Chapter 28: Negotiation
A blonde female general stood before Su Xiao, holding a rapier in her hand.
This female general immediately reminded Su Xiao of Esdeath, but she was different from Esdeath—she had no hobby of torturing people and was a valiant and skilled warrior.
The female general was named Olivia Mira Armstrong, also known as the Ice Queen. She held the rank of Major General and was responsible for guarding the "Bricks Fortress."
Having such a talented commander sent to this harsh, cold region had only one reason: her abilities were too formidable, and the Homunculi were somewhat wary of her, thus denying her the chance to enter Central City.
"You are... the demon of the Ishbal Extermination War!"
Olivia Mira recognized Su Xiao. She had studied the Ishbal Extermination War. As the alchemist who had killed the most during that campaign, having his face remembered was only natural.
"What are you doing in the North, and why are you sitting in my seat?"
Olivia Mira despised alchemists who ran around recklessly. In her view, alchemists should be imprisoned or directly sent to the front lines as combat assets.
"It seems the news here is somewhat outdated, or perhaps Central City has already cut off communications here."
Su Xiao's expression was calm. He was here to negotiate today, not to fight.
"Less nonsense. State your purpose."
"Very well. I don't want to waste too many words either."
Su Xiao organized his thoughts and began speaking:
"I came to you this time to persuade you to rebel."
No matter how many guesses Olivia Mira had, she never expected this to be Su Xiao's goal.
"What?"
The usually composed Olivia Mira raised her voice slightly.
"Do you know what you're saying? A State Alchemist discussing rebellion with a Major General? Do you believe I'll order my men to arrest you right now?"
"I am no longer a State Alchemist."
Olivia Mira's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
"Never mind. Let's start from the beginning. You can doubt my account; I'm only giving you a general direction."
Su Xiao began to explain to Olivia Mira the purpose behind the founding of this country, the Homunculi, the Dwarf in the Flask, and the bribery of the military high command.
Olivia Mira's expression remained unchanged throughout.
"Absurd! I only believe what I see with my own eyes."
As expected, Olivia Mira was not so easily convinced.
Su Xiao hadn't planned to persuade her in one go. He was only providing her with a line of thought.
As one of the main forces needed to defeat the Homunculi, Olivia Mira was an ally that had to be united.
"If you have any doubts, you can call in your subordinates and bring a map of Amestris."
Olivia hesitated for a moment, then pushed open the door and left the office. Not long after, several of her trusted subordinates entered the room.
Among Olivia's subordinates was a half-Ishbalan, half-Amestrian named Miles. He inherited the Ishbalan features of white hair and red eyes.
Miles naturally recognized Su Xiao and looked at him with hostility, but he didn't speak.
Su Xiao brought the map in front of him.
"First, let's look at the map of Amestris. Do you notice anything wrong?"
Tapping the map of Amestris, Su Xiao looked around at the few people present. They were all on high alert, as if ready to arrest Su Xiao at any moment.
"Nothing wrong."
Olivia shook her head.
"The map of this country is a circle."
Su Xiao spoke, and the brows of the others furrowed. A circle wasn't unusual; Amestris had been constantly invading neighboring small countries, expanding its territory was normal.
"First, let's compare this country to a circle."
Su Xiao drew a circle on the map of Amestris, perfectly enclosing the entire country.
"July 1558, the Livia Incident, over 10,000 casualties."
Su Xiao marked the location of Livia.
"October 1661, the Cameron Uprising, over 20,000 casualties."
Su Xiao marked the location of Cameron.
"February 1799, the Soptman Incident, over 50,000 dead."
Su Xiao continued marking on the map.
"1811, the Vesly Incident, over 30,000 dead."
"June 1835, the First Southern Border War."
"May 1911, the Second Southern Border War."
"1913, the Intehans Civil War."
"1914, the Leore Uprising."
...
Su Xiao began to trace lines on the map.
"What happens if you connect all the locations where wars have occurred?"
The group leaned in. As Su Xiao traced with his pencil, an alchemical array appeared, the lines perfectly aligned.
"What... is this?"
Several of Olivia Mira's subordinates were stunned. Even a fool could now see that something was wrong with this country.
Olivia Mira was the first to react: "What does this transmutation array represent?"
"This is the transmutation array for a Philosopher's Stone."
Su Xiao took out a stack of documents, a detailed explanation of the Philosopher's Stone.
Olivia Mira flipped through the information, her expression growing darker. The Dwarf in the Flask intended to transmute the entire population of the country into a Philosopher's Stone.
But she wouldn't easily believe Su Xiao's one-sided account. However, the wars Su Xiao mentioned were all real events—that couldn't be faked. A coincidence? Impossible!
"Let me give you one more piece of information. 'Bricks Fortress' is here." Su Xiao tapped a point on the map with his pencil.
"This is also a node in the transmutation array, a very important one. Although 'Bricks Fortress' and the surrounding enemy countries frequently have small-scale conflicts, the bloodshed is far from sufficient."
Su Xiao fell silent. Now, he just needed to let Olivia Mira think it over on her own.
"I haven't found any flaws in your words for now, but I only believe what I see with my own eyes. I won't believe it based solely on your account."
Olivia Mira still didn't commit.
"Suit yourself. If I'm not mistaken, Central City will soon send someone down. When that happens, you'll have two choices: abandon your subordinates and cooperate with Central City, or rise up in resistance."
Su Xiao wasn't worried about Olivia Mira cooperating with the Dwarf in the Flask. That was impossible.
"And what role do you play?"
Olivia Mira stared directly at Su Xiao.
"Me? I'm a wanted criminal now."
"A wanted criminal? For what reason?"
"Because I killed a Homunculus."
Hearing this, Olivia Mira let out a scornful laugh.
"I might believe the rest, but Homunculi? Ridiculous. Humans are not created."
"Don't be too quick to deny it. Perhaps a Homunculus will appear before you soon. For an alchemist, creating a Homunculus is not impossible."
The negotiation between the two sides ended there. Olivia Mira needed time to verify Su Xiao's words.
Su Xiao wasn't in a hurry either. Without the support of Olivia Mira and Mustang, his chances of defeating the Dwarf in the Flask were very low, even zero.
Su Xiao temporarily resided in Bricks Fortress. Although he could move freely, Olivia Mira had assigned him over a dozen "guides" to prevent him from getting "lost" in the fortress.
Looking at the dozen burly men in front of him, the surveillance was far too obvious.
After waiting for two days, a turning point finally arrived. The protagonist, the Elric brothers, had come to Bricks Fortress.