Mechanical Alchemist

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Before the smuggling gang could react, Su Lun had already sent Jike off on a merchant ship bound for Luying.

As for his disciple, Su Lun felt that he had done everything he could; the road ahead was for him to walk alone.

He left the dock, changed his outfit, and mingled with the crowd again.

As for any possible retaliation from the smuggling gang, Su Lun wasn't too concerned.

It wasn't only because he was always careful, but also because there was a good chance that they didn't even know he existed.

Besides, even if trouble did come his way, it wouldn't be too big of an issue.

He had already found out that the leader of this gang was only a fourth-order.

In Old Lington, being part of a gang was a means of survival. Amidst the harsh living conditions, many ruthless figures emerged from the three major gangs.

But in the wider world, those involved in gangs were often lazy and incompetent, with very few truly capable individuals—at least, that was the case for small cities like Blizzard City.

Even if he was outnumbered and couldn't win a fight, he still had some confidence in his ability to protect himself.

Having not gone out for a few days, Su Lun wasn't in a hurry to return and instead wandered the market for a while, planning to buy some alchemy materials.

The demon cores from the northern lands were both high-quality and inexpensive, offering much more than the purely dark energy elements found in curse crystals, and thus meeting a wider range of alchemical needs. There were also consumables for enchanting runes that he needed to restock.

He then visited the black market where he picked out some scattered sea charts from several nautical shops, as well as adventure maps of the "Silent Forest."

Yes, the black market.

In this world, detailed sea charts and maps are banned as military contraband. Cartographers are also a very rare and noble profession, exclusively serving the nobility. Aside from the official maps from Luying, anyone who dares to print them privately commits the serious crime of "espionage." As such, most of the sea charts available to the public are handmade versions by sailors and adventurers, which aren't very accurate and are fraught with errors and discrepancies. They're also very expensive.

But having some maps is better than none, and Su Lun believed that for someone like him, who might need to flee at any moment, having extra maps was always a good thing.

After browsing around, Su Lun also scavenged quite a few useful materials.

It seems the incident at the Ironsmith Inn where twenty to thirty people died might also have come to the attention of the higher-ups in the "smuggling gang," as various lowlifes could be seen searching for people on the streets.

Unfazed, Su Lun casually found another inn, booking a room.

....

The next morning.

Su Lun arrived early at the dock of Blizzard City.

The "Sun Slave Trading Company" was set to transport a batch of slaves across the sea to Luying that day.

Su Lun specifically arrived fifteen minutes early, strolled around the dock, and confirmed the Daru tribe was indeed on the slave ship.

Yuta, who was mingling in the crowd, also picked up the scent of his tribesmen.

The two pretended not to know each other and boarded the ship one after the other.

Su Lun also took special care to observe that one of the three people who had been following them had followed Yuta to the dock.

But that guy didn't get on the ship.

Su Lun didn't think those people had given up.

On the contrary, this was a clever tactic of alternating surveillance—to confuse and distract.

Now, Su Lun couldn't even distinguish who in the crowd was a tracker anymore.

However, he became increasingly curious about what these people, following Yuta, intended to do.

Before long, the fleet weighed anchor and set sail, with a line of three-masted ships leaving the harbor.

There were about ten ships in total, similar to when he arrived. Since big trading companies like the Sun Corporation had their own escort teams, they didn't need accompanying adventurers. Su Lun and Yuta thus blended in with the merchant ships at the back.

The journey to Luying was not short, and there would be plenty of opportunities to act.

Su Lun's original plan was to wait for a foggy, windy night—or during stormy weather—use the cover of night and the sea fog to cross over undetected, and hijack the ship carrying the subhuman slaves.

With "Stanitz's Chessboard" and "Oz's Ice Man Shroud" in hand, it was unlikely he would be detected. Even if the fourth-order escort leader was on the slave ship, he could subdue him without causing too much commotion.

The most ideal scenario would be to hijack the slave ship without anyone noticing and quietly slip away.

However, the only variable that made Su Lun feel uncertain was the person tracking Yuta.

Without clear understanding of their purpose, he became even more cautious.

