Chapter 17 The Submarine

The people of the Mafa Empire clearly had a plan. The remaining Mechanical Alchemists boarded the submarine. As the hatch closed, the submarine quickly submerged, disappearing before everyone's eyes in the No. 7 Harbor.

"Put magic markers on that ironclad ship! Get on board! Chase them!"

"Dispatch tracking professionals. We absolutely cannot let them escape!"

"Notify the fleet to intercept!"

"..."

Submarines, such a war weapon, had never appeared on the battlefield between the two countries, catching everyone off guard.

The Mechanical Alchemists who stayed behind at the pier detonated themselves after being subdued.

The fighting in the city also subsided.

By the pier, several major arms dealers looked at each other, their faces complex as they watched the fleet chasing out of the harbor in a hurry.

They were shocked by the ability of this ironclad ship to submerge, but even more worried about the unpredictable changes this stealthy approach would bring to future wars.

No one knew how many soldiers the Mafa Empire had transported to the heart of Luying in this way.

......

At the same time, in a luxurious small building on the top of a mountain in Gadolant City, a purple-haired woman watching the battle stood in front of the French windows, silently watching the battle in the distance.

Watching the submarine disappear into the harbor, she shook the red wine glass in her hand, took a sip, and her face was calm.

At this time, an old butler came in and reported, "Miss, those Mafa people really escaped by sea!"

Yekaterina still looked at the distant bay, her eyes deep, "Of course they went by sea. Land and air routes are impossible. Only this method can allow them to escape. I thought they would use some special means. I didn't expect the information I received before was true. Those Mafa guys really developed an ironclad ship that can submerge in the sea."

The butler interjected, "Our people have already begun to act. Even with a stealth ironclad ship, they cannot escape."

Hearing this, Yekaterina shook her head, "Forget it... withdraw them."

"This... withdraw them?"

Hearing this, the old butler looked puzzled and asked, "Miss, we've arranged so much. Aren't we just trying to get that blueprint..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yekaterina said again, "The Regardi family just sent a message, telling us not to interfere with the blueprint. They have ways to lock the location of the blueprint and have already sent people to do it."

"The Regardi family?"

The butler's face froze slightly, and confusion appeared on his face.

He was also a keen-minded man, and immediately thought of something: "Are you saying that Regardi and Grand Duke Raphael are mixed up together?"

"Yes."

Yekaterina narrowed her eyes slightly, her tone slightly complicated, "Before, the 'Super Mechanical Alchemist' showed off on the battlefield, and I was thinking that Raphael has been managing that 'mine' for a hundred years, and probably researched many incredible things before daring to show his strength. Now it seems that the entire Luying Empire has underestimated that upstart."

After a pause, she said to herself, "Hehe, a low-key upstart, a group of conspirators who want to restore their country... what a perfect match."

Hearing this, the butler also showed a solemn expression and asked, "Miss, then we should get this blueprint even more, shouldn't we?"

A trace of thought flashed in Yekaterina's crystal eyes, and she shook her head: "Forget it, I won't get involved. Let's see what they can do. Let me also see what cards they are hiding."

After a pause, she said something meaningful: "Besides... that blueprint may not necessarily have left with those Mafa people."

Hearing this, the butler seemed to be awakened and was shocked: "You mean..."

The words stopped abruptly.

Seeing that his young lady obviously had no intention of discussing this topic further, he didn't say more.

At this time, Yekaterina stopped looking out the window, returned to the house, and asked, "By the way, what about those demi-humans?"

Thinking of something, the butler's expression was very ugly, and then he said, "Regarding this plan, a very strange message just came from the dock..."

After listening to the butler's report, Yekaterina showed a truly surprised expression for the first time and said, "What?! You mean, the guy who bought the demi-humans, released them all?"

The butler's eyebrows were furrowed like chrysanthemums, and he said in confusion, "Yes. This old servant didn't expect it either. But the information from the pier has been confirmed."

The normal script was that whoever bought this batch of slaves would definitely use them or sell them.

Then, their people would find an opportunity to rescue them by chance and gain favor.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they left the auction, they chartered a boat and released all the people!

Not giving them any time to react.

Too much money?

Or someone with the same purpose as them?

Yekaterina frowned slightly, and for the first time felt that she couldn't understand the situation.

