Mechanical Alchemist

The way to unfurl the spatial scroll allowed Su Lun to summon a large number of rune dolls in a short time. Before the enemies could turn their guns, he had already summoned a hundred dolls.

By the time the enemies noticed and turned around, he had already pulled the strings to activate the dolls' mechanisms.

The puppets stood in two rows, eighty "Oil-Swallowing Dolls" in front and twenty "Phosphorus Fire Dolls" behind.

It was the moment the strings were pulled that the jaws of the two types of dolls suddenly opened—one spewing black oil, the other emitting pale blue phosphorus fire.

Watching the astonished expressions of the Olli family, a fierce look flashed in Su Lun's eyes as he softly exclaimed, "Try my physical fire technique..."

Raw and brutal.

In an instant, twenty red-faced dolls spat out a jet of fire, the phosphorus fire met the oil, and instantly transformed into twenty rampaging fire dragons, shooting towards the crowd.

Twenty multiplied by eighty, and in a moment, there were eighty fire dragons.

The improved "Oil-Swallowing Dolls" had greatly enhanced ejection power; their black tubes were like high-pressure water guns, shooting black fire oil tens or even hundreds of meters away.

This range of shooting was, under normal circumstances, almost no threat to most professionals. All they had to do was to keep their distance to easily dodge it.

But in the space confined by the sealing enchantment, there was nowhere to hide!

And because the puppets were controllable, twisting their heads and spraying wildly.

Blue phosphorus fire does not extinguish with water, and grows with wind—the places where the fire dragons passed were all covered in flowing flames. Instantly, several blocks within the seal were engulfed in raging fires.

Apart from a few magicians who could control fire, almost no one could withstand this head-on.

This round of eighty fire dragons spraying simultaneously immediately scattered the enemy's formation.

More than a hundred people scattered, each beginning to shoot with their guns.

....

"Kill him!"

At that command, gunfire erupted loudly.

Su Lun was not at all afraid, as the hundred dolls in front of him almost blocked all possible angles of shooting. He controlled the rune dolls to fly chaotically everywhere, presenting a scene of demons dancing wildly.

These hunters, truly the elite of the Olli family, quickly found cover and began to counterattack after a moment of panic. These guys had sophisticated firearms and excellent shooting skills. Despite the agile and flying dolls, the numerous gunpoints aimed and fired popping sounds.

Although the dolls had strong runes and enchantments, their low-tier wooden material did not allow them to withstand too many bullet impacts, especially as some people in the crowd had man-portable cannons and mechanical claws attacking. Almost every hit caused a doll to burst.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"..."

After a round of sweeping gunfire, the Black-faced "Oil-Swallowing Dolls" flying in the front kept bursting apart.

But the bursting was not just that simple.

It was as if compressed gas cylinders were exploding, the sky bursting open with balls of flames.

Phosphorus fire splattered everywhere.

Watching the exploding dolls, Su Lun didn't feel a bit of pity; instead, he revealed a smile that showed things were going just as he planned.

This was not the earlier type of small-capacity doll, but one that he had modified with Spatial Techniques—spatial dolls.

When these burst, the spaces sealed within the dolls also burst apart. Like exploding oil barrels, the black phosphorus oil burst, filling the sky everywhere.

Phosphorus fire splattered, sticking on surfaces, and unable to be extinguished. In a moment, painful wails of agony were heard everywhere.

"Ah...quick...help me take off my bulletproof vest!"

"Damn it, my mechanical arm is red-hot, someone help me out here, let's take off this mechanical skeleton!"

"..."

Whether it was textiles or mechanical parts, once tainted with phosphorus oil, all one could do was wait for the oil to burn out. Not everyone knew the art of fire control to handle these sticky burning oils; even a small touch meant burns.

And the threat was far from over.

The "Oil-Swallowing Dolls" might seem much less threatening after bursting and losing their directed spraying capability.

But the explosion was more direct than spraying from the jets, rapidly spreading the burning area and reaching a state where it was absolutely unstoppable.

Within this restricted space of several hundred meters, phosphor fires were everywhere.

Initially, the Oliver family hadn't noticed anything unusual, but seeing more and more broken puppets surrounded by inextinguishable phosphor fire, someone realized the problem and shouted, "Careful, these flames are toxic! Put on your gas masks!"

....

Poison gas?

No, it was not just that.

It was true that phosphor fire could produce deadly poison gas, but that was not the main reason Su Lun used so much oil.

