Arc of Fire

Chapter 42

The enemy tanks' movements suggest they are still planning to enter from the western village entrance.

Wang Zhong's tank is currently parked on the main road leading to the southwest village entrance. Although there are obstacles between them and the intersection, those obstacles can cover infantry decently, but hiding a tank this large is a bit tricky.

Vehicle 422, as an old-style multi-turret tank, is quite "tall and imposing."

Wang Zhong immediately gave the order to move into the side alley on the left. Just moments ago, he had passed through this alley to destroy the enemy combat engineers' accompanying half-track.

This way, they can temporarily avoid a head-on clash with the enemy tanks.

The engineer squad had already cleared the houses on the southwest side. With the help of his external view, Wang Zhong could clearly see the enemy infantry entering the buildings, currently engaged in a firefight with the Ant Army infantry on the other side of the main road.

As long as the tank's position is close to the side occupied by the Prossenian infantry, they don't have to worry too much about being hit by incendiary bottles.

On Wang Zhong's side, apart from the Divine Arrow and the tank beneath him, the only remaining anti-tank measures are incendiary bottles. To make use of these, they either need to climb to the second floor and launch a sneak attack as the tank passes by, or block the infantry around the tank before closing in for anti-tank gymnastics.

Judging by the movements of the enemy tanks, Wang Zhong speculated that this time they were determined not to advance without their infantry.

The earlier Type IV tanks that charged recklessly probably assumed the Ant Army lacked anti-tank experience, but after being hit with incendiary bottles, the enemy had learned their lesson.

Wang Zhong calculated that the enemy had brought eight tanks this time. The good news was that they were all Type III tanks with long, thin barrels, likely less effective against personnel compared to the earlier Type IVs.

Probably.

However, judging by the enemy's tighter infantry-tank combined formation, the effectiveness of incendiary bottles would likely be greatly reduced.

They still had to rely on this Vehicle 422.

But this multi-turret tank design was already outdated, epitomizing the concept of thin armor and big target-getting hit meant certain death.

If the Prossenians landed a high-explosive shell, even Wang Zhong himself might be in serious trouble.

He must make full use of the Overhead Perspective to find a way to ambush the enemy tanks, just like how they dealt with those Type IVs this morning.

At this moment, the enemy tanks had reached the southwest entrance and started using high-explosive shells to attack the buildings on the street.

Contrary to Wang Zhong's expectations, the enemy's 50mm high-explosive shells were surprisingly effective against personnel. Mainly, the penetrating power of the shells fired from the long-barreled 50mm cannon was unexpectedly high, capable of piercing through the brick walls of some buildings and exploding inside.

Not to mention those wooden houses.

This was extremely dangerous. They had to deal with the enemy tanks as soon as possible. Every minute of delay meant more casualties.

Although the Third Amur Regiment had continuously repelled enemy attacks and maintained high morale, their numbers had dwindled to a dangerous level. Now, they were only holding together due to that high morale.

The enemy's high-explosive shells weren't very powerful-even if they penetrated a stone wall and exploded, they might only kill two people at a time. But with continuous losses like this, it was uncertain when morale would collapse.

However, engaging the Prossenian tank crews head-on in a direct artillery duel would likely end badly.

But if they flanked, the enemy still had four vehicles on the outskirts-probably because the infantry who retreated this morning reported Vehicle 422's flanking maneuver, so now the Prossenians were on guard.

Following the same route as this morning would mean facing off against the Prossenian Type III tanks on the vast plain.

Wang Zhong thought for a second and recalled the smoke shells the enemy had thrown when they eliminated the flanking Prossenian unit earlier.

He immediately shouted to the nearby infantry: "Smoke shells! Check the bodies of the dead Prossenians for smoke shells and collect them!"

After giving the order, Wang Zhong continued to formulate his plan. Hand-thrown smoke shells could only be tossed a few dozen meters, and the current wind direction was-

He switched back to his own perspective and realized he couldn't feel the wind direction. Just as he was struggling with this, he spotted Su Fang.

So, he took off Su Fang's boat-shaped cap and saw the tuft of hair on her head swaying toward the northeast direction.

The wind was coming from the southwest!

Wang Zhong put the boat-shaped cap back on the girl's head.

Su Fang: ???

Wang Zhong had already turned to the others: "I need someone skilled at throwing grenades. Who among you can throw the farthest and most accurately?"

