Chapter 3: Explosive Flame Hell
The youth was named Envy, a homunculus, created by the Homunculus in the Flask.
To pursue perfection and obtain loyal subordinates, the Homunculus in the Flask divided his various emotions and used these emotions combined with Philosopher's Stones to create seven homunculi, namely:
Lust (Lust), appearing as a young and beautiful woman, actual age over 200 years.
Gluttony (Gluttony), appearing as a round little fatso, over 100 years old.
Envy (Jealousy), appearing as a youth, over 100 years old.
Greed (Greed), appearing as an adult male, over 100 years old.
Sloth (Sloth), appearing as a burly man, over 100 years old.
Pride (Pride), appearing as a child, age 343 years.
Wrath (Wrath), normal human appearance, features change with age, an artificial homunculus, age 60, currently serving as the Fuhrer, alias King Bradley.
Among the seven homunculi, the strongest is Wrath (Wrath). He lacks the regenerative abilities of the other homunculi because he has fully absorbed the Philosopher's Stone within him, greatly enhancing his physical abilities.
If it came to a one-on-one fight, Su Xiao wasn't sure he could defeat him. The opponent was strong in both swordsmanship and physical prowess, and that Ultimate Eye provided a significant boost to his swordsmanship.
But Su Xiao very much wanted to fight him. A powerful enemy like that would make for an interesting and thrilling battle.
As for the other homunculi, Su Xiao was confident he could defeat them, though it would take some time.
Su Xiao mentally ranked the homunculi: the strongest was Wrath, followed by Pride (Pride), then Gluttony (Gluttony).
As for the other homunculi, if he had enough Philosopher's Stones, Su Xiao could blast them to death. Even without alchemy bombs, he could chop them to pieces.
What did strong regenerative abilities matter? If he couldn't kill them once, he'd kill them ten times. If ten times wasn't enough, a hundred times.
Envy parked the car by the roadside. Sounds of fighting came from a street in the distance.
"Your pocket watch."
Envy tossed a silver pocket watch to Su Xiao. After catching it, a notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Notification: You have joined the Homunculus Faction. Faction Favorability: Indifferent.]
After receiving the notification, Su Xiao's expression remained unchanged, but he had already planned his general direction.
Infiltrating the enemy's ranks would be difficult. His identity had already helped the homunculi accomplish many things. The fact that Envy revealed his face in front of him was the best example, yet the faction favorability was still Indifferent.
"This is a Philosopher's Stone."
Envy tossed over a grain-sized Philosopher's Stone.
The Philosopher's Stone was entirely red, smooth to the touch, and nearly weightless.
"Too little."
Su Xiao checked the attributes of the Philosopher's Stone in his hand.
[Philosopher's Stone]
Quality: Blue (Increases based on Philosopher's Stone size)
Type: Consumable
Effect: Can substitute for most known materials. Remaining Energy Rating: 70
Introduction: A crude processing of souls, low efficiency, unstable.
...
"It's enough for this battle. After you win, bring the 'prisoner's' body to me, and I'll provide more Philosopher's Stones."
Envy drove away. Su Xiao watched the departing vehicle. That guy had a large Philosopher's Stone inside him. Robbing him would be a good idea.
Su Xiao didn't care about the method of creating Philosopher's Stones. He wouldn't make them himself, but he didn't reject using them either.
Continuous rumbling came from not far away. Su Xiao walked forward slowly.
Boom!
An ice wall rose up. Su Xiao sidestepped to dodge it. A figure stood atop the ice wall.
"Looks like you're the target."
Su Xiao's voice caught the attention of the man on the ice wall. The man was tall, with a ponytail, wearing a blue military uniform.
His name was Isaac McDougal, the Freezing Alchemist, a veteran of many wars.
Isaac stood on the ice wall. Upon seeing Su Xiao, his pupils contracted sharply.
"Flame Alchemist. Even a demon like you has been released. The military will stop at nothing to deal with me."
Su Xiao held the Philosopher's Stone in his left hand. Light flickered in his right hand. After consuming 30 mana points, a high-grade alchemy bomb appeared.
