Soul to the Rhine

Chapter 121 Fire Sea
The gun in Heinrich's hand was pressed against the man's head, and the gun in the man's hand was pointed at Rosia, and the three of them formed a deadlock.

But what is surprising is that the man who suddenly appeared was wearing a German military uniform.

Heinrich was startled and frowned: "Are you German?"

When the man heard the familiar German language, his head moved slightly, and he wanted to look back, but was blocked by the gun and dared not move: "I am, could it be that you are too?"

During the war, it was very common for enemy countries to take off their military uniforms and pretend to be soldiers of their own country. Heinrich didn't believe the people who suddenly appeared in the wilderness. He was wary and did not put down his gun. He asked again. : "Which legion are you from?"

The man's lips moved, but he didn't say anything. There was some hesitation on his face, and the hand pointing the gun at Rosia also made slight movements.

Heinrich immediately frowned, moved the gun in his hand forward again, and said sternly: "Speak quickly!"

"I am the Artillery Platoon Leader of the Second Battalion of the Fourth Division of the Third Army under the jurisdiction of the Empire, Hank Walker." The man's neck was crooked after being hit by the gun, and he quickly said his information.

Heinrich put a hand behind his collar and took off the military badge from his neck. Seeing that the information on it was indeed consistent, he half-believed him: "Put down the gun."

Hank suddenly laughed out loud: "Brother, I've already reported my home, and you asked me to put down my gun without saying anything. Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Heinrich raised his head slightly with a mocking smile: "The Sixth Army has the commander of the third battalion of the second division, Heinrich von Bolton."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hank's expression suddenly changed. He immediately put down the gun, straightened his body, turned around and gave a Nazi salute: "It turns out to be Lieutenant Colonel Bolton. I heard your name when I was in the military academy."

Heinrich gave him a scrutinizing look, and after a while he proudly put away the gun and put it in his waist.

"Lieutenant Colonel, why are you here and where did you come from?" Hank also put the gun into the holster on his waist and asked curiously.

Although the military ranks and positions of the two men are very different, they actually have no direct affiliation, because one is in the Wehrmacht and the other is in the SS, and the nature of the armies they belong to is also different.But maybe because the two of them came from the same military academy, they seemed to be a lot closer.

Heinrich waved to Rosia and motioned for her to come over. Looking at Hank's expression, he said calmly: "Stalingrad."

"Stalingrad?" Hank couldn't help but exclaimed. Even if they mentioned the hell on earth, which was famous for its miserable wars, their expressions would change.

Heinrich didn't want to talk more about those unpleasant experiences. He took Rosia's wrist, blocked half of her body behind him, and shouted calmly: "Hank Walker."

"Yes, sir, what are your orders?" As soon as Hank heard the tone of the order, even though he was not directly obeying, he still reflexively stood upright and straightened his chest.

"Is there anything to eat?" Heinrich asked in a very arrogant, noble, cold and normal tone.

"..."

Hank was stunned for a while, then replied seriously: "Yes, sir!"

So that night, the two of them shared Hank's food, which was considered a small meal.

The two discussed the battle and the terrain here. There is no doubt that Hank, who is not from the Sixth Army, appeared in this place, which means that he is a deserter on the battlefield.Because except for the two armies in Stalingrad, no other armies were ordered to retreat.And since getting this information, Heinrich has become even more defensive about Hank.

In the eyes of a Nazi officer, deserters on the battlefield should be punished by shooting according to German military law, but Heinrich is not a dog on a leash, and he is not willing to waste a bullet into the body of his compatriots.

At night, the three of them arrived at a cave again, which was already at the edge of the valley. In one day at most, they should be able to escape from this place.

Because her body was weak and she couldn't hold on mentally, Rosia leaned against Heinrich and fell asleep. Suddenly she vaguely heard Hank mention her, and she shivered and woke up again.

"Is this lady your girlfriend?"

Hank was lying on the other side of the cave, with his hands behind his head, looking at Rosia and asked.

