Axel

Chapter 253: The Future Renowned Guns—Rattlesnakes

Added 2025-02-09 14:03:02 +0000 UTC

Charlot Mecklenburg did not bargain further; he agreed immediately.
Of course, he didn’t have that much money on him. Even his deposits at the Savings Union fell short of the required amount. After all, 5,500 gold écus, converted to purchasing power in yuan, was roughly equivalent to a “small target.” Only by returning to Machubi could he access enough cash to pay Sean Connor and complete the transaction.

Charlot proposed retrieving the money, explaining that he would need to leave Strasbourg for another city.

Sean Connor was visibly hesitant. After a moment of thought, he made a suggestion: the two parties could first exchange goods, and then he would accompany Charlot to retrieve the cash.

Charlot had no objections. The owner of the Stellar Workshop on Star Street immediately summoned a young runner. Soon, seven or eight low-ranking alchemists, led by a middle-aged woman, arrived at the café.

The woman was evidently Sean Connor’s wife. While concerned for her husband, she understood she couldn’t stop him. She bid him a gentle farewell, expressing her hope for his swift return.

The woman took the baron’s blood core, and Sean Connor, as though drained of all his strength, pushed the gun case toward Charlot, saying, “They are yours now.”

Charlot smiled and said, “Let’s get going!”

With a snap of his fingers, the Dark Luxury emerged. Charlot turned to Mrs. Nancy and instructed, “Return to 58 Elysée Avenue. If Annie comes by in the next couple of days, tell her I’ll be back soon, within a day or two. No need to worry.”

Mrs. Nancy drove the carriage away.

Sean Connor gazed at the Dark Luxury, unable to resist stepping closer to touch it. “Is this the Dark Luxury crafted by Saint Alchemist Stardust?” he asked.

Charlot smiled. “Indeed, the Dark Luxury. We’d best hurry. Though ordinary carriages would take several days to travel, even the Dark Luxury needs to make good time to ensure we return by tomorrow.”

Sean Connor, now entirely reassured by the transaction, followed Charlot aboard the Dark Luxury. Someone who owned such a carriage surely wouldn’t be troubled by a few thousand gold écus.

Then again, no ordinary person would spend that much on a supernal carriage.

Once aboard the Dark Luxury, Charlot opened the gun case. Inside lay two high-grade extraordinary vampiric pistols. He picked one up.

As Charlot grasped the extraordinary pistol, its attributes immediately became clear: enhanced speed, life devour, bullet animation, anti-space, invisibility, and venom. It featured a composite magazine capable of loading standard, energy, and anti-magic bullets.

The enhanced speed equated to Swiftstep Technique x6.

The life devour ability allowed the weapon to absorb the enemy’s life force to heal its wielder and could also condense blood energy bullets. This was similar to the Withered Rose, but with the added ability to restore the wielder’s health.

Bullet animation was a unique property, enabling ordinary bullets to behave as though alive, burrowing through an enemy’s body. Blood energy bullets could continually devour life force to grow stronger, inflicting sustained damage.

As for anti-space, invisibility, and venom, they hardly needed explanation. The pistol could be hidden within any object, its wielder could blend into the air, and bullets could carry potent toxins.

This pistol was undoubtedly a top-tier extraordinary weapon, even more lethal than the Firequell Silver Rhino.

Charlot set the first pistol down and picked up the second.

This one boasted eight attributes: enhanced speed, life devour, ultra-long range, anti-space, eagle eye, bear strength, adrenaline, and sleeplessness. Like the first, it could load standard, energy, and anti-magic bullets.

Its speed enhancement, Swiftstep Technique x7, slightly outperformed the first pistol.

The ultra-long-range attribute was self-explanatory, surpassing even Charlot’s anti-space long-range rifle in range and covering a vast area.

Eagle eye enhanced vision, bear strength increased physical strength, adrenaline temporarily boosted physical stamina, and sleeplessness sacrificed life force for endurance.

It was difficult to say which of the two pistols was superior, but Charlot liked both immensely.

After admiring them for a while, he asked, “Do they have names?”

Sean Connor replied, “No. I had hoped they’d become the crowning works of my career as an alchemist, but they remained unsold, so I never named them.”

Charlot said, “I think they should be called Rattlesnakes!”

The name reminded Charlot of the Rattlesnake short-barreled rifle produced by SIG Sauer on Earth, so he casually gave them that name.

Sean Connor’s face froze momentarily before he muttered, “A good name.”

In fact, these two pistols once had a name—Rattlesnakes. Sean Connor had removed the name when they failed to sell, but their first owner ended up naming them Rattlesnakes again.

It seemed like destiny.

One pistol, with red accents on key parts, Charlot decided to name the Red Viper. The other, with blue highlights, he named the Blue Rattlesnake.

Charlot concealed the two vampiric pistols within mechanisms on his wrists, allowing him to draw and fire them with a simple motion.

Pulled by eight Mirror Spirits, the Dark Luxury trotted through Strasbourg. Once outside the city, it accelerated, leaving a trail of dust in its wake.

The Dark Luxury at full speed was far faster than any ordinary carriage. The endurance of the Mirror Spirits was unmatched by regular horses, allowing them to run nonstop for days.

Outside Strasbourg, a few scattered orcs lingered, but most couldn’t catch up to the Dark Luxury. Those who could were usually smart enough not to block such a vehicle, understanding that only a “great noble” could afford a supernal carriage.

In the Old Continent, great nobles were often synonymous with the extraordinary, sometimes even high-ranking extraordinaries.

By dusk, the Dark Luxury had arrived in Machubi.

Sean Connor’s expression shifted slightly at the sight of Machubi, but his astonishment grew as the Dark Luxury entered the city. Although he was from Strasbourg and knew of the ancient orc fortress ruins just 200 kilometers from the capital of the Fars Empire, he hadn’t expected the ruins to be bustling with life, transformed into a vibrant hub.

For Charlot, returning to Machubi felt more like coming home than being at 58 Elysée Avenue.

Charlot retrieved two stacks of flor bills and handed them to Sean Connor with a smile. “Please count them.”

As Sean Connor counted the money, he couldn’t help but ask, “How has this place regained its vitality?”

Charlot found the question difficult to answer, so he replied with a chuckle, “Perhaps because there are no taxes here.”

Sean Connor’s eyes lit up.

Charlot didn’t linger. After paying for the pistols, he and Sean Connor returned to Strasbourg.

The next morning, Charlot dropped Sean Connor off at the Stellar Workshop. When he returned to 58 Elysée Avenue, he unexpectedly received a summons requiring him to return to his territory and forbidding him from staying in Strasbourg any longer.