Mechanical Alchemist

Outside the cursed space.

Danz Oliver, guarded by a host of bodyguards, wore a relaxed smile on his face.

Having spent such a great cost to hire so many experts, he was naturally determined to obtain the "Wailing Witch's cursed hair."

To speak nothing of the experts from the main Oliver family, the Crow Gang, which was funded by their family, was one thing, but it was quite something else to have enlisted the help of "Mechanical Tyrannosaurus" Toynbee, a high-ranking member of the Steam Party.

Of course, all this was thanks to the help of the lady in fox fur by his side.

Danze looked at the enchanting, graceful beauty beside him and felt in high spirits, laughing, "Hahaha... I must thank Mrs. Sabina for her righteous assistance in making this happen."

After all, this was an underground relic, not inside Old Lington City.

After all, the Scavengers were outsiders, and his Oliver family would not have been able to quickly assemble so many scavenger slaves in the camp without the help of the three major gangs.

He had just casually asked, and this beautiful lady from the Steam Party agreed to help without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Sabina, standing beside him, also smiled, a flirtatious look emerging, "Young Master Danze flatters me; it was just a simple effort on my part."

"It's something that must be thanked."

Danze squinted and smiled, his gaze inadvertently drawn to the imposing sight at her chest that was impossible to ignore.

As the legitimate heir of the Oliver family, what kind of beauty had he not seen?

But this Gang Lady had given him that stirring sensation he hadn't felt in a long time. Despite knowing she was the woman of a rival family's gang leader and was untouchable, it only heightened his desire to possess her.

She seemed within easy reach, yet just out of grasp, with a hint of danger about her...

Danze was well aware of their mutual needs, yet he thoroughly enjoyed this feeling.

To conquer such a woman would be an even greater sense of achievement.

A crafty gleam flickered in Sabina's crystalline eyes, seemingly unbothered by showing off her proud figure in front of others, she said with parted red lips, "Young Master Danze, with the witch's hair, you should be able to advance to the second order, right?"

"Yes. The advancement materials and the prosthesis blueprints have already been prepared."

Danze nodded confidently, "I was originally just here to accompany the family's caravan to the relic and spend some time in the environment of dense dark spiritual power to enhance my body's resistance. But I never expected to stumble upon one of the few rare threads most suitable for a Puppet Master, the 'witch's hair'. It's indeed an unexpected delight..."

He did not hide his happiness in his tone, and he had even imagined how he would dazzle everyone in the realm of puppetry artistry in Old Lington with the prosthesis made from "endless hair."

Continuing, Danze did not forget to say very gentlemanly, "And it's also thanks to the Madam's great help."

Sabina's lips curled into a seductive smile, "Then I shall congratulate you in advance."

"Once I successfully advance, my Oliver family will host a celebration banquet. Madam, you must honor us with your presence..."

Danze had already begun inviting guests for the victory feast.

But the unexpected happened very suddenly.

He had not finished speaking when suddenly a six-pointed star magic gate appeared on the seal in front of him.

"Could it be that they killed the witch?"

Danze looked at the magic gate and was about to rejoice, but in the next second, his expression froze.

Because he saw several figures fleeing in disarray.

....

The four second-order survivors all had injuries, more or less, because the Wailing Witch had suddenly broken free and run amok.

Seeing the ugly dwarf with an injured leg, Danze's face changed drastically. He quickly went over and asked, "Teacher! How... How did you get injured like this?"

He had never seen anyone push his teacher to such a sorry state. After all, the alchemical puppet was an ancient relic purchased by the family at a great cost, indestructible. Who could have forced him to abandon the puppet and flee for his life?

Could it be that there was an accident in the ambush on the formidable witch?

How could that be...

They knew the witch's modes of attack like the back of their hand; how could there be an accident!

The same questions were apparent on everyone's faces present there.

Hearing the question, "Trickster" Lloyd could not hold in his anger and questioned furiously, "Damn it! How did that wanted criminal end up in the witch's cursed space? Didn't you notice when you sent people in?!"

This was the first time he exposed his dwarfishness before others, feeling the strange looks around him intensified his anger.

"Ah...?"

Danze was confused by this abrupt and bewildering question, "Teacher, what... what wanted criminal are you talking about?"

Lloyd was beside himself with rage, "Hmph, just a moment ago, we were just one step away from killing that second-order witch, but we didn't expect a sneak attack!"

Hearing this, Danze was both shocked and angry, "Teacher, you were ambushed?!"

Lloyd, teeth itching with hatred, continued, "Someone sent that 'S-ranked wanted criminal Su Lun' into the cursed space. Then that guy used 'Xiupunos's Night Black Scythe' to kill Blum and Pecor, eventually causing the plan to slay the witch to fall apart. I nearly died in there too!"

An issue in the ambush?

But listening, Danze's gaze trembled, and his face filled with disbelief, "How could that be... these were just ordinary slaves."

"Ordinary slaves?"

Lloyd snorted coldly and briefly recounted what had just happened.

With that explanation, everyone finally understood the situation.

