Cannon Fire Arc

Although he took some time to romance his wife, Wang Zhong still returned to the Abawahan Air Force base on schedule.

On the way back, he even guided the fourth Attack Aircraft group to attack a Prosen artillery position using Smoke Grenades.

After landing, the Air Force Commander himself pushed over the boarding ladder: "How did it go, General, discovered anything?"

Wang Zhong: "I've found a rather nice landing spot, tell the Admiral to go to the Front Army Headquarters for a meeting. Also, has there been any news from the Front Army Headquarters while I was up in the sky?"

"No," the Air Force Commander shook his head, "We only know that we've lost seven or eight frontline positions, and the enemy is advancing into our depth."

Wang Zhong: "How many units have moved up to the front?"

"Trains have been continuously transporting military vehicles out of the station, and the bridge across the Valdai Hills River is also filled with military vehicles, with troops moving non-stop towards the front."

Wang Zhong nodded, and as he was about to walk away, he suddenly remembered something and said to the Air Force Commander: "Develop the photos! Then deliver them to the Front Army Headquarters immediately, I'll personally mark the important targets on the photos!"

"Yes!" The Air Force Commander, clearly almost twenty years Wang Zhong's senior, still snapped to attention and saluted Wang Zhong like an ordinary private.

In fact, it was normal; as Wang Zhong took to the skies personally, the affection of the Air Force pilots for Wang Zhong skyrocketed at an astonishing rate.

Maybe it was because Wang Zhong used to be a legend, but now he had become a "comrade-in-arms" who shed blood and sweat together with the pilots, and the distance between them suddenly closed.

Just as Wang Zhong was about to get into Grigori's Jeep, a ground crew member called out to him: "General! How about we prepare a dedicated reconnaissance aircraft for you, with some special paint?"

Amelia immediately said, "That wouldn't be a good idea. The enemy learns from experience too, and they would start intercepting the General's personal aircraft. Although my flying skills are top-notch, bullets are merciless, and the General could get hurt."

Wang Zhong: "Your proposal is good. We could paint one reconnaissance aircraft all red, red is my signature color."
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"Alyosha!" Amelia unexpectedly used Wang Zhong's nickname, "That won't do!"

Wang Zhong: "Hear me out. Once the enemy catches on, we can use this red aircraft as a decoy, flown by the most experienced pilot. That way, we could carry out stealthy reconnaissance.

"When we're not flying, we could also use this red aircraft to confuse their vision. For example, when we want to counterattack, we could first fly the red aircraft in the feigned attack direction."

After a series of gestures, Wang Zhong finished and looked at Amelia: "You understand what I mean?"

Amelia stared at Wang Zhong for a few seconds: "You're really cunning, you're actually a villain, aren't you?"

"No, no, no. Ceres has an old wisdom that says bad people will stop at nothing, so good people always lose to them. To punish evil and promote good, good people must be even more cunning than the bad ones!"

In reality, Wang Zhong hadn't read about this principle in some profound book, he learned it from Stephen Chow's film "Hail the Judge".

When you really think about it, that story is pretty incorrect; in the end, the good guy wins through connections with the Emperor, playing tricks, and pure verbal abuse.

It's... quite darkly humorous.

After Wang Zhong finished citing the principle from the movie, everyone nodded in agreement: "Makes sense. To defeat the bad guys, we have to be even more cunning than they are!"

Amelia: "You've convinced me, cunning Admiral Your Excellency."

Wang Zhong: "Don't mention it."

With that, he got into the Jeep.

Like a swallow, Amelia jumped into the seat next to him.

Grigori instantly stepped on the gas, and the Jeep sped towards the airport's main gate.

————

At the same time, in the command vehicle of the 21st Tank Breakthrough Regiment, Commander Romanov stuck his upper body out of the turret, removed the tank operator's soft cap, letting the wind blow through his wet hair.

The infantry major hitching a ride asked, "I heard that the Prosen Tank Operators don't have to wear these soft caps, is that true?"

"Yeah, I've seen their tanks, they are very spacious and steadier when moving, so there's no need to worry about bumping their heads," Colonel Romanov patted the top of the turret, "Look at this thing we're in, it's a heavy tank, if you sit in a T34, it can shake you until you hurl last night's dinner!"

The major laughed heartily, "I've ridden in a T34, it's indeed rough. It's barely manageable on the road, but off-road, trying not to fall off is a real physical task."

Romanov shared a laugh with the major, then turned the conversation, "Are you heading to a new unit to become a colonel?"

"Yeah, I got shot in the shoulder before—speaking of which, my shoulder wound, it's on the same side as General Rocossov's! But the general only got grazed, I had a bullet stuck in my scapula, lodged in the cartilage, took surgery to get it out."

The major gestured as he spoke.

Major Romanov was in awe, "I'm envious of you, us Tank Operators either come out without a scratch or get burned to ashes along with our tanks."

The infantry major began to hum, "Ah, the young commander, his head already pierced by a bullet~"

Major Romanov sang along too, "Armor-Piercing Shell hits the tank, farewell dear comrades~ Four crew members... no, we have a five-man crew."

The infantry major laughed out loud.

At that moment, everyone inside the KV tank laughed over Romanov's headphones.

It was a sorrowful song, yet the two majors sang it with fearless spirit, matching the valour of that Prosen battle hymn.

Yes, the one that goes, "Only the loyal war machine can provide us an iron grave."

Then, the sound of exploding shells came from the direction they were advancing; even during the day, the explosion's brightness still illuminated the overcast skies.

That flash was like lightning, the rumbling of the guns like the thunder before a storm.

Romanov looked forward, pulling his voice to a high pitch, singing, "That young commander, his head already pierced by a bullet~ His eyes will never open again~"

All the Tank Operators sang together, "Armor-Piercing Shell hits the tank, farewell dear comrades~"

Even the infantry on the tanks joined in the singing.

On both sides of the road, infantry troops were also advancing towards the thunderous "lightning," watching as the tanks continuously "overtook" them.

Suddenly, an infantryman shouted, "Davarish! Give the Prosens a solid beating for us! We'll catch up right after!"

"Don't finish off all the enemies! We know how tough you are!"

"Yes, leave some for us infantry! Because we can only march there, we always end up just with the leftovers!"

"Don't sing such a mournful song! Sing something uplifting!"

Then the infantry started singing "The Last Courage," "Damn it, I've still got one last grenade in my hand!"

Romanov banged on the top of the tank turret, "We can't lose to the ground-pounders, can we? Come on, louder! That young commander, with his head pierced through..."

The chaos lasted for a while, and only when the tank troops finally passed the infantry did the raucous atmosphere die down.

At that point, the infantry major said, "My position is up ahead, you see the people by the road waiting for me."

"Alright, stop ahead!" Romanov shouted.

The tank came to a perfect halt in front of the people there to meet the infantry major.

The major jumped off the tank, turned back to Romanov, and saluted, "Onwards, Davarish!"

Romanov saluted in return, "See you in Prosennia, Davarish!"