Cannon Fire Arc

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Wang Zhong, leading the recon team himself, had just set out when he heard a horse's whinny from behind.

Turning around, he saw Bucephalus catching up with light steps as if overtaking an internal combustion engine vehicle was a trivial matter.

Wang Zhong, surprised, asked Vasily, "What happened? The stables bombed again? Stop the car, stop the car, wait a moment!"

The vehicle came to a sudden halt, and as a result, Bucephalus, unable to contain its momentum, slipped forward, skidding on the ground and struggling for a while before standing up, looking at Wang Zhong.

Vasily asked, "I'm not very familiar with horses. Can a normal horse do this too?"

Grigori shook his head, "No, a normal horse would definitely have fractured its shinbone doing that, and even if the injury was minor, it wouldn't be able to run freely afterward, only fit for breeding, not fit for war."

Wang Zhong said, "It must be because the grass on the ground is thick, so it cushioned the fall, it has to be that way! You have to believe in science!"

At least wait until I and the horse have been gone for a hundred years before saying things like "an undying loyalty that turns a horse into a heroic spirit."

But really, if there truly are mysterious forces in this world, perhaps Bucephalus is also protected by quantum mechanics.

Bucephalus walked up to Wang Zhong and started chewing on his hat.

At that moment, two riders caught up to the unit; the lieutenant leading them said, "Sorry, General, your horse ran off while we were moving it, and we immediately gave chase."

Wang Zhong nodded, "It's not your fault. My horse is too clever."

Bucephalus snorted.

Wang Zhong said, "Dismount a saddle for my horse, and then you two ride back on one horse, I'm taking it with me for reconnaissance."

Grigori widened his eyes, "Are you planning to race the enemy aircraft again?"

Wang Zhong said, "No, look at the enemy aircraft. They haven't bothered us all day today..."

Vasily said, "There was a heavy fog this morning, the airfield may have cleared later, or Prosen's pilots have to wait until after lunch to set out. If they took off in the afternoon, enemy aircraft should arrive around now."

The next moment, Wang Zhong heard the roar of engines above.

Wang Zhong cursed, "You jinx! Take cover!"

Vasily exclaimed, "Ah? Aren't we racing the enemy aircraft?"

"Are you blind—look at this tall grass! Take cover!"

Wang Zhong grabbed Vasily by the collar and pulled him into the grass.

The others also disappeared into the grass with their respective tricks, leaving only empty jeeps parked on the road.

And three horses leisurely grazing.

The roar of the engines moved aggressively overhead towards Yeisk, while the sound of anti-aircraft guns came from the direction of Yeisk.

Wang Zhong switched his perspective to ensure no other enemy aircraft were around before poking his head out of the grass.

Vasily also got up, spitting out pieces of grass from his mouth, "Ptui! Ptui! General, I'm not a herbivore, don't push my face into the grass."

Wang Zhong apologized, "Sorry. In my haste, I was too rough."

"Ah? Uh..." Vasily was taken aback, "I... I didn't really mind that much, there's no need for you to apologize so formally."

Wang Zhong looked at Vasily. As someone about the same age as Vasily, he suddenly wanted to tease the guy, but a voice in his head said, "The enemy aircraft just passed and there might be more attacks," "Now is not the time for such things."

So he dismissed the urge to tease and nodded solemnly, "Before the enemy aircraft return, let's hurry up and set out."

Grigori objected, "No, we should wait until the enemy's bombing is over before moving. They'll definitely pass by again, flying low after completing their raid. Here they come! Get down!"

Wang Zhong and the others hastily crouched in the grass—this time everyone realized that there was no need to lie down; in fact, doing so would flatten the grass more conspicuously.

Soon, eight Stuka aircraft flew over their heads, one with an engine spewing black smoke, its radiator obviously damaged, and its engine temperature soaring.

Wang Zhong had a bird's-eye view and saw it all clearly: the pilot was covered in oil, indicating that the cabin's oil line or something else had been pierced. That aircraft was likely to crash soon.

He also saw a map board on the pilot, presumably used for navigation.

How he wanted to capture that map board!

Just then, Wang Zhong heard Grigori announce, "Alright, the enemy planes have passed."

Only then did Wang Zhong realize that his bird's-eye view could capture flying objects from far away, and they had been out of Grigori's line of sight for some time.

Switching back to his perspective, he stood up and told Grigori, "One of the enemy planes is heavily damaged; I doubt it can make it back to base. Let's head towards the direction of the aircraft and try to find its wreckage. Pilots carry map boards that are updated with the latest situation maps before takeoff!"

Updating situation maps, on one hand, prevents bombing friendly positions; on the other, it helps pilots parachute into controlled areas.

Conversely, capturing a pilot's map board could instantly reveal enemy deployment—at least as it was before the plane took off.

Some delay is inevitable, but having intelligence is better than none.

Grigori concurred, "Okay, let's chase."

Wang Zhong turned to the two who had chased after Bucephalus and said, "No need to chase anymore. Are you armed?"

The riders hoisted up the bolt cutters strapped to the saddles.

