Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

She knew about Shin-Korea. Before Japan closed its borders, they had trade relations with Shin-Korea. As a major world power, Shin-Korea was something that Japan, a small country that couldn't get a say in international affairs, had to curry favor with and learn from. Many of Japan's customs came from Shin-Korea.

Qian Shi exclaimed in surprise, "Lord Isaac was originally a descendant of a prominent family in the New Kingdom?"

"More or less," Isaac replied casually. "Anyway, you should have a proper talk with Jubei again."

"Yes."

------

After negotiations, Horikawa left a retainer to take over the management of Iwado Station in place of the deceased Maeda, and Todo Jubei also temporarily remained at Iwado Station to await orders.

Following Isaac's advice, Chise stayed here with Jubei. Although the two seemed to have some estrangement, at least they weren't as tense as before.

"Lord Horikawa, I hope that when you return to Kongoka, you can keep an eye on the movements of Tentori Okikatsu. If anything seems amiss, report it to me immediately."

"I understand," Horikawa said respectfully.

Isaac immediately suppressed the news of Maeda's death to avoid unnecessary complications. Amaterasu Okimasa still believes that Maeda is alive and has completed his mission, and his actions will proceed according to his original plan.

As for the resistance organizations in the other regions, the Amestoris army immediately went to eliminate them after receiving the list.

“That’s all I have to say.” Isaac patted Hori on the shoulder and laughed. “You should also prepare yourself. When I come to Kongo again next time, it will be the time when you sit in the position of Great General.”

"I am extremely grateful."

After giving his final instructions, Horikawa and his men boarded the Junjo, which was returning to Kongōkaku.

Isaac, however, remained there.

The very next day, leaders from various regions sent word that the rebels in several areas had been completely wiped out.

Besides receiving messages from various regions, Isaac still has a lot of free time. As for what he does with that free time...

"Nameless, please answer this question."

Inside the command center, Isaac pointed at the blackboard, looking at the nameless man who looked troubled. He spent most of his free time teaching the nameless man.

"This...x7?"

"This is a foreign language class," Isaac said, covering his face.

He knew perfectly well that this brat was someone who didn't like to study.

"But class is so boring." Nameless slumped listlessly on his desk. "I was planning to have Qiu come to class with me, but she's not even here right now."

Previously, because Isaac was going to Iwato Station ahead of time, Mima Amatori suggested that they escort the Kabaneri Fortress to this location. A girl named Koi, as one of Nameless's few friends, is also on the Kabaneri Fortress.

“Now that you mention it, they should have arrived by now.” Isaac then remembered the Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. “The reconnaissance team didn’t report to me that the Junjo was coming.”

beep--

Just then, Isaac's communicator rang.

"This is the operations headquarters."

"Thank God, it's finally connected." A faint female voice came from inside.

Isaac recognized the sound as that of calamus.

“Sweet flag? What happened over there?” Isaac asked.

Before coming over, he handed a communicator to Ayame, telling her to use it to contact him if anything happened. Ayame was a gentle and well-mannered girl; she wouldn't bother Isaac unless she encountered some extreme danger.

"We've been kidnapped." Changpu's voice was very soft, as if she was deliberately lowering her voice.

"Who? A Kabane? Or a bandit?"

“It’s Tentori Mima,” Ayame hurriedly said. “His hunting troops have imprisoned all the residents of the Iron Fortress.”

"What!?"

Chapter 447: Hostage Rescue Training

"What exactly happened?" Isaac asked into the communicator.

Although he had long suspected that Amatori Mima was a bit problematic, he had no idea that he would do this.

“Just one day after you left, the Kara clan linked their Kabuto Castle with our Kabuto Castle,” Ayame said hastily. “At first, we didn’t think much of it, but a few hours after Junjo started attacking, they surrounded us with weapons, and I, along with all the residents of Kabuto Castle, became hostages.”

"...You weren't hurt, were you?"

“I didn’t receive any, but the commoners and samurai were regularly subjected to bloodletting by the hunters and were given only a small amount of food each day.” As Ayame spoke, her voice gradually became choked with sobs. “Some people begged them to give their children more food, and as a result… they had their hands chopped off on the spot.”

"..."

Isaac's expression remained unchanged, but the nameless woman beside him was filled with disbelief. She couldn't understand why her brother would do such a thing.

"Lord Isaac... please save us." Although the communicator in her hand could not display Ayame's face, her voice was filled with sorrow.

“Please calm down. I promised to ensure your safety, and I won’t go back on my word,” Isaac said immediately. “How did you find the opportunity to contact me? Aren’t they monitoring you?”

“I only managed to turn on the communicator you gave me while I was using the restroom. I’ve been under their surveillance all along,” Ayame said. “Mima Tentori is using the Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress as hostages, demanding my help…”

Before she could finish speaking, Isaac heard a loud knocking and shouting coming through the communicator. It seemed that the people monitoring Ayame, who had been hiding in the bathroom for too long, were getting impatient.

Isaac lowered his voice and said, "Pretend nothing happened and hide the communicator. I'll send people to rescue you right away."

After saying that, he hung up the communicator in his hand first.

Nameless looked at Isaac with some anxiety: "Those people from the Iron Fortress..."

“I know.” Isaac’s expression was not good.

He never expected that America would cause him trouble at this time.

