Chapter 206. Irish Town Ⅱ (4) A Team of Three, But Always Alone

     When Mayor Feitan asked about Ye Mo, Watson, and Wang Xue, they exchanged glances and answered simultaneously:  

     “Alchemy and magic.”  

     “Potions and water magic.”  

     “Swordsmanship and fire magic.”  

     It wasn’t that they weren’t curious about the semi-artifact, but Bella and Arthur had already asked all the questions they could think of, leaving them with nothing more to inquire about for now.  

     Mayor Feitan promptly granted Ye Mo and the other two access to the mayor’s alchemy lab, potion room, and library, and introduced them to the elven captain Sen and his guard team.  

     Breakfast that day could be described as a joyous gathering, at the very least, it appeared harmonious and lively.

     After breakfast, Bella went off for a private discussion with Mayor Feitan and the others regarding survivor management.  

     Ye Mo, Watson, and Wang Xue each went their separate ways.  

     Watson headed to the potion room, Wang Xue went to the training grounds, while Ye Mo made her way to the alchemy lab.  

     At the castle gate, Ye Mo encountered the lively figure of ‘Maria,’ who was waving energetically at her. “Maria, it’s weird to call you that. Can I call you Jing?”  

     Ye Mo smiled and nodded. “Of course. Hello, Maria. It’s a pleasure to see you.”  

     “I’m so happy too. Your arrival helped me through my most disheartened and confused days. You showed me a broader sky and gave me direction. Thank you, Jing.” Maria’s emotions were sincere, her eyes brimming with gratitude.  

     Ye Mo replied earnestly, “I’m glad I could help.”  

     Maria was here under the explicit orders of the Mermaid Lady. For the next while, her role would be to serve as Ye Mo’s guide.  

     “The Mermaid Lady knows?”

     “Sophie has changed a lot—the mayor and his wife are far from ordinary in their wisdom.” Maria, like other goblins, was light on her feet, skipping along as she walked. “The Madam said it was guidance from fate.”  

     Ye Mo immediately thought of Farr’s stone, which had another name, the Stone of Destiny. Celtic mythology placed great faith in fate, especially among gods and demons, who often met their end due to some absurd prophecy. “Fate?”  

     Maria seemed to answer casually, yet deliberately: “Fate is singular, predestined, and unchangeable.”  

     No sooner had she finished speaking than the alchemy lab came into view.  

     “Your mind is like a library filled with knowledge. It’s even made me curious about alchemy. Unfortunately, I can’t make sense of the rules of the balance scales, nor those numbers like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or those formulas.” Maria chuckled, smoothly shifting the topic. “But I must apologize—I didn’t ask for your permission before sharing those ‘Arabic numerals’ and some other things with the finest alchemy master, Ebert.”  

     Unlike ‘Watson,’ Maria was far more inquisitive, often delving into Ye Mo’s memories. She quickly realized that as long as the knowledge didn’t involve the survivors’ identities or soul transference, anything she learned could be used freely—and even taught to others.

     Unfortunately, her talent in this area was somewhat lacking, and her inherent craftsman’s knowledge somewhat limited her thinking.  

     “It’s fine. It’s all about learning from each other.”  

     By now, Ye Mo was already fully immersed in the environment of the alchemy lab, especially the simple or intricate magic patterns on the alchemical items, lost in mental modeling.  

     The deeper one delves into craftsmanship, mechanical arts, and alchemy, the greater the distinctions become. 

     Craftsmanship is a skill—less about innovation and more about manual techniques.  

     Mechanical arts, on the other hand, involve more thought and creativity, enabling the creation of mechanisms such as wooden horses, military formations, crossbows, flying birds, chariots, swords, and more.  

     When modern technology is incorporated, feats like soaring through the skies or burrowing into the earth become possible. And when spiritual energy is added, it’s not just about flight or tunneling. In a sense, if researched to its deepest extent, traversing time and space might not be out of the question.  

     As for alchemy, it can be said that in crafting weapons and equipment, it falls short compared to mechanical arts. Rather than focusing on items, the deeper it delves, the more it explores the intrinsic properties of materials.

     Spiritual energy itself is a unique form of power, one that not only alters the human body and soul but can also modify the fundamental properties of matter, such as density, mass, melting point, and boiling point. Different types of spiritual energy also have distinct combinations.  

     Ye Mo discovered that the alchemists of this world had already spent many years exploring this field, and their knowledge and practical expertise in certain areas far surpassed her own.  

     High-level alchemy and even more advanced forms did not disappoint her in the slightest. Once she fully mastered these, she might truly be able to craft semi-artifacts or even divine artifacts.  

     Maria gave the alchemists, led by Ebert, an apologetic smile and raised a finger to her lips in a “shh” gesture.  

     Thanks to the scientific knowledge she had shared, these alchemists regarded Maria quite favorably.  

     They had already been informed that the knowledge came from the homeland of this extraordinary guest, somewhere in the Eastern Continent, North American Continent, European Continent, or the like.  

     Though they didn’t understand why this world suddenly had so many additional continents, they had also accumulated a pile of questions they wanted to ask Ye Mo. Even if, in the eyes of the locals, the girl before them seemed barely of age.

     When Ye Mo finally snapped out of her trance, the two sides began their first round of delightful exchanges.  

     Maria, dazed and confused: ‘…Where am I? What am I doing? Who are these people?’  

