Arc of Fire

Chapter 57

What happened after June 29th, Wang Zhong actually couldn't remember very clearly.

Mainly, after returning to the base, he had a hearty meal, and then fell asleep in the bathtub while bathing.

When he opened his eyes, it was already dawn on the 30th.

Wang Zhong looked at the clean shirt on his body, then at the freshly changed bandage on his shoulder, and scratched his head in confusion.

What happened? Who changed my clothes? Who changed my bandage?

Where am I?

He sat up, feeling an unprecedented surge of energy, with almost no discomfort except for the lingering pain in his leg.

The high fever from a few days ago seemed as if it had never happened.

He got out of bed and noticed a new military uniform neatly folded on the cabinet beside the bed.

Wang Zhong scratched his head again; he remembered not bringing any uniform with him. In fact, he hadn't brought any luggage at all, since the situation when leaving Ronezh was like that, right?

Puzzled, he picked up the uniform, quickly changed into it, and found that it fit perfectly, as if it had been tailor-made for him.

Wang Zhong could only think of one person who could arrange such a well-fitted uniform.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

Wang Zhong: "Come in."

The door opened, and Lyudmila entered with breakfast. Seeing him in the new uniform, she said with delight: "How is it? It fits perfectly, right? I had the quartermaster department prepare it!"

So it was you, after all.

Wang Zhong: "Were you the one who pulled me out of the bathtub last night?"

"No, it was Sergeant Major Grigori. He also helped change your clothes-I mean, the shirt and boxers."

Wang Zhong nodded, but immediately realized something was off and turned to the girl: "How do you know what shirt and boxers I'm wearing?"

"Because I prepared them," Lyudmila said proudly, then placed the tray on the table. "Eat your breakfast."

On the tray were oatmeal, bread, fried eggs, bacon, and-milk.

Wang Zhong avoided the bread, directly spearing a fried egg with his fork and stuffing it into his mouth, satisfied to find it was a soft-boiled egg, cooked just right, with the yolk perfectly between liquid and solid.

After finishing the egg, Wang Zhong picked up the bacon.

Lyudmila: "You need to eat some staple food! You didn't eat any yesterday!"

Saying that, she picked up the bread, added the bacon to it, and stuffed it into Wang Zhong's hand: "I personally chose this bread. It's definitely to your liking!"

She even knows my preferences... Could she really be my fiancée?

Wang Zhong looked Lyudmila up and down, recalling that the first time he met her, he had thought about adding her on WeChat. Now, look at this-one step straight to the goal, solving the lifelong problem directly!

Before Wang Zhong could indulge further in the happiness brought by the girl's gentleness, the air raid siren sounded.

Then came the sound of anti-aircraft gunfire.

Lyudmila, looking nervous: "Hurry to the air raid shelter!"

Wang Zhong: "It's fine. The Prossenians' targets are the headquarters' ammo depot and the train station, not us. Yesterday, the headquarters' people even said that leaving early would prevent us from getting bombed by the Prossenians. And now, look at this!"

As he spoke, he switched to an overhead perspective, only to find that since the entire unit was likely resting, they had lost quite a bit of visibility. Only the sentry at the school gate had some visibility.

Wang Zhong thought he should remind Yegorov that the enemy was very cunning. It wouldn't be surprising if a unit like the Brandenburg Commandos infiltrated.

One could never be lazy when it came to sentry arrangements.

Just as he was thinking this, Prossenian aircraft appeared.

Then Wang Zhong was stunned because he saw that this bomber had six engines!

Wang Zhong switched back to normal vision and rubbed his eyes hard.

Not sure, let me look again!

Lyudmila had a face full of question marks.

Returning to the overhead perspective, Wang Zhong confirmed that it was indeed a heavy bomber with six engines.

He counted the turret configurations-this thing actually had four quad-mounted machine gun turrets, located at the nose, tail, and rear edges of the wings.

Additionally, there were two dual-mounted cannon turrets, one on the top and one on the underside.

BV238 Air Force version?

The BV238 was a Third Reich seaplane that once had plans to be converted into a land-based version, but it was never implemented. After all, the Third Reich on Earth even abandoned plans for heavy bombers like the Me 264, focusing instead on producing fighters for homeland air defense.

But in this timeline, the Prossenians actually managed to build this thing?

Combined with the map of the Prossen Empire's territory he saw at the Army Group Headquarters yesterday, Wang Zhong began to suspect that in this timeline, Prossen might actually be the so-called "Greater Germany," or even "Giant Germany."

When Wang Zhong played games like *Europa Universalis* or *Victoria*, as long as he chose Prussia, he would strive in this direction. In this timeline, did this actually happen naturally?

If so, having a six-engine heavy bomber doesn't seem so strange.

So, the question arises: Has the United Kingdom already been pushed back to India?

Since he hadn't seen a world map, Wang Zhong wasn't too sure about this.

At this moment, the enemy aircraft began dropping bombs, and as expected, the targets were the train station, the nearby dispatch yard, and the locomotive factory.

Amid the rumbling explosions, Wang Zhong switched back and saw Lyudmila tilting her head, observing him.

Wang Zhong: "What's up?"

"What are you spacing out for? You even rubbed your eyes just now. What's wrong with you?" the girl asked in confusion.

Wang Zhong: "Don't worry about it. I just took a quick nap."

