Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

Isaac took a deep breath and yelled into the walkie-talkie, "F*** you! Did you hear me? I'm saying F*** you again!!"

He then smashed the walkie-talkie on the ground.

Dietrich “…”

Stephen on the other side was speechless.

Violet "?"

Isaac let out a breath and said smugly, "He'll be furious that he can't get back at me after I insulted him like that."

Are you a primary school student?!

Dietrich was already exasperated with this clown and quickly ordered, "All troops, aim your cannons at the 'reinforcements' fleet opposite us! Their warships have been captured; they are now the enemy!"

"Ouch! That hurts." Isaac slowly pulled the spear out, then used alchemy to repair his body. Healing alchemy was something Isaac was quite skilled at.

The "reinforcements" ships drew closer and closer, but they seemed to have no intention of attacking.

At this point, Dietrich couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "Fire!"

boom!

Their own ship fired a volley in the direction of Stephen.

Bang, bang, bang

Just as the cannonballs were about to hit the opposite ship, a giant 'hand' emerged from the ship and slapped all the incoming cannonballs into the sea.

"...Is the other side...also an alchemist?" Dietrich's voice trembled slightly. He had already seen the role alchemists played in battle with Isaac.

Now another one is coming from the other side, the situation is not good.

“Indeed, the one over there is the bronze alchemist I mentioned before—Stephen Andef.” Isaac stood up after finishing the treatment. “My former colleague.”

"Isaac...are you...alright?" Violet asked timidly from the side, like a child who had made a mistake.

Isaac ruffled her hair and said with a smile, "It's okay."

"You actually got hurt for her? Should I laugh at your stupidity?" Dietrich showed great disdain for Isaac's previous actions in protecting Violet.

Violet also lowered her head at this moment.

“I told you everything’s fine now~” Isaac looked in the direction the ship was coming from, during which another cannonball was blocked by the ‘big hand’.

"The other side is a State Alchemist like me, so there's no point in firing the shells, they're useless."

"..." Dietrich seemed very unwilling, but he had no other choice. He gritted his teeth and ordered the attack to stop.

"A wise decision~" Just then, that annoying voice rang out from the opposite ship, followed by a flash of lightning, and a road stretched out from that ship.

A middle-aged man with a strange smile and shoulder-length blond hair slowly walked out of the 'road', giving people a sense of elegance and composure.

"It seems Bradley sent you here because he's determined to get rid of me."

Dietrich and the sailors all picked up their guns and stood guard, while Violet also took out her knife and stood in front of Isaac.

"Don't be nervous, everyone. I have something I'd like to discuss with Colonel Isaac."

"...Did you find out about me secretly turning your military uniform into women's clothing years ago?"

"So it was you who did this?!" The bronze alchemist suddenly lost his previous elegance and roared at Isaac.

"This is a mistake I made because I was too young. Besides, you're an adult, why are you fussing over such a small thing?" Isaac looked at Stephen with disdain.

"Isn't this all your fault? Back then, when people from the same military camp saw me dressed as a woman, they all thought I had some strange fetish!"

“It’s nothing. I was mistaken for a pervert just now too.” He glanced at Dietrich as he spoke.

“Ahem…we’ll deal with that later. I’ve come to you about something else.” Stephen paused, then his eyes suddenly turned fervent as he looked at Isaac. “Colonel Isaac, join forces with me!”

"..." Isaac had no idea what was wrong with him.

"You've witnessed firsthand what those people in central Amestris have done. Join me in overthrowing that corrupt military and political government!"

Seeing that Isaac didn't react, Stephen continued, "Those callous fellows will be out of power sooner or later. You participated in the annihilation of Ishvalan, and you're not happy with what those parasites did, are you? You don't want Amestris to perish under their rule, do you?"

Isaac looked at Stephen with some surprise, and Stephen, thinking Isaac was already interested, continued excitedly, "I already have some influence in the northern country. As long as I win this war, I can mobilize the country's power. With my power and your ability, we will definitely be able to liberate Amestris. Then we will both be heroes! Respected by thousands!"

Pop, pop, pop.

When Isaac heard him say this, he suddenly clapped his hands and said, "Your plan is very interesting, and it touched me."

"So you agree?" Stephen asked in surprise.

“But I refuse!” Isaac’s eyes suddenly sharpened.

"What!?" Stephen felt cheated and was furious.

“The thing I, Isaac, love most in my life is saying no to those who think they have a huge advantage!” Isaac stared at Stephen and said disdainfully. “Besides, you just stabbed me in the back, and now you want to cooperate with me? Are you an idiot?”

"Looks like we can't talk this out." Stephen took a deep breath to calm his anger. "Then I'll just have to kill you all."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he suddenly placed his hand on the deck.

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky.

Suddenly, the deck cracked open, and long spears shot out, flying towards Isaac and the others.

Isaac slammed his hand on the deck, raising a wall to block the spears.

"What's wrong, Colonel Isaac? You can't be that weak, can you? Why don't you unleash that terrifying attack that destroyed half a region in seconds and completely shattered the enemy's morale back in the war?"

