Chapter 73 The End
Lu Mingfei stared at the slowly moving iron boxes on the ground. They passed through the barbed wire in front of the trench unhindered like a group of steel monsters, leaving a mess wherever they went.
The barbed wire was as fragile as weeds in front of them and could not stop their advance at all. Some Prussian soldiers who did not have time to retreat were ruthlessly beaten into meat patties by these iron boxes, and their blood and mud were mixed together.
As the tanks advanced, other Prussian soldiers also began to waver. The bullets from rifles and machine guns hit the thick armor of the tanks without leaving even a scratch. They were all terrified by the sight of this monster they had never seen before and fled in terror from the trenches to the rear.
The barbed wire in front of the trenches was like a piece of paper and was easily crushed by the tanks. This scene dealt a devastating blow to the morale of the Prussian soldiers. Previously, if British soldiers wanted to destroy the barbed wire, they could only risk their lives and be shot by machine guns like living targets in front of the barbed wire. They had to rely on human lives to break the barbed wire bit by bit, but now it was as easy as child's play.
However, just as the Prussian soldiers in the trenches began to flee desperately, Lu Mingfei suddenly noticed a small group of people going upstream. Instead of retreating, they bravely moved forward to meet the steel behemoth.
Lu Mingfei narrowed his eyes and carefully identified the figures of those people. Then his heart suddenly tightened because he recognized that they were Hill and Paul.
"Damn it! Didn't I tell them to stay back?" Lu Mingfei felt a sudden surge of anger and worry in his heart. He couldn't help but roar loudly, and then he maneuvered the plane to dive down quickly, wanting to rush to support as soon as possible.
……
"Monster! Monster!" A Prussian soldier, who had been frightened by the tanks in front of him, stumbled into the tunnel. His whole body was trembling, his face was pale, and his eyes were filled with uncontrollable fear.
"What's going on?" Hill and Paul rushed forward upon hearing the sound and asked the soldier anxiously. They also heard the fierce artillery fire coming from not far away, but knew nothing about the specific situation on the front line.
Before taking off, Lu Mingfei had ordered them to stay behind and do logistical work and not to go to the front line easily, so they had been on standby in the tunnel, but the situation at this moment had obviously exceeded their expectations.
The Prussian soldier huddled in a corner of the tunnel, his voice trembling with extreme fear, "The British army has sent out so many steel monsters! Guns are completely useless at shooting at them, and barbed wire can't stop them! Those monsters have broken through our two lines of defense and are approaching here quickly!" He said tremblingly, and almost collapsed to the ground.
"What kind of steel monsters did the British army send out? What are they?" Paul asked, with a hint of uncontrollable uneasiness and confusion in his tone.
"Those monsters are like giant beasts made of steel. Guns have no effect on them! They can crush everything, whether it's barbed wire or soldiers. All obstacles are fragile in front of them..." The soldier's voice was almost choked, and his eyes were full of fear.
After listening to this, Paul, Hill and others looked at each other, and a strong sense of crisis surged in their hearts. They knew that this situation meant that the front-line defense would most likely be completely destroyed, and once the defense line collapsed, the consequences would be disastrous.
"Hill, what should we do? Should we go out and help defend?" Paul asked anxiously with a frown on his face. He had already clenched his weapon, ready to rush out and fight the enemy at any time.
"But didn't Hans tell us not to participate in the attack?" Krop's voice was hesitant, and he was obviously worried about disobeying Lu Mingfei's orders.
Hill pondered for a moment, his eyes scanning the faces of his comrades. He knew that everyone was waiting for his decision.
"Let's go out." He finally said firmly, "What will happen to the captain if this place is occupied by the British? He is still fighting in the sky. If we lose this position, where will his plane park? Moreover, the captain is fighting bravely on the front line. How can we, his subordinates, hide in the tunnel like cowards?" His voice became more and more firm, and every word ignited the fighting spirit in the hearts of his comrades.
Paul and Kropp looked at each other and finally stopped hesitating. They had already made up their minds. The soldiers around them also stopped arguing. Hill's words touched their hearts. They could not let their commander fight alone. They were a company, a whole.
"Take out all the grenades. Since bullets are useless, use grenades to blow them up!" Hill gave the order decisively. Paul, Kropp and other soldiers acted quickly and filled every possible place with grenades.
