The most shameless alchemist in history

"Hey, why haven't you caught him yet? Hu Yuan, could it be that you can't bring yourself to kill your own brother?" Just then, someone walked over from a distance, and Du Lei noticed that in addition to Hu Yuan's group, another group of people had arrived.

However, unlike the followers under Hu Yuan who were just carrying sticks and wearing ordinary white loose robes, the second group of people who came were all wearing neat silver armor and carrying crossbows. They were obviously well-equipped and well-trained.

“Captain Rafa…you don’t need to do anything, I will take this traitor Hu Che back!” Hu Yuan clenched his fists, he was somewhat wary of the man who walked over. Du Lei followed Hu Yuan’s gaze and saw that the man who walked over was a middle-aged man who looked to be around forty years old.

The middle-aged man was wearing silver armor. He was not tall, and was even somewhat short, but his eyes were exceptionally sinister. Even though the sky was bright and sunny, being stared at by him was extremely uncomfortable. Du Lei noticed that even Kotetsu frowned, which meant that Kotetsu knew him as well.

“Hu Yuan, Bishop Zefa has already said that I will be in charge of this place, so there’s nothing for you to do. Hu Che, and everyone else, please come with me. Please cooperate, otherwise…” The middle-aged man named Rafa chuckled.

He gently raised his hand, and dozens of fully armed samurai behind him raised their crossbows and aimed at Kotetsu, as well as Durei, Winry, and others behind Kotetsu. This made Hyo-o and the others tense up, as if facing a formidable enemy.

"Zefa...has he become a bishop already?" Kotetsu was no stranger to the person named Zefa; it was clear that he was an old acquaintance from many years ago.

“Mr. Kotetsu…” Winnie, standing beside him, looked worried; she had no idea what was going on.

"Understood, we'll go with you then." Du Lei realized that he seemed to have no other choice but to follow these people. The most shameless alchemist in history.

Chapter 463 The Holy Church

This sudden turn of events left everyone in Du Lei's group, except for Kotetsu, completely bewildered. To make matters worse, Kotetsu had been taken away and wasn't with them, which made the situation even more complicated. Du Lei had originally thought they would be able to leave soon.

Even if Hu Che had a grudge against this place, they were just passing through, so the other party shouldn't make things too difficult for them. But it turned out they were wrong. Rafa took them to the basement of a church in northern Harrenhal. In Dure's memory, Harrenhal should have been completely destroyed.

Moreover, when they arrived yesterday, the surrounding area was indeed full of ruins, but now that they have arrived at the church, they find that the church is exceptionally large and well-preserved. If they look closely, they will find that the church has been rebuilt and is at most ten or twenty years old.

This puzzled Dure. He tried to ask questions several times, but his guards wouldn't let him speak. They took them to the church's underground cell, where Dure, Leopard Tail, and Ape Arm were locked up together, while Winry and the others were locked up in another cell.

"Hey, let us go right now, let us go right now, do you hear me? Damn it, where are they? At least someone should come out and answer us! This is outrageous! What on earth is going on? Where are Miss Winry and the others? How are they?" Leopard Tail shouted, grabbing the cell bars.

“Shouting like that is useless. You saw it yourself. Neither that guy named Hu Yuan nor the one who came later, Lafa, are easy to deal with. They are at least Steel Rank experts. Plus, they have so many subordinates. We can’t beat them in a head-on fight.” Du Lei patted him on the shoulder from the side.

"How do you know they are all Steel-rank experts when you can't even cross the threshold of the advanced level?" Leopard Tail turned around and looked at Du Lei with suspicion. Du Lei was far inferior to the other party, so there was no reason for him to be able to see through the other party's background at a glance.

"It was Bee Sting who told me this before. Is there a problem?" Dure seemed much more relaxed than Leopard Tail.

"Hey, how can you be so calm? We're trapped in this lousy place, and we don't even know how Miss Winry is doing. Don't you care at all?" Leopard Tail scolded Dure, who was now as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, only thinking about how to escape.

“Miss Wenli is being taken care of by Bee Sting and Nightingale, so she’s fine for now. Besides, the other party is clearly targeting Uncle Kotetsu. Rushing won’t solve anything before we figure out what’s going on.” Du Lei had already sorted out the whole situation, so he wasn’t in a hurry.

