artillery arc

Chapter 774: Imperial Soldiers’ Rest

Andreas didn't know how many times he had been on night duty when he saw a man dressed as an officer stumbling towards him from afar.

"Stop!" He flipped the safety on his assault rifle. "Don't go any further! Which unit are you from?"

Andreas had a flashlight, but he didn't want to reveal his location so quickly, so he hid in the dark and shouted.

"600th Guard Division, our troops have been wiped out. It took me two days to get through the Ante-occupied area. I want to see your commander!"

The man's Proson language was very authentic, but Andreas did not dare to let his guard down and asked again: "Where are you from? When did you join the army?"

The other party immediately replied: "I am a native of Prothenia. I have been in the army for eight years and participated in the Melanian Campaign and the Carolingian Campaign. If I were not a local, I would not have been able to bypass the enemy troops!"

Andreas thought for a moment and asked, "What's the name of the best tavern on King Street?"

"Don't try to bluff me. There's no tavern on King's Street," the other said as he walked forward.

Andreas turned on the flashlight, shone the beam at the other person, and carefully examined his attire: he was wearing a dirty Proshen officer's uniform, but the medals he wore were completely consistent with what he had just said.

Andreas turned off the flashlight. "Congratulations on your escape."

"Did I really escape? Being captured is the only way to escape, right?" the officer teased. "Do you have a cigarette, soldier?"

Andreas took out the cigarettes he rolled himself: "Only the ones I rolled myself. We haven't distributed finished cigarettes for a long time. It's all loose tobacco."

Officer: "Logistics has reached this point. When will this war end?"

As he spoke, the officer took the cigarette, put it in his lips, and began to feel for matches on his body.

Andreas took out his own matches and tried to strike five or six matches but failed.

The officer finally found a match, took out one, struck it lightly and lit the cigarette.

Andreas looked at the matches used by the officer in confusion. The packaging was exactly the same as the rationed matches he had received, but the performance was obviously abnormal.

It looks very much like the Ante matches that the military police confiscated from deserters.

The officer saw Andreas staring at the matches, so he slapped the whole box of matches into his hand and said, "Take it, man."

"Oh, thank you." Andreas replied.

The officer asked again: "Where is your commander?"

"There's a two-story building at the back." Andreas pointed at the building. "The second floor is the regiment headquarters."

"Okay, thanks for the explanation. Let me ask you one more question. If you are not on duty, where would you go to kill time? There must be a pub or something like that, right? Or is there no pub now?"

Andreas glanced at the gendarmes' sentry posts, then lowered his voice and said, "Of course there is a tavern. Although brewing beer with grain is now a felony, some people still brew beer secretly. Walk back one block to Frona Street, in the basement of apartment No. 110."

The officer nodded: "Okay, I'll go check it out after I report the situation to your commander."

After saying this the officer waved goodbye and walked towards the building where the regiment headquarters was located.

His figure quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Andreas picked up the matches given by the officer, pulled out one and looked at it carefully, and found that the match stick was quite thick and the head was very full.

He rubbed the matchbox gently and a bright flame appeared.

Andreas stared at the flames, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong with the officer.

There was no sign of fatigue or despair on the officer's face. His eyes were bright and sharp, which was completely different from the desperate dead fish eyes that Andreas had been accustomed to seeing recently.

"I should report it to the Imperial Household Ministry or the Military Police." He muttered softly, watching the match in his hand burn out. "Yes, I should report it - but..."

But what if this "officer" remembers my report?
What if after the war, he becomes the leader of the new Plossom nation and begins to settle accounts with those who betrayed him?
The flame in Andreas's hand went out.

who cares.

He threw away the burnt match, put the remaining matches in his pocket, and then turned the safety on his assault rifle.

----

Basement of apartment 110, Florna Street.

The moment the hostess opened the door, the conversation in the room suddenly quieted down.

Everyone looked at the officer at the door, and after confirming that he was not carrying the military police's half-moon dog tag, they began chatting animatedly again.

"Half of the people in our company are teenagers. On the day they reported for duty, I said to the deputy company commander: Wow, we are now kindergarten principals!" said a captain.