Su Lun's senses couldn't cover the several ships behind him, and he wasn't sure if there were any masters beyond his abilities, silently watching.

....

The daytime sail was smooth with fine weather and a fair breeze.

Probably fortune was on their side for their planned heist—soon after night fell, fog began to blanket the sea.

The air suddenly grew damp and cold. Su Lun, who was reading in his cabin, immediately realized something.

Looking out of the vent in his cabin, he saw a faint mist starting to drift across the sea.

Su Lun felt the humidity in the air, and it seemed that the fog was going to thicken considerably.

That was a good sign.

The ship's navigators also noticed the anomaly, and soon the second mate went around alerting the adventurers in their cabins: "We're entering a foggy area, everyone be wary of pirates!"

Encountering fog at sea is commonplace, and both the crew and accompanying adventurers remained calm—those who wanted to sleep slept, and those who wanted to boast boasted.

Su Lun estimated that it would take another hour or two for the fog to thicken, and midnight would be the best time to take action.

He hadn't expected to initiate action as the fog thickened, but someone else had beaten him to it!

As he was reading a book, suddenly, he heard the commotion of intense combat coming from the ships behind him.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"..."

Those were the sounds of gunfire mixed with the clash of swords.

Following that, the entire flotilla erupted into chaos.

"Man your stations! Man your stations!"

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

"..."

Hurried footsteps resounded on the deck while the artillery chambers buzzed with the sounds of ammunition being loaded.

Flares shot across the sky with a "whoosh" "whoosh" "whoosh".

Soon, everyone could see clearly what was happening.

"Damn it, it's that Hodge fellow! He's here to raid the slave ship again!"

"Oh~ You gave me a fright, I thought we had encountered pirates. Hodge is no pirate, they only free slaves, they don't rob normal merchants. No need to worry too much."

"But we've signed a mutual defense pact, if we don't help out and he steals 'Sun Commerce's' slaves, we'll have to pay a hefty breach of contract fee!"

"..."

Su Lun followed the crowd onto the deck and upon hearing that it was 'Fist of Justice' Hodge who had taken action, his expression grew even more peculiar.

Suddenly, he realized something, and the pieces of the puzzle in his mind clicked into place.

Too many coincidences stacked together suggested deliberate intent.

"Could the person who has been following Yuta be a subordinate of Hodge?"

The more Su Lun thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Out of the many slave ships that left Blizzard City daily, why target this one in particular?

Su Lun recalled that the only thing that set this batch of slaves apart was the presence of a highly esteemed Druid from the Dalu tribe—Yuta!

But what was the purpose of such an action?

To curry favor with the Dalu tribe for some goal?

Su Lun reflected on some recent intelligence; Hodge was active on the front lines of the 'Slave Liberation Movement', enjoying a significant reputation among other races and had rallied a mighty force.

"Tsk tsk, interesting..."

If Hodge truly came to liberate the slaves, then Su Lun had a certain admiration for him.

But now, it seemed the man's motives might not be so pure.

The one tailing Yuta was clearly a professional spy, not someone an ordinary power could cultivate. This seemed to indicate that Hodge was not a lone hero in the 'Slave Liberation Movement'; behind him, there likely stood a tremendous force offering covert support.

Only the very powerful could pull off such a feat—a top noble or perhaps the Royal House of Ruling.

Thinking this, Su Lun pursed his lips.

Without needing to think further, such actions likely aimed at the vast expanse of the Northern Tundra and its various indigenous races.

And reality didn't let Su Lun speculate for long, as the intense battle at sea redirected his attention.

....

Su Lun's eyesight was much better than that of others, and he could see through the mist at once, on the ship flying the "Norsen Commerce" flag, some people were in combat.

Someone was attempting to seize the ship.

Others were resisting.

However, the battle was nearly one-sided. This was because the sturdy man in the silver lion armor on the deck was the fifth-order professional, 'Fist of Justice' Hodge.

The Great Bounty Hunter who had once slain a pirate with a bounty of over a hundred million!

His presence meant that the small commerce's guards and adventurers had no chance to resist.

