The masters of dawn had come to support, and in an instant, over a dozen more people appeared on the block.
Su Lun no longer had the opportunity to continue his one-on-one battle with the "Frost Knight" Oscar and gain insights, as the duel quickly turned into a chaotic brawl.
He raised his hand, and with the formation of the sorcerer’s seals, more than a dozen terrifying wax figures appeared by his side and charged into the battlefield.
Not only did Qiantiao come, but also Mr. Hei, Barrett, Red Demon Kai, Kite... almost all of the old members of the Mirror Organization from Old Lington had arrived.
The golden patterns on their cloaks shone exceptionally brightly in the night.
Then there were Mr. Jing’s bloodline descendants, "Blood Duke" Moore Wazhuaz leading a swarm of vampires, transforming into a crazy flurry of giant bats sweeping through the sky.
In a flash, the vast Lighthouse District erupted into a brawl.
The commotion of the battle between sixth and seventh-tier professionals was extremely exaggerated, with various high-level magicians bombarding indiscriminately, making the sky above look like a display of elemental fireworks, with the earth shattering and buildings collapsing in heaps as the ground cracked inch by inch.
As it was a prepared ambush, even though the outer god fanatics who had mutated did not fear death, Su Lun and his companions still had an absolute advantage in combat strength.
The fight lasted for half an hour before it subsided, and all six mutated monsters were killed.
However, to Su Lun’s regret, aside from the "Frost Knight" Oscar’s soul being relatively intact, the others were severely mutated and their souls were seriously fragmented, leaving only some broken law fragments. The six monsters combined were not even equivalent to a single demon monk.
The only piece of good news was that these top-tier mutated beasts had more life essence from the parasitic worms of the Evil God within them.
But the corpses decayed quickly, and Su Lun had previously "overfed" himself, thinking it was somewhat wasteful.
Unexpectedly, after communicating with Moore Wazhuaz, the vampire who had lived for seven hundred years, he discovered that over the long years, the vampires had also developed some very special blood sucking insights.
Su Lun also mastered a Secret Technique that allowed him to absorb life essences beyond his body’s tolerance level.
Due to their constitution, vampires can almost directly absorb the blood of any creature ("eat fish without spitting out the bones"). But precisely this blood, tainted with divine law, could lead to mutations if consumed.
Su Lun then shared with Moore Wazhuaz some insights into purifying and absorbing the blood’s impurities that he had acquired from Augustus, and both parties benefited from the exchange.
...
The battle on the north side of the city involved Luying’s top elites fighting fiercely, not just clearing out monsters, but also vying for power and profit.
Dawn is a neutral organization and had no interest in joining the battle.
Su Lun and his companions didn’t run around either; they just wandered around the factories near the Lighthouse District, clearing out various mutated monsters.
They waited, perhaps for more powerful servants of the Evil God to come and try to assassinate them.
Being able to hold some back was also considered helpful.
The group split up, searching for and cleaning out mutated monsters in each factory district.
This force of theirs in the south city could say that as long as eighth-tier professionals didn’t come, it was basically unimpeded.
Even high-tier mutated monsters could be killed when teaming up two or three together.
Su Lun teamed up with Qiantiao, whom he had not seen for a long time, to clear out monsters.
As the two walked along, there were corpses all over the streets in the district.
Swordsmen, being one of the strongest killing-professionals, were many times faster than Su Lun at killing these mutants.
As they passed, their movements attracted a group of monsters, but before Su Lun could take action, she casually sliced with her sword—cutting all the monsters in two as easily as slicing through vegetables.
With each kill, the Rakshasa shadow behind her became a bit more solid, and the aura of killing around her grew stronger.
A short while later, after clearing a dormitory building of monsters, there was a brief lull.
Seeing that Qiantiao had freed up, Su Lun casually asked, "Sister Qiantiao, have you advanced to the sixth tier?"
He had noticed during the big battle that Qiantiao was much stronger than when they had last parted. It had been less than two months since they last met, and she had been fifth tier then, but now she had not just advanced to the sixth tier but even comprehended her domain. Not only had he made progress during this time, but his companions had also become formidable.
Qiantiao sheathed her sword and glanced at Su Lun, responding, "Yes. I went to the province of Xinuodiya before, and it so happened that Mr. Wazhuaz had a piece of Thunder material that suited me very well. After trying to integrate with it, I advanced."
Four eyes met, and perhaps because it had been a long time since they had seen each other, there was a hint of close reunion in both of their eyes.
The gambling-addicted lady was not at all shy, hooking her arm around Su Lun’s shoulder as usual, calling him "brother" as they walked forward.