"Find out what happened? Have you figured it out yet?" Leopard Tail stared at Du Lei with curiosity, clearly displeased with Du Lei's attitude.

“That’s precisely why I need your help,” Dure shook his head.

"My help? Aren't you very capable? Why do you need my help?" Leopard Tail sneered.

"Alright, I know you're very unhappy with me, but now is not the time to argue. You also want to leave this place, right?" Du Lei knew that Leopard Tail was unhappy with him, so he made it clear. No matter how much they disliked each other, at least they were in the same boat.

“This…” Leopard Tail paused for a moment, clearly Du Lei had touched a nerve.

"How much do you know about Uncle Kotetsu's past?" Du Lei asked directly, getting straight to the point, which was the most efficient way.

“His past…I don’t know either.” Leopard Tail shook his head. He didn’t even know his own past, let alone others’.

“Haven’t you been together for the past six years? Haven’t you heard even the slightest bit, not even the slightest clue?” Du Lei frowned. He couldn’t believe that someone he had been with for so long could not find a single clue. He gestured for Leopard Tail to think carefully.

“If you put it that way… I seem to recall someone mentioning that when Kotetsu was young, he was a very powerful samurai…” Leopard Tail frowned and thought carefully. He had no clue at first, but after calming down and thinking about it, he seemed to have some clues.

"Samurai? What samurai?" Dure seized on this clue and immediately pressed for an answer.

"It seems to be a warrior from some cult. Hey, don't rush me. The more you rush me, the less I can remember." Leopard Tail glared at Dure.

"Alright, alright, take your time thinking about it. I won't rush you. Just keep talking." Du Lei had no choice but to be patient and let Leopard Tail continue.

Meanwhile, on the church floor, Kotetsu was led into the church by a man named Rafa. The church was beautifully decorated, especially the huge goddess statue, which was as smooth as jade and lifelike. It must have been made by the most skilled craftsmen with painstaking effort.

Kotetsu remained silent throughout. After entering the church, Rafa, who was escorting him, stood guard at the door. He did not enter the church, which was empty and dimly lit, but there were many candles inside. Through the candlelight, he could vaguely see a person in a red robe with his back to him directly in front of him.

"Fifteen years later, you've finally returned?" The person with his back to Kotetsu didn't turn around to look at him, but he knew who it was.

"You're back. I never expected that, fifteen years later, you would also realize your dream and become a bishop." There was a hint of sarcasm in Kotetsu's words. The huge church was empty except for the two of them.

“That’s right, it’s been fifteen years. Looking back, you, me, and Hu Yuan were all in our early twenties, full of youthful vigor. Back then, you were already the most powerful warrior in the Order, the envy of everyone, while I was just an unknown priest.”

The other person raised his head and sighed deeply, recalling the past years, which filled him with melancholy.

“Fifteen years have indeed passed very quickly, in the blink of an eye.” Kotetsu nodded and said softly.

“You were the one with the best future and the most hope, but you betrayed the Order and disappeared without a trace. Your brother Hu Yuan and I stayed behind to take the blame for you. Fifteen years have passed, and we have not only atoned for our sins, but I have also become the Goddess’s most devout servants…”

The other person paused here, "And yet you return to this land with a sinful body, what is your purpose?"

He finally turned his head slowly and looked carefully at his old friend, whom he hadn't seen for fifteen years.

"I'm just passing through here. I don't want to get into any trouble with anyone, and I haven't betrayed anyone. So if you still harbor resentment, come at me. But release my companions; they have nothing to do with this place," Kotetsu said calmly.

"Irrelevant? You mean... this distinguished guest from the Land of Snow has nothing to do with us?" The other person squinted at him, speaking in a sinister tone. The most shameless alchemist in history.

Chapter 464 Mysterious Cult

Just when Dure and his group thought they could leave Harrenhal smoothly, they encountered trouble again and were trapped in the cathedral north of Harrenhal. Moreover, they were separated and imprisoned. Dure was completely confused about what was going on, but fortunately he got some clues through Leopard Tail.

Although these clues were fragmented and many were obtained through hearsay, Du Lei managed to glean some insight into the true nature of the matter from these tedious details. By piecing together the clues, he gained a fairly good grasp of the situation.

"So, Uncle Kotetsu was a warrior of a certain cult many years ago, and this cult is very likely the one that is now entrenched in Harrenburg?" After reaching this conclusion, Dure frowned and fell into thought. He had seen many cult members on the way to be escorted.

