Mechanical Alchemist

Su Lun had returned to Blizzard City once again.

This time, he didn't dock his empty ship too close; a few kilometers from the shore, he scuttled it. Then, using a spider spear, he walked on water and quietly blended into the city, settling down in an inn.

In the following days, his life was very regular.

He rested at the inn during the day, tinkering with puppets and machinery. At night, he would frequent various taverns to gather information.

Su Lun's purpose in returning was to find a way to connect with the "Void Expansion Gear," not just to join any pirate crew. He needed to find a crew closely affiliated with the King of the North Sea.

Now that Lord Oleg had declared himself King, the Great Pirate Era had arrived, and the Northern Sea Fleet was indeed recruiting. However, after several days of inquiries in Blizzard City, he found only Chris, the captain of the "Whaler" from the Seventh Fleet's Third Division. Ironically, that guy only recruited Vikings and Trolls—Northern races—and wasn't too welcoming to humans.

Just as Su Lun was racking his brains for another way to infiltrate, he heard another explosive piece of news.

It was that Duke Raphael's secret maritime prison had been broken into!

Previously near the Berman Archipelago, Duke Raphael had annihilated the Ninth Fleet of the King of the North Sea. But the fleet commander, "Gluttonous Grand General" Yixier Peion, and a few key members were not dead, but captured. They were likely to be sent for trial and execution.

However, for some reason, this news leaked out.

Then, the King of the North Sea sent people to attack the transport ship, rescuing them during the voyage. They also released a bunch of accompanying high-security prisoners.

Su Lun wasn't particularly interested in the news about the Great Pirates escaping.

Pirates commonly seeing jailbreaks as no big deal.

But he was more interested in another piece of news: the group of Great Pirates from the King of the North Sea, who had been freed in the jailbreak, might arrive in Blizzard City for supplies in the next day or two.

Su Lun felt this was a good opportunity.

....

That day, at Walrus Tavern.

The Seafarer's Tavern had been trashed by Thousand Blades Rakshasa's group before; now, this was the most bustling tavern in Blizzard City. It was also a favorite spot for various Great Pirates to meet.

As the sun set, Su Lun, dressed in an inconspicuous pirate outfit, headed out to the tavern as usual.

From this time until midnight, the tavern would gradually become lively.

Upon entering the tavern, the crowd was not too large yet. Three or five bald men were playing darts, a few with big beards were playing pirate cards, and scantily clad ladies danced around steel poles on stage...

Familiar with the place, Su Lun made his way to the bar and settled on a triangular high stool made of jujube wood, snapping his fingers at the bartender, "A glass of silver rum."

Having been there for several days, the bartender recognized him and greeted with a smile, "Hey, Brother Johnny, haven't you found a suitable crew to join yet?"

As he spoke, he took out a jug, opened the cork of an oak barrel, and poured a full glass of wheat-colored rum.

The twelve-year silver rum was widely recognized for its taste and was even pricier than some gold rums on the alcohol market. Pirates were connoisseurs of liquor; they usually consumed what they plundered and rarely sold it. Hence, you might not find this stuff in big taverns across various territories of Luying, but it was plentiful in pirate taverns.

Su Lun flipped out a coin and took a sip from the cup, seeming to relish the rich flavor of alcohol swirling in his mouth. He exhaled and then said, "Oh, Mark old chap, you know I'm not just looking for any crew. I'm a decent marksman, looking to join a real money-making pirate crew."

He was now "Johnny," a somewhat famous marksman from a small city in the southern province of Anrogoths in Luying.

This was the persona he had been crafting for himself over the past few days.

At least if someone came snooping around, they could gather some clues from various drunkards rather than having such a person suddenly appearing out of thin air.

Moreover, the identity was entirely fabricated, cobbled together from many fragments of memory to create a "person whose experience withstands scrutiny."

The bartender, hearing this, chipped in with a laugh, "Hey, then I've got a piece of news you'll be interested in."

Su Lun guessed what he was about to say but still feigned curiosity, "Oh?"

The bartender wore a smug expression and said, "Did you know, the Fleet Commanders under Lord Oleg might be in Blizzard City tonight. I think there's no better fit for you than those big shots' fleets."

Su Lun pretended to be surprised and said, "Oh, that's really great!"

Actually, he had learned of this news from an information broker yesterday, but it was only a 'possibility.'

This bartender confirmed the news and even pinpointed it to tonight.

It wasn't surprising that these taverns, backed by various pirate crews, knew some top-secret intelligence.

