The most shameless alchemist in history

"So, Mr. Ghost, are you putting righteousness before family?" the person outside the door asked softly.

"No, no, no, Lord Dure, you must be joking. What could I possibly have to do with such a fool? He's nothing more than a dog kept by Prince Zeref," Ghost said, waving his hand dismissively. When he mentioned Ironclaw, his expression turned to one of disgust.

This wasn't an act; he genuinely looked down on people like that.

“I’ve heard Eastern merchants say that you have to consider the owner before you beat a dog. Since he was Prince Zeref’s man, it’s quite interesting that Mr. Ghost still killed him,” the young man, none other than Dure, said with great interest.

“Actually, the answer to this question is very simple. I’m not one of Prince Zeref’s men, so why should I care about the lives of his lackeys? If we can take this opportunity to eliminate some of them, that would be the best thing ever,” Phantom said slowly.

"So, you're saying that you killed the person, Mr. Ghost, but you're trying to pin the blame on me? That's quite a profitable deal," Du Lei said coldly. The reason he chose to come here at this time was because he was certain that Ghost would take action that night.

So he struck first and eliminated the assassination squad before they could act.

“Lord Dure, you certainly won’t care about such trivial matters, and it’s not a bad thing for you either,” Ghost said calmly.

"Isn't it a bad thing? What makes you say that?" Du Lei retorted.

“If I remember correctly, Lord Dure, you should be on good terms with the Assassins, right?” Ghost asked again.

"But haven't you wiped out the Assassin family in one fell swoop?" Dure had just arrived in Drizzle City when he witnessed the Assassin family being wiped out.

“That’s just appearances, and none of the four Assassins have actually been arrested,” Ghost said, shaking his head.

"So, Mr. Ghost, is this all you wanted to tell me?" Dure didn't come here to hear Ghost say these things.

"Of course not. I sent the Swift Assassination Group to assassinate you, Lord Dure, because I had great confidence in your strength. You could easily deal with the Swift Assassination Group, which actually confirmed my guess."

"I'm afraid this is a test of my strength. If I'm still alive, they'll talk to me about further matters; if I'm dead, there's nothing to talk about." Du Lei sneered. He wasn't so easily fooled by the Ghost.

"Lord Dure, you truly have keen insight; how did you see through all this?"

"So, what exactly do you want to say to me? My time is limited, and so is my patience," Du Lei said coldly.

"Actually, I wanted to cooperate with you, Lord Dure," Ghost said after a moment's hesitation.

"Cooperation? Cooperate on what?"

"Lord Dure, you send troops to help Lord Jester ascend the throne, and you may make any request you desire," Ghost said with a smile.

“Jester? Is he Duke Jester, the most powerful man in the Land of Rain?” Dure frowned.

He knew about Jester; he was the king's younger brother. This situation was similar to that of the old king of the Swamp Kingdom, Charles, and his brother, Duke Dohama of the Reach. However, the difference was that in the Swamp Kingdom, the younger brother had ceded the throne to his older brother.

In the Land of Rain, the younger brother lost the battle for the throne to the older brother. Out of a sense of indebtedness, the older brother gave the most prosperous part of the Land of Rain to his younger brother, Jester. Jester was an ambitious man, and he was unwilling to let the throne slip away.

Therefore, he has been secretly accumulating strength, waiting for the moment to strike back.

When Dure was still serving as the Inspector General of the Snow Kingdom, he learned that the situation in the Rain Kingdom was unstable and that Duke Jester of the North was making trouble. He even wrote a letter to Kelly to remind them to pay attention to Jester.

However, before Kelly and the others could weaken Jester's power, Jester struck first and eliminated the Assassin family.

At first, Dure was wondering who was behind the plot to bring down the powerful Assassin family.

Now it seems that the person behind it all is none other than Jester, the Northern Duke of the Rain Kingdom.

“That’s right, it is Duke Jester of the North. Duke Jester is a born king. The throne of the Rain Kingdom originally belonged to Duke Jester. It is only right that Duke Jester has regained the throne. Of course, it would be even better if we could get your help, Lord Dure.”

Ghost revealed his backing and extended an olive branch to Dure.

()

891 Looking forward to meeting you

When Dure returned to the inn, it was already late at night. By then, the fourth daughter of the Assassin family, Katherina, who had eaten and drunk her fill, was already asleep, and only Rosa was still waiting for his return.

So she was very happy when she saw Dure arrive at the hotel entrance with an umbrella.

