Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 312 - 311: Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Scroll (Happy Chinese New Year’s Eve)

The one pulling the strings behind the ghost warriors hadn’t shown himself yet, hellbent on using a war of attrition to whittle down the protective forces of the Shinfuku Mitsuko through sheer numbers.

The ghost warriors were undying and indestructible, normally lacking a countermeasure, any number of assailants would have just been thrown away.

Regrettably, they encountered Su Lun the Puppeteer.

He was equally adept at employing a horde strategy.

The ghost warriors might not fear death, but puppets were equally indifferent to life and death.

Once Su Lun’s few hundred puppets appeared, they instantly reversed the disadvantage posed by the numerical gap. Moreover, they could spew fire and ice, with more comprehensive functionalities and stronger collective combat capabilities.

The moment his sinister eight-armed spider spears appeared, the vast bamboo forest turned into his puppet theater. With a tug of the threads, he controlled the puppets in formation and charged into battle, clashing with the ghost warrior legion in an instant.

Most of the Alchemist’s abilities came from external sources, and the reason Su Lun had set up so many energy crystal cores in the bamboo forest beforehand was to outlast these monsters.

He certainly didn’t think that the ghost warriors’ revival came without an energy cost.

As for that ghost warrior leader clad in "Iron Crimson Scale Painted Five-Piece Armor", Su Lun had the "Divisional Admiral Class IX Mechanical Battlesuit" to keep it engaged.

You claim your armor is impervious to blades and spears, huh?

Care to clash head-on with a mechanical battlesuit?

Let’s see whether the armor is tougher or the defense of steel machinery is more superior.

Another advantage of technology is the more efficient use of energy sources. The Morga military’s exquisitely designed steam and magical energy boilers are absolutely top-notch in energy utilization, incomparable to the natural consumption of humans (and monsters) at the same energy level.

This armor might not be able to kill the ghost warrior leader, but at the very least, it could restrict its rampage for a short time.

As for the other puppets, if one breaks, there are plenty of spares.

Theoretically, as long as there is sufficient energy, Su Lun’s puppet army could outlast that person’s ghost warrior legion indefinitely.

It’s just a matter of who gives out first.

However, Su Lun had no intention of dragging it out like this, he didn’t have that much money to burn.

Besides, he had already located the position of that controller!

....

With the deployment of the puppet army, the Shinfuku Mitsuko and her ninja protectors saw tumultuous waves arise in their eyes.

Su Lun single-handedly took control of the situation.

The puppets assumed their positions in battle, making everyone else seem redundant.

The astonishing display of hundreds of puppets gave them an immense sense of security.

"This..."

The dire situation that was life-threatening just a moment ago dramatically turned around, and the captain of the guards who had just spoken was now dumbstruck, unable to utter another word.

Even the handsome face of the Shinfuku Mitsuko was filled with disbelief.

Looking once again at the silhouette manipulating the eight-armed spider spears, she realized the composure he carried concealed such formidable power.

Despite sensing that his real strength was not extremely strong — probably around the rank of a third-tier professional outside of the Mountain Hermit — she had not expected such overwhelming domineering presence once he made his move!

The puppets held back the ghost warrior legion, affording a moment’s respite for everyone. The injured ninja protectors seized the opportunity to swiftly tend to their wounds and consume pills to recover their strength.

Chitose also sheathed her sword, breathing heavily, her eyebrows relaxing.

For her, with hands sealed and involved in high-intensity combat, the strain was not light.

She approached the Princess, facing the Shinfuku Mitsuko who stood in a daze, and said with a raised eyebrow, "The rest is up to him."

"Miss Chitose, that... Su Lun, how could he..."

The Shinfuku Mitsuko was at a loss for words to describe the stormy thoughts swirling in her heart.

What she thought was a nearly certain death scenario had been effortlessly turned around by someone else.

This... It was almost like a dream.

Chitose had never doubted Su Lun’s abilities, so she was not the least bit surprised, "Mmm... He always brings surprises."

The puppet army’s combat strength was truly astonishing. The tense atmosphere suddenly dissipated, and everyone’s faces revealed expressions of great relief.

