The City of Alchemy possessed a towering gate thirty meters high, cast entirely from steel, weighing over a thousand tons on its own. It was both the symbol of the City of Alchemy and its stoutest defense. Carved with countless esoteric arcane runes, it could withstand nearly any form of attack.
Breaching it required draining the city's stored magical energy first; otherwise, any assault would simply be canceled out by its wards.
Individually, the alchemists might not have been formidable combatants, but their alchemical creations more than bridged the gap. Even if Gareth charged it with all his might, he would not be able to shake this gate.
Yet at this moment, the impregnable city gate was slowly groaning open, its turning gears clanking with the resonance of massive bells.
James Watson led his legion of paladins through the gateway, his expression dark.
He knew he had been swindled. After scouring the area around Anbaixiu's territory for phylacteries and returning to the City of Alchemy, he had found the gates shut and the city's magical defense array fully activated.
Faced with the dozens of magitech cannons lining the ramparts, James Watson had not dared approach.
Even a legendary cleric of light would be throwing their life away by trying to force an assault, destined to be blasted to cinders in a single volley.
They had clearly agreed to exchange the phylacteries for the captured paladins and his son, Alan. Yet these alchemists had barred the gates, clearly intent on welshing on the deal.
Still, James Watson could not fathom why they would do such a thing.
How could the exchange have disadvantaged them in any way?
Though he did not know all the intricate details as Anbaixiu did, Watson had served as Supreme Arbiter for decades. A fool could never oversee the laws of an empire so vast.
Something had gone wrong within the City of Alchemy. It was very likely plunged into utter chaos, which was why they had locked down the city.
With that in mind, James Watson ordered all his subordinates to pray.
They were not petitioning the Lord of the Dawn to descend and crush the alchemists with a single palm. They were merely using their prayers to conjure a blazing beacon of Holy Light outside the walls.
A brilliant pillar of light surged skyward, its form shifting as they chanted their scripture.
Then came the long wait.
James Watson waited for a response from the paladins inside.
Alan and the other ten members of the Knights of Condemnation had already been brought into the City of Alchemy. They might have been held under watch, unable to see the soaring beacon, but this was James Watson's only hope.
And his gamble paid off. When the massive gate opened, his son, Alan Watson, was kneeling before him, respectfully welcoming his arrival.
Behind Alan stood nine other paladins, accompanied by an odd force of fewer than a hundred people.
"Father..." Alan managed only that single word before choking up.
Alan had been quite fortunate; he had not suffered much torment in Anbaixiu's castle. He had taken a beating from Gareth, but without broken bones or severed sinews, an ordinary healing spell had patched him up.
Aside from Fanxing, the other captured paladins had not been severely wounded either, their injuries falling well within the reach of divine magic.
Because they were ostensibly people who had been rescued, the City of Alchemy had not thrown them in prison. After being flown into the city by airship, the paladins had been lodged in an inn and provided with healing draughts, allowing them to recover even faster.
Thus, upon seeing the beacon of Holy Light outside the city, the paladins put their heads together to plan how to seize the gate and let James Watson in.
Though Anbaixiu had stripped them of their gear, sapping much of their combat power, a paladin remained a terrifying warrior even bare-handed. In a successful ambush, Alan knocked two administrators unconscious, commandeered their golem puppets, and launched the paladins' counteroffensive.
Bursting out of the inn, the paladins rushed into the streets. They first located a shop selling armor and weapons. Though its doors were bolted tight, the paladins broke right in and looted everything they needed to arm themselves.
Suitably equipped, they grew bolder, capturing an administrator of the City of Alchemy to interrogate him about what was happening. Though the administrator knew little, he still provided a crucial piece of intelligence: the city was under siege by undead, and most of the city's forces were pinned down by them, leaving other districts undefended.
At that point, the paladins split into two factions. One insisted the undead were mortal enemies who had to be eradicated first, while the other argued the waters in the City of Alchemy were too deep and they should link up with James Watson before considering purification.
Alan was junior in rank and partly to blame for their predicament, giving him little say in the matter. It was only when the frail Fanxing spoke up, ordering everyone to focus all their strength on taking the city gate, that a rift was averted.
The ten paladins then launched a surprise assault, wrested control of the gate mechanisms, and opened the impregnable barrier from within.
Alan had fought with reckless courage, sustaining multiple wounds. Even after receiving healing, his armor was battered, his face smeared with grime and blood.
