Mechanical Alchemist

After absorbing the benefits brought by the "Mimir's Spring," Su Lun not only gained wisdom but also clearly found his thinking had suddenly become incredibly meticulous.

Some pieces of intelligence that previously required deep meditation and painstaking inference almost didn't need to be carefully combed through in his mind now, as if there were strings consciously threading them into a curtain of beads, deducing all kinds of reasonable outcomes.

Therefore, even if the cause-and-effect relationships were complex, as long as there were clues pointing in a direction, they had definitely been taken into account.

Take, for instance, the current ambush by Saint Frank.

Although the Dawn Group had thwarted the plans of those divine beings in recent days, the battles had exposed too many of their methods, and the enemy had surely gathered a lot of intelligence.

Not to mention, the enemy now definitely knew that Su Lun had a divine-grade spatial treasure at hand, that Dawn had a false god capable of stealing faith, and many incredibly threatening alchemy skills...

For those guys from the divine realm, all of these were very enticing.

If it were Su Lun himself as a deity from the divine realm, he would set everything else aside, for an opportunity like this was definitely not to be missed.

...

"This guy was seriously injured and probably hasn't recovered yet; he's likely to rely on external forces," Su Lun thought to himself upon hearing Mr. Hei's warning voice.

Now that he had a thorough understanding of the world, combined with the memories he had harvested before, he also had a clear concept of the higher planes such as the divine realm.

The coming of a god was not without cost, nor could it be done by any means necessary.

At least, the divine will that had descended was greatly restricted by the broken laws of the alchemy plane.

Last time "Frank" had summoned the will of a deity from the divine realm, but as soon as it arrived, it was severely wounded by a super-rank Cyclops. Even if it could still fight now, its strength was inevitably greatly diminished.

Last time it had super-rank strength, and now... it was hard to say whether its original form could exert ninth rank combat power.

Thus, to seek trouble with the Dawn Group, it could only rely on external forces.

Just as this thought came to Su Lun, a familiar horn sound suddenly rang out between heaven and earth again.

"Wuu... Wuu... Wuu..."

Hearing this soul-stirring horn sound, how could he not know that it was the "Artifact Projection of Gjallar's Horn"?

As soon as the horn sounded, an extraordinary phenomenon suddenly erupted on the sea surface.

The waters surged and slowly condensed into an increasingly tall giant humanoid monster.

The identifier displayed the name "Titan Sea Giant," a type of elemental being formed by a Titan Sprit's manipulation of water elements.

Su Lun looked at it with a slightly narrowed gaze, not at all surprised but rather breathing a sigh of relief, "Only one, eh..."

"Frank" had last time used the horn to summon a legion of Titan Spirits from Hell Volcano, seemingly ready to sweep the plane. The commotion was huge, but unexpectedly, it attracted the Dragon Race and was beaten back before it could wreak havoc.

Now the guy had learned his lesson and only summoned one.

Naturally, it was targeting the Dawn Group.

This nearly five hundred meters tall water elemental giant immediately caused towering waves upon its appearance. The overwhelming power of water elements controlled the waves, forming a giant vortex with a diameter of thousands of kilometers on the sea surface.

The powerful pull of the vortex caused the super battleship Evernight, caught in the maelstrom, to spin as if it were about to capsize at any moment, unable to escape.

Although the Dawn Group had Tanni and his mother, both capable of manipulating waves and storms, the rule control of the Sea Giant was clearly much more advanced.

The combined efforts of mother and son could not calm the waves.

Like an untamed wild horse, the Evernight galloped uncontrollably across the sea.

Through the communicator, Tanni roared hoarsely, "Helmsmen, control the sails well, we ride the waves."

Only his superb sailing skills allowed him to steer the ship, keeping it from being swallowed by the sea.

It wasn't just the waves; the Sea Giant's every move also unleashed high-level elemental spells. The seawater pelted down at the ship like arrows and cannonballs, with intense explosions resounding all around.

A command from the command center: "Activate the alchemy formation, protect the ship!"

On the deck, the people of Dawn swiftly retaliated. The runes and coatings on the ship lit up, and hundreds of cannons fired simultaneously, the barrage deafening.