Lolotta came over, with the look of an adoring fan, and exclaimed, "Wow... Su Lun is so amazing. Even though it’s not my first time seeing his technique, I’m still so shocked."

This scene was akin to the one back in Blizzard City at sea, where the three of them as pirates faced encirclement, and Su Lun turned the tide just as dramatically. It brought too many shocks to that young girl’s heart.

After a pause, the lively girl looked at Chitose mischievously and said, "I told you, if the teacher is in trouble, Su Lun will definitely come to help!"

Chitose, hearing the cunning in her words, knocked on the girl’s head, "With all the praise you’re heaping on ’Mr. Su Lun’, why don’t I send you to be his disciple?"

Lolotta shook her head vigorously like a bobblehead, "No, I want to learn Sword Dao from the teacher!"

Then, pausing, she sneakily glanced at Chitose and murmured deviously, "Anyway, you and Mr. Su Lun are so close, it doesn’t make a difference whether you send me or not."

As she spoke, she made exaggerated gestures with her eyes, hinting: They’re so close that they could bathe together without clothes.

"..."

Listening to this, Chitose gave her a look but decided to ignore her.

....

Su Lun had already observed almost all the traits of the ghoul warriors, so the battle was not supposed to have any surprises, everything was mostly within his expectations.

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However, his thoughts did not stop there.

Before taking action against the controller, he was still contemplating whether he could use this monster as a puppet.

The previous ghoul warriors had been closing in step by step, which was exactly what Su Lun wanted. With the monsters gathered together, nearly all within the puppet theater, they were easier to control.

Right after he blocked the ghoul warriors’ offense with this encounter, the sorcerer’s seals in Su Lun’s hands changed again, "Armor Release!"

He released the third tier of "Spiritual Tentacles," and that immense spiritual power spread along countless threads.

Without halting his motion, Su Lun frequently manipulated the eight spider spears on his back, murmuring in his heart, "Let’s try the secret technique I’ve recently mastered..."

"Silk Control Method - Spider Cocoon Binding Technique!"

Su Lun’s gaze became sharp as numerous witch’s hair-like strands in the air suddenly solidified into a tangible form.

In an extremely short amount of time, crystalline and tenacious threads wound around hundreds of ghoul warriors, enveloping and weaving them into spider cocoons, rapidly binding the targets like a spider capturing prey.

But seeing this scene, the Princess from afar showed no happiness on her face, instead, she looked worried. She couldn’t help but shout out in urgency, "Mr. Su Lun, be careful! Ghoul warriors are incredibly strong and can phase through objects. They simply can’t be controlled..."

Beforehand, they had tried many methods to deal with these ghoul warriors, naturally including physical control, but somehow they would inexplicably phase through, rendering all attempts at control useless.

But what she never expected was that, just as she said this, instead of watching those cocoons immediately shrivel away, nearly a hundred ghoul warriors, including their leader, actually froze in place.

Were they really being controlled?

How did he do it?

With a flash of white in her eyes, the Princess suddenly saw something. In the countless threads wrapping each ghoul warrior, there was one infused with a strong flow of spiritual power!

"What kind of Illusion Technique is this?"

Seeing such a magician for the first time, the Princess was a bit puzzled, speculating in her heart, "Could it be because of the threads?"

In Mountain Hermit’s cultivation system, Illusion Techniques (spiritual secret techniques) are a large category within the Ninjutsu and Divine Arts, and are not uncommon amongst practitioners.

As a Shinto Shrine Maiden, she herself was proficient in various spiritual spells.

But ghoul warriors were immune to spiritual secret techniques!

She herself had tried before, to no effect, so why was this technique working now?

The Princess did not know that most spiritual spells were magical attacks, while Su Lun’s Spiritual Tentacles were physical attacks.

The principle was to use the understanding of human anatomy to forcibly disrupt and block the transmission of neural signals with threads, thereby achieving control.

While they seemed to have the same effect, in reality they were fundamentally different.

Illusion Techniques focus on "magic" and require constructing a spiritual power field that induces hallucinations in the target; Spiritual Tentacles emphasize "reason" and represent direct anatomical control.

