The most shameless alchemist in history

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701 Years of Dreams

"I understand!" Although Rhodes still didn't quite grasp the situation, compared to his previous despair, he realized that things seemed to be taking a turn for the better. For him, his mood had already hit rock bottom, and he had even prepared for the worst. What could be worse?

As Rhodes busied himself with preparations as Dure had instructed, he kept an eye on Dure's side. He wasn't sure if Dure could really cure Tanya, because her condition was really bad. Even though they were in Winter Town and had a doctor, it would be difficult to guarantee that Tanya would wake up.

Rhodes was not a blindly optimistic person, so he had a clear understanding of the current situation. It was precisely because of this that he was angry about Tanya's rapidly deteriorating condition. It was a kind of disgust and dissatisfaction with his own powerlessness. It seemed that only in this way could he make himself feel a little better, even though his heart was clearly full of wounds.

In Rhodes's view, Dure helped Tanya up, and Dr. Sara helped from the side. He pried open Tanya's mouth, and the once lively and lovely girl lay there quietly. Her body gradually grew cold, and apart from her rapid breathing, there was no other sound. This made Dr. Sara feel sad. He was not sure if what the young man was about to do could really help his student.

Dure then poured out the multicolored liquid he had sealed in the ice crystal. The liquid was crystal clear, and neither Dr. Sarah nor Rhodes knew what it was. It looked like a rainbow refracted in the sunlight. However, they both knew very well that they were in the frozen wasteland, in the Abyss of Winter, where there was no sunlight. So where did the rainbow come from?

Under the watchful eyes of Dr. Sarah and Rhodes, the crystal-clear liquid slowly dripped down from the air. It trembled briefly on Tanya's lips, perfectly round, before rolling into her mouth. The iridescent light reflected Rhodes's worried gaze. He was unsure whether this ordinary drop of liquid would have any effect, watching anxiously and waiting. Time was both an expectation and a torment for him.

"Is the hot water ready?" Du Lei spent a considerable amount of time refining this drop of the Rejuvenating Elixir, at least three hours, but feeding it to Tanya was only a matter of moments.

"What?" Rhodes' attention was entirely focused on Tanya, and he didn't hear what Dure said for a moment. It wasn't until the latter called out to him that he realized Dure seemed to be calling him, and then he responded.

"Hot water, that's right, it's hot water, Rhodes, hurry up and bring the hot water over to feed Tanya!" Dr. Sara was also stunned for a while before realizing what was happening. She immediately reminded Rhodes and urged him to hurry up and bring over the hot water that had just been boiled. Rhodes, who had just come to his senses, immediately did as she was told.

“I need to rest for a while. You guys stay with her. Give her a sip of hot water every half hour. If nothing unexpected happens, she should wake up before dawn.” Du Lei swayed slightly, his legs went weak, and he almost fell to the ground. However, he quickly regained his balance. After feeding Tania the Rejuvenating Elixir, he showed an unprecedented level of fatigue.

"No accidents? But what if something happens? Hey, don't stay silent, hey..." Rhodes was still worried because Tanya hadn't woken up. He tried to ask Dure for more information, but the latter had already sat down with his back against the wall. No matter how Rhodes called him, he didn't respond. He was completely still, like an ice sculpture.

“Alright, Rhodes, Dure… he must be exhausted, with that huge explosion. He was the first to be hit, but he didn’t say a word. He did everything he could, more than any of us. Let him rest now, and let’s not disturb him anymore. As for Tanya… just do as Dure said. I believe him; she’ll definitely wake up.” Dr. Sarah stopped Rhodes, gesturing for him to give Dure some peace and quiet.

“Teacher, I understand. Tanya... she will definitely wake up, right?” Rhodes changed how he addressed Dr. Sarah. Normally he called her “Doctor.” It was only after going through this critical moment that he deeply recognized Dr. Sarah’s worth and also faced up to his own feelings for Tanya, realizing how important she was to him.

"Yes, they will," Dr. Sarah said softly, trying to comfort them. Actually, the reason he chose the Abyss of Winter as Rhodes and Tanya's graduation project was not entirely without ulterior motives. Dr. Sarah had always had a dream, a dream about ice dragons, a dream that originated when she was very young.

