What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

“...”

After hearing Leon’s words, the Earl’s expression showed no obvious change.

His face remained cold and rigid.

No visible anger could be seen, yet his presence remained imposing without the need for rage.

The hand he had raised never lowered, ready at any moment to give the signal to begin the siege.

“Ophelia has already been fed multiple poisons, including the Cursed Blood. The antidotes can only be produced by us. Oh, and there are also crystallized agents that induce Petrification Disease. If she's unlucky, she'll contract Petrification Disease very soon.

“And you should have already learned from Bishop Beckett that the only person capable of producing medicine to treat Petrification Disease is Weiss Rogers.

“I'll return her to you right now. But if you want to make sure she doesn't end up dying in a sickbed in the future, withdraw from this place and never come near it again.

“From now on, I run my business, and you run yours. Other than me periodically supplying you with antidotes, we will have nothing to do with each other!

“We stay out of each other's affairs!!” Leon shouted.

Hearing what Leon had done to Ophelia, the Earl showed not the slightest trace of anger.

On the contrary, he sincerely looked down on the leverage Leon had produced.

“Give her to me,” the Earl demanded, enunciating every word.

Leon and the Earl stared at each other for a moment.

Then Leon turned and gave an order.

A small side gate in the fortress opened.

Someone pushed out Ophelia, her hands bound before her and her mouth covered.

The Earl's gaze settled on her.

Her hair was disheveled, and she was barefoot, but she did not appear to have suffered any particularly cruel treatment.

The Earl's expression softened for a fleeting instant.

Ophelia also saw him.

Tears of relief welled in her eyes, and she immediately ran forward.

Between the barricades atop the fortress walls, mercenaries under Leon's command raised one firearm after another.

Their firing lines covered Ophelia's back as though issuing a warning.

The Earl ignored them completely.

He watched only as Ophelia crossed into their side.

An opening appeared in the formation, allowing the Earl's daughter into the protection of his forces.

Heavy steel shields were immediately raised around her as cover.

“Ophelia!”

Only then did the Earl lower his signaling hand.

He stepped forward, personally cut her bindings, and tore away the tape covering her mouth.

“...”

Ophelia trembled all over.

Her eyes remained fixed on the Earl's face, still clearly shaken by her ordeal.

“You can leave now, Earl!” Leon shouted loudly.

The Earl turned his gaze toward the fortress wall.

The look he gave Leon was ice-cold.

In the Earl's eyes, this foolish man was already dead.

Leon Set actually thought poisoning Ophelia would allow him to control him?

Compared to cooperating with such a childish attempt at coercion, he preferred a far simpler approach.

Storm the fortress.

Capture Leon, Rena Lotharck, and Weiss Rogers.

Possibly the Hsu mother and daughter as well.

As for the antidote, he preferred obtaining it through interrogation.

And even if he could not obtain it, the Witch Assembly could provide related assistance.

With the power he possessed now, being restrained by someone like Leon was an intolerable humiliation.

Before launching the assault, however, he needed Ophelia evacuated first.

If she had truly been injected with the Cursed Blood, then as long as she remained within range, the owner of the blood could trigger the poison at any time...

At that moment, Leon stood atop the fortress wall, expressionless as he watched the Earl's position.

One of the shield-bearers had blocked sight of both the Earl and Ophelia.

Leon raised a hand and made a signal.

His subordinate immediately lit the artillery fuse.

During the final few seconds, Leon drew a deep breath and began counting down silently.

Three...

His attention focused.

His perception shifted toward sensing the magical energy around the labyrinth.

Two...

Many magical creatures nearby were linked to his consciousness as the Labyrinth Lord.

They had all been created by the labyrinth.

Including the pack of dire wolves gathered beneath the fortress.

One...

At that moment, Ophelia in the distance also appeared within his awareness.

She possessed a magical signature similar to those dire wolves.

“Now!!”

Leon silently poured the consciousness of the Labyrinth Lord into a creature created by the labyrinth.

To the Earl, everything happened without warning.

Ophelia suddenly transformed into a black shadow and lunged at him.

She opened her mouth and bit directly into his neck.

Rows of razor-sharp fangs pierced his throat.

A strange hot current immediately began flowing backward into the wound.

A Doppelganger!!

“My Lord Earl!!”

The people around him instantly descended into chaos as the Earl was attacked.

At that moment, Leon's furious roar overwhelmed all of their cries.

“Kill them!!”

Cannons and flintlocks atop the fortress fired simultaneously.

