Arc of Gunfire

Kabusk village, near the planned deployment line of the offensive troops.

Ivan Nikolayev Antonov heard someone shouting "Ula" from a distance.

He asked curiously: "What's going on?"

However, no one answered him. The sound of the tank was too loud, so Ivan reached into the hatch and patted the commander on the shoulder: "What's going on?"

The commander turned back: "What?"

It seems that without an inside line, the people in the tank can't hear what others are saying at all.

The Crown Prince waved his hand, sat up straight again, and looked ahead.

Finally, he saw clearly who the soldiers were shouting to: a jeep was parked on the road, and an old man in an old military uniform was saying something.

The tank stopped in front of the jeep, and Ivan recognized the old man as Duke Rokosov.

"Your Majesty the Duke!" Although he is the crown prince, Ivan still used the honorific title, "Why are you here?"

The old man smiled: "Come to be the infantry company commander. I worked as a company commander for a long time when I first joined the army, and I am very familiar with the business."

Ivan asked curiously: "Then why did they call you hurrah just now?"

"Ah, the young people on active duty show respect to their old superiors. In fact, most of the privates have never seen me, and they don't know why they asked for urrah. Anyway, urrah."

The old Duke stopped, raised his head and looked at Ivan: "Well, except that his body is a bit thin, he looks like a soldier."

Ivan didn't know why, but he wanted to become more like a soldier, so he jumped off the tank. As a result, he lost his balance and almost fell to his knees.

The old Duke grabbed him and pulled him up: "Be careful, Your Highness! If your knees touch the ground, I will go to the ceremonial hall of the palace to accept the etiquette assessment."

Everyone around heard this laughed, and then was chased away by the veteran chief of staff: "Stop laughing! The battle is about to begin! Do you want to take advantage of the enemy's bombardment by standing still?"

The soldiers then moved forward, towards the expansion line.

Old Rokosov squeezed Ivan's shoulder and asked: "How are you, Your Highness?"

"I'll tell you the truth, my legs started to shake when the chief of staff just said something." Ivan smiled bitterly. "Is this normal, Your Majesty Duke Rokossov?"

"Is this your first time participating in an attack?" the Duke asked.

"If you don't count the simulated attack formation training at the military academy, yes."

"That's so normal. When I first joined the war, I couldn't sleep the night before. I tossed and turned. As soon as I closed my eyes, I started thinking wildly. My heart was beating fast, and the blood vessels in my neck and temples were also shaking. A trembling one."

Ivan looked shocked: "Really or not? It's exactly the same as what happened to me last night!"

"Really, everyone is like this. The difference is the second time. Brave people will still be nervous the second time, but at least they can sleep for a while. And those bastards who are born for the battlefield will fall asleep the second time and fight. Snort!”

Ivan smiled: "Really? Then I'm starting to look forward to the second time. I don't know what Alyosha's situation is."

"He should follow me and sleep harder than a pig the second time," said Prince Rokosov.

At this time, a whistling sound came from above the head. Ivan subconsciously wanted to lie down, but the Duke grabbed him and couldn't move.

"It's our own firepower preparation, don't worry. It's for bombing the enemy."

As soon as the words fell, explosive fire broke out on the plain to the north.

Ivan looked into the distance: "Are the enemies so close?"

"It's not close. It's almost three kilometers. It takes a long time to walk there. Of course, your highness, it will be faster if you ride a tank. Old man, I will follow the infantry."

"I'm also following the infantry..." Ivan suddenly lowered his head and looked at his feet that were shaking so much that the outside of his trousers could be seen clearly, "Forget it, I'd better take the tank. I feel like my feet should be weak after walking halfway. Alyosha has killed several people on the battlefield, but I am so useless. "

Duke Rokosov looked at Ivan's feet, hesitated, and said, "At least you didn't pee. You're very brave."

Ivan also laughed: "I think that must be a rumor fabricated by people who hate Alyosha."

"Who knows." Duke Rokosov looked at the enemy positions that were being bombed in the distance.

Silence temporarily enveloped the two of them. Only the thunderous explosions in the distance and the constant roar of artillery shells in the sky continued.

Duke Rokosov suddenly said: "I originally wanted to change Alyosha's name, because there is a song you have heard of? It's called Alyosha."

Ivan thought for a while and said: "The one with the lyrics 'He can no longer give flowers to the girl, it is the girl who gives them to him'?"

"Yeah, it's so unlucky, isn't it? But then I thought about it, the name Alexei is the name of a saint, chosen based on the time of his birth. If you change it casually, you might offend something.

"This idea is very unsecular, isn't it?"

It is the custom of the Ant people to choose their names from a list of saints based on their birth time, so there are many duplicate names.

Ivan smiled: "Indeed."

