The most shameless alchemist in history

"Grandma, how can you say that? If it weren't for your help, we don't know what would have happened to us." Wenli was still feeling guilty about what had just happened, because if she had been more firm and assertive, they wouldn't have left the inn to go up the mountain.

“You have no experience and don’t know what terrible things happened in Spring Breeze Town. Plus, those evil spirits are cunning, so it’s not surprising that you fell for their tricks. It’s all my fault for not explaining things clearly to you, which is why you were bewitched by them. Luckily, nothing bad has happened to you yet.”

The old woman comforted Wenli, saying that people her age no longer have any obsessions.

"Grandma, those evil spirits... what are they? Where did they come from? And how do they know so much about the town?" Du Lei had many doubts, although he was certain that the evil spirits could impersonate others.

However, appearances can be faked, but memories cannot. But when we were on the mountain, Mrs. Kama, Siegel, and many townspeople could all tell us what happened in town, and they all remembered their life stories clearly.

This all feels so real, it's no wonder that someone as experienced as Kotetsu could fall for it.

"You should be able to guess where they came from, right?" The old woman didn't answer directly, but asked a question instead.

"Did they emerge from...the ground? That's really strange. How could so many monsters suddenly appear from the underground? Could it be...like the rumors say, that they dug out the gates of hell deep in the coal mine and released the demons?"

Bee Sting tentatively speculated that she had always been a smart person with a quick mind and the ability to think of things that others couldn't. Usually, when the guard team encountered trouble, it was she who came up with the solutions. But compared to Dure, she was always a step behind.

"I don't know if there are gates to hell deep in the mine, but they do crawl out from underground. They are monsters that survive by devouring other people's souls," the old woman explained patiently, as she knew a great deal about these monsters.

"Devour souls?" Dure frowned, his expression looking very strange.

"Mr. Dure, what's wrong?" Winry asked with concern when she saw Dure's strange appearance.

"No, it's nothing, old lady. You just said that this kind of monster devours souls. Does that mean it also eats the information inside the soul?" Du Lei waved his hand, indicating that he was fine. The reason he reacted this way was because he thought about his previous experience in Nightmare Mountain.

According to Nicole, the "Lord Jewel" relied on devouring other people's flesh and blood, and now a demon that devours souls has emerged. They really are a perfect match.

“You’re right. After devouring a soul, it also devours the soul’s information.” The old woman nodded, confirming Du Lei’s guess. Her words only made things worse, as Hu Che, who was standing next to her, turned pale with shock.

"Captain, what's wrong?" Bee Sting noticed that Tiger's complexion was also off and immediately asked.

The ape-armed man next to him was also making "uh-uh-uh" noises. Although no one could understand what he was saying, it was clear that he was very concerned about Kotetsu's condition.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about some things." Although Kotetsu said he was fine, there were clearly large beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Eating souls...that sounds terrifying. And what is soul information?" Wenli was curious about this. Girls are always interested in things that are terrifying and mysterious.

“Soul information may sound complicated, but if we put it another way, Miss Winry, you’ve definitely heard of it before.” Before the old woman could speak, Dure answered the question for her.

"What do you mean?" Wenli asked, intrigued.

“Memory,” Du Lei said truthfully.

"Durey, what did you say? Memories? You mean... devouring soul information is the same as devouring memories?" Wenli covered her mouth and exclaimed in shock. This terrifying thing was beyond her imagination.

“If I’m not mistaken, that’s how it is. After those demons devoured the souls of the townspeople, they obtained their soul information. This way, the evil spirits could not only take the form of the townspeople, but also gain control of their memories through the process of devouring them.” Dure nodded in affirmation.

"How could this be..." Winry had never heard of such a cruel thing before.

"Although it's hard to believe, that's the truth. After the mine disaster, a large number of monsters emerged from underground. People either died or fled. These monsters devoured the soul information of the townspeople and took their forms, wandering around the town for several years now."

The old woman had her head down, so her expression was not clear. Although her tone was calm, one could imagine the hardships she had endured living alone here for so long.

"And what about you, old lady? Why didn't you leave with the townspeople?" Du Lei asked.

