Cannon Fire Arc-Chapter 742 - 80 You Cannot Walk into Yesterday’s Time

Chapter 742: Chapter 80 You Cannot Walk into Yesterday’s Time

The mother and son embraced each other for a long time.

When Alekseyevna finally calmed down, her son released her and stepped back.

Then the young man—not right, he was actually older than Wang Zhong, so it’s improper for Wang Zhong to call him young here.

He wore the rank of a lieutenant, his face shared a resemblance with Alekseyevna, roughly seventy percent.

Like most Ante soldiers, his chest was adorned with medals he had earned so far, although they didn’t include the Gold Star Medal, the number of decorations suggested his performance on the battlefield was second to none, perhaps just lacking a bit of luck.

“General…”

...

Wang Zhong: “Aren’t you going to introduce yourself?”

In fact, Wang Zhong had already asked Pavlov to look for Alekseyevna’s other sons, but things were too chaotic at the time, all documents were lost, those responsible were either sacrificed or taken prisoner, and the troops were beaten by the Prosens to a pulp, many survived but couldn’t make it back to their units.

Of course, Wang Zhong could simply look at the names from a top-down viewpoint, but the procedure still had to be followed.

Lieutenant snapped to attention and saluted: “Reporting to the general, first platoon deputy platoon leader of Battalion One in Regiment Fifty-four, Guard Eighth Mechanized Infantry Division, First Mobile Group Army, Lieutenant Petro Alexeyevich!”

Wang Zhong returned the salute and praised, “You have a heroic mother, and a heroic brother as well.”

“Thank you,” the lieutenant said.

The local church priest spoke up, “Your mother participated in the city’s liberation uprising just yesterday, and everyone saw her charging towards the enemy stronghold at the Municipal Building, the enemy’s City Defense Command!”

Lieutenant Petro exclaimed, “Mother! Why would you risk your life like that!”

Alekseyevna retorted, “I thought you all were dead, so I wanted to give the Prosens a taste of their own medicine, to stab a Prosen mother’s son to death. Even if you came back, I don’t regret it, one should be stabbed!”

Priest: “We plan to apply for the Gold Star Medal for Alekseyevna, not only was she brave in battle yesterday, but for the past two years she has been covering for guerrillas and the underground church, and gathering supplies for us. She deserves the Gold Star, else the whole parish won’t be happy!”

Wang Zhong looked at the medals on Petro’s chest and suddenly had the idea to tease him, so he said, “And your brother, right now we prioritize awarding the Gold Star to those who are alive, but after the war, your brother will be posthumously awarded the Gold Star.”

Petro’s mouth twitched noticeably, with so many medals on his chest, not having the Gold Star must be difficult to accept.

Petro: “I will also strive to get the Gold Star…”

“No,” Wang Zhong shook his head with bad intentions, “I think you are an experienced junior officer, you should go to the rear school to teach those who are about to become junior officers.”

“But… I…”

Wang Zhong: “I have already decided.”

This was a joke Wang Zhong played on Petro, but also a gift Wang Zhong presented to Alekseyevna.

Alekseyevna hugged Wang Zhong, “General, my dear general, you are the kindest man in all the land! But I can’t allow you to give my son special treatment; I am just one among countless mothers, surely there are many others with all their sons on the frontline. Can you bring their children back too?”

Wang Zhong: “I indeed cannot, but my sworn sister can. She can sign a decree to conduct a general survey of the whole army, every family’s last man should not go to the frontline but instead transfer to the new recruits’ camp to teach the new soldiers.”

Alekseyevna still seemed puzzled, “And your sworn sister is?”

Her son Petro whispered, “His Majesty the Tsar.”

Alekseyevna: “Oh! I see.”

Lieutenant Petro asked, “So General, you know my mother because of my brother? What happened to him?”

Wang Zhong: “He was my gunner; at Upper Penie, I commanded a T28 tank with the number 422, and only the driver and I survived, the rest bravely sacrificed themselves.”

Lieutenant Petro widened his eyes, “That T28 gunner was my brother? Nobody told me about this, it wasn’t in the newspapers!”

Wang Zhong: “Because back then I was just an ordinary lieutenant colonel.”

After a brief pause, he added with a self-deprecating tone, “The day before the battle at Upper Penie, I wet my pants on the battlefield.”

Grigori and Vasily burst into laughter.

Everyone else froze, confirming with each other with their eyes before starting to laugh awkwardly, “Ha, hahaha.”

Suddenly, Lieutenant Petro slapped his thigh, “So that’s it, so that’s where the strange tradition of the Guard First Mechanized comes from!”

Wang Zhong: “What, are they still urinating on the dead enemies?”

“Yeah, the new recruits of the First Mechanized are all crazed about remembering the first enemy they kill, there was even a fight over who gets to pee on an enemy,” Lieutenant Petro shook his head, “I had applied to join the First Mechanized, but wasn’t approved; the Guard Eighth Division wanted me, and even when welcoming me, they said, ‘Now you don’t need to go around the battlefield looking for enemies to pee on.’”

Wang Zhong: “As long as the Military Bishop of the Guard First Mechanized hasn’t stopped this tradition, it must be beneficial for the morale of the troops. Then let it be.”

Then he changed the subject, “Lieutenant Petro, are you here on vacation?”

