Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 29: One Life for Another

When Harvey woke up and staggered out of the cellar.

Only to find the laboratory in a mess.

Hunter Pierce was stabbed in the chest, blood was all over the ground, and he lay on the ground with a pale face, his life or death unknown.

Asdalen, trapped in the amber ore, was covered in blood, his eyes were closed and he showed no reaction.

Reiner fell face down on a bloody corpse whose original appearance could no longer be seen. It seemed that he had run out of energy and overheated and shut down.

"I used... a magic accessory to share my life with Pierce... He can still be saved..."

Asdalen suddenly opened his eyes and made a weak sound.

Harvey nodded, quickly pulled over a charging tube and inserted it into the slot on Reiner's waist.

While waiting for Reiner to recharge and restart, he immediately returned to the main building of the manor and took out the alchemical potion with hemostatic effect from the study. He poured half of it into the mouth of Pierce who was already in a deep coma, and sprinkled the other half on the puncture wound on his chest.

Now he didn't dare to move Pierce's body at all, and he couldn't find a church priest who could cast healing spells to come to the rescue. The people of Jackdaw Town had all moved to Grizzly Castle long ago.

Previously, when treating non-fatal wounds, I could use the healing potions I prepared myself, which had a certain therapeutic effect.

But at the moment, with such a serious injury that is obviously life-threatening, there is really no way to deal with it except for high-level healing magic.

"Asdaren, how long can you keep sharing your life?"

The hybrid's already pale face now showed a hint of grayness.

He moved his lips with difficulty and whispered, "The magic accessory relies on absorbing my mental energy to achieve the effect of the life-sharing spell. I can only hold on for two hours at most."

Reiner had woken up by now, and was wiping the blood and flesh scraps all over his body in a somewhat bewildered manner, as if he had not yet recovered from his previous emotional outburst.

"Sir, I... I just killed someone?" He asked tremblingly, although he already knew the answer, with a hint of tears in his tone.

Harvey sighed, feeling overwhelmed. He could only soothe him, "Reiner, you saved Pierce and Asdalen. Don't blame yourself too much."

After all, it is the first alchemical life with human intelligence and normal emotions, which is completely different from those cold and inanimate objects that rely entirely on spell commands to act.

Harvey could understand his fear and helplessness after his first murder.

I'm just worried that his sudden outburst might be due to the fusion of the alchemical prosthesis and his soul, which has caused some degree of mutation.

But there was no time to delve into it now. Pierce's life was in danger, and without a ready-made alchemical prosthesis, Harvey didn't even have a chance to save him by transferring his soul.

Asdaren thought for a while, then said slowly: "There is another way, maybe we can try to save Mr. Pierce."

He turned his eyes and looked towards the storage room against the wall in the workshop. He said softly, "But we need to solve another problem first. There's someone hiding in that storage room. I smell his scent, a fishy smell..."

The five senses of vampires are far superior to those of humans. Asdalen had already sniffed out the location of another hidden enemy when he discovered the attacker.

He was just confused as to why the other party was still hiding there when the battle was so intense, and never rushed out to help his companion, and watched him being beaten to death by Reiner's punches.

Harvey's face was solemn. Although he believed in the talent and judgment of Asdalen, the mixed-race, he did not dare to underestimate him in the slightest.

There are no ready-made spell materials around, so acid splash, poison mist, and corrosion cannot be performed.

The magic pattern has not yet engraved a magic matrix that can be cast instantly.

As a research-based spellcaster, the only offensive spell he could currently incite with his spells was a magic called "Spirit Impact" that he had just learned not long ago.

This is a second-level mental attack magic. Strictly speaking, it does not belong to necromancy, but it can barely mobilize the energy of death to drive and activate it.

The effect is to cause the enemy to fall into a short period of mental stagnation, causing a certain degree of disruption to their mental strength and thinking. Considering that this spell cannot directly harm the enemy hiding in the storage room, Harvey did not forget to pick up the crowbar that Pierce had dropped on the ground and walked to the door with quiet footsteps.

He used the wizard's hand to push the door open, while he stood beside the door chanting a spell, ready to cast it at any time.

"Wuwuwu~ Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I didn't do anything..."

"Wuwuwu~ Yes, he forced me to lead the way..."

A man crawled out of the dark room, dressed in tattered civilian clothes, his trouser legs were stained with mud, his pale face was covered with tears and snot, and he looked like a disgusting mess.

Hey, isn’t this Reiner’s biological son Jeffrey?
Harvey frowned slightly and instantly figured out the whole story.

Jeffrey must have been brooding over the cause of Reiner's death. Even after the Federation's on-site investigation, he still believed that it was this evil necromancer who killed his father.

"Your original plan was to kill me? Where did you find that attacker?"

Harvey glanced at Reiner who was still charging and questioned him coldly.

"No, no, no! I didn't! Master Harvey, I would never dare to do that. It was him! He is the deacon of the church, Stani. He forced me to bring him here. All the attack plans were his conspiracy!" Jeffrey defended himself incoherently.

Harvey keenly heard the word "church" and his heart sank.

The Church is still trying to hunt spellcasters? They're ignoring their non-aggression pact with the Federation.

Perhaps it was only targeting necromancers? Or perhaps it was only targeting this necromancer?
Harvey didn't know what the attitude of the Federation branch in Jackdaw Town was towards this matter, but those spellcasters like Burko who obviously discriminated against necromancers were probably more likely to gloat over it.

He couldn't just let it go like this. He had to find a way to expose this matter. He didn't want to care whether the relationship between the Federation and the Church deteriorated or not. It was not in Harvey's character to suffer in silence.

This guy in front of him has been causing trouble for him one after another and has brought him fatal danger. He must not be soft-hearted and spare his life, but he certainly cannot let him die in his own manor now, at least not in front of his father Reiner.

First pretend to let him go, then let Pierce sneak over to solve this problem...

"Get out of here!" Harvey said coldly.

Letting Jeffrey go openly can also deter those witch hunters lurking in the church who are full of malice towards him.

After watching Jeffrey rush out of the experimental workshop in a panic, Harvey turned around and returned to Pierce and Asdalen who were lying on the ground.

"What is the method you mentioned that can save Pierce?"

Asdalen curled his lips, seeming to be somewhat disdainful of Harvey's soft-hearted behavior. "Take my blood and inject it into Mr. Pierce."

Harvey was stunned. Vampire blood is a high-level spellcasting material. Even if it is used to prepare alchemical potions, the ratio of auxiliary materials needs to be carefully considered.

Directly injecting it into an ordinary human being? Could Pierce really handle it?

"How much injection do I need? Are there any side effects?"

Asdalen said calmly, "All of it. I need to draw blood from my entire body to replace Pierce's own blood. Ha, you can think of it as a direct blood transfusion."

He glanced at the hunter lying on the ground with a complicated expression and gave a wry smile. "As for the side effects... well, they'll become a hybrid like me, fearing sunlight and loving darkness, and occasionally craving blood."

"What about you? What happens to a vampire who's been drained of blood... a vampire? How long will it take to recover? Do you need me to find you some animal blood?"

Asdalen met Harvey's gaze with concern, smiling gently. "Have you forgotten? I was already dying, and yet Pierce desperately tried to save me. Mortals always don't value their lives like this. How foolish..."

"So I think one life for another is very fair and reasonable. I don't want to owe him anything."

(End of this chapter)