“Everyone is gone. The once prosperous and bustling town has suddenly become desolate. If there were only one town left, there would be nothing to miss. But so many townspeople are buried here. How can I, an old woman, bear to see them all become wandering ghosts?”

The old woman sighed deeply, and in the dim candlelight, she wiped her eyes.

"So that's how it is. Grandma, you chose to stay here to protect them?" Du Lei nodded. He could understand the old woman's feelings to some extent.

.

425. He only has himself to blame.

Through the old woman's account, Dure and his group finally learned that the old woman had been a wizard in her youth, which is the traditional term; in reality, she was a magic user who had traveled the continent in her youth, had many experiences and observations, and was quite famous.

But after experiencing so much, the old woman was tired. When she passed through Spring Breeze Town, she met an ordinary young man from the town. There were no sweet words or dramatic love between them. They just got together. It was very ordinary, but also very natural.

Friends who knew the old woman well were puzzled by her choice to marry an ordinary young man from a small town. Given her status and position, why couldn't she have married anyone? Why make such a choice? But the old woman just smiled. Her wedding was simple, yet it received the blessings of the townspeople.

She came to the town when she was twenty-eight years old and is now eighty-four. She has never left the town since she came, which means she has lived there for fifty-six years. In the early days, before coal mines were discovered in Chunfeng Town, life was simple, but she felt happy.

She gave birth to a child. The young man from the small town she married didn't have any supernatural abilities; he was just an ordinary person. But he worked hard for the family and would occasionally surprise her, such as bringing her her favorite pastries or picking her favorite flowers.

He was a dull and inarticulate person who occasionally threw childish tantrums, but he would always back down when she got angry. Over the course of forty years, he went from a young man to a middle-aged man, then to an old man, and finally left this world before her.

Her son grew from an infant in swaddling clothes. Later, a coal mine was discovered, and outsiders poured in. The town became no longer peaceful. More and more people came, and it became more and more lively. All sorts of new things emerged one after another, and even a train appeared.

The town's prosperity made her uneasy. When disaster struck, she tried to protect the town. In fact, she did use her magical powers, which she had neglected for decades, to drive away some of the demons. However, she was too old, and decades of life had caused her to neglect her cultivation.

After holding off the evil spirit in order to protect the last train leaving the town, her magical power was only enough for her to set up a barrier near the inn to prevent the evil spirit from getting close. Over the years, she has lived alone in the town, becoming the town's last guardian.

Because of her existence, the monsters in the town have never been able to leave the village. Every day, she goes out and uses the last rays of her life to eliminate as many monsters as possible. In order to deal with her, the monsters constantly transform into the appearance of her close friends to bewitch her.

Among them were her familiar neighbors, her close friends, and even her son and husband... But she resisted them all, living a lonely life day after day, until Winry and her group of outsiders broke in.

“I never imagined that Granny Ghost was so pitiful. Her husband and son are dead, everyone is dead, and she’s all alone here. We even misunderstood her before, which was really wrong of us.” Wenli returned to her room at the inn, where she was still sharing a room with Bailing.

After learning the whole story, she felt great sympathy for the old woman's plight and felt guilty for her misunderstanding.

"Miss, don't blame yourself. It's all in the past now. Let's get some rest. We need to leave Spring Breeze Town and continue our journey tomorrow morning." Bailing comforted Wenli, knowing that Wenli was just an ordinary girl who hadn't experienced much cruelty.

“But are we really going to leave like this? Aren’t we going to stay and do something for the old woman… for the dead?” Wenli felt uneasy. She didn’t want to leave like this, especially after learning about the old woman’s plight.

“The fate of this town is indeed tragic, but isn’t it their own fault?” Bailing shook her head. She did not agree with Wenli’s opinion. In the guard team, she and Wenli were the closest and talked the most, often whispering to each other.

"What?" Wenli was stunned, not expecting Bailing to suddenly say such a thing.

"If they hadn't been blinded by greed and opened the gates of hell by mining coal, the town wouldn't be in this state now." Bailing pointed out the crux of the problem incisively, even though Spring Breeze Town has existed for hundreds of years.

