Initial draft, I’ll make some adjustments, check back in twenty minutes.
The battle at the Andrew farm gradually reached its conclusion.
Master Pierre burned his life to seal off the outer god that had transformed into a sea of red threadworms, preventing it from advancing an inch.
No one else dared to approach the battlefield where two top-tier existences of different dimensions desperately fought to the death.
On the other hand, Su Lun had previously been unable to deal with the "Hymn Witch" Maria, but now Mr. Jing had arrived.
She was unbeatable if the musical domain couldn’t resist her.
Once it could withstand her, her other abilities were merely that of a common seventh-tier combatant.
With Golden Leg subtly manipulating from the shadows, Su Lun used a little tactic and shortly after, he slew her on the spot.
Finally, her body fell in the cattle shed of the farm.
The souls of the ten legendary Hunters were rare treasures; although they would definitely make fine wax figures, Su Lun chose to directly absorb and digest them instead.
With this harvest, he completed many shortcomings in his mastery of the [Music] laws.
And after harvesting, Su Lun realized how superficial his previous understanding of musical laws had been.
Was the melody just about singing?
No, it was one of the cosmic origin’s rules.
Su Lun finally understood why the [Siren Witch Doll] he had created before was less powerful than expected.
After digesting Maria’s soul, he realized that he had only known how to make the puppet produce sound, while neglecting the power of the laws inherent in the melody itself.
When the original creator made everything, sound was a crucial part as well.
The crying of a baby, the decline of living beings, the sound of wind, rain, thunder, and the collapse of stars... these sounds might seem like specific noises when heard separately.
But resonating together, they are like a grand chorus performed by the entire universe.
Only by listening can you hear the universe telling you a mysterious story, a story about sound.
...
Pestoya crouched next to Su Lun, watching him clean up the spoils of war.
This ghostly young lady’s crystalline eyes sparkled playfully as she looked at the body and said, "Mr. Su Lun, could you make her into a doll for me? One that can sing. Her singing is so beautiful..."
When the two first met at the Storm Manor, Su Lun knew that Pestoya liked to collect various horror dolls.
Hearing her request, he was not surprised at all, and smiled slightly, "Sure."
And the art of horror wax figures could preserve many of the body’s abilities from when it was alive. The legendary Hunter’s body was a second solution, [C-025-Singer], and the wax figure produced wouldn’t be bad at singing, at least combat-wise.
After Su Lun cleaned up the body, he sat cross-legged on the spot and meditated.
The battle had seriously injured him, and now that the overall situation was settled, he finally had time to heal.
His attention was also constantly on the distant valley where Pierre and the outer god were making their last stand.
It wasn’t just him; almost everyone was watching.
At that moment, the valley’s destructive energy was so dreadful that it felt like a radiation source, making one’s heart tremble from several kilometers away.
Soon, when the glow of dawn rose, Mr. Jing’s voice suddenly came through the communicator, "It’s done."
Su Lun’s eyes snapped open, and he listened joyfully: Senior sister understands me!
Without asking another question, he clenched the sorcerer’s seal and teleported there decisively.
At that moment, the valley was a rotten black, with various chaotic law fluctuations and spatial rifts scattered everywhere.
The violent law of calamity eradicated all life in the valley, turning it into an intensely cursed land of calamity. It was likely that nothing would grow here for the next hundred years.
There were also flames of law left by Master Pierre, making the entire valley seem like a volcano’s mouth; entering it would stir up internal fire, making one feel as though their body was being burned.
Very cautiously avoiding the spatial rifts, Su Lun, with his substantial understanding of calamity and fire laws and protected by his domain field, could carefully approach.
As he infused dark spiritual power into the black umbrella, he quickly sensed some soul fluctuations.
Su Lun teleported there and quickly collected several fragmented soul shards into the black umbrella.
Unfortunately, at the last moment of his life, Master Pierre had burned his soul power to trap that outer god. Later, when the energy had calmed down a bit, and after quite a bit of time had passed, the soul had not completely dissipated, all thanks to the master’s far superior soul strength compared to ordinary professionals.
However, even as fragments, he did not dare to absorb them recklessly.
