Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

"If they were so strong, how did they get their country destroyed?"

“That’s what I’m going to say next,” Hohenheim cleared his throat slightly and said, “The seemingly invincible Eldian Empire made two mistakes.”

As Hohenheim spoke, he held up two fingers: "First, for a time they tried to attack Amestris, which was still developing. As you can guess, the little men in the bottle, who were still lurking there, didn't want their plans to be disrupted, so they drove them back themselves. They lost quite a few men in that battle. But they left no trace in history."

"Secondly, besides King Fritz, Eldia also has nine Titan families. These families constantly fought and betrayed each other. Finally, a Marleyan found an opportunity, joined forces with one of the families, defeated King Fritz and his remaining families, and drove King Fritz to an island."

At this point, Hohenheim suddenly paused.

"The second point is recorded this way, but in my opinion, it's false?"

“Oh? How so?” Isaac asked.

“I have been wandering since Xeroxexus was destroyed by the Men in the Bottle, and a hundred years ago, the last King Fritz, Karl Fritz, came looking for me,” Hohenheim said slowly.

Chapter 374: Dream

"King Fritz contacted you? What did he say to you?" Isaac asked curiously.

He was not at all surprised that the king of a great nation would come to Hohenheim at that time.

Many people don't know that, according to legend, the alchemy of the New Kingdom was passed down by a sage from the West, while the alchemy of Amestris was passed down by a sage from the East.

In essence, it refers to von Hohenheim and the Man in the Bottle, who emerged from the heart of Amestris and the new kingdom, formerly Xeroxex. The Western Sage is von Hohenheim, and the Eastern Sage is the Man in the Bottle.

Since the man in the bottle had defeated the Eldian invasion, King Fritz naturally investigated the last survivor of Xeroxexus—von Hohenheim.

Hohenheim said, "He told me that 'the world will end in the future,' and he wanted me to go with him to the paradise he had created to maintain a small group of people living in peace."

"It seems you didn't agree."

“Yes, I refused King Fritz,” Hohenheim said. “When he talked about the end of the world, I always thought it was the future brought about by the Man in the Bottle, so I continued with my plans against him. Later, I heard that he led a portion of the Eldian people to an island and built three towering walls to surround himself.”

That's all Hohenheim said about what happened in Eldia.

Isaac then asked, "Where did these giants in the photo come from?"

“Those are the Eldian people who weren’t taken away,” Hohenheim said. “Because of the mistakes made by the former Eldian Empire, they bear the hostility of all humanity in this world, so it was somewhat predictable that they would be used as weapons on the battlefield.”

“I see, things are clearer now.” After hearing Hohenheim’s explanation, Isaac understood some things. “I was wondering how a country like Marley, with such backward industrial strength, could develop and grow so powerful in a hundred years. It turns out it was by enslaving the remaining population of Eldia.”

"Yes, that's true."

"How many people were taken away by King Fritz?" Isaac asked. "According to you, the Eldians have the ability to transform into Titans. If their numbers are huge, then the world may still be in danger."

“You’re absolutely right. Karl Fritz took at least thirty million people with him,” Hohenheim said. “If all thirty million people turned into giants, then every country would be on high alert.”

Are giants strong?

“From a human perspective, they are indeed very strong. Although Eldians who transform into Titans do not possess intelligence, they can survive for hundreds of years, and they can recover in a short time no matter what damage they suffer,” Hohenheim said in a deep voice. “Just like androids.”

“That’s certainly a tricky situation,” Isaac said, then suddenly laughed.

"However, I think those who were taken away by King Fritz probably don't realize they are giants, and they may even hate being giants themselves."

"what?"

Hohenheim looked at Isaac strangely, wondering what Isaac meant by those words.

“Thank you for telling me so much. Now…” Isaac smiled and said, “Let me tell you my story.”

"About a dream I had six years ago."

----------

The sky was overcast, with faint signs that it was about to rain.

In a farm, a middle-aged man carrying a briefcase walks along the road with a child.

"Eren, while I'm treating Mrs. Ackerman, you and Mikasa can go out and have fun. Remember to be careful," the middle-aged man said.

"I understand," the child said calmly.

He seemed completely uninterested in his father's words, his gaze fixed on the distance.