"Sitting up?"

"Uh, sort of."

"During a bombing?"

"I've already gotten used to this booming sound. Haven't you?" Wang Zhong countered.

"Fair point." Lyudmila sighed. "After you fell asleep yesterday, I went to the telegraph office in the village to send a message home, but the office had been requisitioned. Even when I showed my status as a lady-in-waiting, it didn't work. They wouldn't let me send a telegraph."

Wang Zhong couldn't help but frown. Lady-in-waiting-this was part of the Tsarist Russian female official ranking system. Unmarried noble young ladies were generally ladies-in-waiting. Daughters of lesser nobles might not have the "lady" prefix, just "waiting."

It seems Lyudmila's family might also be of count rank.

A perfect match, huh? The possibility of her being my fiancée just went up again!

Wang Zhong shook his head to dismiss the thought. Now wasn't the time for romance. Today would likely be spent on the journey. Once they reached Loktov, they'd need to quickly replenish manpower and equipment...

At that moment, someone outside shouted: "Report!"

Wang Zhong recognized it as Sergeant Major Grigori's voice.

Lyudmila whispered: "The Sergeant Major really seems to see himself as your personal guard. Yesterday, he didn't leave your side for a moment."

Wang Zhong nodded: "Come in!"

The Sergeant Major opened the door: "Count, a clerk from headquarters is here."

Wang Zhong: "A clerk? What for?"

If it were to deliver orders, it should be a messenger or a staff officer.

A clerk coming likely meant it was related to personnel matters.

Lyudmila: "When I went to the telegraph office yesterday, I saw people distributing special editions on the street, saying there was a great victory at Upper Peniye."

Wang Zhong clicked his tongue: "A great victory already? I haven't even told the propaganda office about the battle details yet!"

The girl shrugged: "Last evening, I don't know where the news came from, but citizens started coming to our base to deliver things. Everyone wants to see the 'heroic Rokosov Detachment.'"

Wang Zhong: "Rokosov Detachment? How come I've never heard of this unit?"

"That's what the special edition called us."

At this point, the clerk outside probably grew impatient and appeared at the doorway, coughing once.

Grigori turned and glared at the clerk, who immediately stepped back and hid behind the doorframe.

Wang Zhong: "Let him in."

Only then did Grigori step aside from the doorway.

The clerk entered the room, glanced at Lyudmila: "Uh, is now a convenient time?"

Wang Zhong: "It's fine. Speak."

The clerk nodded: "Alright."

He took out a small box, opened it, and placed it on the table. Inside were a pair of Brigadier General epaulettes, including both dress and combat uniform styles.

Then he pulled out an order: "Southwestern Front Personnel Department: Based on Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Konstantinovich Rokosov's outstanding performance at Ronezh and Upper Peniye, effective immediately, he is promoted to Brigadier General."

Wang Zhong: "Promoted two ranks at once?"

The clerk: "It's said that when it was reported upward, it was for colonel, but what came down was Brigadier General. Are you dissatisfied?"

"No, not at all." Wang Zhong shook his head. "So, what unit does this Brigadier General command? I can't just be a Brigadier General in name only, right?"

Although the 3rd Amur Regiment was under Wang Zhong's command, this was actually due to a change in battlefield command hierarchy. In reality, he didn't have the authority to command the 3rd Regiment; he was even on the same level as Yegorov.

The clerk looked a bit troubled, clutching the order in his hand.

Lyudmila stood up and took the order: "The order has indeed been received."

So there's this step as well.

The clerk, visibly relieved, pulled out another order and unfolded it: "Now, by order, Brigadier General Alexei Konstantinovich Rokosov is to form the Rokosov Battle Group in Loktov. The remnants of the 3rd Amur Regiment, the 31st Regiment of the 4th Tank Corps, and all remnants of the Ronezh units are to be incorporated into the Rokosov Battle Group."

Wang Zhong clicked his tongue: "Giving me a bunch of remnant soldiers! What about my reinforcements?"

The clerk shrank back.

Wang Zhong then realized his voice was a bit loud, so he calmed his tone and asked again: "What about my reinforcements? Where are the tanks and artillery I requested?"

"I don't know." The clerk clutched the order. "I only brought two orders. This order, you..."

Wang Zhong stood up, personally took the order to establish the Rokosov Battle Group, and glanced over it.

At this moment, Yegorov and Pavlov entered. Yegorov casually picked up the bread on the table, eating as he said: "Looks like you've received the order, Count. We just got ours too. Seems like the higher-ups want to emulate the Prossenians and form battle groups."

"Prossenian devils," Wang Zhong corrected.

The clerk asked cautiously: "So... can I leave now?"

Wang Zhong waved his hand, and the clerk ran off as if flying.

"These clerks!" Yegorov said with contempt.

Pavlov frowned: "Strictly speaking, I'm a clerk too."

Yegorov: "Exactly, which is why I don't like you much either."

With that, he turned to Wang Zhong: "What do you say, Brigadier General?"

Wang Zhong: "Let's head to Loktov first to assess the situation. It's a supply center. If the higher-ups don't send us good equipment, we'll figure something out ourselves. Just like we did in Upper Peniye."

In Upper Peniye, Wang Zhong and his men had essentially robbed the distillery of the local Lord Boye.

Yegorov burst into laughter.

(End of Chapter)