The most shameless alchemist in history

Chapter 474 Who Can Save Us

Bishop Zephat became anxious, the first time he had felt this way in over a decade. The last time he felt anxious was back on the night Kotetsu fled, when he felt lost about his future and was in despair.

But he is still standing in Harrenhal, in the Cathedral of Light, which is many times more luxurious than the dilapidated church of yesteryear. This is enough to show that he has survived with his unwavering strength. It is now late at night, but there is a chorus of shouts outside the cathedral.

Some of the shouts came from people rushing to the small building to put out the fire. The small building wasn't the only one on fire; as the fire spread, several nearby buildings caught fire, and a large number of people were involved in the firefighting efforts. Other shouts came from people searching for prisoners.

Hundreds of people opposed to the Order were imprisoned in the dungeon beneath the cathedral. Captain Rafa led the Order's warriors in a massive arrest, and the noise and commotion were deafening. It was destined to be an extremely turbulent night, but in the heart of the storm, inside the cathedral, all was calm.

Hundreds of candles were lit inside the church, casting a dim light. Bishop Zefa stood alone in silence before the statue of the Goddess of Light in the center of the church. It was unclear whether he was praying or doing something else. There was no one else around. Captain Rafa knew that Bishop Zefa greatly enjoyed being alone.

No one is allowed to disturb the bishop when he is alone, otherwise, it will displease him and have serious consequences.

“There’s a question I’ve been pondering for over a decade, but I still haven’t come to a conclusion. I wonder if you could provide me with the answer?” Bishop Zephat faced the statue of the goddess, seemingly speaking to it, since the vast church was empty except for him.

"Since the Goddess of Light you worship is omniscient and omnipotent, why don't you seek answers from her?" a voice answered. This voice was rough and powerful, not the gentle goddess statue that could produce it. It was the voice of a middle-aged man, and Bishop Zephat was not the only one in the church.

However, it should be noted that Bishop Zefa does not allow anyone to disturb him when he is alone, something Captain Rafa knows all too well. Now that someone is replying to him in the church, there is only one answer: the person who replied to Bishop Zefa is not a member of the Order, perhaps he was in the past, but not now.

"The Goddess of Light? Omniscient and omnipotent... That's something only believers would. You've already betrayed the Order, do you still believe in the existence of a goddess in this world?" Bishop Zepha scoffed at this, but he didn't turn around.

"As a bishop of a dignified religious order, how dare you openly deny the existence of the goddess? If your believers heard you say this, what would they think? It's truly ironic." A figure walked over at the church entrance. There were people at the door who tried to stop him, but he killed them all.

“But they can’t hear us now, right? Faith is a really strange thing. Years ago, we had such beautiful faith that we always thought there was a magical thing called ‘Goddess’ in this world that could save us. But when we fell into despair, did the Goddess appear?” Bishop Zepha did not turn around to look, but he knew who it was and was not surprised at all by the arrival of this person.

“Yes, when we were in despair, the goddess we believed in did not appear. But if you do not believe in the existence of the goddess, why do you stay in the order and why do you continue to fool those who still believe in the goddess?” The voice was full of doubt.

“My desperate experience more than a decade ago taught me that goddesses don’t exist. Goddesses can’t save us. The only one who can save us is ourselves, or more precisely, ‘I,’ not ‘we.’ We’re no longer on the same path, are we, Kotetsu?” Bishop Zephyr said calmly.

He revealed the name of the uninvited guest who had broken into the church. Captain Rafa was currently sending people to look for Kotetsu, an order given by Bishop Zefa. However, what Bishop Zefa didn't tell Captain Rafa was that there was no need to search at all; he only needed to wait in the church, and Kotetsu would come.

"So you just use faith as a tool to save yourself? Zepha, you used to be the most devout believer, why did you..." Kotetsu emerged from the shadows, his words filled with endless sighs. He looked at Zepha's back with a pained expression.

After all, they were the closest of friends more than 20 years ago when they were teenagers!

"You ask me why I've become like this? Shouldn't this be attributed to you, Kotetsu?" Bishop Zepha smiled mockingly. He finally turned around and looked at Kotetsu. In the dim light, their eyes met, and Kotetsu's gaze was still as resolute and unyielding as it had been back then.

But his gaze was no longer as pure as it had been in his youth.

"Thank me? What do you mean? Are you still holding a grudge about what happened back then?" Kotetsu clenched his fists. He knew he had wronged Kogen and Zefa back then, but that was all in the past.

