Chapter 414: Chapter 30: No Way Out
Olivier lightly tapped her fingers on the wooden table, as if contemplating something.
"Such a large Philosopher’s Stone as the one in my hand, how many humans need to be sacrificed?"
Edward pondered for a moment.
"About a dozen people."
"That many?"
"Yes, and that’s a conservative estimate. I’ve thoroughly studied materials on the Philosopher’s Stone."
Olivier continued to ask, "Then what if it’s the size of an egg?"
"What!"
Edward looked at Olivier in horror.
"Don’t be surprised. I did see a stone that large two days ago, and this piece was separated from it."
Knowing the origin of the Philosopher’s Stone, Olivier began to feel the weight of the red stone in her hand.
"A stone that large, I can’t imagine who could be holding such a massive Philosopher’s Stone."
"..."
Ovilia didn’t mention Su Xiao; she had a faint feeling that he had indeed come to form an alliance with her.
If fighting against the Central Army is necessary, then Alchemists become particularly important, and the Fullmetal Alchemist in front of her is also combat power.
"I roughly understand. Tell me the purpose of your visit."
Ovilia’s tone was somewhat calmer.
"Our purpose is..."
The Elric Brothers explained their intention. They were looking for a little girl with a panda and seeking her guidance on alchemy.
The Elric Brothers had already met the Little Man in the Bottle, the man who looked identical to their father.
In front of the Little Man in the Bottle, the brothers’ alchemy failed. No, they were unable to use alchemy at all.
On the other hand, the alchemy used by the little girl and Scarface was effective against the homunculi.
Edward had a vague feeling that the man who looked like Hohenheim might be the mastermind behind everything. The homunculi referred to him as Father.
"Is that so."
Olivier looked at the picture in her hand, which depicted a panda.
"We just need to find its owner."
While Olivier and the Elric Brothers were talking, a soldier burst in with a bang.
"Vice Admiral, something terrible has happened!"
"What is it? Don’t panic."
"It’s... well, a monster suddenly emerged from the underground and is in the lower base."
"Monster?"
"Yes, a monster."
Olivier furrowed her brows. Troubles were appearing one by one.
"Where is it located?"
"Near the armory."
As soon as the soldier finished speaking, Olivier briskly stood up and rushed toward the lower level of the fortress.
The armory is the core of the fortress. Once the weapons are lost, enemy nations nearby will attack immediately.
The Elric Brothers followed Olivier.
"You two don’t need to follow."
While running, Olivier turned her head to look at the Elric Brothers; whether they were friends or foes was yet to be determined.
"We can help. Don’t forget we are Alchemists. If there’s trouble in the fortress, we won’t sit idly by."
Edward flashed a smile.
"Just follow orders. If you act on your own, don’t blame me for being rude."
"No problem."
Olivier nodded to herself; the two brothers showed no malice.
The group quickly arrived at the lowest level of the fortress, penetrating nearly ten meters underground. The entire above-ground fortress has dozens of floors, with three underground layers for storing weapons, food, etc.
...
Within the underground structure of the fortress, on a spacious plaza.
This is the weapons testing site where the fortress develops weaponry, serving as the testing point. The surrounding area is all steel structure, very sturdy.
A figure, three meters tall with chiseled muscles covering its entire body, was under siege.
Bang, bang, bang...
Bullets pelted onto the figure, yet they could not even break the skin.
"So painful, so troublesome."
The large figure spoke slowly, sounding very lazy.
"It’s so large here."
The figure had only one eye, and at the position of the other was a red node. Just by appearance, it was clear it wasn’t a normal human being.
The Elric Brothers burst forth from within the stairs, immediately noticing the red symbol on the figure’s shoulder. It was a circular Ouroboros symbol.
"This is... a homunculus!"
Edward instantly recognized the figure’s identity, feeling a bit uneasy. Their intention for coming here was to find a way to deal with the homunculi, and his first reaction was that the homunculi had seen through his plans.
"We came here just to find a way to restore our bodies."
Edward’s explanation felt weak; he had been threatened by the homunculi before that if they dared to act recklessly, the childhood friend’s life would be endangered.
"Who are you people?"
The identity of this towering figure was self-evident, Sloth・Sloth.
Sloth・Sloth differed from other homunculi, having low intelligence and a lazy nature. His dream was to sleep forever.
"Oh right, I need to dig... so troublesome."
Sloth’s task was to excavate a circular passage under Amestris, which was to serve as the energy channel for the Nationwide Transmutation Circle.
"So sleepy... so troublesome."
Sloth lumbered slowly to the side, each step causing the ground to rumble; his weight was not insignificant.
"Get out of the way!"
A woman’s loud shout echoed, followed by the roaring sound of engines.
Olivier was standing inside a tank, with half her body exposed.
"Prepare."
The tank’s barrel began to adjust its aim.
"Fire!"
Boom!
Olivier wasn’t interested in conversing with Sloth; the opponent had already infiltrated the armory, and she wasn’t going to listen to any explanations.
A shell exploded right on Sloth’s face, erupting into flames and smoke.
The soldiers present collectively sighed in relief, believing the enemy had been taken down since nobody could withstand such an artillery strike.
As the smoke dispersed, Sloth’s figure re-emerged, showing only a slight injury on his cheek, with red sparks flickering and the wounds healing.
"How is this possible? The shell had no effect."
The Northern Army’s morale took a hit. No matter how brave they were, facing such a monstrous being left them a bit at a loss.
Ovilia was momentarily stunned but quickly regained her composure.
"Don’t just stand there, reload!"
Within seconds, the tank fired again; this time, to increase the damage, the loader replaced it with a solid shell.
With a roar, fire spouted from the tank’s muzzle.
A dark red shell struck Sloth’s abdomen, but he merely paused, and the solid shell bounced off, gouging a small pit in the ground.
"So painful, pain is also troublesome, oh right, need to work."
Sloth ignored the shelling entirely due to his overwhelming laziness, not wanting to fight or speak.
Boom, boom...
Shell after shell bombarded Sloth’s figure.
Sloth swayed a bit, seemingly irked by the bombardments. He casually lifted a nearby steel pipe pile and slammed it towards several tanks.
With a clang, a tank was significantly smashed, prompting the others to hastily retreat.
"Don’t stop the shelling."
Olivier felt a tinge of exasperation, encountering such an inhuman monstrosity for the first time and unable to think of any effective tactics at the moment.
"Olivier, as an ally, why weren’t I informed when something happened inside the fortress?"
A voice was heard, and Olivier looked up. Su Xiao was sitting on the high railing with 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?"
Olivier squinted her eyes slightly; she had previously felt this Flame Alchemist was not simple.
"It’s because I killed a homunculus that those guys are after me."
Su Xiao leapt down from the railing.