The most shameless alchemist in history

"Why would the Kingdom of Flame set up the royal family's tomb in a place like the Scorching Canyon? It's really suspicious."

Dure's gaze finally settled on the Scorching Canyon, and he became increasingly interested in this place.

"There must be something in the Scorching Canyon!"

He had a guess in his mind!

()

914 Bloodshed

Dure didn't have to wait long. Soon, the guard who had greeted him returned. However, this time he wasn't being lowered down in a basket. Instead, he opened the fortress gate directly, and a group of guards came out to greet him. One of the middle-aged officers quickly walked over.

The officer's shoulder insignia indicated he was a major general. According to the information Yang had previously given Dure, in the Scorching Fortress, General Grayflame was the supreme commander who succeeded Purpleflame. Grayflame's rank was lieutenant general, so this officer was only one rank lower than him, a major general.

This shows that the officer's identity is of great importance in the Scorching Fortress. Dure went through it in his mind and quickly guessed his identity: Gilbert, the chief of staff of the Scorching Fortress, and also the second most important person after Grayflame.

Someone like him would never leave the city in a basket like a common soldier. Although it is wartime and opening the city gates carries certain risks, they are fully capable of bearing such risks in the face of this visiting guest, because it is worthwhile.

"Welcome, Lord Dure. Your visit greatly honors our Scorching Fortress," Chief of Staff Gilbert greeted warmly.

Although he had never met the boy in front of him, Gray Flame had already confirmed it in the letter.

The visitor was the famous Du Lei, the young man whose fame is rising the fastest across the entire mainland!

Even someone as proud and arrogant as Gray Flame couldn't help but praise Du Lei when he mentioned him.

"It seems I came rashly, and the timing wasn't quite right. I hope I haven't caused any trouble for your country," Du Lei said with a smile.

“How could that be? We could never invite such a distinguished guest as you. Please come into the fortress.” Chief of Staff Gilbert personally led Dure towards the fortress, with Dure following behind. After entering the fortress, he was able to carefully observe the fortress’s defenses.

Without a doubt, this scorching fortress was one of the most fortresses Dure had ever seen.

In addition to the twenty magic cannons, there are forty other cannons on standby inside the fortress.

Although these cannons are not as powerful as magic cannons, you should know that the Land of Flames has a special product: magic stones!

And magic stones are the raw materials for magic cannons!

It can be said that no country can squander money as recklessly as the Flame Kingdom. These forty cannons can be converted into magic cannons at any time!

And indeed, Dure was inside the fortress watching mages in black robes engraving magic runes onto the surface of the cannons.

These magical runes enhance the power of the cannons and enable them to fire projectiles made from magical stones.

Once these forty cannons are modified, the Scorching Fortress will be able to defend itself with a total of sixty magic cannons!

This would be a terrifying presence anywhere.

If all sixty magic cannons were fired simultaneously, their destructive power would be enough to turn an entire city into a sea of ​​fire in an instant!

"It seems your army is very well-trained and well-equipped. I am truly impressed." Du Lei's words were not entirely flattery.

From his perspective, someone who can manage such a disciplined and well-trained army must be capable.

However, the current record of the Flame Kingdom is not commensurate with their strength.

Simply put, Dure did not believe that such an army would suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of the Land of Lightning.

Even though their opponent was the seasoned Lei Ming, the gap between the two sides was definitely not that large!

“Mr. Dure, you are too kind. This is far inferior to the Griffin Legion of the Snow Country. I have heard that in the recent naval battle of the Swamp Country, the Griffin Legion annihilated the combined fleet of more than one hundred warships of the Swamp Country and the Octopus Family, as well as the airship force of the Wind Country. These were all major feats that shocked the entire continent. Compared with those, this level is nothing at all.”

Gilbert spoke with a hint of pride in his voice.

When Dure saw the other officers, he found that they were all chatting and laughing, and did not look like losers at all.

what on earth is it?

"Those were all due to good luck, the favor of Lady Luck. Besides, they were all the result of everyone's hard work. I didn't really do anything."

Du Lei waved his hand, not taking credit.

“Mr. Dure, you are too modest. If it was just good luck or a coincidence once, then the fact that you have won several brilliant battles in a row is enough to prove two things.” Gilbert shook his head slightly; he did not believe Dure’s explanation.

"Oh? Two things? What are they?"

"The first thing is that the Griffin Legion of the Snow Kingdom is indeed an elite legion, worthy of its honorary title. Its combat strength ranks among the top ten of all legions and mercenary groups on the entire continent," Gilbert said with certainty.

"And the second thing?" Du Lei nodded and continued to ask.

"The second thing is that Lord Dure's genius-level strategic vision was the most crucial factor that enabled the Griffin Legion to achieve a series of brilliant victories. Moreover, there is a saying circulating in various countries across the continent." Gilbert paused here.

"What's the rumor?" Du Lei asked curiously.

"Wherever Lord Dure goes, bloodshed is sure to follow," Gilbert suddenly said.

“Oh?” Dure looked at Gilbert, who had his back to him.

"Hahaha, it was just a joke, Lord Durley, you don't need to take it seriously," Gilbert suddenly laughed loudly.

