Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

"Don't talk nonsense, how could I do such a thing?"

"Who else but you would do this!" a member shouted angrily. "Do you want to wipe out our Milos clan?"

"Do I need to go to such lengths to wipe you all out? Aren't you overestimating yourselves?" Isaac's eyes were full of mockery as he looked at his teammates.

"you!"

"Alright!" the leading woman snapped. "Now think about what you should do."

As she spoke, she saw Julia behind Isaac: "Julia, are you alright? Where's Ashley?"

Upon hearing the name, Julia's face showed sadness, and she recounted what had happened.

“I see. That person was a Cleta soldier in disguise. We were tricked into going in too,” she said. “Then, Mr. Isaac, we would like to ask you for a favor.”

Isaac knew what she was going to say without even hearing it:

“You want me to protect the people at the bottom of the valley, right?” Isaac laughed. “I agree.”

"Huh?"

Not only the Black Bat members, but even Julia exclaimed in surprise.

"Thank you very much, but..."

"You want to ask me what the price is, right?"

"Um……"

Isaac looked at the lava flowing towards them and said, "I have only one request: all of you Black Bats, after this is over, come with me to Central City Prison to await your fate."

After all, the Black Bats had previously attacked the army in Tep City.

Although the army there was full of traitors trained by Soins, they still had to save face.

“No problem, as long as you can save Milos, we’d give you our lives without hesitation,” the leading woman said.

"Very good, what's your name?"

"Miranda".

“Alright, Miranda. I heard Milos wants to be independent, so I'm giving you a chance.” Isaac said, pointing to the border of Cleta. “When Amestris attacks Cleta, I'll talk to the commander and suggest that she allocate a piece of land to you. However, after you establish your own state, you must become a vassal state of Amestris. What do you think?”

Miranda hesitated after hearing Isaac's words.

This is indeed a good opportunity to establish a nation without making a lot of sacrifices.

I already knew from Julia's explanation that the Holy Star was nothing more than the Philosopher's Stone that Amestrus mentioned, and Amestrus had already researched the Philosopher's Stone long ago, so it was unrealistic to use such a thing to establish a country.

The dead Atlas is a good example.

However, if, as Isaac said, we were to carve out a piece of the conquered land for them, it would be far less risky than us establishing a nation ourselves.

Although it can only become a vassal state, it doesn't matter. The main purpose of establishing the country is to allow the Milos people to leave the harsh canyon and live a normal life.

What do we have to give up?

“After the founding of the nation, you will be known as Amestoris and must hand over any alchemical materials you possess,” Isaac said. “I know you possess some of the Claytons’ research materials, and these must be handed over.”

Miranda didn't hesitate any longer and replied to Isaac, "Okay, I agree to the proposal."

“Very good,” Isaac said with a smile.

As he spoke, he stepped on the ground.

With a leap of red lightning, a thick wall appeared in front, blocking the lava.

Kimberly laughed from behind Isaac, "That's really strange. I thought you would just let Milos be submerged in lava."

"That's how it would have been, but..."

Isaac looked up at the geothermal plant, now reduced to rubble.

"This explosion was clearly orchestrated by Cleta himself. They'll say, 'Amestoris attacked the civilians in the valley,' which will severely damage our country's reputation. Besides..."

Isaac's lips began to curl into an involuntary smile, an eerie grin spreading across his face.

“Once I protect them, I can turn around and say that they were the ones who did it, and then we can launch a military strike against Cleta in the name of ‘righteousness’.”

"So that's how it is. Is this what you really wanted?"

"Yes, so they have to survive."

boom!

Click!

Just as Isaac and Kimberly were talking, the wall that had been blocking the lava suddenly shattered.

A figure dressed in a Cletta military uniform and wearing a mask stood before everyone.

"Who goes there!?"

Upon seeing someone approaching, Miranda and all the Black Bats raised their guns and pointed them at him.

Those wearing Cletta uniforms were also considered Milos's enemies. Especially since they constantly sent secret police to search the valley floor, and several of his compatriots died at their hands each year.

The masked man didn't answer Miranda, but instead looked at Julia beside him: "Julia, it's been a long time."

"who are you?"

"That's right, you probably wouldn't guess what I look like." The masked man removed his mask, revealing a terrifying face that made everyone gasp.

