Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 307 - 306: Reaching Out for the Knife

When Su Lun walked out of the Xiao Chi family’s house, the midnight snowflakes had already become so dense they blurred the vision.

The howling of the cold wind echoed in his ears, and the icy wind would pour into any gap in his clothing, chilling one to the bone.

In that brief encounter inside the house, he had already clearly sensed that tide-like special aura.

This was the "demonic power" of the Mountain Hermit yōkai, a special kind of energy.

The demonic power of those [Will-o’-the-wisps] and [Kappa] he encountered on the sea surface were too weak, hardly distinguishing themselves. However, the aura of the [Hundred Eyes Demon King] sealed within the Demon Blade let Su Lun genuinely feel its presence.

Having witnessed the descent of divine wills twice before, he had experienced that indescribable divine might, allowing him to identify it at once.

That yōkai just now gave Su Lun the same feeling.

It was like a deity, but much weaker.

He squinted at the windswept snowy village in front of him, pondering to himself, "So this is demonic power, almost divine. Hah, the yōkai of the Mountain Hermit nation really do seem to be high-ranking beings born of faith and some special energies."

....

He didn’t think too much about it.

With a step, Su Lun plunged into the thick snow in the courtyard, his deer leather boots sinking halfway through.

At this very moment, the moonlight spilled over the snow-covered mountain village, a silver sheen, yet it was no longer a beautiful snowy night scene but carried with it an eerie and ominous atmosphere.

"Damn it, what the hell is going on!"

In the snow, "Tea Beard" Hanzi was bellowing, "Everyone come out and assemble!"

That roar, similar to that of a lion, awakened the entire mountain village.

Su Lun stepped outside the door, just in time to meet Sharp running over anxiously, ready to assemble.

Upon seeing Su Lun, he called out, "Brother Joy, it looks like something’s happened. The boss is calling us over."

Saying so, he cast a glance at the quiet house behind Su Lun, his expression abruptly changing.

He had seen Bork and another sneak in to steal pleasure just a while ago, and their failure to emerge suggested the outcome.

Disbelief flickered through Sharp’s eyes, but he said, "Brother Joy, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. We’ve both been on guard duty the whole time!"

Su Lun chuckled and nodded, not really caring.

He had worried a little about being exposed, but now it seemed unnecessary.

He knew that this night’s events had only just begun.

....

Su Lun followed Sharp to the center of the village, where many people had already gathered.

He didn’t leave, his curiosity piqued about what interesting incidents might unfold next.

Also, he realized that the yōkai’s demonic power could stir the negative emotions within him.

This made him even more interested in the yōkai.

Moreover, Su Lun had just appraised the Demonic Sword, finding it quite sinister, yet, peculiarly, it wasn’t fatal to him.

If the person behind the scenes chose this way to stealthily wear down the pirates, their strength probably wasn’t too outrageous.

Staying to watch the excitement posed little risk.

Besides, in this snowy mountain village at night, it seemed all the same wherever he went.

Outside the village shrine, "Tea Beard" Hanzi glared ferociously, several headmen and the pirates woken from their sleep by screams stood uneasily in the snow.

The flares lit up the entire village brightly, with the houses and buildings clearly visible.

Su Lun also walked over and from afar could see a row of bodies laid out in the snow.

Twenty or so in number.

Their deaths were all very peculiar.

Their eye sockets were bloody holes, eyeballs long gone.

It seemed there might be more.

The pirates were carrying bodies out from some of the houses in the village.

Seeing this chilling scene, Su Lun’s expression did not change in the slightest, as if he had anticipated it. He quietly moved closer and saw that the "blade" that had been placed on the altar in the ancestral hall was now nowhere to be found, leaving only the tattered robe that had wrapped it behind.

Among the crowd, the pirates with pale faces looked at the bodies, whispering to one another.

"Sss... this is terrifying, how did this happen without any noise?"

"It must be the work of a yōkai! I’ve always felt this village was sinister. Tim’s dead, Casilia’s dead, Magitan too... and soon it’ll be our turn."

"I don’t want to stay here for another moment, it’s too scary. If I’d known, I never would have joined any vanguard team..."

"..."

Having experienced encounters at sea before, the first reaction of the people upon seeing the dozens of eye-gouged corpses was naturally to think the yōkai were to blame.

But even guessing as much only increased their terror.