These shards contained both Master Pierre’s and the outer god’s soul, and directly absorbing their superior rank awareness could likely cause him to collapse on the spot.
Fortunately, the black umbrella could preserve the spiritual body, and Su Lun planned to find a safe environment to slowly absorb them.
He searched the rotten black valley again, but found no remnants of anything.
The place was like a nuclear explosion site, with no solid objects left behind.
...
Su Lun returned to the outside of the Alchemy Hall.
By now, there weren’t many people left.
After the visiting nobility from the Lingdun Legion confirmed that the outer god was dead, they left the area.
The death of the outer god was just the beginning for the opposing nobles; what awaited them was a feast of rights as they prepared to divide the carcass of the decaying lion that was Ruying.
When Su Lun returned, Mr. Jing was still sitting cross-legged on a rock in the farm.
The previous battle had clearly taken a toll on her as well.
Around the farm were seven or eight people in gold-patterned cloaks, including Mr. Hei and Qiantiao, who had rushed over.
The core members of the Dawn were almost all here, each bearing some injuries.
The light of dawn scattered the darkness, and there was a trace of fatigue on everyone’s faces.
But there was a sense of relief in everyone’s expression.
Qiantiao, seeing Su Lun return, greeted him, "Su Lun boy, are you alright?"
The battle here had been the most dangerous, and from the beginning to tracking an individual all by himself for so long, the peril was naturally unspeakable.
Su Lun smiled and replied, "I’m fine."
As he spoke, he walked over to Qiantiao and the others.
Mr. Jing also spoke, asking, "How is it?"
Su Lun felt slightly regretful as he replied, "I found some Soul Shards."
Mr. Jing seemed unconcerned as usual, nodding his head.
The conspiracy of the outer gods was now thoroughly concluded, and although the dawn breeze was tinged with a hint of the scent of blood, it felt free and comfortable nonetheless.
This place was the northern suburbs of Lingdun City, where sounds of fierce gunfire still erupted from the city.
But the men of Dawn had no intention of joining in.
They had assembled in Lingdun precisely to deal with the outer gods.
As for the situation in Lingdun, what the outcome for the Bonaparte royal family would be, and who would eventually take power... these matters were of little significance to the people of Dawn.
As long as the followers of the divine were not in power, they were indifferent.
Some followers of the outer gods might have escaped, but if they were to rise again, it would not be for countless years. Continue reading at Freewebnovel
As long as faith remained, the gods would not die.
Su Lun reflected on the events of the night and only afterward realized that so much had occurred.
From the scheming against the demon monk, the battle had been constant.
Large-scale wars truly were meat grinders; in this war, not to mention Master Pierre, Su Lun knew of three eighth-tier professionals who had perished. There were even more among the seventh-tier, including two of the "Top Ten Legendary Hunters" whom Su Lun had personally killed. Below them were truly just cannon fodder...
Having seen too much death, Su Lun felt deeply moved, and he increasingly felt his own strength was insufficient.
Witnessing such a large-scale war for the first time, he profoundly understood how weak an individual’s power really was.
He also became more determined that his strategy of using an army of puppets must quickly increase in strength.
In the midst of continuous fierce battles, he also gained a lot, most notably realizing his own "Domain of Death."
Seventh-tier professionals represented a significant threshold, and now it seemed he was also approaching that threshold, and Su Lun’s plans for his future path became clearer.
In his storage space, there was still a "Hundred Thousand Blood-Refined Crystal," and after digesting it, it should be enough to integrate the "Isaac’s Giant Strength."
Then there was the matter of Master Pierre and the soul shard of that outer god; it was still uncertain what he would gain after digesting those...
But after digesting the gains from this battle, Su Lun felt his combat power had greatly leveled up.
Mr. Jing was hopeful about advancing to the ninth tier, and Dawn was also gradually growing stronger; everything seemed to be gradually improving.
By his side, Qian Tiao looked at Su Lun, who was lost in thought, and asked, "Su Lun, now that things here are concluded, where do you plan to go next?"
