Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
Duke Raphael's domain lies on the western edge of the Luyin Empire, and it takes about half a month to reach by steam ferry.
It is one of the most prosperous territories of the Empire.
Further west, after several days of sailing across the vast ocean, there lies an unmarked spot on the map known as "Black Castle Reef."
Atop the reef stands a castle with a towering lighthouse.
But within the castle walls, there are no ordinary residents, only a secret personal guard of Duke Raphael.
This is a purely military fortress.
Little known to the outside world.
Recently, the conflict between the Luyin Empire and the Mafa Mechanical Empire on the eastern coast has intensified, prompting many lords to call upon their military forces to join the battle.
The withdrawal of troops by the nobility has also presented an opportunity for pirates.
The fleet of Oleg J. Popov, a notorious pirate lord known as the "King of the Northern Seas," has been active near the territory of Duke Raphael, preying upon passing merchant ships.
Black Castle Reef was also discovered by a small pirate scouting party.
Such military strongholds are usually the least desirable targets for pirates.
High casualties and little treasure to plunder.
However, the unusual activity at the reef caught the attention of a prominent pirate.
That was Tim Ashley, a captain under the "King of the Northern Seas," a formidable pirate with a bounty of 160 million Lis, and a fifth-tier professional known as the "Shadow Demon."
After several days of patient observation, this pirate noticed that the military force on the reef was "over-equipped," far exceeding the needs of a typical military stronghold.
Finally, he decided to take the risk and explore the island.
One day, a steam warship entered the military dock of Black Castle Reef.
After several layers of strict inspections, a few people from the ship were allowed to enter the castle.
They headed straight for the lighthouse within the castle, descended underground, and entered a black tower, making their way deep into the earth.
Unbeknownst to them, hidden within a shadow was a great pirate.
"The 'Super Mechanical Warriors' that the Duke has been secretly researching shone brilliantly on the battlefield, even those from the Mechanical Sect of the Mafa Empire suffered a great loss."
"Yes, those cumbersome mechanical armors are no match for the mechanical warriors. When it comes to mechanical limb modification technology, our territory is truly top-notch."
"After the great victory at the Battle of Norman Sea, the Empire will surely see the Duke in a new light. Even Her Majesty the Empress is likely to reward him significantly."
"Of course, our Duke might even be conferred the title of 'First-Class Duke' this time."
"Hey~ I've heard that the women of Old London are quite something. They spend years underground, their skin pale and smooth, a different flavor compared to those sunburnt women above ground. Shall we take a stroll in the city later? Heh heh, the commander said that the so-called noble ladies and misses of the city, their demeanor is no less than the high nobility outside. If we fancy anyone, we can pick and choose at will, play however we like."
"Don't joke, I'm actually quite tempted."
"Let's get the important stuff done first. The Duke sent us with all these materials, hoping to deploy the latest batch of mechanical warriors to the battlefield. Let's head to the research institute first."
***
Before long, the group arrived in the city of Old London.
Leaving the Duke's mansion, they went straight to the mechanical research institute.
Because this place is underground, it requires lighting, and shadows lurk everywhere.
The group was completely unaware that after leaving the tower, one of their shadows connected with the shadow in the corner, then eerily "detached" from the person and merged into the darkness of the corner, quickly moving away from the Duke's mansion.
After distancing themselves from the guards of the black tower, in an alleyway of Old London, the wandering shadow suddenly twisted and became three-dimensional, materializing into a man dressed as an assassin with triangular eyes.
This man was none other than the great pirate, Tim Ashley.
His talent was [B-021 Shadow Mimic] , which allowed him to hide his body within any shadow.
This underground world, filled with shadows, provided too much convenience for his abilities.
"Phew, that was a close call. Lucky for me, the boss gave me that treasure; otherwise, it wouldn't have been easy to infiltrate with all those checkpoints."
Tim muttered to himself, breathing a sigh of relief.
After all, if a pirate were caught, they would be sent straight to the gallows.
But in an instant, his gaze brightened as he looked at the bustling inner city of Old London before him.
One could tell whether there was "oil and water" just by looking at the buildings on the street and the attire of the pedestrians.
（Peter Pan's tip: "oil and water" Refers to benefits/profits）
My goodness, what kind of mine is this?
It's a bustling metropolis!
The people here are dressed so lavishly, not only a hundred times better than us poor pirates, but also not inferior to those wealthy territories.
And, listening to those guys, this is also Duke Raphael's secret research base!
Super Mechanical Warriors?
The "full mechanical limb modification" technology that even the fanatical mechanics of the Mafa Empire couldn't breach has been successfully developed here?
And the ancient ruins of a thousand years, the legendary Dawn City?
My god, does that 'demi-god' great alchemist truly exist?
And with so many people, wouldn't selling them off be pure gold and silver?
