The most shameless alchemist in history

.vertex

Encountering trouble on June 619th

Dark clouds lingered over the city, and the heaviest rain in nearly twenty years continued to fall relentlessly. The streets of Iwa City were sparsely populated, and those who did pass by hurriedly splashed through puddles with anxious expressions.

The reason given was that there were escaped criminals in Rock Castle and this was a search for them. However, this explanation was quickly dismissed, because why would they need to bring out cannons just to catch an escaped criminal? This was clearly a preparation for war!

The sudden arrival of foreign troops outside Rock Castle has sparked much speculation. Some say that someone is taking advantage of Speaker Varo's illness to seize Rock Castle and take his place.

Some people said that Speaker Varo was coerced into summoning troops from all over the country to quell the rebellion. There were quite a few people who agreed with this statement, because Rock City had indeed been having a lot of problems recently, and the local residents felt it especially strongly.

No matter how torrential the rain, it will eventually end. And no matter which sun hangs in the sky after dawn, isn't that how they all live their lives?

Colonel Ruff is very busy today, extremely busy.

Because in just two days, he had already arrested dozens of people.

If these people were just ordinary petty thieves and lawbreakers, that would be fine; they could just be locked up in jail.

However, these people happen to be prominent figures in Rock City, none of them are easy to deal with. Often, arresting one will bring out a whole bunch of entrenched forces, which not only requires a lot of work, but also offends people.

But who gave these people the right to actively contact people outside the city? They have to be arrested!

"This is the 68th person we've arrested so far. Even the illustrious Oren family is involved. Lord Tama, are we going to arrest members of the Oren family too?" Colonel Ruf complained to Treasurer Tama.

He believes that choosing sides was the right choice. If he hadn't been flexible, he would have remained in the Steel Rock Guard for life and would have had little chance of being promoted.

However, if he chooses Tama's side, things will be different. Lord Tama has promised him a bright and promising future, and if he succeeds, his potential will be limitless.

He acted impulsively and followed Tamma's lead, and indeed played a crucial role in the whole affair.

However, the situation in Rock Castle has far exceeded his expectations. Not only is the city's defense force not a unified force, but even important prisoners have escaped.

What's worse, the renowned General Titus has also gotten involved, and now he has gathered six legions outside Rock City. This puts him under unprecedented pressure, and he has to think about whether this investment is the right one, and what his fate will be if it fails.

"The Oren family has always been related to the Aoshan family by marriage throughout history, so their involvement was to be expected. However, they still have considerable influence in the country. Keeping them within the villa area and prohibiting them from entering or leaving will suffice." The tall and elegant man spoke calmly, showing no panic at the news.

"Lord Tama..." Colonel Ruf hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.

“I understand your concerns, but who knows who will have the last laugh before the rain stops? You may leave.” Lord Tama waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

"Understood." Although Colonel Luffy still had many questions, he swallowed them all and left the magnificent palace.

Through the glass window, you can see raindrops pattering against the glass, and his blurry shadow is faintly reflected on the window. If you look more closely, you will find a dark shadow beneath him. The outline of the shadow is blurry, illusory and unreal, yet it floats up strangely, like a wisp of smoke, or a ghost wandering in the world.

“It seems you’re in trouble.” A hoarse voice spoke slowly in the empty palace.

The voice was deep and obscure, as if it didn't belong to this world, but came from the deep underground.

"If things go too smoothly, it will become quite boring. The more challenges there are, and the stronger the enemy, the greater the pride and sense of honor we will gain after winning," the man said calmly.

"You really are a strange man. Does that mean you don't need my help for the time being?" That hoarse and obscure voice rang out again, somewhat elusive and enigmatic, with a hint of seduction.

"The price of asking you for help is far too high, so high that even I find it difficult to bear." The man was well aware of the danger in that voice.

"But higher risks also mean higher rewards, and I believe you understand that better than anyone else," the voice continued.

“I will ask for your help when necessary, but not now,” the man replied calmly.

"I await the moment you beg me, to give your soul, and the world will tremble and shudder for you!" The voice carried a hint of arrogance and ferocity.

"Boom!"

Outside the window, a bolt of lightning struck, accompanied by a clap of thunder.

The end of the heavy rain is night.

At the end of the night will be despair!

--------

General Shanlong was furious because the guest he had so warmly welcomed had run away.

