The most shameless alchemist in history

Just as he was feeling uneasy, someone walked over from not far away. That familiar face was none other than Du Lei.

"I'm here. What's wrong, Lance? You look very anxious. What happened?" Dure walked over. He walked very briskly, which was quite different from his usual composed demeanor. While everyone else looked worried, he even had a smile on his lips.

This puzzled Lance, as he rarely saw Dure looking so smug and wondered what good fortune he had encountered.

"Durey, didn't you see? There was a bright flash just now. Someone said a star fell from the sky and made a huge crater. They said more stars will keep falling and everyone should take shelter quickly." Lance said anxiously, grabbing Durey's arm and trying to leave.

"What? Stars falling down? You actually believe that?" Du Lei waved his hand to indicate that he didn't need to leave. He was so surprised by the claim that he almost burst out laughing.

"Huh? Isn't that right?" Lance scratched his head. He firmly believed in the idea of ​​falling stars because he couldn't find a better answer. However, judging from Dure's reaction, Dure didn't agree with this view, which made Lance suspicious because he trusted Dure more.

"Of course not. You would definitely feel the impact of a big crater, right? You should also be able to see stars with long tails in the sky that don't dissipate for a long time... Well, although I have never seen a star fall with my own eyes, it can't be wrong if the book says so."

Dure patiently explained, pointing out the flaws in Lance's rumor, which he argued were untenable.

“Durey, what you said makes a lot of sense… but if it wasn’t a star falling, how could there be such a strong light?” Lance still couldn’t find a reasonable explanation.

“Let’s leave here first and talk about this.” Dure looked around. There were at least two or three hundred people gathered in the square, still having a heated discussion. Dure was never the kind of person to be high-profile. He gestured for Lance to go back to the dormitory with him.

“I understand, let’s go then.” Lance nodded and immediately prepared to return with Dure.

"Hey, Lance, wait a minute! Don't you know stars are falling from the sky? Even bigger ones will be falling soon. Don't run around now, or you'll get hit." The person who called Lance earlier reminded him again when he saw Lance walking back.

"Don't worry, you won't get hit. Dure said it's okay, so it's definitely okay. If you want to stay, then stay. I'm leaving now, goodbye." Lance waved and quickly left without looking back, his and Dure's figures gradually disappearing into the distance.

"Lance, that guy, really isn't afraid of death. But I am. Let's go further away to take refuge." After being rejected, the male student muttered to himself and walked towards the outer edge of the academy. In his opinion, even the open square was not safe.

Meanwhile, Dure and Lance had returned to their dormitory, where moonlight streamed through the window, shining brightly like a ribbon.

"Durey, what did you say? Your magic-powered weapon has been successfully forged? Is that true?" Lance had just sat down and taken a sip of water when he heard this news from Durey. This made Lance jump up excitedly, even more excited than if he had won the lottery himself.

"It's almost finished refining, but it seems to be much worse than I expected." Du Lei nodded and admitted this frankly, but as he spoke, he frowned, and there was a deep worry in his eyes.

"I'm telling you, Dure, to be able to successfully forge a magic-powered weapon in such a short time, and at such a young age, is already an extraordinary achievement. What more do you want from yourself? Do you even want anyone else to live?" Lance punched Dure in the chest.

He was genuinely happy for Dure.

"It's just a small achievement, we can't be complacent like this. Although I'm not entirely satisfied, at least I haven't let Nuonuo down, right?" Du Lei looked at the moonlight outside the window and smiled with satisfaction.

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379 The Messenger Sets Off

Since the bright white light burst forth in the sky above the back mountain of the academy last night, no other unusual reactions have occurred. However, the students' discussions about it continued until dawn. But after dawn, another matter replaced the heat of the bright light: the arrival of the royal envoy.

Even though the royal envoy had been at the academy for several days, the academy kept the matter very secret, and not many people knew about it. There had been rumors that the envoy was coming to Maple Leaf Academy, but after the students had been eagerly waiting for a while, nothing came of it, and they thought it was just a rumor.

However, today the news was confirmed, and today is the day the envoy departs. This aroused the students' curiosity, and they rushed over to see what the envoy from the capital looked like. For a time, the academy gate was crowded with people.

"I always thought the envoy from the capital was a joke, but I didn't expect it to be true. Let me see where that envoy is. I bet he's something special!" A student was very excited, looking around in the crowd, trying to find the envoy from the capital.

