Mechanical Alchemist

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

In Old Lingdun Inner City's district 3, the commotion of battle grew louder and louder.

The power of spells from fifth- and sixth-tier mages was comparable to the explosion of high-level alchemy artillery shells, and a group attacking Su Lun in unison was akin to a volley from a mid-sized cannon battery. The mere shockwaves from the outbreak shattered large areas of glass on the high-rise buildings of several nearby streets, and both buildings and iron bridges collapsed in swathes.

When the mages saw they were now in full view of the public, they instantly knew something was terribly wrong.

They were still unaware that the people from the Monoceros Chamber of Commerce had been killed by Su Lun. But as this was originally a secret intrusion, being exposed to the sights of these alchemical natives not only meant the risk of failure to their plans but could even reveal the divine believers who arranged for them to come.

The few mages could also vaguely guess that the goal of this alchemical native was precisely to force them into the open.

They had no choice but to meet the challenge with all their might.

However, after fighting, they found that they couldn't kill the one in the gold-patterned cloak in a short time.

Unable to kill Su Lun in an instant, they originally planned to use a magic scroll of spatial ability to escape and avoid public view at the first opportunity.

But to their shock, they discovered that after tearing the scroll, it had no effect at all.

Upon careful sensing, they realized the Space Law around them seemed to be sealed by a higher order force?

When they tried using other various means of escape, like Wind Escape and Earth Escape, they also weirdly failed.

Yet, strangely, all means of attack worked perfectly fine.

Unable to escape, they couldn't just surrender voluntarily, right?

Although they knew fighting carried a heavy price, they had no choice but to fiercely battle Su Lun.

But after several exchanges, these fellows finally realized the truth: it wasn't that they couldn't kill this native in a short time, but that this was all a trap set by their opponent!

At that moment, the mages immediately realized their situation, that their opponent had deliberately made them expose themselves.

But they were helpless against it.

Unable to flee and unable to end the battle, all they could do was hold out in a stalemate.

It looked like they were fighting on their own, but every move they made seemed to be manipulated by someone else.

They were just like puppets in a puppet theater, seemingly controlled throughout by invisible strings.

...

With Su Lun's current strength, if he wanted to take control, where would he even give a few fifth- or sixth-tier mages any chance to resist?

Moreover, Mr. Jing, a ninth-tier mage, was observing the battle from the shadows.

Every possible escape route for the enemies was sealed; any such moves they made were interrupted in advance.

The enemies couldn't flee, and magic did little harm to him, so Su Lun wasn't in any hurry. He just kept dealing blow after blow, making as much noise as possible.

But even if it was a performance, it wasn't one that lower-tier professionals could understand.

The onlookers only saw an extremely intense battle.

People from the City Guard arrived immediately, fully armed. Originally, their duty was to suppress any chaos occurring within the inner city. However, upon arrival, they found that they couldn't intervene in such a high-level battle, nor did they dare to interfere. These people could only try to evacuate the crowd as best they could and mitigate the shockwaves to save some city structures from destruction.

Before long, the people from the Governor's Mansion also arrived.

Leading them was the Governor of Old Lington, Hunter Gregory, son of Master Merlin.

In his guard was also a seventh-tier professional, Master Merlin's proud disciple, known as 'Golden Warrior' Dick Elec.

The three hundred knights accompanying them were also of the legitimate Prince's Knights, with strong combat powers.

From a distance, the group from the Governor's Mansion watched the people fighting, their expressions quite complex.

Governor Hunter, a composed middle-aged man with a goatee, watched the people shielded by magical barriers and murmured, "Mages? People from the divine plane have actually come to Old Lington..."

Although slightly surprised, he was not shocked.

As Su Lun and Mr. Jing had speculated before, these officials were unaware of the divine plane mages' secret intrusion into Old Lington.

But as a core member of the old faction, how could Governor Hunter not guess some of the reasons?

He was the most distinguished scion of the Gregory family, which is why his father had arranged for him to become the governor of Old Lington.

Seeing these mages, he immediately guessed they must have come through channels of the old faction, and this might have something to do with his own family.

Governor Hunter instantly realized that things had taken a turn for the worse.

Now that they were exposed, no matter who had arranged for these people to come, the subsequent negative impact would be immense.

