Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 411 - 410: Head-On Confrontation (Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch ’Confrontational Kid waaah’)

Su Lun walked on the street, hearing someone exclaim, and looked up as well.

First, a point of light sparkling like dew shone within the azure above the clouds, and then the light grew larger and blazed fiercely.

The cotton-like thick white clouds were also dyed golden yellow, as the meteor pierced through, leaving an empty vast hole.

The sound of the wind roared in one’s ears, as the meteor, rubbing against the atmosphere, dragged a long tail and burned with a dazzling white light.

In Su Lun’s eyes, the reflection of the meteor flickered as if he saw the smiling face of a girl with freckles and braids in the sky.

Katyusha said, "I buried my face in the stars, so when you look up at the sky, the stars will carry my blessings to you."

The fragile rainbow clouds, that old friend, also said their final farewell in such a brilliant way.

Su Lun didn’t know if it was an illusion, but at that moment, his heart felt unsettled, and his vital energy also started to surge.

...

The meteor seemed to fall very slowly at the edge of the sky, trailing a long tail, with a seven-colored dazzling light that looked quite romantic.

But the closer it got to the ground, the faster it became.

Beauty turned into catastrophe.

By the time ordinary people could clearly see that blazing fireball, its speed had already become as fast as a streak of light.

"Whoosh~"

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In an unwitting instant, that red star, hot like the sun, fell down.

A beam of light flashed and buried itself into the ground, then disappeared without a trace.

It was at this very instant of impact when it seemed as though people’s thoughts and time itself both hit the pause button, and the scene stood still for a moment.

But the next second, like fireworks exploding in the night sky, the brightness burst forth in an instant.

A vision of world-ending destruction violently invaded everyone’s field of view.

It took but a moment for all in sight to turn into a sky full of ashes.

The giant pillars of the Millennial Temple, cast from stone, vanished into ash within the flames, a corner of the coastline of Moros city-state was abruptly missing, and vast swathes of sea water were instantly evaporated, creating a depression...

Then, before the signals from people’s eyes could reach their brains and turn into expressions of shock, the sound resembling thunder and the shockwave violently burst forth.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

The explosion was deafening, that world-ending shockwave visibly swept across all directions, lifting terrifyingly high waves of dozens of meters on the sea.

A scene akin to the apocalypse.

On the eve of the meteor’s drunken fall, Su Lun was standing atop the tallest building in the central colosseum of the Moros city-state.

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He gazed at the temple by the coastline, watching the day star that fell from the sky, bursting forth in a fleeting beauty.

He let the violent shockwave hit him like waves, his robes flapping loud.

Su Lun remained unmoved.

This was the parting gift Katyusha gave him.

It was also a welcome gift from Ekaterina.

With the Temple of Aghaparnon destroyed, setting aside what losses the North Sea Fleet might have suffered in personnel, at the very least, Roman’s faith in the War God collapsed significantly, and their morale plummeted.

This act was no less significant than having cut down several fleet commanders of the North Sea Fleet!

And from a long-term perspective, it further shook the foundation of the North Sea Fleet.

The Romans without faith, just a disarrayed mess.

Seeing this, Su Lun also silently praised that Ekaterina for her clever tactics.

A Roman nation stable in millennia of theocractic faith, was definitely not something those in power wanted to see. From now on, there were opportunities to take advantage of.

Deep strategy, meticulous thought, she is a qualified politician.

After the shockwave continued for awhile, it completely swept past.

The robes on Su Lun’s body also returned to stillness after the violent fluttering.

Many buildings in the city were affected and collapsed, and the streets were filled with local residents covered in dust and ash.

Death could not make the brave Romans cower, but when they saw their faith crumble, despair and confusion about the future spread like a plague.

Su Lun leaped down.

In the moment the sorcerer’s seals formed in the air, a shadow flashed in the black hole.

When he landed in the colosseum, several cloaked figures had appeared beside him.

"Yo ho, it’s quite lively here before the fight has even started."

"Tsk tsk, Su Lun, that noble lady friend of yours sure has some impressive tricks, delivering such a grand welcome gift..."

