The most shameless alchemist in history

721 Nobody

"Two-star King-level magic user, Restia, commander of the Griffin Legion of the Snow Kingdom, who are you?" Restia revealed her identity. She had rushed over after hearing the commotion. Originally, she thought she didn't need to take action herself, as her subordinates would be able to handle the intruder. However, after seeing her subordinates defeated, she realized that she had underestimated this young man and ultimately chose to take action herself.

“I am but a nobody, not worthy of General Restia’s attention. I just… never mind, there is no just.” Dure had originally intended to state his purpose, that he had come to see Winry, but he quickly abandoned the idea.

Because he realized that opportunities to fight against a King-level magic user were not something that could be had at any time, he decided to fight Restia first. This way, he could figure out whether his level had regressed or improved eight years later, after losing Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai.

"Unwilling to reveal your name? No problem, I have plenty of ways to make you spill it after I take you down!" General Restia swung her spear across the ground, and soon a powerful icy aura spread out. Compared to the Griffin Legion's attack just now, this was already far stronger even in its initial charging phase. This made Dure feel like he was facing a formidable enemy, and he dared not deal with it as calmly as before.

“Since you’re so confident, General Restia, then bring it on!” Dure was completely focused. He took a step forward with his right foot and stomped heavily on the ground. Soon, a large number of snowflakes were thrown into the air. It was clear that countless snowflakes were turning into octagonal shapes and beginning to merge into a ball.

Two, four, eight, sixteen snowflakes—more and more snowflakes began to overlap and coalesce. It seemed like a slow process, but in reality, it was completed in an instant. In just one breath, hundreds of ice arrows were formed. This was a move that Dure had used against the Griffin Legion, but these ice arrows were colder and sharper than before!

A dense barrage of ice arrows flew towards Restia. This attack was extremely fierce. Even the Griffin Legion could only temporarily dodge this move from Dure. However, while Dure was still facing the Griffin Legion, his opponent was no longer an ordinary Griffin Knight from the legion.

Moreover, the legion commander, Restia, who was on foot, did not dodge. She suddenly accelerated and charged towards the incoming arrows. Just as she was about to be hit by an ice arrow, she suddenly swept her spear forward!

An unprecedented icy power surged forth in an instant, giving Du Lei the illusion that even his soul would be frozen. He felt a chill run down his spine. If it were him eight years ago, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand this attack and would have been immediately crushed.

But now he calmed himself down, and the snow and ice falling from the sky quickly condensed together. The ice arrows he used to attack Restia earlier were made from the snow on the ground, but now his weapon was the snowflakes falling from the sky, covering everything and omnipresent!

"If you were using magic of a different attribute, you might be able to pose a threat to me, but what use are snowflakes against ice?" Restia merely sneered at the ice walls that were being formed one after another; she didn't take this level of defense seriously at all.

She launched a series of fierce attacks, unstoppable and breaking through eight ice walls in a very short time. The chilling icy air that spread out even froze the nearby warehouses. There were guards nearby who were cheering for Restia, but at this moment, in order to avoid being accidentally injured, they could only quickly flee the area!

"Well done, General Restia! Keep it up, General! You must teach this wicked brat a lesson... Wait, what's this...?" Colonel Boca was the one cheering the loudest, because he saw the young man being forced back step by step by Restia with overwhelming superiority.

This made him feel extremely relieved. Who told that kid to openly blow up the wall and escape in front of so many people during his interrogation? It made him lose face, and it's no wonder he had such deep resentment and dissatisfaction.

"Sir, run! If you stay here any longer, you'll freeze into an icicle! General Restia is serious!" An adjutant shouted a warning to Colonel Boca and pulled him away. At that moment, icy air swept over at a visible speed, covering everything in its icy embrace.

Even if there was a burning stove in the corner, the flames hadn't had time to go out before they were frozen by the ice. All of this happened too fast. The wind and clouds in the sky were surging, a sign that an ice storm was coming.

"Good heavens, she's that powerful? That kid is definitely dead. As expected of the number one female general in the Snow Kingdom, a king-level ice magic user is simply invincible. That kid is probably turned into an ice sculpture by now." Colonel Boca hid behind the warehouse.

Fortunately, he managed to get to a safe distance in time; otherwise, he probably wouldn't have been able to avoid that attack, and his men would have had to rescue him from the ice sculpture. He was so far away and still suffered such a strong impact, let alone Dure, who was in the heart of the storm.

