The most shameless alchemist in history

726 came back to life

"What's wrong? Do you know this person?" Wen Li asked curiously when she saw Du Lei's appearance. In her memory, no matter how difficult the situation was, he could always find a breakthrough in the first place and solve the problem perfectly. That feeling of trust and reliance was deeply hidden in her heart. In the past eight years, she could not find another person she could rely on so much.

“I’m not quite sure either. How about this, I’ll go check on Dr. Sara and the others…” Dure thought for a moment and decided to go and find out what was going on. However, he was still a little worried about Dr. Sara and her group. After all, Dr. Sara was a mentor and friend to him, and he had a good impression of Rhodes and Tanya and got along well with them.

“Since Mr. Dure is going, then go without worry. As for Dr. Sarah and Mr. Rhodes, they are both honored guests of our Snow Kingdom, and I will treat them well. Dr. Sarah, why don't you stay here? It's very safe here.” Wendy knew what Dure meant; he was worried about the safety of Dr. Sarah and the others.

“Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness Winry, but Tanya still needs someone to take care of her at the inn, and we are very comfortable here, so there’s no need for you to trouble yourself, Your Highness.” Dr. Sarah waved her hand, declining Winry’s offer.

“In that case, then, Bee Sting, please escort Dr. Sarah and Mr. Rhodes back to the inn, and strengthen the security around the inn to ensure its safety. Also, Dr. Sarah, if you need anything, just tell me, and I will have it delivered.” Winry did not press Dr. Sarah, and gestured to her head guard to send them away.

“Understood, Dr. Sarah, then please.” Bee Sting waved, intending to see Dr. Sarah and Rhodes off, but Rhodes hesitated and looked at Dure.

“Dure, then you…” Rhodes knew very well that if it weren’t for Dure, Tanya would not have been able to safely leave the Abyss of Winter. When Tanya was critically ill, he had angrily blamed Dure, which made him feel very guilty.

However, Durley disregarded past grievances, which made Rhodes regard him as a very important friend. It's worth noting that Rhodes, a top student at Seine University, was always arrogant and rarely paid attention to others. Durley was definitely an exception.

“I’m going over there to see who this guy Liata is. Once we catch him, Wintertown will return to peace.” Dure didn’t tell Rod and Winry that he had met a man named Liata eight years ago.

Because he wasn't sure if it was the same person, another explosion rang out not far away. Dure immediately said goodbye to Rod and the others, jumped out of the window, and rushed towards the location of the explosion.

Liana was in a panic. She had thought that this mission in Wintertown would be no different from the past. She had carried out similar missions countless times in the past eight years, and each time she had solved them perfectly.

However, upon arriving in Winter Town, she discovered that things were not as she had imagined. First, she was tricked into having her own warehouse bombed, which led to the arrest and imprisonment of a large number of Southern Front members. She then launched three bombings to turn the tide.

However, the other party directly targeted the time when she entered Yandong Town and quickly caught her. Originally, she wanted to cover it up quietly, since she had legal documents. Even if she was arrested, it would only delay her for a while, and her release would be just a matter of time.

But just as the guards came to search for her, the boy named Doma, thinking he had been exposed, was too sensitive and drew his gun, which forced Liana to flee in panic, leaving her in such a sorry state.

Fortunately, she was quick-witted and escaped Thompson's house in a short time, drawing away her pursuers. When she saw the guards chasing after her, she became anxious because they were clearly prepared. Griffin riders were roaming in the air, searching for suspicious individuals from their high vantage point, which put a lot of pressure on Liana.

“This won’t do. We’ll get caught sooner or later. They’ve even mobilized the Griffin Legion. This is a real blunder…” Liana hadn’t expected the enemy to be so well-prepared. In fact, she had never encountered such a formidable opponent before. She had to hide in a warehouse, where the footsteps of the guards outside were clearly audible.

"I have to find a chance to break out, otherwise... Oh no, who's here?" Liana gritted her teeth. She knew that if she let things continue like this, she would definitely be in trouble. Just then, she suddenly noticed someone behind her, which made her exclaim in surprise!

"There's a sound over here!" The guards outside rushed in immediately upon hearing the commotion, looking around to find the suspicious individuals.

