Mechanical Alchemist

Having a human skin umbrella expanded Su Lun's sensory range by several times.

When he emerged from the chessboard space, he immediately sensed several powerful soul fires nearby. As expected, they were the same Ru-Ying military officers from the village earlier.

Fortunately, Su Lun had prepared in advance and used his old method of wrapping himself in shroud cloth for invisibility, while also controlling a walking corpse as a decoy.

As expected, as soon as it appeared, several figures flashed, and the walking corpse was immediately hacked into three pieces by two silver-armored warriors wielding huge swords, one in front and one behind.

The recent lesson from "Roksh Luweio" vividly taught Su Lun.

It made him realize that encountering professionals with strong backgrounds required extra caution since they might possess certain forbidden items. The abilities of professionals in this world were diverse and should never be underestimated.

This wasn't just Su Lun's speculation; he had deliberately extracted the memories of that hunchbacked old man earlier, learning the identities of the people behind him and some of their methods.

These individuals were instructors at the "Ru-Ying Royal War Academy."

Although their transcendental rank was not too high, they had rich practical experience and each possessed curses that enhanced their combat capabilities, which would make an actual fight extremely troublesome.

Moreover, military personnel were adept at coordinated attacks. They had prepared tactics for handling various professionals with seamless cooperation. Even if Su Lun went out in mechanical armor, he wouldn't gain any advantage whatsoever.

Not intending to confront them directly, Su Lun seized the opportunity to flash into the dense forest.

...

While the shroud cloth completely shielded his aura, the slightest noises of movement couldn't escape those fourth-level professionals.

After gaining some distance, Su Lun decisively deployed his eight-armed spider lance and began sprinting wildly through the dense forest.

The men behind him naturally pursued relentlessly.

Despite wearing heavy armor, these fellows were not slow, and all possessed highly advanced alchemical augmentations.

The one closest in pursuit, wearing gold griffin armor and known as Big Beard Sandru Heimer, nicknamed "Guile Sword," slashed the air, sending several sharp and cunning sword Qi that chopped down the giant trees in the forest like cutting wheat.

If it weren't for Su Lun's keen senses and spatial flash ability, he would have been cut into pieces long ago.

There was also that individual flying midair with shiny golden wings, "Metal Angel" Lei, whose main combat augmentation was the gold version of "Thousand Killing Wings." The metal feathers could be launched like a storm, wreaking havoc wherever they passed.

Fortunately, in the primeval forest, wing augmentations were not so effective. Flying low, they encountered numerous trees and obstacles, and flying high, the dense canopy obscured their vision.

And wind elemental accelerated golden spears shot through the air like bullets, exploding the giant trees...

There were also returning flying axes...

None of the individuals following him were weak in their methods.

However, the good news was that not all of them excelled in pursuit.

Such burst speeds were not sustainable.

And Su Lun himself, with spatial displacement and the eight-armed spider lance, could escape at a despairingly fast pace.

If they couldn't close the distance in a short burst, those behind him would likely have no chance to catch up.

If the opponents recklessly split up to pursue him, he wouldn't mind defeating them one by one.

The opponents clearly understood this as well, never revealing such a flaw. They knew very well that anyone capable of killing the fourth-rank hunchbacked old man Roksh could certainly kill any one of them as well.

Eventually, after a chase through the forest, Su Lun successfully eluded them.

.....

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest.

The place was in chaos, with evidence of battle everywhere.

The vegetation was scorched en masse into ashes, with some stumps still holding unextinguished, eerie black fires, and the air was thick with the smell of char.

Yuta, in his form of a white wolf, was also scorched all over, panting heavily while staring intensely into the depths of the dense forest.

They had just been through a fierce life-and-death battle, and if not for his protection, Arcu and the boys might have died here.

The running speed of the hellhounds wasn't a bit slower than their beast-transformed forms, and they were also adept in tracking, making them impossible to shake off.

Fortunately, all of a sudden, the five hellhounds were pulled back to another plane, allowing the group a moment to breathe.

Arcu refrained from looking his sister in the eye, as he tended to the severe injuries of the other two companions.

Yuta's deep blue pupils couldn't hide the worry, and after looking at Arcu and the others, she said, "This place isn't safe, you all go back to the sanctuary first."

"Oh."

Hearing her words, the boys all bowed their heads in response, each passing a trace of guilt across their expressions. They hadn't saved anyone and instead lost a few comrades, creating a big mess this time.

