Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 23 The Longest Day (Part 2)
God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light in the world.

God said, “Let there be the alternation of day and night,” and so there was morning and evening.

God said, “Let there be the movement of water and the lightness of air,” and so there were lakes, oceans, and wind.

Father Putin said, "Get down!" And then the explosion happened.

Just minutes ago, the Russian army was in a state of chaos.

"Kazman escaped!" "Kazman escaped!" "Kazman escaped!"

As the eyewitnesses shouted and saw their commander fleeing on horseback, the soldiers panicked and seemed on the verge of collapse.

At that moment, a tall cross was held high.

"Father Putin is here! Father Putin is here!"

"Don't panic! The priest won't abandon you!"

"Gather around! Everyone gather around! Those with weapons, grab them!"

The priest in black appeared in everyone's sight, with someone beside him raising the cross high, and someone shouting for the surrounding soldiers to gather around.

Without a commander, the soldiers subconsciously regarded the most prestigious black-clad priest as their leader.

The group of seven or eight people suddenly became like a sponge thrown into water, quickly absorbing the scattered soldiers around them.

"Retreat! Grab your guns! Reorganize the defenses!" Qin Hao, abandoning his mysterious demeanor, shouted loudly in the crowd while dressed in a black robe, and soldiers ran past him one by one.

The soldiers, whose morale had been slightly restored, found temporary cover and hastily formed a second line of defense.

The entire army did not collapse.

boom! boom!
Two mortars destroyed the heavy machine gun emplacement, and German soldiers poured in like a tidal wave.

"Nosayev! Nosayev!" Qin Hao shouted a name.

“Yes, Father, I’m here.” The soldier, who was good at throwing grenades, bent down and came closer.

"Take this, light it in a bit!" Qin Hao handed Nosayev a bottle wrapped in bandages and pointed to a section of trench in the distance. "When I fire, just throw the lit bottle in, okay?"

Nosayev glanced at the trenches opposite, quickly estimated the distance, and replied in a low voice, "Father, it's not difficult."

"You must succeed! Everyone's survival depends on you!"

The soldiers were still retreating, and amidst the roar of gunfire, the tall cross stood like a guiding landmark.

"We'll be safe once we get there. Father Putin will protect us." It's hard to explain why, but the soldiers just subconsciously thought that way.

This is the last group!
The Germans followed.

The German pursuers were very experienced. They kept a close watch on the fleeing Russian troops, not rushing to kill them, allowing these disorganized soldiers to disrupt the defenders' pre-set lines.

If a single point is breached, given the current quality of the German army, defeating the enemy is only a matter of time.

They almost succeeded.

The Russian army's hastily organized second line of defense was in sight, and the German scouts raised their bayonets and wooden-handled grenades.

A dark object appeared before them, startling the attacking German soldiers. Upon closer inspection, they realized it wasn't a heavy machine gun, but a cross about half their height.

A figure dressed in black robes held a crucifix in his left hand, raising it high like a knight's sword, while his right hand held an oversized pistol. He resembled a wizard from an Arthurian legend.

What the hell is this? !
Does he really think a single-shot pistol can stop an attack by thousands of people?
Some delusional, brain-dead idiot?!

Stopping their thoughts, the German soldiers quickened their pace and began their charge. To them, the men in black robes were like Don Quixote facing a windmill—comical and ridiculous.

The next second, the man raised his gun and shouted a simple Russian phrase.
"Всенапол!" (Get down on your knees!)

The panicked, routed soldiers in front of them instinctively did the same.

At the same time, the man's gun fired.

boom! ! !
A flash of white light, a dazzling burst of light exploded before the charging German troops, and something seemed to fly over the heads of the crowd.

A few seconds later, the earth began to tremble!
boom! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

More than a dozen boxes filled with explosives were ignited and exploded simultaneously, right in the middle of the German troops' ranks. This caused hundreds of casualties and also gave the attackers a huge psychological shock.

Most of the soldiers had no idea what was happening when they were knocked to the ground by the blast wave. When they looked up, they saw a scene that looked like apocalyptic divine punishment.

