Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

Alex struck a flamboyant pose as he spoke, his eyes still sparkling.

"I see, muscles, huh..."

Isaac looked at his arms. He did have muscles, but not as exaggerated as some people's.

"Alright, it's about time to go on stage."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the grand ceremony of the Central Command!" A man in military uniform was standing on the platform, warming up the atmosphere.

That's right, this duel even has a host.

And the position of host naturally fell to Hughes, that witty fellow.

"Oh!!!!"

A wave of cheers erupted from the audience.

"By the way."

Hughes' glasses flashed, and then a huge photograph fell down, revealing a young girl in the picture to everyone.

He roared, "My daughter Alicia is three years old!!!"

"Who the hell cares about you!"

"You jerk, are you even hosting the game?!"

"What are you showing off for!"

The audience immediately erupted in a cacophony of curses.

The nameless man watched Hughes dodging the projectiles on stage, speechless, and couldn't help but laugh and cry: "Isaac couldn't have grown up in an environment like this, could he?"

“No, the lieutenant general grew up in Brix Keep, so the atmosphere here is a bit different,” Violet explained.

Hughes, on the stage, rubbed the spot where the angry soldier had hit him, coughed twice, and continued hosting: "So, first, please welcome the Red Team, the muscular hunk, the alchemist of might, Major Alex Louis Armstrong!"

Alex, who had already taken off his shirt, walked out, showing off his muscles as he went.

"Good luck, Major!"

"Defeat Lieutenant General Isaac!"

"I've put all my salary for this month on you!"

A roar of cheers erupted from the audience.

Hughes seized the opportunity and continued, "Then welcome our Blue Team, the renowned Alchemist of the Cataclysm, the pure and lovely Aisa..."

Swish!

A rock struck Hughes in the cheek at incredible speed, sending him crashing off the platform.

"Go to hell with you." Isaac's face was extremely ugly.

As soon as Isaac stepped into the training field, the crowd below started shouting again.

"Go, Lieutenant General!"

"You bastard Isaac, give Major Eve Garden back!"

"My goddess!!!"

"Major Armstrong, kill him!"

"Give me back my goddess!!"

It seemed that most of the sounds were shouts and cries.

Isaac also cooperated by giving the crowd a middle finger with both hands.

He stepped forward and stood face to face with Alex, and there seemed to be an invisible pressure emanating from both of them.

Hughes then got up from the ground, his face swollen, and climbed back onto the platform to pick up the microphone again.

"Then the competition officially begins."

"Ready~"

"Fight!"

Bang!

The two vanished from their spots the instant they stepped on the ground, and each punched the other in the face.

Chapter 461: Travel Plans with Violet

Amid cheers and shouts from the periphery, Isaac and Alex, standing in the center, simultaneously threw punches. The fists stirred up the surrounding air currents, heading straight for each other's faces.

Suddenly, Alex took a small step back, dodging Isaac's punch, and then suddenly stepped forward and threw a straight punch at him.

Bang!

The punch landed squarely on Isaac's forehead.

The audience held their breath for a moment.

"Ok?"

Alex was not pleased that his punch had landed, because Isaac didn't even flinch after being hit.

He was well aware of his own power. Even though he had held back, his strength was still immense. Even a tank would sway a few times after being hit by his punch.

It is certain that Isaac did not use alchemy to defend himself, but instead took the punch squarely with his body.

"Alex, how much of your strength did you hold back?"

"This……"

“If you don’t use your full strength.” Isaac said, grabbing Alex’s wrist. The terrifying strength prevented even someone as strong as him from breaking free for a moment.

"will die."

With a powerful shove, Alex's massive body was flung out like a cannonball, crashing into a wall dozens of meters away with a loud 'boom,' creating a deep crater in the wall.

The sudden scene silenced the entire audience.

"This power... is not bad." Isaac smiled with satisfaction. Today's duel with Alex was also to test the application of 'Slos' power in actual combat.

In terms of results, he was not disappointed.

Alex then stood up from the ruins, brushing the dust off his clothes. His gaze toward Isaac was now somewhat grave.

"Can we still fight?"

“Of course.” Alex assumed a fighting stance. “This time, I will fight with all my might.”

"Very good."

The second round begins again.

Alex dared not be careless, and in a few breaths he rushed in front of Isaac again and began to throw punches like raindrops at Isaac.

Seeing the shadowy fists in front of him, Isaac calmly stood still and extended a finger, deflecting each punch.

"What!?"

"It's my turn."

Swish!

Before Alex could react, a foot had already kicked him in the neck. He was once again sent flying like a cannonball towards the wall.

That kick nearly knocked him unconscious, and he still felt groggy after slamming into the wall. But one thing Alex was certain of was that Isaac's fighting skills and physical abilities had reached an exceptionally terrifying level.

Sloth's physical attributes, combined with the martial arts of the New Kingdom, were enough to make it difficult for Isaac to lose in close combat, not to mention that he had never activated his speed boost.

"Cough, cough, it seems I've already lost..."

Just as Alex was about to give up, Isaac appeared before him with a friendly smile.

"Wait, Isaac, I have already given up..."

Without listening to his explanation, Isaac grabbed one of his feet and lifted him up and down like a sandbag, slamming him to the ground repeatedly.

No~~~~~~~~

The only sounds on the field were the constant dust and Alex's screams.

Some people in the audience covered their eyes, unable to bear watching what was happening above; it no longer looked like a duel.

Looking at the horrific scene above, Wuming asked with some fear, "Was Isaac always this ruthless?"

“The rank of lieutenant general probably wasn’t in such good physical condition before,” Violet recalled Isaac’s past achievements.

At that time, his fighting ability was actually on par with Violet's; they mainly relied on their mechanical armor and alchemy in combat, and Violet was even slightly better in terms of fighting skills. But now, he is showing a much stronger performance.

However, she did not intend to delve into the events that occurred in between.

"Shall we continue?"

"No... I'm not fighting anymore." Alex had already collapsed to the ground.

Although Isaac wasn't using his full strength either, Alex was still unable to get up. He had no idea why Isaac's stamina had increased so rapidly.

Isaac pulled Alex up and laughed, "Go and stay at Brix Keep for the full six months."

"All right……"

"Look on the bright side. Being in the Central Command means you're directly under the command of your superiors. So, how she torments you is entirely up to her."

"...It seems so."

……

The battle between the two was over. Hughes, watching the scene from the podium, seized the opportunity and shouted, "So, the winner of this match is Isaac from the blue team!"

------

"Lieutenant General, towel."

In the post-battle lounge, Violet handed a hot towel to Isaac.

"Thanks," Isaac said with a smile, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel.

He originally thought it was just a simple duel, but it turned into a carnival for the entire Central Command. He guessed that these people were just too idle.