It was then that she seemed to notice the black crown on Su Lun’s head and curiously asked, "Eh... is that crown a cursed object? It looks quite nice."
While talking, she teased, "Hmm... it really suits your ’Prince Feike’ temperament."
Su Lun raised an eyebrow, not paying attention to her teasing, just briefly explaining, "This is the inheritance crown from Region of Riega, it helps with the comprehension of domains, the effect isn’t bad. During the battle before, I felt I almost grasped a little insight, as if I touched upon the threshold."
At this point, he thought of something and asked back, "By the way, Sister Qiantiao, how did you comprehend your own domain?"
Qiantiao showed a puzzled expression upon hearing this, "Ah... is there a threshold for ’domains’?"
She pondered for a moment, then added, "Isn’t that something you can control after stabilizing your realm a bit once you advance to the sixth tier?"
Su Lun looked at her "isn’t it just using your hands" expression and rolled his eyes, murmuring, "Do you think everyone is like you, who entered the Sword Saint realm at the fifth tier?"
Their relationship was very familiar; he knew Qiantiao wasn’t boasting out of vanity.
She was genuinely simple-minded and thought it was indeed that easy.
Qiantiao’s obsession and flawless heart for the Sword Dao allowed her to comprehend her own "Thunder Sword Intent" at the fifth tier and enter the Sword Saint realm. That was also the reason for her smooth comprehension of her domain.
Moreover, there was another reason, which was her never before seen triple-unlocked talent of the "Rakshasa Woman."
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After studying it, Mr. Jing assessed that this talent could even give Qiantiao a very high chance of ignoring the eighth-tier threshold.
Seeing how serious Su Lun was, Qiantiao realized he was genuinely asking for advice.
It was then she became serious and considered for a moment before answering, "On my way to Lingdun, I killed a seventh-order sea monster and had the epiphany right then and there. I remember the feeling at that time was roughly like... peering into some special rules of force that the world had originally hidden away?"
Impressive, yet incomprehensible.
Listening, Su Lun showed a helpless expression.
Realms are the personal understanding of the world and one’s profession by the practitioners themselves. Evryone’s understanding is different, and indeed it can’t be clearly expressed.
Moreover, Qiantiao the boisterous wife herself was confused about her understanding; how could she explain it clearly to someone else?
Sure enough, she stumbled over her words after two sentences, impatiently exclaimed, "Ah, I can’t describe that feeling clearly. Anyway, I think if you fight more, you’ll definitely have the epiphany."
Su Lun couldn’t help but feel a mix of laughter and helplessness listening to her.
Clearly, compared to this, the gambling-addicted wife was more interested in other matters.
Hooking her arm around Su Lun’s neck, Qiantiao’s gossiping fire burned fiercely as she abruptly changed the subject, "Oh, I’ve read the newspapers these past few days. Su Lun, you’ve married a very pretty noble lady, haven’t you? How does it feel?"
Su Lun rolled his eyes and corrected her, "That’s ’Feike’, not me. It was just a cooperation, you know that."
"Heh!"
Qiantiao’s face was full of mockery, obviously disbelieving.
She knew well that marriage was a form of cooperation, but she was more curious about the hidden stories behind it, and continued, "The newspapers said that you and that noble lady didn’t leave the Rose Manor for days. Tsk tsk... is the experience with the little princess of the Lance family really that great?"
As she spoke, she raised her eyebrows suggestively, full of insinuation.
Staying a few extra days was because they had planned to set up William the Younger and the Demon Monk, a matter Su Lun had not discussed with anyone.
Looking into Qiantiao’s eyes ablaze with the fire of gossip, he intended to explain but dismissed the thought as quickly as it had come. Instead, he spoke with feigned frivolity, "My rating is... not as good as Sister Qiantiao."
"???"
Qiantiao was visibly startled upon hearing this, taking a moment to understand what he had said.
Looking back at Su Lun, she spoke with a ghastly gaze, "Hey hey hey... you little rascal, you’re asking for a beating."
Listening to that "threatening" tone, Su Lun didn’t care in the slightest and laughed heartily.
Without any niceties, Qiantiao punched him on the head.
With a "thud," Su Lun winced in pain and couldn’t help but yelp.
The two of them had a pretty jolly time clearing zombies and bickering on the streets.
...
The fighting power of Dawn’s group was extraordinary, and they quickly cleared the mutated monsters in the lighthouse district.
Before the zombie tide could infect everyone, they had nearly eliminated them all.
Originally, Su Lun and the others were prepared for actions from the Giant Hermit Society due to such a large-scale killing of monsters.