At that time, he was not a scientist or a doctor, but just an ordinary shepherd boy. One day, when he was herding sheep through a valley, one of the sheep walked on the edge of a cliff. He did not know that sheep could walk calmly on cliffs. Out of concern, he tried to bring the sheep back, but he accidentally fell off the cliff and was about to be smashed to pieces.

But at that moment, a sudden gust of wind blew from below the cliff. The wind lifted him from his falling state and brought him back to the ground. This scene left a deep impression on the young boy. He clearly remembered that in that gust of wind, the outline of an ice dragon appeared! Later, he inquired and learned that an ice dragon had passed through the area and had saved his life by chance.

Perhaps to the ice dragon, he was just an ordinary person it wouldn't even glance at, after all, its body was too huge, it roamed the entire continent and didn't take many people seriously. But to the young boy, if it hadn't appeared, he would probably have fallen into the abyss and been smashed to pieces. In the young boy's eyes, it was a great, almost totem-like existence. Even if he only glanced at it, that scene was deeply imprinted in his mind.

Ever since being unintentionally saved by the Ice Dragon, as the former boy gradually became the renowned Dr. Sarah, the Ice Dragon's enormous figure has always remained deep in his memory, never fading away. Dr. Sarah has always had a dream, a dream deeply rooted since childhood, that is to see the frozen side again!

()

702 Receiving Blessings

To realize this dream, he inquired in many places, but over the years, he had never heard of the whereabouts of the Ice Dragon. Until recently, he learned that a creature that resembled the Ice Dragon had appeared in the Abyss of Winter eight years ago. He immediately seized this opportunity and, under the guise of a graduation project, brought two students here.

However, Dr. Sara hadn't anticipated that instead of finding the Ice Dragon, Tanya would fall seriously ill and be on the verge of death. This tormented Dr. Sara with a heavy conscience. If he hadn't insisted on going to the Abyss of Winter to search for the Ice Dragon, Tanya would never have ended up in this situation. What would he do if something really happened to Tanya? Dr. Sara had thought this more than once, especially seeing Rhodes' worried expression. He could fully imagine how heartbroken Rhodes would be if something really happened to Tanya!

Du Lei's current situation is not good, it could even be described as terrible. This is because the Rejuvenating Elixir of All Things is a high-level refining formula, and the refining process is extremely complex. It is a great test of both physical and mental strength for the refiner. Of course, due to the lack of materials, the Rejuvenating Elixir of All Things that Du Lei refined was not the complete product, but a semi-finished product. This reduced the difficulty of refining it a lot, but it was still very difficult for Du Lei. This is because he himself is probably only a Steel-level alchemist at best, but the Rejuvenating Elixir of All Things is at least a Mithril-level, or even higher-level medicine.

In other words, Du Lei is attempting to refine medicine beyond his level, which carries a very high failure rate. Even if he controls every detail, he might still fail. Of course, there are ways to increase the success rate: increase the amount of magic power he injects, using his own magic power as a filler to drive the reaction process of the medicine. However, this would result in a significant drain on his own resources. If he had enough time and materials, Du Lei wouldn't mind refining the medicine slowly and repeatedly. But he knows very well that what he lacks most is time.

To ensure the success rate of refining the Elixir of Rejuvenation and to shorten the refining time as much as possible, he had to expend his own magic power, increasing the consumption rate exponentially. Fortunately, he eventually succeeded in refining the Elixir of Rejuvenation and fed it to Tanya. At least his efforts were not in vain. Of course, whether Tanya could wake up was her own fate and not something he could control.

Dure had a dream. Although he was a little reluctant to sleep, he couldn't resist the drowsiness and fell asleep. After all, when he fell from the Abyss of Winter, he had a dream that lasted for eight years. He was suddenly a little scared. What would it be like if he had another dream that lasted for eight years?

