Cannon Fire Arc

Shortly after the cavalry set off, Vasily, in his dirty clothes, entered the headquarters and stood at attention before Wang Zhong, saluting, "Captain Vasily has returned from setting up the decoy targets!"

Wang Zhong nodded, "I have good news for you, the enemy has dispatched cavalry, and I believe it's very likely they want to confirm whether these tanks are real or fake."

Vasily's eyes widened, "The Prussians still have cavalry?"

It seemed that anyone who heard that Prosen had deployed cavalry would have this first reaction.

After all, the Prussians had vigorously publicized how "stupid" the Melania cavalry was for using sabers to chop at tanks, creating an atmosphere that Prosen completely looked down upon the cavalry branch of the military.

And indeed, their organization did not have cavalry included; even the messengers rode motorcycles.

Wang Zhong, "I was also shocked, but indeed, a cavalry unit that doesn't belong to us has appeared. Considering the recent deployment of United Kingdom troops in Balaha, I don't think it's likely to be theirs."

Vasily clearly tuned into the sarcastic tone in Wang Zhong's words and looked ready to join in the jest, but Pavlov interrupted first, "No, the United Kingdom has troops on the Balas Plateau, which is much closer than Balaha."

Wang Zhong, "Is it a matter of being a little closer?" Read the latest on empire

This guy's sarcasm was not even pointed at the right place!

Pavlov, "I'm just saying. And Aleksei Konstantinovich, didn't you read this morning's daily brief?"

Wang Zhong furrowed his brows, "I read the domestic part, what's wrong?"

Pavlov squinted at Wang Zhong, "You clearly participated in the aid negotiations with the Allied Forces but don't care about the situation of one of the three aid routes? Balas is recently at risk of tipping towards Prosen."

Wang Zhong, "Really? They are so far from Prosen, it's impossible for them to get support if they turn towards Prosen, isn't it?"

Yes, Balas might have a coastline, but it's in the south, by the side of the Balaha Ocean, and for Prosen to send support by sea, they would have to pass through the Aegean Sea, the Red Sea, and itself, all of which are controlled by the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.

The land route is even more impossible, consisting of all mountains, with only a few major highways running north from Balaha through Balas to reach the coast of the Inland Sea. Balas itself is a plateau with geographical terraces at its edges, and if the Prussians were crazy enough to consider supporting Balas by land, it would truly be "as hard as ascending to heaven."

Furthermore, between Prosen itself and Bahara lies the neutral country of Anatolia, and whether that neutral country would allow Prosen's army transit is another issue.

Prosen's battleships are currently trapped in the White Sea because Anatolia won't allow them to use their waterways.

Wang Zhong felt that it would be illogical for Balas' rulers to lean towards Prosen if they were of sound mind.

Seeing Wang Zhong's expression, Popov said, "Prosen's propaganda recently seems to consider the Barlas people as descendants of Aryans, and some ethnic groups in Balaha are also identified by them as Aryans who migrated to the subcontinent."

Wang Zhong, "So, that makes the rulers of Balas decide to defect?"

Popov, "It's not just that, the Allied Forces are either constitutional monarchies like the United Kingdom or republics like the Federation; we, although an imperial nation, follow the Secular faction. Balas is a true monarchist nation and is institutionally closer to Prosen."

Wang Zhong was astonished.

That is to say, the monarch and ruling clique of Balas, fearing that the Allied Forces would favor the peasants, plan to defect to the imperial Prosen... that could make sense.

Anyway, they might as well struggle in advance rather than being replaced by the peasants later; maybe there lies a glimmer of hope.

Last year, Prosen's army suffered a significant defeat without conquering Ante, yet still touted it as a "glorious victory" based merely on the outcomes. Plus, on this year's Mamluk front, Prosen's army again brilliantly outperformed the United Kingdom, shedding their armor and abandoning their weapons, and also achieved the impressive feat of annihilating the coastal heavy troop cluster on the Ante battlefield—

It made sense for Balas to think they might have a shot at gambling too.

Wang Zhong waved his hand, "All right, I know the situation in Balas is bad, but it doesn't really concern us. By the time we hold out in Yeisk until August, we should begin retreating. Our troops have been fighting for a month, they're fatigued, and have suffered great losses. We need to return to Kubinka for repairs and as chairman of the Equipment Committee, I'll focus on some reliable heavy tanks and the next-generation medium tanks that can replace the T34..."

As Wang Zhong spoke, he thought to himself that the production lines and machine tools provided by the Federation must have arrived partly by now, and it was time to start developing the "pot-cover helmet."

Just the thought of the "pot-cover helmet" prematurely born and beating the panther-style tanks made Wang Zhong feel exhilarated.

In the future, when filming movies related to the Ante Defense War, seeing the "pot-cover helmet" in a long shot wouldn't be considered a goof.

At that moment, a staff officer came over to salute and loudly said, "Report! We've made contact with the cavalry troops; they have routed a group of the enemy and are sending back the prisoners."

Wang Zhong immediately switched perspectives and saw that time had not yet passed, with the residual view still there. The 20th Army's 33rd Division was cleaning up the battlefield, loading prisoners and the wounded onto the wagons that moved with the cavalry.

