The most shameless alchemist in history

"There's been no movement up there. Has he succeeded with Leopard Tail? It seems to have gone unexpectedly smoothly." Bee Sting was originally very worried about Leopard Tail's safety, but after hearing a few shouts from above and then suddenly there was silence, and only Leopard Tail's back could be seen, she came to a guess.

“The Ghostly Ghost was severely injured just now. We chased after her without giving her a chance to catch her breath. Now she is extremely weak. It’s not surprising that Leopard Tail killed her. However…” This is why Tiger Che followed Du Lei’s advice and chased her all the way into the cave.

One reason was that he knew that while they were severely oppressed by the barrier, the ghosts were not much better off. Even if their strength was only slightly greater than that of ordinary people, the ghosts were definitely stronger than ordinary people.

"Leopard Tail, did you succeed? Well done! Now we can go find Miss Winry without worry. Leopard Tail, Leopard Tail? Why aren't you saying anything?" In this brief moment, Bee Sting had already climbed onto the altar and walked towards Leopard Tail's back.

She assumed that Leopard Tail had already taken down Ghostly Spirit before them, and she still had great faith in Leopard Tail's abilities.

"Things aren't that simple, Miss Bee Sting, be careful!" Du Lei, who was walking behind, remained highly vigilant. He didn't think things would end so easily. Straining Leopard Tail's back, Du Lei, sensing something was wrong, suddenly shouted to warn Bee Sting.

"Hasn't Ghostly Ghost been taken down? What else is there to be careful about? Du Lei, you're being far too cautious..." Bee Sting didn't take it to heart. At this moment, she had closed the distance between herself and Leopard Tail to less than three meters. She turned around and spoke to Du Lei.

"You bastards who tried to take Miss Winry away are utterly wicked and deserve to die! Go to hell!" Leopard Tail, who had been facing away from Bee Sting and the others and remained silent, suddenly turned around and swung his iron claws toward Bee Sting's throat!

"boom!"

Seeing that Bee Sting was about to have her throat torn apart by the iron claws before she could react, even Tiger Che couldn't get there in time to save her at such a short distance. But Du Lei, who had already noticed that Leopard Tail was not right, made a decisive move. He took out his crossbow and pulled the trigger at Leopard Tail.

The sharp arrowhead detached from the mechanism and shot out, striking the leopard's iron claws and sparking.

Leopard Tail's fierce attack was forced back by the crossbow bolt, which at least gave Bee Sting a moment to catch his breath. Tiger Che quickly followed up and pulled Bee Sting back.

"Miss Bee Sting, are you alright?" Du Lei went forward to check on Bee Sting's condition; the latter's face was somewhat pale.

"I'm fine, Leopard Tail. What happened to you? I'm your companion. Why did you suddenly attack me?" Bee Sting shook her head to indicate that she was alright. She stepped forward to question Leopard Tail. This was really too sudden.

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401 Wake up!

Bee Sting never expected that Leopard Tail would deliver a fatal blow at the crucial moment, and Leopard Tail almost succeeded. If Du Lei hadn't reacted quickly enough and prepared in time to force Leopard Tail back, Bee Sting would probably already be a cold corpse, as cold as ice.

This sudden turn of events was unexpected not only by Bee Sting, but also by Tiger Che and Ape Arm. Ape Arm, in particular, roared angrily at Leopard Tail. Although he couldn't speak, he made hissing noises from his throat, expressing his doubts and anger in this way.

“Look at his eyes, they’re not quite the same as before.” Dure knew that Bee Sting had lost his basic judgment due to the recent events, so he reminded Bee Sting that Dure was an outsider in the matter of Leopard Tail and his judgment would not be affected by his personal emotions.

"What's wrong with Leopard Tail's eyes? Why have they turned green?" Bee Sting carefully observed following Du Lei's reminder. She hadn't paid attention to these details before, as her mind was filled with too many questions. Although Leopard Tail was usually reckless,

However, he wasn't reckless enough to attack his own teammates, let alone put them to death. Now, upon closer inspection, she discovered that Leopard Tail's eyes were indeed emitting a green light, just as Du Lei had said. This shocked Bee Sting, but also brought her a sense of secret joy, not because she was glad to have survived.

