Arc of Fire

Chapter 43

The two enemy tanks attempting a flanking maneuver stopped immediately upon seeing the smoke, likely opting for caution and avoiding a rush through it.

So, Wang Zhong gave the order: "Now's the time, rev the engine!"

The tank's engine roared, but Wang Zhong quickly realized the problem with this approach.

In "Heroic Tank Crew," Vehicle 215 was stuck in a crater and couldn't move; even with the gear engaged and the tracks spinning wildly, it couldn't get out, so the engine was revved with the gear engaged, and the tracks were turning.

When the tracks turn, in addition to the engine's roar, there's also the noise of the gearbox.

Right now, Vehicle 422 was just revving the engine; the gearbox wasn't engaged, so only the gears connected to the engine were spinning idly, without that distinctive clattering sound of meshing gears.

Wang Zhong hadn't thought of this at all before, and now, hearing the sound, he felt a bit at a loss.

He began to worry that the enemy might see through his plan, switching to an overhead perspective to observe the two Prossenian tanks on the other side of the smoke.

The tactical numbers of the two tanks were 151 and 152, with Vehicle 151 sporting a longer antenna, likely indicating it was the company or platoon leader's vehicle.

In Wang Zhong's memory of real-world history, German forces didn't seem to have this many command tanks with antennas, but among the Prossenian forces, it was quite common; in a tank group of over ten, there was always at least one, or even two, with extra antennas.

The enemy placed great importance on radio communication!

Every practice in the military is backed by countless bloody lessons; is there something in this world that forces the Prossenians to prioritize radio communication so much?

Wang Zhong suddenly realized he shouldn't be distracted; they were in the middle of a battle, and any moment could bring life-threatening danger-losing focus could mean losing his life.

At this point, the driver had already followed his instructions and gradually eased off the throttle, so the engine's sound slowly diminished.

Wang Zhong could only hope that the intense gunfire and explosions in the village would mask the gearbox noise and trick the enemy.

The hatch of Vehicle 151 opened, and a black-clad officer, wearing a boat-shaped cap at an angle, poked his head out, lifting his headset as if listening for something.

Immediately after, he picked up the microphone and issued a command.

The two tanks slightly changed direction, starting to cut toward the flank of the smoke screen-their strategy mirrored Wang Zhong's, avoiding the smoke to gain a range advantage!

Wang Zhong had initially thought that if the enemy charged through the smoke, he'd use the overhead perspective advantage to fire a blind shot through it.

Now that the enemy was moving sideways, Wang Zhong didn't dare take a blind shot; hitting a moving target was already difficult, and blind-firing at a moving target demanded too much of the gunner.

This wasn't just a high demand on the gunner's skill; it was a high demand on his luck.

They could only wait for the enemy to reveal themselves before firing.

Wang Zhong: "Turret left, the enemy will definitely bypass the smoke; we'll turn directly to the smoke's edge and aim at them. Set the range to-"

He made a quick estimate.

"300! Adjust based on the situation!"

Over the internal comms, the gunner asked: "What if the enemy charges through the smoke? If they burst out and our turret can't turn in time, aren't we done for?"

Wang Zhong: "The enemy fears infantry with incendiary bottles and doesn't know what's behind the smoke; they won't dare!"

This reasoning seemed plausible enough, and the gunner immediately dropped his objections.

In fact, when he asked the question, the turret was already turning, showing that he fully trusted Wang Zhong's judgment and was merely asking for clarification.

Wang Zhong nervously watched the enemy tanks; Vehicle 152 was leading the charge and was about to come into view.

Though there was a risk of being caught cheating, Wang Zhong still warned: "Get ready! The enemy is coming out!"

At this moment, Vehicle 422 still had the advantage; the direction the enemy's turret was facing clearly assumed that Vehicle 422 had fled, but it hadn't.

Therefore, when both sides established line of sight, the enemy's turret would likely need to turn another ten or so degrees to the left to aim at Vehicle 422.

The time it takes to turn those ten degrees was Vehicle 422's advantage.

Enemy Vehicle 152 broke through the smoke's cover line!