Wang Zhong then realized that the 33rd Division was actually equipped with "machine gun wagons," also known as the famous "Tachanka." Should it be said that the traditions of the cavalry troops were well preserved, or that they were stubbornly conservative?

In the last moment before the view disappeared, the wagons finished loading, the drivers cracked their whips, and the entire convoy began moving forward.

As the view vanished, Wang Zhong returned to the warehouse and realized everyone was looking at him.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Pavlov thought Wang Zhong had missed the previous report and repeated it, "The cavalry troops encountered the enemy, won a victory, and are preparing to send the prisoners back."

Wang Zhong nodded, continuing from what Pavlov said, "Soon we'll know where this group of cavalry came from."

Vasily, "Could it be the Sanctified faction recruited in Kazarlia? I heard that the Prussians set up Ante's own police in Kazarlia, and these bastards treat Ante People even worse than the Prussian military police!"

Wang Zhong frowned slightly, "Once we've liberated Kazarlia, I won't let a single one of those men get away, not one! With Prosen POWs, we adhere to international conventions, but for those bastards, huh!"

Popov: "This is just a matter of terminology, we can define them as spies, and then dispose of them at will."

————

Argesukov, under Prussian occupation.

Old Lady Alexeyevna (see Volume Four) heard a rough knock at the door.

She lifted her head, glanced at the door, and at that moment, the floor behind her lifted, and a resistance fighter with a gun poked his head out.

Old Lady Alexeyevna waved her hand and mouthed, "Leave it to me."

The resistance fighter silently retreated back into the hole and covered up the floor.

You could hear the sound of heavy objects being moved beneath the floorboards—to prevent the enemy from discovering the space beneath by sound, the tunnel had a unique design, with a thick layer of stone underneath.

Argesukov was the center of resistance behind enemy lines, and after a year of developments, the resistance army had come up with many tricks to deal with the Prussians.

Old Lady Alexeyevna calmly set aside the sweater she was knitting, stood up while calling out in response to the door, and walked at a steady pace to the front door.

"Who is it?"

She asked.

"Damn it, old woman, open the door!" came a rude curse from outside, in the local accent.

The old lady opened the door to see two burly men dressed in "Security Forces" uniforms.

The old lady sneered, "I thought it was someone important. Isn't that Mikhail from 63rd Street? When you were a kid, your father beat you in the street, and I was the one who went to persuade him to stop."

The leader of the Security Forces, feeling embarrassed, lowered his head, but the other, a scar-faced man, kicked the old lady: "Shut your damn mouth! Why did it take you so long to open the door? Old hag, I suspect you're harboring a traitor!"

Old Lady Alexeyevna staggered backward several steps and only stabilized herself leaning against the wall.

The Security Forces moved a step forward but were blocked by their comrade.

Mikhail: "Let it go, the poor old lady can barely walk. It's normal for her to be slow."

The scar-faced one snorted, spat at the old lady, "Listen here, I was disfigured by those guerillas! If I catch one, I kill one! If you dare to help them, I'll kill you!"

Upon saying that, Scar-face pushed the old lady aside and rushed into the house, starting to rummage through her belongings.

Mikhail nodded at the old lady and also entered the room.

Old Lady Alexeyevna watched them run around the house calmly.

Scar-face was still cursing: "Damn it, why isn't there anything of value?"

Old Lady Alexeyevna: "Have you ever thought about how many times you've searched?"

"Shut up! Old hag!"

At that moment, a man with the Prussian major military rank and a band on his arm walked over, speaking flawless Ante language without any accent: "Madam, our men are just a little rough, they are also trying to protect the safety of the civilians! The explosion at the station yesterday, many civilians were injured!"

Old Lady Alexeyevna looked coldly at this "Prussian," without replying.

The "Prussian major" continued, "Madam, is there only you in the house?"

Old Lady Alexeyevna: "There used to be tenants, but didn't you kill them all? Xie Na from the third floor was lying right there, naked, and I was the one who came out at night to collect her body."

The "major" laughed: "Madam, you sound very much like a resistor!"

Old Lady Alexeyevna: "Besides you, is there anyone in this city who is not a resistor? No, you and your masters should just kill us all."

The "Prussian" shook his head: "You obviously misunderstood, madam, I am already a Prussian, and if you cooperate with us, you can become a Prussian too."

Old Lady Alexeyevna sneered, showing her disdain without any hesitation.

At that moment, a "real" Prussian approached and asked in the Prussian language, "Is there any problem with this old woman?"

"No," replied the fake Prussian major, "the guerillas wouldn't show their hatred so openly. She's just an old lady who is powerless over everything, probably all her sons are already dead in the war. She's just waiting to be reunited with her sons!"

The Prussian glanced at Old Lady Alexeyevna, nodded, and walked away.

The "Prussian major" turned around and said to the old lady, "Remember, I've done you a favor today, so you might have to wait a little longer to be reunited with your children."

The old lady gathered her strength and spat, but she was old and had little energy, so her spit only landed in front of the "major's" shoes.

The "major" laughed heartily.