Arc of Fire

Chapter 634: Chapter 76 Pursuit

December 9th, the youth volunteer team of Badayev Village, following the directive of the parish, brought their own gathered dry food and crossed the frozen Valdai Hills River, setting up supply points on the main road.

The village militia acted as guards since there were reports of scattered enemy soldiers on both sides of the main road.

However, by evening, the young people had not seen any remnants of the Prosen fleeing soldiers.

It was only the soldiers from the Abawahan Front Army who kept advancing relentlessly.

All the troops were marching rapidly, grabbing food and water from the young people’s makeshift stalls as they passed, eating and drinking while they ran.

A young man couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you all in such a hurry?”

Most of the soldiers were busy eating and didn’t respond, except for a Military Chaplain who was grabbing some bread and answered, “The enemy is retreating, we are pursuing them, Admiral Rocossov has ordered us to advance at a run!”

After speaking, the priest also started running while eating, followed by his soldiers.

Not only the soldiers were running, but the accompanying nurses and the Quartermaster were too, and even the cooking team’s old lady with her iron pot kept on running.

Countless troops continuously marched past the main road.

The young men of Badayev Village could only watch the soldiers with envy.

Most of these young men were not yet of conscription age, but they had already experienced the horrors of war, burying relatives and friends killed by Prosen Air Force bombings, and they were eager to go to battle themselves to seek revenge against the Prosen invaders.

When Erik von Xiplin entered the temporary Headquarters, he frowned immediately, “This is just a latrine! Are we really setting up Headquarters in a place like this?”

The Deputy Officer said awkwardly, “This is the best house we could find, by the way, this is not a latrine, it is the main house of this household. The smell might be… might be because it hasn’t been cleaned in a while.”

Xiplin shook his head and turned to leave the room, stepping out into the yard: “Alright, alright, we’ll work from the car. The car has the warmth provided by the engine, anyway it’s better than this straw hut!”

Just as he finished speaking, the recently fallen night carried gunshots with it.

Xiplin looked up, “Where are the gunshots coming from?”

Deputy Officer: “From the west, the sound is coming from the west.”

"I know it’s coming from the west, I am asking how far it is from our location, specifically where!”

The Chief of Staff of the Army Group said, “It sounds close, no, it sounds really close by, we should receive a report soon

Before he could finish, intense gunfire erupted, and at this point, anyone could tell that the fight was taking place nearby.

Shortly after, the head of the Guard Corps ran over urgently, “I don’t know where they came from, but Prosen Cavalry is attacking us!”

General Sheeplin exclaimed, “What nonsense are you spouting! Of course, they came from the plains! Admiral Rocossov has a large number of Cavalry Troops, even Guard Cavalry. He has let these well-fed troops loose to chase us! Quickly organize a defense!”

At that moment, General Sheeplin heard the sound of horse hooves on the streets outside.

He swiftly assessed the situation, made a decisive move, and jumped onto the command tank belonging to the Army Group’s headquarters, patting the tank commander’s shoulder forcefully, “You get down, I’ll take this spot.”

The tank commander had just vacated when General Sheeplin climbed into the tank.

Just then, the sound of horse hooves passed in front of the courtyard gate, and two smoking grenades were thrown into the yard.

The explosion occurred almost immediately, knocking down many of the guards who were posted at the entrance.

Sheeplin ordered, “Reverse, smash through the wall behind us, and prepare to sweep the cavalry with firepower!”

The driver immediately executed the order, reversing the tank and smashing through the not-so-sturdy mud wall behind.

Once outside the courtyard, Sheeplin continued to order, “Turn right by 90 degrees! Aim the hull machine gun at the cavalry in front, open fire!”

The tank immediately turned, and at the same time, the cavalry also spotted the tank and charged toward it, the leading cavalryman having already taken out an Ante incendiary bomb and lighting the alcohol-soaked cloth stuffed in the bomb’s head while on horseback.

The cavalrymen, holding their incendiary bombs like torches, led their comrades’ charge.

The hull machine gun opened fire.

The Ante cavalryman was shot down, and the incendiary bomb shattered on the ground, turning into a large blaze.

The horses behind him, frightened by the flames, stopped and reared up, only to be knocked down by the machine gun fire.

Sheeplin called out, “Quick! Bring another tank out, back to back blocking both sides of the street. Also, call nearby troops via radio, quick!”

At that moment, Sheeplin heard the radio operator’s voice through his headset, “General, our tanks have radios, you can issue the orders yourself.”

"I don’t know today’s password!” Sheeplin cursed.

In this era, only the Federation had mastered rudimentary radio anti-eavesdropping and anti-interference technology. Other nations’ radios all had to use passwords, at least to hide the troop numbers and destination.

At that time, another tank was trying to exit the courtyard and got stuck while breaking through the wall, its tracks hanging in the air, wildly spinning.

Sheeplin cursed, “Damn, misfortunes never come singly! Quick, free this tank! First, dig out the earth wall blocking it! Fast!”

As Sheeplin spoke, he heard the sound of horse hooves approaching from the other side of the street, and each rider carrying a lit incendiary bottle, determined to completely burn the two Prosen tanks.

Sheeplin quickly climbed inside the tank, locking the hatch, and said to the gunner, “Aim at the crowd of enemies and fire!”

