Chapter 33: Flames of War
Su Xiao picked up the treasure chest on the ground. The plot characters couldn’t see this item, and none of the people present noticed anything unusual.
Su Xiao ignored the wary gazes around him and directly looked at Olivia.
“This is a homunculus. Seeing is believing.”
Without needing much explanation from Su Xiao, Sloth’s physique had already surpassed the limits of living creatures.
“Let’s cooperate.”
Olivia, who had been hesitant before, directly proposed an alliance.
“Agreed.”
With both allies united, the next step was to figure out how to deal with the Homunculus in the Flask.
However, the contractors within the derivative world also needed to be watched. He didn’t want to do the work for someone else’s benefit.
Olivia was so quick to cooperate with Su Xiao for a reason: Su Xiao was too strong, far beyond her imagination.
Olivia wasn’t afraid of Su Xiao’s strength; she was afraid of the person Su Xiao intended to face.
If someone this strong needed to seek allies, just how powerful was the Homunculus in the Flask he spoke of?
The answer was that the Homunculus in the Flask was the strongest alchemist, or perhaps he had already surpassed the realm of alchemy.
Successfully allying with Olivia was undoubtedly a major step forward in the plan.
Su Xiao’s final mission objective was to “use the Philosopher’s Flask to seize the Divine Power (False).” Note that the mission was to seize the Divine Power, not simply defeat the Homunculus in the Flask.
Simply defeating the Homunculus in the Flask would be easier. Before sacrificing all the citizens of Amestris into a Philosopher’s Stone, the Homunculus in the Flask was strong, but not to an insurmountable degree.
Su Xiao’s mission wasn’t just to defeat the Homunculus in the Flask; it was to seize the Divine Power within his body.
The Homunculus in the Flask hadn’t yet obtained the Divine Power; he would only gain it after sacrificing the entire nation of Amestris.
The promotion mission was a headache. He had to both defeat the Homunculus in the Flask and let him complete the National Transmutation Circle to obtain the Divine Power.
But the Homunculus in the Flask after gaining the Divine Power was too strong. In the original story, after obtaining the Divine Power, he created a sun in the palm of his hand. That kind of power was simply too exaggerated.
He needed to let the other party obtain the Divine Power, but not let him become as absurdly strong as in the original story. That was the outcome Su Xiao wanted to see.
As soon as Su Xiao entered the Fullmetal Alchemist world, he began searching for homunculi. This wasn’t just to gain World Source and treasure chests; it was to speed up the Homunculus in the Flask’s progress toward “godhood.”
The National Transmutation Circle was all arranged by the homunculi. The Homunculus in the Flask usually stayed underground in the President’s mansion and never left. Now that five of the seven homunculi were dead, the Homunculus in the Flask must have sensed something was wrong.
The remaining two homunculi were very important. One was Pride, who secretly monitored Central City, and the other was Wrath, who openly ruled the entire nation.
Neither of them could leave Central City for long, which meant the arrangement of the National Transmutation Circle had stalled.
Now that the most crucial Sloth was also dead, the underground channels would soon be dug through. This was a good opportunity.
At this point, the Homunculus in the Flask had two choices: endure in silence or forcibly activate the National Transmutation Circle.
The first outcome was something Su Xiao didn’t want to see. His stay time was running out, and he didn’t have time to waste with this old immortal. So he was uniting allies, preparing to directly attack Central City.
The second outcome was what Su Xiao wanted to see. If the Homunculus in the Flask really did that, it meant the current National Transmutation Circle could still be activated.
A half-finished National Transmutation Circle was naturally not as good as the complete version, and its effects would be greatly diminished. At that point, obtaining the Divine Power should be no problem, after all, it was just equivalent exchange. How much he could exchange for was another matter.
If the Homunculus in the Flask was too strong, it wouldn’t work; if he was too weak, the mission couldn’t be completed. The promotion mission was really brain-burning.
What Su Xiao needed to do now was to ally with Olivia and Mustang to rebel. That’s right, rebellion.
Both of them commanded strong forces. The troops under Mustang had participated in the Ishvalan War of Extermination; they were soldiers who had seen blood. The soldiers under Olivia needed no introduction; they were permanently stationed at the border, and the weaklings had long been weeded out.
These two armies were certainly not enough to defeat the entire military of Amestris, but did the Homunculus in the Flask truly control the entire nation’s army? The answer was no.
The Homunculus in the Flask had a major flaw: he didn’t trust humans. He wouldn’t tell humans any secrets. Only a few homunculi knew his plan.
Although King Bradley was the Führer and held great prestige, his true identity couldn’t be exposed. Once the homunculus’s identity was revealed with solid evidence, the Amestrian military would mutiny.
Previously, Amestris had been constantly expanding its territory and experiencing civil wars. Generals from various regions had long been dissatisfied with King Bradley. Without the Homunculus in the Flask’s covert support, it was uncertain whether King Bradley could continue as Führer.
It wasn’t that the Führer was incompetent, but that the Homunculus in the Flask’s ultimate goal was too anti-human. It was a miracle that King Bradley had managed to maintain the situation until now.
Although Amestris wasn’t a large country, it was still a nation. How could the people of a nation not notice its abnormalities?
Frantically expanding territory, then suddenly stopping, and then entering endless civil war.
This was a deformed country. Civil wars raged, racial conflicts intensified, and border generals acted independently.
But the Homunculus in the Flask didn’t care about this chaos. He didn’t want to govern the country; he wanted to use it.
In the end, the Homunculus in the Flask had always looked down on humans, considering them inferior animals. But he seemed to have forgotten who created him. In the beginning, he was just a small black ball in a round test tube.
Su Xiao’s plan was actually very simple. First, reduce the Homunculus in the Flask’s trusted subordinates (the homunculi). Then, unite allies to throw the entire country into chaos. On the surface, it was to overthrow the rule, but in reality, he was forcing the Homunculus in the Flask to carry out the National Transmutation Circle as soon as possible. If he couldn’t finish it, Su Xiao would help him.
His plan was already two-thirds complete. For the remaining third, he just needed to wait.
Colonel Mustang sought the position of Führer, and Olivia wanted to protect the North. Both of these conflicted with the Homunculus in the Flask.
The flames of war were about to ignite. This war wasn’t started by Su Xiao; it was provoked by the homunculi’s long-standing actions. Su Xiao just struck a small spark.
…
Inside the fortress, a day had passed since Su Xiao killed Sloth. His injuries had healed somewhat, at least his ribs were realigned.
In a meeting room, Su Xiao sat at a round table. At the other end was Olivia. On the table was an old-fashioned telephone, already connected.
“I never thought you’d actually succeed in convincing her.”
Mustang’s voice came through the phone. Judging by his tone, things were going smoothly on his end.
“What’s the attitude of the surrounding generals?”
Olivia spoke, asking Mustang.
“What else could it be? Although they all understand the situation and know that King Bradley is a homunculus and about the existence of the Homunculus in the Flask, those guys are just sitting back, waiting to reap the benefits.”
As soon as Mustang finished speaking, Olivia slammed her fist on the conference table.
“Are those pigs stupid? Even at this point, they still want to sit idly by?”
“Those guys aren’t stupid. Right now, they’re ready to lead their troops and flee Amestris at any moment. That’s fine too. At least our enemies are only the Central Army and some nearby troops, about two hundred thousand or so.”
[Taking a day off today.]
Two chapters today, consider it a day off to adjust my sleep schedule. I’ll try to resume the usual 6 PM update tomorrow.
*Reincarnation Paradise* is taking a day off today. Currently being typed. Please wait a moment. Content updated, please refresh the page to get the latest update!