     “Science fanatics don’t eat or sleep—they survive on metal or potions,” remarked Wang Xue, who hadn’t seen her two companions for a full 24 hours.  

     As for Farr’s stone, Nuada’s divine sword, Lugh’s spear, or Dagda’s magical cauldron, aside from the magic cauldron, which was somewhat relevant to potions, Ye Mo and Watson had long since tossed them to the back of their minds.  

     Every day, Wang Xue ate alone, studied foreign languages alone, practiced martial arts alone, trained in fire magic alone, and wandered the Irish town alone. Despite being part of a team, she lived like a complete loner.  

     Let’s not make the contrast too harsh.

     When she finally took the initiative to seek them out, Watson handed her an assortment of potions some for healing, others for poisoning. While Ye Mo gave her a pile of swords and eighteen different musical instruments, originally prepared for her birthday but gifted early.  

     Wang Xue: “…Fine, then!”

     The Cobra Intelligence Team and the Arthur-Merlin Team also had survivors among them studying alchemy, craftsmanship, and potions but they had only been delayed by half a day

     Watson was experimenting with refining medicinal pills rather than brewing potions. The process frequently resulted in explosions, but the final products were invariably top-tier. The potion masters waited eagerly outside, though they couldn’t just barge in.  

     Meanwhile, some of the other survivors swallowed their pride and slipped into the mayor’s alchemy lab, hoping to pick up a trick or two, only to realize they couldn’t even understand the occasional exchanges between Ye Mo and the master alchemists.  

     And it wasn’t just them even the high-level alchemists were struggling to keep up at this point.  

     Ye Mo had already moved from theoretical knowledge into full-fledged experimentation. The survivors couldn’t even jot down the underlying principles, proving once again that aiming too high without the foundation just didn’t work.  

     Neither Ye Mo nor Watson had any plans to take on survivor apprentices. In the end, the survivors had no choice but to seek out local low- or mid-level alchemists and continue their studies or start over from the basics.  

     Three days later, after repeated urging and demonstrations of strength from Bella and Arthur, Mayor Fitan finally decided that this time, they wouldn’t wait for the beast tide to arrive. Instead, they would take the fight into the forest, targeting the agitated, rogue high-level magical beasts.

     Meanwhile, Ye Mo and Watson explained that their research had reached a critical stage and expressed full confidence that Wang Xue alone could dominate the battlefield especially since she also had a pet dinosaur.  

     Wang Xue: “Could you two at least pretend to be human?”

     Hawk Eye: “Even monsters aren’t this ruthless.” 

     To prove they still had some humanity left, Ye Mo and Watson emerged from the alchemy lab and potion room on the morning of the expedition to see Wang Xue off.  

     Mayor Feitan couldn’t send the entire guard force, so he also recruited a group of mercenaries from the town.  

     Ye Mo hadn’t expected to reunite with the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group under such circumstances.  

     The team had lost one or two members but gained several new ones. The leader, Hook, and deputy leader, Thomson, remained their old selves only stronger. Alice had officially become a fire mage, her crimson brooch gleaming proudly.  

     Maria had kept in touch with them all along.

     The letter Ye Mo had written back then had been delivered to them five years ago. However, unlike Mayor Feitan and his wife, they lacked the insight to fully grasp its implications. Though they may have had their doubts, their speculations ultimately led nowhere.  

     Maria took Alice’s hand and led her over, introducing Ye Mo under Alice’s bewildered gaze.  

     Fortunately, the Cobra Intelligence Team had spent the past few days smoothing relations between the Irish town’s residents and the survivors. Alice didn’t regard the people from the mysterious continent with suspicion. Instead, she offered the same friendly, though far more mature smile as before and extended her hand. “Hello, my name is Alice. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

     “Likewise.” 

     Ye Mo shook her hand as a stranger. Regardless of the circumstances, seeing an old friend grow stronger was a joy in itself.  

     Wang Xue gave Ye Mo a knowing wink, she’d make sure her little velociraptor kept an eye on this mercenary group.

     Ye Mo handed over a few space keys as a precaution and then revealed the real purpose of her presence today—even deploying a “pleading eyes” attack: “And not just that—could you also try to capture some high-level magical beasts alive?”*  

     Wang Xue: “…”

     Amid Mayor Feitan’s blessings, the cobbled-together beast-tide suppression team set off right on schedule.  

     For powerhouses like Bella, Arthur, and Wang Xue ranked among the top hundred, slaying high-level magical beasts wasn’t difficult. But for the other survivors, there was still some degree of life-threatening risk.   

     So this expedition wasn’t a zero-casualty operation.  

     Even so, it was undoubtedly the least deadly beast tide the Irish town had ever faced and it was all over in just three days. A miracle by any measure!  

     When the team returned that afternoon, they didn’t take a shortcut but entered through the main gate as normal. They were met with the most enthusiastic cheers and gratitude from the entire town.  

     Wang Xue: ‘…Huh. Suddenly feeling kinda proud.’

     Amidst a shower of flowers and applause, the procession made its way back to Mayor Feitan Manor.  

     But shortly after entering the estate, some nearly drew their weapons again—  

     Because there, inside the manor, were fire-breathing deer, ice-spewing foxes, flying eagles, and even winged tigers. The grounds were now teeming with magical beasts.  

     Just what was going on?