Chapter 5: The Sky
What appeared in sight was a squadron of dark green aircraft flying at low altitude. Lynn squinted, trying to discern whether they were fighter jets or attack planes. At that moment, someone in the trench suddenly cheered loudly. Turning his head, he saw two gray-green camouflaged fighter jets approaching from the opposite direction. They moved gracefully and agilely, their speed seemingly rapid, and in the blink of an eye, they swept over the battlefield, the Iron Cross insignia under their wings shining like stars in the night.
The thoughts hidden deep in his heart just surfaced when Lynn was immediately struck: the encircling Soviet fighter jets opened fire in succession. The crisp and continuous sound of machine guns was like frying beans, and the leading German fighter quickly executed a roll maneuver, but the following aircraft seemed to react a beat too late, and soon fell into the enemy's intense hail of bullets.
Time flowed slowly in the agony, the sound of machine guns still roared, but it seemed to come from nearby. The rumbling of artillery fire arrived late, accompanied by explosions that drowned out the mechanical buzzing that had once enveloped them. Gradually, voices of people shouting and talking returned to the trench, though not a single word was comprehensible to Lynn, yet he knew in his heart that he had survived another ordeal. When he opened his eyes, he was met with a scene reminiscent of hell on earth: the trench was littered with the remains of the fallen and the wounded in varying degrees. The ground, soaked in blood, had become even muddier. Gradually, voices of people shouting and talking returned to the trench, though not a single word was comprehensible to Lynn, yet he knew in his heart that he had survived another ordeal. When he opened his eyes, he was met with a scene reminiscent of hell on earth: the trench was littered with the remains of the fallen and the wounded in varying degrees. The ground, soaked in blood, had become even muddier
Medićna! Medićna!
Curled up with his eyes closed, he let the bullets whistle past his ears and the books beside him. At that moment, Lynn had no choice but to surrender his fate to the ruler of this world. At one moment, he suddenly felt that the most terrifying thing was not death, but the helplessness of standing on the edge of life and death; at another moment, the dirt kicked up by the bullets splattered on his face and hands, and he thought he was about to game over, yet he surprisingly let go of all distractions; at another moment, he suddenly felt an overwhelming nostalgia for his family and friends, longing for every person who had treated him well or poorly, and sincerely prayed to the heavens to allow him to return to his own time, even if it meant sacrificing thirty years of his life.
The aerial combat had ended, but the fighting did not cease there. Amid the hurried shouts of the German soldiers, those dark green war eagles swooped down. Even without carrying bombs, they could slaughter the defenders on the positions with their cannons and machine guns. A series of bullets whistled down from the sky, instantly stirring up large clouds of dust and mud on the trenches and the surrounding ground. In a rush, Lynn, like most soldiers, huddled at the bottom of the trench. A series of bullets whistled down from the sky, instantly stirring up large clouds of dust and mud on the trenches and the surrounding ground. In a rush, Lynn, like most soldiers, huddled at the bottom of the trench. However, before effective anti-aircraft fire could be established, Soviet fighter planes almost exclusively conducted low-altitude strafing runs along the trenches—designed to avoid linear casualties from artillery fire, the trenches were intentionally dug into a winding 'bow' shape. Otherwise, a single precise lateral strafing run by Soviet aircraft could wipe out an entire line of soldiers in the trench!
In his early years, Lynn had taken a first aid course at school, so he understood some basic techniques for stopping bleeding and bandaging. Considering the numerous casualties after the air raid and the fact that the medical personnel accompanying the troops might not arrive in a short time, he hesitated for a moment but ultimately took a step forward. Upon direct observation, it appeared that the injured area of the blond-haired soldier was on his right arm, with blood having soaked through most of the sleeve of his military uniform. Lynn attempted to move the soldier's left hand, which was covering the wound, but both of his arms remained stiff in place. Reluctantly, he applied more force and managed to move the hand away, only to be shocked to discover that the soldier's right upper arm, along with his armpit, was a bloody mess. Through the torn fabric, he could even see that parts of the skin and flesh were clearly missing from the limb.
