Arc of Fire

Chapter 30

But Wang Zhong soon found himself unable to stay cheerful.

He noticed that besides organizing their troops around machine guns like the German army, the Prossenian forces had another characteristic that only the mid-war Germans possessed: they were widely equipped with rifle grenades.

In real history, the Germans only started equipping rifle grenades in large numbers in the mid-to-late 1942 period; during the early days of Operation Barbarossa, German squads usually only had hand grenades.

The Prossenian forces were likely all veterans, using rifle grenades with masterful skill. Once a machine gun position was spotted, it would quickly be hit by a rifle grenade.

Although in Wang Zhong's view, these rifle grenades might not effectively kill the machine gun crews-since the machine guns were inside buildings and positioned very strategically-getting hit by a rifle grenade meant they had no choice but to relocate, and relocation created a gap in firepower.

Of course, the enemy didn't have Wang Zhong's Overhead Perspective, so figuring out the machine gun positions was a challenge for them, but they forcibly solved this problem through combat experience and sheer numbers.

Moreover, the enemy was clearly very familiar with this kind of infantry-tank combined urban meat grinder. The infantry scouted ahead for the tanks, clearing rooms one by one with grenades, while the tanks sent machine gun positions skyward one after another.

After fighting for half a day, although the enemy paid the price of six tanks and over a hundred casualties, the Third Amur Regiment on this side also lost three heavy machine guns and the lives of dozens of throwers.

Although currently only seven or eight buildings on the western side of the village had been taken by the Prossenian forces, Wang Zhong, with his Overhead Perspective, could already see that if things continued like this, the fall of Upper Peniye was just a matter of time.

The only thing worth celebrating was that the morale of the Third Amur Regiment remained high. Despite suffering huge losses, they were still bravely contesting every house with the enemy.

Wang Zhong knew that to change the tide of battle, they had to destroy all of the enemy's tanks. Once the tanks were knocked out, the half-tracks accompanying the infantry, which freely unleashed machine gun fire, would no longer pose a threat.

But right now, the enemy's four tanks were blocking the two main roads on the western side of the village. The firepower positions on both sides of the roads didn't dare open fire, as shooting would immediately draw tank cannon fire.

The enemy was advancing along the main roads, and it looked like they would soon reach the church and mechanical mill in the center of the town.

Wang Zhong saw that in Lord Boye's three-story estate north of the church, there was still one last heavy machine gun that hadn't fired yet, on alert. Undoubtedly, the moment enemy infantry entered the open ground in front of the church, they would suffer heavy casualties.

Moreover, the heavy machine gun position chosen by Yegorov was extremely strategic. For the enemy tanks to hit this machine gun, they would have to drive into the open ground directly in front of the church.

But the problem was, Yegorov had no anti-tank firepower left.

Brother Yatsemenko's Divine Arrow squad, after their line of sight was blocked, had originally planned to retreat to the estate, but their movement was untimely. They didn't manage to cross the main road on the northwest side of the village and were now trapped in a two-story building by the roadside.

The worst part was that this building only had windows on the north and south sides, so Brother Yatsemenko's squad didn't have a good view of the enemy tanks on the street.

The enemy infantry had already advanced to about fifty meters away from them.

They couldn't rely on the Divine Arrow squad; they had to depend on incendiary bottles.

However, the enemy came too quickly. Only the incendiary bottles made at the very beginning had been delivered to the throwers on the second floor on the western side of the village.

A large number of incendiary bottles made later were now piled up in the distillery, and they could only be carried forward bit by bit by manpower. Whether they could be delivered in time, and whether they could be effective afterward, was still uncertain.

The enemy had already figured out the tactics on this side. Now, the infantry wouldn't advance with the tanks unless they controlled the buildings on both sides.

They had to come up with a way to take out the enemy's remaining four tanks.

Wang Zhong turned his gaze to the last T28 tank parked in the distillery.

But this thinly armored, overstuffed thing-once it appeared in front of the enemy, it would probably be sent skyward!

Wang Zhong, overlooking the battlefield, found himself in a dilemma.

At this moment, he was burning with fever, feeling top-heavy, as if he could ascend to the heavens at any time.

Why not just give up?

He had already fought well, and now he was so sick. If he just passed out, no one would say anything.

Close his eyes, and even if a flood came, it would have nothing to do with him-wasn't this the perfect approach for a slacker?

Perhaps because of this thought, Wang Zhong's consciousness grew increasingly blurry. In his daze, he saw two Prossenian soldiers in a house on the western edge of the village discovering locals hiding in a cellar.

