Chapter 416

Tens of thousands of troops assembled in front of the fortress. In the vast white snow, the border army wearing white winter clothes was not conspicuous.

They all knew that war was coming, but they were not afraid. War happened often at the border; for them, this was just a daily occurrence.

The army assembled with great momentum. The Elric brothers stood in the fortress, somewhat sluggish, witnessing the scene before them.

"What is this for? Is there an enemy army invading?"

Although Edward was a State Alchemist, he didn't know what the concept of war was.

"That's not right, brother, these troops seem to be heading into the country."

"Heading into the country? Could it be..."

Edward thought of a terrible situation: that Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong was going to rebel.

"What does she want to do? No, we can't let this happen."

Just as Edward turned to rush out of the fortress, a figure blocked his path.

"Shorty, don't be a busybody."

Su Xiao looked at Edward Elric with burning eyes.

"Who are you calling a shorty, and what do you guys want to do?"

"What to do? Of course, attack Central City, and by the way, overthrow someone's rule."

Upon receiving Su Xiao's answer, Edward's pupils constricted.

"Then what about the citizens of Central City?"

"Leave it to fate."

"Are you kidding? That's tens of thousands of people."

"So what if it's tens of thousands?"

Edward's breathing became heavy. If the Northern Army pressed on and directly started a war with the Central Army, the civilians in Central City would be unlucky; cannons didn't have eyes.

"You must have eavesdropped on our negotiations, right?"

Su Xiao suddenly laughed.

"Heard... so what."

Being stared at by the smiling Su Xiao, Edward felt a chill down his spine, as if he were being stared at by a smiling Grim Reaper.

"Go find your father, tell him Father's plan has been interrupted, and he must participate in the final battle, otherwise no one can deal with Father."

Although Edward Elric's father wasn't strong to the extreme, he had a special relationship with Father; Father was born using his blood.

"My father? He..."

Before Edward could finish speaking, Su Xiao threw a file to him. This was Father's information.

Edward hesitated for a moment, then finally opened the file bag.

"How... how is this possible."

"Nothing is impossible. This is the process of Father's birth. The Nationwide Transmutation Circle has already been activated once. By the way, tell you, half of the Philosopher's Stones produced by the last Nationwide Transmutation are in your father's body. That is a Philosopher's Stone with the weight of hundreds of thousands of human souls."

Van Hohenheim was very important; this was the key to defeating Father.

Edward stared blankly at the information in his hand.

"This is simply a demonic act, but what does defeating Father 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.

"Don't be a busybody. If you block my path, I'll kill you."

Su Xiao's short black hair moved without wind, and his right hand inadvertently pressed on the hilt of Zhan Long Shan.

"Then try killing me."

Edward put his hands together, and blue transmutation light flashed.

"Heh~, just kidding. You can't die yet, important human sacrifice."

Su Xiao turned and left. Edward stood frozen in place, his legs trembling for some reason.

"Not good, very not good. Why does this guy give me a feeling more dangerous than Father? Alphonse, Alphonse..."

Edward turned to look; his brother was standing frozen in place.

"The pendant that person was holding, did you see it, brother?"

Alphonse's voice was trembling.

"What pendant?"

Edward tried his best to recall, and soon remembered the pendant in Su Xiao's hand.

"That is... Winry's pendant?!"

Winry Rockbell, Edward's childhood sweetheart.

"This bastard, could it be that he..."

Edward was furious and was about to rush in the direction Su Xiao had left.

"Brother, don't go. Let's leave immediately and go find Winry."

"But..."

Edward forced himself to calm down.

"Right, go find Winry first, 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 in the fortress to prevent a sudden attack from an enemy country.

Two days after marching.

Kano Town, located in the center between the northwest border and Central City. Although there were not many residents here, it was heavily guarded because there was a large train station.

Tens of thousands of troops wanting to go to Central City couldn't walk, and they had to carry cannons and tanks, otherwise they couldn't fight.

The train station in Kano Town had strategic significance. To go to Central City, they had to take this place first. After taking the Kano train station, later supplies would also be solved.

20,000 Central Army troops were transferred here. The Northern Army moved out in full force; Central wasn't blind, so they naturally knew the Northern Army's purpose.

After receiving countless warnings from the Central Army along the way, Olivier arrived in Kano Town with her army.

*Rumble. *

Thousands of tanks drove slowly, leaving tracks in the shallow snow.

The Northern Army dispatched more than 50,000 people, with an average of over 50 people per tank.

These 50 people were not sitting inside the tanks; the tanks couldn't hold that many people.

Su Xiao sat on the shell of a tank. Looking from afar, Kano Town had already appeared in his line of sight; it was a peaceful small town.

Half a kilometer in front of Kano Town, a row of trenches had already been dug. Earth-yellow sandbags were piled in front of the trenches, and the Central Army infantry were hiding inside.

"Bai Ye, the battle is about to start, don't sit on the tank."

Olivier put down the binoculars in her hand.

"How many enemies are there?"

"About 20,000 to 30,000, all weaklings. The trenches are dug like cesspits."

"After the war starts, I will be responsible for the enemy's commander-in-chief."

During the war, Su Xiao didn't intend to deal with ordinary soldiers; that was meaningless. Decapitation was the fastest way.

"Good, then start the war."

As soon as Olivier finished speaking, shouts came from the trenches ahead.

"Olivier Mira Armstrong, surrender. Considering you were a former Major General, the Fuhrer will spare your life."

A shout came from the trenches, but no one could be seen. It seemed the person shouting didn't have much courage.

"Assemble the battle formation, prepare for battle!"

Thousands of tanks lined up, with more than 50 infantrymen following behind each tank. The tanks moved forward, and the infantry followed closely behind.

This was what large-scale war looked like in the era of thermal weapons: tanks clearing the way in front, infantry behind.

*Boom, boom... *

The main guns of the tanks fired shells continuously, and the trenches hundreds of meters away were blown up with mud splashing everywhere.

A Central Army officer was terrified by the artillery fire and hid trembling behind the trench. He had become a second lieutenant through nepotism and had never seen what war looked like. As soon as the cannons fired, his cowardly nature was exposed.

*Whoosh. *

A rapid wind-breaking sound came, and a black shell flew over. The shell looked like a bullet magnified dozens of times.

*Pfft. *

The shell stuck into the mud in the trench, landing right next to the cowardly second lieutenant.

The cowardly second lieutenant turned his head to look, wanting to see clearly what it was.

*Boom! *

The shell exploded. The explosive power of the shell wasn't the scary part; the truly scary part was the scattered shrapnel. The cowardly second lieutenant was directly turned into a sieve by the shrapnel and died 43 seconds after the war started.