Facing his battered, blood-spattered son, James Watson showed no pity, saying coldly, "Paladin Alan Watson, you will address me as Supreme Arbiter. Your rash conduct has inflicted immense losses upon the empire. Your crimes will be tried once we return home."
Alan bowed his head, offering neither rebuttal nor excuse. He simply answered in a loud voice, "I submit to judgment, Lord Supreme Arbiter."
Only then did James Watson glance at the peculiar troop behind Alan, who looked more like common folk.
"Tell me the situation inside the city, and who these people behind you are."
Alan hastened to explain. "The City of Alchemy has suffered a massive undead assault and fallen into chaos. As for the civilians behind me, they are all faithful of the Lord of the Dawn. We previously promised to welcome them into the empire as subjects of Ryan..."
These hundred or so individuals were the commoners and serfs Fanxing had previously recruited. After Fanxing was ambushed and the Knights of Condemnation captured, no one had cared about them anymore.
Fortunately, Fanxing had paid in advance when arranging their lodging, sparing them from starving right away. But after the paladins were taken prisoner, more than half of them had fled. With the journey to the Ryan Empire thwarted, they had to seek another path in life.
Some returned to make a living under their former lords, while others tried to secure a foothold in a place like the City of Alchemy.
Only a handful had been willing to wait for the future Fanxing had promised them.
Geronimo was one of them. Having witnessed the power of the Holy Light, he could no longer resign himself to being a serf. Even with Fanxing captured, he had refused to give up.
Therefore, when the pillar of Holy Light flared outside the walls and the city descended into utter turmoil, Geronimo rallied what remained of their group. Whether to fish in troubled waters or merely protect themselves, banding together was the only sensible choice.
As fate would have it, they crossed paths with Alan and his paladins on the streets. How familiar the power of that Holy Light was! Geronimo had hurried to join them with his followers. Since they were on the same side, Alan naturally did not refuse their help.
However, Anbaixiu had confiscated the replica artifact they carried. These mortals could offer little aid in battle, serving as little more than cannon fodder or a cheering section.
They had suffered heavy casualties along the way; some died, while others fled in terror.
Those who managed to stay by Alan's side until reuniting with the main force amounted to fewer than sixty.
Alan summarized the events in the City of Alchemy as concisely as he could. But ignorant of the ritual magic underway in the sewers, he assumed it was merely a straightforward siege by the undead.
James Watson, however, sensed something amiss.
"If the undead have already breached the city, why waste magical energy maintaining outer defenses? And if they are dealing with the undead, why haven't those alchemists asked us for help? This makes no sense."
James Watson fell into brief contemplation. Two paths lay before him.
The first was to take his men and leave the City of Alchemy immediately, regardless of the chaos inside. With this formidable paladin legion at his back, no one could stop him if he chose to walk away. His objective was achieved anyway; Alan and the other paladins had been retrieved. Returning now would still count as a triumph.
The second was to wade into the murky waters, involving himself in this inexplicable undead siege, where he could only side against the undead and effectively do the City of Alchemy's bidding for free.
Between the two choices, there seemed little to deliberate. Any sensible person would pick the first.
Yet these were undead!
Though the City of Alchemy was a melting pot of different races, it still housed a great many humans. Letting the undead slaughter humanity ran counter to every tenet of the Lord of the Dawn.
When faith clashed with self-interest, ordinary people might bend their principles.
Yet from James Watson down to the lowliest private in the legion, every last one was a fanatic of the Lord of the Dawn. Leave the undead alone?
Impossible. They could not stomach it.
Even knowing he was making a foolish choice, James Watson clenched his fist and proclaimed in a resonant voice, "O Holy Light, protect us and banish all darkness! Everyone, forward with me! Purge those filthy undead!"
A brilliant, platinum radiance erupted over the men of Ryan, like the sun descending upon the mortal realm.
The paladin legion marched toward the heaviest stench of death in the city. Whatever schemes the City of Alchemy harbored, the undead were right there!
At that very moment, Anbaixiu stood atop the high tower, shouting to the others to ask where James Watson and his paladin legion were.
Then, a blaze of Holy Light so intense it could be felt without even looking answered his question.
Those religious zealots were charging straight toward him, roaring about the Holy Light and glory.
Anbaixiu made an instantaneous decision: flee at once, and dive into the sewers to hide.
Chapter 82