Instead, she was secretly pleased that the one who attacked her earlier was indeed not the leopard tail in its normal state; the leopard tail must have lost its mind due to something.

"Miss Winry is mine, and none of you can take her away. Anyone who dares to steal Miss Winry is my enemy and must be killed." Leopard Tail swayed, his expression and movements extremely stiff. He paused for a long time after his attack failed.

His gaze was terrifyingly gloomy. After sweeping his cold eyes over his companions, Hu Che and Bee Sting, he raised his iron claws again and pounced fiercely at Hu Che and the others. He was very fast and closed the distance almost instantly. Hu Che subconsciously raised his arm to block.

"Have you lost your mind to the point of attacking your teammates? If that's the case, let me teach you a lesson." Kotetsu usually kept Leopard Tail under his thumb, but now that Leopard Tail openly disobeyed his orders and attacked his teammates, Kotetsu was extremely angry.

He swung his fist, intending to send Leopard Tail flying. This had happened countless times before. The reason Leopard Tail was so subdued was simply because he couldn't beat him and had to back down.

But just after Kotetsu threw that punch, he realized something was wrong. Normally, he should have easily knocked Leopard Tail away with one punch, but after the collision, he felt a tremendous force pressing down on his blood, and he couldn't steady himself and retreat.

In just a few seconds, Kotetsu couldn't hold on any longer and staggered back more than ten steps. On the other hand, Leopard Tail not only overpowered Kotetsu but also moved with ease, swinging his iron claws straight for Kotetsu's throat. He, who was usually no match for Kotetsu, was now completely suppressing him.

"What's going on? When did this kid become so powerful? And wait, shouldn't his power be restricted by the barrier? How come he's completely fine?" Kotetsu struggled to get up from the ground; he had been seriously injured in that attack.

But the injury was secondary; he looked at Leopard Tail with disbelief. This was just too strange.

"Be careful, he's coming again." Du Lei's eyes were always on Leopard Tail. Before he could answer Kotetsu's question, he rolled on the spot and dodged Leopard Tail's attack. Compared to before, Leopard Tail's strength had increased a lot.

"Leopard Tail, it's us! We're your companions! What's wrong with you? Why are you attacking your own companions, Leopard Tail?" Bee Sting tried to wake Leopard Tail, but the latter remained stiff and attacked with unusual ferocity.

"Anyone who dares to take Miss Winry away must be killed," Leopard Tail mumbled, his gaze unusually fierce.

In just a few exchanges, he easily overwhelmed Hu Che and the others. Hu Che, who usually beat him so easily, was now in grave danger and nearly died several times under the iron claws of Leopard Tail.

“He has completely lost his mind and is no longer the Leopard Tail we know. The only way now is to defeat him completely, or we will all be doomed,” Dure shouted as he dodged Leopard Tail’s attacks, leaping high to avoid the Death Iron Claw.

"The problem now isn't who he is, but how to defeat him. If this continues, we'll all die here." Kotetsu was the most shocked of all, because he had fought Hyo-ou the most and knew Hyo-ou's strength better than anyone else.

But now that Leopard Tail's strength has increased significantly, coupled with his own weakened strength, he has become completely dominated by Leopard Tail. He knows very well that if the situation continues, he will die here in just a few minutes.

"Leopard Tail, wake up! We're comrades, you can't attack your comrades! Wake up, Leopard Tail!" Bee Sting was still not giving up. She shouted loudly. In the guard team, she was probably the one who cared about Leopard Tail the most. Even in the current situation, she hoped that Leopard Tail could come to her senses.

“Miss Bee Sting, please stay away. Leopard Tail has lost his mind and doesn’t recognize anyone. Moreover, his power has definitely increased for some reason. Ghostly Ghost was clearly here just now, but look, she’s gone now.” Du Lei loudly reminded Bee Sting, not wanting anything to happen to her.

