The most shameless alchemist in history

“Sorry, I’m already married. My wife and I have a great relationship, so I don’t intend to get involved.” Leon shook his head.

"Really? Then why did Mr. Lyon appear in Storm City?" Dure was somewhat surprised by Lyon's answer.

“I think you can guess what that means.” Leon didn’t answer Dure directly, but instead asked him a question.

"Well... I don't intend to get involved in the internal strife within your large family either." Du Lei asked for a glass of water and gently shook his head.

“Mr. Dure, you’re making a fool of yourself. Yes, our family… has indeed encountered some minor problems. According to the order of succession among the brothers, Jin isn’t even close to the top, and in fact, he has no claim to the inheritance at all,” Lyon continued, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.

"But Mr. Kim has found a breakthrough in solving the problem, which is to find outside help. This will make his ranking advance by leaps and bounds, right?" Dure knew that Lyon had not called him here for casual conversation, and that he could not simply walk out peacefully by saying that he would not get involved.

“Yes, that is, assuming he really does become Ababa’s son-in-law.” Leon did not deny this.

"So? Mr. Kim's other brothers don't want to see this happen, including you, Mr. Leon? By the way, may I ask where Mr. Leon ranks in the line of succession?" Dure asked Leon in return.

“If I remember correctly, Mr. Dure just said that he wouldn’t interfere in other people’s business,” Lyon said with a smile.

"I was just asking out of curiosity. I think even if I didn't ask, Mr. Lyon would have told me anyway, right?" Dure handled the situation with ease.

"Second." Lyon didn't keep them in suspense and directly stated his ranking.

"Second? No wonder." Dure nodded.

"No wonder what?" After drinking one glass of wine, Leon poured himself another.

"No wonder Mr. Leon is in such a hurry. So, Mr. Leon called me here to cause some trouble for his brother who is threatening him?" Du Lei could roughly guess Leon's intentions.

“That’s right. I can’t watch my lovely brother achieve his wish so easily. I would be restless and unable to eat or sleep. Since I’m married and can’t find a powerful ally like Ababa, I can only try to block my brother’s ally.” Leon paused.

"So the reason I invited you here today, Dure, is to do me a small favor." Lyon put down his wine glass and finally got down to business.

519 Don't get involved.

Originally, Du Lei and the other three had decided not to participate in the matchmaking event in Lan City. Otherwise, if Jin took notice, it would inevitably cause unnecessary trouble. All four of them voted in agreement, and according to their agreed method, the way to withdraw was very simple.

That means they can simply skip the fourth round on the second day and forfeit. In that case, Jin won't make things difficult for them anymore. All they have to do is patiently wait for the results. If everything goes smoothly, the train will resume running in three or four days, and they will be able to go to Rock City.

However, things didn't go so smoothly. The next morning, Du Lei arrived at the venue early to prepare. Kotetsu, Hyobi, and Ape Arm were all surprised by Du Lei's decision to participate in the fourth round, especially Hyobi, whose reaction was very strong.

"Hey kid, you must have made a mistake, right? Have you forgotten the decision we made yesterday? You were the one who suggested it, and you've already changed your mind after just one night? Are you kidding us?" Leopard Tail launched into a tirade of scolding.

"Dure, what's going on? You didn't change your mind for no reason, did you? What happened?" Kotetsu believed that Dure must have his reasons for doing this, and that something must have happened in the past night that neither he nor Hyo-o knew about, which prompted him to do so.

“Someone has come looking for me.” Du Lei knew there was no point in hiding it from Kotetsu and Hyobi, so he decided to tell them.

"Who is so powerful that they can make you change your mind? Is your willpower really that weak?" Leopard Tail scoffed at this. He believed that if it were him, no one could change his decision, except for Winry, of course.

“It’s Leon,” Dure said, uttering the name of the man he had seen the previous night.

"Leon? Who is Leon?" Leopard Tail had never heard of this person before and was stunned for a moment.