Isn't this the ideal place for plundering?
"Phew, so this is the secret to Duke Raphael's wealth. There have always been rumors that the Raphael family had a 'mine' full of endless treasures, and this is what it was all about!"
Tim was thrilled, not expecting that his risky venture would turn out to be such a huge surprise.
The key is, wealth coupled with weakness, is the original sin!
"The highest rank among the mine slaves in this city is only third-tier, hahaha, I'm going to strike it rich. I need to gather the intelligence quickly and send it out so the boss can send a fleet over!"
The great pirate thought of something, his face lit up with joy, and his figure once again merged into the darkness.
***
Meanwhile, underground.
In a tower near the core area of the city, close to the Dawn Ruins.
Su'en and Mr. Mirror were still patiently meditating and waiting.
Because he had stripped away some of the memory fragments of the "Forensic" Gerald, Su'en didn't find it too difficult to understand the contents of the research diary.
He quickly flipped through the notes in the notebook.
But these were just research notes, and the human body is one of the most complex organisms, so there was still a long way to go to thoroughly understand it.
Su'en read through it once, but he would need a lot of time in the future to digest it.
Even Gerald himself often lamented in his notes that he had only touched the "surface" of biological alchemy, leaving behind one research topic after another.
Su'en closed the last notebook, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and thought to himself, "The field of biological alchemy is indeed complex."
He also finally understood that saying, the more knowledge one has, the more questions arise.
After reading the notes, Su'en finally understood why Gerald had to wear that [Three-Colored Mask of the Life Usurper].
The guy had once found a humanoid ancient creature that had been dead for at least tens of thousands of years, and then discovered living flesh within the corpse.
After experimenting and researching, Gerald found that the flesh could merge with human flesh, giving the test subject super vitality and the ability to withstand a third-tier state of [Hormonal Rampage].
Then, using ancient alchemy, he solved the not-so-strong reaction of alien species rejection and sewed that piece of flesh onto his own body.
But he didn't realize that this thing would not only affect the flesh, but over time, it would also affect the mind.
And then, his mind became distorted.
As the leader of the Umbrella Organization, he naturally had no shortage of suitable cursed objects.
He found this mask that could suppress the distortion of mental power.
[Three-Colored Mask of the Life Usurper]
Description: Once the mask is worn, nobody will love you.
Cursed Trait: Wearing the mask maintains absolute sanity, suppresses other abnormal mental fluctuations, and resists mental attacks of up to fifth-tier; if mental power does not exceed 500, you will be affected by the cursed trait, and once the mask is worn, it cannot be removed; it will also cause you to become mentally fragmented, eventually turning into a mad monster; it can absorb negative emotions from others, enhancing the cursed trait.
Detailed Explanation: An ancient life usurper created this mask to suppress himself after suffering backlash during divination, frequently hearing whispers from demons. To avoid going insane, he crafted this mask; but the mask absorbed too much negative emotion and became an item with a strong cursed trait; it can be used as a material for professional advancement, with mental power reaching 300, dark spirit power not less than 12W, and a fusion aberration probability not exceeding 5%; fusion leads to the understanding of 'Divided Mind Technique.' This is not mental fragmentation, you can think of it as 'multi-tasking with multiple hearts';
Su'en also discovered that as his knowledge increased, the detailed explanations he identified for items became more detailed.
The essence of using cursed materials for advancement is to allow the alchemist to use these "external" means to comprehend abilities that they currently cannot understand through normal channels.
This "multi-tasking with multiple hearts" ability is indeed highly compatible with the Puppeteer.
In the realm of the mind, this ability is probably as rare as spatial abilities.
With one heart and multiple uses, Su'en could precisely control more than ten puppets;
But with multiple hearts and multiple uses, the number of puppets he could control would multiply.
This ability would also increase with the growth of mental power.
Truly an ideal material for advancement.
However, the conditions for advancement are also very strict.
It's no wonder that others need to be at least fourth-tier to meet the fusion requirements.
That 12W dark spirit power requirement, Su'en estimated that he could barely reach it when he was at the peak of the third-tier. But this is also based on the premise that his body has been modified with "X Serum," making his tolerance much higher than others at each tier. Normally, a fourth-tier professional could possibly have a dark spirit power of tens of thousands.
Then there's mental power.
Now that he has absorbed so many mental fragments, his mental power value on the panel is only 192, far from the 300 needed for fusion.
Fortunately, now he has [Stargazing Visualization Technique], which also provides mental power growth through meditation.
But even with this top-tier mental power secret technique, it would probably take a year and a half to reach that level.
Hmm. There's also the [Reaper of Death] talent.
If there are enough enemies, it should also cut down a lot of time.
Su'en was still sorting through the spoils of war from the two major families' elite groups, identifying and categorizing them, keeping some useful materials and equipment for himself, and then packing up the rest to sell later.