After all, there were only a few people left in the guard team. If Bee Sting were to get into trouble again, he and Tiger Che would really be unable to hold the line alone. Although Ape Arm was very clear-headed and shared their hatred, he was mute and could not speak, and he had not yet recovered from his previous injuries.

"Damn it, it's all that evil woman's doing that made Leopard Tail like this! Where did that woman go? Get out here right now! Turn Leopard Tail back to normal! Stop hiding! Come out now!" Bee Sting's gaze swept around.

When they were still below the altar, they could clearly see Leopard Tail and Ghostly Ghost confronting each other. But now that they had climbed onto the altar, Leopard Tail's expression changed drastically, and she launched an attack on them. However, Ghostly Ghost, who was the person involved, had disappeared without a trace, making it hard not to suspect her.

402 Buy Time

Although both Kotetsu and Dure knew that the current situation was caused by Ghostly Shadow, they searched everywhere but couldn't find her anywhere. It was as if she had vanished into thin air. And Leopard Tail wasn't giving them any time or opportunity to resolve the situation peacefully.

He launched a fierce and ruthless attack at Hu Che and the others, completely overwhelming them. Even with Hu Che, Feng Ci, Yuan Bi, and Du Lei working together, they were unable to withstand the onslaught, leaving them in dire straits and completely at a disadvantage.

"Leopard Tail, it's us! We're your companions! Why don't you recognize us? Wake up!" Bee Sting still didn't give up hope of waking Leopard Tail. At this moment, Leopard Tail pounced on her, but fortunately, Kotetsu pushed her away in time, preventing her from being hit by the attack.

"He's completely lost his mind now and doesn't recognize us at all. Forget about waking him up. We have to find another way to get rid of him, or we'll all die here!" Kotetsu was very clear-headed and knew that trying to wake up Hyo-o was just nonsense.

He struggled to cope with the repeated attacks of the leopard tail, becoming increasingly powerless. However, he dared not slacken his efforts in the slightest. If the leopard tail broke through his defenses, then Bee Sting, Ape Arm, and the others would face only death. As the captain of the guard, he could not allow such a thing to happen!

"Hey kid, aren't you supposed to have a lot of ideas? Come up with one, stop standing there." Although Kotetsu was experienced, it was difficult to defeat his opponent in this situation by relying solely on experience. He had no choice but to turn to Du Lei for help, as he had saved him from danger several times before.

"It's clearly one of your own people who's in trouble right now, yet you expect me to come up with a solution..." Du Lei wasn't prepared for this unexpected situation, and Leopard Tail had been relentlessly sarcastic towards him on the way here. It would be impossible for him not to feel resentful.

"Kid, now's not the time to talk about this. While I still have a breath left and can help you a little, you'd better hurry up and think of a solution, otherwise we're doomed, and you'll be doomed too!" If Du Lei had dared to speak to Hu Che like this normally, Hu Che would have already exploded.

However, Kotetsu knew that these were extraordinary times. Since he couldn't find a solution, Dure might actually come up with some ingenious plan. Moreover, his words pointed out the crux of the matter: if they were to suffer, Dure would not be able to survive either.

“I know this without you telling me… By the way, Green Light, the reason he lost his mind and the barrier that suppressed our magical energy came from the same power. As long as we find it and cut off its energy supply, he should be able to return to normal!” Du Lei immediately started thinking.

Even if he was unwilling, he wouldn't risk his life at this moment. After a few seconds of thought, he dodged while staring at the green light in the leopard's eyes, and soon he found the crux of the problem.

"But this place is so big, finding that thing is no easy task, and we don't have much time left!" Hu Che was struggling to keep up, and he knew very well that if things continued like this, he would completely collapse in two or three minutes at most.

"Captain, look over there, what's that?" Just when Kotetsu was at his wit's end and was determined to die here, Bee Sting suddenly shouted. She pointed to the top of the altar, and Durei, Kotetsu, and Ape Arm followed her gaze.