The sergeant sitting opposite the captain took a big sip of beer and sighed, "I distributed the rationed bread to the residents near the position. They have been eating cabbage for a long time. When they open their mouths, their teeth are the color of cabbage.

"It's amazing that people can survive by eating only vegetables. Humans are really resilient."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone said, "Why did you distribute bread to the residents? Now we can exchange our rationed bread for gold bars and gold watches on the black market. I calculated that it is almost equivalent to the value of 50 marks before the war!"

Another person said, "Not only can you exchange them for gold bars and gold watches, but it is said that if you like a girl, you can get her with a basket of bread. I heard that the general of our division has three 'typists' and gives them bread every day."

Someone immediately joked to the hostess of the tavern: "Lili Marlene, can I sleep with you while I bring you the bread?"

The hostess smiled and said, "I am of conscription age. I have not been arrested and I am still running a tavern for you. Use your brain. I have a background."

"Ah, we know that," a lieutenant said jokingly, "You are the emperor's lover!"

The officer who had just entered looked up at the hostess and whispered to the sergeant next to him: "Is this the emperor's lover?"

"Of course not. She was a movie star before the war. Maybe she hooked up with a general, so she can open a tavern here." The sergeant replied, then stared at the officer for a few seconds, "I haven't seen you before, who are you?"

Officer: "I am from the 600th Guard Division. I just escaped from the enemy-occupied area."

"Oh? Then why don't you just surrender? You don't think they will give you the Iron Cross if you come back, do you? Even if they do, what's the use? It is said that the Ants are slaughtering people with the Iron Cross, saying they are war criminals."

The officer shook his head: "The Ants did not do this because their marshal required that military discipline must be maintained, and we cannot do it like we did in their territory."

The sergeant looked at the officer in confusion and said, "What's wrong with you? If the military police hear this, you will be beheaded."

The officer didn't answer, but took the beer that had just been delivered to him and took a big sip. Then he stood up and said, "This beer tastes like horse urine!"

The room fell silent, everyone staring at the unfamiliar officer.

Someone shouted, "It's a stranger. Could he be a spy from the Imperial Household Ministry?"

"Kill him! What we just said is enough to kill him several times!"

The officers shouted: "Comrades! Now is not the time for infighting! I ask you, where are your wives now?"

Everyone was silent.

Officer: "They were drafted, right? Your child was also forced to take up arms! Even if he was lucky enough to escape the fate of becoming cannon fodder for the Self-Defense Forces because of his young age, he was starving to death and could only eat cabbage every day!"

Everyone lowered their heads and remained silent.

Officer: "Why doesn't he eat bread? Because bread can only be bought on the black market and costs half a million marks!

"The most ironic thing is that when food is so scarce, there are still people who can use wheat to brew beer, and this person does not need to be arrested for military service, just because she is a movie star, she is the mistress of a general!"

The hostess reacted and shouted, "Don't say that! If the Imperial Household Ministry's spies hear us, we will be beheaded!"

The officer's voice overwhelmed the woman: "I think this is wrong! Comrades! We have been deceived by the false emperor on the throne. We are fighting and bleeding, our old fathers are fighting and bleeding, and even our women and children are fighting and bleeding! The false emperor and his high-ranking officials are enjoying themselves in the palace!"

Someone shouted: "He is a spy sent by the enemy!"

Officer: "I am a native of Prothenia! I have lived here since before the construction of this new capital began, and my family has lived here for generations!
"Like you, I have the blood of the Prosen people flowing in my veins! I am here to guide you out of the lies of the false emperor!"

The man who just shouted "spy" shouted again: "We have trusted His Majesty the Emperor for so many years. Now you say we have been deceived. Who should we trust? The Four-Armed Divine Emperor?"

The officer pulled out a secular scripture written by St. Andrew and held it high.

The hostess recognized the logo and shouted, "He is indeed a spy! I'm going to call and report him!"

She took out the phone from the bar, but as soon as she picked up the receiver, several people held her down.