Saying this, Su Lun, knowing the etiquette, threw a few more silver coins as a tip for the news, "Can you tell me more? I'm very interested in this news."

The bartender happily pocketed the money and replied, "I don't know the specifics. But didn't the Ninth Fleet run into some trouble? Lord Peiwen will likely be reassembling the fleet, so, Brother Johnny, you'd better seize the opportunity..."

"I see..."

Su Lun listened while drinking gulps of liquor, chatting with the bartender intermittently.

....

The night deepened, and the tavern filled with people.

Su Lun, having several drinks at the bar, listened to the intelligence discussed by the pirates.

"Hey, have you heard? There's been a big stir in the Silent Forest!"

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure what's going on with the sub-humans over there, but suddenly a mysterious master has appeared. Several large slave-trading groups have been completely defeated, suffering heavy losses. It's also said that this mysterious master intends to ban the slave trade in the Silent Forest—anyone who goes there will be killed. Now, the depths of the Silent Forest have become forbidden territory..."

"What kind of big stir is this? Wasn't this already announced?"

"There's more to it! Those slave traders suffered heavy losses this time, and of course, they wouldn't let anyone sever their lifeline. So they hired the 'Thief King' Carlo Meldis to handle it. However, the news just received today is that the team sent to cause trouble was almost entirely wiped out by the sub-humans, and 'Thief King' Carlo was severely injured and his life or death isn't known..."

"My God, Carlo is one of the 'Top Ten Legendary Bounty Hunters,' once slaying a seventh-tier, extremely powerful. And he got severely injured? Who in the world is that mysterious person in the Silent Forest?"

"I don't know, seems to wear a gold-patterned cloak, and there's information that it's something called the 'Mirror Organization'..."

"..."

Su Lun heard this news and showed no surprise; he expressionlessly took a swig of his drink.

Now that Blizzard City had been invaded by pirates, the slave trading had stalled, yet the pirates also eyed this trade, leading to no decrease in the number of slave-trading groups heading to the Silent Forest.

But with Mr. Jing around, whatever "Top Ten Bounty Hunters," they naturally would be beaten up.

After this time, things would probably quiet down a lot.

After listening for a while, apart from some off-color jokes, Su Lun heard another piece of information that interested him.

"Did you hear about the mysterious disappearance of the 'Iron Crocodile Group' a few days ago? Today a group that docked brought news; someone saw the 'Thousand Blades Rakshasa' pirate group heading towards Pirate City..."

"Are the people from the Dawn Group still alive? That's impossible! What about the people from the 'Iron Crocodile Group,' the 'Flamingo Group,' and the 'Hammer Group'?"

"If the Dawn Group is still alive, it means that 'Cyclops' and the others must have been killed."

"This news is too ridiculous. They're also an old pirate group; how could they all be killed without any news leaking out? I'd rather believe this was the work of a deep-sea leviathan!"

"Yeah. Not a single survivor, it's too damned strange. Saying the Dawn Group did it; that's giving them too much credit. It's probably a shipwreck, or maybe a deep-sea leviathan..."

"Cut it out, the new folks coming out on the sea these days, one more audacious and bizarre than the next, it's really not certain. Did you hear? Lord Oleg's Fourth Fleet has a newcomer who's into mechanization. He just showed up and was promoted out of sequence to squad leader. I heard, during the recent prison break, that guy swallowed a battleship from Luying directly..."

"..."

At the neighboring table, the pirates grew increasingly excited as they talked.

Su Lun listened attentively; these past few days, he had been mixing in pirate taverns, gathering many tales of "Pirate Newcomers."

'Thousand Blades Rakshasa' naturally referred to Thousand Blades. That Crow player is none other than the former leader of the Raven Gang, 'Crow Godfather' Gwenb Mary. The one awakened with the gravity talent, most likely the old leader of the Cross Society, 'Arbiter' Chak.

Now, hearing about a newcomer involved with mechanization, he naturally thought of the former leader of the "Steam Party," 'Butcher' Banner. There weren't many tech talents among the pirates, not everyone was qualified to play with mechanisms. So, the chances of the newcomer being Banner were quite high.

"Banner, eh..."

Su Lun thought of something and seemed slightly distracted.

He had learned a lot from Sabina's words, naturally knowing that guy was not as simple as he appeared.

...

As he drank, it was soon midnight, and the street outside the tavern suddenly came alive.

