The most shameless alchemist in history

Halden stood on the deck, staring blankly at everything. For him, his dream had just begun. He was a man who was going to make something of himself, and this fleet was his springboard.

But his springboard was burning, and he was powerless to do anything about it, forced to watch helplessly as the fleet was destroyed.

"No, this isn't real. My dreams, my ambitions, how could they just be burned like this? This can't be..."

Despite the raging fire all around, Halden's face was ashen and purple.

"Run! The fleet is destroyed! We must get out of here quickly!" Halden's men pleaded.

They quickly pulled him onto a small boat and left...

872 flew into a rage

Just two hours earlier, Halden was still contemplating the proper protocol for entering River Bend City and which formal attire would best suit his status.

But now everything has vanished like a bubble, and all his worries have become unnecessary.

With that fire that descended from the sky, everything vanished, turning into nothingness.

At this moment, he could only lie on the small boat, looking helplessly at the ashes that were still burning in the distance.

At this moment, he finally got a direct sense of the fleet's sheer size.

Because there were over a hundred boats, it took a very long time to burn them all!

"Damn it, is that... the Griffin Legion of the Snow Kingdom? How dare they attack us? This is outrageous and absolutely unforgivable!" Halden was furious, and all his ambitions were burned away by this rage!

“Young Master, let’s return to Old Port first. Now that the Snow Kingdom has intervened, with their help, we have no way to deal with River Bend City.” Beside Halden, an officer sighed and said. If he hadn’t risked his life to save Halden just now, Halden would probably be swallowed by the big sea fish by now!

"Are you really going to make me admit defeat to such lowly scum? This is an absolute disgrace... Remember this, I will definitely get my revenge for this disgrace!" Halden was furious, but he also knew that no matter how angry he was, this matter was over, and he could only go back to Old Port to regroup.

Here in Halden, a major setback was suffered, while in River Bend, people witnessed this astonishing battle from beginning to end.

People were originally very fearful of the Combined Fleet, after all, it was a huge and astonishing force.

More than a hundred warships lined up in a row—what a vast sight that was!

There is every reason to believe that if all the warships opened fire at the same time, it would surely deal a devastating blow to River Bend City!

Everyone was prepared for a difficult battle. Even in extremely unfavorable circumstances, they had no intention of backing down. Everyone believed that they would persevere to the end, and they were determined to do so.

But to everyone's surprise, this difficult situation only lasted for one day before the powerful combined fleet was burned to the ground by a single fire!

"Hey, I'm sure I'm not seeing things. What happened? How could it have been burned out of nowhere?"

"That was a powerful combined fleet, with over a hundred ships. How could it just disappear like that?"

"But wouldn't this mean our River Bend City would be safe and sound? It doesn't feel like such a bad thing."

"Look, that's the Griffin Legion! They're coming into the city!"

Just as the people of River Bend were discussing the still-burning fire on the sea, the Griffin Legion, which had just annihilated the Allied Fleet with overwhelming force, slowly entered the city.

People flocked to the street to watch curiously. Although they had heard of the existence of griffins, they had never actually seen one. Now they could observe griffins up close, and these griffins had recently saved their River Bend City from a predicament, which naturally won them their favor.

People lined the streets to welcome them, cheering and jumping for joy, especially the children who were particularly excited.

"Hey, is that a griffin? It looks so majestic!"

"By the way, who are those people leading the griffins? They look so cool."

"What? Griffin riders? Are they griffin riders? I want to be a griffin rider too! I've decided, when I grow up, I'm going to become a griffin rider as handsome as them!"

The children watching nearby were all cheering and jumping for joy, extremely excited.

The knights, however, remained remarkably calm. Despite having just experienced a battle, they appeared completely unfazed.

The same was true of the griffins beside them.

The Griffin Legion's entry into the city proceeded in an orderly manner. In River Bend City, the city's political officer, Garcia, personally greeted the Griffin Legion.

The reason why it was Garcia, rather than Messiah who was in charge of the River Bend campaign, who went to meet the Griffin Legion was because Messiah had more important things to do. At this time, Messiah went to the west of River Bend.

