Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 415 - 414 The Death of Stika

"Dominance" itself isn’t a form of energy but an inexplicable "aura" and "momentum".

Previously, Mr. Jing had mentioned it and had purposely guided Su Lun, so he had always been attentive to improving in this aspect.

But the existence of "dominance," if one can grasp it, they can; if not, no amount of talking will help secure it.

At this moment, he genuinely felt what "dominance" was. It was as if it had elevated his life level, giving him a type of arrogance that looked down on other beings.

His "dominance" was different from Chianti’s; she was a Rakshasa Woman who followed the path of slaughter, understanding the "killing type" of dominance, her aura sharp as a blade.

Whereas Barrett had the "heroic type" of dominance, exuding a brave demeanor that feared nothing.

Su Lun did not know which type he understood.

But the enhancement brought about by "dominance" was very real; it directly elevated his combat power to a new level.

The function of "dominance," Su Lun thought, was a bit like the qigong from his previous life.

You would distinctly feel that you really possessed that certain "aura," yet you couldn’t touch it.

Once "dominance" enveloped the body, the strength of skin, flesh, and bones greatly increased.

It was somewhat like a berserk state, but clearly not the "hormonal rampage" that could be explained scientifically—a temporary state of enhanced physicality due to increased hormones.

If one were to describe it using alchemy terms, Su Lun felt that "dominance" was more like a "control power." It utilized the various scattered energy particles of the body, forming a stable special structure, thereby enhancing the body’s efficiency in controlling energy.

The most direct manifestation was that he could now directly grasp various elemental bodies within the air with his hands.

Dominance swirling around him directly elevated his physical attack methods, significantly enhancing damage to Spiritual Bodies, elemental bodies, and penetrative injuries.

This ability was simply a qualitative leap for those close-combat practitioners like Chianti.

But for Su Lun, a Puppeteer, he still did not know how much use it would be.

However, it was certain that the threshold to step into the sixth rank was now within reach.

"Dominance" was an essential prerequisite for solidifying the sixth-rank Elemental Armor and Elemental Domain Field, and also a pass for the seventh rank’s "Territory," and the eighth rank’s "Dominant Body"...

And soon, Su Lun experienced the benefits that "dominance" brought to his physical body.

...

The battle continued, Su Lun draped in a bi-directional cloak, reaping pirates with the black scythe in his hand.

He tried to envelop his whole body with "dominance" and quickly tested out the various performance enhancements of his body.

"The slaying distance and potency of the black scythe increased by about thirty percent, void abilities increased by about fifty percent, the defensive power of the [Rune Vajra] at least doubled, the toughness of the threads infused with dominance increased several folds..."

Su Lun was overjoyed.

It was as if he had opened up a new world, with an all-around enhancement in combat power.

No wonder they say "dominance" is the watershed of the mighty; these attribute boosts are simply outrageous.

It directly elevated his already exaggerated combat power to another level of height.

A new height that only top professionals could appreciate the "scenery."

The hair of witches without engraved runes previously could easily be broken by low-level professionals. Now, imbued with dominance, it had become incredibly flexible. Even those threads already embedded with tough runes had their flexibility increased by several magnitudes.

For him, the Puppeteer, this was a tremendous boon.

But more importantly, the enhancement of his body’s survival capability was remarkable.

Under the influence of dominance, the "Rune Vajra" was incredibly powerful.

Su Lun felt that he could easily catch a blade barehanded now, even if he were to face a sixth-rank professional!

Even if he were to encounter an assassination attempt by the previously met "Thief Emperor," Carlo Meldis, he might not be able to fight but at least he could withstand a few blows now. Moreover, his body’s strength was not so easily killed in one strike anymore.

...

At this moment, casualties continued to rise, and the arena’s "Blessing of the Heroic Spirits" kept flowing towards Su Lun. His aura was growing stronger, and the dominance swirling around him was visible to the naked eye.

Previously, he had to fight cautiously, always wary of the seventh-rank pirates who weren’t restrained from attacking him.

At this moment, Su Lun could fully unleash and slaughter all around him.

Standing in the arena, he was like the embodiment of death itself, reaping lives like cutting wheat.

