Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

She had expended a lot of energy in the previous battle, so it was understandable that she was a little sleepy now.

Looking at the nameless woman fast asleep on his bed, Isaac sighed and continued drinking on the sofa. It was still early, so letting her sleep a little longer wouldn't hurt.

'I'll just throw her on the ground tonight,' Isaac thought.

Boom boom boom!

There was a knock on the door outside the carriage.

When Isaac opened the door, he saw Sweet Flag standing timidly outside.

"what happened?"

"Um... Lord Isaac, we've arrived at Yashiro Station, but we've discovered it's been destroyed. We need reinforcements," Ayame said cautiously.

"Then go ahead, you don't need to report such a small matter to me."

"But... I was afraid of danger along the way. I originally wanted to look for Wuming, but I found out she wasn't here." Changpu lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly, glancing at Isaac every now and then to see his reaction.

“Nameless, she’s right here.” Isaac pointed to the bed behind him.

Changpu looked in the direction and found Wuming lying on the bed, fast asleep.

"Lord Isaac...you must have a good relationship with the Nameless One."

“It’s just temporarily looking after this annoying brat in place of her ‘brother’,” Isaac said. “I’ll go with you; we have nothing else to do right now.”

"Good work."

-

The Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress slowly came to a stop at the Yatsushiro Station platform.

Stepping off the train, the once bustling area had been reduced to ruins, with thick smoke billowing everywhere.

Even more seriously, the tracks leading forward have been blocked by a massive collapsed observation deck, preventing the Iron Fortress from reaching the front.

The refugees' eyes were filled with fear as the people of the Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress distributed food to them.

"The road leading to the front is blocked. The only way to get there is to take a detour," Changpu said with some worry.

How long will the detour take?

Changpu looked at the map in her hand and said, "Returning from here and bypassing Shi Ning Post Station will take ten more days."

“Too slow,” Isaac shook his head.

Juncheng, as an armored train, really can't go fast.

Not to mention that Isaac would not agree, and Changpu would not choose to take a detour. Ten days would have been enough to deplete the food reserves. They could have resupplyed at Badaiyi, but that place has now been destroyed.

"I will handle the collapsed buildings; you all just do what you're supposed to do."

"Thank you very much," said Changpu, bowing deeply.

The watchtower blocking the railway tracks was easy to deal with; Isaac could simply slap it with both hands to completely dismantle it and clear a path.

Back on the Iron Fortress, Isaac overheard a conversation between the people there and some refugees who had already received food.

"Were you attacked by the Kabane?"

“Yes, it was ‘black smoke’.” The refugee’s eyes still held the fear of what he had witnessed back then. “It went through the wall, and what followed… was simply hell…”

After saying that, he clutched his head in pain, seemingly unwilling to recall the horrific scene.

Black smoke?

Isaac heard a new term and wondered if it could be another type of Kabane besides the Thief.

"Hey, I have a question for you guys." Isaac suddenly called out to them, thinking it was better to ask some things in person.

The group turned around and saw Isaac, and immediately jumped back to the side.

"Sir, we are so sorry we didn't see you..."

Although the refugees among them did not recognize Isaac, they recognized the blue military uniform he was wearing.

"What was that black smoke you were talking about? I'm very interested."

"The black smoke is..."

The refugee described to Isaac what he had seen through his recollections.

It is a gigantic entity formed by a single Kabane as its core, gathering a swarm of Kabane into a single form that continuously absorbs humans and other Kabane to grow. Some of the Kabane within it are dead, while others, even after separating from the main body, retain the ability to move.

After they combined, they leaped over the towering city walls like giants and entered the Yatsudai-i Station, wreaking havoc. People were completely helpless in the face of these terrifying monsters.

After his description, Isaac recalled that he had encountered a similar large creature when the army was clearing out the Kabane.

But before he could even examine his appearance, he was blasted apart by a depleted uranium armor-piercing round. The scattered Kabane were then continuously destroyed.

This thing, which was so terrifying and invincible to the Japanese people, was something that Isaac's troops could easily crush.

Is that thing called 'black smoke' still around?

“I don’t know. It’s been three days since their attack, but I think the ‘black smoke’ must be lurking somewhere, waiting to devour us,” the refugee said, trembling.

"Okay, I understand the general situation."