This was a technique that could only be utilized by alchemists who had a thorough understanding of the arts of life.

That was also why Su Lun was not in a hurry to attack earlier, waiting instead to find that puppet master behind the scenes.

Because these tactics, once revealed and known by the enemy, would have a significantly reduced chance of success when used a second time.

....

In the eyes of others, the resurrection of ghoul warriors was a mystery.

But to Su Lun’s All-knowing Eye, almost no secrets remained after just one observation.

He also discovered that ghoul warriors would only phase into an elemental state and resurrect after death. Once controlled, they could phase’s but in essence, it was equivalent to blowing themselves up once.

But even self-destruction required the flow of energy, which ghoul warriors achieved through the reverse surge of their deathly aura, giving them the apparent ability to phase like elements.

This type of energy flow also followed meridian channels.

Thus, as long as the normal signaling was cut off, they would not be able to complete a self-destruction.

Su Lun had already thoroughly researched the human anatomical notes of Gerald, former leader of the "forensic doctor" group, and naturally saw through the truth of the self-destruction at a glance.

Even for the ghoul warrior leader in the crimson armor, it was a matter of using a few more threads.

"Miss Princess, please help me seal these ghoul warriors!"

Su Lun shouted, charging into the swarm of monsters.

He intentionally inquired beforehand, knowing that Shinto Shrine Maidens are skilled at sealing spirits and naturally spared no courtesy.

Despite how impressive Su Lun’s control over the monsters with his Spiritual Tentacles looked, he couldn’t maintain it for long.

The more spiritual threads he divided, the weaker his control became.

He knew that this move had caught the puppet master behind the scenes off guard, and once that person reacted, it was highly likely that there would be other complications. He didn’t want the "ghoul puppets" he had acquired to be taken back.

Therefore, he struck first.

Upon hearing this, the Princess, who had been feeling guilty about her distrust just a moment ago, suddenly brightened up as if being needed on the battlefield made her realize her own foolishness, "Okay!"

...

The secret techniques of Mountain Hermit were endless. Su Lun nearly suffered at the hands of a mysterious ninja woman in Sword Forging Village previously and couln’t afford to be careless.

With a call, a blue cold flame suddenly surged from his body, quickly gathering behind him into an armored flame giant. On closer look, around that flame appeared some "paper effigies" inscribed with strange talismanic symbols.

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The paper man was burned, seemingly letting out the agonizing screams of a tormented evil spirit being incinerated.

Su Lun’s gaze hardened, almost falling into the trap.

This was a tactic he had not even detected!

With the emergence of the "No Servant" shadow, others might not have felt it peculiar, but behind Su Lun, the Shinfuku Mitsuko’s eyes revealed an incredulous hue, thinking to herself, "Divine Arts? No, it’s Alchemy that has been spread..."

Su Lun didn’t concern himself with others, knowing that once he acted, he must eradicate the opponent with the swiftness of a lightning strike.

In his hand suddenly appeared a black-and-white chessboard, from which he fired a beam of light into the pitch-black bamboo forest.

Although that guy was well-concealed, perfectly masking his tracks with ghostly energy, he was unmistakably clear in Su Lun’s Soul Perception.

The scenery around them shifted in a flash, suddenly transforming into a space resembling a black-and-white chessboard.

Upon looking again, Su Lun saw a figure emerge before him – a man with a pale face wearing a tall black hat and a white hunting garment adorned with cloud patterns.

Seeing this attire, Su Lun’s gaze turned slightly sharp, "An Onmyoji?"

It wasn’t surprising, after all.

The ability to control ghost warriors wasn’t strange for an Onmyoji.

Adept at Demon Control, knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, proficient in the Art of Escaping Armor... this was a divine priest from the Mountain Hermit nation.

The pale-faced individual before him, with eyes like peach blossoms, exuded a very eerie feeling.

Su Lun immediately guessed who this person was; the royal family’s chief priest, known to outsiders as the ’Mystic’ Abe Yasukazu.

Beside this man followed a shadow of a white massive hound several meters tall, upon closer inspection, it was the hard-to-find Onmyoji’s guardian spirit, "Inugami."

It was no wonder he was able to pursue relentlessly.

