The most shameless alchemist in history

Back when he was at Maple Leaf Academy, he spent a lot of time in the library. The books he read there weren't just about cultivation; he was also very knowledgeable about humanities, geography, and historical anecdotes.

"Yes, it's that Octopus Family, Mr. Dure, have you heard of them too?" Zelen asked curiously.

"When I read about the various families on the continent in the book, I saw the Octopus Family in the section on the Swamp Kingdom. The book said that the Octopus Family started as pirates who roamed the seas and made their fortune by robbing passing merchant ships. After several generations, they accumulated countless riches. Later, when the Swamp Kingdom fell into crisis, the head of the Octopus Family realized that they couldn't spend their lives on the sea. So they chose an heir to bet on. With their financial support, the heir they bet on successfully became king. In order to repay the Octopus Family for helping him ascend the throne, the new king bestowed a title upon the Octopus Family and gave them a prosperous port as their territory. If I remember correctly, that port should be called Old Port, right?" Du Lei quickly recalled the relevant records of the Octopus Family and even the map of the Swamp Kingdom in his mind. His memory had always been excellent.

After looking at the map, he remembered every point on it, including the various ports of the Swamp Country.

“Yes, Mr. Dure, you’re right. That was over a hundred years ago. After several generations of growth and development, the Octopus Family has established itself in the Swamp Country. They’ve transformed from pirates who robbed merchant ships on the high seas into nobles,” Zelen nodded and said.

“However, I’ve also heard some bad rumors about the Octopus family.” Dure paused for a moment, then said hesitantly.

"Mr. Dure, what is the rumor you've heard..." Zelen asked cautiously.

“I’ve heard that the Octopus family isn’t exactly clean. Although they successfully landed and obtained fiefdoms and titles, they’ve been secretly engaged in illegal trade and still control a group of pirates who rob merchant ships. They then dispose of the loot, using this method to amass enormous wealth,” Dure said, frowning.

"Huh, Mr. Dure, you're not from our Swamp Country, how do you know about this?" Zelen was taken aback.

Since this was a matter concerning their Swamp Country, it was not surprising that the locals knew about these sordid and filthy things, but the fact that outsiders also knew about it made him very confused.

“When I was the Inspector General of the Snow Kingdom, I handled a related case. At that time, we arrested a small group of pirates, and they confessed to it.” Dure did not hide anything from Zeren, because he knew that Zeren was a Messiah’s man and was loyal to the Messiah.

“I see. Actually, the Octopus family doesn’t have a very good reputation in our Swamp Kingdom. As you saw, Mr. Dure, that guy Halden was arrogant and domineering. Although Old Port, where they live, was officially granted the title by the king more than a hundred years ago, it belongs to the River Reef region and is under the jurisdiction of the Duke of River Reef. The Octopus family are vassals of the Duke of River Reef, but they are still so arrogant and unruly in River Reef City. It’s really annoying.” Zelen’s eyes were filled with disgust as he looked at Halden, who was talking with some equally richly dressed merchants in the distance.

“It seems that being the Duke of the River Bend isn’t easy for Messiah. Let’s go inside and talk first.” Dure looked at Halden not far away, and soon he followed Zelen into the Duke’s mansion.

“Understood, Mr. Dure. Please come this way.” Zelen nodded and led Dure into the Duke’s mansion.

But just as they reached the gate of the Duke's mansion, a large dog suddenly lunged at them from a distance. Dure could have easily dodged it, but he saw an old man walking by on the other side. If he moved aside, the dog would surely pounce on the old man.

"Sit down!" Du Lei shouted at the big dog as it lunged at him.

His voice wasn't loud, but the force he unleashed in that instant was immense.

The originally fierce dog was frightened and suddenly lay down on the ground, making "woof woof" sounds.

Just then, several people rushed over from a distance. These people all looked like servants.

"Melissa, are you alright?" the servants asked anxiously.

“Melissa? Who is Melissa?” Zelen was taken aback and asked curiously.

Behind the servants, a girl walked over. She looked to be fourteen or fifteen years old, not very tall, and rather petite.

She wore a gorgeous, voluminous dress, with exquisite makeup, and looked extremely radiant.

"Melissa, what's wrong?" The girl stopped in front of the big dog with the bow in its hair, patted its head, and asked.

Durei initially frowned and was somewhat angry at the large dog that suddenly rushed over, but when he saw that the dog, whose name seemed to be Melissa, belonged to a teenage girl, he hesitated for a moment and decided to leave.