Yet unexpectedly, in the few hours of exterminating the monsters, other than the initial group from "Frost Knight" Oscar, no other experts showed up later on.
This made Su Lun somewhat puzzled.
But his communicator was constantly reporting the battle situations from all over Lingdun City.
While the zombie infection in the southern civilian area was severe, the actual decisive battles were still among the top nobles in the northern city.
Rafael, Lance, and Roberts, the three Senior Councilors, had stockpiled heavy troops in advance. There were airships in the sky and warships at sea,
and the great families that supported the Outer God cult were beaten back.
The situation was looking very good.
But in the midst of this smooth-sailing battle, a sudden twist occurred.
Just when everyone thought that the premature arrival of the Outer God was due to the lack of widespread deployment of the "Crimson Potion," which led to an inability to organize resistance, a shocking message came through.
In the lighthouse district, inside the corpse-littered Birmingham Textile Factory.
Su Lun had just received the call to assemble and immediately rushed over with Qiantiao.
And in the moments after the two of them arrived, Barrett, Moore Wazhuaz, and several others also arrived one after another.
Seeing Mr. Hei’s extremely serious demeanor, everyone knew something was amiss.
Barrett was the first to speak, "Mr. Hei, what’s wrong?"
Mr. Hei was the Chief Intelligence Officer of Dawn, with almost all intelligence being compiled by him. Looking at everyone, he spoke with a heavy tone, "I’ve just received a message... Master Pierre has been seriously wounded."
What?! Everyone, including Su Lun, was stunned upon hearing this.
Master Pierre was a ninth-order professional. Did Luying really have the ability to seriously wound him?
Su Lun quickly asked, "Did the Outer God arrive?"
The only possibility he could think of was this.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Hei shook his head, "No, it’s not."
Then he delivered news that caused everyone’s expression to change drastically, "It was Queen Charlotte who ordered two eighth-order royal retainers to ambush Master Pierre!"
...
Although Su Lun knew that the Giant Hermit’s current prosperity was backed by the Bonaparte Royal Family, he couldn’t understand why the mighty Queen of Ruin would allow someone to launch a sneak attack on Master Pierre, the linchpin of the empire.
It would be one thing if the Queen herself were a follower of a foreign god, but just a few days ago, it was confirmed that she was not!
Although the Bonaparte Royal Family was decadent, the royal palace was filled with elite warriors and was definitely not a place that followers of foreign gods could easily infiltrate.
And now, Lingdun was experiencing a freak surge, with millions dead or injured. Even the blindest could see the catastrophic harm these foreign god followers could bring to Ruin’s political landscape.
Instead of uniting against the foreign gods, they were breaking their own main support?
Mr. Hei continued, "The specific intelligence is still unclear. I received information earlier that the Queen had invited Master Pierre to Frederick Palace to discuss countermeasures. But shortly after he entered, Master Pierre was severely wounded and expelled. This is the latest update from two minutes ago."
Upon hearing this, everyone fell into silence.
Su Lun’s mind raced.
Master Pierre was a main force against the descent of that foreign god. If something happened to him, that would be a major issue.
While the whole of Lingdun seemed lively with the ongoing battles, everyone knew that the actual outcome of this calamity would be decided by the fight between Master Pierre, the top alchemist magicians, and the Giant Hermits against that foreign god.
Su Lun couldn’t fathom why the Queen would stab them in the back, but he also knew there was no time to delay.
His gaze swept over everyone, and he said seriously, "I plan to go and take a look."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately understood and nodded in agreement.
While the others stayed in the southern city awaiting news, Su Lun teleported and appeared several kilometers away.
He asked Mr. Jing through the communicator, who happened to be near the Frederic Royal Palace observing the battle.
Su Lun detected the spatial coordinates left by his senior sister and teleported repeatedly in that direction, crossing the Lokwarren River in the blink of an eye and arriving near the Saint Radiance Boulevard Royal Bank in the northern city.
After the final teleportation, the scenery changed, and he found himself in a loft.
Su Lun remembered this was the residence of the Marquis of Agnes.
As soon as he teleported over, he saw his senior sister standing gravely in front of the window, looking at the standoff not far from the palace square.
Su Lun directly asked, "Senior sister, what exactly happened?"
Mr. Jing had a complicated look in her eyes, didn’t say much, and gestured for him to look out the window, "Take a look for yourself."
Su Lun walked to the window and immediately saw a dense crowd of people.
At that moment, Frederick Royal Palace Square was teeming with tens of thousands of people.