"Holding a grudge? Hu Che, you make it sound so easy. Back then, you were a Knight of Light in the Order, with a limitless future. Both Hu Yuan and I admired and looked up to you. But you betrayed the Order..." Bishop Zefa still felt very resentful when he talked about what happened back then.

“I did not betray the cult. We joined the cult because it provided us with food and helped ordinary people. We worked for the cult willingly for so many years. But what is the reality? In reality, all the cult’s pretense is a deception. They deceive believers and gain their trust, but secretly they engage in a large number of illegal activities. They traffic children and smuggle weapons. They will stop at nothing to make money. After seeing through the true face of the cult, I planned to expose it, but they beat me to it and forced me to leave!”

Hu Che interrupted Bishop Zefa, roaring loudly. Even though many years had passed, he remembered every detail of the events.

“Yes, the cult back then was indeed outwardly respectable, but in reality, it was doing many illegal things. You exposed the cult and you became a hero, but what about Hu Yuan and me? Do you know how badly you harmed us while we were kept in the dark?” Bishop Zefa asked rhetorically.

Back then, he and Huyuan were the people closest to Kotetsu. Huyuan was Kotetsu's younger brother, and he was Kotetsu's closest friend. The three of them once became the backbone of the younger generation of the cult. However, Kotetsu's escape directly led to the complete ruin of his and Huyuan's future.

"You... I am naturally sorry to you." Hu Che said with some guilt. He knew that after he fled, he had gotten rid of the church's entanglement, but Hu Yuan and Ze Fa were left in the church. Given the church's methods, he didn't know how much inhuman torture they had suffered.

"Sorry? Is it that simple? Hu Yuan probably hasn't shown you the consequences we suffered because of your escape. Let me show you." Bishop Zefa took off his magnificent robe, revealing a back covered in scars.

These scars are just raised marks of flesh, all old wounds from years ago. Many areas are even completely blackened and necrotic. The crisscrossing scars resemble a map; it's unimaginable what kind of willpower it would take to endure such torment! The most shameless alchemist in history.

Chapter 475 Returning

Captain Rafa never expected that Dure and Leopard Tail, who had finally escaped from the church, would return. Captain Rafa focused his search efforts on the outskirts of Harrenhal. He was convinced that the group would escape Harrenhal under the cover of night, so he blocked all the entrances and exits of Harrenhal.

He used the most primitive, yet most effective, method of search: a carpet search. The area around the church, which was the central location, was left unguarded, with only a small team patrolling and guarding it. Dure and Leopard Tail made their way smoothly into the church's underground.

"Hey, where is this place? This shouldn't be the dungeon where we were imprisoned before, right? Why is the area under this church so spacious? They're not rats, what are they building so many tunnels for?" Leopard Tail looked around and found that the underground passages of the church were intricate and complicated.

The dungeon where they were previously imprisoned was spacious enough, but compared to this place, it was nothing. The various twists and turns made him dizzy, and it was so complicated that it was like a maze. He really couldn't figure out who had the energy to build such complicated roads.

"Don't you find it strange?" Du Lei, who was leading the way, suddenly asked out of the blue.

"Strange? What's strange? What are you talking about?" Leopard Tail was baffled, not knowing what this guy meant by strange.

"Why would a religious group still be developing followers in a place that has been abandoned for thirty years?" Dure continued.

"Well..." Leopard Tail was stumped by Du Lei's question. He thought about it carefully, but couldn't come up with a solution.

“I think there’s only one explanation,” Du Lei replied to the question.

"Just tell me your reason," Leopard Tail urged impatiently. He hated this guy's self-righteousness and suspense.

“That means the cult is using Harrenhal as a cover to do shady things,” Dure explained as they walked.

"Something you can't tell me? What is it that you can't tell me?" Leopard Tail immediately pressed. He had been to many big cities, and the more prosperous the city, the more luxurious the churches. In contrast, churches in poor and backward places were very simple. But Harrenhal was different. He had seen churches that were extremely luxurious.

"Isn't the answer right here?" Dure raised his gunpowder gun and aimed it at Leopard Tail, which startled Leopard Tail.

"Hey, stop aiming randomly. What are you talking about, here and there? Can't you just explain yourself clearly?" Leopard Tail gradually lost his patience.

"That's what I was talking about." Du Lei had only intended to make a joke to Leopard Tail, but the latter's strong reaction made him lose interest.

"This refers to... a gunpowder gun?" Leopard Tail wasn't stupid, but he wasn't as good at thinking as Du Lei. Du Lei had already explained it to this extent, and he had more or less grasped it. Looking at the dark muzzle of the gun, he fell into thought, trying to figure out Du Lei's overall thinking.