“No, I have a mission, so I asked the Military Chaplain for leave. I must rush back now—”

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Wang Zhong: “As the Commander of the Front Army, I order you to take a three-day leave at home. The written order will be issued through the Front Army Headquarters and will reach your battalion by the end of today. Spend some good time with your mother at home.”

Alekseyevna, probably wanting to object, opened her mouth but changed her mind midway, “Just one day, Petro, just one day.”

Wang Zhong: “Then I shall not interfere with your family reunion! I must visit my estate.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the priest looked troubled, “Your estate, being fairly sturdy, was used as a defensive stronghold and suffered great damage during the battle. It has been uninhabited for the past two years and has become heaven for ivy and various small animals.”

Wang Zhong: “Then I must go back to see it.”

He saluted everyone and turned to leave through the door.

Outside on the street, a large crowd had gathered again; seeing Wang Zhong emerge, they all began to cheer.

Some young girls rushed forward, hugging Wang Zhong’s neck and kissing him passionately.

Wang Zhong, “Alright, alright, thank you all, thank you!”

Someone in the crowd shouted, “General! Say a few words!”

Wang Zhong, “I’m in a hurry to go see my estate! At the citywide liberation ceremony tomorrow, I’ll speak to you!”

But the crowd wouldn’t have it,

“Say something!”

“Yeah, just say something now!”

Wang Zhong had no choice but to climb atop the Jeep helplessly, standing on the seats and sweeping his gaze around.

“I originally thought it would take five years to defeat the Prosens. I thought by the time I returned to this city, the children would have grown up, the elderly and senile would have left, and I would have gone from a young man to a middle-aged uncle.

“But look at me now! I am still that young man! The Prosens are not as formidable as they claim! Though we have made great sacrifices, in the end, we are the victors!

“After liberating this city, we will continue westward! Free the remainder of our country!”

Wang Zhong raised his right hand, pointing westward.

“The enemy is on the decline, and we will eventually enter Plowsonia.”

The crowd looked west and cried in unison, “Hurrah!”

————

After a long day that lasted until eight in the evening, Wang Zhong’s Jeep finally drove into the Rokossovsky Estate.

By that time, the sun was indeed setting in the west, and its rays cast a bloody hue on the ruins.

Wang Zhong walked in the courtyard, and although he had lived in this estate for just a month two years ago, everything now seemed so familiar as if he had spent his entire childhood here.

He arrived in front of the mansion’s main entrance and looked at the columns riddled with bullet holes.

“It looks like there must have been a machine gun emplacement nearby,” he said, “so the enemy used their machine guns to fire here, trying to suppress the machine gunner.”

He looked up at the blasted-open gates.

“The enemy tanks fired; it was the 75mm high-explosive rounds of the short-barrel Mark IV.”

As the words left his mouth, he was transported back to two years prior, watching the Ante Soldiers at their defensive positions beneath the porch, firing, with the old Maxim Machine gun spitting flames.

Then, a shell hit the gate behind them; the blast of the explosion carried shrapnel over the machine gun emplacement.

The machine gunner took a hit in the back, gritted his teeth, and continued to fire, but could no longer aim properly. The machine gun fired aimlessly into the void until the ammo belt ran out.

The Prosen Infantry charged, kicking the now lifeless machine gunner aside, finishing him with a few stabs of their bayonets.

Wang Zhong sighed, and it was then that he heard a child’s voice, “Alyosha! Come on over!”

He followed the voice and saw a young boy standing amongst the fallen beech trees that had already been uprooted, beckoning to him, “Alyosha, hurry!”

Then another child ran from the porch, calling out, “Your Grace! Wait for me!”

“Don’t call me Your Grace!”

Then, two girls, one older and one younger, appeared, “Ivan, Alyosha, you’ve locked up Olga again! I’m going to tell the Duke!”

Wang Zhong rubbed his eyes, and the children disappeared; a corpulent old man was directing the gardeners in pruning the trees in the yard under the trees.

The old man suddenly sensed something, stopped, and turned to look at Wang Zhong, then smiled.

Just then, from the second floor’s master bedroom, came the loud crying of a baby.

Wang Zhong looked up at the second floor, but all he saw were walls that had collapsed halfway, the remaining half overrun by ivy, its palm-shaped leaves swaying in the sunset.

Emerging from the illusions formed by his thoughts, Wang Zhong heard Vasily ask, “General, would you like me to play something?”

Wang Zhong, “Then play Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 49, the Overture of 1812 in E-flat major.”

Vasily, “I only have a harmonica, though!”

Wang Zhong, “No problem, when we get to the climax, I’ll have the artillery commander of the Front Army fire to support your performance.”

The climax of the 1812 Overture depicts the French Army—The Carolus Army—crumbling and the Ante Army pursuing the victory. On the planet’s most famous public occasion, they used to set off cannons outside the theater for effect.

Vasily, “But I only have a harmonica! I can’t even get past the opening, let alone the climax!”

Wang Zhong, “Figure something out, musician.”

At that moment, Nelly asked, “So, are you planning to stay in a house that’s already this ruined tonight?”

Wang Zhong thought for a moment, “No, after the war, I can find the best architect to rebuild here while preserving the scars of the war. But for now, let the ivy and the animals continue to enjoy this paradise.”

After a brief pause, he added, “After all, we cannot walk back into yesterday’s time.”