Arc of Fire

At Commando, Martin and Lieutenant Casey had just turned the 20-mm gun to aim at the bridge when the Balasians surged over like a tide.

Lieutenant Casey immediately sat down to fire, while Martin handled the magazine, keeping it stable.

This 20-mm gun was truly Prosen technology, firing slender-shelled bullets precision-manufactured by the Prosens.

When the first shell exploded amidst the enemy troops, the Prosen’s proud quality was evident, causing heavy casualties among the Balas soldiers.

Such slender-shelled bullets continued to be fired onto the densely packed formation on the bridge.

The Balasian soldiers were literally torn to bits and pieces.

But the Division Commander leading the charge was somehow not hit by the shrapnel and continued to charge forward toward the North Bank, brandishing his shining long sword.

Lieutenant Casey immediately turned the cannon’s aiming wheel, aiming the barrel at the Division Commander.

A 20-mm shell hit the Division Commander, blowing apart his upper body. Seeing this, the Balas soldiers immediately turned to run back, but those behind continued to charge forward. They ended up crushing each other on the bridge, with many people being squeezed out of the barriers and falling into the deep valley.

Then Lieutenant Casey turned the cannon again, but unfortunately the 20-mm caliber was still too small, unable to clear the bodies that were piling on the bridge.

The Lieutenant was having a good time, but suddenly the gun stopped firing.

"Load the gun quickly!" shouted Lieutenant Casey.

Martin shouted back, "Not my problem! The gun’s overheating caused a jam!"

Only then did the Lieutenant see that a spent cartridge case was stuck in the ejection port.

He quickly stood up, attempting to clear the jam, and then realized he hadn’t received relevant training and didn’t know how to clear a jam on a Prosen 20-mm gun.

"Shit, how do you clear a jam on this thing?"

Martin: "How should I know! Just pull something that looks like a handle first and see if you can get the stuck cartridge out!"

Casey hurriedly looked for a handle, found something that seemed about right, and pulled on it, only to hurt his hand on the first pull.

He screamed in pain, dropped the handle, and started to clutch at his bleeding palm with his left hand.

At that moment, Bagpiper Jonathan shouted, "The Balasians are charging again! What are you guys doing? Fire quickly!"

Martin continued trying to clear the jam, shouting, "It’s jammed! Who told me Prosen workmanship was so good it would never jam?"

The Balasians had already charged halfway.

Jonathan slung the bagpipes over his back, pulled out a longbow, drew it fully, aimed slightly, and released the bowstring.

An arrow struck the throat of a Balasian at the forefront, who then fell forward, clutching the arrowed spot.

Jonathan kept shooting arrows, continuously dropping Balasians, but because bows kill silently, and the arrows were invisible in the dark of night, the Balasians had no idea what was killing their comrades and kept charging fearlessly forward.

Jonathan kept firing arrows while shouting to the anti-aircraft gun position, "Clear the jam quickly!"

Martin: "I’m trying!"

By that time, Jonathan had run out of arrows, so he threw down the longbow and drew a curved sword.

He recited loudly from Macaulay’s "Lays of Ancient Rome": "Then out spake brave Heracles, the Captain of the Gate: To every man upon this earth, death cometh soon or late."

A Balasian charged Jonathan with a bayonet fixed rifle, but Jonathan dodged with a sidestep and then cleaved down the soldier’s back, who fell with blood spraying after staggering forward a few steps.

Jonathan: "And how can man die better than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods?"

Another Balasian charged at Jonathan but was silenced by a single slice to the throat, crashing down before he could thrust his spear.

Jonathan: "To save the tender wife; and from the hand of the spoiler to save the weeping mother, for the maiden’s sake that reared him in infancy, and for the wife who nurses his baby at her breast, a death of honor!"

As his chant ended, Jonathan’s curved sword once again swept across three throats. Seemingly to save effort, each strike aimed to be fatal. The corpses of the Balasians piled into a semi-circle around him, their blood from different bodies blending together.

Jonathan shouted loudly, "Consul, please, dismantle the bridge quickly. The enemy’s thousand soldiers on the bridge shall be held back by just three of us! Which two brave souls will join me in defending the bridge?"

As his words fell, the 20-mm autocannon roared again, and the slender-shelled bullets burst among the crowd.

Lieutenant Casey pressed the fire button with all his strength, his body shaking with the autocannon’s firing.

Lieutenant Casey: "Aaaahhh!"

Martin, responsible for loading, also shouted, stuffing five-round clips of ammunition into the feed continuously.

The shells continued to explode on the bridge, driving the enemy towards the South Bank.

Seeing this, Jonathan immediately dove into a bunker beside the bridge. He picked up his curved sword, examined it carefully, and noticed seven or eight notches on it, realizing it would probably break after a few more decapitations.

"It’s hard to say whether this hand-crafted scimitar is durable or not."

He took out the oilcloth and carefully wiped the bloodstains from the blade.

