Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 524 : 523

When setting sail, Su Lun found out that the combined fleets of the Western Sea and the Southern Sea, with their variously-sized warships, amounted to a total of two to three thousand vessels.

Having suffered a loss of seventy percent during the crossing of the Eternal Night Sea, there were now only several hundred left.

But among these hundreds, most were the top sail warships of the current era. Within them were also two "Sea King level" warships belonging to the two great pirate groups, as well as dozens of high-grade combat ships.

With this fleet of sailboats, the mages from the divine realm were sufficient to navigate and adventure in these seas.

Su Lun did not think the enemy having numerous warships was a good thing for them at dawn.

He observed carefully for a moment and reported the detailed coordinates to the members of the Dawn Group on the Eternal Night.

However, the Eternal Night was still two to three hundred kilometers away from this sea area and would need some time to travel here.

Su Lun and Kite hid on a deserted island and watched the distant island from afar.

...

Kite was somewhat bored.

He knew he could not observe carelessly with his current strength, or he would risk exposure. So he sat aside in meditation, recovering from the aftereffects of paralysis he had suffered from the monster attack.

Hearing what Su Lun was preparing to do, he asked in slight surprise, "You're planning an artillery strike? But those mages seem to have a very strong early warning ability, and if the ships get too close, they might be detected. If they're too far, I'm afraid the effectiveness of the artillery won't be good. "

Upon hearing this, Su Lun smiled meaningfully, "Our Dawn Group now has a very special new member. An accurate artillery strike can be initiated from dozens of kilometers away."

"Ah???"

Kite listened with some confusion, "A new member?"

As a traditional alchemist, his knowledge of Mafa's mechanical technology was not very deep.

But he still knew some common knowledge about naval warfare.

The shipborne artillery on the Eternal Night were all top-of-the-line in Mafa, with ranges of thirty-five to fifty kilometers; the extreme range of a few very large caliber main cannons even exceeded eighty kilometers.

However, the extreme range of artillery is usually useless in actual combat.

There was no satellite positioning in this world, and targeting was all up to the observers' naked eyes.

To hit accurately, targets typically would not be attacked beyond ten kilometers.

Besides, there were factors like wind direction, waves, humidity, temperature... etc., all affecting the precision of the artillery fire.

The further the distance, the worse the shooting accuracy.

Any target beyond the limit of human vision was purely a blind shot; hitting it relied entirely on luck.

Even the best gunners were no different.

But if the distance was too short, if you could see the enemy, then the enemy could also see you.

After being prepared in advance, the effectiveness of the artillery battle would greatly diminish.

At least, Kite felt that Su Lun's aim of destroying the enemy ships was not an easy goal to achieve.

Ships are movable targets, and the quantity was still in the hundreds.

Moreover, the magical attack range of the ten thousand-member mage group was also extremely potent. If detected, a single "Great Tsunami Art" was completely enough to deprive the Eternal Night of its artillery firing conditions.

But peculiarly enough, the Dawn Group was different.

Su Lun's Spatial Ability allowed him to precisely communicate positions to the gunners on Eternal Night.

He could very clearly perceive the position and relative location of the Eternal Night to the "Rainbow Well", accurate to the meter, without any error!

And on the Eternal Night, there was a very special person, and that was Miss Dora!

This Marshal Mafa was not only the top Mechanic and Artilleryman, but she had also merged with the "Isaac Blasphemer."

This was an implant designed to fit the precise control of mechanics, a super bio-computer, which allowed her computational abilities to accurately calculate the trajectory of every single cannon onboard.

It could be said that as long as the data she received was accurate enough, the cannons on the Eternal Night would hit wherever she targeted!

...

"We have a new partner named 'Miss Dora,' a top Mechanic. Well... you'll know once you're on board."

Su Lun didn't explain much to Kit, considering that getting to know Dora and her joining Dawn happened quite fortuitously.

The two of them waited on that deserted island.

A few hours later, Su Lun watched as more than twenty ships left the harbor where they had been anchored.

Su Lun muttered, "Huh... the Eternal Night has been discovered."

He observed the direction in which the pirate ships were sailing and immediately judged that they were headed for the Eternal Night.

