Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 538 - 537 Assassination

Dragons are inherently arrogant.

This young silver dragon had been pampered and untouchable in the Silver Dragon Kingdom, always by the side of Her Royal Highness Princess Becky.

But just now, they were actually intimidated with dominance and flopped like a dog eating shit?

It wasn’t that she was hurt, but she felt a great insult.

Throughout her life, no one had ever spoken harshly to her, and now someone actually dared to lay hands on the princess herself?

Princess Becky snapped out of her dazed state, burning with fury. She charged at Commander Bennett and his group of kingdom knights, bellowing, "How dare you attack me! Kill her now!"

Upon hearing this command, Commander Bennett looked troubled and tried to explain, "Your Royal Highness..."

He wanted to say that this was an overseas guest invited to the royal capital, who should not be killed.

Moreover, he also wanted to say that even if the Miracle Legion wanted to stop her, it was doubtful they would succeed.

Having seen the footage of her sparring with the "Dragon Hunter" Mr. Bartolo, he was well aware that this was not an ordinary seventh-tier swordsman.

He also realized that she had no intention to kill.

But Commander Bennett also knew of the princess’s temper; offending her meant that even a high-ranking minister of the kingdom could be ordered to death.

This was precisely why he felt so conflicted.

...

Meanwhile, Qiantiao was not someone who pampered any princesses.

Before the dragon knights could struggle with their thoughts, she rested her hand on the hilt of her sword and with a fierce stomp into thin air, there was a "snap," and her figure shattered on the spot.

Other than Su Lun, nobody could see clearly what she had done.

When people looked again, Qiantiao’s figure had already appeared on the dragon’s back.

The Hell Domain felt so tangible that one seemed to be dragged into hell itself, confronted with tumultuous seas of blood. How could Princess Becky have ever witnessed such a scene? A cold sweat instantly covered the skin beneath her armor.

For the first time, death felt so close, and the young princess’s mind went utterly blank.

The "Genius Dragon Knight," praised and flattered from a young age, had even forgotten all the combat techniques taught by her court fighting instructor.

Qiantiao truly had no intention to kill.

Otherwise, if she really wanted to, this young princess wouldn’t be protected by a sixth-tier young dragon.

She had thought that the legendary "Dragon Knight" might be able to handle a few moves, but seeing this rigid reaction, she completely lost interest.

An opponent of this level, despite such a high rank, couldn’t even withstand one strike of hers in actual combat.

She casually struck with her sword, leaving a mark on Princess Becky’s armor, infusing it with overpowering force, which knocked the princess out instantly.

That’s when the silver dragon also reacted, quickly ascending, flying up into the sky.

It was scared out of its wits!

The dragon’s intelligence was not low; it knew very well that this human swordsman had the capability and the guts to kill it!

...

The silver dragon swiftly ascended into the sky, and Princess Becky was not dropped because she was strapped in by the reins.

Qiantiao appeared determined to chase to the end and pursued through the air.

The silver dragon’s reaction was genuine—it flew faster and faster, fleeing into the distance!

The only thought in its mind was that staying would surely result in death at the hands of this human swordsman.

Watching the silver dragon become a silver dot within the red twilight sky, Qiantiao landed on the ground uninterestedly, speaking into the communicator, "Su Lun, you accompany them to the capital. My Sword Dao has had some insights; I need to walk alone."

Several kilometers away at the camp, Su Lun received the message and responded with a simple, "Hmm."

Although the forest had many magical beasts, there was no need to worry about Qiantiao’s strength.

Looking again, the knights in the camp also seemed relieved.

With the haughty princess gone, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Commander Bennett had known that Su Lun and the others had no real intention of killing Princess Becky; now that she was knocked out and gone, it was actually the best outcome.

Before he could speak, Su Lun cleared himself of involvement, saying, "Ah... that Miss Qiantiao seems to be an acquaintance of Mr. Bartolo; I don’t know her well, just met her on the road. I have no idea why she would attack Her Royal Highness."

Since Qiantiao had never spoken Dragon Country’s common language and had never communicated with anyone, she was not familiar with anyone. This explanation could indeed be considered somewhat plausible.

Commander Bennett immediately understood.

