Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 414 - 413: Domineering Species - Overbearing

Mr. Jing intercepted Oleg, and the people of the Northern Sea Fleet finally realized that the situation was different from what they had expected.

This was an occurrence outside of the "prophecy."

Previously, no one had anticipated that behind Dawn Group there was yet another eighth-tier powerhouse.

And after Su Lun’s puppet legion appeared, the battle escalated to an intense degree.

In the coliseum, the pirates’ human-wave tactics clashed head-on with his puppet legion, and both sides fought fiercely.

The vast coliseum was like a bloody mill, people died every second. The ground was covered with crimson blood, which turned into filthy plasma under the trampling; but no one noticed that this blood was also slowly seeping into the crevices of the stones of this age-old War God coliseum.

Su Lun focused intently on controlling endless threads with his eight-armed spider spear, holding the Black Sickle and Rune Umbrella in hand, swiftly slashing at any troublesome pirates within his field of vision, his killing becoming more and more streamlined.

But gradually, he noticed an anomaly.

Through the All-knowing Eye, he saw strands of blood mist converging towards his body.

The identification displayed was actually [Blessing of the Heroic Spirits]?

Su Lun then remembered that this [Morolos Central Coliseum] was a special building with supernatural powers. These ancient stones, soaked with the blood of gladiators, retained the remnants of war god heroic spirits, granting "Blessings of the Heroic Spirits" to the gladiators.

One of the properties was: "The braver one is, the higher the probability of receiving the blessing."

Su Lun didn’t know how many pirates had died in his puppet theater, but he estimated that there were at least tens of thousands, not to mention countless more injured.

In this battle, he fought against one hundred thousand.

It was likely that, from its construction to the present, no gladiator who spilled blood here killed more enemies in this place than he did.

To say he was unmatched in bravery was certainly not wrong.

But this indeed was an accident.

Su Lun had chosen the central coliseum as a battleground simply because he thought it more convenient—the site was suitable, could accommodate more pirates, and wouldn’t harm the innocent.

Plus, it was closer to the harbor, making retreat easier.

He hadn’t expected to accidentally trigger this "Blessing of the Heroic Spirits."

That mysterious force made him feel incredibly wondrous, as if some comprehension that he had never been able to grasp was becoming clearer.

However, the battle was fierce, the blessing had no side effects, and Su Lun didn’t have time to ponder it.

After all, the battlefield was becoming increasingly perilous.

...

The Northern Sea Fleet, unable to make headway for a long time, also realized the severity of the situation. If they continued at this rate, even if they won, they would definitely suffer greatly, so they were bound to resort to any means available.

Su Lun never relied on flukes and could never so easily suppress the Northern Sea Fleet, which even the Empire of Luying was helpless against.

Now it seemed his puppet legion’s first wave gave these guys a severe blow and shattered the arrogance of the pirates’ human-wave tactics.

But the substantial casualties were largely due to the enemy’s underestimation and ignorance of the puppet legion.

And Su Lun was well-prepared all along.

During the battle, the enemy started using targeted measures against the puppet theater, such as Fire System Technique to damage the threads and Vine Technique to entangle them...

The efficiency of Su Lun’s puppet legion had clearly decreased too much.

Moreover, such a large pirate group surely had some bizarre cursed items.

Su Lun was constantly vigilant.

Sure enough, in the midst of fighting, the Herald of Death that had been perched on his shoulder suddenly cried out a warning, "A master! A master!"

Su Lun immediately turned his attention to Princess Stika, who was watching from a distance.

He had previously ignored her because he believed that with a princess watching, there would surely be numerous masters protecting her. Keeping her alive meant less pressure on the Dawn Group members.

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But he never underestimated her presence.

Intelligence reports mentioned that the Northern Sea Fleet had three fleets here, with five seventh-tier professionals all making an appearance.

But Su Lun hadn’t forgotten one person.

Having encountered him once before, but not in Yekaterina’s reports—a master who was one of the top ten Legendary Bounty Hunters, Carlo Meldis.

This guy was Princess Stika’s bodyguard, always hidden; Su Lun suspected he must be lurking somewhere ready to ambush.

After all, this fellow was known as the "Thief Emperor"; his stealth and assassination techniques were nearly impossible to defend against.

If it were up to him, he would certainly use decapitation tactics, thinking of a way to deal with the Puppet Master.

The Herald of Death’s warning instantly made Su Lun more vigilant.

But not fearful.

His affinity for space was very high now, and with the Black Umbrella and omnipresent threads, whether Meldis used teleportation or sneaking up, Su Lun was certain to sense his approach within a certain range!

