Chapter 1 The Success

Because he had prepared well, Suren successfully snuck in and obtained the item containing the divinity of that [Sea King, Drake].

But he also knew that this was the most dangerous time.

The instant he grasped the cold crown, the surrounding seawater suddenly solidified into a transparent humanoid monster. The [Sea King] could move freely in the seawater, which was a very troublesome ability.

Suren had identified it beforehand, so without hesitation, he used [Teleportation] in the seawater.

With a flash of light and shadow, he instantly left his previous position. The deathly premonition that made his scalp tingle flashed by, as if he had brushed shoulders with death.

Without looking, he knew that he had just dodged an almost certain death attack.

Suren's combat intuition was pushed to its extreme, and without the slightest hesitation, he performed a warlock seal he had prepared long ago: "Hormone Overdrive - Five Unlocks!"

A large amount of hormones surged into his limbs, the veins on his forehead bulged, and his muscles instantly knotted and swelled. A violent power, as if a volcano was erupting, surged into his limbs. As the warlock seal changed again, dense runes shimmered on his dark golden skin, simultaneously activating [Rune Adamantine] and [Elemental Barrier].

Almost at the same time as he condensed the spell, a powerful water pressure instantly squeezed over.

"Pa!"

Suren's body was crushed into pieces, exploding into fragments of a wooden puppet.

He had already used [Substitute Puppet].

Suren reappeared several meters away.

Having exhausted two quick life-saving measures, his eyes sharpened. The fifth-order state of Hormone Overdrive caused a flame-like dark spiritual energy aura to emanate from his body, isolating a large area in the sea.

Suren also felt the terrifying pressure, and dark spiritual energy surged out frantically to protect him. Fortunately, the elemental barrier condensed by his death law offset most of the necrotic energy damage, otherwise he would have died on the spot.

Even so, he felt like a mountain was pressing on his chest. As long as he dared to take a breath, he would immediately explode into a cloud of blood mist.

He knew very well that in this environment surrounded by seawater, no means could block the attack of the [Sea King]. Only if his own body was strong enough to withstand it for a moment, would he have a chance to survive.

Just then, the surrounding seawater suddenly seemed to boil, forming countless sharp water blades.

The water blades swept like a storm, cutting through the elemental barrier condensed by the death law, and slicing at Suren's dark golden skin like a slow torture.

"Clang", "Clang", "Clang"...

The ear-piercing sound of water knives cutting steel plates became a continuous stream. Suren felt as if his whole body was burning with pain.

If he hadn't recently strengthened the runes engraved on his body, this would have been like throwing meat into a meat grinder, instantly turning it into a pile of meat sauce. Even so, he didn't last long. The surface of his skin was torn by the water knives, and blood exploded instantly, filling his vision with blood. Fortunately, the muscles and bones had runes, so he could still hold on.

However, at this moment, a look of joy rose in Suren's eyes, he knew he had succeeded!

Because at this time, Pandora finally arrived!

Pandora entered the field of vision in a very domineering form. Her body was covered with a robe condensed from blood-colored moonlight. She was seven or eight meters tall, surrounded by hundreds of ghosts, and her blood-colored eyes were devoid of emotion, which was extremely terrifying.

As soon as she entered the field, blood-colored streamers danced wildly, and the surrounding seawater was evaporated. She lightly shouted, "Tsukuyomi - Tsukiyo Shindo!"

Suren felt the pressure around his body suddenly lighten. He didn't dare to hesitate at all, and quickly handed the crown in his hand to Pandora beside him.

Holding this hot potato in his hand, the [Sea King] would keep looking for trouble with him.

Sure enough, as soon as the thing was handed over, all the surrounding pressure suddenly disappeared.

Suren's mouth overflowed with blood, panting heavily. He breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and thought, "Puppet masters, as expected, bodies are the key to miracles! Teacher Sereia has great foresight!"

No matter how strong the puppets were, it was all in vain if the body couldn't withstand it.

He was also grateful to have a good teacher who guided him on a bright path.

Only by cultivating both the body and the profession can one have the opportunity to see the scenery above the peak of the alchemist!

......

After Pandora obtained the crown, the [Sea King] had no intention of looking for trouble with Suren anymore.

Because,

Suren didn't know what the thing was for, but Pandora knew!

She had a special method to steal the power of faith, which was the ability that Sereia and Sir Isaac had given her when they first refined the alchemical homunculus!