A grateful gleam appeared in his eyes, but it was not appropriate to say it outright, so he simply nodded and said, "Hmm. I will report the truth."

The smell of burning filled the air; a few brothers had been killed by the dragon’s breath, so the mood of the knights’ group was low.

But as royal knights, their loyalty was paramount, and none of them voiced any complaints, just a silent frustration.

Su Lun sensed that odd atmosphere too, the abnormal hierarchical relationships under the distorted autocracy, but there was nothing to say about it.

At this time, the first light of morning had already shone into the forest, the sky a clear azure.

"Crackle and pop" sounds still lingered by the ear, the noise of wood burning in the bonfire, along with the scorch marks from the divine dragon’s breath earlier.

The knights continued to pack up the camp, ready to set off again.

Just then, someone shouted, "Commander, bad news, the rune cloth is torn!

Su Lun also looked toward where everyone was gazing, and saw that not far away, the rune cloth on the prison wagon had started burning.

The silver dragon’s breath wasn’t just simple light; it was Holy Light that could burn almost everything.

The rune cloth on the prison wagon was meant to prevent any aura from leaking and was extremely tough, but it couldn’t stop the burning Holy Light.

After being sprayed twice before, the rune cloth was already fragile; just as the knights were hanging it up to carry away on the dragon, the cloth suddenly torn and caught fire, revealing the person within the prison wagon.

At the same moment, Commander Bennett bellowed, "Everyone close your eyes, don’t look!"

He himself didn’t know why, but the orders from above were clear, during the prisoner transport, no one was to peek inside the prison carriage at the prisoner.

Su Lun had previously sensed the soul fluctuation inside the carriage was intact, and listening to the command, he didn’t dare to be careless and closed his eyes.

But the black crow perched not far on the tree branch shared its vision.

When the black cloth was torn away, what was revealed wasn’t a terrifying monster, but a woman with golden hair wearing a large pale blue Priest’s gown.

Perhaps stimulated by the sunlight, she too raised her head to glance around and used her hand to block the irritating light from her eyes.

In the eyes of the black crow, a stunningly beautiful face was also reflected, this was the "Helen" in question.

Just in terms of facial features, she was a ravishing beauty on par with Pandora.

Her skin was snow-white, flawless.

She appeared impeccable and harmless to humans and animals alike.

But Su Lun had seen too many beauties, whether it was Pandora, Yekaterina, or Mr. Jing, their beauty was no less impressive.

Therefore, he wasn’t particularly astonished.

But beyond her facial features, this woman’s eyes were truly special!

Su Lun, even through the crow’s shared vision, was instantly shocked, "Such beautiful eyes! Such a powerful soul!"

He hadn’t sensed it before because her soul was sealed within this body.

Only those eyes were the outlet for releasing her soul.

At that moment, seeing them was like glimpsing a clear, pure, and wondrous world, as profound as an endless starry sky.

Su Lun immediately recognized, it was not just beauty, there was also a very high level of spiritual power bewitchment.

It was so powerful that one would be ensnared without even realizing it.

This kind of enchantment, Su Lun had only seen on Pandora after she had become an advanced high-order pseudo-god.

In that instant, he was certain, this must be the "Queen Medusa" Mr. Jing had mentioned who was fated in the prophecy.

The thought no sooner crossed his mind, Su Lun hadn’t felt the sensation of cold sweat on his back in a long time, and he muttered silently, "No wonder the Silver Dragon King would wage war for her..."

Luckily it was only a moment before Commander Bennett quickly produced another piece of black cloth, covering the entire prison carriage once again.

Only then did everyone reopen their eyes.

Su Lun looked on with a grave expression.

This "Helen" must not be killed; it seemed as though they were completely at a loss on how to deal with her.

A ticking time bomb like her, he dared not do anything, nor could he persuade others to act.

All Su Lun could think of was one outcome, "Could it be that just like the legend, someone brave has to kill her in the end, and then she becomes Medusa?"

Mythology was full of various bizarre prophetic tales. Though far-fetched, they all pointed towards the predetermined outcome of the prophecy.

Su Lun couldn’t think of any solution and thus remained silent.