“Leon…the Leon who was the fourth of Pharos’s many sons?” Kotetsu thought carefully and found the overlap in his memory.

“Pharlos? Isn’t that the name of Kim’s rich father? So Leon is… Kim’s brother or brother?” Although Leopard Tail had never heard of Leon, he had heard of Pharlos. In fact, they had discussed it last night. His memory wasn’t that bad.

“He’s Kim’s older brother, much older than Kim. Actually, the first time I heard the name Leon, it wasn’t because he was Pharos’s son.” Kotetsu recalled some distant events, a complex expression appearing on his face.

"What? If he's not Pharos's son, then whose son is he? Boss Kotetsu, what are you talking about? You're confusing me." Leopard Tail was getting more and more confused. He had heard of King to some extent, but he had never heard of this Leon.

"Lyon is indeed Pharos's son, but he joined the mercenary world at a young age and became a renowned mercenary. His reputation was earned with knives and blood, without any reliance on his father's fame. It wasn't until he stopped being a mercenary that his family background became known."

Kotetsu explained that Leopard Tail was still young, only in his early twenties. Back when Leon was famous, Leopard Tail was just a child, so it was normal that he didn't know Leon's reputation.

"What? With such a background, he still became a mercenary? This Leon is really..." After learning about Leon's deeds, Leopard Tail really couldn't understand Leon's actions, but at least his tone revealed admiration.

"He really is someone who doesn't play by the rules, isn't he?" Du Lei said for Leopard Tail what he hadn't yet been able to say.

“That’s right, that’s it. By the way, what does Leon want with you?” Leopard Tail continued to ask.

“Leon made me continue participating in the matchmaking event to sabotage his brother Kim and prevent Kim from winning,” Dure explained.

"What? Shouldn't his brother's wedding be a joyous occasion? It's one thing for him not to support it, but he's actually making things difficult for him?" Leopard Tail found this utterly incomprehensible; he simply couldn't understand Leon's actions.

"In an ordinary family, he, as the older brother, should indeed support his younger brother. But from his perspective, once Kim gains Ababa's support and acquires the inheritance, if you were Leon, what would you do? Just watch your younger brother take everything from you?"

Dure asked Leopard Tail a question in return. Although he and Leon had different positions, he could roughly imagine Leon's situation and feelings.

"Well..." Leopard Tail was stumped by Du Lei's question and didn't know how to answer him for a moment.

"Durey, you wouldn't choose to help Leon just for this reason, would you?" Kotetsu asked calmly. Although he was surprised by Leon's appearance, what concerned him more was Durey's choice. He didn't think Durey was the kind of person who would change his mind easily.

“That’s right. Even if Leon and his brother have a disagreement over the inheritance, it’s their business how they argue. Why are you getting involved? Don’t forget that we’ve already been targeted by Kim. If we get involved and anger him, it will be very troublesome.”

Leopard Tail didn't want a second hotel explosion to happen. Although he didn't like King, he knew he had no choice but to compromise for now. After all, Winry was still in Storm City. If it weren't for Winry, he would have been willing to risk everything to fight King to the death.

“Leon told me something,” Dure replied calmly in the face of their questions.

"What is it?" Both Hyo-o and Kotetsu looked at him, waiting for his answer.

“We’ve been watched ever since we entered Storm City,” Du Lei said softly.

"Being targeted? So it's just that Jin has been targeting us. He's caused us trouble twice already. I thought you were going to say something else, but this is all you're going to say?" Leopard Tail was somewhat disappointed with Du Lei's answer.

“That’s not right.” Du Lei shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Leopard Tail wasn't very interested.

"Jin's targeting of us came later; it was the people from Rock City who had their eyes on us from the very beginning of our arrival in Storm City," Du Lei corrected.

"What did you say? The people from Rock City knew we were arriving in Storm City and were keeping watch here beforehand? But I didn't notice anything for the past two days." Kotetsu could no longer sit still; he stared wide-eyed at Durei.