"Now, I can only hope that this saint Alexei will bless him to live until the end of the war." The general smiled and drew a triangle in front of him.

After a brief conversation, the two quietly watched the artillery bombard the enemy positions in the distance.

After an unknown amount of time, a messenger ran over, dismounted in front of the Crown Prince, and saluted: "The Army Commander asked me to inform His Highness that the offensive formation has been deployed."

Ivan responded: "Tell the commander that I am just a captain. You don't need to report to me. Just attack at his pace. I will be at the front of the team."

"Yes!" The messenger got on his horse and walked away quickly.

Ivan turned to Duke Rokossov and said, "Then I'll go."

"Well, I'll be there soon." After saying that, the Duke took a step back and saluted Ivan.

Ivan turned around and wanted to climb onto the tank, but his feet were shaking so much that he couldn't climb up.

Old Prince Rokosov stepped forward, grabbed him by the creaking nest, and lifted him up.

The Crown Prince stood behind the tank turret, put all his weight on the turret, and then looked down at Duke Rokosov: "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Ivan knocked on the tank turret cover and shouted: "Go forward! Get to the front of the queue!"

The tanks started to roll. Roaring forward.

Old Rokosov watched the tanks leave, and then got into his jeep: "Let's go in front of the first line of infantry, and then Stepan can run away. Go wherever you need to go."

Stepan nodded: "I understand."

The car started.

————

Half an hour later, the offensive front was at the forefront.

All the soldiers present could see that the barrage in front changed to Xu Jin's barrage, which meant that the attack was about to begin.

A company commander ran to Ivan's tank: "Your Highness! Tell us something!"

"Ah?" Ivan looked at the soldiers who were looking expectantly. "Uh, I... can't! When I spoke before, people wrote the manuscript for me!"

Company Commander: "Then you have to say something? Everyone is waiting."

Ivan scratched his head and said, "Okay. I am the Crown Prince of the Ant Empire..."

"Can't hear you!" Someone yelled from below.

Ivan suddenly raised his voice a lot: "I am the crown prince of the Ant Empire, a close friend of General Rokossov, General White Horse! He has led the troops and has won many victories!

"I don't know if I can lead you to victory like him, but I can at least - I can at least lead you on the tank to charge like him! That's it!"

The company commander who asked for a speech before the formation was not sure whether he was satisfied or not. Anyway, he blew the whistle to start the march.

Ivan patted the tank's turret: "Let's go! Forward!"

The tank started and drove towards the enemy's position.

————

Prince Rokosov was on the right flank of the Crown Prince tank, in front of the first skirmisher line.

After seeing the Crown Prince's tank begin to advance, Rokossov shouted: "The Crown Prince has taken the lead! But sons of Zalia, move forward!"

As he spoke, he pulled out the old command knife. Although it was old, the knife was well maintained and its reflection could be seen hundreds of meters away.

Prince Rokosov put his military cap on the tip of his sword and raised it high.

"Follow me! Go forward! Sing the military song!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the enemy's counterfire preparations dropped and exploded in the skirmish line.

Prince Rokosov advanced without fear.

————

The captain of the first squadron of the 13th Attack Aircraft Wing of the Prosen Army heard a call from the ground in the earphone: "We have been attacked by enemy infantry. We have been attacked by enemy infantry."

The squadron leader tilted the control stick, and the plane tilted over, revealing the plain that was originally blocked by the wings.

Then, the squadron leader saw a very interesting target: a tank with a very huge flag! That flag looks a bit like the royal flag of the Ant Empire.

The squadron leader turned on the radio: "I saw a high-value target. The squadron maintains its direction. Number 2 will attack with me."

After saying that, the squadron leader moved the control stick to the right, and the aircraft rolled in a circle and then buckled down, entering a dive attitude.

The squadron leader opened the speed brake, and the iconic roar sounded.

————

Goosebumps immediately appeared on Ivan's neck when he heard the roar.

He vaguely remembered that this sound seemed to be caused by an enemy dive bomber. What was it called a death scream!

He grabbed the anti-aircraft machine gun on the tank turret and looked up for the target.

He saw two "blackbirds" in the direction of the sun!

Ivan turned the muzzle of the gun and squatted down on the side of the turret to raise the machine gun's firing range as high as possible.

He opened fire, tracers flying into the sky.

However, Ivan, who had not received any anti-aircraft shooting training, did not realize that he should increase his lead.

There is no set scale.

It was completely impossible for him to shoot down an enemy plane that dived from a height of several thousand meters.

The two enemy planes dropped bombs at an altitude of 700 meters, then pulled up and broke away.

When the plane passed over Ivan's head, two 500-kilogram bombs fell, and one was inserted into the ground on the side of the tank.

When Ivan turned around, he only heard the beep of the bomb's time-delay protection device.

The next moment, light engulfed his consciousness.

