Arc of Fire

Chapter 47

While the crew of Vehicle 67 began repairing the tank, the tank commander Seryozha jumped down from the turret again and said to Wang Zhong: "Count, while we're fixing the tank, I'll go check on Vehicle 422.

"By the way, I'll survey the battlefield, especially the road conditions.

"If we're not careful with this clumsy beast, it might break down halfway again."

Wang Zhong: "Alright, I'll take you for a quick tour."

After saying that, he pointed to the west and took the lead in stepping forward.

At this moment, Pavlov said: "Lieutenant, have you eaten yet?"

Lieutenant Seryozha: "No, we've been on the move all day. Initially, we were ordered to head toward Ronezh, but right after we set off, we received a radio message telling us to go to Bogdanovka. Then the radio broke, and the road was blocked by retreating soldiers. We finally made it to Bogdanovka, only to be told that support is needed here.

"If we hadn't taken so many detours, this old buddy wouldn't be breaking down so often."

As he spoke, he pointed at the tank.

Pavlov: "Then you're in luck. We've got Lord Boye's treasured beef, along with potatoes and pickled cucumbers."

"That's great," Seryozha said. "Let my crew eat first. I need to survey the battlefield."

Wang Zhong: "This way."

The group started moving. Wang Zhong, who had personally commanded the tank through the village and was already familiar with the terrain, explained things to the lieutenant as they walked.

Finally, the group arrived in front of Vehicle 422, parked at the edge of the village.

The bodies of the tank crew had already been taken to the church for burial by the infantry, leaving only the tank still in the position where it fought last evening.

The moment Wang Zhong saw the tank, an emotion he had never felt before surged within him.

He stepped forward and gently touched the tank's iron skin.

Before crossing over, he had seen a comic depicting an American soldier tearfully giving his broken jeep a merciful end, treating the jeep as a close comrade and unwilling to let it fall into enemy hands.

At the time, Wang Zhong thought the comic was a bit exaggerated, but now, he understood that humans could indeed develop feelings for the weapons that accompanied them on the battlefield.

As he touched the cold iron skin of Vehicle 422, he recalled his fallen comrades and became even more determined not to leave this tank to the Prossenian devils.

Fortunately, the tank was still operational, and the driver, though injured, could still drive.

If they had a gunner, it could even continue fighting.

Lieutenant Seryozha, standing nearby, carefully observed Wang Zhong's expression, seeming to understand something.

He didn't disturb Wang Zhong's "emotional exchange" with the tank and instead moved to the front of the tank to inspect the damaged area.

Wang Zhong noticed his actions and explained: "It was likely hit from the front. A 50mm cannon from a Prossenian Type III tank did this."

Seryozha: "Yes, it struck the small turret on the left, directly killing the mechanic operating it. Normally, only the driver might survive a hit in this spot. You're really lucky."

Wang Zhong: "At the time, most of my body was outside the tank for better visibility."

"That might be what saved your life," Lieutenant Seryozha said with certainty. "I've driven a T28 before. Honestly, it's not a good tank. Compared to this thing, I'd rather drive a light tank. At least light tanks have better mobility and lower failure rates."

Wang Zhong: "Yeah, aside from that 45mm cannon, it's pretty much useless."

Seryozha continued inspecting the stone wall in front of the tank: "Strange, the bullet holes on the stone wall... this shell must have missed, right?"

Wang Zhong pointed to a spot not far away: "I was hit over there. At the time..."

He recounted the evening skirmish with four Type III tanks.

Lieutenant Seryozha exclaimed in admiration: "Well fought!"

Under the faint glow of the starry sky, the wreckage of Prossenian tanks could vaguely be seen in the open plains. Looking at the two tanks in the distance, Lieutenant Seryozha said: "To think you defeated the enemy's Type III tanks in a long-range engagement. According to intelligence from the Castilian Civil War, the enemy has sights very suited for long-range shooting. We, on the other hand, have to calculate based on the enemy tank's dimensions ourselves."

Wang Zhong had also seen the Ant Army's sights later. He wanted to try being a gunner himself, only to find that the sights had only simple mil markings. You had to manually calculate the distance based on the enemy tank's actual size and the scale on the mil markings.

In contrast, the sights on the destroyed Prossenian tanks in the town came with mechanical computers. As long as you knew the basic length of the enemy tank, you could adjust the sight and immediately calculate the distance.

Not only that, through clever design, once the distance was calculated, the crosshair in the sight was automatically aligned. You just had to aim with the cross and fire.

On the Ant Army's side, after calculating the distance, you still had to manually adjust the crosshair.

So Wang Zhong could understand why, during the daytime ambush on the enemy from behind, the gunner's first shot missed.

If it weren't for Wang Zhong's external view allowing him to directly obtain the enemy's distance, they might not have- no, they definitely wouldn't have been able to defeat the enemy in a long-range engagement.

No wonder Lieutenant Seryozha was so impressed.

He said with a tone of regret: "Your gunner was truly remarkable. He must have undergone countless shooting drills."

Wang Zhong wanted to say that he had provided the distance, but the words stopped at the tip of his tongue.

Let Seryozha praise him a bit more. Perhaps later, they could apply for a medal or something for the gunner. Though for the deceased, a medal no longer held meaning, it might at least bring some comfort to his family.

