Arc of Fire

Chapter 4

After rushing into the room, Wang Zhong let out a long breath.

Perhaps because he finally felt at ease, his wound started to hurt.

So he shouted with full vigor: "Medic!"

Immediately, a female medic appeared: "Who's calling?"

"Me, me!" Wang Zhong raised his left hand-his right hand was injured and couldn't muster the strength; he could lift it, but it hurt.

The female medic rushed over, ripped off Wang Zhong's sleeve with a sharp tear, and deftly unwrapped the bandage: "Who bandaged this?"

Wang Zhong: "I did it myself. It was too urgent just now. We blew up an enemy jeep, and I don't know when the enemy will hear the noise and come over."

Female medic: "It's bandaged terribly, not even disinfected. It's already starting to fester. Get ready for a fever. The good news is the bullet went through."

As she spoke, she took out a packet of yellow powder and sprinkled it all over Wang Zhong's wound.

Wang Zhong cried out in pain.

The female medic teased: "Don't scream, your girlfriend is watching."

Lyudmila, who had been observing outside, turned her head immediately upon hearing this: "I'm not his girlfriend. I'm a Prayer Hand, belonging to the 55th Divine Arrow Regiment, but my Divine Arrow was taken out by a tank."

While saying this, Lyudmila glanced at Wang Zhong, hesitated briefly, and then said: "I survived under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Rokosov."

In reality, Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Konstantinovich Rokosov had fled into a basement in a complete panic after being shelled by a tank-quite literally in a disgraceful state.

By saying this, Lyudmila was preserving Wang Zhong's dignity.

Realizing this, Wang Zhong quietly pressed his legs together, fearing others might notice the stain on his pants.

This urine wasn't his, and it'd be best if no one discovered it.

The sergeant who had opened the door for them frowned slightly: "Lieutenant Colonel Rokosov's regiment defense zone is two blocks away. Has this regiment already collapsed?"

Wang Zhong recalled what he had seen from the second floor; there didn't seem to be any khaki-uniformed troops still resisting nearby.

So he replied: "Yes, my unit has already collapsed."

As for the reason for the collapse, well, of course, it was because the commander had fled in disgrace. It'd be a miracle if such a unit didn't collapse.

The questioning sergeant cursed under his breath and rubbed his mutton chops fiercely.

Lyudmila glanced at Wang Zhong and said: "The enemy's offensive was too fierce. We had no choice."

Wang Zhong remembered that Lyudmila called him Alyosha, a nickname for Alexei. If this country's customs were similar to Russia on Earth, addressing each other by nicknames suggested a close relationship.

So, the reason Lyudmila was helping to cover for him now was likely due to that connection.

Wang Zhong felt a bit disappointed.

He had thought he'd already earned the girl's trust.

Lyudmila continued: "I need to return to my unit. My team was dispersed and assigned to the entire 79th Division. There must still be some of my teammates alive. I need to join them."

"You've come at the right time," the mutton-chop sergeant said, "Brother Yatsemenko's squad just lost their Prayer Hand. I'll call someone to take you there. Stepan!"

A burly middle-aged man appeared: "Sergeant Major, you called for me?"

The mutton-chop sergeant pointed at Lyudmila: "Take this Captain to Brother Yatsemenko's squad. She's a Prayer Hand."

The burly man nodded: "Follow me."

Lyudmila stood up, gently pressing her right hand on Wang Zhong's shoulder: "Alyosha, you're injured. Go down and recover properly. If I don't make it back, take care of Mom and Dad for me."

This girl was indeed very close to the original peeing Lieutenant Colonel.

Although Wang Zhong didn't even know the name of the country they belonged to and had no sense of defending his homeland, as a man, when a girl was prepared to face death bravely, there was no way he could act like a coward.

"No," he said, "I'm only lightly injured. I can still fight."

Lyudmila was a bit surprised. She stared at Wang Zhong for a few seconds before showing a sweet smile: "Not this time. If you're worried I'll look down on you, don't be. I could never look down on you. You got injured saving me."

Indeed, Wang Zhong had shouted to draw the enemy's attention when he saw they were about to fire at Lyudmila, and that's when he got hit.

Lyudmila continued: "If you step off the front line now, no one will criticize you. Go honorably, recover from your injuries, and then give the Prossenians a taste of their own medicine!"

After saying this, Lyudmila turned around with a resolute expression and nodded to the burly man: "Lead the way."

The two of them left.

The mutton-chop Sergeant Major snapped his fingers: "Siena, bandage up the Lieutenant Colonel properly and find stretcher bearers to send him to the rear."

Wang Zhong: "No! I can be sent to the rear, but first, I need to report the intelligence I've gathered to..."

To whom?

Wang Zhong didn't know anyone.