The Crown Prince of the Ant Empire, Ivan Nikolayev Antonov, was killed in action.

————

Prince Konstantin Alexandrovich Rokosov clearly saw the Crown Prince's tank being engulfed by the explosion.

The royal flag, mainly white and blue, slowly fell in the green gauze tent.

The Duke closed his eyes and said silently: "Have a safe journey, Your Highness."

When he opened his eyes, more death screams came from the air.

Constantine raised his head, held high the long sword that embodies all his glory and military qualities, and faced the latest advancements in military technology.

——Take the first step, my son.

General Konstantin Alexandrovich Rokossov, killed in action.

————

The train from the 151st Provisional Infantry Division Headquarters stopped at a deserted station.

Pavlov: "You said you know how to drive, so we can add water here."

Wang Zhong nodded, then passed through the door of the tank car and jumped to the platform.

"Is this still in the territory of Kozalia?" He turned around and asked Pavlov.

"Still." Pavlov nodded, "You can tell by looking at the scenery. Where else can there be such beautiful grassland and such fertile black land."

Wang Zhong nodded.

I don't know why, but looking at the grassland under the afternoon sun, Wang Zhong suddenly felt a little melancholy.

It stands to reason that this is only the hometown of Count Alexei Konstantinovich Rokosov, but Wang Zhong's hometown does not have such open grassland at all, and the scenery is completely different.

Logically speaking, Wang Zhong, an outsider, should not feel melancholy over a simple place name.

At this time, Lyudmila and Neli got off the second carriage and came to Wang Zhong.

Lyudmila: "As a kid, you were only less of a jerk when you were riding a horse."

"Eh?" Wang Zhong looked at his fiancée, "Really?"

"Yes, you always let go of the reins on your horse and let the horse run by itself, then open your hands and feel the wind like a fool."

Wang Zhong recalled for no reason the feeling of riding Busifalas, and the feeling of sitting on the No. 422 turret.

Open your arms and embrace the wind like a fool - it seems that it really means this.

Suddenly, Wang Zhong was excited. He turned around and asked Nellie: "Did I... also like eating sour cream before?"

Nellie said firmly: "I like it very much, especially it was made by your deceased mother."

At this moment, huge sadness surged out like a torrent that had lasted for a long time, occupying Wang Zhong's heart.

He obviously couldn't remember anything, not running in the fields, nor what the sour cream his mother made tasted like, but the sadness that was like a passing peak was so real.

Why feel melancholy?

Because I am Alexei Konstantinovich Rokosov, I was born here, I grew up here, and the milk of the black soil nourished me.

Even if there is no memory, even if the soul is replaced by someone else, my body still remembers it.

Remember the wind here, everything here.

Wang Zhong tried hard to suppress the trembling in his voice: "Nellie, bring a lunch box."

"Lunch box?"

"Or another iron box with a lid for easy portability."

Although Nelly looked confused, she turned around and ran away.

Wang Zhong moved forward, crossed the platform, jumped down, and landed on the black earth.

Nellie trotted back with a lunch box: "Here you go!"

After taking the lunch box, Wang Zhongyi opened the lid with force, put the lid under his arm, squatted down, and grabbed a handful of black soil.

Nelly: "I'll get the shovel."

"No! No need." Wang Zhong stopped Neli, continued to insert his hands into the fertile black soil, and carefully placed the soil of his second hometown in the iron box.

The third time, a frightened cricket rushed out and jumped into the grass not far away.

Wang Zhong just filled the lunch boxes one after another.

Mud filled the spaces between his fingernails and his fingerprints.

His hands looked like those of a child playing in the mud, dirty.

But everyone looked at him in silence.

Lyudmila even had tears in her eyes.

Gregory carried the red flag and stood silently on the platform.

Finally, Wang Zhong closed the lunch box and pressed it tightly. He smiled at the people around him: "This way my hometown will always be by my side."

He raised his head, as if looking at the scenery of Khazalia for the first time.

As if greedily wanting to imprint everything in his mind.

He thought of countless faces, including the unknown old man in Kalinovka, the master worker whom Loktov rescued from under the tank, and Aunt Alexeyevna from No. 43 Krugen Street... …

Finally, Wang Zhong saw Crown Prince Ivan and "Father" Constantine standing in the light, seemingly talking about something.

They were saying "Have a safe trip."

At this time, the whistle of the train startled Wang Zhong. He turned around and saw a tanker truck full of young faces passing by the opposite side of the platform, heading towards the direction Wang Zhong left.

Regardless of his hands being covered with dirt, Wang Zhong put his hand to his mouth to make a microphone and shouted to the young face: "Have a safe trip!"

The soldiers of the 151st Division shouted together: "Have a safe journey!"

The red flag sent by the Shepetovka textile workers fluttered in the wind.