What kind of yōkai was it?

Where was it hiding?

How did it silently kill all these people?

Countless questions arose, and fear quickly spread among the crowd.

The newly issued magical arms provided no reassurance to the pirates; some of the more cowardly were already panic-stricken.

Another wave came, and without identifying the root of the problem, it was obvious to any fool that there was an issue.

At that moment, everyone looked upon the village, the dimly-lit green mountains around, as if any place could be where the yōkai hid.

The next moment, it could be oneself meeting Death.

....

Tea Beard’s face had grown so grim with coldness that it seemed water could drip from his expression. His gaze cut across the room like a knife, fixing on the corpses on the ground. He had thought he was in for a simple task, scouting ahead for the fleet, but now he realized the perilous nature of the situation.

He had assumed the North Sea fleet possessed crushing strength over the Mountain Hermit nation, and that the locals wouldn’t be able to cause much of an uproar. This tax-collection expedition was supposed to be like a vacation.

But now, it seemed more like they had walked into a trap.

Hanz knew that things had come to this point, and there was no turning back.

He scanned his surroundings and shouted, "Sentries! Did any of you see anything unusual just now?!"

"Sentry post one, no abnormalities detected."

"Same with post two."

"Post three as well, nothing."

"..."

Su Lun and Sharp were at sentry post four, at the edge of the village.

Listening to the reports of the others, Sharp glanced at Su Lun and followed suit, reporting, "Post four, no abnormalities!"

No abnormalities had been seen by the sentries, yet people were dying inside their homes, and an eerie suspicion filled the air.

Just then, Song Yong Jiushu, their guide, ran over in disarray, pulling on his coat with a panicked face. "Lord Hanz!"

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Hanz’s anger surged just looking at the man. He grabbed Yongshu by the collar, hoisted him up, and angrily demanded, "Damn it! You led us to this village, now what the hell is going on?!"

Even if he was slow to catch on, he now understood where the problem lay.

Whether on the sea or now, the route had been arranged by this man in front of him.

If it weren’t for the fact that this guide was from their ninth fleet’s Admiral Peiwen’s crew, he’d suspect this guy had led them here on purpose to their deaths!

Yongshu, upon seeing the eyeless body on the ground, paled with fright and hurriedly explained, "This... this might be the work of a ’Hundred Eyes Demon’!"

Hearing it was a demon again, Hanz’s eyes bulged like brass bells, and he roared, "You knew there were demons here and still led us here? I’ve lost so many brothers, you owe me an explanation, or I’ll kill you right now!"

"Lord, please, spare my life!"

Scared out of his wits, Yongshu frantically explained, "Lord, I didn’t know, demons usually don’t enter the village. Especially the ones worshiped with incense, they not only do not attack the villagers, but they protect them..."

Suddenly, he thought of something, and with a ghastly expression, he asked, "That... you lords didn’t disrespect any of the village’s taboos, did you?"

"..."

Hearing this, Hanz’s eyes twitched as if he had guessed something, and his rage seemed to subdue suddenly.

Before entering the village, the guide had warned them of some customs of Mountain Hermit. With this question, he immediately felt that someone under his command might have touched upon something forbidden. After all, they were pirates, comprising all sorts of people, and having unclean hands was too common.

Hanz felt he was close to the truth and found a squad leader in the crowd, demanding, "Kahn, Magitan and a few others died right next to your room, didn’t your mother notice any commotion?"

The fact that the dead were all concentrated in a few rooms raised the inevitable suspicion: why them?

"That..."

The squad leader named Kahn was startled by the shout.

Stuttering and noticing the murderous look in Hanz’s eyes, he knew he couldn’t hide the truth and confessed, "Earlier, Magitan and the others couldn’t resist the charms of the village woman who offered them lodging. They... went too far... I warned them, but they didn’t listen. Then they accidentally killed her. Fearing you would reprimand us, they threw her into the well in the backyard."

Understanding dawned on everyone upon hearing this.

Su Lun listened to everything, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He had previously resented the demon for killing as if life was worthless, but now, hearing this, he thought these men truly deserved to die...

As the words sank in, Hanz’s face froze, and he felt the wrath turn upon himself.