The tactic of overwhelming numbers lies in exhausting the enemy’s energy and exploiting the chaos that can cause enemies to make mistakes.

However, his highly developed brain function allowed him to make almost no subjective errors in judgment during battle, even in such complex combat environments, Su Lun made not a single mistake.

Facing an enemy who did not make mistakes, had extraordinary survival capabilities, was resolute and ruthless in his methods, and possessed various curses and whose spiritual power did not seem to wane after prolonged use, the pirates of the North Sea Fleet could only feel despair in their eyes at this moment.

For the low-rank pirates, entering the arena meant massive swathes of death.

The arena was filled with various mocking rune puppets, threads pulling through the chaos, mechanical armors firing haphazardly…

Even the fourth and fifth-rank higher-rank pirates felt fear and trembling,

That black sickle was greeting them.

A lapse in attention and they’d be controlled by the threads, next second, a spatial rift would likely appear on their necks.

Moreover, the threat of death came not only from the Puppet Master.

The Dawn Group, fewer than ten people, each had the combat power of a sixth-rank professional or higher.

The fleet captains were engaged in battles that couldn’t determine a winner momentarily, but those Sword Saints, vampires, and others also had area-of-effect damage. As soon as it affected the crowd, immediate mass death and injury ensued.

Moreover, the pirates’ fear didn’t just stem from the attacks of the Dawn Group’s powerhouses but also had to be wary of their own companions nearby.

No one knew who had been controlled by the "Spiritual Tentacles," those pirates always had to guard against their own comrades, pulling a cold knife on them.

And there was the "Siren Doll" among the heaps of corpses that had not been discovered, its resonance having lasted for a long time now, pirates inexplicably collapsing dead on the spot at any moment.

Bodies piled up more and more, the various entrances to the arena were stacked like mountains, blood flowing everywhere like small streams. The air was thick with the pungent scent of blood, warm and steaming. There was also the smell of various hormones secreted just before death…

A sense of fear and despair wildly spread among the pirates.

This massive central arena had truly become a theater of terror.

Pirates wouldn’t have been so desperate if they saw even the slightest possibility they could kill the Puppet Master.

But having tried various methods, they really couldn’t kill him!

Gradually, pirates truly became terrified of dying.

Su Lun’s survival tactics had strengthened, and he could even take the initiative to attack.

He charged into the crowd, and the Reaper of Death madly absorbed all kinds of "gray mist" fragments from the bodies, greatly increasing his spiritual power and various unique skill knowledge.

The more he fought, the more ferocious he became.

With his own power, Su Lun had tens of thousands of pirates in the arena gasping for breath.

...

The city-state of Morolos had been completely ignited by this sudden battle.

Onlookers had long been stunned, and the battle reports had been transmitted out by various means of communication.

However, the number of people enjoying the show grew, but those truly participating in the battle became fewer.

If the North Sea Fleet had an absolute advantage to take down the Dawn Group, there might have been many forces wanting to please the North Sea King by adding a feather to their caps.

But the current situation was that not only did the Dawn Group have level-eight professionals, but the members were also ferocious, one more than the other.

It was akin to sending oneself to death.

No one was that foolish.

But the arena was already blood-drenched; aside from Oleg’s die-hard loyalists and his direct subordinates, and those pirates who were pushed to a desperate end still charging, no other forces were helping.

Seeing the number of deaths increasing, even those within the North Sea Fleet began to harbor their own agendas.

After all, they were pirates chasing wealth; many didn’t want to risk their lives. Continue your adventure at novelbuddy

The various military units received orders to assemble; originally, they were eager to reinforce the arena. However, upon hearing the intense battle reports midway, they instantly switched from speeding to reinforce to delaying by various excuses.

Deserters also increased.

At this moment, in the civilian district of the eastern city, a group of pirates were nestled in the complex buildings.

This was the Twelfth Regiment of the Third Fleet of the North Sea Fleet.

As the din of battle from the central square and the southern city arena grew more exaggerated, they were in no hurry to reinforce but instead hid in this building area.