When Kit heard they had been discovered, he immediately became alert, "Was it us who were exposed?"

Su Lun, with an unchanged expression, shook his head and said, "No. It should be that the Eternal Night triggered some sort of magical warning system left by those people when it sailed over here. They are probably going to intercept."

Initially, Kit thought being discovered was a terrible thing, but seeing Su Lun's composed expression and recalling past experiences, he asked, "Don't we have to do something?"

Su Lun, unconcerned, said, "No need. The Eternal Night is about to enter the designated attack range. Even if they've discovered it, it's already too late for them to reach it."

Having harvested so many Mage souls, he certainly knew that the Mage Legion also had a set of strict warning and counterattack tactics.

The discovery of the Eternal Night was expected.

Besides... the group attempting to intercept was doomed to be completely annihilated.

Kit, with a twist of his lips, realized that since he met Su Lun today, he felt like a fake member, as if Dawn had changed so much that it felt unfamiliar to him now.

However, this change was inexplicably exciting and anticipated in his heart.

...

Meanwhile, aboard the Eternal Night.

Having received the news from Su Lun, all the crew members shifted from their brief rest back into combat readiness.

The Artillerymen in the gun deck were sharpening their knives eagerly.

"Load the ammunition!"

"Load 'Special Grade Alchemy Anti-Magic Bullet' on the first deck, 'Seagull IV Armor-Piercing Bullet' in the second deck chamber, and 'Blast Bullet' on the third deck!"

"First round of six cannons, fire rapidly with a three-second interval!"

...

After Dora came aboard, she also brought with her Mafa's top-notch shipboard artillery technology.

Those were experimental lab technologies not even fit for mass production and deployment within the military, yet they were used on the Eternal Night.

The unmatched displacement of the Sea King-class battleship was enough to support the deployment of super-large caliber cannons and huge gun decks.

Dora had also revamped the entire ammunition transport system.

Previously in naval battles, ammunition had to be loaded manually one by one, which was very inefficient. Now, just a few valves needed to be pulled, and the steam boiler would provide the power, transporting the ammunition from the safety chamber onto the conveyor belt, loading it automatically like chambering rounds. This process significantly reduced the workload of the loaders and increased efficiency.

There was also a matching precision mechanical aiming system, a semi-automatic foolproof operation, which allowed the technically uneven Artillerymen to nearly precisely hit the same target.

Before long, the warship had already reached the planned firing domain.

In the control room on the deck, Miss Dora was listening to the constant reports from the observers about the wind direction, temperature, and ocean current data.

She also heard Su Lun's precise distance feedback, which meant the moment they could freely open fire had arrived. Dora gave the order, "Target northwest twenty-one kilometers and seven hundred meters, activate T-level rapid-fire automatic calibration system, cover the range, fire!"

In an instant, the sound of artillery fire was deafening.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"..."

The Eternal Night had nearly three hundred cannons on one side firing in unison, and several extra-large caliber main guns on the deck also spewed out flames at the same time.

The sounds of the guns merged into one, as if they were fired simultaneously.

The exaggerated sonic waves caused the sea surface to ripple like rain, and some fish flipped over, exposing their white bellies at the surface.

The colors of the flames at the muzzle were different, and the cannonballs used were the most expensive kinds of alchemical ammunition. These were the good stuff Dora conveniently took out from the military's storehouse, with each round costing from tens to hundreds of thousands of Lisos, amounting to billions for a round of ammunition.

But this was no time to be thrifty.

However, a mere three seconds after the first round, the second round of cannon fire was launched!

On the deck, the members of the Dawn faction watched the exaggerated firepower of the Eternal Night, their faces all filled with excitement.

...

The alchemical cannonballs were extremely fast, and in just about ten breaths, Su Lun saw the cannonballs coming from the sky above the desolate island.

He had excellent vision, and his pupils tightened slightly as he let out a light shout, "Here they come!"

Kit had heard Su Lun's firing order and had been scrutinizing the sky ever since.

Although he dearly hoped that The Dawn's firepower could destroy the enemy's warships, he still felt rationally that the likelihood of hitting the target accurately at such a distance was not great.