Hearing the noise outside, Su Lun immediately knew that the Admiral from the King of the North Sea had arrived in Blizzard City.

Now there weren't many places left to stay in town, so those guys pompously made their way to the tavern street.

The patrons also watched as these imposing great pirates arrived, their conversations filled with these legendary figures from the pirate circles.

"Here comes the opportunity..."

Su Lun wasn't in a hurry to join the crowd, just sitting inside the tavern. He didn't need to actively gather information, for with these significant people here, by tomorrow morning there would be plenty of intel at the information merchant's.

He sat at the bar, glancing at the passersby with his peripheral vision.

The Fourth Fleet under the King of the North Sea's command that had arrived was the one that previously raided Old Lington.

So he recognized many of those people.

Admiral 'Frost Giant' Gaal Popov, Vice Admiral 'Solar Flame General' Gladys Ormedo, Squadron Leader 'Flower Knife' Chris, Third Squadron Leader 'Man-Devil' Maburite, Fifth-Tier Professional 'Shadow Demon' Tim Ashley...

All were notorious big shots listed on the bounty board.

These guys passing through the tavern district, seemingly intent on showing off their strength, unintentionally let their aura spill out.

The oppressive might of a group of powerful figures? Terrifying!

Combined, it was like a deluge sweeping through the entire district, drawing sideways glances from all the passersby.

"They really are strong."

Su Lun subdued his own aura, fearing he might be recognized.

Seizing this opportunity, he also detailedly remembered the soul flame characteristics of each person.

The pirates under the command of the King of the North Sea were the ceiling of the pirate world. These guys were the elite among pirates, and their combat abilities were not comparable to the "Iron Crocodile Group" from before.

It was just those fifth-tier squadron leaders who could pose a lethal threat to Su Lun.

However, the Walrus Tavern was crowded, so the large group of pirates did not come inside but went elsewhere.

But at the end of the group, more than a dozen people walked in.

They were dressed in checkered suits and waistcoats, woollen coats, wearing leather gloves, clearly in the Old Lington style.

....

"Look, that's the newly famous rookie, the newly appointed Captain of the Nineteenth Squad!"

"Really it is!"

"..."

As soon as this group, dressed in black, walked in, someone immediately recognized their identity.

The leader was a vulture-like middle-aged man smoking a cigar, one of his arms was a modified mechanical arm, and his expression exuded a fierce aura.

Upon seeing the leader, Su Lun murmured to himself, "It really is Banner."

The former gang boss naturally had an imposing aura.

Su Lun's gaze then lingered on Banner's mechanical arm for an extra moment.

This mechanical arm was much more sophisticated than the one he had seen before.

Moreover, he saw many exclusive parts of Mafa mechanical armor on those components. [MF911 Magic Mech Arm Boiler], [TU-0 High-Frequency Tremor],[Dragon Scale S-Blast Panel],[T-alloy Power Shaft]...

The parts appeared to be directly dismantled from a mechanical armor suit, all very intact. They were not just "Colonel-level" armor parts, but even included "Brigadier-level" high-tech components.

"Banner, with this mechanical body, is much more powerful than before. Not to mention the fourth tier, if the abilities don't counter, perhaps even the fifth tier could hardly touch him..."

Su Lun, who had deeply studied Mafa's mechanical technologies, instantly recognized the technological content of Banner's mechanical arm.

Moreover, this was just the visible mechanical arm.

He knew that this guy was not just a semi-modified mech warrior... but fully modified!

Seeing those mechanical parts even made Su Lun somewhat envious.

The throne of the King of the North Sea was still conferred by the emperor of the Mafa Empire, and the relationship between the two powers was very ambiguous. It was said that the Mafa side also supported with technology and equipment.

It was unknown whether these mechanical parts were previously stolen by the King of the North Sea or funded by the Mafa Empire.

"But coming back to that, if it is the latter, wouldn't it be possible to get some of Mafa's mechanical armor through the channels of the King of the North Sea?"

Thinking here, Su Lun's thoughts became more active.

His current mechanical puppet army, which could really stand up, only had one [Colonel-level Battleship IX Form Mechanical Armor], and there was still a long road to technical decryption.

If there really was a channel to obtain more armor parts, the formation time for his mechanical army would significantly reduce.

Thinking of this, he found yet another excuse for himself to join the North Sea fleet.

And yet, Su Lun was more concerned about something else.

He turned his gaze to the people accompanying Banner.

....

"Where exactly did Banner get this neuro-mechanical technology from?"