"Huh? Nobody here? Did I hear wrong? Never mind, let's continue searching elsewhere." A leading officer looked around, frowned, and searched carefully, but found no suspicious persons. This puzzled him, but to avoid wasting time, he led his men out of the warehouse and continued searching elsewhere.

"Don't worry, they've gone far away and won't be coming back anytime soon." Two figures gracefully landed on the top of the warehouse; it was Liana, who had just disappeared inside, and a young man.

"That really scared me to death! I almost got caught, but... who are you..." While Liana was relieved to have escaped, she noticed the man standing next to her. If he were a complete stranger, his sudden appearance would have terrified her. But when Liana looked closely, she felt a strange sense of familiarity with this man; she was sure she had seen him somewhere before!

“Liata…it really is you.” After looking her over carefully, the young man recognized her. Although eight years had passed, this long-lost sense of familiarity was definitely not wrong. He was quite certain that Liata was the same girl who had sneaked onto the train at Maple City’s train station eight years ago.

“You are… Brother Dure? No, no, no, how is that possible? Brother Dure died eight years ago, how could he still be alive? Hahahaha, you are definitely not Brother Dure, you are a ghost, that’s right, you must be the ghost of Brother Dure wandering around!” Liana’s first reaction was that the young man in front of her was the one she met on the train eight years ago.

But she soon realized something was amiss, because she had personally participated in the incident eight years ago. After learning of Dure's accident, she searched for a long time but to no avail, which saddened her for a long time.

()

726 It really was you!

"A ghost? Maybe I really am a ghost that has returned from hell. Eight years have passed in the blink of an eye, as if Death wielded his scythe and chopped a part of my soul." Dure smiled bitterly and sighed softly. He sat down with his back against the mountain of supplies. Although he had accepted the fact that he had lost eight years, he still felt very unwilling whenever he thought about it.

"You wouldn't... really be Brother Dure? You... came back to life?" At first, Liana didn't believe what the man said, but after observing him carefully, she confirmed his identity, which greatly surprised her, and she was so shocked that she couldn't speak for a moment.

“That’s right, I came back to life. I never thought that I would see you again after eight years. Liata, how are you?” Dure composed himself and asked the person next to him softly. Although they had only met by chance on the train eight years ago, he had a deep impression of Liata.

"I..." Liana didn't know how to answer for a moment. To have survived such a disaster in this place and then encounter someone she thought was long dead was an incredible feeling for her.

"Miss Liana, Miss Liana...who are you?" At this moment, two people sneaked in from outside the warehouse. One was about forty years old, and the other was only seventeen or eighteen. The boy breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Liana, but when he saw someone standing next to Liana, he became alert again and immediately raised his gun to aim at the young man.

"Liana?" Dure didn't care about the gun the boy was pointing at him, because the boy was just an ordinary person, not a magic user, and ordinary bullets could not pose any threat to him. What bothered him more was the boy's way of addressing Liana. He frowned and looked at the old friend beside him.

“This… Doma, put the gun away quickly. Mr. Dure is not our enemy. Um… Mr. Dure, let’s leave here first. We can discuss any issues in detail once we’re in a safe place.” Liana immediately stopped the boy.

Faced with Du Lei's question, she didn't know how to explain for a moment, but she knew that the most important thing was to leave this place, because the guards of the Northern Kingdom were searching the area, and it was not safe here.

“Understood, Miss Liana, and this is… Mr. Dure, right? Let’s go.” The middle-aged man nodded, agreeing with Liana’s opinion. He then led the way, gesturing for Liana and the others to follow him. Dure hesitated for a moment, but after thinking about it, he followed.

Dure followed Liana and her group to a secret entrance located not far east of Winter Town, under a bridge. It was a drainage outlet for accumulated water, and it was currently the dry season. They walked for about ten minutes. At first, the entrance was narrow, allowing only one person to pass through at a time, but it gradually widened, and four people could walk side by side comfortably. After passing through a rusty iron gate, they came to several rooms, and it was clear that many of the rooms were stocked with large quantities of food and weapons.

Nearby, armed men were patrolling. They were not guards from the Snow Kingdom, but members of the Southern Front. After confirming Thompson and Liana's identities, they let them in. Dure noticed that there were about twenty or thirty people gathered here, which was probably the Southern Front's stronghold in Winter Town.