Exploding shells blasted clouds of shattered stone and dust across the front lines of the Earl's forces.

Poison-coated bullets rained down upon enemies caught completely off guard.

No one in the Earl's camp had anticipated this.

No one could have imagined that the side launching the fierce assault first would be the defenders!

The Earl's attack only added further chaos.

Had Bishop Beckett or Johnny been present, they might have taken command immediately amid the confusion.

But neither of them was here.

The Earl stared in disbelief as he struggled against the thing clinging to him and tearing at his flesh.

By now, the creature had largely revealed its true form.

It was a humanoid black shadow.

It had shed Ophelia's disguise and revealed claws and fangs meant for hunting humans.

This was a third-tier magical creature commonly known as a Doppelganger, officially classified by the Church as a Phantom.

The Church described it as a creation embodying Moilai's deepest malice toward humanity.

It transformed into someone precious to its target, approached them, and then killed them at the perfect opportunity.

Leon had been raising this Phantom all along.

Now, he had used it to impersonate Ophelia and lay a trap for the Earl.

Not only had the Phantom inflicted what was nearly a fatal wound, Leon had also coated its fangs with his own blood.

In that instant, the Cursed Blood entered the Earl's body as well!

The Earl's eyes widened.

Muscles across his body bulged violently.

The blessing of the War God activated instantly, pushing his physical strength beyond human limits.

“GRAAAAH!!”

He seized the Phantom that was biting into him and literally tore the monster apart with his bare hands!

Covering his bleeding neck, he felt a powerful numbness spreading from the wound throughout his body.

Leon had activated the Cursed Blood from afar.

The moment he realized he had been poisoned, he immediately pulled out a vial of Number Nineteen Holy Water.

He bit the glass apart and swallowed the contents directly.

“Counterattack! Counterattack!!”

The Earl's side had been completely caught off guard.

At last, one of the cadres could no longer endure it and began shouting orders to organize retaliation.

Yet just as everyone hurriedly prepared to storm the fortress, a familiar figure suddenly appeared atop the wall.

Ophelia.

This time, Leon had brought out the real Ophelia.

Bound to a wooden frame, she was pushed onto the wall and displayed like a target waiting to be shot.

“T-That...”

“Stop! Stop!”

“Pull back!!”

The Earl's forces fell into chaos once more.

Most of them hesitated the moment they saw Ophelia.

If a stray shot killed her under these circumstances, it was hard to say whether the Earl's wrath afterward would fall upon the enemy or upon them.

That confusion gave Leon's side enough time to organize a second volley.

The defenders atop the walls switched to preloaded flintlocks and fired again.

This time there were no cannons, but poison-coated crossbow bolts joined the barrage.

The Earl pressed a hand against his bleeding neck and forced himself to remain standing.

Screams rang out endlessly around him.

One subordinate attempted to support him.

The Earl shoved him away violently.

“Advance!”

His bloodshot eyes blazed as he roared the order.

“For—but Miss Ophelia...” someone cried out in shock.

“I SAID ADVANCE!!” the Earl repeated.

He forced himself not to look at the daughter bound atop the wall.

He had already recognized the reality of the situation.

They had suffered two volleys without responding.

He himself was severely wounded.

If they did not strike back now, everything would be lost.

Hesitation would not save Ophelia.

It would only ensure that he and everyone present died alongside her.

He had no other choice.

He could only attack.

He could feel the poison within him.

Most likely, it truly was the Cursed Blood.

Number Nineteen Holy Water could only temporarily slow its effects.

He had to seize the fortress and suppress the situation before that time ran out.

The delayed counterattack finally came.

Gunfire erupted.

Cannons roared toward the fortress.

Wood splintered.

Dust and debris exploded into the air.

Leon dropped flat beneath the wooden frame to which Ophelia was tied.

He watched some of his own men blown away by the explosions.

His position was relatively safer.

The enemy still avoided shooting directly at Ophelia whenever possible.

Suddenly, Leon grabbed a red flag and waved it.

Standing atop the observation tower within the fortress, Rena saw the signal.

She transformed into her succubus form and raised a whistle.

The whistle had been crafted by Vis from the bones of a magical creature.

This was another technique the Church had acquired from witches: instruments made from magical creature materials could transmit a witch's commands.

A shrill whistle pierced the battlefield.

Several low gates suddenly opened along the fortress.

Then a pack of dire wolves poured out through them.

Like a flood.

They charged savagely toward the Earl's forces.

“Today, you die here, Earl Foyle!” Leon roared at the top of his lungs.