Cannon Fire Arc

Wang Zhong: "What squadron did you just mention?"

Colonel Donald: "Volunteer flying squad. We had volunteered to join the flying squad and fight for the United Kingdom during its most perilous times. By July this year, Prosen essentially ceased its large-scale air raids on the United Kingdom, and we returned to the Federation. However, many of our comrades have fallen in the skies, so we changed locations to continue the fight against Prosen."

Wang Zhong: "The Federation Air Force—I mean, the Army Aviation hasn't been preparing to engage the enemy recently?"

Colonel Donald: "The main focus is still on defending the Federation's homeland, and on fighting the Empire of Fusang in the Asia-Pacific. But we want to fight against the Prussians."

Wang Zhong raised his eyebrows: "So, these planes are for your own use?"

Colonel Donald: "No, we are just transporting the planes here. Which planes we will actually fly in combat depends on the situation. In fact, most of us flew Mustang-style planes in the United Kingdom, which are quite different from the P-47s, requiring transition training."

Donald paused, then said solemnly, "The Prosen pilots are very good. We don't want to encounter them unprepared."

Wang Zhong turned to the Air Force General and said, "These are all experienced pilots. I think they can teach our pilots how to fight against Prosen pilots."

Dostoevsky nodded, "The Air Force has indeed recruited a lot of pilots with only flying club experience. They generally don't have many hours in the air and naturally haven't tangled with the enemy."

While they were talking, nearly 30 P-47 planes had landed, but there were more engine sounds in the sky.

Wang Zhong: "Are there more planes?"

General Dostoevsky: "There are another thirty P-39 Airacobra fighters."

Wang Zhong thought to himself that they indeed received the Airacobra.

Colonel Donald, who was next to him, said, "It's a rather poor plane with a cramped cockpit, inadequate air intake for the engine, and it's prone to overheating. The Army doesn't want them, so most will be given to you."

Wang Zhong wanted to laugh because all these shortcomings of the Airacobra had been accidentally overcome by the Russians. Take the cramped cockpit, for instance; that was never a problem.

Russians, despite their burly appearance, have minimal space requirements and are very adaptable. On the other side of the Earth, under the Lend-Lease Act, when the Russians saw the M3 Grant tanks, they thought, "Wow, there's plenty of space," and crammed in seven or eight fully armed infantrymen, using the tank as an infantry fighting vehicle.

The key thing was that the tank could still fight and fire after cramming in so many infantrymen.

Probably only Indians can cram in more than Russians.

As for overheating, what a joke. Look at the combat environment before talking. Is that a flaw? That's clearly an advantage, as it's not easy to freeze up.

Thinking of these things, Wang Zhong already had a smile on his face. Vasily was puzzled, "What about this plane?"

Wang Zhong: "Nothing, whether it's good or bad, the pilots will know after flying it."

As he spoke, several flocks of planes in V-formations appeared and flew neatly over the airfield.

Excited, Vasily said, "This time it's that cigar-shaped plane! So this one is liquid-cooled?"

Wang Zhong: "Right, you can tell by the shape. The ones with long and slender fuselages are liquid-cooled engines; the ones with short and thick fuselages have air-cooled engines."

Turning to Colonel Donald, he asked, "Are these also flown by the volunteer squadron?"

"Yes, so we don't need to go back; we can fight right here," said Colonel Donald.

Wang Zhong: "Great, more instructors."

"About that," Donald said a bit awkwardly, "actually, most members of the flying squadron don't speak Ante, so becoming instructors might be difficult. I didn't get a chance to say it earlier."

Wang Zhong: "Then you can engage in dogfights with our pilots, using Prosen Army tactics. Let them become familiar with the enemy's techniques."

Donald: "That's not exactly uplifting news."

By this time, the P-47 pilots had all assembled. Donald's executive officer ran up quickly, saluted him, and said in English, which Wang Zhong could only guess, "Colonel, the first squadron of the volunteer flying squad has assembled."

"Understood," the Colonel nodded, "If there's nothing special, you can... whatever."

Wang Zhong furrowed his brow; the latter half was spoken too quickly for him to understand.

He couldn't help it; his peak English ability was during the college entrance exams, and it had completely deteriorated since then.

Vasily: "He said they can go and rest according to Ante's arrangements after the long flight; it was tough."

Wang Zhong: "You understand this?"

Vasily: "Actually, Prosen language and Angsa language are somewhat related, so if you understand Prosen language, it's easier to learn Angsa language. But learning Carolingian language is harder; it's a different system. Carolingian language and Castilian language are of the same system."

Wang Zhong: "Do you speak Carolingian and Castilian languages?"

Vasily looked at Wang Zhong in shock: "You don't speak Carolingian? You're a noble!"

Wang Zhong: "The era when nobility needed to speak Carolingian is over a hundred years past; it was the era of the Conqueror!"

At that moment, General Dostoevsky coughed to attract their attention and nodded towards Colonel Donald.

Wang Zhong and Vasily looked over just in time to see Colonel Donald leading his executive officer toward them.

Colonel Donald: "Members of the volunteer flying squad would like to take a photo with you."

Wang Zhong: "Me?"

"Yes, everyone considers you a bringer of good luck, the Star of Victory."

Wang Zhong initially wanted to say that was superstitious, but then he thought better of it. In this world, Divine Arrows could actually hit their target with prayers, so it's best not to scorn superstitious acts.

Although the Secular faction believes that the guidance of Divine Arrows will one day be explained scientifically, perhaps through quantum mechanics, they will be explained regardless.

