Cannon Fire Arc-Chapter 741 - 79: Reunion

Chapter 741: Chapter 79: Reunion

After leaving the cemetery, Wang Zhong remained silent in the jeep.

Vasily sighed, “Should I switch places with Nelly in the car behind?”

Wang Zhong, “Why?”

“Just think it might improve your mood, General.”

Wang Zhong, “I’m in a good mood, just suddenly remembered a lot of things.”

He looked at the fields beside him, watching the troops advancing across it.

...

This was half true; his silence was mainly due to surveilling the ground, but he had indeed become distracted by memories of events from two years ago.

Ivan was the kind of guy you couldn’t dislike, and you’d quickly become friends with someone like that.

In the past two years, Ivan was not the only friend Wang Zhong had lost. While mourning Ivan, he remembered many faces.

Like the gunner from the original Prosen Tank No. 422—the T28.

He wondered how the gunner’s mother, Alekseyevna, was doing now.

Thinking of this, Wang Zhong told the driver, “When we enter the city later, let’s swing by 43 Krugan Street.”

He had always kept this address in mind.

But the driver reluctantly responded, “I’m not Argesukov. I don’t know where that address is.”

Sergeant Grigori, “Then you swap with me! You stand guard.”

Vasily, “No, no, no, you stand guard—that’s what works. None of us can protect the General like you. I’ll drive, I know where it is. Pull over!”

The driver pulled the jeep over to the roadside.

The jeep following behind immediately stopped next to them, and Nelly from inside asked, “What’s happening?”

Wang Zhong, “Just switching to someone familiar with Argesukov’s roads, nothing serious.”

Vasily climbed over the front seat to take the wheel and looked at Nelly, “You might as well come, when the lady isn’t here, we’re all at a loss when the General gets sentimental.”

Nelly, “Entering the city, it’s not good for the public to see a woman by the General’s side, it looks too much like leisure. That’s why the lady refused to come.”

Vasily, “Tsch, is it my imagination, or has Nelly become colder since returning from the front? Or is it because I got married that she’s cold?”

Sergeant Grigori, “For heaven’s sake, shut up. Nelly is about to grab her gun, she’s going to shoot you and I can’t stop her.”

Wang Zhong, “Let’s get moving.”

The driver hadn’t turned off the engine when he got out, so Vasily’s start was very aggressive, almost throwing Wang Zhong to the ground.

Grigori’s quick reflexes had him grabbing Wang Zhong’s arm from across the front seat, preventing a disaster.

Nelly, “Vasily!”

Vasily, “Sorry, sorry! Don’t shoot me. I’ll drive carefully.”

Wang Zhong settled back into his seat, cursing, “If I died in a car accident, future generations would sigh endlessly.”

If he died in a car accident, he could sit at the same table as Patton below.

Vasily, “I’m driving really slow, I can go even slower. Just take a look at your former homeland.”

Wang Zhong sighed and looked outside.

Since he didn’t have inherited memories, he didn’t quite remember the surrounding scenery, but despite having no memories, he somehow felt a warm familiarity with the landscapes.

Buildings became increasingly common, and without exception, every roadside building was scarred with bullet marks.

Some with minor damage still housed people, whose windows were all fixed, contrasting sharply with the bullet marks on their walls as clothes hung on the balconies.

Residents were all over the streets, welcoming the passing warriors with flowers and hugs.

Wang Zhong saw an old man holding a bottle of homemade liquor, drinking and shouting, “Yes, yes! Avenge my son and grandson! Yes!”

Of course, there were those who didn’t fit into this euphoric atmosphere.

Like an old lady holding a portrait, silently watching the passing troops.

A military chaplain was standing beside her, seemingly inquiring about details, but the old lady remained silent, just staring at the young men walking by.

Eventually, the roadside houses became more numerous and dense. Vasily, while driving, said, “We’re already within the city limits. I’ll take a shortcut directly to Krugan Street soon.”

At that moment, the jeep passed a wrecked Prosen Tank, which looked like a model four, and children were playing on its debris.

Wang Zhong, “This scene, I feel like I’ve seen it many times.”

Vasily, “You mean the children playing on the tank debris? Yeah, we saw it in Yeisk.”

Suddenly, he exclaimed, “Filippov!”

After saying that, he braked sharply and the jeep stopped in front of a group of resting warriors.

Wang Zhong recognized the leader of the warriors as Filippov, who had helped Vasily complete The Holy War, and he gleefully said, “Hello Filippov, glad to see you.”

Seeing familiar faces still alive truly made him happy.

Filippov quickly stood up, saluting Wang Zhong, “General!”

The pretty girl he was just chatting with curiously asked, “Who is this?”

Filippov replied, “This is General Rokossovsky! Even if you don’t recognize him, you should know by the row of stars on his shoulder! In our Front Army, he’s the only one with so many stars!”

The girl’s eyes widened. “Rokossovsky? Is this the Duke Rokossovsky? The broadcasts in Yeburg always said he had won new victories, and we all thought he was an old man with a full beard! The old lady upstairs even has a portrait of Suvorov, and she prays to it daily, thinking it’s of General Rokossovsky!”