In his dream, Dure walked in a pitch-black world, where he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He couldn't see anything, but he wasn't aimlessly wandering. He could feel something calling to him from ahead. It was an incredibly strange and wonderful feeling. He quickened his pace, wanting to get to the front as soon as possible and figure out what was calling him. But he walked for a very long time, and the road beneath his feet seemed to have no end. Just when he was confused, his feet suddenly gave way to nothingness!

Before he could react, he plummeted into the abyss. As he fell, he saw the pitch-black landscape suddenly transform into a world of ice and snow. Beside him, a giant ice dragon suddenly took flight and pounced on him. He had no way to dodge and could only watch helplessly as he was swallowed by the ice dragon!

"Brother Du Lei, are you alright, Brother Du Lei?" Just then, Dr. Sarah's voice came from beside Du Lei. He opened his eyes with difficulty and saw Dr. Sarah gently shaking him, looking very worried.

"It's nothing, just... a dream." Du Lei shook his head gently. He recalled the scenes in his dream, which were so real. Even though eight years had passed, he still couldn't figure out why the ice dragon attacked him, how he managed to dodge the fatal blow, and how he hibernated in the Abyss of Winter for eight whole years.

"It's so good to see you're alright, Mr. Dure. Come and eat something." Dr. Sarah finally breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Dure was alright. She handed Dure a bowl of soup made from canned food, which was still steaming hot.

"By the way, how long have I been asleep? And Tanya, what's she doing now..." Dure felt his head was spinning. He looked at the distance with some confusion. Through the blazing fire, he could see Rhodes taking care of Tanya, who was still unconscious. Dure frowned. Tanya hadn't woken up yet. Had the Rejuvenating Elixir not worked?

"Brother Dure, you've slept for about four or five hours. Tanya woke up once just now, and her high fever has subsided. Her condition is much more stable now. Thanks to you, Brother Dure, otherwise Tanya definitely wouldn't have been able to recover." Dr. Sarah happily told Dure about Tanya's condition, her face beaming with joy. After all, it was something to celebrate that his prized student had overcome this difficult situation.

"That's perfect. It's thanks to her strong will that she's been able to hold on until now, even if I had refined the Elixir of Rejuvenation." Dure nodded gently. Tanya's condition had improved, which meant that his efforts hadn't been in vain, which put his mind at ease a little.

"Durey, are you awake? I'm sorry, I wasn't very nice to you before. If it weren't for your help, Tanya might have..." Rhodes, who was not far away, saw that Durey had woken up and immediately came over to check on Durey's condition. Of course, the most important thing was to apologize to Durey, because when Tanya was in a critical situation, he was only concerned with being quick-witted and said some bad things.

"It's alright, as long as Tanya is alright. Besides, I've also benefited from your kindness," Dure said with a smile. After a few hours of rest, he had recovered quite a bit.

In the past, he would never have had this much magic power, but now, eight years later, his magic power has increased significantly. He guessed that it was because when he fell into a coma, his body unconsciously absorbed the surrounding magic power, since the ice-attribute magic element in the Abyss of Winter was extremely rich.

This can be seen as a way for time to make amends for him after he slept in the Abyss of Winter for eight years.

()

703 is unnecessary.

"What favors or not, Brother Du Lei, you're being too polite. It's fate that we met in a place like this. We're friends, right?" Dr. Sarah waved her hand and said. Although he hadn't seen the Ice Dragon on this trip to the Abyss of Winter, his experiences so far had been thrilling and left a deep impression on him.

“Let’s rest and recuperate. Once Tanya has recovered a bit, we’ll leave here as soon as possible,” Dure nodded and said. Although Tanya’s condition had stabilized, they were still within the Winter’s Abyss. As long as they were here, it wasn’t safe. They needed to leave the Winter’s Abyss as soon as possible and go to the nearest town, Winter Town, where they could take a train to leave.

"Understood. We'll continue our journey once Tanya wakes up." Rhodes nodded. Tanya's condition had improved considerably when she woke up, and after another nap, they should be able to continue their travels.

Inside the cave, the fire still crackled and burned, its red glow reflecting on their faces. It had been a difficult journey for each of them, but thankfully, it was coming to an end soon. Having passed through the dangerous part of the journey, the rest would surely be a joyful one filled with laughter and laughter.

