Arc of Fire

Chapter 612: Chapter 55 Destruction

Wang Zhong knew that by now, there were no longer any Prosens with the will to resist inside the Post Office building.

A blast from that thing would likely leave anyone alive concussed.

But with everyone so enthusiastic, it seemed wrong to dampen their spirits.

After the onslaught had subdued any surviving Prosens, Wang Zhong urged, “Hurry, come out to load. This thing needs to be loaded from the outside, right?”

"Yes.” The gunner and the loader both climbed out of the prototype tank, opened the rear ammunition storage compartment, unfolded the vehicle’s built-in crane, and began loading.

Damn it, why is this annoyingly complicated loading procedure just like Earth’s Tiger Assault Gun?

But Wang Zhong reflected on himself, realizing that when he made the request, he indeed based it on the Tiger Assault Gun, so it was normal for the final product to bear some resemblance.

The only difference was that the Tiger Assault Gun was quite vulnerable to direct hits on its enormous gun muzzle, while this prototype vehicle had no such worries.

While the crew was loading, a major ran over and saluted Wang Zhong, “Report, General! The last remnants of the enemy Hoffman combat group have been wiped out! We’ve captured a few prisoners, and it seems they’re not in a state to be interrogated right now.”

Wang Zhong, “That’s none of your concern. Hand them over to the Tribunal. To prevent the enemy from employing such an elite blitzkrieg tactic again, we need to set up a solid defensive line. I think that café over there is perfect; set up a pair of machine guns, and we can control the entire street.”

The major glanced back, nodded, “Indeed, I’ll set up a machine gun nest inside right now.”

Wang Zhong, “Also be ready with the anti-tank guns, as the enemy’s armored strength is still formidable.”

"Yes. Any other instructions?”

Wang Zhong considered, then shook his head, “No. I was last in my class at the military academy, as you all know.”

The major laughed heartily, “We do know that. But now you’re our finest General! A magician of the battlefield!”

Wang Zhong, “If I were a magician, I wouldn’t have had to sacrifice so many men. I merely took advantage of the terrain, the weather, and a bit of advanced awareness, that’s all. Go and carry out your task. Once I finish loading, I will move forward.”

The major saluted, but instead of immediately leaving, pointed ahead and said, “The enemy’s current tactic is to establish a series of tactical strongpoints and then attack us from those positions.”

Wang Zhong, “That’s great. We can take out their strongpoints one by one. Organize a platoon of soldiers to cover our advance.”

Actually, there was no need for it, as Wang Zhong would spot any enemy presence instantly.

But still, appearances had to be kept.

The major, “Understood! And I can assign a Guide to you

"I will!” The child who had been engrossed in watching the loading suddenly turned, “I know this city like the back of my hand! I even know the sewers!”

Wang Zhong patted the child’s shoulder, “We have our most reliable little Guide!”

The major looked at Wang Zhong in surprise, carefully examining the child’s clothes, then laughed, “A maintenance worker’s child from the sewers, right? He must indeed be familiar with certain parts of the city, but

The child, “I’ve cycled all around town since I usually deliver milk and newspapers for the Church. No one knows the city better than I do.”

Wang Zhong, “Trust our little warrior, Major Davarish. Carry out your orders.”

"Yes.”

Soon, a platoon of warriors assembled beside the prototype tank, and the major somehow unearthed four Jeeps from the rubble for the soldiers to use.

Wang Zhong, “Take radios with you. Have one squad scouting ahead, but don’t go beyond five hundred meters from us.”

As my highlight range is 2500 meters, you’d be at risk if you go too far.

"The other two squads, follow behind in vehicles. Remember, this prototype tank is very reliable up front. It’s designed to withstand enemy PAK40 anti-tank gun fire and advance to a distance of 500 meters before launching rockets. Don’t think about using your fragile bodies to shield me from shells; it’s unnecessary,” Wang Zhong sternly advised.

"Got it, General. We’ve seen for ourselves how your tank deflects enemy shells,” the platoon leader grinned, “This is great, why didn’t we have this thing sooner?”

The loading gunner added, “It was just built. His Majesty said it was needed here, so it was sent over. The tank hasn’t gone far in tests; we were worried it might break down after just one run on the battlefield, that would be embarrassing.”

Wang Zhong, “Then pray to the Omnissiah.”

"Pray to what?” the gunner and loader looked puzzled.

Wang Zhong shrugged, “Just finish loading!”

"Done, it’s already done,” the gunner said as he closed the lid of the ammunition storage and gestured to the loader.

The loader quickly slipped through the hatch like a gymnast, entering the tank.

The gunner also went through the hatch, then turned to look at the small “Guide,” “Aren’t you coming in?”

"I need to give directions, and I have names to write on the bombs.”

Wang Zhong, “Haven’t you finished yet?”

"I haven’t managed to deliver these Soldier’s ID tags back to the Church yet. I’ve gathered two batches in the last two days. How can I finish writing, General, how can I?”

The child muttered while picking up a brush and starting to write on the rockets.

Wang Zhong took a deep breath and ordered, “Move out, we’re heading to the nearest enemy strongpoint.”