Indeed, when Su Lun had fully extended his senses, he suddenly detected a cluster of soul fire in the air a hundred meters away.

"Here they come!"

Su Lun’s expression suddenly turned fierce, and then his face abruptly changed, "So fast!"

Because just as he sensed the person appearing a hundred meters away, a wave of spatial fluctuation had already appeared behind him.

Su Lun instinctively used "Teleportation" to leave his previous standing position, but that murderous intent clung to his back like a shadow, teleporting to a position a dozen meters away.

A swish of knife light swept past.

A black dagger decapitated Su Lun’s puppet double in an instant.

That murderous intent wasn’t over yet, manifesting like a ghost again on Su Lun’s back, and another knife was stabbed into his back.

Su Lun teleported again, but that murderous intent still clung to him like a haunting soul.

"How strong... So this is a top Assassin."

It had been a long time since Su Lun had felt such a tingling sense of mortal danger.

Now, the chilling murderous aura was so pressing that his body even stiffened slightly, and only a frantic surge of hormones barely kept him in a safe state of motion.

However, amidst the crisis, he had a strange feeling that the suppression from rank and domain was much easier than expected.

Logically speaking, as one of the top ten Hunters, a seasoned seventh-rank professional should have crushed him, a fifth-rank, with just the oppressive presence of rank once they got close.

But now... it didn’t seem so strong?

"Is it because of the ’Heroic Blessing’ just now?"

Su Lun guessed it wasn’t that the opponent wasn’t strong, but rather it was due to that strange enlightenment inside him.

Without time to think further, just as he teleported again, he had just landed at a location when suddenly, a living corpse among the puppet legion turned towards him. Its eyes, red as the dead, glared, and a destructive laser immediately shot out.

"Sizzle~" The red light headed for Su Lun’s back, but it didn’t penetrate him; instead, it scorched someone lurking in stealth.

The air immediately filled with the scent of burnt flesh.

Clearly, Melidis had been hit.

This was a cursed item, the "Alpha Laser Alchemical Eyeball" obtained earlier when ambushing a submarine; it emitted a laser at any target it saw upon opening.

Su Lun felt the dagger on his neck pause for a moment and muttered in his heart: The living corpse, forever a god!

This type of corpse, possessing all the physical characteristics of a living person, was just too useful. Curses like blindness or blood damage were completely trivial.

The living corpse glared once, and its body immediately shriveled up, but this also gave Su Lun another chance to catch his breath.

Ordinarily, when facing a master of the caliber of "Thief Emperor" Melidis, Su Lun was very aware that he couldn’t possibly win.

His only chance to preserve his life was to rely on teleportation to escape.

But now, in the midst of intense combat, his puppet legion naturally couldn’t be withdrawn.

The old vampire "Blood Duke" Moore Wazhuaz also spotted this formidable enemy and flapped his bat wings trying to come over to protect Su Lun; Barrett, too, had temporarily repelled Sami Kiro and was ready to come over to provide support...

But the champions of the Northern Sea Fleet naturally wouldn’t let them get away so easily, engaging them even more fiercely.

And before they could disengage, someone had already taken a step ahead.

Su Lun was just about to teleport away when suddenly, a swath of pink paint appeared in the void, as if someone had swiped a brush across a canvas.

It was spot on, completely covering Melidis, who was lurking in stealth, making him immediately visible.

"Eh..."

Seeing this method, Su Lun lightly gasped and immediately thought of who was acting.

It was none other than Vincent F. Van Gogh, one of the top ten legendary Bounty Hunters, known as "God’s Painter"!

Turning his head, he saw on a stone column in the distant coliseum an individual who was painting on a palette.

Seeing Su Lun look over, Van Gogh even responded with what appeared to be a friendly smile.

Since running into Yekaterina in the city prior, Su Lun wasn’t at all surprised by this man’s appearance here.

With Van Gogh stepping in, this was also part of the "deal."

The young lady was still waiting to form an alliance through marriage with Fike Regadi in three months, so she wouldn’t let him die here now.

Now that Melidis was covered in pink paint, he looked quite ridiculous, and he recognized who had acted. Annoyed as he was, he also knew that his chance for assassination had been lost.

Being among the top ten legends, the opponent wouldn’t give him another chance to act.

As he expected, Van Gogh made no more fuss, briskly stroked his palette a few more times, muttering a strange incantation, "With this brush, I draw a stout cage, to bind the filthy, sinful thief. This stroke, I call... Prison Grounds!"

Familiar with the painter’s methods, Su Lun saw an opportunity and didn’t hesitate; he raised the black scythe and swung it towards Melidis, not far away.