In fact, Su Lun did not expect it to burn or poison anyone to death.

It was to create thick smoke to obstruct vision and rapidly consume the oxygen in this space!

The burning of oil also required a huge amount of oxygen.

Outdoors it might not be noticeable, but in a confined space, these dozens of barrels of oil could deplete the oxygen in the air in a very short time.

This was a tactic Su Lun had thought of when he heard from Sabina that the Oliver family planned to use "Spatial Lockdown" against him.

The confined space was not only suitable for "Puppet Theatre," but it was also an extremely advantageous home field for his "Phosphorus Dolls."

Although it was a world filled with alchemy, and ancient alchemists had already been able to separate oxygen from the air,

laboratory research and civilian use were two different things.

Most people had no concept of isolated oxygen.

Filtering gas masks could solve most toxin issues but not the lack of oxygen. (Ordinary gas masks, don't even mention sodium peroxide or anything of that sort).

Soon, people began to experience difficulty breathing.

"Ah, I think I've been poisoned!"

"Quick, help me..."

"..."

The cries of agony continued, but they grew fainter.

The sharply reduced oxygen content in the air made them greedily gasp for breath.

Then they found it harder and harder to breathe, which instinctively made them want to remove their gas masks to take a few breaths.

But then they realized they were inhaling more poison gas.

Their faces soon turned a blue-gray, and they fell to the ground, frothing at the mouth.

The Olli family's hundred or so elites collapsed in great numbers like cut wheat in an instant.

Even the professionals quickly showed signs of oxygen deprivation.

Some magic-wielding Magicians who realized the situation shouted, "Don't shoot, stop shooting those oil-spewing puppets! Cast to replace the air, or we all die here!"

....

The gunfire ceased abruptly.

Su Ting, listening to their exchanges, unhurriedly took out a compressed air tank and connected it to his mask.

Ordinary Scavengers might not understand the cause of their breathing difficulties and probably assumed it was poisoning. But this was, after all, the Olli family's elite group, mixed with inner city academy-trained alchemists.

It wasn't surprising that they could see through it.

Using the principle of equivalent exchange to swap the poison gas for fresh air was indeed the correct response...

But would Su Lun give them that chance?

If he saw anyone casting any wind-based Spatial Technique, he would raise his hand and gun them down.

Those he couldn't kill on the spot must be elite magic-wielding Magicians, who were busy replacing the air and naturally couldn't afford to deal with Su Lun.

This one move directly neutralized the enemy's numerical advantage, instantly rendering ninety percent useless.

Now that the opponents had stopped shooting, Su Lun wasn't planning on letting them off. He pulled a thread in his hand and shouted, "Explode!"

The remaining dozens of intact "Oil Swallowing Dolls" instantly burst apart, splattering oil everywhere.

Now, the fire became unstoppable.

Moreover, the burning phosphor produced a large amount of high-temperature black smoke!

Because the oxygen within the sealed space was becoming scarcer, the incomplete combustion of the phosphor oil produced increasingly dense clouds of floating particulate smoke. The high-temperature smoke disrupted all optical detection methods, rendering even the best night-vision devices useless.

This was a physical visual obstacle even more effective than a smoke bomb.

Unable to disperse, the high-temperature smoke stayed contained, with the purple light screen's sealing barrier acting like a glass cover enveloping these few streets.

Visibility was getting lower and lower,

One hundred meters...

Fifty meters...

Ten meters...

In the blink of an eye, the dark fog enveloped most of the spatial area, and in some local areas, one couldn't see their own hands.

Now that everyone was blind,

It was all about perception!

Su Lun had done this because among second-tier professionals, his perception abilities held an absolute advantage.

Not to mention the evolved powers of the All-knowing Eye, he could still see further than others in the smoke. Combined with his super-sensitive auditory perception and malicious intent detection abilities, he could easily pinpoint the enemy's location.

Now, the enemy's numerical advantage was completely gone.

With unclear targets, even good shooting skills and equipment were useless.

Having done all this, while the opponent's formation was in total chaos, Su Lun instantly snuffed out his own light source and stopped firing as well.

He ignored the flamethrowing dolls and used Spatial Teleportation again, appearing dozens of meters away in the midst of a crowd.

Due to the extremely low visibility, the professionals from the Oliver family hadn't noticed that an extra person had suddenly appeared in their group.

....

The commander of Oliver's team also had extensive combat experience. Upon realizing that their sight was obstructed by the black smoke, he immediately guessed Su Lun's intention.

