Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 171 Lilia's Struggle
In the darkness, rustling sounds occasionally echoed along the riverbank.

A small squad of Soviet soldiers were moving things from the wagon like ants: ammunition boxes, bags full of potatoes, and prepared black bread. Qin Hao and several soldiers quickly dragged these supplies onto the wagon.

"The Germans bombed our supply trucks during the day. If we couldn't get them back then, we would mark them and try to come back at night."

"We will also try our best to salvage useful items from the destroyed vehicles, especially ammunition and fuel," a soldier explained to Qin Hao and his companion as they worked.

Soldier Beriev glanced at Lilia's excessively young face and whispered reassurance, "Don't worry, Sergeant Pavka is the most experienced in this line of work; he's never been caught by the Germans."

The petite girl nodded without replying. She was currently struggling to lift a bag of potatoes onto the carriage. Because she was so short, she had to stand on tiptoe, and her face was flushed red.

A hand reached out and helped her lift the potatoes onto the carriage. While helping, Qin Hao casually tossed another bag onto the carriage as well.

The little girl glanced at Qin Hao, sniffed, and then stubbornly ran back, gritting her teeth as she reached for a bag of black bread on the truck.

This girl has a strong sense of self-esteem and subconsciously compares herself to others, especially male soldiers, in everything.

However, her body was not suited for strenuous physical labor. After only a few rounds, she was panting heavily, and her beautiful short hair was stuck to her forehead.

Looking at the girl, even the veteran shook his head slightly.

"Five more minutes, hurry up!" Pavka shouted. By this time, the supplies had been completely loaded onto the wagons, and the soldiers were removing the tires and draining the diesel fuel.

"It's time, let's go!" The veteran put down his watch and began directing everyone to get on the carriage.

"Cough cough... I haven't finished pumping the oil yet..." Lilia Litviak said, panting heavily. She had just managed to insert the tube into the fuel tank with great difficulty, and almost swallowed a mouthful of diesel fuel while pumping it in.

"Listen to the sergeant, we can't stay here any longer." Qin Hao interjected from the side, carrying the driver's body on his back as he climbed onto the carriage and reached out to pull the girl in front of him up.

After a slight hesitation, the petite girl reached out her hand and was immediately pulled onto the carriage.

Sure enough, not long after they left, the sound of reconnaissance planes could be heard in the sky.

On the way back, Lilia remained silent. She was a very strong-willed person, and her performance today made her feel like a burden.

"Don't overthink it. Everyone has different strengths. In your area of ​​expertise, you are better than anyone else," the man opposite him said.

Lilia nodded, hugged her knees, and curled herself into a small ball.

She had a strange feeling that the man in front of her had a certain confidence in himself, even more so than she did.

But she didn't understand why.

And so, a small group was formed in a warehouse in Rostov, and its official name was the 22nd Engineer Platoon.

The main task is to traverse the battlefield at night, recovering parts and remaining supplies from destroyed vehicles, which are then stored in this temporary warehouse.

It must be said that survival on the battlefield was Pavka's forte; this veteran had an almost innate sensitivity to danger.

Under his leadership, even as the fighting outside intensified, this five-man team never engaged the Germans in direct combat.

However, Lilia, being a woman, seems to be in a somewhat awkward position here.

“Miss Pea, you don’t need to go out tonight. You have other tasks.” Pavka picked his teeth as he handed a list to the little girl, whom he called Miss Pea.

"560 sets of military uniforms, along with caps and boots. Just issue them without changing the sizes. They're all for the militia. Once you've got these things sorted, you can rest. Remember not to lock the door at night; we might be back in the middle of the night."

Lilia took the list, saluted, took a deep breath, and asked, "Sergeant, is it because I'm a woman that you're worried I'll hold everyone back?"

“Everyone has their own strengths,” Pavka replied with a smile, revealing his large, yellow teeth that resembled corn kernels.

The same words can have completely different meanings in different contexts.

If Qin Hao's words were encouragement, the veteran was actually subtly telling the other person, "You're right."

That afternoon, the militiamen found that the distribution of clothing was almost twice as efficient as usual, with the petite girl pushing her speed to the limit.

She stood on a stool, took the military uniforms off the cabinet one by one, then quickly pulled out a military cap and boots, tossed them to the person in front of her as fast as she could, and then called for the next person.

