Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

Hopefully Colonel Isaac won't go too far.

after an hour,

Alex had been waiting at the army training ground for some time. His blue military uniform, huge size, and strange hairstyle attracted the attention of many soldiers at the training ground.

"What are you looking at! Don't you need to train anymore?!" Just as the soldiers were glancing at the strange, burly man, a loud, angry roar interrupted them.

Barnett walked over with his cane and reprimanded the soldiers, then turned his gaze to Alex.

"Hello, guests from Amestoris. May I ask what brings you to the training ground?"

"I'm so sorry, Colonel Isaac asked us to wait for him here. Did...we cause you any trouble?" Alex said apologetically.

"No, is he a friend of that kid Isaac?"

“He’s like a younger brother to me!” Alex said, his face lighting up again.

"Is...is that so?" Barnett said, embarrassed.

It doesn't look like it at all!

Just then, Isaac brought Violet to the practice field.

"Looks like you didn't run away."

"Colonel Isaac, who is that girl behind you?" Alex asked, looking at Violet behind Isaac.

“Hello, Major Armstrong, I am Violet, Mr. Isaac’s subordinate.” Violet bowed politely to Alex and said.

"Ah! So touching! I never imagined that Colonel Isaac, who usually swears so casually, would have such a polite and adorable subordinate." Alex said, tears welling up in his eyes again, without a doubt as to why Isaac would take on such a young subordinate.

"Believe it or not, I can kill you in a minute." Veins bulged on Isaac's forehead. "I brought Violet here so you could meet my new subordinate."

"I see."

"Then let's begin."

As Isaac spoke, he stood in the open space in the middle of the training field, and Alex sighed and walked up as well.

It seems there's no escaping it.

The two stood facing each other in the open space, drawing the attention of everyone else in the training area.

"Lord Isaac and...who is this again?"

"Judging from their uniforms, they seem to be officers from Amestoris."

What are they planning to do? A duel?

People below the stage, eager to see the spectacle, gathered around the open space.

Isaac looked at the somewhat nervous Alex and said, "Come on, this time I can do it without alchemy."

"Really?" Alex's eyes lit up.

Everyone in Amestris knows that Isaac is extremely skilled in alchemy, but his fighting skills are only average.

"of course."

"Alright! Then let Colonel Isaac witness the Armstrong fighting style passed down through generations!" As he said this, he instantly took off his clothes, revealing his muscular physique.

To this day, Isaac still can't understand why he had to take off his clothes.

Alex is now very confident, as his fighting skills are among the best in the Amestoris military.

Isaac didn't say anything, but silently drew the knife from his waist.

"Wait! You're going to use a knife?" Alex exclaimed in surprise.

"Nonsense, I said I wouldn't use alchemy, but did I say I wouldn't use a knife?" Before he finished speaking, Isaac had already charged forward.

Alex had no choice but to quickly take out his steel boxing gloves and put them on to defend himself with all his might.

clang!clang!clang!

Isaac slashed at Alex with incredible speed, but each strike was blocked by his steel gauntlets. The impacts produced deafening sounds.

Seeing that his attacks missed after a few blows, Isaac changed his attack method, switching from slashing to thrusting, unleashing three stabs in an instant. But Alex dodged all of his attacks.

"Tch, big as a nutcase, but surprisingly agile." Isaac didn't stop, continuing his relentless barrage of attacks.

The soldiers watching from the surrounding area were completely stunned.

"Is this the fighting strength of the Amestoris officers?"

Are they really human?

"too horrible!"

After truly witnessing the fighting prowess of that country's soldiers, they were filled with nothing but shock.

After getting used to Isaac's attack rhythm, Alex seemed to be in complete control.

"Colonel Isaac, how about we call this a draw?"

"No need, I admit defeat." Isaac sheathed his sword. He knew that even though his swordsmanship was quite good in the military, it was still somewhat inferior to Alex's hand-to-hand combat skills.

The fact that Violet suppressed him even when he was using a knife shows that close combat is his weakness.

“Oh! It’s wonderful that Colonel Isaac thinks that way…”

"But I still need to complete the task your sister gave me."

Alex suddenly had a bad feeling.

Isaac put on a white glove with a complex transmutation circle on it.

"Wait! Colonel Isaac! The duel is over..."

Snapped!

Isaac snapped his fingers.

boom!

The explosion shook the entire training ground, and the soldiers watching nearby staggered.

As the smoke cleared, Alex lay motionless on the ground, seemingly unconscious.

Chapter Sixty-Six: Enemies at Home

Alex was physically strong, and after being blown away by the explosion, he was unconscious for half an hour before waking up.

“That’s really going too far, Colonel Isaac. Didn’t you say you wouldn’t use alchemy?” Alex said to Isaac, who was sitting calmly on the hospital bed in the army hospital.

