Arc of Fire

The squad spread out completely. With the aid of his external device, Wang Zhong could see everyone’s name and rank, which reminded him of a war game he had played called “Warrior of War,” except that he couldn’t inspect their equipment.

However, unlike “Warrior of War,” where he could take control of a single soldier, Wang Zhong couldn’t do that; he could only watch the soldiers advance.

Grigori led three men, sneaking into the depot from the location where they had taken out the two sentries earlier, and then headed straight for the fuel storage.

Next to the fuel, two Prussians seemed to be counting the inventory. Grigori charged forward, taking advantage of the enemy looking down at their list to end one with a dagger.

The other had just time to look up before a dagger pierced his throat.

Grigori then sent one man to check the fuel area for any overlooked enemies, and with the remaining two, used the cover of trucks to approach a group of Prussian “devils” chatting together.

At that moment, the second group also moved, targeting the sentry by the machine gun. The sentry was killed and dragged into the bushes before he could even cry out.

This group then made their way to the people by the machine gun and the guardhouse, readying their submachine guns.

The third group circled to the only wooden house at the corner of the fuel depot.

That was when Wang Zhong suddenly noticed something: the enemy used to be highlighted in his overhead view, but now they weren’t!

He thought about it and considered a possibility; switching back to normal vision, he lifted his binoculars.

After switching back to the overhead view, the enemies were highlighted again—Damn it, the enemies would only be highlighted if I could see them myself!

Not only that, enemies previously not displayed inside the wooden house were now visible too, probably because there were windows. Golden Finger assumed Wang Zhong could see inside through the windows, so it highlighted the enemies.

Wang Zhong could already imagine himself sitting in a jeep, charging at the front lines in the future.

Brainlessly highlighting enemies, even those inside buildings—if the enemy constructed bunkers in the future, a glance from Wang Zhong would highlight the machine gunners inside.

All hidden bunkers would be nowhere to hide!

Wait a minute, wasn’t this ability particularly suited for a tank commander? By sticking his head out of the turret, he could light up all the enemies…

Unfortunately, Wang Zhong didn’t have a single tank in his possession at the moment.

As Wang Zhong was lost in thought, the battle erupted.

Grigori, the sergeant first class, was the first to strike, spraying a barrage of bullets at the enemies who were gathered together, idly chatting.

The Prussians were caught off guard and, clearly being second-line troops equipped with bolt-action rifles, didn’t stand a chance in such close-quarter combat against submachine guns.

The noise of gunfire caused the Prussians at the entrance to turn around, completely unprepared for the Ante soldiers who suddenly emerged from behind them; a burst from a submachine gun spun two Prussians by the machine gun to the ground.

The guards at the guardhouse managed to scatter and three survived, but their weapons were placed far away!

One of the Prussians wielding a shovel charged forward, only to be taken down by the second submachine gunner.

On the house side, a scout kicked open the door and sprayed bullets inside, killing the officers and service soldiers immediately.

However, the attacking paratroopers were apparently too excited, and ran out of bullets quickly. As one was changing his magazine, an enemy emerged from the toilet, shouting and stabbing him with a bayonet.

The paratrooper slumped and was pushed out of the doorway, at which point another paratrooper at the window opened fire, taking the Prussian down.

The fight ended relatively cleanly.

Grigori rushed to the wounded comrade, but from Wang Zhong’s perspective, he could tell that the man was dead.

When Wang Zhong had previously ordered the third battalion of the Amur Group to attack, quite a few men must have died, though he didn’t see it.

Now, having witnessed a soldier sacrifice his life following his command, Wang Zhong was filled with mixed emotions.

Coming from a peaceful era, he might need some time to get used to the job of sending others to their death.

But Grigori seemed accustomed to the death of his comrades. He just felt the fallen paratrooper’s neck, then tore off his dog tags, stood up, took out a signal pistol, and fired a red flare—Hong’er’s signal—into the sky.

Wang Zhong switched back to normal vision, “Yegorov, have the troops advance, take over the depot, and seize the trucks.”

After speaking, Wang Zhong got into the jeep.

Captain Sergey asked, “To the depot?”

"No, wait until Yegorov has issued the orders,” said Wang Zhong.

To ensure his field of vision wasn’t deprived, Yegorov had to stay with him.