The era of the German Air Force dominating Europe is ultimately gone forever
For the first time in two days, the sight of our aircraft appeared. Many soldiers in the trenches joined in the cheering, some even excitedly waving their arms. Two German fighter planes, accompanied by a pleasant buzzing sound, charged towards the Soviet air fleet, and were the first to unleash a series of "rat-a-tat-tat" cannon fire. Since it was daytime, those on the ground could only vaguely discern the traces of tracer bullets as they headed straight for the Soviet aircraft ahead. In that instant, the six Soviet planes began to maneuver and evade by rapidly adjusting their wings, yet the initial barrage from the German planes failed to down a single enemy aircraft. This left the German soldiers observing from the ground, including Lynn in the trench, feeling a sense of anxiety. The two German planes, at an absolute numerical disadvantage, quickly pulled up, their climbing speed and posture appearing far more graceful than their opponents. After forming a tactical formation with one plane in front of the other, they focused on one of the dark green Soviet planes and followed it. The Soviet fighter, which had been striving to climb, realized it was being targeted and quickly leveled off while making a sharp turn. This maneuver proved effective, as the other dark green planes swiftly adjusted their direction, heading straight towards the German aircraft that was coming in with a "tail." At a critical moment, the lead German fighter opened fire first, and a sustained barrage lasting four to five seconds caused the Soviet aircraft to lose its wings mid-air. It tumbled like a bird with broken wings, plummeting to the ground and ultimately landing in an open field, where it erupted into a massive fireball with a thunderous roar.
Before the plane crashed, the German pilot managed to jump out in time, the white parachute blossoming in the air, yet carrying an indelible sense of sorrow. The Soviet fighter jets did not take the opportunity to ruthlessly target the parachuting pilot, but instead pursued another German fighter. The absolute disadvantage of one against five did not force it to flee in disgrace. The agile war eagle rolled in the air like a juggler, evoking the image of a knight desperately dodging swords and spears amidst enemy ranks. Thanks to the pilot's calm maneuvers and the superior performance of the aircraft itself, it even found an opportunity to attack again and opened fire. However, this shot not only failed to eliminate the opponent but also allowed other Soviet planes to seize the opportunity, leading to a fate as bleak as that of its companion.
This aerial battle, which was far from monotonous, lasted less than 5 minutes, yet its brilliance and depth far exceeded the airshow performances decades later. Watching the second German fighter plane fall after being hit, Lynn felt utterly despondent—what does it mean to say that an arm cannot surpass a thigh? Given such a situation, even if I were to replace the Führer and lead Germany, it would be impossible to turn the tide.
The German soldiers observing from the ground erupted into cheers, and Lynn felt a small flutter of excitement in his heart. From the scene, the German fighters executed their maneuvers from takeoff to achieving their first victory with remarkable fluidity. In contrast, the Soviet aircraft, which had a numerical advantage of three to one, did not carry bombs or auxiliary fuel tanks under their fuselage that would affect speed and maneuverability, yet their reactions seemed to lag by half a beat. If the tactics were appropriate, it might be possible for the German fighters to achieve a two-to-six victory.
After calling out several times in succession, the medical personnel still did not appear. Suddenly, Huang Mao tightly grasped Lin En with his left hand, his hollow gaze seemingly penetrating everything to see another world. His lips moved, struggling to utter a few indistinct words, and the pressure of his grip suddenly intensified. Lin En's hand hurt greatly, yet he endured and did not pull away. In just that brief moment, the hand that held him lost its strength, while the weight borne by his arm increased slightly.
Lynn closed her eyes in pain, silently experiencing the terrifying proximity of death, the infinite sorrow of life’s demise, and the bloodshed and cruelty of this world
The only glimmer of hope vanished under the rising sun and the *illustrations* of the book, leaving Lynn with no choice but to carefully consider the current situation of this disastrous journey and the way forward
In the past, the sight of blood would make him nauseous, but in a moment of complete concentration, Lynn had long since cast aside these instinctive reactions. He imitated others by tearing open the first aid kit he carried, stuffing the tourniquet entirely under the yellow-haired man's armpit, and resting his own arm on his neck. Throughout this process, the yellow-haired man maintained a numb expression, his gaze somewhat vacant, with only his pale lips trembling slightly, as a few beads of sweat the size of beans slid down from his temples.
Are you okay? Seeing the blonde next to him clutching his arm in pain against the trench wall, Lynn, in a moment of panic, unexpectedly spoke a sentence in Chinese. To his own ears, it sounded quite awkward. The blonde merely opened his eyes and looked at him, his indifferent expression conveying a sense of dying numbness
With great reluctance, the German soldiers watched helplessly as their own fighter planes, trailing black smoke, fell from the sky
Lynn called out loudly for the medic, and this was one of the few German words he had learned through self-study over the past two days. The initial intention of learning was to use it when he was injured, but unexpectedly, it was used for a comrade instead
The food supply from the rear had still not arrived, and Lynn had no choice but to close his eyes, avoiding the sight of his fortunate companions who were able to drink the hot soup—perhaps it contained only a few leaves of vegetables and some bread crumbs, but in this harsh environment of the battlefield, it was already extremely precious! Before long, a sudden commotion of panicked shouts reached his ears. By the time Lynn scrambled up from the trench, the mournful and piercing wail of the hand-cranked air raid siren had already begun to sound.