However, at the moment Su Lun spoke, hundreds of cannonballs, moving at high speed, had already fallen from the sky and struck the distant island with the speed of lightning that allowed no covering of ears.

Su Lun's eyes narrowed slightly.

The uncertainty on Kit's face instantly turned into utter shock.

Both of their eyes reflected the dazzling fireballs.

The hundreds of cannonballs accurately hit the densely anchored pirate ships in the harbor.

"Boom!"

The violent shockwave spread out like a tsunami, arriving a few seconds after the light of the fire, making a massive "whooshing" sound.

On the desolate island, Su Lun's robe fluttered loudly in the wind.

Kit let out an exclamation, "Fuck, it really hit accurately!"

The area covered by the firepower was a vista of flames far into the distance. The cannonballs accurately hit the location where the pirate fleet's hundreds of warships were docked. Although the high-level mages from the Divine Plane were quick to react, some mages instantly erected magic shields to block the cannonballs and prevent the ships from being destroyed.

However, the second salvo of cannonballs arrived...

And then the third!

Every few breaths, another round of cannonballs would fall.

Anti-magic, armor-piercing, exploding, a series of alchemical rounds fell one after another, wood splinters flew everywhere, masts were blasted apart, and wooden planks from the shattered sailboats littered the entire sea surface.

With the sound of explosions continuous by his ears, Su Lun looked on with a sly smile on his face, murmuring, "These guys from the Divine Plane are underestimating the Alchemy Plane too much..."

As of now, the invaders from the Divine Plane showed no intent of gathering intelligence; after all, they planned to overwhelm through sheer power and didn't wish to waste time and effort building an information system.

The magic plane of agrarian society had some understanding of traditional alchemy but was virtually ignorant in the field of mechanical alchemy.

In their tactics, there was no provision for combat responses against such long-range bombardment.

But even if there were preparations, it wouldn't be enough to defend against it.

No one could have imagined that an attack would commence from "an unseen place" with such long-range assaults.

However, the island's ten-thousand-member mage corps had many experts who recognized the importance of their ships. Even if it meant forcibly withstanding artillery, pirate fleet captains, and various seventh-tier mages quickly formed teams to activate magic shields to block the shells and saved over a hundred ships.

Then mages cast spells, and in an instant, waves and winds surged, scattering the clustered ships at anchor.

Seeing this, Kitte's face broke into a satisfied smile, "Hahaha... truly impressive! Our Dawn's naval combat capabilities have become this strong!"

Looking at the firepower that destroyed the hundreds of pirate ships in the blink of an eye, his heart swelled with exhilaration.

Precision-targeted, long-distance firepower coverage?

This was the first time he realized naval combat could be fought in such a manner!

Although the high-tier professionals managed to block many of the attacks, the Dawn group, aside from expending some ammunition, had no casualties.

Su Lun's eyes, watching the distance, gleamed with depth.

Yet he was not satisfied, and after observing the position of the two Sea King-class warships making their escape, he again spoke into the communicator, "Northwest by 15.1°, 215,551 meters, course east-southeast at 33°, speed 25 knots, moving target... fire!"

Kitte, listening to him report coordinates, suddenly turned his head, his expression as if speaking volumes: This is possible?

Seconds later, an oversized alchemic shell struck like lightning. It precisely hit the Sea King-class warship "Black Beauty", the flagship of the Southern Seas Fleet, which had just escaped the harbor and sought to avoid the firepower coverage.

A loud "boom" rang out.

Although this special alchemic shell didn't penetrate the magic shield, it shattered many wooden structures on the aft of the ship behind the shield, instantly killing over a dozen mages sustaining the shield as they coughed up blood and died on the spot.

At the same time, dozens more shells arrived in quick succession, hitting many of the ships near the Black Beauty.

The people reacted incredibly quickly, and even though they didn't understand why they were being precisely targeted, as soon as the wind direction shifted, the entire ship immediately changed course.

Watching this, Su Lun again transmitted the coordinates: "Northwest by 16.5°, 214,881 meters, course east-southeast at 25°, continue firing!"