They hadn't expected Mr. Su Lun would come to their rescue.

But facing such strong enemies, their worries remained.

Arcu asked, "Sister, Mr. Su Lun won't be in trouble, right?"

Another young man, transformed into a black bear, also asked, "Yeah, Sister Yuta, that Mr. Su Lun..."

Yuta interrupted them, "The sudden disappearance of the hell creatures implies that the contractor has been killed."

Although she said that, her face also showed slight concern.

After all, she knew there were several other troublesome enemies not far away in the village.

Yuta didn't criticize much further, only saying, "In the future, you guys will be the hope of our Dalu tribe. Remember, always think thoroughly before making any decisions."

Although the price was somewhat severe this time, having a lesson was a good thing as well.

The group dared not meet her gaze, "Understood, Sister Yuta."

Ultimately, Yuta couldn't stop worrying and said no more, "You all go back first, I'll make a trip!"

With that, she courageously dashed into the dense forest.

....

Having shaken off his pursuers, Su Lun slowed down.

The greatest dangers in the forest were never humans; it was the magical beasts and all sorts of bizarre creatures that were far deadlier, and they were present everywhere.

He didn't dare to continue teleporting at high speeds in an unfamiliar environment; that would only attract the hunters in the jungle.

Using the black umbrella as a walking stick, Su Lun strolled leisurely.

With the perception amplification granted by the black umbrella, he could sense the soul flames within a one-kilometer radius, unafraid of being ambushed suddenly by anything.

He had not carefully felt it before, but now he genuinely appreciated the finesse of this black umbrella.

Having it in his possession, he sensed a realism far surpassing the information seen through the All-knowing Eye.

"This Guile Sword Umbrella is indeed a fine treasure..."

Su Lun felt moved and played with the black umbrella in his hands, becoming even more attached to it.

Although he had not tried using the "Nightfall Domain" function of the umbrella, he felt that its curse backlash would not be a big issue for him. This defective sealed item would greatly enhance his strength!

Thinking of testing it further later, he felt immediately capable of using it in real combat.

While walking and pondering over the effects of the black umbrella, Su Lun suddenly sensed a soul flame quickly approaching him.

"Yuta?"

Su Lun was not surprised.

He wore a necklace with Yuta's real name and a wolf claw, which allowed her to confirm his location from a great distance.

As expected, a familiar, massive white wolf burst into view from the dense forest.

Seeing that Su Lun was unharmed, a visibly relieved expression appeared in Yuta's eyes, and she asked, "Mr. Su Lun, are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

Su Lun, noticing her scorched fur, also asked, "Are you alright?"

"Just a minor injury."

Yuta's face showed complete indifference as she slowly transformed back into her human form.

She cared more about Su Lun than herself.

Injuries in her beast form also appeared on her human body. Su Lun saw the burn marks on her skin, took out a potion, and helped clean and treat her wounds.

Yuta, unembarrassed, sat bare-skinned, looking tenderly at the man before her.

The cooling essence of the potion soaked into the wound, visibly washing away the charred flesh as new flesh formed.

She noticed the black umbrella in Su Lun's hand, her brow furrowing at its unsettling aura.

It carried a deathly aura starkly different from the natural forces.

However, considering it was Su Lun's war trophy, her expression relaxed again.

Guessing something, Yuta said, "It's also lucky you killed those Hellhound contractors; otherwise, the situation would be very bad."

Su Lun nodded, his curiosity piqued as he asked, "How strong were those Hellhounds?"

Yuta replied, "Very strong. Unlike magical beasts, their bodies are largely composed of fire elements, making them hard to kill."

"Oh."

Su Lun listened to her description of the recent battle, his hands busy treating her wounds.

Although called "Hellhounds," they were not necessarily from the mythological Hell.

Most likely from some other realm like the "Abyssal Plane" that housed undead creatures.

The necromancy contracts in Alchemy originated from ancient alchemists who subdued creatures from different realms to facilitate enslavement, creating the spells for this purpose.

Current alchemists no longer have the capability to campaign against different realms; thus, such knowledge has grown increasingly rare.

The hunchbacked old man he had killed before had found a Necromancy Mysticism scroll from the Dawn Era in some ruins and succeeded in contracting a creature from an alternate realm like the Hellhounds.

Thinking this, Su Lun also recalled that the storage ring he had just acquired seemed to contain that tome.

He thought it might be worth trying to see if he could form a contract himself.

