Su Lun watched the standoff in front of Frederic Royal Palace from the attic, his eyes flickering with thought.
He had now truly understood that the person who caused all these terrible situations in Luying was none other than Empress Charlotte.
Master Pierre’s assessment was not bad; she was just an old woman who clung to power.
No, she was also very malicious!
In fact, the decline of the royal family was destined since the founding of the empire when a feudal aristocratic system was chosen.
During the unification of the empire, Bonaparte I, Peter the Great, ennobled a large number of meritorious subjects as nobles.
But as time went on, the nobles grew increasingly powerful in their territories, gradually becoming colossal entities.
Dukedoms, marquisates, earldoms...and so on.
They claimed allegiance to the Bonaparte royal family, but actually, in their own lands, the lords were the emperors.
After generations, that loyalty to the royal house wore thin.
The relationship between the royal family and the great nobles was like a carriage. The royal family was the carriage; the nobles were the horses.
When the horses grew stronger and beyond the control of the coachman, it had already become very dangerous.
However, these very horses were the empire’s greatest driving force, and should the carriage overturn, they would all perish—truly untouchable.
Empress Charlotte’s power grab was a backlash of noble privileges against the royal family.
Actually, the "Fog Moon Coup" and the retreat of the Bonaparte royal family from the stage had already been a pretty good ending. A republican Luying could perhaps have brought about a rebirth of the empire.
But this old lady just couldn’t let go of those powers.
With no hope from within the empire, she could only place her hopes in external forces.
Little did everyone expect that she would choose two of the most malicious underhand methods. One was to sign a protective pact with an evil god to regain the throne; the other was to cede territories and betray the nation, allowing the enemy, the Mafa Empire, to intervene.
Her ambitions were indeed great, and if her plan succeeded, although it would leave the empire with endless troubles, it would put the crown in Charlotte’s hands. She might even eliminate the domestic malady of aristocratic power once and for all, seizing the controls of power again.
...
In the vastness of Frederick Palace Square, Lancelot, Rafael, and several senior councilors, as well as the nobles who had come to watch, all listened with ashen faces.
The majority had not expected Empress Charlotte would actually betray her country and her subjects.
This battle was inevitable.
Not to mention that no one wanted to entrust their fate to an external god. Only with the royal family’s collapse could the nobles gain greater power.
After Master Pierre spoke his last words, his attitude was already quite clear—alchemy civilization could not fall into the hands of a theocratic monarch!
The atmosphere in the grand square turned deadly in an instant.
Su Lun looked on with a contemplative gaze, holding a newfound respect for the old man in his heart.
The old fellow was ready to die today.
Mr. Jing by his side had been silent all along.
Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Su Lun asked, "Senior Sister, do we need to do anything now?"
Mr. Jing shook his head, glanced up at the red moon in the sky, and replied with a grave look, "The external god has not yet arrived."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Su Lun also understood that the external god not arriving was the biggest uncertainty.
Now, it is uncertain how much longer Pierre can hold on. If this top-tier combatant’s strength is all consumed in entanglements with the royal family, then by the time that external god descends, I fear there will be no one to stop it.
But this also shows that the situation of the external god is not too good.
In fact, looking from Queen Charlotte’s standpoint, the perfect plan would be for the royal family to continue their silence and let the zombie horde exhaust the private armies of those opposing nobles.
And now, she not only arranges an assassination attempt on Master Pierre but also exposes something like a "divine pact"...
It wouldn’t hesitate to ruin the reputation of the Bonaparte royal family, and in fact, there is only one goal.
That is, to share the firepower for that external god, stall for time, and deplete Master Pierre’s combat strength.
This means that, whether it was the previous "Crimson Potion," or Su Lun and Yekaterina’s attempt on the demon monk, all had a significant impact on the external god.
Hearing Mr. Jing’s words, Su Lun also noticed the strands of scarlet moonlight, murmuring to himself, "How will this external god descend... If it doesn’t show itself, indeed, it’s quite troublesome."
