CHAPTER 57: CHAPTER 53: THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

The preparations for the Heaven and Earth Bind were proceeding smoothly.

Milo’s previous clearing operations had been rather outstanding. The initial batch of Exchange Beasts sent up the mountain did a remarkable job; each Alchemist’s special Marker was placed in its precise position. These Markers served as signal towers for transmitting Spirit Vision. With these Markers dividing Dawn Peak into interconnected regions, each region was controlled by an Alchemist’s Exchange Beast.

No one could escape this formation. It was truly the Heaven and Earth Bind.

The Exchange Beasts played a significant role in this array. However, the most critical factor for the success of this Heaven and Earth Bind Alchemy Array was not the strength of the Exchange Beasts but the distance between the special Markers.

If the distance between these Markers was too short, the Spirit Power consumed by each main controller would be excessive, leading to a waste of Spirit Power, as Spirit Power was not easily replenished. Conversely, if this distance was too long, the signal towers could not connect effectively, and the controllers would be unable to share Spirit Vision successfully.

Therefore, controlling this effective distance was critical, as it directly affected the success of the Alchemy Array.

Initially, Alchemists struggled to control this distance properly, often placing Markers too widely and too densely, which significantly depleted the main controllers’ Spirit Power. At that time, the twelve Golden Seats of the Alchemy Workshop showed little enthusiasm for Alchemy Arrays.

However, Scholars on this continent, proficient in calculations, quickly provided the Alchemy Workshop with an effective solution: the Hexagram Array.

So, to some extent, the Alchemy Workshop also owed its gratitude to the Scholars’ contributions...

Milo looked up at the sun, which was now nearing midday. The second batch of Exchange Beasts sent up the mountain would soon have the entire mountain covered.

This meant that those stragglers who had ignored the warning of the previous clearing operation and refused to descend the mountain would soon be discovered.

Milo was very confident in the Alchemy Workshop’s strength. At least in the Kayne Empire, no one could shake an Alchemy Array set by the Golden Twelve Seats.

It’s worth noting that during the Guardian Wars of the Kayne Empire, the Heaven and Earth Bind played a considerable role. When facing the peculiar attacks of the Mantai Empire’s Dwarves, the Exchange Beasts within the Heaven and Earth Bind Array were by no means inferior. Compared to the Wizards’ Fire and Wind Spellcraft, the Exchange Beasts’ "Bite" attack dealt a far more effective blow to the Dwarves. Indeed, not a single Dwarf escaped the Heaven and Earth Bind, which significantly boosted the Guardian Army’s belief in victory.

Such inspiring memories were the pride of the Alchemy Workshop, which was gradually reaching new heights—something Milo had never imagined before.

"Sir, a preliminary count suggests there are still nearly twenty people in the mountains. This does not include that Alien Species. For now, we have found no defective ones," reported Carmello, the Golden Seat Alchemist corresponding to the constellation Leo. His primary Exchange Beast was a sparrow, responsible for scouting, statistics, and tracking.

"Keep an eye on the Alien Species. As for the other unmarked stragglers, follow standard procedure," Milo instructed. His primary Alchemy Beast was an ant. He had currently deployed a certain number of ants at the six corners of the Hexagram. Once the Spirit Power in the Hexagram Array stabilized, other Golden Seat Alchemists could infuse their Spirit Power into these ants, which would then act as their avatars.

Milo was the number two Alchemist in the Alchemy Workshop, corresponding to the constellation Libra. His primary Exchange Beast possessed the most potent ability in the entire Alchemy Workshop. Each corner of the Hexagram was supposed to correspond to a specific Alchemist’s primary Exchange Beast, but to conceal the array layout, Milo chose an alternative plan; after all, owls and bats couldn’t move freely in sunlight.

Milo could split and connect his primary Exchange Beast. He would draw a portion of Spirit Power from an ant and infuse it into another Alchemist’s Exchange Beast. That Alchemist would then infuse their Spirit Power into the ant’s body. This way, the ant and the other’s Exchange Beast would achieve resonance, making control of this ant as smooth as controlling one’s own primary Exchange Beast.

Milo called this split-connection technique the Ant Connection Spell.

Once the Ant Connection Spell was established, the array layout of the Heaven and Earth Bind could then be implemented secretly in this hidden corner. Milo followed the Chief’s instructions, keeping the array deployment as low-profile as possible to avoid attracting too much attention.

"Carmello, continue tracking the Alien Species, but do not alert it."

"Yes, Sir!"

"Pedro, Brad, the nighttime digging is up to you."

"No problem, Sir." Pedro’s primary Exchange Beast was a bat; the night was his domain. He was also the sixth seat of the Golden Twelve Seats, corresponding to the constellation Capricorn in the night sky.

Brad was a taciturn Alchemist. His primary Exchange Beast was an owl. He held the tenth seat of the Golden Twelve Seats, corresponding to the constellation Cancer.

