Mechanical Alchemist

The atmosphere in the slave traders' camp turned deadly at Mr. Jing's words.

What she intended to do was not just to save lives, but to resolve the Dalu tribe's plight once and for all and put an end to the slave trade within the Silent Forest.

However, this would not be easy.

The slave trade in the northern lands had continued for hundreds of years. To the slave traders, the Silent Forest was also known as the "Silver Forest."

Capturing slaves was like mining for silver, with a low input cost and massive profits.

Such a lucratively profitable endeavor could not possibly be terminated upon mere command. A "mine" so profitable would certainly not be abandoned because of someone's words.

Su Lun was well aware that attempting to reason with these people would be futile.

Nor would the backers from the commerce guilds behind them ever agree to it.

The laws of Ruying supported the slave trade, a deep-rooted environmental problem that had persisted for centuries.

But even the sudden prohibition of the law wouldn't resolve the issue.

As long as there were exorbitant profits to be had, countless people would continue to flood into the Silent Forest, and the Dalu tribe's predicament would remain unchanged.

Therefore, the only feasible solution was to make the cost of capturing slaves for these trading groups skyrocket.

The method was to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys.

The slave catchers were the biggest cost of the slave trade.

Not just now but for a long time in the future.

It might take the killing of innumerable monkeys to fully curb the wave of slave capturing in the Silent Forest.

So, when Su Lun saw Mr. Jing make a move, he knew there would be a fierce battle today.

This was an act of killing to stop more killings, where neither side could claim absolute right or wrong, but to root out certain entrenched ills of outdated systems, powerful measures were needed.

...

Upon hearing Mr. Jing's purpose, the people from "Unicorn Whale Capture" turned grim, their formation quietly solidifying into a battle array.

Su Lun glanced at them.

Previously in Cursed Valley, he had seen members of the Sacred Judgment Legion employ military formations.

Charge, defense, encirclement... The military formation could maximize the advantage of numbers.

Just by seeing this clearly well-trained arrangement, Su Lun knew that this slave capturing group had a military background.

However, they were, after all, slave capturers.

Whether it was their equipment, the ranks of their members, or the intensity of their training, all were far inferior. The pressure that these 3,000 people placed on Su Lun was not even as great as that of several hundred-strong groups from the Sacred Judgment Legion before.

....

The group leader with gold teeth, observing Su Lun and the two others, showed no fear.

He couldn't fathom the purpose of the two people in cloaks.

To risk their lives to rescue these non-humans, was it worth offending them?

Nevertheless, the man with the gold tooth also displayed enough caution, saying once more, "Such an act might not be proper, might it? We 'Unicorn Whale Group' belong to the business of the honorable Marquis Sordo, a member of the parliament. Have you considered the consequences of your actions?"

Revealing the identity of the backer was not meant to intimidate Su Lun and the others into retreat, but to avoid any misunderstanding.

Although there was information about these cloak-wearers being wanted by pirates, their origins had never been disclosed.

To these people, being hunted by pirates often meant being part of some great power in Ruying.

After all, a level six professional was already considered a top expert, and usually only top resources could cultivate one.

And the relationships amongst Ruying's top nobility were intricate and interconnected, and it was not beyond the bounds of possibility that they were acquaintances of the backer.

Better to avoid killing the wrong person and bringing about unnecessary trouble.

Mr. Jing, upon hearing this, did not prattle on, simply saying lightly, "I would not like to repeat a second time."

The slave trade was a problem rooted in the decrepit nobility system, a lingering malady. She was very clear that this was not something that could be solved in just a few words; strong medicine was required.

Su Lun, listening to this, also slightly turned his head.

Despite his sister's usually gentle and elegant demeanor, when it came to battle, she was anything but soft-hearted.

Her indifferent aura also revealed an unrivaled domineering presence, one person's force suffocating the very breath of thousands.

....

The man with the gold teeth, realizing that flaunting his backer did not deter the other party, knew there would be no turning points in this situation.

They naturally might just walk away, even if the opposition were sixth-level professionals.

After all, as retired military officers, any hesitation on the battlefield could be a fatal mistake.

A fierce look flashed through Yuke's eyes, equally decisive, and he shouted loudly, "Attack!"

It was this command that triggered the thousands of gunmen who had been ready, simultaneously pulling their triggers.

