Arc of Fire

Wang Zhong wasn’t sure if Ludmila had caught on or was playing dumb, but it didn’t matter.

He said, “Then please lead the way!”

Ludmila, happy, hugged Wang Zhong’s arm and pulled him forward.

————

Just as Ludmila had pushed open the study door, a loud shout came from inside, “Impossible! Do you think I don’t know what Alyosha is? No, absolutely impossible!”

After the girl pushed the door, Wang Zhong could see Petrov, wiping sweat from his brow, saying, “But I saw his subordinates trust him a lot!”

“What can you see?” the Duke, in full military garb and with graying hair, scolded from in front of the window, “You’re just an armchair strategist! Always a staff officer at the headquarters, never led a soldier in your life! You must be mistaken! And take a look at these battle reports! What, destroying six hundred Prosen Tanks, single-handedly charging and killing a Prosen Major General, do you believe that?”

All Petrov could do was wipe away sweat.

The old Duke: “And besides, Alyosha is an infantryman! How could an infantryman command tanks and achieve such impressive military success?”

Of course, he indeed did not know how to operate a tank, which put him in jeopardy; in the future, if possible, he still needed to learn the skills for each crew position in a tank.

At that moment, Ludmila spoke up, “Uncle Konstantin! I can prove that Alyosha has changed!”

Duke Konstantin Alexandrovich Rokossovsky turned around, looking skeptically at Ludmila, “Liu Da, my dear Liu Da, my sunshine and spring blossom, I really want to believe you, but you’ve lied for him since you were six years old!”

Wang Zhong thought, do we need to trace it back that far? Ludmila has grown up into a young woman!

Ludmila walked up and took the old Duke’s hand, “But it’s true! Uncle Konstantin, if you go and see the barracks, you’ll understand everything!”

The old Duke frowned, glanced at Wang Zhong, then at Ludmila, and took a deep breath: “Well, I know there have been examples of transformation through the trials of war. Even though I doubt Alyosha has changed, since you say so, I’ll go and take a look at the camp.”

Wang Zhong: “Umm…”

The old Duke glared at him: “Speak up if you have something to say!”

Wang Zhong: “I did not destroy 600 tanks.”

“Isn’t that obvious! It must be some sycophant’s handiwork!”

Wang Zhong: “But I did kill the enemy’s Major General—now General.”

The old Duke glared maliciously at Wang Zhong: “You dare to lie in front of me!”

Wang Zhong: “I’m not lying, it was the enemy’s radio that said it, they mentioned that General White Horse killed Major General Lundorf. In actuality, at that time, the enemy’s division headquarters’ guard battalion released smoke, and I only saw the second high-explosive shell hit the wounded Major General Lundorf.”

The old Duke stared at Wang Zhong for a few seconds and asked, “How far were you from the target at that time?”

“850 meters,” Wang Zhong answered immediately.

“Which tank were you commanding?”

“The T34 ceremonial model.”

“Why the ceremonial model?”

“Because the ceremonial model has a command turret, and the commander doesn’t have to double as the gunner, allowing for better situational awareness. Those tank crews with commanders doubling as gunners are like headless flies in battle.”

The old Duke eyed Wang Zhong skeptically, then suddenly let go of Ludmila’s hand and went to his desk to take out a scroll of paper.

Wang Zhong saw that it was a city aerial survey map pieced together and enlarged from Loktov’s aerial photographs.

The old Duke: “Narrate the battle process to me. I’ll state a time, hm, what was the situation at 1100 on July 7th?”

Wang Zhong: “I don’t remember the exact time, how about I start from the beginning and also tell you about my decisions?”

The old Duke nodded: “Good!”

Wang Zhong: “On July 6th, after receiving the order to hold our ground, I decided to first carry out an advance reconnaissance, so I led my squad personally to scout Karlinovka…”

————

Two hours later.

The old Duke stood with his arms crossed, looking at the aerial map now filled with various military symbols drawn in pencil.

Wang Zhong: “I’ve finished.”

“I know,” the old Duke replied, still staring at the aerial map.

After a long while, the old man asked, “How the hell did you graduate last in your class?”

Wang Zhong confidently said, “Compared to theoretical strategizing, I’m better at actual combat. If I’m last in class, it shows there’s a problem with our military education!”

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