Wang Zhong: "Alright, once the Airacobras have landed, I'll take a group photo with all of you."

He paused and then asked: "Am I that famous in the Federation?"

"Yes," Colonel Donald laughed, "the Prussians deserve some credit too. A shareholder of the New Township Daily, of Prussian descent, had been publishing various articles praising the invincible Prussian army before the declaration of war. They spent a lot of ink boasting about the great victory at Argesukov."

Wang Zhong immediately understood, a boomerang, huh? This era already had boomerangs.

Donald chuckled, "Then you annihilated one hundred thousand Prosen soldiers at Karanskaya, and the image of you parading with a bunch of generals became known to every household instantly."

No sooner had he finished than his deputy took out a notebook from his map bag, then opened the notebook's front page and showed Wang Zhong the clippings inside.

In the black and white photo, Wang Zhong rode Bucephalus with his head held high, radiating a dashing aura, beside him loomed the columns of Prosen generals.

The main Prosen generals' uniforms had a red badge, and the photographer, using whatever technique, made this red badge glaringly obvious.

Wang Zhong: "So the previous praises from the Prussian descendant turned into a supercharged effect on me?"

"That's right. Besides, that Prussian descendant was found to have colluded with the Prosen embassy and was caught as a spy."

Well caught!

Colonel Donald continued, "Also, the most famous general on our side used to be General Douglas. He liked to wear sunglasses and smoke a pipe. You are such a stark contrast to him that it enhances the propaganda effect even more."

Wang Zhong: "Because of the contrast?"

"Yes, General Douglas especially liked to do some outrageous things and make the papers."

Wait a minute, this general is named Douglas, likes to wear sunglasses, and carry a pipe—

Suddenly a specific BGM and the magnetic AI voice-over echoed in Wang Zhong's mind:

Five-star General MacArthur once commented that if Rocossov had a Front Army, he would dare to reach the shores of the Atlantic, and the lands from Ireland to Khitan would be Ante's territory...

Wang Zhong: "When I'm free, I'd like to have a drink with General Douglas."

Colonel Donald sighed, "That will have to wait until he repels the invading forces of the Empire of Fusang. When we took off, the broadcast said that the Empire of Fusang had already landed at the location where General Douglas was stationed."

Wang Zhong: "The enemy is but a paper tiger, we will surely win the victory."

At this point, the pilots flying P39s had gradually gathered. Seeing the last group of P39 twin-plane formations land, Wang Zhong suggested, "It looks like all the planes have landed. Or are there any that haven't arrived yet?"

"No, there are only sixty in the first batch. The transports landed early and transferred the cargo to the trains."

Wang Zhong: "Then let's take a picture."

As soon as he finished, there was the flash of a flashbulb and a "pop" sound. Wang Zhong turned around and, sure enough, saw Reporter Mike and his partner.

Such an incident—if these two didn't appear, it would definitely mean they were too ill to get out of bed, or the Prussian spies had assassinated them.

Wang Zhong: "Let me introduce you, this is the creator of that photo in the clippings! My good friend Reporter Mike and his partner, photographer Robert!"

Reporter Mike came over with a chuckle, while Robert kept looking for spots to take pictures.

"As soon as we heard that you were greeting the air squadron personally, we rushed over," said Reporter Mike.

Wang Zhong: "You're just in time, I want to take a photo with the volunteers of the air squadron, they seem to think it will bring good luck."

Reporter Mike: "Sure, we all need good luck at times like these."

————

The next day, December 21, year 914 of Jules, Wang Zhong picked up the newspaper in the manor's dining room and flipped to the front page, only to find that the photo wasn't the one with the volunteer air squadron but one where he was chatting with Colonel Donald.

The photo depicted a Colonel of the Federation Air Force appearing to listen to the teachings of the Star of Victory.

Wang Zhong frowned involuntarily; this choice was certainly deliberate by the church, wondering which photo would be used by the Federation side.

Nelly passed by Wang Zhong, looked over his shoulder at the paper, and said, "Lately, you're on the front page most of the time."

Wang Zhong: "Is it that frequent?"

Nelly: "Yes, you and Emperor Olga split the spotlight, half and half. Am I about to be promoted to a royal maid?"

Wang Zhong: "Forget about it. Plus, whether there will still be a royal household after the war is another question."

Just thinking about the post-war gave Wang Zhong a headache; he forced himself not to think about it. After all, with the enemy at the gates, he couldn't afford to consider the aftermath without first defeating Prosen.

This was, after all, the Prosen that had pushed the United Kingdom to desperate straits. If it weren't for the onset of Barbarossa, the air raids might have continued, not the Prosen unable to sate the Royal Air Force's appetite, known as the infamously tough Five Bars of Thirds.

To distract himself, Wang Zhong inquired: "What's for breakfast today?"

"SPAM with caviar and sturgeon in a can."

Wang Zhong: "Apart from Federation aid, are only the fish supplies regular now?"

Nelly: "Today is fish day."

"Oh... I forgot."

Fish Day was originally just an informal regulation, but now that supplies had become difficult, it was set as a mandatory standard.

However, the fact that caviar could still be provided without limit during times of hardship was quite peculiar.

Just then, the telephone rang, and Wang Zhong picked up the receiver: "This is Rocossov, what's up?"

Pavlov's voice came through from the other side: "You'd better come to Kubinka; we've received a batch of new recruits that are quite unusual. I don't know how to deal with them."

Wang Zhong frowned, wondering what kind of new recruits could be so problematic. It surely couldn't be Leopard 2A6s, could it?

He replied, "I'll be there shortly."

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