“Hey, Mr. Thomson, this is our Southern Front’s last stronghold in Winter Town. Is it really okay to bring an outsider here? What if he’s a lackey of the Northern Front? What will we do then? Won’t we all be wiped out?” Doma complained several times on the way, but at that time they had to carefully avoid the Northern Guards’ patrols and checks, and did not have time to raise objections.

They had finally arrived at the base and were now in a relatively safe environment. He couldn't help but ask a question. He had never liked the young man from the first moment he saw him.

"Doma, you can't say that! Mr. Dure is Miss Liana's friend. How can you doubt him like that?" Thompson glared at Dorma. This kid was far too outspoken. Moreover, it was Dorma's mistake that led to his and Liana's exposure, which still left him furious and unwilling to settle scores with Dorma.

"But..." Doma wanted to say something more. He always felt that the guy named Dure was very suspicious, and the way Miss Liana looked at him was especially unbearable for him.

"There's no 'buts' about it. Instead of wasting time questioning, you should reflect on your actions. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be in this situation today!" Thompson emphasized. Dorma was someone he had personally trained, and he originally had high hopes for Dorma. However, Dorma's recent performance had increasingly disappointed him, which made his tone much harsher.

“Mr. Thompson, this…” Liana also felt that Thompson’s words were a bit harsh. She originally wanted to say something to persuade him, but at this moment, Dorma had already run out angrily, and she didn’t know where he had gone.

"It's alright, Miss Liana. Doma is too young. If we don't let him experience some setbacks and give him a good scolding, he'll cause trouble again. Mr. Dure, I'm very sorry to have made you laugh." Thompson sincerely apologized to Liana and Dure. As the person in charge of the Southern Front in Wintertown, he was largely to blame for such a major blunder.

"It's alright, he's still young. Young people are full of vigor and are naturally prone to impulsiveness. They have to experience setbacks to grow." Du Lei waved his hand. Although he spoke casually, he felt a little envious when he looked at Doma's departing figure. Doma was only seventeen or eighteen years old. He dared to take risks and fight, and dared to vent all his emotions without restraint. He exuded the vibrancy of youth.

But looking at Dure himself, his memory is frozen at the age of fourteen. In the blink of an eye, he becomes twenty-two, skipping his adolescence. It feels like he wasted his youth. He can't squander his youth like Doma. He has to be cautious, timid, and walk on thin ice.

Because he knew that he had lost too much of his youth, and he couldn't afford to waste even a little bit of it!

()

727 Luggage Location

“Young? But Miss Liana started carrying out all sorts of dangerous missions at the age of thirteen. When Miss Liana was Doma’s age, she was already a core figure in our Southern Front. Doma isn’t usually like this. I don’t know why he’s been like this lately… Sigh!”

Thompson sighed heavily. Dorma was not only someone he had raised and nurtured, but someone he had also raised himself. He had no children of his own and always treated Dorma as his own son.

But now that Dorma is so insignificant, he is very worried. He no longer expects Dorma to achieve anything great. He will be grateful as long as Dorma doesn't go astray.

“Mr. Thompson, you flatter me. Doma is already an excellent warrior, but he still has a lot of room for growth. Is this... all of us from the Southern Front in Winter Town?” Liana gently shook her head, offering Thompson some comforting words, and then looked around to ask.

“Yes, Miss Liana, I’m very sorry. We had over a hundred people, but in just a few days, most of them have been arrested, leaving only this many,” Thompson said with some self-reproach.

When the first explosion occurred, half of their members were arrested. Later, the Northern Army arrested those who had entered Winter Town within a week. Due to Doma's mistake, he and Liana were exposed. In order to cover their retreat, another half of them were arrested. Now, only a quarter of the members remain.

“I see. Mr. Thompson, please don’t blame yourself too much. It’s all thanks to you that the Southern Front branch in Wintertown has grown to its current size. There’s no need to be discouraged by this small setback,” Liana comforted Thompson.

“Liana? This name…” Dure frowned. He had heard this name several times before. It was the name of a wanted criminal from the Snow Kingdom. There were even wanted posters in Winter Town. However, there was no portrait on the posters because even the Northern Kingdom only knew that the name Liana existed and did not know what she looked like.

“I’m very sorry, Dure, my real name has always been Liana. Liata is just an alias.” Liana saw Dure’s confusion and immediately explained.

