Arc of Fire

Chapter 44

Wang Zhong was stunned for a moment; he hadn't expected the enemy's shot to hit its mark.

Was this just luck?

If it wasn't luck, then it was terrifying-operating the cannon with one arm broken, pulling off a precise emergency stop and shot. What kind of ace gunner was this?

Were all of Prossen's tank crew monsters?

But the enemy still had two tanks circling from the south; now wasn't the time for such thoughts.

He grabbed the nearest "idle person" to him: "Su Fang! Get in the tank, I need a new loader!"

After saying that, he struggled to climb out of the tank, making way at the hatch.

In truth, Wang Zhong wasn't very familiar with the tanks of this world and didn't know where the loader was supposed to enter, so he could only give up the tank commander's hatch.

----

Su Fang was quite slim, slipping into the turret more smoothly than Wang Zhong-T28 wasn't exactly a spacious tank.

Once inside the turret, Su Fang immediately noticed that the gunner's left shoulder was covered in blood, his arm hanging limply, clearly broken.

Her first instinct was to report this to Count Rokosov, but the gunner grabbed her with his still-functional right hand.

The gunner turned off his microphone and mouthed: "There are no other gunners left alive. It has to be me."

Su Fang was stunned. At that moment, Count Rokosov climbed back in, his rear end right next to Su Fang's face.

The Count's voice came from outside the hatch: "Hurry up and reload, there are still enemies!"

The gunner pointed with his right hand to the ammo rack holding the armor-piercing shells.

At this point, because the body of the original loader hadn't been removed, the space was incredibly cramped; only someone of Su Fang's build could move around.

She pulled out a shell, stuffed it into the cannon, but didn't know how to close the breech.

The gunner demonstrated with his right hand. Since he was seated on the right side of the turret's combat compartment, he had to turn his body to operate it, and during this, a large amount of blood flowed from his left arm.

Yet he still completed the loading action.

Su Fang nodded: "Got it."

After saying that, she looked worriedly at the gunner's left arm.

The gunner: "There's a medical kit over there. Help me tie it up-tightly, make it tight."

Su Fang rummaged out the medical kit, took out some gauze, and started bandaging. For some reason, as she tied the bandage, tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes, blurring her vision.

----

Wang Zhong was now considering how to repel the enemy. He had switched to Overhead Perspective, so he had no idea the gunner was injured.

The enemy's remaining two tanks, with tactical numbers 153 and 154, were now taking a wider arc, planning to come around from the south to destroy Vehicle 422.

Judging by the distance, it was nearly a kilometer. At this range, the enemy's training would give them a greater advantage.

The most critical issue was that there were two of them. If they both came around for an emergency stop and fired, Vehicle 422 could only handle one.

Wang Zhong quickly glanced at the village and saw that the tanks entering it were firmly blocking the intersection, leaving him no way to retreat into the village.

The only option was to use smoke to block vision and retreat eastward.

But that would widen the distance from the enemy, amplifying their advantage in aiming equipment and training.

At this moment, adrenaline surged through Wang Zhong. Clearly, the death of the loader had made him acutely aware that he was dancing on a knife's edge, teetering at the gates of death.

Perhaps the adrenaline boosted his thinking, as Wang Zhong actually came up with an idea.

He turned to the infantry nearby and shouted: "Quick, use straw or something to hide the wreckage of that half-track!"

The engineers' half-track from earlier had taken a massive hit, exploding so thoroughly that it didn't catch fire afterward, leaving just a charred wreck lying there.

Piling straw on it would make it look a lot like a tank sitting there.

The enemy had even pulled further back, so they definitely wouldn't be able to tell!

Luckily, there were still infantry nearby who hadn't all been thrown into the urban meat grinder on the streets.

The Sergeant who had just ordered the smoke deployment immediately organized everyone to gather straw.

The enemy circling further away actually gave Wang Zhong time to prepare.

Wang Zhong: "Driver! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Wang Zhong: "Reverse, back into the yard behind us!"

The earlier half-track explosion had collapsed the yard wall on the east side of the lane, allowing the tank to retreat inside.

Wang Zhong planned to use the remaining low wall on the south side of the yard as cover, hiding the tank, and then using the wreckage to absorb the enemy's first round of fire.

