Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

“Looks like we came to the right place. We really need to investigate this thoroughly,” Isaac murmured, but then he remembered something and asked Edward:

"By the way, why haven't I seen your brother today? Where is Alphonse?"

“Al? He fell off a cliff while chasing the fugitive, along with Julia Clayton and the fugitive,” Edward said. “I was about to go down and look for him, but you caught me.”

As she spoke, she pointed to the bump on her head that Isaac had punched, and looked at him with a resentful expression.

“Don’t look at me like that. Do you know how much money you’ve spent on destroying the tracks and platforms?” Isaac completely ignored his gaze and continued, “I’m also going to the bottom of the valley anyway. Leave the search for Alphonse to me.”

"Then I..."

"Go and fix the railway."

"what?"

"What? You think I have to fix the railroad you damaged?" Isaac said, standing up and walking towards the door. "Violet, you keep an eye on him."

“Yes,” Violet nodded in agreement.

"How could this be!?"

Ignoring Edward's complaints, Isaac got up and walked towards the cliff.

--------

Meanwhile, Alphonse and Julia had been at the bottom of the valley for some time.

Julia is a teenage girl with orange hair, and the fugitive Melbin Boja comes down with her.

The valley floor is a smelly place, but surprisingly, it is home to a large number of residents.

The residents live on the cliffs at the bottom of the valley, making a living by doing odd jobs and scavenging. The black bats that attacked Tep City were also residents of the valley.

In a dimly lit cell in a canyon cave, Alphonse was crouching with his hands cuffed.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Alphonse, you were the one who saved me,” Julia said apologetically.

When the two fell, Alphonse cushioned her fall. It was only thanks to the escaped convict creating ice and snow at the bottom of the valley that they were able to land safely.

“No, that’s not true.” Alphonse didn’t seem to care. “Speaking of which, I should congratulate you on finally reuniting with your brother.”

The brother Alphonse was referring to was Julia's brother, the fugitive.

The fugitive's name was not Melbin Boga; according to him, his name was Ashley Clayton, Julia's long-lost brother.

At that moment, a man in a black uniform walked in and frowned when he saw Alphonse in the cell.

"Julia, why do you think Miranda would lock a monster up here?"

“You’re being very rude, Tony,” Julia snapped, then turned to Alphonse and said, “I’m sorry, but they don’t protect anyone who knows about human transmutation and the realm of the gods.”

After falling, Alphonse was captured by the people at the bottom of the valley. They also saw that the armor was empty, which was indeed shocking to those who did not understand alchemy.

“It’s alright, I’m used to it,” Alphonse said. “But you, are you one of the Black Bats?”

The man in the black uniform, whom Julia called Tony, said, "That's right."

Why did you attack Teppei?

“Of course, it’s to reclaim our holy land,” Tony replied. “This land originally belonged to our people, but it was taken away years ago during the war between your Amestris and Cleta.”

"I advise you to stop."

"What did you say!?"

Tony said angrily, while Julia frowned.

“Mr. Alphonse, we will not stop. We took that place to…”

"No matter the reason, attacking a city and killing the soldiers stationed there is wrong," Alphonse interrupted. "And you, who have been living in the depths of despair, may not know that Amestoris changed its president a few months ago."

“So what?” Julia asked.

In her view, there was no necessary connection between the change of president in Amnestolis and their capture of Tep City.

"The new president, Olivia Mira Armstrong, is a man who loves his soldiers like his own children. If he knew that soldiers had been killed in Tep City, he would definitely send a large army over."

Alphonse's words silenced them for a long while. But Julia continued, "We are willing to take this risk to revive our race. Besides..."

Julia paused, seemingly considering whether to tell Alphonse about it.

"Moreover... the Holy Land possesses the great power of the Milos clan. As long as we obtain it, we can use its immense power to restore our kingdom."

“You can’t do it,” Alphonse said calmly.

"What!?"