Wang Zhong recognized these locals; they were the family who had refused his advice when he first entered the village. He remembered the female landlord next door mentioning that the old lady with her grandson was called Mrs. Irinichna.

Mrs. Irinichna tightly hugged her grandson, shielding him with her frail body.

Her son and daughter-in-law were also there, the four of them trembling and huddled together.

The Prossenian soldiers looked at Mrs. Irinichna's son, questioning him in Prossenian, but the old lady could only shake her head repeatedly, saying, "We don't know, we're just ordinary people."

Suddenly, a Prossenian soldier shouted and stabbed Mrs. Irinichna's son to death with a bayonet, then yelled in Ant language: "Deserter!"

The other Prossenian laughed: "Coward!"

Mrs. Irinichna's daughter-in-law was so terrified that she froze, sitting on the ground with her mouth wide open, while the old lady pleaded desperately.

At this moment, a sergeant entered the basement, took one look below, and started cursing. As he cursed, he raised his submachine gun and opened fire on Mrs. Irinichna's family.

The daughter-in-law was immediately gunned down. Mrs. Irinichna tried to protect her grandson but collapsed after being hit by several bullets.

The last remaining child seemed unable to comprehend death yet. He stared blankly at his family lying on the ground, then at the still-smoking muzzle of the Prossenian sergeant's submachine gun.

The sergeant stepped forward, kicked the boy down, and crushed his fragile neck with a single stomp.

Wang Zhong was jolted awake by this bloody scene.

They hadn't even fully occupied the village, and these beasts had already started slaughtering! What they would do after taking the village was unimaginable!

No! Wang Zhong slammed his head hard, forcing himself to stay alert.

Because he knew that if there was any chance to turn the tide now, it could only be him, with his cheat.

He had to make full use of his cheat to destroy the enemy's remaining four tanks.

He looked at the last T28 multi-turret tank with tactical number 422, still parked in the distillery.

This thinly armored, overstuffed thing couldn't possibly face the enemy head-on. He had to find a way to flank or even get behind them! He had to make full use of his Overhead Perspective, this "cheat"!

Wang Zhong zoomed out his view to the furthest extent, overlooking the entire battlefield.

He noticed something: the smoke from the enemy's mortar fire hadn't dissipated yet, so the tanks at the rear of the enemy formation couldn't see the situation in the village.

In other words, if they left the village now and took a wide detour outside, the enemy's follow-up tanks wouldn't be able to see them.

Should he give such an order to the crew of Vehicle 422?

Considering the recent performance of the tank units, the training and combat experience of the Ant Army's armored units were questionable at best...

The grassroots soldiers had plenty of courage, but that was all they had.

Most importantly, they didn't have the Overhead Perspective and had no idea where the enemy was!

To use this last tank to destroy the enemy's four tanks, there was only one way:

I'll personally command this tank!

The moment this thought formed, Wang Zhong switched back to normal vision.

His heart pounded violently. For the first time, Wang Zhong deeply felt what it meant to have "a heart about to break free from the chest." The massive surge of adrenaline made him, who had been weak in limbs, stand up with a jolt.

Su Fang, who was beside him holding a handkerchief, was stunned.

As soon as Wang Zhong saw her, he grabbed her shoulders, staring at her intently.

"Uh... I'll wipe your sweat for you. After all, I'm just a hymn monk, and this is all I can do..."

Wang Zhong: "As long as I'm alive, I won't let you be captured! Never!"

Yes, if he gave up now, not only would his soldiers die in battle and the civilians in the village be slaughtered, but these lovely girls would also suffer humiliation at the hands of the enemy!

How could he give up?

In Wang Zhong's fever-addled brain, there was now only one thought: screw those Prossenian devils, damn it ***!

Su Fang was still confused: "Uh, did you mistake me for someone else... I'm not Miss Lyudmila..."

Wang Zhong let go of her and strode out with purpose.

At this moment, his head felt as heavy as a bobblehead doll's, but fueled by adrenaline, he walked with a fierce, commanding presence.

Rushing out of the main workshop of the distillery, Wang Zhong immediately spotted Vehicle 422.

This tank was parked safely within the distillery's walls, not even a single bullet had flown past it, yet the turret hatch was tightly shut.

Wang Zhong's anger flared. As if forgetting his high fever, he charged straight at the tank and pounded on the hatch: "Open up! If you don't open this hatch, I'll throw an incendiary bottle at you!"