"Of course! They kept saying the royal envoy was a handsome nobleman, but that's utter nonsense. The envoy is clearly a very cute girl. I saw her just now." Someone in the crowd affirmed this, speaking with absolute certainty.

"What? A cute girl? Where is she? Let me see her right now! It's amazing that a girl can shoulder such a heavy responsibility!" The male student became even more excited and insisted on seeing what the royal envoy looked like.

"If you wanted to see, you're too late, because the messenger has already left, about five minutes ago," the person in the know said with a hint of regret, pointing to the road ahead, the direction the messenger had gone.

"Huh? They've already left? Just a few minutes away? Waaah, if only I had gotten up earlier, I could have seen them." The student, who hadn't seen what the royal envoy looked like, was filled with regret and began to blame himself for his irregular schedule.

As these students returned to their classrooms one after another, filled with regret, intending to continue their lessons, some remained where they were.

"Hey, what are you still standing here for, you idiot? Aren't you going to leave or not?" Kelly urged impatiently. She wouldn't bother with anyone else, but she knew the person still standing there, so she couldn't just sit idly by.

"Kelly, just let me stand here a little longer. Dure has left like this. I wonder if his trip to Rock City went smoothly. I wish I could have gone with him." The boy, Lance, was still looking ahead, even though the carriage had long since disappeared.

“Even if you want to go, they might not even look at you. To become a member of the guard, the most basic requirement is to have magical weapons. Do you have magical weapons?” Kelly asked Lance. She was always the sharp-tongued type and never held back when she spoke.

"Well... I definitely don't have any," Lance answered honestly.

“That’s settled then. You can only ‘think’ about it. But… in just over a month, Dure has already gotten his hands on the magic-powered weapon. What exactly is he…” Kelly couldn’t understand this at all. She looked at Lance suspiciously.

Her sixth sense told her that Lance definitely knew something, but was keeping it from her for some reason!

“Hahaha, Dure is so amazing, whatever he does is perfectly reasonable, isn’t that what you think, Kelly?” Lance said with a smile, but his words only made Kelly more suspicious, and she took another step closer.

"Suspicious, very suspicious! What are you two hiding from me? Confess now!" Kelly glared at Lance, pressing him relentlessly. Lance wasn't the type to lie; his thoughts were written all over his face, making him incredibly easy to read!

Meanwhile, in Maple City, the carriage was slowly traveling south. Although there was a train station in Maple City, and Du Lei had previously come to Maple City by train, there was no railway between Maple City and Rock City, at least on the road that crossed the border.

They could only travel this route by horse-drawn carriage. Once they entered Harrenhal and were within the borders of the Mountain Kingdom, they could then use the train, thus saving a considerable amount of time. Their itinerary had been planned well in advance.

"I never expected that you, Wenli, would actually be an envoy from the capital. This is truly astonishing." Dure was riding in the same carriage as Wenli. He had sensed something when he saw Wenli in the morning, and subsequent developments indeed confirmed his guess: Wenli was indeed an envoy.

“Actually, I didn’t mean to hide this, but Nono told me to keep a low profile at the academy and not to reveal my identity, otherwise it would cause trouble. I’m grateful for your help before, Durei, and I hope you will continue to help me in the future.” Wenli thanked Durei again.

"Um... if I may ask, Wenli, did you know Nono before this?" Dure was very curious about this question.

“Of course, I’ve known Nono for a long time. We used to play together a lot back in the capital.” Wenli nodded.

"Is that so?" Du Lei had always been curious about Nono's identity. How could a trainee teacher be connected with an envoy from the capital?

"Yes, didn't Nono tell you about her? Nono recommended you to come, Du Lei. She's always been a loner and rarely praises or helps anyone. Speaking of which, Du Lei, you're the first person I've ever seen her offer help to!"

Wenli spoke with a smile; she was a very innocent person, and her smile was very beautiful.

“Her affairs… she’s never talked about them, but I don’t need to know anything about her.” Dure frowned, shook his head to clear his mind of all thoughts, and simply stopped thinking about it.

"Du Lei, you and Nono are really interesting." Wen Li chuckled, seemingly lost in thought.

"Huh? What's so funny?" Dure didn't understand what Winry was laughing at.

“It’s nothing, it’s just that Nuonuo used to…” Wenli waved her hand, she wanted to continue talking about her childhood.

But at that moment, a loud "boom" suddenly came from ahead, and the carriage, which had been moving steadily, suddenly sank down!