Prosen Army’s 580th Infantry Regiment, with Major Rozelle taking over command from the regimental leader, had their headquarters in the sturdy structure of a telephone exchange.

On top of the telephone exchange, there was special equipment from the Anteans that seemed to be called a Sound array. When the 580th Infantry Regiment reported upwards, they were simply told that a large number of Sound arrays had been captured and there was no need to hand over any new ones.

With the telephone exchange as their base, the 580th Regiment had been attempting to clear May 5th Street and Labor Day Street, as well as the complicated maze of alleyways around, for several days. However, Anteans would emerge wave after wave, and houses cleared the day before would hide new Ante Warriors by the next day, always ready to strike Prosen Soldiers with Papashas and hand grenades.

Ante Warriors would even hide in rooms charred by fire, lying next to those blackened corpses, just to take a few Prosen Soldiers down with them.

This was a tactic Major Rozelle had never encountered before.

It was an absolute exchange of life for life, as long as not every Antean was killed, they would just keep on coming endlessly.

Major Rozelle had even seen Antean children pretend to beg for food, only to throw grenades among the Prosen Soldiers as they gathered for a meal.

Their disregard for life left Major Rozelle in awe, as if their lives were meant for one thing only: revenge against the Prosens.

Once, Major Rozelle had questioned a captured Ante Warrior who had tried to pull the pin on a grenade in the end, but the grenade malfunctioned.

Rozelle asked him, “You die thus meaninglessly, becoming nothing but medals for generals!”

The warrior spat, scornfully responding, “So what? When the war started, my twin daughters had just been born. I went to get their birth certificate, and when I returned, they, along with my wife and my parents, had been blown up by you.

"Let the generals take their medals, fuck your mother, I just want to kill you all, every single one!”

Major Rozelle found himself at a loss on how to face this angry Antean father.

He said, “If we hadn’t attacked, you would have, so this is a preventative war

"Maybe so, but you attacked first, you slaughtered civilians first. When you get slaughtered later, don’t fucking ask us for mercy.” The warrior paused, then sneered, “General Rocossov is too merciful, not letting us kill those who surrender. In my opinion, all of you should die.”

In the end, Major Rozelle ordered the warrior to be shot on the spot.

He saw in this man a possibility, one that made him restlessly anxious.

After Prosen’s defeat, an Ante army fueled by revenge would march into Prosen territory, and it was terrifying to contemplate what would happen then.

Would there be any survivors in Prosen territory?

Thus, this war could not be lost; Major Rozelle strived to instill this thought in his warriors.

Perhaps it was this belief that had kept the warriors going this far in the blood-soaked meat grinder.

Without defeating Ante, Prosen had no future.

Then, at noon that day, a terrifying phenomenon occurred.

A new sun rose from the ground.

The massive mushroom cloud could be clearly seen even from such a distance.

By the time the shock wave reached the Post Office, it had lost most of its force, but having witnessed many explosions before, Major Rozelle immediately realized how powerful the initial blast must have been.

The telephone rang.

Communication with the division headquarters had been sporadic during this period.

Rozelle immediately answered the phone, “580th Battalion!”

"Did you see that mushroom cloud? What is that?” the Division Commander asked.

"I don’t know.” Rozelle could only respond, “We don’t know what it is, possibly Ante’s secret weapon, or perhaps just a bomb with a large yield. The explosive yield might even exceed 500 kilograms.”

The Division Commander was silent for a few seconds, then said, “We intercepted Ante’s radio communication; General Rocossov has moved to the front himself. You have anti-tank guns, kill him!”

After speaking, the Division Commander hung up.

Rozelle clicked his tongue, his expression becoming grave as he handed the receiver back to the operator.

Operator: “What did the Division Commander order?”

Rozelle: “He wants us to kill Rocossov.”

"What? The Hoffman battle group, with so many people, couldn’t do it, we’re already down to half a battalion, how could we possibly

Before Rozelle could answer, someone rushed in to report, “Look! An unidentified enemy heavily armored unit has appeared! It’s flying a Red Flag!”

Rozelle immediately looked out the window and indeed saw a solidly built heavy armored vehicle approaching, a Red Flag hanging from its antenna.

He picked up the binoculars and saw painted on the vehicle the tactical number 422, and the tank commander peeking from behind the tank hatch indeed had the stars of a general!

Rocossov!

Rozelle: “Quick, all anti-tank guns, aim at that vehicle! Fire! Fire as quickly as you can!”

The order was quickly carried out; in fact, the elite anti-tank gun crews had already identified the most threatening target and swiveled their guns even before his command.

Armor-Piercing Shells hit the cumbersome armored vehicle one after another but were all deflected by its highly angled front armor.

The vehicle continued to advance to a distance of 500 meters.

Then, a “Novae” rose from behind the vehicle, trailing smoke as it headed towards the building where Rozelle was located.

He watched as the object smashed through a nearby window, crashed into the floor, and pierced through—perhaps even to the floor below that.

The next moment, the floor bucked, and as it surpassed the limits of its torsional strength, the steel framework, wood, and other materials of the floor erupted upwards.

Flames engulfed Rozelle.

A surviving photograph was whipped up by the wind, burned to ashes in the air, and reduced to scattered embers.

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