"The temple has collapsed, this battle seems to be greatly in our favor."

"It’s been a long time since I’ve indulged in the taste of fresh blood..."

"..."

Su Lun looked at everyone and said indifferently, "Prepare for battle."

"Okay!"

The cloaked figures immediately dispersed.

With the temple destroyed, the people of the Northern Sea Fleet were likely scouring the city for the Dawn Group’s whereabouts.

Su Lun didn’t wait for the enemy to find him, but instead took the initiative and drew out the sealed and restricted "War God Tyr’s Causal Gold Spear" in his hand.

As soon as this object appeared, its original owner would undoubtedly sense it immediately.

What Su Lun needed to do was to wait patiently.

As expected.

It wasn’t long before a series of urgent footsteps approached, and a group of people burst into the arena, appearing before Su Lun.

The leader was a handsome young man with golden hair. It was Oleg’s second son, Onis Popov, the captain of the Northern Sea’s Third Fleet.

Like all Roman warriors, he had his upper body bare, displaying a nearly perfect physique with well-defined muscles brimming with power.

However, the Romans who had lost their faith no longer had that heroic aura. They seemed like protagonists who had lost their filter of light and blended into the crowd.

It was him who had used this spear to try to assassinate Su Lun within the city. Seeing the golden spear here, Onis naturally understood what was happening: "It’s you?!"

As the flames that destroyed the temple continued to burn fiercely, he became enraged, "You dare to destroy our Roman temple?!"

The meteor that shattered the temple came from the hand of Yekaterina, but to say Su Lun had destroyed it wasn’t far off.

He didn’t deny it and instead retorted, "Was it this spear that you threw at me with the intent to kill?"

As a rank five powerholder, where was there not a bit of temper?

Facing this previously unmet enemy, Onis, without any disdain, admitted, "What if it was?"

Moreover, he was the son of a hero born with "courage," enough to face any enemy without fear.

According to intelligence, this guy was either rank four or rank five?

Facing an equal, Onis was confident that he would never lose to anyone!

Now that his identity was confirmed, the corners of Su Lun’s mouth slightly rose in a mocking curve.

Then, his body abruptly leaned back, making a motion as if to throw the spear.

With a sudden throw, the sealed golden spear whizzed through the air like an arrow released from a bow, streaking towards Onis at lightning speed.

Watching, Onis’s lips curled into a sneer, "Is this all?"

In front of this Roman hero, such a level of spear-throwing attack posed no threat to him.

He bent his fingers, ready to instinctively snatch the golden spear that rightfully belonged to him.

But in that instant, the second wave of reinforcements from the Northern Sea Fleet had already arrived. Informed at the first moment, these professionals capable of spatial displacement had crossed most of the city and arrived just in time.

These were from the "Void Fleet" of the Northern Sea’s Eighteenth Fleet, and the leader was Su Lun’s acquittance, Samikina J. Luo, a rank seven professional.

From several hundred meters away, Samikina saw the space runes on the golden spear light up and his face drastically changed. He shouted, "Your Highness, be careful!"

Unfortunately, it was too late.

The sound didn’t reach in time when Su Lun’s spear cut through the air like a bullet, covering a hundred meters in an instant. Onis’s fingers clenched fiercely and precisely grasped the golden spear.

But it was exactly when Onis was slightly thrown back by the great inertia of the spear that the runes on it suddenly brightened. A figure flashed, and the expressionless Su Lun had already teleported a hundred meters, accurately appearing beside the spear.

Su Lun knew that the intuition and reaction speed of a rank five professional were terrifying, so to ensure capture, he had employed directed displacement for a in-your-face attack.

When he reappeared, he was already holding a black and white chessboard, shining it towards Onis who was preparing to throw a heavy punch.

With a flash of light, the two instantly vanished from the scene.

...

Watching Onis get sucked into the special space, the captain of the Void Fleet, Samikina, vaguely guessed something and felt uneasy.

This was Oleg’s most talented son. Without question, the enemy had captured him for some other purpose.

Unfortunately, Samikina had hastened as soon as he got the news, yet an accident still happened. He cursed, "Damn it!"

