Mechanical Alchemist

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"King of the North Sea" Oleg suddenly being crowned king, this news, upon first hearing it, took Su Lun by surprise.

But after giving it some thought, he no longer found anything astonishing about it.

Two great empires at war, forming distant alliances and striking nearby.

Mafa's move would bring endless trouble to the rear of Luying.

This tactic was like what Su Lun saw in his previous life from America, distributing some military equipment and economic support to regional military organizations. Without dispatching a single soldier, they could cause persistent turmoil in a region. This not only brought trouble to their rivals but also garnered a continuous stream of war dividends.

Moreover, the situations at sea and on land were entirely different.

Those pirates, though not qualified to clash with a great empire head-on.

If they couldn't beat them, they would flee.

One could foresee that this newly crowned "King of the North Sea" would become a persistent problem for the giant that is Luying for many years to come.

Irremovable, incurable.

Even the origin of this decree of kingship, Su Lun had guessed.

He finally understood what condition Mafa's men had put forward at Gadronte Harbor to acquire the "Super Mechanical Warrior blueprints."

When remembering the blueprints, it was no longer surprising to hear about Duke Raphael's obliteration of the King of the North Sea's ninth fleet.

It was most likely retaliation for the previous pillaging incident at Old Lington.

A duke pillaged by pirates naturally wanted to retaliate.

Compared to pirates becoming kings, Su Lun was more concerned about the display of power by Duke Raphael.

The fleets under the King of the North Sea were strong. Fleet captains were usually sixth or seventh-tier big pirates, the real top fighters. For instance, the fourth fleet that once raided Old Lington boasted two sixth-tiers and more than ten fifth-tier squad leaders with over ten thousand pirates, which truly had the capacity to overrun some large territories.

But sadly, they misjudged Duke Raphael's strength.

When Su Lun thought about the steel battleship he once saw, which was an extreme exaggeration, it wasn't something any pirate fleet could sink - a super battleship.

Old Lington's malformed industrial society enabled Duke Raphael to possess many technologies far beyond the times. Technological levels were much higher than the average within the Luying Empire, and even in areas such as "Neuro-Mechanical Technology," they surpassed even Mafa Empire, known as the Mechanical Holy Land.

Yet, with such a strong foundation, Su Lun gleaned from the extracted memories that Duke Raphael was a marginal figure in the top echelons of Luying's power center.

Su Lun had his doubts about why.

But only when he saw the young master William from the Rega family appear on that steel giant did he understand that those who become great lords are all deep and cunning old foxes.

This was a true crocodile lurking beneath the surface, and the league had gained an ambitious member.

Its purpose was now crystal clear.

However, Su Lun had no interest in the power struggles among the higher lords.

Now that the North Sea was in chaos, he also wanted to see if he could fish in troubled waters.

.....

Two months ago, when Su Lun came to Blizzard City, the city was orderly.

As the only human city near Silent Forest, it attracted numerous merchants and adventurers. Because of this, commercial activity in the city thrived. Although there were quite a few pirates around, everyone tacitly accepted the city's no-weapons rules because this was a base for pirates to dispose of their loot and resupply.

But things were different now, with Oleg being crowned, pirates fell into revelry, and the original order was broken.

All legitimate businesses in Blizzard City were looted, and no normal merchants dared come by. The once prosperous Blizzard City became desolate and dilapidated in an instant.

Today's weather was not too good, the sky a leaden gray, and large snowflakes fell from the sky.

In the city, most shops were empty, and from the broken doors, windows, and walls you could see the remnants of the recent fierce looting.

There were no city guards anymore, and the accumulated snow, which had not been cleared, was several meters high.

On the main street, there was only a small path trampled by pedestrians that was passable.

Su Lun, dressed in a black trench coat, walked out of an informant's pub, holding a black umbrella, with a crow perched on his shoulder.

"Seems like I've been put on the wanted list..."

As Su Lun walked, he mulled over in his mind.

He had just gone to the pub to gather some information and had learned about some of the latest news from the outside world.

Su Lun also paid special attention to news about himself.

As expected, he was wanted.

Both pirates and Luying's slave traders had placed a bounty on the "Gold-Patterned Cloak man."

Mr. Jing's bounty was the highest, reaching ten billion liso, which was already the bounty level of a sixth-tier big pirate.

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He, Su Lun, ranked second, with a bounty of 188 million Lixos.

However, the good news was, the wanted poster only had descriptions of a Gold-Patterned Cloak and his puppetry ability, without any other details.

Other members of the Mirror Organization were also keeping a low profile, with almost no news about them.

