Chapter Sixteen: Assassination

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Network Culture Business License: Wen Wang Wen [2010] No. 128

Early the next morning, in Acacia Town.

Brian Buckler stared in disbelief at the severed head of the *Rat Javeny lying on his desk.

"Damn it, Hugh Eglair, I swear on my head, we had no idea that thing would be there. We've been there twice before, but never encountered it."

"Maybe because you didn’t stay long enough, or perhaps it just wasn’t around then. You could say you were lucky. Of course, my luck wasn’t too bad either," Hugh said with a smile, showing Buckler he wasn’t bothered by the incident.

This puzzled Buckler.

"How did you kill it?"

"That’s not important. What matters is, by our deal, you were supposed to show me a secret and safe place. Instead, you almost got me killed. Buckler, you owe me one."

Buckler nodded.

The fact that Hugh had slain the *Rat Javeny made Buckler realize this young man’s strength surpassed his expectations. He had no intention of making an enemy of such a formidable opponent; no fool would recklessly pick fights.

"So, what compensation do you want?"

"Two things. First, let Hodin continue training Rayler and the others. When I take them away someday, I want them to become gentlemen as quickly as possible."

"That’s no problem."

Hugh handed Buckler a list. "Second, send your people out to procure these items as soon as possible. Of course, I’ll cover the costs of materials."

Buckler glanced at the list and nearly jumped out of his chair. "The quantities are huge, Hugh Eglair. What exactly are you planning?"

"For the needs of war," Hugh answered casually. He stood and gave Buckler a gentleman’s bow. "If all goes as expected, this list will attract the attention of the Law and Politics Bureau. You’d better assign people you won’t mind losing to handle this."

"Hugh Eglair, I must warn you: Acacia Town is home to all of us. I don’t want it to become a battlefield. If you want revenge on the Lance Empire, that’s your business—don’t drag us into it."

Hugh smiled. "If you can guarantee that, before the Law and Politics Bureau traces this lead back, you hand over all information about the people pursuing me, then I can guarantee the war will stay outside Acacia Town. You and your people will be safe, no trouble will come to you. Just follow my instructions."

"How can I keep the Law and Politics Bureau’s hands off my town?"

"I heard on the 20th of next month, during the New Spring Festival, there’s the annual Ancient Frame Materials Trading Conference?"

"Correct."

"Have your people leak that buyers of materials will be attending."

"The Bureau won’t believe that lie."

"They will."

"Why?"

"Because I really will be there." Hugh’s gaze was cold and resolute, filled with confidence and powerful conviction.

Buckler nodded. "I see. Hopefully, the hounds chasing you will believe that too. So... once the items arrive, how should I notify you?"

Hugh took a small black crystal orb from his pocket and placed it before Buckler. "Use this to contact me. It’s a pretty good communication device. If you manage this for me, I can give you a few."

"Ten. I want ten."

"No problem," Hugh nodded. "But you cover the materials."

"Done." Buckler looked at the *Rat’s severed head and grit his teeth in agreement.

According to the agreement, Buckler promised to deliver the materials on the list within ten days. After completing the deal, Hugh first purchased some ready-made materials in town before returning to the secret valley.

For safety, before returning, he inspected the surroundings again and set up dozens of monitoring eyes.

In Electra’s laboratory, various alchemical devices were fully equipped. To Electra, this might have been just one of many labs, but to Hugh, this was destined to become his most important alchemical base. Treating it as such, he took extra precautions. Besides deploying numerous monitoring eyes around, he arranged two large magical arrays and several traps at the entrance of the secret valley.

Anyone attempting to infiltrate without permission would trigger alarms and traps.

If conditions allowed, Hugh didn’t mind turning it into an impregnable fortress.

To avoid drawing attention, he built a small wooden cabin in a clearing outside, disguised as a laboratory, and cultivated a vegetable patch. This made the place look like a recluse’s hidden sanctuary. Reaching this retreat required effort, and no one would suspect a secret passage beneath, leading straight into the secret valley.

Only after completing all this did Hugh finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He knew the valley had gone unnoticed for centuries; it was unlikely to be discovered just because he arrived. But years on Purgatory Island had made him cautious; he was used to planning carefully. He couldn’t feel at ease without defenses at his crucial logistics base.

