Chapter 101
The train gradually came to a stop amidst the sound of a military band, jolting violently once more before halting completely.
Wang Zhong had already ridden in boxcars before, from Bogdanovka to Loktov*he'd hit his head during a jolt back then, but now, with experience, he grabbed the door in advance.
Ironically, his head was now full of bumps from tank-riding*getting one less bump here didn't make much difference.
As the train came to a complete stop and Wang Zhong was about to get off, he suddenly noticed that besides the military band, there was also a large group of people in flashy military uniforms on the platform.
You could call them military uniforms, but their style was clearly different from Wang Zhong's own khaki, humble uniform*mainly because they were much more dashing and flamboyant.
But if you say they weren't military uniforms, these clothes still had unmistakable military elements that made it clear at a glance: "Oh, the person wearing this is an officer of the Ant Army."
If one had to describe it, they're somewhat similar to the custom-tailored noble uniforms of the Third Reich on Earth.
Noble officers in the Third Reich often customized their uniforms*for example, motorcycle leather jackets were usually only issued to motorcycle reconnaissance battalions, but many noble officers found them cool, so they would have one made too.
This flamboyant bunch now appearing on the platform were probably all noble officers.
When they saw Wang Zhong, they got excited: "Oh oh! He's here, he's here!"
"Alyosha, why does your head look like a turnip? Were you beaten after being captured by the Prossenians?"
"Alyosha, why is your uniform so plain? Where's your tailor?"
The group shouted all at once, voices overlapping.
Wang Zhong tensed like facing a great enemy*he hadn't even been this tense when confronting Prossenian tanks.
Who the hell are you people!
He switched to an overhead view and discovered that this bunch might not be officers at all*they had no officer insignia and no name tags!
No wonder their collar tabs didn't show any proper rank, just flashy decorations.
Damn it, damn it*it turned out to be a bunch of civilian riffraff.
At that moment, Lyudmila leaned in and whispered in Wang Zhong's ear: "These were your friends before we went to study in Saint Yekaterinburg. You can just say you don't know them anymore."
Wang Zhong looked at Lyudmila in confusion, not understanding why she suddenly stepped in to help him.
Could it be she's figured it out?
Then doesn't that mean her liking me has nothing to do with the original Wang Zhong?
Just then, someone in the group recognized Lyudmila*which wasn't surprising, since her silver hair and looks made a deep impression on any man.
"Lyuda!" someone shouted, "Come to the ball tonight! So many people are waiting to dance with you!"
Wang Zhong frowned.
These guys*aren't we on the front line? And they're still dancing?
Wang Zhong felt a sense of disconnect*the secular faction of the Eastern Holy Church was driving the people to bravely resist the invaders, while the nobles, as representatives of secular power, were indulging in music and dance.
How can we defeat Prossen with parasites like these?
Yegorov seemed long accustomed to the nobles' presence and jumped off the train to begin organizing the soldiers to disembark.
Wang Zhong noticed the soldiers disembarking were all glaring at the dandies with hostility.
The dandies didn't notice the soldiers' looks at all and kept teasing Lyudmila: "Ever since you went to Yekaterinburg, you've gotten even prettier!"
"Has Alyosha still not made a move on you? Then how about..."
Just then, Bucephalus let out a long whinny and charged over from the other end of the platform, scaring the military band into fleeing in all directions and abandoning their performance.
It rushed up to the stunned dandies, spun around, and kicked three of them flying with one swift move.
Bucephalus neighed and spun in place, trying to kick more dandies.
Wang Zhong hurriedly got off the train and ran to grab Bucephalus.
The horse stopped immediately and began nibbling on his hair.
The dandies, scared out of their wits, lay on the ground for a while before crawling up: "What's with this horse?!"
Wang Zhong: "Uh... it's a wild horse!"
Bucephalus stomped on Wang Zhong's right boot, making him want to bend over in pain.
But clearly Bucephalus had held back*otherwise, with its weight, Wang Zhong's toes would've been crushed.
Wang Zhong decided not to mention "wild horse" again and continued, "It's not used to train rides, went a bit crazy. Sorry."
By now, most of the dandies had stood up, while those kicked flying were still lying on the ground, groaning: "My bones are broken..."
"My back..."
The unluckiest one had brown stains appear on his pants, and a stench was wafting from that direction.
Vasily got off the train, pretending to look around: "Oh? Why does the air smell kind of familiar? Filippov, do you smell it?"
Filippov: "Vasily, that's not nice*they're nobles!"
"Huh? What're you talking about? You don't smell that in the air? Where could it be coming from?" Vasily insisted on playing dumb.
Well, expecting this guy to respect so-called nobles was unrealistic.
He didn't even respect the White Horse General!
Yegorov shouted: "Enough clowning! Form ranks! Make a good impression for the capital's people!"
Agsukov is the capital of the Kingdom of Kosalia*while previously, Bogdanovka was the capital of the Duchy of Wostrom.
If you've played the Crusader Kings series, you'd know how these fiefdoms stack: above a county is a duchy, above that a kingdom*get three kingdoms and you can form an empire.