Following two unexpected incidents, the Miracle Legion didn’t dare delay any longer.

Commander Bennett took the lead with the prison carriage and headed towards the royal capital, Aike.

Su Lun, on the other hand, followed Deputy Commander Johnson’s squad, flying leisurely towards the north.

...

The next afternoon.

"Mr. Su Lun, we’re almost there. The city up ahead is Aike."

The meditating Su Lun, who was riding on the back of a dragon, suddenly heard the reminder and opened his eyes.

He looked ahead and saw a giant city surrounded by white stone walls built against a mountain, coming into view.

The architectural style of the buildings inside the city was much like Atalan City he had seen before, dense and low-rise to accommodate more people, which made the city very expansive.

Especially from the sky, it indeed looked imposing.

The companion rider Johnson seemed quite proud as he introduced, "The royal capital Aike is the largest city among the three great kingdoms. By the way, Mr. Su Lun, how big are the cities where you’re from?"

"Also quite large."

Su Lun listened but didn’t explicitly say that compared to the highly mechanized giant cities of Mafa, even many of the cities in the Luying Empire were much larger than this one.

His gaze swept across, noticing the low houses in the poor districts, but the palace at the foot of the mountain was grand and imposing. The white domes painted with gold, even from a great distance, looked rich and splendid.

Then Su Lun looked further up, the city leaned against a huge mountain range with a towering peak covered in snow piercing the clouds behind the palace.

Johnson explained, "That’s Mount Loki, the Silver Dragon that protects our nation lives in a cave at the top of the mountain. If you’re lucky, you can see it soaring in the sky. But it only happens once in a few years, as most of the time it’s hibernating."

"Oh."

Su Lun listened and took another look.

An eighth-tier Silver Dragon was one of the strongest creatures in the world. It was also because of the protection of this dragon that the Gracie family had been able to securely hold the throne for a millennium.

The Miracle Legion’s dragons landed in an outer fortress city, a place where the royal knights exclusively raised flying dragons.

Su Lun saw tens of thousands of dragon knights, evidencing the strength of this Silver Dragon Nation.

After inquiring, he found out Commander Bennett and his group had arrived with the prison carriage the previous night.

Deputy Commander Johnson then escorted Su Lun into the city, beyond the high walls of the capital.

The royal city was bustling and noisy with many people, but everything was very primitive here, just an enlarged version of Atalan City, not much to see.

After a tour, Su Lun was led to a high-end inn meant for receiving distinguished guests to rest, told to await a summons from the royal family.

He figured that Bennett must have already reported the situation to the King and thought that waiting was of no concern.

After all, he needed the formula for the petrification antidote, which was in the hands of his elder brother, the white-robed Grand Wizard Garcia Haydon.

Little did he expect that this wait would last for three days.

...

In the posthouse, Su Lun woke up from his meditation with a look of confusion on his face, "Strange, Commander Bennett hasn’t shown himself yet..."

Originally, he had been thinking about how to delicately explain the issue of "Helen" to His Majesty the King, but it turned out he had been overthinking it.

After waiting three long days, he had neither been summoned by the king nor seen Bennett again.

Even more, none of the arcane military personnel he had met before made an appearance.

This puzzled Su Lun.

Before, Bennett had agreed to give him some ancient books and sea charts treasured by his family once he arrived at the royal capital and even promised to introduce him to the royal library where he could borrow some materials.

Yet, three days had passed, and there was no sign of him.

Although their contact was brief, Su Lun felt Bennett was a man of his word.

If something had held him up, he could understand a delay of a day or two.

But by the third day, there was a problem.

Even if he couldn’t come himself, he would surely have someone sent.

Moreover, with such a serious matter as "plane invasion," the royal family of the Silver Dragon Kingdom, no matter how extravagant and decadent, should have shown some response.

The current situation, it’s very likely something had gone wrong.

"It doesn’t make sense, what could have possibly happened..."

Su Lun looked out the window, his eyes reflective with contemplation.

The bustling streets in the distance were no different from any other day.

