Chapter 419: Final Battle

On the fourth day after the war started, Su Xiao arrived at a small town near Central City, which was Mustang's base.

The train stopped slowly. After Su Xiao got off the train, he found that Mustang had come to the station to greet him.

At this time, Mustang was no longer wearing his Colonel's uniform; he had removed his rank insignia.

"How is the situation?"

Su Xiao asked directly about the situation.

"Not very good. We've been at war with Central City for two days, but there hasn't been much progress."

"Hmm?"

Su Xiao was a bit puzzled. Logically, with the strength of the Northern Army and Mustang's troops, they should have crushed the Central Army.

"Is it those ragtag armies holding us back?"

"No, it's the Immortal Legion."

Hearing about the Immortal Legion, Su Xiao nodded.

The Immortal Legion was invented by the Dwarf in the Flask, using Philosopher's Stones to create bodies and fixing the souls of innocent people into those artificially created bodies.

In this way, those bodies could fight and wouldn't die after being injured; after all, their core was just a blood seal.

The only way to destroy the Immortal Legion, besides completely destroying their bodies, was to destroy the blood seal.

However, the position of the blood seal was not fixed; some were on the head, some on the chest and abdomen, and some on the soles of the feet—the position was completely random.

When ordinary soldiers saw these monsters that couldn't be killed by gunfire, their morale was hit, and some ragtag armies even began to collapse and flee.

"It's not all bad news, though."

Mustang said.

"What is it?"

"Over 30% of the Central Army soldiers have surrendered, and many have fled with their families. Now, the Central Army's strength is less than 20%, and they have no fighting spirit."

Before the Immortal Legion appeared, the Alliance Army and the Central Army had engaged.

The Central Army was routed. These Central Army soldiers stationed in Central City were even more incompetent than the group in Kano Town.

In the small town not far from Central City, Su Xiao clearly heard the artillery and gunfire from afar.

This small town was 5 kilometers away from Central City, and both sides had formed a battle line at this distance.

Su Xiao looked out from a high point in the town. On this battle line, his own army and the Immortal Legion were engaged.

The Immortal Legion's fighting style was very special. They didn't use firearms, but relying on their strong survivability, they carried bombs and rushed close to his own army, then detonated the bombs. The casualties on both sides were very brutal.

According to Mustang's guess, the Immortal Legion was being controlled by someone, and the person who could control the Immortal Legion was, of course, the Dwarf in the Flask.

The number of the Immortal Legion was temporarily unknown. From the current situation, this was bound to be a protracted war.

The defeat of Central City was already doomed; the Alliance Army had surrounded Central City completely.

Seeing the situation at this moment, Su Xiao's face was full of smiles.

This was the result he wanted to see. Whether the Central Army was defeated or not, he didn't care at all. Being able to surround Central City was the best result.

At this time, Central City was surrounded, and only when those people arrived would the decisive battle begin immediately.

The people Su Xiao was waiting for didn't make him wait long—only five hours had passed.

In a bathhouse, Su Xiao was soaking in a pool of warm water, with his back to the door.

On his back, one could see streaks of scars; knife wounds and gunshot wounds were common.

The bathhouse was filled with steam, and there was another man near Su Xiao.

"A good plan. If it's like this, there's a chance of victory."

The man speaking was about forty or fifty years old, with long golden hair tied into a ponytail and wearing glasses.

Van Hohenheim, the protagonist Edward's father.

It was Van Hohenheim who took the initiative to find Su Xiao; perhaps Su Xiao's actions had attracted Van Hohenheim's attention.

"So, you've agreed?"

"Yes, the Dwarf in the Flask was born in my blood; I have the responsibility to destroy him."

"Even if it means death, it doesn't matter?"

"It doesn't matter. Actually, I should have died long ago. Being able to leave behind two children is already satisfying."

Van Hohenheim chuckled, his bare upper body muscles clearly defined.

"How many Philosopher's Stones are left in your body?"

Su Xiao looked at Van Hohenheim.

"Very few, enough for a few dozen people, I suppose."

"Is that so? It seems you've prepared almost everything."

"Yes."

Van Hohenheim originally had Philosopher's Stones for hundreds of thousands of people in his body; now, only a few dozen remained.

"When does the decisive battle begin?"

Van Hohenheim let out a long sigh of relief.

"Now."

*Bang! *

The bathhouse door was kicked open, and Edward Elric rushed into the bathhouse.

Just as he rushed into the bathhouse, Edward stopped.

"Hohenheim, why are you here?"

Hohenheim didn't speak, seemingly not wanting to explain anything to Edward.

After glancing at Hohenheim, Edward finally looked at Su Xiao.

"What exactly are you doing? You actually started a war involving hundreds of thousands of people! Do you know how many people have already died!"

Edward was very angry. He had been to the battlefield; it was hell, a slaughterhouse, and the soldiers there were no longer humans but killing machines.

"How many people died? If I remember correctly, about a hundred thousand or so."

Hearing Su Xiao's words, Edward was already furious.

"A hundred thousand people... In your eyes, is human life so worthless? Those were living, breathing lives."

"So what?"

Su Xiao didn't even turn around. Since he had already made the decision, he had to bear the consequences; making excuses was a sign of weakness.

He had indeed started the war, and he would acknowledge the hundred thousand-plus deaths.

Su Xiao stood up from the warm water. The people had arrived, and it was time for the final decisive battle.

"Is it starting?"

Hohenheim had already thought of what was about to happen, and his tone was inevitably a bit excited.

"Yes, the people on my side are ready. How about your side?"

"Ready to set off at any time."

"Then let's begin."

Water droplets dripped from Su Xiao's hair. After putting on his clothes, Su Xiao walked out of the bathhouse.

"Edward, although this isn't something a father should say, today I still have to say..."

Three hours later, Su Xiao gathered with Mustang, Olivier, and others in a conference room.

There were others in the conference room.

The protagonist's master, Izumi Curtis.

The protagonist's younger brother, Alphonse Elric.

The protagonist's father, Van Hohenheim.

Olivier's younger brother, Alex Louis Armstrong.

Mustang's subordinate, Riza Hawkeye.

Mustang's subordinate, Jean Havoc.

There were over a dozen people in total; these were the main force to deal with the Dwarf in the Flask.

The final decisive battle was about to begin, and Su Xiao had found everyone he could gather.

These people wouldn't listen to him; they just had a common goal: to defeat the Dwarf in the Flask.

Su Xiao spread a map on the conference table; this was a detailed map of Central City.

"First, we must find a way to get close to the Presidential Palace, which is here."

Su Xiao pointed to a point on the map, and everyone present remained silent.

"The Dwarf in the Flask is right below the Presidential Palace, but we must pass through the First Laboratory underground; below the First Laboratory is the Dwarf in the Flask's residence. Alphonse Elric has been there before. Do you remember the route?"

Everyone present looked at Alphonse.

"I remember."

Alphonse was slightly nervous; he also knew what was about to happen.

Edward sat on the side, silent. Defeating the Dwarf in the Flask was something that had to be done.

"Very well. After arriving at the First Laboratory, we will split into three groups and reunite before reaching the Dwarf in the Flask's location." ===== CHAPTER 420 =====