Chapter 30: At Wit's End
Olivia tapped her fingers lightly on the wooden table, as if deep in thought.
“For a Philosopher’s Stone as big as the one in my hand, how many humans would need to be sacrificed?”
Edward pondered for a moment.
“Probably over a dozen.”
“That many?”
“Yes, and that’s a conservative estimate. I’ve studied the data on Philosopher’s Stones in detail.”
Olivia continued her questioning, “And what about one the size of an egg?”
“What!”
Edward looked at Olivia in horror.
“Don’t be surprised. I actually saw one that big two days ago. This piece was chipped off from it.”
Now that she knew the origin of the Philosopher’s Stone, Olivia began to feel the weight of the red stone in her hand.
“If it was that big, I can’t even imagine... Who was holding such a massive Philosopher’s Stone?”
“...”
Olivia didn’t reveal that it was Su Xiao. She had a vague feeling that he had indeed come to form an alliance with her.
If they were truly going to fight the Central Army, alchemists would be crucial, and the Steel Alchemist before her was also a valuable combatant.
“I understand the situation roughly. Tell me the purpose of your visit here.”
Olivia’s tone softened slightly.
“The purpose of our visit is...”
The Elric brothers explained their reason for coming. They were looking for a little girl accompanied by a red panda, hoping to learn alkahestry from her.
The Elric brothers had already met the Homunculus in the flask, the man who bore the same face as their father.
In his presence, their alchemy had failed—no, they couldn’t use alchemy at all.
In contrast, the little girl and the scarred man had been fighting fiercely against the Homunculi using alkahestry.
Edward had already vaguely sensed that the man who looked like Hohenheim might be the mastermind behind everything. The Homunculi called him “Father.”
“I see.”
Olivia looked at the portrait in her hand, which depicted a red panda.
“We need to find its owner.”
Just as Olivia was conversing with the Elric brothers, a soldier burst through the door with a bang.
“Major General, something terrible has happened!”
“What is it? Don’t panic.”
“It’s... it’s like this. A monster suddenly emerged from underground and is now in the lower levels of the base.”
“A monster?”
“Yes, a monster.”
Olivia furrowed her brow. Troubles were coming one after another.
“Where is it?”
“Near the weapons depot.”
The moment the soldier finished speaking, Olivia stood up abruptly and rushed toward the lower levels of the fortress.
The weapons depot was the fortress’s lifeline. If they lost their weapons, the surrounding enemy nations would attack immediately.
The Elric brothers followed behind Olivia.
“You two don’t need to come.”
While running, Olivia turned to look at the Elric brothers. She still didn’t know if they were friend or foe.
“We can help. Don’t forget, we’re alchemists. If there’s trouble in the fortress, we won’t just stand by.”
Edward flashed a grin.
“Then follow orders. If you act on your own, don’t blame me for being harsh.”
“No problem.”
Olivia nodded inwardly. The brothers hadn’t shown any hostility.
The group quickly arrived at the lowest level of the fortress, which was already over ten meters underground. The fortress had dozens of above-ground floors and three underground levels, used for storing weapons, food, and other supplies.
...
Inside the underground structure of the fortress, in an open plaza.
This was the weapons testing ground. The fortress developed its own weapons here, and the area was reinforced with steel structures, making it very sturdy.
A burly man, three meters tall with sharply defined muscles, was under siege.
Bang, bang, bang...
Dense bullets struck his body, but they didn’t even break his skin.
“That hurts... how troublesome.”
The man spoke slowly and lazily, exuding a sense of lethargy.
“This place is huge.”
The man had only one eye; in place of the other was a red node. Just by looking at him, it was clear he wasn’t a normal human.
The Elric brothers rushed out from the staircase and immediately noticed the red pattern on the man’s shoulder—a circular ouroboros symbol.
“This is... a Homunculus!”
Edward immediately recognized the man’s identity and felt a pang of unease. They had come here to find a way to deal with the Homunculi, and his first thought was that the Homunculi had seen through his plan.
“We’re only here to find a way to restore our bodies.”
Edward’s explanation sounded weak. He had been threatened by the Homunculi before—if they dared to act recklessly, his childhood friend’s life would be in danger.
“Who are you?”
The identity of this burly man was already clear: Sloth.
Sloth was different from the other Homunculi. He wasn’t very intelligent, was naturally dull-witted, and his dream was to sleep forever.
“Right, I need to dig a hole... how annoying.”
Sloth’s task was to dig a circular tunnel beneath the country of Amestris. What he was excavating was the energy channel for the National Transmutation Circle.
“I want to sleep... how annoying.”
Sloth slowly walked to the side, each step causing a loud rumble. This guy was incredibly heavy.
“Get out of the way!”
A woman’s shout rang out, followed by a series of rumbling sounds.
Olivia stood inside a tank, her upper body exposed.
“Ready.”
The tank’s turret began to rotate.
“Fire!”
Boom!
Olivia had no interest in conversing with Sloth. He had already invaded the weapons depot, and she wasn’t going to listen to his explanations.
A shell slammed directly into Sloth’s face and exploded.
Flames and smoke engulfed Sloth. The soldiers present all breathed a sigh of relief—the enemy was dealt with. No one could withstand that kind of bombardment.
As the smoke cleared, Sloth’s figure reappeared. He only had a minor injury on his cheek, and red electric light flickered as the wound healed.
“How is this possible? The shell had no effect.”
The morale of the Northern Army took a hit. No matter how brave they were, facing such an inhuman monster left them at a loss.
Olivia froze for a second before snapping back to reality.
“Don’t just stand there! Reload!”
After more than ten seconds, the tank fired again. This time, to increase lethality, the loader switched to solid shells.
Boom. Flames burst from the tank’s muzzle.
A dark red shell struck Sloth’s abdomen. Sloth’s body only jolted slightly as the solid shell bounced off, creating a small crater in the ground.
“That hurts... pain is also troublesome. Right, I need to work.”
Sloth completely ignored the shelling. He was too lazy—too lazy to fight, too lazy to talk.
Boom, boom...
One solid shell after another struck Sloth’s body.
Sloth’s body swayed, as if he was getting a bit annoyed. He casually lifted a nearby steel pipe and swung it at the tanks.
With a clang, one tank was crushed flat in a large area, and the other tanks immediately retreated.
“Don’t stop the shelling.”
Olivia felt helpless. This was the first time she had encountered such an inhuman monster, and she couldn’t think of an effective countermeasure on the spot.
“Olivia, as an ally, why didn’t you notify me when something happened in the fortress?”
A voice rang out. Olivia looked up and saw Su Xiao sitting on a high railing, a smile on his face, a cigarette between his fingers, and a dog following behind him.
“Do you have a way to deal with this monster?”
Olivia narrowed her eyes. She had already sensed that this Explosion Alchemist was no ordinary person.
“I’m being hunted by those guys precisely because I killed a Homunculus.”
Su Xiao leaped down from the railing.