Chapter 422: Chapter 38: The Final Battle
On the fourth day after the war began, Su Xiao arrived at a small town near Central City, which was Mustang’s base.
The train stopped slowly, and after Su Xiao got off, he found Mustang coming to the station to meet him.
At this time, Mustang was no longer in his colonel uniform; he had removed his rank insignia.
"How’s the situation?"
Su Xiao straightforwardly inquired about the situation.
"Not so good. We’ve been fighting Central City for two days, but the progress is minimal."
"Hmm?"
Su Xiao was a bit puzzled. Logically, with the strength of the Northern Army and Mustang’s troops, they should have easily crushed the Central Army.
"Is it those miscellaneous troops holding us back?"
"No, it’s the Undead Legion."
Upon hearing about the Undead Legion, Su Xiao nodded.
The Undead Legion was invented by the Little Man in the Bottle, using the Philosopher’s Stone to create bodies and fixing the souls of innocents onto those manufactured bodies.
In this way, those bodies could fight and wouldn’t die even if injured since their core was just a blood seal.
The way to eliminate the undead army is to either completely destroy the body or destroy the blood seal.
But the location of the blood seal is not fixed; some are on the head, some on the chest and abdomen, and some on the soles of the feet, completely random.
Ordinary soldiers, after seeing these monsters that won’t die from gunfire, had their morale shaken, and some miscellaneous troops even started to flee.
"There is some good news, though."
Mustang spoke.
"What is it?"
"Over 30% of the Central Army soldiers have surrendered, and many have fled with their families. Now the Central Army’s force is less than 20% remaining, and they have no fighting spirit."
Before the Undead Legion entered the battle, the Alliance Army had clashed with the Central Army.
The Central Army suffered a huge defeat, and those stationed in Central City were even more incompetent than the ones in Kano Town.
In the small town not far from Central City, Su Xiao clearly heard the sounds of artillery fire and gunshots coming from a distance.
This small town was 5 kilometers from Central City, and the two sides had formed a battle line over this distance.
Su Xiao gazed out from a high point in the town, observing that his forces were engaged with the Undead Legion at the battle line.
The battle style of the Undead Legion was very peculiar; they did not use firearms, but relying on their strong survival ability, they carried bombs to rush into Su Xiao’s troops and then detonated the bombs, resulting in heavy casualties for both sides.
According to Mustang’s speculation, the Undead Legion was controlled by someone, and the only one who could control them was the Little Man in the Bottle.
The exact number of the Undead Legion was unknown for now, but from the current situation, this was bound to be a protracted war.
The defeat of Central City was already predestined; the Alliance Army had completely surrounded Central City.
Seeing the situation at that moment, Su Xiao was all smiles.
This was the result he wanted to see; he didn’t care in the least if the Central Army was defeated or not. Being able to surround Central City was the best outcome.
At this moment, Central City was fully encircled, and as soon as those people arrived, the final battle would commence.
The ones Su Xiao was waiting for didn’t keep him waiting long; it was only five hours later.
...
In a bathhouse, Su Xiao soaked in a pool of warm water, his back facing the door.
Numerous scars could be seen on his back, knife wounds, and gunshot wounds were commonplace.
The bathhouse was filled with steam, and near Su Xiao was another man.
"A solid plan; if done this way, 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.
Von Hoenheim, the father of the protagonist, Edward.
It was Von Hoenheim who actively sought out Su Xiao, probably because Su Xiao’s actions had caught his attention.
"So, are you agreeing?"
"Yes, the Little Man in the Bottle was born from my blood, so I have the responsibility to destroy him."
"Even if it means death?"
"No matter, I should have died long ago. Having left behind twin heirs is already satisfying."
Von Hoenheim chuckled softly, his muscular bare upper body clearly defined.
"How much Philosopher’s Stone do you have left in your body?"
Su Xiao looked at Von Hoenheim.
"Very little, enough for dozens of people."
"Is that so? It seems you have almost everything in place."
"Yes."
Originally, Von Hoenheim had the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of Philosopher’s Stones in his body, but now only enough for a few dozen were left.
"When will the final battle begin?"
Von Hoenheim exhaled a long breath.
"Right now."
Bam!
The bathhouse door was kicked open, and Edward Elric burst in.
As soon as he rushed into the bathhouse, Edward’s steps came to a halt.
"Hoenheim, what are you doing here?"
Hoenheim said nothing, seemingly not intending to explain anything to Edward.
After glancing at Hoenheim, Edward finally turned his gaze towards Su Xiao.
"What on earth are you doing, inciting a war involving hundreds of thousands of people? Do you know how many have already died!"
Edward was furious; he had personally been to the battlefield. It was Hell there, an Asura field; the soldiers were no longer human, but killing machines.
"How many have died? If I remember correctly, around a dozen ten thousand, right?"
Hearing Su Xiao’s words, Edward was already incensed.
"A dozen ten thousand... In your eyes, is human life so worthless? These are living beings."
"So what?"
Su Xiao didn’t even turn around. Since he had made the decision, he had to bear the consequences; explanations were a sign of weakness.
The war was indeed instigated by him, and he admitted to the deaths of those tens of thousands.
Su Xiao stood up from the warm water. Everyone had arrived; it was time for the final showdown.
"Is it about to begin?"
Von Hoenheim already anticipated what was about to transpire, and his tone carried inevitable excitement.
"Yes, my people are ready. How about yours?"
"Ready to move at any time."
"Then let’s begin."
Water droplets dripped from Su Xiao’s hair. After putting on his clothes, he walked out of the bathhouse.
"Edward, though it’s not something a father should say, today I still have to say..."
...
Three hours later, Su Xiao gathered with Mustang, Olivier, and others in a meeting room.
There were other people in the meeting room.
The protagonist’s master, Izumi Curtis.
The protagonist’s younger brother, Alphonse Elric.
The protagonist’s father, Von Hoenheim.
Olivier’s younger brother, Alex Louis Armstrong.
Mustang’s subordinate, Hawkeye Riza Hawkeye.
Mustang’s subordinate, John Havoc.
There were more than ten people; these people were the main force against the Little Man in the Bottle.
The final battle was about to commence, and Su Xiao had gathered everyone he could.
These people did not take orders from him; they merely had a common goal, to defeat the Little Man in the Bottle.
Su Xiao spread a map out on the conference table, a detailed map of Central City.
"First, we need to find a way to approach the Presidential Palace, which is here."
Su Xiao pointed to a spot on the map, and nobody present spoke up.
"The Little Man in the Bottle is below the Presidential Palace, but to get there, we have to go through the First Experimental Site. Below the First Experimental Site is the residence of the Little Man in the Bottle. Alphonse Elric has been there before. Do you remember the route?"
Everyone present turned to look at Alphonse.
"I remember."
Alphonse looked slightly nervous; he also knew what was about to happen.
Edward sat silently, knowing that defeating the Little Man in the Bottle was imperative.
"Good, once we reach the First Experimental Site, we will split into three groups and regroup before we reach the Little Man in the Bottle’s location."