Normally, such an attack would be easily dodged by someone of that strength.

But just as he raised the scythe, suddenly, some black paint depicting "iron cages" appeared in his field of view, perfectly trapping the Thief Emperor right there on the spot.

Van Gogh’s "Enclosure" technique actually solidified a portion of space, greatly limiting Melidis’s ability for spatial displacement!

Just then, the scythe of darkness slashed through the space, nearly cleaving the infamous Pirate Emperor in two.

In that fraction of a second, the man eerily compressed his body and then slipped through the cracks of the "iron cage", smoothly vanishing from sight.

...

"He slipped away..."

Su Lun glanced around, having lost any trace of Melidis.

It wasn’t easy to kill a seventh-tier professional, as expected.

But now, there probably wasn’t any need to worry about that top-tier assassin anymore. With Van Gogh stepping in, it was highly unlikely that he would get another opportunity to strike.

Su Lun continued to control his puppet army in battle, but his thoughts became clearer and clearer.

At that moment, he vividly felt a boldness in his heart, as if he could look down upon the world.

It was precisely that instant, oppressed by the Pirate Emperor’s deathly aura, that this feeling became even clearer.

"Am I about to awaken to dominance?"

Su Lun vaguely understood what that elusive sensation was.

No wonder Mr. Jing always said that there was a shortcut to understanding "dominance", which was to find a professional who had grasped dominance and engage in a life-and-death battle, to feel that pressure of death.

But that was a false proposition.

Normally, those who grasp dominance are one in ten thousand geniuses, or professionals who are far behind in their rank.

Without grasping dominance, defeating them was nearly impossible.

The assassination attempt just now was not just a crisis, but also an opportunity.

Su Lun’s mind grew clearer, eager to seize this rare moment of enlightenment.

But just then, a black crow on his shoulder cawed, issuing another deadly warning.

However, Uncle Crow said, "Don’t move, watch my performance, I can handle this."

So Su Lun did nothing.

The next instant, the previously dull and silly-looking black bird suddenly transformed, turning from a sleek feathered crow into a sketched line-drawn two-dimensional creature.

Any bird can be trained with food. After days of tempting it with various treats, this silly bird had finally mastered this rare BUG-like spatial ability—"Spatial Dimension Reduction."

Su Lun dared to stand in the arena pouring out attacks, largely because of it.

This bird’s ability may not be very powerful, but it was incredibly effective at preserving his life.

The black crow turned into black lines, no longer maintaining the shape of a bird but spreading out, and gradually covering Su Lun.

While it was too weak to perform the endless extension like the previous "Void Bipartite Worm", it just managed to form the size of a cloak, draping over Su Lun.

The moment the Bipartite Cloak was donned, Su Lun’s aura dramatically changed.

He truly looked just like the Reaper shadow figure behind him.

Clad in a cloak brimming with the aura of death, holding a black scythe, and most of his face shrouded.

His presence was chillingly grim!

Almost simultaneously with the black crow’s transformation, a few alchemical bullets tore through the wind.

These special sniper alchemical bullets were extremely fast, with almost no friction against the air, soundlessly avoiding the gargoyle’s defense and striking Su Lun’s "Bipartite Cloak."

Just the same, the bullets stirred no splash and completely vanished upon hitting the Bipartite Cloak.

The one who fired had to be a top-tier sniper, located three kilometers to the southwest, employing very special firearms and alchemical bullets...but all that was irrelevant now.

Almost any physical firearm ammunition was ineffective before the crow’s dimension reduction ability.

At that moment, Su Lun didn’t even bother to dodge the ordinary bullets, allowing them to rain down upon his cloak where they were all absorbed by the dimension reduction.

The snipers from the Northern Sea Fleet pirates saw the Reaper-like figure of Su Lun and were left only with terror in their eyes.

At that moment, everyone seemed to see a messenger from the Netherworld, reaping lives in the gladiator arena.

The aura was mysterious, eerie, terrifying, and increasingly domineering.

So much so that not only the pirates, but also Qiantiao, Barrett, and Wazhuaz of the Dawn Group all turned their heads to look.

...

With the protection of the black crow, Su Lun felt that dominating sensation growing ever clearer.

He fell into a strange state.

Shimmering threads emerged from his body, spreading like dispersed fluff to every corner of the arena.

And as those threads extended a portion of his perception, they seemed more like his very thoughts, controlling everything within the bounds of the arena.

At that moment, he felt something indescribable.

A strange feeling.