His anger had serious consequences, so his men had to search the entire city for the criminal.

The process was going smoothly until Dom's brother, Pam, betrayed them, and they successfully captured the person.

But then an unexpected thing happened: someone who shouldn't be in Rock Castle took the prisoners away.

Having just received news of the capture of the criminal, General Shanlong, whose mood had finally improved somewhat, became even angrier, especially upon hearing that long-unheard name.

"So, it was that old bastard Tida who took the person away right under your noses?" In a conference room, a tall, mountain-like old man slammed his fist on the table, clearly furious.

"This, this... this is under Colonel Luffy's jurisdiction, we don't know anything about it." The officers remained silent, none daring to provoke the old man.

Anyone with even a slight understanding of the situation knows that General Shanlong and General Teda had a strained relationship many years ago, and were sworn enemies.

"That idiot Luffy, can't he even handle this little thing? It's infuriating. And that old bastard Teda, he's been recuperating in the west for so many years, saying he's old and frail. He hasn't been to the capital for almost twenty years. What is he planning to do with this sudden appearance?" General Shanlong and Teda have known each other for a long time, and they were once close comrades-in-arms fighting side by side.

However, due to a certain incident, the two eventually became adversaries.

.vertex

620 Military Conference

Although General Shanlong was furious and angry about Colonel Luffy's unauthorized release of a serious criminal, he knew that while he could ignore the old scoundrel, Luffy and his men dared not disregard him.

This is also the reason why he convened this meeting. The development of the situation has far exceeded his expectations. Sonomoto thought that as long as he controlled the situation, he could smoothly remove Speaker Varo from office and complete the transfer of power.

But it has been two months now, and Speaker Varo still refuses to sign the document.

Even though they tried everything, both soft and hard tactics, they still couldn't get past Speaker Varo, which put them in a difficult situation.

The thing they can least afford to waste is time.

The old saying goes that delays lead to more changes, which probably describes their current situation perfectly. Two months have passed without incident, and they originally thought they had stabilized the situation.

However, the sudden appearance of six legions outside Rock City was quite a surprise, as they had not received any prior notice and the mobilization was incredibly fast!

"Let's put the matter of the escaped prisoners aside for now. What we need to talk about now is the predicament that Rock Castle is facing. Does anyone have anything to say about the troops outside the castle?" General Yamagawa raised his voice, his sharp eyes sweeping around, waiting for the officers' response.

"Sir, I reported on the matter of the troops outside the city before. The report clearly stated that the Western and Southern Army forces were conducting joint exercises recently, and their behavior was suspicious. I hoped that this would be taken seriously. However, after the report was submitted, it disappeared without a trace and did not receive enough attention." An officer snorted coldly, his words carrying a strong sense of accusation.

“Exercises are a regular occurrence, and besides, they had informed our staff beforehand. Who knew they would suddenly unite and launch an attack on the capital?” The general in the staff was getting restless, because he had read the report at the time, and he bore inescapable responsibility for the current situation.

"If it weren't for the negligence of your General Staff, how could we have ended up in this situation? Are you still going to shirk responsibility now?" The officer was furious. Even in the capital, these officers were not a monolithic group, especially between the Capital Guard and the General Staff, where there were many conflicts.

“We’re just following the normal work procedures. Do you think our General Staff has so much free time to deal with every little thing?” General Carey of the General Staff retorted, clearly displeased.

"You..." The officer was about to argue with Kari.

"Enough already! This isn't the time to assign blame, it's the time to deal with the problem. There are six legions outside the city, but only three legions inside, half their strength. So, how are we supposed to respond?" General Shanlong slammed his fist on the table, asking angrily.

Even though he was old, his words were still incredibly domineering. Even the young and strong officers found it hard to handle his aura, and some of them kept wiping the sweat from their foreheads.

"Well... the Eastern and Southern Front Armies are brave and skilled in battle. With the capital's defenses, it will probably be difficult to withstand their attack."

"Why don't we send a representative to talk to them and see what they want? Those people are just country bumpkins who have never seen the world; they'll be easy to deal with."

"That's right. They only sent troops to gain some benefits. Give them a little taste of success, and they will naturally retreat."

The officers present expressed their opinions one after another, and it was clear that they had little confidence in the defense of the capital.