"Now, once I use my powers, I'll have to eradicate all witnesses..."

Thinking of something, Su Lun smacked his lips and didn't take it to heart.

With such vague descriptions on the wanted poster, he felt it would be difficult for anyone to target him if he remained cautious.

Walking through the snow, he followed his memory towards the entertainment district of the eastern city, planning to make a trip to the agreed-upon "Sailor Tavern."

He had contacted Qian Tiao yesterday, considering the time, she should have already arrived in Blizzard City.
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Su Lun was going to meet her first.

One reason was to catch up on old times.

The other was that Qian Tiao said she had news about "Rune Warlock."

The number of pedestrians on the street was small, not like the times when wealthy merchants and noblewomen used to shop. Now, even if there were pedestrians, they were mostly in groups; they were likely either pirates or fully armed adventurers. Their expressions were hurried, and no one dared to linger on the streets.

As he walked, Su Lun realized a few menacing gazes were fixed on him.

He wasn't surprised in the slightest.

Last night at the inn, he had killed two groups of thieves who snuck in at midnight.

The most outrageous part was that neither his killings nor the deaths of those guys caused any excessive reaction from anyone.

After the bodies were discovered, the owner, patiently holding a musket, skillfully threw them into the alley behind the inn, where they froze into ice pops in the snow.

Blizzard City was now a place of utter disorder.

Robbery, revenge killings, and rape were all too common.

Before long, only a few sounds of cats scurrying were heard, and the snow in the alley concealed three still-warm bodies.

Without drawing any attention, Su Lun covered his face again with his scarf and stepped back out, wandering into the snowstorm.

....

When Su Lun returned to Blizzard City, a fleet that had left Blizzard City nearly half a month ago was about to arrive at Gadronte Harbor.

Among the fleet was an inconspicuous three-masted ship.

Yet no one knew that the interior of this ship was extraordinarily luxurious.

In the captain's room, brilliant crystal lights illuminated the space, pure gold and silver instruments on the mahogany navigator's table glinted. Embroidered on the tablecloth's corners were noble crests of tulips and eagles belonging to the Lans family, a prominent ruler of six northern provinces, and this was their secret ship.

A breathtakingly beautiful girl with purple hair was currently standing in front of the wall hung with North Sea naval charts, lazily examining the densely marked coordinates.

In her arms, she also held an equally lethargic long-haired white cat.

At the door of the captain's room stood an old butler with downcast eyes, reporting something, "Miss, our arrangements left in Blizzard City have mostly been destroyed by those pirates. Those pirates have great ambitions and seem to be intent on eradicating all powers in the North Sea that don't belong to them. Mafa has also transported a large amount of military equipment over with submarine ironclad ships. It seems they are preparing to build a mechanical fleet for those pirates. The threat to us in the future... may be substantial..."

Hearing this, the purple-haired girl showed no surprise and continued to look at the sea chart.

The old butler waited patiently.

After pondering for a moment, as if she found interest in speaking, the girl finally spoke, her response indifferent, "Let those Viking pirates have a taste of power, then. Heh, they really think becoming a ruler is as easy as being a pirate? Capturing territory is easy, but what about afterward? Being a pirate without constraints is one thing, but once they start playing politics in the open, those pirates aren't even fit to carry shoes for the parliament's old foxes."

She paused, then added, "Pirates will always be pirates, nothing noteworthy beyond their brute force. They'll quiet down after stirring trouble for a while."

The old butler then said, "Miss, does that mean... we should pull our people back?"

"No."

The purple-haired girl shook her head, her beautiful purple eyes sparkling with insight, "With the North Sea being so lively, how can we not enjoy the spectacle? If we really withdrew, Mafa's plans would go too smoothly. With so much the family has invested in the North Sea over the years, we can't let others reap the fruits..."

The old butler asked, "Then we...?"

The purple-haired girl said with a meaningful tone, "It's not as complicated as you think. We don't need to confront those pirates head-on at all."

She continued, "Most pirates can't even do mathematics. They don't even know how to set tax rates, let alone understand economics. Even if they loot wealth, they only know how to hoard and let it rot in their private vaults, oblivious to the uses of a bank. Since they lack such talents, we might as well provide them. Weren't there still some survivors from the last 'Fog Moon Rebellion'? Now would be the perfect time to put them to use, send them over."

Coming to a thought, the purple-haired girl took a pause.

Her gaze narrowed slightly, and she said in a deeper tone, "That Oleg thinks he can be a lord, so let's help him be one..."

The old butler, catching on to the true cunning of the strategy, flickered a moment of astonishment, then nodded respectfully, "Yes."