"Sir, that kid doesn't seem to have turned into an ice sculpture." The adjutant glanced at him from afar and cautiously replied.

"If he didn't turn into an ice sculpture, then he was reduced to ashes? That's fine, that's the kid's final fate, he deserved to end up like this." Although Colonel Boca didn't witness the kid's annihilation, he could barely accept the outcome.

"No, no, that kid seems to be alive and well, and he even... he even launched a counterattack against General Restia!" the adjutant exclaimed, pointing to the distance ahead.

In a newly created crater, someone leaped up. He was fast, but Restia was even faster. The invincible female general charged forward, brandishing her spear, leaving him no footing and forcing him to face another attack.

But the young man had clearly adapted to General Restia's offensive. He appeared to be in a defensive posture and looked quite disheveled. However, in this situation, he suddenly advanced instead of retreating in the face of Restia's offensive. Just as the guards watching were puzzled, a large ball of flame suddenly burst forth.

fire!

"What's going on? Where did the fire come from?" Colonel Boca was shocked. In such freezing weather, it was difficult to start a fire, let alone for a raging fire to suddenly appear out of nowhere. This was too strange, it was like seeing a ghost!

722 Frost Domain

General Restia, who was originally in a one-sided dominant position, was also somewhat surprised by the sudden appearance of flames. She swung her spear to block and deflect the vortex of flames. After that, she retreated more than ten steps and looked at the young man in front of her with some surprise.

"I thought you were an ice-attribute mage before. In ice magic, I have a superior advantage over you, and you are no match for me. But now... you can actually use fire magic. Are you a dual-attribute mage? No... the fire magic isn't released from your body, but rather it's a trace amount of magic element distributed in the air. Are you an alchemist?"

Restia, being well-informed, immediately saw through the young man's true nature.

"Did they notice?" Du Lei didn't deny it, and the vortex of flames that had been swirling between his hands had dissipated.

His hands were also burned red by the flames. Although his counterattack just now was able to turn the tide, he knew that this move could only be used once, because the fire element in the surrounding air was already very weak, and now that he had drawn it away, he could not repeat the same move.

"Not just an alchemist, but a rare combat-type alchemist? I never expected to find such a talent within the Southern Front. You are truly not to be underestimated." Restia re-examined the young man and gave him high praise.

Alchemists are extremely rare, and among the limited number of alchemists, most are either crafting or synthesis practitioners who use alchemy in combat, which is extremely uncommon.

"King-level magic users are indeed difficult to deal with. I've seen it for myself today." Dure bent down and lowered his center of gravity, guarding against Restia's next attack. After exchanging blows with Restia again, he realized that there was indeed a big gap between him and a King-level magic user. In a head-on confrontation, he would have no way to defeat Restia.

“Since you are an alchemist from the Southern Front, then I can’t let you go. Surrender now. You have no chance of escaping from my icy domain.” Restia brandished her spear, drawing a line on the snow. This line was not isolated.

It connects with another line in front of it. At first glance, it may seem confusing, and you may not understand what Restia is doing. But if you look closely, you will make an amazing discovery. Restia has drawn a huge circle. Within the circle, there are flashes of silver light and cracks appear on the ground. Obviously, without Dure's knowledge, he has been trapped in an invisible cage by Restia!

"This is... a sealing barrier created using her own ice-attribute magic? I didn't even notice it before, what a blunder." Dure realized he was surrounded by a perfect circle and knew it was Restia's doing. He tried to control his ice-attribute magic to fight Restia, but he found that the surrounding magic elements were no longer under his control!

"Alchemists are powerful, but in combat they rely heavily on the magical elements in their environment and magical items. Unfortunately, you don't seem to have any magical items with you. I've set up an ice domain nearby, and within its range, I can control the ice element. So you can't defeat me here." Restia was very confident in herself. She walked towards Dure, spear in hand. It was about time to decide the victor.

"So that's how it is. It seems I've really run into big trouble. But... you'd be making a big mistake if you underestimate me like that. Little Gray, let me borrow your power for a bit. Thinking back, thinking back to that power that devoured everything..." Du Lei carefully recalled the scene when he was trapped in the simulation space. With Little Black gone, the devouring ability that Little Gray gave him became his trump card!

"Please wait a moment!" Just as Dure was about to use his trump card against Restia, a voice suddenly came, which made him freeze in shock.