The armor of the nobles’ private soldiers bore the crests of their respective families, so Su Lun instantly recognized that these people were from the Lance family’s "Blue Cross Heavy Cavalry Legion," the Roberts family’s "Black Gryphon Spear Legion," and the private armies of ten marquises and earls.
There were also the military’s "Golden Lion Legion," "Black Judgment Army,"...
Even officers from the intelligence division wearing black trench coats were present.
Of course, the most eye-catching and numerous were Duke Raphael’s "Super Mechanical Warriors" and "Mechanical Beasts" legions!
Duke Raphael, Duke Lance, and Archduke Roberts, all three Senior Councilors of the Parliament, were in attendance.
It seemed that almost all of the top professionals in Lingdun were gathered here.
Su Lun grew even more puzzled at this scene. He didn’t see a single person from the Outsiders; these were all opponents, which clearly indicated that the battle was going well.
But how could they still let Master Pierre be assassinated?
At this moment, a small portion of the palace’s gemstone blue spired buildings had collapsed, obviously having just endured a fierce battle.
And right outside the palace, a significant area of the square was left empty as no one dared to get close.
A hunched old man enveloped in blue and gold flames was floating in mid-air, unmistakably Master Pierre himself.
Not far away on the ground lay a corpse with a large burned hole in the chest.
Su Lun had no trouble recognizing that corpse as one of the two 8th rank royal retainers, ’Poison Sect’ Quinn Andrew. He was a Great Grandmaster of the poison wizard lineage and acclaimed as the most profound researcher of toxins among today’s Alchemist Masters!
Having seen what was before him, Su Lun already had a hunch, and looking at the blue and gold flames enveloping Master Pierre’s body, he guessed something, "Is Master Pierre using a ’Servantless’ to forcibly suppress the toxins?"
He had personally seen Master Pierre’s condition at the full moon dance party. He knew that the old predecessor was nearing the end of his life and had great difficulty even walking. But now he was exerting his spiritual power so extravagantly, akin to burning his lifespan, which undoubtedly meant he was severely wounded.
Su Lun’s eyes twitched as he glanced at Mr. Jing beside him, who was looking intensely solemn, lost in thought.
His gaze then shifted toward the other side of the standoff.
The white-haired old crone wearing a crown, surrounded by a throng of court guards and sheltered behind the palace’s magic defense barrier, was naturally the current ruler of Ruin, Queen Charlotte.
However, what caught Su Lun’s attention was not the court guards, but the fact that beside the old woman stood a middle-aged man with a big beard and mechanically augmented skeleton.
"Grand General of the Mafa Navy’s Third Command, ’Iron Behemoth’ Burton Christ? What is he doing here?"
Although Su Lun was not familiar with people from Mafa, he had still come across intelligence about a few top figures.
He never expected to see an enemy Mafa soldier by the side of the Queen of Ruin.
Moreover, judging from their stance, it seemed that the Queen might even have some kind of collaboration with this Burton?
...
In the square outside the palace, the two sides had not engaged in combat, but the atmosphere of the standoff was very tense.
It was at this time, as Su Lun arrived, that he could hear the ongoing dialogue between the two parties.
Queen Charlotte sternly questioned, "Pierre, do you remember that you are a royal retainer? Do you remember that it was the royal family’s grace that allowed you to advance to the 9th rank? Yet I cannot believe you would betray the royal family! It was one thing for you not to support the royal family during the rebel coup, but now you want to support the rebellion?"
Listening to these words, Pierre sighed deeply and said, "Your Majesty... I have never forgotten that the duty of a court retainer is to protect the continuity of the empire and the alchemy civilization, a sacred right granted to the court retainers by His Majesty Peter when he founded the empire."
Speaking to this point, the old man’s expression hesitated for a moment, as if he felt there was no point in elaborating further, he simply said, "From the beginning to the end, this loyal servant has never felt that I’ve done anything wrong."
Su Lun, hearing this conversation, guessed they were talking about the "Mist Moon Coup."
The outsiders didn’t know exactly what had happened at the time, but he had heard the inside story from Yekaterina.
Bonaparte IX was weak and incompetent, and Charlotte had actually controlled the power for a long time.
This old woman had completely hollowed out the royal power of the Bonaparte family, leaving the monarchy in name only. She even wanted to support her maternal family and rise to power. During this power struggle, a series of chaotic operations caused the common people to suffer, but what was crucial was that it touched the interests of the old aristocrats.
Then came the Mechanical Revolution and the Mist Moon Coup, which directly ousted her from power.
Later, her mysterious restoration to power also seems inevitable—surely the work of the Giant Hermit Order.