The posthouse he stayed in was high-end, typically hosting envoys from other countries. Not only had he not been neglected these three days, he was also treated to good food and drink. His outings were not restricted; simply notifying the officials of the posthouse would lead to meticulous arrangements for carriages and servants. There were even beautiful maids attending to him at all times, taking care of every detail. For others, this would undoubtedly be delightful days of pleasure, with the time slipping away unnoticed.

However, Su Lun had no such needs, and had been almost constantly in meditation, thus he felt all the more acutely that this feeling of being "forgotten" was very abnormal.

He always felt that under this calm, there seemed to be hidden undercurrents.

He asked through the communicator, and everything was normal on Qian’s end. She was crossing the Corrupt Forest on foot, infested with magical beasts, honing her Sword Dao along the way.

Meanwhile, the Eternal Night was leisurely heading north along the coastline, encountering some sea monsters but dealing with them smoothly.

Su Lun glanced one more time at Mr. Crow in the room; all was quiet, and without any abnormalities, a thought suddenly came to his mind, "Could it be that I’m overthinking it?"

But it seemed that apart from waiting, there was no other way to get the formula in the royal capital of Akelunsa.

Speaking of coincidences.

Just as Su Lun was pondering, his perception suddenly caught someone sneaking into the posthouse.

The reason he said sneaking is that the person entered by crawling under the carriage of the guard who was changing shifts at the posthouse.

Su Lun’s perception extended over a large area around the posthouse, so he clearly sensed everything and guessed, "Eh... a professional thief? Quite strong too..."

The person’s hiding technique was masterful, eluding the soldiers and sneaking in.

What Su Lun did not expect was that the individual climbed straight up the outer wall towards his room?

For an assassin of roughly the fourth order, Su Lun did not feel any threat.

He watched curiously as the figure approached the window.

After a few breaths, he saw a hooded person dressed as an assassin leap in.

She immediately lifted her hood, revealing a not unattractive face—a female assassin?

Seeing how calm the person inside the room was, the assassin also seemed a bit surprised: this person noticed an assassin entering the room and had no reaction?

Before Su Lun could speak, she introduced herself, "I am Isabel, sister to Commander Bennett."

Upon hearing this introduction, Su Lun immediately sensed trouble.

On closer look, this female assassin indeed resembled Bennett to a certain degree.

Seeing Su Lun’s lack of reaction, Isabel continued, "Are you Mr. Su Lun?"

Su Lun nodded indifferently, "Yes."

Isabel felt the man’s cool response was odd, but she got straight to the point, "After my brother came back, he was detained, and I do not know why. But through connections, I received a message he managed to send out. He told me not to tell anyone, to find you, and then to warn you to ’be careful’."

"To be careful?"

Su Lun frowned as he listened, though he was not too surprised.

So Bennett had been locked up, no wonder he hadn’t shown up.

But why? Could it be because of the affair with Her Royal Highness Princess Becky? It didn’t seem likely.

Seeing Su Lun "daydreaming," Isabel spoke urgently, "The current situation is unclear, and I do not know what has happened. But my brother insisted I ensure your safety."

After a pause, she added, "I mean... I think you should leave this place. It’s best to avoid everyone, and I can take you away."

"To leave?"

Su Lun fell into thought as he listened.

He came to the royal capital Akelunsa for the petrification antidote formula and the sea charts. How could he possibly obtain those if he were to duck and hide?

Besides, if he wanted to leave, why would he need someone else to lead the way?

...

Su Lun thought for a moment and then directly asked, "Do you know where to get the formula for the antidote to the stone petrification potion?"

Isabel didn’t understand why, at such a critical moment, the guy in front of her was not only completely unhurried but even asked such a strange question.

But she replied, "That formula is said to be only in the hands of the royal treasury and Garcia Haydon, the king’s brother-in-law."

"Oh."

Listening, Su Lun had even less intention of leaving.

Seeing his indifferent demeanor as if it were none of his business, Isabel became very anxious and said, "You don’t plan on going with me?"

Su Lun shook his head, sensing something, and said, "It’s too late. They are already here."

When Isabel heard this, her expression changed, and only then, she realized something. She sidled over to the window to take a look and exclaimed in shock, "This is bad, that’s Garcia’s carriage!"

Su Lun was slightly surprised at the news but instead of being alarmed, he was delighted and asked, "Is that the same King’s brother-in-law Garcia Haydon?"