Vehicle 422 reversed into the yard, hiding behind the low wall, with only half the turret and the cannon barrel exposed.

Wang Zhong: "Give me some straw too, put it in front, but don't block the gun sight!"

The infantry immediately tossed two bundles of straw onto the tank, and a Private First Class climbed up to arrange the straw on either side of the cannon barrel, leaving the gun sight clear.

Just as Wang Zhong was about to duck down, another bundle of straw was placed on top of the tank turret, covering most of the hatch and himself.

Using his Overhead Perspective, Wang Zhong zoomed out to take a look and confirmed that the disguise was passable. Up close, it was full of flaws, but from a kilometer away, it would be incredibly hard to spot, even with binoculars.

The wreckage had also been "disguised." The infantry not only piled straw on it but also moved part of a wooden shed previously collapsed by Prossenian combat engineers, making it look especially suspicious.

Wang Zhong: "Infantry, keep your distance to avoid getting hurt if we explode."

Though the situation was tense, some of the infantry still let out a laugh.

They thought the Count was displaying his composure and sense of humor.

The distant enemy was almost in position. Wang Zhong switched to normal vision, raised his binoculars, and watched the edge of the smoke.

Vehicle 153 entered his field of view.

Wang Zhong: "Do you see it? Vehicle 153! Range 980 meters! Aim! The enemy will definitely do an emergency stop again, don't rush!"

As soon as he spoke, Vehicle 153 stopped, and the tank commander poking out of the turret was also observing their position.

Wang Zhong suddenly realized he was facing the sun, and his binoculars might reflect light. He quickly lowered them and switched to Overhead Perspective.

He continued to order: "Hold steady! Wait for the enemy to fire first!"

Vehicle 154 was also in position, and the two Prossenian tanks on the open plains aimed toward them.

Immediately after, Vehicle 153 fired! The target was the straw-covered wreckage!

Wang Zhong: "Hold steady! Wait for Vehicle 154 to fire!"

This time, they didn't have to wait long. Vehicle 154's cannon muzzle spewed smoke and a flash of light.

Without waiting to confirm where the enemy shell landed, Wang Zhong shouted: "Fire!"

The blast from the firing cannon blew all the straw away, leaving Wang Zhong's tank completely exposed, with Vehicle 422's tactical number glaring in the setting sun!

In Overhead Perspective, Wang Zhong clearly saw that two enemies on Vehicle 153 were killed and one injured. This time, they didn't keep fighting but abandoned the tank!

Su Fang's voice came through to Wang Zhong's ears: "Armor-piercing shell, good!"

Wang Zhong: "Target Vehicle 154 tank! Hurry, turn the turret!"

For some reason, the turret's rotation was a beat slower this time, and as a result, Vehicle 154 fired again.

Wang Zhong thought it was over.

In the blink of an eye, he saw a flash strike the low wall in front of the tank-the enemy had aimed too low!

Immediately after, the shell penetrated the low wall and hit the tank.

The impact happened too fast for Wang Zhong to see what occurred, but he heard the window glass in the room behind him shatter with a crash.

Right after, Wang Zhong saw the towing cable fixed to the tank's hull whip upward, lashing like a whip against the nearby wooden shed, splitting the wood and embedding itself into the structure.

Wang Zhong couldn't worry about that now and shouted: "Fire, damn it!"

Before his words even finished, the cannon muzzle erupted in flames.

He hurriedly looked toward the enemy tank.

Damn it, in Overhead Perspective, not a single enemy was dead!

He didn't know if the shot missed or failed to penetrate!

Just as Wang Zhong thought he was done for, the enemy abandoned their tank!

Looking closer, there was a hit mark on the enemy's gun shield; it must have jammed the breech!

In a game, a jammed breech just needs a press of "F" and a wait of ten or so seconds to be good as new, but in reality, there's no such thing! A broken breech means abandoning the tank until it can be towed to a repair shop!

Wang Zhong was overjoyed-he had actually won! Though he had only killed two enemies in total, a win was a win!

He laughed heartily, then remembered there were still tanks and enemy infantry in the village.

The battle would continue!

For some reason, the melody of "The Battle Will Continue" started playing in Wang Zhong's mind.

The battle will continue!

Passion fills the heart, soaring high!

Young...

At that moment, the gunner said: "I... I don't think I can hold on."

(End of chapter)