After finishing these preparations and sowing the seed from the ring, Hugh focused on his current work.

The newly found Electra’s notebook contained detailed instructions on making diamond golems and several special items that piqued Hugh’s interest.

He quickly immersed himself in his work.

"A bottle of dissolving liquid," he called out, sitting on a flying swivel chair, busy with his experiments. His automaton assistant Six swiftly brought the bottle.

Hugh casually poured the liquid onto a synthesized metal block, which began to dissolve, while he started other tasks simultaneously.

"A piece of turquoise," he continued. Six brought it promptly.

Hugh took the turquoise, about to grind it, but the alchemical cauldron nearby was nearly ready.

He quickly tossed the turquoise aside to attend to the potion.

Once done, he regretted that the metal block had cooled and deformed, becoming useless.

Staring at the warped metal, he angrily threw it to the floor and shouted, "I just can’t handle multiple experiments at once! Six, are you sure Electra could do five at once?"

"Yes, great master. To improve efficiency, my previous master would conduct at least five experiments simultaneously. That’s why he designed the flying chair and circular table—to minimize movement and maximize workspace," the automaton explained mechanically.

Hugh knew this was true even without the explanation. No alchemist would set up their lab otherwise.

Sitting in Electra’s chair, imagining the legendary alchemist swiftly moving and conducting multiple experiments like shadows, Hugh wanted to learn his methods. But he couldn’t precisely plan every move.

Running multiple experiments required perfect timing and coordination; not just speed, but knowing exactly when to start or stop each action. A delay of even a second or two could ruin everything. Unless a computer programmed every move, it was impossible.

A computer? Suddenly, a thought flashed in Hugh’s mind: Could Electra have been a traveler from another world, equipped with a brain-implantable computer chip?

Is that why he created diamond golems like the Terminator 2?

He smiled bitterly at the idea. No, that’s impossible!

"Sigh, I really don’t understand how Electra did it. I’m already overwhelmed doing three experiments at once, but he could handle more."

"My previous master never considered it difficult," Six replied monotonously.

Hugh sighed. "Now I understand why Electra complained in his notes that your intelligence wasn’t enough and eventually gave you up. Because you really aren’t smart enough. A clever being wouldn’t praise an old master’s abilities in front of a new master."

"Yes, my new master," Six responded.

"Just call me master. No need to say new master. As for your previous master, you can address him by name."

"Yes, new master."

"..."

Hugh decided to abandon multitasking for now.

Without juggling multiple tasks, his efficiency improved greatly.

He chose to manufacture puppet bees first.

These bees were introduced in Electra’s third notebook as reconnaissance devices.

Though Hugh already had wind warblers and monitoring eyes to watch the surroundings, both had drawbacks. Wind warblers worked well mostly but were too low-level magic to evade mages’ sight.

Monitoring eyes only detected fixed areas and couldn’t gather multi-angle information. Hugh had exploited this limitation when killing Pierre under Hines’s nose.

For a fugitive, striking back was always last resort; swiftly obtaining information and escape ability were paramount.

So he started with reconnaissance bees.

They were easy to make and required fewer materials due to their small size.

In just half a day, Hugh completed one.

Testing it, the crystal orb showed a constantly moving image, clearly better than monitoring eyes. Its resemblance to a honeybee made it unnoticeable if seen.

However, one or two bees couldn’t cover a large area. Hugh calculated that making thirty would take four to five days.

Meanwhile, other items needed making. A diamond golem took at least twenty days to complete. Even if the plan went smoothly, he could have only one golem at most.

Adding Electra’s existing golem, just two automatons to face the empire’s hounds was naïve.

Diamond golems weren’t true terminators; if shattered, they were truly destroyed, with no self-restoration.

They lacked immortality, only being durable and shape-shifting.

How to improve efficiency? The question gave him a headache.

Then, a thought struck: Electra worked alone—how did he build a whole legion of golems so quickly?

Consider the colossal Troll God. Hines could make it, but said a full build took at least three months, even with Purgatory Island’s full resources.

How did Electra single-handedly create a whole army of Troll Gods and other golems?