"Are you trying to avoid affecting those who come after you? Or are you just as naive as you were back then?"

“Am I right, Colonel Isaac, the Cataclysmic Alchemist!”

Chapter Fourteen: Isaac's Calamity

Three years ago, during the civil war in Ishvalan.

The indigenous people of this region had spread the war to the surrounding cities, so the military and government decided to launch a war of annihilation. A large number of state alchemists were sent to the battlefield, including Isaac, who was only 14 years old at the time.

"Little friend, is this your first time on the battlefield? Don't be nervous, hahaha..." A black-haired young man with glasses said to young Isaac.

"Hughes, be quiet! We're still discussing battle strategy." A black-haired, round-faced man wearing white gloves snapped at Hughes, then said to Isaac, "Don't worry, we'll do our best to protect you."

Inside the military camp, several soldiers were chatting.

This chubby-faced guy is Roy Mustang, the Alchemist of Flames.

"..." For the first time, 14-year-old Isaac felt like he was being treated like a child.

"Hey guys, back when I was fighting against the Dorakma in the north, you were still studying at the officer academy."

"Oh, really? I didn't expect you to have been on the battlefield at such a young age?" The man named Hughes exclaimed in surprise.

"What are the higher-ups thinking, sending such young children to the battlefield?" Roy asked indignantly.

"Don't be silly, I'm a soldier who has obtained the State Alchemist qualification."

“Oh? A State Alchemist like Roy. What’s your name, kid?” Hughes asked Isaac.

“Isaac, from the Northern Army.” Isaac extended his hand to Hughes.

"Isaac? The Cataclysmic Alchemist Isaac?!" Roy looked at the little boy in surprise.

"Huh? Roy, you know him?" Hughes clearly hadn't heard of the little boy's exploits.

“Yes, I’ve heard the rumors. It’s said that a few months ago, the Northern Army created some kind of substance that wiped out a large number of Dorakma invaders. It also changed the terrain and climate for a period of time. Even within a kilometer radius of the blast radius, no living thing, including plants and animals, survived.” Roy said with a look of horror. “The rumor is that after that incident, Dorakma directly requested to surrender and offered to pay reparations. It was also at that time that Isaac was awarded the title of ‘Catastrophe’ by the Führer.”

"Wow, kid, you're amazing!" Hughes looked at Isaac in surprise, after all, it was quite astonishing that a child could do such a feat.

"Just routine." Although he said that, Isaac's expression clearly showed his annoyance.

At the time, I just wanted to refine some fuel to provide to the Northern Army to earn some extra money. Who knows how I ended up refining such a terrifying thing.

“I’ve also heard rumors about Major Isaac,” said the soldier next to him. Isaac’s rank is currently only major. “When he was providing support to the Western Army, it’s said that he caused a large-scale landslide in the enemy’s combat zone due to heavy rainfall! It’s said that he wiped out three units in one go!”

"Huh, how could it actually bring rain to that arid region? Is that really something a human could do?"

"Wow, that's amazing!" The soldiers in the camp were beyond words with admiration for the little boy.

"No, no..." Isaac was actually speechless. He was trying to refine some when he participated in the battle.

At that time, Isaac had just successfully produced a yellow powder (actually silver iodide), which, when dispersed into the air, could cause rain to fall. He thought he might as well do something beneficial for the local residents.

The excessive rainfall caused by the excessive amount of rain fell at once. The enemy forces were caught in a landslide during their attack.

Moreover, no one knew that while this substance was causing rainfall in one area, it was also causing drought in another, and as a result, the enemy's border city was unfortunately hit again.

At the time, enemy generals condemned Isaac's actions, deeming it inhumane to involve civilians.

……

"With two of you national alchemists in our squad for this battle, we don't need to worry, hahaha." Several soldiers sitting next to us said with laughter.

"Yeah, this one's a sure win!"

Then they received orders.

The war officially began.

The following month saw fierce fighting.

"What's going on? Why do they have so many guns?"

"They supposedly got it from that country of Alrugo, those bastards!!"

"Ouch! I've been shot!"

"The squad has suffered heavy losses! More than half of them have fallen behind... Haven't reinforcements arrived yet!?"

War is cruel, and sacrifice is inevitable in war.

Back then, hundreds of soldiers would chat together in a military camp, but now every time they go back to take a headcount, a few are missing. Over time, everyone developed the habit of taking a group photo after each battle, because no one knows if they'll be the next one to disappear, so it's better to leave a memento in the photo.

Then Isaac looked at the photos in his hand, and the number of people in the group photos was decreasing.

"Major Isaac, I'll cover your retreat, get going!"

"What are you saying?! How could I abandon you and run away?" Isaac roared.

"Listen to me, Major!!" the soldier interrupted Isaac, "You are the State Alchemist, the key to our victory. You are the only ones who absolutely cannot be harmed!!"

He then fired repeatedly at the Ishvalan soldiers chasing after him.

boom!