“That’s right, this is it. I’ve seen several different types of gunpowder guns before, and I’ve also asked the mechanics. I know that this gunpowder gun is the latest production. Not to mention little Harrenhal, many countries don’t even have this kind of gunpowder gun yet,” Dure said, pointing to the gunpowder gun.

"Hey, what does it mean that gunpowder guns, which even the country doesn't have, are appearing in Herenberg?" Leopard Tail also noticed something unusual.

"What this means is... the cult is using Harrenhal as a front to secretly engage in arms dealing and other shady dealings." Dure spoke quite casually. Several patrolling guards appeared ahead, but he and Leopard Tail easily avoided them.

"So that's how it is. No wonder the Order of Light is holed up in Harrenhal." Leopard Tail nodded in sudden realization, agreeing with Dure on this point.

“However, that Bishop Zepha seems to be a very ambitious man,” Dure continued.

“Ambition? How so?” In Leopard Tail’s memory, he and Dure had only met Bishop Zefa once. He didn’t think that they could see Bishop Zefa’s ambition from just one meeting. Did this guy know how to read faces? That was too absurd.

“We can tell from his attack that we were just passing through Harrenhal and had nothing to do with him, but he attacked us… to be precise, Miss Winry,” Dure pointed out the crux of the problem.

"You mean he was bribed to target Miss Winry?" Leopard Tail finally figured out Dure's line of thinking.

“This is the only thing that makes sense. You said it before, Uncle Kotetsu, he…” Du Lei continued.

“I didn’t say that, I just heard it from someone else,” Leopard Tail immediately corrected.

"Alright, alright, you heard it from others. More than ten years ago, when Uncle Hu Che was young, he was a Knight of Light, working for the Order. Bishop Zefa is about the same age as Uncle Hu Che, so they must know each other. That means the Order flourished under Zefa's leadership. But the Order of Light is based in Harrenburg, which probably dates back to the incident thirty years ago. Bishop Zefa must want to break through Harrenburg's structure."

Dure connected all the seemingly unrelated clues and came to this conclusion.

"If he wants to break through Harrenhal, he must get the support of a big shot, and the condition for the big shot to support him is to kill Miss Winry and clear the way for the negotiations between the Snow Kingdom and the Mountain Kingdom, right?" After following Dure's train of thought, Leopard Tail also figured out the cause and effect of the matter.

"That's how it is, but whether the rise of the Order of Light is related to the accident thirty years ago, that's a matter of..." Dure fell into thought at this point, and without clear evidence, he could not draw a conclusion.

"Alright, we came here to find Boss Kotetsu. Once we find him, we'll leave. Whatever happens here, whatever we go through, it's none of our business. Getting to Rock City as soon as possible is the most important thing, isn't it?" Leopard Tail didn't want any more complications.

"You're absolutely right. They use the guise of saving the world, but in reality, they're just seeking their own interests. This glamorous organization... they really aren't afraid of someone exposing their true colors," Dure said sarcastically.

"But even if we peel back his layers, who would believe it?" Du Lei suddenly thought of this, which made him frown again.

"Alright, alright, stop thinking about all that nonsense. Hey, come look what's over here!" While Dure was pondering the question, Leopard Tail had already taken the lead, beckoning Dure to follow, seemingly having discovered something. The Most Shameless Alchemist in History

Chapter 476 Underground Warehouse

Upon hearing the commotion coming from Dure ahead, Leopard Tail quickly followed. The passage was secluded; apart from a few patrolling cult guards, there was no one else. However, there were many oil lamps burning on both sides of the passage, clearly being replaced daily.

While they hadn't encountered any trouble along the way, such as being discovered and causing a scene, they hadn't made many discoveries either. Moreover, their purpose for this trip was to find Kotetsu, and they hadn't seen a trace of him at all, which left Leopard Tail somewhat disappointed.

"Hey, what discovery is there that makes you so excited? We're here to see Boss Kotetsu, not to stroll in the park." Leopard Tail grumbled as he hurriedly followed. He didn't want to stay in this place for too long, especially since the cult was currently searching for them.

“Take a look at these.” Dure had stopped; in front of him appeared to be a spacious underground warehouse.

"What's there to see? You really are... Huh? These are... weapons?" Leopard Tail didn't take Du Lei's reaction seriously, but when he got closer, with the help of the nearby lights, he saw that the warehouse was filled with neatly stacked boxes, which he was quite familiar with.