"Your Highness Winry, it's dangerous here, please don't come any closer!" General Restia, who was also prepared to fight to the death, tensed up upon hearing the voice. She wasn't afraid of powerful enemies because she had something to rely on; her own strength was formidable. But Princess Winry was different; she was just an ordinary person. If her opponent used her as a weapon, it would be troublesome!

“It’s alright, General Restia, I’m safe and sound. I’d like to ask him a question.” Winry had been watching the battle from the tower window the whole time. She knew Restia’s strength very well, so she wasn’t worried at all that Restia would lose.

She had no interest whatsoever in this battle, which was of no suspense whatsoever, until she accidentally caught a glimpse of the profile of the young man fighting Restia. She was stunned and, despite the bee stings' attempts to stop her, insisted on coming down to find out what was going on.

"Princess Wenli, please do not approach the battlefield. Princess Wenli...you, you are...how is this possible?" Bee Sting followed Wenli and was completely confused as to why Wenli would react this way. She inadvertently saw the face of a young man not far ahead, which also stunned her.

"What? How is this possible? What's going on?" General Restia was completely bewildered. However, following the gazes of Winry and Bee Sting, she noticed that both of them were looking at the man in front of them. This puzzled Restia, but she soon heard a rumor.

A rumor from the Mountain Kingdom tells of how Princess Wenli encountered numerous dangers on her journey to the Mountain Kingdom, several times facing life-or-death situations, but each time a young boy managed to turn the tide.

Moreover, according to the Mountain Kingdom, Princess Wenli trusted that boy very much, and he also won the favor of many important figures in the Mountain Kingdom, who spoke highly of him! But that was eight years ago. Restia suddenly calculated the time. Eight years ago, the boy was fourteen or fifteen years old. If you convert his age, wouldn't he be the same age as the young man standing on the opposite side of her now?

“Princess Winry…” When Restia saw Winry walking into the icy realm, she immediately stepped forward to try to stop her, but at this moment, Bee Sting stopped her, gently shaking her head to indicate that Winry was safe and that the man would not pose any threat to her.

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723 Long time no see

Although Restia was somewhat confused, she still retreated. However, she did not dare to dispel the Ice Domain, because if anything unexpected happened, she could at least put up a fight and prevent Winry from becoming the other party's hostage. In her line of sight, Winry had already walked to the center of the Ice Domain and was very close to the man, to the point of being face to face.

"May I ask you a question?" Winry walked up to the man, her hands clenching the hem of her skirt, looking somewhat excited. Restia had never seen her with such an expression before, because for the past eight years, Princess Winry had always presented herself as cold and domineering, never before had she been so nervous and excited.

"What's the problem? Please ask." The young man's throat moved slightly. He originally wanted to say something else, but he only managed to utter these few words. He looked calmly at the woman in front of him. Although they had been separated for eight years, he could still recognize her at a glance.

"What's your name?" Wenli's throat was a little dry, so she had to swallow. She knew who he was the moment she saw him, even though so many years had passed. She knew that it was him, there was no mistake, she was absolutely not mistaken.

Even though news of his murder reached her ears eight years ago, and she even went to the scene herself, she thought she had accepted the reality. But for eight years, she dreamed countless times about what happened together in the Mountain Kingdom, and those scenes were so vivid.

He was so real in her dream that she woke up in the middle of the night, staring blankly at the empty space. His image in her mind became increasingly blurry, and she realized that she had been dreaming again. But was she dreaming or not? Even she, who was usually calm and collected, couldn't figure it out for a moment.

"Du Lei, and you?" Du Lei said his name, just like the first time they met eight years ago. Back then, he was still studying at Maple Leaf Academy, a student engrossed in research. What was she like back then? Du Lei thought carefully. Oh, he remembered. Back then, she was a very polite, elegant, yet gentle and lovely girl!

"Wen Li, my name is Wen Li!" She was extremely excited. When she saw him, she was a little nervous, afraid that she was dreaming. But after receiving a positive answer from him, she was sure that the young man in front of her was indeed the person she had been longing for for the past eight years!

“It’s Miss Winry, it’s been a long time.” Dure said softly, looking very calm, just like when they first met eight years ago. Restia, who was not far away, was very puzzled by this scene. She had never seen Princess Winry show such an expression before. It was really too rare!

"Yes, it's been so long, so long..." Wenli couldn't control her emotions and rushed over. Snowflakes continued to fall slowly, landing on their hair and shoulders. The snowflakes were silent, and the surroundings were completely quiet, except for the sound of sobbing. She had dreamed of this scene countless times in her dreams.

