Chapter 122 The Coup

Dawn's experts arrived as reinforcements, instantly adding over a dozen people to the street.

Suren no longer had the chance for a one-on-one battle with the "Frost Knight" Oscar to gain insights; the duel instantly turned into a chaotic brawl.

He raised his hand, forming a sorcery seal, and over a dozen terrifying wax figures appeared beside him, also charging into the battlefield.

It wasn't just Qian Tiao who came, but also Mr. Black, Barrett, Red Devil Kay, Kit... almost all the old members of the Mirror Organization from Old London.

The golden patterns on their cloaks shone exceptionally in the night.

Then there were Mr. Mirror's bloodline descendants, with the "Blood Duke" Moore Wordsworth leading a group of vampires, transforming into a sky full of giant bats and sweeping in madly.

In an instant, the entire Lighthouse District became a battlefield.

The great melee of sixth and seventh-tier professionals was incredibly dramatic, with various high-level sorcerers bombing wildly. The sky above looked like elemental fireworks were exploding, the earth shook, and buildings collapsed in swathes, the ground cracking inch by inch.

Because it was a prepared ambush, even though those mutated Outer God believers didn't fear death, Suren and the others had an absolute advantage in combat power.

The battle lasted for half an hour before it subsided, and all six mutated monsters were killed.

However, Suren was disappointed that, apart from the "Frost Knight" Oscar having a relatively intact soul, the others were severely mutated monsters with severely fragmented souls, only peeling off some incomplete fragments of law. Adding all six monsters together, they weren't even as good as one demon monk.

The only piece of good news was that these top-level mutated monsters had more life essence from the Evil God parasites in their bodies.

But the corpses decomposed quickly, and Suren was already "full" from absorbing earlier, so he thought it would be a bit of a waste.

Unexpectedly, after discussing it with Wordsworth, the seven-hundred-year-old vampire, he discovered that the Blood Clan had also developed some very special blood-sucking techniques over the long years.

Suren also mastered a secret method to absorb life essence beyond his body's tolerance.

And because of their constitution, the Blood Clan could directly absorb the blood of almost any creature (eating fish without spitting out bones). But this blood, contaminated with the laws of the gods, carried the hidden danger of mutation if absorbed.

Suren shared some of August's insights on extracting impurities from blood, and both sides gained something.

...

The battle on the North City side was a dogfight among the top nobles of Luying. In addition to clearing out monsters, they were also fighting for power and profit.

Dawn was a neutral organization and had no interest in participating.

Suren and the others didn't run around; they just wandered around the big factories near the Lighthouse District, clearing out various mutated monsters.

Waiting to see if those Evil Gods would send experts to assassinate them.

Restraining some would be considered helping.

The group scattered and searched the factory areas for mutated monsters to eliminate.

In the South City, their strength meant that as long as eighth-tier professionals didn't come, they were basically safe.

Even high-level mutated monsters could be killed with a two or three-person team-up.

Suren teamed up with Qian Tiao, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, to clear out monsters.

As they walked along, the streets were littered with corpses.

The Swordsman profession was indeed one of the strongest in killing, and Qian Tiao killed these mutated monsters several times faster than Suren.

The commotion they caused attracted a group of monsters, but before Suren could act, she waved her sword lightly, slicing all the monsters into two pieces as easily as chopping vegetables.

With each monster she killed, the Rakshasa phantom behind her became more solid, and her killing intent intensified.

A moment later, after clearing out a wave of monsters in the dormitory building, things quieted down for a moment.

Seeing Qian Tiao free, Suren casually asked, "Sister Qian Tiao, have you advanced to the sixth tier?"

He had noticed it during the big battle; Qian Tiao's strength was much stronger than when they had parted. But it had only been less than two months since they last saw each other. Before, she was only at the fifth tier, but now, not only had she advanced to the sixth tier, but she had also comprehended her Domain. Not only was he making progress, but his partners were also very powerful.

Qian Tiao sheathed her sword, glanced at Suren, and replied, "Yeah. I went to Synodia Province before, and Mr. Wordsworth happened to have a piece of lightning material that was very suitable for me. After I tried to fuse with it, I advanced."

Their eyes met, and perhaps because they hadn't seen each other for a long time, there was a hint of closeness in their eyes.

This gambling-addicted young woman didn't hold back at all, hooking her arm around Suren's shoulder as usual, and walking forward like brothers.

At this time, she seemed to notice the black light crown on Suren's head and curiously asked, "Oh... is your crown a cursed object? It looks pretty good."