380 Unexpected Events

The carriage suddenly sank, which startled Dure. His first thought was that he had been attacked, because before he set off, Nono had repeatedly warned him that the journey to Rock City was not safe and that he should be careful and not try to steal the limelight.

Although he was a member of the guard team, he was still a newcomer, and it was Nono who got him in through personal connections. Du Lei was ridiculed for this, because there were plenty of strong young men or middle-aged men in the guard team.

Dure was the youngest member of the guard team. Nono's initial intention was just to let him gain some experience, and she didn't expect Dure to make any great contributions. Now that a sudden incident had occurred, and Dure was the closest to Wenli, he immediately stood in front of Wenli and signaled her not to panic.

"Miss Winry, please stay in the carriage and don't go out. I'll go see what's going on." After swaying for a while, Dure steadied himself and reminded Winry before immediately getting out of the carriage to check what was happening nearby. At this time, the other guards also gathered around.

“I understand, you can go.” Wenli nodded. Just now, due to the carriage’s descent, she stumbled and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Du Lei blocked her way, preventing her from falling too badly. She had only left Maple Leaf Academy not long ago and hadn’t even left the Maple City area yet.

"What's going on? Is Miss Winry alright?" A loud voice came from outside the carriage. The speaker was a middle-aged man who looked to be about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old. He was tall and strong, and his solid back made him seem very reliable. His stiff expression was stern and unsmiling.

"Is this Captain Hu Che? I don't know what happened either. Miss Wen Li is alright for now, just a little frightened." Du Lei stepped out of the carriage. He recognized the man in front of him; the man was the captain of Wen Li's guard squad, a decisive and skilled man in physical combat.

"Ape arm, leopard tail, bee sting, what did you find?" The man named Kotetsu looked around. Durei and Wenli, who were in the carriage, were not quite sure what had happened, but Kotetsu and the people nearby saw it clearly. The carriage, which had been moving normally, suddenly went out of control and rushed down the slope.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Hu Che grabbed the back handle of the carriage and managed to stop it from falling into the river. Otherwise, the carriage would probably have already plunged into the turbulent water. Many people nearby gathered around to check the situation, very curious.

"Reporting, Captain, there are no suspicious people nearby." The one who answered Hu Che was a woman. She looked very young, only in her early twenties. She was dressed in a scarlet dress, with a cold expression and aloof temperament that always kept people at a distance. She was the Stinger of the guard team.

"No?" Hu Che frowned, his gaze sweeping around. Many people who were curiously observing him quickly looked away, not daring to meet his eyes. The reason these people avoided his gaze was not because they had done anything wrong and felt guilty.

Rather, what they had just witnessed was simply too astonishing—how much strength must a runaway carriage have? To be able to pull it back with just the strength of his own arms was nothing short of monstrous.

“Yes, I’ve been observing the surroundings from this high vantage point, keeping watch. From the time we left Maple Leaf Academy until now, I’ve noticed even a fly buzzing by, but there’s definitely no one suspicious.” The boy named Leopard Tail was about seventeen or eighteen years old, of medium height, only about 1.7 meters tall.

Although he wasn't as strong as Kotetsu, his muscles were clearly defined, making him very lean and muscular. In particular, his eyes always had a sharp glint in them, scrutinizing his surroundings. Even in daylight, they gave people the creeps, and anyone could be sure that getting close to him was not a good thing.

"Ape Arm, is that right?" Kotetsu asked the last one in the trio. The one called Ape Arm was a man around thirty years old. He was tall and thin, with a somewhat dull and unfocused gaze, and looked listless. But his arms hung down to almost his knees, which was very peculiar.

Ape Arm shook his head, answering Tiger Che in this way. Besides the three of them, a large number of guards had also rushed over from the vicinity.

"What happened? Lord Kotetsu, is Miss Winry alright?" Surrounded by guards, a young female general walked over first. She was wearing a silver-white military uniform and looked very dashing. Durei recognized her because he had seen her at the academy.

She is General Serena, the leader of the Silver Moon Legion guarding the south of the Snow Kingdom, and is known as "Moon Princess" in the military circles of the Snow Kingdom.

“There are no suspicious people nearby… Could this just be an accident?” Kotetsu frowned and thought carefully. He was the captain of the guard for the envoy of the Land of Snow, so he must have his own unique abilities. After careful investigation, he really couldn’t find anything suspicious.