Heinrich had his eyes closed, but after hearing this, he raised his head and glanced over, saying in a calm tone: "She is a medic in our army."

The real wives or girlfriends of soldiers and officers were waiting in the German rear areas. If they were on the battlefield, the so-called girlfriends were either prisoners or prostitutes.German military law is very strict, and the Nuremberg Racial Law will not allow them to become a stallion, but adult men will inevitably have needs in some aspects, so there is such a vague statement.

Rosia moved slightly. She knew that Heinrich said this to save her reputation, but her posture at the moment would make people feel like they were lying.

Hank raised his eyebrows, a little surprised: "She is actually a military doctor, and she can treat her with the army? I thought all ladies should stay at the medical point."

His expression was a little strange, as if he was a little surprised.

"What's wrong with women? They don't fight with the same ruthlessness."

Heinrich raised his head and glanced at him lightly, there was no change on the surface, but Rosia clearly felt his shoulders tense for a moment.

"That's true. Those Soviet female soldiers were really desperate when fighting. It made me want to hide when I saw them."

……

Nothing happened next. Heinrich was very vigilant and could wake up in an instant even if he was asleep. Rosia grabbed one of his arms and fell asleep after a short time.

When she woke up the next day, the two of them were no longer in the cave. Rosia was confused for a moment and panicked. She quickly stood up holding the wall and walked quickly to the door. Only then did she find that the two were talking outside. Everyone looked towards her when they heard any movement.

There was still cold sweat on Rosia's head, and the remaining panic on her face made Heinrich a little confused. When he met her eyes, he had to explain in embarrassment: "I thought you were gone."

Hank couldn't help laughing: "How could that be? I was just discussing with the Lieutenant Colonel how to get out."

"It's time to leave in a moment. You go in and drink some water." Heinrich reminded calmly. He had always had this expression since meeting Hank, and Rosia was used to it.

It didn't take long for the two of them to plan a route, and Heinrich decided to take a risk and venture up from a path on the side of the valley.Hank had already passed there, and after exiting there was a village, and not far from the village there was a small German army station.It's just that this area is a place where the Soviet Union and Germany are fighting fiercely. The two armies have been arguing here for at least more than ten days. Both sides have suffered heavy losses. They just stopped fighting and ceased fighting not long ago.

There was a small group of Soviet sentries guarding the exit of the valley, about five of them.Their goal was to escape from the side without disturbing these five people.

Apart from this road, there is currently no other way to get out quickly. It may be safer if we explore now, but the problem is that they have no food, and Rosia is still seriously ill and does not have enough medicine. , without antibiotics, she could not travel long distances, and her condition kept coming back and forth endlessly.Heinrich would not abandon her, so this method would be useless.

After the plan was made, the three of them only ate some wild fruits picked outside to satisfy their hunger, and then set out on the road with a sick patient.

The path out of the valley is uphill, and the three of us walked very slowly. It took us two or three hours to reach the top of the mountain.And this is where Hank walked. He met the small group of Soviet soldiers here and almost got into a fight. In the end, he risked his life and rolled down the hillside to save his life.

"They should still be patrolling south now. I don't know when they will come. Do you want to wait and see?" Hank asked while lying in a hidden bush.

Heinrich glanced at Rosia who was standing aside, then frowned and looked around at the surrounding terrain, and thought for a moment: "No more waiting, hurry up and go down, move gently."

Hank raised his head at once, watched him hesitate to speak, glanced at Rosia, hesitated for a moment before nodding reluctantly: "Okay, then I'll go first."

In fact, he doesn't recommend bringing along a burden. He's just a military doctor. He is important on the battlefield and in the army, but now at this time, he has no use for them, not to mention that he is still sick and has no ability to move. , and drag them down.

However, since Heinrich is willing to take it with him, he has no position to take care of it, but if something happens at that time, he will not care about these two.

Hank opened the safety of the pistol, held it in his hand, and carefully walked out of the bushes. His feet were very light, and the ground was wet, so there was almost no sound when he walked on it.

