The most shameless alchemist in history

"Is there something you need?" Liana recognized the man as the one in charge of intelligence liaison. His sudden intrusion at this time meant he must have some important information to convey to her.

"Miss Liana, this just came from Winter City." The young man first glanced at Dure beside Liana, hesitating for a moment, until Liana told him it was alright, then he stepped forward and handed a letter to Liana.

“A letter from Winter City? This handwriting is… Mr. Grant?” Liana was initially puzzled. She couldn’t understand why Winter City would send a letter at this time. But when she looked at the handwriting, she was stunned. There weren’t many people within the Southern Front who recognized Grant’s handwriting, but she was clearly one of them.

"Should I excuse myself?" Dure knew that Grant was the leader of the Southern Front. Seeing the surprised expression on Liana's face, he offered to excuse himself. After all, no matter how good his relationship with Liana was, he was not a member of the Southern Front. When it came to the secrets of another organization, it was a good choice to excuse himself.

“There’s no need to avoid it, Dure. I hesitated when you asked me to go to Winter City with you, but now there’s no need to hesitate anymore. I’ll go to Winter City with you!” After reading the letter, Liana burned it. She said seriously that the letter from Winter City must have played a very important role in her change of attitude.

"What happened in the town of Winter..." Dure was curious about what the letter said that would cause Liana's attitude to change so drastically, and couldn't help but ask.

“Mr. Grant said the mission is terminated and that I should stop carrying out missions in Wintertown and go to Winter City to meet him immediately. This way, I can introduce Dure to Mr. Grant and let you two get to know each other,” Liana said with a smile. This was the best possible outcome for her, saving her from the trouble of agonizing over it.

“In that case, Liana, you should evacuate Wintertown and come with me to Winter City. I’ll go see Mr. Grant.” Dure nodded and said. He had originally thought that persuading Liana would require a lot of trouble, but he hadn’t expected that Liana would receive a letter from Winter City, which made things much simpler.

“But Dure, given the current situation in Wintertown, it might not be easy for us to leave.” Liana said hesitantly. Wintertown was currently under complete lockdown, their identities had been exposed, and they were now extremely nervous. If they dared to show their faces, they would surely be arrested by the guards.

"Don't worry, you don't need to worry about safety." Dure knew Liana's concerns and gave her his promise.

“But even if we manage to avoid the guards’ checkpoints, we still won’t be able to board the train.” Liana was still hesitant. When she arrived in Wintertown, she could sneak onto the train from other stations and use her identity as a mechanic to get in. But now, the Wintertown train station was firmly under control, making it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for her to board the train there.

“I will also solve this problem. I will negotiate with the Northern Kingdom. You can completely trust me, Liana,” Dure promised again.

“I understand, Dure. When shall we depart?” Although Liana was still unsure how Dure could possibly obtain tickets to Winter City, she nodded gently out of trust in him.

"Tomorrow, you can come to the station first thing tomorrow morning. I'll be waiting for you there." Dure told Liana the time. In fact, there was indeed a train departing from Winter Town for Winter City tomorrow, which was the train he and Dr. Sara had planned to take to leave.

“Okay, Dure, see you tomorrow.” Liana saw Dure off, and he nodded and left the base. After Dure left, Thompson came over. He had heard the conversation between Dure and Liana.

“Miss Liana, well… I didn’t want to say anything at first, but the relationship between our Southern Front and the Northern Front is extremely tense right now. Under these circumstances, going to the station would be like walking into a trap.” After hesitating for a moment, Thompson decided to remind Liana to prevent her from making any bad decisions.

"Walking into a trap? Mr. Thompson, if Dure really wanted to harm us, he wouldn't need to go to such lengths. He could have just brought the Northern Guards over, right?" Liana understood Thompson's concerns, but she still had her own opinions. After all, as the number two figure in the Southern Front, she had climbed to this position step by step through her own abilities, and she was very independent.

“Well… Miss Liana, you’re not wrong…” Thompson thought about it carefully, nodded slightly, and agreed with Liana’s words.

“Since the situation has changed, and Mr. Thompson, you have already been exposed, then there is no need for the stronghold in Wintertown to exist. Let’s go to Winter City together tomorrow,” Liana said calmly.

