Arc of Fire

Chapter 53

Lyudmila walked in the middle of the group, alongside the nurses from the field hospital.

Her eyes were fixed on the white horse not far away, carrying wounded soldiers.

Su Fang asked curiously, "Why are you staring at the white horse?"

Lyudmila whispered, "He would never have given up the white horse for the wounded before, absolutely not."

"Who?" Su Fang didn't catch on at first, "Oh, 'him.' He's grown, hasn't he? There's a word for it... right, transformation! I read a book about insects once. Many insects start as larvae, then form a cocoon, and when they break out, they become butterflies."

Lyudmila looked at Su Fang, "'The Insect Record'? The one written by the Carolingian biologist?"

"I think so."

Lyudmila shook her head and continued looking at the white horse, "Can a person change so completely? Isn't there a saying that it's easier to move mountains than to change one's nature?"

"I grew up with him. He was a jerk as a kid, and when he grew up, he became a lecherous jerk... but now, I feel like he's a completely different person."

At that moment, the older nurse walking ahead of them turned back and said, "Young lady, you wouldn't know, but war changes men."

That's what my mom said. My dad was a jerk when he was young too, but after joining the war against Anatolia, he changed!

My mom doesn't remember much about the war days, but my dad does. He remembers which unit was commanded by which general, which general was a hero, and which was a coward. He remembers it all.

If another old man comes over to visit, they can argue about these things in the living room all day.

"War is like magic to men. In war, they either die or become men who can stand on their own."

This older nurse was clearly a chatterbox. Once she started talking, she went on and on, babbling endlessly.

Finally, she concluded with authority, "The Count must be the same. The wounded soldiers at the hospital are all talking about how the Count rode the white horse through artillery fire. If they were young girls, they'd probably have fallen head over heels for him by now!"

Su Fang looked to the side awkwardly.

Lyudmila still frowned, "But, at the start of the war, he was still... ugh... never mind, forget I said anything. Alyosha charming girls to the point of losing themselves? Something must be wrong here."

The older nurse burst into laughter.

----

"Alyosha" Wang Zhong didn't care at all about what the girls were saying. Every few steps, he looked back, always feeling like he heard explosions.

Yegorov, walking beside Wang Zhong, reassured him, "The enemy's losses are greater than ours. They won't attack tonight. Maybe by tomorrow, the vehicles will be repaired, and they can meet us at Bogdanovka."

Wang Zhong nodded, "I hope so. If the enemy doesn't attack tonight, we should let them withdraw."

"If they blow up the vehicles, the explosion will alert the enemy," Yegorov paused, then continued, "Besides, they might be able to hold out one more day at Upper Peniye, giving the 63rd Army at Bogdanovka more time to prepare the defensive line."

Pavlov chimed in, "They came from Bogdanovka. They know what the defensive line looks like. For all we know, they might have been left behind on purpose."

Wang Zhong nodded, "If that's the case, we must carry on their will and keep fighting."

"Of course."

Wang Zhong then asked, "What's the process for applying for a medal?"

Although it was odd for an officer to ask such a question, considering Wang Zhong's original identity as an ignorant playboy, it didn't seem that strange.

Pavlov clicked his tongue, "The application for a medal needs to be signed by the accompanying bishop. And you took care of the bishop."

Wang Zhong corrected him, "I took care of a spy disguised as a bishop."

Yegorov turned back and asked, "Hey, do we still have any accompanying clergy in the unit?"

Someone in the darkness replied, "They're all dead, Regiment Commander. The clergy are usually the first to die."

Yegorov shrugged at Wang Zhong with both hands.

Pavlov added, "Our situation is quite complicated. The higher command structure is completely gone, left behind in Ronezh. The religious order only has one Divine Arrow squad left."

"We don't even know who will command us once we reach Bogdanovka."

Wang Zhong said, "It doesn't matter who commands us, as long as we can fight the Prossenian devils."

At that moment, he suddenly remembered something important. With all the fighting, he had no idea what the date was.

So, he casually said, "With all this continuous fighting, I've almost forgotten what day it is."

Pavlov replied, "June 29th, the first Sunday after the war started-damn, it's actually Sunday today!"

Yegorov also realized with a start, "Has it already been a week since the war started? I remember now, the night before the war broke out, I decided to try some high-class art, so I bought a ticket to the Ronezh Grand Theater. Ended up sleeping through it, didn't even wake up for the applause."