Meanwhile, on the train from Frost City to Winter Town, elite Northern Guards stood ready. This train was not a common civilian train, but a military train, carrying a large number of elite guards to Winter Town. There were two reasons for this action. First, Winter Town was the location of the warehouse storing supplies for the Northern Army, with nearly 40 percent of the supplies stored there. This strategic location determined the importance of Winter Town, and it was only reasonable to send more guards to defend it.

The second reason was that the Northern Kingdom received news that the Southern Kingdom's front was going to attack Wintertown. They would do everything in their power to destroy the supplies stored in Wintertown, making it impossible for the Northern Kingdom's army to survive the coming winter. Therefore, the Northern Kingdom had to strengthen the defenses of Wintertown. Considering that the Ice Queen's health was deteriorating and she could not command the war for long, she had to train a successor as soon as possible. To this end, she sent the heir to the throne to the front line to gain experience. Thus, Princess Winry, as the heir to the Ice Throne, personally traveled south on this military train to Wintertown.

"How much longer until we reach Winter Town?" Wenli asked the head guard next to her in the train carriage. Looking at the scenery rushing past the window, she suddenly remembered the train journey from Rock City back to Snow Country eight years ago. Back then, she was just a young girl. Although she carried a heavy burden, she had someone to rely on. She knew that no matter what setbacks she encountered, someone would solve them for her.

"If all goes well, we should arrive in eight hours," replied the head guard who was on guard duty. She had also participated in the mission to Rock City eight years ago, and since returning from Rock City, she had served as the head guard of the future heir to the throne of Snow Kingdom. Over the past eight years, she had witnessed her transform from a young girl into the powerful heir to the throne.

"Everything went smoothly?" Wen Li frowned. The word made her feel a little uncomfortable. She pondered for a moment and looked at the head guard, Bee Sting. Eight years ago, Bee Sting was in her prime, but now she was almost thirty years old. Although the ravages of time had eroded her youthful charm, she still possessed a certain elegance.

“Yes, Your Highness. Recently, the Southern Front has been launching frequent attacks, disrupting our transportation routes. There have been several attacks already.” Bee Sting reported truthfully. As the head of the personal guards, she was responsible for more than just Princess Wenli’s safety; she was also in charge of intelligence gathering.

“The Southern Front… Eight years ago, they were just a small local organization. But after eight years of development, they have grown to their current size and pose such a great threat to us. By the way, have you gotten the list of important figures in the Southern Front?” Wen Li frowned and asked Bee Sting next to her. She was also quite surprised by the rise of the Southern Front.

"According to intelligence data, the leader of the Southern Front is a guy named Grant. He is not from our Snow Kingdom. As for his background and identity, there is currently no detailed information. However, recently, there is someone in the Southern Front who has risen rapidly and is worth paying attention to," Bee Sting explained in detail.

"Rising so quickly? Is he a newcomer?" Wenli asked, frowning. For the Snow Kingdom, the Southern Front was a major threat, and any slight movement from them was worth paying attention to.

“It’s a woman named Liana. I’ve never heard of such a person in the Southern Front before, but she’s been involved in several recent incidents. According to our investigation, she’s an important figure in the Southern Front.” Bee Sting handed a document to Wenli, which contained information about a woman named Liana. However, the photo section was blank, indicating that no photos or information about Liana had been found.

“Liana… I’ll remember that name.” Winry pondered the name for a moment, then nodded slightly. Just then, an explosion suddenly rang out ahead, causing the train to shake violently!

"What's going on?" Bee Sting immediately stepped forward to inquire about the situation and immediately alerted the surroundings to prevent any assassins from killing Winry.

"Report! The railway ahead has been blown up, and the train can no longer proceed." A guard quickly reported the situation, and the train slowly came to a stop. A large number of guards with guns were on guard nearby to prevent anyone from lying in ambush.

"Bombed? Was it done by the Southern Front? Those guys... it seems they knew we were going to Winter Town for reinforcements, so they deliberately created trouble here to delay our journey." Bee Sting carefully checked the surrounding area and confirmed that it was safe, which made her breathe a slight sigh of relief.