"What's that... a floating box?" Kotetsu looked up at the sky above the altar. There was a box floating in mid-air, with no platform below it to rest on. Normally, it should have fallen to the ground, but it was floating like this, which made it hard not to have all sorts of thoughts.

"That's it! Whether it's the barrier that suppresses our magical energy or the thing that controls the leopard tail and makes it lose its mind, it all comes from it. As long as we destroy it, everything will go back to normal!" Dure observed carefully and confirmed that the box was their target.

"I understand, all we have to do is destroy it. But then... wait, it's so tall, we can't get close at all. How can we destroy it?" Kotetsu was already eager to try, rubbing his hands together, ready to break the box.

But he soon discovered that he had no ability to destroy the box. He had no wings to fly up, nor any steps to reach the box, which troubled him. To make matters worse, the leopard tail became increasingly ferocious, and just getting past the leopard tail became an insurmountable obstacle.

"This kind of thing can only be left to Dure. If it's him, he can definitely handle it, right?" Bee Sting's words were like a wake-up call.

"Oh right, that kid Dure has a crossbow. He can shoot the box right through. Hey, Dure, stop standing there and get to it!" Hu Che slapped his forehead. He couldn't smash the box or pull it down, but he could destroy it with a ranged weapon.

"This isn't right. Who was it that said we should let him make the most of his remaining life while he still has a breath left? How come I was the one who found the problem, the one who proposed the solution, and now I'm the one who has to solve it?" Du Lei was a little unhappy.

"Stop talking nonsense. Who else could do this besides you? Stop dawdling. I can't take it anymore. If I die here, you won't be able to dawdle anymore." Hu Che scolded Du Lei. He had no patience to argue with Du Lei.

"Okay, okay, I understand, but you guys have to keep him occupied. If he targets me, I won't be able to move." Du Lei dodged Leopard Tail's attack. In the past few minutes, Leopard Tail had been a completely berserk beast, attacking them madly.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and was very skilled, and with Kotetsu supporting him from the side, otherwise, Du Lei had every reason to believe that he would have been torn in two by Leopard Tail on his own. He really couldn't understand why Leopard Tail looked at him so strangely.

The eerie green gaze seemed to want to devour him whole, and it was highly targeted, clearly aimed at him!

"You just do your thing. We'll keep Leopard Tail occupied. Bee Sting, Ape Arm, the three of us must keep Leopard Tail under control and prevent him from bothering that kid Du Lei, understand? Leopard Tail, come at us if you want!" Tiger Che roared and launched an attack on Leopard Tail.

"Understood!" Bee Sting nodded emphatically and followed Tiger Tetsu to meet them.

Although the ape arm on the other side could not speak, it also demonstrated its stance through direct actions.

They must buy time for Durrell!

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403 Pierced the box

The four-person group, who were supposed to advance together and eliminate the ghostly spirits, fell apart after reaching the underground altar. Leopard Tail launched a frenzied attack on Kotetsu and the others. Kotetsu, who was supposed to keep Leopard Tail under control, was unable to defend himself against the onslaught and was barely able to hold on.

By the faint green light near the altar, it was clear that Leopard Tail was heading for Dure. Even Dure couldn't understand what deep-seated hatred he had for Leopard Tail that would make it treat him like this. Fortunately, Kotetsu held him off, giving him some time.

"Will it all end once we shoot through the box? Then let's begin. Enough has happened today; it's time for a break." Dure loaded the crossbow bolts into the trigger, aimed at the box floating in the air, placed his hand on the trigger, and prepared to fire.

"Stop dawdling there, kid. We can't hold them off any longer. Can you hurry up?" Kotetsu urged loudly from a distance. He seriously suspected that Leopard Tail had been suppressed by him for a long time and was now taking revenge on him because he had the chance.