Stepping out of the command center, he shouted to the soldiers who were still training, "All assemble! Emergency mission!"

------

A spacious conference room was filled with soldiers in military uniforms.

Isaac pointed to a large screen behind him that projected a map and said, "According to the GPS on my hyacinth communicator, the road they are traveling on is a railway that leads directly to Wabun-eki and Kongo-go. Judging from their marching speed, they will arrive at Kongo-go tomorrow morning."

One of the squad leaders raised his hand: "Does the lieutenant general mean we should get ahead of them and block their path with the main force?"

Isaac shook his head: "If we do that, the target will be too obvious. If I were the enemy, I would kill the hostage first."

"Should we take out the hostages first? Once they have nothing left to threaten us with, can we launch a full-scale attack?"

"You're a fucking genius."

Isaac laughed and cursed, and everyone in the conference room laughed too.

"Alright, everyone, be serious." Isaac coughed a few times to signal everyone to be serious. "I could have handled this hostage situation with the Hunting Fangs all by myself. Do you know why I invited you all to this meeting?"

Everyone shook their heads.

As Isaac said, a well-established State Alchemist could indeed solve such a small problem on his own, and there was no need to make a fuss and convene them for a meeting.

"Gentlemen, this is a good opportunity." Isaac smiled slightly at the squad leaders who looked puzzled. "Let's take this opportunity to conduct an anti-terrorism training exercise."

The term "counter-terrorism" was something Isaac had heard from the previous world. Various countries established special forces specifically to combat extremist groups and protect national public security in order to deal with the threat of terrorist organizations.

Isaac once mentioned to Olivia that he wanted to conduct specialized counter-terrorism training for soldiers in Amestris, covering everything from hostage rescue to combating criminals.

As the Grand President, Olivia naturally agreed to Isaac's suggestion, but Amestris currently had no terrorist organizations, and the soldiers had little combat experience beyond training. Later, when Amestris marched on Hinomoto, these soldiers were deployed there.

Now, a real opportunity for Isaac has been presented to him.

"Each team leader should select the top-performing soldiers from their squad to form a temporary rescue team," Isaac ordered. "Today, let's show these Japanese natives our strength."

"Yes!"

All the squad leaders received their orders and began selecting suitable candidates from their respective teams. Isaac also began formulating the battle plan.

He wasn't too worried that Mima would kill the residents of the Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, because the communication time was too short and Ayame hadn't explained the details to him. But since he wanted to blackmail Ayame into helping him, he couldn't easily kill the people on the Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress.

Isaac was still writing down his plans when the door suddenly opened.

“Isaac…”

"Nameless, what's up? I'm busy right now," Isaac said while writing. "If you're worried about the people on the Iron Fortress, don't worry, leave everything to me."

I want to go with you.

The nameless man shouted loudly, and only then did Isaac put down his pen.

The nameless man before him had a very resolute look in his eyes, as if he had made up his mind about something.

“I think I told you before, don’t pick up a weapon for now.” Isaac sighed. “You want to come with me to rescue them because you’re worried about them, but don’t you trust my abilities?”

Wuming shook her head, her eyes fixed intently on Isaac.

“I am indeed very worried about Qiu and the others, but that’s not the main reason,” Wuming said. “I want to make a clean break with the past.”

“…Are you sure?” Isaac asked. “Does this mean you need to be an enemy of Mima the Skybird?”

He became enemies with the elder brother he once admired.

"I've made up my mind."

And so, Isaac and Nameless stared at each other, Nameless not backing down in the face of Isaac's suspicious gaze.

“Personally, I don’t really want a kid your age to pick up a weapon,” Isaac said with some helplessness. “However, based on your own will, I’ll make an exception and let you go this time.”

"That's great!" Wuming's expression instantly relaxed.

“But you shouldn’t use your old equipment anymore. It’s not only weak, but it’s also incredibly bulky,” Isaac said as he walked out of the conference room. “I’ll get you a new set of weapons.”

Chapter 448: Rescue Mission Begins

After the squad leaders returned to their units, they each selected a few soldiers with better performance. Isaac himself took Violet and the nameless guy who had been clamoring to go with him.

"Soldiers, as you all know, this is a live-fire counter-terrorism training exercise."

In the open-air camp, Isaac explained the situation to the blackboard behind him covered with pictures and to the soldiers sitting on the ground.

“First of all, this young man with long, bright pink hair is named Amatori Mima, the leader of the terrorist organization Karifu. If you find him, it’s best to capture him alive; if that’s not possible, kill him on the spot,” Isaac said, pointing to Amatori Mima’s photo.

“The enemy will arrive at the outskirts of Jingangguo at 8 p.m. tonight with a vehicle full of hostages. It’s a forest, and we can infiltrate it as night falls,” Isaac continued. “I will issue you helmets with thermal imaging cameras and dedicated infrared sights afterward. You can mount them on your own assault rifles.”

"Lieutenant General, approximately how many hostages are there?" one of the soldiers asked, raising his hand.

“The residents of Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress number around three thousand. Because there are so many people, don’t rush in and start shooting at the other side. Follow my instructions,” Isaac said.

"Yes."

"This is the first counter-terrorism training since the establishment of the Amestoris Army. I hope everyone takes it seriously." Isaac said, tidying up the pictures on the blackboard. "Assemble in two hours. Dismissed."