Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

In particular, this country's armored forces are among the best on the continent, so they can condemn it, but if they were to actually take action, they would probably all run far away, and probably wouldn't even dare to utter any harsh words.

Both Charlotte and the King noticed Isaac's transformation of Rhodesell.

The day after the incident escalated, Isaac found Princess Charlotte.

“Charlotte, there’s something I need you to do,” Isaac said to Charlotte.

"What is it?" Although Isaac had just committed the heinous act of killing civilians, Princess Charlotte did not care at all. With her heart gradually maturing, she knew that the young man in front of her, who was a few years older than her, had made the decision for the victory of the country.

'Would he risk getting his hands stained with blood for me? Does Mr. Isaac care about me that much...?' The princess was lost in thought, her face flushed.

"Charlotte? Charlotte? Your Highness? Are you listening?" Seeing Charlotte's blank expression and distraction, Isaac waved his hand in front of her.

“Ah! Oh! I’m listening.” Charlotte immediately sat up straight with a well-behaved expression. “Mr. Isaac said there’s something he needs me to do, right?”

“Yes, there is something I need you to do,” Isaac said, looking at Charlotte.

"So... what exactly is it about?"

Isaac said calmly:

"Execute me."

"..."

Charlotte thought she had misheard and asked, "Um... Mr. Isaac, I didn't hear you clearly. What did you just say?"

“Execute me,” Isaac repeated.

“Absolutely not!” Princess Charlotte suddenly shouted. “What has Mr. Isaac done to force me to execute you?”

“Oh, maybe I didn’t explain it clearly.” Isaac slapped his forehead. “When I said execute me, I didn’t mean you should actually kill me. I meant you need to let the people, and even the whole continent, know that you have executed me.”

"Oh, I see." Charlotte breathed a slight sigh of relief. "But why?"

“Of course it’s because I killed civilians in the last war,” Isaac said.

"But that matter..."

Isaac interrupted Charlotte: "I know what you're going to say, that this isn't entirely my fault, but Charlotte, you have to understand, what I did was absolutely wrong."

"..." Charlotte was a little confused about Isaac's meaning.

Isaac looked at the bewildered Charlotte and continued, "Although I might do something bad without any scruples, my sense of right and wrong is not flawed. I know very well that what I am doing is definitely an evil thing, but I will still do it without hesitation."

"Mr. Isaac..."

“As a general, I can do inhuman things to achieve my goals. I can be wrong, but Charlotte, you absolutely cannot be wrong.” Isaac patted Charlotte on the shoulder.

“You are the princess of Rhodesells, the future queen, the face of this country, and your face must not be tainted by dust.”

“…I understand.” Charlotte’s eyes became even more resolute.

a few days later.

Princess Charlotte's public remarks were published in major newspapers.

The inscription stated that Princess Charlotte had executed the general who killed civilians in Maccay three days prior, expressing her deep abhorrence and strong condemnation of the general's actions and offering her heartfelt condolences to the victims' families. She asserted that the killing of civilians was entirely the general's personal act and had nothing to do with Rhodesell, and concluded by stating that such a situation would never occur again in the upcoming war.

The newspaper also included a picture of Isaac hanging himself. However, the name written on the newspaper was Asfer Brown, not Isaac.

It doesn't matter if no one believes it; the key is to state one's position.

The countries aren't stupid, but seeing that the princess had made a statement, they pretended that nothing had happened, since they didn't want to get involved.

As for Flügel, the residents of Macca at the time had all seen Isaac and believed the pictures in the newspapers to be true, and their goodwill towards Princess Charlotte of the Empire skyrocketed.

As for the key figure in this matter, he is still living comfortably in the city.

"Sir, you died a horrible death! Hahahaha!"

"Sir, your 'hanging' expression is hilarious, hahaha, I can't take it anymore!"

Several soldiers were holding up newspapers and making wild jokes about Isaac, only they knew that their commander and the princess were putting on an act. In the picture, Isaac was hanging, but his face had a grotesque, slanted-eye, tongue-out expression.

"Shut up, all of you! I'm socially dead and you're still gloating like this? Don't you have any conscience?" Isaac berated his soldiers, then laughed himself.

Chapter 93: Blockading the Seas

Just days after Isaac's 'death,' the battle raged around the city of Macca.

After suffering heavy losses, Flügel was no longer able to stop Rhodesell's advance and could only commit a large number of troops to the city of Macca in an attempt to contain Rhodesell's attack.

At that moment, Isaac returned to Leidenscheft.

Inside the Naval Headquarters in St. Dima.

"Colonel Dietfried Bougainvillea, Mr. Isaac wishes to see you."

"Let him in." Dietrich ordered the soldiers to bring the man in.