"Boss, are we really not going? The fleet commander said, no matter where the battle breaks out in the city, we must arrive within twenty minutes to provide support. Otherwise... it’s military punishment."

"Go now to die? Fight against the eighth-level professionals in the central plaza or go to the arena to die? Haven’t you heard that the arena is already blood-saturated! Let me tell you, my cousin has just discretely sent warmings telling us by no means to go now; whoever goes will die... It’s too damn terrifying. Our Fleet’s second, eighth, ninth, and eleventh teams had already gone, and not a single one came out alive; several thousands have died there."

"Ah? Several thousands have died... My goodness, then never mind, I’m definitely not going."

"But, will we be punished for hiding here?"

"Hiding? Who the hell said we were hiding?! Haven’t we been intercepted by the enemy and are pursuing them? Rest easy, our absence doesn’t matter. Hurry up, set off a few bombs down a couple of streets to make some noise, then find a few scapegoats to set up the scene..."

"Yes, yes, Boss is wise!"

"..."

Finding an excuse might lead to punishment later, but at least they wouldn’t die now; the pirates could still discern the risks.

This passive engagement was also enacted all over the city.

...

Su Lun and his group had only come to Morolos City-State to rescue Kai, not to fight to the death with the North Sea Fleet.

Almost nothing had deviated from the plan since the battle had started.

Such smooth progress, Mr. Jing’s strength and Su Lun’s thorough planning were part of it.

What was more important was that those from the North Sea Fleet were too arrogant.

They had greatly underestimated the "Dawn Group."

The distribution of their military forces, the number of high-level professionals, techniques, and secrets were almost completely known to outsiders.

They probably thought without sending hundreds of thousands of troops to launch a strong assault, no one could possibly rescue the prisoners.

That had led to the current situation.

Now, with corpses strewn all over the arena, those pirates had also become terrified of dying and did not foolishly charge in batches anymore. Instead, they amassed more and more troops outside the arena, seemingly planning when to make a total charge.

Of course, Su Lun wouldn’t oblige their wishes.

Seeing the number of charging pirates decrease, he knew it was time to break out.

Having faced a few unexpected blows, the morale of those pirates had been utterly exhausted.

Su Lun wouldn’t wait for them to regroup.

"Let’s go!"

With a shout from Su Lun, Qiantiao, Barrett, and the others who were fiercely fighting immediately got the signal and thrust themselves forward.

Leading with the heavy mechanized puppet corps, they broke through with firepower coverage, all the people in the Dawn Group charging out towards one passage.

The pirates, already terrified by Su and his group, mostly did not try to block but avoid when they saw the group charging towards them.

Su Lun and his group smoothly charged out of the arena.

Behind them, a large group of relentless enemies followed, shouting and fighting.

Since there were no boats of the Dawn Group at the docks, the people of the North Sea Fleet couldn’t discern their retreat route nor set up an interception.

They could only passively pursue.

After breaking out of the enclosing circle of the arena, the pressure suddenly became much less.

The low-level pirates couldn’t keep up at all, and few were foolish enough to chase with real intent.

Su Lun and his group only had to deal with those sixth and seventh-level high professionals.

A group of people descended like tigers from the mountains, unstoppable.

Originally, if Roman’s faith had not collapsed, Su Lun and his companions might still have faced endless Roman warriors coming to besiege them from the city-states of Moros.

But now, there were only North Sea Fleet personnel.

Moreover, since they had not managed to detain them in the arena before, starting their escape now made it even more impossible for those people to hold them back.

Su Lun looked up at the pale blue light shield covering the sky, from heading towards the docks for evacuation, he immediately headed to the eastern city.

As long as he could leave the range of the "Prism Barrier", he could immediately use long-range directed displacement to leave this place.

This way, the Dawn Brigade, followed by hundreds of thousands of people, moved vigorously from the southern city toward the eastern city...

...

The members of the Dawn Brigade evacuated from the arena, and the North Sea Fleet personnel also pursued them relentlessly.

As Princess of the Mafa royal household, "Frostmoon Princess" Scatty Harris, naturally could not afford to lose face by also giving chase.

But she also knew that she absolutely could not let the people of the Dawn Brigade escape.