"Melissa, why are you so scared? Are you afraid of... that person? Hey, stop right there, stop right there, don't go anywhere, go and stop him!" The girl noticed Melissa staring fearfully at a young man not far away.

She realized that it was because of this man that Melissa was frightened, and she was very angry about it, so she shouted loudly in front of her.

"Understood, Miss. Was it him? Hey, didn't you hear what our young lady just said? I told you to listen down, didn't you hear me?!"

Upon hearing the girl's words, several servants rushed forward and intercepted the young man, shouting sternly at him as she pointed.

864 Osprey Family

For Dure, he was never one to seek trouble. Even when he was unlucky and trouble came looking for him, he would try to avoid it as much as possible, because in his view, it was pointless to compete with others.

But this doesn't really mean he's cowardly. So when these servants came forward to block his way, he frowned, quite displeased. After all, he had already tolerated it once before because the girl had allowed her dog to rush over and almost hurt someone.

"Hey kid, that's right, it's you! Why are you running away? Didn't you hear what our young lady said?" A leading servant said angrily. At this time, they were still some distance away from the gate of the Duke's mansion.

"What did you say? Do you know who we are...?" Zelen was furious at the other party's arrogant attitude. He immediately stepped forward to identify himself, knowing that he was a member of the Duke's mansion and was right at the gate of the Duke's mansion!

This is like some ignorant fool daring to bully you on your own turf. Isn't this picking the wrong target?

“We were just passing by, so sir, I’m sorry we were in a hurry and didn’t hear anyone calling us. Is there anything I can help you with?” Dure remained composed. He stopped Zelen from revealing his identity and stepped forward to apologize.

"Miss, we have stopped him." At this moment, the servant saw the imperious young lady walking over behind him, so he stepped aside and said respectfully.

"Hello, it seems you were the one who called me just now. May I ask what brings you here?" Du Lei greeted the other party proactively and asked again.

"You ask me what business I have? You actually ask me? Don't you know what you've done?" she said with a sneer.

"I really don't know that. Please let me know." Du Lei shook his head to indicate that he was unaware of the matter.

"Then let me remind you, you just scared my lovely Melissa. Look, Melissa is usually very lively, but look at her now, how frightened she is! Are you saying this has nothing to do with you?" the other party questioned loudly.

"I thought you were talking about something else, but it turns out you're talking about that dog. Hey, are you sure you're not mistaken? Just now, it was your dog that suddenly rushed over and almost knocked us over. We were just watching from a distance and didn't do anything. It just suddenly lay down on its own. Who knows what it saw or what scared it? It's really strange that you're asking us about this." Zelen said coldly. He was right there in the middle of it all; he saw everything clearly.

"There are only you here. If it weren't for your meddling, how could Melissa have suddenly become like this? Besides, Melissa is my partner, not a dog. You should address her as Lady Melissa, understand? You lowly commoner," the young lady said coldly.

"What? You want me to call a dog 'adult'? Are you mistaken?" Zelen suddenly became furious.

He was very polite to Dure, partly because Dure was a distinguished guest of the Duke's mansion and had to be treated with utmost care, and partly because Dure himself was exceptionally capable and worthy of his respect.

But the young lady in front of me was different; her haughty demeanor suggested she was of noble birth.

Zelen was particularly annoyed that someone with mediocre skills tried to use their noble status to put others above them.

"Are you deaf or what? Didn't you hear what I just said? I'm giving you a chance to repeat yourself. Call her Lady Melissa and apologize for offending her!" The girl's face darkened instantly, and she spoke with increased emphasis.

"Boy, do you know who our young lady is? Let me give you a piece of advice: behave yourself and don't cause any trouble, or you'll be in big trouble!" A servant threatened viciously beside the girl.

At his gesture, seven or eight burly men immediately surrounded Dure and Zelen, each with a fierce glint in their eyes.

Neither Dure nor Zelen were physically strong, and now that they were surrounded, they suddenly looked particularly frail.

“You are… the Osprey family, right?” Dure glanced at the badge on the servant’s black uniform.

The badge featured an osprey skimming across the water to catch fish; he recognized it as the emblem of the osprey family.

In Du Lei's memory, the Osprey family controlled Osprey Port, one of the eight major ports in the Land of Swamps.

Of course, Osprey Harbor also belongs to the River Bend area, and the Osprey family is one of the six major families in the River Bend area.

"Kid, I didn't realize you had any sense. Now that you know we're from the Osprey family, why don't you obediently get out of the way? Do we have to teach you a lesson before you'll know what's good for you?" the servant said, raising his voice. He knew this was the perfect opportunity for him to show off.

