Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 574 - 573: Artifact Projection

"The slumbering sea monster Setes?"

Su Lun had guessed that the snake tide pushing them southeast held dangers, yet he couldn't pinpoint the nature of those perils.

Previously, neither Tanni nor his mother, with their special sensory abilities, had detected anything abnormal, leading him to not expect any powerful sea monster either.

But upon hearing Queen Medusa's words, Su Lun felt it indeed might be possible.

If it had slept long enough, the fish in the sea necessarily wouldn't notice a sea monster's presence.

Feigning ignorance, he questioned back through mental transmission, "What sea monster? How powerful?"

Queen Medusa responded, "According to your human terms, Setes is a super-tier sea monster. Now, you can see the largest island in the southeast; it represents the ridge back showing above the water. Over two hundred years ago, a group of powerful human adventurers stirred it from its sleep here, ultimately causing a climate disaster that lasted several months. The sea area is not as simple as you see; there are countless divine-blood sea monsters here..."

"Super tier?"

Su Lun's eyes twitched involuntarily.

Gazing at the island in the horizon, its diameter surpassing ten kilometers, he was greatly surprised: Could this truly be a sea monster?

If that's just its ridge back, how large must its main body be?

A sea monster as large as Lingdun City?

Aside from that, what surprised Su Lun was also the tone of the discourse—as if she personally experienced the event over two hundred years ago. Just how long had Queen Medusa lived?

As a dominant high-tier species in this sea area, the Gorgon race naturally had no need to lie.

Su Lun chose to believe this explanation.

However, the question remained—why would she warn him, a human?

Clearly, it wasn't out of kindness.

...

Mental communication was highly efficient; in just a moment, Medusa transmitted another message: "You must also be heading for 'Mimir's Well,' right? Then I can tell you that even if you escape alive this time, you will never be able to approach Giant Island. The only safe route there passes through Moon Strait, but currently, many human mages have stationed themselves there, building many magic towers. Your warship, although special, couldn't withstand something like the previously released Forbidden Curse Magic. Do you think you can forcibly break through?"

"..."

Upon hearing these words, Su Lun promptly pinpointed the location of "Moon Strait" in his mind.

Currently, the strongest mages descending from the divine realm to the alchemical plane are of the eighth tier, and casting the "Forbidden Curse: Divine Punishment Light" would definitely require the support of a magic tower.

The staff had just calculated the direction from which the magic was released, which exactly matched her statements.

From now on, it seemed everything Queen Medusa said was true.

Conjecturing her motives, Su Lun asked again, "Why tell me all of this?"

Queen Medusa replied with two words: "Cooperation."

"..."

Su Lun wasn't confused at all.

Previously, in the suburbs of the Silver Dragon King Aike's kingdom, he had personally witnessed Queen Medusa kill a very powerful high-level Gorgon.

Thus, the Gorgon race was not monolithic internally—there was dissent.

And currently, those Gorgons were aiding the divine realm forces in surrounding the Dawn Brigade, making them the enemy of his enemy...

But not necessarily a friend.

Su Lun was not clouded by the seemingly generous offer of "powerful reinforcement." Instead, he remained cautious.

Helen had transformed into Queen Medusa, rumored to have returned to her true demi-god lineage.

Her pride might even surpass that of the dragon race. Why would she cooperate with a human?

Su Lun did not hastily agree but candidly asked, "Forgive my boldness, Your Majesty, but having completed your trials, your power is likely unmatched across the entire plane. Why choose to cooperate with us?"

At least for now, he wasn't an enemy and he also held considerable respect for this being at the pinnacle of plane power.

Yet long moments passed without an answer.

As a demigod, Queen Medusa had her pride and she definitely would not respond to questions she disliked.

However, during the brief silence, Su Lun surmised something from her reaction.

This Queen Medusa must have suffered some notable setbacks at the hands of those divine realm mages.

Though a demigod is strong, they might not necessarily be stronger than mages supported by a True God.

While Su Lun was curious about the exact nature of Medusa's setbacks, he knew it was a topic that couldn't be broached.

And the prouder the being, the less likely they are to lie.

Besides, Queen Medusa had previously sworn by the Earth Mother Goddess, making a mutual non-aggression pact.

The chances of her harboring sinister motives were slim.

Without further delay, Su Lun changed the subject and said, "We can cooperate! So, Your Majesty, how do you think we should collaborate?"

Although only a few moments had passed, he had already given it thorough thought; if what Queen Medusa said was true, cooperation was indeed the only option for the Dawn Brigade.

