The most shameless alchemist in history

600 Fear Symbols

After seeing off the boy who called himself Redu, Dom and Pam remained seated on the fourth floor of the underground inn. The teacups on the table were still warm, but neither Dom nor his brother Pam had the leisure to drink tea.

"Brother, what's wrong with you? You let that kid go so easily, and even helped him with his work. This, this..." Pam knew that her brother was always an extremely shrewd person, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to make a name for himself in the underworld all by himself.

He admired most of the decisions his brother made, but on this particular matter, he simply couldn't agree.

"Do you know who he is? Or rather, do you know who his teacher is?" Dom picked up his teacup and took a sip. Although he was not in the mood for leisure, he was very thirsty, and even though the boy had been gone for a while, his hands were still trembling slightly.

"I heard you guys mention something about 'Death,' is he really that powerful?" Pam thought carefully and realized she had indeed heard that word.

“Amazing? More than amazing. I also went to the Kingdom of Night a long time ago, when I was still young. Dom asked his brother. Although they were brothers and grew up together, he had gone out to explore for a few years.

"The Kingdom of Night? I've heard of it. It was originally a very powerful, top-tier nation on the continent, but for some reason, it was destroyed. It remains an unsolved mystery to this day. By the way, I asked you about it before, but you never told me what happened in the Kingdom of Night."

Pam thought back to when it was almost twenty years ago. Back then, he was still a greenhorn, and his brother hadn't yet made a name for himself.

"The reason why our Mountain Kingdom is a first-class country is because we have a King-level expert in charge. You should know how powerful a King-level expert is, right?" Dom did not answer Pam's question directly, but instead asked him another question.

“Of course, a King-level expert is powerful. Even if there is only one, they can defeat an elite hundred-man team. Let alone a King-level expert, even a Flame-level expert who is one level lower can walk sideways. All forces are trying to win them over. Brother, aren’t you also…” Pam paused here.

“Am I not also a Steel-rank Magician?” Dom said what Pam hadn’t said.

"Big brother, that's not what I meant..." Pam felt a little guilty, afraid that Dom would misunderstand him.

"I know that my foundation as a Dom wasn't built on my status as a magic user." Dom waved his hand, not minding it at all.

“I remember the Kingdom of Night was a top-tier nation back then,” Pam returned to the previous topic.

“That’s right. The standard for a first-class country is having a King-level expert in charge, while a top-tier country is having an expert above the King level in charge. But such a top-tier country was destroyed overnight. Do you know why?” Dom continued to ask.

"Why...why?" Pam listened nervously to his brother's answer, because this was a major unsolved mystery.

“Because they offended ‘Death,’ and Death descended and destroyed the entire country,” Dom said in as calm a tone as possible.

"What? That was a country, a top-tier country, just like that, destroyed?" Pam seemed incredulous.

“Yes, that’s how it was destroyed. I witnessed it firsthand.” Dom poured himself another cup of tea.

"But... how could you believe that such a young boy was Death's disciple?" Pam still couldn't understand.

Just now at the casino, that kid only drew an ordinary card, which shouldn't have caused such a big reaction.

“There was a mark on the Death card he drew,” Dom said, taking a sip of water.

“A mark? What mark?” Pam immediately pressed.

“That’s a terrifying mark I saw in the Night Kingdom before, and there’s also the bracelet on his wrist, did you see it?” Dom brought up a series of details. He may look like a brute, but he has a keen and exceptional insight.

“A bracelet? It seems there is one. Don’t alchemists all like to wear amplification bracelets?” Pam nodded.

"That's the cursed bracelet, one of the ten taboos of alchemists!" Dom said with certainty.

"A cursed bracelet? Brother, are you sure that really is a cursed bracelet?" Pam's face turned pale.

He had heard of the cursed bracelet.

“Absolutely true, there’s no mistake! He can wear the cursed bracelet and the playing cards that represent the Grim Reaper’s mark, so how do you think I should deal with him? Should I refuse his offer?” Dom gave a bleak smile.

“This…” Pam finally understood why his brother had that expression when facing that kid.

They would even risk losing an arm, because compared to the trouble that would result, it was insignificant!

"Boss, boss, something bad has happened!" Just then, someone rushed up.

"What's the panic? Haven't you ever seen anything like this before? What's going on? Where are the people with you?" Pam glared at the henchman. He remembered that this was the guy Dom had sent out to follow the guy named Redu. There should have been four people with him.

