Chapter 128: Like-minded

With a crisp "click," Lin'en's last double magazine finally completed its battlefield mission. At this point, Lin'en only had three separate curved magazines left, along with sporadic bullets totaling about a hundred millimeters in caliber, which together weighed less than two kilograms. Considering the long road ahead, this ammunition was not considered plentiful.

After two dedicated night combat soldiers equipped with infrared night vision equipment teamed up to kill, along with the German infantry forming a pincer attack, the battle in this area was basically settled. The few surviving Soviet soldiers remaining had no significant threat.

Originally, there were Soviet soldiers deployed at the corners of the ruins at this intersection. After several battles, the threats from the two corners to the south were eliminated. Although there were still some Soviet soldiers at the other two corners, they only had ordinary firearms and light mortars. Under the cover of their infantry, "Night Panther" and Assault Gun No. 3 quickly passed through the intersection and continued to move south along the road. The accompanying German soldiers knew the significance of these two vehicles. If they detected any Soviet soldiers attempting to approach and throw grenades or incendiary bombs, they would intercept them without hesitation.

Quickly gathering his soldiers and accompanied by a senior war correspondent disguised as an ordinary soldier, Lin'en led his team to join this reduced-size breakout force. As they fought their way through the last urban area, they finally left the Oranienburg city area before the arrival of the main Soviet forces.

Leaving the city did not mean safety, as they couldn't establish contact with their own headquarters, this breakout force had no way of knowing the situation at the southern defense line of the city. The gunfire seemed to be subsiding, indicating that it could be either the German guarding forces repelling the Soviets or the Soviets occupying defensive positions there.

Halfway through their journey, the two vehicles stopped one after another. The commander of the "Night Panther," a young lieutenant wearing black armored uniform, along with the gunner of Assault Gun No. 3, a sergeant who looked to be about thirty years old, and the two highest-ranked soldiers among the infantry - an army captain in his early forties and a Waffen-SS major probably in his fifties - gathered together to discuss for a moment. Then, the Waffen-SS major turned around and asked, "Do we have any night combat soldiers here?"

Lin'en looked around and realized there was no one to rely on, so he took the initiative to step forward.

"Commander Lin'en Galgo of the 167th Night Combat Group!"

"Soldier Galgo!" the major saluted, "I'm Major Konrad Ziegler of the 10th Grenadier Regiment of the 5th Armored Division of the Waffen-SS. After consulting the opinions of all the officers, I am temporarily in charge of the operations of this unit. To cut to the chase, ahead of us is the defense area of the 5th Mountain Army - hopefully, they are still holding there. Soldier, we have lost contact with the outside world since this afternoon. We cannot determine the situation ahead at all. I hope you and your night combat team can go ahead and scout!"

Scouts sounded impressive, but they were high-risk soldiers. Whether they were armored reconnaissance soldiers using fast armored vehicles as combat tools or ordinary reconnaissance soldiers riding motorcycles, horses, or marching on foot, they could all be fatally struck by the enemy without time to react.

Lin'en had no choice but to ask, "Do we have military maps? Defense maps would be even better!"

The major shook his head in silence.

Lin'en didn't know what the staff officers at headquarters were thinking. The operational sketch maps distributed to each night combat group only covered the terrain of the Oranienburg city area. Lin'en didn't even know what the outer defense positions to the south of the city looked like. Fortunately, after completing infiltration missions at the northern defensive positions, he had a rough idea of the composition of the German defenses. It was likely that the defensive positions of different army groups within the same corps wouldn't differ much, right?

After a moment of consideration, Lin'en asked again, "If we go scouting, will you wait here?"

The major looked back, and there were still fires and gunfire in the Oranienburg city area.

"We must keep moving forward, and you... better get ahead of us, and once you find any trace of the enemy, return immediately to report, or fire a warning shot! Soldier Galgo, I know this task is daunting and somewhat unfair, but look at the soldiers we have left. We simply don't have the ability to engage in another intense battle!"

Lin'en knew this was true. Except for "Night Panther" and Assault Gun No. 3, there were barely a hundred soldiers left in this breakout force. Some were wounded, some were unarmed or out of ammunition, and Lin'en even saw two female nurses.

"Miss Fräulein, please come here!" Lin'en called out, waiting for the senior war correspondent to approach. He then introduced her to the major, saying, "This is Miss Fräulein, a senior war correspondent sent by the Propaganda Department. My team and I were ordered to escort her back to the rear, but this conflicts with the new mission you assigned us. Could you please take care of Miss Fräulein on our behalf?"

The major looked at Eva without greeting her directly, and then replied to Lin'en, "This is a reasonable request, and I will do my best to fulfill it!"

After that, the major politely said to Eva, "Miss Fräulein, hello, I am Major Konrad Ziegler of the 5th Viking Armored Division of the Waffen-SS. I'm sorry, but we need Soldier Galgo and his elite night combat soldiers to scout for the unit from now on. Therefore, starting from now, your safety will be personally taken care of by me!"