Su Lun thought for a moment, then seriously replied, "I might first visit the Mafa Empire. My mechanical puppets are still lacking in high-end technology, and I want to see for myself what’s claimed to be the Mechanical Holy Land, the City of Freedom, Capitol Kapitron. Moreover, I also want to bring out the ’Sky Fortress’; the ancient Gusmao airship technology in Luying has too many flaws, and I need to find some talented mechanical engineers and large factories to see if I can reproduce the equipment from the schematics... and much more. In any case, I must make a trip there."
He didn’t finish speaking, for previously, due to Yekaterina taking control of Luying’s military intelligence service, he had learned many top-secret pieces of information.
The archives of the intelligence department contained a century-old sealed file, stating that Isaac’s Alchemy Manuscript had once appeared in Mafa and that there were suspicions that Mafa’s mechanical revolution was directly related to that notebook; there was also the "Urobolos Fragment," of which he already possessed three-quarters and was only missing a small piece—perhaps he could find a clue in Mafa.
Moreover, treasures like those of the Pirate King Black Sam, the "Upside-Down Man Tarot Card," Dragon Island... there were many interesting things he could plan.
Hearing this, Qian Tiao raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh. What about your new wife then? And what about being the prince of Reiya Kingdom, aren’t you interested in that anymore?"
Su Lun knew she was joking, but he explained, "The deal has already ended, and the identity of Fick has nothing to do with me anymore. As for being a prince, I’m even less interested."
At this point, he paused and looked at Chien-tiao, saying, "Compared to that, I prefer going on adventures with Sister Chien-tiao."
Chien-tiao listened and teased with a smile, "Yo~"
Su Lun said no more.
Although his time as a pirate on the sea was short, he found it the most enjoyable period.
This trip to Lingdun City made Su Lun experience nobility, politics, and power.
Compared to that, he truly felt that chasing after power was really boring.
Even studying alchemy was far more interesting.
And the more he understood this world, the more Su Lun realized how vast it really was.
Not to mention the two great empires, there were also the endless wild seas to the far west, and the Monster Mountains in the east of Mafa filled with ancient civilization relics...
And then there were other dimensions such as the Void and the Abyss!
Not to see them would make him feel like a frog trapped in a well, never jumping out to see the wider world outside.
In such a fascinating world, being fixated on human squabbles over power seemed really uninteresting.
The matters in Lingdun City were resolved just right, and it seemed he could go traveling again.
Now his strength was not weak, wherever he went on an adventure, he had a certain ability to protect himself.
Su Lun and Chien-tiao talked about it, both harboring thoughts of venturing out to sea.
But just as they were discussing, suddenly, Mr. Jing, who had been silently listening with an occasional slight smile, suddenly opened his eyes wide, his gaze sharp, unable to hide his shock, "Not good! Something’s happened!"
This was the first time Su Lun saw his senior sister looking so distressed, and he also frowned.
But his thoughts flickered and he was quite puzzled. Now that the outer gods were all killed, what could possibly go wrong?
Chien-tiao’s expression became stern, and she directly asked, "What happened?"
Mr. Jing didn’t rush to answer, seeming to use some secret technique to calculate something. After a long moment of contemplation, he finally said with a grim expression, "Someone has tampered with fate, altering the trajectory of fortune in the alchemy dimension!"
At dawn, everyone listened and for a long while didn’t understand exactly what he meant, but they all felt a sense of impending crisis looming, and all their expressions grew solemn.
...
Meanwhile, in a church in Lingdun City.
This was a little-known small sect called "Eye of Heaven.".
Previously, in order to disguise the existence of the Giant Hermit Society, the Bonaparte royal family had issued the "Faith Freedom Act." However, the alchemy dimension had a very special historical past, and this act brought infinite hidden dangers. Various external god sects from Lingdun had legal identities to operate. Some mysterious sects that had been hidden for countless years now had the opportunity to recruit followers openly, and their advertisements could be seen everywhere in the newspapers, gathering believers in Lingdun.
The fierce battle outside had lasted all night, but the dozens of people in the church were unscathed.
Not a single person was mutated, nor were they affected by the Red Moon.
Because they had a stronger belief in their gods, the belief in the sea giants couldn’t shake their faith at all.
The followers of this Heaven God sect were sitting around in the church, each standing on one side, beneath their feet was a massive nine-pointed star magic circle.