After a pause, he added, "Oh, Miss. There's another piece of news."

Before the purple-haired girl could inquire, he stated outright, "Duke Rafael's patrol fleet encountered Oleg's Ninth Fleet near the Berman Archipelago five days ago. A large battle ensued, and the pirate fleet was annihilated. It's said that Duke Rafael has mastered a very advanced warship technology and now possesses an ironclad fleet whose strength is uncertain but might be stronger than the Imperial Navy..."

Hearing this, the purple-haired girl finally raised an eyebrow.

She did not seem surprised, merely sighed and said, "Not just us, everyone in the empire had underestimated that nouveau riche."

Despite some officials being replaced year after year, the noble social stratum at the top of the Luying Empire had long become rigid. The wealth accumulated by the great nobles over hundreds of years was simply unimaginable for ordinary people.

They controlled everything.

Parliament seats, banks, social resources, wealth, population, were in fact all in the hands of those few top families. Whichever way they were shuffled, it was still their people.

As long as Luying did not collapse, there would be almost no major changes in the overall pattern.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, even if a newly risen noble struggles, they could at most sip some soup but must not think about eating the meat.

Should someone dare harbor thoughts of eating the meat, they would immediately be strangled in the cradle by those big shots.

However, technology was an exception.

Before this, no one knew that steam machinery technology would develop so rapidly, nor did they know its potential would be so immense.

Duke Raphael operated quietly for three generations and overtook on the curve.

An entirely isolated mine had also created such conditions for them.

By the time the empire's bigwigs truly reacted, everything was beyond retrieval.

....

The old butler said thus far, then asked, "Miss, shall we try to make contact? We've just received news that all the major lords, a few from the parliament, and even some from the royal family have extended olive branches to Duke Raphael..."

The purple-haired girl remained calm and spoke evenly, "It's too late to go now. Since Duke Raphael dares to show his hand now, he must already have something to rely on. Going now would not benefit us."

The old butler wore a worried expression and said, "If the rumors are true, wouldn't we be passive by not making contact?"

"My over-eager older and second brothers are probably already on their way. We don't need to join the excitement," she said, entirely indifferent.

The purple-haired girl continued with a nonchalant look, "Besides, it's not a rumor. I've already obtained concrete intelligence that Duke Raphael has mastered many top-secret technologies, right there in 'Old Lington' underground."

Upon hearing this, the butler's eyebrows relaxed, and he suddenly said, "So the young lady had already made arrangements. I've spoken out of turn."

The girl's tone shifted again, and she continued, "Instead of going directly to Rafael, that slippery old fox, it's better to start with the Regatti family. It seems, now, that these two families have already become very close."

The butler immediately understood, "Are you referring to the matter of a marriage alliance?"

A thought occurred to him, his eyebrows twisted, showing hesitation, and after a moment he said, "Previously, news came from the Regatti side expressing a willingness to align through marriage but not with the legitimate eldest son. But it seems there's been some complication recently, and their attitude is ambiguous again..."

The purple-haired girl chuckled, clearly in the know, "That's because they think that all offsprings from the concubines should be killed, and the clan elders are reluctant to let the eldest son marry. Heh... after all, my classmate William is very proud and wants to hold everything in his own hands."

As she spoke, a flicker of realization crossed her eyes.

But before that spark of light could arouse any emotional turbulence, it had completely dissipated.

Her tone was distinctly indifferent as she said, "Sometimes, the eldest son may not necessarily be the best choice."

The butler did not understand why his young mistress had suddenly changed her mind, but as if grasping something, he asked, "Miss, how should we reply to the Regatti side then? Should the marriage alliance be canceled?"

"No, of course, the marriage must proceed. It's an indispensable part of the family's grand plan..."

The purple-haired girl appeared to lose interest in listening further and waved her hand, "You don't need to worry about this matter, I have my own arrangements."

"Yes."

The butler assented and decisively withdrew.

....

After the riot, nearly all regular shops in the city were closed.

But taverns, pleasure houses, and gambling dens—these necessary venues for pirates' daily entertainment—were busier than ever.

When Su Lun arrived at the "Sailor Tavern," it was already packed to the brim.

It used to be a secret meeting place for pirate captains in Blizzard City, now it was open to all, and its size had increased several times over.

"Nine! Nine! Nine!"

"Big! Big! Big!"

"Oh, give me a good hand, bust this damn dealer!"

"..."

Hearing the raucous noise, a sense of familiarity welled up within Su Lun.

The sounds of slot machines, clamoring voices, and crude curses resonated together.