However, the problem is that currently, all the top-tier combat strength of the nobles is concentrated in the north city, the zombie tide has not been effectively contained. Except for the Dawn Organization, which cleared some monsters in the Lighthouse District before, nearly all of the civilian districts in the south of Lington have fallen, and one after another super-terrifying aberration is forming.
With the trend of this tsunami-like widespread infection, unless the external god descends and then gets killed, there is currently no end in sight.
Moreover, there’s an issue that many people overlook, that is, the cursed moon in the sky is becoming increasingly strange as it absorbs the fear, despair, madness, and a series of negative emotions from tens of millions of people in Lington...
Su Lun glanced at his elder martial sister; she was silent, probably arranging something.
However, just at that moment, a sudden escalation occurred!
...
In the square outside the royal palace, the two sides confronted each other. Although the recent dialogues between Master Pierre and Queen Charlotte were full of tension, it seemed to lack someone to ignite the fuse.
Neither side moved rashly, creating an extremely eerie atmosphere.
However, what nobody expected was that the corpse of the eighth-tier court adherent of the "Poison Sect," Quinn Andrew, suddenly moved!
It seemed to be corroded by some mysterious force, quickly withering away.
"Corpse poison curse?"
Su Lun, observing from the attic, his pupils suddenly constricted.
Having stripped the memories from the "Undead Demon Monk" Rasputin, he gained too much knowledge about the high-level domain of curse magic. Seeing this phenomenon, he immediately recognized it as a type of curse magic that used the caster’s own corpse as a medium.
At the same time, a cry of alarm shot through his mind: Not good!
The "Poison Sect" member Quinn had long been prepared for his own death. If Master Pierre killed him, he would definitely fall victim to the curse!
As expected!
When everyone was unclear about what was happening, Pierre, not far away, suddenly looked unwell, unable to restrain himself, he spat out a mouthful of black blood.
The black blood sprayed onto the white stone, sizzling with black smoke, and quickly eroded a hole. Strangely enough, the black blood was spreading, and a small hole turned into a deep pit several meters in diameter in the blink of an eye.
Anticipating this, Su Lun furrowed his brows deeply; a curse cast by an eighth-tier professional at the cost of their life was no ordinary matter.
A growing sense of impending doom surged in his heart: Master Pierre is in danger!
Quite unsurprisingly, crisis followed upon crisis!
The very moment that Master Pierre spat out black blood and was gasping for breath, suddenly, a figure burst out from the palace.
Behind the figure, accompanied by a huge shock wave from a magi furnace, it directly collapsed a turret of the royal palace.
With speed resembling teleportation, extremely fast, and with layers of afterimages!
"Mafa’s mechanical battle armor?"
Su Lun’s left eye sharply caught the fellow using optical invisibility, identified as [Grand General-level Night Hunter Armor]!
An elite armor comparable to an eighth-tier professional!
Another Grand General, four-star Mafa General "Iron Blood Rose" Nicole Qiao Ma Li!
So Mafa actually sent two top-ranking generals this time?
Witnessing this scene, Su Lun did not even have time to look as "Steel Behemoth" Burton Christ, guarding beside the lady’s avatar, suddenly raised the external mechanical arm ahead of anyone else, and a beam of dark light silently shot out.
Su Lun’s eyes narrowed in recognition, "The [Grand General-level Behemoth Magi Armor], Magi Annihilation Cannon!"
Machines lack emotions, momentum, and intent, so the attack intention of a mecha can evade the perception of most professionals, making it perfect for a sneak attack.
Although low-tier mecha movements are highly predictable, this flaw is almost entirely compensated for by sophisticated designs in top-tier mechas. Experience tales at freewebnovel
The sneak attacks by these two Grand General mechas caught almost everyone unprepared.
A powerful eighth-tier corpse, two Grand General armors taking action simultaneously, Su Lun found it hard to imagine who could withstand such an attack!
It was at the moment of witnessing the unexpected, the dark light of the Magi Annihilation Cannon hit Master Pierre first.
