Arc of Fire

Wang Zhong finished speaking and looked at the local tribal leader in the fading light of the setting sun.

He noticed that the leader was wearing a rather exquisite mechanical watch, clearly not something that could be produced in the backward country of Balas.

"Hello," the leader began, "I am Bahram, the chief of the local tribe. I thank the general for coming to rescue us from dire straits."

Wang Zhong replied, "Rescue from dire straits? Is the Royal Family of Balas somewhat... anthropomorphic?"

Bahram’s wrinkled face twitched, as if all his wrinkles were about to squeeze together, "Balas is a poor country, but the Royal Family lives in luxury. Our tribe has embraced the ideas of the Secular faction. We want to live like human beings, just like the Royal Family."

Living like human beings, it was a simple phrase, vague indeed, but to Wang Zhong, this austere wish was enough to motivate a rebellion.

However, he immediately thought that the United Kingdom did not want to liberate the tribal people; their proposal was to replace the King.

Wang Zhong looked toward Colonel Benjamin of the United Kingdom.

The Colonel smiled, "I know what you’re thinking. Don’t worry, the prince we want to promote is people-oriented and ready to reform. It’s precisely because of this that Grand Patriarch Belinsky could agree to this candidate."

Wang Zhong said, "I hope that’s true. But right now, I’m skeptical about the accuracy of your intelligence. Today we encountered the regular Prosen Army. If it hadn’t been for the first-to-land Naval Infantry Brigade 393 and our battle-tested anti-tank gun troops, we would have been driven back into the sea!"

If the landing had been by the 8000-strong Infantry Division, which lacked training and had a severe shortage of officers, the Prosen people would have definitely pushed the landing forces back into the sea.

Colonel Benjamin responded, "This level of intelligence error is considered acceptable in espionage. Considering transportation issues, the number of Prosen people in Balas wouldn’t be too many.

"And look, they were using our Crusader Tanks and Matildas, not the Long-barreled Fours they are more proficient with and..."

Wang Zhong pointed to the collapsed temple, "And 88mm guns! If it weren’t for the Whirlwind’s exceptionally reliable frontal armor, my elite tank troops would have suffered losses!"

"It’s not confirmed to be 88mm guns yet," Colonel Benjamin smiled.

Wang Zhong retorted, "I’m a hundred percent sure it was an 88mm gun! Do you think I would label every powerful artillery as an 88mm gun like the Federation forces?"

And call every formidable tank a Tiger, but Wang Zhong didn’t say this out loud.

Colonel Benjamin happily joined Wang Zhong in mocking the Federation, "Hahaha, you also know about the Mamluk front, right? The U.S. Military’s advance team really mistook all long-barreled artillery for 88mm guns!"

Misidentifying enemies seemed to be a recurring theme with the Federation forces, both Navy and Army.

The American Navy once mistook a randomly encountered Destroyer for a Chokai-class light cruiser or a Myoko-class heavy cruiser, with each ship in the fleet identifying it differently.

Wang Zhong shook his head and continued to speak to Bahram, "We need to advance to the capital as quickly as possible and require your assistance in providing guides."

Bahram patted his chest, "Leave it to us. Our best hunters and shepherds will serve you, even ensuring a guide for every company!"

"Thank you." Wang Zhong thought for a moment, feeling there was nothing more to say, he decided to end the conversation.

At that moment, Bahram said, "General Rocossov, you must be careful of the Royal Archmage’s witchcraft, be extremely cautious!"

Wang Zhong and his officers exchanged glances, then he asked, "What kind of witchcraft? Is the Archmage also capable of summoning plagues?"

And then thwarted by Penicillin.

Bahram replied, "They can bring the dead back to life and summon armies from Hell!"

Wang Zhong frowned and turned to shout, "Popov! Come here!"

Popov quickly came over, "What’s up?"

"Call Su Fang and Yeca Neiko, oh and also call Miss Amelia from the United Kingdom over, get them here quickly. I need some experts in mystical affairs." ṚΑɴỖβЕꞨ

Popov nodded, turned, and issued the orders. Soon, Su Fang, Yeca Neiko, Amelia, and for some reason also Katyusha, who followed along, stood before Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong said, "This Bahram claims that the King’s Archmage can revive the dead and summon armies from Hell. What do you think?"