Wang Zhong smiled, “It’s freshly liberated, so it’s normal if you didn’t know me.”

Normally he would have laughed at this point, but he couldn’t quite muster a laugh now.

Vasily glanced at Wang Zhong and silently sighed.

Then he stepped forward and embraced Filippov, “So you’ve become a major as well!”

Filippov replied, “I got pushed into it, there was no captain older than me, so they promoted me to major. They said this time I should go back and take some advanced courses.”

After Filippov had spoken, his soldiers complained, “Without Filippov leading us, maybe we would have soon died in battle. His command saved us many times from dangerous situations!”

Wang Zhong said, “When the time comes, they’ll assign another officer with rich experience here. You guys are the First Mobile Group Army; there are plenty of veterans who want to join.”

Filippov said, “You heard what the General said, no complaining.”

Then he changed the subject and looked at Vasily, “I heard you got married? I didn’t get a chance to see what your sister-in-law looks like.”

“You can get married during your advanced training too, and I’ll have my wife introduce you to someone. But nowadays, the best girls are either nurses or snipers. My wife works as a nurse in the hospital, and she’s also been sent to the front line,” Vasily shook his head, “I hope she’s safe, hospitals are a prime bombing target for the Prosen Air Force.”

Filippov said, “We’ll see about that later. This war isn’t going to be over anytime soon, is it?”

Wang Zhong admitted, “Indeed, it’ll take at least another year to advance into Plowsonia.”

By this time, the news that “General Rokossov is here” had spread, and a crowd began to gather. Wang Zhong urged Vasily, “Alright, you can catch up more once we’re settled. The troops will probably rest for more than half a month, plenty of time for reminiscing. Let’s go before more people gather.”

Vasily nodded, embraced Filippov, then hopped on the jeep.

As the jeep started, someone shouted, “General Rokossov, welcome back!”

Wang Zhong waved at the shouting person, “I’ve returned! My fellow countrymen!”

The crowd cheered.

————

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

No. 43 Krugan Street felt the same as it did two years ago.

Wang Zhong was the first to get out of the car and walked to the apartment door. He raised his hand to knock but hesitated.

Then the door opened, and the person dressed as a priest inside was speaking to someone inside, “So I’ll be leaving now, Ma’am, take good rest, I still have a lot— who’s there?”

The priest met Wang Zhong’s gaze.

Then the priest’s eyes moved down to his epaulets.

The priest took a sharp breath in, “You are… You are!”

Wang Zhong said, “I’m here to see Alekseyevna. Is she alright?”

“Ah, she’s fine. In yesterday’s uprising, she was hit in the shoulder by machine gun fire, but overall she’s alright, the bullet went through her shoulder and luckily missed the nerves, so there’s no need for surgery… Please come in!”

The priest stepped aside and gestured for him to enter.

From inside came the tired voice of an old woman, “Who is it?”

Wang Zhong said, “It’s me, Alekseyevna.”

“Is that voice… could it be General Rokossov?” The sound of someone getting out of bed came from inside.

Wang Zhong quickly rushed to the counter of the concierge and saw the old lady getting down from the bed and walking briskly over. He hurriedly said, “Take it slow! I just came to see how you’re doing. How did you get injured?”

The old lady said, “The Prosens did it, in front of the Municipal Building. I saw they couldn’t push through, so in my haste, I thought since my sons are dead and those like sons also died, I might as well fight with them. But look, General, those Prosens didn’t want this old lady.”

Wang Zhong said, “Your other sons might not be lost yet. Over these past two years, I’ve kept track of their situation, but… there are too many Anteans with the same name, and everything was too chaotic when we fell back the first year, many records got lost. But don’t worry, after the war ends, we’ll set up a special agency—”

At that moment, Grigori’s voice came from outside, “Who are you?”

Wang Zhong paused and looked towards the door, a sense of foreboding in his heart—

Before he could focus his view, an unfamiliar voice came from outside, “I live here! But you, that major’s insignia on your chest must be that of a Deputy Officer, isn’t it? Which general has come here now? Why are you in my house?”

Alekseyevna nearly fell to the ground, but Wang Zhong quickly caught her arm, “Ma’am, be careful!”

Upon hearing this, the man outside charged past Grigori’s block and appeared at the door, “Mom! What happened?”

Seeing Wang Zhong, he froze, “Uh, General?”

Wang Zhong said, “Aren’t you going to support your mother?”

The son hurried over, expertly leaping over the concierge’s counter, and steadied his mother’s other arm.

As Wang Zhong let go, the old lady hugged her son and began to cry.

At that moment, in Wang Zhong’s mind, the melody of “Faraway” suddenly played, the music from “Invisible Guardian” at the end when Xiao Tu and Lu Wangshu reunited in the countryside.

That ending was Wang Zhong’s favorite, even though Xiao Tu lost his identity, and no one knew of his contributions, the warmth in his arms was real, and because of this warmth, because of this embrace, everything gained meaning and value.

At this moment, he gained a new, deeper understanding of that ending.

Watching the mother and son embrace, Wang Zhong’s stern face finally relaxed, and for the first time since entering the city, he laughed heartily.