A gaping hole was blasted through the blue-golden cold flame around his body, and the hunter armor’s "Magic Light Annihilation Fist," accompanied by ripples in space, was already on its way.
"Boom!"
Upon contact, a huge shockwave from the Annihilation Cannon ejected a ring of exaggerated energy fluctuations, rippling outwards.
The Night Hunter Armor’s fist hammered into Pierre’s chest, with another "thud" sounding like a horrifying quake.
Master Pierre, already severely injured, could not avoid in time and took a punch straight to the chest, spurting out a mouthful of black blood.
The force was so great that the old man staggered backward, his feet stomping down hard to dissipate the energy, making the ground tremble.
In the attic of the far-off Agnes Marquis Manor, Su Lun’s figure also swayed.
One disarm, one killer move, it was clearly premeditated!
...
"Success!"
Seeing the assassination succeed, a look of anticipation appeared on Empress Charlotte’s face.
The expressions under the goggles of the two Mafa Generals were also filled with joy.
This ninth-tier, the game is already set tonight!
The sneak attack happened in an instant, and before the opposition could react, Master Pierre had already been ambushed.
The military’s and several Senior Councilor families’ eighth-tier professionals’ faces changed drastically. Just as they were about to rush to help, suddenly, a new twist occurred!
"Hehehe... Mechanical armor?"
A scornful and undisguised mocking laughter echoed across the vast Frederick Palace Square.
Just by listening to that laugh, one could feel a disdainful, overbearing spirit.
Everyone could still see the frail old man, but at this moment, they sensed him emitting an aura as imposing as a giant, commanding everyone to look up.
"Not good!"
The two Mafa Generals, with triumph still on their faces, suddenly felt it shattered by this overwhelming presence, their eyes revealing instant panic.
The blue-golden cold flame on Master Pierre’s body, which had been nearly dispersed by the Annihilation Cannon just moments ago, suddenly surged, igniting flames several meters high.
The flames condensed into shape, swiftly transforming into a fire giant wearing a crown.
It wasn’t an elemental apparition, but a corporeal entity!
Like the body of a deity!
From a distance, Su Lun saw the fire giant and cried out in his heart, "Infinite Samurai: Emperor of Flames!"
As the founder of the Ruying Military Intelligence Division, it wasn’t surprising that he knew the "Infinite Samurai" secret technique. However, this ultimate form completely exceeded Su Lun’s understanding.
Master Pierre simply stood there coldly, giving off the impression that time itself had halted for him.
He seemed like a star in the sky, naturally belonging exactly where he was.
If it did not move, no human force could cause it to move!
At this moment, the one who felt the greatest pressure was the Mafa General, who, dressed in the "Grand General-level Night Hunter Armor," had attempted a close-range surprise attack!
He had put all his energy into a punch that would have severely wounded, if not killed, an eighth-tier professional. He intended to press the advantage with a follow-up killing blow, but to his horror, he discovered that his mechanical arm, which had delivered the punch, was firmly gripped by an old hand, immobile.
In an instant, an unprecedented fear of death, sharp as needles, pierced through Qiao Ma Li’s confidence; the top-tier battle armor, treasured by the Empire of Mafa, offered her no sense of safety at that moment.
The eyes of this Grand General widened in shock, but her combat instincts quickly drove her to activate the magic power furnace of the armor, attempting to break free.
Yet, with even greater horror, she found that not even with the furnace at overcapacity was there any sign of escape!
She couldn’t understand how she, a mechanical warrior, could not overpower a flesh-and-blood professional in terms of strength!
Qiao Ma Li was terrified: "What kind of terrifying power is this!"
Master Pierre, unmovable as a mountain, tore at the battle mecha with one hand, like he was gripping the leg of a pheasant flapping its wings, trying to fly away from his grasp, and scoffed, "It’s been decades since I’ve had to fight. Has Mafa truly forgotten the fear of being dominated by me?"
At this moment, Master Pierre bore no trace of his previous scholarly demeanor but exuded an unmatched domineering presence akin to a War God, "I may be old, but I am not dead!"
