# Chapter 37: Wildfire
Rumble rumble, the tank treads crushed over the stone-paved road, shattering it into pieces.
Dozens of tanks entered Carno Town, and the small town immediately became lively.
The buildings within the town were densely packed, forcing the tanks to only traverse the main roads, which greatly hindered the search for the remnants of the Central City forces.
Su Xiao sat on top of a tank, directing it. Although he didn't know how to command a tank in combat, he could sense the enemy's positions.
Su Xiao gave orders to the tank commander, who then relayed them to the soldiers inside the tank. That worked fine.
"Building at five o'clock, about twenty people."
Hearing Su Xiao's command, the tank commander immediately ordered the gunner to aim.
"Switch to incendiary rounds."
Tanks could fire not only high-explosive and armor-piercing shells but also incendiary and smoke rounds.
An incendiary shell was loaded and fired with a thunderous boom.
The shell shattered the glass window of the building and exploded inside with a bang.
It wasn't the expected blaze of fire. Instead, a cloud of white smoke burst forth within the building, with faint orange-red light flickering inside.
A few seconds later.
"Ah!!"
Several screams followed one after another. A few Central Army soldiers, covered in white smoke, rushed out of the building, but there were no open flames on their bodies.
These Central Army soldiers moved very slowly, their steps unsteady like zombies.
Normally, incendiary shells should create a raging fire, but now, aside from the thick white smoke and faint sparks, there were no open flames on those Central Army soldiers.
This type of incendiary shell was called a "white phosphorus shell," utilizing the property of white phosphorus to spontaneously ignite in the air.
Such incendiary shells were widely used during World War II but were later abandoned because they caused immense psychological and physical harm to soldiers of warring nations, their brutality rivaling that of dum-dum bullets.
The Central Army soldiers hit by the "white phosphorus shells" continued to wail in agony. The Northern Army didn't open fire.
A new recruit from the Northern Army just raised his rifle, but an experienced veteran beside him immediately pushed it down.
"Just let them burn to death."
"But..."
A look of struggle appeared in the recruit's eyes.
"My brother was blown to bits by those Central Army scum an hour ago. No buts."
The veteran sneered and continued to watch the wailing Central Army soldiers.
War was the root of hatred, whether between two nations or within a civil war.
The tank unit continued forward, while Su Xiao sensed the enemies around him.
Ding!
A bullet struck the circular hatch beside him, sending sparks flying.
Su Xiao's heart turned cold. He hadn't sensed this shot; he only noticed it after the bullet landed. There was a sniper!
He turned his head to look at the bullet crater on the hatch and determined the sniper's position based on the impact point.
"Looks like someone else has come to join the fun."
Su Xiao looked toward a clock tower at the rear of the town, where a dark, gleaming gun barrel protruded.
If you looked closely, it wasn't a gun barrel but a suppressor.
A contractor, without a doubt. The one who fired this shot had to be a contractor. In the world of Fullmetal Alchemist, there were only a few powerful marksmen, and it was unlikely any of them could block Su Xiao's perception.
"Seven o'clock direction, the clock tower."
Although the tank commander couldn't see the enemy, he still ordered the gunner to aim in that direction.
"All tanks, concentrate fire on the clock tower at seven o'clock."
Su Xiao shouted. As the initiator of the alliance, he naturally had the authority to command the tank units during the war.
Over a dozen tanks around him swiveled their turrets, and the roar of cannon fire was continuous. Within less than ten seconds, the clock tower was reduced to rubble.
Beside the ruins of the clock tower, a female contractor gritted her teeth and quickly ran toward the outskirts of the town.
"What kind of contractor is this, leading a tank unit? It's practically cheating."
The female contractor had a long golden braid that swayed left and right as she ran.
Her name was Mira. In the real world, she had been a sniper, and after arriving in Reincarnation Paradise, she thrived, having killed countless contractors.
Now, Mira was fleeing with her beloved sniper rifle in her arms. Faced with the overwhelming tank unit, the only thing she could do was run.
Su Xiao spotted Mira running away but didn't pursue her. The distance was too far; it would be a waste of time. Besides, that shot wasn't aimed at him but at Olivia, though Olivia was sharp enough to dodge it.
Two hours later.
The battle in the town gradually came to an end as the remnants of the Central Army were cleared out.
The Northern Army took over the town, and their first target was the train station.
Walking through the town, Su Xiao occasionally saw civilians moving along the streets. Their expressions were panicked, and they were very afraid of the Northern Army.
The Northern Army's first objective was to secure the train station. Just as a group of Northern Army soldiers entered the station, rapid gunfire erupted.
The gunfire ceased after five minutes. A dozen Northern Army soldiers dragged out several corpses, leaving large bloodstains on the street.
All the Central Army corpses were gathered in the town square, doused with gasoline, and set ablaze. Thick black smoke rose into the air.
These corpses had to be dealt with immediately. War and plague went hand in hand precisely because bodies weren't disposed of in time.
Not long after the train station was secured, the sound of a train whistle echoed. The Central Army hadn't had time to destroy the trains, which were their only escape route.
The Central Army generals hadn't expected to lose so quickly. The large stockpile of military rations showed that they had prepared for a prolonged war with the Northern Army.
A prolonged war was wishful thinking. The total duration of the war hadn't even exceeded a day.
One train after another pulled out of the station. These were the advance troops, commanded by Olivia.
Su Xiao wasn't in a hurry to leave the town; he had to cover the rear.
The seats on the trains had all been removed to maximize the number of soldiers transported. Tanks were driven onto flatbed train cars. Fortunately, there were enough trains; otherwise, they couldn't have transported so many tanks.
Even so, the transport couldn't be completed in one or two trips. It would take five round trips in total.
Olivia led the advance troops to clear the way, fighting through one train station after another until they reached the center.
Su Xiao held the town, maintaining contact with Olivia.
Two days later, Olivia had captured six train stations. Not only had the number of trains increased, but the soldiers under her command had also grown rapidly.
Not all the generals in the Ame Kingdom were incompetent. Some had long been dissatisfied with the Central City's actions. Seeing Olivia's massive advance, those generals wanted a piece of the action too.
The number of allies began to increase, from the original three factions to sixteen, and the army grew from the initial eighty thousand to over four hundred thousand.
Even Su Xiao hadn't expected this. He had thought they would have to fight the Central Army to the death, but now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
What he, Mustang, and the other two had done was like setting a fire in a withered grassland. Now, that fire was spreading bigger and bigger.
On the third day of the war, Su Xiao boarded a train with four thousand soldiers heading to Central City. These were the last troops stationed in the town. With the coalition forces now so numerous, there was no need to hold this position.
The number of trains kept increasing, and so did the number of soldiers joining the battle.
By the third day of the war, the army had swelled to over six hundred thousand. Generals from all over could see that Central City was finished, and it was time to choose sides.
However, among these six hundred thousand soldiers, the real main force was only a few tens of thousands—those under Mustang and Olivia.
The other generals were just showing their stance. If a fierce battle broke out, these six hundred thousand troops would scatter like startled animals in an instant.