The temperature in the upper reaches of the valley was not as high as down below, and the trees were still withered. There wasn't much cover here, so he was very careful with every step he took.

Heinrich followed closely behind, holding her hand with one hand, focusing all his mental energy on the sound of the wind around him, walking very slowly, trying to take care of her speed.

Rosia did not have such actual combat experience. She was afraid of stepping on a dead branch on the ground, her eyes were fixed on the ground all the time, and she was already holding her breath nervously.

Hank gradually distanced himself from them and disappeared little by little in the shadow of the trees.At this time, Heinrich's expression became more and more serious, and his brows furrowed more and more tightly. After walking for a while, there was a cliff in front of him. Although it was not very high, it could probably be removed if he fell. Half life.

The wind was strong on the cliff, so Rosia took a sip and coughed when her throat hurt.Heinrich quickly reached out a hand to cover her mouth, looked around warily, and then took a path to the left and walked over.

Hank has disappeared. Although the ground is damp, there are many wet leaves. Stepping on them will not leave any footprints.The two walked through the dead woods for a while, and suddenly they heard a dull gunshot from the front. Although the sound was not loud, because of the close distance, the two of them could still hear the sound of gunpowder blasting clearly.

Heinrich's complexion changed, he stretched out his hand to push Rosia, pointed to the direction he came from, and said, "Go back, if you have a chance, go down the mountain, don't wait for me."

Rosia had already turned around to leave. Her heart shrank when she heard this, and she turned back eagerly: "You won't come with me?"

Heinrich took out the gun from the holster on his waist, with a stern look on his face: "I'll kill them, and you take this opportunity to leave quickly." After a pause, he hesitated, and then promised: "I Will come back alive."

Rosia might be relieved of these words in normal times, but at this moment it made her feel sad for no reason. The battlefield is changing rapidly, and whoever can guarantee that he will survive under the hail of bullets.But with Heinrich, she was not able to live up to her health, and she couldn't do anything except drag her down.After struggling in his heart for a long time, Heinrich had already sneaked through the woods with a short body. Rosia watched his figure disappear, so he could only grit his teeth, turn around and leave.

It seemed that everyone was attracted by the gunshots over there. When Rosia went back, she moved a little loudly but she didn't see anyone. Just when she was about to run to the cliff, there was a sudden sound behind her. There was a huge explosion, much like a grenade.She turned around in panic, only to see a large amount of smoke and dust not far away. The thick black smoke was like a heavy and oppressive black cloud, rising slowly and covering the entire sky.

In the dead forest, the wet branches were ignited by the fire. The fire was so fierce that the wet leaves on the ground were quickly devoured. The flames spread inch by inch like poisonous snakes. In the blink of an eye, half of the entire forest was burned. .

Rosia only felt a huge heat rushing towards her face, she wanted to turn around and run, but everything in front of her nailed her in place, full of fear filled her whole heart.Heinrich hasn't come out yet, he hasn't come out yet.

The fire spread very quickly, reaching her eyes in the blink of an eye. The thick black smoke when the moist branches ignited made her cough. She had no choice but to retreat.After a few more seconds, which seemed as long as a century, three people and violent coughs suddenly emerged from the edge of the sea of ​​​​fire.

Rosia stretched out her hand and waved away the black smoke in front of her eyes. When she looked panicked, she saw that it was Heinrich, Hank and a Soviet soldier.

The Soviet soldier was still holding a long gun in his hand. Hank got up from the ground, kicked the Soviet soldier to the ground again, and cursed: "You fucking Ivan dog, what are you doing?" Just use a flamethrower, you idiot, idiot..."

The fire was getting stronger. As soon as Hank kicked a few times, flames jumped from the Soviet soldier's body to his legs. He quickly retreated, fell to the ground, and rolled several times.But the Soviet soldier was already covered in fire. He wailed and threw away the gun in his hand, rolling crazily in the fire, and his screams kept echoing above the valley.

