Arc of Fire

Chapter 50

Wang Zhong shouted at Vehicle 67: "Hit that Vehicle 170!"

Afraid the tank crew couldn't see where Vehicle 170 was, he even pointed in its direction.

----

Inside Vehicle 170, tank commander Hoffman temporarily changed the order: "Target that huge tank! Don't be afraid, the Ant people's tanks are just for show. Good thing we're loaded with armor-piercing shells! Take it down!"

To follow the order not to harm the horse, Hoffman had the loader load armor-piercing shells.

Although armor-piercing shells have an explosive charge, their fuse doesn't activate when hitting a person.

This design originated from the experience the Prossen Empire gained during the Castilian Civil War and the Carolingian Campaign. Armor-piercing shells should have the ability to penetrate soft targets without exploding, so they can strike enemy armor hiding behind things like wooden sheds.

Therefore, a skilled gunner could naturally use armor-piercing shells to precisely kill someone on horseback without harming the horse.

Now, this armor-piercing shell was tasked with sending the enemy's colossal beast skyward!

Hoffman was full of confidence. The moment he fired before the enemy, he felt he had already won.

The shell struck the massive tank like lightning, leaving a trail of sparks on the gun shield.

The huge tank kept advancing as if nothing had happened, and while moving, it aimed its cannon at Hoffman.

It fired directly!

Since it was shooting while moving, the shot hit the ground.

But before Hoffman could breathe a sigh of relief, the shell ricocheted and struck Vehicle 170.

Hoffman: "Quick--"

----

Wang Zhong watched Vehicle 170's turret fly into the air and burst into laughter.

With an ace crew like this, if they switched to a Tiger or Panther later, who knows how many of our soldiers they'd kill.

At this moment, three enemy tanks stopped, seemingly preparing to fire.

Wang Zhong immediately turned his horse around and bolted!

As he passed Vehicle 67, he patted the top of the tank's turret and said a word of blessing.

Right after, he charged into the smoke.

----

Inside Vehicle 67, over the internal line, driver Ashka asked: "What was the Count here for?"

Lieutenant Seryozha: "You don't get it, do you? Sending us on a suicide mission like this, he came to the front himself to show he's with us, life or death."

After saying that, Seryozha laughed: "The Count probably doesn't know we're not dying anytime soon."

The gunner also laughed: "I'm still not satisfied with how few enemies I've taken out!"

The loader: "Armor-piercing shell, ready!"

"Emergency stop!"

The tank braked hard, the violent jolt causing everyone's heads to hit the armor. Even with crash helmets, Ant Army tankers often ended up bruised and battered after a day of driving.

Seryozha: "Find the closest target! That Vehicle 171! Fire!"

The deafening roar of the main gun shook everyone's ears, and the entire fighting compartment was filled with the smell of gunpowder.

The brass shell casing fell to the floor of the fighting compartment, making a crisp sound.

Through the narrow visibility of the commander's slot, Seryozha saw Vehicle 171 come to a stop.

At this moment, the enemy's counterattack followed. The entire crew could hear the thudding sound of enemy armor-piercing shells hitting their armor.

Ashka shouted: "They're really enthusiastic!"

With nothing to do at the moment, the driver picked up the hull machine gun and sprayed bullets at the enemy infantry's skirmish line.

Seryozha: "Load high-explosive shells! I feel like these enemy tanks don't need armor-piercing rounds! High-explosive can also kill the infantry around them."

The loader shoved a high-explosive shell into the breech and slammed it shut: "High-explosive, ready!"

Seryozha: "Turret left six degrees, no, seven degrees! Fire!"

Though the commander's observation window was very small, Seryozha still saw the enemy tank engulfed in flames. Prossenian tankers, covered in fire, crawled out of the tank and scattered in panic.

"High-explosive is effective! Keep loading high-explosive! Turret continue left!"

"High-explosive, ready!"

"Fire!"

----

Schlieffen put down his binoculars and urgently asked the Chief of Staff: "What kind of tank is this?"

The Chief of Staff and several aides were frantically flipping through the battlefield identification manual issued by the staff department: "Wait a moment, we're looking!"

"Useless! Hurry up!"

After cursing the staff, Schlieffen picked up his binoculars again.

That tank with tactical number 67 just sat there on the main road, picking off Schlieffen's most elite tank crews one by one.

The armor of the Prossenian tanks was like it didn't exist in front of that massive barrel-one hit, one kill.

Meanwhile, the attacks from the Prossenian side, when they hit the enemy, were like scratching an itch. Other than sparking, they had no effect.

In an instant, half a tank company had been reduced to scrap metal, and the infantry fared even worse. On the open plains, without any cover, they were mercilessly slaughtered by enemy machine guns.

Fortunately, the wheat on the plains was tall, so the infantry could hide their figures by lying down.

But Major Schlieffen couldn't find any joy in that-his armored units couldn't just lie in the grass!

The armored advantage of the Prossenians, had it vanished in an instant?

Why did such a tank exist?

At this moment, the Chief of Staff finally found a tank and shouted: "Found it! It's a T34 model tank! Frontal armor 60 millimeters!" (In real-world history, the German forces initially often mistook the KV-1 for the T34.)

