Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

"This mission... will probably be very dangerous; the other side will definitely send in troops."

Upon hearing his words, Karen's eyes hardened.

"Then let's fight those bastards. We've already put in a lot of effort to get Knightmare, and we can definitely fight the Britannian army."

"That being said, but..."

He was about to say something when he suddenly noticed the masked man walking out of the kitchen.

"Huh? It...didn't it go back to Mr. Yao's side?"

"Oh, you mean him?"

Karen smiled and patted the masked man's metallic shoulder.

"It seems like it was just fully charged this morning."

"I see……"

The man thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

"Perhaps we can borrow it from Mr. Yao for a period of time."

"Huh?"

"Wait, did Mr. Yao really agree to let him be borrowed?"

----------

"Oh, I don't mind."

"really?"

"Anyway, there are some things that are beyond my control."

In a laboratory setting, Isaac stood in a corner, smiling as he made a phone call.

"You would call me to ask to borrow him, so you must have some difficult task to complete, right?"

"……Yes."

"May I ask, is the mission dangerous?"

"...To be honest, it's extremely dangerous, possibly this time..."

"Okay, you can have it."

"Oh? Thank you so much!"

"You're too kind," Isaac said with a smile. "To be honest, I really would like him to come back if it were a simple mission, but since it's extremely dangerous, that's another story. After all... he can only 'evolve' through constant battles."

"what?"

"It's nothing. There's no need to know so much about artificial intelligence. You can lend it to me, but remember to cover his mask. I'm a legitimate businessman, after all. If he knew I was helping you guys cause trouble, then we couldn't do business together."

"Yes!"

beep—

After hanging up the phone, Isaac's face, which had been full of smiles, suddenly darkened.

He didn't care about what happened over there; what was really tiring for him was what was happening on his own.

"Mr. Yao, what's wrong? You seem listless?"

"I feel listless when I see you."

Before Isaac stood a man who looked like a scientist, wearing a white lab coat and large round-framed glasses.

Lloyd Asprinde, Director of the Special Guide Technology Department of the Holy Britannian Empire, is also said to be a count.

Since Isaac also works in the technology industry, the two became acquainted through their interactions.

"Oh dear, Mr. Yao, don't say that. We are both scientists. Seeing my invention will surely energize you."

Lloyd said excitedly.

He then gave a wink to his female assistant behind him, who nodded and lifted a huge piece of cloth.

What Isaac saw was a white and gold Knightmare.

"How about it, Mr. Yao? This is our team's latest development—Lancelot!"

Isaac: "My blood pressure is going to spike."

Chapter 1334: Are you sure this is a weapon?

Lloyd is a very capable scientist; after all, he is the technical director of the Special Missionary Guides Department of the Holy Britannian Empire.

He specializes in Knightmare technology and can be considered a senior weapons design expert.

As for the weapons designed...

Isaac stared expressionlessly at the machine he had designed, named Lancelot.

Well, it does look more aesthetically pleasing than a typical Knightmare, and the color scheme is great too, but...

"I have a question. As a land combat weapon designed for driving operations, why does this thing use such a conspicuous platinum and gold color scheme? Isn't there camouflage?"

"Oh, don't you think this color scheme is beautiful?"

"Do you even understand that this is a weapon?"

Isaac rubbed his forehead, then lowered his hand and glanced at Knightmare's weapon bay.

There's a grappling hook specifically designed for this type of weapon, no problem. One gun, no problem. Two swords...

"May I ask one more question? What is that sword at his waist?"

"Oh, Mr. Yao has hit the nail on the head."

Lloyd hopped over to the machine and pointed to the two massive swords at its waist.

"This is our proudest weapon, the MVS (Maser Vibration Sword). Ordinary armor is as fragile as paper in front of it."

"Oh, can it fire laser beams to destroy distant enemies?"

"No."

"Can it interfere with the other party's communication system?"

“No, not either.” Lloyd laughed. “Mr. Yao, what are you talking about? This is a melee weapon.”

"Melee combat..."

Isaac never expected that in this era of beyond-visual-range combat, someone would use advanced technology to invent a close-combat weapon.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Mr. Yao? Why are you covering your head?"

"It's nothing... just a flare-up of my high blood pressure."

To be fair, Lloyd was indeed a very capable scientist, and many of his inventions were even ahead of the Britannian Empire.

If a scientist like this were placed in Amestris, then, barring any unforeseen circumstances... something bad would happen.

He'll probably be dragged out and executed by Isaac in a few days.

As a State alchemist involved in weapons development, Isaac couldn't accept that the thing in front of him could be called a weapon.

"So... is there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Isaac swore that if this guy was trying to trade this toy for technology, he would punch him in the face immediately.

“Of course it’s something important.” Lloyd suddenly jumped in front of Isaac. “I want you to become Lancelot’s pilot.”

"..."

Isaac now wants to punch him twice.

"...Could you please explain why?"

"Because this machine is quite special, it naturally needs to be piloted by the most powerful pilot... oh, I usually call it a 'Knight' here."

“Even if I were a Saint Seiya, I wouldn’t want to pilot this thing,” Isaac said with a look of disgust. “I can’t think of any other use for it except to hand out balloons to kids at the amusement park.”

"Oh dear, I disagree with Mr. Yao's statement."

Lloyd suddenly squinted his glasses.

"How about we have a competition?"

"What are we comparing?"

"I heard that Mr. Yao recently signed some kind of agreement with His Highness Clovis, supposedly to provide him with weapons from your company."

"..."

"His Highness Clovis has always been reluctant to accept our help, because accepting our help would mean doing his brother a favor. So during his time in District 11, His Highness has been very close to Mr. Yao."

"...You mean, Clovis's procurement of our company's weapons is for political purposes?"

"I didn't say that. I just think that when it comes to designing weapons, our department should be able to compete with a private company."

After Lloyd finished speaking, he smiled and looked at Isaac.

"I heard that Mr. Yao designed a very interesting, life-sized, self-disciplined Knightmare. How about having it fight Lancelot?"

"Sure... but the product hasn't left the factory yet."

"Isn't there one? The one that's always with Mr. Yao."

Lloyd was referring to the masked man who had always been by Isaac's side but whose whereabouts were now unknown.

"..."

Isaac fell silent upon hearing Lloyd's words.

He looked at the other person with a very subtle expression and said, "You're going to test him with your toy?"

"Please call him Lancelot."

"I don't care whether this toy is called Lancelot or King Arthur, let me tell you in advance that our company will not be responsible for any damage to your toy."

"Oh? It seems Mr. Yao really looks down on Lancelot."

“This isn’t about whether you look down on someone or not; you have no idea what you’re dealing with,” Isaac said seriously. “If you don’t want to go crazy, you’d better not try to understand what it is.”

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