Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 539 - 538
In the inn’s room, Su Lun and that royal uncle, Garcia Haydon, were sipping tea one mouthful after another, chatting about topics designed to test each other.
Su Lun had to admit, the man before him was truly capable of great things.
Even here in the capital Eiklensa, his stronghold, where everything seemed under control, the old man was extremely cautious, continuously encouraging him to drink the poisoned tea and yet managed to perform it flawlessly.
But what he didn’t know was that Su Lun possessed the All-knowing Eye; even the most clever poisoning strategy seemed futile before it.
It seemed like the other party was waiting for something.
Su Lun wasn’t in a hurry either, gathering intelligence while waiting for that lethal opportunity.
Meanwhile, outside the window in a high tower, Isabel, who had kindly come to warn them earlier, was watching the two men in the inn, her face clouded with concern.
How could she not know of Garcia’s cunning and scheming nature? Watching Su Lun drink the other’s tea without any guard, the female assassin spat softly, "Is this guy a fool? I told him to be cautious, yet he dares to drink tea with that old fox like Garcia! Why would my brother send me to save such a man!"
...
Inside the room, the exchange continued.
Although he had discerned that the other party harbored murderous intents, Su Lun was baffled: why would the royal family want to lay hands on him?
He considered himself a "Foreign Visitor," who had even brought news of a plane invasion; wasn’t it unreasonable to attack without asking any questions?
There was absolutely no motive.
Yet the fact was, this old fox had laced the drink with poison the moment they met, and there were certainly other measures in place outside.
"Could it be that ’Helen’? No, that doesn’t make sense either; she came to rob, so there’s no need for such elaborate schemes to kill me..."
Su Lun felt as though he was missing a critical clue in his mind.
However, just then, a high-pitched dragon’s roar suddenly echoed from outside the window.
Even without looking, Su Lun knew it was Princess Becky and the Tier 6 Silver Dragon flying over.
The haughty princess saw Su Lun from high above, then leapt down from the dragon’s back and burst into the room, furious.
Garcia, seeing the princess who barged in suddenly, spoke with a troubled expression, "Your Royal Highness Princess, this humble servant is discussing important matters with a noble guest from overseas. You..."
It seemed like an accident.
Princess Becky cut off the old man’s words, a dragon spear pointed at Su Lun as she demanded, "Bastard! Speak up, where is that swordsman who was with you?"
She certainly didn’t believe those "I don’t know him" kinds of lies.
That despicable woman had dared to lay hands on her, so both she and her accomplice must die!
"..."
Su Lun watched as the dragon spear, only a foot away from his head, narrowed his eyes slightly.
This was truly a woman who had never been harshly beaten by society...
Su Lun also specially caught the expression on Garcia’s face.
Although the old fox’s words were to stop the princess, his expression revealed a helpless resignation, a resignation to simply acknowledge her actions.
This meant, if Princess Becky really wanted to kill him, this old man would definitely not stop her.
The tip of the dragon spear was wrapped in a fighting spirit, looking ready to strike if one word went wrong.
Su Lun was certain, if this haughty princess raised her spear, she would certainly dare to thrust it forward.
"Is this designed to provoke me into acting?"
Su Lun immediately realized that this haughty princess might have been used as a pawn.
Yet, why would the other side allow a princess to come and disrupt if they were ready to act?
He immediately guessed, "So, these guys also want to use me to kill this woman?"
No!
Even if I do not kill her, now that she has come, she is doomed.
Previously in Rueing, having witnessed various noble conspiracies for power, seeing a princess die wouldn’t be strange.
Su Lun immediately figured some things out.
So what would be the consequences of killing this Princess Becky?
A struggle for the throne?
Princess Becky, who could tame a Silver Dragon, indeed had a great chance to ascend to the throne, but it wasn’t necessary to use an outsider like me.
Or perhaps Garcia is a spy from either the Pania Kingdom or Arcatites Kingdom, wanting to destabilize the foundation of the Dragon Country?
In an instant, many possibilities flashed through Su Lun’s mind.
But none had sufficient motive.
Su Lun felt he was a stranger to the Dragon Country; there was no need for them to set such a trap.
Unless, they were enemies from the beginning.
