Arc of Fire

Chapter 31

Yegorov, like the others, rushed out from the hidden bunker.

Charging into battle was something Yegorov never missed.

The enemy had already suffered heavy losses in the urban meat grinder operation, and the ambush by Vehicle 422 caused them to lose all their armored forces in a short time; under such circumstances, even the battle-hardened Prossenian veterans collapsed in morale instantly.

In contrast, the Third Amur Regiment, to varying degrees, witnessed the heroic feat of Vehicle 422, and their morale soared through the roof.

This was evident from the deafening cries of "Ura!"

Yegorov absolutely loved personally leading the charge in situations like this.

The enemy was quickly driven out of the village.

Apart from a few veterans who hadn't had their fill of killing and were taking potshots at the edge of the town, the remaining soldiers gathered around Vehicle 422, surrounding the tank and shouting: "Ura!"

The deafening cries of "Ura!" were as if the Emperor himself had arrived at the front line.

Yegorov had to use his burly frame to push aside several overexcited soldiers, taking a few minutes to squeeze his way to the tank.

Only then did he see clearly that the person sitting on the tank was none other than Count Rokosov.

The Count looked to be in terrible condition, his face pale and drenched in sweat.

The soldiers hadn't noticed the Count's abnormality, and it wasn't their fault-since the war began, they had been retreating everywhere, and it had been a long time since the soldiers had tasted victory, even a small, localized one like this.

Just as everyone was celebrating the victory with boundless excitement, the Count suddenly swayed and fell off the tank, but countless hands immediately caught and held him up.

The soldiers cheered loudly, tossing the Count into the air-they actually thought he was celebrating!

Yegorov shouted at the top of his lungs: "Stop messing around! You're going to shake the Count to death! He's running a high fever! Stop it!"

----

At this moment, inside Vehicle 422, the tank crew wasn't as excited as the infantry outside.

It wasn't that they weren't happy about the victory; it was mainly because they had just literally danced with death and hadn't yet recovered.

The Count, suffering from a high fever and tinnitus, couldn't hear anything, but just moments ago, the inside of the tank had been filled with screams and cries; none of these tank crew members had any real combat experience, and the life-or-death, knife-edge tactics they had just employed were too much for them to handle, so they could only shout to relieve their fear.

Now that the battle was over, everyone seemed exhausted from shouting and slumped in their seats.

Finally, the driver was the first to react, letting out a hoarse howl: "Oh oh oh oh! We're alive! Ura!"

The loader and gunner exchanged glances and shouted together: "Ura!"

Just as they started shouting, the Count fell out of the tank.

The gunner, who was closest, reached out to grab him but missed.

"It's over!"

"The Count is done for!"

"Our star of victory!"

The crew scrambled to open the hatch and climb out of the tank, just in time to see the soldiers tossing the Count nearly two stories high.

----

Yegorov picked up his submachine gun and fired a burst into the sky, finally stopping the frenzied crowd.

Yegorov: "The Count is running a high fever! Do you want to kill him? Get a stretcher now and take him to the hospital!"

The field hospital had originally planned to retreat using local villagers' carts, but the enemy came too quickly, and they hadn't had time to leave.

The soldiers, as if waking from a dream, finally placed the Count on a hurriedly brought stretcher, then followed the stretcher bearers toward the hospital.

Yegorov climbed onto the tank and yelled: "What are you following them for? The enemy has only been repelled, not defeated! Clean up the battlefield now, collect the enemy's weapons, especially machine guns and submachine guns!"

"Go check those tanks that haven't burned up yet, see if you can dismantle the machine guns! And gather as much ammo as possible!"

Only then did the soldiers disperse.

Yegorov turned and exchanged looks with the tank crew.

The gunner asked: "What... should we do?"

Yegorov: "Why was the Count commanding you?"

The gunner: "Our tank commander was terrified; back in the distillery yard, he shut the hatch and cowered in the turret, trembling. Then the Count came over and banged on the turret cover, saying..."

"Banged on the turret cover with a gun," the loader corrected.

The gunner: "Right, came over with a gun and banged on the turret cover, saying 'You spineless coward, get out here!'"

The driver said with certainty: "No, he said, 'You whimpering sissy, get out here, or I'll shoot you!'"

The gunner: "Was it like that?"

"Yes, it was fierce," the driver nodded, then looked at the mechanic, "If you don't believe me, ask him."

The mechanic also nodded: "Very fierce."

The gunner: "Anyway, we ended up under the Count's direct command. He told us to drive straight out of the village; he had everything planned out, down to which shell to load for each shot, crystal clear."

"Yes, crystal clear."

The gunner continued: "As soon as we left the village, we saw an enemy half-track, probably an ambulance. We fired a shot and sent the vehicle and the Prossenian wounded straight to heaven!"

The mechanic chimed in: "The Count even sang a song, saying goodbye to the enemy's mothers!"

"No, no," the driver shook his head, "You have to consider the context. You uncultured fool, didn't you go to night school? The Count was saying goodbye to his own mother, preparing to go into battle."

Yegorov was utterly confused: "The Count called for his mother? Sang a song? What nonsense is this?"

Then the tank crew answered in unison: "He was singing! And it was a song we'd never heard before!"

The gunner added: "The lyrics were about saying goodbye to his mother and his homeland, saying the star of victory would shine upon us!"

The others nodded in agreement:

"Yes, the star of victory, I heard it clearly."

"It went something like this, let me find the tune, do-re-mi-fa-so... got it, 'Farewell, dear homeland~ The star of victory will shine upon us~'"

After the driver finished singing, the others immediately nodded, confirming it was exactly like that.

Yegorov frowned, looking at the tank crew.

At that moment, Brother Yatsemenko approached: "Lieutenant Colonel Yegorov, we need new firing positions. I think the outer positions won't be usable when the enemy attacks again."

Just as Yegorov was about to respond, he saw Lyudmila from Yatsemenko's Divine Arrow squad looking around with a puzzled expression.

"The Count fainted and was taken to the hospital," Yegorov said.

Lyudmila was startled: "Eh? I-I wasn't looking for him! Uh, I was looking for him. Brother, can I..."

Yatsemenko: "Go ahead, but be back before the enemy attacks again."

Lyudmila immediately turned and ran toward the hospital.

After watching her leave, Yatsemenko continued the earlier topic: "I need new launch positions. We still have three Divine Arrows; if the positions are set up well, we can take out three tanks."

He paused, showing a self-deprecating smile: "Damn, that's still fewer than what the Count took out single-handedly just now."

The gunner from Vehicle 422 shouted: "We had a part in it too, Brother!"

Yatsemenko quickly corrected himself: "Alright, it's what your entire crew achieved under the Count's command."

Yegorov then said: "I'll have the regiment logistics look for some paint to mark kill rings on your tank."

Kill rings-tank crews paint circular marks on their cannons, with each ring representing a destroyed enemy tank.

The crew members exchanged smiles.

At that moment, Yegorov asked: "How are the other crews doing?"

The expressions on their faces froze.

Only then did they snap out of the joy of victory, realizing that many comrades they had lived with day and night had perished in the recent battle.

(End of Chapter)