Rosia was only disturbed by the screams. The moment Heinrich ran out of the sea of ​​​​fire, he had already ran to her side. His face was covered with soot. He looked at her and shouted: "You Why haven't you left yet?"

Rosia was choked by smoke and dust and couldn't open her eyes.Walk?She also wanted to leave, but the fire was burning so fast, where should she run?
The situation was urgent. Now, except for the cliff side, they were surrounded by fire on three sides. All their escape routes were completely cut off by this unexpected wildfire.A small hole had been burned into the leather coat on Heinrich's back, and several clusters of flames were jumping. Rosia quickly took off her thin coat, unscrewed the lid of the kettle, and water poured on the clothes. , she rushed forward and patted the wet clothes on his back, and the clusters of flames were extinguished instantly.

"Cover your mouth and nose first."

Rosia handed half of the wet clothes to Heinrich. The sulfur dioxide in this piece was too strong, and even if they were not burned to death, they would eventually be suffocated.

Heinrich took it, wiped his face hastily and threw it away again. He leaned over and looked down the cliff behind him.The valley is sealed on three sides, and now only this cliff is left unburned. But if you jump from here, without the protection of trees and vines, you will either die or be disabled.

The matter was at a stalemate, and it was a critical moment. Heinrich was anxiously thinking about how to escape from the fire, but he heard a scream from Rosia next to him. He quickly turned around, and his expression changed instantly.

"what are you doing?"

Hank rushed over with a small flame in his body, roughly pulled the wet clothes in Rosia's hands and slapped him on his body. He bent down and picked up Rosia with one hand, and threw her into the line of fire behind him, intending to use her to block her. The intensity of the fire.

Rosia had been ill for such a long time and had no strength at all. At this moment, she was picked up. She didn't even make a move to resist. She was thrown on the wet ground behind her with her hands. Behind the leaves were the spreading tongues of fire. She could already feel the burning sound coming from behind, and an extremely heart-burning and maddening pain instantly came from her back. This feeling of being surrounded by flames , the pain was more severe and unforgettable than when the bullet hit my little finger.

Before the scream in her mouth could escape her throat, she was choked by countless thick smoke. Her eyes were so smoked that a string of hot tears fell down. She struggled to stretch out a hand, but was stopped by a cold hand outside the flames. Hold it and drag it out.

A wet dress was covering her back, and Heinrich had already pulled out his gun angrily, and pressed it against Hank's head on the edge of the cliff.

"Are you crazy? What are you going to do? I'm just trying to buy us a little time to survive. She's just a military doctor who's about to die..." Hank raised his hands and looked at the black muzzle of the gun in front of his head in horror.

Heinrich had already pulled down the safety with one hand.

"Click."

"We are compatriots, we are compatriots, Der Deutscheverbietet, umeinanderszut?ten, let me go..." Hank shook his head and begged for mercy, his face full of horror.

The Germans were forbidden to kill each other, but Heinrich completely forgot all this. He pulled the trigger without hesitation. At that moment, Hank suddenly turned back and tried to escape, but the bullet still shot into him. His chest twitched, and he fell to the ground.

"Rosia, come here." Heinrich stretched out his hand, he walked to the side of the cliff, and leaned out half of his body.

The fire on Rosia's back has been extinguished, but the threat of death still surrounds them.She crawled over in embarrassment and heard Heinrich say: "You go down from here now, I will hold you and find a place to stay."

This cliff has a slope, and there are not too many rocks nearby. If they slow down and go down slowly, sticking their bodies to the dirt wall, and staying at the bottom of the cliff, they should be able to escape.

The fire had spread to the front, and Rosia did not dare to delay any longer even if she was in pain.

She managed to gather her energy and ran to the edge of the cliff. She held Heinrich's hand tightly, put one hand on the edge of the cliff, stretched out one leg and stepped down.

It was far more difficult in action than in theory. This slope looked not simple. When I went down, I realized that what Heinrich just proposed was simply too difficult to implement.