His eyes flashed darkly before he quickly ordered, "Go check the port right now, see who arranged for these people to come, take control of them first, if not, just erase them directly. Also, inform Old Lington immediately, let them know the situation here so they can prepare early."

A guard responded and left, "Yes, Governor."

At that moment, Governor Hunter thought of something else and said to the commander of the knights beside him, "Captain Dick, no matter how the battle goes, don't let anyone capture any prisoners alive."

The knight commander immediately understood and nodded, "Understood."

Intuition told him that the fewer prisoners they left alive, be it these mages or those involved in this matter, the less trouble there would be for the Lington family.

Having made these arrangements, the furrow in Governor Hunter's brow eased slightly.

They didn't intervene in the ongoing battle between the two parties, as in the current situation, it was obviously more suitable to stand by and watch.

Waiting for them to both suffer losses would be the best opportunity to reap the benefits.

At that time, Governor Hunter's gaze turned back to Su Lun in the midst of the battle, as he was curious about the affiliation of those involved and asked, "Have you figured out who that cloaked person is?"

The knight commander, Captain Dick, pondered for a moment and replied, "That gold-patterned cloak is a symbol of core members of the 'Dawn Organization.' Although there are many imitators these days, the cloak is rumored to be a fine piece of alchemy, so this one should be genuine. That man appears to possess advanced force series cultivation and spatial abilities; he looks a bit like 'Ferocious Beast' Alek Barrett. The strength of those mages is not weak either, only a seventh-tier professional could handle them so easily."

Upon hearing this, Governor Hunter's expression turned cold, unable to hide a hint of anger at being offended, "Humph, to make trouble in Old Lington without notifying me. This Dawn Organization doesn't think much of my Gregory family, does it..."

A civilian organization without any law enforcement power, based on current intelligence, only their leader Mr. Jing posed some threat, the rest were negligible.

Yet this organization dared to take up arms within his territory without reporting, not to mention that the Gregory family was currently the first shrine of the Union Empire, wasn't he, the Governor, also disregarded?

...

Su Lun had long noticed those from the Governor's Mansion spying from a distance, but he paid them no mind.

The strongest among them was only a seventh-tier, not worth a second look.

However, now that the audience had all arrived, the theater performance should also come to an end; Su Lun had no intention of prolonging the fight.

Without any warning, his offensive suddenly became fierce, and after a few punches and kicks, the battle was over.

Five mages, three dead and two severely injured.

Within the building ruins, the two living mages still breathed, about to be captured alive.

However, at that moment, the knights from the Governor's Mansion who had been watching without joining the battle suddenly charged in, ready to arrest the troublemakers.

As the knight squad rushed over, they didn't forget to bellow a warning, "We are the Governor's Mansion knight squad, here to arrest the culprits. All others stand clear immediately!"

Su Lun knew exactly what these people wanted to do; seeing the seventh-tier knight commander charging at the two prisoners, he sneered inwardly and charged over as well.

With a "thud," two colliding figures suddenly came apart.

Su Lun retreated dozens of meters, looking from under the cloak at the knight commander who had blocked him with a gaze that seemed to be both mocking and smiling.

This man was clearly here to prevent him from capturing the prisoners alive.

Su Lun could have stopped them, but he didn't intend to reveal his identity and strength, so this clash ended in a stalemate.

Taking advantage of this distraction, the two prisoners were quickly surrounded by the knights from the Governor's Mansion.

Su Lun watched without making another move but asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean, sir? Don't you know that these are mages from the Divine Plane?"

The questioning voice boomed like a great bell, clearly heard by the tens of thousands of onlookers in the nearby streets.

The residents of Old Lington Inner City also turned their gaze, eager to know why there were enemies from the Divine Plane here.

Even though everyone had witnessed that these people were mages, the Governor's Mansion dared not acknowledge it.

If they truly let an enemy into Old Lington, whether they were aware or not, they had an inescapable responsibility.

The knight commander replied with an air of authority, "As for the identities of these culprits, we at the Governor's Mansion will of course investigate thoroughly. We absolutely won't let go of any enemy who attempts to disturb the peace of Old Lington."

His response cleverly avoided the topic of the mages' identities and turned to Su Lun, asking suspiciously, "On the other hand, who are you? During this sensitive period of the dimensional war, please present your entry identity documents."