"Actually, there's some truth to that. Since I left the Land of Snow, every country I've visited has been plagued by serious internal strife, and many of them have resulted in bloodshed. The Land of Swamp, the Land of Rain, and now I've come to your country..."

Dure readily admitted this and said what Gilbert hadn't.

"The internal strife in these countries has a long history, and it didn't just happen after Lord Dure's arrival, so it's all unreliable. After hearing about your visit, Lord Grayflame was very pleased and originally wanted to come and greet you personally, but he has been unwell recently, so I hope you can understand." At this moment, Gilbert had already led Dure to a four-story detached house.

There were a large number of guards patrolling and guarding the area, with visible and hidden sentries everywhere, and high-ranking military officers could be seen coming and going from time to time.

Needless to say, this must be Grayflame's office.

That is, the location of the headquarters of the Flame Kingdom's army.

"It's alright, but General Grayflame is unwell. Is he sick, or... injured?"

Dure hadn't heard Yang mention this before, so he frowned and asked.

While both involve feeling unwell, there's a huge difference between being injured and being sick.

If it's illness, that's fine; it's just a personal matter. But if it's injury, then it can involve a whole host of reasons.

"It's just a minor cold, nothing serious. Lord Dure, please come this way. General Grayflame has been waiting for you for a long time." Gilbert led Dure through the heavy guards to the door of an office.

He pushed open the office door and announced from the doorway, "General Grayflame, Lord Dure has arrived!"

"Okay, you can go now." A response came from inside the office.

Dure quickly entered the office, while Gilbert closed the door and left.

The office was magnificent, with a large model displayed under a glittering crystal chandelier.

The distribution of troops was marked on the sand table with small flags, and the surrounding geographical features were arranged according to the perimeter of the Scorching Canyon.

A man is standing in front of the sand table, looking down at it, holding a few chess pieces in his hand.

Behind him was a large desk, and behind the desk sat a man.

However, the man turned his chair around so that his back was to Dure, making it impossible to see what he looked like for a moment.

"Are you Du Lei?" the man looking at the sand table asked softly.

“You are…” Du Lei looked at him. The man was dressed in black casual clothes, looked to be in his thirties, tall and slender, and noble and elegant.

This does not match the image of General Grayflame that Du Lei knew.

According to Yang Ge's description, General Grayflame should be around forty years old and tall and robust.

However, the man sitting with his back to Dureh does fit the image quite well.

And most importantly, he was wearing a military uniform, and the rank insignia on his shoulder straps was lieutenant general.

"Who I am is not important, what's important is that I've been waiting for you, Du Lei," he said with a smile.

"Wait for me? What do you mean? Do I know you?" Du Lei frowned.

“You don’t know me, but I know you, because several of my companions died at your hands.” He spoke very softly, his voice barely audible.

His hair was so long that it almost covered his eyes, and his golden hair fell to his shoulders.

This gave him an air of mystery.

"Your companion? General Grayflame? No, General Grayflame?" Dure quickly raised his voice.

Because he noticed something: the sitting man was completely lifeless, seemingly devoid of any vital signs!

"No need to shout anymore, that man is long dead. So, Durei, enjoy the gift I've prepared for you."

He knocked over the chess pieces on the sand table, and Dure discovered that one of the pieces had a chibi-style design that looked very similar to him!

"Don't even think about leaving!" Du Lei realized something was wrong and tried to stop the man.

But the other person quickly rushed to the window and jumped out.

"What happened inside? General Grayflame, Lord Dure, are you alright? General Grayflame?"

Hearing the commotion outside, they rushed in quickly, and Gilbert led a squad of guards in to check the situation.

He soon saw Du Lei and the middle-aged man still sitting in the office.

"General Grayflame, what... what happened? General Grayflame was assassinated?"

Gilbert went to check on polio and found a fatal wound on the latter's neck.

After a brief moment of shock, he quickly ordered his guards to surround Dure.

"Lord Dure, please give me a reasonable explanation. Why did you kill General Grayflame?" Gilbert shouted sternly.

"I didn't kill him. Someone else killed General Grayflame. He just jumped out the window and left. Aren't you going to go after him?"

Du Lei sensed something was amiss and pointed to the window.

“Lord Dure, my men are guarding the outside. I didn’t see anyone escape. Only you and General Grayflame were in the office. Do you think I would think you have nothing to do with this assassination?” Gilbert’s attitude gradually turned cold.

Dure glanced out the window and saw that a large number of guards had indeed gathered outside.

"Hey, old man, can't you understand what the young man is saying? We didn't kill this person. If you want to find the murderer, go investigate yourself. Why do you have to make things difficult for us?" Just then, the shadow under Du Lei's feet quickly spread out and stood up directly from the ground.

This formed a huge, menacing black shadow, looking down at Gilbert and shouting at him.

"What, what is this thing? Is it a monster?" The guards around them were visibly shocked.

"Don't panic, everyone. We have a strong guard here, and there are magic users in charge. Don't be afraid of them!"

Gilbert drew his pistol and aimed it at Dure; he was much calmer.

Soon a large number of guards poured in from outside the door, several of them in uniform.