Chapter 35: Hot Weapon War
Tens of thousands of troops gathered before the border fortress. Amidst the vast white snow, the border soldiers in their white winter coats were not conspicuous.
They all knew war was coming, but they felt no fear. Wars were a common occurrence at the border; to them, this was just another day's work.
The army assembled with great momentum. The Elric brothers stood dumbfounded inside the fortress, witnessing the scene before them.
"What is this about? Is an enemy nation invading?"
Although Edward was a State Alchemist, he didn't fully grasp the concept of war.
"That's not right, brother. These troops seem to be heading inland."
"Heading inland? Could it be..."
Edward thought of a terrifying possibility—that Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong was planning a rebellion.
"What does she think she's doing? No, I can't let this happen."
Just as Edward turned to rush out of the fortress, a figure blocked his path.
"Shorty, mind your own business."
Su Xiao stared intently at Edward Elric.
"Who are you calling shorty? And what are you people planning?"
"Planning? Naturally, we're marching on Central City, and maybe overthrowing someone's rule along the way."
Hearing Su Xiao's answer, Edward's pupils contracted sharply.
"And what about the civilians in Central City?"
"Let fate decide."
"Are you joking? That's tens of thousands of people."
"So what if it's tens of thousands?"
Edward's breathing grew heavy. If the Northern Army pressed forward with full force and directly engaged the Central Army, the common people in Central City would be doomed. Cannons don't have eyes.
"You must have overheard our negotiations, right?"
Su Xiao suddenly smiled.
"So what if I did?"
Staring at the smiling Su Xiao, Edward felt a chill run down his spine, as if he were being watched by a smiling Grim Reaper.
"Go find your father. Tell him the Homunculus's plan has been interrupted. He needs to participate in the final battle, otherwise no one can deal with the Homunculus."
Edward Elric's father wasn't exceptionally powerful, but he had a special connection to the Homunculus—the Homunculus was born from his blood.
"My father? He..."
Before Edward could finish, Su Xiao tossed a dossier to him. It contained information on the Homunculus.
Edward hesitated for a moment before finally opening the dossier.
"How... how is this possible?"
"Nothing is impossible. This is the process of the Homunculus's birth. The National Transmutation Circle has already been activated once. By the way, half of the Philosopher's Stone produced from that transmutation is inside your father's body—a stone containing the souls of hundreds of thousands of people."
Van Hohenheim was crucial. He was the key to defeating the Homunculus.
Edward stared blankly at the documents in his hands.
"This is the work of a demon. But what does defeating the Homunculus have to do with Van Hohenheim?"
"You don't need to know that. See you in Central City."
Su Xiao turned and walked out of the fortress.
"Wait, the Northern Army can't just..."
Before Edward could finish, Su Xiao suddenly turned his head.
"Mind your own business. If you get in my way, I'll kill you."
Su Xiao's short black hair stirred without wind, and his right hand casually rested on the hilt of Dragon-Slaying Flash.
"Then try it."
Edward clasped his hands together, blue alchemical light flashing.
"Heh~, just kidding. You can't die yet. You're an important human sacrifice."
Su Xiao turned and left. Edward stood frozen in place, his calves inexplicably trembling.
"This is bad, very bad. Why does this guy give me a more dangerous feeling than the Homunculus? Alphonse, Alphonse..."
Edward turned around to see his brother standing there, stunned.
"Did you see the pendant in that person's hand, brother?"
Alphonse's voice trembled as he spoke.
"What pendant?"
Edward strained to recall, quickly remembering the pendant in Su Xiao's hand.
"Is that... Winry's pendant?!"
Winry Rockbell, Edward's childhood friend.
"You bastard, did he take Winry?"
Edward was furious, about to charge in the direction Su Xiao had left.
"Brother, don't go. We need to leave now and find Winry."
"But..."
Edward forced himself to calm down.
"Right, first find Winry, then... go to Central City to stop the war."
The Elric brothers hurriedly left the fortress. Not long after, only a few thousand troops remained inside, enough to guard against a sudden enemy attack.
...
After two days of marching.
Kano Town, located at the midpoint between the northwestern border fortress and Central City. Though sparsely populated, it was heavily guarded because it housed a major train station.
For tens of thousands of troops to reach Central City, marching on foot was clearly impractical, especially since they needed to transport cannons and tanks to wage war.
Kano Town's train station held strategic significance. To advance on Central City, they had to capture this place first. Securing Kano Station would also solve later supply issues.
Twenty thousand Central Army soldiers had been deployed here. The Northern Army's large-scale mobilization hadn't gone unnoticed by Central Command, which naturally understood their objective.
After receiving countless warnings from the Central Army along the way, Olivier led her forces to Kano Town.
Rumble, rumble.
Over a thousand tanks rolled slowly forward, leaving tread marks in the shallow snow.
The Northern Army had mobilized over fifty thousand troops, averaging more than fifty soldiers per tank.
These fifty men weren't riding inside the tanks—there wasn't room for that many. Su Xiao sat on the hull of one tank, looking into the distance. Kano Town had come into view, a peaceful little town.
Half a kilometer ahead of Kano Town, a line of trenches had been dug. Sandbags were piled in front of the trenches, and Central Army infantry were concealed within.
"White Night, the battle is about to start. Get off the tank."
Olivier lowered her binoculars.
"How many enemies are there?"
"About twenty to thirty thousand. All useless. Their trenches are dug like cesspits."
"After the battle starts, I'll handle the enemy commander."
During war, Su Xiao didn't intend to deal with ordinary soldiers—that was pointless. Decapitation was the fastest method.
"Alright, then let's begin."
As Olivier finished speaking, a loud shout came from the trenches ahead.
"Olivier Mira Armstrong, surrender! Considering you're a former Major General, the Führer might spare your life."
The shout came from within the trenches, but no one showed themselves. The speaker clearly lacked courage.
"Form battle lines! Prepare to fight!"
Over a thousand tanks lined up in a single row, each followed by more than fifty infantrymen. The tanks advanced, and the infantry followed closely behind.
This was the face of large-scale warfare in the age of hot weapons—tanks leading the way, infantry following.
Boom, boom...
The tank main guns continuously fired shells. The trenches several hundred meters away were blasted apart, mud flying everywhere.
A Central Army officer was terrified by the artillery fire, trembling as he hid behind the trench. He had become a second lieutenant through family connections and had never seen real combat. The moment the cannons roared, his cowardly nature was exposed.
Whoosh~.
A sharp whistling sound came as a black shell flew in, shaped like a bullet magnified dozens of times.
Thud.
The shell embedded itself in the mud of the trench, landing right beside the cowardly second lieutenant.
The second lieutenant turned his head to see what it was.
Boom!
The shell exploded. The blast itself wasn't the most terrifying part—it was the shrapnel flying in all directions. The cowardly second lieutenant was riddled with shrapnel, dying forty-three seconds after the battle began.