However, the independent space created by "Stanitz’s Chessboard" was indeed something with which ordinary professionals could hardly cope, but for a professional proficient in the rank seven Space Law, it was just a special spatial barrier that could be punctured with some effort.

Watching the instant Onis was sucked in, Samikina immediately ordered his subordinates, "Cast a spell to steal void energy and break that barrier space!"

At the same time as he spoke, he pinched the sorcerer’s seals with both hands, and a dark cyan alchemical array halo lit up beneath him.

But just as he took action, Samikina’s expression suddenly became fierce, for he sensed an intense space fluctuation.

An attack was incoming!

And a strong one at that!

A burly cloaked figure charged in, his form flashing erratically in a "tape-stuttering" style teleportation movement, not half a beat slower than teleportation.

Samikina had no choice but to halt the spell that was gathering in his hands and threw a punch enveloped in a space storm towards the figure before him.

The cloaked figure charged head-on, and his thick, rune-covered silver arm didn’t dodge. Instead, he slammed a fist against Samikina’s void punch.

The newcomer was none other than Barrett!

The space storm was like countless blades that would shred anything it touched into pieces. Normally, no one would foolishly use their fist to touch an enemy’s blade, and none would dare to trade punches with Samikina.

But Barrett did just that.

His fist was also wrapped in a layer of spatial ripples like pangolin scales. When fists collided, rather than being crushed, his sheer strength advantage allowed him to smash the opponent’s body, sending it flying backward.

After the strike, his right arm, which shone with a metallic luster, had some cracks, but the self-healing properties of "Activated Silver" instantly restored it to its original state.

As for Samikina, the other party in the clash, he looked quite disheveled.

He flew backward like a cannonball, and the terrifying force shattered several buildings before he finally stabilized after rolling dozens of times on the ground, plowing spiderweb-like fissures into the earth.

He wasn’t injured, but he looked at Barrett in the distance with shock and amazement, thinking, "Has this guy actually advanced to the seventh rank?!"

In the intelligence reports, wasn’t he still just a sixth-ranker?

The seventh rank is a significant threshold, halting over ninety percent of sixth-rank professionals, requiring enormous opportunities for advancement.

Had he advanced in the month they hadn’t seen each other?

Moreover, what shocked Samikina even more was not Barrett’s rank, but the spatial ability he possessed.

Barrett was clearly a pure strength-based professional, so why was his spatial ability so strong?

Samikina felt that he was, after all, the fleet admiral of the Void Fleet!

The Void materials he used for promotion were the best, and it was hard to say whether another professional in the world could surpass his comprehension of the Space Law. How then could he feel such an equal spatial fluctuation from a strength-based professional who had just advanced to the seventh rank?

The only explanation was that Barrett must have used a very high-quality professional material and alchemically enhanced armament during his advancement to the seventh rank.

This quality difference compensated for his shortcomings in law comprehension!

Realizing something, Samikina cursed in his heart, "Void Genetic Potion! Damn, he must have used that ancient potion to enhance his Void endurance, allowing him to merge with higher-level materials!"

All this should have been the treasure of their Northern Seas Fleet, yet it was stolen by an outsider.

The more Samikina thought about it, the angrier he became.

...

Barrett gained a slight upper hand with his punch, but he didn’t give the enemy time to reel from the shock.

He wouldn’t let anyone ruin Su Lun’s plan.

Right after his successful punch, with a pinch of his hands forming sorcerer’s seals, a special energy fluctuation condensed around his body, creating a bizarre force field that twisted space along with it, "Domain · Void Overlapping Armor!"

This ability was essential for seventh-rank professionals—the Domain.

During the previous ups and downs, Barrett had taken the step that all professionals dreamt of. With his understanding of the power law, he had successfully comprehended a domain unique to himself.

Barrett, incarnated as a silver-armed behemoth, with the domain at his side, charged through the crowd of pirates like a speeding truck.

Not only could the domain field control the law fluctuations within its range, but it was also an extremely strong defensive measure. The dense attacks of the pirates were neutralized by the bizarre force of the domain field even before they could touch Barrett’s body, as if sinking into a quagmire. Bullets and cannonballs got stuck deep in the mud.