The purpose was to create a true god.

The instant Pandora obtained the crown, an extremely dazzling white light burst out from her hand.

Suren watched as golden threads were released from the crown and absorbed into Pandora's body.

"She can directly extract the power of faith..."

Suren understood and his eyes sparkled.

The situation was obviously at a turning point in the battle.

Originally, this was the [Sea King]'s lair, and it was surrounded by the sea. It had a continuous supply of elemental power, and was almost invincible.

But as the power of faith was extracted, the situation reversed.

Drawing firewood from under the cauldron, cutting off the [Sea King]'s source of power, the balance of victory had already tilted towards Pandora's side.

But Suren didn't dare to stay in this crystal palace any longer.

After all, it was a battle of gods, and it would be more dangerous towards the end.

He endured the stinging pain of the wounds corroded by high-level water elements, and teleported to the edge of the fish tank barrier.

With another spatial shift, he ran straight out.

Breathing in the air, Suren felt relieved.

He couldn't interfere with the battle inside the barrier, so he glanced at the bloody wounds on his body, thinking about dealing with them first. Although these wounds were not fatal, the corrosion of these high-level water elements was like a toxin, which was very troublesome to clean up. It was impossible to rely on the body's self-healing alone.

Suren took a deep breath and dispelled the [Rune Adamantine] spell. At this moment, the wounds in his body seemed to explode, and large clouds of blood mist burst out. Those "water toxins" frantically destroyed his body tissues and burrowed into his flesh.

Suren took out some potions to neutralize the water toxins and poured them on the wounds, causing white smoke to rise.

The pain was excruciating, and his muscles twitched from time to time.

Suren remained expressionless, treating his wounds while watching the battle inside the barrier.

The red light represented by Pandora now had the upper hand, forcing the blue [Sea King]'s side to retreat steadily.

The struggle of those about to die is the most terrifying.

The movement of this battle was several times stronger than before.

Although this seawater barrier buffered most of the shock waves from the energy collisions, from the outside, the entire barrier looked like a balloon with bulges everywhere, which could burst at any time.

......

After the battle lasted for half an hour, suddenly, the seawater barrier burst like a water ball with a "bang".

Heavy rain poured down from the sky, showering the forest.

"Killed it?!"

Suren quickly urged the Death Herald to fly towards the crystal palace. Sure enough, he saw Pandora standing there alone. After the fierce battle, not only was her aura not weakened, but it was even more ethereal than before. Her blood-colored eyes were full of terrifying and unapproachable pressure, and the Tsukuyomi dharma form was full of baleful energy.

When Suren saw this, he ignored the tearing pain of the wound and quickly approached.

He was afraid that Pandora would have some bad changes, so he directly stopped the Death Herald in front of her.

Pandora looked at the black crow, as if she saw Suren thousands of meters away. At this time, a trace of mortal emotion returned to her eyes, and she said lightly: "It's solved."

Suren was overjoyed when he heard this, teleported and ran over almost in the blink of an eye.

When he saw Pandora, he first asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Pandora nodded slightly and put away the dharma form.

Then, she looked at Suren again, and said, "Thank you."

Her tone was no longer the coldness that kept people away, although it was still plain, but it also made people hear the gratitude from the bottom of her heart.

Suren naturally knew what this thank you meant. Looking at the crown in Pandora's hand that had become dim, he grinned and responded: "You're welcome. We're just helping each other."

If he hadn't risked his life to sneak in, Pandora wouldn't have been able to harvest this crown.

The power of faith is very important to the Shinto, and Suren felt that this time she must have gained a lot.

Of course, without Pandora, Suren and the others would have been in a very bad situation if they had fallen into the sea ruins.

It was a win-win situation.

However, there was no time to be polite at the moment.

Suren couldn't move his eyes away from the cloud of golden mist floating on the [Sea King]'s corpse.

It was the first time he had seen a soul that was golden!

Because this was a pseudo-god!

This "golden mist" was a real treasure to him.

Suren tried to touch it, and immediately it was like opening the door to a super library.

Usually, peeling off the souls of others is like peeling off books.

But now, although the books are similar, they are very "big" and "thick"!

However, most of the memories in the soul of this [Sea King Drake] were about the content of Shinto beliefs. Suren was an alchemist and didn't take this path, so those things were useless to him.

However, many things about the laws were universal.

Suren thought about it and selectively stripped away the golden mist.