"An accident? Is that how it is? We really had a false alarm." Although Serena was not a member of the guard, her orders were to escort the envoy and ensure her safe departure from the border. If they had stayed within the border, something bad would have happened.

As the commander, she would inevitably have to bear the responsibility. It wasn't that she was afraid of taking responsibility and losing her official position; she was well aware of the importance of Winry's mission to Rock City. As an ordinary citizen of the Snow Country, she didn't want anything to happen to Winry.

"Is it just a coincidence? That's not necessarily true." Just when everyone concluded that it was just a "coincidence," someone raised a different opinion.

"Not necessarily? Hey kid, what do you mean? Are you saying that all of us experienced professionals are wrong, and that you, a kid who somehow managed to get into the guard team, are the right one?" Leopard Tail, known for his unruly behavior in the guard team, crossed his arms and sneered.

If these words had come from Kotetsu, even if he was dissatisfied, he wouldn't have said it directly, because he knew how powerful Kotetsu was. Even someone as proud as him was convinced of Kotetsu's abilities. But it was different with Du Lei.

Leopard Tail has always been a person who hates evil as if it were his enemy. He wears his likes and dislikes on his sleeve. He doesn't take Du Lei seriously at all.

"You are... a student sent from Maple Leaf Academy, right? I remember your name is Du Ruo, right? Do you have any objections?" As the leader of the Silver Moon Legion, Moon Princess Serena has always been a fair person, and she does not look at others with discriminatory eyes.

So when Dure raises objections, she listens carefully.

.

381 Excluding external factors

Although Serena was willing to listen to Dure's opinion, she did so purely because of her objective attitude. In her subjective judgment, she did not find any traces of human intervention at the scene, because she had arranged for guards to be on guard nearby and escort her all the way.

She didn't believe anyone could sneak in and openly attack Winry's carriage, who was an envoy of the Snow Kingdom, right under her nose. If that were to happen, it would be a denial of her work and would be tantamount to saying that everyone present was useless, which would inevitably arouse people's resentment.

"Judging from the traces at the scene, there are indeed no signs of external interference." Du Lei's gaze met that of the crowd, including Hu Che. The meanings in their eyes were indifference, contempt, and doubt. He knew very well that none of these people were good people.

"Tch, I thought you'd say something profound, but all you said was this?" Leopard Tail scoffed at Du Lei's words, making no attempt to hide his mockery. He had always looked down on those who rose to power through underhanded means, and he undoubtedly labeled Du Lei as such.

"But what if the problem comes from within?" Du Lei knew that Leopard Tail's attitude towards him was very unfriendly. If it were anyone else, they would have only two attitudes in the face of Leopard Tail's aggressiveness: either they would be intimidated by his aura and keep quiet and behave themselves.

Another option is to argue with Leopard Tail, insisting on getting to the bottom of things, engaging in a power struggle that wears them down.

But Du Lei belonged to the third type. He spoke in a calm and indifferent manner, but as soon as he finished speaking, Leopard Tail's expression changed drastically.

"What did you say? The problem comes from within? What do you mean? Do you mean you suspect the people here?" Leopard Tail stepped forward aggressively and grabbed Du Lei's collar. Although Leopard Tail was not tall, only about 1.7 meters, he was still half a head taller than Du Lei.

Furthermore, Leopard Tail possessed extraordinary strength, easily lifting Dure off the ground by the feet, leaving the latter almost breathless.

"Leopard Tail, don't be impulsive. He's a member of the guard team too. Don't be too reckless." Bee Sting glared at Leopard Tail and tried to persuade her, but she only went so far as to offer advice and didn't take any concrete action. Instead, someone next to her made a move.

The man who moved was called Ape Arm. He grabbed Leopard Tail's arm and pulled him down, causing Leopard Tail to release his grip on Du Lei's hand.

"Reckless? Compared to recklessness, isn't it a worse act to suspect others without any basis?" Leopard Tail said angrily. He hated being questioned the most, and now not only was he being questioned, but the person questioned was a junior who got in through shady means. No wonder he was furious.

"You suspect there are internal problems, but what evidence do you have? It's best not to make accusations without solid evidence." Serena was a very cautious person, and she frowned, clearly disagreeing with Dure's words.

"I'm sorry for the trouble, but I don't recall saying the problem was internal... to be precise, internal to 'people'." Du Lei remained calm despite Leopard Tail's fierce questioning.