How could Qiao Ma Li not have heard of the "Flame War God"?
In the wars between the two great empires back in the day, this man was a nightmare that made the blood of any general flow like rivers, a menace that all would avoid if possible.
However, when Master Pierre came into prominence, she was but a lowly soldier; they were not from the same era. She thought this old man was past his prime, yet she never expected him to still possess such terrifying power!
It wasn’t just her, the vast square fell silent, everyone was utterly astounded.
For nearly a decade, Master Pierre had barely made public appearances, and the younger generation of Ruying had almost forgotten about this ninth-tier master!
...
In a distant attic, Mr. Jing watched as Master Pierre’s aura soared ever higher, his eyes sparkling, and he murmured, "The realm of the Great Sage..."
Ninth-tier, the Great Sage.
Listening, Su Lun pondered thoughtfully, aware that there were many things beyond his understanding at the moment.
Then Mr. Jing said, "The universal rule that Master Pierre controls is ’war.’ Contemplate it well, because the end of this rule is also ’death’..."
As soon as he said this, it was as if he had performed some kind of magic, replicating a mysterious force into the attic room, which made Su Lun’s mind suddenly much clearer.
Now, with the insight-enhancing power of the "Profaned Crown" joining in, Su Lun’s left eye flashed with light, and when he looked at Master Pierre again, he saw something different.
He seemed to be standing alone, yet it was as though there were thousands of soldiers arrayed behind him!
The sensation of an overwhelming army bore down on him, as if countless lance tips were pointed directly at his forehead, threatening death with the slightest movement.
Su Lun’s breath halted in an instant, and he was involuntarily drenched in cold sweat.
Yet under this intense pressure, his senses became sharper and sharper.
He was also very aware that this was a rare opportunity!
In the blink of an eye, Master Pierre bellowed, and his robe burst apart.
Upon closer inspection, his originally emaciated body visibly swelled, muscles bulging and intertwining like steel cables moving underneath his skin, his whole frame expanding significantly.
His muscles glistened like steel with an intense visual impact!
Seeing this, Su Lun cried out anxiously in his heart, "Master Pierre has also merged with ’Isaac’s Giant Strength’ enhancement!"
Then he thought it wasn’t surprising at all since Isaac’s Alchemy Manuscript had always been in the possession of the Royal House of Luying, so it wasn’t odd for the head of Luying’s military intelligence to integrate such an enhancement.
Moreover, from the moment Master Pierre had grasped General Qiao Ma Li’s hand, Su Lun had guessed that the enhancement must be of a high grade!
"Humph!"
Master Pierre snorted coldly.
He caught Qiao Ma Li’s mechanical left arm with one hand and then threw a punch as swift as lightning.
The fist, enveloped in the Infinite Samurai’s cold flame, distorted the very space it traveled through, striking directly onto the defensive armor plating of the Night Combat Armor.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"..."
The raining punches melted away the magic runes on the Grand General’s armor as if they were wax.
An eighth-tier combat mecha, in the hands of this elderly man, was like a child’s toy, utterly defenseless.
Seeing this, the other Grand General, ’Steel Behemoth’ Burton, surged forward with a burst from his boilers to rescue his comrade.
Master Pierre glanced over dismissively, his eyes filled with disdain.
That look was the disdain of the strongest alchemist towards all enemies.
His movements became a blur as he shifted his attack pattern, jerking his hand violently, and with a "crack" the crisp sound of tearing metal echoed throughout the square.
Everyone watching was dumbfounded!
Because he had literally torn off the mechanical arm of the combat mecha!
All the bystanders were struck speechless.
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Eighth-tier mechas... to anyone’s knowledge, they were considered to be beyond human strength.
The best way to tackle them would be with various mystical magic styles.
But now.
Master Pierre taught everyone a lesson.
He used an exceedingly brutal method to tear apart a Grand General class combat mecha with his bare hands!
Previously, everyone was incredulous at Master Pierre for capturing a mecha single-handedly, and now they were in even greater shock.