Wait a second, his ID seemed to have his unit number on it, but he'd been in too much of a rush earlier to remember it.

Before he could pull out his ID, the mutton-chop sergeant said: "To Duke Vladimir?"

Wang Zhong: "Yes! I've come back from enemy territory, and on the way, I took out a high-ranking officer in a jeep!"

In truth, Wang Zhong didn't know why he was trying so hard to stay on the front line a bit longer. His original plan was to survive in this chaotic world, and to achieve that, he should have been content to be sent to the rear.

Perhaps Lyudmila's actions had spurred him on.

Or maybe he didn't want to just leave Lyudmila on the front line like this.

Wang Zhong took a moment to switch perspectives and noticed that on his cheat interface, Lyudmila's "soldier tag" was gone. He was once again a lone commander.

Just as Wang Zhong was feeling deeply conflicted, the mutton-chop sergeant spoke up: "Alright, theoretically speaking, you're a Lieutenant Colonel, and we can only follow your orders. Anton!"

Another Private First Class in uniform entered the room: "Here!"

Mutton-chop sergeant: "This is Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Konstantinovich Rokosov. Take him to headquarters."

"Carry him there?" the Private First Class asked in surprise.

Wang Zhong stood up on his own, pushing away the medic who was still trying to wipe the blood off him: "I can walk."

Private First Class: "Please follow me."

......

Wang Zhong followed the Private First Class to the backyard and discovered that a hole had been made in the courtyard wall. Judging by the state of the hole's edges, it was deliberately made.

"Did we make this hole?" he asked the Private First Class.

"Yes, the Duke ordered it," the Private First Class replied with a rather proud tone. "The Duke has experience from the civil war and said this would connect the defense zones. We worked all night to break through these walls. Of course, the Prossenians helped a lot too-with their bombs!"

As they spoke, they passed a crater about five or six meters in diameter, with half of the surrounding buildings collapsed.

"See that spire up ahead? Saint Maria Cathedral, supposedly built six hundred years ago with giant stones. Even 155mm heavy artillery can't do anything to it! It's now the Duke's headquarters!"

Wang Zhong looked at the spire the Private First Class pointed to and noticed there was no cross on top. Instead, there was a sun emblem.

Indeed, this wasn't Earth. Even the religion was different.

Five minutes later, Wang Zhong arrived in front of the cathedral.

The Private First Class who led the way saluted the guard at the gate and loudly announced the name "Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Konstantinovich Rokosov."

Immediately, a lieutenant came out of the cathedral: "The Lieutenant Colonel is here? The Duke is waiting for you."

Wang Zhong frowned slightly. The Duke was waiting for me?

The Private First Class saluted Wang Zhong: "I'm heading back."

Wang Zhong took the opportunity to learn the army's way of saluting and mimicked it to return the gesture: "Thank you, and good luck to you all."

The Private First Class left without looking back.

Wang Zhong followed the lieutenant who came to greet him into the cathedral.

Although much of the sky outside was filled with smoke, sunlight still filtered through the stained glass, casting a holy glow inside the cathedral.

The lieutenant led Wang Zhong through the nave and into the sacristy at the back.

This place had now been transformed into a command center. Within sight, there were at least six radios and eight telephones. The classic "beep beep beep" sound of telegraphs from old war movies filled the entire room.

A huge city defense map hung on the northern wall.

The map was covered with arrows representing enemy advances.

Duke Vladimir stood with his hands behind his back, facing the map.

The lieutenant snapped a salute: "Sir, Count Rokosov has arrived."

Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow. Here, they didn't use military rank but a noble title?

Duke Vladimir turned to Wang Zhong: "You're still alive. That's great. The Crown Prince personally sent a telegram ordering me to ensure your survival."

Crown Prince?

Wang Zhong briefly recalled the equipment he'd seen from both sides along the way. This was clearly a World War II-level army, so how was there still a Crown Prince?

Was there no World War I?

It's possible. Isn't there a theory that the end of World War I was just an indefinite armistice, and World War II and World War I were essentially the same war?

Duke Vladimir turned to the staff officer beside him: "Arrange forces immediately to send the Lieutenant Colonel back to Yekaterinburg."

Wang Zhong: "Wait a minute! I'm here to report on the situation at the front line!"

Duke Vladimir didn't even listen to Wang Zhong and continued instructing the staff officer: "Also, get the Lieutenant Colonel a new pair of pants. Make sure they fit. My tailor should have enough fabric."

Wang Zhong looked down and noticed the water stain was still quite obvious. Earlier, people had just pretended not to see it.

This made his ears burn hot, even though the stain wasn't his doing.

Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound came from the sky.

Duke Vladimir's expression changed drastically. He roared with all his might: "It's naval artillery!"

The next moment, the roof was pierced by a 381mm heavy shell.

(End of Chapter)