The commander of Vehicle 422, a corporal Wang Zhong had met once before, opened the hatch and poked his head out: "Don't throw it!"

Wang Zhong: "Everyone else is fighting with their blood, and you're hiding here as a reserve force, cowering like this!"

"I... I..."

Wang Zhong yanked off his headset and microphone: "Get out!"

"Huh?"

Wang Zhong: "I said, get out!"

The corporal hesitated for a moment: "Will I be shot? Deserters get shot!"

Wang Zhong: "If you don't get out, you'll be shot. Get out now!"

The corporal climbed out trembling but still stood by the turret, unwilling to leave: "I'm not deserting. It's you, Count, who told me to get out..."

Wang Zhong kicked him down, climbed into the turret himself, and put on the headset.

The corporal, lying on the ground, shouted: "Here's your tank helmet..."

Wang Zhong didn't bother with him. His brain had no room to think about too many things-whether staying inside the turret increased survival chances, or how not wearing a tank helmet could result in a head full of bruises if he stayed inside. None of that crossed his mind.

Right now, he had only one thought: command this tank, execute a brilliant flank, and break the enemy's assault.

After putting on the headset, he realized his ears were ringing so badly that he couldn't hear what the crew was saying over the internal line.

It was said that early Soviet tanks had very rudimentary internal equipment, and commanders had to use wrenches to tap out orders. He could only hope the tanks in this timeline were slightly more advanced.

Wang Zhong slammed the headset a few times, then hit his head a few times, but the ringing in his ears only got worse.

After all, he was running a high fever, and with adrenaline pumping, just having tinnitus was getting off lightly.

Wang Zhong didn't care anymore. He shouted: "Instead of tinnitus, why not give me some battle music!"

Whether it was psychological or not, the tinnitus seemed to take on a bit of a musical rhythm.

But Wang Zhong, in his dazed state, couldn't make out what song it was.

He didn't care either and directly ordered: "Forward! Out the gate!"

Outside the gate was the wreckage of Captain Lubokov's command vehicle, which could provide some cover.

Wang Zhong's order was executed. The tank's engine roared to life and slowly started moving forward.

The soldiers at the gate hurriedly opened it.

As the tank was halfway out the gate, Wang Zhong gave his second order: "Turn left."

Turning left meant heading east, which looked like they were fleeing.

Actually, Wang Zhong was flanking around the side.

The driver didn't raise any objections-or maybe he did, but Wang Zhong couldn't hear it.

He had tinnitus-no, now it wasn't tinnitus anymore, it was some indistinguishable music.

In reality, he couldn't hear anything at all now; the sounds of gunfire, engine roars, soldiers' screams before death, and so on, were all drowned out by the tinnitus (or music).

----

Su Fang stood at the gate, watching Count Rokosov ride away in the tank, leaving a trail of dust behind.

Someone exclaimed: "The Count ran away in a tank!"

Su Fang shouted loudly: "No! He didn't run! He said that as long as he's alive, he won't let me... let us be captured! If you shake the morale of the troops like this, I'll have you shot!"

The person who spoke immediately shut up.

Su Fang looked out the gate again, but by this time, nothing was left except the tank's tracks.

Count Rokosov, can I really trust you?

----

Wang Zhong: "Turn right!"

He couldn't hear any response, so he pounded hard on the top of the turret: "Turn right, damn it!"

The tank's right track braked sharply, completing the right turn with a tail-swinging motion.

Wang Zhong was shaken so badly it felt like his brain was about to fly out.

At this moment, he was still in overhead mode, vomiting uncontrollably.

But that didn't stop him from commanding: "Follow along the stone wall, aim the main cannon straight ahead of the vehicle, and load high-explosive shells!"

The order was executed perfectly. At this moment, the tank passed by a wooden shed-possibly a latrine-at the southernmost edge of the village. The view suddenly opened up, and a Prossenian half-track was parked at the edge of a wheat field.

Wang Zhong: "Emergency stop! Emergency stop!"

The tank braked. Thankfully, the T28 was a long tank, so the sudden stop didn't cause much shaking; otherwise, Wang Zhong would likely have been thrown out.

The Prossenians near the half-track were stunned. The machine gunner on the vehicle, who had been firing into the village, hurriedly turned the gun toward the tank upon seeing it.

"Target. Half-track, fire!"

The smoke from the cannon's muzzle obscured Wang Zhong's vision. Even though it was just a small 45mm cannon, the noise and impact of firing were quite significant.

The front half of the half-track was blown upward, and the surrounding Prossenian soldiers fell to the ground like bowling pins.