[You have stripped the soul of 'Francis Drake (Undead)'].

[You have acquired '61% understanding of the Law of Water Element', +171412 elemental experience].

[You have obtained a special divine-level rune language [Himinleiva's Sea God Rune], 15% comprehension].

[Spirit +12251]

[...]

If he could bear it, Suren would have absorbed all of this "golden mist", he would not waste this rare opportunity.

But after stripping two at random, it was like a sponge being thrown into the sea, and it was instantly "stuffed".

Suren's forehead was dizzy, and he almost didn't stand still.

Pandora looked at him and asked, "Are you okay?"

Suren shook his head, his eyes still a bit hazy like after a hangover, and responded: "I'm fine."

It wasn't a big problem, it was just that the amount of knowledge stripped away was too large, causing him to have some indigestion.

He hadn't experienced this feeling for a long time.

He didn't dare to say much, and concentrated on absorbing the external knowledge.

He wanted to absorb as much as possible before the "golden mist" disappeared.

This Sea King Drake mainly cultivated the water element law. Although Suren didn't strip it all, he also obtained most of it.

His current rank was still too low, and he couldn't use such high-level understanding of the laws, but the road was paved. In the future, he would be smooth sailing in learning and using water element magic and runes.

And the [Himinleiva's Sea God Rune] was what Suren wanted most, a divine rune!

This was the fish scale pattern tattoo on Drake's body before.

This was the rune language inherited from the sea god Himinleiva. Even Drake only comprehended about 15% of it.

But even this 15% directly blocked the space crack of the Black Scythe before, which was enough to show its power!

The principle of this rune is probably like punching into the water, the force will be dissolved by the vibration of the water.

And the [Sea God Rune] is to make the water element condense into layers of tight structures, forming a special element barrier in the body, which can dissolve more external force.

Suren felt that his Rune Adamantine's defense was still lacking some high-level rune language, and now this [Sea God Rune] perfectly fits!

In the high-level field, rune language is like "domineering", it is no longer a simple stripping of knowledge, but a kind of "world cognition ability" at the level of perception. If it weren't for the rune understanding chosen for the fourth-order job transfer, he wouldn't even be able to strip 1% of it.

This was the harvest that made Suren feel surprised.

For his future growth, the meaning is even far beyond a sealed item!

.......

The [Sea King] Drake was killed, and Suren temporarily had no pressure from death.

Although there were other tricky undead monsters in this sea ruins, without the command of this Sea King, the threat was reduced by 70% to 80%.

Suren contacted Qian Tiao through the communicator. Sure enough, the pressure of the monster siege encountered by the Dawn Mercenary Group was also greatly reduced.

Without the Sea King's deterrence, those high-level monsters looked at this hard bone that they couldn't gnaw, and gradually scattered and fled.

The members of the Dawn Mercenary Group were breaking through and heading towards the crystal palace.

Suren's injuries were not light, and he still had to digest the knowledge he had just stripped away, so he was not in a hurry to collect the treasures in the crystal palace, so he sat cross-legged on the spot and meditated, waiting.

Although Pandora won, the great battle was not easy, and she was also meditating cross-legged.

After waiting for a while, there was a sudden movement in the jungle.

The black crow on sentry duty was shot and exploded, and hundreds or thousands of soul fires appeared in his perception.

Suren opened his eyes and realized that he had not waited for the Dawn Mercenary Group, but had waited for some adventurers who were attracted by the movement of the battle here.

These people were more or less injured, and at a glance, there were some acquaintances.

The fifth-order bearded man leading the black panther was naturally the leader of the treasure hunting group he had met south of Devil's Island before, and he was followed by a group of people with the same coat of arms.

However, the leader of this group was not the bearded man, but a sixth-order middle-aged man with curly hair wearing a red and black baronet noble costume.

People from the Imperial Capital had an arrogance on their bodies, and their clothing, demeanor, and equipment were several grades higher than ordinary adventure groups. Suren glanced at the badges on those people's chests and recognized that they were from the Luying "Adventurers' Guild". He thought that they were probably an adventure group funded by the government.

However, he had no interest in paying attention to these people.

Pandora didn't move even more. When people came, she even covered her face.

......

Because of the battle, the forest here was a mess, but because the trees and vines had been cleared away, the architectural remains on the ground were more clearly visible.

Even, you can see the crystal palace in the seawater pit in the distance.

On the ground, the energy of the [Sea King]'s corpse had dissipated, and there was no clue. However, the spirit-shining trident beside it made people envious.