“We once faced an enemy who was so powerful he was like a god, but he was still defeated,” Alphonse said. “By a man.”

"That man is..."

“Isaac, Brigadier General and State Alchemist of Amestris,” Alphonse replied, “has learned of your actions that even I cannot protect you.”

"Then what is he now..."

"They disappeared after defeating the enemy, and have remained so until now."

“Then it’s alright.” Tony laughed. “Even if he’s powerful, can he take on so many of us at once? And someone who’s been missing for so long, do you think he could just happen to come to this valley…”

boom----

A huge explosion rang out, causing the entire cave to shake, and pieces of rock kept falling to the ground.

"What's going on!?"

"Julia! Tony!" A man dressed in a black uniform rushed in.

What happened outside?

"It's soldiers from Amestoris!!" the man exclaimed urgently. "Our men who were lying in ambush at the bottom of the valley have been attacked!"

Chapter 346: The Milos Clan

A few minutes ago.

"Judging by the depth, it must be several hundred meters deep."

Isaac arrived at the city's border, below which lay the valley floor, and across the canyon lay Cleta's territory.

A bolt of lightning shot up, and a parachute appeared behind Isaac as he leaped into the canyon.

As we descended, the area illuminated by the light became smaller and smaller, and visibility gradually dimmed. Garbage was also dumped into the canyon from time to time in Tepu City.

The closer you get to the bottom, the stronger the stench becomes.

Upon reaching the bottom, Isaac began to look around.

The dimly lit valley floor was littered with trash, and bubbles occasionally rose from a small stream in the middle, indicating that it was heavily polluted.

It's a miracle that people can live in this place.

“Hey, you guys should be able to come out now, right?” Isaac suddenly said.

The surroundings remained completely silent, showing no sign of human presence.

Isaac continued, "You're pointing guns at me, which I can consider a provocation, and I can take force against you in five seconds."

The words had barely left his mouth when a gunshot rang out.

boom!

Gunshots suddenly rang out from the garbage heap, and a bullet flew towards Isaac, but Isaac caught it with his backhand.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...

Next, gunshots came from all directions, and the shadow beneath Isaac's feet suddenly twisted, turning into a shield that surrounded him, deflecting all the bullets.

"Is this your answer? You've got guts." Isaac grinned maliciously and snapped his fingers forward.

boom----

The earth is shaking and the mountains are shaking.

The shockwave from the explosion shook the entire canyon, and amidst the flying sparks, several charred corpses were blasted out of the garbage heap.

"Let's fight him!"

Suddenly, several piles of garbage were overturned, and several men with guns charged toward Isaac, shouting.

However, Isaac didn't even glance at them.

Pfft!

The several people who rushed over suddenly felt dizzy; their heads had been ripped off.

"Brave but reckless".

Isaac kicked away the head that had rolled to his feet and turned his gaze to the distance.

At this moment, several figures with bat wings were approaching them.

The figure with bat wings was naturally the Black Bat. After hearing the explosion, they rushed to the scene, only to find that their comrade who was lying in ambush there had been killed by Isaac.

"asshole!"

One of the Black Bats members was enraged when he saw Isaac and started firing wildly at him with his gun.

"Calm down!" his companion shouted as he saw him rush forward.

"Our people have already been killed..."

Before he could finish speaking, Isaac picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at him.

Bang!

The stone made intimate contact with his head, and his head exploded like a watermelon.

His companions were so shocked by the sudden turn of events that they were speechless.

"Are you the Black Bats?" Isaac said, looking at the bats flying around wildly in the canyon. "Come down and surrender now, or you'll have to cleanse the entire canyon."

"..."

After circling in the sky a few times, the black bats seemed to agree with Isaac and landed in front of him.

There were dozens of people dressed in black uniforms and wearing masks, led by a woman, which could be seen from the lines outlined in her uniform.

"Black Bat?" Isaac asked.