She shouted fiercely, "Pursue! Damn it, they absolutely must not escape. All of you, go after them!"

"Yes, Your Royal Highness Princess!"

At her command, a host of guards also went, leaving only a few personal guards by Stika’s side.

This pampered princess watched the departing crowd, her expression only showing frustrated anger at this moment.

But more than anger, despair and confusion were predominant in her heart.

Those guys had their "submarine research base", "neuromechanical technology", and many treasures from the Void Relics!

Especially the latter two, which were indispensable at any cost.

But now, she watched as treasures within easy reach slipped through her fingers.

Although still clinging to the last shred of hope, her reason was very clear, if even that kind of siege failed to hold them, how could they possibly catch up now?

The foundation of the alliance between their Mafa Empire and the North Sea Kingdom had almost completely collapsed.

Without those Void Relics, what right did these dirty pirates of the North Sea Fleet have to demand that she, a dignified imperial princess, come personally for a matrimonial alliance?

Originally thinking that coming to this remote backwater, with her skills and capabilities, and the support of the empire, it was not unlikely to build a powerful "North Sea Kingdom" that could directly threaten the rear of the Lurong, harvesting endless benefits, even creating a "Third Empire".

But now her dream hadn’t even begun when the plan had been shattered.

"Damn it! Damn it! These useless pirates!"

Stika, remembering her all-in venture to the North Sea only to receive such an outcome, couldn’t help but curse angrily.

The battle she had just watched, her own royal guards fought with all their might, almost decimated in the fight.

And those pirates?

Seeing heavy casualties, they actually crumbled!

Just losing ten or twenty thousand men, and they crumbled already?!

If it had been imperial soldiers, even under the same conditions, two hundred thousand troops would have been enough to completely annihilate these people!

Stika attributed everything to these ragtag pirates.

Her lovely face distorted with anger.

However, after anger, she became confused again.

Her gaze shifted distantly, her heart filled with all sorts of feelings.

"The prophecy," clearly, this was not the situation described...

That’s right, the prophecy!

Suddenly, Stika thought of something, and snapped to alertness, "That bitch definitely hid some important information!"

She recalled why the Puppet Master had captured Onis Popov first?

Without a hostage exchange, there was no way the Dawn Brigade could have left so easily; they definitely would not have been so passive!

But throughout, the High Priest of the temple had never mentioned any prophecy related to Onis.

"Wrong! The contradiction isn’t just because of that slave, Kai. When the Golden Spear from the temple was stolen, they already had a feud! The news of the [Four Elemental Hearts] from Devil’s Island was clearly to entice the Puppet Master..."

In this moment, Stika understood something, her anger reaching its peak, "That bitch had foreseen a Puppet Master but never revealed even a bit to me!"

Remembering how the High Priest Helvi watched her own son being killed, Stika guessed that the person might have "foreseen" this scene much earlier!

Yet, for her own selfish interests, she hid it.

Doing all this, just to save her son!

Yet it caused the North Sea Fleet, and her Mafa, to suffer immeasurable losses.

"Damn those wretches! Damn those wretches..."

Stika’s eyes trembled, her chest heaving violently with anger.

She wished she could immediately tear that despicable person to pieces.

But immediately afterwards, she seemed delirious, muttering to herself.

A Grand Priest Roman who had lost the support of faith was already valueless.

Now, even if she killed her, what would it change?

Stika still fell into mania, her pupils dilated, and her expression slightly dazed.

She was entirely unaware, the killing intent had already quietly descended.

One of her personal guards, as if noticing something, shouted angrily, "Your Highness, be careful!"

"Watch out, assassin!"

But it was already too late.

Stika looked over with vacant eyes when suddenly a parasitic tumor sprouted on her neck.

Then, this tumor visibly swelled at an alarming rate and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a naked man.

"A person" had grown on Stika’s shoulder!

He chuckled sinisterly, his throat emitting a chilling, demon-like laugh.

Because the parasitic tumor had drained most of the life energy from Stika, her originally plump body instantly withered.

The mechanical guards saw a "Parasitic Kind" growing from their princess and panicked momentarily.

