Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

"Mr. Isaac..."

“All my actions are predicated on having sufficient awareness,” Isaac said with a weak laugh. “In the presence of a man with awareness, sorrow and grief are an insult to him.”

"Yes!" Violet wiped away her tears and continued to support Isaac as they moved forward.

They were about to escape the encirclement.

Just then, a roar suddenly sounded in the sky. Isaac looked up and saw several shells flying towards him.

"These bastards!" He hurriedly pulled out the Philosopher's Stone.

A red lightning bolt streaked across the sky, and all the cannonballs in the air detonated automatically.

However, this was only the first wave; the second wave of shells came immediately.

boom!

He continued to detonate, but Isaac gradually became exhausted, and the Philosopher's Stone in his hand grew smaller and smaller.

After several rounds of bombardment, the Philosopher's Stone in Isaac's hand grew smaller and smaller.

"You forced me to do this!" Isaac's eyes flashed with a fierce light. "Although the experiment is not yet complete, we can only try our luck now."

Picking up the Philosopher's Stone, the stone, which was originally the size of a fist, was reduced to the size of a fingernail after bursts of red lightning.

A turret appeared in front of Isaac.

"I hope it works." With that, Isaac activated the turret.

boom!!!

With a loud bang, a huge black spherical object shot straight into the sky and fell to a very far place.

"Alright, let's get out of here quickly."

Isaac seemed to find the thing too dangerous, and dragged his tired body to quicken his pace of retreat.

Just as they were evacuating, a blood-covered officer from Gaddarick stood before him.

“Found you, Isaac,” he said with a maniacal grin, pulling a remote control from his pocket.

"you……"

boom!

A huge explosion came from beneath Isaac's feet. The instant he pressed the bomb button, Violet pushed Isaac away.

As she pushed him out, Isaac saw the resolute look on her face.

Violet!

Isaac roared as he looked at Violet lying on the ground, badly injured.

The officer walked over, and Isaac wanted to snap his fingers to finish him off, but suddenly realized that his gloves had been blown to smithereens in the explosion, and his hands were covered in blood.

I haven't been this disheveled in a long time.

The reason they were able to easily defeat 50,000 troops before was because they had laid traps there a day in advance, and the distance allowed them to use weapons of mass destruction. Now, they're in an ambush, with people popping out of nowhere. Even if they were incredibly strong, dealing with this kind of situation would be very difficult.

It's like giving a small child a missile launcher; he can take on a hundred people single-handedly. But if a group of armed people are in front of him, it's basically a dead end.

Although Isaac was not weak, the probability of him surviving against an army of tens of thousands was extremely small.

Lying on the ground, Isaac looked at the officer in front of him. Soldiers were beginning to gather around him. His gloves were torn, and it seemed like he was in a hopeless situation.

“Isaac! It’s all because of you that we lost so badly. Now you can finally go to hell.” The officer pointed his gun at Isaac, a sick smile on his face. “Your annoying glove is torn, and your proud alchemy is no longer usable.”

He was really looking forward to seeing fear on Isaac's face.

However, what he saw was Isaac's mocking smile.

“So what if the glove is torn? I still have this.” Isaac said, picking up the leg he had cut off.

"What?" They had no idea what Isaac was going to do.

"Human bones contain a large amount of phosphorus, a flammable substance that can be ignited in the air." Blue lightning flashed from the severed leg in his hand, and then a ghostly blue flame burst forth in an instant.

Before the officer could even speak, he and the surrounding soldiers were blown to pieces.

After doing all this, Isaac limped over to Violet, who was lying on the ground.

Touching the girl's cheek, you can still hear her faint breathing.

"I won't let you die." He said calmly, ignoring the surrounding gunfire. Isaac drew a transmutation circle on the ground with his own blood.

Chapter 99: This is not a convenience store

“It’s strange, I originally thought I was someone who had lost the ability to feel fear,” Isaac chuckled as he drew a transmutation circle around Violet.

"But the moment I saw you fall, I felt a long-lost fear...." After finishing the alchemy drawing, he slapped his hands on the alchemy circle, lightning crackling around him, and the last Philosopher's Stone in his hands disappeared into thin air.

"You really are an amazing person, Violet."

Black tentacles began to emerge beneath the two, and then a giant eye opened around the transmutation circle, instantly engulfing Isaac's consciousness in white light.

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.

I've come to that familiar place again.

A pure white space, a gate to truth with strange patterns, and... a familiar white figure.

"You've come here again, huh? You mad alchemist!" the white figure grinned.

"Yes, boss, I'm here again."