But all the streets near the monastery had already been sealed off by a spatial blockade, only those who were sent in as a slave group could enter.

Recognizing "Xiupunos's Night Scythe," these people immediately guessed that the attacker was the recently notorious Su Lun from Old Lington City.

But how could a fugitive, whose wanted posters were plastered everywhere, be sent into the space?

Just as everyone was utterly puzzled about how the assailant could have infiltrated the cursed space, a captain of the battle-sword group suddenly remembered something.

He said, "That one, if he was wearing a parrot mask... I have a bit of an impression, there was such a guy in the 'Drunkard Group'."

Upon hearing this, Danze frowned, "Drunkard Group?"

The captain continued, "A minor freelance group that has already been sent into the cursed space. However, there was one guy with a parrot mask and a little devil who disappeared before Young Master Danze arrived."

"Why didn't you say so sooner!"

"I thought they had been caught in the witch's cursed space and were long dead..."

"Drag him away and execute him!"

"Please, Young Master Danze..."

"..."

Although the words of the battle-sword group captain solved the mystery for everyone, instead of being rewarded, he was immediately executed by an infuriated Young Master Danze.

This was a major incident; if their own leader hadn't already perished in the space, even a second-tier professional would have been executed on the spot!

What the hell were you doing, bringing a slave group here to scout for traps and end up bringing a fugitive with ulterior motives?

And almost causing the hunting team to be annihilated!

....

The man was killed, temper cooled a bit.

But at this point, there was no use fretting over "why the fugitive appeared in the space."

Moreover, the losses weren't too severe.

Only three professionals and a batch of slaves died, the witch's space was still here, the main force was intact; for the Oliver family, it wasn't a big problem.

The pity was the loss of two rare controllers, the Magicians.

Danze asked, "Teacher, what do we do now?"

"We temporarily can't enter the witch's space; without controllers, going in recklessly would lead to great casualties. To get the hair, let's wait until the family dispatches more professionals," he said.

Lloyd also sighed slightly, contemplating for a moment before speaking again, "What we need to worry about now is... the subsequent moves of that fugitive."

Hearing his teacher say this, Danze was puzzled, "Teacher, the fugitive hasn't emerged yet, so he's probably dead in the cursed space. After all, it's very hard to kill a second-stage witch with just physical damage. Moreover, using that banned scythe comes with a great cost, swinging it twice, whether he can survive is another matter..."

"We can't be careless."

Lloyd shook his head, as if struck by a thought, his brow furrowed and he said, "There was an intelligence report claiming that guy had a method to possibly evade the scythe's curse backlash. Now it seems very likely to be true. Otherwise, after killing three high-ranking Umbrella Organization fighters in Old Spiriton Outer City, he would have succumbed to reverse damage from the scythe long ago."

He paused, then continued analyzing, "If Su Lun was able to remain conscious in the witch's dream-making ability, then he surely came prepared. And since he dared to make a move, he must have been confident about his chances of survival."

Hearing this, Danze's brows furrowed, "A method to evade curse backlash?"

"Mm."

As they spoke, Lloyd thought of something and narrowed his eyes, "When that guy attacked earlier, I clearly detected him manipulating puppet limbs. I guess he must have used 'Oz Frostman's Shroud' to create an invisible puppet. That's probably also his method to avoid backlash from the scythe."

Hearing this, Danze frowned, puzzled and immediately said, "An invisible puppet? But teacher, I've seen that banned scythe with my own eyes and even if a puppet uses it, the curse's backlash should still track back to the source..."

Lloyd looked equally perplexed and shook his head, "I don't know. Perhaps it's some kind of special living person puppet. His puppet control technique is excellent, must be employed in some rare puppetry profession, might even have some ancient puppet crafting techniques..."

Danze's face darkened.

If one could really avoid curse backlash, how terrifyingly formidable would that banned scythe be?

And the fact was, Su Lun had already used this scythe to kill at least four second-tier professionals!

At this thought, everyone felt a chill on their necks.

At that moment, Lloyd thought of something and said gravely, which made Young Master Danze's spine chill even more, "It's possible that Su Lun came specifically for Young Master Danze... this point, we must be careful."

Danze, startled, said in confusion, "I have no grievances with that fugitive, why would he come after me?"

Lloyd's eyes cast a shadow, "No... you've met before."

Danze racked his brains, puzzled, "Huh?"

Lloyd added, "Remember at the camp market, someone stole those witch hairs from you? Just now, that Su Lun controlled a living corpse without leaving any trace, obviously using a transparent thread. Other than that, I can't think of any other thread that would fit the situation!"

Listened and realized, Danze exclaimed, "That guy?! Damn it, had I known, I should have killed him at the camp!"

"Don't be complacent, get ready, that guy might have other methods to escape from the cursed space."

Before Lloyd could finish his sentence, someone suddenly shouted, "Not good, the witch's cursed space is collapsing!"

At the same time, an eight-legged figure darted out.

"It's him!"

Lloyd's pupils contracted sharply, and he bellowed, "Kill that guy!"