From Alchemy Apprentice to All-Powerful God King

There was no movement for a long time amidst the thick smoke.

After holding back for several minutes, Matthew swiftly pulled out the Windblade Insect.

The next moment, several sharp wind blades burst out of the smoke and accurately struck the black figure.

Although it was only borrowing the power of the demonic insect, the wind blades shot out from Matthew's hands were no less powerful than those of ordinary ability users.

"Dead?"

Despite being attacked by several wind blades, the dark figure remained unmoved.

To avoid a surprise attack, Matthew gripped the Wind Blade Insect, continuously gathering magic power while his body absorbed the surrounding dense fog. As the magical insect reached its limit, several hurricanes swept outwards, instantly dispersing the dense fog within the cave.

Only now did Matthew truly see the dark figure clearly.

"A snakeskin?"

Upon getting close, he first cut it in half with his longsword before crouching down to examine it.

He casually picked up a snakeskin, and the label of a ruthless merchant immediately came into play.

[Rock Crystal Serpent King's Molted Skin: A Beast King, comparable to a human Tier 3 Ability User.]

The Beast King, hidden outside the border of Val Town, harbors a third-tier demonic insect within its body. Severely injured by Lumika ten years ago, it has lurked in an underground river ever since. Now, having undergone its second molt, it is about to be reborn.

"A Tier 3 Beast King?"

"The Beast King who unleashed the beast tide that attacked Val Town ten years ago?"

Looking at the label's message, Matthew felt a chill run down his spine and froze on the spot.

Fortunately, I was lucky; the other creature had just molted and was out of its nest.

Otherwise, if I had walked in like this, I would most likely have died.

After carefully inspecting the entire lair, Matthew was finally relieved to find that the Rock Crystal Serpent King was indeed not inside the cave.

"Since that's the case, then you can't blame me!"

Several tens of minutes later, the cave, which had been filled with purple light, became dark and dim, with only a torch burning.

Matthew swept away all the magic crystals that the Serpent King had hoarded there, and even took the shed skin, putting them all into the magic ring, leaving only one magic crystal lying quietly in the center of the cave.

"They say a thief never leaves empty-handed, so I'll leave you one. Consider the rest as interest on the sins you committed ten years ago."

The disaster ten years ago remains vivid in his memory.

With monsters rampaging, even hiding at home isn't absolutely safe; they can always find you by smell.

The beast tide was gradually quelled only after the arrival of the Hunter's Guild and the Alchemist Bishop.

However, every six months thereafter, new monsters would be born and attack Val Town, which is why knights would come to fight them.

Matthew followed the exit into the cave and climbed up. Before long, a glimmer of light appeared ahead.

"Is it already daylight?"

Filled with doubt, Matthew climbed out of the hole, but as he looked up, his whole body froze on the spot, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Before dawn, he appeared deep in the border region.

In the night sky, a giant python, nearly tens of meters long, stood upright in the forest, its eyes closed in meditation. Moonlight shone on it, reflecting off its scales and onto the area around its cave entrance.

No need to guess, this must be that Beast King.

At this moment, Matthew dared not breathe too loudly. He immediately used the Hidden Slug to cover himself and then moved very carefully towards Val Town, little by little.

All around, the ground was littered with the mutilated corpses of strange beasts.

The smell of blood and decay filled the entire forest, and it also masked Matthew's presence.

"They even have second-tier magical insects?"

As Matthew passed by a pile of corpses, he saw a second-tier demonic insect, half of its body bitten to pieces and the other half corroded by venom.

It is evident that this beast king, after shedding its skin, possesses terrifying strength.

Fortunately, they did not attract the attention of the Beast King as they progressed.

Only after gradually moving away from the area did Matthew dare to quicken his pace and run towards the camp.

He could put up a fight against second-tier beasts, thanks to his knight's armor; even if he couldn't win, he could still hold his own.

But if it's a third-tier alien king, then it's no different from sending him to his death.

When Matthew returned to the camp, it was already the morning of the next day. However, he did not see Elena and Gareth, so he had to return to Val Town first.

But as soon as they entered the town, they realized something was amiss.

Outside the Hunter's Guild, the town's residents were gathered, and there were even quite a few people with special abilities.

"Hurry, the goddess's blessing is about to begin!"

Matthew was puzzled by the sounds around him.

A blessing? Didn't Elena already bestow a blessing once half a month ago?

As he approached with questions in mind, he discovered that a large number of ability users had gathered in the guild square, and even the knights from the camp were present.

Elena and Gareth stood on the high platform.

Alchemist Bishop Lumir and Lucia stood to the side, their expressions somewhat complicated.

"What...is this for?"

Matthew squeezed through the crowd and arrived at the spot where the apprentices and alchemists were gathered.

"Matthew! You're finally back! I've been looking for you all morning."

Upon discovering Matthew, Luca immediately pulled him away from the square and into an alchemy workshop, locking the door behind them.

"What happened? What serious incident occurred?"

Matthew was completely bewildered. He had only been gone for one night, so why was the town being blessed again when he returned?

Luca cautiously looked around, and only after confirming that no one was there did he open the window and gesture for him to look at the blessing ceremony in the distant square.

"Early this morning, Goddess Elena and Knight Commander Gareth arrived in town to announce the final extermination. They discovered another wave of monstrous beasts hidden deep in the border region and are now gathering manpower to prepare for a second extermination to completely end this mission."

Luca quickly recounted the day's events to Matthew.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Matthew blurted out, but before Luca could continue, he realized what he meant.

Magic crystals, underground rivers, alien beast kings, third-tier magical insects... No, wait!

In an instant, a complete conspiracy emerged in his mind.

Elena's goal was not the magic crystals in these mines at all. How could an imperial goddess, backed by the Knights' Guild, possibly covet a few thousand or tens of thousands of magic crystals, unless her goal from the very beginning was something else entirely!

Third-tier, or even advancing to fourth-tier, magical insects!

But it is clear that the Beast King, after molting and being reborn, is far stronger than it was ten years ago.

Therefore, they need more cannon fodder, and the ability users in Val Town are the best choice.

Soon, Elena began bestowing blessings in the square, and this time, each ability user received an extra ten or so magic crystals.

Seeing this scene only confirmed Matthew's guess.

These magic crystals are all money earned by risking one's life!

Even if he were to stand up now and tell the truth, opposing the condemnation, it wouldn't make any difference.

Cutting off someone's money is tantamount to killing their parents, and magic crystals are something that people in their remote town can't possibly access.

"Matthew, my uncle said something's not right here, so you absolutely mustn't get involved," Luca said, looking at the dazed Matthew.

Hearing Luca's reminder, Matthew judged that the Alchemist Bishop must have figured something out.

But why didn't he stand up and stop it?