She thought it would never become a reality. Over the past eight years, she had transformed from a gentle and lovely young girl into a powerful heir to the throne. However, the feelings hidden deep in her heart had not faded with time; instead, they had grown stronger. This long-lost feeling and emotion surprised and delighted her.

"Why did it suddenly stop? Has General Restia finally dealt with that wretched brat? Hmm, over there is... Princess Winry? And that person is... no way?" Colonel Boca, who had been hiding far away to avoid being affected by Restia's icy domain, noticed the lack of movement and came over to check the situation curiously.

In his opinion, that kid was definitely dead, but when he walked over and saw the young couple in the snow, he was stunned. He rubbed his eyes, doubting his own eyes several times, and then asked the adjutant next to him to pinch him until he cried out in pain. Only then did he realize that he had not seen wrong.

"Princess Winry...that kid...what on earth is going on?" Colonel Boca was confused, desperate, and on the verge of collapse. This was completely different from what he had imagined. He could vaguely sense that his revenge was probably a long way off.

Inside the inn in Wintertown, Dr. Sarah and her group were very worried about Dure. They found Sabo, hoping he could come up with a solution, but Sabo wasn't quite sure what was going on either. Just as he was about to leave the inn to inquire, someone came over—a woman.

She asked Dr. Sarah and Rod to come with her. Sabo hurriedly stepped forward to explain and vouch for Dr. Sarah, saying that they were not members of the Southern Front. However, the woman ignored him and forcibly took Dr. Sarah and the others away. Sabo had no choice but to follow closely behind, constantly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. He never expected such a thing to happen.

What he didn't expect was that Dr. Sarah and Rhodes were not taken to an interrogation room or a prison, but to a villa in the center of Wintertown near Winter Tower, which was Princess Winry's residence. He also learned that it was Princess Winry's personal guards who took Dr. Sarah and her group away, which made Sabo quite puzzled. Did Princess Winry intend to interrogate Dr. Sarah herself?

However, Sabo dismissed this idea after meeting someone, because he had actually seen this person before. He had seen this person when Dr. Sara and her group had just arrived in Winter Town. At that time, this person claimed to be Dr. Sara's guide, and seemed to have a very good relationship with Dr. Sara. This person was undoubtedly Dure.

"Brother Dure? What are you doing here? What happened?" Dr. Sarah was also very surprised to see Dure, because she clearly remembered that Dure had been captured by the Imperial Guards while protecting them, and that an explosion had occurred at the interrogation site after Dure was captured.

According to Sabo's inquiries, it was Dure who blew up the interrogation room and escaped. General Restia personally arrested him, which made Sabo very worried, fearing that this would implicate Dr. Sara and the others. However, seeing Dure standing unharmed next to Princess Winry this time, Sabo was really puzzled. He couldn't figure out what this guy's background was. Was he just an ordinary guide?

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724 people with the same name

"Well, there was a little accident. Actually, it was just meeting an old friend. Dr. Sarah, you don't need to worry." Dure looked at Winry beside him. He didn't know how to explain this to Dr. Sarah and the others for a moment, because it was too complicated.

"Are you Dr. Sarah? Are you Mr. Rhodes? You're the ones who rescued Dure from the Abyss of Winter and brought him back. Thank you so much." Winry sincerely expressed her gratitude to Dr. Sarah and Mr. Rhodes, her heartfelt thanks overflowing.

“There’s also Tanya, but she’s still sick and hasn’t fully recovered. She’s still at the inn. If it weren’t for Dr. Sara and the others, I don’t know how much longer I would have stayed in the Abyss of Winter.” Dure was very grateful to Dr. Sara and the others because he knew that he needed an external trigger to wake up. If it weren’t for Dr. Sara and the others, he probably would have been asleep for more than eight years.

"Brother Dure is exaggerating. Without Brother Dure, we wouldn't have been able to leave the Abyss of Winter safely, especially Tanya. Thanks to Brother Dure, she was able to escape danger. I just don't know who this person is..." Dr. Sarah looked at Winry, not quite sure about this person's identity, but Dure's safety put her at ease.

“Princess Winry…Your Highness?” Just then, Sabo walked over. He was really worried about Dr. Sara’s safety. He had been wondering if Winry was going to interrogate Dr. Sara and the others herself, but when he came over, he saw that one of the most powerful women in the Snow Kingdom was chatting and laughing with Dr. Sara.