Right when the first light of dawn shone into the top of the church through the glass, someone walked in from the outside and reported, "Saint Heir, the mutated types outside are all dead. It looks like that sea giant must have been killed."
Upon hearing this, a young man in the center of the magic circle opened his eyes and sneered, "Hmph, just a pseudo-god who couldn’t even condense a divine essence. But his death is just as well. It also created an opportunity for us..."
There wasn’t a hint of respect for the divine in his tone, only disdain.
Upon closer inspection, the young man bore a strange visage; although his features were no different from a normal human’s, there was a fine slit at his brow, like a tightly closed vertical pupil.
Upon hearing these words, a roomful of devotees knelt devoutly on the ground.
An elderly man asked, "Saint Heir, should we take action now? It has been confirmed that the key to the divine plane gateway is in the Bonar Royal Treasury. Queen Charlotte has been driven into a corner and is likely to make a final stand..."
Something occurred to the young man, and he said dismissively, "The Queen? Ha, just a short-sighted old hag. That old hag actually tried to contract with a pseudo-god who couldn’t even condense divinity to maintain her power, laughable... She was given a chance to show loyalty to our divine clan, and she didn’t treasure it. Now that she has no way out, she realizes it’s too late."
At this point, a smile appeared on his lips, "Of course, that old hag’s wrong decisions have also doomed Rulyn’s fortunes, giving our divine clan an opportunity. If it weren’t for her act, I wouldn’t have had the chance to connect with you all. There’s no better opportunity than the present, let’s help her out. The bloodline of our divine clan has been trapped in this shattered plane for countless years, and finally, there is a chance to connect to the main plane..."
As soon as these words were spoken, all the devotees in the church started chanting magic spells, and the nine-pointed star magic circle gradually lit up.
The slit in the young man’s brow slowly opened, and a light that seemed to pierce through the sanctity of the world shone forth as he uttered softly, "Universal Truths Decoded. Open!"
A vertical pupil on the forehead is a very rare bloodline talent.
If Mr. Jing were here, he would probably recognize this as [S-009-Universal Truths Decoded].
The young man unlocked the second-tier ability of his eyes, as if glimpsing an endlessly vast plane, he murmured to himself, "Divine Arts. Fate’s Rebuttal!"
As the spell succeeded, an invisible force quietly spread out from the nine-pointed star magic circle.
...
At Andrew’s farm, Mr. Jing had just expressed some ominous premonitions of his own.
At first, she also thought it was that the exterior god hadn’t completely died, still searching for reasons in this vicinity.
Just then, Su Lun’s communicator rang.
On the other end, Yekaterina urgently inquired, "Su Lun, what’s happening there? I just divined a little, and the stars have shifted; a major event is going to happen!"
Upon hearing her tone, Su Lun had a faint guess that it might be related to Mr. Jing’s prophecy.
Yekaterina initiated communication, probably thinking it was some issue with an exterior god.
But in fact, no situations had been discovered.
He responded, "There’s nothing at the moment. What’s up?"
Prophecy is usually a vague direction, and Yekaterina seemed unable to clarify from her end.
Pondering for a moment, as if she had received some new information, she suddenly communicated again, "Not good, there’s trouble at the royal end!"
"The royal family?"
Upon hearing this, Su Lun distinctly felt something was off.
At this stage, what other trouble could the Bonar royal family stir up?
Mr. Jing was by his side; hearing this, a flash of intensity sparked in her eyes, clearly conceiving some thought, she said, "The problem might just be with the Bonar royal family!"
No sooner had she spoken than a flash of light occurred, and she disappeared from where she stood.
Su Lun looked at the targets of the people at Dawn and said, "Shall we check it out too?"
The people nodded in agreement.
As Su Lun made the Suren Sorcerer’s Seal gesture, the small void opened, and everyone filed in.
He also performed Spatial Displacement, teleporting great distances, and soon arrived near the Frederic Royal Palace at the end of Holy Light Avenue!
At that moment, the area outside the royal palace was densely packed with various nobles’ private soldiers.
With the death of the Evil God and the dispersal of the Red Moon, the fighting in the city had also subsided, leaving those followers who had not died either escaped or nearly so.
