Chapter 840: Familiar Faces

“Of… of course, you can.” The driver of the transport unit couldn’t believe his eyes. Was it because the two men pushing the truck were born with superhuman strength, or was the man in the driver’s seat just that incredibly skilled?

He pulled his shoes out of the muddy road and ran quickly to the passenger side of the truck, wanting to grab a good spot, but he was clearly a step too slow. While he had been staring in a daze, Rein had already helped Alice into the passenger seat and was standing by the car door, looking at him with a smile.

“I’m so sorry, we have a lady with us, so I’m afraid you’ll have to make do,” Rein said with a smile, pointing to the slightly embarrassed Alice in the seat. “I don’t know if there’s any room in the back?”

“There isn’t. It’s full of cargo. You’ll have to climb on top,” the truck driver said with some regret, pointing to the roof of the truck. “It’s easier to climb from the front. We need to get a move on.”

Andre and Bruce climbed onto the truck with nimble movements. For someone who had been climbing tanks for years, getting on top of a truck was not an overly difficult task. Rein was even more agile. He reached out, grabbed a rope that was tying down the supplies, and with a slight pull, his feet left three footprints on the side of the truck. In less than two seconds, he was already on the roof.

His movements were like those of a wildcat climbing a steep place, agile and rhythmic, a very pleasing sight to watch. His movements were so light that it was hard to hear his footsteps. This big boy proved with his own actions what it meant to be as light as a swallow. If it weren’t for the slight swaying of the truck, no one would have even noticed that Rein had gotten on.

The result was that the two soldiers from the transport unit, who were not used to climbing on top of trucks, had to use all their strength to get up, and they sat on top of the cargo, panting. Before the two of them could even catch their breath, the truck began to shake. Accompanied by the unevenness of the road, this Soviet-made Gaz 1937 model truck started on its way, swaying.

The potholes on the road were still as numerous as stars, but the four wheels of this Soviet Gaz seemed to have eyes, avoiding the most dangerous places and passing safely. The driver, sitting on the roof of the truck, stared wide-eyed at this god-like driving skill, feeling as if he were in a dream.

Beside him, Rein, holding his assault rifle, was celebrating his good luck at being able to run into a truck heading for the camp on a muddy little road. This had saved him a lot of walking, and it also allowed him to get to the 503rd Panzer Battalion headquarters much faster.

The truck finally stopped at a logistics supply collection point. There were NCOs there specifically for registering the transported goods, as well as some frontline infantry to help out. Next to it was a field hospital, with many seriously wounded patients inside. The trucks would not run back and forth empty. On their way out, they would transport the wounded who had to be moved, and on their way back, they would bring a large amount of supplies. This was the entirety of a German transport soldier’s round trip.

“Thank you for giving us a ride here,” Rein said, jumping down from the truck to the transport soldier driver, who was still on the roof, looking a little incredulous. “We just have to walk north for 4 kilometers to get there?”

“That’s right! You can drive over. We’ll be bringing some things over in a little while,” the driver said quickly, trying to detain them. “There should be some space in the back of the truck then. A lot of people can sit there.”

“Ah, I think we won’t trouble you any further. We’ve already bothered you for a long time,” Rein said with a smile, rejecting the other’s kindness. He then set off with his group, looking somewhat leisurely. They continued to advance in the sticky mud, leaving behind five rather magnificent silhouettes for the entire supply relay station.

“Your name is Baumann, isn’t it? You’re the best driver I’ve ever seen,” the transport driver said to the five figures’ backs with conviction, imitating Andre’s tone from earlier, as if to confirm it. “He is the best driver I have ever seen.”

“Yes, he is indeed the best tank driver we’ve ever seen,” a German officer in the camp said, his hands on his hips, looking at Rein and the others who were fooling around in the distance. “You don’t know who those people you gave a ride to are? They’re from the 3rd SS Panzer Division of Army Group G. You can tell by the printed number ‘3’ on their cuffs.”

As he spoke, a look of longing appeared on his face. “I hear that’s Wittmann’s rival, the tank No. 113, commanded by a little boy who fights without a care for his life, the guy named Rein.”

