Tear Down Enough Walls, and It Becomes a Road

A light and cheerful holy melody rang out.

But as the notes reached Leon's ears, they carried various inner thoughts.

Among them, Leon found Scott's inner thoughts:

“It's done! I really am a genius!”

“Leon, do you see my talent? Hurry up and take me in! I want to move up in the world so badly!”

“If I can become Leon's alchemy advisor, I won't have to worry about a thing for the rest of my life!”

“...”

It was clear that Scott had no hidden intentions of rebellion; his entire mind was focused on being Leon's loyal lackey so he could live the high life from then on.

However...

Out of caution, Leon adjusted the melody once more to listen to Scott's inner obsession.

As the solemn and melodious music echoed, Leon heard Scott's deepest obsession:

“I want to become... the strongest alchemist...”

“Gold coins... I need a lot of gold coins... Only with gold coins can I... go to the clubs...”

“Miss Ice Flower... Miss Black Robe... Miss Fox... I can still keep going...”

Right, that settled it.

Leon stopped playing the Memory-Weaving Stringed Scepter and twitched his eyebrow.

Scott had no thoughts of betrayal. His obsession was extremely simple:

To become the strongest alchemist.

And to take his gold coins to the clubs to wrestle with busty girls, testing the limits of his own body.

“What a down-to-earth dream...”

If something like this could become an obsession, Leon could only say that Scott was a goddamn genius!

Putting away his priest's scepter, Leon turned around and said to Titus and the others:

“Prepare for battle. We enter the ruins in five minutes!”

...

Five minutes later, Leon took the lead and stepped into the mana mist that had drifted to the outskirts.

There were two objectives this time.

First, to resolve the leakage of the mana mist and force the Gramophone Golems back into the core area of the ruins.

Second, to find the alchemical core, the Deep Diver, and the alchemical journals left behind by Evelyn.

With these two goals in mind, Leon led the group past the outer golems and into the Zachary Manor.

Many Gramophone Golems were also wandering inside the manor, but they had all been affected by the interference device and were now shut down.

Walking deep into the manor and entering the underground passage, Leon and his group stepped into the ruins once again.

The inside of the ruins was just as before: thick gray stone pillars supported the pitch-black dome, and lamp covers hung from them, with the magic lamps burning with a deep blue flame to illuminate the passage.

Rusty alchemical parts were scattered on both sides of the passage, covered in a thick layer of dust.

“So this is Evelyn's ruins...”

Standing in the ranks, Scott looked at the scattered alchemical parts on the ground in astonishment:

“What a waste! Such a waste! If we took these out and polished them up, we could easily sell them for dozens of gold coins...”

“Be careful. Some of the alchemical golems have not lost their mobility.”

Leon suddenly spoke up.

After entering the mana mist, his perception was slightly suppressed, dropping from his original range of two hundred and fifty meters to just over one hundred and fifty meters.

Still, a perception range of over a hundred meters was more than enough.

Within his perception, there was a group of Gramophone Golems that had not yet shut down in a room five corners ahead.

They were likely hidden deep inside, preventing the mana shockwave emitted by the external interference device from reaching them.

Upon hearing Leon's words, the warriors immediately went on high alert. Titus rushed to the front of Leon at once, saying:

“Young Master Leon, please stand behind me...”

“No need,”

Leon said.

“All of you, get behind me. Do not make a move without my orders.”

“...Yes, sir!”

Although Titus was puzzled by this order—which went against the usual practice of protecting the target in front of them—an order was an order, and he could only obey.

Leon grumbled inwardly as he waved his priest's scepter, his mental power surging out.

Whoosh!

In the next instant, a towering blue-gold giant descended with a boom beside him.

The giant held a longbow woven of gold and silver, its body engraved with several exquisite and profound runes.

The blue-gold giant was tightly enveloped by a massive hand burning with pure white Sacred Flame. The Sacred Flame surged like waves, resembling a flowing armor of fire that made the giant look like a descending deity.

“Is this... the Gold rank?!”

Sensing the aura radiating from the blue-gold giant, Scott froze on the spot.

Having stayed on the outskirts of Jellyfish Town to build the alchemical device, Scott had no idea what was happening in the outside world, let alone that Leon had advanced to the Gold rank and slain the bishop of the Black and White Hand.

Seeing Leon, who had still been at the Silver rank half a month ago, now displaying Gold-rank power, he found it completely unbelievable.

Meanwhile, the Limit warriors nearby also registered the aura of the blue-gold giant, and their expressions shifted slightly.

“Is this really the aura of someone who just advanced to the Gold rank?”

Titus opened his mouth in shock.

Never mind a warrior who had just advanced to the Gold rank.

Even the Gold-rank captain of their Limit Warband's 3rd Squad, who had been in the Gold rank for decades, did not possess an aura as powerful and terrifying as Leon's!

Leon paid no attention to Scott and Titus's astonishment. He merely manipulated the blue-gold giant to draw the Radiance Longbow, aiming at a thick stone wall of the ruins ahead.

Leon had already perceived that beyond the initial underground passage lay a complex maze of ruins.

Evelyn was not only an alchemist but also a Diamond-rank mage.

In a sense, the ruins she left behind could be considered her magic tower.

A magic tower served both to assist a mage in casting spells and to keep intruders out.

Therefore, the presence of a labyrinth was not surprising.

Within this labyrinth, there were still many Gramophone Golems and other types of alchemical golems that had not been shut down by the interference.

Although Leon could easily navigate the labyrinth with his vast perception without worrying about taking a wrong turn...

He felt there was no need to go through all that trouble.

“When I was at the Silver rank, I didn't say anything when you trapped me in a labyrinth.”

The Buff Inscriptions on the Radiance Longbow lit up one by one, stacking layers of brilliant light onto the invisible Hammer of Sacred Light.

The pure white Sacred Flame surged in at the same time, coating it with a blazing, scorching power.

“But now that I've advanced to the Gold rank, do you really expect me to play by your rules and walk through a maze?!”

Twang—!

The explosive twang of the bowstring echoed through the passage as the Hammer of Sacred Light shot forward like a heavy cannon, transforming into a speeding arrow.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dozens of solid black stone walls shattered upon impact, blasted open to form a straight, massive tunnel.

Under the dumbfounded gazes of the group behind him, Leon stepped forward and calmly walked through the breach, following the straight path he had carved out toward the room he perceived.

Labyrinth?

There was no labyrinth.

With enough power, one could simply blast a path straight through!

“There were no roads in the world, but if you tear down enough walls, a road will appear.”

Leon nodded slightly. Mr. Lu Xun truly did not lie to him.