In this matter, Eva was probably the only one who had no choice. Although she looked a bit disheveled, she still maintained the composure she wanted to show others.

"Please arrange it as you wish! I have no objections!"

The Major nodded, turning to Lin'en. "Let's go! Sergeant Galgo! If you manage to break through successfully, I will report your brave actions truthfully to the higher-ups!"

Lin'en stood at attention but didn't say much. In the face of life and death, honor was just a fleeting thing.

"Sergeant Galgo!" Eva turned towards Lin'en. "Thank you for escorting us all the way. Regardless of the outcome, I wish you all the best!"

Lin'en nodded. Even though it was a reconnaissance mission, combat was likely unavoidable. Therefore, except for Graff and Weireger, who were lightly injured in previous battles, all the other soldiers under his command were deployed—amazingly, after repeated fierce battles, no one was killed, which was the best outcome Lin'en could anticipate.

With little battery power left in their backpacks, the weight did not lighten. In order to conduct reconnaissance ahead of the main forces, Lin'en ordered his soldiers to run ahead, covering over a kilometer. He and Bruhl ended up at the back of the group.

"Sir, let me help you!" Wolf-Room, who had been escorting Eva all the way and hadn't engaged in battle seriously, had more energy reserved than others.

Walking through the woods beside the road, Lin'en suddenly felt like he was back on that first night of night combat. At that time, he also actively helped Erik carry equipment. In an instant, fate took an unexpected turn.

Indeed, the repeated battles had consumed a lot of energy. Lin'en didn't refuse, handing over the connected set of equipment to the veteran, then whispered, "You seem to like Eva, don't you? Hmm?"

Wolf-Room chuckled. "Miss Futterich would never be interested in an ordinary soldier like me!"

Although it hadn't been a full day since they met, Lin'en also felt that Eva, although amiable, was not the type to settle for mediocrity. And judging from her style of handling things, she had seen a lot and had a broad vision. Even if Lin'en wanted to pursue her, which was unlikely, he probably wouldn't have the opportunity.

At that moment, Bruhl, who had been walking behind, also took off his night vision goggles and let his companion take over. He quickly walked to Lin'en's side. "Sir, your marksmanship is amazing, and your ability to seize opportunities is excellent!"

Although this sounded flattering, Lin'en shook his head. "It's just instinct for survival."

Carrying the heavy battery box, "Casimodo" walked with his chest straight, but he was still half a head shorter than Lin'en. He whispered, "Sir, have you ever thought about the future?"

Hearing Bruhl's question, Lin'en's heart skipped a beat. Oh? Encountered someone trying to gain favor?

"The future? Of course, it's about climbing higher and eventually becoming an officer! With your abilities, sir, that's definitely not a problem!" Wolf-Room, being a veteran, would still offer some flattery.

Lin'en was not interested in such praise. He turned to Bruhl. "What do you mean by the future?"

"Of course, I mean after the war ends!" Bruhl intentionally lowered his voice. Discussing such topics before the war was completely lost could be labeled as "treason." That's why Lin'en had always maintained good personal relationships with his comrades, at most asking indirectly. He had never been so straightforward.

"Is there any other choice?" Lin'en pretended to be naive.

"Yeah!" Seeing that Lin'en didn't object, Bruhl immediately approached closer. "Regardless of the outcome, Germany won't need such a large-scale army after the war. I personally have some small ideas for making a living. Actually, before joining the army, I worked in import-export trade for many years—mainly between Germany and Sweden. Later, the route was cut off, and the company went bankrupt, so..."

Oh? This guy was actually a businessman. Even if he wasn't worth millions, he shouldn't have fallen to the point of being a Waffen-SS soldier.

Lin'en was curious and puzzled, continuing to feign innocence. "What does that have to do with me? I don't know anything!"

"Not knowing is not important; what matters is whether you have insight!" Bruhl whispered. "The principles of the battlefield and the marketplace often have similar principles. The big picture on the battlefield can completely apply in the marketplace!"

"Hey, so keen on business, are you of Jewish descent?" Wolf-Room's words were probably unintentional, but after saying them, Bruhl seemed very displeased. "Are Jews the only ones in the world who do business? Don't compare me to those dirty swine. I am a pure German, of noble Aryan descent!"

"Gordon was just joking; don't mind him!" Lin'en quickly defused the meaningless dispute between the two. As the team climbed up a hill to a spot higher than the flat ground, he instructed Wolf-Room to turn on the infrared spotlight and taught him how to use it step by step.

Wolf-Room cautiously scanned the area in front of them and whispered, "There's no activity within a hundred meters!"

Lin'en used Tanze's rifle and observed through a regular 4x scope for a while. "It's very quiet up ahead, as if there's no one there!"

"Shh..." Bruhl suddenly signaled everyone to be quiet.

Lin'en listened carefully and faintly heard the faint sound of tracks rubbing against each other, sometimes close, sometimes distant.