Arc of Fire

Chapter 14

Wang Zhong once again sized up the girl who had brought the "order," noticing she seemed to have some Eastern heritage-this was normal, as if this Ante Empire was an alternate version of Tsarist Russia, there should be quite a few Eastern people living within its borders.

However, the girl's eyes weren't black, which diminished Wang Zhong's feeling of "meeting an old friend in a foreign land" quite a bit.

Upon closer inspection, her black hair wasn't actually that pure black either.

Moreover, as if corresponding to her Eastern features, the girl's figure, when compared to Lyudmila's, was truly like heaven and earth.

Of course, this was mainly because Lyudmila was so well-endowed-the nurse who had bandaged Wang Zhong earlier was also quite curvy; perhaps Ante women were generally more voluptuous.

Wang Zhong: "Are you a hymn monk?"

The girl looked at Wang Zhong with confusion, but upon seeing his rank, she immediately stood at attention and saluted: "Lieutenant Colonel! I am the last survivor of the Ronezh Choir, hymn monk Su Fang Batu Wendusu."

Batu Wendusu sounded very Mongolian; indeed, this girl had Eastern heritage.

Wang Zhong: "You said you're the last survivor?"

"Yes, the church where the headquarters was located was hit by heavy artillery. The choir was in the building next door-I heard it was like that. I was sent out to accompany Brother Yatsemenko's Divine Arrow squad, so I escaped disaster."

Wang Zhong: "I was there when the shelling happened. His Grace the Duke was killed, the entire staff and communications team were completely wiped out, and your choir colleagues were probably among them."

The girl's expression darkened instantly, her long eyelashes drooping as her gaze fell to the ground: "They... I hope they went to heaven without pain."

As she spoke, the girl made a gesture across her chest.

Wang Zhong hadn't paid attention when he saw others do this before, assuming it was the sign of the cross, but now he realized it wasn't a cross at all-it was an inverted triangle.

Good thing he noticed, or else making the sign of the cross later might have given him away.

At this moment, Bishop Stepan stepped between Wang Zhong and the girl, declaring loudly: "There's no time to waste, let's set off quickly! Shepetovka is quite far from here. If we go on foot, it'll take several days, and we might not even make it!"

Wang Zhong glared angrily at this man who had just wanted to execute him, recalling the sense of unease he felt from him-from them-earlier.

During World War II on Earth, when Operation Barbarossa began, the Germans sent a large number of "fifth column" agents-spies-to infiltrate the Soviet Union and cause disruption, throwing the Soviet forces into chaos.

Could these people be the same?

Wang Zhong also remembered how this man had shown fear toward the submachine gun in Yegorov's hands just moments ago.

That kind of reaction felt more like he was on guard against Yegorov as if he were an enemy.

At this moment, a sudden idea struck Wang Zhong. Recalling a scene from the movie *Brest Fortress*, he mimicked it and said: "I want to see the soles of your shoes! Our country's shoe soles have round anti-slip studs, while the Prossenians' have square ones! If you're a spy, the shoes you're wearing might have been sent from Prossen!"

In the movie, a Soviet officer used this bluff to trick a German spy, even though there was no actual difference in the studs.

But the German spy, thinking he had overlooked this detail, revealed a flaw under the unexpected pressure and was subsequently executed justly.

Wang Zhong just thought of it and decided to give it a try.

Bishop Stepan's expression seemed quite normal; he calmly said: "Fine, if you want to look, go ahead! After that, I'll check your shoe studs too!"

Then he propped himself on the table, lifted his foot, and let everyone see the studs.

Square.

The bishop froze.

Yegorov raised his submachine gun, aiming at the bishop, and said: "Explain yourself, Bishop."

At this point, hymn monk Su Fang said: "Now that I think about it, it's strange. Bishop Stepan should be taller. But you look so much like him..."

The other monks also showed hesitant expressions: "Now that you mention it, the bishop should indeed be taller."

Wang Zhong: "Have you been with him the whole time?"

"No, we followed your orders, Count, and advanced with the Third Amur Regiment, serving as the vanguard for the field hospital and headquarters. Bishop Stepan joined us midway... but he really does look exactly like the Bishop!"

Wang Zhong also drew his gun: "That's because the Prossenians carefully selected someone to infiltrate and sabotage. And I bet he's wearing makeup. Someone, splash water on the bishop's face!"

Yegorov immediately unfastened his canteen, saying: "This canteen of mine is filled with alcohol; it can wipe off even waterproof makeup!"

As he spoke, he unscrewed the cap and took a sip; the moment the cap was opened, the scent of alcohol wafted out.

Then Yegorov poured the contents of the canteen all over Bishop Stepan's head.

First to dissolve was the eyebrows; the black from the eyebrow pencil melted and streamed down the "bishop's" cheeks.

Suddenly, Bishop Stepan grabbed something from the table and smashed it at Shaposhnikov's gun!

By now, Wang Zhong had already drawn his gun. Compared to the last time he executed a deserter, his hand was much steadier this time as he fired.

Bang bang, two shots, and "Bishop Stepan's" steps slowed, his arms spread wide as he fell forward.

Yegorov clicked his tongue: "No wonder he was acting like an idiot, stirring up conflict earlier. Turns out he's a Prossen spy!"

Inquisitor Shaposhnikov said: "Before the war started, we had already uncovered a Prossen spy. We were interrogating him when the war broke out, and Prossen bombers dropped their payload. If not for that, we would have definitely dismantled Prossen's espionage network in Ronezh!"

Wang Zhong hadn't forgotten the earlier exchange of glances between the "bishop" and these two "inquisitors."

He declared loudly: "You also pointed a gun at me just now. How can I believe you're not another spy? Come to think of it, you didn't even know about my close ties with the Crown Prince. Suspicious, far too suspicious."

Wang Zhong turned to the other monks in the room: "Have these two inquisitors been with you the whole time?"

"No, they joined us along with the bishop," a monk said, stepping back as he spoke to clear the line of fire, ensuring Yegorov's potential burst wouldn't hit him.

Only Su Fang still stood obliviously at the doorway.

Suddenly, Shaposhnikov grabbed Su Fang, taking her as a hostage and holding her in front of him.

While the act of taking a hostage distracted everyone, the other "inquisitor" drew a pistol resembling a "box cannon" and aimed at Wang Zhong to fire.

Although Su Fang's upper body was restrained, her lower body could still move. At the critical moment, she kicked upward, hitting the second man's wrist, and the deflected bullet took off Wang Zhong's hat.

"Inquisitor Shaposhnikov" pressed the gun to Su Fang's forehead: "Stay still!"

Immediately after, he started speaking in Prossenian.

Yegorov opened fire, a short burst from his submachine gun taking down the fake inquisitor who wasn't holding a hostage.

The spy holding Su Fang shouted something incoherently.

Wang Zhong stepped forward and said: "Calm down, you can't escape. Surrender now!"

The spy laughed maniacally: "Taking down the last hymn monk isn't a bad deal. We know just how poor your country's radio technology is!"

It looked like the enemy was about to "tear the ticket"!

Wang Zhong, thinking quickly, shouted: "Long live the Prossen Empire!"

Caught off guard, the enemy froze: "Huh?"

In that split second, the courageous Yegorov charged forward, using the barrel of his submachine gun to forcefully push away the gun pressed against Su Fang's temple, then fired point-blank at the enemy's head.

A large chunk of the enemy's head was instantly blown apart, looking as if a watermelon had been smashed to pieces by a small hammer costing 40 bucks a hit.

(End of Chapter)