“However, this also confirms one thing: they do intend to take action against Wintertown, otherwise they wouldn’t be making this fuss here.” Wenli made the right judgment immediately. Eight years ago, she certainly wouldn’t have been able to do this, but she has experienced too much in the past eight years, and she is no longer the dependent girl she once was.

704 Infiltrating the Town

“No need. If they were targeting me, they wouldn’t have used such a small attack. They would have ambushed me at all costs. They only sabotaged the railway and didn’t launch an attack, which means their goal was just to slow us down. In other words, they are buying time to attack Wintertown. This is a very insecure and hasty strategy, which means they don’t have enough troops to fight in Wintertown. I remember the Griffin Force’s base is nearby, right?” Wendy analyzed the situation in the shortest amount of time.

“Yes, the Griffin troops are in nearby Eagle City. Shall we contact them?” Bee Sting pulled out a map and quickly located Eagle City on it. It was the closest city controlled by the Northern Kingdom to them, and the most remote city in the Snow Kingdom.

“Have the Griffin Legion send a squad of Griffin Riders to escort us to the next station, where we will take a civilian train to Winterhold,” Winry decided immediately.

"What? Take a civilian train? Wouldn't that be very dangerous?" Bee Sting was worried about this. Her job was to ensure the safety of this heir to the throne, and she dared not let her take any risks.

“It’s alright. It looks dangerous, but it’s actually much safer than taking a military train. Let them come as soon as possible. We need to get to Winter Town as quickly as possible.” Wenli shook her head to indicate that it was fine. She knew very well what she was doing and would never take risks lightly.

“I understand. I’ll contact the Griffin Legion right now.” Bee Sting escorted Winry off the train, and they soon disappeared along the winding railway line.

At the same time, a military train slowly arrived in Winter Town. As the logistics supply base of the Northern Kingdom, Winter Town was heavily guarded. Although the armies of the Southern Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom had been in a stalemate recently and had not started fighting, the mobilization in Winter Town had been very frequent recently. Trains arrived in Winter Town every day to transport supplies to the front line, which made the usually quiet town increasingly busy.

"Heave-ho, we've finally arrived in Winter Town. The first thing to do is gather as much intelligence as possible." Someone jumped off the train through a gap. He looked to be in his early twenties, not very tall, wearing a hat, and moved nimbly. Just as he reached the station, a guard on duty immediately came up to question him.

"Who are you?" The guards had received orders to thoroughly check everyone coming and going in the next few days, and they dared not be careless in the slightest. If anything went wrong, they would not be able to bear the responsibility.

“Hey Simon, don’t you recognize me? I’m Liata.” The young man walked over, adjusted his hat, and said with a light laugh. It seemed he knew the guard, as he immediately recognized him.

"Huh? Liata? It's you? I was wondering why you looked so familiar. But weren't you in Winter City before? What are you doing in Winter Town?" The guard named Simon recognized Liata and asked suspiciously. After all, the last time they met was in Winter City, which was two or three months ago.

“Don’t even mention it. There’s practically no business running transport in Winter City. My boss hasn’t paid me for months. If I stayed in Winter City, I probably wouldn’t even be able to afford food. I heard that freight transport is busier in Winter Town, and the jobs are all cash-on-delivery. So I asked some acquaintances to help me get a job running train transport in Winter Town. It’s my way of doing my part for the country. By the way, Simon, weren’t you working in Winter City? How did you end up in Winter Town?” Liata asked curiously. He always had a wide circle of friends, from all walks of life, and Simon was one of them.

“I was just transferred here last week. You know how we soldiers are; we can only obey orders.” Simon said helplessly, but he was very gratified to meet a friend he knew in Winter Town.

"I see. It must have been quite a difficult time." Liata nodded. He felt a lot of sympathy for the young guard named Simon. Back in Winter City, Simon had said that he wanted to earn some more money, then retire from the army, marry a beautiful girl, and live a good life. At the time, Liata had teased him, and Simon had blushed.