He violently threw the guide onto the ground and pointed to the row of bodies, shouting with fury, "Dammit! I’ve already warned you, told you to keep in line; you couldn’t even hold back for a single night?! It’s fine when you mess around on normal days, but now look at what you’ve done; not only killed yourselves but endangered us all!"

The pirates were scolded, hanging their heads low, not daring to make eye contact.

In the vastness of the village, only the sound of wind and falling snow could be heard.

But by now, Hanz knew that more scolding was useless; the priority was to resolve the predicament before them.

...

After all, he was an old hand at piracy; Hanz was no pushover.

Now that they couldn’t find the cause, it was time to eliminate all the unsettling factors!

His eyes flashed with malice, and he barked an order, "Come on, gather all the villagers and chop them down! I want to see where that demon is hiding!"

A fifth-tier professional, he was considered a master anywhere he went.

Given the current situation, whether there was a conspiracy or it was indeed the work of a demon, if there truly was strength to wipe them out, they wouldn’t be doing it surreptitiously.

Round up and kill everyone, and then the demon would surely show itself!

Upon hearing this command, the guide Yongshu immediately pleaded, "Lord, you can’t kill! The demon is worshipped by the villagers of the Sword Forging Village with incense. It protects this place. Anyone who harms the villagers will surely be cursed."

Hearing this, Hanz was unmoved and shouted fiercely, "Do it!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The pirates obeyed the order, ready to go from house to house gathering people up.

It was then that someone finally noticed the object of worship was missing from the shrine.

"Captain Hanz, the sword is gone!"

"What sword?"

"The sword that was previously enshrined in the shrine!"

"Damn it, who the hell took that broken sword, hand it over!"

"..."

Despite the questioning, no one responded for a moment.

But it was at that moment a strange, cackling laugh suddenly rang out among them, a sound as terrifying as that of an evil spirit echoing in everyone’s ears.

"Are you looking for this sword?"

...

The sudden response made the hundreds of people in the snowy field feel as if a poison snake had slithered up their spines, causing goosebumps to erupt all over their bodies.

Following the direction of the voice, they saw someone in the crowd draw a long sword.

It was one of the four squad captains who had come, the ninth squad captain "Rain Sword" Akos, with a bounty of 41 million Riso, a somewhat famous fourth-order swordsman.

Seeing this, Su Lun had already quietly retreated. The black crow on his shoulder cawed once, and he slightly curled the corners of his mouth upward, closed his right eye, and watched the increasingly interesting situation before him with great interest.

With a loud shout, Hanzi demanded, "Akos, what are you doing?!"

"Aren’t you looking for me?"

Akos squeezed a few cold words through his teeth.

He cocked his head, his face stretching into an increasingly sinister smile, glanced at the crowd, and with a flick of his finger, "clang," the sword was drawn from its sheath.

In an instant, it was as if the gates of hell had been opened, and an evil aura suddenly enveloped the surroundings.

All eyes were mysteriously drawn to the blade of the sword.

Upon a closer look, they discovered that the blade bore patterns resembling eyes. It was at the moment of unsheathing that the eye pattern on the sword eerily opened up!

As if someone had abruptly woken from their sleep, the eyes snapped open!

It was... an actual human eye!

And the more fear-inducing sight was yet to come!

In that moment, as the long sword was fully drawn, the blade revealed countless eyes densely packed together. These eyes, both large and small, seemed to come alive, frequently moving, and staring at every person in the crowd from all directions.

It was then that Su Lun saw the full appearance of this "Demon Blade" for the first time.

’Ghost King Hundred Eyes Sojo’

Description: Ranked third among the twelve masterfully crafted famed swords; made from heavenly meteorite iron, it seals the demonic spirit of the Hundred Eyes Demon King, possessing the characteristics of inducing bleeding, breaking armor, resilience, and unstirred;

Demonic Power Characteristics: 1. [Blind] The user causes vision impairment to targets within a certain range and absolute blindness to targets with lower realms; 2. [Visible Hell] The powerful demonic power can invoke the darkest and most evil aspects from the depths of one’s heart, showing the dreadful state of hell and confusing the mind; 3. [Transparent Vision] The user shares the vision of hundreds of eyes; 4. [Great Demonic Sword Qi] Possesses the sword qi of the Hundred Eyes Demon King, with the intensity of the sword qi affected by the user’s Sword Dao prowess; [Cut the Spiritual Body] Can inflict slash damage to special spiritual bodies and target souls.

