Cannon Fire Arc

November 26, Ludmila, as usual, climbed up to her battle station to begin her watch.

The weather today was clear and sunny, but it was still so cold that even Ludmila, an Antean, was finding it a bit unbearable.

The cold wind from the Arctic Circle cut like a knife, constantly scraping against Ludmila's cheeks.

In such bitter cold, she suddenly heard someone calling out her name loudly.

She stood up, her hands on the windowsill, and looked down to see a petite figure waving their arms on the ground.

"Nelly?" Ludmila muttered in a low voice, and then, with a jolt, she opened the window and leaned out, shouting, "Nelly! Is that you, Nelly?"

The girl downstairs sprinted into the tower where Ludmila was stationed.

Ludmila turned and rushed to the door; as she opened it, the crosswind formed between the open window and the door howled in.

But Ludmila still dashed out, leaning over the banister in the corridor to look down.

She could not leave her combat position, because she had to be ready to enter combat mode immediately if the Sound Array Master called.

So, all she could do was yell down, "Nelly!"

The sound of climbing footsteps came from below, rapidly approaching the rooftop, and finally, Nelly turned the corner and came into Ludmila's view.

A few seconds later, the maid rushed into Ludmila's arms, her movements so forceful that her boat-shaped hat flew off.

Ludmila wrapped her arms around Nelly, rubbing her cheek against her hair: "It's so good! You've come back alive, that's wonderful!"

Nelly: "Yeah, I'm back."

The hug lasted a full minute, then Ludmila pulled back slightly, her eyes falling onto Nelly's eye patch, her expression turning solemn.

She gently lifted Nelly's eye patch, staring at the dreadful wound.

Nelly felt a bit shy: "Don't look, it's ugly."

"It's not ugly, we'll clean the wound immediately, and once it's healed, I'll find the best glass eye craftsman to make you the most beautiful glass eye!" Ludmila forced a smile, "That will be even more charming! The scar can also be gradually treated with..."

"I don't want to remove the scar." Enjoy exclusive adventures from My Virtual Library Empire

Nelly said calmly.

"Why?" Ludmila asked, puzzled.

Nelly lowered her gaze, looking at Venus on Ludmila's chest: "Because it's proof of my fight on the beachhead, evidence that I fought shoulder to shoulder with so many good people; it's my medal."

Ludmila was slightly surprised and then whispered, "Only men regard their scars as medals."

"Doesn't the Secular faction advocate for gender equality? The future belongs to the Secular faction, and women can also regard their scars as medals."

Ludmila was even more surprised, then she laughed, "Nelly, you should tell that to the Church's propaganda officer. I think they would put it on the front page, headline news."

Nelly: "If the madame says so, I will."

Ludmila hugged Nelly tightly again: "Oh, Nelly, you're even more endearing than before you went to battle! Alyosha, upon seeing you, might not be able to help but take you in his arms and spin you around."

"That would be terrible," Nelly puffed up her cheeks, "Then I'd better not see him for the time being, anyway, he has a Deputy Officer to take care of him."

Ludmila paused, then said, "His Deputy Officer... he has passed away."

Nelly's remaining eye widened: "When did that happen?"

"It's been two weeks. I heard that now a signaler is taking care of him."

"Then I must hurry over there," Nelly turned to leave but Ludmila pulled her back.

Ludmila: "He's an adult now, he can take care of himself. You should heal your wound first and get a prosthetic eye, then go see him looking all pretty."

As she spoke, Ludmila picked up the boat-shaped hat from the ground and gently placed it on Nelly's head.

Nelly pondered for a moment, then nodded, "Okay."

Ludmila embraced Nelly once more: "It's really good, despite having been through the baptism of war, you're still the same Nelly I know."

----------

The same day, at the position of the Guards Eleventh Infantry Division.

Division Commander Lyakhov put down his binoculars and turned to the Commander of the Guards Second Tank Destroyer Brigade, "It looks like the enemy won't attack today."

"Yesterday their attack was already showing signs of weakening," the Brigade Commander replied, "Their new tank model can penetrate the Whirlwind's weak spots, our safe engagement distance has been reduced to the range of 1800 to 1000 meters, but our position neutralizes the advantage of the enemy's weapons."

All the Whirlwinds in the position were well camouflaged, making it difficult for the elite Prosian Armored Troops to spot the Whirlwinds from 1000 meters away, let alone aim for their weak points.

Lyakhov nodded, "Whirlwind has such a great advantage in armor confrontation, why isn't it equipped across the entire army yet?"

"Because the production of cannon barrels isn't sufficient," the Brigade Commander said with a sense of helplessness, "There's only one factory that can produce the barrels for the Whirlwind, and they can't all be used to make new Whirlwinds; a portion has to act as spare parts. Like our brigade's Whirlwinds, on average, each has fired several hundred rounds these past few days, and soon we'll need to replace the barrels. Some crew members are already reporting an increase in incomplete combustion when firing, and the muzzle flash severely affects observation and shooting."

Lyakov: "Really, why is the production of such good stuff so low? What are the people in the equipment department doing?"

At this time, there was sudden cheering from the position outside.

Lyakov was puzzled, "What's happening?"

