Arc of Fire

Chapter 27

Major Schlieffen, commander of the Schlieffen Battle Group, observed the dust cloud on the hillside for a moment before sneering, "The enemy's scouts don't even carry walkie-talkies. The Ante Empire is more decadent than we imagined."

The voice of the tank company commander under his command came through the headset: "They're an inferior race, yet they occupy fertile black soil!"

"We've come to exterminate pests!"

"Yeah, hahaha!"

Schlieffen said coldly, "The enemy is right in front of us. Don't chat idly on the radio."

"Sorry, Major."

"Apologies."

Schlieffen then asked, "What are the results of the truck inspection?"

Although the Major hadn't given an order to inspect the truck, he trusted that his subordinates would have someone check it after the marching column stopped.

Sure enough, a response came through the radio immediately: "Major, it's one of our trucks. Before dawn today, a mechanized infantry unit overtook us. It might belong to that unit. But I didn't find any of our soldiers' bodies inside the vehicle."

Schlieffen cursed angrily, "Why didn't you stop and check their credentials when a convoy passed through? We are the spearhead of the attack. According to the operational sequence, all other units are behind us!"

There was complete silence on the radio.

Schlieffen: "Who was on duty last night? With the enemy at hand, I won't confine you now, but if you survive this battle, expect disciplinary action!"

After speaking, Schlieffen temporarily disabled the radio's transmission function and gave an order to the driver via the internal comms: "Leave the main road, head up the hill!"

His Type III tank, with the tactical number 141, left the main road and drove up the hill where the Ante Army sentries were hidden.

The voice of the battle group staff officer came through the headset: "Major, shouldn't we send infantry up first to sweep the area?"

Schlieffen: "There's no need for that. The Ante people have no talent for warfare. They only fight by the textbook. Think about how poorly they performed in the Winter War!"

"The Ante people will set up sniper positions on the hilltop because that's what their textbooks teach them! If we haven't been attacked by now, there's no one on the hilltop. I'll prove it!"

After speaking, Schlieffen straightened his body, exposing half of his upper torso outside the tank hatch's cover-the hatch of the Type III tank was designed to open forward, serving as a shield for the commander when protruding.

The command vehicle numbered 141 drove all the way to a spot just a step away from the hilltop.

At this point, Schlieffen's line of sight could already see over the hilltop to the other side, so he shouted, "Stop!"

The tank came to an abrupt halt, shaking violently.

Schlieffen raised his binoculars. He had lost one eye in the Carolingian Campaign, yet he stubbornly continued to use double-lens binoculars, as if he had never become a one-eyed man.

"The Ante people have fortified the town. Some of the buildings look quite sturdy."

At this moment, the command half-track carrying the Chief of Staff also drove up the hill. The Chief of Staff jumped out of the vehicle, stood beside tank 141, and raised his binoculars.

"Considering the Ante Army unit that passed by at dawn pretending to be ours, this place must definitely..."

"Major!" A lieutenant officer interrupted the staff officer's words, "Look here, there are tank tracks on the ground. An Ante Army tank stopped here at some point!"

Schlieffen looked at the lieutenant: "Good work, Lieutenant. Can you tell where the tracks lead?"

"Down the slope to the village, Major!"

The Chief of Staff frowned: "With tanks, infantry, and such sturdy brick-and-stone buildings, we should wait for the heavy artillery to arrive. They actually abandoned this high ground. We can establish an artillery observation post here, and when the heavy artillery arrives, we can blast them all to ashes!!"

Schlieffen: "The heavy artillery is all stuck in traffic on the road. By the time they get here, it'll be too late. The Ante people's tanks are very outdated, and most have been wiped out by the air force. A few tanks won't make a difference."

"Have the troops deploy. How many smoke shells does the mortar company have left?"

The logistics officer replied, "Not many, sir. We've been pushing forward and haven't received systematic resupply."

"Then hold off on firing for now."

Schlieffen observed the village below the hill once more and said, "If the enemy has a Divine Arrow, it'll be in that bell tower."

After speaking, Schlieffen lowered his binoculars, raised his thumb as a reference point, and estimated the distance.

"Two kilometers. The enemy's Divine Arrow won't be accurate at this range. Have Hoffman's crew come up. The firing position is right here!"

Soon, a Type III tank with the tactical number 170 drove up the hill and stopped not far from Schlieffen's 141.

Schlieffen pressed the microphone at his throat and said, "Hoffman, the target is that bell tower. The enemy's Divine Arrow squad must be inside. The 50mm high-explosive shells of the Type III might not penetrate the stone walls. I need you to precisely deliver the shell through the bell tower's window."

Armor-piercing rounds could naturally penetrate stone walls, but the destructive effect might not be ideal.

However, hitting a window accurately at a distance of two kilometers required not only exceptional shooting skills but also a bit of luck.

In reality, hitting the bell tower at this distance would already be considered passing.

But Schlieffen had confidence in his ace gunner.

Schlieffen: "Hit the target, and I'll reward you with a dozen cans of food!"

Laughter came through the radio from the tank crew: "Major, who wants your canned food now? Look around-there's endless beef to eat and women to sleep with!"

"Only the bread is a bit lacking!"

Schlieffen: "Then the reward will be Imperial Marks. Miss the shot, and you'll be confined!"

Hoffman whistled: "Just watch, sir!"

Vehicle 170 rotated its turret and began aiming.

Schlieffen glanced at his subordinates, then turned back to look down the hill, satisfied to see his troops had completed their combat deployment, just waiting to launch the attack.

At that moment, the cannon fired.

----

"They've opened fire?" Brother Yatsemenko was shocked. At that moment, the whistling sound of a shell passed overhead, and everyone instinctively looked up.

The next moment, an explosion sounded from behind.

Brother Yatsemenko immediately rushed to the window on the other side, just in time to see smoke and dust bursting through the bell tower's windows.

Right after, he saw the two guards stationed at the bell tower rush out of the door, running onto the street in panic.

The next moment, the large bell crashed onto the first floor of the bell tower. The man-high bell even bounced, and the dull tolling sound tormented everyone's ears.

Yatsemenko cursed, "Suka blyat!"

He looked at the others.

An ammo handler said, "If we had been in the bell tower, we'd be like that bell right now..."

Lyudmila: "We can counterattack! The one who fired must be their best gunner! Killing him could save a lot of our lives!"

"No!" Yatsemenko scolded the others who started moving after hearing Lyudmila's words, "If we fire now, they'll just reverse and hide, and we'll only expose ourselves! Wait until they charge into the open ground with nowhere to hide, then open fire!"

After stopping everyone, Yatsemenko muttered, "He actually predicted it... Could he really be a genius?"

----

Schlieffen frowned, observing the village's reaction.

The Chief of Staff said, "It looks like there's no Divine Arrow positioned in the tower. The enemy might have already abandoned this village."

Schlieffen: "Even if that's the case, we must enter the village in combat formation. Armored Company Two and infantry, begin advancing!"

Company Two was primarily equipped with Type IV tanks for infantry support. Their short-barreled 75mm howitzers weren't suited for anti-armor combat but were effective at killing infantry.

The Chief of Staff glanced at the staff officer on standby nearby and gave a slight nod.

Thus, the staff officer blew the whistle signaling the start of the attack.

Company Two's Type IV tanks spewed thick smoke from their exhausts, their tracks crushing the black soil as they rolled over the hill.

(End of chapter)