As long as you are not blind, you can see that this is definitely a big treasure.

Suren felt those greedy and hot gazes, and frowned slightly.

The excited voices of those people also came from his ears.

"Look, there is a crystal palace! God, I have never seen a palace completely made of crystal. This is more luxurious than the Frederick Palace..."

"God, I have already seen the shining golden light in the palace. There must be countless treasures there!"

"This Devil's Island is full of treasures. This is probably a treasure house. Haha, we are rich..."

"The [Four-Colored Heart of Elements] may be here. If we really find it, we can become nobles..."

"Have you noticed that the trident on the ground seems to be a cursed object of the sealed item level..."

"Shh..."

"..."

Those people were completely blinded by the treasures all over the place. They looked at those treasures and even completely ignored that there were two outsiders in front of them.

It is understandable to think about it. Even Suren's state of mind was not calm when he saw those treasures before, let alone some ordinary adventurers.

"Red Nose" Miles, who was leading the black panther, naturally recognized Suren. He had a good impression of this young man who had kindly given them tips before, at least he didn't think he would be an enemy.

Besides, the black panther beside him scratched the ground uneasily, seeming to want to remind his master not to make some dangerous moves.

Seeing that the adventurers were blinded by the treasures, he quickly spoke and said to the curly-haired baronet: "President Siegel, the 'Sea Ruins news' that I told you before was told by this gentleman. We..."

When he said this, his words choked in his mouth, and he obviously didn't know how to speak.

Under normal circumstances, there is a first-come-first-served basis for treasure hunting. Whoever discovers the treasure first will own it.

But in fact, on the desolate sea island where there is no legal constraint, few people abide by this rule. There is no difference between adventurers and pirates.

Besides, with so many treasures in front of him, Miles also knew that everyone would never give up.

They have more than 800 people, will they easily give the treasure to two people?

He is willing, but his partners will definitely not be willing.

"Oh?"

Hearing this, the curly-haired man named Siegel narrowed his eyes and looked at Suren and the other two in front of him.

His eyes were very vicious, and he was actually evaluating the strength and risk of the person in front of him.

Suren's external injuries looked very serious, and the "sea poison" made his wounds heal very slowly. He looked like he was at the end of his rope, and even though so many people had come, he was still meditating. It gave people the feeling that he was seriously injured and could not spare his hands at all.

He completely didn't know that Suren just didn't want to pay attention to them.

Siegel put one hand on the flintlock pistol on his waist and asked: "Which mercenary group is your Excellency from?"

Suren responded expressionlessly: "Dawn Mercenary Group."

The information about their Dawn Mercenary Group will definitely be known after this time, so it doesn't matter if he says it.

"Oh?"

Siegel was a little unsure where the confidence in the attitude of the two people in front of him came from.

If they were top-level professionals, he, an adventurer who has been floating on the sea all year round, should have heard of them more or less.

But this "Dawn Mercenary Group" was very unfamiliar, and it sounded like a third-rate small group.

However, although he didn't see the previous battle, he also saw the aftermath, which was definitely not a small fight.

Siegel's eyes turned, and he did not underestimate the strength of Suren and the others. He said cautiously: "This Devil's Island is rich in treasures. Since everyone has encountered each other, it is also fate. Let's explore it together."

These words were very clever. He didn't say anything about who came first and everyone would develop it together, which was also testing the other party's attitude.

"No. I think you misunderstood."

Suren sighed slightly, seemed to think it was very troublesome, but also explained: "There was a very powerful undead creature entrenched here before. We spent a lot of effort to kill it. According to the rules, the treasures here should be ours. If you want to find treasure, go somewhere else."

Hearing these words, the faces of the 800 people on the opposite side gradually became dangerous.

Did these two people not understand the situation?

If they acquiesced in exploring it together, they could still divide him a little treasure.

With this attitude, did they want to eat it all by themselves?

Their "Prince Karl Knapp Treasure Hunting Group" was not easy to mess with.

In Luying, no one dared to offend them.

Moreover, in the eyes of the royal family's official adventure group, as long as it is not a group of the royal family, it is not a trouble.

Hearing these words, Siegel's face also became unsightly, "Your Excellency wants to monopolize the treasures here? Hehe..."

After all, he was a nobleman and still wanted some face. He sneered and changed his words: "My subordinates discovered this crystal palace before. Your Excellency just happened to appear here for some reason. Now you say that the treasure is yours, do you think it is appropriate?"

