Cannon Fire Arc

On the way to the home of the herdsman representative, Wang Zhong and his group came across logistics workers collecting bodies.

The sacrificed Ante Army soldiers were laid out along the curb, spaced ten centimeters apart, lining the entire left side of the street, while the right side was left clear for vehicle passage.

A GAZ truck and a Federation supplied Stepanek truck were parked one behind the other, and the workers were continuously lifting bodies onto the vehicles.

Wang Zhong initially wanted to say, "My soldiers can't be piled up like canned fish," but he immediately dismissed the thought—the trucks had many tasks, and it was already a stretch to spare two for collecting bodies.

Suddenly, Wang Zhong saw Nelly carrying a basket full of wildflowers.

He was shocked, his first reaction being that Nelly's little boyfriend must have died in there.

Then he saw Nelly pinning a small flower on the lapel of each sacrificed soldier.

Wang Zhong patted Grigori on the shoulder, signaling him to stop the car.

A worker noticed him, eyes widening in surprise, about to speak.

"Shh," Wang Zhong raised his index finger to signal the worker to keep quiet.

The vehicle simply stopped at the corner of the street filled with bodies, as Wang Zhong quietly observed Nelly from an overlooking angle, only to find she wasn't crying, just silently distributing the flowers.

Though Nelly wasn't crying, the scene was exceptionally sorrowful, reminding Wang Zhong of the sad folk song "Alyosha."

The song goes: He can no longer give flowers to the girl, it is the girl who gives flowers to him.

While Wang Zhong was lost in thought, watching his little maid, a group of soldiers nearby began singing "I Still Have One Last Grenade"—no, "The Last Courage!"

"I am the 'original author,'" Wang Zhong thought to himself. "I can't be led astray by others! Even if the whole country of Ante calls this song 'I Still Have One Last Grenade,' I will call it 'The Last Courage.'"

Nelly looked toward the soldiers who had interrupted her mourning, realizing they were clearly doing it on purpose, staring at her while singing.

Wang Zhong noticed this too, and was about to speak up to stop the soldiers from teasing his little maid when he saw Nelly step forward and pin a small flower on each of them.

The balalaika-playing soldier said, "I have a younger sister at home, about your age."

"The general really shouldn't be bringing such a young girl to the battlefield!"

Nelly: "Mind your tongue, or the Swamp Witch will shred it to pieces."

Wang Zhong's eyes widened; Nelly wasn't usually so sharp-tongued, typically reserving herself to disdainful looks or expressions reserved for fools.

It appears Nelly had been holding back on a regular basis.

The soldiers looked at each other and then all laughed, beginning to tease: "Swamp Witch?"

"Does she also summon Forest Wraiths?"

"And gives magic potions to women to turn faithless men into toads!"

Nelly shook her head with an expression that said, "Ignore the wisdom of the elders and suffer the consequences."

Wang Zhong watched it all, feeling like Nelly was a mother unable to discipline her mischievous children.

At that moment, the balalaika player spoke up: "We speak ill of the general and you get this mad, even invoking the Swamp Witch to scare us, you must really like the general, right?"

Wang Zhong coughed, "Andrei, Dakar, and Haolopakov, stop flirting with my orderly, or I'll have you haul manure with Vasily."

The three soldiers, hearing their names, turned their attention and found Wang Zhong, immediately standing erect, ready to salute, only to realize they held instruments and couldn't salute properly.

After some flustered movements, they hid their instruments and saluted Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong waved his hand, "Enough, it's a break, don't be so stiff. And saying goodbye to the deceased is a serious matter, don't laugh and joke."

"Reporting!" the balalaika player raised his hand, "We think our comrades would prefer to leave listening to this song."

The balalaika player added, "In hell, they might still have to battle Prosen devils!"

Immediately after, the balalaika player kicked the balalaika player's heel, retorting, "Our comrades surely ascend to heaven; we'll never encounter Prosen devils!"

Wang Zhong: "In any case, be serious, see them off on their last journey. I'm not saying the song is bad; I'm saying you can't chase girls while bidding farewell. And, at no time are you to flirt with my orderly!"

The three "musicians" all laughed: "Your orderly is too young, just like our younger sister!"

"Right, right, we were just playing with our little sister!"

"Look at the flowers she gave us; they're not the kind that a grown girl would give, these are wildflowers that little girls give." Explore more stories with empire

Wang Zhong scolded, "Be thankful! Now settle down and play some music appropriate for farewelling comrades!"

The three looked at each other and then sat back in their spots synchronously, beginning to play music.

It was a song Wang Zhong was also very familiar with: "Far Across the River."

When Wang Zhong was a child watching the CCTV version of "How Steel Is Forged," the theme song left a deep impression on him.

What struck him the most was that after the climax of the song, just as victory seemed within reach, the protagonist sacrificed himself.

The protagonist fell just before dawn, which left Wang Zhong feeling incredibly regretful.

Although defeating Prosen was still a long way off, this song was more than appropriate for bidding farewell to comrades.