The cannonballs instantly exploded upon hitting the transparent body of the distant Sea Giant.

The explosions from the hundreds of alchemy shells were enormous, enough to flatten mountains.

The upper body of the Sea Giant was blown into a mist of water in an instant, collapsing into the sea.

However, before the people of Dawn could feel any relief, the Sea Giant that had just had its body blasted in half reconstituted itself, turning back into an intact Sea Giant in the blink of an eye!

The Titan spirit that had coalesced was formed of water elemental limbs, which were inexhaustible atop the vast ocean. Any damage it sustained could be immediately replenished. Moreover, the suppression at the level of laws made conventional methods virtually ineffective in causing it any substantive harm.

The might of hundreds of cannons was fierce, sparing no expense in ammunition that could obliterate ninth-tier magical beasts.

But at this moment, they could only slow down the Sea Giant's approach to the ship, unable to defeat it.

The situation, no matter how one looked at it, was extremely unfavorable for the Dawn Team.

Besides, "Saint Frank" had chosen this moment for a reason.

Because at this time, the high-ranking fighters of the team were still tied up in the sky, unable to assist, fighting the Hell Black Dragon.

As the Sea Giant manipulated the whirlpool, drawing the ship of eternal night ever closer, it was then that a remarkably calm voice came through the communicator.

It was a command from Mr. Hei, "Magic teams, prepare. Group one, conjure the 'Elemental Steal' formation; group two, amalgamate 'Absolute Zero' to ice seal the ocean surface."

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, several sub-team leaders immediately responded.

Their composed tone seemed to reassure everyone.

At the instant the order was issued, the deck immediately lit up with over a thousand alchemical formations, and a tremendous power of Elemental Steal enveloped the ship.

As soon as this mysterious force appeared, elements were frantically stolen. The rain arrows, which had attacked the ship like cannonballs, now turned into mere droplets as they fell.

Soon after, the vast power of the stolen water elements gathered together and was then condensed into an icy white vapor by another group of magic-focused professionals, ultimately converging on Mr. Hei, who stood at the center of a nine-pointed star formation.

This was a combined Legion technique.

On one side, elements were being stolen; on the other, the elements were condensed into chill.

In a flash, the vast deck became bitterly cold, as if winter had fallen.

The alchemical formations glowed brightly, and with a forward point from Mr. Hei, the chilling sound of frost crystallizing made one's scalp tingle.

"Legion Secret Art: Absolute Zero!"

Upon looking again, his finger swirled with cold air, instantly forming an ice spear.

The ice spear possessed a cold so intense that it seemed to freeze even space, and it extended towards the distant Sea Giant at high speed.

A strange scene then unfolded.

Where the small ice spear passed, the seawater froze solid.

The terrifying surge of cold swept across, and as the Sea Giant was in the midst of forming a group of elemental cannonballs, its pale blue translucent body suddenly began to whiten and then turned crystal clear.

However, since the Sea Giant's body was made from nearly high-tier elemental power, the cold didn't completely immobilize it, only slowing down its movements.

"Crack," "crack,"...

The air was filled with the sound of ice cracking.

It appeared that the two forces were at a stalemate.

With the Sea Giant's movements restricted, it no longer posed an immediate threat to the ship of eternal night.

...

Saint Frank probably hadn't expected that this Titan spirit, summoned as a top-tier combat force on the Alchemy plane, would be restrained by an Alchemical Adventure Team lacking even a ninth-tier Magician!

And yet, he watched this countermeasure with a sense of deep familiarity.

Wasn't this the Legion technique of the tens of thousands of Mages from the Divine Plane?

Indeed.

This was the Dawn Team's legion of thousands of Mages!

After numerous encounters with the Divine Plane's legions, Su Lun had stripped many of their memories of magic-based forces, and how could he not compile those precious tactics and experiences into formations suitable for Alchemy Magicians?

Traditional magic-based alchemy could leverage all sorts of alchemical equipment and cursed items, and its combat strength was no less than any other legion of thousands of Mages!

It was just that magic-based Alchemy Magicians were few in number and accustomed to fighting alone, resulting in the lack of a developed legion system.

But now, they had one.