Isaac turned and left. This kind of thing posed no difficulty for him, so he didn't need to pay much attention to it.

"Excuse me, are you Lord Isaac?"

A voice suddenly called out to Isaac. He turned around and saw a disabled refugee with a missing leg and wearing an eye patch standing in front of him.

Despite his disability, he possessed an aura that only someone who had experienced numerous battles could possess.

“I remember you are… one of Mima Tentori’s subordinates.” Isaac recognized the person in front of him.

429: You may have heatstroke.

"So, Mima Amatori's subordinate, is there something you want to discuss with me alone this time?"

Outside the train car, Isaac leaned against the armored fortress and asked the one-eyed man in front of him.

He remembered that this man had come to Amestris with Mima Tentoriya before, but at that time his feet and eyes were fine, but now he seemed to be disabled.

"My lord, my name is Shang Man! (The rest of the text appears to be a series of seemingly random characters and symbols, possibly a corrupted or incomplete sentence.)"

"what's up?"

樉ether ditch shed  舻 mortar to draw the art 髫锏梅 compare ⅲ  conceived sudden ф 栠 grab the cadmium fortunately panic  Gan 鞯 mu ┑ァ! �

"So what? There's nothing strange about it. Isn't it common practice to place additional weapon orders to prevent the Kabane from entering the city?" Isaac said, seemingly unfazed by the situation.

Although he had already planned to go to Kongo to issue the rule that "warriors are not allowed to carry weapons when they go out," they hadn't arrived at Kongo yet, so they could have their fun for a few days.

“That’s not the weapon for dealing with the Kabane, sir.” The man said, his voice trembling.

"Oh? I do know that."

Now that Japan is under the control of Amestris, any attempt to produce or order weapons requires registration with Amestris officials, and is subject to various restrictions.

"They want to use these weapons against the young lord, Lord Mima," he continued. "But that's not the main point. In addition to selling weapons to the shogunate, they are also secretly transporting an even larger number of weapons elsewhere."

Isaac's face also darkened. He didn't need to furrow his brow; he was already at a loss for words.

There is a force that wants to rebel against Amestris's rule in Japan.

The massive arms deal was not permitted. More importantly, the fact that Amestris's personnel here had not discovered this information and had not reported it to him indicated that the matter was extremely secretive and deliberately kept from him.

After all, although Amestoris had taken control of the area, he hadn't fully established himself, and he might not even know if a group of people were secretly plotting something.

Is the news reliable?

"Of course, I had the honor of seeing you today, so I came specifically to tell you."

"So, are you still working in America?"

樉妹挥姓婊卮穑撬档溃骸凹词共辉谏僦魃肀撸乙谰墒巧僦鞯摹！ �

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Isaac could tell that this person had been unilaterally abandoned.

"You really have a hard life."

"My lord, I wonder if the Nameless One is on this armored fortress?" The man asked, his voice trembling. "My lord," he replied, his voice laced with a forced smile. "I wonder if the Nameless One is on this armored fortress?"

“She’s definitely inside, but she seems to be sleeping,” Isaac said. “Should I wake her up for you?”

"Thank you for your trouble, sir. I have some important matters I would like to discuss with her."

Isaac returned to his room and saw Nameless still fast asleep on his bed. He called out in her ear, "Nameless, someone is looking for you. It's a former subordinate of Tennori Mima."

"Well……"

The nameless creature frowned slightly, then turned its head back to continue sleeping.

"..."

Helpless, Isaac grabbed her by the back of her collar and lifted her off the bed like he was lifting a bamboo rat.

"Kid, I think you've got heatstroke. You can't go on like this, maybe..."

"Ugh! Annoying! Can't I just get some sleep?" Wuming said with dissatisfaction, still being held in Isaac's hands.

Isaac put the person down and said, "Someone is looking for you outside."

"Who?"

"A girl named Shang Mei Na, who was from Yunba, was called Ju San!"

"Him..."

Wuming seemed to remember that there was such a person, but she didn't know why the person had come to find her.

Finally, she walked out from there and met the man outside the Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress.

"It really was you."

Seeing this old colleague, Wuming, showed no sign of joy.

"It's been a long time." (Surname)

"Is there a problem?"

“Even far from the front lines, I am capable of lending a helping hand to the young master.” The young master replied, his voice ringing with confidence.

He repeated what he had told Isaac to the nameless man.