"Me?"

Su Lun shrugged slightly, naturally unable to produce any entry documents.

He knew the other party was convinced he couldn't show any, which was why they insisted on this topic.

A seventh-tier professional entering Old Lington would surely be recorded in a registry; without it, it meant sneaking in. Whatever the reason for sneaking in, a questionable motive was suspected right from the start.

This guy was obviously trying to shift the topic.

Indeed, as soon as the issue was raised, the expressions of the Old Lingdun residents watching around became cautious when they looked at Su Lun.

Just a moment ago, they thought that anyone who fought against a mage must be one of their own, but if they were smugglers, that would require a complete reevaluation.

It was clear that the knight captain wanted this effect, shifting the focus from their governor's office's inadequate supervision to somewhere else, so even if subsequent investigations by the joint empire uncovered anything, they would have some other excuses at their disposal.

He urged, "If Your Excellency cannot produce it, please cooperate with us in a trip to the Public Security Bureau. We need to understand your identity and your relationship with these people."

"Heh."

Su Lun snorted coldly, having no intention of playing the twisted games of intrigue with these seasoned officials.

As for the two captives, he actually did not care about them.

The significance of captives is "evidence."

Su Lun knew the intelligence he had extracted could be convincing on its own but persuading others would be much more difficult.

But it did not matter; he had never expected to resolve these hidden dangers through normal channels. If someone secretly obstructed the complex review processes, it could take until the end of the interplane war to see any results.

Up to now, he just wanted to see the attitude of the governor's office.

Watching the knight captain clearly speaking officialese, Su Lun cut straight to the point, "I am from the Dawn Organization..."

But before he could finish his sentence, the knight captain, as if he had anticipated it, interrupted directly, "No matter which organization you belong to, if you cannot present identity proof, please cooperate with our investigation!"

At the same time he spoke, his aggressiveness leaked out, making the air around them practically solidify.

Gauging the situation, it seemed that saying another word of refusal would immediately provoke action.

Su Lun knew this guy most likely would not give him a chance to explain further.

Without further ado, he stated the facts, challenging, "People from the Monoceros Trading Company conspired with enemies from the divine plane and smuggled them into Old Lingdun. Those mages are establishing an ultra-long-distance teleportation array near Old Lingdun's underground interplane channel... I would like to ask, does your governor's office have knowledge of this?"

Upon hearing these words, not only did the knight captain's face change drastically but so did the governor Hunter Gregory's, who had been watching silently from a distance.

He had been wondering what these mages were doing in Old Lingdun, and only now did he realize the seriousness of the situation!

If it was just a few individuals, it could be explained as them sneaking in amidst the chaos. But organized large-scale smuggling was a capital offense that could lead to the extermination of entire families.

No one could bear the responsibility!

And listening to the causes and consequences, he immediately realized that what this man before him was saying was the truth!

The revelation sent shockwaves through the crowd. Everyone's expressions gradually turned to shock, and their glances shifted to the people of the governor's office—if true, such large-scale smuggling must involve the top echelons of the governor's office!

The knight captain responded quickly, grabbing once again at the topic of identity, "As I said, we will thoroughly investigate the identity of these people on behalf of the governor's office. Please present your proof of identity!"

This time, as soon as he finished speaking, his domineering presence burst forth.

He had no idea what the man before him would disclose if given another chance to speak, so he needed to take control quickly.

The threat was evident in his posture.

An elite knight squadron led by a tier-7 knight captain, even faced with one of the top ten legendary figures, would have to submit quietly.

But they had met Su Lun.

He snorted coldly, "Fine! Since you want to see proof, I'll show you!"

No sooner had his voice faded than he pulled out a spatial scroll, which exploded with a bang, and the bodies of over a hundred mages in magic robes fell to the ground before them.

Su Lun roared, "These bodies are divine plane mages that our organization slaughtered at the Dawn Relic. I ask you, Lord Governor, are you aware of this? How could the enemy infiltrate on such a large scale, and why has the governor's office done nothing in response?"

His words exploded in their minds like a sudden thunderclap, leaving everyone dumbfounded for a moment.

...

No one had expected such a sudden turn of events.

Previously, they thought it was just a few mages, but there were so many!

There is a significant difference between the bodies of mages and alchemists.