For hundreds of years, Spring Breeze Town had always been peaceful and prosperous, but then the mining of coal caused a disaster. After a brief period of prosperity, it turned into a complete ghost town, as if the long life force of Spring Breeze Town had been squeezed out prematurely.

"Mining coal? The arrival of the steam age has indeed greatly improved people's quality of life. Various mineral deposits, including coal, are being actively mined all over the continent. People are enjoying the convenience and prosperity brought by the new era. But behind the prosperity..." Wen Li paused here.

Although she knew nothing about magic and had no achievements in it, as a noblewoman, she received elite education from a young age, and her perspective was on a completely different level from that of ordinary people.

"I wonder how many towns like Spring Breeze Town there are on the mainland." Wen Li shook her head and sighed.

"So the so-called steam age was a complete hoax. It prematurely drained the vitality of the continent. And then there were the railways and all that. So many trees in the forests were cut down to build them. The forests wept for it. The monsters lost their homes and had no choice but to go to war with humans."

Bai Ling's expression was indifferent yet sorrowful; her eyes held both anger and confusion.

"Is it a conflict between humans and monsters? Before the advent of the steam age, humans had maintained a peace with monsters for a hundred years. Both sides used the edge of the forest as a boundary and kept to themselves. However, with the arrival of the steam age, humans invaded the territory of monsters, and friction between the two sides continued, eventually restarting the war. However, due to the technology and power brought by the steam age, the balance of power between the two sides has been broken."

Wenli has a very clear understanding of the overall situation and demonstrates an exceptional strategic vision and judgment that is beyond her years.

"Yes, the balance of power has been broken. Humans now have guns and cannons as weapons and can transport troops continuously via railways. Monsters are gradually becoming no match for humans. More and more forests are being cut down and more and more trees are being burned. However, the monsters' anger has not subsided. Once the monsters' anger accumulates, it will inevitably bring a new disaster to the continent, which neither humans nor monsters can bear."

Bai Ling shook her head. She knew she was insignificant and unable to do anything to change the overall situation.

But she only had one hope: wouldn't it be better to live a peaceful life like before? Damn the steam age, it's made such a mess of the world!

.

426 Trapped in a Small Town

The night at the inn passed peacefully. Protected by the barrier set up by the old woman, the monsters in the town were unable to enter the inn's area. The exhausted Wenli and her companions were finally able to get a good night's rest. Before falling asleep, Wenli had a long and fruitful conversation with Bailing.

So when she woke up the next morning, Wenli insisted on resolving the incident in Spring Breeze Town before leaving. Normally, Kotetsu and the others would try their best to meet her requests, but this time, Kotetsu refused no matter what, which made Wenli very unhappy.

“Mr. Kotetsu, Spring Breeze Town has become like this. Can’t you show some mercy?” Wenli hoped that Kotetsu could stay and get rid of the monsters in the town. She thought that although her request was a little willful, it was not excessive at all.

“Miss Wenli, as you know, Spring Breeze Town has become what it is now. There are almost no living people. It is a dead zone. Even if we eliminate the monsters here, what will change? Besides, we have more important things to do. We must leave here as soon as possible and head to Rock City.”

Kotetsu could distinguish between what was important and what was urgent. He could compromise on other matters, but on this one thing, he would not budge an inch.

“But isn’t there still the old ghost woman in town? We’re passing through here and have been helped by her, so we have to do something. Are we just going to be bystanders?” Wenli felt sorry for the old ghost woman when she thought about her experiences. Besides, she was right; they were still indebted to the old woman.

“Miss Wenli, I understand how you feel, but you have a special mission on your shoulders. The future of millions of people in this country rests on your shoulders. Please don’t continue to act recklessly!” Kotetsu emphasized, knowing that he absolutely could not indulge Wenli any longer at this point.

“But…” Wenli knew that Kotetsu was right, otherwise Kotetsu would not have openly contradicted her.

"How about this, we write to General Serena and ask her to send troops to wipe out the monsters here? What do you think?" Seeing that Winry and Kotetsu were arguing, Bee Sting thought for a moment and proposed a feasible solution to resolve their differences.