Gunner: “But, General

"Fire!” Xiplin shouted again.

The gunner reluctantly fired, and the result was that an armor-piercing shell bounced on the ground before flying off, only to be detonated by a delayed fuse after traveling a great distance.

Xiplin: “Why was it an armor-piercing shell?”

"We heard that Ante’s cavalry were maneuvering with armored troops, so we prepared to face the enemy’s armored forces.”

"Load a high-explosive shell, and fire when ready.”

Seconds later, the tank gun from the command tank fired, and the shell exploded between two cavalrymen.

However, the command tank was a modified version of the Panzer III, and most of the Panzer IIIs provided to Xiplin’s Army Group were still using the outdated 37mm gun.

After all, the main job of a command tank was commanding; its gun wasn’t important, and it wasn’t expected to confront enemy tanks head-on.

Now, however, this 37mm gun nearly cost Xiplin his life. The shell exploded between the two cavalrymen; logically, both should have been obliterated, yet one cavalryman fell, while the other continued charging, seemingly unscathed.

Xiplin got goosebumps, unaware of what kind of fierce battles these cavalrymen had endured to develop such a strong will to fight!

Fortunately, at that moment, the machine gun of the Guard Corps on the roof started sweeping fire, and gunfire from various locations unknowingly intensified quite a lot.

The commander of the Guard Corps yelled from atop the doorway to Xiplin, “Don’t be afraid, General, we’ve confirmed that it’s just a small platoon-sized unit. The attack will be repelled soon!”

Xiplin: “I know. But I feel that the situation is bad, send orders! The entire headquarters must safely leave this damned place and continue advancing towards Yeisk! We aim to reach the Suhayaweili River within two days!”

December 9th evening, Saint Ye Katerina Fortress, National Radio Broadcast.

Inside the main broadcasting studio, Olga didn’t know how many times she had checked her speech.

Tugenev: “Don’t be nervous, you’re not meant to recite it, just read it when the time comes.”

Olga with a distressed face: “I’m afraid I might not perform well in some areas, unable to inspire the national morale or undermine the enemy’s spirit.”

Tugenev: “The victory itself will lift spirits. You don’t need to worry too much, just let the people know we’ve won, and they will celebrate the hard-earned victory.”

Olga nodded, then asked, “The captured marshal’s scepter and such, is the exhibition arranged?”

Tugenev: “His Highness Belinsky has provided a large cathedral managed by the Church as the exhibition venue; the captured enemy armored vehicles are parked in the cathedral’s courtyard for the public to view.”

Olga looked pleased, then asked, “We’re not displaying the prisoners this time? Not parading them in the streets? I feel like that could be done again!”

Tugenev: “That was last year when the situation was urgent, and we needed some strong stimulation, or many people would have lost the confidence to continue the war.”

"So, we don’t need stimulation this year?”

Tugenev: “We do, that’s why you’re preparing to deliver a speech now.”

Then, a voice came through Olga’s headset from the director: “Get ready, 30 seconds to air. Your Majesty, as soon as you see me lower my hands, start reading.”

Olga swallowed nervously, “Alright! I’m ready.”

Wang Zhong checked the time and waved his hand, “Bring the radio over, let’s hear what His Majesty the Tsar is saying.”

Popov looked surprised, “You really don’t know?”

Wang Zhong: “How would I know? Telepathy? I deliberately avoided it yesterday.”

While they spoke, the radio was brought over, and the staff member who brought it said, “We have already tuned it to the right channel, you just need to listen.”

After speaking, he placed the device on the table and turned it on.

The melody of ‘The Holy War’ floated out from the speaker.

Wang Zhong could feel that everyone in the headquarters stopped for a moment, but they quickly resumed their work.

Suddenly, the music volume decreased, and a female announcer’s voice spoke, “Fellow countrymen, soldiers of the Ante Army, His Majesty the Tsar will now deliver a public speech.”

Then a static noise came from the speaker, making everything around Wang Zhong seem very quiet.

The static was interrupted by a similarly young female voice, “Eh? Can I speak now? Ah, hello everyone, I am His Majesty the Tsar…uh, I am Olga Nikolayevna Antonova.

"I am here to announce great news to all our people! The brave Abawahan Front Army, under the outstanding leadership of Admiral Rokossovsky, not only held off the Prosen Sixth Army Group’s attack but also counterattacked and surrounded the Sixth Army Group.

"Just yesterday, the Prosen Sixth Army Group surrendered to Admiral Rokossovsky. Marshal Frederick, the Army Group Commander, handed over his marshal’s scepter to Admiral Rokossovsky

Wang Zhong sighed, “His Majesty sounds like a little girl showing off a new doll she just got.”

Pavlov and Popov both laughed.

At that moment, a messenger rushed in and saluted Wang Zhong, “Report! Just now, the radio reported that General Kiriyenko’s vanguard attacked a place resembling a high-level headquarters, and the occupants had fled in a tank. A messenger is bringing the captured documents back to the Front Army Headquarters.”

Wang Zhong: “Tell Kiriyenko he’s done well! Keep it up, and if they encounter troops they can’t handle, bypass them and leave them to the mechanized troops behind!”

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