There were no big rocks, branches or vines on the slope. The entire slope was covered with moist and sticky soil. As soon as she stepped on it, half of her body slipped. Even Heinrich was pulled by her and the bones in his arms rattled. ring.

Rosia has already seen the tongue of fire protruding from below. She was extremely anxious, but the more anxious she became, the less she could find a foothold. She wiped off that piece of soil, exposing the rocks wrapped inside.

After pedaling a few times, she discovered that the slope was an entire sloping stone wall, only covered with a thin layer of wet soil. No wonder there was no grass growing on it, not even a vine.

This discovery directly drove Rosia into the bottomless abyss, and she had no way to gain a foothold on it. At this time, she either climbed up again, or dropped her hands and fell half disabled.

Heinrich was supporting the weight of her whole body with one arm, and she was about to be unable to hold on any longer. Rosia watched the fire burn to the brink little by little, her heart was hardened, and she had already made a decision.If he continued to hang like this, Heinrich would be burned to death sooner or later. It was better for the two of them to go down together. At least there was still a glimmer of hope.

She cleared her throat and opened her mouth to express her decision, but as soon as she raised her head, she saw a hateful face appearing above Heinrich, which turned out to be Hank who was not dead yet.

He is not dead yet!
Rosia's heart suddenly rose to her throat, and the words she opened her mouth immediately turned into a scream. Heinrich was affected by the sound of the fire and the pull on his arm, and all his mental energy was concentrated on the cliff. On the bottom of Rosia's body, Hank didn't expect that Hank was not dead after being shot. When he felt the strange movement behind him, it was already too late, so he had to forcefully roll to the side, and even Rosia underneath him hit the stone wall. .

Hank had already dropped his gun in the sea of ​​flames. His body was covered with burning flames, and his whole body was about to be scorched, but he still held his last breath and kicked Heinrich's body.At that moment, Heinrich, who was lying on the edge of the cliff, slid halfway down. He wanted to stabilize his body, but there was nothing at hand except some dead leaves and gravel. Rosia was hanging below again, and he gritted his teeth. Just hold on for a few seconds.

After a few seconds, Heinrich was exhausted. The fire had already burned his body. He just moved his legs and his whole body slid down. Together with Rosia hanging below, the two of them rolled with the sound of the wind. Go down.

The slope was very steep, but this inclination gave the two a plane to slide down. Although the speed was very fast, there was friction resistance after all, which was much better than falling directly from the air.The two of them were still holding hands together, but they felt the pain on their chests and backs that were pressed against the cliff. Their bodies slid down quickly, and they could hear nothing except the howling wind in their ears.

After dozens of seconds, the two of them slid to the bottom. The bushes on the ground scratched the two of them, leaving blood marks on the exposed skin. Rosia hit her head on the grass. After a moment of dizziness, she only I felt like I was floating on the clouds, and the shouts in my ears seemed to come from far away from the horizon.

After a while, she was shaken awake by Heinrich and opened her eyes blankly.

Heinrich's condition was not much better than hers. His neck and face were covered with small bloody cuts made by the thorns on the ground, and blood flowed from one hand and arm.

"Are we still alive?" Rosia murmured, thinking about the scene in the sea of ​​​​fire on the cliff, tears fell uncontrollably.

In this era, in the land of the Soviet Union, it is a miracle every day when you open your eyes and find that you are still alive.She felt like she had entered heaven at that moment. Seeing Heinrich now, she still felt a sense of fantasy and unreality.

"It's okay, don't be afraid."

Hearing her speak, Heinrich breathed a sigh of relief, stretched out his hand to lift her up, and walked out of the bushes. As soon as she started walking, Rosia felt a sharp pain in her right foot. It was caused by her twisting when she slid down. arrive.

Seeing this, Heinrich could only stop and carry her on his back. He spent a lot of energy and was still weak at the moment, but he still managed to carry her with him.

After walking a few steps, the two saw a deep blue lake at the bottom of the cliff.It seems that it is an eternal law that there is a lake at the bottom of the cliff. It is a pity that the two of them were not lucky enough to fall in. At this moment, they could only fall half disabled.

