Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

boom!

The priest's head exploded, and blood splattered all over the sacred church floor, even splashing onto the statue behind him, staining the once holy statue red.

"If you haven't met him before, go and see him. Remember to give him my regards." After saying this casually, Isaac returned the gun to the soldier next to him.

"Okay, I've already demonstrated for you. Do you need me to continue teaching you how to do it?"

"learn!"

The soldiers understood their commander's intentions and rushed into the church without saying a word.

Gunshots and screams rang out in an instant.

"Now we need to deal with that traitor."

Chapter 55: Dealing with the Traitor

Is Isaac an atheist?

Actually not.

In Amestris, someone asked Isaac, "Do you believe in God?" Hearing this question, he simply smiled and said:

'I am certain that there is a God in this world, but the God I am referring to is not the God you speak of.'

Isaac was convinced that God existed because he had seen Him.

The white figure standing before Isaac after his human body was transmuted, asking him for tolls, was 'Truth'—that was 'God'. So Isaac not only saw God, but he saw him twice.

------------

As I stepped out of the church, the previously dim sky gradually began to lighten.

The battle, which began at dusk, officially ended the following day.

The smoke of war had not yet completely cleared from the city. After three years of enemy rule, another major battle had taken place, and what awaited was a period of rebuilding.

The citizens were awakened by the sounds of artillery and gunfire at night and hid in their homes. In the morning, the sounds of artillery fire gradually subsided. When the news of Leiden-Sheftrich's victory spread, everyone was happy and planned to hold a banquet to celebrate. The three-year wait had finally paid off.

Walking up to the soldiers surrounding the church, Isaac said, "Keep a close watch here and don't let any of the remaining Caldaric troops escape."

"Yes!"

After explaining all this, Isaac headed towards the main gate of Mazig.

The Eighth Army was stationed at the main gate of Mazig.

Without saying a word, Isaac strode towards where the commander was, and the surrounding soldiers did not stop him when they saw that the person coming was their commander-in-chief.

Isaac looked at the soldiers and said, "I have something to discuss with your commander. Please excuse me for a moment."

"Yes!" Hearing the commander-in-chief say this, they dispersed without any suspicion.

After the soldiers left, Isaac kicked the door open and swaggered inside.

Upon entering, he saw the commander embracing a scantily clad woman while drinking.

The army commander was startled to see his feared commander-in-chief kick the door open and enter. The woman screamed and fled the room.

"Sir Isaac! You've gone too far!!" The army commander, who had been reprimanded by Isaac before, roared in anger upon seeing Isaac's actions.

"I haven't settled the score with you for putting on airs with me just now. If you keep babbling, I'll beat you up."

"..." The commander was so angry that he trembled and didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"Never mind that, you seem to be having a very comfortable life here. You even kept the problems at the church from me." As he spoke, Isaac pressed a gun against his forehead. "Are you planning to commit treason?"

Upon seeing the gun in his forehead, he panicked, but still managed to remain calm: "Sir Isaac, do you know what you're doing? Put the gun down! I can..."

boom!

Before he could finish speaking, Isaac had already fired a shot into his shoulder.

"Ah!!" The excruciating pain made him scream out loud.

"You're so annoying, stop saying useless things."

"This order... was decided by several powerful families in the country... I was just carrying it out." He spoke haltingly, enduring the excruciating pain.

"Oh? Tell me more."

He then told Isaac everything he knew.

Simply put, even if some capitalists in the Leiden-Sheftrich Empire didn't want the war to end too quickly—they needed to extract sufficient profits from the continental war—if the soldiers of Mazig were completely annihilated, it would disrupt the balance of the war and potentially lead to its premature end. Therefore, they found a pawn: the Eighth Army commander standing before Isaac.

It is common knowledge that releasing experienced soldiers back to base gives the enemy a considerable breathing space, which is why Isaac ordered a complete annihilation from the very beginning. Letting the enemy's main force escape is tantamount to suicide.

Their plan was simple: the priest would take in a large number of the enemy's main force under the guise of protecting the parishioners, and then this traitor would order that no church personnel be harmed. This way, the soldiers could only watch helplessly as the priest stood in their way. Then, they would secretly send them back, and if discovered, they could pin the blame on the priest—perfect.

Of course, they overlooked the variable of Isaac.

"Could you please give me a list of those families?"

"This……"

boom!

"Ah!! I'll give it to you!! I'll give it to you right now!!"

"..."

Isaac was a little embarrassed. He had only intended to hit the wall next to him to intimidate him, but he didn't expect it to hit him instead.