Otherwise, even if they managed to escape this time, they would never have the chance to break through the heavily guarded Moon Strait and get close to "Mimir's Spring" in the future.

Even if they teleported through space, they would likely fall into some magic traps set up by the enemy in advance.

Cooperating with someone like Queen Medusa, who was familiar with the terrain, seemed advantageous for now.

Besides, as far as Su Lun was concerned, even if there were changes, the situation couldn't get worse than it already was.

...

Su Lun chose to cooperate, and Queen Medusa also sent a message, "Sail directly south. I will help you disperse the snake tide, but I can't do so for long. You must hurry. About five miles south there is an Elephant Trunk Island, and there's a cave with a crack that leads to the edge of a dimensional collapse. Once you enter the crack, it will be enough to keep you alive..."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun felt that the Dawn Group didn't need anyone else to show them how to survive. But after thinking for a brief moment, he immediately gave an order through the Dawn Group's communicator, "Tanni, change course, we are heading due south!"

In the cockpit, Tanni responded without any hesitation, "Yes!"

Su Lun continued, "All high-combat units, prepare for battle. Logistics team, be ready to activate the Void Alchemy Array at my command."

Everyone responded in unison, "Yes!"

The Dawn Group had no objections to Su Lun's orders. Even though the southern path led through the snake tide, the Eternal Night turned its sails and charged directly into it.

On deck, Old Sword God Bartolo and a few long-range capable high-combat units stood at the bow, while several heavy-caliber main guns also turned south...

Looking at the snake tide that had completely covered the sea surface, everyone's expression was solemn.

The number of poison snakes was just too great; they assembled before them like a writhing high wall, blocking their path.

Even though the Dawn Group's firepower was powerful, the light from hundreds of cannons firing simultaneously merely made a small dent in that "snake wall."

The Medusas controlling the snake tide were momentarily confused by the Dawn Group's sudden change in direction, but quickly, they gathered more poison snakes to block the path south.

But perhaps because Old Sword God Bartolo had just killed a seventh-tier Medusa, which had a strong deterrent effect, they saw no Medusas rushing to their deaths as they charged through.

Drawing closer, the crew on the deck also got a clearer view of the brightly colored deadly sea snakes, hissing and opening their fanged mouths at them.

Even wearing gas masks, everyone smelled an awful stench after the toxin was filtered.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"..."

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The cannons kept firing non-stop, blasting flames among the snake horde.

Close-defense guns also "rattled" away, pouring tons of alchemy bullets down like a torrential rain.

From a distance, the poison snakes were wiped out in masses, but were quickly replaced by more from behind.

The Eternal Night was sailing at full speed, and both sides headed straight for a collision.

At the mast, Su Lun watched, frowning tightly, ready to activate the Alchemy Array to teleport at any moment when suddenly, something astonishing happened.

The Eternal Night, like a dagger slicing into the snake tide, parted the seething mass without making contact, as if some invisible force pushed it apart.

The poison snakes that were about to collide with the Eternal Night shockingly veered away, creating a wide lane through the middle of the tumultuous snake tide.

Su Lun knew it was Queen Medusa, hidden from view, who had intervened!

If ordinary Medusas could control poison snakes, how could the queen not be capable?

Seeing the channel right before him, Su Lun issued the order without hesitation. The alchemical sails of the Eternal Night lit up instantly, a howling wind arose, and the massive dark-sailed warship, like a speedboat, cut a white wolf across the sea surface, speeding through the snake channel.

"Where did all these poison snakes come from..."

As they delved deeper into the snake mob, Su Lun grew even more astounded.

The sea was boiling with poison snakes, their numbers probably in the billions.

Yet the sheer force of the Eternal Night's rush caught the enemy off guard. Watching them charge, the Medusas thought they were making a desperate stand. Given that there were top experts on board, they were cautious and planned to wear them down with lower-tier snakes rather than confront them directly.

Little did they know, their snake horde not only failed to stop the black-sailed warship but actively made way for it!

At the same time, an eighth-tier Medusa hidden within the horde didn't understand what had happened and furiously exclaimed, "Damned! Why would she help a bunch of humans?"

However, by the time they realized, it was already too late.

Su Lun's decision was decisive enough, and with the unimpeded speed of the Eternal Night so fast, it burst through the miles-wide Sea of Snakes before those distant Medusas could catch up.

The Dawn Group had just passed when the previously parted snake tide quickly closed up.

But in a flash, the snake tide turned direction again, and it became a chase once more.

Although the situation was much better than when they were surrounded, continuing to run like this, the Eternal Night was still unlikely to escape.