Because she had received word early on that someone would be returning to River Bend City from the western city gate entrance.

When she saw that familiar person walk past from the city wall, she immediately ran down to wait for him.

She still remembered the promise that man made to her when he left.

He said he would be back in a week, so we should just wait for him in River Bend City.

When the Allied Fleet approached the city, there were many dissenting voices within River Bend City. Many people advised her to retreat temporarily and avoid the onslaught, but she did not do so.

One reason was her firm stance; she was determined to stand with the people of River Bend City until the very end. Another reason was that she believed what he said.

She believed the man would keep his promise and return, so she waited quietly.

And as it turned out, her waiting was worthwhile; she not only witnessed his return but also witnessed a resounding victory.

"You're back." Messiah stood by the roadside, smiling as she waited.

At this moment, most of the people in River Bend City were drawn to the commotion at the East Gate, after all, there was a grand scene of the Griffin Legion entering the city at the East Gate.

The west gate is usually deserted and hardly anyone comes here, and now only Messiah is here.

In her line of sight, Dure slowly walked over and stopped in front of her.

"Shouldn't you be welcoming the Griffin Legion right now? What are you doing here?" Dure asked in surprise, somewhat taken aback by Messiah's appearance.

"What's wrong? Can't I be here?" Messiah blinked and said with a smile.

“Of course you can. You are the lord of River Bend City, this is your land, you can go wherever you want. But it would be more appropriate for you to be in the East City right now.” Dure was somewhat relieved to see Messiah waiting for him, and he shook his head as he spoke.

"Mr. Garcia is in charge of welcoming the Griffin Legion. He is very capable, and I trust him completely. As for this side, of course, I will personally welcome the more important guests," Messiah said earnestly.

"I hope I'm not too late," Dure said, looking at the lingering smoke on the distant sea.

"Of course it won't be late, it will be just in time to come back." Messiah fiddled with a strand of hair at her temple, as the afterglow of the setting sun poured down, creating a golden glow.

Time is good, and the people in front of me are good too.

But for Zezhi City, what happened in River Bend City was not a good thing; to be precise, it was a terrible, catastrophic event.

Especially His Highness Prince William, who originally thought that with the help of the Octopus family, they could easily take over River Bend City. At that time, it didn't matter to him what River Bend City would be like, whether it surrendered intact or suffered a devastating blow from artillery fire. Everything else was unimportant; the only thing that mattered was the throne.

Everything he did was aimed at getting closer to the throne. It could be said that with his many schemes, he was only a stone's throw away from the throne. He could foresee that in the near future, he would finally ascend the throne he had always dreamed of, something he had longed for since childhood!

However, with the defeat of River Bend City, he was further away from the throne, which made him very angry. So when he learned of this, he cursed loudly.

"Fools! They're all idiots! What on earth happened? How could this have turned out like this? There were over a hundred warships! And they were all burned to the ground! Even if you burned a hundred pigs, they would feed people for several days! What was that Halden guy good for?" William was furious. He slammed his fist on the table and said angrily.

“Your Highness, please calm down. We really didn’t expect the Snow Kingdom to suddenly join the war. If the Snow Kingdom’s Griffin Legion hadn’t suddenly appeared and attacked us, we wouldn’t be in such a sorry state.” Beside William, an advisor wiped the sweat from his brow and explained. He knew William’s temper well, and he also knew how shocked Ze City was after the news of the defeat came from River Bend City.

"What's going on with the Snow Country? Have they gone mad? Why did they suddenly attack our fleet? Do they know what this means? This means provocation, this means a declaration of war! Has the Snow Country's envoy responded yet?" William demanded angrily.

"Your Highness, the envoy from the Land of Snow returned home earlier today."

"What did you say? Go back to the country? Go back to the country at this time? Are you kidding me?" Prince William's eyes widened. This was just too irresponsible.

"It's absolutely true, that's exactly how it is. I don't know what's going on either..." the adjutant said, rubbing his hands together in embarrassment.