Schlieffen: "That's supposed to be 60 millimeters? How can 60 millimeters block our armor-piercing shells?"

Chief of Staff: "Wait a moment, there's a note here: This model of tank uses sloped armor, so when fired at from a flat angle, the effective thickness cannot be considered 60 millimeters..."

Schlieffen, frustrated: "Then what the hell are we supposed to do?"

"It's not written here. The General Staff doesn't have any data either..."

Schlieffen cursed under his breath.

At this moment, Major Franz suggested: "Release smoke, cover the remaining tanks' retreat, and let the infantry engage in close combat."

Schlieffen thought for a moment and nodded: "That's the only way."

----

Wang Zhong noticed the enemy had started releasing smoke.

Of the attacking tanks, only two remained, and they were all retreating.

Meanwhile, under the cover of smoke, the enemy infantry began closing in on Vehicle 67.

He had an external view and wasn't afraid of smoke, but Seryozha didn't have that advantage.

At this moment, Wang Zhong suddenly had an idea. He rode Bucephalus and charged to the front of Lord Boye's manor building, the defensive centerpiece for Yegorov.

"Yegorov! Are there any intact enemy half-tracks?"

Yegorov poked his head out: "There's one, what's up?"

Wang Zhong: "Find someone to bring the flamethrowers we captured yesterday, put on enemy chest armor, and get on the half-track with me!"

Seven minutes later, a half-track was fully armed. On board were a Sergeant with a flamethrower, two Corporals wearing armor and carrying submachine guns, a Private First Class operating the front machine gun, and a Lieutenant from the logistics company driving.

Wang Zhong was still riding his white horse, but he requisitioned a submachine gun, hanging the ammo belt on the saddle, and glanced at this small squad.

"Follow me. Whichever direction I fire my submachine gun, spray fire that way." After this brief instruction, Wang Zhong spurred his horse into a gallop once more.

Bucephalus was indeed a fine horse. After running back and forth for a kilometer or two, it had only broken a light sweat and still had plenty of stamina.

Carrying Wang Zhong, it led the charge out of the village, while the half-track struggled to keep up.

While galloping, Wang Zhong checked his Overhead Perspective. He first passed through the smoke to reach Vehicle 67's side and patted the hatch.

Seryozha opened the hatch and popped out: "The enemy released smoke, how cunning!"

Wang Zhong: "You guys retreat! I'm taking the infantry to the upwind direction to set fire and burn them all!"

Seryozha laughed: "That's a great idea!"

As they spoke, the half-track also emerged from the smoke. Wang Zhong immediately ordered: "Turn to the upwind direction! Follow me!"

He turned his horse around, gave a kick to its flank, and Bucephalus sprinted forward with grace and ease.

Vehicle 67 started up and reversed into the still-lingering smoke behind. The half-track followed Wang Zhong toward the upwind direction.

Wang Zhong rode against the wind, charging until he nearly collided with the advancing enemy skirmishers.

Then he raised his submachine gun and started firing in the direction he had chosen. It didn't matter if he hit anything; the key was to indicate the direction.

The half-track caught up, and the machine gunner fired green tracer rounds in the same direction.

The flamethrower operator stood up and sprayed fire in the direction of the tracer rounds.

Wang Zhong: "Keep moving, keep moving! Burn as we go! No need to see the enemy!"

He could already hear the enemy's screams in the smoke.

Wang Zhong: "Burn them alive!"

----

Major Franz put down his binoculars, unable to bear watching any longer.

Summer grasslands catch fire quickly. The wildfire, starting from the upwind direction, would soon sweep across the entire grassland.

Troops staying in the grass risked being burned alive.

Without bothering to consult Schlieffen, he directly ordered his Adjutant: "Fire the signal flare, retreat! Also, have people immediately clear a firebreak in the grass, or we'll be burned alive too."

Schlieffen: "I'm the commander of this battle group!"

Major Franz turned to him: "Then, please give the order, sir. If we don't retreat now, the troops will just turn into fertilizer for the grassland in this fire."

Major Schlieffen, with a stern face, hesitated for a second before ordering: "Retreat, and at the same time, clear a firebreak in the grass. Damn those enemies, why didn't they set fire to the grassland yesterday?"

"Perhaps they didn't have flamethrowers," Major Franz said. "A general as brilliant as this couldn't possibly have overlooked such a tactic."

----

Wang Zhong returned to the village entrance, watching the wildfire sweep across the grassland, and slapped his thigh: "Damn it, I should've launched a night raid and set fire last night!"

There are so many scenes of fire attacks and night raids in *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, even combined night raid fire attacks-how could I forget!

As a Chinese, I've failed in my duty!

Marquis Wu, oh Marquis Wu, I've brought shame upon you!

The others, unaware of what he was thinking, were cheering: "Ura!"

"Burn them to death!"

"This is just too satisfying!"

"Ura!"

The continuous chants of Ura made it seem as though the soldiers' fighting spirit burned even hotter than the flames engulfing the grassland!

(End of Chapter)