The massive explosion instantly engulfed nearby soldiers, and flames erupted all around. Some men, their bodies ablaze, rolled on the ground, howling in agony. How could this happen when that person had merely raised a hand?

Black magic?!
That's ridiculous!
"Hurrah!!" "Long live Lord Putin!"

In contrast, the morale of the Russian troops suddenly soared. They, too, did not know what had happened, but that did not stop them from cheering.

It was only at this point that a significant number of soldiers remembered they had guns.

Bang bang bang bang bang! ! ! ! !
A sound like popping beans rang out as Russian soldiers began to return fire with their Mosin-Nagant rifles. Although their aim was poor in the darkness, they managed to push back the German troops who were about to charge the position.

"Retreat! Withdraw first!" Finally, someone on the German side gave the order, allowing the soldiers who were stuck to retreat to withdraw from the area they had been in.

As the flames slowly began to die down, a strange sight appeared on the battlefield.

The original positions were divided by an open area, which was occupied by two separate forces: the Germans in the east and the Russians in the west. The area occupied by both sides could be easily penetrated by a single rifle shot, yet they tacitly refrained from firing.

Russian military positions.

Lieutenant Colonel Kazman was laid out on the mat. The once spirited, short, and stout man was now deathly pale, and large mouthfuls of blood were gushing from his mouth.

His chest was pierced by a bullet; death was only a matter of time.

The surrounding soldiers looked coldly at this once high-ranking person, their faces showing disdain. As the commander, he had deserted his post like a coward, and everyone had seen it.

Heh~ heh~ cough, cough~
With his last ounce of strength, the lieutenant colonel raised his hand, uttering incomprehensible words. His finger pointed directly at the black-clad priest's chest, and his eyes held a pleading expression.

Qin Hao knew the meaning of that gesture. The cross on his chest was a certificate that the soldiers passed down as a "magical artifact" capable of bringing the dead back to life.

Poor guy.

Qin Hao shook his head inwardly, took two steps forward and grasped the lieutenant colonel's hand. "Please rest assured on your journey. I will take good care of the remaining soldiers."

He could feel the finger trembling even more violently. The lieutenant colonel's lips trembled incessantly as he tried to make a sound, and finally he exhaled his last breath.

At this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on the priest in black.
-
the other side.

Two ravenous German soldiers dragged a prisoner into the tunnel and then threw him violently to the ground.

"What's your name?" the lieutenant with a bandage on his hand asked in accented Russian.

“Ah, Alyosha, sir…” the soldier replied in terror.

“Very good, that’s a good start. As long as you maintain this attitude, I guarantee I won’t resort to violence.” The lieutenant nodded and continued to ask.

"Who is your commander?"

“Colonel Kazman…”

"Where is he now?"

"I don't know..." The soldier's face began to show panic. "Yes, I'm sorry... I saw the lieutenant colonel ride out on horseback... and then he fell off. I really don't know..."

“That’s fine,” Lieutenant Manstein nodded. “Who’s in command now?”

"I'm not sure...maybe...maybe Father Putin is in charge..."

"Who? A priest is commanding the battle? That's ridiculous! Do we look like idiots?!" Another officer angrily grabbed the prisoner's collar, but was stopped by his comrade.

"Is it the person who fired the signal flare?" Manstein asked in a deep voice.

"Yes, yes, probably..."

"Tell him about his daily life, but don't lie."

“Yes… the priest arrived a few days ago…” the prisoner described the events of the past few days in fits and starts.

"Can one know the past and predict the future?" "Can the one who bestows blessings not die?" "Holy water that can bring the dead back to life?"

Upon hearing these words, the other officers frowned. "It sounds like a con artist."

“That does sound true, but it’s certain that the explosion just now was also this guy’s doing,” Manstein said in a deep voice. “Have you found the lieutenant colonel? We need to report this to him as soon as possible.”

“No need.” A colleague walked up to the lieutenant. “It has just been confirmed that the lieutenant colonel gave his last act of loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor in the explosion just now, as did several of his superiors.”

“Now, you are the highest-ranking officer here, Commander Manstein!”

(End of this chapter)