The enemy? Su Lun racked his brain, and presently, there was only one enemy he must drive to death—the beings from the Divine Realm!
Had Garcia colluded with the people from the Divine Realm?
Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in his head.
He had finally realized an important detail that he had overlooked!
Through the princess, Su Lun pondered for a moment, then asked Garcia across from him, "I am curious, which deity does the Haydon family lineage of sorcerers worship?"
Princess Becky listened, her expression bewildered. Wasn’t he supposed to answer her question?
"Hey, hey, hey..."
Feeling ignored, she was just about to lose her temper.
Unexpectedly, Garcia calmly responded, "Oh... Your Excellency is quite perceptive to have noticed so quickly."
The two of them carried on their conversation, completely ignoring the royal princess before them.
Speaking of his beliefs, a trace of devoutness to the divine appeared on Garcia’s face as he added, "The Haydon family are descendants of the divine race, naturally, we worship the great All-knowing Almighty God."
Just as expected!
Su Lun, having heard this, finally understood.
This guy was a follower of the divine!
No wonder.
It wasn’t merely a power struggle between kingdoms nor was it targeted solely at him.
It was those guys from the Divine Realm using Garcia to infiltrate the Silver Dragon country.
And that Silver Dragon country still had a national guardian Silver Dragon whose combat power matched that of a ninth-rank, who must be eliminated before they could fully seize control.
They were after the eighth-tier Silver Dragon on Mount Loki!
...
Today’s plan served multiple purposes.
If successful, without the Silver Dragon Kingdom’s protection, it would easily fall under the control of the beings from the Divine Realm.
Controlling such a large kingdom not only increases the followers of the deity but also greatly aids those Mages in their search for the "Mimir’s Well."
However, even having guessed the entire truth of the matter, Su Lun didn’t feel much of a crisis.
If he wanted to leave, these people couldn’t stop him.
He no longer paid attention to the person before him but asked through his communicator, "Sister Qiantiao, what’s your situation?"
Qiantiao immediately responded, "Someone has stopped me. Looks like someone has come to bother you too."
The two of them already had an understanding and knew the situation well.
Su Lun then asked, "Can you handle it?"
From the other end of the communicator came Qiantiao’s dissatisfied grumble, "Ah, to be underestimated like this. They sent a few squads of seventh-rank Dragon Knights and thought they could trap me..."
Su Lun listened but said no more.
With Qiantiao’s strength, those below the eighth-rank were not easily defeated.
...
Meanwhile, in the forests a hundred kilometers away from the royal city of Aike,
Qiantiao, seeing thousands of fully armored flying Dragon Knights closing in, showed no intention of breaking through; instead, her face was filled with a fighting spirit.
The very moment she ended the communication, those before her had already begun their charge.
Qiantiao’s domain instantly expanded, her six-armed exoskeleton released, each hand wielding a blade, showing her ferocious true nature.
Thunder roared instantly in the sky, with purple-red lightning explosively resounding through the heavens.
Different from a few days ago, her Hell Domain now truly resembled a hellish world; upon drawing her sword, it turned into a bizarre blood-red scene.
Gazing at the group of Dragon Knights trying to kill her, she scoffed with a sneer, murmuring, "Did these guys really think they could trap me just like that? Tsk, tsk, if only you knew how formidable Su Lun is... The more people there are, the more freedom he has to act."
No sooner had her words fallen than the six-armed Asura leapt into the air, with Thunderous Sword Qi shooting skywards.
...
Su Lun inquired about the situation at the Evernight again.
Similarly, they had sighted the Dragon Knight Corps.
But the Dawn Group was not weak, and without the intervention of ninth-rank forces, they were not easily trapped.
Su Lun informed them and wasn’t in a hurry to teleport over, instead turning his attention back to the room.
Feigning ignorance, he asked, "Your Excellency, what do you mean by this?"
Garcia watched him, a fox-like cold smile appearing in his eyes, "Your Excellency indeed has courage, remaining so composed even in such a situation."
"This guy had a look that said he had him all figured out and spoke, ’Are you waiting for your swordsman companion or the ’Dragon Hunter’ Bartolo? Unfortunately, I must tell you that they can’t come anymore.’
As Su Lun listened, his brow furrowed.