Hugh sensed Electra harbored countless secrets. This legendary alchemist’s experimental and production capabilities were superhuman.

Just as he pondered, a sharp alarm blared in the lab.

Enemy attack!

The crystal orb showed an image of Lilith.

Though the woman carefully crossed the holly forest and crouched in shadows upon reaching the clearing, to Hugh she stood out more than rampaging beasts on the street.

Curious, he guided the reconnaissance bee closer, zooming in to less than a meter from her to observe.

Her facial features were sharp, sweat glistened on her nose, and her eyes held a resolve Hugh had never seen in any woman. She was breathtakingly beautiful yet wild, like a jungle leopard.

Her habitual crouch and slight arching of her back lowered her center of gravity.

Hugh recalled Paget’s teaching: many aren't true warriors but possess great power through exceptional combat skills.

He immediately judged: this woman wasn’t a mere archer. A bowman shouldn’t stalk like a leopard; this stance was for sudden close combat.

She was a formidable melee fighter!

Unaware people might underestimate her close-range threat because of the longbow she carried.

Thinking further, Hugh directed the bee behind Lilith. Her tight leather armor hugged her shapely curves perfectly—a classic S-curve.

A woman capable of stirring desire, Hugh thought.

He was quite annoyed by Lilith spying on him.

No one liked their secrets discovered, especially when their life might depend on it. He decided to teach her a lesson.

Lilith clearly didn’t realize how much danger her actions caused, but she would soon learn how terrifying it was to anger Hugh Eglair.

She cautiously moved toward an open area, seemingly quiet and empty of Hugh.

Suddenly, a cold voice sounded behind her: "Are you looking for me?"

Startled, Lilith turned just as a fierce punch struck her abdomen. The immense force bent her forward involuntarily.

Hugh’s palm slammed hard on the back of her head.

Her eyes rolled back and she fainted.

Lifting Lilith, Hugh returned through the spatial portal to the lab.

He realized the reconnaissance bees had another advantage: assisting spatial positioning. This allowed his Void Slash to overcome the limitation of only teleporting within line of sight.

When Lilith awoke, she found herself in a secret chamber, hands tightly bound by special ropes.

Strange tools and devices surrounded her, while Hugh sat busy at the circular table.

Seeing her awake, he paused his work.

"Sorry for bringing you here so rudely, but since you trespassed impolitely, I believe my actions are justified self-defense," Hugh said, standing from the flying chair to approach her.

"This is our territory," Lilith growled angrily.

"Once it was. I bought it for forty bottles of top-grade potions. Of course, thieves might not recognize buying and selling, but the fact remains—you should learn to acknowledge and respect it."

Lilith fell silent.

Hugh sat opposite her. "Tell me, why did you sneak into my place? What made you think I’d cause trouble for Acacia Town? Aren’t all here people unwanted by the empire? Why does my presence worry you? How much do you know about me?"

Lilith glared fiercely.

"You’d better answer," Hugh said coldly. "This isn’t an unreasonable question."

Perhaps facing reality, Lilith said, "The empire’s official report calls you a murderer, that you killed an important imperial figure and the spatial mage Abright. But from what I’ve learned, only killing Abright is true; the rest are lies. You’re wanted for other reasons, and the empire’s order is to capture you alive at all costs. That means you’re different from all of us."

"Where did you get this info? What exactly do you know?"

Lilith sneered, "Do you know why the Lance Empire has struggled against the bandits in the Bilius Mountains all these years?"

Hugh was taken aback at the question. After thinking, he said, "As far as I know, it’s because the Bilius Mountains are vast—two mountain ranges and a large forest. Bandits have many hiding places. Also, there are many natives—some orcs and elves. Though few, they’re fierce fighters."

"But can they overpower the empire?"

Hugh paused. "Of course not. So you mean..."

"Because of the Frank Empire."

Hugh immediately understood. Lilith confirmed:

"For years, no one knew why the Lance Empire’s military strength grew so fast, dealing heavy blows to their neighbor, the Frank Empire. The Bilius Mountains are close to the border; often we hear frontline news first. Supply caravans pass through here, and we’re not polite about taking them. For the Frank Empire, keeping Bilius chaotic weakens Lance politically. So whenever Lance tries to wipe us out, the Frank Empire intervenes. Sometimes Lance even sent sky knights to surround us but were ambushed by Frank’s elite warriors."