"They...they're all dead?" the henchman said in terror.

"What? Dead? Who did it? That Redu?" Dom couldn't hold back any longer and asked, his face pale.

Because if it really was Redu who did it, it would be a bad sign for him.

"No, it wasn't him. After we sent them out of the underworld as you instructed, we followed them carefully. He led us around in circles several times and finally shook us off. We were just about to come back to report when we encountered another group of people on the way," the henchman said.

"Another group? Who are they?" Pam asked from the side.

"I don't know who they came from, they just started hacking at us, and everyone except me is dead!" the henchman said in terror.

"How could this be, brother? Could these people be that kid's men?" Pam frowned.

“No, that’s not right. It shouldn’t be his subordinate. He still needs my help. He wouldn’t attack me at this time. And even if he wanted to warn me, he should have done it himself. This shouldn’t be the case.” Dom found the suspicious points and kept shaking his head.

"But our people can't have died in vain! We have to investigate this thoroughly!" Pam said anxiously.

"It seems we can't avoid getting involved in this turmoil in Rock City!" Dom sighed.

After finishing his tea, he hurriedly led his men downstairs.

.

601 A heavy rain

The first day in Rock City was not peaceful. Dure had a feeling that someone was watching him, but he was sure he was being very careful. Even though he had been followed the night before, he was sure he had shaken off his pursuers, but the feeling of being watched still lingered.

This resulted in him not sleeping all night. He slept very lightly with his back to the door so that he could react immediately in case of any emergencies. Fortunately, the past night was peaceful and nothing unexpected happened. The next morning, he and Wenli went downstairs for breakfast early.

But at this moment, he learned of two terrible pieces of news. The first was that Varo, the supreme ruler of the Mountain Kingdom and the respected Speaker of the Rock City, was critically ill and doctors were urgently summoned to treat him. The second was that Varo's brother had been murdered.

The murderers were envoys from the Land of Snow. They targeted Valan with the intention of starting a war, which caused a great uproar in the City of Rock. Almost everyone in the city was talking about it, including the inn. The guests in the vicinity were furious.

"Those bastards from the Snow Kingdom actually murdered Lord Valan? Do they even have any concept of mercy and peace? This action is clearly an insult to our Mountain Kingdom, showing no respect for our people!" someone shouted angrily.

"It's not just Lord Varan. Speaker Varo has always been in good health. Three months ago, he even gave a public speech. At that time, he didn't seem like a sick person. But how long has it been since then? He's suddenly critically ill. Don't you think that's suspicious?"

“Now that you mention it, it does seem to be true. Hey, could it be those envoys who did this? Did they poison Speaker Varo’s food or something, causing this to happen?” Someone offered their speculation, which immediately drew a large number of others to agree.

"That's right, that must be it! Those bastards from the Snow Country dared to treat us like this, we absolutely have to teach them a lesson!"

The citizens were outraged and quickly identified the Snow Kingdom as the culprit. Wenli, who was listening nearby, looked increasingly grim.

"How could this have happened? Speaker Varo is critically ill, and his brother has been murdered. The murderer is an envoy from the Land of Snow... Could it be Mr. Kotetsu and his group?" Winry exclaimed in shock. She never expected that things would develop so rapidly in just one day!

“Yes, it seems that Hu Che and his men have been arrested.” Du Lei nodded, continuing to eat calmly, seemingly unaffected.

"What should we do? We can't just stand by and watch Mr. Kotetsu and the others get arrested," Winry said anxiously.

“Miss Winry, please calm down and don’t be too anxious. There’s definitely a solution to this. We need to stay calm until we figure things out.” Dure ate his food slowly and deliberately. After finishing his meal, he wiped his hands and spoke calmly.

"Mr. Dure, what do you think is the first thing we should do right now?" Winry tried to calm herself down.

“Miss Winry must have some power she can mobilize in Rock City, right?” Dure asked her in return.

"Why did Mr. Dure suddenly ask that?" Wenli was somewhat surprised by Dure's words.

“That should be taken for granted. As a first-class power, the Snow Country naturally has an intelligence agency. As a long-standing enemy of the Snow Country, how could the Snow Country not have its own intelligence agents?” Du Lei said softly.