"Withdraw from Winterhold? But what about those who were arrested?" Thompson hesitated. He was very concerned about the safety of his men. Winterhold was a stronghold he had painstakingly built up, and it contained his hard work. If they were to withdraw now, what would happen to his men? They had all joined because of their trust in him.

“Those who have been arrested…we will not abandon them, but we should prioritize the bigger picture. Something big has happened in Winter City, and I need to get there as soon as possible.” Liana hesitated, feeling very conflicted.

“In that case, I’ll stay in Wintertown. I can’t abandon those who trust me and follow me.” Thompson gave up the opportunity to leave Wintertown and insisted on staying.

“But Mr. Thompson…” Liana originally wanted to persuade him, because Thompson was an outstanding talent, and even Grant praised him highly.

“Miss Liana, you don’t need to persuade me anymore.” Thompson’s attitude was very decisive. He interrupted Liana’s words. Although he was older than Liana, she was his superior. He had never spoken to Liana in such a strong tone before.

"Understood, Mr. Thompson. I hope you will be careful." Liana knew she couldn't persuade Thompson, so she had to give up on the idea. This mission to Wintertown was a complete failure for her, but it wasn't without its rewards. At least she met the person from eight years ago, and the journey they hadn't finished together eight years ago would continue this time!

()

738 Employment Relationship

The snow fell all night long. When Dure arrived in Wintertown, it was a world covered in a blanket of white. When she left, it was just as white. He and Dr. Sarah and her group arrived at the station early to wait. According to the schedule, the train to Winter City would arrive in half an hour, stop for a while, and then head to Winter City. The whole process would take nearly twenty hours, which was almost a day and a night.

"So we're finally leaving? This research project has really been a failure." Dr. Sarah looked at the snow-covered landscape behind her. Her recent experiences had filled her with mixed emotions. She had originally planned to take two of her best students to the Abyss of Winter for their graduation research project, but they had come up empty-handed. Tanya had even fallen seriously ill, which made her feel extremely guilty.

“How can you call it a failure? This trip to the Abyss of Winter has been an unforgettable journey for us. It has honed our character and will, something we can’t learn in the school’s laboratory.” Rhodes comforted his teacher, but his words weren’t entirely just for comfort. At least for him personally, this trip to the Abyss of Winter was very rewarding. Thinking of this, he looked at Tanya beside him.

“That’s right, that’s right. And we also met Dure, so we can’t say we gained nothing. But Dure, since just now you’ve been looking behind you, as if you’re waiting for someone.” Tanya asked Dure curiously. She had hardly left the inn these past few days, so she didn’t know much about what was happening in Winter Town.

"Well..." Dure hesitated for a moment, because he had made an appointment with Liana yesterday to leave Winter Town together today and head to Winter City, but it was already this time and he still hadn't seen any trace of Liana, which made Dure a little confused. Was Liana going to break her promise and not go to Winter City?

"Du Lei!" Just then, someone called out to Du Lei from not far away. Du Lei immediately turned his head and saw two people walking towards them. One of them was about twenty-two or twenty-three years old, wearing work clothes and a hat. Although he was dressed as a man, Du Lei recognized him at a glance.

This was clearly Liana, because she was dressed like this when he first met her. As for the other person, he was only seventeen or eighteen years old, and he was staring at him with a bitter and resentful expression. This person was also familiar to Dure; he was the boy named Doma.

"Liana? You've finally arrived. I thought you wouldn't show up." Dure greeted her and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Liana. However, Doma's appearance surprised him, as he knew that Doma held a very high opinion of him.

“We’ve already made an agreement, how could I possibly break it? This is Doma, Dure, whom you’ve met before. And these are…” Liana smiled and then looked at the three people behind Dure.

“Miss Liana? What a lovely lady! My name is Tanya, this guy is Rhodes, and this is Dr. Sara. Let’s just say we are… Dure’s employers!” Tanya took the initiative to greet them, introducing herself and the people next to her one by one. When it came to the relationship, she thought for a moment and gave the answer “employer”.

"Employer? When did we become Dure's employer?" Rhodes was stunned, because in his view, they had always been friends with Dure, and Dure had helped them a lot. If it weren't for Dure, they would never have been able to get out of the Abyss of Winter. This was the first time he had ever heard of an employment relationship that Tania mentioned.