Then, she teased, "Hmm... it matches your 'Prince Fake' temperament quite well."

Suren raised an eyebrow, ignored her teasing, and simply explained, "This is the legacy crown of Leijia, used to assist in comprehending the Domain. The effect is good. I felt like I had grasped a little something during the battle earlier, as if I had touched the threshold."

Speaking of this, he thought of something and asked back, "By the way, Sister Qian Tiao, how did you comprehend your Domain?"

Hearing this, Qian Tiao showed an expression of incomprehension, "Ah... is there even a threshold for this 'Domain' thing?"

She pondered for a moment and added, "Isn't it something you can master after advancing to the sixth tier and stabilizing your realm a little?"

Suren rolled his eyes at her "isn't it as easy as pie" expression and said quietly, "Do you think everyone is like you, entering the Sword Saint realm at the fifth tier?"

They knew each other very well, so he knew that Qian Tiao wasn't showing off.

It was just that she was single-minded and simply thought it was easy.

Qian Tiao's dedication to swordsmanship and her flawless sword heart allowed her to comprehend her own "Thunderous Sword Intent" at the fifth tier, entering the Sword Saint realm. This was also why she comprehended her Domain so smoothly.

And there was another reason, which was her never-before-seen third evolution of the 【Rakshasa Girl】 talent.

Mr. Mirror commented after researching it that this talent might even give Qian Tiao a high probability of ignoring the eighth-tier threshold.

Seeing Suren's serious face, Qian Tiao realized that he was sincerely asking.

She then thought seriously for a moment and replied, "On the way to London, I killed a seventh-tier sea monster and comprehended it directly. I remember the feeling at that time, probably... peeking into some special rules of power that were originally hidden in the world?"

Incomprehensible but awesome.

Suren showed a helpless expression as he listened.

The Domain was the professional's own understanding of the world and their profession, and everyone's understanding was different, so it was indeed difficult to explain.

Moreover, Qian Tiao, this reckless woman, had comprehended it in a muddle, so how could she explain it to others?

As expected, after explaining for a few sentences, she was at a loss for words, and Qian Tiao impatiently shouted, "Oh, I can't explain that feeling either. Anyway, I think you'll definitely be able to comprehend it if you fight more."

Suren didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he listened.

Obviously, compared to this, this gambling-addicted young woman was more interested in other issues.

Qian Tiao hooked her arm around Suren's neck, the fire of gossip burning fiercely, and the topic jumped sharply, "Aiyo, I've read all the newspapers these past few days. Suren, you've married a very beautiful noble lady. How does it feel?"

Suren rolled his eyes as he listened and corrected, "That's 'Fake', not me. It's just a collaboration, you know that."

"Heh!"

Qian Tiao's face was full of mockery, obviously not believing it.

She naturally knew that the marriage was a collaboration, but she was more curious about the hidden story, and said, "The newspapers said that you and that noble lady didn't leave the Rose Manor for several days. Tsk tsk... Is the experience of the Lance family's little princess really that amazing?"

As she spoke, she raised her eyebrows ambiguously, full of suggestive meaning.

He stayed a few more days because he wanted to plot against Young Master William and the demon monk. Suren hadn't told anyone about this.

Looking at the burning fire of gossip in Qian Tiao's eyes, he wanted to explain, but the thought flashed through his mind, and he dismissed the idea. Instead, he pretended to be frivolous and said, "My evaluation is... not as good as Sister Qian Tiao."

"???"

Qian Tiao's expression was obviously stunned as she listened, and she realized what he was saying after a moment.

Looking at Suren again, she said gloomily, "Hey hey hey... you little brat, you're asking for a beating."

Suren laughed when he heard the "threatening" tone, not caring at all.

Qian Tiao didn't stand on ceremony, locked his neck, and punched him on the head.

With a "thud," Suren cried out in pain.

The two cleared zombies on the street while occasionally bickering, which was quite fun.

...

The Dawn group's combat power was extraordinary, and they cleared mutated monsters in the Lighthouse District very quickly.

Before the zombie tide infected everyone, they had almost killed them all.

Originally, Suren and the others were prepared, and with such a large-scale killing of monsters, the people of the Giant Hermit Society would definitely take action.

But unexpectedly, in the few hours of clearing monsters, apart from the initial wave that the "Frost Knight" Oscar came with, no experts came afterward.

This made Suren feel a little puzzled.

But the communicator was constantly reporting the battle situation in various parts of London.

Although the zombie infection in the South City's civilian area was very serious, the actual decisive battle was still among the top nobles in the North City.