"Joela!" Milo swept his gaze over the group, his voice filled with his characteristic solemnity. "Once the formation is complete, follow me up the mountain."

"Understood, Lord Milo!" Joela, who corresponded to the constellation Taurus, was the fourth seat. His primary Exchange Beast was a field mouse.

"Hector, you guard the formation!"

"Leave it to me!" Hector’s primary Exchange Beast was a hare.

After making the necessary arrangements, Milo began observing the few remaining stragglers through his Spirit Vision.

Although there were about twenty individuals, none truly posed a threat to the Alchemy Workshop. Among them, four had been previously marked by the Workshop and could be ignored. Besides, there was a Hunter the Chief was interested in, so there was no need to waste energy attending to him.

As for the others, whether they can survive this Alchemy Array will depend on their strength and luck...

The Heaven and Earth Bind Array could control ingress and egress within a specific area, but it had limitations: it could not pinpoint locations.

This array could sense the number of enemies and launch attacks on them, but it couldn’t determine their exact positions within the area.

This meant the array could be used for combat and for statistics, but not for locating someone.

Once the array’s range was confirmed, all enemies within it would be enclosed in a circle dominated by the Alchemy Array. In other words, although the Alchemist deploying the array was aware of everyone within it, they could only sense that the others were present in the Alchemy Array. As for their actual physical locations, the Alchemists had no way of knowing. In a sense, this array locked the Alchemists and those within it into an illusory cage.

Moreover, only the array-casting Alchemists could see this "cage"...

Once the Heaven and Earth Bind Array was successfully deployed, within Milo and the others’ Spirit Vision, Dawn Peak would no longer be Dawn Peak. Instead, it would be a Hexagram-marked cage. All people and things on Dawn Peak would wander upon this vast Hexagram until the Alchemists withdrew the array.

Those reluctant to descend, the so-called stragglers, would have to face the Alchemy Workshop’s trial. This could be considered their honor!

"May the celestial Stars bless our journey." Before array deployment, the Alchemists had to complete a short ritual: a worship of the celestial Stars, much like praying to the god of harvest for a bountiful harvest in the coming year before dinner.

This ceremony differed from Wizards’ Spellcraft. It was simply the Alchemists’ pure reverence for the Nothingness of the Stars, not a necessary condition for the success of the Alchemy Array. Unlike Wizards’ Spellcraft, where failing to recite the entire incantation would prevent the magic from taking effect—though, of course, Wizards also worshipped the celestial Stars.

"My Lord," Carmello suddenly exclaimed, "there’s a problem!"

"Oh?" Milo also sensed a slight anomaly, but he was more interested in hearing the opinions of the other Golden Seats regarding this abnormality.

"The Spirit Sensing in some areas is unstable. It feels like we’ve lost the interconnecting signal towers!" Joela added, echoing Carmello.

"Could someone be sabotaging the greater array layout within our Alchemy Array?" Pedro asked, referring to the special Markers hidden at designated locations on Dawn Peak.

"HMPH!" Brad’s reaction was as expected.

"My Lord, what should we do?" Hector was still too inexperienced.

"We’ve lost part of our Spirit Vision and cannot recover it, My Lord!" Carmello reminded Milo.

Milo understood. This attempt to deploy the array had failed. Such a failure was undoubtedly a disgrace to the Alchemy Workshop! The ones capable of disrupting the greater array layout shouldn’t be these stragglers. Only someone intimately familiar with the Workshop’s Alchemy Arrays could affect the greater array layout. The Markers were concealed by Alchemist avatars; how could they be so easily discovered?

"My Lord," the other Golden Seats were all awaiting the next instruction. They vaguely sensed a problem with this array deployment.

"Keep the Exchange Beasts moving on the mountain," Milo said calmly. "In addition, withdraw the array and report to the Chief that we’ve encountered trouble."

Withdraw the array... Joela couldn’t believe his ears. Such an abrupt surrender wasn’t Lord Milo’s style.

"Shouldn’t we try again, My Lord?" Pedro cautiously suggested. "The lesser array layout was nearly complete."

Seeing the hesitation of the other Golden Seats, Milo had to interrupt them. "The greater array layout has been sabotaged. It’s pointless to deploy the array again. The enemy is lurking in the dark, which is disadvantageous to us."

These stragglers... Hector couldn’t believe the Workshop’s Alchemy Array could be sabotaged.

"I think we should feel excited, not frustrated," Milo continued, looking at the disheartened Alchemists. "Only those familiar with Alchemy Arrays could sabotage the greater array layout we’ve established. How many people familiar with our Alchemy Workshop’s Alchemy Arrays are there in this Empire?"

The Alchemists couldn’t help but smirk. Indeed, the saboteur must be a peer. It was highly likely they had come to the right place and would make progress in their quest to find the Great Mentor.

"So, withdraw the array, and then we will regroup and rally our spirits!" Milo calmed his emotions and continued, "By that time, the true stragglers will appear!"