Give up?

Naturally impossible.

Since they can't agree, then they can only rob openly.

He was a noble nobleman after all, giving a lowly adventurer a share was already a great kindness, but this guy was still not satisfied?

Moreover, no matter how he looked at it, he felt that the two people in front of him were bluffing.

Seeing that the negotiations had broken down, "Red Nose" Miles, who was leading the black panther, interjected to smooth things over and said: "That, this sir... We are the 'Prince Karl Knapp Treasure Hunting Group'. This is the prince's personal guard, the honorary vice president of the Adventurers' Guild, and an imperial nobleman. We are here this time..."

He felt that when they met before, Suren kindly reminded them of the situation here.

Now this situation seems not very good.

Reminding the other party of their identity is also to avoid causing trouble that they shouldn't cause.

Otherwise, even if the treasures here are taken away by that "Dawn Mercenary Group", they will have to spit them out when they return to Luying.

But before he could finish his words, Suren interrupted him and said in a deep voice: "I have said what I should say. This is the treasure discovered by our Dawn Mercenary Group. If you want to find treasure, go somewhere else."

After a pause, he looked at the few members of the Judgment Group that he had recognized before and said: "Also. I said that I know your Captain Barrett, and he is on the island. So, if they want to take action, you few better not participate."

Hearing these words, "Red Nose" Miles and several members of the Judgment Group were very embarrassed.

Not to mention that the identity of the "Judgment Group" is sensitive, is it appropriate to say this in this situation?

Hearing this, Siegel glanced at his subordinate Miles and guessed something, but he didn't get angry and just said coldly.

He looked at Suren, who didn't listen to reason, and his tone was completely undisguisedly threatening: "What do you mean, sir? Do you also know that traitor Barrett?"

Suren knew that these guys were determined to kill and steal treasures, and he had no interest in talking to this guy for the third time, "If you want to fight, then fight. If you don't fight, then get out!"

Hearing these words, Siegel immediately came to life.

Whether it was a bluff or not, he had a legitimate reason to take action now.

The name of Barrett alone was not enough to make him, Siegel, retreat!

He shouted: "The Queen has ordered that anyone who is related to the traitor must be killed without mercy!"

As he said that, he instantly pulled out the flintlock pistol on his waist and pulled the trigger at Suren.

"Biu~"

A blue light burst out from the muzzle.

As soon as this shot was fired, except for the few people from the Black Panther Group who did not move, almost everyone raised their guns and fired.

.......

Suren had noticed before that the thing on that guy's waist was an [Arcane Pistol].

This is a very powerful alchemical firearm that the Luying Royal Academy of Sciences has been developing in recent years. It not only fires alchemical bullets, but the entire firearm is a magical device with a special structure. It can also be regarded as making up for the shortcomings of gunmen in the field of high-level professionals.

But this Arcane Pistol is indeed powerful, but it is very slow to reload and recharge, and it is also very expensive.

Except for nobles, no one can afford to play with this thing.

Suren, holding the gunfire in front of him, did not move at all.

Because at this time, a burly figure instantly appeared in front of him, and a thick silver arm wrapped in domineering aura shattered the blue light with one punch.

His puppet body blocked in front of Suren, allowing the muskets and artillery shells to fall behind him.

And it was after this person took his position

After blocking it, a series of sonic booms of "pa", "pa", and "pa" came from the air!

Everyone then saw clearly that it was a man with a stubble and a resolute face.

The few people from the Black Panther Group instantly recognized him and said with joy and shock: "Captain Barrett!"

Barrett nodded, not saying much, but turned sideways to expose Suren, making it clear to everyone that his identity was very special.

At the same time, Qian Tiao also jumped to the top of a stone pillar. She put her hand on the hilt of the sword and looked down at the group of menacing guys, muttering with disdain: "Yo... it seems that someone wants to attack our Dawn Mercenary Group."

The faces of the people in the Prince Karl Knapp Treasure Hunting Group instantly became solemn when they saw Barrett and Qian Tiao who suddenly appeared.

Siegel recognized Barrett and his pupils shrank suddenly. Although he was not afraid, he did not expect this guy to be really here.

Moreover, it wasn't over yet!

Upon listening again, there seemed to be a lot of people surrounding them in the jungle.

Before those people could react too much, the members of the Dawn Mercenary Group arrived!