Heinrich walked to the lake and put Rosia down. The two reluctantly held it in their hands and took a few sips to relieve their thirst that was burned by the fire. Then they simply cleaned the superficial wounds.The lake was extremely icy, and the two of them didn't dare to touch it much. After sitting by the lake for a few minutes, they hit the road again.

After this life and death, Rosia was already in a serious condition, and now she was even more exhausted mentally and physically, and her whole body was on the verge of collapse.Heinrich put the man on his back and walked up a path at the bottom of the cliff. He had seen a mountain village in the distance on the cliff and wondered if he could walk there from here.

Because the wildfire spread wildly and isolated everyone outside the mountain, it saved two people's lives.The whole journey was uneventful, and I met no one.But even so, because of Hank, Heinrich still didn't dare to let down his guard. Every step he took was extremely cautious. If there was any slight disturbance on the road, his whole body would tense up as if facing a powerful enemy.

The walking after this kind of injury made the two of them exhausted. They walked slower and slower, and Rosia fell into a coma for longer and longer. Heinrich was still carrying the weight of a person, and the situation was not good at this moment.There was nothing to eat on the road, so he could only pick some wild fruits and eat a little, and he barely got a little strength to continue walking.

Fatigue gradually eroded the two people's bodies. After walking out of the bottom of the cliff, their physical fitness was already on the verge of collapse.But there is still no trace of the village, and it is not known whose territory this is, Su De.Heinrich carried the man on his back for another short distance, and his movements became slower and slower. Finally, he could no longer hold on, and the two fell to the ground together.

After such a long time, the two of them were dizzy and dizzy from hunger. Heinrich was still vigilant about unknown places.But he didn't have the strength to carry anyone anymore, so he had to support Rosia, and the two of them walked in this strange place with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

But Rosia is extremely weak, and sometimes her consciousness cannot allow her to take a step. If this continues, neither of them will be able to get out.

While she was still conscious, Rosia stretched out her hand to push his body, and said angrily: "Heinrich, please go first. Get out first and find someone to save me!"

She never thought that such a day would come to her. It was like a scene in a movie. She had experienced unimaginable hardships and was still on the verge of death, so she asked her companions to go first.If this were the case in the past, she would never have thought that she would behave in such a "noble" way, but once a person really reaches the edge of despair, she will try her best to make things as good as possible, because there is nothing worse than death in this world. Something scary.

Heinrich was half-supporting her, but after hearing these words, he still didn't stop. He slowly dragged her forward step by step, but said firmly: "Let's go together. Didn't I say that, no matter what the cost?" , we will all survive.”

"Even if Germany is defeated?" Rosia asked with a pale face and barely moved her mouth.

"...even if defeated." Heinrich was silent for a while before replying.

Rosia suddenly gave a weak smile. She wanted to say something more, but her body seemed to weigh a thousand pounds and kept pulling her down.Something flashed in her mind, but her consciousness drifted further and further away, and her vision became more and more blurry. In the end, the only sound left in her ears was the faint sound of Heinrich's heartbeat.

Her body lost strength and fell down again. Heinrich dragged her and barely held on for a while, but not long after, his strength was also exhausted, his legs went weak, and he was already kneeling on the ground.

Without his support, Rosia fell down on the lawn all at once. Heinrich gritted his teeth and moved forward a few steps, grabbed her hand, and tried to pull her up, but there was a darkness in front of his eyes, and he lost consciousness for a moment. Exhausted, he also fell to the side.

Before he was completely covered by darkness, he vaguely saw several figures walking over from the corners of his eyes. They were not wearing German uniforms.He wanted to jump up and take people away, but he completely lost consciousness.

At this moment, despair submerged him like a tide.

　Don't blame me for posting late, I'm adding more updates!
　　Originally, it could be posted at five o'clock, but because of the needs of the plot, it is not easy to break the chapters, so I wrote and wrote, just...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)