Changing the course of a ship is no easy task, especially for the larger ones. In the time it took them to change course, it was enough for another volley of shells to reach them.

Kitte was spellbound by the sight.

Firepower coverage was one thing, but since when did artillery fire over such long distances become as precise as sniper shots?

In a world without satellite positioning, Su Lun himself had this capability.

As he reported the new coordinates, another heavy alchemic shell came down, striking the Black Beauty once again.

Although the ship was still not sunk, this time again, dozens of shield-sustaining mages were killed on the spot by the shock.

If enemy combat power could be weakened with shells, it was definitely worth it.

The Eternal Night had sufficient shell reserves, and even if those were exhausted, Su Lun could promptly produce more in his small void world.

And so, the one-sided artillery war continued.

Tons of ammunition poured down from the sky, leaving the pirate ships in the harbor shattered and scattered.

The thunderous booms carried for hundreds of kilometers.

With Su Lun, the human rangefinder, continuously correcting the targets, almost none of the clustered pirate ships were spared.

The mages were completely baffled and could only defend passively.

They only saw shells raining down from the heavens but had no idea where the enemy was.

The only thing they could do was to estimate the trajectory of the cannonballs, locate the Eternal Night, and engage in a face-to-face battle.

Although the pirates returned fire in that direction, their cannons were neither long-range nor accurate enough to pose any threat to the Eternal Night twenty kilometers away.

The artillery battle raged for half an hour.

The dozens of pirate ships that survived scattered, protected by numerous mages, aiming to sink

Su Lun beckoned to Kit beside him, "Let's go."

Kit, enjoying this unusual display of fireworks, asked in surprise, "We're not continuing the bombardment?"

Su Lun gave a wry smile, "Cannonballs cost money, you know? It would not be cost-effective to continue firing."

After a pause, he added, "Besides... those guys who left earlier should be almost upon the Eternal Night by now. We need to head back."

Seeing everything was under Su Lun's control, Kit didn't say more.

...

Moments later, two figures appeared on the deck of the Eternal Night.

The cannonade continued, only now without Su Lun's precise coordinates feedback; they were bombarding a general area.

Upon seeing Su Lun's return, everyone on deck gathered around him.

"Mr. Su Lun is back!"

"Oh, Mr. Kit has been safely rescued too."

"Mr. Su Lun, how did the battle go over there? Did we hit them?"

"..."

The crowd, full of curiosity, bombarded him with questions.

Although they had tested long-range artillery fire before, this was the first time it was used in actual combat.

Even though they had just fired a large volley of cannonballs, without feedback on the battle situation, everyone felt something was amiss.

Su Lun laughed, "You all did very well. The recent cannonade destroyed more than eighty percent of the enemy's ships!"

"Wow!"

"Hahaha... This is the most magical naval battle I've ever been part of!"

"Yeah. Miss Dora's modifications to the cannon system have really paid off."

"..."

At this, cheers erupted instantly on deck.

Su Lun said this and also looked up at Dora standing in front of the glass window in the command center above, giving her a smile as a gesture.

Dora nodded slightly in response, feeling a wave of relief in her heart.

Although she was confident in her calculations, this was her first time participating in the Dawn Brigade's battle, and naturally, she wanted to deliver good results for everyone.

Su Lun then addressed everyone on deck, "Don't rest just yet. Those guys from the Celestial Plane are on our tail, and we have another battle coming up. Stay sharp."

Instead of causing concern, his words were met with laughter.

"Hahaha, I was just feeling that just bombarding them wasn't satisfying enough. Now that those bastards dare to come to us, let's show them what we've got!"

"That's right, let's show them what we've got!"

"..."

Despite the laughter, everyone made preparations.

They had long since received Su Lun's notification to prepare for battle, and not a single one let their guard down.

...

After Su Lun returned to the Eternal Night, they ceased their bombardment and began to sail aimlessly.

It appeared as though they wanted to flee post-bombardment, but in reality, they were waiting for the chasers.

Indeed, before long, a lookout suddenly shouted from the crow's nest, "Enemy attack!"

Looking out, several miles away, over twenty pirate ships suddenly rounded from behind an island and appeared within their line of sight.

