Chapter 44: The Conspiracy Behind the Conspiracy
“Impossible, how could the God’s Power reject me.”
The Homunculus stood motionless in place, allowing the five human sacrifices to attack him.
A layer of intangible energy enveloped the Homunculus.
“Keep attacking him. He no longer has the Philosopher’s Stones of the Amestrians inside him. Only the Philosopher’s Stones of the Xerxesian ancients remain.”
Although Von Hohenheim’s words were somewhat convoluted, Edward understood immediately.
The Homunculus only had the remaining Philosopher’s Stones left inside him. The new Philosopher’s Stones had dissipated before they could even form. Those tens of millions of souls had already returned to their respective bodies.
Now, the God’s Power was the Homunculus’s core, and the Philosopher’s Stones were the energy he needed to use that core.
Without energy, he couldn’t use the God’s Power. Not only that, but the Homunculus also had to use energy to suppress the God’s Power.
Forget launching attacks, even moving was difficult for the Homunculus. His veins bulged all over his body, and his face was twisted in a snarl.
Boom, boom…
The five human sacrifices used all their strength, but the Homunculus stood rooted to the spot, unmoved.
At this moment, the Homunculus was even more anxious than the five human sacrifices. Although no new Philosopher’s Stones had formed, he could still barely suppress the God’s Power with the Philosopher’s Stones he had obtained earlier. At the very least, he needed to regain the ability to move freely.
Creating a sun with a wave of his hand was no longer possible, but the Homunculus’s combat power still far surpassed that of the five human sacrifices.
The awkward part was that the Homunculus still couldn’t move. He had activated an incomplete transmutation circle, forcibly dragging the God’s Power into his body.
After exhausting every effort to drag the God’s Power into his body, just as he had obtained it, the twenty million souls inside him were released.
It had to be said that the Homunculus’s mental fortitude was extremely strong. To endure all these upheavals without going mad was remarkable.
This was like a cultivator in a story who, after N years of training, overcame the heavenly tribulation and ascended to the immortal realm, only to be told upon arrival that his permissions were insufficient and he needed to top up 889 to complete the ascension. The feeling was far beyond what a simple “WTF” could describe.
Edward and the others’ attacks continued unabated. The Philosopher’s Stones inside the Homunculus were rapidly depleting.
A few minutes later, Edward slammed his hands onto the ground, and a spike of earth shot towards the Homunculus.
The Homunculus sidestepped to avoid it. This stunned the five human sacrifices. The guy could move, and he was dodging attacks. This meant the energy inside him was running low.
The Homunculus’s expression was exceptionally ferocious as he glared angrily at Hohenheim.
“Why? You, my own flesh and blood, why do you also stop me? Even at the very end, I never once thought of killing you.”
When the Homunculus had first performed the national transmutation, he had put half of the Philosopher’s Stones he obtained into Hohenheim’s body, granting Hohenheim immortality.
“Flesh and blood? No. The existence of both you and me is a mistake.”
Hearing Hohenheim’s words, killing intent finally surged in the Homunculus’s eyes.
At this point, the Homunculus’s various emotions had returned. To become a complete existence, emotions were indispensable.
Zzzz…
The sound of a metal wire contracting came. The Homunculus was bound by the wire.
The Philosopher’s Stones inside him were nearly exhausted. Apart from the energy used to suppress the God’s Power, the energy he could actually use was minimal.
The Homunculus spread his arms outward. With a *bang*, the Realm Severing Thread snapped apart.
Clang!
A blade light flashed from top to bottom. The Homunculus’s severed head wore an expression of utter shock. He couldn’t understand why a ‘mortal’ could harm him.
Red electric light flickered at the Homunculus’s neck.
“Nice one!”
Edward’s teacher, Izumi Curtis, clenched her fist. This slash was a stroke of genius. Both the timing and the point of attack were flawless.
Su Xiao had been hiding beside the hole above for a long time to make this slash. He had actually arrived much earlier but had simply not acted.
Although the Homunculus’s head had been severed, his regenerative abilities were extremely strong. It would only take a few seconds to regrow his head.
The moment he severed the Homunculus’s head, Su Xiao landed. As soon as he touched the ground, he charged towards the Homunculus.
Rushing in front of the Homunculus, Su Xiao didn’t continue attacking. Instead, a small vial, about the length of a finger, had appeared in his hand.
[Mana Crystal Vial]
Quality: None
Type: Quest Item
Effect: Used to collect God’s Power (Fake)
Rating: None
Description: None
Selling Price: Unsellable. Quest fails if lost.
…
Su Xiao gripped the [Mana Crystal Vial] and charged in front of the Homunculus.
*Plop.*
Su Xiao thrust the [Mana Crystal Vial] directly into the Homunculus’s neck. At that moment, the Homunculus’s head had only regenerated halfway.
Suddenly, the Homunculus’s regeneration stopped. He stood there like a statue.
[God’s Power (Fake) Collecting. Collected: 1%, 2%, 3%…]
The progress was neither fast nor slow. At most, thirty seconds, and the [Mana Crystal Vial] would fully collect the God’s Power.
There was no grand final battle against the final boss. Why had Su Xiao killed so many homunculi and then allied with Mustang and Olivier? The answer was to weaken the Homunculus’s power.
He used the plot characters to fight the Homunculus, and in the end, he would ‘pluck the peach’.
While the [Mana Crystal Vial] was collecting the God’s Power, Su Xiao completed the achievement quest [Conviction]. Although [Conviction] was only at (6/7), and Envy was nearby, he had no more time.
Su Xiao had no time to check the reward for the achievement quest [Conviction]. His gaze was fixed on the five human sacrifices.
“Why did the Homunculus suddenly stop moving?”
“Not sure. Bai Ye must have used some method.”
Edward and Hohenheim’s discussion caught Mustang’s attention.
Mustang had been forcibly subjected to human transmutation. The toll was his eyesight. He could no longer see anything.
“Who? Bai Ye?”
Mustang’s eyes were vacant, but he could still hear.
“Yeah. Bai Ye suddenly jumped down from above, and then…”
Edward narrated the situation to Mustang. Upon hearing that Su Xiao had placed a vial inside the Homunculus, Mustang’s hair stood on end.
The other human sacrifices hadn’t noticed anything unusual, not because they were stupid, but because they didn’t understand Su Xiao. Mustang was different. He had cooperated with Su Xiao before and had some understanding of his methods.
“Stop him!”
Mustang shouted. The other four human sacrifices were stunned, confused. Wasn’t Su Xiao clearly stopping the Homunculus?
“Don’t ask me why. That guy must have some scheme. He’s very likely trying to take his place and become a god.”
The several human sacrifices were startled. Just as they were about to attack Su Xiao, Su Xiao tightened the Realm Severing Thread.
The Realm Severing Thread had only snapped a small section earlier. The thread was over a hundred meters long; losing a small piece was a trivial matter.
As he tightened the Realm Severing Thread, a graceful figure covered in blood was pulled down from the hole above.
It was a blonde beauty with a well-proportioned figure, wearing a blue military uniform.
Su Xiao held the woman in his hand. The blonde woman’s hair was disheveled, and her breathing was weak.
The several human sacrifices halted their impending attack. Edward subconsciously looked towards Mustang.
“What’s wrong? Attack him! Point me in the right direction. I’ll do it myself.”
The blind Mustang was frantic.
“Colonel… Second Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye has been taken hostage by him.”
Hearing this, Mustang’s jaw muscles bulged.
“Flame Alchemist… Bai Ye!”