Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 38 The Rain Arrives
Boom boom boom boom! Boom boom boom boom! Boom boom boom boom!
The sound of intense artillery fire could be heard intermittently in the distance.

Although it cannot be seen directly, just by looking at the constantly changing light and shadow on the horizon, one can tell how intense the battle is.

A Russian army of about a hundred men was retreating from the front. The wounded soldiers with bandages on their hands would occasionally turn around to look back with lingering fear.

It was terrible. The Germans brought up large-caliber heavy artillery this time. After a salvo, the 28th Infantry Division, which was responsible for the frontal defense, suffered hundreds of casualties in a single encounter.

The Germans seemed to want to plow the entire position with heavy artillery.

"They brought all the artillery shells from East Prussia and dumped them on my head! Either give me more artillery or make me retreat!" Division Commander Nikolai Raskovich said on the phone.

"Halt! No way forward!" A loud shout rang out from the roadside, nearly causing the already jittery wounded soldiers to drop their guns.

Looking up, a small village could be seen in the distance, about a kilometer ahead, while at the crossroads in front of us, there was a checkpoint set up by about a dozen Russian troops.

Strangely, these soldiers were not led by officers, and judging from the details of their uniforms, they were not from the First Army Group.

"What are you doing?! Who gave you permission to set up a roadblock here?!" An officer stepped forward and questioned the soldiers blocking the way.

"That's none of your business." The soldier blocking the way paid no attention to his superior. He pointed to a small path in the distance. "The road ahead is blocked. Go that way!"

"Damn it! Who gave you the right to talk to your superior like that?! What gives you the right to..." The officer angrily drew his pistol, but his words were cut off the next second.

A Maxim heavy machine gun was positioned high above, its gleaming bullet belts blindingly bright, and the shooter's finger was already on the trigger.

"I don't care who you are! I've been ordered to guide the way here, and anyone who disobeys will be killed!" The leader raised his hand high.

"You!" The officer was so angry that he almost pulled the trigger, but the heavy machine gun high above finally brought him back to his senses.

Someone nearby chimed in, "They're those barbarians from the Siberian camp. These guys aren't very bright; they only listen to that priest's orders. Let's not get entangled with them; it's just a detour anyway..."

Looking at the cold gun barrel, the officer finally suppressed his anger and waved his hand behind him, "Let's take a detour!"

Once the order was given, the remaining soldiers silently chose to take a detour, and the next second, the arrogant and domineering person who had blocked their way suddenly changed his attitude.

"Hehe, thanks for cooperating! We had no choice, it's all the higher-ups' orders, and besides, we're doing this for your own good... By the way, want some cigarettes? Turkish ones."

That guy with yellow teeth was actually trying to trade cigarettes, canned goods, and candy with passing soldiers. The light reflected off the tin can illuminate the faces of these wounded soldiers who hadn't eaten properly for days.

After the troops passed, Pavka found himself with a wad of cash, two watches, and something wet—a gold tooth.

"Tsk tsk~ How pitiful, so hungry they don't care about anything else." Pavka wiped the drool off his clothes and tossed them into his pocket.

“You still have the mood to do this kind of thing? Aren’t you worried? Listen to the sound of the cannons, they’re about 150mm caliber.” Nosayev pointed to the horizon.

"What's there to be afraid of? Just follow the priest's instructions; he'll always find a way." Pavka nonchalantly packed up his things and went to the intersection to wait for the next group of "guests."

The veteran, unaware that the great priest he spoke of was also feeling somewhat flustered at this moment.

The Germans arrived too quickly; there was almost no time to spare.

Stella thoughtfully designed a compass and mechanical timer on the cross in her hand, recalling the time recorded in the hydrological book.

He feels almost there.

"Ivan! Are you there?" Qin Hao called out towards the door.

"Father, I'm here." The telephone operator poked his head out of the door, holding a radio operation manual in his hand.

"Have the cavalry take the men and come with me."

"Yes, sir, it will be ready soon."

When he learned that the priest was going out on horseback, Panasenko excitedly slammed his fist into his palm. "See? I told you so! This corrupt priest has finally shown his true colors."

"what do you mean?"

"The Germans are coming, and they've brought so many heavy artillery pieces. He's scared and wants to escape!" the cavalry squad leader said with great certainty. "Comrade, I'll go with him. Once we confirm his escape attempt, we'll bring him back and expose him publicly. The soldiers will know who they should stand with." Panasenko patted his comrade on the shoulder and went to get the horse's reins.

Ivanovic stood still, looked into the distance, and frowned in confusion.

Including the priest in black, the four of them rode their horses to a small hill a few hundred meters away. It wasn't very high, only less than a hundred meters.

The priest in black awkwardly dismounted from his horse and handed over the reins. "Wait for me down the mountain. I'll be back in a bit."

The cavalrymen exchanged glances, and Panasenko's eyes revealed a confident look—you see, he really does want to shake us off and escape.

As soon as Qin Hao climbed the hill, several people quietly followed him.

The priest in black was not moving very fast. He held the cross above his head, seemingly doing something, and as he moved forward step by step, the surroundings seemed to begin to change.

"Don't you feel something's wrong?" Ivanovic asked.

"What?" the cavalry squad leader asked, turning his head.

"got windy."

Panasenko looked up and, sure enough, as the black-clad priest climbed step by step, a wind seemed to begin to stir around him, and the surging air currents blew his robes up and made them dance in all directions.

It looked as if there was something in the air surrounding him.

"It's just a coincidence that the wind picked up," Panasenko said, though it was unclear who he was explaining it to.

The two approached cautiously, while Qin Hao was already nearing the summit, the wind whipping his cloak, making a rustling sound.

Looking at the distant horizon where German troops could be seen appearing and disappearing, Qin Hao took a deep breath and raised the cross to confirm the time one last time.

Fortunately, I just made it.

He's been lying a lot lately, but one thing he's telling the truth is that he does like windy weather. When he was a kid, he used to wave his arms wildly in typhoons, imagining that he could control them.

"Well, there's no one around anyway, so I might as well relax a bit and be a little silly."

Qin Hao loosened the belt of his cloak, letting it fly upwards in the wind. He raised the cross in his hand high and began to chant a familiar "spell" in Chinese.

"On the vast sea, the wind whips up dark clouds..."

"Between the dark clouds and the sea, the petrel soars proudly like a black lightning bolt!"

The two people who were keeping watch from a distance were somewhat stunned.

“What is he doing? What is he saying?” Panasenko asked in a trembling voice.

"I don't understand. I've never heard such obscure words before. Is it... is it a spell?"

At this moment, the surrounding environment began to change again. Dark clouds surged in the sky, the wind howled, and muffled thunder could be faintly heard in the sky.

Looking at the man in front of them chanting "incantations" and shaking the cross toward the sky, the two men felt their knees begin to weaken.

The clouds grew darker and lower, and the rumbling roar drowned out all the distant cannon fire.

“Magic~ He’s using magic~” Panasenko said, trembling, completely unlike his previous self.

At this moment, Qin Hao's "spellcasting" was in its final stages. He spread his arms, puffed out his chest, and shouted in Chinese, "Let the storm rage on!"

Click!

The first lightning bolt struck!
Qin Hao, still not satisfied, held a cross, pointed one finger to the sky, and shouted in Russian.

"Буря, мнепокорная!!!" (The wind obeys my command!!!)
The next moment, a torrential downpour began!

(End of this chapter)