The most shameless alchemist in history

"That giant snake is nothing but a water monster that stirs up trouble. I've seen plenty of those over the years, so don't worry about it," Bill said dismissively.

“That’s right, Boss Bill is right, there are no demons at all, we’re just scaring ourselves.” Someone chimed in.

"Good to know. Now you all should go to sleep. Once you wake up, we can leave this place at dawn." Bill glanced around and reminded his men.

Under his reprimand, the people who had been discussing so enthusiastically dispersed and fell silent.

However, compared to when they first got together, they were all worried.

Clearly, they still harbor resentment towards the notion of the Demon Tower.

"What a bunch of cowards. What's the big deal? Alright, you should all go to sleep." After inspecting the place, Bill also decided to go rest.

He was already extremely exhausted.

At this moment, Messiah, who was alone with Messiah not far away, also felt sleepy.

"Durey, you should get some rest too," Messiah said with concern.

“I understand, you too… wait, this feeling is…” Du Lei had originally planned to take a nap, but he quickly frowned and became somewhat uneasy.

"What's wrong, Dure? Is there a problem?" Messiah asked immediately.

"Huh, it's calmed down again. What's going on... Never mind, nothing's wrong for now. Let's go to sleep." Du Lei looked very worried.

However, looking at the surging waves outside and the exhausted people, he ultimately did not say anything.

He hoped it was just his imagination.

()

852 Secret Entrance

Although Dure noticed something unusual, it was only for a fleeting moment, a brief feeling that made him uneasy.

In a daze, Dure discovered something extraordinary underwater; of course, he had seen the giant black snake with his own eyes before that.

He knew that this giant snake was extremely powerful, and even he would likely find it very difficult to deal with it.

However, he clearly realized that the unusual reaction he had just detected was not the black snake, but something else entirely.

Moreover, the feeling that made his heart pound at that moment was far more terrifying than the giant serpent; it was a deep darkness that made him feel suffocated!

Duree was acutely aware that their situation was dangerous, but at the same time he also knew that, having survived such a raging storm, they were already lucky to be alive. Now they needed to rest, and once dawn broke, they would be safe once they found a way to leave this area.

Even though they know this Shadow Tower is strange, they have no choice but to stay here, because they have no other options.

The best course of action now is to pray that nothing bad happens tonight and that we can get through it peacefully.

Dure's hopes were high, and indeed he leaned against the wall and drifted off to sleep.

He was utterly exhausted, especially after the ordeal of the storm, and desperately needed sleep to recover his strength.

Dure knew that only by making sufficient preparations could he deal with possible emergencies, and of course, it was best to avoid such unexpected emergencies altogether.

However, his imagination was beautiful, but when he was awakened by a commotion, he saw that it was still pitch black outside.

He wasn't sure how long he had slept, but he had regained a lot of his strength. From a distance, he could see that Bill and the others were in a panic.

"What's going on? What happened?" Du Lei frowned when he saw this scene and went over to ask what was going on.

"This... Lady Messiah is missing!" Bill said in a panic, having just learned of the situation himself.

He had searched high and low several times, but still could not find the Messiah.

"What did you say? Gone? Isn't she here?" Dure was also somewhat surprised, and he looked around.

But he didn't see the Messiah anywhere, which made him feel a little strange.

Because Messiah isn't the kind of person who would just disappear without a trace; she would definitely tell Bill and the others in advance if she was going anywhere.

However, without any warning, Messiah disappeared, which made Dure very uneasy.

“I’ve searched everywhere and asked everyone, but they all say they haven’t seen Lord Messiah.” Bill was very anxious.

Because the Messiah is the person the guard needs to escort, someone they are willing to risk their lives to protect.

They had stopped even when faced with such a dangerous situation as the raging waves.

But now the Messiah has suddenly disappeared, and in an almost bizarre way.

"What about the upper floors? Have you looked around carefully?" Du Lei asked, pointing to the upper floors. The lighthouse has four floors in total.

“We’ve searched every corner, but we still can’t find Lady Messiah,” Bill said, shaking his head.

“She’s not upstairs… Could she have gone out?” Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Dure continued to ask.

“There are people on watch outside, and they didn’t see Lady Messiah go out either,” Bill said, shaking his head again.

“If she’s not on the upper level and hasn’t gone outside, where else could Messiah have gone? Could she just vanish into thin air?” Dure felt it was absurd because he knew that under normal circumstances, people don’t disappear without warning.

If they didn't find it, then there must be a blind spot that they haven't discovered.

"Boss Bill, Boss Bill, come over here quickly, we've found an entrance!" someone shouted from not far away.

Upon hearing the sound, Bill and Dure rushed over and soon discovered a hidden entrance leading to the underground near the stairs leading to the upper level. Because the entrance was so well hidden, they didn't notice it immediately.

"Entrance? What's this entrance? Where does it lead?" Bill was also surprised when he saw the entrance.

“This entrance seems to lead underground, but we’re already at the bottom level. If there’s another entrance leading underground… then wouldn’t we be below sea level?” Dure thought for a moment, then glanced inside the entrance. It was pitch black inside, and he couldn’t see anything.