“Write a letter? But who will deliver it?” Winry’s eyes lit up. This was a good idea. If it was her order, Serena would obey. With the strength of Serena’s Silver Moon Legion, clearing out the monsters lurking in Spring Breeze Town was a piece of cake.

"As for the letter, we can only send someone to deliver it after we arrive at Ironwall Fortress. We really can't find anyone here. If everything goes smoothly, it will only take about five days to get from Springbreeze Town to Ironwall Fortress. The monsters in Springbreeze Town have been entrenched for several years, so a few more days won't make a difference, right?"

Bee Sting tried to persuade Wenli. Although she also sympathized with the plight of Spring Breeze Town, she still supported Kotetsu in prioritizing the matters.

“Five days? It will take five days to reach Ironwall Fortress. The letter will be delivered to General Serena in less than a day using the raven. Then General Serena will send troops over, which will take about three days. So it will take about ten days in total.” Winry calculated the time difference.

"Miss Winry, this is the only feasible solution. I hope you can consider the bigger picture!" Kotetsu continued to patiently persuade Winry.

“I understand, it seems this is the only way…” Wenli nodded. Although she really wanted to eliminate all the monsters now and restore Spring Breeze Town to its peaceful state, the solution proposed by Bee Sting was the best solution given the current situation.

"But why haven't Du Lei and the others returned yet? Didn't he say he was going out to scout ahead with Ape Arm early this morning? This is taking way too long." Bee Sting looked out the door, full of doubts, fearing that something might have happened to Du Lei and Ape Arm.

Just then, the door suddenly opened, and Du Lei and Yuan Bi rushed in, their expressions not looking too good.

"Mr. Dure and Mr. Ape Arm, you're finally back. Thank you for your hard work. How's it going outside?" Wen Li greeted them and poured them a cup of hot water. Going out to scout ahead so early in the morning was no easy task.

"To make a long story short, things aren't looking too good," Du Lei said seriously after taking a sip of water.

"What? What's not good?" Bee Sting was stunned. According to their plan, they were preparing to leave Spring Breeze Town. She and Tiger had finally managed to persuade Winry, but judging from Dure's expression and words, it seemed that they had encountered some trouble again.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmm." The ape-armed man next to him waved his hands and gestured, looking somewhat agitated.

“Ape Arm, I understand how you feel, but I can’t understand your stammering. Let Du Lei explain.” Bee Sting knew that Ape Arm was always a calm and composed person, otherwise they wouldn’t have sent him to scout ahead for so long. But now even Ape Arm was so agitated.

Therefore, the results of his and Du Lei's investigation must have been extraordinary.

“The road is blocked.” Du Lei succinctly described the situation they faced.

"What did you say? The road is blocked?" Kotetsu's eyes widened suddenly as he loudly questioned him.

"Mmm, mmm!" The ape-armed man next to him nodded heavily.

"Which road are you talking about? Is it the road we came from? Or the road we're going to?" Bee Sting still held a sliver of hope and continued to ask.

"Of course, it's the road from Spring Breeze Town to Iron Wall Fortress. I just went with Ape Arm to check it out. There's a mountain road that's the only way to get from Spring Breeze Town to Iron Wall Fortress. It's flanked by steep mountains, and there's no way around it. But that road is now blocked by big rocks."

Du Lei told Hu Che and the others in detail what he had found out.

"What about the big rocks? Can we clear them all away?" Kotetsu continued to ask.

“No, it’s completely blocked by rocks. It’s full of large, jumbled stones that have blocked the mountain path so much that there’s almost no gap. Even if we try to clear it, I don’t think it will take at least half a month.” Du Lei shook his head. He had already checked it and ruled out the possibility of clearing it.

"What exactly happened? How did it get blocked up like this?" Bee Sting frowned. This was troublesome.

"By the way, did you guys hear a 'rumbling' sound last night? It lasted for quite a while." Bai Ling suddenly remembered this and asked Du Lei and the others.

"A rumbling sound? Yes, there was. I thought it was an earthquake. I'm used to these kinds of things at the academy, so I didn't think much of it." Du Lei nodded. There was indeed a rumbling sound like Bai Ling mentioned last night, and it was quite loud.