Chapter 421: Chapter 37: A Spark Sets the Prairie Ablaze
Rumble, rumble, the treads of the tanks crushed the cobblestone road, leaving it shattered.
Dozens of tanks entered Kano Town, immediately bringing the small town into a frenzy.
The buildings within the town were very dense, so the tanks could only maneuver on the main roads, which caused a significant hindrance in finding the remnants of Central City.
Su Xiao sat atop a tank, commanding it. Although he didn’t know how to command a tank in battle, he could perceive the enemy’s positions.
Su Xiao directed the tank commander, who then directed the soldiers inside the tank, and that solved the problem.
"House at five o’clock direction, approximately 20 people."
Hearing Su Xiao’s command, the tank commander immediately ordered the gunner to aim.
"Switch to incendiary bomb."
The tank could fire not only high-explosive and armor-piercing rounds but also incendiary bombs and smoke bombs.
An incendiary bomb was loaded and fired with a loud bang.
The incendiary bomb shattered the house’s glass window, exploding with a bang inside the house.
It wasn’t the expected blaze, but a puff of white smoke first erupted inside the house, with a faint orange glow within the smoke.
A few seconds later.
"Ah!!"
Screams followed one after another, a few Central Army soldiers rushed out of the house with white smoke rising from their bodies, but no open flames.
These Central Army soldiers ran slowly, staggering like zombies.
Logically, the incendiary bomb should have created a huge blaze, but instead, there was only a large area of white smoke and faint sparks; no open flames on the Central Army soldiers.
This type of incendiary bomb is called a "white phosphorus bomb," utilizing the self-igniting property of white phosphorus in air.
Such incendiary bombs were widely used during WWII, later abandoned because they inflicted severe psychological and physical harm on combatants, rivaling the brutality of dum bullets.
The Central Army hit by the "white phosphorus bomb" continued wailing, and the Northern Army did not shoot.
A rookie Northern Army soldier raised his rifle only to be held back by a nearby veteran.
"Let them burn to death."
"But..."
The rookie’s eyes showed a struggle.
"My brother was blown up by these Central Army scum an hour ago; there’s no ’but.’
The veteran sneered, continuing to watch the wailing Central Army.
War is the root of hatred, whether in wars between nations or civil wars.
The Tank Corps continued advancing, while Su Xiao perceived enemies around him.
Clang!
A bullet struck the round hatch beside him, sparks flying.
Su Xiao felt a chill; he hadn’t perceived this shot, realizing there was a sniper only after the bullet fell.
He looked at the dent on the hatch and deduced the sniper’s position.
"Seems like others have joined the fray."
Su Xiao looked towards a clock tower at the rear of the town, where a black gun barrel protruded.
If one looked closely, it was not a gun barrel but a silencer.
There was a Contractor, undoubtedly, the one who fired the shot must be a Contractor, as the powerful spearmen in the Steel Refinement World could hardly shield his perception.
"Seven o’clock direction, clock tower."
Though the tank commander couldn’t see where the enemy was, he still ordered the gunner to aim in that direction.
"All tanks focus fire on the seven o’clock direction, clock tower."
Su Xiao shouted, as the initiator of the Alliance, of course, he had the right to command the Tank Corps in battle.
A dozen tanks around him tur ned their guns, continuously booming, until the clock tower was leveled in less than ten seconds.
Beside the clock tower ruins, a female Contractor clenched her teeth, quickly fleeing the town.
"Where did this Contractor come from, bringing a Tank Corps, it’s simply cheating."
The female Contract had a long golden braid swaying left and right as she ran.
Her name was Mira, a sniper in the real world, thrived in the Reincarnation Paradise, having sniped countless Contractors.
At the moment, Mira was clutching her beloved sniper rifle, escaping in the face of the vast Tank Corps, all she could do was flee.
Su Xiao saw Mira fleeing but didn’t pursue her; the distance was too far, and it would be a waste of time. Besides, the shot wasn’t aimed at killing him but Olivier, who was astute and dodged it.
Two hours later.
The battle in the town gradually came to an end, the remnants of the Central Army were cleared.
The Northern Army took over the town, with the first target being the railway station.
Walking through the town, Su Xiao occasionally saw civilians traversing the streets, their expressions full of panic, very fearful of the Northern Army.
The Northern Army’s primary objective was to control the railway station. As soon as they entered the station, rapid gunfire erupted.
The gunfire ceased after five minutes, with a dozen Northern Army soldiers dragging several corpses out, leaving large stains of blood on the street.
All the Central Army corpses were gathered in the town square, gasoline was poured over them, and black smoke billowed up.
The bodies had to be disposed of immediately; war and plague go hand in hand because of unanaged corpses.
Shortly after the railway station was secured, a train whistle sounded, the Central Army didn’t have time to destroy the train, which was their only escape.
The commanders of the Central Army hadn’t expected to lose so quickly, from the massive military rations alone it was evident they planned for a prolonged battle with the Northern Army.
A prolonged battle was a pipe dream; the total duration of the war didn’t even exceed a day.
Train after train left the station, being the vanguard, Olivier was in charge of leading.
Su Xiao wasn’t in a rush to leave the town, he needed to cover the rear.
The train seats had all been removed to increase the number of soldiers transported, tanks were loaded onto flatbed trains, fortunately, there were enough trains, otherwise, it would be impossible to transport so many tanks.
Even then, transportation couldn’t happen in one or two trips, requiring five round trips.
Olivier, as the vanguard, opened the way ahead, attacking each station along the route until reaching Central.
Su Xiao was stationed in the town, staying in contact with Olivier.
Two days later, Olivier had taken six railway stations, increasing not just the number of trains but also the soldiers under her command.
Not every Amestris commander was useless; some were already dissatisfied with Central City’s actions. Seeing Olivier’s large-scale advance, they too wanted a share.
The number of allies began to increase from an initial three factions to sixteen, and the army grew from eighty thousand to over four hundred thousand.
Even Su Xiao did not anticipate this; he previously thought it necessary to fight the Central Army to the death, but it seemed nothing like that now.
His actions, along with Mustang and two others, were like setting a fire in the middle of a withered prairie, which only grew larger.
On the third day after the war began, Su Xiao led four thousand soldiers by train towards Central City, this was the last unit stationed in the town, now with the Allied Army having so many people, there was no need to garrison here.
The number of trains and participating soldiers increased continuously.
By the third day of the war, the military force had reached over six hundred thousand, and generals across the lands had realized that Central City was doomed, it was time to choose sides.
But within these over six hundred thousand soldiers, the real main force was only tens of thousands, the subordinates of Mustang and Olivier.
The other commanders were merely making a statement, if a fierce battle occurred, this six hundred thousand army would scatter in an instant like birds and beasts.