"Hey, comrade! My hat is too big, it's like a bucket." A spirited young man shook his hat and made a funny gesture, and someone next to him laughed along, but there was no malice in it.

These young men, who had just become militiamen, had not yet had their fighting spirit worn down by the battlefield.

"Supplies are insufficient. Just distribute them without changing sizes. If there are any problems, exchange them with your own people." Lilia called the next person forward without stopping her work.

As dusk fell, the petite girl stood before the 22nd Engineer Platoon once more.

“I’ve finished my work,” Lilia said, slightly raising her chin as she spoke.

Pavka smacked his lips, looked at the others around him, and said helplessly, "Then let's all come together."

Today's target is an overturned T26 tank, its entire upper turret destroyed, and its tracks broken, lying upside down in a muddy ditch.

"Damn it, bad luck! In this state, apart from a few broken chain links, there's nothing usable," Beriev complained, putting down his tools.

"If we can't handle it, let's just go back." *Clang*
The sound of metal clanging rang out, exceptionally clear in the night.

The men suddenly became alert and grabbed their weapons. Only then did they realize that the sound was coming from inside the tank.

When~
Again, this time everyone heard it clearly.

"There are still people alive inside! Hurry!" Several people frantically tried to pry open the top of the tank, but when they tried to crawl inside, they ran into a problem.

"Damn it! The gap between the lids is too small, we can't get in, we can't get any leverage!" Beriev cursed angrily, holding the crowbar.

The tank had overturned, and the turret had become the support point. The tank's top cover and the ground formed a narrow triangle, making it impossible for anyone outside to open the cover.

The driver inside was likely injured and too weak to attempt any self-rescue.

Just when they were at their wits' end, Lilia Litviak stepped forward and said, "I'll give it a try. I'm short, but I should be able to squeeze into this space."

"It's very dangerous. Applying force will affect the tank's balance. If it falls over, it will weigh a full 9 tons," someone nearby warned.

Looking at the gap in front of her and listening to the faint sounds from inside the tank, Lilia bit her lip. "I want to try!"

The petite girl held a crowbar in one hand and carefully squeezed through the gap below, where her height was just enough to stretch out in the narrow space.

After advancing about a meter, a handle for a tank hood appeared ahead, which was for emergency opening.

Insert the crowbar, and the little girl grips it tightly with both hands, exerting force with her arms.

when! !

The sound of metal clashing was heard, but the cover remained completely still.

"There's a lock inside, it takes a lot of strength, come out!" someone outside advised.

"I'll try again!" Lilia gritted her teeth, gripped the crowbar again, and this time she put all her strength into it.

"Damn it!!! Open it!!!" The well-mannered girl swore for the first time.

when! !

when! ! !
Click!

A sound like metal snapping rang out, and the lid opened.

Lilia wiped the sweat from her brow and climbed into the tank. Soon after, she dragged out a driver who was already half-conscious and used all her strength to push him out.

Crack! A terrifying sound rang out, and the T26's body trembled slightly, as if it were about to crash into the ground.

As the dark shadow loomed over her, Lilia closed her eyes in terror.

The next second, she felt like she was flying.

At the critical moment, someone grabbed her shoulder and pulled her and the driver out together.

Boom! ! ! ! !
When T26 collapsed completely to the ground, everyone was still shaken.

Lilia disregarded her feminine image and lay down on the ground, panting heavily, large beads of sweat dripping from her head.

Someone walked over and extended their hand to her.

"Well done, buddy!" the black-haired, black-eyed man said gently.

Lilia looked at the other person, a smile appearing on her face.

Snapped! !

Two hands, one big and one small, were clasped together.

On the way back, Lilia sat at the front of the carriage for the first time. This was the team's rule: the most important contributor to the mission would sit at the front of the carriage.

A gentle night breeze blew by, and the petite girl felt incredibly relaxed. For the first time, she had received a sense of validation from her comrade-in-arms.

Looking at the black-haired man beside her, she opened her mouth as if to say something, but the next second, a mournful crow rang out in the night sky.

Quack!
"Something's up! Get off the carriage!" Qin Hao shouted to the people around him, bypassing Pavka.

A strong stench of blood filled the night. In the grass beside the road, more than a dozen corpses lay scattered, the bloodstains still wet, and the stench in the air was nauseating.

Moonlight shone through the shadows of the clouds onto the corpses; the man who had been shot in the face had his entire head rotten.

In his hand was an unusually large military cap.

(End of this chapter)