Su Lun's eyes narrowed slightly, and he quickly sensed that among those people behind him, a few had unique soul flames.

Once in Old Lington, Sabina stayed with a disguised identity in the Steam Party. Consequently, she was the only one who knew that Banner was fully mechanized.

Because Sabina was not absolutely loyal to the Umbrella Organization, this information had never been reported, maintaining a mutual understanding of each side extracting what they needed.

But the question still remained.

Who transformed Banner's mechanical body?

"Neural mechanics" was a top-secret scientific project of Duke Raphael, and even in the laboratories of Old Lington, only a few top executives had mastered the complete technology.

And Sabina was sure that Banner's transformation did not come from the lab.

So... this had become a mystery.

Previously, during the pirate raid on Black Reef, the tower storming was very rushed. After Su Lun came out, he felt there was no opportunity to investigate and stopped thinking about it.

Now that he had seen Banner come out, a thought in his heart started to stir eagerly.

"Neural mechanical technology, if we can really find clues from him, it would be much easier than going through Duke Raphael..."

Su Lun looked at Banner, his eyes sparkling with thought.

....

Banner and his group entered the pub.

The bartender also cleared a booth for them.

All eyes were on this group, but Su Lun's observant gaze went unnoticed.

The former "Steam Party" had secured their position as one of the top three gangs in the Old Lington Outer City through mechanical modifications, and Banner's knowledge of mechanics was not bad. However, even so, it was highly unlikely that he had mastered the top-secret "neural mechanical technology."

Therefore, there must be a "technician" behind him.

Previously in Old Lington Outer City, there were too many places to hide, and Sabina hadn't found any clues.

But now, venturing out to sea, if there is indeed such an important person, it's highly likely they always carry it with them.

Su Lun's gaze quickly locked onto an ordinary-looking middle-aged man with a goatee.

Although most of Banner's followers had mechanized limbs, that person's soul fire flickered notably, distinctly different from other professionals.

"Synthetic skin, huh..."

Su Lun found this goatee very unfamiliar.

He thought of a possibility, that of a super mechanical soldier!

Banner wouldn't bring along someone useless, and with that thought, the existence of the goatee man seemed very special.

....

"He really is into mechanics..."

"Psh, mechanics, what skill is that? It's all about the equipment. Anyone with equipment could be a captain of the North Sea Fleet."

"Exactly. Without their equipment, mechanical soldiers are useless. The newcomers these days are really arrogant, acting as if they are incredibly powerful..."

"..."

As soon as Banner's group entered the pub, the other patrons began whispering among themselves.

In Ru Ying, mechanical technology is backward, and those who tinker with mechanics are looked down upon.

Even within the pirate circles, mechanical soldiers are at the bottom of the disdain chain.

Traditional professionals look down on those whose combat power relies wholly on external mechanical enhancements, and indeed, these mechanical soldiers are usually significantly weaker than their peers.

Clumsy, slow in reaction, with limited potential... this is the general public's notion of mechanics in Ru Ying.

"Super mechanical soldiers" are only known by the upper echelon in Ru Ying, and the concept of neural mechanics is still a completely alien field for most people.

In most pirates' eyes, as long as the machinery is advanced enough, even a pig can achieve the same effect.

So Banner's group's entry inevitably faced contempt.

Su Lun, listening to these sour comments, shook his head slightly and muttered in a voice only he could hear, "This one's called 'Butcher' for a reason. His temper isn't so kind..."

He knew someone was about to be unlucky.

In Old Lington, the title "Butcher" was not thrown around lightly.

Sure enough.

It was right after Su Lun's mutter that the few people at the next table, who continued whispering, suddenly stopped.

Two people's heads "clang" smashed down onto the table.

Upon closer inspection, a bloody hole had appeared on top of their heads.
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Su Lun naturally noticed that, in that instant, the nails stuck in the wooden table had suddenly shot out, piercing through the men's jaws into their skulls.

"[A-043-Metal Devourer], his professional advancement has gained the ability to control metal elements, tsk tsk..."

Su Lun drank his drink expressionlessly, not the least bit surprised.

He was well aware of Banner's information.

According to Sabina, this guy's employment sequence was very special, retaining his innate abilities even after a complete mechanical transformation.

Even without relying on mechanics, this guy's combat power was very strong.

The King of the North Sea is the ceiling of the pirate circles, who can't be killed?

Those killed by Banner's temperamental outburst were within expectations.