"Tell me about it." said the captain, who had the highest rank in the room except for the officer holding up the holy book.

Officer: "This woman will betray us. We must kill her."

"You tell us the truth first. If you can convince us, we will kill him. If you can't, we will kill you." The captain pulled out his Ruger pistol and slammed it on the table.

The officer nodded, opened the holy book, and began to explain the secular doctrines to these Prosen people.

----

November 11, Plossen Palace Bunker.

"What does mutiny mean?" Emperor Proson stared at the head of the Imperial Household Ministry's secret service. "How could the loyal Proson army mutiny?"

The spy chief said: "We believe that it is the secular priests who took advantage of the chaos in the defense line to infiltrate. In order to combat infiltration, I have ordered a strict investigation of deserters, especially officers who have escaped back."

Emperor: "Are there many troops that mutinied?"

The generals in the room looked at each other, and finally their eyes fell on the most respected Celtic Marshal.

Marshal: "The mutinous troops... only accounted for 10% of the defense force of Prothenia, which is not a lot. They did not fire at friendly forces, but just gave up their positions."

The emperor's hands were shaking so much that he could hardly hold the pen.

Marshal Celtic continued, "When they gave up their positions, they sang a song in the Prosin language. It seemed to be called "Rising from the Ruins". The soldiers who refused to mutiny brought back the lyrics. Here they are."

The marshal took out a note and placed it in front of the emperor.

The emperor picked up the note. Although he was still young and at an age where he had more future than past, his hands shook like an old man with Parkinson's disease as he read the words on the note.

"This is Rokossov's work!" The emperor threw the note on the table. "This must be Rokossov's work! I have said it before, all believers of the secular school are natural traitors! They should be wiped out!"

The head of the Imperial Household Ministry's secret service said: "We are already doing it. If we find anyone who leans towards the secular faction, the whole family will be punished."

"It's too late now!" the emperor said angrily, "You are all good-for-nothings just like our generals! Good-for-nothings! Now the secularists have pulled our troops away from the positions in an organized manner, and they are singing 'The great motherland rises from the ruins' as they leave! Great motherland! They have even changed their perception of the motherland!"

The room was silent.

The emperor stood up and paced back and forth in the room for about five minutes and then said: "It has come to this. I can only fight Rokossov in single combat! If Rokossov wins, we will surrender gracefully. If I win - at least I can make Rokossov pay the price!"

Everyone in the room seemed to be shocked by the emperor's words and looked at him with disbelief.

Emperor: "What are you standing there for? Send a telegram to Rokossov!"

----

Wang Zhong: "Is Emperor Proson crazy?"

He put down the telegram and looked at Pavlov.

Pavlov: "Why do I feel that he made a good move after understanding your character? I won't allow you to do such a crazy thing."

Wang Zhong: "Of course I won't. Even if I go, I will first ask Sergeant Gregory to kill all the guards around the emperor and disarm the emperor before going."

"Sukabulie! Don't you still want to go?" Pavlov slammed the table. "No! Don't do this kind of crazy thing! We will occupy Prothenia, and then you can humiliate the emperor or pee on his corpse, it's up to you! But you can't go in before the battle is over!"

Wang Zhong: "Don't get excited, I told you I won't go!"

"You know the story of the boy who cried wolf? How many times did you say you wouldn't go? Did you keep your word? No, I won't trust you anymore! I'll keep an eye on you 24 hours a day! If you disappear from my sight for more than two hours, I'll quit and you can go find another chief of staff!"

At this time, Sergeant Gregory said, "Perhaps you can let me duel with His Majesty the Emperor? I'm quite interested. Marshal, you have Ms. Nellie to protect you anyway."

Wang Zhong: "No, I won't respond. Adjutant, draft a telegram, the content is - idiot...Okay, this is too straightforward. How did the Cossacks address the Sultan in the letter to him?
"Forget it, I'll think of one now. To the criminals who started the war of aggression, the shameless scum, the devil in human skin, I will never duel with someone like you, you don't have the qualifications.

"Signed: Marshal Ant Alexey Konstantinovich Rokosov."

(End of this chapter)