Hodge leaped onto the deck and called out with a voice as loud as a bell, "I am Hodge Soriano, we are here to free slaves, we shall spare those who are innocent! But those who dare to obstruct us shall be considered as filthy slave traders' lapdogs, to be executed without mercy!"

At his words, pressure radiated in all directions.

Upon the other ships not belonging to Sun Commerce, the supporting gunfire promptly lessened significantly.

Reputation aside, this man was still well-regarded. While he was detested by slave traders, ordinary merchants didn't have a bad impression of him. As he declared, he had come to rescue slaves. Against such a formidable expert for the sake of protecting the property of a great commerce, it was clearly unwise.

....

The sudden emergence of a fifth-order professional within the fleet caused Su Lun to frown.

However, he didn't feel particularly threatened.

After all, they hadn't come for him.

Moreover, no matter what Hodge's motives were, the purpose of those people freeing the slaves was the same as Su Lun's.

Having such a Five-stage master taking action also saved him a lot of effort.

Su Lun had no intention of making a name for himself at this critical juncture.

He stood on the deck, along with everyone else, watching the excitement with interest.

Meanwhile, Yuta, who was mixed in with the crowd, also transmitted over the communication device, "Mr. Su Lun, I'm going to check on my people first!"

Su Lun thought about it,

If Hodge wanted to save people to gain favor, then he certainly wouldn't harm the Dalu people.

It should be safe for Yuta to go.

He responded, "Hmm! Be extra careful, that person might be the one who has been following you recently."

Yuta's reply came through the communication device, "Okay!"

With that, a figure leaped into the sea.

....

The battle did not last long, and the force led by Hodge quickly quelled the resistance.

Before long, Su Lun saw the slaves being released from the three slave ships.

Just then, in the nearby fog, several ships slowly emerged, seemingly coming to rendezvous with Hodge's people.

Su Lun felt that it was quite good to end it this way.

After all, everyone was rescued, which saved him a lot of trouble.

But just at that moment, something unexpected happened.

Su Lun's ears twitched slightly as he heard the "caw caw caw" of birds in the sky.

In the night, those black birds were not conspicuous, and even with his eyesight, he could only see some dark figures flying from afar.

"Crows?"

Su Lun looked up, but his brow furrowed.

He had personally killed a man who raised crows in Old Lington and knew that these ominous birds had certain habits.

Crows cannot fly long distances.

The appearance of crows over the sea meant that someone on a nearby ship was keeping them!

Moreover, the sound of their flapping wings was becoming increasingly dense, indicating there were many of them.

A bad premonition was forming in Su Lun's mind.

Just then, more than a dozen red-eyed crows had already alighted on the mainmast of the ship where he was.

Seeing these red-eyed crows, Su Lun immediately thought of someone he had seen three days ago in the pirate tavern—the Crow Godfather, Gwenb Mary!

"Not good!"

He had just realized something when his pupils suddenly shrank; before he could say anything, the flock of crows, with a flash of red light in their eyes, suddenly flew down, flapping their wings as if to attack the people on the deck.

When attacked, the adventurers on the deck reacted quickly. Amidst the shouting, a volley of gunfire rang out.

The sound of crackling gunfire was instantly extinguished.

Only a few crows were killed, and no one paid much attention.

"Bad luck! Why encounter crows at sea as well!"

"Haha, my shooting's not bad, right? I got two birds with one shot!"

"..."

What they hadn't noticed was that the crows, when hit by bullets, exploded into a mist of blood in mid-air.

....

"It really is that cursed technique..."

Su Lun narrowed his eyes as he looked at the clouds of blood mist, already certain of the origin of these crows.

He had crossed paths with this technique before and was all too familiar with it.

This was the Curse Magic spell, "Blood Curse of the Plague Crows"!

Previously he did not know the principle behind this technique, but now, in his perception, it was crystal clear. At the moment the crows burst into blood mist, his eyes saw what seemed like a sandstorm made of tiny soul particles. Within an extremely short time, they had spread across the entire sea.

This blood was the medium for the parasitic curse!

"Now the fleet is in big trouble..."

Realizing this, Su Lun quickly changed his appearance with a sort of spellcasting, putting on a crow-beak poison mask as if it were changing faces.