"Teacher, you're finally back? Are you hungry? I've prepared dinner for you," Rosa said immediately as she went to greet her.

And he took the umbrella from Dure's hand.

"No need." Du Lei sat down at a table on the first floor of the hotel and poured himself a steaming cup of black tea.

The rain was still drizzling outside the window, seemingly endless, and it was unclear when it would stop. A chill permeated the night air. Due to the perpetually dark and damp rainy days, the hotel was somewhat damp, and a damp smell filled the air. At times like this, it was necessary to place things that could absorb water droplets in the corners of the room to absorb the moisture; otherwise, the place would be constantly wet, making it very uncomfortable.

"Teacher, what's wrong? You look so troubled?" Rosa asked curiously.

In her memory, Dure has always been a very calm person. No matter what situation he encounters, he can always calmly and easily resolve it.

But tonight, Dure seemed worried, even though Rosa didn't think she knew the man very well.

But I always felt that he was different from usual.

"Do you know Jester?" Dure asked, referring to the name.

“Lord Jester, Duke of the North? Of course I know him. He is the late king’s younger brother and the current king Jelf’s uncle,” Rosa explained after thinking for a moment.

She was a native of the Land of Rain and knew the situation there very well.

The previous king of the Rain Kingdom worked diligently to transform it from a poor, small country into a powerful nation that neighboring countries dared not underestimate. The people of the Rain Kingdom deeply loved and respected their former king.

In fact, the previous king of the Rain Kingdom and the recently deceased old king of the Swamp Kingdom, Charles, were the same kind of people, and they actually maintained a good personal relationship.

However, unlike Charlie, who never properly resolved the issue of succession before his death, the former king of the Rain Kingdom handled the problem very well.

He had three sons in total, one more than Charlie. His eldest son, Jennis, was brave but lacked strategy and had no ambition to inherit the throne. He went to the border to lead troops at a young age. His second son, Zeref, is the current king. He has the talent to become king, and the Assassins family, which was in power at the time, also supported Zeref. So he naturally became the new king of the Rain Kingdom.

The third son is Jet, a guy who does nothing but loaf around all day. Dure is not unfamiliar with Jet, because he had seen Jet at Maple Leaf School more than nine years ago.

Although Jet was ambitious and eager to become king, he competed with Jelf for a time. However, due to the support of the Assassin family and Jet's own limited abilities, he ultimately failed to succeed.

Four years after the death of the former king of the Land of Rain, Zeref naturally became the new king. In the beginning, Zeref was diligent in his duties and worked hard to govern the country.

He vowed to become a good king like his father, and this continued for three years, during which time the power of the Rain Kingdom also flourished.

But three years later, a year ago, Jelf suddenly changed his personality. He stopped being diligent in his duties, became lazy and incompetent, and spent his days indulging in pleasure and doing many absurd things.

At that time, Karen was the patriarch of the Assassin family and the prime minister of the Rain Kingdom. Of course, he also had another identity: Zeref's teacher.

He advised Zeref to handle government affairs properly, to help the Land of Rain develop well, to inherit his father's mantle, and to make the Land of Rain even stronger.

However, Jerfe, who had always respected Karen, wouldn't listen to her at all. At first, he was outwardly respectful, but he didn't take her seriously behind her back.

But later on, he stopped taking Karen seriously, reprimanding her on several occasions and accusing her of not respecting him as king.

Left with no other option, Karen resigned, hoping to force Jelf to repent and change his ways. However, Jelf readily accepted Karen's resignation.

Furthermore, he extensively placed his confidants in key positions and expelled all the upright ministers, which caused the once peaceful Rain Kingdom to suddenly become chaotic and corrupt.

People had a lot of complaints about this, but Jelf even set up a secret service, and anyone who spoke ill of him would be arrested and thrown into prison.

This led to a very oppressive atmosphere throughout the Land of Rain, with people daring to be angry but not daring to speak out. This situation lasted for a whole year.

Karen couldn't stand idly by. He had always been the guardian of the people of the Rain Kingdom. He offered suggestions, hoping that Zeref could handle the government affairs properly, and recommended some capable ministers.

However, not only did Jelf not appoint these ministers, he even arrested all the capable ministers, which was a fatal mistake.

Therefore, Jelf concluded that Karen had ulterior motives and ordered the arrest of the entire Assassin family, which led to the Royal Guard coming to Drizzle City to make arrests.

“Jester wants to overthrow the rule of his own nephew, Zeref. That Mr. Ghost is ostensibly Zeref’s subordinate, but he has secretly sided with Jester and invited me to work for Jester,” Dure said calmly.