When Lu Mingfei was not around, Hill, Paul and Krop usually made decisions together, but at this critical moment, only Hill could make the most decisive decision. Although Paul and Krop were brave, they were always hesitant about certain things.
Hill stood at the entrance of the tunnel, his fingers trembling slightly, but his eyes were full of determination. He took a deep breath and made some important decision.
"The rats in the tunnel can't walk side by side with the eagles soaring between heaven and earth, so we are the storm now!" Hill stuffed grenades into his waist and said firmly.
If Lu Mingfei is an eagle soaring between heaven and earth, then let them turn into the wind and accompany him.
"Storm Commandos, move out!" With Hill's order, the soldiers in the company rushed out of the tunnel with grenades all over their bodies.
When they rushed out of the tunnel and ran towards the trenches ahead, they found that they were surrounded by Prussian soldiers fleeing to the rear. These once brave soldiers were now scared out of their wits, but Hill and his team were not shaken. They held on to their beliefs and continued to rush forward.
Finally, they saw the steel behemoth called "Monster". The monster was moving slowly, and its huge tracks ruthlessly ran over several slow-running Prussian soldiers, crushing them into a pool of meat paste.
Seeing this scene, anger burned in Hill and his team's eyes, but they did not retreat at all. They had all seen the world with Lu Mingfei, and it was not something they had not seen before.
"Charge!" Hill gave the order, pulled out the grenade first, and rushed towards the tank bravely. His eyes showed determination and resoluteness, and he had made up his mind to die with the enemy.
Following Hill's order, the other soldiers pulled out their grenades without hesitation, followed closely behind him, and launched a fearless charge towards the steel behemoth.
Each of them understood that this was an extremely dangerous action, but they still did not hesitate. The roars of the Prussian soldiers and the explosions of grenades on the battlefield intertwined to form a deafening noise.
When the British soldiers in the tanks saw that a small group of Prussian soldiers dared to charge at them, they immediately reacted and fired back wildly.
Amid the sound of gunfire and explosions, several Prussian soldiers who were running wildly fell one after another, and their blood dyed the land in front of the trench red, but Hill and the remaining soldiers did not stop. The fear in their hearts had long been replaced by burning anger and firm determination.
They threw grenades one after another at the tanks and the surrounding British soldiers. The shock waves of the explosions raised dust and smoke all over the sky, and blew those seemingly invincible steel behemoths to the point of being on the verge of collapse.
"For Prussia!" Hill shouted, and threw the last grenade in his hand accurately under the tank track.
Accompanied by a loud explosion, the steel behemoth finally stopped. Its tracks were blown off and it could no longer move forward. The British soldiers also fled in all directions due to the explosion.
But this was not the end. Hill and his team quickly occupied the breakthrough left by the tanks. They immediately set up defensive positions in front of the barbed wire, using grenades, machine guns and rifles. Any British soldiers who tried to break through here were repelled by them. Their will was as indestructible as an iron wall. Although their numbers were limited, they showed extremely strong combat effectiveness.
……
At the same time, Lu Mingfei was flying the plane down, his hands tightly gripping the joystick, the roar of the plane's engine filling his ears.
When he saw the tank destroyed by Hill and his soldiers on the ground, his anxiety was slightly relieved, but then it was replaced by another stronger anger. Someone in his company still died.
"Damn them!" Lu Mingfei growled and gritted his teeth. His eyes swept across the other advancing tanks and British soldiers on the battlefield. The anger in his chest almost burned him out. He knew that he could not let these steel behemoths continue to run rampant, otherwise the Prussian defense line would completely collapse.
"Spirit of Words·Jun Yan!" A low chanting sound came from his mouth. As the voice fell, a ball of hot flame suddenly spurted out from under the wing of the plane. These flames tore a line of fire on the ground along Lu Mingfei's dive trajectory, engulfing the attacking British soldiers and tanks in flames.
Violent explosions continued to sound, and balls of fire rose from the ground, accompanied by flying metal fragments, turning the battlefield into a sea of fire.
Lu Mingfei's plane was like an angry eagle, circling over the defense line and swooping down again and again, each dive bringing deadly flames and destruction.
British soldiers and tanks were defeated one after another under his attack and tried to escape from this purgatory-like battlefield. Although the plane he was flying was not a real bomber, with Jun Yan's blessing, he turned it into the enemy's nightmare.