Detailed Explanation: The sword, worshipped with incense for a century, has become a hellish ghost blade, imbued with the swordsmanship, Sword Intent, and Sword Qi of its previous wielders; a spirited instrument chooses its master, and if not recognized by the Demonic Sword, whoever carries it will be eroded by demonic power, leading to permanent blindness, a nature for bloodshed, and a deranged mind.

Earlier in the room, Su Lun had seen the lavish attributes of this Demonic Sword.

Now that he had seen its full appearance, despite the somewhat horrifying design, he still found it breathtakingly impressive.

The attributes of this Demon Blade were definitely of the [Sealed Object] level.

Blindness, enhanced vision, damage to spiritual bodies...

Each characteristic was a surefire divine-level trait for a swordsman.

One could say that even a pig wielding this sword could instantly become a master of the Sword Dao.

However, the cost of usage was not small.

Su Lun had previously heard from Qiantiao that truly good swords had their own "temper," and not everyone could wield them.

Seeing the description of "path of hell" identified by the All-Seeing Eye, he felt it definitely wasn’t suitable for him.

But since Qiantiao was the Rakshasa Woman, he wondered if she could use it?

...

The moment the long sword was drawn, an enormous centipede’s phantom appeared abruptly behind the sword-wielding Akos!

The centipede was snow-white, tens of meters in length, its belly, and back covered with countless eyes, its thousand feet like sharp scythes, presenting a fearsome and intimidating appearance.

"Is this the demonic soul of the [Hundred Eyes Demon King] that’s been sealed away?"

Su Lun raised an eyebrow, the reflection of the snow-white centipede shimmering in his left eye.

He was unprepared before, his vision stripped away, but now he was just enjoying the scene.

However, those pirates weren’t so fortunate.

The moment the Demon Blade was unsheathed, those who were close by were immediately engulfed in darkness and screamed in fear.

"Ah... I can’t see!"

"Damn it, what’s wrong with my eyes..."

"..."

Ordinary people were not like Su Lun; even after being stripped of their vision, they still had other senses.

These ordinary pirates instantly became "blind while seeing."

Moreover, it was not just about being unable to see; they were probably witnessing the "scenery of hell."

Su Lun was well aware that the impact of such negative emotions could cause those of weak will to collapse instantly.

Those affected by the Demon Blade brandished their vicious expressions amidst great agony.

They pulled out their swords and began swinging at those around them as if everything in their eyes had become the most evil thing that needed to be killed...

Then, the slaughter began!

The "Rain Sword" Akos was originally a seasoned fourth-order swordsman proficient in intricate court swordsmanship, as dense as rain. Now with the Demon Blade in hand, his aura erupted in an instant, evolving from swordsman to sword expert, and then to great sword expert... and kept rising!

Around his body, snowflakes converged into a tornado, visibly forming a sword qi twister.

In that split second, the pirates whose visions had been stripped hadn’t even had the chance to figure out what was happening before their bodies bore scale-like dense cuts, as if they had been sliced by countless blades...

With a single slash of his sword, Akos’s sword qi extended hundreds of meters, leaving behind death and injury in its wake.

This sword qi was not something his rank should be able to unleash.

Even Su Lun, watching from a distance, was impressed.

But as much as he was amazed, he also noticed that Akos’s mental state had completely descended into madness, thinking to himself, "He’s completely controlled by the sword’s demonic power indeed, truly living up to the name ’Demon Blade.’"

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....

It seemed they were waiting for the pirates to converge in a group for an easy slaughter. That’s when "Akos" suddenly made his move, blinding them first and then cutting them down with an area-wide sweep of Sword Qi. This tactic was near unbeatable.

When the Swordsmith Master Sojo Kenshin forged this sword, he must have intended to achieve this effect.

Pirates below the third rank didn’t stand a chance to react; six to seven hundred pirates were instantly wiped out by several tornadoes of Sword Qi. The snowy ground was littered with limbs and severed arms; where it was once covered in a blanket of white, it was now stained crimson...

"Damn it, Akos, stop!"

"The boss has been possessed by a demon, brothers, stop him!"

"Don’t harbor any illusions, kill him, or we’ll all die here..."

"..."

The pirates were instantly stunned, but they quickly rallied together, preparing to kill him.