For a moment, the sound of gunfire exploded in the eardrums.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat...

In the vast forest, fire blazed everywhere.

While firearms did limited damage to high-ranking professionals, they were not entirely ineffective. "The constant dripping wears away the stone," and the quantity could lead to a qualitative change. Bullets hitting the elemental barrier continuously would rapidly drain the spiritual power of a high-ranking professional. Once depleted, they too could be killed.

....

Su Lun, watching the bullet rain pouring down, pupils slightly narrowing.

In his sight, space appeared to freeze. Countless bullets, alchemic rounds glowing with runes, flew through the air, stirring up numerous trails in the currents.

Actually, at the moment when the word "attack" was spoken, he had already sharply caught the action of the people pulling the triggers.

Were he alone, the smart thing would certainly be to dodge and leave the center of this focused fire.

But now was different, having a top-tier powerhouse by his side.

Su Lun was not the least bit panicked.

In the moment when the gunfire lit up from numerous muzzles, Mr. Jing quickly formed sorcerer's seals with both hands, uttered a detached command, "Domain: Mirror of All Aspects!"

Su Lun was witnessing his senior sister casting her domain for the second time.

However, unlike the last time, this time he witnessed the ferociously lethal aspect of the domain.

The moment the domain unfolded, a bright white light, akin to moonlight, suddenly spread from under Mr. Jing's feet. Instantly, the vast camp appeared as if covered with reflections of mirrors, those shattered fragments of mirrors looked like twinkling stars in the night sky. The scenes before everyone's eyes were like looking through a kaleidoscope, within the domain, every person could see countless reflections of themselves in each shard.

Su Lun once again felt that sense of isolation, as if the elemental forces all around had been stripped away, and couldn't help but think, "The domain's control over the laws is really strong..."

If one were truly to fight under this domain, there would be no elements to draw upon, the power of magical spellcasting would be reduced to the minimum.

Mr. Jing released the domain and extended his hand forward, palm facing outwards.

Then, the miraculous scene unfolded before their eyes.

Countless bullets and cannonballs, like a downpour from alchemy projectiles, rained down upon them.

But merely a meter away from Su Lun and the other two, it was as if an invisible spatial barrier stood in place. As soon as the bullets touched it, they disappeared without a trace.

The members of the Unicorn Whaler's slaving troupe watched this unbelievable spectacle, the shock in their eyes had not even transmitted to their brains when their expressions suddenly turned to horror.

Mr. Jing pushed his hand forward, murmuring, "Mystic Art: Material Reflection!"

In the next instant, countless bullets that had been absorbed by the mirror barrier were reflected back out.

Ding ding ding...

The rain of bullets collided with another rain of bullets, creating a flash of fire that filled the sky.

And countless more bullets and shells were shot back toward various parts of the camp!

Not all members of the slaving troupe could withstand bullets with their flesh; the lower-ranked professionals hit by the bullets elicited a continuous series of screams throughout the camp.

Mr. Jing, with his own power, had firmly suppressed the enemy's advantage in firepower.

....

"Stop firing wildly!"

"Be careful, that's a seventh-tier professional!"

"Form up, charge!"

"..."

In just that brief encounter, the members of the Unicorn Whaler's group were taken by surprise.

Even though they recognized that Mr. Jing was a seventh-tier professional, they had no intention of stopping.

They were well aware, having killed so many non-humans, if their opponent was indeed here to protect the non-human tribes, this situation was bound to be a fight to the death.

Gold Tooth Yuke very well knew that seventh-tier professionals were strong, but that didn't mean they couldn't be overwhelmed by numbers.

With his extensive combat experience, he roared and immediately changed tactics, "Machinery, form ranks, assemble for a surrounding assault!"

Steam machinery didn't need to tap into elements, so they weren't afraid of any domain control.

And this semi-official slaving troupe lacked nothing in terms of good equipment. In their ranks, they had a large amount of military machines retired from the Ruying army!

Unfortunately, he didn't know that the three people he was facing were no ordinary individuals.

After a brief moment of chaos, the slave catchers in the encampment stopped thinking about firing their guns. They assembled into units of a hundred and closed in on Su Lun and the two others.

The steam boilers roared incessantly, and the iron beasts that had been logging before now formed a killing shield wall.