But Yekaterina also said that if her teacher had not spoken out, the Bonaparte royal family would have long been sent to the gallows, and the Empress owes her life to this day to Pierre’s credit.
Queen Charlotte, hearing this, a flash of cold light sparked in her eyes, "Hmph... It’s pointless to talk about old matters. As I said before, the ancient god of the Giant Hermit Order is our guardian deity of Ruin. Having heard the command, yet you do not withdraw your troops, what does this mean? Are you thinking of rebelling?!"
Upon hearing these words, Su Lun’s expression drastically changed.
Only then did he understand why the current situation had arisen and why the royal family would allow that outer god to brazenly gather faith.
It turned out to be a "Contracted Deity"!
In the Dawn Era, the alchemical civilization swept across many realms with their powerful military might.
The gods of other civilizations that resisted were killed;
those who submitted signed contracts and became contracted guardian deities.
Thinking about it, the Ruin Empire must have also scavenged the world’s treasures to find an ancient contract left behind.
This was why Queen Charlotte dared to do so.
However, such contracts are signed under the precondition of either overwhelming strength or equality!
The highest in the Bonaparte royal family is only the eighth tier, yet they thought of signing such a contract with an outer god?
Not to mention whether this contract is stable or not, what was this old woman thinking, signing with an evil god that easily slaughters millions of people?
Not only was Su Lun puzzled, but so was everyone else!
Pierre spoke with deep concern, "Your Majesty, do you realize that the calamity that has befallen Lingdun this time will claim the lives of at least millions? That outer god is using your subjects to heal its wounds and rekindle its divine flame. Do you truly believe such an evil deity will protect the empire?"
Upon hearing this, Queen Charlotte scoffed with disdain on her face, "Hahaha... millions of people? What of it? They’re just a population, easily replenished. As long as the royal family exists, Ruin will continue to prosper forever!"
Being questioned in front of tens of thousands of people, the old woman’s face also turned unsightly as she mocked, "Besides, whom should I trust if not myself, you?"
With that, she scanned the crowd, "Is this how you repay the royal trust?"
"Alas..."
Pierre, upon hearing this result, sighed repeatedly.
Just by looking at the expression of this old man, one knew his heart had turned to ash.
He spoke again, three questions in a row.
"Your Majesty, was it you who ordered the withdrawal of the garrison from the ’First Island Chain of Northern Defense’ three days ago? Do you realize that losing that century-old defensive chain will expose our homeland to enemy attacks, putting the entire empire in jeopardy?"
"There are reports that a month ago you secretly ceded the ’Teminas Seven Cities’ to the Mafa Empire; is that true?"
"Now, using the Royal Navy for cover, you’ve allowed the Mafa General to appear in Lingdun with heavy troops by your side; what exactly are you thinking?"
The words were full of lamentation and outrage, yet pale and powerless.
As the structure was about to collapse, one man could not reverse the tide.
Pierre’s questioning came to an end, the previous thread of fondness in his tone completely dissipated.
He knew the Empress could not answer, nor did he wait for her response. Suddenly, his tone turned cold, "If the price of your reign is the collapse of the empire, the extinction of civilization... even if I bear the name of injustice, I must sacrifice my life to stop it!"
Su Lun, listening to this, finally understood why, even though he had been ambushed and severely injured, there was no confrontation but rather this lengthy exchange.
This was the lifelong alchemical master who had toiled for the empire making his final break with the royalty.
Having received benefaction from the royal family, he had finally reached the end of his tolerance. Experience new stories on freewebnovel
....
Ceding territories and betraying the country, such scandals are enormous!
Upon hearing her shameful deeds publicly exposed, Queen Charlotte’s face turned livid, then enveloped in boundless rage.
No longer concealing her emotions, her eyes brimmed with madness, she mocked, "Hahaha, how ridiculous! What right does a mere retainer like you have to question the royal decree? The Ruin Empire was established by the ancestors of my Bonaparte royal family. If not for the royal rule, what use is the empire? What use are you all? Even if all of you die, what is it to me?"
These words fully displayed the selfishness, greed, and ignorance of human nature.
After pausing for a beat, the old woman bellowed, "Now I ask one last time, will you withdraw your troops? If you don’t, it’s the same as rebellion, and you will be executed without mercy!"
Upon hearing this, Pierre’s tone no longer fluctuated.
Warmth scattered from his murky eyes, growing sharp as thorns, "Perhaps one day the empire will collapse, perhaps one day the alchemical civilization will lose its luster and be buried in the dust... but not today."
The words of the old man at the end of his life were incredibly calm.
Yet each word resounded powerfully, echoing through the entire royal palace square!