Chapter 417: War and Civilians

The Northern Army's tanks advanced, spitting shells from time to time, with the infantry following methodically behind them.

Bullets whistled through the air; the tanks clanged as they were struck by incoming fire, and one could hear the *zip-zip* sound of bullets flying past. From time to time, a tank would be blown up by enemy artillery.

Su Xiao followed behind a tank. He hadn't walked many steps when a shell landed nearby.

Su Xiao didn't care about that shell, and neither did the Northern Army soldiers near him. They all watched the shell with indifference, and once they confirmed its distance, everyone continued forward, letting the shell explode.

New recruits fear artillery, while veterans fear machine guns—there is truth to this saying.

As long as it isn't too close, the danger from artillery isn't that great; lying down can avoid most shrapnel, and one must be very unlucky to be hit by it.

On the battlefield, bullets flew everywhere, the roaring sound was constant, and the firelight from explosions appeared incessantly. The technological level of the Fullmetal Alchemist world was somewhat similar to that of World War II.

The Northern Army's tanks rolled forward, and the Central Army immediately returned fire.

The weapons of both sides were similar, with the Central Army being slightly more advanced. Even so, the Central Army was beaten into hiding in their trenches, unable to lift their heads.

This wasn't a gap in weaponry; the combat proficiency of the two sides was not on the same level.

The Central Army was stationed in the center of Amestris, far from the chaos of war. In contrast, the Northern Army was surrounded by strong enemies, fighting small battles every three days and major ones every month; every individual had been baptized by war.

A whistling sound came from the sky—the Central Army's fighter planes had arrived.

This was a weakness of the Northern Army; they had no air power. They were guarding the borders, not invading the surrounding areas, and Central City would not provide the Northern Army with air power. Fortunately, the Northern Army had anti-aircraft capabilities.

Given the technological level of the Fullmetal Alchemist world, fighter planes were mostly used for dropping bombs or strafing with heavy machine guns. Although troublesome, they were not impossible to counter.

Hundreds of anti-aircraft cannons were set up, but the effect was not significant.

The war gradually became more brutal. One could hear continuous explosions from far away, and the residents of nearby small towns trembled in fear.

The Northern Army's thousands of tanks were thousands of small combat units, each containing several soldiers, each performing their own duties.

Inside one tank, the commander, Blackface, observed the surrounding situation through binoculars at the hatch.

In war, every soldier had a nickname; this made it convenient to address them and reduced the risk of enemy retaliation.

Blackface searched for enemies hidden in the surroundings through his binoculars. The engagement took place on a large plain, and the Central Army was not entirely concentrated in the trenches opposite; there were many dirt pits on the plain where soldiers were hiding.

These dirt pits posed a great threat, as they might contain anti-tank guns or heavy machine guns.

*Ding, ding, ding. *

Bullets struck the tank's outer shell, emitting a harsh, crisp sound. Blackface quickly retreated into the tank.

"There's a heavy machine gun in the dirt pit at five o'clock. Wolfdog, take it out!"

The black-faced man shouted, and the gunner in the tank, Wang Gou, immediately turned the muzzle.

"Saint, switch to high-explosive shells; that pit is a bit deep."

Saint was the loader. Ten seconds later, the tank fired.

*Boom! * With one shot, mud splashed everywhere, but unfortunately, it missed the target.

*Da-da-da! * The machine gunner on the tank unleashed fire, shredding a Central Army soldier who had poked his head out of the dirt pit.

*Boom! *

Another shot followed. This time it hit the dirt pit squarely. Wolfdog saw a mangled corpse flying up through the main gun sight and burst into laughter.

"Took out one..."

*Ding, weng—*

A shell came from afar. It didn't hit Blackface's tank but grazed the Iron Bone tank beside it, sending up a shower of sparks.

The commander of the Iron Bone tank shrank his neck in fear.

"Just a drizzle."

The commander of the Iron Bone tank laughed, ignoring that anti-tank gun.

"Bullshit, that's an 88mm caliber gun; I can tell just by the sound."

Blackface roared. That anti-tank gun had to be taken out, or the nearby tanks would all be stuck here.

The war intensified. An hour later, the Northern Army's thousands of tanks advanced to within one hundred meters of the Central Army's trenches.

"Full fire!"

The machine gunners in all the tanks became active. At this distance, the heavy machine guns mounted on the tanks were life-reapers.

*Da-da-da... *

Mud splashed in front of the trenches, and the Central Army was even less able to lift their heads.

Thousands of tanks concentrated fire on the trenches, and the bombardment stopped after ten minutes.

"Infantry, prepare!"

Olivier shouted. All the tanks stopped moving, and the infantry behind them began to pour fire, using the tanks as cover.

The most brutal exchange of fire in the war began, and the purpose of the infantry was realized here.