If he could obtain a few creatures like the "Hellhounds," skilled in tracking, they would be quite handy.

....

As his thoughts flashed through his mind, Su Lun finished treating the last torn and burned wound on Yuta's back.

"All done."

He put away the potion bottle and casually slapped Yuta's firm buttocks, which were very elastic.

Yuta smiled coyly in response, "Thank you."

She put on her clothes and looked at the darkening sky, saying, "It's getting dark; we need to find a place to rest."

"Yeah."

Su Lun nodded.

Yuta had been to the Grey Wolf tribe and was quite familiar with the forest in this area.

Soon, the two found a cave.

Because there were enemies in the forest, they did not start a fire but ate some dry food instead.

After resting for a while, Yuta went to sleep on the ground spread with animal skins, the day's travel and battles having drained much of her energy.

Meanwhile, Su Lun began to organize the day's spoils.

A set of incomplete silver armor, and some standard officer equipment from the Royal Luitton Army, these were the spoils from the apprentice officer killed by the Ship-Cutter Sword earlier.

There were also many spare items in the storage ring, alchemy bullets, potions, demon cores, energy crystal cores...

It has to be said, these guys were really wealthy. The equipment on this third-tier lieutenant was worth more than those on the fourth or even fifth-tier pirates.

After roughly checking everything, Su Lun searched carefully through that hunchbacked old man's storage ring.

The storage ring could not hold much, but everything in it was valuable.

There were three thick tomes: "Dark Magic," "Necromancy Mysticism," "Fourth-Level Seal Sorcery"... and several dark magic spell scrolls. Although copies, each one was of fine quality. Probably an official perk from Luitton.

The last thin, map-like ancient scroll, however, was the "Necromancy Spirit Communion Secrets."

Judging by the material and the degree of wear, it was an ancient item.

Su Lun gave it a look over.

Previously, he had pieced together memories from "Necromancy," so he could read quite swiftly.

In just a quarter of an hour, he had read through the secret text, and his brain quickly assimilated the content into his knowledge.

"I can only contract extraplanar necrotic creatures that do not exceed my own tier, otherwise, I risk being devoured by the necrotic creature?"

Su Lun pondered for a moment.

No wonder the hunchbacked old man summoned a third-tier Hellhound during the day.

"So, to be safe, I can only summon about second-tier necrotic creatures? And it's random?"

Su Lun pursed his lips.

Seemed hardly useful.

Although he felt it was somewhat trivial, he still decided to give it a try.

Performing necromancy not only required this contract scroll (coordinates) but also a mastery of either the laws of death or dark magic, and a bit of spatial law.

Now that he had everything he needed.

Su Lun thought it wouldn't be difficult and started setting up the Spirit Communion Array according to the scroll.

The first time was a bit troublesome, requiring sufficient offerings.

Su Lun spent over a hundred thousand materials to set up a pentagram formation, then placed a piece of rotten flesh that the guy had eaten during the day in the center of the formation.

With a clench of his sorcerer's seals, he activated the magic array, and a black light began to shine.

The first necromantic contract was like fishing—extraplanar necrotic creatures that fancied these "offerings" would be hooked naturally and appear within the formation.

Due to the constraints of the formation, they would obey some commands from the contractor.

It was somewhat like hiring them.

.....

Su Lun hadn't really expected to summon any powerful creatures.

He had seen plenty of extraplanar creatures before, especially during his time in Old Lington, where he had encountered many abyssal creatures.

He thought that even if a necrotic creature appeared, it wouldn't be surprising.

However, he never expected that after the black pentagram formation lit up and the void of the plane connected, he suddenly felt a strong surge of necrotic air assaulting him.

It wasn't that the presence was powerful, but it had a sort of bloodline oppression to it.

Su Lun felt uneasy and furrowed his brows, "Could something go wrong?"

The disturbance was even greater than the hunchbacked old man's summoning of a third-tier Hellhound during the day.

Yet, he had clearly set up a second-tier necromancy formation?

Su Lun was sure that he had followed the scroll's instructions perfectly when setting up the formation, without any mistakes.

And the ritual had stripped soul experience, so there was no possibility of encrypted misunderstanding.

The ritual was already underway, and if he forcibly terminated it, it would also adversely affect Su Lun, the caster. As he watched the shining phantom in the formation, he patiently waited.

Su Lun had been mentally prepared to see some kind of second-tier lord-level necrotic creature,

but unexpectedly,

as the light from the formation faded,

the silhouette slowly solidified into an unimpressive... raven?