Yet at the same time, everyone felt an inexplicable surge of excitement!
This was the absolute dominance of traditional professionals at the pinnacle of power!
Although mechas were good, at the top of the pyramid, their combat power was clearly a notch below!
With his All-knowing Eye, Su Lun noticed something else, Master Pierre’s Infinite Samurai flame was not merely a manifestation of mana burning; it was also augmented by the enhancement.
He thought to himself, "Void Cold Flame, this blue-gold flame is a special kind of Space Law fire!"
Space Law was naturally the bane of mechanical combat armor.
Even though top-tier combat armors were equipped with spatial stabilization to defend themselves, the dense barrage of punches carrying a special frequency shattered that defense layer, allowing the flames to burn off the magical coating and break through.
Master Pierre had been active in the battlefields of the two great empires and had extensive experience in dealing with combat mechas.
Moreover, his advancement path and choice of enhancement were clearly targeted against mechas.
The martial technique he used to rip off the mechanical arm was a high-level skill specifically aimed at the weak joints of the mechas.
That was how he managed to incapacitate a combat mecha in one blow.
...
"How powerful... This is the combat power of a top-level alchemist," Su Lun marveled silently as he watched.
In Master Pierre, he saw an air of "I am invincible in this world," an overwhelming presence that no one could suppress.
Just that presence alone was uncontested.
However, Su Lun also had some concerns.
Master Pierre was nearing the end of his life and had been severely poisoned. The stronger he appeared now, the shorter he would be able to hold on.
The enemies would surely know this, and now the royal retainers had started to fight together in earnest.
It looked like Empress Charlotte was intending to wear down Pierre with these people; even if she could not exhaust him to death, a serious injury would increase her chances of victory once the foreign god arrived.
Even though the opposition coalition seemed to have the upper hand for now, Su Lun was still not optimistic.
Frederick Palace was now fully defended by its barriers, with tens of thousands of royal knights, making it impregnable for the time being.
But the foreign god had yet to descend, and if the situation dragged on, the odds of the opposition would diminish even further.
Even with Mr. Jing joining the battle, it wouldn’t change anything.
The two of them watched the battle from the attic in silence, the heavy atmosphere never lifting.
However, just as Su Lun’s thoughts flickered away, suddenly, he sensed a faint disturbance in his ear.
"Whoo~"
A fierce whooshing sound penetrated his ears.
At first, it was very faint, difficult to distinguish amid the cacophony of close-quarter combat and explosions, but the whooshing sound persisted and grew louder. Listening carefully, it wasn’t hard to notice something was amiss.
Mr. Jing had apparently noticed first; she lifted her eyebrows slightly and looked up at the sky.
Su Lun followed her gaze.
Somewhere within the scarlet mist above Lington, something seemed to be concealed.
Suddenly, he realized something, his eyes brightening, "A meteor!"
How similar was this scene to the one at the Moros City-States? The Temple of Aghaparnon had been wiped off the map by a meteor from the heavens!
"Catherine has made her move!"
Su Lun could easily understand what was happening.
Meteor attacks from the sky posed little threat to humans, since their immense approach could hardly be concealed.
Unless one was hit directly, it posed nearly no life-threatening danger to high-ranking professionals.
But it was perfect for targeting fixed objects.
For example, a palace!
Frederick Palace boasted the strongest defense restriction of its time, unparalleled!
Previously, Su Lun had assessed these restrictions himself and estimated that even eighth or ninth-tier professionals might attack for days and nights without necessarily breaking through.
Empress Charlotte relied on the superb defense of the royal palace to restrain those from the opposition while staying safely within.
But could the energy released by a falling meteor be compared with human strength?
This was far beyond the exaggeration of tens of thousands of tons of explosives!
If Su Lun could see the falling meteor, so could those embroiled in fierce battle.
Even with dense fog, several high-ranking professionals heard the whooshing sound and realized something, looking up into the sky with surprise and joy.
Nobody knew that Yekaterina had this power; they probably thought it was a master from Dawn using a spell.