And the combat power of the Dawn Team had changed dramatically from before, with more and more Magicians of tiers 4 to 6, already meeting the basic conditions to form a high-tier legion.

Moreover, during these days of adventure in the Dragon Country, they had acquired countless pieces of ancient equipment, cursed items, and even items of sealed-alchemy class. Now, nearly every crew member had equipment of at least golden quality. This could indeed be considered a top-tier legion arrangement in the Alchemy plane, even more luxurious than any of the thousands-strong Mage legions Su Lun had hunted before!

Then there were the magic towers built by those beings from the Divine Plane in the Moon Strait.

The mages used magic towers to gather magic power and enhance the lethality of their spells, a point that also applied to alchemists.

As for the Eternal Night, the massive displacement of the ship made it suitable for retrofitting and carrying heavy loads. These days, the people of Dawn had transformed the ships into a large magic tower, effectively making it a mobile battle fortress for the magic legion!

Then there was the special existence of Mr. Hei.

As a scholar, Mr. Hei always had the sharpest observations of the battlefield, able to make the most suitable judgments in critical moments.

Now, having drunk from the Spring of Wisdom, his professional abilities had been developed to the extreme.

Just like right now!

Mr. Hei determined at the first moment that they couldn't kill this sea giant, only control it.

And none of their methods, no control spell at their disposal, could directly control such a massive elemental body.

So faced with a sea giant that nearly had an immortal body in the ocean, Mr. Hei did not choose to directly confront the endless water elements. Instead, he opted for elemental theft.

Stealing the sea giant's power of water elements, then consolidating his own spells.

The legion's spell "Legion Secret Art: Absolute Zero" was also very special.

In the eyes of an alchemist, the universe's temperature could reach several billion degrees, but when the temperature dropped to a certain point, the movements of creatures would gradually stop and lead to death, be it elements, cells, energy... everything.

The greater the energy expended outward, the lower the temperature reached by the spell.

This spell did almost no damage to the sea giant, but it could infinitely slow its movements, almost to a halt.

A bizarre scene appeared on the sea surface. The water was frozen over a large area. The Black Dragon, pulling the Eternal Night, raced across the ice, while the sea giant trying to catch up slowed down more and more the closer it got…

Even though this titan spirit had the battle power of the ninth order or even stronger, it just couldn't get the better of the Dawn legion.

The battle immediately fell into a deadlock, and it seemed victory or defeat wouldn't be decided any time soon.

...

In the sky, Su Lun watched this scene unfold with not a hint of surprise.

From the beginning when the titan spirit appeared, he knew that it couldn't possibly trouble the Dawn legion if it was alone.

And after they dealt with the Hell Black Dragon, the titan spirit would naturally be no problem.

It was clear that "Saint Frank" also understood this.

Su Lun murmured to himself, "This guy's options are running out... If he's still hiding and not showing up, is he planning to use the 'Lord of the Grey Mist's' abilities?"

A demigod is an excellent component for a true divine being.

Moreover, a demigod whose consciousness has been greatly damaged—an invading divine will like the one that descended upon Saint Frank—would certainly not let this opportunity pass.

And fighting within the Curse Space was much more convenient than outside it.

As thoughts flickered through Su Lun's mind, he had already deduced various outcomes.

If "Saint Frank" dared to attack personally, he must have a certain degree of confidence, but it was very risky for the Dawn legion to choose head-on battle.

Yet, they must still face this risk head-on.

Now that the divine will was severely damaged, it was the best opportunity to deal with it.

Moreover, "Saint Frank" had grown too quickly due to his talents. It was better to deal with him sooner and eliminate a major threat.

Thinking this, Su Lun continued to burn the soul of the Hell Black Dragon atop the dragon's back.

However, what happened next was almost exactly as he predicted.

Seeing that the titan spirit was completely unable to do anything to the Dawn legion, "Saint Frank" clearly became anxious.

The longer the delay, the greater the likelihood he would be exposed.

His absence thus far was primarily due to the heavy blow he suffered last time, a lesson learned.

Who knows whether there were other transcendental beings hidden in this stretch of sea.

