Arc of Fire

Chapter 621: Chapter 63 If Life Has Deceived You_2

Nelly gently stroked the hair of the girl sitting on the ground, “Maybe he really did sacrifice himself; this is his last visit to see you.”

Tatiana finally lost control and burst into loud sobs.

Nelly raised her head and suddenly noticed a meteor streak across the starry sky.

Then one meteor after another appeared, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

She hurriedly called to Tatiana, “Quick, look! Maybe this is the meteor shower Aleksei summoned for you.”

The girl lifted her head, but her blurred, tear-filled eyes couldn’t make out the stars.

She hurriedly wiped her tears, only to leave streaks of black marks on her face from her dirty hands.

"Really, a meteor shower Suddenly, Tatiana shivered, “I want to make a wish! Saint Andrew, please protect Alyosha, and if he has already sacrificed himself, then please bless me to fulfill his wish to invade Plowsonia.”

At that moment, the roar of engines came from the beachhead.

Nelly turned her head and saw a T34 tank loaded with fully armed infantry cross over the ice.

Someone was holding a flashlight, checking if there were any cracks in the ice.

More people heard the tank’s roar and poked their heads out of the trenches, looking toward the riverbank.

"The counterattack is starting!”

"It’s really starting!”

People whispered among themselves.

Four hours before the attack began.

In the occupied area of the Prosen Sixth Army Group, Captain Ivan knocked on the door of the farmhouse with the secret signal of three long, one short.

As soon as the last knock sounded, the door opened.

"Come in quickly,” said the woman who opened the door as she stepped aside, and the captain entered. Then the woman stepped out, glanced left and right, before returning to the house and closing the door.

After the 51st Tank Army’s last desperate assault, Captain Ivan had been hiding at the old woman’s house, maintaining contact with the workers at the nearby station, and taking every chance to go out and sabotage.

Tank operators were technically skilled soldiers capable of repairing tanks and handling demolitions, greatly enhancing the strength of the guerrilla forces.

Captain Ivan went down to the cellar, pushed aside the pots of pickled vegetables, and lightly tapped on the ground tile below, sending another coded signal.

The tile was immediately removed, revealing a ladder below.

Captain Ivan slipped down the ladder to see that their guerrilla group had assembled.

Everyone was surrounding a radio.

"Any news?” he asked.

The driver operating the radio shook his head, “No, nothing yet; they’ve just been playing music. Have you eaten?”

"No.”

"There’s some food over there.”

The captain turned his head and saw a large loaf of bread and sour cream on the table.

He walked over, tore off a piece of bread, and started eating it with sour cream.

At that moment, the music on the radio suddenly stopped, and the announcer said, “Next, we’ll play a special program for the people in the Occupied Area. Today is the Antean literature feature, we hope you don’t forget that you are Antean.

"The first piece, ‘I Meet You at Sunset,’ by Polok. I meet you at sunset, your oar breaking the silence of the river bend

Captain Ivan chewed on rye bread and asked, “Got any pickles?”

"No more, the Prosen soldiers came today and took everything, this rye bread was only spared because it was hidden in a secret spot.”

"Sukabule, those Prosen mutts, they’ll see what’s coming when we counterattack!”

At that moment from the radio, the broadcaster said, “Our second piece, ‘If life has deceived you,’ by Anonymous.”

Captain Ivan stopped, maintaining the pose of biting bread, and stared at the radio.

Everyone else in the room also halted their movements and fixed their gaze on the radio.

The broadcaster, “If life has deceived you, do not be sad, do not be enraged, believe that joyful days are soon to arrive. Winter has come, can spring be far behind?”

Captain Ivan threw the bread onto the table with a thud.

"Quick! Attack today!”

The driver turned off the radio, opened the secret compartment with weapons, and took out the hidden MP40s one after another, distributing them to everyone.

"Remember, any chaos we create will help the frontal attack! So give it your all, wreak havoc everywhere!” After arming himself, Ivan looked around the basement, surveying each face, “Either we’ll see each other in the Martyrs’ Cemetery, or in Plowsonia! Move out, Davarish!”

Five minutes before the attack.

Wang Zhong paced back and forth in the Headquarters.

"What’s the matter, getting nervous now at this time?” Popov teased.

Wang Zhong, “The most important thing I’ve learned over this past year is that, in this world, no battle ever unfolds according to plan. If something can go wrong, it will go wrong.”

As soon as he had finished speaking, Pavlov put down the handset, “All the troops are ready, we can begin now.”

Wang Zhong checked the time and said, “I want to address the whole army.”

Pavlov picked up the handset again, “The Commander wants to address the whole army, connect the phone to everyone.”

After a while, he handed the handset to Wang Zhong, “Ready.”

Wang Zhong picked up the handset, “Davarish, this is Alexei Konstantinovich Rokossovsky. Last year, also in winter, I personally commanded the counter-offensive around Yeburg, successfully encircling a hundred thousand enemy troops.

"Today, our target is the enemy’s Sixth Army Group, who, in addition to their original forces, have been reinforced by several army units arriving consecutively. There might be as many as four hundred thousand Prosens inside our intended encirclement.

"Furthermore, there are about two hundred thousand Moravian troops they consider as a servant army. And our forces committing to this offensive? One point two million.

"Earlier this year, the proud Prosenians claimed that it would take five Antean Warriors to kill one Prosen Soldier. According to that calculation, we are but eggs against rocks, destined to fail swiftly.

"I must admit, the Prosens are indeed excellent soldiers, and we truly lack experience in warfare; over the past year, we’ve performed very poorly.

"Maybe we really can’t digest these six hundred thousand Prosenians.

"But, after such a prolonged war of attrition, we’ve accumulated favorable conditions for annihilating the enemy. It’s like a concave mirror facing the scorching sun, the light intensified hundreds, thousands of times to one point, white-hot, it cannot but ignite!

"This so-called strategic battle is a gamble on the fate of the nation, the destiny of the army. The word ‘gamble’ is not pleasing, but I can find no better word to replace it!

"It’s just that—a snap of the fingers, and the bet is placed!”

Wang Zhong paused and glanced at everyone in the Headquarters.

He continued, “That is exactly why, as the moment approaches, my heart cannot help but thump. What’s the rationale here? What is the heart thumping for?

"We are not afraid of burning, we are not afraid of becoming white-hot! We are not afraid of scalding here, scalding there!

"Six hundred thousand Prosenian troops, they are undercooked rice in the pot; even if undercooked, we must swallow them down!

"Fire the artillery!”

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