In this gladiator arena, everything was under his control; all the people, all his enemies, were like marionettes in a pre-scripted carnage play.

From the moment the battle had begun, there was nothing in the "plot" that could surprise Su Lun.

Brave, fearless, cowardly, weak, cunning, terrified...

The pirates of the Northern Sea Fleet were still fighting, their faces showing a variety of expressions.

The life or death of those people was at the mercy of Su Lun’s thoughts.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t kill those high-ranking enemies; in the script of this theatre, they simply weren’t meant to die.

Su Lun vaguely felt he was beginning to understand that part of the "Deadly Novel: Netherworld" which he couldn’t comprehend before.

He had once discussed with Fujiwara Hayato, asking why he could write a real novel world.

The answer from the great literary master was that the characters in the book all appeared to have their own consciousness and thoughts, and they believed this to be true. But in reality, without stepping out of that world, they were merely living according to some "world will." As the author, he did not create that world as much as he depicted the pattern of that world’s will. Every person was connected by threads of life, aging, sickness, and death, cycles of blooming and fading.

The world under Fujiwara Hayato’s control was the "Netherworld."

The world under Su Lun’s control was this small puppet theater.

Control?

Yes, it was that feeling of controlling everything.

Suddenly, Su Lun realized something.

There had always been an indescribable force stirring within him, and at this moment, that sensation, like sand slipping through his fingers, became clearer as his mastery of puppet manipulation grew more skilled.

In an instant, a sharp gleam burst in his eyes as he grasped that ethereal feeling.

The threads of sand in his hands quietly solidified, forming a cross of strings controlling the fate of others.

Unaware, an invisible aura began to swirl around Su Lun’s body.

"So this is what it feels like..."

He looked calmly at his hand holding the black scythe, now surrounded by a semi-transparent ripple.

It wasn’t something of an energy level, but rather a transcendence of the world’s laws, something that even alchemy couldn’t "equivalently exchange"...

This was what Mr. Jing always mentioned as the mark of the strong—dominance.

I am the overlord of all living beings, I fear nothing.

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At the same time, all those observing the gladiator arena’s battle were stunned.

Su Lun’s handling of a puppet theater against the Northern Sea Fleet had been shocking enough.

Unexpectedly, he then grasped the essence of dominance right then and there.

"Another fifth-order realization of dominance, a freak. And this dominance doesn’t seem like the common ’murderous type,’ ’heroic type,’ or ’tyrannical type’... Another perfect seed for a top-ranking powerhouse."

"Never mind dominance, did you realize he also has dual talent? That shadow of Death is an incredible talent, at least A-class, or even some kind of S-class!"

"I thought Kai, who awakened the dual solutions ’Red Demon’ talent, was already a rare genius. Emperor Luying’s big nobles heard the news and wanted to capture this slave for themselves. Who would have thought Kai was just a ’mediocre talent’ in this unknown Dawn Group. It’s truly a monster assembly..."

"Hey, lucky your backer didn’t make a grab for him. Otherwise, who could have resisted in today’s battle of the Northern Sea Fleet? Princess Stika must be regretting deeply now, whom did she provoke by messing with this bunch of freaks."

"Heard Northern Sea Fleet has always been hunting this ’Dawn Group,’ caught Kai, and were showing off for a while, just waiting to lure others in. Now, look what happens when they come knocking at your door. This loss is substantial enough to cripple them."

"Tsk, tsk, a new pirate group not inferior to the ’Four Kings,’ this ocean’s future is going to be lively."

"..."

Informants, newspaper reporters, and curious bystanders were all amazed by what they were witnessing.

Outsiders felt that the situation had gotten too big to handle. As for Princess Stika, the main party, she was far from unregretful.

She reflected on how her enmity with this Dawn Group started, suspecting a North Sea pirate squad had "neural mechanical technology" which led her to make an attempt at assassination and theft. Not only had she not succeeded, but she had also inadvertently followed up. Then there was the inexplicable pursuit at Sea Ruins, followed by the encounters in the Void Sanctuary...

She had never taken this "minor character" seriously, yet now it had become a major threat.

If she had known Dawn possessed an eighth-order powerhouse, she would never have acted so rashly. She did not know that all this was stirred by the prophecy of the temple’s High Priest.

But now, it was too late.

....

Atop the tower.

The butler reported in a low voice, "Miss, the Assassin has been dealt with. Over at the central square, Mr. Jing is slightly prevailing..."

Yekaterina, seemingly oblivious to anything else, stared intently at the arena. Watching the aura surrounding Su Lun’s body, she laughed softly, "Dominance of the ’overlord type,’ quite rare..."