Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

As soon as Isaac entered the church, he heard arguing inside.

“Father, let us in! The garrison in Gadariki is still inside!”

A soldier shouted at a middle-aged man dressed in church robes.

“Child, please put down your gun, God will forgive you for everything you have done.”

We have a general understanding of the situation. The soldiers wanted to enter the church, but were stopped by the priest.

Soldiers had already surrounded the entire church from the outside, so Gadarick's soldiers had virtually no chance of escaping, but not being able to get inside was a problem.

"They've occupied this city for three years, killing our soldiers. Do you expect us to let them go? Get out of my way!" the soldier roared at the priest.

“God loves the world, and they are all believers of God. Please put down your guns, or God will not forgive you.” The priest’s attitude was quite firm.

But they were ordered not to fire on church personnel, and the atmosphere became tense.

The nuns nearby also huddled in the corner in fear; the stench of blood emanating from each soldier was enough to terrify them.

Just then, Isaac walked up.

"Ladies, what happened?"

Isaac didn't go directly to the soldiers, but instead went straight to the nuns and asked them questions.

"A child?" the nuns exclaimed in surprise as they saw the black-haired boy walking toward them.

Why do all sorts of people react this way to me? I'm seventeen, not a child anymore. Or maybe my face looks too childish? Impossible, I'm a tough guy.

When it comes to his appearance, Isaac never had a clear understanding of himself.

“Little brother, it’s dangerous here. You shouldn’t have come here,” one of the nuns said.

Isaac also sized up the nun who had spoken to him. She was probably in her early twenties, tall, with wheat-colored skin and a pretty face. Even though she was completely covered up in her nun's habit, it was still clear that she was a beauty.

"I'm not a child, I'm at least seventeen, I'm..."

"Never mind that, it's dangerous here right now."

"What exactly happened?"

The nun pursed her lips and whispered, "The Caldaric army is hiding in the church, and the priest wants to protect them."

"Oh? To cover it up? Isn't it because they are believers that you have to protect them?"

“No.” The nun’s face suddenly turned angry. “The priest took their money under the guise of protecting them. The war between the North and the South was because of faith. How could they possibly be believers here?”

Her eyes grew even angrier as she said this: "After they took over this place, nothing good ever came to the church. They even frequently laid hands on the sisters..."

Hearing this, Isaac understood the reason. Simply put, the priest knew that Leiden Sheftrich's soldiers wouldn't kill church personnel without orders. Those in power would also generally not allow them to do so, as it would invite public condemnation.

"Then why don't you talk to the soldiers?" Isaac asked.

“There’s no evidence, and the priest will definitely refute it, which will put us in an even more dangerous situation.” As they said this, the nuns’ eyes dimmed.

During the war, they were just weaklings who could only silently endure the harm they suffered.

"What are you doing there?" Suddenly, a soldier noticed the faint sounds coming from the nun's direction and shouted in that direction.

The nuns also became nervous at this moment.

"N-nothing..." the nun who had spoken to Isaac earlier said nervously, then quickly told Isaac, "Little brother, you should go now."

"What are you hiding behind you?" The soldier had already raised his gun and aimed it at them.

“It’s none of his business, he’s just a child!” She quickly shielded Isaac behind her.

Even in the face of danger, should you protect yourself from someone you've just met?

"I told you to get out of the way!" The soldier clearly didn't want to listen to her nonsense and roared.

Just as the nun was still in fear, Isaac stepped out from behind her.

"Little brother, you..."

Just as the nun was about to call out to Isaac, his next move stunned her.

Bang!

Isaac kicked the soldier to the ground and then cursed:

"Damn it, look carefully at who I am!"

Chapter 54: Have you ever seen a god?

Isaac's actions startled the surrounding soldiers and nuns, including the priest.

The nun who had been so terrified when she saw Isaac kick a soldier to the ground rushed to Isaac's side and grabbed him, saying, "Are you out of your mind?!"

She was now very afraid that the soldier would get angry and punish the little brother. Although it was her country's army, it was very likely that they would be unreasonable.

However, the soldier's next reaction left everyone speechless.

"I am extremely sorry, Commander-in-Chief!"

The soldier was initially furious after being kicked to the ground, but upon recognizing the person's face, he immediately stood up and shouted. Sweat was even beading on his forehead.

The surrounding soldiers also saw Isaac and immediately stood in a line to salute. Such a large formation made the boy's identity obvious.