"I see. Liata is Liana, and Liana is a member of the Southern Front, and a core member at that, right?" Dure recalled the scene when he first encountered Liana. When their train was traveling near the Bridge of Winter, it was attacked.

The attackers claimed to be from the Southern Front, but Liana vehemently denied it at the time. Dure was puzzled then, wondering why Liana was so certain. But today, his doubts were dispelled, because Liana was clearly a core member of the Southern Front and could naturally distinguish whether the attackers were from the Southern Front.

“That’s right. I didn’t mean to deceive you, Dure. And just now… if it weren’t for you, Dure, I’d probably have been caught by them.” Liana recalled her encounter with Dure again, which was quite a perilous situation.

“I never thought I’d see you here eight years later… By the way, Liana, after my accident eight years ago, where did my suitcase go?” Dure asked earnestly, his voice tinged with emotion.

Eight years ago, when he went to Winter City, he brought a suitcase with him. In addition to some clothes, it also contained some special items, including gloves, rings, notebooks, and so on. When he fell into the Abyss of Winter, these items did not fall with him but were left on the train. Liana was with him at the time and should know the whereabouts of his suitcase.

"Dure, your luggage... After your accident, the train returned to Maple City. When they learned of your accident, your friends rushed over, and I gave your suitcase to your friends, Dure," Liana replied after thinking for a moment. Although many years had passed, she still remembered it clearly.

"My friend? Which friend of mine?" Du Lei asked, frowning. Ever since he refined the Elixir of Rejuvenation in the Abyss of Winter, he had become increasingly aware of the importance of gloves and bracelets. With the help of gloves and bracelets, the refining process would not only be very smooth, but the medicinal power would also be significantly enhanced.

"I think her name was Nono, a very cute girl. Was she a very important friend of yours, Dure?" Liana remembered the girl named Nono, and especially remembered the lost look in Nono's eyes when she took Dure's suitcase from her.

"Nono? Is it her?" Dure originally thought that Liana would be talking about Lance or Kelly and the others, because when he was at Maple Leaf Academy, it was Lance and a few others who were the closest to him. However, if it was Nono, he remembered that when he left, Nono was not in the academy, and when he went to the Mountain Kingdom to join Winry's guard, it was all Nono's arrangement.

"What's wrong, Dure? Is there a problem?" Liana asked immediately when she saw Dure's worried expression.

"No, nothing. By the way, Liana, did you come to Winter Town just to destroy the supplies stored here?" Dure shook his head and immediately changed the subject. He had no intention of interfering in what was happening in Winter Town.

He just wanted to wait quietly for the train to arrive in two days so that he and Dr. Sarah and her group could leave Wintertown and head to Winter City. But now he was not only involved in the events in Wintertown, but he also knew the two opposing sides, Winry from the North and Liana from the South!

This put him in a very awkward situation; he couldn't avoid getting involved even if he wanted to.

“Yes, our Southern army and the Northern army are currently locked in a stalemate. In order to break the deadlock, I came to Winter Town on a mission. As long as we destroy all the military supplies here, the Northern army will retreat, and we will achieve final victory, completely suppress Frost City, and win this protracted war!” Liana nodded.

She has been involved in the war since it broke out eight years ago. She can be said to be a witness to the war and one of its important promoters. She is very clear about the current situation in the Snow Country, which is divided between the north and south and is in the midst of a full-scale civil war.

()

728 See you next time

"What happens after Frost City is surrounded? Will this protracted war end so easily, just like the Northern Army surrounded Maple City a few years ago?" Although Du Lei was not involved in the war, he had learned some things from what he had seen and heard along the way. He knew very well that this war was fraught with smoke and fire and it would be difficult to have a result.

"Well..." Liana was stumped by Dure's question and didn't know how to answer him for a moment. For the past eight years, she had been responsible for one mission after another and had witnessed the destruction that the war had brought to both the north and south of the Snow Country. Several years ago, she believed that the war would end soon, but this "soon" has lasted for several years and is still far from over.

"What is the most fundamental difference between your Southern and Northern Kingdoms that led to the war?" Dure suddenly asked a question. In fact, he and Dr. Sarah had discussed this question repeatedly over the past two days. Both he and Dr. Sarah had offered their own insights, but they were, after all, outsiders. Now he wanted to hear the opinions and views of Liana, who was directly involved.

