Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

Gilbert was somewhat speechless.

"War is wrong. I know this well, having grown up on the battlefield, but I still join every war without hesitation."

"Does Mr. Isaac think that your mistake can end the war faster?" Gilbert suddenly felt a surge of admiration for the boy in front of him.

"What are you thinking? My rank rises quickly in war." Isaac looked at Gilbert with a 'you're too young' expression.

"..." The admiration suddenly collapsed.

“But you’re right about one thing: I want the war to end as soon as possible. I don’t care about the enemy’s life or death, but at least…” Isaac turned his gaze away, “let this mistake of war end in our generation, and let those kids stop worrying about this nonsense.”

As Isaac spoke, he continued walking forward.

Gilbert stood behind him, watching his back without saying a word, only giving a standard military salute.

Chapter 61: Natural Disaster Strikes

Back at the military camp, the officers seemed to be already waiting for Isaac and his men to return.

An officer said to Isaac, "Sir Isaac, the orders have been given; all that remains is to plan the battle."

"No need for deployment, everyone can just stay in the city."

"what?"

The officers were puzzled by Isaac's arrangement.

However, just as they were puzzled, Isaac said something that shocked everyone present.

Isaac said calmly:

"This time I'll face the enemy alone."

Upon hearing this, everyone thought they had misheard.

"Are you kidding me?!"

Seeing the skeptical crowd, Isaac didn't say anything more, only saying, "I'll leave the city's defense to you. I'm going to test the power I just acquired."

As he spoke, he took out the red gemstone, about the size of an egg, and shook it.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't joke about my life."

"...Since you put it that way, then I wish you good luck in your military campaigns!" After saying that, all the officers saluted Isaac.

Isaac smiled and returned the salute, then strode toward the door.

"Let's make a call to the Army Commander-in-Chief. This time there will be an extra charge."

He walked toward the city gate, and Gilbert followed.

“Mr. Isaac, are you really going alone? That’s an army of forty thousand men.” Gilbert walked beside Isaac, hoping he would change his mind.

He thought that even a state alchemist would have no chance of escaping unscathed from an army of 40,000.

Indeed, this is true; even the most skilled alchemist would have no choice but to flee when faced with a large, well-equipped army.

"Don't forget, I don't necessarily need to confront them head-on."

After Isaac said that, Gilbert seemed to have figured something out.

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

One day later.

In a forest far from the city of Mazig.

"Commander! We are fifty kilometers away from the target location," the soldiers of Gadarik reported to their commander.

"Very good, we're almost there." He then turned and shouted to the army behind him, "We're almost at Mazig! Be alert!"

We are about to retake Mazig City, and there is no room for carelessness now.

"Commander! Something flew across the sky!" Just as the commander was reprimanding his men, the soldier saw a black weapon streak across the sky.

"What?" The commander looked up and saw the dark object streak across the sky and then slowly fall.

The target... seems to be the team behind them.

The commander suddenly realized something and roared, "Get down!!!"

boom!!!

A tremendous roar resounded.

A loud bang came from the rear ranks, which were very far away from here, and the heat wave made soldiers several kilometers away stagger.

Large plumes of white smoke began to spread outwards from the explosion site, attempting to engulf the army.

Enveloped in white smoke, the soldiers clutched their throats and collapsed to the ground in agony.

"Scatter! Quickly!! Don't get covered by that white smoke!!" The commander's eyes were bloodshot as he roared at his soldiers.

He remembered that he had previously recruited a former State Alchemist from Amestris, Lord Stephen, as part of the Gaddarrick faction. Lord Stephen had mentioned to his commanders on his last voyage that Leiden Sheftrich might also have recruited a State Alchemist.

At the time, everyone asked Lord Stephen what level the local alchemist was at, and how he compared to him. He clearly remembered one sentence Lord Stephen said:

'The Cataclysmic Alchemist—Isaac, seeing him means you've already lost!'

He then told him about several of Isaac's famous alchemical techniques, such as the creation of various high-lethality weapons and weather transmutation, alchemy for large-scale military applications. One of the techniques that caught his attention was a weapon called a 'thermal explosive bomb'.