After thinking hard without success, she asked again, "Has the buyer's identity been investigated?"

"Not yet."

The butler shook his head and said, "There was news before that the arms dealer, Kelei..."

As soon as Suren saw the runes, he couldn't take his eyes off them.

Fourth-order runes were the field he was currently studying, and he could still understand them.

As he looked at them, his brain automatically started working, recording the structure, deducing the effects, and thinking about the doubts...

The super-high brain domain development made his thinking very sharp and his thinking efficiency extremely high.

While watching, he was mastering and learning these complex fourth-order rune.

Not only the runes, Suren was also amazed by the coating layer on the mecha, "The coating technology is also quite brilliant. The super-strong anti-corrosion effect can avoid wear and tear. It's a pity that I can't get the coating formula..."

Then, he looked at the weapon system again, fiddled with the huge ship-cutting sword, and took out the instrument to test it.

"The alloy of this steam ship-cutting sword is quite special. Without energy infusion, the strength can actually reach level eight, similar to mithril blue steel. The main material is 'Dragon Blood Black Iron'. This seems to be a special metal from the inland of Mafa..."

"..."

Suren observed it up and down for a while, and the surprise in his eyes grew stronger and stronger.

Only those who know the ropes know how complex and amazing the mechanical technology on this set of armor is.

Suren also increasingly understood what Mr. Black had told him, the more you know about alchemy, the more you feel ignorant.

Suren didn't know his mechanical technology level before, but now it seems that he can be regarded as a master level, at least in the Luying Empire.

But looking at the technology on this armor, he also has a sense of looking up to the ocean and sighing.

He realized that there were many, many unknowns that he needed to learn and explore.

.......

It took about an hour for Suren to roughly look at all the runes on the outside of the mecha, and he became more and more emotional: "The 'energy core' of this armor is the real black technology that can support such a complex mecha. But... how do I open it?"

He originally thought about getting the corpse out first, but gave up after looking at it.

The fully-covered armor was tightly sealed, and even the joints had very precise mechanical protection, so that water could not seep in.

He was not in a hurry to disassemble this mecha.

This was a job that required patience and could not be rushed.

There was a self-destruction device on this armor. If one component was disassembled incorrectly, the self-destruction program would be triggered immediately.

Suren understood mechanical knowledge, and had the All-Knowing Eye, so he could understand this armor faster than others.

When he understood the runes on this armor, plus the fragments of knowledge stripped from his mind, he was still confident that he could completely disassemble this mecha.

"Hoo..."

After roughly studying the external structure of the mecha, Suren also let out a long breath, his expression becoming more and more excited.

When he studied mechanics, he naturally thought of his mechanical puppets.

"Purely manual control system, pursuit of extreme defense, resulting in bulky armor..."

Suren smiled as he looked at it.

This officer's armor was very strong, but the heavy armor also made it look burly and clumsy, and the foot armor coverage was like wearing big leather boots...

Because he knew very well that the defense and functionality of the armor required a certain volume.

The higher the order of the runes, the higher the material strength requirements. If the strength was not enough, it could only be thickened; and steam power equipment also required a certain volume, weapons and equipment, cockpit... These all added to the volume.

But Suren was a puppeteer, and his mechanical puppets didn't need to be stuffed with a person!

Without an operator, he wouldn't be afraid of any mysterious attacks!

His "mechanical puppets" needed these technologies too much.

Although he couldn't analyze the technology without getting the finished product, this was of great significance to him.

Runes, enchantments, structures, conduction, kinetic energy, weapon systems...

Every technology was a cutting-edge military technology that was not available on the market.

You can't buy it with money.

Moreover, the shortcomings of the mechanical armor were very obvious, and it needed to be in a group to avoid being easily targeted.

Suren had previously witnessed a battle of elite mechanical warriors, shield fighters, output, ranged, logistics, engineering...

No matter how powerful a combat mecha was, it was impossible to equip all the functions completely, but with a few in cooperation, they could completely form a defensive barrier and deal tons of damage!

Suren, this puppet master, was good at cluster puppet manipulation.

After he reached the third tier, and his ability to control with distraction became stronger, one person's reaction was no less than that of a team.

A mechanical puppet legion was definitely feasible!

.......

This research took all night.

When Suren discovered that the outside of the window was bright, he realized that it was already morning.