"Lyata, goodbye... It's so good to have met friends here, but... everyone's saying the war is about to start soon. I really hope the war doesn't reach Wintertown." Simon prayed softly. He didn't ask for much. He didn't want to make a name for himself in the brutal war. All he wanted was peace and quiet. What a pathetic pursuit!

Under Simon's hopeful gaze, Liata slowly walked away and arrived in Winter Town. This originally peaceful town had few outside tourists, but with the outbreak of war, Winter Town became a logistics supply base for the Northern Army due to its superior geographical location.

This place stores a large amount of military supplies, including food and winter clothing for the army. If anything goes wrong here, it will be a fatal blow to the army of the Northern Kingdom. After all, no matter how good an army is, it needs to be built on good logistics. Logistics can be said to be a crucial link in determining the outcome of a war.

"I never expected to run into Simon here. This is quite a surprise. But speaking of which... the defenses in Winter Town are really tight. There are checkpoints everywhere, and the supplies are scattered, concentrated in multiple warehouses. It will be very difficult to burn all the supplies in one go." After entering Winter Town, Liata carefully observed the environment of the town.

He found the town to be particularly heavily guarded, with patrolling guards everywhere. He also noticed that there were several large warehouses scattered throughout the town, each guarded by a dedicated team, making it virtually impenetrable.

"However... there is no absolutely safe warehouse in this world. Even the most heavily guarded warehouses have rat holes. The prerequisite is to do enough research and figure out where the rat holes are... I may not have other skills, but I am a professional when it comes to finding rat holes."

Although Liata knew that the mission he was to carry out in Winter Town would be very challenging, much more difficult than the missions he had carried out before, he was prepared for it. If it wasn't challenging, he wouldn't have come here!

“Then it’s time to get to work, Mr. Grant. Just you wait and see, I will definitely not let you down!” Liata adjusted his hat brim, and soon he entered Winter Town and disappeared.

vertex

705 Azure Thunder Empire

The once unremarkable town of Winter has quietly become the center of a storm, and so far it has maintained a semblance of calm. The patrolling guards are performing their duties as usual, and most of the town's residents work for the warehouse.

They loaded all sorts of military supplies onto the train, and then transported them to the front lines. Everything was quiet, and people seemed completely unaware of the approaching storm. Dr. Sarah and her party, who were about to arrive in Wintertown, were also completely unaware.

After Tanya regained consciousness, Dr. Sarah and her group left the Abyss of Winter through the underground cave, finally bidding farewell to the howling winds and omnipresent ice storms. Their graduation research project was also put to an end. After all, being able to safely leave the Abyss of Winter was already a lucky thing, so why worry about anything else?

"Wintertown is just ahead. It's the closest town to us. We can rest and resupply there before taking the train to Winter City," Dr. Sarah said, pointing to the faint outline of the town ahead. They were familiar with Wintertown because they had prepared there before coming to Winter's Abyss.

“Winter Town? But these trains… don’t look like civilian trains.” Dure frowned as he watched the trains whizzing past. This town gave him an uneasy feeling.

“Because Winter Town is the logistics supply base for the Northern Army, many trains come to Winter Town every day, carrying military supplies to the front lines. Of course, supplies transferred from other places are also transported to Winter Town for storage,” Rhodes explained from the side.

"So that's how it is. Supplies are being transported to the front lines. Does this mean another war is about to begin?" Du Lei looked up at the sky and noticed a shadow falling over it. This made him somewhat uneasy, because eight years ago, when he was on the train to Winter City and passed the Bridge of Winter, the Snow Country was relatively stable. Although there was an organization called the Southern Front expressing the interests of the Southern Country they represented, it had not yet escalated into a full-blown civil war.

But now, eight years later, the situation has deteriorated to the point where the Southern Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom are locked in a life-or-death struggle. This reminds Du Lei of what happened eight years ago when the Snow Kingdom faced a border crisis, and he joined the guard team to escort the Snow Kingdom's envoy, Wen Li, to the Mountain Kingdom.

When the Land of Snow faces an external crisis, its people can unite as one, but once the crisis is over, internal conflicts erupt, and things never seem to calm down.