If they managed to get their hands on field telephones in the future, it wouldn’t be so troublesome. However, the Prussian spy had said that the Ante Empire’s radio technology was relatively poor, and indeed, Wang Zhong hadn’t seen a single field telephone since he had been there.

The enemy seemed not to have such devices either.

Yegorov quickly finished issuing his instructions; turning around, he found Wang Zhong looking at him and asked, “Should I… continue to follow?”

Wang Zhong: “Yes, come on up.”

Yegorov climbed into the car with a look of reluctance.

At this time, the Third Rear Amur Group’s vanguard had already started up the mountain from behind the reverse slope.

Wang Zhong: “Let’s go.”

Sergey stepped on the gas, and the vehicle charged forward like a bull that had been waiting to fight. The wind that met them unfurled the flag on the car.

**

A private of the Third Rear Amur Group, Ashmi, asked the sergeant walking beside him, “Sergeant, did the count really piss himself? His usual practice of leading the charge doesn’t seem like that of a coward.”

The sergeant glanced at the distant flag and clicked his tongue, “The battlefield is a place where people can transform. Maybe after he pissed himself, he became brave.”

At that moment, a private walking in front interjected, “On the battlefield, demons choose their champions. My neighbor was a gentle and kind man before the civil war. After he returned, he changed, and in summer, the temperature around him would drop several degrees for no reason!

"The village priest said he might be possessed and even conducted an exorcism ceremony.”

The corporal jumped in shock, “Then isn’t that bad for us?”

"What do you know! A person who is possessed keeps winning battles. Two hundred years ago, Suvorov was possessed. It is said that he killed two hundred Carolingian heavy cavalrymen all by himself!”

While saying this, the private rubbed his nose, “Just you watch. I think the count is going to rise high into the clouds! Following him, our casualties will definitely be fewer than other units. Think about it, we have already left the encirclement, while our brother units are still fighting to the death inside it!”

The corporal uttered an “Oh” in response.

At this time the sergeant said, “Don’t think too much, we’re just ordinary soldiers. As long as we survive, everything will be fine. You’re almost through the first day, rookie, be happy.”

"Hmm,” the young corporal nodded his head.

**

Sergey drove the car all the way to the station and parked it in front of the little wooden house.

Wang Zhong got out of the car and surveyed the house, “This looks like a farmhouse. What happened to the people who lived here?”

The house was rather large and even had an attic, big enough for a large family.

Grigori had a grim expression and did not reply.

Sofia said, “They probably fled because of the war. Many people have run away since the fighting started.”

Finally, Grigori spoke, “No, this family didn’t leave.”

Wang Zhong had a bad premonition but still suppressed the feeling and asked, “Then where are they now?”

Grigori dropped a “Follow me” and turned toward the backyard.

Wang Zhong caught up with Grigori, and Yegorov and Sofia also got out of the car to follow.

Captain Sergey stayed in the car as if his behind were glued to the driver’s seat, “I’ll just stay here and watch the car.”

Grigori led Wang Zhong into the backyard towards a small wooden hut.

The hut emitted a strong odor that reminded Wang Zhong of when he was a child visiting his hometown—back then, the rural areas in the north still used outhouses, and the stench was the same when you got close to one.

The foul stench and swamp gas combined into a nauseating smell.

His ominous premonition grew stronger.

Grigori opened the door, then stepped aside, “The owners of this house are here, have a look for yourself.”

Wang Zhong pinched his nose and took a step forward, only to see an entire family, from old to young, all in the latrine, with traces of bayonet wounds on their bodies; two adult females had even been stripped of their clothes.

Upon seeing what was in the pit, Sofia turned around and ran to the side of the house, holding onto the wall as she vomited violently.

Wang Zhong clenched his fists in silence.

Because of recent history, Chinese people naturally abhor such acts of massacring civilians, and Wang Zhong felt the same.

Before he traveled through time, when he saw a photo of a certain entity bombing a hospital, he was filled with rage, itching with hatred.

And now, the feeling was the same.

Before Wang Zhong could express his emotions, Yegorov punched the wooden wall of the outhouse, shattering the planks and bruises appearing on his fist at a visibly fast rate.

"Those damn Prosen bastards!”

Wang Zhong patted Yegorov’s shoulder, “One day, we will bring the war to their shores. Just wait and see, one day!”

Even Wang Zhong hadn’t realized that at this moment, his goal in this world had shifted slightly.

Of course, for the moment, it was just a slight, negligible shift.