At this moment, the room was full of drawings, depicting the structural analysis of the armor.

Suren's eight spider arms and hands worked all night, disassembling the runes on the armor layer by layer and copying them onto the drawings.

Just these external runes alone took nearly a hundred drawings.

The more he drew, the more specific the things in his mind became.

Not to mention mastering these runes, at least after he became proficient in the triple rune inscription technique, he could still copy the homework.

What was difficult for mechanical puppets was not a certain technology, but to gather suitable technologies together and forge them into a combat-capable armor.

It can be said that if a mechanic relies on his own strength to research, he may not be able to make such a set of armor in his entire life.

The mechanical revolution of the Mafa Empire for a hundred years, the wisdom crystallization of countless talented mechanics, has resulted in these achievements.

Thousands of failed attempts, countless technical tests and improvements, and well-polished templates.

It also saved Suren too much effort.

As long as Suren fully masters these technologies, he can create lighter mechanical puppets.

"Hoo..."

Suren let out a long breath of foul air.

Holding a pen, Suren propped his chin and looked at the mechanical armor in front of him, sighing unconsciously: "However, without a large forging factory, large forging parts like plate armor cannot be mass-produced by small workshops. And materials are also a big problem... If I could get a few more armors..."

Thinking of something, he shook his head with a smile.

It was already great luck to find such a complete armor. Otherwise, relying on his own strength, not to mention whether he could capture this high-level mechanical warrior, even if he could, he would not be able to get the complete armor because they would self-destruct.

Suren was also very content.

Have a chance to go to Mafa, the legendary mechanical holy land, to see it?

The thought flashed in his mind.

The eight-armed spider spear neatly folded the drawings, and he also put the mechanical warrior into the storage space.

After cleaning up the room and making sure that nothing was left behind, Suren walked out of the hotel room.

Because he had an appointment for a boat in the morning and planned to leave Gadolant for the Northern Lands.

.......

Last night's fierce battle left many traces in the city, and several blocks from Oak Street to the pier were devastated.

However, Gadolant is one of the most important commercial ports in the northern part of Luying. The daily flow of people and goods is amazing, and the port and pier resumed normal operation early in the morning.

Suren walked on the street and listened to the people talking about the battle last night.

But that kind of national-level struggle had nothing to do with most ordinary people. They still ate breakfast as usual, just adding some talk after dinner. At the pier, the porters were busy, and the sailors were also manipulating the sails and setting sail.

Suren didn't plan to stay here for long.

Although last night's battle had little to do with him, he participated in the killing of Viscount Primo, and he personally killed several people from the Sea Serpent Gang.

Staying in the city might cause unexpected changes.

He originally planned to go to the Northern Lands to see, and now there was also the "prophecy" of the Daru tribe's druids.

Suren was skeptical about prophecies, but he still felt that it would be good to go to sea as soon as possible.

He came to the port, registered casually, and found a merchant ship going to the northern ice field.

Free ride, with food and fresh water provided on board.

There were many merchant ships going to the Northern Lands from Gadolant every day, and the ship owners were happy to take adventurers who were going to hunt magic beasts along the way. When they encountered pirate and sea beast attacks, the adventurers could resist together.

Before long, ten ships of all sizes agreed to set sail together.

Suren was on a medium-sized sailboat called the "Maupassant". The ship owner was a rare goods merchant who went to the Northern Lands to collect magic cores, meteorites, rare minerals, and various gems.

In addition to the crew, there were nearly a hundred adventurers on board.

Suren was assigned to an eight-person cabin. The other seven people in the same cabin were from a small team called the "Night Cat Adventure Group".

There was only a dim oil lamp in the cabin, and the ventilation window was small and the light was very dark.

After Suren uploaded, he read a book in the corner near the hull.

If nothing unexpected happened, he would spend a long half month on the ship.

He had strong night vision and could read without hindrance. The dim light also concealed the fact that he was reading a fourth-order alchemy book.

Those adventurers ignored this guy who didn't say a word after boarding the ship and kept reading.

After boarding the ship, everyone had nothing to do.

They either slept or bragged.

The adventurers quickly chatted.

After listening to a few sentences, Suren also understood the relationship between these people.