Councilors Raphael, Lance, and Roberts had hoarded heavy troops in advance. There were airships in the sky, and warships were coming from the sea.

The few major families supporting the Outer God cult were being beaten back steadily.

The situation was looking good.

But the reversal came very suddenly in this smooth battle.

Just when everyone thought it was because the 【Scarlet Potion】 hadn't been deployed on a large scale, and the Outer God had descended prematurely without sufficient preparation, a shocking message came.

In the Birmingham Textile Factory, a factory full of corpses in the Lighthouse District.

Suren had just received a communication to gather and immediately rushed over with Qian Tiao.

Just as the two arrived, Barrett, Wordsworth, and the others also arrived one after another.

Seeing Mr. Black's extremely serious expression, everyone knew that something bad was happening.

Barrett took the lead in asking, "Mr. Black, what's wrong?"

Mr. Black was the chief intelligence officer of Dawn, and almost all intelligence would be collected in his hands. He looked at everyone and said with a solemn expression, "I just received the latest news... Master Pierre has been seriously injured."

What!

Hearing this, everyone, including Suren, was stunned, and all showed shock.

Master Pierre was a ninth-tier professional. Could anyone in Luying seriously injure him?

A solemn look flashed in Suren's eyes, and he quickly asked, "Did that Outer God descend?"

Thinking about it, that was the only possibility.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Black shook his head, "No."

Then he said a message that made everyone's faces change drastically, "Empress Charlotte ordered two eighth-tier court alchemists to assassinate Master Pierre!"

...

Hearing this intelligence, everyone was dumbfounded.

Although they knew that the Giant Hermit Society had the current climate because the Bona royal family supported them from behind, they never thought that the dignified Luying Empress would have someone sneak attack Master Pierre, the empire's sea-stabilizing needle?

If the empress herself was a believer of the Outer Gods, that would be one thing, but a few days ago, Suren had confirmed that she wasn't!

Although the Bona royal family was corrupt, there were many experts in the palace, and it was definitely not easy for believers of the Outer Gods to infiltrate.

Moreover, the current situation was that a mutated tide had broken out in London, causing millions of casualties. Even the blind knew that those believers of the Outer Gods had a catastrophic impact on Luying's political situation.

Instead of uniting to deal with the Outer Gods, they broke their own pillar?

Mr. Black continued, "The specific intelligence is not clear now. Before, I received intelligence that the empress invited Master Pierre to Frederick Palace to discuss countermeasures. Then, not long after entering, a fierce battle broke out, and Pierre was seriously injured and driven out. This is the latest intelligence from two minutes ago."

Hearing this, everyone fell silent.

Thoughts raced through Suren's mind.

Master Pierre was the main force to deal with the Outer God's descent. If something happened to him, this matter would be serious.

It seemed that the whole of London was fighting lively, but everyone knew that the ultimate decision in this disaster was still the clash of force between the top alchemists led by Master Pierre and the Outer God of the Giant Hermit Society.

Suren couldn't figure out why the empress would stab him in the back, but he knew that there was no time to delay.

Waiting here was definitely meaningless.

He glanced at everyone and said solemnly, "I plan to go over and take a look."

Hearing this, everyone immediately understood and nodded one after another.

...

The others stayed in South City to clear out monsters, and Suren appeared several kilometers away with a spatial shift.

He asked Mr. Mirror with the communicator, and she happened to be watching the battle near Frederick Palace.

Suren sensed the spatial coordinates left on his senior sister's body and teleported repeatedly in that direction. In a few blinks, he had crossed the Loke Wallen River and arrived near the Royal Bank on North City's Saint Glory Avenue.

The last teleport, and the surrounding scenery changed, appearing in a pavilion.

Suren distinguished the location and remembered that this was the residence of "Marquis Agnes."

As soon as he teleported over, he saw his senior sister standing in front of the window with a serious expression.

Suren asked directly, "Senior sister, what exactly happened?"

Mr. Mirror had a complicated look and didn't say much, signaling him to look out the window, and said, "See for yourself."

Suren walked to the window and saw a dense crowd of people at a glance.

At this moment, tens of thousands of people were gathered in Frederick Palace Square.

The armor of the noble private soldiers had their respective family crests, so Suren recognized at a glance that those people were the Lance family's "Blue Cross Heavy Cavalry Legion," the Roberts family's "Black Griffin Lancer Legion," and the private soldier legions of ten marquises and earls.

Then there was the Luying military's "Golden Lion Legion," the "Dark Judgment Army"...