"That's about it. I don't really understand either, but what on earth is this damn cult up to? Aren't those cults supposed to be spreading their doctrines and helping people? Why would they suddenly start arresting people? This is really strange." Leopard Tail only told what he knew.

To expect him to find any clues or clues from these events would be an impossible task; it would be truly strange if he could even come up with something.

“Normally, religious orders are happy to help people, but I’ve also heard that there are evil religious orders in some places. They often use the name of gods to bewitch their followers, but in reality, they are just swindling and cheating.” Dure had great doubts about the Herenberg religious order.

"Scamming and deceiving? No way?" Although Leopard Tail had never liked the cult, he didn't think it could be that bad.

“I might be being too lenient with myself. Don’t you find Harrenburg a strange place? There are ruins everywhere, and those people we see dressed in black robes hurrying by… if I’m not mistaken, these people should be local residents of Harrenburg.” Dure shook his head.

“Local residents? Now that you mention it, it seems so. They all look very poor.” Leopard Tail finally reached a consensus with Du Leida.

“That’s right. Harrenhal is all ruins, and there’s hardly an inch of intact land. This means there’s practically no industry to develop here. But with the residents so poor, how can there be such a magnificent cathedral? Don’t you find that strange?”

Dure looked at the dark and damp dungeon. Although the dungeon was not very good, the church above them was extremely luxurious.

"You mean... the cult exploited the believers and used their wealth to build this church?" Leopard Tail frowned. Although he didn't want to believe it, according to Dure's reasoning, it was the only logical conclusion.

"And that's not all. Normally, aren't the members of a cult priests who spread their doctrines? But this cult has a large number of warriors. Did you notice their equipment? It's all made of mithril." Dure then revealed another discovery.

"It really is like that. How could a normal cult have so many warriors? Their skills... are practically those of a regular army. What exactly are these guys trying to do?" The more Leopard Tail thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed, which made him extremely angry.

“Everyone knows that Harrenhal is a dead city, and almost no outsiders have ever broken in. Under such circumstances, Harrenhal has been transformed into a secret empire by a certain cult with unknown motives. Their intentions are truly unfathomable.” Dure also had deep concerns about this.

"And what about Boss Hu Che? What is his relationship with this place?" Leopard Tail continued to ask.

"Uncle Kotetsu worked for the Land of Snow many years ago, but he knows the people here. And judging from their tone, Uncle Kotetsu worked for the Order more than ten or twenty years ago, when he was young. Perhaps Uncle Kotetsu was also one of the Black Robe Men when he was young?"

Du Lei has a quick mind and can analyze even the smallest clues to derive more information.

"What happened to Boss Kotetsu after that? How did he end up leaving this place?" Leopard Tail was very curious about this question.

"I don't know about that. Maybe there was a disagreement within the organization, or maybe he discovered some ulterior motive of the cult. In any case, Uncle Kotetsu left here and returned to Harrenburg more than ten years later." Dure shook his head.

He draws conclusions based solely on facts, but he won't speculate on facts he doesn't understand.

“Since Boss Hu Che has a grudge against this place, why did we even come to Herenburg? Why didn’t we just avoid it?” Leopard Tail still didn’t understand.

“If only we could avoid it. Didn’t you see it when you came? The entrance to Harrenhal is a canyon carved out between two cliffs. There’s no other way around Harrenhal except through this canyon,” Dure continued to explain.

"Oh right, there were two huge statues at the entrance, that's true." Leopard Tail nodded, recalling the two imposing statues outside Harrenhal. At that time, he had almost mistaken the two statues for magical beasts.

“I’m afraid we were already being watched when we first arrived in Harrenhal. Uncle Kotetsu probably thought that our hasty arrival wouldn’t have any impact after so many years, or even if it did, it would be his personal grudge and have nothing to do with us, but…” Dure paused.

"But what?" Leopard Tail immediately pressed for an answer.

“But things might not be that simple. Didn’t you notice? When we were being escorted, they were especially targeting Miss Winry. Normally, if they were after Uncle Kotetsu, wouldn’t it have been enough to just arrest him? Why drag us into it? Even if, as they say, we did something like ‘blasphemy,’ there would be no difference in treatment, especially not towards Miss Winry.” Du Lei became increasingly worried as he thought about this.

