Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

“Haha, what a coincidence,” Claudia laughed, holding a large pile of gifts in his hands.

"It seems you received quite a few gifts."

“After all, I was also a soldier who participated in this battle, although I was in the logistics department,” Claudia said proudly. “I received quite a few gifts from girls.”

When Isaac heard that he had received a gift from a girl, he remembered the woman named Cattleya from before and asked:

"Did your logistics department find a nun named Catharia when you were investigating the church's clergy?"

When Claudia heard Isaac ask this, she thought for a moment and said, "Oh, now that you mention it, I do remember. There was a part-time nun with that name, but she didn't work there for very long."

"What does she usually do?"

"I remember the information said he was a boxer."

"..."

"what happened?"

"How should I put it? The Iron Fist Sister setting just feels a bit..." Isaac's expression was a little subtle.

He now has an image in his mind of a nun in a habit, wearing brass knuckles, praying to the Lord while beating up her enemies with shouts of "Ora oora!"

"I was startled when I saw it, but it's not unusual. There are even retired soldiers who become Auto Memory Dolls," Claudia said casually.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter." Isaac waved his hand. "Where's Gilbert? Isn't he going to come out and play?"

"That workaholic is still working; it seems like headquarters sent some information."

Isaac now feels that even if he is kept in the rear to avoid dying on the battlefield, he will eventually die from overwork.

After chatting for a few minutes, the two parted ways again.

Isaac and Violet continued to enjoy the festive atmosphere, and then continued eating. He had almost digested the food from before.

Not long afterward.

"Mr. Isaac, I've finally found you!" A panting voice came from behind, and Isaac saw Gilbert, dressed in military uniform and holding a pile of gifts.

“Hey, Gilbert, you’ve finally figured it out, you know there’s more to life than just work and fun,” Isaac said with a pat on the shoulder.

“Oh, no.” Gilbert looked at the gift in his hand with some embarrassment.

Because of an urgent message from headquarters, he planned to tell Isaac immediately, so he rushed to Isaac's temporary residence without even changing his clothes. After knocking on the door and finding no response, he noticed several posters for the Thanksgiving Festival scattered on the floor.

Thinking Isaac might have gone to the festival, I searched the streets and actually found him. He had been given gifts by many citizens on his way there, as he was wearing a military uniform.

"Mr. Isaac, we have an urgent message from headquarters. It seems that the Gadarick forces are planning to attack Mazig City!" Gilbert said anxiously.

"So it really happened after all," Isaac mused, stroking his chin.

He had also considered whether Galdarik might take advantage of the situation after he had just captured Mazig and sent weapons like cannons and tanks back to Leiden for repairs.

I didn't expect it to come.

"The enemy's numbers, formation, marching route, and approximate arrival time at the defensive line?" Isaac immediately switched into work mode, even with a hot dog still dangling from his mouth.

"Approximately 50,000 men, 400 tanks, and about 100 mortars. The main force is marching from the capital, Caldaric, and will meet up with some of the garrison in Intans along the way, forming a large force that will arrive in about three days." Gilbert quickly relayed the information he had received to Isaac.

“Three days? An army of 50,000 is indeed a bit troublesome.” Isaac pondered, then changed the subject, “I’ll figure something out. You don’t need to work today, just enjoy the festival.”

"But……"

"Don't worry, I'll handle their affairs. Tonight, let's have some fun with the citizens here. This is the commander-in-chief's order." After saying that, he smiled and gave him a push, shoving him into the revelry.

The city of Mazig was filled with a lively and joyful atmosphere that night.

The next morning.

Isaac arrived at the army's makeshift headquarters early today, a rare occurrence. There were still some details he needed to understand about what Gilbert had told him yesterday.

"Commander-in-Chief!" Several soldiers saluted and greeted Isaac upon seeing him.

"Hi everyone, by the way, have you seen Gilbert?"

“You mean Major Gilbert? He’s in the office over there,” one of the soldiers said, pointing to the office next door.

Isaac headed towards the office. Just as he reached the door, he heard arguing coming from inside.

"I disagree with retreating! What will happen to the citizens of Mazig if we leave?"

"Watch your words, Major Gilbert. You are speaking to your superior," a haughty voice rang out.

“I’m so sorry, but… we just liberated the people here, and now we’re letting them continue to suffer under the oppression of Gadallik…” Gilbert’s voice trembled slightly. He remembered the grateful looks the citizens had given him last night, and he couldn’t imagine what it would be like if the army abandoned them again.

"There's nothing we can do about it. If soldiers die here, it will affect the future battle situation. We can't afford to waste our forces in places like this." The voice came from another person, who also seemed to be an officer. "As for the civilians, there's nothing we can do about it either."

“But…” Gilbert’s eyes were filled with resentment.

"No buts! Don't forget your place, this is an order!"