"So Mr. Dure knew even this?" Winry nodded, not denying what Dure had said.

“Then it’s time to mobilize these forces. Let’s go. We need the help of these intelligence agents.” Dure stood up and slowly left the hotel. If yesterday was just the calm before the storm, today he could already sense that a tempest was about to break.

"What a heavy rain!" Du Lei exclaimed as he stepped out the door.

It did indeed rain in Rock Castle, a heavy rain that was rare in many years.

A fierce wind swept through the city, and indifferent raindrops pelted people's faces. Street vendors covered their stalls and searched for shelter from the rain. Some passersby were prepared and hurriedly opened their umbrellas, while others could only run wildly in the rain, trying to escape the downpour as soon as possible.

Lightning flashed across the sky intermittently, accompanied by muffled booms, while the dogs of wealthy families barked incessantly, causing alarm.

In the heavy rain, soldiers in uniform could be seen hurrying by from time to time. Anyone who had lived in Rock City for a long time would have noticed that the security forces had been frequently mobilized recently. The familiar faces were gone, replaced by unfamiliar ones.

This made the people doing business nearby frown, as if something big was about to happen.

In the heavy rain, some people took shelter in a nearby grocery store with umbrellas.

"Excuse me, may I take shelter from the rain here for a while?" The person who came in put away his umbrella; he was a young man.

He looked to be in his early twenties, wearing shiny leather boots and clothes made of expensive satin.

The shop owner was a middle-aged man in his forties who had seen many high-ranking officials and dignitaries. His experience told him that this young man must be either rich or noble.

"Of course, please come in and have a seat." The shop owner immediately greeted them with a smile and went to pour them a cup of hot water.

"Does it often rain this heavily in Rock Castle?" The young man asked softly after taking a sip of water after sitting down.

"Usually? It rarely rains heavily. I've lived in Rock City for over ten years, and I only remember one rainstorm about ten years ago, and it hasn't rained this hard since." The shopkeeper thought carefully and gave an answer.

"Ten years ago? That was a long time ago." The young man chuckled softly.

"Aren't you a local, sir? Judging from your accent, you seem to be from the north?" the shop owner asked cautiously.

"I come from the Land of Snow," the young man said without hiding his origins.

"So this is the Land of Snow? I heard it snows there all year round, it must be a very beautiful place," the shopkeeper nodded.

"Huh? Shouldn't you be angry because I'm from the Land of Snow? The relationship between the two countries isn't very good right now." The young man was somewhat surprised.

"That's indeed the case. Relations between the two countries have been tense lately, and all sorts of rumors are circulating in Rock City. But those are matters for the powerful and wealthy; what do they have to do with us ordinary citizens?" The shopkeeper sighed softly.

"You really have a very open mind." The young man nodded approvingly.

"What's there to be upset about in business? If I really couldn't let go of this, I would have closed down long ago," the shop owner chuckled.

A few raindrops splashed at the doorway, and there were still undried shoe prints on the ground.

Who knows when this torrential rain will stop?

.vertex

602 Blacksmith Gru

Dure didn't know when the rain would stop, but he knew he had to do something very important today.

Even though it was raining heavily outside, he had no choice but to go. He held a small piece of paper with an address written on it. He asked for directions along the way and finally found the place. From afar, he heard a "clanging" sound, a sound he was familiar with.

Because it was the sound of hammering, he was heading to a blacksmith shop, a blacksmith shop with a good reputation in Rock City that had been in business for decades. The blacksmith was named Gru, and he had been an apprentice at the blacksmith shop since he was a teenager.

Because he was diligent and eager to learn, he was well-liked by the old blacksmith. The old blacksmith also happened to have a daughter who was about the same age as Gru. A few years later, as Gru's blacksmithing skills became more and more proficient, and his relationship with the old blacksmith's daughter deepened, the old blacksmith married his daughter to him.

Gru readily agreed. He was not a man of many words; it seemed that all his words were expressed through the hammer in his hand. Fifteen years passed in the blink of an eye. The dull boy who was only a teenager back then had grown up to be called "Uncle Gru," and in a rather fierce way at that.

There were many rumors about Uncle Gru on the street. Some said he ate children, others said he would drink with lions. In short, the more ferocious the rumors sounded, the more they spread. As a result, all the children avoided Uncle Gru when they saw him, which made the children in Uncle Gru's family very unhappy.