Arc of Fire

Chapter 714: Chapter 52 The Beech of the Hometown

July 11th, the third day of the counterattack, 1130 hours.

The 63rd Infantry Army Group Headquarters was on the move, and the new headquarters location was selected in the former mining city of Basque.

It was difficult to say whether the choice of headquarters location involved the Commander’s personal preferences.

Admiral Eugene rode in the Jeep leading the entire headquarters column.

As the vehicle climbed a small hill, the city suddenly unfolded on the distant horizon.

Admiral Eugene shouted, “Stop! Stop right here!”

The driver braked, and the Jeep stopped, followed by the entire headquarters column.

Admiral Eugene stood up, perched on the Jeep seat, and raised his binoculars to observe the city on the horizon.

"No. We all evacuated, but some elderly people from our fellow miners’ families didn’t want to leave and chose to stay,” sighed Admiral Eugene. “Those elders experienced the war with Anatolia when they were young, having a weaker sense of nation and ethnicity. They liked the Doctor Sausage from the church store, but it didn’t matter much if it wasn’t available.”

Security guard: “Do you know if those elders are still alive?”

"We will know soon,” Admiral Eugene put down his binoculars. “There are signs of people moving in the city, and I saw crowds gathering. Don’t be complacent, stay alert! We are entering the city!”

After speaking, he sat back down and patted the back of the driver’s seat.

The vehicle immediately started, sliding down the slope as if chasing the wind across the plains.

As they approached the city, Admiral Eugene clearly saw crowds gathered along the road, holding flowers aloft.

Guards deployed by the troops that had entered the city earlier were mingling among the crowd, their necks also draped with flowers.

A T34W tank was parked by the roadside, with several officers standing in front of it.

Admiral Eugene’s Jeep drove up to the tank and stopped, and several officers came forward to greet him, the leading Colonel saluting first: “General! The 71st Guards Infantry Regiment has occupied Basque City without encountering any Pulosen forces. There are some severely wounded Pulosen personnel in the city hospital, which our medics have taken over.”

Eugene nodded, “Understood. Take good care of the wounded; that’s what General Rocosov intends. We need to proceed with the selection of the headquarters site, have you found any intact buildings?”

Colonel: “We found that the miners’ cinema is well-preserved. According to the projectionist, they even showed a movie a few days ago—a Pulosen film boasting of their cultural and martial prowess!”

Eugene’s expression turned reflective, “The miners’ cinema, huh? The one next to the church?”

"Ah? Oh, the ruins next to it are the church. The Pulosen people flattened the church with a bulldozer,” the Colonel said indignantly. “Those bastards truly deserve to die!”

Eugene: “Indeed, they do deserve death! I want to see the cinema; is the road clear?”

"Of course.”

Eugene immediately patted the driver’s seat, “Get to the back, I’ll drive.”

The driver promptly exited the vehicle, and Eugene climbed over the back of the seat and settled down on it himself, not minding sitting directly on his own footprint.

While pulling up the handbrake, Eugene suddenly remembered something and asked the welcoming Colonel, “Did you organize the crowd by the roadside?”

"No,” the Colonel said with a wry smile, “somehow the news got out that General Rocosovsky is setting up headquarters in the city. Despite our denials, everyone is convinced that they’ll soon see General Rocosovsky.”

Eugene looked at the crowd and smiled, “No wonder. I was wondering why I’d have such renown.”

With that, he lightly pressed the accelerator, and the Jeep smoothly started, passing by the tank.

People along the road threw flowers towards Eugene’s Jeep.

An enthusiastic young woman caught up with the Jeep, wrapping her arms around Eugene’s neck and planted a kiss.

Eugene: “Thank you, thank you! Lady, I can’t drive like this!”

He lightly increased the gas, and as the vehicle sped up, the woman finally let go of him.

As a second girl approached, Eugene shouted, “I’m not Rocosovsky! Look at the stars clearly! Rocosovsky has five stars on his epaulettes! Five!”

The girl hesitated, carefully checking the stars on Eugene’s epaulettes.

Eugene took the opportunity to accelerate, weaving the Jeep through the crowd.

After entering the city, signs of war appeared. Half of the buildings along the road were damaged, some had been ruined for a long time, with ivy and green moss growing on their walls.

Further ahead, Eugene suddenly saw a woman crying and yelling by the roadside, a group of elders holding her shoulders to restrain her, and a barber-like person was using clippers to shave her head.

Eugene stopped and shouted loudly, “What’s going on with this woman?”

One of the elders saluted Eugene, “General, this slut has had an affair with the Pulosen people! She even betrayed the guerrilla fighters hiding in Peter’s house!”

The woman shouted, “What could I do! My child needed food!”