However, just as they were having a heated discussion, Isaac walked in. He found many officers sitting inside, with Gilbert standing to one side.

"Who is it! Coming in without knocking?" The officer who had just reprimanded Gilbert turned and glared at the person who entered. Upon recognizing Isaac, he hurriedly said, "Sir Isaac, I don't know what brings you here..."

Bang!

Before he could finish speaking, Isaac walked up to him and punched him in the face. The force sent him flying from his seat and crashing into the wall; the sound of bones cracking could be faintly heard.

“Sir Isaac… what is this…” An officer standing nearby was startled by Isaac’s actions and quickly tried to ask.

Ping!

Before he could even ask a question, Isaac grabbed a bottle from the table and smashed it over his head, causing him to bleed profusely.

Everyone in the office was terrified, wondering what this mad commander-in-chief was planning to do.

Isaac casually found a chair, sat down, and slammed the pistol from his waist onto the table.

"Anyone who wants to retreat, step forward."

Chapter 59: The Philosopher's Stone

Although Isaac's voice was completely calm, none of the officers around him dared to utter a sound.

They weren't stupid. Judging from Isaac's posture, anyone who dared to stand up and say "retreat" would be a corpse in the next second.

Seeing that no one spoke, Isaac laughed and said, "No one? Then we're all good comrades."

"Uh...yes..." The people around could only laugh awkwardly in response.

“Since we’re all preparing to face the enemy, let’s talk about our plans.” Isaac poured himself a glass of water, leaned back in his chair, and looked at everyone.

That expression is like saying, 'Please begin your performance.'

"..."

What kind of plan is this?! We were just thinking about how to retreat.

How to fight the enemy? What can we use to fight the enemy? Our equipment is all under maintenance, and our troop strength is more than three times that of the enemy.

The surrounding officers looked at each other, wondering who was willing to deal with this mad commander-in-chief.

"No? Then why were you chatting so happily just now?"

Isn't this all because you forced me to do this?

Of course, they couldn't say it aloud. One officer thought for a moment and said to Isaac, "It's like this, because the gap between the two sides is too large, we haven't come up with any good countermeasures yet. As the commander-in-chief, does Your Excellency Isaac have any insights?"

That makes perfect sense; it neither suggests retreat nor fails to address Isaac's question, and it throws the problem back at him.

Very clever, and the people around him secretly gave the officer a thumbs up.

They themselves harbored a hope that Isaac, this tactical genius, would devise a counter-offensive and defensive strategy to defeat the enemy. Retreat was merely a stopgap measure considering various factors; retreating today would mean being labeled a deserter tomorrow, a painful prospect for any soldier.

Isaac glanced at the map on the table and asked, "What is their attack route?"

"They've assembled their army in Intans, intending to cross the Mazig moat and break through from the front," the officer said to Isaac, gesturing on the map.

The idea of ​​the Gadarlik army was excellent. The defensive fortifications of Mazig in the front area had been riddled with holes in the previous attack, and attacking this area would indeed yield very good results.

"When will you assemble in the moat area?"

"Based on the enemy's marching speed, it will take about two days."

Time is tight...

Isaac looked at the map and pondered. If it were a defensive battle, having grown up in Brix Keep, he certainly had many ways to repel the enemy.

However, the problem now is that most of the weapons have been sent back to the capital, Leiden, for repair and maintenance, and are unusable. The huge disparity in troop strength, coupled with the destruction of the original fortifications, has made the situation even more dire.

This battle will be very difficult.

Isaac touched the Philosopher's Stone in his pocket. This stone had been through two major battles and a healing process, and had become much smaller than before. It probably wouldn't be enough for this defense.

Wait, the Philosopher's Stone?

Isaac quickly asked, "Gilbert, tell me, how many people were captured in this war?"

Gilbert: "Yes! A total of 4,640 people were captured."

Upon hearing this, Isaac revealed that sinister smile:

"enough."

He turned to the officers and said, "Everyone should be on high alert. Also, don't let the local civilians discover that the enemy is attacking, so as not to cause panic."

"Yes!" Although they didn't know what the commander-in-chief was planning, seeing his signature sinister grin, they knew the enemy was probably doomed.

“Gilbert, take me to where the prisoners are held.”

"Yes!"

As for the two men Isaac knocked to the ground, Isaac immediately ordered them to be dealt with in the same way as deserters.

Gilbert led Isaac to a prison on the outskirts of Mazig.

This prison was originally intended to hold criminals in the city, as the people of Mazig were generally honest and not many committed crimes. The prison had long been idle.

But after that battle, the place was instantly packed with prisoners of war.

"Leyton Scheffterich bastard! Let us out!"

"Our army is arriving soon, and everyone in the city will die!"

"Surrender, you bunch of trash!"

As soon as I entered the prison, I heard the prisoners inside roaring.