This charge was like a bowling ball smashing through pins, leaving the pirates of the Void Fleet sprawled across the ground.

Those who couldn’t get out of the way were blasted into minced meat on the spot by Barrett’s iron fist, exploding into the sky.

Fleet Admiral Samikina, seeing his subordinates brutally killed, rushed forward and tangled with Barrett.

A typical strength-based professional would indeed be spun around by Samikina’s ghostly spatial ability.

But Barrett was not only a strength professional now, but he had also comprehended spatial ability.

In their tussle, Barrett had no expectation of killing Samikina, but neither could Samikina kill him easily.

However, he could distract and prevent the pirates from disrupting Su Lun’s chessboard space.

With each punch, he killed one, scattering limbs and flesh everywhere until no one dared to approach this area any longer.

...

Although there were fewer outsiders in the Moros city-state now, the number of information brokers and espionage agents had not diminished much.

Well-informed forces all knew that Oleg had suffered a setback and was planning a big move.

Supposedly, there was a serious issue with the Northern Seas Fleet’s top-secret "Void Secret Realm," and a newcomer group called "Dawn Group" had seized a massive opportunity.

If it were true, there wouldn’t be a shortage of people hoping to pick up the spoils.

The intelligence department of the Rouen Royal Army, Duke Raphael’s umbrella organization, the pirates of the Western Seas, Duke Lance... various covert spy organizations were mixed in chaos.

Although they weren’t sure what the "big move" was, they patiently waited.

Today, they finally saw it.

A meteor-like attack directly destroyed the Temple of Aghaparnon.

This startling opening astonished everyone.

All the information brokers immediately realized that the big move was about to happen.

Receiving the news, those people gathered from all around the city to the vicinity of the central coliseum. Many of them arrived even faster than reinforcements from the Northern Seas Fleet.

Then, they witnessed the scene of Barrett slaughtering all around him.

One piece of information after another was transmitted through these channels, "Barrett has advanced to the seventh rank, seemingly comprehended spatial ability, boldly confronted Samikina J. Luo..."

...

Barrett alone held off the reinforcements of the eighteen fleets of the Northern Seas.

But after all, this was Moros, a city controlled by the Northern Seas Fleet, and it wasn’t long before the second wave of massive reinforcements arrived.

"Pfft," "pfft," "pfft"...

"Click," "click," "click,"...

Intense steam discharge and the grinding of metal could be heard from the streets and alleys as a group of heavily armored mech warriors forcefully entered everyone’s line of sight.

The mech armor varied in form, but they all bore the imperial emblem on their right arm—a sapphire-blue steam pattern paired with a golden hammer painted on it.

They were the Mafa Royal Mech Guard Legion brought by Princess Stika.

These mech warriors, equipped with steam hammers, alloy shields, mechanical saws, Battleship Knives... and various types of heavy-mounted firearms, formed an assault formation upon arrival and charged fiercely towards Barrett.

There was no existence more advantageous than mech warriors in dealing with close-range professional fighters.

Leading the charge was a "Major General-level Thunder God Siege Armor," followed by over ten "Colonel-level" armors, and a variety of "Lieutenant Colonel-level," "Major-level"...

More than a hundred mech armors came together in a steel torrent, an unstoppable force barreling towards Barrett.

Before the mech armor legion arrived, they lifted the guns on their mechanical arms from afar and opened fire violently at Barrett.

Under normal circumstances, second-tier professionals could withstand single shots from ordinary alchemical bullets. Third-tier and higher professionals could almost ignore 99% of gunfire attacks.

But not including the top-tiered Mafa mechanical firearms, which employed the tactic of indiscriminate, cost-ignorant ammunition dumping.

All professionals adhered to the iron law of energy conservation, which meant to block a bullet using all available energy measures, they needed to expend an equal or greater amount of energy to counteract the attack’s energy.

Although a domain might be strong, it was also a field of energy.

The mech armors before them were equipped with ultra-fast-firing Fire God cannons, and the market price for the alchemical bullets expended per minute exceeded a million lisos. With over a hundred armors firing in unison, that was near a hundred million in ammunition costs per minute.

