Arc of Fire

Clearly, the new soldier was so nervous that his breathing had become several times heavier, resembling a bull.

The machine gun fired again, but this time it targeted the ground behind Master Sergeant Hans and the Private Second Class.

At this time, many Prosen soldiers had already leapt into the trenches, but they obviously hadn’t gained control as quickly as Master Sergeant Hans had anticipated.

The firing point that should have been dealt with first was still shooting.

Master Sergeant Hans fumbled for another hand grenade, unscrewed the cap, pulled the pin, held it in his hand for a second, and then flung it with a flick of his wrist.

This time the grenade landed precisely in the firing point, and the next moment the explosion kicked up muddy clumps.

Master Sergeant Hans stood up, clutched his submachine gun, and leaped with a vigorous step to the side of the trench, bellowed into it, and then opened fire with a sweeping burst.

The bullets from the submachine gun hit the two machine gunners who had been knocked down by the grenade.

The third machine gunner had just turned the corner of the trench, probably intending to continue the firing, when he saw Master Sergeant Hans.

Master Sergeant Hans emptied all 30 bullets into the trench in one go, then tried to lie down to change the magazine; that’s when he heard Papasha’s voice.

He turned his head toward the direction of the gunfire, but saw only the shooter’s sailor shirt.

Wait, that’s not right, Master Sergeant Hans thought as he fell; weren’t they all new soldiers? Why weren’t they wearing the khaki uniform like Ante had?

This large lapel black uniform, the peek of sailor shirt at the neckline, and the streamers on the cap — this was clearly the elite Naval Infantry of Ante, the Black Death!

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Master Sergeant Hans’s last thought was, I’ve just gunned down three Black Deaths with a single burst, I can be proud.

He fell to the ground, staring at the sky as the rain continued to fall, washing the blood into the soil.

The Private Second Class following behind him saw this and immediately lay flat on the ground, shivering uncontrollably, not even bothering to throw his grenade anymore.

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Aromeyev fired a short burst, toppling an Armored Grenadier trying to rush along the trench, then shouted, "Drive the enemy out of the trenches! We have more automatic firepower, we have the advantage!"

The Prosen infantry squads invested all their resources in squad machine guns, and the regular soldiers all carried 98k bolt-action rifles. Even the Armored Grenadiers didn’t have submachine guns widely issued; normally only NCOs had one.

But nearly every member of the Naval Infantry was equipped with a submachine gun.

In terms of automatic firepower, Ante’s side indeed had an advantage.

Emboldened by Aromeyev’s command, the Naval Infantrymen launched a counterattack against the Prosens who had surged into the trenches.

Aromeyev stood up straight, pulled the Naval St. Andrew’s Cross flag planted beside the command post, and with one hand holding the flag, the other shooting a submachine gun.

"Charge! Today, let the Prosens see what the Black Death really means!"

"Ura!"

A deafening "Ura!" resonated throughout the position.

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Major General Hoppe frowned and looked at the staff officer coming to report, "What did you say?"

"Our attack has been repelled," the staff officer said.

"Pushed back by a bunch of mobilized troops?" Hoppe suddenly stood up, slamming the table, "Where does that leave our Armored Grenadiers feeling?"

The staff officer said, "Reports from the front say that the troops in the trenches are dressed in black uniforms with large lapels. The flag is not the Army’s standard but rather the blue and white St. Andrew’s Cross."

Major General Hoppe was stunned, "Naval Infantry? Black Death?"

He looked toward his fellow academy classmate, Major General Schneider.

Schneider quickly waved his arms: "No, no, no, it was indeed mobilized troops yesterday! We had no idea the Black Death had joined the fight, absolutely no clue!"

Major General Hoppe cursed, "You’ve really done me in! Every member of the Black Death carries an assault rifle, their morale is high, their tactical movements are skilled, and they’re even sturdier than the average Ante soldiers. You’ve really done me in!"

He turned to the staff officer, "How big are the losses?"

"Still being tallied," the staff officer replied.

Major General Hoppe shook his head, "It seems we can only wait for the rain to stop, then try to press on using smoke bombs and twice the manpower! Your tanks need to join in as well, using the machine gun firepower and artillery to suppress the Black Death!"

Major General Schneider thumped his chest, "No problem, as long as we can cover the field of fire from those assault guns, my tanks can charge together with your grenadiers."

Major General Hoppe, "We’ll have to wait for fair weather then, but... will the weather clear up?"

"The weather forecast says moderate to heavy rain will continue until the end of this week." Pavlov placed the report in front of Wang Zhong, "Logistics will suffer, on both sides. We still have the railways and the ships, but the enemy is going to have a tough time."

Wang Zhong, "Too bad we can’t deploy planes to strafe the Prosen convoys stuck on the roads in this rain."

Popov, "We can only send out planes after the freeze, I hope the Prosens have prepared enough winter gear by then."

Just then, a communications officer ran over and said loudly, "Report, the train repair shop has fallen."

Wang Zhong, "Finally lost it, huh. Not bad, held out for a day and a half."

Pavlov, however, confirmed the details, "How did we find out it was lost? Was it reported by the 561st Division?"

The communications officer, "During our telephone call with the division headquarters, we heard Prosenese over the line, then the call was cut."

Popov sighed, "Seems like the division headquarters got taken out by the Prosens along with the rest."

General Wang stood up, walked over to the Abawahan city defense map, and personally erased the train repair shop, then pointed to the red "bun" on the Nameless Highlands and said, "This way, the first line of defense is now just this Nameless Highlands left, holding on now would turn it into a salient."

Pavlov, "But losing the Nameless Highlands, the enemy will have a good artillery observation post, and the fight after will become difficult. How about waiting a bit longer? The Nameless Highlands are close to the second line of defense, we could wait for the enemy to form a pincer movement around it before retreating."

Wang Zhong thought about it while looking at the map and asked Pavlov, "How much ammunition do you think the enemy has left? With their current rate of consumption, they must be running through their stockpiles, right?"

Pavlov thought and said, "Shouldn’t be much left, it’s just we don’t know how much they’ve replenished these last two days. Before the rain, the Air Force’s reconnaissance indicated that the enemy’s supply lines were recovering quickly, and they also set up anti-aircraft guns, making it difficult for the Air Force to attack with ease."

Wang Zhong nodded, "Then let’s have the Nameless Highlands hold out a bit longer and see, maybe by tomorrow the enemy will have to stop and wait for supplies."

Pavlov nodded, picked up the receiver, and began issuing orders.

Popov said to Wang Zhong, "The real pressure will come after the muddy weather ends, right?"

Wang Zhong, "Right, when the ground has just frozen over and it’s not very cold yet, the Prosens should be able to launch another charge."

Popov, "I hope our man-power issues are resolved by then."

Wang Zhong, "Don’t worry, they will be. Once the First Mobile Group Army arrives, everything will get better."

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