Originally requiring 80 mana points for a high-grade alchemy bomb, it now only needed 30.
The alchemy bomb deformed in his hand, eventually turning into a spear.
Su Xiao threw the spear. Isaac immediately jumped off the ice wall.
Boom!
An explosion echoed through the night sky. Flames surged.
Not far away, the protagonist Edward Elric and his brother came running, witnessing the massive explosion.
"What is this guy? An alchemist?"
Edward Elric and his brother stood side by side in the distance, not daring to approach. It was too dangerous.
Flame Alchemist Roy Mustang stepped forward, his expression grim.
"This guy was released? Impossible. What is the military thinking? Are their heads filled with water?"
Roy Mustang sighed.
"Fullmetal Alchemist, don't come any closer. Just wait for the battle to end."
"Why—"
Boom!
Another explosion rang out. A severed arm flew through the air, landing right in front of Edward Elric.
Boom, boom, boom!
The city seemed to turn into a powder keg. Streets were shattered, houses collapsed in large numbers, though civilians had been evacuated an hour earlier.
The area ahead had become an explosive inferno. No living person could enter.
Hiss. Steam spread out. Su Xiao stood within the steam, his vision obstructed, but he could still sense the enemy's position.
"You're also a State Alchemist. Haven't you noticed anything about what this country is doing?"
Isaac had discovered the country's secrets, but he didn't know who was behind it all. His goal was to kill the Fuhrer, King Bradley, the homunculus Wrath (Wrath).
Killing the Fuhrer was a somewhat naive idea. The Fuhrer wasn't so easy to kill.
Su Xiao rushed out of the steam. Isaac was now in an alley, one arm severed, covered in blood, unable to use alchemy.
Using alchemy required clasping both hands together and drawing an array. Some alchemists, for convenience, had the array tattooed on their hands.
"At this range, you can't use bombs anymore, you explosion-crazed maniac."
Isaac held a blood spike in his hand, formed by freezing blood.
To be precise, Isaac's alchemy wasn't just about freezing liquids; he could also make them boil.
"Yeah, I can't use them anymore."
The Philosopher's Stone had little energy left. Su Xiao didn't plan to use it further.
Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in his hand. Isaac was taken aback.
"Using a sword? You want to fight me in close combat? Flame Alchemist, are you underestimating me?"
Isaac charged forward with the blood spike. His speed wasn't fast, but by ordinary standards, Isaac was a master of physical techniques.
A flash of gleaming blade light. Blood gushed out. Isaac fell to the ground, staining the ground beneath him with blood.
"What... is this..."
Isaac breathed his last. In his impression, Su Xiao could only create bombs and wasn't skilled in physical combat.
[You have killed Isaac.]
[Isaac is a normal plot character. Obtained World Source 1.2%. Total World Source obtained: 1.2%.]
[Your talent 'Soul Devourer' has been activated. Permanently increased 11 mana points. Current mana points: 914.]
The increase in mana points meant an increase in health points. The health point bonus from the Spirit Shadow Constitution was getting higher and higher.
Picking up Isaac's body, Isaac didn't drop a treasure chest. Su Xiao's luck today wasn't great, but that was just routine.
Having bad luck wasn't scary; what was scary was getting used to it.
Walking out of the alley, several people rushed toward him. Su Xiao focused his gaze. It was the protagonist and his brother, along with Colonel Roy Mustang.
Su Xiao looked at Edward Elric. Edward was quite short, about 165 centimeters. Please don't misunderstand; that 165 had a lot of water in it. It included the height of Edward Elric's antenna-like hair and the thickness of his shoe soles. If you measured his bare height, it was probably only about 150 centimeters.
"Bubu, come out."
Bubu Wang had hidden somewhere again.
In a distant cattle pen, Bubu Wang calmly mingled with the herd of cows, blending in perfectly without any sense of incongruity. He even occasionally lowered his head to eat grass.
A cow approached Bubu Wang, its fervent gaze making Bubu Wang's dog body tense up.