He had said that the person coming was very powerful and wondered who it might be; he hadn’t expected it to be this man.

"Yes!"

Isabel said, her brow furrowing with confusion, "Strange, why would he come..."

Although Su Lun didn’t know what this man was here for, since someone had come, all the mysteries were about to be unraveled.

He glanced at the woman who had come to deliver him this message and said, "You should go first."

"What about you?" Isabel asked.

Su Lun’s eyes gradually deepened, he said meaningfully, "It’s okay. Perhaps Lord Garcia is here to bring me a message."

Isabel felt sure it couldn’t be that simple, otherwise, her brother certainly wouldn’t have specifically sent a message for her to rescue him. She said, "But..."

Su Lun, however, shook his head nonchalantly, stopping her mid-persuasion, and counter-asked, "Didn’t your brother tell you who I am?"

Isabel’s expression stiffened slightly, "No. He’s in the lower levels of the royal prison, he couldn’t have had any contact. The only message he could send out was asking me to come to save you."

Time was pressing, not enough to gather, she frowned deeply, "Forget it, just be careful. I’m going to hide."

Hearing this, Su Lun didn’t say anything.

At that moment, with an agile leap, Isabel quietly left the room.

Her instantly retracted aura fell into a stealth state, if not for Soul Perception, it would indeed be invisible.

Su Lun watched, his eyes slightly narrowing, but said nothing.

...

A group of people arrived outside the post house.

It wasn’t long before a knock came at the door.

Knock, knock, knock!

The post house’s servant reminded from outside, "Sir, Lord Garcia has come to visit."

Su Lun responded, "Please come in."

The door opened, and the scene was grand.

A crowd of guards and maids surrounded a middle-aged man dressed in a white wizard’s robe with a goatee and a grim expression as he walked in.

After the introduction, this was the Queen’s brother, the Grand Wizard Garcia Haydon.

"You are the adventurer from overseas? On behalf of His Majesty and the Silver Dragon Country, I extend the sincerest welcome to you. Sorry, affairs at court have delayed me these past few days; I have been negligent in entertaining our distinguished guest..."

"What about Commander Bennett? I haven’t seen him these past few days. He said once I arrived in the capital, he’d show me around."

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"Oh, he has been assigned a new urgent mission by His Majesty, and currently he doesn’t have time to return."

"Oh."

"Commander Bennett has already briefed me on some matters, but there are some specific issues His Majesty would like me to discuss personally with you..."

"..."

The two exchanged a few simple words.

Lord Garcia looked very amiable, but at this first meeting, he gave Su Lun a show of strength.

Su Lun remained calm and collected, the light in his left eye brightly shimmering.

At that moment, the maid poured the tea as well.

Two cups were filled, with no issue coming from the pot, showing it to be "Dragon Scale Blood Tree Tea."

But when it entered the cup, it turned into "Highly Poisonous Tea."

A colorless and odorless high-grade poison, the method of poisoning left no trace, and if it were anyone else, they would surely be caught off guard.

The fox-faced man before him wore an innocently benign smile, warmly urging, "Oh, please try it, this is our Silver Dragon Country’s specialty ’Dragon Scale Blood Tree Tea.’ It can only be found at the top of Mount Loki, and it’s as precious as the Dragon Breath Fruit. I only bring it out for the most important of guests."

It was hard to decline such hospitality, Su Lun picked up the cup and drank it down in one gulp.

After drinking, he smiled slightly and asked, "I heard from Commander Bennett that Lord Garcia knows how to concoct the antidote for the stone petrification curse?"

"Of course."

The old fox watched him drink the tea, then had the maid pour another cup. He seemed to have no more concerns and proudly boasted, "It’s the secret formula passed down through the wizard lineage of my Haydon family. In the entire Dragon Country, only our family knows how to properly mix the potion."

Feigning ignorance, he inquired, "I hear that a friend of Mr. Su Lun has also been afflicted by the stone petrification curse?"

Listening, Su Lun chuckled, "Yes, that’s right."

In his heart, though, he thought, it’s good that you know.

The formula obtained from elsewhere might not be complete, and here was the most complete one being delivered straight to him.