“Duke Jester…is he going south to seize the throne?” Rosa asked, frowning.

"You don't seem too surprised?" Dure asked in return.

"Actually, this isn't exactly a secret. Lord Jester has been resentful ever since he failed to seize the throne. He's been recuperating in the north, and many people are saying that Lord Jester will take the throne. That's why His Majesty Jelf has deployed a large force on the border with Lord Jester to defend against the northern army," Rosa explained with a nod.

"Since the entire Land of Rain knows that Lord Jester is going to rebel, why is Zeref only defending against him but unable to come up with any substantial way to deal with him?" Dure found this interesting, because any new ruler who ascends the throne will certainly not sit idly by and ignore the local power factions.

In particular, the ambition of this Northern Duke Jester is so great that it is common knowledge.

But it's quite bizarre that Jelf didn't take any countermeasures.

"Actually, His Majesty Zeref had taken some measures against the North before. He planned to gradually erode the Northern forces, which is why Lord Jester was furious two years ago and was ready to fight His Majesty Zeref to the death. But later, for some reason, Lord Jester held back. Until a year ago, His Majesty Zeref's temperament changed drastically, and the actions against the North were shelved. Lord Jester became even more unscrupulous." Rosa, as a spy planted in the Land of Rain by Dure, and being a native of the Land of Rain herself, was very familiar with the intelligence of the Land of Rain.

"It seems that this point in time a year ago was very crucial," Du Lei said thoughtfully.

"So, what are your plans, teacher?" Rosa asked cautiously.

“I accept Mr. Ghost’s offer,” Dure replied calmly.

"What? You agreed to Mr. Ghost? That means you'll serve Lord Jester?" Rosa was taken aback.

"That's about right. What, is there a problem?" Du Lei asked in return.

“Well… Teacher, you must have your reasons for doing this,” Rosa replied softly.

"A reason? Alright, it's getting late, let's get some rest. Tomorrow morning, I'm going north with that Ghostly Mr.," Du Lei said softly.

"Professor Du Lei, why are you leaving in such a hurry? Won't you stay a few more days?" Rosa couldn't help but ask.

"I have important things to do, so I won't stay any longer," Du Lei shook his head.

"May I go with you, Professor Du Lei?"

"No need, you stay here, I can go by myself. Okay, go downstairs and rest." Du Lei quickly went upstairs.

As he passed the corner of the stairs, he looked out at the misty drizzle.

A cool evening breeze was blowing; it had truly been a long rainy season!

When Dure returned to the Rosa Inn, Ghost was in an exceptionally good mood because he had accomplished two things that day.

One was to eliminate Zeref's henchmen, the Swift Assassination Group. If he were to personally deal with the entire Swift Assassination Group, although he could also eliminate the entire group, he would likely have to pay a considerable price himself.

Another reason is that he is currently working for Jelf, and if he were to make a move, it would likely expose that he is working for Jester.

Another thing that pleased him was a completely unexpected surprise, because the renowned Dure had actually agreed to join Jester's camp.

This delighted the ghost, as it was undoubtedly a great boost to its strength.

Their operation to seize the Land of Rain will surely be even more successful this time!

"Do you really believe that young man?" Shortly after Dure left, a shadow behind the Ghost asked.

“Of course I believe it, why wouldn’t I?” Ghost retorted.

“Don’t forget his relationship with Kelly,” Shadow reminded him.

"Relationships? The Assassin family has already been abandoned by Zeref. Zeref is a fool. The Assassin family is such a powerful force, and he just wipes them out like that. What's the difference between that and cutting off his own arm? It's fortunate that he did such a stupid thing, otherwise we wouldn't have gained the support of those great nobles. Zeref's actions have disheartened many nobles, which has led them to join our camp. Although Lord Dure and Kelly have some connections, those connections are based on interests. What benefits can the Assassin family offer now? We are different. We can give Lord Dure a lot, such as wealth, status, and even the land of two provinces and a noble title in the Land of Rain. These are things the Assassin family cannot offer!" Ghost said with great certainty.

"I hope you're right, but many things aren't as simple as you think." Shadow shook his head, still refusing to agree.

"Just you wait and see, a great era is about to begin. Our operation in the Land of Snow failed, but in the Land of Rain, we will surely succeed!" Ghost chuckled, his voice especially chilling and terrifying in the darkness!

The next morning, just as dawn broke, Katherine came downstairs yawning and waiting for breakfast when she noticed Rosa watching something from the doorway.