Heavy mechanical warriors at the front, various professionals at the back.

This was a standard encirclement formation, and even high-ranking professionals would find it difficult to break through and get mired in the quagmire of the steel battle formation.

....

The enemy's momentum was overwhelming.

However,

Su Lun looked at those mechanically monstrous beasts baring their claws and teeth, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.

His expertise in mechanics was not low, and he could tell at a glance that the technology of these steam machines was not very sophisticated.

The technological level of Ruling was far behind that of the Mafa Empire. The mechanical equipment on those guys was not some kind of full-coverage mechanical armor. At best, it was a kind of external mechanical skeleton, useful for supporting large-caliber guns and cannons and some not so nimble mechanical arms, but far less threatening than Mafa's mechanical armor when used in combat.

In battles amongst equals, these mechanical skeletons might be able to display considerable combat power. Unfortunately, they were of no use against Su Lun and his two companions.

Mr. Jing took action, and naturally, Su Lun and Yuta weren't just going to stand by and watch.

Yuta had long despised the hateful slave catchers with the blood of her tribespeople on their hands.

The red totems on her face suddenly lit up, and chanting the revered name of the god of nature, it seemed as though the entire forest responded in kind. Wood elements, wind elements, earth elements... Various elements came together like a rainbow, continuously streaming into the magic cauldron floating beside her.

"Great god of nature above, please bestow upon me the roar of the wind spirit, summon... the Wild Wind Technique!"

"Great god of nature above, please bestow upon me the roar of the earth spirit, summon... the Earth Splitting Technique!"

"Great god of nature above, please..."

Yuta finished chanting, and spells formed in an instant.

The grade of the spells was not too high, but the amount of elemental convergence was staggeringly large.

The[Dagda's Magic Cauldron]was a BUG-like holy artifact, providing Yuta with an almost endless recovery of magic power and drawing the power of elements from around her.

A third-rank spell was forcibly enhanced by the magic cauldron to the might of the fourth or fifth rank.

When the "Windstorm Technique" was cast, ghostly howls and wolfish wails suddenly whipped through the forest. The gale that blew sent those in the war tumbling and turning.

When the "Earth Splitting Technique" was unleashed, huge ravines instantly tore the encampment into thousands of pieces, forcing the units of a hundred to break apart, their weaknesses exposed in an instant.

Of course, there was also the signature ability that only a legendary Druid could use — summoning treants!

After Yuta chanted a mysterious spell in the Dalu language, the giant trees surrounding the encampment suddenly seemed to come to life, with ancient human faces emerging from their trunks. They began attacking the people from the slave-catching team.

In the forest, there was no shortage of trees. The wood elements surged, and vegetation grew like bamboo after a spring rain.

In a flash, the vast encampment was filled with dancing treants and vines everywhere.

They entwined like a swarm of pythons, constricting, strangling, binding...

The slave-catching group, numerous as they were, was no match for the "treants," who knew neither pain nor fear of death.

For a moment, limbs were severed, screams and cries for help could be heard everywhere.

....

Yuta's move once again shocked the members of the slaver group.

It was fundamentally different from the sub-humans they had seen before.

Sub-humans were known to be weak in combat; it was common knowledge.

Those "primitives" who didn't understand the use of tools, and rarely even had iron, had almost no capital to resist against the well-equipped slaver group.

Even the Druids among the sub-humans only possessed the combat power of elite professionals of the same rank.

This was the most important reason why large slaver groups were invariably successful.

But now, what did they see?

A sub-human who seemed to be of the third rank was actually using such exaggerated natural magic?

There were experts within the slaver group who immediately realized something, and someone shouted, "She has a super-grade magical device, kill her!"

Although those treants were troublesome, killing the caster would immediately resolve the crisis.

Even if they couldn't kill her, hindering her spellcasting could provide more opportunities for attacks to the others.

But would Su Lun give them that opportunity?

Apart from the few leaders of the fourth and fifth rank, he really did not take these thousands of people seriously.

Even if he couldn't beat them, he could leave with composure.

Currently, the elite group of five hundred led by a fifth-ranker and Mr. Jing were in a tough fight and couldn't spare any effort.

The rest of them... weren't much of a threat to Su Lun.