“Hey, Rhodes, have you forgotten? When we were stopped for questioning in Winter Town, that’s what Dure said, right?” Tania reminded Rhodes, who was taken aback at first. But after thinking about it carefully, he quickly recalled the situation. When asked by senior Sabo, Dure had said that he was Dr. Sara’s guide.

“But at the time it was just…” Rod tried to explain that it was just a temporary measure, and how could they possibly have a real employer-employee relationship.

“Alright, Tanya is right, you are my employers, but the employment relationship ends when we reach Winter City. In any case, we will still be traveling together on the road,” Dure said with a smile.

"I see. I'll have to thank Miss Tania for taking good care of me on this journey." Liana and Tania got along very well. Although she was dressed as a man, Tania couldn't hide it at all.

“Of course! With someone as lovely as Miss Liana around, the journey will be full of interesting things to talk about and won’t be boring at all,” Tania said with a smile.

“Wait, Miss? Tanya, are you sure you’re not mistaken? Liana is clearly…” Rhodes belatedly realized that there was something wrong with how Tanya was addressed.

"Huh? You're kidding me? How could I be kidding you? It's just that you're such an idiot, Rhodes. If you keep being an idiot like this, I'm not going to talk to you anymore," Tanya said seriously.

"How did I suddenly become an idiot? What is this... Liana, are you... a woman?" Rhodes scrutinized Liana from head to toe, only then noticing something unusual, which made him exclaim in surprise.

"Hey, watch your mouth! If you offend Miss Liana again, I'll get rough with you!" Doma angrily stepped in front of Liana and loudly reprimanded Rhodes, leaving the latter completely bewildered.

"Alright, Dorma, they are all Dure's friends and mean no harm. You have to remember what you promised me. The condition for coming with me to Winter City is that you must listen to me on the way and not cause any trouble. Otherwise, you'd better stay in Winter Town."

While persuading Doma, Liana also solemnly reminded her that she originally did not want to take Doma away, but Thompson repeatedly begged her to take Doma with her, which left Liana with no choice but to agree.

"It's alright, I don't think he meant any harm. So, considering the time, the train should be arriving soon, and we should set off too," Du Lei waved his hand and came over to offer some advice.

"Hehehe, you young people are really full of energy, I'm quite envious," Dr. Sarah said with a smile. But just then, a station staff member rushed over from not far away. He said something to Rhodes, and the latter's face immediately darkened.

()

739 The Tripartite Alliance

"Rhodes, what's wrong?" Dr. Sarah asked immediately when she saw his expression. She knew that Rhodes was always a calm person and shouldn't have such an expression.

"Teacher, the train to Winter City has broken down on the way and I'm afraid it won't be able to reach us anytime soon," Rhodes said to Dr. Sarah with concern. They had been waiting in Winter Town for almost three days to catch this train, but now they were being told that the train couldn't arrive and that they hadn't been given a definite timetable, which cast a shadow over their journey to Winter City.

"What? There's a malfunction? How could this happen?" Dr. Sarah frowned; this was an unexpected turn of events he had never anticipated.

Just as everyone was puzzled by the train's inability to arrive, a large number of figures appeared in the distance, which immediately made Liana and Doma tense up, especially the latter, who subconsciously touched the flintlock pistol at his waist and immediately raised the dark muzzle to aim at Dure!

"So you really did set a trap at the train station, waiting for us to take the bait? Miss Liana trusted you so much, and you dared to do this! I'll kill you, you untrustworthy bastard, first!" As the group of figures approached, Doma clearly recognized that the people walking towards them were guards from the Northern Kingdom, and he recognized the woman leading them; she was the woman from the second most powerful family in Frost City!

"Doma, don't doubt Dure until things are clear. Put the gun down. What's going on with Dure?" Liana scolded Doma, ordering him to put down the gunpowder gun. She glanced at the group of people walking towards them from behind.

She recognized the woman, who was about the same age as her, as Winry. Beside her, besides the captain of the guard she trusted, was another woman with a powerful aura. According to the information Liana had, that woman was General Restia of the Griffin Legion, who bore the title of the strongest female general in the Snow Kingdom.

“Well… I’m not quite sure either. Wenli, what brings you here?” Du Lei frowned. It was true that he had met with Wenli yesterday, but the matter he discussed with her was not to wipe out the Southern Front, but to tell her to let the Southern Front go.

