Chapter 1290
With Godspeed, Elemental, and Protection—three Innate Runes—plus dual weapon systems for both melee and spellcasting, and Pabbet’s newly awakened combat intelligence, this was a one-sided slaughter.
The massive alchemical golem wielding twin swords couldn’t even catch a glimpse of Pabbet’s shadow.
Pabbet’s body moved like a phantom, laser sword in hand, constantly circling the twin-sword alchemical golem. With every rotation, the laser sword struck seven or eight times, each cut carving a deep wound into the golem’s frame—always at the critical points of its energy transmission.
In just a few minutes, the twin-sword alchemical golem lost the ability to move. The key energy conduits in its legs had all been severed by Pabbet.
Pabbet charged head-on again. The golem’s massive twin swords slashed toward him in a crisscross, but Pabbet instantly shifted from godlike speed to absolute stillness, stopping right in front of the intersecting blades. As the swords swept past, his form surged forward once more.
His lithe body danced nimbly atop the golem’s frame, landing before the giant head of the twin-sword alchemical golem.
The laser sword in his hand vanished in an instant, replaced by the spellcasting weapon systems on both arms—flame ray, frost ray, and light ray, all unleashed at once. The Elemental Rune flared brightly as he cast.
In less than a blink, the spellcasting weapon systems on Pabbet’s arms erupted, unleashing terrifying power amplified by the Elemental Rune.
It was as if a magic crystal cannon had been fired point-blank at the golem’s forehead...
With a thunderous crash and a burst of blinding light, Pabbet stomped on the golem’s chest and vanished.
A second later, the light faded. Half of the twin-sword golem’s massive head was simply gone—frost and flame shifting in an instant, then the final lethal light ray. All of it executed in moments: the very definition of combat artistry.
With the fight over, Leon personally dissected the alchemical golem, salvaging every intact part, sealing away the Innate Rune, and discovering a fist-sized lump of black matter in its torso.
Once Leon finished his side of the salvage, Hubert’s battle was over too—except his Eight-Armed Gorilla Golem opponent was now just a pile of scrap, a mess of broken parts like some golem graveyard. Every single component smashed to junk by Hubert’s brute force…
The only thing left was a low-grade Innate Rune from the Eight-Armed Gorilla Golem.
No need for dissection—the thing had already been bashed open. No point in taking it apart…
Leon pocketed the bit of black matter from the golem’s body and shot Hubert a disgruntled look.
Hubert just pointed smugly at the pile of scrap metal on the ground.
“Lord Merlin, what do you think? Isn’t the great Hubert powerful now? I feel like I couldn’t even kill myself if I tried! Look at this guy—not a single usable part left, all smashed to scrap.”
As he spoke, Hubert shot Pabbet a triumphant glance. Pabbet just turned his head away, the light in his crystal eyes unmistakably the look people give when they see an idiot…
Reina’s spells were destined to obliterate everything, while Pabbet only cared about salvaging more intact parts. If he hadn’t been so careful, the twin-sword golem would’ve been scrap long ago—no need for all that effort…
But Hubert—he was just a natural-born wrecker. With his intelligence, smashing the golem to scrap was basically his way of showing off…
Leon had given up on Hubert’s intelligence. He couldn’t even be bothered to scold him—just spat out a rune and hung Hubert upside down, then conjured a dozen psychic lashes to whip him soundly…
For this kind of guy, words were useless. Only the whip spoke a language he understood…
Another steel city toppled—everything went smoothly.
Meanwhile, the Gilded Rose’s influence in Odin Kingdom was growing. After the expo opened, it went from mostly low-level mages to even Sky Rank mages coming to shop at the Gilded Rose.
Besides the eighteen connected shops in Neverwinter City, Farrow had negotiated the opening of thirty-eight new branches within a few hundred kilometers—radiating outward from Neverwinter as the center—all in under a week.
Leon recruited three hundred ordinary alchemists from Astral Academy—strictly controlled numbers, too. Over a thousand applied to work at the Gilded Rose in just a week…
He recruited over thirty Grand Alchemists, three Master Artisans, and even one Worldshaper. The only condition for recruiting the Worldshaper? Leon just had to spend an hour a week teaching him alchemy theory…
This Worldshaper was one of the wandering researchers of Runes of Truth at Astral Academy. When he found out Leon had cracked eighteen hundred Runes of Truth in one go, he lost his mind…
He signed a thousand-year contract with the Gilded Rose, and the price was simple: Leon would spend an hour per week teaching him for ten years, or reveal the secrets of three hundred Runes of Truth…
He didn’t even need the Gilded Rose to supply him with alchemy materials for his own research—he’d basically sold himself to them.
If he knew Leon’s demi-plane had a hundred and eight thousand Runes of Truth inscribed, he’d probably beg for a ten-thousand-year contract on the spot…
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In fact, the thousand-year contract was something he insisted on signing, even crying and begging—Farrow couldn’t refuse if he tried…
Beyond new branches opening, some Odin Kingdom families came seeking partnerships—even material suppliers started pitching their resources.
See, more than ninety-five percent of the Gilded Rose’s raw materials are self-produced. But in Odin Kingdom, transport costs are the biggest expense. If local suppliers can provide materials, that’ll save a fortune—and be much safer.
Shipping from Andalusia Kingdom to Odin Kingdom is risky—besides clueless bandits, there are all kinds of hazards and dangerous creatures along the way. Who knows what you’ll run into…
Back when they first planned the Odin Kingdom expansion, not a single supplier would work with the Gilded Rose—no matter how big or small. Even when Farrow offered higher prices, nobody was interested.
Now, every supplier—big and small—is lining up, slashing prices, hoping Farrow will even bother to buy from them…
At this rate, the Gilded Rose will cover northern Odin Kingdom in a few years, then slowly expand toward the capital. With its tech and strength, it’ll be the biggest alchemy chain in Odin Kingdom in a decade or so.
Every aspect of the Gilded Rose is booming, and every employee—or partner—is thrilled. It means a flood of purple gold coins.
But there was one partner family that wasn’t so happy…
The Jackson Patriarch was feeling complicated. As a Gilded Rose partner, the Jackson Family now bought most of their supplies there—at prices far below market.
Thanks to the Gilded Rose’s potions, magical devices, golems, and arrays, the Jackson Family finally restarted their conquest of a stalled plane—losses were way down, and the gains were way up.
Any surplus alchemical goods could be quietly sold to friendly families for another tidy profit.
In just a few days, the family estimated that profits from the Gilded Rose partnership would make up over sixty percent of their annual income—and that’s not even counting the hidden benefits and growth.
It should be a good thing, but the Jackson Family wasn’t happy. They’d tried to extend their contract with the Gilded Rose, but got turned down…
The original contract was only for a year—just a trial, really. No one expected such huge returns, at least ten times what they’d hoped…
At this rate, the Jackson Family might get dependent on the Gilded Rose, but if things keep up, they’ll grow fivefold in five years!