"So you cooperate with the Frank Empire?"

"No, we don’t collaborate. The Franks use us for their own interests. Though they want us to be a clear anti-empire force, we refuse to serve other countries. So their help is limited, but we maintain a communication channel. They get intel on Lance’s military moves through us. Usually, before a large operation against the Franks, Lance clears Bilius to open more supply lines from Valeza. So the Franks need us alive and use us as an intelligence source. For us, using them to protect ourselves is acceptable."

"I see. But what does this have to do with me?"

Lilith smiled coldly. "A lot. Recently, the Frank Empire contacted me, offering 100,000 gold coins for info on you."

Hugh was shocked. The Frank Empire was after him?

"Yes," Lilith said. "They said you’re very important. If we find you, they’ll pay immediately. They also promised that if you join them, you’ll get a marquis title and a city as a fief! Hugh Eglair, no criminal has ever been worth this much. Do you still want to say you’re no different from us?"

Hugh fell silent.

No doubt, the Frank Empire knew about Purgatory Island.

Its destruction and his escape caused panic in the Lance Empire. Though they kept secrets, some inevitably leaked during the pursuit. The hounds couldn’t blindly hunt without knowing their quarry. As Purgatory Island was lost, the secrecy faded, and more people learned of its existence. Frank spies in Lance must have gotten some intel, even if incomplete, confirming Hugh’s high value.

It followed logically that Lance wanted to capture him, Frank wanted to obtain him, and perhaps the Georgia Empire and others might also try to take advantage.

The entire Great Six powers’ balance was subtly shifting because of his flight. Though not obvious yet, over time, it would be significant.

"A great war... may erupt sooner than expected," Hugh murmured.

Lilith didn’t understand why he said this, but Hugh was certain: if they couldn’t catch him soon, the Lance Empire would start a full-scale war immediately.

They had to prepare for his possible escape abroad, and with their current technological edge, seizing victory quickly was wise. Otherwise, if Hugh fled, disaster would follow.

This frustrated Hugh.

It meant the Lance Empire would no longer pin hopes on future spirit armies but use present strength to win. Even if he later developed a poison against spirits, he couldn’t stop Lance from likely unifying the Great Six.

Hugh looked at Lilith again. "So you believe I’m valuable enough to be handed over to the Frank Empire? No, if that were true, you’d have told Buckler. He’d have raised the price or tried to capture me himself. But he didn’t, so you didn’t tell him... So your goal isn’t to capture me but to kill me, right?"

Lilith was surprised by his quick reaction but nodded. "On a small scale, working with you might attract imperial attacks. On a large scale, neither Lance conquering Frank nor Frank invading us is what we want. I don’t want your presence to destabilize Bilius. Maintaining status quo is best. I used to not know why you were valuable, but now I do. An alchemist... I guess you have some secret that could change the tide of war."

Unexpectedly perceptive, Hugh nodded. "Actually... more than one."

To Hugh, Frank’s offer held no appeal.

If he wanted a noble life, he could have it now.

He was confident that if he wrote to Strick VI and negotiated, Strick would offer better terms than Frank. Only Strick knew his true alchemy and impact on the empire. Frank likely didn’t know the full details.

He could even demand to marry Avril.

But he had no interest.

Since escaping the Soul Maze, he’d known what he wanted and what he was willing to give up. He didn’t fear Lance’s chase and even looked forward to striking back, venting years of captivity’s resentment.

However, Frank’s involvement made him realize he had underestimated his own worth.

Maybe he should leverage that.

Lost in thoughts about his future plans, one idea after another came to mind—filtering, choosing, adding, ordering—he was so absorbed he barely noticed the captive’s subtle movements.

"What will you do with me?" Lilith suddenly asked.

"I haven’t decided yet," Hugh replied casually.

"I’ve thought it through for you."

"What?" Hugh was startled.

"You die, I live," the woman’s voice was ice-cold.

Hugh’s scalp tightened; he instinctively leapt back just as a dagger struck fiercely toward his abdomen like a venomous snake.