Chapter 417: Chapter 33: Flames of War
Su Xiao picked up the treasure chest on the ground, and the plot characters couldn’t see this thing, so no one present noticed anything unusual.
Su Xiao didn’t care about the wary looks around him but directly looked at Olivier.
"This is a homunculus, seeing is believing."
Su Xiao didn’t need to explain much; Sloth’s physique had already surpassed the biological range.
"Let’s cooperate."
Previously hesitant, Olivier directly proposed cooperation,
"Okay."
Both allies were united, so now it was time to consider how to deal with the Little Man in the Bottle.
However, those contractors in the derivative world also needed to be wary; he didn’t want to act as a wedding dress for others.
Olivier’s easy cooperation with Su Xiao had a reason; the reason was that Su Xiao was too strong, stronger than she could imagine.
Olivier was not afraid of Su Xiao’s power; she feared whom Su Xiao intended to confront.
If such a strong person needed to seek allies, how strong was the Little Man in the Bottle he spoke of?
The answer was that the Little Man in the Bottle was the strongest alchemist, or perhaps he had surpassed the alchemist’s realm entirely.
Successfully forming an alliance with Olivier, this undoubtedly pushed the plan forward a big step.
Su Xiao’s ultimate task was to ’use the Magic Crystal Bottle to seize the Divine Power (Fake),’ note, the task was to seize the Divine Power, not just to defeat the Little Man in the Bottle.
If the task were simply to defeat the Little Man in the Bottle, it would have been somewhat simpler. Before refining all the citizens of Amestris into a Philosopher’s Stone, the power of the Little Man in the Bottle, although strong, was not unconquerable.
Su Xiao’s task wasn’t merely to defeat the Little Man in the Bottle but to seize the Divine Power from within him.
The Little Man in the Bottle hadn’t obtained the Divine Power yet; he would gain it after sacrificing Amestris’s entire populace.
The advancement task was quite headache-inducing; it required defeating the Little Man in the Bottle and also letting him complete the nationwide transmutation circle to obtain the Divine Power.
But the Little Man in the Bottle, after obtaining the Divine Power, became too strong. In the original work, the Little Man in the Bottle manufactured a sun in the palm of his hand after obtaining the Divine Power, which was an exaggeration of power.
Letting the other side gain the Divine Power, but not allowing them to become as exaggeratedly strong as in the original book, was the outcome Su Xiao wanted to see.
As soon as Su Xiao entered the Steel Refinement World, he began looking for the homunculi everywhere. This was not merely to gain the World Source and treasure chest but to hasten the Little Man in the Bottle’s ’apotheosis’ process.
The nationwide transmutation circle was arranged by the homunculi, and the Little Man in the Bottle usually stayed underground at the Presidential Palace, never leaving. Now that five out of the seven homunculi were dead, the Little Man in the Bottle had surely noticed something was wrong.
The remaining two homunculi were very important; one was secretly responsible for monitoring Central City, Pride (Pride), and the other was openly commanding the nation, Wrath (Wrath).
Neither could leave Central City for long, meaning the nationwide transmutation circle’s setup was stalled.
Now, the most critical Sloth was dead, too; the underground channels would be dug through soon, which was an excellent timing point.
Now, the Little Man in the Bottle had only two choices: to endure or to forcibly activate the nationwide transmutation circle.
The first result was not one Su Xiao wanted to see; his time was running out, and he had no time to linger with that old undead, so he was allying with surrounding forces to prepare to attack Central City directly.
The second result was one Su Xiao would welcome; if the Little Man in the Bottle really did that, it meant there was still an opportunity to start the nationwide transmutation circle.
A semi-finished nationwide transmutation circle wouldn’t compare to a full version, and the effect would be greatly reduced. When the time came, obtaining the Divine Power should be no problem, as it was just an equivalent exchange—though how much could be exchanged was uncertain.
The Little Man in the Bottle could not be too strong, nor too weak to complete the task; the advancement task was truly brain-taxing.
What Su Xiao needed to do now was to conspire with Olivier and Mustang against the ruling power, precisely, to rebel.
Both held powerful forces; Mustang’s troops had participated in the Ishval eradication battle, experienced soldiers who had seen blood. Olivier’s soldiers were even more formidable, having been stationed at the borders for years, where incompetents had long been eliminated.
The combined forces were, of course, insufficient to defeat the entire Amestrian army, but did the Little Man in the Bottle really control the entire nation’s army? The answer was not so.
The Little Man in the Bottle had a major flaw: it did not trust humans; it would not disclose some secrets to humans. Only a few homunculi knew its plans.
Although King Bradley (Wrath) was the High President with immense prestige, his true identity couldn’t see the light of day; once the homunculi’s identity was exposed with solid evidence, Amestris’s military could mutiny.
Amestris had been continually expanding its territory, and with internal conflicts ongoing, the various regional leaders had long been dissatisfied with King Bradley. If it weren’t for the Little Man in the Bottle’s covert support, it would be uncertain whether King Bradley could continue as High President.
It wasn’t that the High President was incompetent, but the Little Man in the Bottle’s ultimate aim was too anti-human. It was a miracle the High President maintained the status quo this long.
Although Amestris was not a big country, it was a nation, after all. How could a country’s populace not discover abnormalities within their nation?
Expanding territories madly only to stop abruptly at a certain point, followed by unending internal strife.
This was an abnormal country, with constant internal conflicts, escalating racial tensions, and border generals acting autonomously.
Yet, the Little Man in the Bottle ignored this chaos; it didn’t want to govern the nation but to use it.
Ultimately, the Little Man in the Bottle always looked down on humans, viewing them as inferior creatures, seemingly forgetting who created it, originally just a small black sphere in a round flask.
Su Xiao’s plan was actually simple: first, diminish the Little Man in the Bottle’s trusted aides (homunculi), then join allies to plunge the entire country into chaos. Ostensibly overthrowing the rule, but in reality, he was forcing the Little Man in the Bottle to quickly carry out the nationwide transmutation. If it couldn’t complete it, he would help complete it.
His plan had already progressed two-thirds, with the remaining third just needing to wait.
Colonel Mustang aspired for the High President’s position, while Olivier wanted to secure the North; both objectives clashed with the Little Man in the Bottle.
The flames of war were about to ignite; this war was not started by Su Xiao but provoked by the homunculi’s consistent actions, with Su Xiao merely striking a small spark.
...
Within the fortress, a day had passed since Su Xiao killed Sloth, and his injuries had somewhat recovered; at least his ribs had been set straight.
In a conference room, Su Xiao sat at a round table, with Olivier at the opposite end. An old-fashioned phone lay on the table, and the call had already connected.
"I never expected you to actually succeed in persuading her."
Mustang’s voice came through the phone. Listening to his tone, things seemed to be going smoothly on his side.
"What are the surrounding generals’ attitudes?"
Olivier spoke, asking Mustang.
"What else can their attitude be? Although they understand the whole story and know King Bradley is a homunculus and of the Little Man in the Bottle’s existence, those guys are all just set on reaping without sowing."
As soon as Mustang finished speaking, Olivier slammed her fist on the conference table.
"Are those swine idiots? It’s gone this far, and they still want to do nothing?"
"Those guys aren’t stupid. They’re ready to take their troops and flee Amestris at any time. That’s fine too; at least our enemies are just the Central Army and some nearby troops, roughly two hundred thousand or so."