"An airplane!" the Deputy Officer reported.

No sooner had the words fallen than Lyakov himself heard the sound of the airplane engine, coming from the direction of Abawahan. He strode out of the bunker toward the direction of the city and sure enough, he saw a red Pe-3 reconnaissance plane swooping across the sky.

Everyone on the position was cheering for the red reconnaissance plane.

"I heard Rocossov is personally conducting reconnaissance on the red reconnaissance plane," the Deputy Officer said.

Lyakov: "How is that possible? But every time the red reconnaissance plane flies over, the artillery troops do receive artillery coordinates issued directly from the Front Army Headquarters, which does make one suspect that there's some special person aboard the red reconnaissance plane."

While they were talking, the plane had already flown past the position and headed towards the enemy-controlled area.

Lyakov and his subordinates watched as the red silhouette disappeared into the horizon.

————

At the Abawahan Air Force Base, a normally painted Pe-3 touched down and glided towards the Air Force Commander.

The plane hadn't even stopped when Wang Zhong pushed open the cockpit cover and stood up, pointing to the camera: "Captured a lot of good stuff, hurry and get it developed, identify it carefully."

The Air Force Commander personally snatched a boarding ladder from a ground crew member and pushed it beside the cockpit: "Commander Davarish, I protest your continued reconnaissance flights. The hardest times are over; there's no need for you to risk yourself anymore."

Wang Zhong: "What are you talking about? The enemy of the Sixth Army Group has not surrendered, and the battle is not over. That's one thing; another is that, after annihilating the Sixth Army Group, we will enter a mode of surrounding and pursuing other enemies. If I don't conduct reconnaissance myself, how can I determine where the enemy's key positions are? How do I know where to strike to paralyze the enemy?"

Air Force Commander: "So you're saying that even after annihilating the enemy, the battle won't end?"

"Of course. The enemy is now very close to Kuba's oil fields, and I plan to drive the enemy back to their starting point from last June throughout the winter campaign," said Wang Zhong with full confidence, "The battle will only end next spring when the mud returns, Davarish!"

The expression on the Air Force Commander's face was complex, but the surrounding pilots and ground crew were very excited:

"Did you hear that? The offensive continues until next March!"

"Driven back to the starting point of June! Does that mean... we are going to drive the enemy out of Nan'ant entirely?"

Wang Zhong: "Why are you all so surprised? If we don't counterattack, how can we face Plowsonia?"

The pilots and ground crew looked at each other excitedly.

Wang Zhong's words ignited their thirst for victory.

Not just victory in a battle, but victory in the entire war.

Wang Zhong patted the shoulder of the Air Force Commander: "Quickly develop the photos; the Chief of Staff of the Front Army needs them to formulate the next phase of the battle plan."

"Yes," the Commander saluted Wang Zhong, "I'll personally oversee it and ensure the photos are developed and delivered to Headquarters before midnight."

————

Pavlov: "From your reconnaissance today, there have been some changes in enemy deployment. Look at this photo."

He picked out a photo and laid it on the table.

Wang Zhong and Popov leaned in to look closely at the photo.

Wang Zhong, the photographer, slapped his forehead: "I remember this, it's an Infantry Division in..."

"Digging trenches," Pavlov said, "The enemy responsible for the breakout is making an Infantry Division dig trenches. This is clearly for blocking our attack. The enemy commander, Admiral Xiplin, is already starting to prepare for retreat. But right now, they cannot retreat as the Sixth Army Group has not been destroyed by us yet."

Wang Zhong: "What if we launch another encirclement and consume the troops coming to break through?"

"The enemy's supply lines are now shorter and their supply situation has improved quite a bit. It's estimated that they won't be surrounded as easily as the Sixth Army Group. Even if we could transfer fifty percent of the troops encircling the Sixth, we don't have enough forces to encircle another Prosen heavy troop group."

After a short pause, Pavlov added, "Of course, this is only the opinion of me as the Chief of Staff; you might have a different view. If you want to try eating up another group of the enemy, I will do my utmost to help you implement your strategic ideas."

Wang Zhong thought for a moment and said, "Let's try this, have the Cavalry Troops cross the river here... to create the illusion of continuing the encirclement."

Saying this, he drew an arrow on the middle course of the Valdai Hills River.

Pavlov: "How many troops do you plan to commit?"

Wang Zhong: "To make it look large enough, 100,000 to 200,000?"

Pavlov calculated for a few seconds and answered, "Two hundred thousand won't do; that would mean deploying all of our reserves into this feint operation, which isn't suitable should the enemy actually achieve a breakthrough. One hundred thousand should be able to be spared."

Wang Zhong: "Good. But you keep that many reserves?"

"Of course. Also, what do you mean 'I keep that many reserves'? The reserves are directed by the Front Army you command."

Wang Zhong "Oh"ed, laughing and said, "I understand now why the Conqueror could never win a battle again without his Chief of Staff. Let's go with that and see if this Admiral Xiplin dares to continue trying to break the siege of the Sixth Army Group after we pose for a flank attack."

No sooner had he spoken than the communications officer ran into Headquarters: "The enemy has air dropped again!"

Wang Zhong: "Let's go have a look."