“I didn’t notice that either, but considering our experience in Harrenhal, don’t forget that there are people in Harrenhal targeting Miss Winry. If someone had promptly relayed the news of our presence in Harrenhal to Rock City, it wouldn’t have been difficult for them to estimate our path and timing and wait in advance.”

Dure continued speaking.

520 Choose Cooperation

Dure's words greatly surprised Kotetsu and Hyo-o, because they had always thought that their journey to Storm City was smooth sailing. Even though Jin had suddenly appeared, he wasn't targeting Winry, but Dure and his group, despite the two attacks that had occurred in succession.

All of this was done by Jin. Du Lei and the others had always focused their vigilance on Jin. But now they were suddenly told that the people of Rock City had been watching them long before Jin. This gave Kotetsu and the others a cold sweat, because this was even more dangerous than being watched by Jin!

"I was wondering if that Leon was just trying to scare us on purpose, making you help him snipe his brother. He made up a lie to get the people from Rock City to keep an eye on him. I haven't noticed anything these past two days." Leopard Tail preferred to believe that it was just an exaggerated prank.

“Lyon knows we came from Harrenhal and knows what happened to us there. Do you think he made all of this up?” When Dure met Lyon last night, his first reaction was the same as Leopard Tail’s, but he quickly became certain that Lyon wasn’t bluffing him.

“It seems we’ve been focusing our attention on Jin these past two days, worrying about how he’ll deal with us. But we didn’t expect there was another pair of eyes watching us in the shadows. This is really dangerous. Who exactly are the people from Iwa no Castle?” Kotetsu asked, frowning.

“Leon didn’t say, he only said that if I agreed to cooperate with him, he would help us get rid of the trouble from Rock City and ensure that we could safely board the train to Rock City,” Dure finally said, revealing the conditions Leon had proposed.

"But why did he choose you instead of someone else? There are many people who have a competitive advantage over you at the matchmaking event." Kotetsu still couldn't understand this. If it was a sniper operation, then it had to be someone very challenging who could pose a threat to Jin.

Although Kotetsu knew that Du Lei had many good qualities, it was difficult to demonstrate these qualities at the matchmaking event.

"I don't understand this either, but reason tells me to put aside the problems I can't figure out for now and just make the choices I can make." Du Lei had been thinking about this for a long time after he got home last night, and he had obviously come to a conclusion.

"So the choice you made... was to cooperate with Lyon?" Kotetsu finally understood the cause and effect of this matter.

“I think there is no other choice but to cooperate with him. If we don’t cooperate with him, trouble from Rock City will come knocking on our door. This is more dangerous and deadly than Jin. We don’t even know where he is hiding. If we cooperate with him…” Du Lei paused here.

“If we cooperate with him, we will be on the opposite side of Kim, and Kim will use even more ruthless methods to suppress us,” Kotetsu added on his behalf.

"Neither of these two options seems quite good. Isn't there a third option?" Leopard Tail felt a chill run down his spine.

"As things stand, we don't have a third option. It's probably a case of choosing the lesser of two evils," Dure replied with a wry smile.

"But Lyon will definitely offer his help, right? Help you stop his brother and win the marriage contest," Kotetsu continued to ask.

"I don't need to win, just cause trouble for Kim. I'm not so arrogant as to think I can win that." Du Lei was well aware of his own limitations, knowing that he had no chance of winning in the end and could at most play the role of a spoiler.

"Well, I thought we could just watch the show quietly, but we've been dragged into it again. So, we still have to fight that Jin in the end, right?" Leopard Tail sighed. This was a problem they couldn't avoid.

"What, are you that afraid of Jin?" Du Lei looked at him with great interest.

“Who’s afraid of him? I just don’t want to cause Miss Wenli any more trouble. If Miss Wenli hadn’t gone out last night, I’m afraid she would have…” Leopard Tail felt both angry and guilty at the thought.

“Leon has promised that Miss Winry will be safe before we leave Storm City, provided that we cooperate with him,” Dure repeated what Leon had assured him the night before.