Although the infantry's offensive power was not as great as the tanks', they were flexible and numerous.

Behind a tank, Su Xiao held the Spider Queen. The 8x optical infrared detection scope (active) had long been turned on. He had already forgotten how many machine gunners and artillerymen he had taken out.

He ejected the magazine; five bullets remained.

Each bullet cost 50 Paradise Coins; except when necessary, Su Xiao would not fire.

The fifty thousand Northern Army soldiers completely crushed the twenty thousand-plus Central Army. Less than an hour after the war began, the Central Army had already suffered one-fifth casualties.

Through the scope, Su Xiao found the enemy's general-level figure, a Colonel, located at the high point of the town church. The opponent was observing the battle through a window. With the firing range of firearms in the Fullmetal Alchemist world, this distance was absolutely safe.

He pulled the trigger. The Spider Queen's gunshot was very low, but the bullet's kinetic energy was exceptionally powerful.

A cloud of blood mist exploded at the church window, and the Colonel was shot in the head.

*Bang, bang! *

Two more shots followed in succession, and the Colonel's adjutant and a Lieutenant Colonel were both shot in the head.

The shell casings hit the ground. Su Xiao's gunfire was inconspicuous in the war, but he had sniped the enemy generals.

The planes in the sky left after completing a round of bombing, and the Northern Army suffered over a thousand casualties.

War is different from what is shown in movies. Although the Central Army was somewhat incompetent, the Northern Army would still suffer deaths.

Both sides were exchanging fire with guns; it was just the number and frequency of casualties that differed. The situation where one kills tens of thousands while losing only dozens only occurs when there is a crushing disparity in weaponry.

Five hours later, the gunfire gradually subsided. The Central Army in the trenches was scattered, leaving behind more than half their corpses.

The war ended temporarily, and the Northern Army pressed forward. The soldiers' faces were covered in mud.

"Ah!!"

"Save me, don't abandon me."

"Where is my arm? Who saw my arm?"

The wails of the wounded and the moans of the dying filled the battlefield. Such scenes are rarely seen in modern times.

No one in the war was left unaffected; if there was anyone, it was only our Xiang Bubu Wang.

Xiang Bubu Wang was performing a feat: it was gnawing on a tank!

Several tank soldiers looked helpless. Everyone knew this dog was Su Xiao's, so they could only pretend not to see it, not to mention that it was an enemy tank.

Xiang Bubu Wang's house-demolition skill had upgraded; now, demolishing a house couldn't satisfy it. Demolishing a tank was the romance of the Dog Star people.

Su Xiao walked toward Olivier, who was counting the casualties.

"How many died?"

"Over four thousand."

Olivier's voice was low; these were all her subordinates.

Killing over ten thousand enemies while losing over four thousand of one's own was already a great victory.

Four thousand is just a number. If one were to visit the scene, one would know that the phrase "corpses strewn across the field" is not an exaggeration.

The flames ignited by artillery shells scorched the corpses. The smell of blood, the smell of mud, the smell of gunpowder, and the charred smell of burning corpses mixed together—this was the smell of war.

Seeing such a scene, Su Xiao felt no great ripples in his heart. Compared to modern warfare, cold-weapon warfare was even more brutal. He had not only seen it but had also been on the battlefield himself.

Wandering within Reincarnation Paradise allowed Su Xiao, a modern man, to witness all kinds of scenes: modern warfare, cold-weapon warfare, medieval warfare, etc.

The war did not end there. The Northern Army used tanks to clear the way and slowly drove toward Kano Town.

A corpse was hanging at the entrance of the small town, with a sign hanging on it, which read:

"This is the end of resistance."

This corpse was the mayor of Kano Town. He did not agree to fighting in front of the town, so the Central Army executed him directly.

"Don't shoot, I'm not a soldier."

A priest held a wooden stick with a piece of white cloth tied to it.

"Raise your hands."

A soldier shouted, aiming his rifle at the priest.

"Are there still Central Army soldiers in the town?"

Su Xiao walked up.

"Yes, they are in the town's..."

*Bang! * A gunshot came from within the town, and the priest was shot in the head.

"There's a sniper, take cover!"

The infantry quickly hid behind the tanks, and dozens of tanks led the charge into the town.

There were remnants of the Central Army in the town. In the eyes of those Central Army soldiers, the Northern Army was a rebel army, but they didn't know that the high-ranking military officials in Central City were cooperating with the Dwarf in the Flask for immortality and didn't care about their lives; they were just sacrifices.

Those high-ranking military officials also didn't know that they wouldn't get immortality; at most, they would become sacrifices. The Dwarf in the Flask would not cooperate with humans, only use them.

Invading the town and gaining control of the train station was the primary problem the Northern Army had to solve. Without trains, it was too difficult to march on Central City.

Updating at six o'clock is beautiful. ===== CHAPTER 418 =====