Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

"It looks like they're heading this way?"

The soldiers looked up at the sky, and upon seeing the object, their expressions changed drastically. They shouted, "Get out of the way! That's a shell!!"

boom!!

A violent explosion occurred in the residential area. The explosion produced a large amount of white smoke that spread outwards.

They now finally realize that things have gotten out of hand.

Chapter 91: Riot

The peace that once belonged to McCain was shattered by a cannon shot.

The flames from the explosion engulfed people, and the resulting oxygen-deprived zone caused everyone in the area to clutch their throats and collapse to the ground in excruciating pain.

"Help!"

"I can't breathe!"

"Someone, please save me!!"

The residents here had no idea that they were about to face such a disaster. Their minds were still stuck on the days when Rhodesell was defeated by Frugel and forced to cede territory and pay reparations.

Their recent victories must have been due to the internal strife in the capital, leaving them no time to attend to other matters.

They never imagined that the shells would land on their heads, and they never imagined that the other side would actually dare to attack.

The residents were stunned for a moment as they stared at the city engulfed in flames. After regaining their senses, they quickly packed their belongings and began preparing to escape.

However, just as they were about to escape, a second shell came.

boom!!

The massive explosion shredded those nearby into pieces, splattering blood and flesh onto the faces of nearby residents.

When had these civilians ever witnessed such a brutal scene? They all screamed in terror, fear spreading. The residents knelt on the ground, weeping, cursing, and even becoming hysterical. But those who forgot to flee were instantly struck by shells raining down from the sky.

As the war raged, the people’s emotions began to erupt. A priest, his hands trembling, picked up a cross to pray. The streets in front of him were littered with corpses. Soldiers were evacuating the crowd, but artillery fire blocked their way.

The citizens were already in a state of collapse. They had never needed to worry about the ravages of war when they lived in a quiet area. When Flügel declared war on Rhodesel, they even raised their glasses in celebration, saying that they could finally continue to teach those stray dogs a lesson.

Those who once hoped for a war between the two countries could only wait to die when faced with gunfire.

Outside the city, Isaac looked at the smoke billowing from the city of Mecca.

“Even if it means everyone else is buried with you, I will never let you go back,” Isaac whispered, gripping the binoculars in his hand.

He knew that the escape of nearly ten thousand troops would be a disaster for Rhodesell, and Isaac knew that his actions were evil and utterly inhuman, but he never cared. As long as he knew that something was detrimental to the final plan and outcome, he would make a choice without hesitation.

For Isaac, killing was merely a means, not an end. He wouldn't kill those who didn't need to be killed, but if necessary, he wouldn't mind killing as many as he wanted.

He was willing to sacrifice a few soldiers for Amestoris, but he dared to massacre nearly 10,000 Ishvarans.

"Stop!" Isaac waved his hand, and the soldiers ceased firing.

At this moment, Isaac took out a megaphone and shouted towards Macca City: "I know you are all inside! Come out and I will spare the people of Macca City. If you continue to hide inside, then I will have no choice but to wipe you out along with the entire Macca City."

After a pause, Isaac continued, "Listen up, people of Macca City! Those soldiers are deserters; they're trying to use you as shields! As long as they come out obediently, we'll retreat immediately!"

After speaking, Isaac put down the megaphone and waited for a response from inside.

Inside McCarthy City.

Before people could even feel relieved that the shelling had stopped, they heard Isaac's voice.

Finally, the conflict broke out.

"You soldiers, get out of here right now! We don't want to die here with you!"

"What?! You send us out to die while we're defending our country?"

"Shut up! My grandmother died in this shelling, it's all because of you deserters!"

"You bunch of traitors!"

"Isn't the army's duty to protect the people?"

Do you know how much impact our outing will have on this war?

"I don't care! We have to survive."

Clashes broke out between soldiers and civilians. Some soldiers felt that they were the ones who had caused the civilians' deaths, but many more soldiers were unwilling to leave. If so many of them died, the subsequent battles would be impossible to fight, which would lead to the defeat of the entire Freuger.

But the residents were not to be outdone, and one by one they demanded that the soldiers step forward. They didn't care what would happen afterward; they just wanted to survive.

Crying and cursing filled the entire city of McCain.

Outside the city, Isaac continued to wait.

After waiting for several minutes, he picked up the megaphone again and said, "You only have one hour. If you can't reach a conclusion in one hour, you can stay here forever."