There were even Military Intelligence personnel wearing black trench coats.

Of course, the most conspicuous and the largest in number were Duke Raphael's "Super Mechanical Warriors" and "Mechanical Beast" legions! There were so many of them, a vast expanse of black.

Duke Raphael, Duke Lance, and Duke Roberts, the three great councilors of the congress, were all present.

Even almost all of London's top professionals were here.

Seeing this scene, Suren was even more puzzled.

Not a single Outer God person was seen. They were all opposition. Obviously, the battle situation was good.

But how could they have allowed Master Pierre to be assassinated?

...

At this moment, a small half of the jewel-blue-spired buildings of the palace had been collapsed, obviously having experienced a fierce battle just now.

And there was a large space cleared outside the palace square, and no one dared to approach.

A hunchbacked old man with blue-gold flames all over his body was floating in the air. It was Master Pierre.

Not far away on the ground, there was also a corpse with a large hole burned through its chest.

Suren recognized that the corpse was Quinn Andrew, the "Poison Sect," one of the royal family's two eighth-tier alchemists. He was a grandmaster of the Poison Sorcerer lineage, known as the alchemist who had the most thorough research on toxins in the world!

Seeing this, Suren had already guessed something. Looking at the blue-gold flames on Master Pierre's body, he guessed, "Master Pierre is using 【Mu Shi】to forcibly suppress the toxins?" (Mu Shi is pinyin).

He had personally seen Master Pierre's state at the Full Moon Ball before. He knew that this old senior was already at the end of his lifespan and had difficulty walking. But now he was releasing his spiritual power so much, which was tantamount to burning his life, obviously injured badly.

Suren's eyes twitched as he looked. He glanced at Mr. Mirror beside him, and she looked extremely solemn, not knowing what she was thinking.

Looking at the other side of the confrontation again.

The white-haired old woman wearing a crown, hiding behind the palace's magical defense barrier, and surrounded by a group of palace guards was naturally Charlotte, the current ruler of Luying.

However, what Suren cared about was not those palace guards, but a middle-aged man with a full beard wearing a full-body external mechanical skeleton beside the old woman.

"Third Navy Commander of Mafa, General 'Steel Behemoth' Burton Crichtster? Why is this guy here?"

Although Suren wasn't familiar with the people of Mafa, he had seen the intelligence of those top figures.

He never expected that the Luying Empress would have an enemy soldier of Mafa beside her.

Moreover, looking at the posture, the empress seemed to have some kind of cooperation with this Burton?

...

In the square outside the palace, the two sides didn't fight, but the atmosphere of confrontation looked very bad.

Just as Suren arrived, he was listening to the dialogue between the two sides.

Empress Charlotte questioned righteously, "Pierre, do you remember your identity as a royal alchemist? Do you still remember that you were able to advance to the ninth tier only because of the grace of the royal family? I never thought you would betray the royal family! You didn't come out to support the royal family during the previous rebellion. Now you even want to support the rebellion?"

Hearing this, Pierre sighed, "Your Majesty... I have never forgotten my identity. The duty of the court alchemist is to protect the empire and the continuation of the alchemic civilization. This is the sacred right granted to the court alchemist group when Emperor Peter established the empire."

Speaking of this, the old man hesitated for a moment, seemingly feeling that there was no point in elaborating, and only said, "From beginning to end, I have never felt that I have done anything wrong."

Hearing this dialogue, Suren guessed that they were talking about the "Mist Moon Coup."

Outsiders didn't know what exactly happened back then, but he had heard Ekaterina talk about the inside story.

Bona IX was weak and incompetent, and Charlotte had already controlled the actual political power.

This old woman had completely emptied the royal power of the Bona family, and the royal family existed in name only. She also wanted to support her maternal family to completely usurp power. Then, during this power seizure process, there was a series of scandalous operations that caused people to live in dire straits, and more importantly, touched the interests of the old nobles.

Then there was the Mechanical Revolution and the Mist Moon Coup, which directly brought her down.

Later, she made a bizarre restoration.

Looking at it now, it must have been the Giant Hermit Society that secretly supported her.

And Ekaterina also said that without her teacher's words, the Bona royal family would have all been sent to the gallows. It was truly thanks to this old man that this empress could live to this day.

However, Empress Charlotte didn't appreciate it at all. Hearing this, a cold light flashed in her eyes, "Hmph... there's no point in talking more about the past. I've already said that the ancient god of the Giant Hermit Society is our Luying's contracted guardian deity. Since you've heard the order, why haven't you withdrawn your troops? Do you want to rebel?!"