"Wait, wait, wait, you've said so much, but I still don't understand why they're doing this." Leopard Tail felt like his brain wasn't working properly.

“There is also a worst-case scenario.” Dure composed himself, his eyes filled with worry.

"What's the worst-case scenario? Just tell me," Leopard Tail urged impatiently.

"I'm afraid the other party knows Miss Winry's identity. They're not after Uncle Kotetsu, but clearly after Miss Winry, and in a very unfavorable way!" Du Lei thought to himself, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

Although he said this was the worst-case scenario, something that only happened in extreme situations, he also knew that what he feared most was likely to happen—this was probably the most likely outcome! The most shameless alchemist in history.

Chapter 465 Church Dungeon

After Winry and her group were taken away, they were separated and imprisoned. Dure, Leopard Tail, and Ape Arm were imprisoned in a dark and damp dungeon, but Winry, Nightingale, and Bee Sting were different. They were imprisoned in a small building near the church, and their freedom was not restricted except for not being allowed to leave the building.

It is early spring now. Although other parts of Harrenburg are desolate and dilapidated, the area near the church is full of flowers. The bright flowers are clustered together and are very beautiful. Standing on the balcony of the small building, you can look out at the scenery of the distant hillside, which makes you feel refreshed and happy.

"I wonder what's going on with Mr. Dure and the others, and Mr. Kotetsu, he seems to have a lot of connections with this place." Wen Li Ke had no interest in admiring the beautiful scenery; she was more worried about the situation of Dure and the others, after all, such a change had come too suddenly.

"Don't worry, Miss Winry, didn't those people just say that they only had a misunderstanding with Captain Kotetsu? They'll clear things up in a bit, and I'm sure we'll be able to leave soon. As for Dure and the others... they're probably having afternoon tea with us, right?" Bee Sting reassured Winry.

At this moment, steaming hot flower tea was placed in front of them, looking sweet and delicious.

"If only that were true, but I have a bad feeling about it. I really hope nothing bad will happen." Wen Li wanted things to pass peacefully, but when she looked up at the sky, the once bright and sunny sky was showing signs of darkening.

It looks like it's going to rain.

Meanwhile, in the church's underground, Dure and Tiger were imprisoned in a dark and damp dungeon. The so-called afternoon tea was naturally out of their reach; they were lucky to have a sip of clean water.

"No, kid, are you just going to sit here and wait to die? We have to do something, we can't just watch Miss Winry get hurt!" Leopard Tail was very anxious. After pacing back and forth for a while, he shouted at Durei, eager to leave the dungeon.

"Can you stop circling around here? You're not dizzy, but I'm definitely getting dizzy." Du Lei remained calm and composed, sitting still.

"Hey, aren't you nervous at all? What are we going to do if something happens?" Leopard Tail glared at him, annoyed.

"Don't rush, rushing won't solve the problem. Do you think you can force your way out?" Du Lei remained calm and unhurried.

"Hehe, you know what, that's exactly what I was planning. You think you can trap me in this shabby dungeon? Watch me... wait, what's going on here, oh dear!" Leopard Tail couldn't sit still any longer. He made a move to go forward and twist open the dungeon door. Under normal circumstances, this kind of dungeon couldn't trap him.

Just as he touched the cell door with both hands and gathered his magical energy to destroy it, a burst of light suddenly appeared, and a surge of electricity crackled through the light, knocking Leopard Tail's hands away. Leopard Tail immediately staggered back several steps.

"This is..." Leopard Tail's forehead was covered in cold sweat, clearly he had been badly shaken by the electric current.

“Mithril was mixed into the cell door. Mithril is resistant to magic energy, so the cell door cannot be destroyed by magic energy,” Dure explained.

"No, mithril only has a certain degree of resistance. When the magical energy reaches a certain intensity, mithril still cannot resist it. Besides, that electric current that bounced me away just now, that wasn't mithril!" Leopard Tail also had some knowledge of mithril; after all, this was basic common sense.

“Not bad, you even know this. I only said that mithril was added to the cell door, I didn’t say that nothing else was added.” Dure nodded, then glanced at Leopard Tail with surprise. His look made Leopard Tail a little uneasy, and the latter glared at him fiercely.

"Hey, what are you looking at? What do you mean by 'still know'? How can you look down on people like that?" Leopard Tail was very dissatisfied with this.