Isaac picked at his ear and said nonchalantly, "After all, it was a task given to me by your sister, so I just did it."

Isaac's initial purpose in dueling Alex was to test his abilities without using alchemy. Looking back, he thinks he could handle ordinary people, but he was basically helpless against someone like Alex who excelled in hand-to-hand combat.

"Speaking of which, Roy wrote to me before, saying that news had come from Amestris that a state alchemist had been killed. Is that true?"

"You already know? There has indeed been this news. There have been two incidents in the East City, both handled by Colonel Mustang. Before I arrived, there was also a murder in the West City." Alex stroked his chin, pondering the limited information. "Judging from the victim's wounds, it was probably done by an alchemist."

"I can tell from the photo. Do you have any information about the killer?"

“Recently, photos of the murderer have surfaced; they were taken by the soldier just before he died,” Alex said, handing the photos to Isaac.

Isaac took the photo. It showed a white-haired, brown-skinned man wearing a yellow and white striped jacket. Because he was wearing sunglasses, it was impossible to tell what he looked like, but he had a very noticeable cross-shaped scar on his forehead. Even so, the killer was still not found.

Alex continued, "Because the killer had a scar on his face, we usually called him by his code name 'Scar'."

“Scar? Interesting codename.” Isaac continued looking at the photo, hoping to find some clues.

Then he suddenly noticed that the man in the photo had a tear in the cuff of his right sleeve, revealing an arm covered in tattoos.

Upon seeing this, Isaac suddenly picked up a pen and paper and started drawing.

"What's wrong? Did you find something?" Alex asked, looking at Isaac who was doodling on the paper.

Isaac ignored him and continued to look at the photos while drawing something on the paper.

After a long while, they drew a transmutation circle on the paper that neither of them had ever seen before.

"Colonel Isaac... what is this?" Alex looked at the transmutation circle on the paper with some surprise. This transmutation circle seemed to be completely unknown in any of the books he had read before.

“I drew the tattoo on the killer’s hand, Scar’s hand, on a flat surface. It’s roughly this design.” Isaac looked carefully at the paper in his hand. “Judging from the final product, it should have some connection to Amestris’ alchemy, but not a very strong one.”

After a pause, Isaac continued, "It feels like it incorporates other technologies, so it's very likely the alchemy of the New Kingdom. And the technique he used to dissect the human body should have originated from his right arm."

"Could the murderer be a New Zealander?" Alex exclaimed.

"It shouldn't be. Most people in the new country have black hair and black eyes like me. The one in the photo has white hair. Also, this kind of transmutation array is not entirely alchemy. You can still see the shadow of alchemy."

"So the killer still doesn't know who it is?" Alex was a bit of a headache.

I thought I had made a discovery, but unexpectedly I was back to square one.

"He specializes in killing State Alchemists, proving he has a grudge against State Alchemy, and he's brown-skinned..." Isaac seemed to have a clue. He then recalled that Roy's letter to him mentioned this person was looking for the 'Calamity,' which was himself.

“I think the killer might be an Ishvalan,” Isaac suddenly said.

"What?" Alex was somewhat shocked by Isaac's conclusion.

"During the Ishvalan civil war, a large number of state alchemists were sent to the battlefield, causing them great casualties. This gave them a motive. Wearing sunglasses was probably to hide their red pupils so as not to reveal their Ishvalan identity and thus avoid implicating their own people."

"Roy wrote to me saying that Scar seemed to be looking for me. I had planted a bomb under their base, so it's understandable that he would target me."

Isaac was well aware of how much damage his plan had done to the entire Ishvalan state; the defeat in the war could almost be attributed entirely to his tunnel demolition plan.

"..." Alex seemed to think Isaac's words made a lot of sense, but he was also reluctant to believe the fact.

We ourselves have already caused Ishvalans far too much harm. If the state were to find out that the Ishvalans were responsible for this, I fear…

“I’ll be heading to the New Kingdom after I finish my mission. I’ll take this transmutation circle with me and have the people there investigate it for me,” Isaac continued. “When you get back, also investigate the Ishvalan refugee camps in various places, if necessary…”

Alex knew what Isaac wanted to say.

'They can be used to lure out Scar if necessary.' If it's Isaac, then he can definitely do it.

Seeing Alex's somewhat grim expression, Isaac sighed, "Forget it, I doubt you'd obey the order even if I gave it to you now, so just pretend I didn't say anything."

"Thank you so much!" Alex breathed a sigh of relief.

"When you get back, tell them to be careful, especially to avoid being touched by his right hand. The fact that he has defeated several national alchemists proves that he is not weak."

Isaac thought for a moment and added, "Especially the Elric brothers. Tell them not to wander around aimlessly. Their combat experience is still too weak. If Scar catches them, they're definitely finished."

"The Elric brothers? I will definitely protect them!" he said, showing off his muscles.