"Is that so? Although I've never met this Lyon, from what you've said... he seems like a guy who keeps his promises. Alright, let's go for it then. As long as there are no worries... I've been wanting to teach Kim a lesson for a while now." Leopard Tail rubbed his hands together, eager to get started.

He had previously hesitated to suggest backing down, but now he can finally go ahead and teach Jin a lesson.

“Having fighting spirit is certainly a good thing, but it’s also very difficult to cause trouble for Jin. After the first three rounds of elimination, there are probably still... a hundred people left to enter the fourth round. I wonder how many will be left after the fourth round.” Du Lei looked around.

They had arrived at the main venue of the matchmaking event. Compared to the huge crowds yesterday, there were still quite a few people today, but most of them had become spectators, and only a very small number were the top performers who made it to the fourth round.

"Do you know what the fourth round is about?" Leopard Tail asked Du Lei, since Du Lei had guessed the content of the third round correctly.

"I can't guess without any clues, but I think it will be announced soon. Be patient." Du Lei pointed ahead, where staff members were already approaching. They had made the final preparations and were about to begin!

At the same time, on the other side of the venue, a man with bright blond hair, Kim, walked over surrounded by a group of bodyguards. His demeanor was extraordinary and could not be compared to that of ordinary contestants. He also had a confident smile on his lips, but this smile did not last long.

When he noticed Dure and his group not far away, his smile froze instantly.

"What's going on? That Redu... He actually ignored the warnings and dared to show up here? Who gave him the guts?" Jin was furious. According to the information he had received, Redu and his gang clearly intended to retreat, but now they were blocking his way again.

"Young Master, according to the people monitoring him, that kid secretly met someone last night, and it seems he changed his mind after meeting that person." A subordinate immediately reported the situation to Jin.

"Who did he meet? And who exactly was he meeting?" Jin asked loudly.

"Well... it's still under investigation," Jin's subordinate replied cautiously.

“It’s been a whole night and you’re still investigating? What idiots! Damn it, they really don’t take me seriously… Since you’re so stubborn, you must be prepared for the worst, right?” Jin stared at Du Lei with a sinister look, and the latter happened to see him as well.

The moment their eyes met, a surge of murderous intent erupted.

521 was brought to the venue.

Durek could clearly see the anger in Jin's eyes. If he had any other choice, he really didn't want to stand against Jin. His intuition told him that Jin was a crazy person, and crazy people always do crazy things without considering the consequences, which would be unbearable.

But when faced with a choice between a crazy person and a smart person, Durell still chose to cooperate with the smart person. After only a brief exchange of glances, Durell left without making a sound, and the staff came to the front of the stage. The fourth round was about to begin.

"That guy over there... is that Jin? Look at his fierce, man-eating appearance, do you think he might attack us?" Leopard Tail noticed Jin not far away and asked Du Lei, unaware that Du Lei and Jin had already exchanged blows.

"Make a move? Now? Even if he wanted to, it would be later. Right now, with so many people around, no matter how arrogant he is, he won't make a move, right? What, weren't you just shouting that you wanted to teach him a lesson? Now you're afraid he'll make a move?" Du Lei retorted to Leopard Tail.

“I’m not afraid of him making a move, I’m afraid he won’t. I’ve been putting up with him for a long time, but… is that Leon really reliable? Can he really ensure Miss Winry’s safety?” Leopard Tail was still worried about this matter.

“I believe that relationships based on mutual interests are reliable. At least as long as we can help him secure the sniper fee, he will still do his best to protect Miss Winry.” Dure’s impression of Leon wasn’t too bad.

"In that case, I can rest assured." Leopard Tail finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was most afraid that Winry would experience what happened last night again.

"Hey, Du Lei, what do you think the fourth round will be about? I don't think they've prepared anything." Kotetsu had been observing the staff's actions from the beginning. After all, the previous three rounds had some clues, either they prepared a table for a written test or a lot of balloons.