At this moment, the doctor also ran over, leaning against the same sandbag parapet, "Reinforcements are racing toward us at full speed."

Jonathan, "Are they coming in armored vehicles? That’s great."

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"No, they don’t have many armored vehicles, so the reinforcements are tanks. The good news is that the terrain of the Balas Plateau is very suitable for tanks to race across."

Jonathan, "And the bad news?"

Doctor, "Even without breakdowns, it’ll take them two and a half hours."

Jonathan glanced at the anti-aircraft gun, "We need to make them conserve ammo! Also, gather all the grenades. Is Joey still alive? He’s covering our rear, and he throws with the best precision!"

"I’ll go look." After saying that, the doctor, holding down his cap, dashed out of the shelter and sprinted towards the other Commando defenses.

Jonathan looked at the bridge again, "Two and a half hours... Damn it!"

August 30, 0100 hours, 110 kilometers from Fenny Valley, Ante Expeditionary Force special vanguard team.

Wang Zhong popped his upper body out of the turret, posing as if he was observing through binoculars.

In reality, he was using an overhead view to confirm the location of the enemy.

With his overhead perspective, he could even highlight landmines buried by the enemy, which is why he could now dash so recklessly.

Under normal circumstances, no commander would allow their troops to plunge headlong into enemy territory without reconnaissance and with unclear enemy information—too dangerous.

At any military academy, a student who submitted a battle plan like this would be used as a cautionary example by the professor.

Now standing behind Wang Zhong, Amelia was rebuking him, "It’s unbelievable that such a risky plan would definitely become a cautionary tale! It’s so dark now, can you even see anything through binoculars?"

Wang Zhong replied seriously, "I’m looking at the lights ignited by the enemy."

Amelia, "Do you think the enemy would order their vehicles to advance with their headlights on like you? If you drive with your headlights on in the enemy-occupied zone, and someone has anti-tank gun positions on the side of the road, you’re dead. And when I survive, I’ll write on your epitaph ’An Ante great general died of his own stupidity.’"

Wang Zhong laughed, and not to mention whether there was an anti-tank gun that could accurately shoot from outside his "illuminated" range and penetrate the frontal armor of a T34W. Even if there was such an anti-tank gun, seeing a convoy advancing with headlights on at night would surely cause doubt.

Therefore, he said to Amelia, "At the beginning of the war, just last year, I escaped from Ronied by using the method of traveling at night with my headlights on, and I safely passed through the Prosen Army that blocked our way.

"You have to know how to use the enemy’s fixed thinking. When everyone thinks it’s impossible to advance with headlights on in enemy territory, that’s when it’s safe to do so."

Amelia with her hands on her hips and looking askance at Wang Zhong’s profile, "Aren’t you the dean of Suvorov Military Academy? If a student submitted a homework assignment to have the troops drive through the enemy zone with their headlights on, would you give them any points?"

"No, they’d obediently get zero." Wang Zhong answered decisively, "That’s why I was last in my class at the military academy. But look, my classmate who got first place died last year without having achieved anything. And now I am Ante’s number one general."

Amelia, "But you would still give a student who proposed such a plan zero points?"

"Right, because a battle plan should not be based on the enemy’s negligence, but rather assume the enemy is broadly prepared. I used my headlights last time because I had no choice—if I could choose, I would never take such risks. The same is true now."

That was a lie; it was because of trust in the "external assistance."

But Amelia looked at Wang Zhong with newfound respect, "You’re a lot smarter and more cautious than you appear."

Wang Zhong, "Miss Amelia, I am a general tested by battlefields, not some incompetent office drone like those in the United Kingdom. I’ve personally killed many enemies with my Papasha, and I’ve even been surrounded by Prosens, hiding under the tank ready for the last struggle."

Amelia, "Why has the topic shifted to this? What does this have to do with being smart and cautious?"

"Of course, it does. Only those who return from Hell can be particularly smart and cautious because otherwise, they’d be dead," Wang Zhong stated gravely. "Dancing with the Grim Reaper is a dangerous affair."

Amelia nodded thoughtfully, "Hmm, you do have a point."

Wang Zhong smiled.

Amelia continued, "But rest assured, my perception of danger is very reliable; no one can ambush us."

Wang Zhong wanted to laugh—your perception? I can highlight a landmine 2.5 kilometers away; do you understand the concept of 2.5 kilometers?

But he kept control and said seriously, "Relying on you then. If this rescue succeeds, you’ll be the hero!"

Anyway, Wang Zhong wasn’t lacking in medals; giving one to a girl for happiness was no problem.

Amelia looked skeptically at Wang Zhong, "Really? I feel like even if I didn’t come, you could complete the rescue smoothly?"

Wang Zhong, "Yes, indeed so, but the risk would been much higher."

Amelia looking at Wang Zhong’s profile, "Eh, let’s just leave it at that then."

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