The speed of the sea snakes was just too fast, and their coverage far too broad.

Just then, Su Lun saw the Elephant Trunk Island appear in his field of vision.

Extending his senses, he clearly felt the intense spatial fluctuations inside the cave beneath the island.

"A spatial rift? There's actually such a place..."

Su Lun's eyes shifted.

If not a local, one truly wouldn't know about such a place.

Near the space-time rift, there usually existed chaotic space currents, which were extremely dangerous for others, as a slight mishap could sweep them into unknown destinations.

However, for Su Lun, who had the "Urobolos Space-Time Ring," this instead became an "advantage."

He also knew why Queen Medusa had sent him here, it indeed was a good place to hide, at least lacking the space for the deployment of the snake tide.

Looking at the pitch-black cave in the distance, the Eternal Night didn't hesitate and sailed right in.

...

After entering the cave, the light around them suddenly dimmed.

Without the horrifying feeling of being stared at by billions of poison snakes, the crisis seemed to have been lifted instantly.

All members of the Dawn Group inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

Only then did everyone dare to open their eyes.

The cave was magical, its interior space was much larger than it appeared from the outside, the ceiling was the wet rock walls of stalactites, and around them was a faint luminescence, which was from some bioluminescent algae.

Looking down, the sea water was very clear, and the fish were swimming among the glowing seaweed.

Like an underground river, the direction of the water flow was heading towards the depths of the cave.

Su Lun sensed the space around him, it indeed seemed like an underground river, the space was not small, and there was clearly chaotic spatial fluctuation.

"What exactly is this place..."

He surveyed his surroundings and could not make much sense of it, but he did notice that the flow of the underground river seemed to be heading towards the direction of Hell Volcano.

Fortunately, once they entered this cave, the pursuing snake tide seemed to dread something and did not follow.

The Eternal Night then followed the river and drifted along the underground river.

Even without reminders, all on board attentively observed their surroundings.

This mysterious cave, since those snake-haired gorgons dared not follow, looked problematic no matter how one saw it.

Meanwhile, Su Lun was searching for something.

After all, it was Queen Medusa who had guided them here.

Instead of fumbling around blindly, it was better to ask directly.

Gripping his black umbrella, he released his full perceptual power, and soon he sensed a familiar soul fluctuation also rushing quickly into the cave.

Queen Medusa had just helped the Dawn Group and had also been attacked.

Su Lun didn't dare to meet the "Helen" who could easily petrify him directly; the black crow flapped its wings and flew towards the direction of the soul fluctuation.

Soon, on a dark reef, he saw through the eyes of the black crow a figure enveloped in a black robe.

The black crow spoke human words, "Your Highness the Queen, thank you for your assistance."

Su Lun thought to perfect the courtesies first.

However, the cloaked figure was unfazed, she snorted coldly and said, "Humans are truly hypocritical. You need not doubt that I would harm you, since I have chosen to cooperate, I naturally will keep my promise."

Su Lun didn't take it to heart.

Such a top-tier existence having its own proud temperament was within reason.

Queen Medusa seemed to see through his concerns and explained directly, "This place is at the edge of a plane collapse, where an ancient war shattered the plane, and a high deity and his disciple repaired the shattered parts, but because the collapse was too thorough, the repair was not perfect. Therefore, you see that volcano outside and these hidden planar fissures under the sea...

With his knowledge of the Space Law, Su Lun understood immediately.

It was nothing but a relic of an ancient battlefield.

Queen Medusa did not elaborate on the origins of this place and continued, "If you want to go to Giant Island to find the 'Mimir's Spring,' you can do so from here. Rest assured, such a thing is a treasure for humans, but it's useless to my Gorgon race. Moreover, Cyclops are descendants of Divine Blood and are not easy to provoke, and I have no interest in antagonizing them..."

Hearing this, Su Lun was more inclined to believe her words.

After all, if the Gorgon race really desired that spring, they would have been fighting you to death by now.

Of course, he also inferred the formidable nature of the Cyclops race from these words.

The black crow continued, "So, Your Majesty, how do we need to cooperate? Or rather, what must we pay in order to get your help?"

In the eyes of alchemists, an equivalent exchange was the most reasonable choice.

So was cooperation.

Su Lun had no illusions about getting a bargain from Her Majesty.

He guessed that Queen Medusa was probably beaten up, so he asked very tactfully.

Unexpectedly, the cloaked figure directly stated her need for cooperation, "Those human mages hold an Artifact Projection which limits my powers. As you just saw, they are now allied with traitors from my own race, who have taken over the temples of my Gorgon race. Thus, I also need an ally."