"Could it be... that you are Princess Winry, the heir to the throne of the Snow Kingdom, who has recently become quite famous?" Rhodes was stunned for a moment. After hearing Sabo's address, he immediately came to his senses and looked at the young woman in front of him in surprise. As a top student of Sena University, Rhodes was very knowledgeable. He had seen many royal nobles and aristocrats, but most of them were just all show and no substance.

Royal family members as outstanding in every aspect as Princess Winry are extremely rare. He had heard about Princess Winry's deeds when he first entered university. At that time, he was curious about what kind of person this princess was. Only today did he realize that she was about the same age as him, but her demeanor was the most outstanding among all the people he had ever met.

"Don't be rude to His Highness!" Bee Sting, who was standing next to Wenli, stepped forward and reprimanded her. She was the one who had just brought Dr. Sarah and her party from the hotel to the villa.

"It's alright, they are all Mr. Dure's friends, and also our Snow Kingdom's distinguished guests." Wenli waved her hand gently, signaling Bee Sting to step aside and not to worry about the details.

"Miss Bee Sting is as serious as ever. By the way, where are Uncle Kotetsu and the others?" Du Lei recognized Bee Sting. Although eight years had passed, Bee Sting's appearance hadn't changed much. In fact, with the passage of time, she had gained a touch of charm.

"Hu Che was injured during a mission three years ago and has retired. Yuan Bi retired with him and is responsible for taking care of him. As for Bao Wei, he..." Feng Ci paused here and unconsciously touched her lower abdomen gently.

“Bee Sting and Leopard Tail got married last year. Leopard Tail is currently the commander of the Frost City Garrison, in charge of the troops near Frost City. Bee Sting could have been waiting for the baby to be born in Frost City, but she insisted on coming to Winter Town with me,” Winry explained with a smile.

"So that's how it is." Du Lei nodded slightly. He and Hu Che and the others had gone through a tough journey together. Now, eight years later, learning about the current situation of his travel companions filled him with emotion. At the same time, he thought of the group from Maple Leaf Academy. So much time had passed, and he wondered what had become of them.

"Young man Dure, are you alright?" Dr. Sarah couldn't help but call out when she saw Dure's absent-minded look. She had been worried about Dure's situation before, but now it seemed that her worries were completely unnecessary. Moreover, Dure's relationship with that Princess Winry seemed to be very close, which made Dr. Sarah a little curious.

"It's nothing, I'm sorry. I was just thinking about some things from the past, and I neglected you, Dr. Sarah." Dure waved his hand and said. Besides Lance and the others from Maple Leaf Academy, he also thought about the people of Hot Spring Village and the three outsiders who came to the village. Those scenes seemed to have happened just yesterday.

"That's not true at all. If it weren't for you, Brother Dure, we would not only have had trouble getting out of the Abyss of Winter, but we would have also encountered a lot more trouble in Winter Town." Dr. Sarah said with a smile. She was naturally referring to the incident when the guards went to the inn to arrest people. If Dure hadn't stepped forward, they would probably have been arrested and interrogated by now.

“I am deeply sorry for my subordinate’s rash actions, Dr. Sarah…” Winry wanted to say something, after all, she was the one who gave the order to arrest them, but at that moment a loud explosion and a burst of gunfire suddenly came from outside, which made her immediately turn her head to look out the window.

"What happened outside?" Bee Sting immediately asked the guard who rushed over to report. The explosion was caused by Dure, but Dure himself was standing right in front of them, which meant that someone else had caused the explosion. This gave Bee Sting a bad feeling.

"Report! We are following orders to search the list of everyone who has arrived in Winter Town in the past week. Just as we were searching a man named Liata, he suddenly threw a bomb at us and is currently fleeing!" The guard reported the situation immediately. At this time, sporadic gunfire could be heard outside.

"What? Such a thing actually happened? Then this Liata is probably the suspicious person who recently infiltrated Winter Town. Send more people immediately and make sure she is arrested!" Bee Sting frowned. To actually commit such a crime against the wind is a blatant provocation against their Northern Kingdom. Now that she has surfaced, it's about time to close the net!

“Liata…” Dure chewed on the name softly, his brow furrowing thoughtfully.

Because he clearly remembered that name. If he remembered correctly, eight years ago, when he was on the train to Winter City, he had met someone named Liata. However, there were too many people with the same name, and he couldn't be sure if it was the same person, after all, so much time had passed.

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