When Isaac came up, he saw Dietrich sitting at his desk in military uniform, drinking. "Little Dietrich~ it's been a long time. You didn't miss me, did you?"

“No.” Dietrich was already used to this guy’s idiot behavior, then, as if remembering something, he picked up a newspaper from the table. “Is this you?”

The newspaper showed a man hanging from a gallows, his eyes slanted and tongue sticking out; someone unfamiliar with the situation might mistake him for a circus performer playing a prank.

“Yes, it’s me.” Isaac admitted.

“‘The way she died’ is hilarious,” Dietrich laughed. “I even made sure to show this newspaper to the sailors on my ship.”

"You bad thing." Isaac didn't pay much attention to Dietrich's behavior.

"I've come here to ask for your help with something."

"Oh? Is there anything that alchemists from your country can't solve?" Although he said this, Dietfried still showed a serious expression.

“I need you to use your fleet to blockade the sea west of Flügel,” Isaac said.

Dietrich understood in an instant what Isaac wanted to do.

Flügel is bordered by the coast to the west and land to the east. The entire country is located on the westernmost edge of the continent.

The current situation is that Isaac has conquered the land east of Flügel and is threatening the capital. It can be said that Flügel is unable to break through to the east.

What if the western sea area is also blockaded...?

"That's ruthless. Are you trying to drive everyone in Flugel to the brink of despair?"

“If the situation allowed, I would have already dropped hundreds of thermobaric bombs,” Isaac said nonchalantly. “Anyway, the war with Caldaric doesn’t require the use of a naval fleet, and Frugel’s navy is very weak, so you won’t be at a disadvantage.”

“…Never mind, I’ll help you with this,” Dietrich said. “Remember to owe me a favor.”

"ok~"

The two made a deal without anyone knowing.

After Isaac left, Dietfried summoned his naval officers: "All of you, assemble! We've got work to do!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Three days later.

Isaac returned to Rhodesell.

During this period, Flügel frantically amassed troops to break out of Macca, but was blocked by overwhelming firepower and could not advance any further.

Despite having a clear advantage, they dared not attack rashly while Isaac was away.

The battle lines remained deadlocked.

Until the day Isaac returned.

"Who can report the situation?" Isaac shouted to the soldiers on the defensive line.

"Sir, you're back! Those bastards Frugel have been trying to find a way in here, but we've stopped them every time." The soldier was very excited to see Isaac return. "Should we order an attack?"

"No need, just continue defending. They can't hold out much longer," Isaac said calmly.

At this very moment, Dietfreit's fleet also arrived at the outer edge of Flügel's sea area.

"Block out this sea area. Don't let a single ship in or out!" Dietrich ordered.

The days that followed were cruel for all of Freuger's people.

Not only were soldiers wiped out in the war, but civilians in the rear also suffered the bitter consequences of the war.

Domestic supplies have been almost completely exhausted. Originally, we could have relied on support from neighboring countries, but the eastern route originally intended for support has been occupied by Rhodesells and is therefore unusable.

The only option left was to travel by sea, but then another piece of bad news reached their ears.

The sea area was blockaded by Leidenscheftich's naval fleet.

There's no reasoning with them. The Northeast Union, where Flügel was located, and the Southwest Union, where Rhodesell and Leidenscheftrich were located, were already at war, so it was normal for their sea areas to be blockaded.

Now they can only watch helplessly as domestic supplies dwindle until they are completely exhausted.

The people and even the army were unable to solve their basic needs for food and clothing.

Unease was palpable as turmoil ensued.

They had completely lost the enthusiasm they had at the start of the war; instead, they were filled with fear of the future.

Not long after this situation began, news of people starving to death began to emerge in Freuger.

Fear spread in everyone's hearts.

People began to question the Flüger royal family, after all, they were the ones who declared war.

People began taking to the streets in protest, demanding peace. The royal family, however, ignored these protests and focused their efforts on breaking out of the siege.

His own navy was too weak to defeat Leidenscheft's army, but his army was also tied down by Rhodesell, leaving him with no way out.

The soldiers on the front lines also suffered a decline in combat efficiency due to a shortage of supplies.

The war lasted for nearly a month, and the unrest in Flüger became increasingly serious, with the people's demonstrations turning into uprisings.

Conflicts have broken out again in the country.

People were starving to death, but the country was still preoccupied with fighting the war, completely disregarding their lives.

The insurgent army, composed of the people, clashed several times with Flügel's army, and the internal conflict further rendered the troops at the front unable to fight.

At this moment, Isaac finally ordered the attack to begin.

In just three days, he captured three cities and annihilated an army of 100,000, leaving Freuger with no chance to catch his breath.

The unrest in their country is escalating.