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Wang Zhong: "Good! You are cavalry, follow us! You never know when cavalry might be needed. Get in the cars, get in!"

A group of people quickly climbed into the unharmed vehicles and raced towards the direction the enemy plane had left.

Scratching his head in the car, Vasily said, "We were not spotted by the enemy plane just now, could it be because Bucephalus came along and we stopped, so the dust we kicked up was blown away by the wind?"

Vasily looked at Wang Zhong, and seeing that he didn't grasp the meaning, Vasily explained, "The wind over the steppe is quite strong, so the dust raised by the vehicles disperses completely a few hundred meters past."

"If the vehicle convoy stops, the dust will disappear quickly."

"Without the dust, the enemy planes going to raid Yeisk probably couldn't see the grass-green Willis Jeeps from high altitude—those things are too small, and even on the ground, they disappear from view at a distance."

"And when the enemy planes were returning, they were probably too busy thinking of their own escape to look closely at the vehicles on the ground—right when our vehicles hadn't kicked up any dust yet. General, do you think that's what happened?"

As Vasily put it this way, Wang Zhong scratched his cheek, "Seems like that could be it... no, no, no, don't be superstitious, it's just a coincidence! A coincidence!"

If this really wasn't a coincidence—then one could only say that Prosen's loss wasn't unjust. Continue reading on empire

But Wang Zhong thought about it and felt it was indeed a coincidence; there are many miraculous coincidences on the battlefield that turn into stories told by old soldiers after the war, and if lucky, some get made into movies.

The Jeep convoy soon saw smoke rising from something on the grasslands ahead.

Approaching it, they found an airplane that had crashed nose-down into the prairie, its tail sticking high in the air, looking like a gravestone stuck into the ground.

The plane was smoking, but there seemed to be no open flames or burning.

Standing up, Wang Zhong personally grabbed the handle of the M2 "Old Ma" heavy machine gun, fired off a long burst, and then said to Vasily, "Call out! Tell the pilot to surrender. Cavalry, encircle from the left and right!"

"No good, the wheels can't go into the grass, and the horses can't run fast in it either! The grass is too high!" the stable hand shouted loudly.

Vasily, however, called out to the plane in Prosen language.

There was no response.

Grigori stopped the car next to an endless meadow, picking up a thread-cutting machine: "Looks like I'll have to go over and take a look. Stay on alert here. Stuka has a crew of two, right?"

Wang Zhong and Vasily nodded together: "Right!"

Grigori: "Alright, I can handle that."

He got out of the car and crouched low as he crept into the meadow.

Wang Zhong switched to a bird's-eye view, then remembered he could just switch to the bird's-eye view himself—damn it, seems like he wanted to show off just now.

Forget it; playing a role to prevent a slip-up doesn't cost anything.

At this moment, he was pretty sure the two from the Stuka were dead in the plane, but he made an effort to seem very tense, gripping the M2 "Old Ma."

Grigori reached the side of the plane, checked it out, and then shouted back, "Both are dead. Come on over!"

Wang Zhong: "Map case!"

Grigori turned, pushed open the cockpit glass, leaned his upper body into the cockpit, and came out quickly with a piece of wood about A4 size, waving it towards them.

Wang Zhong made a megaphone with his hands near his mouth: "Come here first! The plane is still smoking; it might catch fire!"

Grigori did not follow the order but searched the cockpit again, and then ran towards them carrying the pilot's personal bag, the map case, and a pistol.

Wang Zhong had thought that as soon as Grigori left the plane, it would explode, creating a 'cool guys don't look at explosions' moment, but nothing happened—the plane just kept smoking quietly, looking like a steel gravestone under the sun.

A few minutes later, Grigori returned to the Jeep, handing over the map case to Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong started to look but then remembered he didn't understand Prosen, so he nudged Vasily with his elbow: "Translate!"

"You have to give it to me first!"

Wang Zhong handed the map case to Vasily: "Hurry!"

Vasily: "This map case belongs to Captain Henrich of the 54th Tactical Bombing Aviation Squadron. The contents of the map case—wow, we've hit the jackpot. Although it's very basic, it genuinely is an enemy troop deployment map, detailed down to the division!"

A map detailing down to the division level has little tactical significance.

Vasily: "The enemy is to our northwest and southwest, with a pincer attack formation, each having an Armored Division and a Grenadier Division, and then—right in front of us are one, two, three, four—four Infantry Divisions! Four of them!"

"The closest Infantry Division—" Vasily looked down at the scale, then made a measuring gesture with his hands, and exclaimed, "Is less than 20 kilometers away from us!"

Wang Zhong: "What? That close?"

Vasily: "Yes, and look at this line; this is the advance route. These Infantry Divisions are advancing towards us!"

Wang Zhong was surprised: "When was the map last updated?"

Vasily checked the time on the map, then looked at his watch: "Two hours ago! The Infantry Divisions are almost upon us!"

The next moment, artillery fire sounded in the distance.

Grigori: "That's not our artillery, the direction is wrong! The enemy is bombarding us!"

Wang Zhong: "Back to division headquarters! No, to Army Group headquarters!"