Was this guy planning on taking Bartolo down today as well?
In the room, only Princess Becky had not yet realized what was happening. Nonetheless, she sensed the strange atmosphere and furrowed her brow as she demanded, ’What on earth are you all talking about?!’
No one responded to her.
In the eyes of the two in the room, she was already a dead woman.
Su Lun neither intended to save her nor could he have saved her.
Since Garcia, the old fox, had come alone, he obviously had made thorough preparations.
Furthermore, he was not weak., Su Lun had not found a good opportunity to make a move until then.
So, he waited, waiting for the instant this man would kill Princess Becky to seize the opportunity for a fatal strike.
Seeing that no one paid her any heed, the haughty Princess Becky flew into a rage, and with her anger directed at Su Lun, she lunged at his head with a spear!
Su Lun slightly tilted his head, easily dodging the attack.
Towards this truly murderous haughty princess, he held no anger, only calmly reminding her, ’Your Royal Highness, this uncle-in-law is trying to kill you. If you can escape, then escape.’
Regardless of whether he warned her or not, the princess was doomed.
Upon hearing this, Princess Becky’s expression froze, and her innocent large eyes looked doubtfully at Garcia standing beside her.
Though she was unreasonable and overbearing, it didn’t mean she was truly foolish., She instantly realized something was off.
Garcia also seemed surprised and seemed to have abandoned the idea of continuing his pretense, saying, ’Tsk tsk, Your Excellency is truly impressive to have guessed as much. I’m very curious where I slipped up.’
It sounded like a question, but he wasn’t expecting an answer, and continued, ’Now everyone has seen the princess have a confrontation with you. How will you explain it?’
The charge of attacking the princess would bring the kingdom’s army storming in, and death would then be certain."
Su Lun asked nonchalantly in return, ’Why should I explain?’
Hearing the conversation between the two, fear finally appeared in the eyes of Princess Becky, and she abruptly felt the urge to flee, wanting to call for the silver dragon waiting in the courtyard.
But how could Garcia let her leave the room alive?
The instant she showed a hint of retreating, the white-robed wizard suddenly exclaimed softly, ’Corpse Gu Explosion!’
Upon a closer look, with a ’boom’, Princess Becky’s head exploded into a cloud of blood mist, and a dense fog instantly filled the room, so thick you could not see your hand in front of your face.
At the same moment, Su Lun made his move!
Seizing the instant Garcia acted, the Hell Domain burst forth instantly, his arm muscles bulging, and he magically produced a large black scythe, swinging it fiercely.
In the fog, Garcia, who had appeared calm a moment before, suddenly found himself overwhelmed by a terrifying sense of impending death, thinking in shock, ’How can it be this horrifying!’
As a seventh-tier white-robed wizard, he was confident in his ability to hold his own against any peer, but now, suppressed by this strange domain, he felt shaken.
’Why is it so unbelievably strong!’
’Damn it!’
In the reports, everyone had said that only the swordsman called ’Thousand Cuts’ was worth noting. Why was this man also so powerful!’
And more importantly, why hadn’t he been poisoned?
If he hadn’t been poisoned, it meant that from the moment he walked in and was first offered a cup of tea, he had already seen through his plan?
’How is this possible?’
Garcia’s mind was filled with questions, facing such a baffling opponent for the first time.
Su Lun didn’t give him a chance to figure things out. With a swift stroke of his black scythe, he cleaved the man in two.
A ’pu-chi’ sound of a robe being torn rang out.
Garcia’s body was cut in half at the waist, a large amount of black blood spurting from the cut, and a foul stench of poison filled the room.
A nearby black crow cawed sharply, causing Su Lun to suddenly become alert.
Without time to strike again, he teleported and rushed out of the room.
Just as he hovered in midair, the vast medical hall suddenly collapsed under a tremendous force, creating a kilometer-wide crater in the ground.
Su Lun was unaffected, but the silver dragon hatchling in the courtyard was instantly killed, buried in the dust.
From a distance, Isabel, hiding atop a high tower, was completely stunned.
She hadn’t understood at all what had happened.
She had just watched Princess Becky storm in angrily, worried that the foolish girl would be at a disadvantage and was thinking about causing a distraction.