Abe Yasukazu, looking at himself now trapped within the chessboard space, showed no signs of disturbance and remained calm.

Instead, upon seeing Su Lun, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes, and he seemed to mutter an inaudible phrase to himself. (Could it be that guy? Heh, what a coincidence... Well, it’s worth a try.)

He appeared to recognize something, his interest piqued, he raised his hand and his fingers spread out, revealing that the palm line in the center of his hand split open, transforming into a blood-red eye. Upon closer inspection, the eye also displayed a magatama, unmistakably the monstrous "Hand Eye."

That creature seemed to lock onto its target, and perhaps possessed other nefarious abilities?

Su Lun didn’t dare to be careless. He opened the rune-embellished black umbrella in his hand with a swoosh, enveloped by resentful spirits, while the sorcerer’s seals in his hand swiftly condensed into form.

The soul fire of the Onmyoji before him wasn’t overly extravagant, but these divine priests shared some similarities with Puppet Masters. You couldn’t gauge their combat strength by their physical tier; the most tiresome aspect was their Demon Control Technique.

The Puppet Theater was deployed once again, and in this enclosed space, Su Lun held absolute advantage.

He pinched the sorcerer’s seals, the rune-embellished black umbrella’s "Nightfall Domain" unfolded, preparing to execute a strategy of depriving the enemy’s vision and then focussing attacks to rapidly eliminate them.

Yet, the eerie individual opposite didn’t seem affected by the wailing resentful spirits, simply shaking his head dismissively, "Indeed, it’s a very powerful Alchemy... Pity, the Ghost Path Secret Technique is useless against me."

This person didn’t seem like other ignorant countrymen from Mountain Hermit nation; instead, he seemed to know a great deal about Alchemy.

As he spoke, he raised a hand and from his wide sleeve fluttered out a cloud-patterned scroll. With a swift gesture from his right hand as if wielding a sword, he cried out, "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Scroll, Wind God Secret Technique, Kamaitachi, speed forth!"

As the command was issued, the scroll bearing the image of a yellow weasel spirit burst open with a "bang."

Su Lun’s left eye glinted, clearly seeing something darting out, and a swiftly moving Spiritual Body also appeared in his Soul Perception.

That scroll too was a precious item, the "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Scroll," sealing the existence of numerous ghostly beings.

He was not to be outdone. He pinched the sorcerer’s seals and his gaze hardened, "Flesh Alchemy, Diamond!"

At a second glance, a metallic luster like golden lacquer flowed all over his body. Protected by the "Diamond" Secret Technique, a fifth-tier law understanding, it wasn’t going to be easily broken!

"Ding"

"Ding"

"Ding"

"..."

Almost the moment Su Lun’s sorcerer’s seals solidified, a bizarre whirlwind struck. Sparks flew off his skin and the creature inflicted hundreds of attacks in mere seconds, the sounds of blades striking echoing densely by his ears.

"The wind-slicing demon ’Kamaitachi,’ capable of killing invisibly, indeed lives up to its legend."

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Su Lun’s gaze grew solemn, and although he was protected by Diamond, the high frequency of cutting damage was heating his skin. Continuing to endure it might not ensure he could hold on.

Moreover, sealed within that Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Scroll weren’t only creatures like this one.

The ’Mystic’ Abe Yasukazu’s strength was unfathomably deep.

Just from a single encounter, Su Lun knew this was a formidable opponent.

His guard was up every tenfold.

....

Meanwhile, Abe Yasukazu, standing as the opposition, was equally astonished.

He had presumed that unleashing the demon "Kamaitachi" would easily subdue his adversary. Its speed was meant to be unpredictable, sufficient to counteract most so-called fourth or fifth-tier Alchemists with ease, yet it was ineffective?

A Puppet Master, with such a strong physical body?

Moreover, while he unleashed the demon, his opponent was obviously not idle.

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It was in that instant he discovered that his body was suddenly surrounded by dense threads. These threads, imbued with a pale blue wind element, visibly exuded a cutting edge that was menacing to the eye.

Not far away, Su Lun’s hands clawed at the void, and with a fierce tug, he shouted, "Silk Control Method - Caged Sparrow!"

