Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

"The rest is..." He glanced at Violet's worn-out coat, "...I need to get you a new outfit."

We're on a ship, and the sailors are all men, so there's no way they'd wear women's clothing. This is the only way we can do it.

Isaac went to the cupboard and took out a spare sheet. After visually assessing Violet's figure, a blue lightning bolt flashed, and the sheet twisted and transformed into a gorgeous ruffled stand-up collar dress.

This is a fashion style that he specifically sees women wearing on the streets of this country.

"Here, try it on to see if it fits." After handing the dress to Violet, Isaac discreetly left the room. "This dress is temporary; I'll buy you a new one after we get off the ship."

I ran into Dietrich as I was leaving.

"What's wrong? Why do you look so grim?" O'Isaac asked, looking at Dietrich's somewhat gloomy face.

"We've lost contact with the support fleet," Dietrich said in a deep voice.

The support fleet has lost contact? That's a big problem. Dietrich's fleet only has four ships in total. If support doesn't arrive, the situation here will be very bad.

Chapter Twelve: Ambush

"Can't get in touch? Are you having too much fun playing all-in?" Isaac said carelessly.

“Do you think everyone is like you?!” Dietrich yelled at Isaac, who had more than once wondered how the guy had become a colonel.

How long until we reach the combat zone?

"It's about 200 nautical miles, and we'll arrive in about 8 hours, but I'm worried about an enemy ambush along the way." Dietrich's expression was not good. The support fleet should have been able to rendezvous in this area, but suddenly they lost contact.

At that moment, Isaac patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, with me here, how could you possibly lose?"

“That’s right!” Dietrich suddenly had a flash of inspiration, remembering that Isaac had created the Tornado. “If you can create another Tornado, four ships will be enough for this battle.”

"I don't mean to discourage you, but a tornado can't be made again," Isaac said calmly.

"Why? Didn't you use it before?"

“Your climate here is warm, located in the tropics. Last time I came, the air pressure was quite unstable, and the seawater was rising and forming an updraft. With just a little help, I can create a tornado.” He pointed to the rainy sky outside. “Today the air pressure is relatively stable and the weather is quite cold. Although there are cumulonimbus clouds, it will be difficult to create a tornado.”

"So does that mean today is..."

"Don't worry, the tornado was just something I used to show off, it's not really something. See the transmutation circle I drew on the deck earlier? That can handle this battle."

“…Take a look at the deck first,” Dietrich pointed to the deck outside.

When Isaac went outside, he discovered that the transmutation circle he had drawn on the deck was gone!

what happened?

Isaac suddenly remembered that the waves had been quite large earlier that day, with seawater frequently splashing onto the deck, and that his transmutation circle was drawn with chalk...

"Let's carve it with a knife." He said, picking up his military knife and starting to carve on the deck.

And then,

“Isaac…” a pleasant voice rang out from behind.

Isaac and Dietrich looked back at the same time and saw a beautifully dressed girl standing behind them.

Violet had already changed into the dress Isaac had given her.

"Oh! It's beautiful."

"Tch." Seeing Violet dressed like a princess in a different outfit, Dietfried snorted in annoyance and turned to Isaac, "You pervert, you even carry women's clothes with you?"

"Bullshit! I made it right here!" Isaac, who was being mistaken for a pervert, naturally cursed.

"You actually dressed up a prop in such a beautiful outfit, you haven't developed any other feelings for her, have you?" Dietrich sneered.

“It’s not a prop~” Isaac walked up to Violet. “This is my handpicked lieutenant, Violet~”

"Violet? That doesn't sound like a name you would come up with."

"Do you believe I'll hit you?"

The topic was not pursued further. Isaac continued to carve the transmutation circle on the deck, with Violet by his side, while Dietfried returned to the command room to continue trying to contact reinforcements.

But at this moment,

Ring ring ring ring!

The alarm suddenly went off!

Dietrich suddenly rushed out and shouted to Isaac, "Enemy sighted, 3 o'clock, 5 nautical miles."

After saying that, he immediately picked up the walkie-talkie and directed the sailors to begin the battle.

“Five nautical miles? That’s not even within their firing range.” Turning to Dietrich, who was giving instructions over the walkie-talkie, “Approximately how long until contact?”

"We'll be within their firing range in less than half an hour!" He glanced at his watch and continued, "The enemy has a total of six ships, each equipped with more than eight cannons; they should be their main force!"