Alchemists, who advance by merging with symbiotic gear, leave behind the gear and materials when they die, and their bodies are also contaminated and distorted by the residual, uncontrolled forces of curses.

So upon seeing these bodies, everyone immediately realized they were indeed the corpses of mages!

And this fact directly confirmed what Su Lun had just stated: enemies had smuggled in on a large scale and were secretly establishing a teleportation array at the interplane channel!

This was a grave issue indeed!

The prospect of the enemy establishing teleportation arrays deep in the empire was akin to leading the entire Alchemy plane to its doom.

Traitor to the plane, this charge...

With this evidence presented, even the Knight Commander wouldn't possibly insist on pressing Su Lun's identity any further, his expression becoming extremely grave.

To continue evading would inevitably make people suspect there is an issue with the Governor's Office!

At this moment, even Governor Hunter's expression changed dramatically.

There is another layer of relationships, known to very few, that although the Dawn Organization is an absolutely neutral civilian organization, it has one very special member within its ranks.

That is "Fike Regadi."

This man is none other than the current husband of Empress Yekaterina.

Who can guarantee that the current actions of the Dawn Organization aren't the will of the royal family?

Moreover, he was also pondering another issue—if someone could kill over a hundred mages, it also meant that this cloaked figure had accomplices.

If there were to be a direct confrontation, the Governor's Office wouldn't necessarily come out on top.

In an instant, Governor Hunter thought of too much.

He knew that this matter couldn't just be glossed over, and finally, he stepped forward.

From a distance, he addressed Su Lun, as well as all the residents of Old Lington, "I swear on the name of my Gregory ancestors that I had absolutely no knowledge of this matter. As for the 'Narwhal Commerce Guild,' that indeed is an important partner of Old Lington. If the guild is conspiring with enemies, I assure you that I will thoroughly investigate and provide everyone with a satisfactory answer..."

Another round of impeccable, watertight official jargon.

"..."

Su Lun caught the guy's mental fluctuations, his eyebrows raising slightly.

He had no interest in wasting time on these noble platitudes and cut in, "It better not be related! We in the Dawn will definitely investigate this thoroughly. Otherwise, no matter who we find in collusion, they will all be treated the same—killed!"

Without waiting for the guy to finish, he had already vanished on the spot.

Leaving behind a scene strewn with corpses.

And the dumbfounded people of the Governor's Office and tens of thousands of onlookers.

...

Meanwhile, in an alley several blocks away, Su Lun reappeared, having already removed his cloak.

He and Mr. Jing strolled along the street, chatting as they walked.

"Those fellows from the Governor's Office truly were unaware. But they are also intentionally hiding and misleading certain details. They probably guessed that the truth might be related to their family, so they wanted to prepare in advance."

"Mmm. We only need to go to Lington and see now."

"Lington will likely be quite lively this time. With the Narwhal Commerce Guild exposed, just on this one line, they'll likely have a lot of deaths just from internal cleansing."

"..."

The two spoke in very light tones because everything was as expected.

They had also achieved their goal.

The high-profile stance of the Dawn Organization had been seen by those behind-the-scenes traitors.

The message was clear—if the other party did not act, they would inevitably continue to dig deeper and investigate step by step.

But if they took action, it may no longer be a matter of playing a long game to fish, but rather directly blowing up the pond to force the big fish lurking underneath to surface!

Also, regarding those mage corpses, now with such a multitude of bodies, even without any survivors, there would be no meaning in trying to argue otherwise.

Although Old Lington was isolated, Empress Yekaterina, who controlled the secret service, was certainly not to be trifled with. The Allied Empire would get the intelligence in no time and would act accordingly.

The aftermath might cause a great stir.

But at least one outcome was foreseeable—with such a big scandal, it was likely that the Gregory family would no longer be able to maintain their position as the Governor of Old Lington.

With Old Lington returning to the hands of the Empire, it would likely remain stable for a long time.

As the two walked onto the main street, Mr. Jing saw a sign on the road and, on a whim, suddenly spoke up, "There's a restaurant over there that's quite good; I used to go often. Want to try it before we leave Old Lington?"

"Sure,"

Su Lun grinned, flashing his teeth, and raised an eyebrow, "Are you treating me, Senior Sister?"

Mr. Jing nodded indifferently, "Yes."