"Be wary of an enemy sneak attack!"

"Group in threes, back to back!"

"Do not shoot recklessly!"

At his commands, the surviving professionals grouped in threes, backing each other for protection.

This formation indeed made it hard to sneak up on them.

However, Su Lun had no intention of attacking them himself.

With a flick of a scroll, another dozen creepy dolls appeared out of nowhere.

This time, they weren't flamethrowing dolls, but "Nightmare Dolls."

These were hybrids of the earlier "Wailing Dolls" and "Giggling Dolls." Su Lun, having mastered the technique of dual rune engraving, had crafted these new dolls. They were immensely troublesome as they could induce both auditory and visual hallucinations simultaneously.

"Clang~"

"Clang~"

"Clang~"

As soon as the dolls appeared, their limbs split open, revealing dark, poisoned, sharp daggers.

At the command of Su Lun's octopus spear, the dozen dolls simultaneously flew towards the crowd.

Although the mental wails of the "Nightmare Dolls" still had a limited range and needed to be within one or two meters of a professional to affect their psyche, Discover hidden stories at empire

But... the terror was in their numbers!

Their combined laughing was overwhelming, like ten thousand nagging aunts next to one's ear, capable of causing immediate mental breakdown.

Moreover, the puppets had no fear of death, and not even swords or guns could make them back off.

After the witch's hair fully elementalized, her control was virtually untraceable.

The dozen puppets were like a dozen Su Luns.

Plunging into the crowd, their eerie laughter could instantly blur one's mind.

Then, in a moment of distraction, it was a frenzy of stabbing.

For a moment, the darkness was filled with ceaseless screams and the loud crack of gunfire.

Su Lun, like a ghost, mercilessly harvested the lives of those professionals who were still alive.

A chaotic slaughter!

In the brief time of these two encounters, Olli's force of over a hundred people hadn't even started to act violently before the poison gas killed most of them, and strange puppets stabbed the rest to death—almost all were wiped out in an instant.

What was originally a spatial barrier intended to trap Su Lun inside turned out to be a death knell for these pursuers.

.....

"Ah..."

The wails and screams were unending.

Olli's family members, being second-tier professionals, were not short of means to save themselves. Although they were temporarily safe, they had no ability to stop Su Lun from killing.

This smoke obscured everyone's vision.

Amid the confusion of over ten movements, they couldn't discern where the real "Su Lun" was.

To act rashly was to fear suddenly encountering a spatial rift from somewhere, which might decapitate them.

Moreover, by now everyone knew that Su Lun had become a second-tier professional, so no one dared to underestimate him.

Let's not talk about when he held the dark scythe in hand; even in direct confrontation, why should one assume weakness when each was a second-tier professional?

And at that moment, they realized a stark reality.

Had they come to hunt down this "SS wanted criminal Su Lun"?

No!

Looking at it now...

From the beginning to the end,

It was Su Lun who had been baiting them out.

Coming to terms with that realization, the few living second-tiers were all bathed in cold sweat.

The death of their five companions during the earlier pursuit was not coincidence, but all within Su Lun's calculated plans.

Although they did not understand why Su Lun harbored such a deep killing intent,

the fact was, if they didn't find a way, they might all be annihilated.

And now awkwardly, the spatial barrier they thought trapped Su Lun only confined them!

They had not anticipated that Su Lun had awakened a rare spatial ability.

And then, faint and cautious voices transmitted through the communicator.

"Damn it, we need to figure out Su Lun's location and eliminate him, otherwise we probably won't last until the barrier opens... Mr. Lloyd, what should we do now?"

Before they could get a response, someone suddenly spoke eerily through the communicator: "Hey... have you guys not noticed that our entire plan from start to finish has been in Su Lun's hands?"

"You mean..."

"..."

That statement was cut off halfway, and suddenly the communicator went silent.

Everyone understood then—their communication channel had been intercepted.

.....

Listening to the silence in the communicator, Su Lun also realized that they had discovered his interception, and he internally chuckled, "Only just realized it huh..."

But it didn't matter anymore.

The plan was going smoother than expected.

By now, those guys couldn't possibly turn the tables.

The only uncertainty for Su Lun now was whether he could eliminate the few second-tiers in the space before the enemy's main forces arrived.

Of course, since the enemies were all well-known seasoned second-tier professionals, they naturally wouldn't just surrender.

Su Lun glanced at the silk threads descending from above and narrowed his eyes slightly, "The puppet show begins, huh..."