"Understood, let's put an end to this... What?" Du Lei decisively pulled the trigger. He was no stranger to crossbows. When he was a child, he was not strong enough to fight wild beasts on the snowy mountains, so he relied on crossbows. Although he was still young now, he seemed to lack experience at first glance.

But everyone in Hot Spring Village knows that Dure is already the village's top hunter at a young age, especially his archery skills, which are said to be unerring. Dure has not lost his aim for a long time, so he is almost certain to hit the box, such an obvious target.

In fact, after the arrow was shot, everything did develop as Dure had imagined. When the arrowhead hit the surface of the box, a large amount of green light burst out. The intense green light was so bright that it was almost impossible to open one's eyes. Dure subconsciously raised his arm to block it.

"Captain, look! That box is cracked, and what's inside...?" Bee Sting was initially delighted to see this, because the box being hit meant the attack had been successful and the situation was turning in a positive direction. However, upon closer inspection, she noticed something was amiss.

The box gradually cracked under the intense green light, like a broken glass. Once a crack appeared, it would split open on its own until it was completely separated, revealing what was inside: a bright green bead floating in mid-air, dazzling and bizarre.

"There's no mistake, it's that bead that released the barrier that suppressed our magical energy. It was the Ghostly Shadow that dared to cause trouble on Nightmare Mountain because it relied on its power!" Hu Che, being knowledgeable and experienced, immediately recognized that this bead was the culprit that led them into their current predicament.

"What? Is that it? What should we do next? Get it?" Du Lei initially thought he had missed, which made him question his life choices. However, he quickly realized that he hadn't missed; he had just broken the box and exposed what was inside. He then calmed down.

"Get your hands on it? What nonsense are you talking about? It's continuously releasing power right now. The leopard tail has become so powerful because it obtained its power, right? It has a bewitching magic that can break people's hearts if they're not strong enough. Oh no, I think I'm hallucinating."

While reprimanding Du Lei, Kotetsu suddenly covered his head with both hands and squatted down on the ground. Cold sweat began to pour from his forehead, something he hadn't done during his fight with Hyo-o. His expression looked somewhat painful, and it was hard to imagine that such a strong man would have such an expression.

"Hallucination? What are you talking about?" Du Lei looked at him in bewilderment, wondering what kind of trouble Kotetsu had encountered.

"What's going on? I think I saw... I saw Kaiser? How is this possible? Kaiser, what are you doing here?" Bee Sting's vision also became a little blurry. She lunged at something out of thin air, as if she had seen a long-lost friend.

"You two, hey, don't let us down at this crucial moment! Hey, Kotetsu, Bee Sting, and you, Ape Arm, are you alright? Huh? Where's Ape Arm? He's gone!" Du Lei realized something was wrong and shouted Kotetsu and the others' names to try to wake them up.

But they remained unmoved. Just as Dure was wondering what was going on, the scene around him began to change, and everything became dreamlike.

"Cough cough, what's going on? Such thick smoke. Is that guy who turned into black smoke up again? Bring it on, I won't back down... Wait, where is this... No, how is this possible?" Du Lei coughed twice and raised his arm to block the billowing smoke.

He assumed it was some ghostly figure hiding in the shadows about to attack them, and he did indeed prepare his defenses.

But as the smoke gradually dissipated, he was stunned when he saw the scene around him clearly. This was a place he had never expected!

Meanwhile, on a small platform on the right side of the underground palace, someone was sitting on it, looking down at the scene from a superior position.

"Hehehehe, go ahead, go and kill them! A group of people who were originally partners are killing each other, and in the end only one person is left, and then dies in despair. What a wonderful drama! Hehehehe, this man looks fierce, but I didn't expect him to be so easy to fool."

Watching this spectacle unfold was none other than the very person Du Lei and his group were searching for—the ghostly figure. She swung her toes with obvious delight.

"Anyone who harbors desires in their heart will be devoured by those desires. No one is an exception. He is no exception, she is no exception, and so are he and him. You will all be eaten by the monsters in your own hearts. You deserve it. How can you humans be so foolish?"