Isaac knew it would take the royal army more than an hour to get here, so he wasn't joking; he was determined to turn Macca into ruins within an hour.

The conflict within the city has escalated.

The residents began pressuring the army to their deaths, and some even grabbed weapons and attacked them.

The soldiers felt wronged; they had been protecting their country, only to be forced to their deaths by the very people they were protecting.

Initially, when faced with attacks from the public, they only defended themselves and did not put up much resistance.

But an accident happened.

A soldier was struck on the head with a shovel by an angry citizen while trying to break up a fight, and he collapsed in a pool of blood.

boom!

A soldier shot and killed the mob. After a moment of stunned silence, everyone's negative emotions erupted, and the conflict became uncontrollable.

The residents rushed toward the soldiers, who then disregarded everything and began pointing their guns at the civilians.

The city of McCain was filled with the stench of blood and the smoke of gunpowder, and gunshots and the sound of things breaking could be heard everywhere.

The once bustling streets were now littered with corpses, both civilians and soldiers.

This is already a riot.

Seeing the frenzied scene before him, the soldiers' officer knelt on the ground, his eyes glazed over.

The soldiers picked up their guns and pointed them at the people they were supposed to protect, and the people picked up their weapons and fired back at the soldiers who were trying to protect them.

They've gone mad, they've all gone mad!

There was no longer any trust between the soldiers and the people; they began to be hostile to each other.

The riots escalated over time.

The scene then shifts back to outside the city.

Isaac was somewhat bewildered as he watched the smoke rising from Maka City.

"I haven't even fired a shot yet, and it's already making such a ruckus inside?"

I checked the time; only half an hour had passed.

"Sir, shall we fire now?" the soldier next to him asked.

"Wait a little longer."

After more than ten minutes, the city gates opened.

A group of soldiers covered in blood emerged, numbering approximately three thousand.

The person leading the way was the former mayor.

"Hey, didn't you say you didn't have any troops hiding behind you? What are those things behind you?"

The mayor didn't reply, his eyes already filled with death: "I've brought the person here. Can you spare McCain City?"

"I remember they still had over nine thousand left, how come there are so many less? Are you kidding me?" Isaac turned around abruptly, "Load the shells, prepare..."

"Wait!" the mayor shouted, then whispered, "The other soldiers... all died in the riots."

Chapter 92: 'Execution' of Isaac

"riot?"

Isaac had also considered this: the soldiers were unwilling to come out, but the citizens wanted to live; it would be strange if conflict didn't arise when these two wills clashed.

According to Isaac's original idea, the soldiers should have come out on their own.

Several carts emerged from the city gate, each carrying the remains of the Flügel soldiers.

Isaac looked at the remains and was speechless.

"Killed by the very people they protect? How pathetic." He then turned to the soldiers behind him and said, "Quickly count the number of bodies."

The count was quickly completed by several soldiers.

"Report! A total of 6,300 bodies were recovered."

It seems that's about the maximum number; this pursuit operation has come to a successful conclusion.

Without losing a single soldier, we killed 6,300 enemy soldiers and captured more than 3,000. It has to be said that sometimes fear really is the most powerful weapon.

“Very good. You not only helped us release the people, but also helped us eliminate more than 6,000 people. I must say you have given us a lot of help.” Isaac patted the mayor on the shoulder with a wicked smile.

To the mayor, that smile was nothing short of a devil's grin. Isaac's praise was especially grating to him.

"Then, as agreed, I will not attack." With that, he turned and left.

The mayor, looking utterly dejected, walked into the city like a walking corpse.

Isaac looked at the more than three thousand lifeless prisoners and didn't say much. He figured the reinforcements from the capital of Flügel would arrive soon, and they needed to evacuate quickly. There probably wouldn't be time to take the prisoners with them.

At Isaac's command, more than three thousand people were executed on the spot.

"Fall back."

The entire army returned to the town they had previously visited in a grand procession.

a few days later.

Rumors of Rhodesell's massacre of civilians also began to circulate a few days earlier.

The Northeast region strongly condemned Rhodesell's actions, but that was all they did. In the past, they probably would have used the guise of justice to launch military operations against Rhodesell, but now they dared not.

In the few months since Isaac arrived in Rhodesel, he has transformed the country from a weak nation into a military power capable of challenging Caldaric, a power that most countries dare not touch.