"It's the Battalion Commander!" a sergeant replied.

"He has already sacrificed himself for the country. Find the second-best thrower," Wang Zhong said, his voice unconsciously lowering as if expressing mourning.

After giving the order, he zoomed out to a higher perspective again. He needed to find a suitable spot to release the smoke, one that would facilitate his ambush from the rear-

At that moment, he suddenly remembered playing War Thunder, where tanks could release engine smoke. He often used it when flanking to avoid being ambushed.

But that was post-war technology, and a relic like the T28 probably didn't have it. However, this world wasn't Earth; this world had magic. What if it did?

With a try-it-and-see attitude, Wang Zhong asked the driver: "Can we use the engine to release smoke?"

The driver clearly misunderstood what Wang Zhong meant by smoke and replied: "Count, that little black smoke from the engine won't do much."

Wang Zhong pursed his lips.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed the enemy tanks stationed on the outskirts starting to move. Two tanks positioned south of the road began to detour south, clearly having received intel on Vehicle 422's location and planning to flank!

Meanwhile, the enemy tanks that had entered the village had stopped at the intersection. They hadn't fired since a moment ago, likely having loaded armor-piercing shells and waiting for Wang Zhong to emerge from the alley.

Wang Zhong made a snap decision, switched back to his perspective, and shouted: "Set up smoke, throw it to the southwest!"

This way, the smoke would drift over with the wind, forming a barrier, allowing Wang Zhong to escape outside the village.

The order was immediately executed. The Prossenian smoke shells were very simple to use, and a wall of smoke formed quickly.

Wang Zhong: "Driver, move forward, out of the village entrance!"

At this point, except for Wang Zhong, no one else knew the Prossenians' movements or understood why Wang Zhong had given this order.

But the order was still carried out.

After all, Wang Zhong's reputation in this unit was incredibly high. No matter how unreasonable his orders seemed, they would be followed.

Wait, no, it wasn't Wang Zhong-it was Count Alexei Konstantinovich Rokosov.

The tank made a clattering noise as it moved through the alley and out of the village.

Wang Zhong: "Stop!"

Looking at the smoke in front of him, he thought to himself that the Prossenians really used solid materials. The smoke was so thick that nothing could be seen with normal vision.

At that moment, a brilliant idea struck him.

When Wang Zhong was a child, he loved an old movie called *Heroic Tank Crew*, which told the story of a heroic tank crew driving Vehicle 215 during the Korean War.

There was a scene adapted from a real battle: the Americans planned to use heavy artillery to bombard the immobilized Vehicle 215. The tank commander ordered the driver to rev the engine hard, creating a loud noise, then gradually ease off the throttle, making the sound quieter. As a result, the American devils thought the 215 crew had fled, and their artillery fire shifted further back.

Wang Zhong decided to emulate the heroic deeds of his predecessors.

He gave the order: "Driver, listen carefully. I want you to shift to neutral, then rev the engine hard, let it roar. Then gradually ease off, making the sound quieter."

Driver: "Understood, Count!"

Wang Zhong: "Loader, one armor-piercing shell, quick! How many armor-piercing shells do we have left?"

"Over twenty, enough to take out a few enemies. Armor-piercing shell loaded!"

Wang Zhong, in his Overhead Perspective, counted the number of enemy tanks and muttered: "Damn, it'll take two shots to take out one enemy."

----

At that moment, inside Vehicle 422, all the crew members were drenched in sweat. Wang Zhong, with his body exposed outside, had the wind blowing on him and a beautiful woman by his side, feeling quite at ease. But inside the tank, it was stuffy, hot, and noisy.

However, the morale of the entire crew was sky-high.

Especially when they heard Wang Zhong's words through the headset: "Damn, it'll take two shots to take out one enemy."

The loader and gunner exchanged a glance, then looked down at the mechanic and driver in front of the tank.

The entire crew stared at each other.

The gunner mouthed: "He plans to take out ten of them!"

The loader: "Now we'll avenge the entire battalion!"

The tank crew all showed ecstatic expressions but didn't dare make a sound-according to regulations, idle chatter on the internal line during such moments was considered interference with command and could result in confinement.

Besides, no one wanted to interrupt the Count's command.

The tank crew could only laugh silently and high-five each other.

At that moment, the Count's order came: "Now, driver, rev the engine!"

(End of chapter)