Although the bee sting beside Winry raised strong objections, Winry eventually agreed. Dure thought that Liana's departure from Wintertown had cleared the way, but unexpectedly, trouble still arose at this time. Not only did the train fail to arrive on time, but Winry also appeared at the train station with people. This forced Dure to carefully consider whether there was some connection between Winry and this.

“You don’t need to be so nervous. I’m not here to arrest anyone. You’re Liana, the number two figure in the Southern Front, right? Before this, we in the Northern Front didn’t know what you looked like. There are all sorts of descriptions about you. To be honest, I admire the skill with which you’ve orchestrated so many incidents. I’ve always wondered what kind of person Liana is, the one who gave my mother so many headaches. I never expected her to be so young.” Wenli waved her hand gently.

Her first words reassured Liana and Dure. She scrutinized Liana from head to toe, showing great curiosity about this girl her age.

“It’s truly gratifying that Your Highness Winry would remember the name of such a nobody as myself. However, my petty squabbles are insignificant compared to Your Highness Winry’s. You’ve only been in Winter Town for a few days, yet you’ve already arrested most of our Southern Front. Such courage and methods are what I truly admire about Your Highness Winry.” Liana took the initiative to speak with Winry.

This was the first time the two of them had spoken face to face. Doma originally wanted to stop Liana, but the latter waved her hand to signal him to step aside, because she realized that this would be a war between her and Winry.

“We’re just like each other.” Winry looked at Liana, then at Dure beside her, unsure of the exact nature of their relationship.

"Winry, what happened? How could the train malfunction?" Dure stepped forward to ask. After all, among everyone here, he and Winry were the closest. The news that the train had malfunctioned and could not reach Winter Town coincided with the time Winry arrived at the train station, which made him suspicious.

“I just received the information and rushed over. Actually, the train didn’t malfunction,” Wenli explained, stating her purpose for coming.

"What? No malfunction? Then what is it..." Rhodes was stunned for a moment, because this was different from the information the station had given him.

"Here's what happened. The train came from the Land of Swamps, but it was detained by the Land of Swamps just before it reached our Land of Snow, which is why it couldn't arrive in Winter Town on time," Winry explained.

"The Land of Swamps? Why would the Land of Swamps detain a train from the Land of Snow?" Liana frowned, puzzled by this.

“Actually, the problem is easy to explain. Currently, the three-nation alliance has jointly blocked the border of our Snow Kingdom, prohibiting all trains from entering or leaving normally,” Wenli explained further.

"The Three Kingdoms Alliance? Is it the Swamp Kingdom, the Wind Kingdom, and the Rain Kingdom?" Du Lei frowned. If he remembered correctly, these three countries originally supported the Southern Front. It was thanks to the assistance provided by these countries that the Southern Front was able to withstand the fierce attack of the Northern Army, enabling it to launch a successful counterattack when only Maple City remained, thus achieving the current balance of power.

However, the three countries that should have supported the Southern Front joined forces to block the border of the Snow Kingdom, which puzzled Dure greatly. He couldn't understand what these three countries were planning.

“Yes, it’s these three countries. They’ve detained the train, which has prevented it from arriving on time. I’m afraid the train won’t be able to arrive for the next month.” Winry nodded and said. As the heir to the throne of the Snow Kingdom, she had highly efficient intelligence channels. She naturally knew the information that even Rhodes knew, and she knew more and in more detail.

"What on earth is going on? Why would the Three Kingdoms Alliance blockade our Snow Kingdom for no reason?" Doma was stunned. These three countries had been supporting the Southern Front behind the scenes, but now they were suddenly blocking the Snow Kingdom. He really couldn't figure out what the Three Kingdoms Alliance's purpose was in doing this.

()

740 Joint Blockade

"What, is this question so hard to understand? Or do you still think that these three countries were willing to help your Southern Front just out of some so-called sense of justice?" Wenli asked with a cold laugh, while looking at Liana, waiting for her response. After all, a minor character like Doma was not worthy of her attention.

"The reason these three countries are willing to help our Southern Front is naturally out of consideration for their own interests. By supporting our Southern Front and gradually strengthening our power, we can rival the Northern Front and effectively weaken the Snow Kingdom. Moreover, once successful, they will receive generous rewards from us." Compared to Doma, Liana naturally knew more about the inside story and understood it more thoroughly.

"A generous reward? What reward?" Doma became increasingly confused. This was something he had never heard of before, and he had never even considered it.