Pirates were nearly all gamblers, drunkards, and the tavern was the liveliest place.

After contacting him with the communicator, Chris had already arrived.

Su Lun did not find anyone in the tavern's seating area on the first floor, and instinct told him that the gambling-addicted woman was probably sitting at a gambling table downstairs.

As expected.

Just as Su Lun descended the staircase, he caught sight of that energetically handsome face at a high-roller table in a small hall.

She was sitting with her legs wide apart at the gambling table, with a young girl wearing a long face and hugging a katana beside her.

Looking at the katana, Su Lun recognized it as her own weapon.

He was very curious when she started having a girl following her around, but before he could greet her, the girl holding the sword was earnestly advising, "Captain, are you going to gamble again... If we lose more, we won't have enough money to buy supplies when we go ashore..."

Although spoken softly, Su Lun heard every word clearly, and a wry smile spread across his lips.

The gambling-addicted woman hadn't changed one bit.

Back when she was an officer at the Cross Society, she would often lose everything but her pockets, relying entirely on her gang members to get by. Now that she was a pirate captain, it seemed her old habits persisted.

But, there was something fishy with this card game.

Glancing at the croupier's dealing technique, Su Lun's pupils narrowed slightly.

He didn't believe for a second that Sister Qian hadn't noticed the scam.

This... seemed to be the rhythm of someone stirring trouble?

Su Lun couldn't help but smile slightly, and he walked over.

Sister Qian had obviously noticed him, but she didn't greet him.

The girl beside her took out the last stack of banknotes from her pocket, still anxiously advising, "Captain, this is all the money we have left, please be more careful with your bets..."

Sister Qian just slightly lifted the corner of her mouth, took the money, and interrupted her, saying meaningfully, "Your captain is about to turn her luck around."

The girl pursed her lips, muttering discontentedly, "You always say that, but you always lose..."

Su Lun almost laughed out loud upon hearing this.

He also pretended not to know her and casually took a seat at the table.

Only then did he clearly see that Sister Qian wasn't wearing her kimono anymore, but had switched to the iconic pirate captain's attire.

A deer leather tricorne hat with a silver skull decoration on the brim; knee-high leather boots covering the calves; a gothic-style leather skirt for easy fighting; a linen shirt revealing her cleavage; a brownish cape with gold fringe epaulettes on her shoulders; a katana hanging at her waist, and inside the scabbard, there were three traditional pirate flintlocks.

However, the clothes seemed to have not been washed for a long time, and her messy style was exactly like a pirate's.

Su Lun laughed slightly in his heart, thinking: This gambling-addicted woman got into the role of a pirate captain very quickly after reaching land.

...

Su Lun sat down, and the game continued.

It was still Texas Hold'em Poker.

This kind of gambling could make one rich quickly but could also drain the last penny from a gambler's pocket.

Because the game was rigged, Sister Qian lost her last stack of money too.

Su Lun, with his variety of gambling techniques, saw through their cheating strategies at a glance.

In this round, after two cards were dealt, Sister Qian ran out of money to raise the bet. As everyone waited for her to come up with more cash, she suddenly slammed the sword that the young lass was holding onto the gambling table, and shouted fiercely, "I bet this!"

Instantly, the atmosphere at the gambling table turned cold.

The pirate across from her, wearing an eyepatch, also looked like a captain.

This guy was also the biggest winner of this round.

Hearing her words, a hint of unease clearly flashed in his eyes, and he said viciously, "Hey hey hey... what do you mean by that? Lost your money and now looking for trouble? This is Chris's gambling den, think carefully..."

At this point, a bunch of other pirates also started to make a ruckus, ready to start a fight at the drop of a hat.

Su Lun could tell that most of the men at this table were from Cyclops's crew.

Sister Qian sneered, "I bet this sword on the croupier having another 'A' up her sleeve!"

The female croupier's poker face wasn't that good, getting caught cheating at a pirates' gambling table usually meant at the very least a broken hand or foot. Hearing that accusation, fear clearly flashed across her face.

Cyclops's eye twitched as he heard this, not giving anyone a chance to make a scene, he was the first to slap the table fiercely, "What the hell are you talking about!"

With a "bang," coins and cards scattered on the table, and suddenly, the whole gambling den fell silent.

The croupier saw her chance and instantly tried to shake off the hidden card in the commotion.

But at that moment, the dark muzzle of a gun was suddenly pointed at the croupier's head.

"Move an inch, and I'll blow your head off," someone declared.

The crowd turned to see Su Lun holding the gun with a playful look on his face, "I'll also bet that there is a card in your right sleeve."