"what?!"

"This young man is the commander-in-chief?!"

The priest and nuns were speechless with astonishment at the boy before them. He looked like a boy, yet he was the officer in charge of this group of soldiers.

And since the soldiers called him Commander-in-Chief, it meant... he was the hero who liberated the city.

The nun who had been covering her mouth looked at Isaac earlier thought that the little boy had just wandered into the church by chance, but she never expected that he was the hero who liberated Mazig City.

Thinking this, her gaze changed from concern to admiration.

Ignoring all this, Isaac asked the soldier, "What's going on? My order was for you to annihilate all the enemies. They're hiding inside the church. Why aren't you going in?"

"Commander, we've been instructed not to harm clergy members arbitrarily. We can't get in unless the priest lets us through," the soldier replied, his voice filled with helplessness.

They wanted to rush in and wipe out the enemy troops, but they were blocked by their own people. Their superiors wouldn't allow them to get hurt, which was the most frustrating thing.

"An order from above? From which higher authority? From Army Commander-in-Chief Leiden-Sheftrich?"

"No, it's an order from our direct superior?" the soldier replied.

"Your direct superior? Which army group are you in?"

"The Eighth Army Group!"

So they were that guy's men.

Isaac remembered the officer who had interrupted him during their tactical discussion, the one who had obediently followed orders after Isaac's "polite" lecture on winning people over with "gentleness." He had been moved by Isaac's "sincerity."

But here's the problem: in principle, as the army group commander, he should have reported this to me, so why didn't I receive any notification?

With doubts in his mind, Isaac went outside the church and found a communications soldier, asking him to connect him to the commander of the Eighth Army.

The radio connection was established immediately.

"I should have already told you that it's not allowed..."

"What's not allowed?" Isaac's voice came through.

"..."

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by a tense voice: "This...isn't this Lord Isaac? May I ask what brings you here?"

"Why wasn't I informed about this incident at the church?"

"..."

There was another silence.

A moment later, his deep voice came through the radio.

"I hope that Your Excellency Isaac will not get involved in this matter."

"Hey, you're pretty cheeky, daring to talk to your commander like that. Do you think I'm too far away to hit you right now?"

The voice on the other end of the radio suddenly coughed twice, probably choked by Isaac's speech.

"In short, I hope Your Excellency Isaac will not interfere in this matter; it will not do you any good." There was a hint of threat in his tone.

It seems this matter is not as simple as the priest accepting bribes; even the army commander of this country is involved. It seems to be a rather large conspiracy.

But Isaac didn't care about any of that.

Where are you?

"I have no comment on that..."

"Fuck you! Anyone who dares to talk to me like that doesn't live to see tomorrow. You just wait." Isaac hung up the radio and asked the communications soldier, who was drenched in a cold sweat, "Where is the commander of the Eighth Army?"

"Right...right at the main gate of Mazig City."

Okay, I'll kill him in a bit.

Isaac decided to deal with this bastard's matter later; the important thing was to clear out the remaining troops here first.

Isaac, who had returned to the church, turned to the nuns who were still in shock and walked over to them, saying, "There's nothing more for you to do here. Ladies, go home. Don't worry, I will take full responsibility for your safety."

Isaac's harmless smile quickly won over the nuns, and since he was the hero who saved Mazig, they soon followed his instructions and left the church, thanking him profusely as they went.

The nun who had wanted to protect Isaac gave him a meaningful smile as she left, though Isaac didn't realize what she meant.

After they left, Isaac turned to look at the priest.

"Father, don't say I didn't give you a chance, are you sure you don't want us to go in?"

“Children, your hands are stained with blood, and your actions will only increase your sins,” the priest said, seemingly confident that he had Isaac and his companions under control.

In his view, even if Isaac was the commander-in-chief, he was just a teenager. He could simply explain the pros and cons to him and reason with him.

However, he underestimated Isaac's ruthlessness as a former Brix soldier of Amestoris.

“You keep talking to me about God, so let me ask you a question,” Isaac interrupted the priest’s rambling.

Have you ever seen God?

The priest hadn't expected Isaac to ask that, but he still replied, "The great God is not someone we can see, but..."

However, before he could finish speaking, Isaac grabbed a gun from a soldier next to him and shoved it into his mouth, pulling the trigger as he was rendered speechless.