Clearly, those rascals had used light magic to disguise their ships, otherwise, they wouldn't have remained unnoticed until they were so close.

But it didn't matter anymore.

Because the enemy was already anticipated, there was no surprise among the crew on deck.

It seemed that there were a few level eight mages on the [Rainbow Well] island, but Su Lun had already observed that these more than twenty pirate ships had set out before the bombardment. So the ships were mainly manned by pirates, with "King of the Western Sea" Morlock Poppen on board, and quite a few mages as well.

Su Lun didn't think Morlock Poppen was much of a threat.

The Dawn Brigade's current strength was not weak, and even if a level eight mage came, they would still have the power to fight.

So there was no hurry to order the Dawn Brigade to retreat.

Instead, taking out this wave of pirate ships would significantly reduce the enemy's fleet.

Su Lun squinted at the distant warships, reminding everyone, "There might be experts from the Holy Army coming, be careful."

He suspected that members of the Holy Army might follow, but as long as they were not that level eight mage from the Holy Army, it wouldn't be a big problem.

All eyes were on the distant ships, as they silently nodded in agreement.

This distance was perfect for an artillery barrage, and the Eternal Night kept firing while on the run.

The twenty-plus pirate ships were light and fast, boosted by wind mages, so their pursuers didn't lag in speed.

However, their cannons were significantly inferior.

Even with an overwhelming numerical advantage, the firepower of over twenty pirate ships wasn't as intimidating as a single Eternal Night.

Moreover, accuracy of the cannon fire was poor while sailing at high speed, and the artillerymen on the pirate ships were mediocre at best, leading to a low hit rate.

In contrast, the Eternal Night's shots were as precise as sniper bullets. After a few rounds of exchange, two of the chasing pirate ships were already sunk.

"Hahaha... That's it?"

"Hey, is this all the Western Sea Fleet has got?"

"..."

On deck, the members of the Dawn Brigade watched the enemy's burning ships and jeered in laughter.

The gap in naval combat between the two sides was vast; if this chase persisted, the twenty-plus pirate ships had no chance of winning.

The enemy realized this too, thereby pinning their hopes on boarding and engaging in close combat.

Unfortunately, with a navigator as skilled as Tanni, catching up with them was nearly impossible without a three-day chase.

If this pursuit continued, even just with artillery combat, the Dawn Brigade could decimate the opposition.

But no one was complacent; they all knew that under these circumstances, the enemy's elite forces were about to make their move!

And as expected.

Just then, the unexpected happened!

Among those people on the opposite side, suddenly a towering figure leapt from one of the ships and dashed over the waves towards them.

The crew at dawn could not fail to recognize that this was "King of the Western Sea," Morlock Poppen!

Each step taken by this notoriously infamous old Pirate King caused the sea to dip, creating a gigantic whirlpool tens of meters in diameter. The sound of his approach was as if a thousand troops were charging, and the momentum was terrifying.

The deathly pressure of an eighth-tier professional was not small, causing the lower-ranked crew members of the dawn group to swallow their saliva unanimously.

Barrett was on full alert, and "Duke of Blood" Wazwaz had also transformed into a demon form with a green face and sharp fangs.

Kit watched the seventh-tier professionals on the ship and his pupils slightly narrowed as he inwardly exclaimed, Everyone is so strong...

However, in just an instant, he suddenly felt an intense Sword Qi surge into the sky.

Turning his head, he saw that Qiantiao had just placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Kit, standing close by, felt his scalp tingle under the pressure of the seventh-tier professional's domain. Even though Qiantiao's murderous intent wasn't directed at him, he felt as if he wanted to retreat from the sharp Sword Qi and was inwardly shocked, "Holy shit... Su Lun was right; Qiantiao seems incredibly powerful now!"

Looking again, Su Lun and Number Nineteen had a calm demeanor.

Kit's expression was slightly odd.

However, just when everyone thought "King of the Western Sea" Morlock would attack first, an eerie scene unfolded before their eyes suddenly.

In their field of vision, a figure moved as if teleporting through the void, leaving a streak of afterimages.

