It turns out that the assassination was effective.

In the subsequent skirmishes, the Blood Ring Army seemed to experience a malfunction, encountering significant obstacles in the transmission of orders.

The Blood Ring Camp was not without the addition of Awakened individuals, such as the previous Overlord Squad and even the Hidden Snake Team. Even Crazy Zen's team had chosen the Blood Ring Camp.

However, the Overlord had already fled this world, and his squad was reduced to only two Mid-level Awakened individuals. They were both in support roles and could only gain some battle merit in large-scale confrontations, incapable of handling such stealthy assassination missions.

The only ones with such capabilities were the teams of Crazy Zen and Hidden Snake.

Oddly enough, the Crazy Zen Squad didn't appear on the front lines, and even the remnants of the Hidden Snake team had not shown up.

This caused an imbalance in the powers of the Awakened on both sides.

Under such circumstances, the Divine Luo Expeditionary Army gradually gained the upper hand, with the frontlines advancing steadily. Marshal Horn had no choice but to abandon regions like Skona and Karsk and consolidate his defenses.

...

The Kalmar Fortress is located on the southeast coast of the peninsula.

Originally, the fortress was heavily guarded with strict security measures.

But with the onset of the Blood Rose War, two-thirds of the Kalmar Fortress' troops were redeployed to join the battle on the Malmo Plains!

At this moment, although the soldiers of the Kalmar Fortress remained vigilant, their defensive power was visibly thinned.

Under the cover of night.

Bai Pu took advantage of the guard change, utilizing the enhanced climbing ability provided by the "Crawler Gloves," and effortlessly scaled the high walls of the fortress, infiltrating Kalmar Fortress on his own.

Bai Pu did this, not because he was fearless, but because the fortress's commanding general—"Iron Wall" Gabanuo—had already led the fortress's elite forces to participate in the Malmo Battle.

The Kalmar Fortress was currently overseen by a deputy, a Level 6 Enhanced Elite, whose strength was comparable to "Mad Rhino" Luz, so Bai Pu was not concerned.

The purpose of his visit was naturally to complete the Silver Side Task: the Buried Truth!

Now was not the time to proceed with Main Task 2: The Fall of the Royal Alchemy Academy.

Bai Pu intended to complete this side task first, hoping for some surprises.

According to reason, this side task pointed to an Alchemy Master who could provide an additional possibility for the third part of Bai Pu's career change task.

The first step of the task was to enter the Blood Ring Camp's Kalmar Fortress and find the Alchemy Master Noel.

Originally, the difficulty of this Silver Side Task was as high as B-level. Given that the difficulty of Silver Side Tasks is two levels higher than ordinary tasks, it was inferred to be of an S-level standard task difficulty.

A significant portion of the task's difficulty lay in how to enter the Kalmar Fortress and operate within it.

Therefore, with the outbreak of the Blood Rose War and the reduction of Kalmar Fortress's defensive power, the difficulty of this Silver Side Task dropped from B-level to C-level, equivalent to an A-level standard task.

After sneaking in, Bai Pu quickly reached the civilian area of Kalmar Fortress.

The strongholds and cities controlled by the Blood Ring Camp also housed numerous civilians, just as the Blood Ring's estates needed farmers for cultivation, their military equipment required blacksmiths for forging, and Blood Ring's potions necessitated alchemists for concocting!

One couldn't expect the Mutant generals to handle such delicate tasks.

The stronger the Mutant's template, the more complete their intellectual capability. Mutant generals were already capable of adapting strategies to their surroundings, like Blood Hand Columbus, who could fully implement the Blood Ring Emperor's orders.

However, subsidiary occupations requiring knowledge accumulation, like forging and pharmaceuticals, were beyond the Mutant generals; only those at the higher pyramid level of Blood Ring Powerhouses, such as Marshal Horn, Prime Minister Oxensterna, and Schroeder the Scholar, possessed such capability.

Bai Pu was pressed for time, so he directly stepped into an alchemy shop called "Furnace of Adia."

The alchemy apprentice standing behind the counter jumped up, assuming someone from the Blood Ring was there for requisitions.

But upon raising his head, he only saw someone shrouded in a black cloak.

"Good day, stranger. Are you here to purchase potions?"

The alchemy apprentice asked and answered himself, "I hope so. In this damned Kalmar Fortress, it's been over a month since anyone came to buy potions; it's always those robbers from the Blood Ring Military Supply Department."

Just from the complaints of this alchemy apprentice, Bai Pu found that Blood Ring Fortress didn't really regulate the speech of the oppressed. Otherwise, the apprentice wouldn't casually voice such complaints about Blood Ring Fortress to a stranger, even if he was a chatterbox.

Bai Pu glanced briefly, and the various bottles and jars with explanatory texts on the shelves came into view. He lightly shook his head and said:

"I'm not here to buy potions."

The stock at this "Furnace of Adia" was nothing remarkable, incomparable to Qin's craftsmanship. Bai Pu still had some recovery potions made by Qin in his Storage Space, and thus he wasn't interested.

"Then what are you here for?" the alchemy apprentice asked cautiously, "My teacher is in the production room. Don't try anything reckless."

Bai Pu asked directly, "I'm looking for someone named Noel, an Alchemy Master. Do you know where he is?"

As he spoke, Bai Pu tossed a Silver Taler over.

The currency system in Europe during this era was quite chaotic, especially within the numerous states of the Holy Roman Empire, each wielding its own minting power, leading to coins of varying quality, although generally, Silver Coins and Copper Coins were the main currencies in circulation.

The Silver Coin Bai Pu handed over was of decent quality.

"Thank you for your generosity, sir!"

The alchemy apprentice immediately smiled, quickly picked up the Silver Coin, and pretended to think for a moment:

"Noel, Alchemy Master…let me think…"

Bai Pu said blandly, "It seems you don't know. Give me the money back."

Kalmar Fortress wasn't large, and there weren't many people in the alchemy field, so there shouldn't be any confusion about the name. If the apprentice knew, he should have been able to answer without hesitation.

The apprentice widened his eyes and said, "Oh, come on, it's not fair to take back a tip!"

"This isn't a tip; it's a fee for equivalent exchange of information."

Bai Pu clasped the alchemy apprentice's wrist, applying a little pressure, causing the apprentice to cry out in pain, his fingers involuntarily loosening and allowing the Silver Taler to clatter onto the counter, rolling around several times.

"Heavens, what sound have I just heard? Was it the sound of a Silver Coin hitting the counter? By Christ, how long has it been since I've heard such melodious music?"

Accompanied by an exaggerated voice, a middle-aged alchemist lifted the curtain and quickly walked out from inside.

He immediately pressed the Silver Coin and looked at Bai Pu: "Hello, generous gentleman, I am the owner of this shop, Adia. I know someone named Noel, but whether he is an Alchemy Master, I do not know."

"Tell me, where is he?" Bai Pu focused on the person named Adia. He could clearly feel the difference in strength between himself and Adia. His spirit was also locked onto Adia, ready to detect any signs of deceit.

Kalmar Fortress wasn't large, so the chances of a duplicate name were low.

"That old man named Noel lives in the sewers…seems a bit deranged." Adia slyly pocketed the Silver Coin, saying, "Just to clarify, even if he's not the person you're looking for, this Silver Coin belongs to me."

"As long as you guide me, I'll give you another one," Bai Pu said. These coins were "operating funds" he got from Cwieg, plentiful, albeit not transferrable out of this world.

"Alright! Buddy, lock up, we're closing for today."

Adia turned out from behind the counter, "I'll guide you, generous sir!"

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