“I think we just need to hold out in the capital.” Amid a chorus of pessimistic voices, a voice suddenly rang out. It wasn’t loud or particularly clear, but it was especially abrupt.

This instantly drew everyone's attention.

The speaker was a young man, only around twenty-three or twenty-four years old. Among these high-ranking officers who were often in their forties or fifties, his age was undoubtedly very young.

“Colonel Rogge, what do you mean by that? Hold on? Don’t you know the situation we’re in?” Kari squinted at the young man before him; he recognized him.

He was the captain of the Iron Rock Guard, one of the six major guards protecting the capital.

As is customary, his rank of colonel was not high enough for him to attend a meeting of this level.

However, since he happened to arrive to report on the situation, he was exceptionally allowed to stay and participate in the meeting.

Generally speaking, anyone with a modicum of self-awareness would know that he has no right to speak here and should just listen quietly.

But it was particularly strange that Colonel Rogge not only did not remain silent, but even openly opposed many of his superiors and expressed his personal opinions.

“I am well aware that the capital’s defenses are currently insufficient. If a conflict breaks out, the capital will likely fall within a week at most.” Colonel Rogge nodded. As a young and promising individual, he had climbed to this position step by step through his own strength, and he was extremely clear about the situation in the capital.

“Since you know our situation, why do you insist on holding the line?” Kari continued to ask.

"Because I know not only our situation, but also the situation outside the capital," Colonel Rogge replied calmly, as if he had anticipated General Carrey's question.

"Oh? The situation outside the city? You actually know what's going on there? Tell me about it." General Shanlong wasn't a patient man, but he became somewhat interested after hearing Rogge's words.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, although a large number of troops are gathered outside the city, are they truly a united front?" Rogge asked General Shanlong's question calmly and respectfully.

"You mean...they're fighting amongst themselves?" General Shanlong had spent most of his life on the battlefield and was very familiar with the tricks and tactics used on the battlefield.

“The Eastern Army and the Southern Army have always been at odds. Their commanders have been at odds for a long time and haven’t seen each other for a long time. This time, they were only forcibly brought together by General Titus. Moreover, as far as I know, the commanders of the two armies did not come in person, but entrusted their deputies. Furthermore, the troops sent were not elites,” Rogge explained calmly.

"So what? What does this mean? The presence of the six legions outside the city is a real thing," an officer questioned.

None of these veteran officers could come up with an effective solution. If they let this young man steal the spotlight, how would they maintain their positions?

“This means that General Titus’s prestige has long since faded with the passage of time. They will not obey General Titus’s orders. So we just need to hold our ground, and before long, they will retreat on their own,” Rogge said confidently.

m.

621 Abandoned Cave

When the army first appeared outside Rock Castle, it caused quite a stir. There were all sorts of rumors, and people lived in fear and trepidation, afraid that something might happen.

Various speculations and complaints arose one after another, and the guards on the city wall, who were initially tense, later stood on the city wall and looked at the soldiers who were still digging trenches in the pouring rain, and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"What are those guys doing? They came all the way from the border just to dig trenches? Or are they just country bumpkins who are farmers, and this is their real job?" The guards mocked without restraint.

"What's going on? I was startled when I saw them appear a few days ago, thinking something was going to happen, and this is how it is? This is so boring. Sigh, I wonder when this rain will stop. I really want to go back and get a good night's sleep." A guard yawned as the heavy rain continued to pour down.

Meanwhile, in the military camp outside the city, Leopard Tail's patience was nearing its limit.

"What on earth are these guys up to? It's been days, and they've been building fortifications every day. What are they thinking? So many people have come all the way from the border to Rock City, but instead of launching an attack immediately, they're just dawdling around here. Aren't they just messing around?" Leopard Tail initially thought it was just a temporary rest.

However, instead of making good use of this advantage, these generals spent all their time in meetings and discussions, endlessly watching great opportunities slip through their fingers. No wonder Leopard Tail was so furious.

"The generals still haven't reached a consensus on how to deal with the situation in Rock Castle, which is unavoidable. Dure has been called to a meeting again, and I wonder what kind of result they will come out today." Kotetsu was calm and composed, unlike Hyobi who was impatient.

"Results? We're in meetings almost every day, but we haven't gotten any results. I really don't know what's going on in their heads. They're all generals, but they're not as smart as me." Leopard Tail complained incessantly, clearly very dissatisfied with the current progress.