Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

He was facing Isaac at the cost of his life.

Do you think you can defeat me by doing this?

“I just hate the version of myself that used to be filled with fear,” Mima laughed. “When facing someone like you, you can’t live without facing death.”

“Alright.” Isaac smiled slightly. “Looks like I’ll have to send you off with a sense of respect.”

Click.

Isaac's right hand ejected a bolt, which clicked as it was pulled back, producing the sound of a bullet being chambered. Gradually, the sleeve and simulated skin on his right hand began to turn into ashes as the temperature of his arm rose, revealing the dark mechanical arm underneath.

At the same time, Mima also picked up a knife and pointed it at Isaac.

Swish!

The two moved at the same time.

Isaac swooped down from the sky, knocking the knife out of Mima's hand with a single punch, and aimed his next punch directly at Mima's heart. Mima didn't hesitate either, using a shockwave to block the punch just inches from his heart.

"Isaac!!!"

Amiya Mima roared Isaac's name, and the force emanating from her body grew stronger and stronger, almost knocking Isaac's fist away.

Isaac laughed loudly, then roared:

"Amatori Mima!!!"

boom! ! ! !

His right mechanical arm emitted a violent explosion, the shockwave of which caused the fist to pass through the impact released by Mima and strike his heart directly.

Bang!

With a loud bang, the surroundings fell silent.

Mima Tenryu looked at her shattered heart membrane, a relieved smile on her face, and slowly walked past Isaac. Then she collapsed to the ground with a thud, her blood staining the ground red.

He faced the night sky, reminiscing about his experiences over the past few years.

A smoking shell casing ejected from Isaac's right arm. He walked over to Mima, who was lying on the ground coughing up blood, and sat down.

“Even if you don’t use alchemy, I still can’t beat you.” Despite saying this, Danmei’s face was still full of smiles.

"Isn't that obvious?"

Isaac chuckled, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, then offered one to Mima, "Want one?"

Mima was already very weak, but she still smiled and said, "I've never smoked a cigarette in my life, give me one."

Isaac smiled, put the cigarette in his mouth, and lit it for him.

Taking a deep drag of his cigarette, Mima's eyes gradually became cloudy. He turned to Isaac and asked, "I've always believed that the strong live and the weak die. Dying at the hands of a strong person like you isn't such a bad thing."

Isaac took a drag of his cigarette and pointed to the sky.

Mima looked up at the night sky, wondering what Isaac wanted to say.

“When I was serving at Brix Fortress, Dorakma launched a surprise attack at night. My soldiers and I fought to the death, but the casualties were heavy.” Isaac looked up at the sky, as if his thoughts were back to the past. “My comrades who used to eat with me in the mess hall fell one after another on the front line. At that time, all I could see were corpses, smoke, and blood, and all I could think about was killing the enemy.”

At this point, Isaac suddenly burst into laughter.

“But unfortunately, a grenade exploded next to me, and I was blown to the ground. When I looked up, all I saw was an endless starry sky,” Isaac said. “At that moment, I felt that everything except this sky was an illusion. Glory and hatred were nothing in the face of the vast sky.”

"Humans are merely a part of the world, an insignificant cog in the machine. No matter how powerful a person is, they are nothing in the face of the world, as ridiculous as a big fish proclaiming its greatness in front of the ocean."

Isaac looked at Mima, who was on her deathbed, and laughed: "One is the whole, and the whole is one. I am not strong now, and I will never be. I am just an insignificant human being, just like you, who constitutes a part of the world."

“Is that so? That’s quite an unexpected statement.” Mima also laughed. “I kidnapped the members of Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress to use Yomogawa Ayame’s identity to infiltrate Kongo and seek revenge on my father. I am also aware of what my father has been doing during this time. Even if I didn’t go to him, I’m sure you would have gone anyway.”

“Yes,” Isaac didn’t deny it, readily admitting it. “Do you need me to heal you and then go get your revenge myself?”

"No need, this is fine." Mima's voice grew softer and softer, but as if in a final burst of energy, he still hadn't completely collapsed. "After you execute my father, bury me with him. I'll settle some scores with him in the afterlife."

"Okay."

"Thank you." Mima smiled and continued gazing at the starry sky. "It's been so long since I looked up at the sky like this. It's so vast."

Finally, his eyes lost their luster, and the unfinished cigarette fell to the ground.

At this moment, Isaac noticed that Mima seemed to be holding something in her hand. Upon opening it, he found a test tube containing a white liquid lying inside. Unsurprisingly, this was the white blood plasma that Mima had mentioned.

Looking at the dead horse, Isaac gently closed his eyes with his hand, tore off the sleeve of his other hand, and turned it into a white cloth to cover his face.

He stood up, picked up the test tube, and walked back in the direction he had come from, muttering to himself:

"Goodbye, Mima Tentori, well done."

The night was quiet, with a gentle breeze blowing.

Chapter 453: Sweet Flag

After returning, Isaac used alchemy to repair the entire Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, which had been damaged beyond repair.