He handed Isaac a slip of paper with the names of seven families and their leaders written on it.

After putting everything away, Isaac called out towards the door, "Did you hear that now?"

The traitor still doesn't know who's at the door.

Then a hoarse electronic voice came through.

"Yes, I heard everything. Mr. Isaac, could you please give me a copy of the list later?"

"Commander-in-Chief!" He immediately recognized the voice.

It seemed he was doomed. His face was ashen.

After entering, Isaac immediately connected his communication device to the Army Commander-in-Chief. Although he didn't know what it was about, the Commander-in-Chief chose to trust Isaac.

Then he heard a secret that infuriated him.

"Mr. Isaac, he's at your disposal." With that, the Commander-in-Chief ended the call.

Isaac turned to look at him: "Then, go to hell."

After saying that, fearing that he would be embarrassed to continue using a gun, he drew his knife.

"Wait, you can't kill me!" he suddenly shouted.

"No need to call anymore, I've already sent all your soldiers away."

"Isaac! Don't forget, the little girl you brought is still in the cabin in the back." He suddenly shouted with a ferocious expression.

"What?" Isaac's face darkened. Violet had followed him secretly, and he had been discovered.

"I advise you to let me leave, otherwise I don't know what might happen to that little girl." He chuckled and continued, "I've already sent two of my trusted men to that cabin, I'm sure they'll be there soon..."

"Oh, two? Then you're hopeless," Isaac said nonchalantly.

"What? Don't you care whether she lives or dies?"

Just as he asked the question, the intercom on his bedside table suddenly spoke:

"Commander! We've been attacked! The target isn't just any little girl!! She... Ah!!!"

The call ended there. The commander stared blankly at the walkie-talkie, his face filled with disbelief.

How could that be? She's just a little girl, it's impossible...

"Unfortunately, I have 100% trust in my subordinates!"

He slashed him with a knife, ending his life with a scream.

Chapter 56: The Post-War Era

It was about a week after the Battle of Mazig.

The once quiet city has become lively again. During the three years of rule by the Gaddarrick army, their daily lives were extremely difficult due to the oppression they faced.

But now, Gadarlik's three-year reign has finally come to an end. The people are naturally overjoyed with the reconstruction work. These days, the citizens work hard in the mornings and celebrate with feasts in the evenings; for them, every day is a holiday worth celebrating.

"Have you heard? The commander who liberated our city this time is a child."

Inside a tavern, a few people gathered to chat. After a hard morning's work, they would all choose to meet up at a nearby tavern to chat and drink, and the battle a week ago was their best topic of conversation.

The mysterious commander in the army was also a topic they often talked about.

"How could that be? How could a child do that kind of command? It should be a veteran general who has been through countless battles." A middle-aged man with a full beard retorted.

His disbelief was not entirely without reason. This surprise attack was an epic battle, with fewer than a hundred casualties, yet nearly ten thousand enemy troops were captured. Although most of them were captured because they had lost the will to fight, this battle can still be called legendary, the kind that should be included in history textbooks and military school teaching materials.

"It's true! My daughter is a nun at the church, and she told me that the soldiers surrounding the church all called a boy their commander." The man was already slightly drunk, and seeing that no one believed him, he shouted with a red face and a thick neck.

This statement seemed somewhat believable to them. The day after the battle ended, the army dealt with the remnants hiding in the church, and the priest was executed for treason.

According to reliable sources, the commander-in-chief personally visited the site at the time.

"Did your daughter tell you what the young commander's name was or what he looked like?" The people around them curiously crowded around, all wanting to know the true face of this mysterious commander.

"Don't even mention it, this little girl has been swooning over a boy ever since she came back." He paused, then added, "She said she doesn't even know his name, she only knows that he's a handsome and cute boy."

"A cute boy, hahaha!"

"Your daughter has probably fallen in love with that commander, hahaha."

"Not just his daughter, which girl in the city wouldn't like him?"

The people around continued drinking and laughing, creating a lively and peaceful atmosphere.

In a corner of the tavern, three people sat side by side at the counter, drinking.

“Isaac, they’re talking about you!” Claudia nudged Isaac, who was sitting next to him, with her elbow and laughed.

"Bullshit, it couldn't be me. I'm a tough guy. 'Cute boy' has absolutely nothing to do with me," Isaac said, pouting as he drank.

"Seriously, is it really a good idea for us to come out for drinks now?" Gilbert asked helplessly, looking at the two people beside him.