Numbers?

For a Puppet Master, that wasn't considered a big threat.

Su Lun, looking at several clusters of soul fire approaching, naturally detected the assassins in stealth.

He ignored them completely, his hands swiftly forming sorcerer's seals, his gaze - stern: "Puppet Mastery · Puppet Theater!"

In the next instant, a giant cross appeared in the sky, enveloping Su Lun and Yuta within it.

At the same time, he raised his hand to take out a few spatial scrolls, fiercely tearing them open and shouting, "Release!"

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

The scrolls exploded in the air, and suddenly, hundreds of odd-shaped puppets appeared.

They wore exaggerated, eerie grins on their faces, staring at the several hundred-strong battalions, emitting a "gagaga" of sinister laughter.

With the appearance of the puppet legion, and the treants that had come to life, the numerical disadvantage of Su Lun's side was immediately compensated for in an instant.

....

As the puppets appeared in overwhelming numbers, clearly, for the third time, everyone in the slaver group showed incredulous astonishment on their faces.

They only then realized,

All three individuals in front of them

were monsters!

Before taking action, the slavers thought they had absolute superiority.

Now at a glance, it felt like they had poked a hornet's nest.

Touch it, and hundreds would come out!

"That guy is the Puppet Master who severely wounded the 'Sun's Desolate Hunting Group' previously!"

"Damn it, the rumor is actually true! Selt and his group fell at the hands of a mysterious Puppet Master, this guy!"

"..."

That instant, upon seeing the puppet army in front of them, those people finally realized who they had encountered.

They had heard rumors that a Puppet Master could control hundreds of puppets, yet they didn't believe it.

Now, they immediately believed it.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

....

Runes and puppets flooded the battlefield, even Mr. Jing glanced over with a slight tilt of his head.

In the midst of battle, she found the time to glance over, revealing a hint of admiration in her eyes.

After not seeing each other for so long, the moment they met, her junior brother had given her a great surprise.

But Su Lun's methods at present involved more than just puppets.

The opponents knew the tricky part of dealing with a Puppet Master, but if they killed the controller, everything would be easy to solve.

Thus, even as Su Lun summoned the puppets, dozens more stealthy assassins closed in, among them even a fourth-rank professional.

They not only wanted to kill Yuta but also targeted Su Lun.

Su Lun still acted as if he had not noticed, his sorcerer's seals pinching again, murmuring in his heart, "Activate · Release!"

The moment the third-rank gear "Spiritual Tentacles" was released, his spiritual power traveled along the threads and spread into the field.

Waiting for those dozens of stealthy assassins to enter the range of the Puppet Theater's control, Su Lun immediately readied himself.

A Puppet Master already had superb spiritual power, and usually, even if they felt the fluctuation of spiritual power, no one would think it amiss.

However, with various sensing professionals in this group of three thousand, the moment Su Lun's gear activation opened, someone suddenly shouted, "Bad news, don't get close to him! There are many spiritual power threads around him!"

Hearing the shout, the fourth-rank assassin reacted very quickly, using some technique, he teleported a hundred meters away.

Unfortunately, before the other assassins could respond, they suddenly discovered they had lost control over their own bodies and revealed themselves from stealth.

Those controlled wanted to struggle and escape with their will,

but would Su Lun give them that chance?

The moment he gained control over them, Su Lun stood in place, his right hand imitating a knife across his own neck, making a throat-slitting gesture.

The next second, a horrifying scene occurred.

The more than twenty controlled assassins all drew their daggers in unison and then, uncontrollably, made a swift cut to their own throats.

"Rip~"

The sound of flesh being torn apart rang out instantly.

Although subtle, it sent a chill down the necks of everyone present.

In a flash, it was as if the intense battle in the camp had been paused, and all eyes were fixed on the twenty or so corpses lying in pools of their own blood.

Huge gashes adorned the necks of the corpses, from which blood spewed like fountains.

In that instant, more than twenty people were slain.

Such tactics left everyone at the scene in awe and horror.

The only fourth-tier assassin who had escaped stared with wide eyes, his face filled with disbelief.

He glanced at the corpses and then instinctively turned to look at the cloaked figure with the fierce spider lance behind him. In that brief moment of eye contact, he didn't clearly see the face under the cloak, but he caught a glimpse of the gleam that flashed like a monocle.