His face had no skin, only bright red muscle tissue.

“You…you are…” Julia seemed to remember something.

Atlas had told her that he had once peeled off his brother Ashura's skin and sewn it onto his own face, and the person in front of him just happened to have no skin.

Is it...

“Yes, it’s me, Julia,” Ashley said, pointing at Julia.

"Brother... are you still alive?"

Tears of emotion welled up in Julia's eyes. She had thought her brother had died at the hands of Atlas long ago, but now he was alive and well in front of her.

“Why…why didn’t you tell me you were still alive!” Julia shouted.

“I’m sorry, I can’t let my enemies know that I’m still alive,” Ashley said. “I was originally skinned alive by Atolas and bled to death, but at the last moment I discovered the secret my parents left behind in the study. They hid the Holy Star in a book, and I survived thanks to this Holy Star.”

As he spoke, he extended his hand to Julia.

"Come with me out of this filthy canyon, let's go live in Clayta together."

Chapter 356: Giving Them a Big Gift

“Cleta? What are you talking about, brother?” Julia looked at Ashley in confusion. “Milos is the hometown where we grew up.”

Ashley scoffed, “Milos? Have you forgotten? The people in this canyon call our parents traitors. The Milos race has no future.”

“It will!” Julia shouted. “Brigadier General Isaac just promised us that he would give us a piece of land in Cleta.”

"Isaac?"

Ashley then noticed a young man in Amestris uniform standing next to Julia. His pupils dilated instantly upon seeing his face.

He exclaimed in surprise, "How could this be?! Please report in the newspaper that you are dead!"

“So that’s how it is,” Isaac laughed. “While the little men in the bottle were causing trouble, your Cleta spies were hiding in Central City. No wonder you dared to declare war on us so soon after I left.”

Isaac's body disintegrated and turned to ashes in the final battle with the man in the bottle, which, by all accounts, was undeniably dead. Cleta's spies, upon receiving this news, naturally reported it to their own country.

"No matter who you are, no one can stop me today," Ashley roared. "Whether you're human or demon doesn't matter! Since you want to protect this canyon, you have no choice but to fight us."

As he spoke, two figures darted out from behind him and attacked Isaac.

Isaac also saw clearly that the two figures were not human, but wolf-like chimeras.

Two wolf-like chimeras charged toward Isaac from two directions, seemingly about to succeed...

boom!

Two sharp spikes emerged from the ground and pierced the hearts of the two chimeras.

"It seems you people of Cleta all think I'm dead, but there's one thing I need to make clear to you."

As Isaac finished speaking, he vanished from the spot.

Ashley was startled. Before he could react, Isaac was already in front of him, his military knife piercing through Ashley's shoulder.

"what!!"

Isaac leaned close to Ashley's ear, whose face was contorted with pain, and laughed loudly, "How could I possibly close my eyes before I see my soldiers trampling over your corpses as they advance?! You fool!"

After saying that, he kicked Ashley in the stomach.

That kick was heavy; he was sent flying like a kite with a broken string.

"cough!"

Ashley coughed up blood as he got back to his feet, staring at Isaac in horror.

He had heard of Isaac when he was in the Cleta army.

He rose to fame during the Ishvalan Civil War and commanded numerous defensive campaigns, achieving a perfect record and showing no mercy to his enemies. Cleta already considered him the most dangerous man.

Ashley hadn't really felt anything before, but now that he was actually facing him, he truly felt the malice that seemed to come from the depths of hell.

We must escape!

Before he could even get up and make a move, Isaac was already in front of him, his military knife plunging down into his calf.

"what!!!!"

The pain returned as he discovered that his legs were nailed to the ground.

Behind them, Julia watched all of this with concern.

She should have stopped Isaac from beating her brother like this, but when she thought about Ashley's plan to bury the entire canyon, she hoped that Isaac could stop him.

She was suddenly caught in a dilemma.

Isaac punched Ashley in the face, the force of which made him see stars.

“Listen, you used to be a member of the Milos clan, but now that you’ve joined the Cleta, you’re my enemy,” Isaac said. “You said you used the Philosopher’s Stone left to you by your parents when you were a child to survive?”

Ashley gritted his teeth and remained silent; his face beneath the mask was already contorted in pain.