Two main schools of alchemy were prevalent in the Old Continent.
One was known as Classical Alchemy, also referred to as Magical Alchemy. Charlotte's staff was a product of this school. Its highest achievement was something called self-alchemy, where one could alchemize oneself into strange and unusual forms.
Take Magru Trelle, for example—now a half-human, half-spider creature. Even though his lower body had been blown apart, he still refused to die.
The followers of the Lantern Man had not established universities; this school was passed down in secret. Although Charlotte had read fragments of literature on the subject, he wasn't well-versed in the Kabbalah magic school and didn't know how to counter spell-armed weapons.
The other school was called Traditional Alchemy, founded by another great human philosopher, Hermes. Hermes was a follower of the God of Machinery and Alchemy, so Traditional Alchemy was also known as Mechanical Alchemy.
Anti-space technology and long-range sniper rifles were products of Traditional Alchemy, and the highest creation of this school was artificial deities.
Although the followers of the God of Machinery and Alchemy hadn't established universities, the great philosopher Hermes had once been a professor at Hartingen Thunderstorm and Storm University, so all four universities offered courses in Traditional Alchemy.
During his university days, Charlotte had envied the grandeur of alchemy, but despite coming from a merchant family, it was his elder brother who controlled the family finances. Alchemy was famously a bottomless pit of cash, and the family wouldn't provide the massive funds needed for him to study such a costly subject.
Moreover, Charlotte had never shown any talent on the path of the extraordinary. He couldn't even master basic combat skills, so the family didn't believe he would achieve anything in alchemy.
Fortunately, even in the four universities, few could afford to study alchemy, so Charlotte had maintained a fairly calm attitude during his school years.
Now, seeing this high-grade product of Classical Alchemy, he felt a bit regretful amidst being hunted down—he wouldn't be able to take any spoils of war.
Spell-armed weapons were rooted in the user's body and soul, and in a sense, the user's body and soul were part of the alchemical materials. They couldn't be separated, and when the user died, the spell-armed weapon would also be destroyed.
Magru Trelle had long understood that his path on the extraordinary road wouldn't take him far; being a seventh-tier knight was likely his lifetime limit. Therefore, he had spent all his wealth to seek out the alchemy master Secret Thirteen, who crafted this set of spell-armed weapons for him.
Seeing that Charlotte's agile movements caused all his shots to miss, Magru Trelle threw down his thunder gun and pulled out a giant axe. With a sinister grin, he roared and charged forward, moving even faster than before.
Charlotte didn't want to remain passive either. He gathered his Bloody Glory, swung his alchemy staff, and barely deflected the giant axe without taking the full force.
Though Charlotte was also a fourth-tier extraordinary, having mastered four blood runes and proficient in Insight, Bloodflame Energy, Angel's Sting, and Agility, his arm still went numb from the tremendous force. He couldn't help but exclaim inwardly, "This guy is so strong!"
Magru Trelle had fully transformed into a half-human, half-spider monster, swinging his axe like the wind. Although his axe technique wasn't particularly refined, the combination of his unmatched strength left Charlotte drenched in sweat.
While wildly swinging his giant axe, Magru Trelle shouted, "Do you know? Once a spell-armed weapon is activated, there's no turning back. I can never return to my human form again, and it's all your fault."
Charlotte flicked his alchemy staff, used Agility, and leaped over ten pimi, thinking to himself, "Without the spell-armed weapon, you'd probably be dead by now." But he saw no need to banter with his opponent and sternly asked, "Why are you seeking revenge on me? I have no grudge against you!"
Magru Trelle roared in fury, "If it weren't for you shouting that I framed Menielman, how would I have been abandoned by those above, stripped of my position as warden, and thrown into prison?"
"Those garbage inmates at Kilmarnock Prison and those damned jail soldiers are all trash. I never should have been there."
"They forced me to give up the wealth I had accumulated over a lifetime, humiliated me, tortured me, and threatened me."
"I've already killed them all, and now only you remain."
Magru Trelle's stamina seemed endless. After swinging his giant axe and fighting fiercely for over half an hour, he showed no signs of fatigue.
Although their battle had attracted countless onlookers and caused significant damage to nearby homes, Charlotte tried his best to minimize the destruction, but combat wasn't that easy to control. Yet, there was still no sign of the city patrols.
Charlotte, being the chief himself, knew all too well what the city patrols were like.
He didn't expect anyone to come and stop Magru Trelle, so he had to think desperately about how to defeat this opponent with his current combat abilities.
Charlotte was about seventy to eighty percent sure that as long as Magru Trelle stopped moving, he could blast him to pieces with two magic-breaking shells at most. But this former warden was moving too fast, and Charlotte had only a few magic-breaking shells left. Lord Reo had given him just twenty in total, so he didn't dare to waste them.
The bloodsucking hatchet was blocked by the strange energy on Magru Trelle, unable to cut through his defenses. The Blood Rose likely wouldn't work either, and the Magnum revolver and alchemy handgun were even less effective.
In an instant, Charlotte came up with seven or eight strategies, but none of them seemed truly viable.
Charlotte felt like he was on the back foot, exhausting his mind without finding a way to win, but he didn't know that a hundred meters away, two onlookers were already staring in amazement at his strength.
Reggie Asu and Kalenda Modi, both mid-tier extraordinaries working for the Red Horse Detective Agency, were among the candidates set to duel with Charlotte.
They had brought the duel letter drafted by Aubrey Charlton Atwood to deliver to the first address on Falcon Street, and they wanted to observe this opponent along the way.
According to their information, Charlotte was only a fourth-tier extraordinary, and he had taken the early-stage Bloody Glory path, which had relatively average combat power. But given his impressive battle record, having killed eight detectives from the Red Horse Agency, including the fourth-tier Winterbourne, they decided to be cautious.
They hadn't expected to witness Charlotte being "assassinated in the street," and by a mid-tier extraordinary no less.
When Magru Trelle and Charlotte exchanged long-range shots and Magru Trelle's body was blown apart, the two men merely marveled at the fact that this kid had an extraordinary-level rifle and acted decisively, showing that he indeed had some skills.
But when Magru Trelle unleashed his spell-armed weapon and transformed into a half-human, half-spider monster, that's when the two were truly taken aback.
Charlotte's combat experience was too limited; he didn't know that in this state, Magru Trelle's combat power was equivalent to that of a high-level mid-tier extraordinary, at least comparable to a tenth-level knight.
Being able to hold his own against Magru Trelle, who was using a spell-armed weapon, and only being slightly at a disadvantage, made Reggie Asu and Kalenda Modi exchange glances. They both decided to go back and advise the chief to remove their names from the duel list.
After all, they weren't actually "related" to the eight dead detectives.