It was then that the communicator conveyed a warning from a distant outpost, "Everyone be careful, the Hell Volcano has erupted with a great amount of black mist!"

Hearing this, nearly everyone in the Dawn legion knew what was happening, as this was not the first time they had experienced such a scene.

The grey mist is a moving Curse Space—the "Hell Dragon Country."

Seeing this, Su Lun once again confirmed a thought, "It seems that the divine will still doesn't know, or is unsure whether it can move freely through curse spaces…"

What he needed to do now was to make the most of the intelligence gap between the two sides and strike an unexpected blow.

The black fog rolled in, sweeping over the vast sea area near the Dawn group.

The Eternal Night couldn't even escape before it was engulfed by the fog tide.

The surrounding light suddenly dimmed, turning hellishly gloomy; they had once again entered the cursed space.

However, no one in the Dawn group panicked; those who needed to wear gas masks did so, and those who were to fight continued fighting.

The purpose of this cursed space was only to restrain them, and then... It was also time for "Saint Frank" to make an appearance.

As expected, right after the Dawn group was drawn into the cursed space, a blonde youth with three eyes mysteriously appeared in the sky.

He was surrounded by a divine aura and wore the majestic face of a high-ranking being, indifferently looking down on the humans below like mere ants.

An alarm immediately sounded through the communicator: "Nine o'clock direction, eight hundred meters on the sea surface, be careful of the enemy!"

Su Lun had always known that the guy was hiding there, but without absolute certainty that he could take him down, he had waited until now.

"Saint Frank" didn't hold back; upon his appearance, a beam of light suddenly shot from the vertical pupil on his forehead toward Mr. Hei aboard the Eternal Night.

The beam was incredibly fast, piercing instantly through the silhouette that was casting a spell, seemingly aiming to destroy the Dawn group's 10,000-member formation.

How could Mr. Hei have failed to notice this enemy's emergence?

From the very beginning, he and Su Lun had guessed that this guy would show up.

At the very moment the beam pierced the silhouette, it dispersed, revealing it to be an illusion.

A few meters away, Mr. Hei emotionlessly teleported to the side, as if he had foreseen the attack, narrowly and safely evading it.

Mr. Hei glanced again at the blond youth in the sky, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

He had already entered the state of the second resolution of the Mind Reading Technique.

...

In the sky, Su Lun saw the beam split apart and felt a great relief: "He's just under ninth-tier standards..."

While the attack looked formidable, it actually did not mobilize ninth-tier laws on a fundamental level.

The ability to produce such an effect was purely due to his "S-009-All Things True Resolution" second resolution ability.

If one could understand this talent, they could decompose it.

If a divine will descended upon a physical body, it would indeed be an unsolvable presence.

Such power could easily kill anyone, including Su Lun; that didn't mean it could hit Mr. Hei, now under the double resolution of "Wisdom" state and Mind Reading Technique!

One hit would be fatal, and all members of the Dawn group were warned.

But that "Saint Frank" wouldn't be interested in the lower-ranked professionals, and the All Things True Resolution beam was not endlessly available to be shot.

After a few beams, Mr. Hei perfectly avoided each one.

Only then did the guy realize something was off with the old man.

However, before Saint Frank could think further, Su Lun had already noticed something, and his figure quietly disappeared from the spot.

In his second resolution of the All-knowing Eye, this plane of existence had no secrets from him.

The moment "Saint Frank" appeared, Su Lun had already seen two distinct fluctuations of faith.

He immediately determined that the divine will had now split in two: one part in Saint Frank and the other towards the Hell Volcano.

Without much thought, it was certain that the "Lord of the Grey Mist" was at the Hell Volcano!

And for a false god to exist, there's a necessary condition: a parasitic object.

If he could find this object, he could erase the false god directly.

Before, Su Lun and Pandora had severely injured the Lord of the Grey Mist, but because they hadn't found the divine host object, they hadn't been able to eradicate it entirely.

Now the opportunity had come.

Su Lun speculated that the divine will of the heavenly plane must have devoured the divine power of the Lord of the Grey Mist to recover from its injuries.

Finding the parasitic object would surely deal a heavy blow to that god!

He took the risk to confront it head-on, just waiting for this moment!