Even the mechanical warriors from the Mafa Empire who had come as reinforcements had broken through to the docks and escaped by submarine out to sea.
Those still in the palace were the loyal ministers of the Bonar royal family and the royal guards.
Duke Rafael, Duke Lance, Duke Roberts... The three opposing dukes had once again gathered their forces and blocked the palace gates.
Of the six Senior Councilors, only these three remained; their political rivals had almost all been eliminated in this great catastrophe.
Almost exactly as planned, all power in Luying was now concentrated in their hands.
This was a brilliant victory!
They had won this political high-stakes gamble!
Now, it was time to negotiate with the Bonar royal family.
The established nobility had previously found the existence of the royal family somewhat embarrassing, as the Bonar dynasty had ruled Luying for a thousand years, and the people were accustomed to and recognized only the Bonar clan as royalty.
To overturn them would be a great betrayal, but not to do so would leave endless troubles.
But just before the great battle, Queen Charlotte had admitted before everyone that it was she who had made a pact with that foreign god.
The casualties in Lingdun City numbered in the millions, and someone needed to bear the blame.
If the foreign god had been victorious, that would be another matter, as no one would dare to voice opposition.
But now that the opposition had won and the foreign god was dead,
even the royal family could not bear such a charge.
The abdication of Queen Charlotte was already a foregone conclusion!
About thirty reporters with cameras clicked away, documenting everything happening in front of the palace; they were about to witness the history of Luying.
The palace’s defensive barrier was still unbroken, but there was no longer any attack going on.
As nobles themselves and bound by their lord-vassal relationship, they wanted to afford the Bonar royal family one last dignity.
As Su Lun teleported over, he watched Duke Rafael standing in front of the palace gate, representing the opposition as he called inside to the empress, "Your Majesty, tonight’s catastrophe has cost Lingdun City millions of lives, all due to the descent of that Evil God..."
...
Su Lun watched this scene, feeling nothing was amiss.
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After a coup, it was normal for the victors to perform a bloody purge of the defeated; there was nothing wrong with this process.
Furthermore, the actions of Queen Charlotte this time were utterly detestable, making exile or execution a justifiable outcome.
Mr. Jing also slightly frowned, clearly also puzzled.
He hadn’t planned to interfere in Luying’s internal politics, but he was wondering who else might be stirring fate and to what end.
However, it wasn’t long before the palace doors opened, and Queen Charlotte, dressed neatly, arrived at the entrance.
She was dressed in the dark red gem-emblazoned emperor’s garb she wore at her coronation, her head adorned with the Bonar royal heirloom, the "Balati Crown," her left hand holding the "Green Glow Rod of Kingship," and her right grasping the "Cross Rod of Sovereignty."
She appeared as regal as the day she ascended the throne, her gaze sternly sweeping over everyone. However, her eyes had long lost their composure, filled only with a soul-lost bewilderment.
Duke Raphael, seeing the true master appear, continued, "Your Majesty..."
He just wanted to say something when he was abruptly interrupted by Queen Charlotte, who countered, "Are you really forcing me..."
Raphael’s gaze swept over sharply. At this point, there was no turning back. "Your Majesty, I and a few colleagues have eliminated that foreign god and its followers. This disaster has caused a million casualties in Lurying, and my heart is heavy with sorrow..."
Queen Charlotte seemed to not listen at all, her face twisted into a hysterical frenzy as she countered, "Are you really forcing me!"
Raphael frowned upon hearing this. No matter how he looked at it, she was a mad old woman.
He said lightly, "Your Majesty, no one is forcing you. I just want to say, this time you really made a mistake..."
Queen Charlotte scoffed, sweeping her gaze over everyone, still appearing as if she were the paramount existence. She looked at the three dukes and suddenly asked, "Are you still loyal to the royal family?"
The three Dukes Raphael responded, "Naturally. We are the Empire’s servants, eternally loyal to the royal family."
In front of so many reporters, the royal family’s face still had to be maintained.
Normally, now that the situation was settled and face had been given, the Empress should have invited them in for negotiations, aiming for an outcome of exile to a remote location.