Just then, Mr. Mirror suddenly opened her eyes and said, "He's here!"
Su'en also tensed up, "Should I go now?"
Mr. Mirror nodded, "Yes."
With that, she pinched a sorcerer's seal with both hands, and a glow emerged from Su'en's body.
***
In the next moment, Su'en found himself instantly teleported outside the tower.
"What a magical technique."
Su'en looked at the fading glow on his body, glanced back at the tower, and shrugged.
It would have been a death sentence for him, a second-tier nobody, to meet that fallen angel.
Not to mention the fighting power of the angel, the guards of the Duke's mansion around Him were definitely not something Su'en could handle.
But with Mr. Mirror's technique, Su'en was not worried at all.
To avoid being mistaken for an unknown assassin and killed by the stealth guards around Princess Theresa, he didn't wear a mask and walked directly into the depths of the mist.
Now, Su'en had roughly figured out the ins and outs of the situation.
The brooch he found at Storm Manor was made of special material capable of carrying souls.
Su'en was now certain that the hidden information he couldn't identify was a fragment of the fallen angel's soul hidden in the brooch.
Looking back, it was the right choice to bury it cautiously in the ground.
Otherwise, he might have become an unwitting "tool" manipulated by that god without realizing it.
But for some reason, that butterfly brooch, through some channel, ended up in the hands of Princess Theresa of the Duke's mansion.
Then, probably bewitched by the soul of the fallen angel, this Theresa became very enthusiastic about the development of the Dawn City ruins.
She even came in person.
It's called hunting for relics, but in reality, it's mobilizing the entire power of Old London to find the sealed body parts of that god.
Unfortunately, Mr. Mirror and the others have almost intercepted it.
Walking along, Su'en's thoughts were racing.
Before long, he "expectedly" found a little girl floating in the mist.
Recognizing the well-behaved appearance, it was none other than Pestoya, the little ghost he had met not long ago.
Seeing Su'en, she greeted him warmly, "Hi, Mr. Su'en, we meet again."
Su'en also smiled, already knowing why she was here, but still asked deliberately, "Pestoya, what are you doing here?"
Pestoya tilted her head, thinking as if waking from sleepwalking, "Ah? I don't know, I sensed you nearby, so I came to find you."
The fallen angel knew all the truths, but Pestoya had no idea that her soul harbored another "god's" soul.
Su'en didn't continue to ask about it.
He reached out his hand to her, signaling Pestoya to take it.
Pestoya didn't mind and happily reached out to grab his hand.
At that moment, as if she noticed something, she floated in front of Su'en, sniffing close to him, "Oh, you have a very nice smell on you~"
"What smell?"
Su'en knew it was the scent of [Isaac's Alchemical Heart], which the fallen angel was after, but he pretended to be ignorant.
After all, according to the normal script, he was supposed to be unaware of everything.
Unaware of the existence of the fallen angel, unaware of any divine body, and unaware of any millennia-old schemes, he should only treat Pestoya as a ghostly "good friend."
The fallen angel was cunning, having been defeated by Sir Isaac and his body dismembered and sealed.
Although it was just a lowly human, He would not underestimate such an enemy.
He also suspected that there was another conspiracy behind that "burning at the stake."
Although a thousand years had passed and the once prosperous Dawn City had become ruins, the enemy was nowhere to be found.
But before clarifying, He would definitely not give up Pestoya, this "amulet."
Su'en got straight to the point, holding Pestoya's hand, and said, "Last time you entrusted me with something, right? I've seen Lady Sereya."
"Ah?"
Hearing this, Pestoya's eyes filled with complex emotions, nervousness, resentment, and anticipation.
Su'en took out the ring that Sereya had given him and gestured, "Give me your hand."
Without giving the ghost miss any time to think, Su'en took her soft little hand and put the ring on her index finger.
The ring seemed unremarkable.
The fallen angel still thought Su'en was unaware of His existence and continued to pretend.
And our ghost miss truly had no defenses.
As Su'en put on the ring, he calmly said, "I asked your question, and Lady Sereya asked me to give you a message. She said—"
At this point, Pestoya looked forward with anticipation, completely forgetting to pull her hand back.
After a pause, Su'en looked at her and slowly uttered three words, "She loves you."
Pestoya was stunned, her big, sparkling eyes full of confusion.
She never expected to hear such words.
A thousand years of resentment,
With no outlet,
Suddenly turned into endless grievances.
But before Pestoya could think further,
At that moment, the ring in her hand suddenly emitted a scorching glow.
Pestoya didn't feel anything unusual, but the presence hidden deep within her soul let out a screech like a startled cat.
At the same time, about one or two kilometers away, Theresa's team suddenly erupted with commotion.
An indescribable and terrifying will descended upon the entire ruins!