Arc of Fire

Sufang asked curiously, “Why are you looking at the white horse?”

Ludmila whispered, “He would have never let the wounded use his white horse before, definitely not.”

"Who?” Sufang didn’t catch on at first, then realized, “Oh, ‘he’ huh, he’s grown up, that word is… yes, transformation! I read a book about insects; many insects start as larvae and end up inside a cocoon, and when they emerge, they turn into butterflies.”

Ludmila looked at Sufang, “The Book of Insects? The one written by that Carolingian biologist?”

"Seems like it.”

Ludmila shook her head and continued watching the white horse, “Can people really change that completely? Isn’t there a saying that it’s easier to change rivers and mountains than one’s nature?

"I grew up with him. He was a jerk since childhood, just grew up to be a lecherous jerk… But now, I feel like he’s a completely different person.”

Just then, a senior nurse walking in front of them turned around and said, “Miss, you may not realize this, but men change when they go to war.

"This is what my mother said, my father was also a jerk in his youth, then he went to war in Anatolia, and he changed!

"My mother has long forgotten the events of the war, but my father remembers everything—who commanded which unit, which general was a hero and which a coward, he remembers it all.

"If other old men come to visit at our house, they could sit in the living room and babble about these things all day long.

"War is like magic for men; in war, they either die or turn into men who can stand on their own two feet.”

This Auntie Nurse was evidently a chatterbox; once she started talking, there seemed to be no end, just rattling on and on.

Finally, she concluded with a verdict, “The count must be the same. The wounded in the hospital talk about how the Count rides his white horse through the artillery fire. If they were young ladies, they’d probably be smitten by now!”

Sufang looked awkwardly to the side.

Ludmila still frowned, “But at the beginning of the war, he still… err… never mind, forget I said anything. It must be some mistake if Alyosha is actually charming enough to bewitch girls.”

The Auntie Nurse burst into laughter.

————

"Alyosha” Wang Zhong didn’t care at all what the girls were talking about; he took a few steps and then looked back, always feeling like he heard the sound of an explosion.

Walking beside Wang Zhong, Yegorov comforted him, “The enemy suffered more losses than we did, they won’t attack tonight. Maybe by tomorrow the vehicle will be fixed, and they could even reach Bogdanovka and join up with us.”

Wang Zhong nodded, “Let’s hope so. If the enemy doesn’t attack tonight, we should allow them to retreat.”

"They want to blow up the vehicle; as soon as the vehicle explodes, the enemy will be alerted,” Yegorov paused before adding, “Moreover, maybe they can hold out in Peniye for another day, giving the 63rd Army at Bogdanovka more time to prepare their defenses.”

Pavlov chimed in, “They came from Bogdanovka, so they know what the defense line looks like; maybe they deliberately stayed behind.”

Wang Zhong nodded, “If that’s the case, we must carry on their will and continue the fight.”

"Of course.”

Wang Zhong then asked, “What’s the process for applying for a medal?”

Although it was strange for an officer to ask such a question, Wang Zhong’s original identity was that of a dissolute scholar, so it somehow seemed not that surprising coming from him.

Pavlov clicked his tongue, “The application for a medal has to be signed by the Military Bishop, and you blew up the Bishop.”

Wang Zhong corrected, “I blew up the spy posing as the Bishop.”

Yegorov then turned and asked, “Hey, do we still have a Military Chaplain in the troops?”

In the darkness, someone replied, “All dead, Commander. The Chapiains are usually the first to die.”

Yegorov spread his hands to Wang Zhong in resignation.

Pavlov went on, “Our situation is a bit tricky; the entire higher command structure is wiped out, left in Ronied. From the clerical orders, only a Divine Arrow squad is left.

"We don’t even know after reaching Bogdanovka who we will be taking orders from.”

Wang Zhong, “It doesn’t matter who commands. As long as we can fight the Prussian devils, that’s good enough.”

At that moment, he suddenly remembered something important—he had been fighting all along and had no idea what the date was today.

So he feigned nonchalance and said, “With these ceaseless battles, I’ve almost forgotten what date it is today.”

Pavlov, “June 29th, the first Sunday after the war started—damn, it’s actually Sunday today!”

Yegorov also had a sudden realization, “A week into the war already? I remember the night before it started, I was planning to try out some high-class art, so I bought a ticket for the Ronied Grand Theater, and ended up falling asleep straight through, not even waking up for the applause.”

Wang Zhong scratched his head, “It’s only been a week since the war started?”