Eugene: “Couldn’t you have evacuated with the church? Women with children receive priority.”

The woman fell silent.

Old man: “She thought the Pulosen people would win! God damn it, we old folks stayed back to not take up valuable transportation resources! She stayed because she wanted to be a Pulosen person!”

Eugene: “Alright! Even if she’s at fault, she should be tried. Hand her over to the judges.”

Upon hearing the word ‘judge,’ the woman trembled and a look of terror appeared on her face.

Eugene gently pressed the accelerator and stopped looking at the fool standing against the tide of history.

The Jeep drove through the street and headed straight for the cinema.

But just before reaching the cinema, Eugene sharply turned the steering wheel and drove into an alley.

The crowd by the roadside, taken by surprise, curiously gathered at the corner to peer into the alley.

Eugene continued until he reached an old three-story building, where he finally eased off the accelerator and hit the brakes.

After the car stopped, he solemnly got out and looked up at the beech tree in front of the building.

The old tree had many branches broken by shrapnel, and its trunk was full of bullet holes, indicating how fierce the battle had been there before.

Eugene stood under the tree staring at those bullet holes, as if turning into a statue.

The Guardsman asked in confusion, “Admiral, what is it?”

"This beech tree, it has been here since I can remember. It’s the only beech tree in this city, so in the fall, many people come to see its leaves. You know, beech leaves turn very beautiful in autumn.”

Guardsman: “I didn’t know, all we have back home are birch trees and birch trees.”

Admiral Eugene muttered, “Then you should definitely come see it in autumn.”

Saying so, he took a step forward.

There used to be a brick wall at the edge of the tree, but now the wall was completely dilapidated, and the soil that the wall had enclosed was gone, leaving a significant portion of the tree’s roots exposed.

Admiral Eugene had to step on part of the roots to place his hand on the mottled tree bark.

He gently touched the bullet holes, only to find that there were no bullets inside.

"All the bullets have been taken by me,” a childish voice suddenly came from behind the tree.

Eugene slightly tilted his head to look behind the tree, spotted a canvas covering the roots, and a little face peeking from between the canvas and roots.

Admiral Eugene hesitated, then asked, “Kaja?”

"How do you know me?”

Eugene pointed to the nearby building, “I’m Eugene from the third floor of this building, remember?”

"Uncle Eugene?” The little girl lifted the canvas and stood up, widening her eyes, “Oh, it really is Uncle Eugene! I hardly remembered what you looked like.”

Eugene: “Of course, you were only five when we left; it’s not your fault.”

Kaja blinked and pointed at Eugene’s shoulder insignia, “Are you an important official?”

"I’m an Admiral, and all these troops around us are mine,” Eugene replied.

Kaja: “Then, between you and General Rokossovsky, who is higher?”

"General Rokossovsky is the boss of us all,” Eugene quickly changed the subject, “Why haven’t you evacuated?”

"My mom wanted to take me, but she was killed by a bomb. Uncle Panjelayevich took me in. He wanted to send me on the evacuation bus, but the station was bombed. Finally, the last Priest to stay was handing out weapons, saying it was no longer possible to leave.”

Eugene: “So you stayed behind?”

"Yep!” Kaja smiled, “I’m small, the Prosens didn’t expect me to deliver messages to the guerrillas! I also took these bullets and gave them to the guerrillas; they need the materials on the bullets to make new ones, otherwise they can’t shoot far!”

Eugene’s Guard immediately said, “Is it chromium and nickel?”

Kaja: “I don’t know. They just said they needed these; iron alone doesn’t shoot far!”

Eugene reached out and gently stroked Kaja’s head, “You did well. Where is Uncle Panjelayevich now?”

"Last year, the Prosens found him and hanged him. Since then, I’ve been hiding here. People around here secretly give me food, and sometimes they ask me to deliver messages to the guerrillas.”

Eugene’s mouth twitched slightly, then he touched Kaja’s head and said, “General Rokossovsky has established a school especially for children like you, providing the best education, called Zhongsi Academy. I’ll write you a recommendation letter, take it and go join this academy in Yeburg!”

"Can I go even though I’m a girl?”

"Of course.”

After a brief hesitation, Eugene asked, “By the way, do you know what happened to Miss Anastasia who lives next door at number 41?”

Kaja shook her head, “I don’t know; there was no such person.”

"Alright,” Eugene sighed.

Kaja: “Was she someone dear to you?”

"She was my… well… you might not know, but my wife passed away before the war started, and Anastasia was a very good friend of mine

Kaja: “You wanted to marry her!”

Eugene nodded.

"But it seems impossible now; she is probably

The Admiral rose his head, gazing at the old tree which was still leafless in the peak of summer and said no more.

The summer sunshine penetrated the bare branches and fell on him.

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