The young lady is currently very angry. If he can help her calm down, she will definitely remember him.

"The Osprey family? Then you must be the infamous and notoriously difficult Miss Machiru from the Osprey family?" Zelen recognized the Osprey family crest. He was no stranger to the Osprey family, and after a moment's thought, he guessed the identity of the young lady in front of him.

"Kid, watch your mouth! If you keep being so stubborn, our fists don't have eyes!" the servant threatened again.

“Mr. Dure, we…” Zelen had long since reached the point of no return, but he hesitated because Dure was present.

Zelen looked at Dure anxiously and asked for his opinion.

"Fine, let me see how your fists can be so blind." Du Lei sighed softly.

He tried to reason with the other party, but the other party had no intention of reasoning with him at all.

"You said it yourself, arrest them all!" The servant hadn't expected these two to be so arrogant.

Don't they know there are only two of them, and they both look incredibly thin?

But we have seven or eight people on our side, and they are all well-trained.

At his command, seven or eight burly men immediately swung their fists and punched the two men.

In the servant's opinion, it would be effortless to take down the boy.

But a moment later, these burly men collapsed to the ground without even touching the boy's clothes; it was all Zelen's doing.

Zelen might not be able to deal with magic users, but he's quite adept at handling ordinary bodyguards.

"You, you..." The servant's eyes widened, not expecting such an outcome, which left him somewhat flustered.

“What’s wrong with us? Is there a problem?” Zelen walked towards him and asked.

"You bunch of bastards, it's one thing to bully Melissa earlier, but now you dare to defy me? Unforgivable, absolutely unforgivable!" The young lady named Machiru was furious, pointing at Dure and Zelen and loudly rebuking them.

However, all her subordinates were knocked to the ground by Zelen, which meant that no one could stand in her way anymore.

"What's going on here?" Just then, someone walked over from not far away.

The person who walked over was dressed in a magnificent robe; he was a handsome young man around twenty-four or twenty-five years old.

He had a noble air and spoke with great refinement. His cloak alone was probably worth at least ten gold coins, which was equivalent to a lifetime's worth of food, clothing, and other necessities for an ordinary person.

"Brother Halden, you've come at the right time! Waaah, look! After they bullied Melissa, they've come to bully me too! They've beaten my people up like this! Brother Halden, you have to help me!" Machiru rushed over to Halden of the Octopus Family as soon as she saw him approaching, her voice trembling with tears.

"Hey, that's not how it's supposed to be. Don't twist the truth!" Zelen said, getting a little impatient as he tried to correct him.

"Alright, Machiru, stop crying. I understand what happened. No matter what, Machiru is a noblewoman, while you are just ordinary commoners. For ordinary commoners to offend a noblewoman is a serious offense."

As Halden spoke slowly and deliberately, his subordinates gathered around. These men were quite different from Machiru's men from before.

Machiru's subordinates were all ordinary people, but Halden's subordinates were all Death Magic users, and their levels were not low.

“I think there must be some kind of misunderstanding here,” Du Lei said after thinking for a moment.

"Misunderstanding? What a misunderstanding. That's an interesting way to put it, but misunderstandings often come at a price," Halden said softly.

"Oh? May I ask what the price is?" Du Lei asked in return.

“The price could be very high, so high that you simply cannot afford it,” Halden said slowly.

"No matter how high it is, or whether you can handle it, you have to try it to find out, right?"

"Maybe after you try this time, you won't have another chance to try."

"So that way you won't have any regrets, right?" Du Lei asked again.

“Interesting. In that case…” Halden looked at an old man beside him, about to give an order.

Just then, a group of guards nearby heard the commotion and rushed over.

"Hey, what's going on here? Why are so many people gathered here? What are you all making such a racket for? Wait, isn't this..." Just as the leading guard captain came over and shouted, he suddenly saw Zelen and said in surprise.

“That’s right, these are Miss Machiru from our Osprey family and Young Master Halden from the Octopus family.” Machiru’s servant immediately stepped forward to greet the guards as they approached.

“Miss Machiru, Master Halden?” The captain of the guard frowned, then turned his gaze over.

"Yes, we were harassed by civilians here. These damned civilians not only harassed me, but also beat up my men. They came to attend Sister Messiah's ball, but you treated them like this. Waaah, it's so heartbreaking."

"Maquilu said, her voice trembling with tears."

"Is that so?" The captain of the guard turned to look at Zelen.

“Well…” Zelen didn’t know how to answer for a moment, so he could only look at Dure.

He did want to explain the truth to the captain of the guard, since he and the captain were old acquaintances.