But at this point, it didn’t matter who took action!
As long as the royal palace could be breached, the situation would instantly open up!
The major families hurriedly called their own troops to move away from the palace.
Su Lun listened to the whistling wind beside his ear, squinting his eyes with interest, completely unfazed.
He possessed instant teleportation; even if the meteor were falling right in front of him, it was not too late to escape now.
Besides, there was a Mr. Jing by his side.
...
Clearly, even with meteors falling, the Lu Ying royal family had countermeasures in place.
As the noise of the falling meteor grew louder, the defensive shield above the palace suddenly lit up with a dazzling blue glow.
One by one, incredibly complex alchemy arrays activated, and beams of magic energy were fired toward the sky.
Buildings could not move, but the trajectory of an incoming meteor could be predicted.
"Boom!"
An instant later, a burst echoed through the sky, and a huge fireball was blown apart in the skies a kilometer above Lyndon.
The meteor was destroyed!
In a moment, countless smaller stones fell into Lyndon—"Boom, boom, boom"—like numerous artillery shells hitting the ground; the estates in the northern city were all affected by the meteor shower.
Even the estate where Su Lun and Mr. Jing were located was hit by one.
Not far from the attic, a hole several meters wide was blasted open, with black flames billowing out.
However, seeing the meteor destroyed, Su Lun wasn’t too surprised.
Having associated with Yekaterina for a few days, he knew that since she chose to take action, she must have a contingency plan.
There was no need for him to worry. Su Lun appraised the alchemy array on the palace just now with his left eye and thought to himself, "This shot must’ve consumed a hundred top-tier energy crystal cores, worth ten billion. The Bonaparte family is indeed wealthy..."
As expected, not long after the explosion sounded in the sky, the whistling noise came again.
And this time, with the fog gone, everyone saw a fireball falling rapidly from the pitch-black night sky.
Then, a second shot of the magic cannon was triggered in the palace, and the meteor was shattered again.
After that, a third meteor came...
Then the fourth...
And the fifth...
Colors burst magnificently in the night sky.
Even in war, there was poetry to behold.
That night, the people of Lyndon witnessed meteor fireworks they had never seen in their lives.
Su Lun watched the sky, his gaze profound.
Although he knew that such extravagant spells must also cost Yekaterina dearly, compared to the palace, the cost was at least ten-thousand times less.
He always felt the profession of "astrologer" was very overpowered.
This move "Meteors from Heaven" was purely exploiting a loophole, 100 units of energy bringing down a star, and then the free fall accelerating infinitely, resulting in an explosion of N units of energy...
Compared to the consumption, the damage caused by the spell was countless times greater.
Finally, when the sixth meteor was smashed, barely missing the collapse of the attic, the palace’s defensive barrier clearly could not hold up first.
The interval between high-explosive magic cannon shots grew longer and couldn’t stop the seventh meteor.
"Thud!"
A loud sound rang out.
The meteor smashed solidly onto the palace’s energy shield.
Although it did not shatter, the shield dimmed significantly!
This time, it felt as if the entire Lyndon shook with an earthquake.
...
The attic was completely destroyed, and Su Lun and Mr. Jing both teleported and appeared in an open space.
Watching the "starlight" light up in the sky again, they finally showed a hint of concern.
Estimating that the next one might blast open the royal palace.
Su Lun also saw panic on Empress Charlotte’s face, and he intended to watch how the old woman would deal with the eighth meteor.
Suddenly, out of the runic umbrella floated a ghostly young lady.
As Su Lun wondered why she had come out, Pestoya said directly, "Mr. Su Lun, I have detected a trace of that outer god’s aura!"
Su Lun asked in confusion, "Ah?"
Pestoya said, "It’s underground! The instant the explosion happened, it leaked an aura; I felt a surge of calamitous presence seeping out. It’s the same outer god that cursed to kill you outside Rodon City!"
Su Lun’s eyes lit up as he listened.
Her words showed him a crucial turning point in the battle.
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