Wang Zhong scratched his head, "Only a week since the war started?"

"Yeah, just a week. And yet, we've already lost Ronezh. The Prossenians' advance speed is much faster than ours was during the Winter War and the Civil War," Pavlov clicked his tongue, "Though they're the enemy, I have to admit they're impressive."

Wang Zhong said, "Luckily, since the enemy advanced so quickly, we haven't been hit by their heavy artillery. If their heavy artillery catches up, the few of us left will be done for."

As he spoke, he recalled the feeling of being bombarded by the enemy navy's 381mm cannons, sincerely hoping he wouldn't have to experience that again.

At that moment, the eastern sky began to show a faint light. Wang Zhong checked his watch and realized it was almost dawn.

Unknowingly, they had been walking all night.

Yet Wang Zhong didn't feel tired at all. Before realizing they had walked through the night, he hadn't felt any discomfort in his legs. Now, though, they started to swell with the fatigue of a long march.

Wang Zhong asked, "When will we reach Bogdanovka?"

At that moment, a scout riding a gray horse came galloping back and saluted Wang Zhong, "Count, there's a farmstead ahead!"

Yegorov asked, "Is there a well?"

"Yes, Regiment Commander."

Yegorov immediately turned to Wang Zhong, "I suggest we rest at the farmstead for fifteen minutes and refill our water bottles."

Only then did Wang Zhong notice how much he had been sweating and how dry his mouth felt.

So he nodded, "Rest at the farmstead. Set up sentries and stay alert for pursuing enemies."

Yegorov immediately turned to give the order.

The so-called farmstead was just a simple cluster of buildings-a single-story house, a stable, and a barn, surrounded by a chest-high low wall.

The barn was a tall silo. As soon as Wang Zhong saw it, he instinctively wanted to climb up and survey the surroundings.

To him now, tall structures were like the lookout towers in the Assassin's Creed series, naturally drawing him to climb them.

The farmstead was home to a family of three generations, who welcomed Wang Zhong and his group under the leadership of the old man, Alexandrovich.

"Sir," the old man glanced at the troops entering the yard, "did you lose the battle? Are the Prossenians coming soon?"

Wang Zhong replied, "We won. We successfully held off an enemy force several times our size and completed the mission to delay them. Sir."

The old man said, "I see, so the Prossenians are coming soon, right?"

"Yes, come with us. We have a defensive line at Bogdanovka."

After Wang Zhong spoke, Pavlov added, "The trains there should still be running. Take a return train and head east!"

The old man shook his head, "My wife and I can't walk that far. Can you take my daughter-in-law and grandchildren with you? My son left on the day the war started to join the army."

"He said we'd defeat the enemy quickly, and if he didn't enlist soon, he'd miss out on earning merits. He even said he'd come back as a noble!"

The old man's eyes grew sorrowful as he spoke, "We can't defeat the enemy quickly, can we?"

Wang Zhong replied, "No. Pavlov, the hospital must still need nurses, right? Let this lady join."

Pavlov looked troubled, "The lady is fine, but the children..."

Wang Zhong said, "Let them come along. There must be nurseries in the rear. We can hand them over there when the time comes."

"Understood."

Pavlov gestured to the old man's daughter-in-law to join them.

At that moment, the sound of engines came from the sky.

Grigori, the Sergeant Major who had been on guard near Wang Zhong and the others, shouted, "Take cover!"

Wang Zhong said, "Don't worry, it's our plane."

He had already seen the aircraft coming from the east through his overhead perspective.

The soldiers who had dropped to the ground just started to get up when an Il-2 appeared in the eastern dawn.

Yegorov muttered, "The number is the same as yesterday's. It's the same plane."

Wang Zhong said, "It's the one that helped us yesterday!"

Sergeant Major Grigori led the shout, "Ura!"

Amid the cries of "Ura," the plane flew over their heads, the rockets mounted under its wings clearly visible.

The plane seemed to hear the voices from the ground, rolling sixty degrees as the pilot looked down from the cockpit and saluted the group.

Wang Zhong felt a surge of emotion, as if this salute gave meaning to all their previous struggles-no, their struggles definitely had meaning, but this salute made that meaning tangible.

He returned the salute from the ground, thanking the pilot for yesterday's help.

After passing over the farmstead, the plane rolled back to its normal position.

At that moment, the sun finally rose in the east, its bright morning light falling on Wang Zhong.

(End of Chapter)