But "Akos" was already not weak, and with the Demonic Blade in his hand, it was as though he had grown hundreds of eyes on his body, letting him easily evade attacks from every direction. No sneak attack could touch him.

Even the fifth-rank "Tea Beard" Hanzi was pushed into an extremely awkward position, dodging desperately from place to place.

Being the strongest, "Akos" relentlessly pursued him, hacking wildly along the way.

After being deprived of sight, Hanzi could only rely on his hearing to dodge attacks.

Originally, having advanced to the fifth rank, he should have had an absolute suppressive advantage over those of the fourth rank.

But now, the situation was utterly one-sided.

"Akos" displayed superb swordsmanship, perfectly executing "technique overpowers strength." The Demonic Blade’s armor-piercing effect allowed the blade to easily slice through elemental barriers, dealing fatal wounds to Hanzi.

If it weren’t for his fifth-rank advancement, which had fused with void gear granting him Spatial Teleportation abilities, he would have been cut down by the blade already.

From a distance, Su Lun knew that the overall situation was settled.

There were originally hundreds of pirates, and there was a chance of success.

Although "Akos" had the Demonic Blade, after all, he was just one person.

Alas, the opponents were too weak.

The pirates were lazy and had never trained in any specialized combined attack tactics; mostly, they only knew two tactics: "swarm in" and "scatter."

Su Lun shook his head as he watched.

This was several classes below the team fighting cohesion he had seen practiced by the Judgement Legion.

This lot had already been left with shadows in their hearts by the demons at sea, their morale was naturally low. Now stunned by the impact, once they found they couldn’t win, the vast majority thought about fleeing far away to save their own skins.

In the end, after several of Tea Beard Hanzi’s close associates were chopped down, he was left struggling to hold his own and "Akos" landed several blows on him.

The pirates from the other squadrons, seeing the situation, also knew the tide had turned.

They had already been frightened out of their wits by the demon. When someone shouted "Run for it!", the remaining couple hundred pirates scattered outside the village.

....

"It’s over..."

Su Lun watched the people flee, his eyes flickering with an unusual light.

The mastermind had never shown his face, relying on a handful of demons and a single Demonic Blade to block this group of pirates at the gates of the Mountain Hermit country.

However, it seemed the mastermind had no intention of completely annihilating them, letting these people escape could exaggerate the horror here when spread, most likely putting the blame on "demons causing chaos."

This way, faces were not completely torn, and any subsequent trouble would be much less.

In the future, anyone thinking about coming to Mountain Hermit would have to think twice. The King of the North Sea would also be informed of Mountain Hermit’s stance and would weigh the pros and cons before considering the matter of taxation.

Su Lun’s mind was racing as the battle before him was nearly concluded.

In the vast village, only corpses littered the ground.

"Akos" had killed everyone who was still breathing, and at that moment, he suddenly turned his head and saw Su Lun, who was standing in the snow with his umbrella.

The two locked eyes.

The man’s eyes were white, and behind him, the ghostly white centipede shimmered with demonic power.

In the man’s gaze, Su Lun saw the endless torments of hell.

Yet his face bore no fear.

Death was not an unfamiliar experience,

He was no stranger to it.

Suddenly, Su Lun flashed a devilish grin, his eyes full of ghostly amusement, "Seeing the sights of hell, tsk tsk, demonic power indeed triggers the most evil and fearful thoughts in people’s hearts..."

He glanced at the sword in the man’s hand and tilted his head, ready to face any attacks that might come at any moment.

But after several breaths of standoff, "Akos" suddenly avoided him, appearing to give up the intention to kill.

Then, under Su Lun’s watchful eye, the man went mad!

After hacking wildly in the snow, he poked his own eyes out with his hands and then plunged the knife into his heart.

Su Lun observed the madness unfold with an expressionless face.

He murmured softly to himself as he looked at the body kneeling in the snow, "Demonic Blade."

He walked over.

Collecting the fragmented souls scattered among the corpses, Su Lun then stopped beside "Akos’s" body.

He seemed to ponder something, hesitated for an instant, but eventually reached for the "Ghost King Hundred Eyes Sojo" embedded in the corpse.

...

Meanwhile, in a certain room.

Ever since the killing began, a pair of eyes had been coldly watching everything.

Seeing Su Lun ready to draw out the Demonic Blade, the onlooker chuckled, "Heh, overestimating oneself!"