But before she could even ponder further, the entire inn had collapsed in front of her, and even the silver dragon had died?
Isabel’s face turned pale instantly, completely clueless about what had transpired.
But she knew that today’s incident was likely to cause an uproar.
...
Princess Becky and her mount died at the inn, and suddenly someone yelled, "Princess Becky has been assassinated, capture the murderer!"
It was clearly premeditated.
At the sound of this voice, the entire royal city shook, countless royal guards began to assemble, and groups of dragons took to the skies above the city.
Most dramatic of all was the mournful dragon’s cry that came from the towering, unseeable peak of the mountain behind the palace.
"An eighth-tier dragon..."
Su Lun felt the terrifying oppression, and his gaze suddenly hardened.
In the current situation, everyone would think he was the killer, whether he carried the blame or not.
But it didn’t matter anymore.
Su Lun had no intention of teleporting away from the scene, the situation was urgent, and there was no time to think further.
Grasping the black umbrella in his hand, he sensed a rapidly moving soul wave hundreds of meters away.
Thinking of escaping?
It wouldn’t be that easy.
The wizard heritage indeed had some life-saving capabilities, just now a blade did not kill Garcia, allowing his half body to escape.
But being targeted by Su Lun, where did the enemy have a chance to escape?
Though the enemy’s evasion technique was clever, their soul wave was continually locked on, and Su Lun followed with a teleport.
The surroundings changed in an instant, and upon looking again, only the upper half of Garcia’s body eerily floated in the air, moving southeastward through teleportation.
Even without his lower half, he moved rapidly, escaping swiftly.
With a wave of his wizard’s staff, another wave of foul-smelling black wind arose, but it unfortunately did nothing to stop the pursuers.
Su Lun, watching the spatial fluctuations around this man’s body, could only sneer, "So you’re proficient in spatial displacement as well..."
To him at his current level, such teleportation was no different from racing a child.
With another teleportation, he was already beside Garcia. Even though this man still had the energy to resist, in the face of overwhelming power, Su Lun easily severed his head.
The "Gray Mist" emerged instantly, and Su Lun decisively stripped the man’s memories.
"You have stripped ’Garcia Haydon’s’ soul"
"You obtained [Antidote Formula for Petrification] and the method for concocting wizard potions"
"You stripped a vast amount of wizard heritage knowledge"
"You understand some secrets of the Dragon Country"
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"You obtained an intelligence: The annihilation plan of the Ten Thousand Mage Group..."
"Spiritual power +488"
"..."
Searching further, Su Lun not only obtained the complete petrification recipe as hoped but also understood the whole story.
The process was almost as he had speculated.
The divine plane mage, by some means unknown, arrived at the royal capital of Aike before the Dawn Group, and then connected with the Haydon family, devout followers of the divine plane.
With the support of this influential, high-ranking royal family, a Ten Thousand Mage Group was already teleported into the city, and a magic tower was set up.
A deity from the divine plane had issued a divine decree, stating that He needed the followers from here.
Thus, the hunt was orchestrated.
According to the current intelligence, it was not just the Ten Thousand Mage Group, but also several families headed by the Haydon family, that already possessed the capability to overthrow the royal power.
Killing Su Lun and Bartholo was just part of the plan. The most crucial objective was to hunt down that eighth-tier silver dragon, seize control over the royal power, and establish a faith kingdom of the divine plane.
However, Garcia knew non-detailed plans and was merely acting on orders.
After knowing this, the orchestrator behind this plot was Augustus of the Eighth Order Holy Military.
After a moment, Su Lun had digested the information and frowned, "They intend to lure that silver dragon to kill Bartholo?"
The Ten Thousand Mage Group was strong, but that did not necessarily mean they could contend with Bartholo, the supreme swordsman.
As long as he didn’t confront them directly, he could escape at any time.
But if it involved a pureblood silver dragon with its swift flight speed, truly there was no escape.
Only then did Su Lun understand why the method used to collapse the inn and kill that young silver dragon seemed familiar.
It turned out they had deliberately left Bartholo’s scent behind, waiting for the silver dragon to follow the scent.
If Su Lun were to help, would that mean he had to face off against an eighth-tier silver dragon?