The others on the ship didn't react in time and had already inhaled some of the blood mist.

The next instant, a bizarre scene unfolded!

Some people on deck suddenly felt something stuck in their throats and reached with their fingers to pull it out.

As they did so, live crows began crawling out of their mouths!

More and more people, as if possessed, began to cough up crows in an eerie spectacle. The number of crows regurgitated increased rapidly and soon covered the sky.

Su Lun looked on with a heavy gaze.

This spell was much more formidable than any he had encountered before. As he looked at the sky full of crows, he muttered to himself, "Curse Magic released by fourth-tier professionals is indeed much more powerful than that of the second tier."

"Oh, damn it, what the hell is this thing!"

"It's Curse Magic! Everyone be careful, don't touch those crows!"

"It's a parasitic curse, not fatal for the time being. But if the curse isn't lifted, we will eventually be drained to death!"

"Damn it, the 'Basic Curse Potion' is useless! Who has a high-level one, sell me one!"

"Everyone watch out, it might be a pirate attack! I've heard of this method before, a new pirate known as 'Crow' has recently appeared on the seas..."

"..."

Everyone was dumbfounded by the Curse Magic.

They had no clue what was happening.

Moans echoed all over the deck and inside the cabins.

....

Su Lun was also puzzled, thinking that if Hodge was rescuing people, why did he add this twist to it?

Could it be that Hodge is one of the King of the North Sea's men?

But clearly, that wasn't the case.

Looking out into the distance, the so-called 'Fist of Justice' Hodge also stared gravely at the few ships veiled in fog.

It seemed that he too was unaware.

Su Lun followed the man's gaze and saw the silhouettes of those large ships in the misty night. As he got closer, he could make out the fluttering flags on the ship's masts—shockingly, they were blue skull flags with a Wolf Fang Club motif!

That was the fleet of the King of the North Sea!

And indeed,

The one controlling the crows was Gwenb!

Su Lun immediately guessed what was happening, his eyes shifted, and he quickly realized, "Has Hodge been targeted by the King of the North Sea's men?"

He realized that tonight seemed to be a "series of traps."

Hodge had come to rescue the slaves, and the King of the North Sea's men had been keeping a watch on him. They took advantage of his voyage to sea, ready to surround and kill him.

The reason wasn't hard to surmise.

Hodge's action of rescuing slaves was gaining him more and more fame among the various races of the North, and the trend was intensifying. This, indeed, posed a serious threat to the prestige of the King of the North Sea.

Su Lun felt that, if it were him, he probably wouldn't allow this disturbance to continue either.

He glanced at Yuta. The curse seemed to have no effect on her as a Druid. She was casting spells to dispel the cursed blood fog on the slave ship detaining the sub-humans.

Seeing this, Su Lun didn't rush to act and calmly watched as the situation unfolded.

...

Before long, the crew members on the mast also spotted the pirate flags and shouted, "Pirates are attacking!"

This shout immediately sent the fleet into chaos.

"Damn it, how could there be pirates?!"

"No good, it's the North Sea fleet..."

"..."

The various merchant ship Captains immediately gave orders: "Quick, turn the rudder, return to port! Notify the other merchant ships to form up, prepare the cannons, and sink those damned pirates!"

Normally, cargo ships can't outrun pirate ships.

Especially those returning from the North, laden with too much cargo, they draft deeply and move slowly.

Pirate ships, designed for raiding, are built for speed.

So escape was highly unlikely, the only option was to fight while fleeing, perhaps to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

The merchants could ignore Hodge, as they knew he wasn't a pirate and had some moral standards.

But when faced with real pirates, there was only the choice to fight to the death!

Being captured by pirates meant that aside from a select few who could be ransomed for their value, the fate of the others, if they managed to survive, especially the women, would be worse than death!

Cannon fire suddenly broke the silence, and the booming sounds filled the air.

...

Hodge clearly understood that those men were coming for him.

He knew if he stayed on the slave ship, the sub-human slaves would be implicated, and all his previous efforts to free them would be in vain.

With that thought, he leapt off the slave ship and jumped onto the merchant ship he had commandeered earlier.

Watching this, Su Lun also leaped off the ship.