Lieutenant Seryozha: "Let's continue. Are there more enemy tanks destroyed in the village?"

Wang Zhong: "Yes, and to prevent enemy tanks from using firepower to block the roads, we've set up some barricades. If you want to drive to the village entrance, you'll need to clear them. This way."

----

Afterward, Wang Zhong took Lieutenant Seryozha around the village for half an hour, ensuring he was completely familiar with the terrain.

After Lieutenant Seryozha returned to his crew, Wang Zhong decided to check on the situation at the church.

He was also a bit curious about what a mass entailed.

The arrival of Vehicle 67 for support was likely due to the mass having an effect, with the hymn monks in the rear hearing the call for help.

When he reached the church entrance, the guard on duty was dozing off. Upon seeing Wang Zhong, he immediately snapped awake, stood at attention, and saluted: "Duke!"

Wang Zhong: "I'm a Count."

"Count!"

Wang Zhong: "May I go in?"

"Yes, but please don't make any noise." With that, the guard gently pushed the door open.

Wang Zhong tiptoed into the church.

He saw Su Fang kneeling in the center of the altar, hands clasped in a praying posture. Lyudmila was kneeling on the steps to the right of the altar, also with her hands together.

Brother Yatsemenko was holding something resembling a bell, circling around the two of them on the outermost edge, shaking the bell as he walked.

That bell-like object looked familiar to Wang Zhong. It seemed many Western religions had such an artifact. Even the British tabletop game Warhammer 40K had incorporated it into its lore, with the priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus often waving such items around large machines while chanting.

Wang Zhong tiptoed to the side of the altar.

Brother Yatsemenko opened his eyes, glanced at him, and made a shushing gesture.

Wang Zhong felt it was awkward to just stand by the altar like this, but he wasn't a believer and had never prayed in his life.

He could only mimic the way Su Fang or Lyudmila prayed earlier, drawing an inverted triangle on his chest.

At that moment, Su Fang suddenly opened her eyes and cheered: "There's a response! Someone said reinforcements have already set out three hours ago!"

Wang Zhong: "The reinforcements have arrived."

Su Fang was startled, lost her balance, and fell forward onto the ground.

"Ow, my front teeth!"

Wang Zhong was about to help Su Fang up when Lyudmila, nearby, opened her eyes.

"Alyosha? Are you okay? Still running a fever?" As she spoke, Lyudmila tried to stand, but perhaps because she had been kneeling for too long, her legs were numb. She stumbled, and Wang Zhong quickly grabbed her to prevent her from falling.

She ended up falling into Wang Zhong's arms.

Wang Zhong had no time to dwell on the girl's "ample curves" and directly helped Lyudmila to a nearby chair, then turned to pull up the teary-eyed Su Fang: "What did they say over there?"

"They said reinforcements were dispatched three hours ago, and we must hold out until tomorrow at 8 PM. The defensive line at Bogdanovka isn't ready yet."

The information about the incomplete defensive line had already been brought by Vehicle 67.

Wang Zhong nodded: "Well done. In fact, the reinforcements have already arrived."

Su Fang was overjoyed: "How many people?"

"One tank, but it's enough," Wang Zhong said confidently. After all, aside from the enemy's 88mm anti-everything cannon, nothing could penetrate the KV1's armor.

That tank, placed on the open plains, could hold the line single-handedly against thousands.

Su Fang smiled: "That's good. I need to rest a bit. Give me some water."

Brother Yatsemenko, who had clearly presided over many masses, directly handed over a full water bottle.

Lyudmila, nearby, was already drinking.

Wang Zhong: "Rest well, both of you. Leave the rest to me-to us."

----

Seryozha returned to his crew.

The driver, Ashka, asked: "So, how much of what that Count said was exaggeration?"

"Probably none," Seryozha paused, then continued, "I couldn't see the tank wreckage in the open plains clearly, but I walked around and didn't spot any anti-tank cannons..."

Ashka: "Must be the work of Divine Arrow! I asked around-there are clergy here, so there must be a Divine Arrow squad. Noble young masters in the military always have a Divine Arrow squad by their side."

Seryozha said seriously: "Don't say that. This Count might be different from other nobles. I inspected the tank wreckage in the village-six of them were destroyed by tank cannons.

"I reconstructed the situation. Two were likely destroyed as they entered the village. Then, after a mixed infantry-tank battle, the enemy pushed into the village and gained the upper hand.

"Then someone suddenly flanked them, destroying at least four tanks in a sneak attack."

Seryozha gestured as he spoke: "These four tanks were hit from the rear or the side, and their turrets weren't even facing the direction of the attack.

"Someone took them out with brilliant flanking maneuvers. I don't think I could pull off consecutive flanking attacks to destroy enemy tanks in a village, even with infantry support."

Ashka frowned: "And this was all done by that Count?"

Seryozha: "I don't know. But listen, if I get injured or die, follow the Count's command. Then you'll see for yourselves what he's made of."

"Don't say such unlucky things," the gunner said, picking up a plate of food. "Come, have some beef and drink some wine. This is good stuff, supposedly taken from a local noble lord's cellar. It's so flammable they use it to make incendiary bottles!"

Seryozha took the bottle first, took a big gulp, and immediately grinned: "Good wine! If I'm going to die at dawn, drinking good wine makes it worthwhile!"

(End of Chapter)