Cannon Fire Arc

Chapter 973: Chapter 21: Reunion with an Old Friend

Wang Zhong patted Bucephalus’s neck and turned to glance at the headquarters’ gate.

At that moment, Bucephalus’s caretaker drove a jeep into the headquarters, shouting, “Marshal! Your horse ran off again! Oh, has it already arrived? Our jeep couldn’t even catch up!”

Sergeant Gregory: “My transport has also arrived.”

Wang Zhong thought for a moment, mounted the horse, and then realized he didn’t have a riding whip.

However, Bucephalus didn’t seem to need a whip; it knew when to move forward and when to stop.

Wang Zhong grabbed the reins, and before he even kicked the horse’s belly, the horse bolted, directly jumping over the car-blocking bar at the headquarters’ entrance.

“Head west! To Plowsonia’s city center!” Wang Zhong shouted.

The white horse neighed loudly and galloped wildly toward the west.

Wang Zhong heard an engine roar behind him and turned to see Sergeant Major Gregory, accompanied by three fully armed soldiers, chasing after him in a jeep.

Bucephalus also glanced back at the jeep and disdainfully quickened its pace.

The road was packed with troops advancing toward Plowsonia.

Wang Zhong shouted to the marching troops by the roadside, “Davarish! The vanguard is less than ten kilometers from the city center! If you don’t speed up, you won’t make it!”

The soldiers turned their heads to look, and one sergeant joked, “Why are you alone? Aren’t you fake marshals supposed to travel in groups?”

Well, Vasily’s psychological warfare tactics were no secret among their own ranks; who knows how much longer they could deceive the Prosens.

But judging by the chaotic state of Prosen now, it felt like Vasily’s tricks weren’t even necessary anymore.

Wang Zhong contemplated this as he galloped past the troops, with the jeep behind him kicking up a thick cloud of dirt and snow.

Suddenly, someone in the marching column shouted, “Hey, look at that sergeant major in the jeep—he has two Venus medals! There aren’t many infantrymen who get two Venus medals! One of them is even for being the marshal’s personal guard platoon leader!”

The crowd quickly turned their heads, but Sergeant Gregory’s jeep had already sped ahead, leaving only exhaust fumes in sight.

The soldiers immediately started discussing:

“Could it be the marshal himself?”

“We did just pass the main command post—this horse came from there!”

“The deception troops should be at the front now!”

“Uh-oh, it’s the real deal!”

The military chaplain of the troops saw this and loudly shouted, “Davarish, the marshal has gone ahead of us! We can’t lag behind—run—march!”

A large group started sprinting.

————

Ante Headquarters, 51 kilometers from Plowsonia City Center.

“He ran off again?” Pavlov raised his head. “How did he even do it? Did a plane land directly in front of the headquarters? I didn’t hear any engine noise!”

The Guard Corps commander reporting the incident looked embarrassed: “The marshal’s white horse jumped over the wall and ran to the marshal. We thought it might be a manifestation of Saint Andrew, so we were busy praying and didn’t stop it.”

Pavlov: “Was it prayer that kept you from stopping it, or did you just not want to?”

Guard Corps commander: “Both—uh, no, it was prayer that kept us from stopping it.”

Pavlov sighed: “Fine, if he dies in the battle to conquer Plowsonia, it would have a certain romantic allure.”

Popov: “But if he survives, everyone will just start calling him Saint Rocosov.”

Pavlov nodded: “True.”

Popov: “Are you… thinking of calling it quits? I may not be proficient in military affairs, but as third in command, I can barely hold down the fort until the new Chief of Staff arrives.”

Pavlov: “How could I possibly quit under such circumstances? What if a good situation turns bad because I step down?”

Popov: “Indeed, you make a valid point!”

Pavlov: “But this habit of the Commander always running to the frontlines must be addressed seriously. Even if he makes it back alive, he should offer a public apology to the entire nation!”

“Yes, yes,” Popov nodded repeatedly. “You’re absolutely right.”

————

Meanwhile, in the southwest of Prosen, Siegfried Line.

The Federation’s Third Infantry Division had been stalled in front of the line for three days.

Division Commander General Gary was interrogating a captured colonel.

General Gary: “Colonel, do you know that Ante is about to capture your capital, Plowsonia?”

The colonel replied in Onsar, “Of course we know.”

General Gary: “Then why haven’t you surrendered yet? Aren’t you worried about Antean reprisals?”

Colonel: “Of course we’re worried.”

General Gary: “You only answered the second question. How about the first one? Why haven’t you surrendered? The royal families of the United Kingdom and your Prosen are related, aren’t they? Half a century ago, the Queen of the United Kingdom was still your Emperor’s cousin.”

Colonel: “So what? That didn’t stop the United Kingdom from stabbing us in the back. Anteans may seek revenge, but they defeated us, whereas you are our defeated inferiors. Even now, you still can’t break through our line!

No, the glorious Prosen Army refuses to surrender to defeated adversaries.”

General Gary roared angrily: “This is utterly irrational! Anteans could only beat you thanks to the supplies we sent them!”

“If that’s the case, then wouldn’t you, having more supplies from the Federation, be even stronger?” the colonel coolly replied. “But I don’t feel it. My unit is just a second-tier force in Prosen, without many veteran soldiers returning from the Eastern Front’s purgatory, yet we’re still keeping you stuck here.”

The general was silent for a few seconds, then threw out, “See what intel you can extract,” before storming out of the interrogation room and lighting a cigarette outside.

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