As Wang Zhong's soldiers were forming ranks, the shell-shocked military band regrouped and resumed playing "Farewell of Slavianka."
A few dandies began directing their servants to carry their fallen companions to the hospital.
The rest of the dandies huddled together, keeping their distance from the white horse.
One of them asked: "Alyosha, how did you tame this beast?"
As soon as Bucephalus heard someone call it a beast, it started shaking its head, snorting through its nose, and prancing with excitement.
Wang Zhong knew*it was happy. It didn't like being called a wild horse, but it loved being called a beast.
Bucephalus had a complicated maiden's heart.
Wang Zhong eyed his beloved horse suspiciously, vaguely beginning to wonder*this world had mysterious powers that could turn ordinary rockets into missiles and normal people into super-hearing individuals.
So could there be mysterious powers that turned horses into heroic spirits?
If I'm actually a champion of the Eastern Holy Church, riding a divine horse would be pretty normal, right?
Just as he was thinking this, Bucephalus started nibbling his hair again.
*Must be overthinking*it's just kind of crazy.*
Wang Zhong pushed away his overly enthusiastic horse and said to the dandies: "Sorry, my horse went a little mad."
The dandies exchanged glances, and the one who had just called Bucephalus a beast said: "No worries*you always liked the fiery types, whether horses or women."
...Am I really that kind of person?
Another dandy nodded: "Yeah, you even said Lyuda was too gentle, so you weren't interested and didn't make a move on her."
Huh? If I dig deeper this might turn into a complicated NTR loop? Forget it*what matters is that Lyusha likes me now.
Wang Zhong brushed aside the unnecessary thoughts and prepared to politely send off the dandies.
At this moment, the music played by the military band switched from "Farewell of Slavianka" to "Anthem of the Tsar."
Wang Zhong was puzzled and then noticed all the soldiers facing the main building of the train station and saluting.
Wang Zhong looked too*and saw someone he could see a name tag on!
Ivan Nikolayev Antonov, rank: Captain, with a note in parentheses: Crown Prince of the Ante Empire.
Wang Zhong scrutinized the Crown Prince.
Hmm, just a regular Slavic pretty boy.
The name was a male name, and both the patronymic and surname were in male form.
As soon as the Crown Prince saw Wang Zhong, he opened his arms and came forward: "Alyosha! My dear friend!"
Wang Zhong also welcomed him warmly: "Ivanya! My dear friend!"
When the two hugged, Wang Zhong could feel it*Ivan was definitely not female.
A bit of a shame, really.
No wait, not a shame at all! I already have an adorable fiancée!
After hugging Wang Zhong, Ivan turned to Lyudmila and gave a standard gentleman's bow.
Lyudmila: "I'm in uniform, so no hand-kissing."
Ivan finally reacted, stood at attention, and saluted Wang Zhong and Lyudmila!
"Salute to you, General, sir!"
The local dandies left on the side looked at each other in confusion.
Wang Zhong: "Salute to you, Your Highness! Without the technical equipment you provided, we wouldn't have survived!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Zhong's unit shouted in unison: "Salute to you!"
Ivan looked at the unit in shock: "How surprising! They look like a unit loyal to you!"
Vasily: "Reporting, Your Highness, we are a unit loyal to the General!"
Ivan was even more shocked: "Really? You... actually earned your unit's respect?"
Wang Zhong: "You didn't know?"
"No, I thought your military achievements were exaggerated. I mean, look*I've been auditing the High Command meetings, and we've been winning all along, haven't we?"
Wang Zhong: "Your Highness, the reports from the Fronts can lie, but the front line won't*we've been retreating all along. Even this Agsukov is in danger now."
"How could that be!" the Crown Prince laughed. "Isn't this place perfectly peaceful? There are 700,000 troops gathered here*seven hundred thousand!"
Wang Zhong felt a chill at that number.
That's it*the number matches the troops encircled at the Battle of Kiev.
Now all that's left is for the 2nd Tank Group in the north to make the turn.
But...... if things really develop that way, does that mean Saint Yekaterinburg can be preserved?
No, that's not the concern right now*we have to get our troops out of the encirclement first.
Wang Zhong grabbed the Crown Prince's hand: "Ivannya, it's truly dangerous right now! The Prossenian forces love encirclements*they will......"
The Crown Prince smiled: "There are 700,000 troops here, plus the natural barrier of the Tiber River, and Duke Meshkin's forces in Shepetovka can cover Agsukov. Don't worry, we'll deal them a severe blow here! Just relax and let your troops rest and replenish first."
Wang Zhong: "I need supplementary troops, and I need tanks! T34 tanks! And I want all of them equipped with radios!"
"Relax, relax! You'll have them, you'll have everything!" the Crown Prince said, patting Wang Zhong on the shoulder.
Wang Zhong held his forehead.
The Crown Prince added: "Oh, right, I have a message for you*your father, Count Rokosov, is preparing a banquet at the estate to celebrate your victorious return. He's also arranged a base for your troops!"
Wang Zhong sighed, thinking at least there was some good news*at least he no longer had to worry about the troop base.
(End of Chapter)