"Artifact Projection?"

Hearing this, Su Lun felt a sudden chill in his heart.

"Speaking of other things is fine, but matters involving the gods are not so easily touched upon."

"Cooperation is possible."

"But sending to death is not acceptable."

Queen Medusa gave Su Lun a cautious snort again and added, "Rest assured. That item greatly affects me, but it's basically useless to you. So, you don't need to worry too much."

Black Crow directly asked, "May I boldly ask what exactly is the function of the Artifact Projection?"

It wasn't that Su Lun was fearful or retreating, after all the True God Realm as his sworn enemy, was inevitably to be confronted."

But if he could grasp the enemy's techniques in advance, the chances of winning future battles would also be greater."

Medusa, clearly displeased by this probing tone, pondered for a moment before responding to Su Lun's words, "It is a shield that is immune to any magic."

After a pause, she looked at Black Crow and said, "This poses almost no threat to you Alchemists."

"..."

In Black Crow's eyes, that beautiful yet sinister face was reflected, and even from a distance, Su Lun felt as if he was being stared at by her."

But upon hearing its effect, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief."

It was clearly intended specifically against this Queen Medusa."

Immune to all magic, the petrification curse would naturally be immune as well."

No wonder she was at a disadvantage."

The Gorgon tribe's strongest feature was their petrification curse, and once this technique was countered, their own combat strength would not be formidable."

At this point, Queen Medusa added, "I've already said what I needed to say. Our cooperation entails, needing your help to deal with those Mages, at least to restrict their use of that Artifact Projection. As for those of my kin who have betrayed me, you need not worry. In exchange, I will guide you to Giant Island. Of course, if you provide sufficient help, I will also gift you an ample amount of treasures and ancient artifacts that your kind, humans, need..."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun immediately responded, "Agreed, let's sign the contract! Within the realms of our capabilities, we will do our utmost to help you!"

Merely guiding them to Giant Island was not a particularly enticing condition."

But this sea area was an ancient battlefield, what was it not lacking?"

Of course, various ancient treasures left behind!"

The Gorgon tribe had lived in this sea area for countless years and had certainly collected numerous treasures."

Perhaps there were some absolutely priceless artifacts..."

After all, things like equipment, cursed items, Cultivation Techniques, etc., probably meant no more to Queen Medusa than stones."

But for Su Lun and the other Alchemists, treasures passed down from that splendid era of alchemical civilization were definitely valuable."

Moreover, having such an ally to face the Mages of the True God Realm was also a great support for the Dawn Group."

Queen Medusa, hearing Su Lun's words, did not respond further but implicitly granted permission."

...

The covenant was successfully signed."

It was an equal covenant, with no harm or coercive clauses to either party. Within the scope of the contract, both sides exerted their fullest effort to support each other."

However, seeing the covenant signed so smoothly, Su Lun was still somewhat surprised."

He had expected some kind of strategizing."

But there was none whatsoever."

He felt that "Helen" might not know just how powerful the Dawn Group truly was, but even if strong, probably not significant in her eyes. After all, the highest-ranked on the ship, Bartolo, was only of the eighth tier, a whole rank below her, and much weaker in strength."

But she still chose an equal covenant, which clearly felt like she was "lowering her own value"."

And in this sea area, there were plenty of powerful intelligent races; she had many more options for cooperation, so why did she specifically choose to cooperate with these humans from the Dawn Group?"

After the contract was signed and the All-Seeing Eye carefully verified everything was alright, Su Lun finally dared to meet Queen Medusa in person."

He teleported and appeared on the cold, rocky shore."

Out of courtesy and contractual necessity, he naturally came in person to invite this ally to the ship."

Queen Medusa did not refuse the invitation, and the two walked on the water surface together."

As they walked, Su Lun casually asked, "Your Majesty, I have a puzzling question, may I boldly ask it?"

Queen Medusa listened but did not respond, nor did she refuse."

Su Lun realized there was no need for subtlety in front of a high-ranking being and directly asked, "I mean, our strength should not seem very strong in front of you, even perhaps weaker than those Mages. Why would you choose to cooperate with us?"

Hearing this question, Queen Medusa still silently moved ahead, her snakelike tail gliding on the water, creating ripples."

The atmosphere turned slightly cold."

Su Lun thought he wouldn't receive a response and shrugged."

Unexpectedly, Queen Medusa finally responded with something seemingly unrelated to the question, "This sea area was once a battlefield of the gods, and humans without a legendary fate cannot possibly survive leaving this place."

Upon hearing this, Su Lun's eyes gleamed thoughtfully."