Abe Yasukazu’s eyes twitched as he formed a sword seal with his fingers and called out, "Replace!"

On the next glance, his body was smoothly sliced into dozens of pieces by the threads.

But as a flicker of light passed, instead of a scene of blood splatter, the figure turned into a slowly descending piece of shredded paper.

"What a strange Divine Arts technique..."

Seeing this, Su Lun’s gaze narrowed slightly as he once again captured the soul fluctuations dozens of meters away.

The soul’s flame was still there, so how did it suddenly turn into a paper person?

There was no spatial fluctuation, it wasn’t physical teleportation, and it wasn’t the "Flash" from Ninjutsu...

He couldn’t understand the principle behind this "Paper Person Technique."

Alchemists have an innate obsession with the unknown.

But although he was still curious, Su Lun’s actions were not slow. His eyes suddenly bloodshot, he clapped his hands together, "Flesh Alchemy: Hormone Rampage!"

Whether it was the black scythe, the threads, or the puppet, they were all of limited use against this adversary.

Su Lun was already considering other options.

His initial intention was to kill this adversary, but now his goal was to probe as much as possible for the opponent’s foundation.

Like most magical practitioners, Divine Arts Magicians have one weakness, and that is their frail physical bodies.

Thus, Su Lun chose close quarters combat.

This allowed him to better sense the intricacies of the "Art of the Paper Person," and it wasn’t so easy for his opponent to escape.

....

"Wham!"

"Wham!"

"Wham!"

"..."

Stepping on Air produced a series of explosive sounds in the air.

Witnessing the figure before him suddenly charge at several times the speed toward himself, Abe Yasukazu was greatly surprised, "Isn’t this guy supposed to be a Puppet Master? How come he has so many tricks up his sleeve..."

Seeing the other party’s intent to engage in close combat, he couldn’t let his guard down.

In such close quarters combat, there was no room for carelessness.

Abe Yasukazu called out again, his body surged with demonic energy as he bellowed, "Art of Escaping Armor - Release!"

Upon another glance, his robes fluttered without wind, and his muscles visibly bulked up.

In the next instant, Su Lun’s punches and kicks arrived.

And so, two magicians who relied on controlling external objects began engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

Both were utilizing secret techniques to squeeze out their body’s potential, and whoever had a stronger physical foundation had the edge. Su Lun, with his body modified by "X Serum," had recovery, resilience, and strength far superior to an average person. Hence, as long as he didn’t go all-out, he necessarily held an absolute advantage.

The two of them thus exchanged blows within the chessboard space, with Su Lun occasionally deploying threads and puppets to encircle and narrowly gaining the upper hand.

Abe Yasukazu’s expression grew increasingly strange on the other side.

He knew that if they continued fighting, without revealing his true capabilities, he definitely wouldn’t have the slightest advantage.

But he had no intention of fighting to the death.

Although releasing the sealed demons from the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Scroll might give him a chance to kill his opponent, when he had used "Flash," the Space Arcana, he knew he had no chance to catch Su Lun.

Continuing the fight would only expose his trump cards and serve no other purpose.

Finally, after a touch that created some distance between them, Abe Yasukazu once again pulled out the [Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Scroll], formed a seal, and slapped it, making a massive red [Mokugyo Daruma] appear in the space.

Su Lun watched helplessly as the man jumped into the demon’s mouth, and with a burst of demonic aura, they both vanished from the chessboard space.

It was a lonely battle.

Su Lun had no thoughts of pursuit.

It puzzled him that the man clearly had other methods at his disposal, yet seemed to have had no intention of fighting to the death from the start?

Considering his relentless chase to kill the Princess and her party earlier, his attitude now seemed rather perfunctory.

Su Lun curled his lips, unable to figure it out.

But considering he also had no certainty of killing his opponent, he let it go.

The thought barely registered before Su Lun dispelled the chessboard space and walked out.

PS. Completely out of drafts, there aren’t many authors coding on New Year’s Eve. At the same time, I wish the book friends who follow the updates a happy new year~ Thank you for your support!!! ღ(´･ᴗ･`) Much love!

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