"Damn it, the Land of Snow... those bastards, I'll remember this!" William gritted his teeth in hatred. He was always a vengeful person, and this matter was no exception.

While William was in a rage, at Henry's mansion on the other side of Zeeland, His Highness Henry was much calmer.

"I bet my brother is furious right now?" Henry said slowly, sipping his tea.

“I’ve heard that’s true. After all, the commander of the fleet in charge of this expedition is a confidant of His Highness William. Now that this has happened, His Highness William bears an unshirkable responsibility. At least he will receive much less support, especially from the navy.” A young officer, around the same age as the young Prince Henry, spoke calmly beside him.

The young officer was handsome and had a noble air about him. He spoke slowly and methodically, but his points were clear and logical. He could always pinpoint the key to a problem and clarify its crux.

"It's all because my elder brother is too impatient. He's eager to prove himself and win over support from all sides with outstanding performance. But you know, the more impatient he is, the more likely he is to make mistakes. And at this point, it's not about who is more outstanding, but about who is more prone to making mistakes. Obviously, I have a slight advantage in this regard." Henry said casually. He was a very patient person, especially aware of when to be patient, like now.

"By the way, Your Highness, according to our latest intelligence, the reason why the Snow Kingdom sent the Griffin Legion to participate in the war was not approved by the Snow Kingdom Council; it was a last-minute decision," the officer continued in his report.

"What did you say? They dared to act without parliamentary approval?" Henry was surprised.

“Yes, they bypassed the parliamentary order to send troops,” the officer confirmed.

“If that’s the case, then that’s interesting. The Snow Kingdom went to great lengths to carry out comprehensive reforms, hoping to revitalize the country. Now that they’re doing this, isn’t that going against their original intentions?” Henry found this very strange.

"That's not right."

"What's wrong?" Henry asked in surprise.

“If they acted without authorization, then it is indeed very inappropriate, Your Highness. However, they do have the authority to use force without the approval of the council,” the officer reminded him.

"What permissions?"

"Special authority granted by the Inspector General of the Land of Snow."

"The Inspector General... is that guy named Dure?" Henry thought for a moment, and the name came to mind.

“Yes, before that man named Dure resigned from his position as Inspector General, the council approved the Inspector General’s special powers, allowing him to mobilize troops in special circumstances,” the officer continued to explain.

"But didn't he already resign? Why can he still mobilize troops after resigning?" Henry was still puzzled.

"This is because he still retains some positions. Given his special contributions to the Snow Kingdom and his relationship with Winry, it's not surprising that he has such authority," the officer said matter-of-factly.

"So, the reason the Griffin Legion appeared in River Bend City was because of that Dure? But why would he do that?" Henry frowned, unable to fathom the crucial connection between the two.

873 Grand Banquet

"Based on the intelligence we have right now, this is the only possibility," the officer stated definitively.

“Durex…? Why does he have to go against us?” Henry was very puzzled.

"No, he's not against us. It seems that many years ago, he and Lord Messiah attended the same academy, so they've known each other for a long time."

"I see, then that makes sense." Henry nodded thoughtfully, finally understanding the ins and outs of the matter.

"So, Your Highness, what strategy should we adopt for River Bend City?" the officer inquired, seeking Henry's opinion.

"And what's your opinion?"

"Let's wait and see," the officer said calmly.

"Well, let's wait and see. I'm looking forward to seeing what foolish mistakes my brother will make next." Henry looked into the distance. Compared to his brother, he was indeed much more patient!

The naval battle that took place in River Bend City was a major event, shocking the entire Swamp Kingdom and even the entire northern continent.

The matter sparked heated discussions around the world, but Zezhi City, caught in the eye of the storm, remained silent about the naval battle.

This is actually quite understandable. After all, not long ago, Zezhi City had loudly declared Messiah's ducal title invalid and sent a fleet to deal with River Reach City. Meanwhile, Old Port had also raised the banner of avenging Dohamma and sent a fleet to pressure River Reach City.