It was this extra glance.

That was the last chance the assassin had to escape.

....

[Robert's Monocle]could create realistic illusions, provided that the caster had personally experienced them before.

This feature was somewhat mediocre for most illusionists.

After all, if you haven't died, the best your illusion can do is torment your opponent. If you can endure it, most likely, so can they.

Moreover, casting it consumed a significant amount of spiritual power.

Under normal circumstances, except for some "perverts" who had suffered greatly, the effect of the illusions produced by this monocle wasn't considered great.

At least, it was hard to kill someone with it.

But for Su Lun, the compatibility was exceedingly high.

Because he possessed the talent of the [Reaper].

He had stripped away the understanding of death from too many people, be it from gunshots, stabbings, poisonings, burnings, freezings... He alone had experienced countless kinds of profound and terrifying feelings.

Therefore, the illusions he created were absolutely more deeply real than others.

In that brief moment of eye contact, Su Lun gave that fellow an illusion of "being consumed by flames."

The pain of burning was sustained, causing one to continuously feel an indescribable level of agony.

After one glance, the assassin's face immediately contorted in severe pain, and from his throat came a hysterical scream of anguish, "Ahh...!!!!"

No one knew that, in the eyes of the assassin at that moment, his own skin appeared charred and cracked black, and even breathing sent out flames searing his very organs...

This was a type of despair-inducing pain.

The continuous illusion of pain caused his spiritual power to endure sustained torment, and his body instinctively secreted an overabundance of chaotic hormones.

Even if he could endure it without dying on the spot, this continual torture rendered his body completely incapable of fighting.

The continuous screams caused the hearts of the slave hunters in the camp to shudder.

As the slave hunters turned their gaze back to the cloaked Su Lun, fear began to appear in the eyes of more and more people.

Even more so than when facing the seventh-tier Mr. Jing.

On the battlefield, one does not fear meeting a strong enemy.

No matter how strong, there are ways to deal with them.

What's really terrifying is an enemy you don't understand at all...

Fear of the unknown naturally makes one cowardly.

Su Lun's manipulation of the mind to kill, coupled with his one-glance killing technique, caused all the enemies in the camp to bristle.

.....

The camp of the Unicorn Whale slave hunters was right beside the Emerald Holy Land.

When Su Lun, Mr. Jing, and Yuta brazenly stormed the camp, the Dalu people from within the Holy Land naturally heard the commotion.

They initially thought it was those despicable hunters testing the Holy Land's defenses and paid it no mind.

But as the sound of gunfire from the sacred grounds reached their ears, they immediately realized something was different.

Inside the treehouse, the Deer Tribe Chief, Wolf Granny, and a group of elders were still discussing the current crisis.

But all of a sudden, they found a very intense force of nature surging throughout the treehouse.

The elders were all astonished.

"The Divine Tree... seems to be responding to some kind of call?"

"No, someone is mobilizing the natural forces within the Holy Land!"

"How could that be, even if you, Clan Leader, were to..."

"..."

This exaggerated force of nature was definitely not within the capacity of any Dalu to maneuver.

Even those present could not achieve such a feat.

The elders did not understand what was happening and one after another stepped out of the treehouse.

Upon looking, they were all stunned on the spot.

Not only the natural force of the Divine Tree but also the earthy yellow of the land's earth elements, the pale blue of the river's water elements, the clear winds... Various elements from within the Holy Land were converging in a spectacular spectrum towards the southeast cliffs.

The Deer Tribe Chief, upon witnessing this heart-stirring scene, felt his cloudy eyes suddenly shaking with excitement.

His entire body uncontrollably trembled as he murmured to himself: "This is the power of the Holy Artifact! My heavens, after five hundred years, has it finally returned...?"

Wolf Granny, seeing this extraordinary phenomenon, also realized something, and her eyes became moist with tears, "I recall the elders once said, only when the Holy Artifact [Dagda's Magic Cauldron] appears, does the Holy Land radiate such colorful lights... My word, could it be that our tribe's Holy Artifact has returned?"

Hearing this, all the elders were dumbfounded.

As they looked towards the southeast cliffs, hope sparkled in their eyes.

Could it be... the great God of Nature has answered their prayers, and a miracle has descended?