And that didn’t even include the special alchemical bullets and mini-missiles mixed in, designed to break shields and domains—those were even more expensive to produce.

The Mafa Empire’s research into firearms was very thorough.

A seventh-tier professional would find such a barrage absolutely terrifying and direct, and such energy loss unsustainable.

This was also why on the battlefields of the two great empires, Mafa and Luying, there were always reports of top-tier professionals falling to mass attacks by mech armor clusters.

Barrett, pinned down by a barrage and hit in the chest by a missile, was sent flying backward by the tremendous explosive force and crashed into a building.

Though such damage wouldn’t kill him quickly, the hundred mech armors showed no sign of relenting. No matter where he teleported, part of the armors aimed their guns at him, ensuring coverage with their ranged firepower.

The massive stone buildings that didn’t collapse during Meteor Drunken Fall now crumbled like mud to the "pap, pap, pap" of concentrated gunfire. The buildings near where Barrett stood had their floors pulverized into dust.

Barrett would have to withstand all of that firepower if he continued to defend near Su Lun’s chessboard space.

Strong as he was, it was simply impossible for him to destroy over a hundred mech armors, all equipped with mechanical heavy shields, with his fists alone.

The other pirates couldn’t just sit by idly. The Void Fleet Captain, Samikina, and several fifth and sixth-tier captains and deputy captains weren’t to be underestimated either; they wouldn’t give him the chance to withstand it.

...

Meanwhile, far away, not only were more pirates coming to reinforce, but the number of onlookers was also increasing.

The information brokers, observing the arena battle with their telescopes, were meticulously watching.

"Too reckless, Barrett has advanced to the seventh tier. He’s strong but certainly can’t withstand the concentrated fire from so many people..."

"Tsk, tsk, the Dawn Group probably wants to capture ’Onis Popov’ as a hostage to blackmail Oleg. A good strategy, indeed. It’s a pity they don’t know there’s already an ambush in the city."

"Yes, the Dawn Group doesn’t rely on any power, so it’s no surprise they’re cut off from information."

"..."

The information brokers kept watching and started broadcasting live updates of the battle using various communication methods.

...

No one believed the Dawn Group had a chance to leave Moros City-State alive.

Seeing Barrett getting battered by the surprise engagement of the mech armor legion, everyone thought the situation was settled.

But just at that moment, an anomaly suddenly arose at the arena.

The sky roiled with thunderclouds, and amidst an extreme moment, bizarre purple-red lightning flickered non-stop. A terrifying Sword Qi converged on a figure in a cloak.

The Sword Intent had been building up for a long time, waiting for this moment to strike.

A thousand hands reached for the hilts, the momentum building higher and higher upon her; she herself resembled an unsheathed sword, too sharp and intense to look at directly.

Seeing this extraordinary phenomenon, someone immediately realized something: "A Sword Saint-level expert!"

Others might not know that the Dawn Group had a Sword Saint, but Princess Frostmoon had known all along.

Her Royal Guard Corps were naturally prepared!

Some of the mech warriors aimed their guns at the solitary and proud swordsman standing under the thunderclouds.

But before they could pull the trigger, a thousand swords were drawn.

"Clang," a flash of cold light.

Three phantoms of the Rakshasa Golden Body shimmered with a magnificent golden glow behind her, six arms each bearing a sword, with three Thunder Drums channeling the sky full of purple-red lightning onto the blades, a fearsome might emanating from them.

Different from before, this time a thousand arms were also wrapped in a layer of "ghost fog" shadows.

That was her fifth-tier amalgamated Potion—"[Void Ghost Hand]"!

It was in the instant she drew her sword, the ground beneath her feet thrusting with force quicker than a bullet leaving its chamber, a lightning-like shadow appeared in everyone’s view.

Fearless and resolute, a thousand swords aimed at the hundred-plus mech warriors, the surge of Sword Qi sweeping across.

At that moment, her eyes held only the sharp glint of cold light, and she murmured softly, "One Sword Style Secret Technique, Thunder God’s Rain Twelve Faces·Vajra!"