On closer look, it was a blonde mage with an indifferent expression, holding a magic wand.

The others might have sensed the newcomer's strength, but the seventh-tier professionals aboard the Eternal Night sensed that deadly threat!

Barrett's brows furrowed slightly as he let out a soft "Eh?": "Spatial Displacement? No, that's not right, there is no spatial fluctuation..."

The members of the dawn group, somewhat knowledgeable in Spatial Techniques, all changed colors as they watched.

Number Nineteen said indifferently, "It's 'Time Powers.' That person is from the Saint Church Army."

Only she and Su Lun had seen this technique, so they recognized it at a glance.

Moreover, members of the Saint Church Army were easily recognizable by their black and white clergy-like robes.

Hearing Number Nineteen's words, everyone on alert together.

If it was someone Su Lun had warned to be careful of, they were definitely not simple.

And just this "Time Displacement" alone was already an incomprehensible technique.

This was perhaps even more of a concern than the eighth-tier Morlock.

But no one noticed that Su Lun's expression when he again looked at that person had a slight oddness to it.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

...

A few nautical miles passed in the blink of an eye.

The blonde mage in the black and white nun's attire appeared directly on the deck of the Eternal Night.

She looked at everyone with indifference and arrogance, as if these people were utterly beneath her notice.

Indeed, with the ability of "time reversal," no one here could kill her.

However, just as this woman hadn't yet had the chance to show off,

Su Lun suddenly teleported in front of her, piercing through the magic shield formed by the power of time and grabbed her throat.

The woman reacted extremely quickly, her magic wand shimmering as if she had cast some spell.

Qiantiao and the others felt a moment of disorientation, although they didn't understand what had happened, but they realized the magic was definitely far from simple!

Everyone's expressions changed dramatically!

Yet, a bizarre scene ensued.

Everyone thought that with Su Lun's move, there should have been an intense battle.

However, a crisp "crack" sound of breaking bone echoed across the deck.

In the completely baffled eyes of all present, Su Lun easily broke the neck of that member of the Saint Church Army... just like that?

On a closer look, the expression of disbelief on the blonde woman's face had frozen, her head slumped and she was clearly lifeless.

Dead?

Really dead?

Everyone, just about to take action, froze in place, disbelief filling their gaze.

In an instant, the atmosphere turned eerily silent.

"Caw..."

"Caw..."

Crows cawed from the mast, finally dragging everyone's thoughts back to reality.

Su Lun was holding the woman's corpse in his hand, swaying in the breeze.

Seeing it once before was astonishing.

Now seeing it... it seemed, ordinary perhaps?

The "Urobolos Space-Time Ring" immunizes against time-space techniques not higher than the artifact itself, a natural counter to the one before him.

Therefore, the "time reversal" just now had no effect whatsoever.

And after immunizing against the power of time, this blonde woman's physical strength was far too weak for Su Lun.

Naturally, he strangled her to death with ease.

No one spoke, all was quiet.

Finally, the tense Lelota loosened the grip on the knife handle that was nearly imprinted and weakly said, "Teacher, didn't Mr. Su Lun say that the 'Saint Church Army' is supposed to be powerful... How... How come they don't seem very powerful?"

Not just her, almost all professionals below seventh-tier couldn't comprehend what had just transpired.

An individual clearly from the Saint Church Army crossed the void in a flashy manner.

Then... just delivered a free kill?

That's not right—they shouldn't be this weak, right?

Something didn't sit right with everyone.

Qiantiao's eyes flashed with a sharp light and profoundly said, "It's not that person's weakness, but rather that Su Lun is stronger than her and just happened to have a counter. If it wasn't for Su Lun restraining that person's time domain, you would all be dead."

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked: "Ah?"

They hadn't realized that beneath that theatrical scene, a deadly crisis had been lurking.

As the dawn crew heard this explanation, they all blurted out in unison, "Holy shit."

...

Not just the crew at dawn, but the pirates watching from afar were also baffled.

The "King of the Western Sea" Morlock, still charging through the sea, stared at the corpse in Su Lun's hand, utterly dumbstruck: The great personage of the Saint Church Army, dead?