"The most fundamental disagreement? Of course, it's because the Northern Kingdom has suppressed us too much, arresting many important people from the Southern Kingdom. Otherwise, we wouldn't have resisted." Liana was stumped by Dure's question. After thinking carefully, she gave an answer that also aligned with the demands of their Southern Kingdom alliance.

"In other words, you are the passive party. You just want to solve the problem, and war is just a means for you to solve the problem, right?" Dure nodded, sorting out the crux of the problem as he asked softly.

"The means to solve the problem? Is there any other way besides war?" Liana shook her head bitterly. If she had a choice, she would not choose this path either. The smoke and fire on the battlefield, the cries and screams, were still fresh in her memory.

"There's always a way, it's just a matter of whether you're willing to try." Dure pondered for a moment, then said softly. If he hadn't met Wenli and Liana in Winter Town, he definitely wouldn't have interfered here. But now that he had met them, he couldn't just sit idly by; he had to do something.

“Trying? Dure, what exactly do you mean by trying…” Liana’s eyes lit up, and she looked at Dure with anticipation, waiting for his response.

“Can’t you negotiate with the Northern Kingdom, reasonably express your demands, and then reach an agreement to stop this meaningless war?” Dure said, expressing his opinion, which was the result of his discussion with Dr. Sarah.

“Negotiation? But Dure, you don’t know the attitude of the Northern Kingdom. They are unwilling to talk to us at all. In the beginning, we tried to express our demands peacefully, but the only response from the Northern Kingdom was their army. They used their military advantage to forcibly suppress us. But now, a few years later, the military strength of our Southern Kingdom has also grown. At this time, negotiations are even more unrealistic.” The light in Liana’s eyes dimmed, and she shook her head slightly. This was not a good solution.

"What I want to say is, if there is an opportunity for peace talks, are you, the Southern Front, willing to stop the war and negotiate peace?" Dure knew that it would be difficult to persuade Liana based solely on his own words, even though they had a good personal relationship. However, matters should be handled separately, and they remained calm and rational on the issue of the differences between the Southern and Northern Kingdoms.

“Well… I’m not sure if we can stop the war, because my decision alone isn’t enough. It requires the approval of the higher-ups on the Southern Front, especially Mr. Grant,” Liana said after a moment’s hesitation.

"I see. So there's a possibility of reconciliation within the Southern Front. Am I right?" Du Lei nodded and then asked seriously.

“That’s right, but I think there’s absolutely no possibility of peace talks in the North.” Liana wasn’t sure why Dure had suddenly brought this up, but out of their friendship, she answered seriously, even though to others it seemed very unrealistic, or even a complete waste of time.

“As long as the Southern Front is willing to negotiate, that’s fine. So, Liana, I think I should leave.” Dure stood up, intending to leave the Southern Front’s stronghold. At that moment, a plan came to mind.

"Leave? Dure, where are you going? Winter Town is very dangerous now, people are being arrested everywhere, you..." Liana was very worried about this. On the one hand, she was indeed worried about Dure's safety, and on the other hand, it had been eight years since they last met. She had finally seen Dure again, but they had only spent a short time together before he was leaving.

“Liana, don’t forget, I’m not with the Southern Front, so I’m safe.” Dure smiled easily. He didn’t tell Liana about Winry, because bringing Winry up at this point would only complicate the problem and make it more difficult, without having any real effect.

"Oh right, I almost forgot about that, Dure. I haven't asked you yet, how did you get back to Winterhold?" Liana remembered this question. She was very curious about it. She had been talking about important matters and had forgotten about her personal affairs.

"As for why I came to Winter Town... let's talk about it next time we meet." Dure glossed over the matter, because he realized that the Snow Kingdom was in a very dangerous situation, and if it was not resolved in time, the entire country would collapse completely.

"Next time we meet... Dure, when is our next meeting?" Liana couldn't help but ask, because their last meeting was eight years ago. Given that experience, if they had to wait another eight years to meet, how old would she be then? Twenty-eight?

"Believe me, we'll meet again soon. I'll take my leave now." Dure bid farewell to Liana and left. Just as he turned to leave, two fully armed members of the Southern Front came forward to try to stop him. But at this moment, Thompson, who was not far away, walked over. He waved his hand gently, signaling the two men to make way. He nodded to Dure again and watched Dure leave the stronghold.