Cannon Fire Arc

Wang Zhong leapt off Bucephalus, opening his arms to welcome the fine snowflakes.

He was here to personally command the artillery blockade of the highway, but the Prosen were strange, having stopped using this road since yesterday.

However, the direction of Karanskaya was still under enemy attack.

Could the enemy have attacked from that small road? Can heavy weaponry even traverse it?

After all, Wang Zhong had been fortifying this position for over twenty days, and had already ridden around the area, familiarizing himself with that worse-conditioned small road.

It was precisely because he had personally inspected that road that he didn\'t believe the Prosen would use it.

If they did take that road, it would mean the Prosen were willing to risk everything, either securing the supply at Ekaterinburg Fortress or dying in the attempt.

Wang Zhong caught a handful of snow and crushed it in his hands.

The enemy was also making a desperate effort; there could be no relaxation, he had to think of a way to strike at them again, to cut off their supply line.

That was the thought, but in reality, Wang Zhong didn\'t have many troops left at his disposal.

He only had one division to begin with, and apart from Wang Zhong\'s division which was in relatively good condition, other units on Kiriyenko\'s side were battered and still had to guard such a vast defense area.

Although Wang Zhong had inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy in the past few days, he had also engaged in several bloody battles with Prosen soldiers who had advanced under cover of smoke, resulting in considerable losses.

Major Eugene reported that after the enemy had been repelled, when they went to check on the fallen soldiers, they found that all the dry food and ham had been taken from the bodies.

The Prosen soldiers\' food supply was likely also problematic.

An enemy hungry but still strong enough to fight was even more dangerous.

Wang Zhong pondered where he might draw some more troops from to make another push.

————

November 12th, outskirts of Karanskaya.

The commander of the 512th Motorized Reconnaissance Battalion, Major Koen, suddenly noticed a road sign ahead and loudly commanded, "Stop in front of that road sign!"

The motorcycle rider immediately turned around and braked in front of the road sign.

Major Koen climbed out of the vehicle, staring at the road sign, but he only recognized the number 25 on it, not the rest of the Ante script.

"Translator! Come here quickly, see what it says about something 25 kilometers away!"

The translator, brushing off the snow on him, came over and squinted at the sign, then answered, "25 kilometers from the city center!"

Major Koen asked, "Is this city center the same as what we understand as the city center, or is there some difference in perception between our two countries?"

"I think it\'s the same," the translator thought for a moment, then corrected himself, "25 kilometers from the Summer Palace, which is located in the city center."

The motorcycle riders were already laughing, "The Summer Palace! Isn\'t that the Tsar\'s palace? We\'re about to capture another emperor!"

The others burst into laughter, and someone yelled, "I hear the Tsar has a daughter! We need to take a good look at what she looks like!"

"Be careful though, the Commission for Isolation might think you\'re contaminating the racial genetics!"

"No worries, the Tsar has Prosen blood in him! At least a second-class citizen, definitely beddable!"

"That\'s just too good, hahaha!"

The Prosen Empire had already annihilated several kingdoms in its previous expansions, and the Prosen Army had a special medal: the Royal Family Member Captive Medal.

Receiving this medal was even more honorable than getting a Second Class Iron Cross!

Major Koen shouted, "Come on, put up our sign to tell the following troops the good news. Then continue advancing! If we keep pushing forward, we might just make it into Ye Fort city!"

As he spoke, Major Koen got back into the motorcycle sidecar and gave a grand wave of his hand: "Forward!"

The motorcycle roared to life, continuing in the direction the sign pointed.

The half-track vehicle following the motorcycle knocked down the road sign, rolling right over it.

Another group of Prosen soldiers planted the new Prosen language markers, jumped on their motorcycles, and followed the half-track.

Then came Tank #2 assigned to the reconnaissance battalion, as the Prosen assault force continuously passed the new road sign.

————

November 13th, western defensive position of Karanskaya, Prosen Army attacking.

Lieutenant Hans turned to glance back at the skirmish line.

The snow had laid down a thin layer, giving the ground a mottled appearance, mixed black and white.

This made it quite awkward for the Armored Troops wearing pure white snow capes.

Lying on the ground in such capes was incredibly conspicuous.

The logistics fellows said that once heavy snow began to fall, the situation would change, as the entire ground would become a plain of silver white.

Lieutenant Hans thought that the capes might then solve their problem, but what about their winter clothing issue?

Lieutenant Hans already felt the cold, having drunk some liquor before setting out to warm up, but now that the effect had worn off, he felt even colder.

There was no more liquor to drink, as what they had was taken from the Ante\'s warehouse along the way.

He could only hope to capture something good after taking the enemy positions.

The Ante People had thick leather coats, but Lieutenant Hans dared not wear them for fear of being mistaken by his own men, as had happened to a company commander who was shot full of holes for wearing the enemy\'s coat.

So Lieutenant Hans could only take out the lining of the leather coat, wrap it around his waist secured by a belt, and wear the Prosen\'s autumn coat over it.

