Arc of Fire

Chapter 3: The First Subordinate (2)

Semyon made a split-second decision, lunging forward with the bayonet aimed at the enemy’s flank.

The enemy let out a ghastly scream.

Ludmila was quick on her feet, smothering the enemy’s mouth with her hand.

But it was too late. From the first floor came another enemy’s query, “Gas wrench?”

In a moment of desperation, Wang Zhong said to Ludmila, “Scream! You scream!”

Ludmila immediately let out a piercing scream as if she was being sexually assaulted.

Wang Zhong saw the enemies were stunned because he hadn’t done anything yet, he was even a body’s length away from Ludmila with a rifle between them.

Semyon stabbed several more times, and the fiercely resisting enemy finally stopped moving.

Immediately, Wang Zhong said to Ludmila, “You lie on the table, hold on to this dead bastard, and keep screaming to lure the second enemy down.”

Just as Wang Zhong was about to issue an order to Semyon, he saw Semyon had already hidden beside the door.

This bird’s-eye view was pretty convenient, literally keeping an eye on all directions.

The second enemy appeared at the door and upon seeing Ludmila, he outright laughed: “Wow, to death or glory, huh!”

The lust-driven enemy didn’t even notice the bloodstains on his comrade and walked straight into the room.

Semyon shouted and lunged forward with his bayonet.

But this enemy was quick, dodging the thrust and grabbing a helmet to smash it onto the overextended Semyon’s head.

Semyon screamed in pain, likely pierced by the spike on the helmet.

Damn, could that spike really come in handy like this?

The enemy yelled out, pulling out a dagger and stabbing it into Semyon.

From his bird’s-eye view, Wang Zhong clearly saw that Semyon was no longer moving. Shifting his focus didn’t provide any explanation.

Private Ivan lunged with his bayonet, striking the enemy in the heart.

The enemy stared at Ivan, his mouth agape, but said nothing.

Maybe because Wang Zhong had been watching everything from this bird’s-eye view the entire time, it felt surreal to him until he switched back to his own eyes and smelled the thick scent of blood.

Ludmila: “Are there any more enemies?”

Wang Zhong: “With all this commotion and no inquiry, there should be none.”

As he spoke, Wang Zhong went to the door to check outside and found that outside was also a basement, not the corridor he had assumed. In this room, a staircase against the wall led to the ground level.

Wang Zhong: “We should head to the rooftop first, to assess the surroundings.”

This cheat of his needed a field of view; getting to the rooftop would probably “light up” the surroundings.

He turned around to look at the people in the room and saw everyone staring at him.

The sergeant said, “No, we leave directly. Do you want the enemy to spot us on the rooftop?”

Ludmila stood up from the corpse: “We already lost one person luring the enemy down here for a surprise attack. If you had just opened fire, sergeant, we’d all probably be dead by now!”

The sergeant shook his head: “This was just blind luck, a greenhorn who wets himself on the battlefield won’t get lucky every time! We should leave now before the enemy notices us! Vasilyevna, come with us, we’ll ensure you get back to the allied forces and return to your unit!”

Wang Zhong was momentarily confused before realizing that Vasilyevna was Ludmila’s patronymic. Russians address someone of general acquaintance or higher status with their patronymic, and it is impolite to call them by their first name alone.

Well, maybe not Russians, since this isn’t Earth, but clearly, the people here followed the Russian convention.

Ludmila hesitated, then said, “No, I support the Major.”

The sergeant shook his head, “Then there’s nothing I can do, we’re going!”

With that, he pushed past Wang Zhong who was standing at the doorway, clutching his submachine gun as he headed for the stairs to the first floor.

The two privates followed him.

In the blink of an eye, the room was left with only Wang Zhong, Ludmila, and three dead bodies.

Ludmila looked regretful.

Wang Zhong: “You can still catch up with them.”

Ludmila bit her lip and looked at Wang Zhong: “No, I think in our current situation, the chances of survival with either side are not high.”

Wang Zhong: “You’re right.”

He took a deep breath and turned towards the corpses.

He picked up Semyon’s gun and handed it to Ludmila: “You need something to defend yourself; can you shoot?”

Ludmila took the gun and proficiently checked the chamber, then looked up at Wang Zhong: “I scored higher than you in shooting, Major, don’t you remember?”

"Oh, is that so?” Wang Zhong mused internally, what kind of pure loser had he replaced.

After salvaging another rifle, several grenades, and some ammunition from the other two bodies, Wang Zhong decided to move out.

He moved stealthily up to the ground floor, promptly switching to the bird’s-eye view.

It was then that he noticed in the upper right-hand corner of his field of vision, aside from himself, there was another badge, focused on the new badge it read: “Captain Ludmila Vasilyevna Malyukhova, Divine Arrow.”

So, people who would follow his orders would be added to the badge?

And what in the world was Divine Arrow?

Wang Zhong switched floors and suddenly realized he could see the basement as well.

Could it be that, like in real-time strategy games, this ‘cheat’ allowed him to see through the eyes of the troops under his command?

This was indeed convenient, as gaining command over more troops would widen his field of vision.

Regardless, he now had a soldier under his command.

And such a beautiful girl at that.

Wang Zhong cautiously moved to the second floor and discovered that it had been hit by artillery; there was a large hole in the wall facing the street.

Ludmila: “We were originally on the second floor, but before we could destroy the enemy’s tank, we received a direct hit from a shell, and the entire Divine Arrow squad was reduced to just myself.”