However, Lu Mingfei knew that he could not stay on this line of defense for too long. There were other places on the battlefield being attacked by tanks. He had to rush to provide support quickly, otherwise the situation would become even more difficult to control.
Lu Mingfei flew the plane back and forth at various points in the defense line, constantly diving and releasing balls of fire. Under his attack, those steel behemoths gradually stopped advancing.
As more tanks were destroyed, the Prussian defense line began to stabilize, the morale of the soldiers gradually recovered, they reorganized the defense and began to counterattack the British.
But Lu Mingfei did not relax because he knew that the two breached lines of defense were still firmly occupied by the British army. The loss of these areas meant that fatal cracks had appeared in their overall defense.
At this moment, his plane's fuel was almost exhausted, and if he continued fighting, he might not even be able to return to the airport.
"Damn it..." Lu Mingfei gritted his teeth. He suppressed the unwillingness in his heart and finally made the decision to turn the plane around and return to the base.
When he landed, the aircraft was almost out of fuel, and he barely managed to bring the plane back to the airport with the power of the Eye of the Wind King. However, just as he climbed out of the cockpit, a soldier hurried over to report to him: "Captain, the company you led before suffered heavy casualties!"
Lu Mingfei's heart sank. Without saying anything, he quickly followed the soldier to the hospital. He was very worried about the condition of Hill and the others.
……
When he pushed open the door of the hospital ward, what came into view were pale faces. The soldiers in his company were lying on the hospital beds, some were still in a coma, and some had closed their eyes forever.
"Captain..." Hill's weak voice came from a corner of the ward. Lu Mingfei looked in the direction of the voice and saw Hill lying on the bed. His body was wrapped in bandages like a mummy, but his eyes were still open, revealing a hint of tenacity. When he saw Lu Mingfei come in, he forced out a smile.
"We... held it." Hill whispered, his voice weak but full of pride.
"You bastards, didn't I tell you to stay back?"
Lu Mingfei's throat was choked up. He held back his tears, walked to Hill's bed, reached out and held Hill's hand tightly, with mixed feelings in his heart.
Just then he saw Paul and Kropp, who were also lying on hospital beds with multiple injuries, but they were still alive. This gave Lu Mingfei some comfort to the heaviness in his heart.
When he walked to Paul's bed, Paul opened his eyes and said to him weakly: "Captain, we didn't let them break through the defense line."
"You did a great job," Lu Mingfei tried to keep his voice steady. He leaned over and whispered in Paul's ear, "You can go home now. Your battle is over."
The corners of Paul's mouth rose slightly, revealing a tired smile and a hint of reluctance to leave Lu Mingfei.
Kropp was still in a coma, and Lu Mingfei did not disturb him. He looked at the soldiers on the surrounding beds and then returned to Hill's bed.
"Hill, your battle is over. I will arrange for someone to send you all back home." Lu Mingfei said, leaning against Hill's bed.
"Then Mr. Captain...what about you..." Hill asked weakly.
"Me? My battle isn't over yet." Lu Mingfei sighed softly, took out a cigarette from his pocket and wanted to light it, but when he looked around and saw that the ward was full of wounded people, he silently put the cigarette back into his pocket.
"Then when can we meet again?" Hill continued to ask.
"Wait until the war is completely over, then I will come to find you." Lu Mingfei said.
"Hill, do you know... I... I'm actually not from this timeline, I'm from the future..." After hesitating for a long time, Lu Mingfei finally told Hill the deepest secret in his heart. This was the first time he told someone about this. He knew that perhaps no one would believe it, but he hoped that Hill could understand.
"Captain..." After hearing this, Hill stared at Lu Mingfei blankly. It was difficult for him to digest this sudden information, but he did not question it, because he was willing to believe whatever Lu Mingfei said.
"I'm from 2009, and I'm not a Prussian. I'm a Chinese from across the ocean. I was born in a small coastal town. Before coming here, I had just graduated from high school and was admitted to a foreign university called Kassel. Later, I had a car accident and traveled here and became a Prussian..." Lu Mingfei ignored Hill's surprise and slowly narrated his experience.
The more Hill listened, the more surprised he was. He had never heard such an incredible story before, but in Lu Mingfei's narration, he could feel the loneliness and helplessness that came with traveling through time and space.