The leader was called Mark, a forty-year-old bearded man, a second-tier "Jungle Hunter", and an experienced adventurer. This time, he was going to take the team to the Northern Lands to hunt magic beasts to make money.

There were several newcomers in the team, who came from the eastern "Visota County". They seemed to be going to the Northern Lands for the first time, and were listening to the old people and the leaders boasting about how rich the polar ice field was.

"Leader, is it true that the polar ice field is larger than our empire?"

"Not just larger? Ten times larger, a hundred times larger, it's simply endless! We humans have only explored a small part of the coastline. Let me tell you, the polar ice field is not the barren land that inland people think it is. It's just that we humans haven't been involved much and don't understand it..."

"It is said that there are ancient ruins frozen under the billions of years of ice. If you are lucky enough to dig up some antiques, you may get rich all of a sudden. Half a year ago, when the 'Nine-Headed Serpent Slave Group' went to capture demi-human slaves, they accidentally entered the depths of the Silent Forest and found an ancient temple, found a few very powerful cursed objects, and made a fortune..."

"Leader, can we also capture slaves? Like ice giants, demi-humans, etc. I saw that a slave auction house sells them for hundreds of thousands!"

"Slaves are not so easy to catch now. Now those demi-human tribes are far from the coast. If you want to catch them, you have to go deep into the ice field. But there are powerful magic beast groups there, and it's hard to say who will be the prey at that time. The slave business is done by specialized slave groups, so let's not think about it. It's enough to hunt some magic beasts on the periphery of the ice field."

"Leader, have you ever met sirens? I heard that there are naked Jana people on the sea. They are descendants of elves, all beautiful and graceful, and they will repay humans. If they meet good-looking ones, they will come on board at night, hehehe..."

"Hehe, you kid has heard too many fairy tales! If you really want to talk about sirens, you should pray that we don't meet them! Have you heard of the 'Song of the Siren'? Hearing that thing means that death is knocking on the door. Five years ago, I saw with my own eyes a ship drifting on the sea, and the people on board were all intact, but their souls were taken away. It is said that they encountered a siren..."

"Hiss... so terrifying."

"Leader, I heard that there are treasures everywhere at sea. Are those 'Pirate King Treasure Legends' true..."

"Of course it's true! Shipwrecks, treasures, there are so many treasures in this sea... and ancient underwater cities! Every year you can hear those lucky navigators and explorers finding some. It's just that this route of ours has been explored almost, if you really want to find those treasures, you have to go to the unknown waters to the west. However, if you want to be an explorer, you have to have strength and a good ship. Those terrifying sea beasts in the deep sea are not vegetarians..."

"When I was young, I was a sailor on a big ship, and I encountered a super huge sea beast that bit off half of the ship with one bite. I also picked up a life..."

"Have you heard of dragons? Sometimes when the weather is good, you can hear the roar of dragons coming from the west..."

"There is also the story of Snake Island..."

"Let me tell you, the most famous legend at sea is the 'Cursed Ship'. It is said that sometimes on foggy nights, lucky people can encounter a ghost ship drifting on the sea. The ship is full of gold and silver treasures, as well as wine and beauties. You can go up and take whatever you want and have fun. However, people who go up must come down before midnight, otherwise they will never be able to come down, and once the ghost ship disappears, you have to go with it to be a ghost..."

"..."

The ship traveled for most of the day, and many stories were heard.

Suren was also very interested.

Whether the stories in the mouths of these old adventurers are reliable or not, at least they sound bizarre and have strong stories.

He also learned a lot of legends about this sea area.

Unexpectedly, just as the story of the [Cursed Ship] was being told, and the eerie and exciting atmosphere had just permeated the cabin...

Suddenly, the first mate's shouts came from the deck.

"Oh, damn it! How can there be such thick fog in this sea area? Everyone be careful, we have entered the misty area, beware of pirates and sea beasts..."

Hearing this, the faces of the people in the cabin became strange.

Suren also felt that it was unlikely to encounter any ghost ship.

Because, it is daytime now.

However, the fog was indeed a bit abnormal.

Suren had glazed over the memory of the pirates before, and now he also knew some [Nautical Weather Identification]. He looked out through the vent and felt the air pressure and temperature, and found that this did not seem to be the weather that could form thick fog...

Before long, he heard the sailors on the deck exclaiming as if they had seen some terrifying monster: "God... what is that!"