Hearing this, Suren's face changed.

At this moment, he suddenly understood.

He finally understood why it was the current situation and why the royal family would allow that Outer God to collect faith so rampantly.

It turned out to be a "Contracted Deity"!

In the Dawn era, alchemic civilization swept across many planes, and they used powerful force to sweep across many planes.

Those deities of other civilizations who resisted were killed; those who submitted signed contracts and became contracted guardian deities.

Thinking about it, the Luying Empire probably searched the world for treasures and found an ancient deity contract left behind.

That was why Empress Charlotte dared to do so.

However, this kind of contract was signed under the premise of force suppression or equality!

The Bona royal family was only at the eighth tier at most. How could they think of signing such a contract with an Outer God?

Not to mention whether this contract was stable or not, or whether it would be backlashed;

Signing with this kind of evil god who killed millions of people at every turn, what was this old woman thinking?

In the eyes of the gods, humans were just ants and blood food, a kind of low-level creature!

A monkey dared to seek the skin of a tiger?

Not only could Suren not understand, but others couldn't understand either!

Pierre said earnestly, "Your Majesty, do you know that at least several million people will die in this disaster in London? That Outer God will use your people to recover his injuries and condense his divine fire again. Do you really think that such an evil deity will protect the empire?"

Hearing this, Empress Charlotte sneered with disdain, "Hahaha... several million people? So what? Just population, it can be replenished quickly. As long as the royal family is still here, Luying will continue to prosper forever!"

Hearing this, Suren's gaze also turned cold.

What a vicious person.

Being questioned in front of tens of thousands of people, the old woman's face wasn't good either. She sneered, "Besides, I don't trust the ancient god, but trust you?"

Speaking, she glanced at everyone, "Is this how you repay the royal family's trust?"

"Sigh..."

Pierre sighed repeatedly upon hearing these words.

Just looking at the old man's expression, one could tell that he was already disheartened.

He spoke again, asking three questions in a row.

"Your Majesty, was it you who ordered the withdrawal of the garrison of the 'First Island Chain of the Northern Defense' three days ago? Do you know that losing that century-old defense island chain will expose the mainland to the enemy's attack range, and will put the entire empire in a state of crisis?"

"There are rumors that you secretly ceded 'Teminas Seven Cities' to the Mafa Empire a month ago. Is that true?"

"Now, using the Royal Navy as cover, you allowed the Mafa general beside you to appear in London with heavy troops. What exactly are you thinking?"

These words were full of sorrow and indignation, and yet pale and weak.

The building was about to collapse, and he alone couldn't turn the tide.

At the end of Pierre's questioning, the previous trace of love had completely dissipated from his tone.

He knew that this empress wouldn't be able to answer, so without waiting for her response, his tone suddenly turned indifferent, and he said, "If the price of your rule is the collapse of the empire and the extinction of civilization... then even if I bear the name of injustice, I will risk my life to stop it!"

Hearing this, Suren was filled with respect.

He finally understood why even after being ambushed and seriously injured, they didn't fight, but instead spoke for so long.

This was this alchemic master, who had worked for the empire for his whole life, making a final break with the royal family's grace.

Having received the favor of the royal family, it was finally coming to an end.

...

Ceding territory and selling out the country was a huge scandal!

Hearing that the ugly things he had done were exposed in public, Empress Charlotte's face also turned ashen, and then turned into endless anger.

She no longer concealed anything, her eyes revealed viciousness, and her ambition was undisguised, "Hahaha, ridiculous, ridiculous! What qualifications do you, a court alchemist, have to question the decisions of the royal family? The Luying Empire was established by the ancestors of my Bona royal family. If it wasn't the royal family in power, what use is this empire? What use are you? If I am not in power, what does it matter to me even if everyone dies!"

These words vividly expressed the selfishness, greed, and ignorance of human nature.

After a pause, the old woman roared, "Now I will ask one last time, will you withdraw your troops? If you do not withdraw your troops, it will be considered a rebellion, and you will be killed without mercy!"

Hearing this, Pierre's tone no longer had any fluctuations.

The tenderness in his turbid eyes disappeared, gradually becoming sharp as a blade.

"Perhaps one day the empire will collapse, perhaps one day alchemic civilization will also lose its glory and be submerged in the dust of history. But... not today!"

When saying these words, the old man, whose life was coming to an end, spoke with incomparable calm.

But every word was firm and resonated throughout the entire palace square!