“Hill, you know, I once thought about killing you…” Lu Mingfei’s voice became a little low, with a complicated emotion, “But as we went through life and death together, I gave up the idea…”
Hill was stunned. He couldn't say anything and could only stare at Lu Mingfei. He never thought that this captain whom he had always respected had ever had such a thought.
"Hill, do you remember I said you would become a big man? I saw you in the future. You were called a devil in future history books because you started World War II." Lu Mingfei continued, with a deep pain and contradiction in his voice.
"The war we are experiencing now is called World War I. World War II killed even more people than now, so I once wanted to kill you to prevent the outbreak of World War II."
"Later I figured it out. Even without you, there would still be someone else who would start a world war. As long as there are people, the war will never stop. But I don't want the person who starts the war to be you, because you are my friend."
"So, Hill, when you go back, work hard to become a painter and don't get involved in politics. I believe you can become a great painter. As for money, I have a lot in a bank in Prussia. I will share it with you later. This way, you will have enough money to concentrate on painting."
Because Lu Mingfei shot down so many planes, William II gave him a lot of rewards, but he never had the chance to use them on the battlefield and kept them all in the bank. Now it's just right to distribute them to his comrades back home.
As for why Lu Mingfei suddenly said this, it was because he had a bad premonition. Every time he had this bad premonition, he would encounter a strong enemy, and this time the premonition was stronger than any other time.
"Captain..." Hill's throat choked, he held back his tears and nodded, "I will work hard, I will definitely become a painter and will not let you down."
Lu Mingfei patted Xi'er's shoulder gently and tried to force a smile. "I believe you can do it, Xi'er. I'm still waiting for you to draw a picture for me."
At this moment, Goering suddenly opened the door of the ward. His face was full of anxiety, and he said breathlessly: "Captain, the British planes are coming again, and this time there are so many planes, too many to count!"
Lu Mingfei was startled when he heard this. His ominous premonition became stronger and stronger, but he still pretended to be calm on the surface. He took a deep breath and said to Xi'er: "Xi'er, remember my words, go and become a painter. I believe you can do it."
After saying this, Lu Mingfei started to walk out the door. He had a feeling that his journey might end here.
Hill couldn't control her tears as she listened to Lu Mingfei's entrusting words and his leaving.
"Mr. Captain, you must come back alive! Don't worry, I will...will become a great painter!" He shouted loudly with sobs. This was the only promise he could make to Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei stopped and did not look back. He just waved slightly behind him, then left the ward without looking back. He knew that he might never have the chance to see these comrades who had fought side by side with him again.
When Lu Mingfei returned to the airport, fifty pilots were ready to go. They were all the Prussian pilots on the Somme River, and Lu Mingfei was their captain.
"Captain, the British army sent more than 500 planes this time! I also saw the Flying Stork Squadron logo on those planes!" a pilot shouted anxiously. The Flying Stork Squadron is the most elite flying squadron in France. Many people in it are ace pilots or even aces among aces.
Hearing this number, Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment, "I am really powerful. I can dispatch so many planes at one time." Lu Mingfei muttered to himself, with a self-deprecating smile on his face. He already felt that those planes were coming for him.
"Captain, what should we do now?" Goering shouted anxiously. Even though they were all good flyers, fifty against five hundred was still a pipe dream, not to mention that the other side was full of aces.
Lu Mingfei pondered for a moment, then made a decision: "I will go first, and you guys can go up when I get shot down."
"What!" The pilots around were all surprised when they heard Lu Mingfei's words.
"It's decided." Lu Mingfei said calmly, then he climbed onto the plane and started the engine.
He understood that if they flew out together, those planes would most likely attack other pilots first. At that time, even if Lu Mingfei could survive, he alone would not be able to defend this vast sky.
Even if Lu Mingfei was shot down, he would not necessarily be killed thanks to the Bronze Throne, so it was the best option for him to go alone and weaken the enemy's air force.
The plane engine roared, and with a loud bang, Lu Mingfei's fighter plane rushed into the sky.
In his vision, in the sky, densely packed planes gathered like black clouds. The sickle-weasel was whispering in his ear, conveying the location and number of the enemy. Five hundred planes were staring at him covetously.
He took a deep breath, gripped the joystick, and looked determined, "Come on, let's fight it out in this sky." He whispered to himself, then suddenly accelerated and headed towards the dark group of enemy planes.
After the fight tomorrow, it will be over. I want to give Lu Mingfei a title. What do you think is good?
(End of this chapter)