The experienced captain of the guard swiftly sliced the man into two halves, blood splattered, and a Shikigami paper man fell to the ground.

Unfortunately, the strike that killed the "Parasitic Kind" had also landed on Princess Stika.

Even though the guards hastily employed various emergency measures, the sparkle in Princess Stika’s eyes dimmed.

...

Meanwhile, atop a distant tower,

Yekaterina watched the Mafa princess laying in a pool of blood, her face devoid of any expression.

If she wanted to control the North Sea, she absolutely would not allow anyone from Mafa to interfere.

This Stika had to die.

Moreover, this battle had greatly weakened the North Sea fleet and the originally stable management would see major changes, allowing her to insert more of her own people.

The North Sea Kingdom was almost thoroughly under her control.

The timing had almost been off,

but now it was just right.

As Yekaterina pondered, she looked at the Dawn Group members who had already escaped far away, her eyes without a trace of fluctuation.

At that moment, a Shikigami paper man floated in from outside, landing inside the tower.

The paper man transformed into a bizarre man dressed in a black and white hunting outfit and wearing a tall hat.

If Su Lun were here, he would surely recognize this as an old acquaintance, the "Mountain Hermit" from Mountain Hermit Nation, Abe Yasukazu.

The Great Onmyoji respectfully clasped his hands and bowed, "Miss, the Shikigami Curse has been planted. She might live for another two days but her soul has been devoured by the ’Soul-Eating Ghost’; her death is certain."

Yekaterina blandly said, "Well done."

Upon hearing this, Abe Yasukazu did not dare overstep, "It is an honor to serve you, miss."

Yekaterina said no more and turned to walk down from the tower.

Suddenly, she thought of something and calmly added, "Oh, and next time, don’t use such disgusting methods to kill someone in front of me."

"Yes."

Abe Yasukazu bowed his head and respectfully saw her off.

After a moment, once she had left, he tilted his head and muttered, "I actually think this ’Corpse Soul Parasitism’ technique isn’t bad. Thanks to the inspiration Su Lun gave me before."

He then glanced at the blood-rich atmosphere in the arena, "Tsk tsk, with so many bodies, I can thoroughly study my new technique..."

No sooner had he spoken than no one could be seen in the tower, just a Shikigami paper man fluttering down.

...

Su Lun didn’t know why, but suddenly there were far fewer people chasing him.

Those mechanical warriors who had been chasing relentlessly, why had they suddenly turned back towards the arena?

Could it be that something had happened to Princess Stika?

Su Lun was unsure what had occurred.

However, this was good news for the Dawn Group, as their pressure was lessened.

From the very beginning, only those royal mechanical warriors fought so desperately, unyielding and fearless—they were the toughest of all.

It was even better now that they had stopped pursuing.

The plan had now moved into the retreat phase,

In the midst of battle,

Su Lun even took a moment to inquire with Mr. Jing.

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The battle at the central square was also going very smoothly.

Though Mr. Jing was a newly advanced eighth rank, her foundation couldn’t be compared to that of a Viking pirate.

A fierce battle ensued, and far from being at a disadvantage, she actually dominated her opponent, Oleg.

Having confirmed Mr. Jing’s situation, Su Lun had no more concerns and led along with several others fiercely forward.

The [Prismatic Barrier] had left fragments of space everywhere throughout the city, impeding Su Lun’s Spatial Displacement. But as long as no long-distance teleportation was attempted, it was almost always safe to dodge.

Su Lun and his group fiercely dashed out of the east town, and before long they had left the boundary of the barrier.

Although the heavily ranked six and seven pirates were still in hot pursuit, the Dawn Group was not unprepared.

Several ancient vampires, inheritors of a thousand-year-old legacy, surely had valuable items at hand.

They had prepared a sealed-level defensive artifact—[Vlad III’s Coffin].

Once unveiled, it would deploy a half-minute invincible defense barrier.

This short duration of defense normally wouldn’t mean much, but Su Lun methodically collected everyone into a small void realm, then calmly took the coffin, directly crushed the Spatial Crystal Core, and executed Directed Displacement.

In an instant, on the sunny ocean,

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