"What, you still don't know? Once the Southern Front overthrows our Northern Kingdom and gains control of the Snow Kingdom, the new rulers will carve out four provinces from the Snow Kingdom's territory for the four countries that support the Southern Front." Wenli said coldly. As the heir to the throne and one of the most powerful women in the Northern Kingdom, she knew too much little-known information.

"Is such a thing really possible? Our Snow Kingdom only has seventeen provinces in total. If four provinces are carved out, wouldn't that be equivalent to a quarter of our territory?" Doma was greatly astonished by this fact, as it was too shocking to believe.

“What? I originally thought that everyone in your Southern Front was open and honest, and that everyone knew this information. But now it seems that the information is indeed only in the hands of a few of you, and most people are unaware of it.” Wen Li said with interest. Although she had agreed to Du Lei’s request not to arrest the people of the Southern Front, it did not mean that she had put aside her prejudice against the Southern Front.

“Miss Liana, is what she said true? After we win, we will give a quarter of our land to the four surrounding countries? She must be lying to me, right?” Doma didn’t believe Wenli’s words. He asked Liana for confirmation, hoping to get a negative answer from her and deny her fabricated words.

“Doma, what she said is true.” Liana didn’t know how Winry knew about this, because even within their Southern Front, it was a highly confidential matter, known to very few people. But now Winry had openly revealed it in public, which left Liana with no choice but to admit it amidst her panic.

"How could this happen... Our country, our land, are we just going to let others take it away like this?" Although Doma was a member of the Southern Front and a southerner, he was first and foremost a native citizen of the Snow Country. He was shocked to receive such news and, from his personal perspective, he could not accept it at all.

"This is just a temporary measure. I don't want to lose our Snow Kingdom's territory like this either, but if we didn't do this, our Southern Front would have been destroyed long ago. But don't worry, Doma, we will take back those lost territories in the future. This is probably the price we pay for freedom." Liana sighed and said, gently comforting the boy in front of her. Although Doma had many shortcomings, his passionate spirit was genuine.

"The price of freedom? That's a very high price to pay, and don't you think it's a bit too early to say that? And do you even have a chance to win?" Winry raised two questions in succession, her words sharp and aggressive.

"The Three Kingdoms alliance is blockading the Snow Country... and they chose this time of year... This is so illogical." Dure frowned, thinking about the ins and outs of the matter. Several possibilities came to mind, but he rejected them one by one.

"The only explanation for this is that they want more than just the territory of a province each, so they changed their minds. Moreover, doing so can put a lot of pressure on the Southern Front and the Northern Front. They can either wait until both sides are exhausted before taking action, or they can wait for the price to go up," Dr. Sarah said after thinking for a moment.

"What? They're not satisfied with just getting one province? Do they... want to dismantle the entire Snow Kingdom?" Rhodes was stunned. Although he wasn't from the Snow Kingdom, he knew that the Northern Continent had long maintained a balance of power. If the Snow Kingdom were to be dismantled, the delicate balance between the nations would be broken, which was definitely not a good sign.

"Judging from the current situation, that's probably their plan. They'll blockade the border, letting the Southern Front and the Northern Army fight to the death until they're both exhausted, and then they'll send their troops into the Snow Kingdom's territory to completely dismantle it. Naturally, the benefits they gain will be far greater than occupying a mere province." Du Lei thought for a moment, then nodded and said, his face looking very grave, because this was hardly good news.

"How could this happen? When the alliance was formed, they said something like this. Isn't this a blatant breach of the agreement and a breach of trust?" Liana was also very surprised. She had strongly opposed Grant's meeting with the people of the Four Nations Alliance. Although she had long suspected that the Four Nations Alliance had ulterior motives, in her opinion, they were just vying for the richest province. She never expected things to develop in such a bad direction.

"In the face of interests, so-called alliances are nothing but a piece of waste paper. This is probably what they call inviting wolves into the house. It's all the work of your Southern Front!" Wen Li coldly rebuked. She had just received this news, and it was obvious that the Snow Kingdom was now at a very critical juncture.

“Winley, I don’t think you came here to argue about these meaningless things, did you?” Dure knew Winley well and knew she wasn’t the kind of person who would do unnecessary things. She had rushed over with her people this time, so she certainly wasn’t here to interrogate him.