Miss Emilia spoke first, "Death capture might be a kind of stimulant that makes soldiers fearless and ferocious in appearance, and they act as if nothing had happened after being injured, looking as if the dead had been resurrected. When the United Kingdom was at war with the Zulu, I saw something similar."

"Of course, this stimulant might have a bit of a mystical element, but it can generally be considered a very strong stimulant."

After Emilia finished, Su Fang chimed in, "The army summoned from Hell might be dressed in bizarre attire, with poison added to the water and mushrooms put in our food."

Wang Zhong remarked, "Skip the first part, though it has some fantasy elements, but putting mushrooms... that’s just a letdown, isn’t it?"

Does that mean everyone from Yunnan can summon an army from Hell through magic? Eating mushrooms lets dogs talk and even see the dead, with little green men dancing everywhere.

Su Fang shrugged, "In Ante, the Church system studied these local legends, Forest Wraiths are just strangely-shaped branches seen at night, and the witchcraft of wild witches comes from eating too many mushrooms."

Wang Zhong felt like the team from ’Exploring Science’ had caught up with him through a tear in space.

Su Fang continued, "Actually, the Druid magic that summons dense fog is already one of the more reliable things among these supernatural tales, since the fog really does form."

Wang Zhong added, "But those researchers cannot summon any fog outside of the plains of Nan’ant."

"Right," Su Fang nodded.

Emilia agreed, "So-called mysteries are often just like that."

Wang Zhong queried, "And your extrasensory perception?"

Emilia replied, "It’s hard to explain to you, but I can sense the position of the enemy; for instance, if there’s an enemy diving in from my six o’clock direction, I feel like I’ve been zapped by static electricity inside."

Wang Zhong had initially thought Emilia’s abilities were like the third-person perspective in War Thunder, but now from her description, it sounded more like the New Humans in Gundam—able to sense danger and even the malice of others.

But Wang Zhong was still a bit uneasy, so he continued to ask, "Miss Emilia, are you really from the United Kingdom?"

"Of course," Emilia replied, a bit annoyed, "Why would you ask that? Don’t you trust my background?"

She didn’t seem to be lying, but Wang Zhong struggled to distinguish truth from lie when it came to beautiful women.

So Wang Zhong tried a different question, "Is it common for witches like you to have this condition?"

"It’s fairly common among witches, but witches themselves aren’t common."

Wang Zhong confirmed again, "How many witches are there now?"

"There are publicly a hundred, but how many there are secretly, I don’t know. That’s the United Kingdom’s highest secret, guarded well by the King’s tailors."

Wang Zhong thought, publicly a hundred witches – if they were all transmigrators, it would have caused a world-shaking change by now, but as far as he could tell, the only fellow townsman was perhaps Saint Andrew.

The abilities of Emilia didn’t seem like Wang Zhong’s external plug-in; perhaps this plug-in was a unique "privilege" for transmigrators.

While Wang Zhong was contemplating this, little Katyusha couldn’t help but ask, "Who is this big sister with a foreign vibe?"

"Big, big sister?" Emilia exclaimed, "I’m only twenty years old!"

Katyusha retorted, "That has nothing to do with age! So who are you exactly, and why do you seem so close to the General? Are you the General’s lover?"

Wang Zhong rebuked, "Katyusha, we’re discussing serious matters, don’t interrupt."

Katyusha pouted.

It seemed that after a year of war, Prayer Hand Katyusha was still the same little girl.

Then Su Fang said, "I remembered some research records from our side, there’s another possibility—the so-called army from Hell might be tamed bears or gorillas, just paint their fur a terrifying color, give them stimulants, let them smell something with our scent, or deliberately scatter something with a strong scent on our army to guide them to attack us."

Emilia snapped her fingers, "Indeed, that’s a possibility, and these animals could carry diseases like malaria, initiating an outbreak while attacking."

Wang Zhong concluded, "I see, I think I have an idea now."

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