"You're the boss! Do you think this is a convenience store where you can just come and go as you please?" The white-clad figure covered his face. He had seen countless alchemists who broke taboos, but he had never seen anyone like this who had come to his place three times.

At this point, the white figure noticed Isaac's severed right leg: "You really look pathetic."

"I get so angry just thinking about it. Those bastards actually dared to ambush me. I'm going to beat them to a pulp when I get out!"

Isaac paid no attention to his leg injury, his mind only focused on how to kill the enemy.

He chatted casually with the white figure, a situation the white figure, as 'Truth', had never encountered before.

People who meet you are either scared or crazy, but it's honestly interesting to see someone like Isaac who treats you like an old friend.

“That’s why getting ‘travel expenses’ from someone like you is the most troublesome thing.” The white figure laughed. “Truth will grant the ignorant the right despair, but you are not ignorant, and you don’t seem to be able to despair either.”

"You're overthinking it. If you were to take all the money in my pocket and burn it as firewood, I'd be in despair in no time."

"Hahaha, you're more interesting than I thought. Alright, give me the 'travel expenses,' and get out of here quickly." As the words fell, the Gate of Truth behind him opened, and an even greater amount of information flooded into Isaac's mind than before.

With so much information this time, I imagine there will be considerable 'travel expenses' involved.

Just before Isaac returned to reality, he heard the white figure, 'Truth,' say:

"Don't come here again next time, this is really not a convenience store."

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.

Violet felt like she was having a dream, a dream in which she sank into the deep sea, and no matter how much she struggled, she could only watch helplessly as she continued to sink, deeper and deeper until all around her was darkness.

Suddenly a hand reached down, grabbed my hand, and pulled me up.

She saw that face; the black-haired, black-eyed boy was smiling.

"Mr. Isaac..."

Violet suddenly opened her eyes, looked around, and seemed to realize that she was still deep in the battlefield. Then she looked at herself.

I should have been hit by the bomb, so why am I not injured at all?

“By the way, where is Mr. Isaac?” She began to look around.

First she saw the strange transmutation circle drawn in blood on the ground, and then she saw... Isaac, covered in blood, not far from her.

“Mr. Isaac!!” Violet rushed over and helped Isaac up.

"Hey... Violet... you look quite energetic..." Isaac coughed up blood, but still smiled as he spoke to Violet.

"Please don't speak, or the wound will reopen!" Violet shouted, her face filled with anxiety.

She picked up Isaac and ran outside.

"Mr. Isaac, you promised me you would live, so I absolutely will not let you die!" Violet roared as she continued walking along the planned route. The sounds of gunfire and artillery around her gradually subsided over time.

"Is that so... As expected of... my excellent subordinate." Isaac said in a low voice, a smile still on his face even though his body was in pieces.

Suddenly, the sound of an engine came from afar.

Several military vehicles sped toward them from a distance.

When Violet saw a car approaching, she quickly freed one hand, picked up her gun, and aimed it at the oncoming vehicle.

“Don’t be nervous…we’re on the same side…” Isaac said intermittently. Although he was still almost unconscious, he could still feel the ‘qi’.

They're one of our own.

Violet put her gun away, and the car stopped right in front of them.

The door of one of the cars opened, and a red-haired young man in military uniform ran up to them: "Violet! Mr. Isaac! Are you both alright!"

The visitor was Lieutenant Colonel Claudia Hawkins.

“Claudia…you’re really late…” Isaac mocked, though his voice was weak.

"Don't talk! Be careful not to aggravate your wound. You can complain later when we get there!" Claudia took Isaac from Violet's back, but as soon as he put his hands on him, he immediately felt something was wrong.

It's a bit light.

Then he glanced at Isaac's physical condition, his eyes instantly turning to horror: "You actually survived like this."

"Yeah...does anyone particularly admire me?"

"I admire you so much! Okay, stop talking and get some rest!" Seeing Isaac's miserable state, Claudia lifted him to the back of the car and had the accompanying medical staff treat him.

After arranging everything, he called out to Violet, "Violet, please take another car."

"No!" Violet cried out hastily, "I want to stay by Mr. Isaac's side!"

“Okay.” Claudia didn’t say anything more, and drove away after everyone got in the car.

In the back of the car, Violet held Isaac's hand tightly as she watched him with IV drips all over his body.

After the medical staff treated his wounds and administered an IV, Isaac regained some consciousness and asked Claudia, who was sitting in front of him, "How is the battle going? What are the losses?"

“You’re in this state and you still have time to care about these things?” Claudia sighed. “Currently, the Galdarik side has the upper hand. Nearly half of the five army groups you brought with you have been wiped out, but fortunately, you ordered them to retreat south, and they have now joined up with the rear troops.”