"Yeah, just a week. And yet we’ve lost Ronied, the Prussians are advancing much faster than us during the winter campaign and the civil war.” Pavlov clicked his tongue, “Although they are the enemy, you have to admit they are formidable.”

Wang Zhong, “Fortunately, the enemy advanced quickly, so we were not hit by heavy artillery. If the enemy’s heavy artillery came up, we’d all have to fill the gap with our bodies.”

As he spoke, he recalled the feeling of being bombarded by the enemy navy’s 381-millimeter guns and sincerely hoped it wouldn’t happen again.

At this moment, the first light of dawn began to appear in the east. Wang Zhong glanced at his watch and realized it was almost daylight.

Without realizing it, he had walked through the night.

But Wang Zhong didn’t feel tired at all. Before he realized he had walked all night, he hadn’t felt any discomfort in his legs, but now they began to swell and exhibit the fatigue of a long march.

Wang Zhong, “When can we get to Bogdanovka?”

Just then, the scout riding a gray horse returned and saluted Wang Zhong, “Count, there’s a farmhouse ahead!”

Yegorov, “Is there a well?”

"Yes, comrade commander.”

Yegorov immediately turned to Wang Zhong, “I suggest we rest at the farmhouse for fifteen minutes, and fill our water bottles.”

It was at that moment that Wang Zhong realized he was sweating profusely and his mouth was very dry.

So he nodded, “Rest at the farmhouse. Arrange the sentries, be on guard for pursuers.”

Yegorov immediately turned to give the order.

Calling it a farmhouse was actually a bit of a stretch; it was just a small complex of a single-story house, stables, and a granary, surrounded by a waist-high wall.

The granary was a tall silo, and upon seeing it, Wang Zhong reflexively wanted to climb up to survey the surroundings.

To him now, tall buildings were like the watchtowers in the Assassin’s Creed game series, naturally alluring and begging to be climbed.

A three-generational family lived in the farmhouse, and under the lead of the old man Aleksandrovich, they welcomed Wang Zhong and his group.

"My lord,” the old man said, glancing at the troops entering the yard, “have you suffered a defeat? Are the Prussians coming soon?”

Wang Zhong, “We won, held off an attack from an enemy several times our size, and completed our mission to delay their advance, sir.”

The old man, “So, the Prussians are coming soon, right?”

"Right, you should run with us. We have our defenses at Bogdanovka.”

After Wang Zhong finished, Pavlov added, “The trains there should still be operational. Take the train back east!”

But the old man shook his head, “My wife and I can’t walk anymore. Can you take my daughter-in-law and grandchildren? My son left the day the war started, to join the army.

"He said we would quickly defeat the enemy and if he didn’t enlist right away, he’d miss his chance for glory. He even talked about coming back a noble!”

As the old man spoke, a look of sorrow appeared in his eyes, “We won’t be able to defeat the enemy quickly, will we?”

Wang Zhong, “Indeed. Pavlov, the hospital could still use nurses, couldn’t it? Let this lady join.”

Pavlov, looking troubled, “The lady is fine, but the children…”

Wang Zhong, “Let them come along. There will definitely be nurseries in the rear. We can leave them at a nursery when the time comes.”

"Yes.”

Pavlov gestured for the daughter-in-law to come.

Just then, the sound of an engine came from the sky.

Sergeant Major Grigori, who had been on guard next to Wang Zhong and the others, shouted, “Take cover!”

Wang Zhong, “Don’t worry, it’s our plane.”

He had already seen the plane approaching from the east through a bird’s-eye view.

The soldiers who had just hit the ground were climbing up when an Il-2 appeared against the morning light in the east.

Yegorov muttered, “The number is the same as the plane from yesterday, it’s the same one.”

Wang Zhong, “It’s the same one that helped us yesterday!”

Sergeant Major Grigori led the shout, “Hoorah!”

Amidst the shouts of “hoorah,” the plane flew low over their heads, and they could clearly see the rockets mounted under its wings.

The plane seemed to hear the sounds from the ground and rolled sixty degrees, allowing the pilot to look at the ground and salute the people below.

Wang Zhong felt a sense of significance, feeling that this salute gave meaning to all the struggles they had endured—no, the struggles were definitely meaningful, but it was this salute that now gave those meanings a sense of reality.

He too returned the salute from the ground to thank the pilot for his help the day before.

After flying past the farmhouse, the plane rolled back to its normal position.

Just then, the sun finally showed its face in the east, and the bright morning light shone on Wang Zhong.