The advantage of this was, at least his stomach stayed warm.

The problem is that nothing is warm except the belly.

As long as they conquered the enemy\'s position and rushed into the city, there would be warm fireplaces, hot meals, and perhaps a chance to loot some spoils of war and make a small fortune. After conquering Ante, they could settle here with a plot of land...

Lieutenant Hans looked ahead—smoke completely obscured the enemy\'s position.

It seemed that firing so many smoke bombs to completely cover the enemy\'s position was a display of extravagance.

In fact, this was because the heavy artillery couldn\'t be brought up; they could only use smoke to cut off all the enemy\'s firepower and then engage in close combat.

In hand-to-hand combat, the most important thing is the fighting will of the troops. Since Operation Typhoon began, Lieutenant Hans had yet to encounter any Ante troops with firm fighting resolve.

This time, it should be smoothly taken as well, Lieutenant Hans thought.

But a sense of unease hung over him; recently there had been rumors. One said that Ante\'s wizards had cast black magic on their soldiers, turning them into mindless zombies.

Another said that Ante\'s witches had fed their soldiers a magic potion that turned them into fearless killing machines.

Every evening around the campfire, you could always hear such talk.

By the way, the campfire was completely useless. Having a fire in the wilderness is as good as having none at all.

Lieutenant Hans gripped his submachine gun tightly.

They were approaching the smoke now, and it would soon be clear whether the enemy was the same kind that shattered at the merest touch, or killing machines created by witchcraft and evil sorcery.

At that moment, Flame-Thrower Tank No. 2 accompanying the skirmish line opened fire.

The main weapon of Flame-Thrower Tank No. 2 was installed in two small flame-throwing turrets at the front of the vehicle. Two jets of flame shot forward, then swung to the flanks.

The whole burst lasted five seconds.

The enemy\'s position was shrouded in smoke; the burning effect of the flames was completely invisible.

But the screams of the enemy could be heard.

The commander of the flame-thrower tank seemed to think the attack was effective based on the screams, and ordered another burst.

Two jets of flame shot forward again.

This time the burst was short and ended quickly.

Then this No. 331 Flame-Thrower Tank performed several more short bursts.

Lieutenant Hans could already smell the scent of charred flesh.

The enemy should be dead by now.

He turned back to his soldiers and shouted, "Advance! Clear the trenches! Be careful not to get burned."

Then, Lieutenant Hans took the lead and walked forward.

This was actually not in line with military protocol. In fact, Prosen officers preferred to stay in the rear to grasp the situation, leaving the command of the frontlines to sergeants and exempted soldiers.

Exempted soldiers were veterans amongst veterans who were not subject to general duties.

Most sergeants were themselves exempted soldiers.

But Lieutenant Hans still took the lead—perhaps he wanted to verify for himself whether the war machines created by witchcraft really existed.

He walked into the smoke.

There was actually quite limited visibility in the smoke.

Lieutenant Hans saw an Ante man lying on the ground, burnt to the verge of death, dressed in somewhat retro military uniform and wearing a hat made of some kind of leather.

It was a pity the hat had been set aflame by the flames from the tank and was completely ruined. Otherwise, it would have made a nice gift for his wife—

Lieutenant Hans thought absently.

Suddenly, the Ante man on the ground opened his eyes and burst into mad laughter.

It was then that Lieutenant Hans realized that what was hidden in the man\'s abdominal clothes was not his own intestines, but a grenade.

The Ante man pulled the pin.

Unable to stand, he bit the grenade in his mouth and used his hands to crawl on the ground, rushing towards Lieutenant Hans.

The grenade exploded, and Lieutenant Hans screamed in agony.

Although he did not feel pain, when Lieutenant Hans looked down, he saw that his lower body was completely covered in blood.

The Ante soldier\'s whole mouth had been blown apart; his face was gone.

But his expression just before he died was imprinted on Lieutenant Hans\'s retina!

As he fell, Lieutenant Hans wanted to scream:

It\'s witchcraft, definitely witchcraft!

How could a person burned like that still have such willpower!

He fell down.

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"The attack on Karanskaya is not going well," the chief of staff said seriously to General von Maqi, commander of the Second Armored Unit, "The reason is the lack of heavy firepower. Our troops\' accompanying self-propelled mortars are not enough to break through the enemy\'s defenses."

Von Maqi: "When can the engineering troops have that path levelled?"

Chief of Staff: "It can be fixed by midnight today. Then the heavy artillery will be able to get through. From the results of our current melee combat, once the heavy artillery is in position, we should be able to take Karanskaya before November 16."

Von Maqi—Major General Heinz Wilhelm von Maqi, Director of the Prussian Armored Forces, let out a heavy sigh: "The 16th. You\'re telling me we can\'t take it until the 16th!"

Chief of Staff: "This is the most conservative estimate. By the 16th, you will definitely be able to ascend to the ancient castle of Karanskaya and overlook the Summer Palace in the center of Ye Fortcity."