Since the carriages that were destroyed by soldiers with RPGs were all from the Kabuto Iron Castle, the Kabuto Iron Castle did not suffer much damage and could be put into operation normally after a little repair.

Not all of the hunters were wiped out; some escaped along the way, and after killing some, others withdrew from the perimeter.

We had originally planned to send helicopters, but there are more important things to do right now.

The soldiers who came with Isaac joined him and boarded the now-repaired armored fortress, heading towards Kongo.

Inside a locked room in Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress.

The solitary confinement room held former subordinates of Mima, whom she had annihilated. Isaac approached her, holding up a test tube containing a white liquid, and asked:

Do you recognize this?

Mie glanced at the test tube in Isaac's hand and immediately recognized it, saying, "This is the white blood plasma that Tennori Mima prepared to restore the Kabaneri to human form."

"Really? It seems it really is this thing."

Aisa nodded. He wasn't sure if what he found on Mima's body was white blood plasma, but according to what Mie said, it should be white blood plasma.

Although it cannot be ruled out that he was deceiving himself.

"Is Mima... already dead?"

“Definitely,” Isaac said. “He remained a man without fear until the very end.”

"Is that so..."

After confirming these things, Mie did not continue to ask him questions. Isaac also walked out of the confinement room.

Inside the train carriage, the soldiers and the residents were celebrating joyfully. The survivors were extremely grateful to Isaac and his men for rescuing them.

They raised their glasses to welcome Isaac when he arrived.

"Lieutenant General, we've been waiting for you."

Isaac took the glass and sipped it.

"You guys have fun. You might have missions tomorrow, so don't play for too long." After saying that, he put down his wine glass and walked towards the back carriages.

Their tanks and other equipment were left at Iwato Station and not moved. They only brought a few armored vehicles to carry out the rescue.

I don't know what will happen when we go to Jin Gang Guo tomorrow. Isaac had previously used a communicator to have the logistics team transport all the weapons to the outskirts of Jin Gang Guo.

There's really not much to worry about. Isaac's strength is undeniable, and the North Carolina battleship is docked in port, with all its cannons aimed at Kongo.

He went to the carriage near the front of the train, which was filled with weapons that the Hunters had placed there.

One of the boxes contained the thermobaric bomb that Isaac had given to Mima Tentori.

"What a foolish decision. If you had just gone straight to bomb King Kong, I definitely wouldn't have interfered," Isaac muttered.

He understood Ayame's plan: with Ayame's help, he would infiltrate Kongo Castle with Mima to see his father, then kill him in front of everyone, and finally use a thermobaric bomb to blast through the walls, letting in a large number of Kabane and plunging the place into chaos.

After all, he wanted more than just Amaterasu Okimasa's life; he wanted to kill him with his own hands and instill fear in the people here.

Isaac could tell what he was thinking, but he didn't understand why he did what he did.

For him, as long as the target can be effectively eliminated, any method is acceptable, and there is no need to take action himself, nor would his actions bring any benefits.

“I don’t understand.” Isaac rubbed his brow.

He killed many people in his life, but the only one he truly couldn't understand was Amaterasu Mima.

"Lord Isaac?"

In the dimly lit warehouse, Ayame walked in gracefully.

"Oh? It's you." Isaac turned around and glanced at him. "Everyone here is celebrating. Aren't you going to join them?"

"No, a woman like me shouldn't drink too much alcohol," Changpu said with a smile.

“You’re joking. My former superior could drink several kilograms of distilled liquor when he was my age. He had a better alcohol tolerance than me,” Isaac laughed. “If you’re tired, go back and rest. I have something to ask you tomorrow.”

"I understand."

Changpu responded, knowing what Isaac was talking about.

As a condition for protecting the Iron Fortress, she needs to become Isaac's informant and go to work for Kongo Guo to find out who is secretly building up the forces against Amestris.

However, there is a problem now. Since most of the resistance forces have been wiped out by Toudou Jubei's revelation, she may not be able to find anything even if she investigates.

So I changed the task to monitoring, and that solved the problem.

"Lord Isaac, will you be staying in Kongo after this?" Ayame suddenly asked.

"No, things here in Hinomoto are almost settled. I'll probably return to Amestris after everything is finished."

"what?"

"What's wrong? Isn't it normal for soldiers of the country to go back after their mission?" Isaac looked at Changpu, who seemed a little disappointed, with some confusion. "Don't tell me you're going to miss me?"

Changpu gritted her teeth and looked at Isaac with a determined gaze.

"Yes."

“...Even if you’re reluctant, it’s no use. The country is still in the development stage, and there are some things I have to personally supervise.” Isaac hadn’t expected Changpu to answer like that.

“You saved us twice, and each time you pulled me out of despair.” Changpu lowered her head, avoiding looking Isaac in the eyes.

"This is a contract between you and me, and I am simply keeping my word."

“But even so, Lord Isaac,” Ayame looked up at the man before her again, “I still…”

Bang!