The machine guns on the two small turrets at the front of the T28 rattled off a burst, and in an instant, no one was left standing.

At this point, Wang Zhong felt his legs weakening, so he simply sat on the edge of the hatch, leaning sideways against the commander's hatch: "Keep moving forward!"

At this moment, Wang Zhong finally figured out what the noisy music in his ears was-or rather, he had finally burned out and started hallucinating, mistaking the physiological tinnitus for music.

He clearly heard a voice singing in his ear:

Listen, the battle horn sounds the alarm / Put on your uniform, take up your weapons / Young comrades, assemble / March on together to defend the nation!

Wang Zhong nodded his head to the rhythm of the song while not forgetting to issue orders: "Turn the vehicle thirty degrees to the right, rotate the turret ninety degrees to the right, load armor-piercing shells!"

As the tank turned, the machine gun on the front turret fired tracer rounds relentlessly, reaping down every Prossenian like the scythe of the Grim Reaper.

Wang Zhong even had a moment to glance into the distance, confirming that the smoke was completely blocking the enemy tanks behind.

Vehicle 422 charged forward like this, flanking to the southwestern entrance of the village.

"Turn right, and when we rush onto the main road, emergency stop!"

Wang Zhong's order was executed with precision.

After a brief jolt, Wang Zhong confirmed with his own eyes the rear ends of two enemy tanks.

"Target the tank on the left, fire!"

The shockwave from the cannon blast sent dust flying everywhere around.

A hole immediately appeared on the rear of the target, though from normal vision, it didn't look like the tank had been destroyed.

But Wang Zhong, with his overhead perspective, saw clearly that all three crew members inside the target's turret were done for.

Wang Zhong: "Load armor-piercing shells! Switch targets, aim at the tank on the right!"

As the turret rotated, the song in Wang Zhong's ears reached the chorus, so he started humming along: "Let's say goodbye, dear mother, please kiss your son farewell~"

At this moment, the enemy infantry spotted the tank from behind, and a brave corporal rushed toward it, banging on the tank's hatch with his hands.

The coaxial machine gun opened fire, turning the corporal into a sieve, but the tracer rounds also exposed the direction of the machine gun fire, and the enemy tank began rotating its turret!

Wang Zhong roared: "Fire!"

In truth, he didn't know if the loading was complete; he couldn't hear.

But the moment he shouted, the cannon responded to him.

The armor-piercing shell hit the target, and the rotating turret immediately stopped. The next moment, the enemy tank crew climbed out of the tank.

The coaxial machine gun unceremoniously claimed their souls.

At this point, through his overhead perspective, Wang Zhong noticed that two tanks on another street suddenly stopped attacking the defending infantry.

One began turning its body in place, while the other seemed to intend to flank through a side alley.

It must be the radio; the second destroyed tank had informed its teammates via radio that they were being flanked.

Wang Zhong smirked. Playing urban combat with someone who has the map open?

He immediately issued an order to drive the tank into the nearby alley.

While moving, he continued humming along with the voice in his ears:

Goodbye, mother, don't be sad or sorrowful, wish us a safe journey~

As he sang the chorus for the second time, Wang Zhong commanded the tank to flank the side of the enemy's Vehicle 188. With a shout of "Fire," the enemy vehicle's ammo detonated, and the turret flew high into the air.

Only one left!

That last one had circled back to the northwestern entrance of the village along their original path, intending to flank Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong's response was simple: he ordered the tank onto the main street, with the cannon barrel pointing southwest, waiting for it to appear.

While waiting, the tank's machine gun mowed down Prossenian soldiers on the street.

Wang Zhong focused only on humming:

Farewell, dear homeland, the star of victory will shine upon us~

The last tank appeared. Without waiting for Wang Zhong's order, the gunner pressed the firing pedal, and the armor-piercing shell struck the center of the tank's body.

The target almost immediately burst into flames. The Prossenian tank crew, engulfed in fire, climbed out of the hatch and rolled desperately on the ground.

Wang Zhong personally manned the machine gun on top of the tank's turret, mowing down the enemy tank crew while singing: "Goodbye, mother, don't be sad or sorrowful, wish us a safe journey~ Ura!"

The deafening cry of "Ura" echoed through the streets and alleys as the infantry of the Third Amur Regiment surged out like a tidal wave, charging at the enemy who had lost their tank support.

Wang Zhong proudly declared: "Victory!!!"

Then, as if he had burned out the last of his strength, he fainted.

(End of Chapter)