“Rein? My God. No wonder his driver is so skilled. It turns out he’s been driving a Tiger tank for almost a year,” the transport driver said with a sigh. He and his comrade with the rifle looked up into the distance. “In any case, he’s the best driver I’ve ever seen.”

The black shadows of the five people were cast on the ground by the sun, looking somewhat distorted. Rein walked at the head of the group, on high alert. He shouldered his gun, humming an unknown song, and trudged, bit by bit, towards the 503rd Panzer Battalion’s camp.

“Behave yourselves over there. Don’t look for any unnecessary trouble,” he suddenly said as he walked forward, instructing them. “This isn’t our 501st Panzer Battalion. They have their own pride. After all, not every place can tolerate a group of troublemakers like us.”

“I think that’s out of our hands. As long as they don’t provoke us, we can leave after we’ve learned the operating rules for the new tank. I don’t want to stay in this place without roads for a single second longer,” Andre said from behind Alice, following step by step as he replied to Rein’s words.

“Shh!” Rein suddenly raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop. Alice was taken aback, and Andre behind her instinctively reached for the pistol at his waist. Rein ducked and cautiously retreated to the side of the road, behind a bush with withered yellow branches. The others also ducked in here, waiting for Rein’s further orders.

“There’s something wrong with this road. Someone has set up an ambush,” Rein said in a low voice. “It’s too quiet around here, and there are signs of human alteration in the woods on both sides. The workmanship is not bad. It seems we have a grand welcoming ceremony.”

“A… welcoming ceremony?” Bruce’s huge body was holding a rather small pistol, which looked very mismatched. He cautiously observed his surroundings while subconsciously asking, following Rein’s words.

“It’s clearly set up by the 503rd Panzer Battalion,” Rein said, opening the safety on his assault rifle and quietly working the action. With a soft click, he confirmed that his assault rifle was loaded. Only then did he give the order to Alice and the others behind him. “You guys stay here. Fire in the eleven o’clock direction to draw out the ambush.”

“Are you sure? They’re our own men, and we’re still going to open fire?” Baumann asked, waving the small Belgian-made pistol in his hand and staring wide-eyed at Rein, who had just given the order to fire.

“…” Rein did not answer his question. He had already circled around from a ditch in the distance to a further direction. He ran with great speed, but only made a slight sound, like an extremely agile leopard, running in its own territory.

Crack! Of the remaining four people, the one who trusted Rein the most and was the most insane was the up-and-coming radio operator, Alice. She didn’t care about any damn orders and just faithfully carried out Rein’s. She raised the Belgian Browning pistol in her hand and, aiming in the general direction, pulled the trigger.

“My God! They’ve spotted us! Someone’s firing! Someone’s firing!” a German voice shouted. Suddenly, the previously quiet woods became noisy.

“Shut up! I told you this would happen! Damn it!” another young voice complained. “I told you setting up an ambush like this would be just serving up a dish for that guy Rein!”

Crack! Crack! Alice was not idle. She pulled the trigger again and again, until she had emptied the magazine of her pistol, before she stopped firing. She then took out a new magazine from her pocket and prepared to put it in her pistol. Baumann and Bruce grabbed this crazy woman and shouted into the distance, “Friendlies! Don’t mess around! We’re from the 3rd SS Division, 502nd Battalion!”

“You’re the ones who fired, we didn’t do anything! Alright, we’re coming out now! You guys better not mess around! My God! You almost hit me,” an SS soldier cautiously poked his body out from the bushes in the distance, waving his officer’s cap and shouting towards Alice’s position. “We’re from the 503rd Panzer Battalion! Don’t shoot!”

“It was Rein who spotted us, wasn’t it! I knew he was as skilled as back then!” a young captain said with a smile, climbing out of the grass and walking onto the muddy main road. Behind him followed many SS officers and men. It seemed they had deliberately come to welcome Rein’s group, and then someone had come up with the idea of setting up an ambush here to test Rein’s true skills.

“Don’t think you can get away with it just by saying a few compliments,” Rein said, appearing behind these people at this moment, holding his assault rifle. “The one who came up with this damn idea must have been you! Captain Carius, the army’s tank ace, number three on the kill list. Long time no see.”

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