Amid the mournful singing, Nelly came up to Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong: "When did you pick the flowers?"

"Just now. You were fighting, and I had nothing else to do, so I picked flowers." Nelly turned to glance at the bodies on the street, biting her lip lightly, "This is all I can do, cook food, so everyone is well-fed, and then place little flowers on them."

Wang Zhong placed his big hand on Nelly's head, pressing down her boat-shaped cap into his palm, and rubbed vigorously, "You're doing very well. Keep it up, the soldiers will like it. We've got important things to do, so please send off the soldiers properly for me."

Nelly nodded.

Wang Zhong withdrew his hand, signaling Grigori to drive.

And so the convoy drove away in a cloud of dust.

Nelly, with a flower basket slung over her arm, watched Wang Zhong leave before she carefully took off the boat-shaped hat that had been crushed down and restored it to its normal shape.

The three young musicians happened to play the last note just as the convoy disappeared around the corner of the street.

The balalaika player exhaled deeply and turned to his companions, "The general really knows our names! I've never spoken to him before!"

The balalaika player also said excitedly, "The legend is true! He really knows all our names! No one in the general's troops who dies in battle will be unnamed!"

"I thought it was the military chaplain conning people! It's actually true!"

Nelly turned back to the three, "Do you know my name?"

The trio glanced at each other.

The first one said, "The general's maid!"

Nelly shook her head.

The second one, "The general's sister!"

Shake of the head.

The third said, "The general's— orderly! This one's got to be right."

Nelly, "I asked for my name, not my title!"

This time it was the trio's turn to shake their heads.

Nelly ignored them and continued to place flowers on the graves of the fallen soldiers.

————

Wang Zhong's convoy stopped in front of a three-story building.

The damage to the block where the building sat was minor, and there was even a bakery that had opened for business! Some soldiers of the Melania People's Army were trying to buy bread from the bakery using the Melania language.

Wang Zhong patted Vasily on the shoulder and pointed towards the Melania folks. Understanding, Vasily jumped out of the vehicle before it could fully stop and ran over to help translate.

Wang Zhong, on the other hand, got out of the vehicle with the local guide.

Guide, "I won't go in. We old settlers see nomads the way rabbits in the field view eagles. Back when I was a kid, nomads were mostly part-time bandits! Right up until the civil war ended, they roamed as bandits, sometimes coming to sell products from their livestock, sometimes coming to scavenge!"

Wang Zhong nodded, "Thank you, sir."

Then, he personally approached the door and knocked on the wooden gate.

He had already confirmed with an external device that there were no enemies inside the house.

After knocking twice, the door finally cracked open, and a young man in his early twenties looked over Wang Zhong before removing the bolt and opening the door completely.

"Please come in, general," he said.

Wang Zhong, "I am looking for the nomadic representative. Are you the one?"

"Yes, that's me. What's the matter? Do you need help with something?"

Wang Zhong, "Are you familiar with the steppes?"

The young man shook his head, "I was only ten when I moved to the city to settle."

Wang Zhong raised an eyebrow, "The guide just said your family moved into the city five years ago with a policy change, so that means you're only fifteen?"

Looking at the young man's towering height nearly two meters tall and his muscular build, Wang Zhong inwardly exclaimed: Is this really what fifteen looks like?

The young man, "Yeah, I just matured a bit early."

Wang Zhong, "Alright, that's not important. If you're not familiar with the steppes, do you know anyone who is? It's critical, as we need someone who knows the lay of the land to fight against the Prussian devils."

The young man, "Then, you'll have to talk to my father."

"Where is he?"

"Right here!"

An impatient voice came from above everyone's heads.

Wang Zhong looked up to see a burly middle-aged man standing on the stairs leading to the second floor.

Wang Zhong, "Could you tell us—"

"I cannot!" The uncle instantly rejected Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong, "We need to resist the Prussian devils!"

"The Prussians didn't do much to us when they occupied this place," the uncle said.

Wang Zhong, "The Prussians will make us all slaves!"

The uncle snorted and crossed his arms, "I am His Majesty the Tsar's steppe inspector! I only answer to His Majesty the Tsar! Without a direct order from His Majesty the Tsar, no one can command me!"

Wang Zhong pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the uncle's head, "This is treason!"

"Loyalty to the Tsar is now treason? I think it's you who's committed a grave crime!"

What a bunch, truly remnants of warlord times.

Seeing that the other party wasn't swayed, Wang Zhong immediately had a new idea.

He holstered his pistol and said to the uncle, "So you need authorization from His Majesty the Tsar, right? Fine, I'll make a phone call to Ye Fort and have her authorize it in her own voice! Come to the command center!"

The uncle, "What if I refuse to go?"

Wang Zhong, "Then it would be a refusal to follow His Majesty the Tsar's command, which is treason!"

The uncle thought for a moment, then sweepingly gestured, "Lead the way. But if you trick me and it's not His Majesty the Tsar, I will not reveal a single word!"