He and Dure had seen similar boxes in the dungeon before, and had even taken out several gunpowder guns from them. At that time, Dure pointed out that these gunpowder guns were the latest model and must have just been issued to the church guards. He never expected to find so many here.

“That’s right, this looks like where the cult stores its supplies. They’ve hidden all their shady stuff underground, which is really cunning. And the amount of weaponry here… it’s enough to arm a small army.” Dure pried open a few boxes to inspect them.

Without exception, the boxes were filled with gunpowder guns and ammunition. He counted them roughly and there were several hundred boxes in total.

"What are those priests up to? What are they doing with so many gunpowder guns? Are they going to start a war?" Leopard Tail found this puzzling. It would be understandable if an army were to purchase a large quantity of weapons, but for a small religious order to possess such a quantity was too strange.

“They must be acting as arms dealers, selling this batch of weapons to other countries. And I think their business isn’t just about arms.” Dure continued to inspect the warehouse, because there was more than one warehouse; besides the one storing the weapons, there were several others.

"What did you say? What other businesses do they do?" Leopard Tail was taken aback. It was already unbelievable enough that the cult was involved in arms dealing, but now he was being told that the cult's business went beyond that. This completely overturned his understanding.

“Look at all this.” Du Lei stepped forward, pulled a dagger from his trouser leg, pried open several boxes, and laid out the contents in front of Leopard Tail.

"What...what does this smell like?" Leopard Tail saw a bunch of dark things in the box and couldn't recognize them at first, but he could smell a very pungent odor.

"These are all medicines and gauze, all standardized products produced in regular factories. I've heard Teacher Winster mention them before." Although it was also the first time Du Lei had seen these things, he clearly knew much more than Leopard Tail.

"Medicine? What are the cult members doing with so much medicine? Are they going to open a pharmacy?" Leopard Tail was even more confused.

“Not only medicine, but also these, all canned goods.” Du Lei pried open several boxes in succession.

“I do know what canned food is. I’ve been to a canned food factory before. You can just pry it open and eat it.” Leopard Tail finally encountered something he recognized. He stepped forward and pried open a can. The can contained dried fish.

"It seems that Bishop Zepha's ambitions are even greater than I imagined." Dure put down everything, having roughly figured out something.

"With weapons, medicine, and canned goods, why is he still a bishop? He might as well just be a businessman!" Leopard Tail had no liking for Bishop Zefa. He really couldn't understand why Bishop Zefa went through all this trouble.

"If you go directly to be a businessman, things won't be so convenient. Times have changed. There are many newspapers in big cities. If there's even the slightest disturbance, those reporters will make a big fuss about it, and the whole world will know. It won't be convenient to do things that way."

Du Lei shook his head. Back in Hot Spring Village, he had often used the trick of ruining other people's reputations to deal with others. Many people hated him to the core, but they just couldn't mess with a kid like him in front of everyone. That's pretty much the reason.

"So what exactly is Bishop Zefa trying to do?" Leopard Tail asked Dure directly for the answer to his question.

“Whether it’s munitions, medicine, or canned goods, these are all military supplies. Only the military would purchase these on a large scale. It seems that Bishop Zefa is planning to make a fortune from the Great War. I just don’t know which war it is…” Dure frowned and thought carefully.

"What war?" Leopard Tail couldn't keep up with his train of thought and didn't understand.

"Where there is demand, there is a market. He must be procuring so many military supplies because he's planning a war; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to find buyers. But recently, there hasn't been a large-scale war, or even a local conflict. The only thing that's worrying is..."

Dure tried to figure out the cult's purpose in acquiring such a large quantity of military supplies.

"What are you worried about? I see you worrying about this or that all day long. Aren't you tired?" Leopard Tail said impatiently.

"It's the next war!" Dure suddenly exclaimed.

"What next match?" Leopard Tail was completely confused.

“These things are not for the war that has already begun, but for the war that is about to begin. As things stand, the only country where a large-scale war is likely to break out is the Land of Snow and the Land of Mountains. Both countries have deployed heavy troops on their borders.” Dure’s expression was extremely solemn.

"But aren't we in peace talks right now? There's a chance the war won't break out." Leopard Tail was puzzled, because their mission this time was to send Winry to the Rock City so that she could negotiate between the Snow Country and the Mountain Country.

“Only when Miss Winry arrives safely in Rock City can peace talks be considered. If something happens to Miss Winry on the way, then there will be no possibility of peace talks, and only a full-scale war will remain.” Dure was well aware of the seriousness of the consequences.

"Go to war?" Leopard Tail's expression also turned serious; he knew all too well what those two words meant.