"Below sea level... underground... wait, could it be the Mirror Tower?" someone suddenly remembered something and exclaimed.

"What Mirror Tower? What are you talking about?" Bill glared at him.

“Boss Bill, I just heard Gortat mention that the Shadow Tower, also known as the Demon Tower, is a mirror tower. It has four levels on the surface and four levels underground, and it also seals a demon inside.” The young man said timidly.

"Four underground levels? And demons sealed inside? You actually believe that?" Bill scoffed.

“I don’t know if there are demons down here, but I do believe in the existence of a fourth underground level. In any case, Messiah may very well have gone to the underground of the lighthouse through here. Let’s follow her and take a look,” Dure said after thinking for a moment.

By this time, he had already taken a torch. After glancing down, he decided to go down and investigate.

“But we don’t know what the situation is down there. Wouldn’t it be very dangerous to go there rashly?” Bill said hesitantly.

“Right now, Messiah’s fate is unknown, so we can’t worry about danger anymore. We must find her as soon as possible, otherwise, she’s in real danger because she’s been separated from us!” Dure’s attitude was firm; he had made his decision.

“I see. We really don’t have time to delay any longer. I understand. Let’s go down there and find the Messiah as soon as possible and bring her back.” Bill thought for a moment and agreed with Durei’s suggestion.

For them, no matter how fierce the storm or how raging the waves were, nothing was more important than the safety of the Messiah.

If something were to happen to the Messiah, it would mean that everything they had done over the years would have been in vain.

"Wait a minute, we don't know what the situation is down there yet. You guys stay here, I'll go down and take a look by myself." Dure stopped Bill, who was about to jump down.

"You're all alone? Won't that be a problem?" Bill asked with some concern.

()

853 Don't impersonate me

The Messiah's sudden disappearance unsettled everyone, including Durley and Bill.

Because Messiah is the core figure of this guard team, everyone except Dure is tasked with protecting Messiah and escorting her safely back to River Bend City. Dure and Messiah have been friends for many years, and the reason he is here is also to escort Messiah away.

Now, after searching everywhere, inside and out, they still haven't found the Messiah.

Suddenly, the staircase found in the hidden entrance behind the stairs became the only possible location where the Messiah had fallen.

Dure was the first to go down the stairs to find the Messiah.

He held a torch in his hand. Although he was surprised that part of the Shadow Tower still existed underground, he wasn't too astonished.

He had seen similar buildings before; this was a typical mirror tower.

A mirror tower is one in which the above-ground and underground parts are exactly the same during construction.

However, Mirror Towers are usually built on land, and it is quite rare for a Shadow Tower to be built on the sea.

Because the underground section is in the seawater.

However, Dure still had a fairly intuitive understanding of the structure of the Shadow Tower.

Although he is currently in the underground part of the Shadow Tower, this part is surrounded by rock layers.

This is like a carrot placed in water; the mirror tower is the carrot flesh, with a layer of carrot skin wrapped around it.

"What is down here... Messiah, are you here? Can you hear me? Messiah?" Dure held up a torch and called out Messiah's name. It was pitch black all around, and even with the torch, he could only see a very small area nearby.

Finding someone in this situation is very difficult; they have no idea what lies ahead, only a deep darkness.

"Is nobody here? Bill, don't rush down, Bill... what's going on? Why isn't Bill here either?" Dure felt increasingly suspicious about the place. He originally wanted to warn Bill, but when he turned around, he found himself in complete darkness.

This puzzled him even more. Had Bill simply closed the entrance and not followed him down?

Although he did want Bill to do that, something just didn't feel right.

"How could this be... It's so cold..." Du Lei quickly noticed a strong gust of wind blowing over.

This gave him the feeling of being in the biting cold wind.

He instinctively raised his arm to shield himself from the gust of wind, which temporarily blocked his vision, making it impossible for him to see anything clearly.

But soon he heard the whistling wind in his ears, and at the same time he felt his feet were soft.

This feeling was all too familiar to him; it was the unique sensation of stepping on snow.

He grew up in the snowy mountains, so this feeling couldn't be more fitting for him.

But he clearly remembered that he wasn't in the underground part of the Shadow Tower? This was in the sea area of ​​the Swamp Country.

How can there be snow? This isn't the right season, or am I hallucinating?

"Am I hallucinating? Where am I..." Dure quickly opened his eyes and looked around in surprise.

The pitch-black expanse disappeared, replaced by a vast expanse of white—a world of ice and snow, draped in silver.

Beneath his feet was soft snow, and above his head, snowflakes were falling.

He was surrounded by snow-capped mountains, a scene he knew all too well.

Isn't this the mountain range near the hot spring village where he grew up?

"So sleepy, so sleepy. This kind of weather is perfect for sleeping at home. I miss the warm woodpile. It's cold, hungry and sleepy outside... But we don't have any food left at home. I have to go out hunting for something to eat, or I'll starve to death this winter."