Otherwise, tearing apart faces, even the last vestige of the royal family’s dignity might not be preserved.
Unexpectedly, Queen Charlotte did not follow the script; she activated the Rod of Kingship in her hand and pulled out an ancient parchment from within the hollow staff, "This is the Loyalty Pact signed by thirty-six founding ministers at the inception of the empire, pledging their descendants’ eternal loyalty to the empire, to the royal family!"
She exclaimed, "If you are still loyal to the Royal Family, then please inscribe your names and those of your families here!"
At those words, the vast square fell silent, the atmosphere instantly turning awkward.
The three Dukes Raphael exchanged glances, each seeing the coldness in the others’ eyes.
...
From a distance, Su Lun, witnessing this, was also deeply puzzled.
"Loyalty pact" was no different from a slavery contract, once signed, they had to continue their loyalty.
But why would the three Dukes Raphael agree?
Their ancestors were not among the founding ministers, so this pact had no effect on them. They didn’t sign when the royal family had control, and now they bring it out?
Had this old woman truly gone mad?
Could she not see her own situation clearly?
Not just Su Lun, everyone thought Queen Charlotte had gone mad.
Falling from a height of power, she wanted to use this last means to cling to the power she valued more than life itself.
But what right did she have!
The three Dukes Raphael remained silent, looking on coldly.
"Hahahaha..."
Queen Charlotte tilted her head and watched for a while, her expression already becoming manically peculiar. She glanced at everyone without saying a word, growling to herself: "I knew it! I knew you pack of jackals wanted to usurp my Bonar Royal Family’s throne! Now, I give you one last chance, sign the pact, otherwise..."
Saying so, she opened her right hand, holding the "Cross Rod of Sovereignty," inside which a eyeball-shaped item startlingly appeared.
She clutched the eyeball and shouted, "Otherwise, I will open the key to the planar channel and have you traitorous scoundrels buried alongside the empire!"
Hearing this, everyone was greatly alarmed.
All eyes turned toward the eyeball.
Others might not have known the origin of the eyeball, but Su Lun’s face changed drastically, "Has this old woman truly gone mad?!"
The name identified by the All-knowing Eye was "The Key to the Celestial Planar Channel"!
It was one thing for the extreme believers of Lingdun to worship the Evil God, but now to threaten these people with the planar channel to capture the completely elusive underworld?
Mad!
She must be mad!
No one in their right mind would do such a thing.
Su Lun then realized, this Empress Charlotte must have lost her mind!
Mr. Jing standing beside her finally understood what her prophecy was pointing towards, and looking at the key, her face turned ashen!
...
The royal family, in order to secure their rule, must have some contingencies.
But clearly, nobody expected the Bonaparte royal family to possess such a thing!
For most people, a planar channel is an unattainable topic.
Only a very few at the apex of this world’s pyramid know what the planar key does!
It’s like Pandora’s box in myths, once opened, it signifies destruction.
Duke Rafael was among those who knew the dangers of this thing!
Yet, once the planar channel is opened, not to mention the empire, the entire civilization would be wiped out in an instant.
How could Empress Charlotte dare to do this?
Would she, alone for the sake of power, drag the entire alchemy civilization to its grave?
The expressions of several dukes changed drastically, knowing there was no negotiating with a mad old woman now.
At that moment, a prince by Empress Charlotte’s side, also pale with fright, hurriedly persuaded, "Your Majesty, this must not be done. Opening the planar channel will destroy the entire civilization in an instant! You cannot do this!"
Empress Charlotte was already beyond hearing any words, and seeing that the dukes had not yet taken a stand, her face twisted into a mad sneer as she almost snarled, "Hahaha, why should I care about the floods after I die!"
The dukes were truly frightened by this scorched earth strategy, and they even began to consider whether to agree to her demands, just to postpone the old woman’s suicidal intentions.
But just then, something unexpected happened.
Suddenly, as if struck by some mysterious force, Empress Charlotte’s face contorted with hysterical madness, muttering incessantly, "It’s your doing, it’s your doing..."
As she spoke, she gave no chance to stop her, and pressed down on the mechanism of the eyeball.
In an instant, a beam of light shot up into the sky.
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