Wang Zhong: "Hold on, wait for it to emergency stop!"

However, the commander of Vehicle 152 didn't poke his head out and didn't notice Vehicle 422 at first. It kept moving forward!

Wang Zhong: "Forget it, fire!"

This shot hit the rear of the tank's body, directly striking the engine; Vehicle 152 lost power and began sliding forward.

The crew skillfully opened the hatch and climbed out.

Wang Zhong's heart sank as he shouted: "Don't shoot! Don't reveal our position! There's still one more!"

But the mechanic had already pulled the trigger, and by the time he let go, a tracer round had already flown out.

Wang Zhong watched as the tracer round struck the sliding enemy tank and ricocheted into the sky.

It's over; unless the enemy is an idiot, they'll figure out where we are.

From the overhead perspective, sure enough, Vehicle 151 began adjusting its turret angle.

Loader: "Armor-piercing shell, good!"

Because the situation was so tense, he forgot to say "loading complete" and just shouted "good."

At that moment, Vehicle 151 suddenly changed its course and charged toward the smoke!

Damn, the enemy changed tactics too, planning to rush straight through the smoke and catch Vehicle 422, which was aiming at the smoke's edge, off guard.

At that point, both sides would need to re-aim, and it would come down to professional skill levels.

Unfortunately, Wang Zhong didn't want to compete with the enemy on that level.

"Turret right, follow my instructions!"

With that, Wang Zhong grabbed Su Fang's hand and pulled the trigger.

Among the machine gun bullets were tracer rounds, which pierced through the smoke and hit the other side.

Relying on the overhead perspective, Wang Zhong adjusted the tracer rounds' firing line until that red whip lashed across the enemy tank.

The commander of Vehicle 151 immediately ducked, clearly not wanting to be hit by machine gun fire.

But Vehicle 151 continued moving in its original direction.

Vehicle 422's turret had already turned to align with the machine gun's firing direction.

Wang Zhong: "Fire!"

Whether it hits or not, just take a blind shot first!

Under the glow of the setting sun, the armor-piercing shell traced a bright straight line, striking the side of Vehicle 151's turret. Wang Zhong couldn't quite see where it hit, only noticing a burst of sparks.

Immediately after, the side hatch of Vehicle 151's turret swung open, clearly forced open by the damage from the armor-piercing shell.

Vehicle 151 didn't stop moving forward.

After this morning's real combat, Wang Zhong already knew that in reality, it's hard to tell if a tank has been destroyed.

Many tanks, after being taken out, don't catch fire or emit smoke; they just sit there, and from the outside, you can't tell they've been destroyed.

But with the overhead perspective, Wang Zhong could easily determine if a tank was knocked out because enemies within his field of view would be highlighted.

Conversely, if the enemy's highlight "fades," then they're truly out.

Wang Zhong clearly saw that the enemy loader was gone.

He also saw that the gunner's silhouette was missing an arm.

But the gunner was still operating the turret with his remaining hand and both feet.

What kind of Aryan superhuman is this?

In a game, encountering this situation would at most prompt a curse like "Planners, your mom just flew out of the solar system," but in reality, this is life-threatening!

Vehicle 151 charged into the smoke and was about to break through!

Wang Zhong: "Hurry up and reload!"

Loader: "Armor-piercing shell, good!"

Vehicle 151 burst out of the smoke, emergency stopped, and its barrel was somehow pointed directly at Vehicle 422!

No, the enemy tank crew was well-trained; they might have determined the direction based on Su Fang's tracer rounds earlier.

Both sides fired almost simultaneously!

The enemy didn't even wait to stabilize before firing!

Wang Zhong silently prayed: Let their shot miss!

Vehicle 151 exploded.

Wang Zhong burst into laughter; in War Thunder, he'd seen this situation plenty of times-firing before stabilizing, and the shell just flies into the sky.

At this moment, the two tanks still guarding the rear began to move.

Wang Zhong: "Quick! Reload! There are still enemies waiting for us to deal with!"

However, the loader didn't respond.

Wang Zhong: "Loader!"

The gunner suddenly said: "He's gone. Someone come help me reload!"

(End of chapter)