The towering city walls in the distance.

They walked to a small wooden house, and the middle-aged man put down his handbag and knocked on the door.

"Mr. Ackerman? Are you there?"

There was no response from inside the door.

"What's going on? Aren't you home?" The middle-aged man pushed the door open and found that the wooden door had suddenly opened.

A strong smell of blood assaulted their nostrils.

"This is……"

They witnessed a horrific scene.

A woman and a man lay on the ground covered in blood.

The man's chest was pierced through, and the woman fared even worse, with large gashes slashed from her neck to her chest, leaving blood everywhere.

The middle-aged man immediately stepped forward to check on the two, while the child named Allen stood still, deeply shocked by what he saw.

“He’s already dead.” The middle-aged man shook his head and looked at Allen.

"Allen, Dad is going to find the Military Police. Wait for me here."

Allen clenched his fists but didn't answer his father. The middle-aged man ignored him; getting someone to help was the priority.

After his father left, Allen picked up a small knife from the ground and rushed out of the room.

Inside another small house, two men were standing, and a little girl with black hair and many injuries was lying on the ground with her hands tied behind her back.

"hateful!"

One of the men, enraged, kicked the little girl on the ground.

The little girl suffered another wound from the kick, but she didn't cry out in pain. Her eyes were filled with despair and indifference, as if she had given up on the world.

"Hey! Stop it." Another man pulled the person who was about to start a fight back. "If you keep hitting him, we won't be able to sell them."

"Can it really be sold? Who would buy a kid who hasn't even grown his first hair?"

“This kid is a descendant of the Japanese. I can still make a little money selling him to those big shots in the underground market,” the man said. “Because the Japanese are extinct, I can still earn a little hard-earned money.”

Their identities were quite clear: they were human traffickers.

"But I don't remember that this kid's father was Japanese..."

"Nonsense!!" The previously calm man grabbed the other man's collar and roared, "The one who was really killed was her mother! It's all your fault for killing her!"

"What could I do! That bitch suddenly rushed at me and fought back!"

Click.

Just as the two were arguing, the door suddenly opened.

The two immediately turned around and saw Allen walk in, looking at them with frightened eyes.

"Um... I got lost in the forest."

Seeing that the person who came was a child, the two men were relieved. One of them stepped forward, patted Allen's head, and put on a friendly expression.

“No, it’s dangerous for a child to be alone in the forest,” the man said with a smile. “But don’t worry, he can stay with his uncles for now.”

His goal was simple: to capture another child and sell him to recoup his losses.

But the man didn't notice that Allen's hands were behind his back the whole time.

“I understand, Uncle, so…” Allen’s voice suddenly turned cold.

"what?"

"Die!!"

Swish!

Allen pulled out a knife and stabbed it into the man's neck, leaving a large gash on the tip.

"Ugh..." The man couldn't believe what he was seeing, clutched his neck, and collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

"Hey! What happened?"

Another man saw all this, picked up an axe and rushed forward, but after killing the first man, Allen immediately ran into a storage room in the house.

"You brat!"

Seeing his companion killed, the man picked up an axe and chased after Allen. But Allen then strapped a knife to a broom and stabbed him.

Pfft!

The man looked at his chest, pierced by a sharp blade, and collapsed to the ground in despair.

Seeing that the man had fallen, Allen jumped on top of him, picked up a knife, and stabbed him repeatedly while shouting:

"You beast!!! Die!!"

The little girl lying on the ground looked at everything before her, and a glimmer of life returned to her eyes.

After stabbing the corpse repeatedly, Allen walked up to the little girl and untied the ropes binding her.

“It’s alright now, Mikasa.” Eren wiped the blood from his face. “We came to your house for a house call, and then we found…”

“Three people,” the little girl named Mikasa suddenly said.

"what?"

There should be 3 people.

"what?"

Bang!

The door was kicked open, and a fierce-looking man walked in. Upon seeing his companion's corpse inside, he roared, "Who did this?!"

He turned his head and saw Mikasa and Eren.

"You did it, didn't you!"

Before Allen could react, he was kicked in the stomach by the fierce man.

"puff!!"

He felt like his stomach acid was about to be kicked up.