"Just this?"

Su Lun watched as the formation's light disappeared, he and the bird eyeing each other.

However, unlike common ravens, this one had a black halo above its head.

When Su Lun encountered a creature he didn't recognize, he naturally cast an All-knowing Eye at it.
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Then, his expression immediately turned very strange.

[Herald of Death]

Detailed Explanation: A second-level juvenile, mythical species; also known as 'Bennu Bird,' a mythical harbinger of the god of death, a guide of the underworld, capable of foretelling death; this bird feeds on decay and death energy, its existence sustained as long as death energy persists; contains some information beyond normal understanding;

Seeing the identification information of the bird, Su Lun realized he had summoned a very "special" being.

But unexpectedly, this bird seemed harmless, right?

With a shift of his gaze and noticing the details indicating "information beyond normal understanding," Su Lun immediately knew the bird had an extraordinary origin.

He instantly thought, "Could it be because my understanding of the Death Law is relatively profound?"

At that moment, probably because of the commotion caused by necromancy, Yuta also opened her eyes.

She looked at the bird Su Lun had summoned and then glanced at the traces of the Spirit Communion Array on the ground, asking in a peculiar tone, "Mr. Su Lun, did you summon this?"

"Hmm."

Su Lun nodded.

He was also curious about what use the bird might have.

The Dalu Tribe has traditions many human civilizations are unaware of, and he thought Yuta might know something, so he asked, "This is the 'Herald of Death.' Yuta, do you know what it's used for?"

On hearing this, Yuta indeed got startled, "The Herald of Death? The legendary guide of the underworld?"

She then looked at the crow, blinked, and perked up immediately.

Su Lun became more curious: "You know about it?"

Yuta nodded, but then said dubiously: "Legend has it that the 'Herald of Death' is the transformed soul of a deity. They often accompany the god of death, are proficient in the Law of Death, indestructible, and embody ominous and deathly omens. But... the birds of legend don't usually look like this."

"This is a juvenile. It should look different when it grows up."

Su Lun thought about it and said.

Without the All-knowing Eye, he would not have guessed this crow with a halo on its head to be a mythical species.

Since what Yuta said matched the information identified, he further inquired, "What specific use does this bird have?"

No sooner had he asked than the foolish bird "cawed" in a sound that seemed to express its discontent with his dismissive tone.

Yuta solemnly said, "It's the legendary bird of death, unseen by the living. It is said that those who have seen it... will be guided by it to the underworld."

"..."

Su Lun also twitched at the words, thinking if this meant the bird was a harbinger of sending people off?

This bird was truly a damned omen...

If it weren't for a sort of telepathy with the contracted creature, knowing it was harmless to him, on hearing Yuta's words, he'd definitely have turned hostile and sent it back through necromancy immediately.

Yuta also felt her words might sound ill-omened, so she changed her phrase, "It's just a legend, after all, nobody has really seen it."

Su Lun instantly felt uneasy, "So, does that mean this bird is actually useless?"

He had thought to try summoning a necrotic creature.

But it turned out it was the much-hyped "mythical species" that seemed less useful than even a hellhound?

No sooner had he made this comment, the crow "cawed" again, displaying even more dissatisfaction.

Su Lun's eye twitched, realizing this bird was not low in intelligence.

Just as he spoke, the body of the crow in front of him suddenly dissolved into a mass of black mist.

Just as Su Lun was puzzled, the creature abruptly perched on his shoulder.

"Oh..."

He softly exclaimed, immediately sensing something and was greatly surprised, "Does this bird also understand the Law of Death?"

What surprised Su Lun even more was that the bird's grasp of the Law of Death was even higher than his?

It was like being next to a fireplace, where you could clearly feel the flame was hotter than your own body temperature!

It seemed to have no offensive capabilities, but for Su Lun, it was extremely valuable.

It could help him enhance his understanding of the Law of Death!

Last time, it took one death to let Su Lun find a shortcut to understand a part of the Law of Death.

Such a method was not available a second time.

Su Lun did not want a second time either.

Now with the bird by his side, he distinctly felt a slight increase in understanding...

"Found a treasure!"

Su Lun was joyful inside, his expression immediately changing.

Seemingly sensing something, the crow on his shoulder "cawed" again, probably in a triumphant response.

At this moment, as Su Lun looked at the pitch-black bird, the more he looked the more appealing it became.

Hmm... truly delightful!