whether it was any scenario, they all pointed to the possibility that the glamorous Pharaoh... might not have died!