"Half an hour?" Looking at the unfinished transmutation circle on the ground, "I guess it's too late."

Sheathing his saber, Isaac stood next to Dietfried and took a pair of binoculars from a sailor to look in the direction of the enemy ship.

"Does the ship have enough cannonballs?"

"We have enough shells, but our ship's armor is rather thin, I'm afraid..."

"Don't worry, I'll handle the attacks from the other side." Isaac said this as he ran off and stood on the highest point of the ship.

Then he used a knife to carve patterns on his hand.

The ship was soon within firing range.

Boom! Boom! Boom...

The opposing warships roared with gunfire, firing dozens or even hundreds of shells that flew in parabolic arcs toward Isaac.

Isaac suddenly clasped his hands together and made a grasping motion towards the sky. Unlike the sky-blue lightning he used in alchemy before, red lightning flashed, and dozens of cannonballs instantly exploded in the sky.

boom!

The shockwave from the explosion made their ship rock violently.

The enemy forces on the other side were also stunned at this moment.

"Can anyone tell me what just happened?"

Why did the shell explode in mid-air?!

"what happened?"

Meanwhile, Dietrich immediately reacted and yelled at his men, "What are you standing there for? Open fire!"

"Oh...yes, I understand!"

The sailors also got busy, loading shells and moving the cannons. With a series of loud bangs, the fleet also fired shells.

In an instant, the air was thick with the smoke of battle.

"Still unable to contact reinforcements?"

"Still nothing. I'm afraid we've been ambushed."

Before they could even chat, the enemy's second round of artillery fire arrived. Isaac hurriedly used alchemy again to detonate all the shells in mid-air.

"This ability is practically cheating."

"Just routine operation." He touched the red gem in his pocket and had to admit that it was indeed useful.

After several back-and-forth battles, only two ships remained on the opposite side, and victory was practically assured.

At that moment, a fleet of about five warships approached from the opposite direction.

"Tsk, you only come after the battle is over," Dietrich snorted unhappily. "Now you know how to share the credit?"

"Wait, why don't they fire at the enemy when they come over?" They're already within firing range, why don't they take the initiative to attack?

"...Oh no! Everyone, get down!" Dietrich shouted, realizing something was wrong.

boom!

What happened next surprised everyone.

The reinforcements' fleet actually opened fire on our side!

"As expected, that fleet has already been captured by the enemy!"

During the recent bombardment, Isaac didn't have time to activate his alchemy and was thrown to the ground by the ship's rocking motion.

Violet rushed over to help Isaac up after seeing him fall to the ground.

"Thank you... Violet..." Isaac, who was still unsteady on his feet after being helped up, thanked Violet and glanced at the sky.

"!"

Suddenly, Violet was pushed aside, and to her bewilderment, a bronze spear descended from the sky, pinning Isaac firmly to the deck.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"!"

Violet's usually indifferent eyes finally changed, and she rushed towards Isaac regardless of whether it was dangerous.

"Hey! Are you alright?" Dietrich ran over as well.

"Do I look... alright?" Isaac said intermittently, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

At that moment, a mocking voice suddenly came from the walkie-talkie that Dietrich had been holding, which had not been able to connect with the reinforcements.

"Long time no see, Colonel Isaac!"

“…Stephen Andev?” Isaac uttered the man’s name with a grim face, “The Bronze Alchemist!”

Chapter Thirteen: But I refuse!

It was still drizzling, and the sound of lightning could be heard from time to time.

Stephen Andreev, also known as Stephen the Bronze, supplied the army with a large amount of ammunition on the battlefield of Ishvalan and broke through the enemy's defenses many times. He was promoted to colonel along with Isaac at the end of the war, until he defected a few months ago.

"Colonel Isaac, it's an honor that you still remember me. I wonder if you're satisfied with my gift?" A teasing voice came from Dietrich's walkie-talkie.

"Xiao Di, give me the walkie-talkie," Isaac said weakly, bleeding heavily from being pierced by the bronze spear.

"Don't call me by that name!" Although she was annoyed by how Isaac addressed her, she still handed him the walkie-talkie.

Isaac coughed up blood to the side, remaining pinned to the ground, and weakly took the walkie-talkie, saying, "Stephen, right? I need to talk to you about something..."

"...Dear Mr. Isaac, what would you like to say to me?" His tone remained sarcastic.