The intense heat generated during the explosion is extremely lethal, but that's not the main issue. The most terrifying thing is the oxygen-deprived zone created after the explosion, which is a judgment on all living beings.

"That man named Isaac is actually in Mazig City! What a coincidence!" The commander couldn't believe it. They had thought that Isaac would be focusing on a bigger target like Intans City.

"Commander, we've lost contact with the rear troops!" a soldier said in a panic beside the commander.

"Has the rear troops been completely wiped out?" I roughly calculated that there were about 10,000 soldiers in the rear, but weapons such as mortars were all stored there.

"Pass the word down, have everyone spread out and find cover!" the commander ordered, looking at the white smoke that had stopped spreading behind them.

I have witnessed Lord Stephen's combat abilities as a State Alchemist; they are truly terrifying, but...

I've never heard of an alchemist who could wipe out an army of ten thousand with a single strike!

"Where is he?! Where is that guy named Isaac?!" He lay prone in the grass with his binoculars, looking around into the distance, but he didn't see a single person.

He was afraid of being discovered and dared not stand on high ground.

"Where are you?! Come out here!!" Fear had already spread through the commander's mind. He knew he couldn't expose his position; once exposed, it would mean certain death. But what was most terrifying was that he couldn't know the enemy's location.

Fear stems from the unknown.

Bang!

Just then, he heard a soft sound, and he saw what sounded like something breaking apart in the sky.

Then, a layer of white powder was sprinkled down.

"Ah!! I'm on fire!!"

"It's so hot!!!"

"I'm on fire!!"

"Help!!"

Suddenly, the soldiers who had been hiding in the forest screamed in agony. They rolled on the ground, their bodies now engulfed in yellow flames.

"What...what is this?!" The commander stared blankly at the soldiers burning to death and suffering terribly.

What exactly is the enemy I'm facing? Should I even be involved in this war?

Will I be able to survive?

"Ah!!!" The commander kept running backward.

That's right! This is an enemy I can't face! I have to escape! I don't care if I'm called a deserter when I go back!

But can they escape?

boom!

A deafening explosion followed as a shell burst beside him, engulfing the commander in a massive flame like a monstrous beast.

The original army of 40,000 men was reduced to less than 10,000 survivors after three attacks and the death of their commander.

Isaac ate ​​his bread while looking into the distance through his binoculars.

The once lush forest is now engulfed in flames.

The gem in the pocket occasionally flashed with blood-red lightning.

Chapter Sixty-Two: Annihilation

After the meeting that day, Isaac began to study the enemy's likely route of attack.

It was obvious they would come from this forest, since dense vegetation makes it difficult to be spotted.

Now that we know where they're attacking from, let's conduct an on-site reconnaissance. Calculate the trajectory of the artillery shells and lay traps in advance.

All that's left is to wait for the enemy to come and die.

Let's go back to the present.

Isaac leisurely munched on his bread while watching the Gaddarrick soldiers screaming and scattering in all directions through his binoculars.

"Wow! This guy's lucky, he ran so far and wasn't hit by a landmine!"

boom!

Never mind what I said.

Looking at the soldiers in the distance who had been blown into a pile of minced meat, Isaac took a sip of milk.

Isaac is having a good time, but things aren't going so well for Caldarik's army.

Before firing the thermobaric bomb, Isaac already knew the approximate size of the oxygen-depleted zone. Therefore, he had buried landmines in places not covered by the oxygen-depleted zone beforehand. This way, the enemy would not be able to find any landmines when they entered. However, when retreating, they could only go through the escape routes on both sides to avoid the oxygen-depleted zone, which happened to be the minefield.

When they entered this area, it was as if they had entered Isaac's hunting grounds.

The heavy casualties and the inhumanity of the weapons, coupled with the death of their commander, had long since extinguished his will to fight. Unable to attack, and unable to escape, fear eroded their last vestiges of reason.

"Where's the commander?! Can't we get in touch with him?!"

"No! The communications soldier is dead!"

"Where exactly is our enemy?!"