Chapter 9: Hellish Swamp

  In the birch forest, bathed in sunlight and green shadows, Chuslan, who had just accepted Suchekov's dying commission and temporarily took on the rank of senior lieutenant, led five Soviet soldiers, like startled birds, behind Senior Sergeant Akhromeyev, rushing northeast. Their goal was the Vig swamp outside the forest. Behind them, the Germans' gunfire was always lingering, not catching up but also not being shaken off. Chuslan could be sure that there were military dogs in the hands of the pursuing German troops. Fortunately, this piece of woodland was lush enough; if they were on a general plain, the few of them would have had no chance of survival, and the German tanks or armored vehicles could easily catch up with them.

  After fleeing for an unknown period of time, Chu Si Nan felt that the light in the forest was gradually becoming stronger. He knew this was because the trees were becoming sparse, in other words, they had already approached the edge of the forest.

  When the last lonely white birch tree, its trunk covered with "eyes", was also left behind by a few people, Chu Si Nan's eyes suddenly opened up. Just outside the forest, less than a mile away, was a lush and boundless reed marsh, which at this time in July was like a vast shallow green sea, with the wind blowing gently, the waves rippling, layer upon layer, truly magnificent.

  "Comrade Senior Lieutenant," Akhromeyev stopped in his tracks and said to Chusov, who was following him, "we've arrived; from here we enter the marshes and then head east, and we'll finally reach Vigi."

  Chu Si Nan nodded, then made a gesture to Akhromeyev, indicating that he should lead the way forward. Everyone quickly entered the swamp because he had already heard the shouting of the German army pursuing closely behind them.

  "Whoa..."

  "Huff... huff..."

  The muddy swamp sent out a sound that broke the silence, and Chu Si Nan's party of seven people officially entered this dangerous death zone. As a special soldier, Chu Si Nan had gone to Turkey for military exchange training in the Central Plains, where he received special training, although the training location was the Turkish Special Mountain Warfare Brigade's training ground, but also conducted special swamp survival training. However, the swamp in front of him was obviously different from the one he entered during his training, and it was too primitive and difficult here.

  The swamp was filled with a pungent and irritating odor that made one's head spin after just a brief moment. The dark, murky waters of the swamp were teeming with filth and mire, making it an ideal breeding ground for flies and mosquitoes. As one walked by, the air would be filled with a deafening buzzing noise, like the sound of bombers flying overhead. Even at the edge of the swamp, the mud was knee-deep, and with each step, the murky waters would churn up, mixing with the dark, stagnant water to form a strange, brownish-black whirlpool.

  The hope of survival made everyone forget about the mud and dirt in the swamp, under Akhromeyev's leadership, seven people rushed into the swamp like a thirsty traveler who had just walked out of the desert and encountered an oasis pond.

  Akhrarov seemed to have studied how to navigate the marsh, making an effort to avoid those small puddles where no reeds grew, deliberately choosing areas with dense reed growth. The marsh was fraught with hidden dangers, everywhere was covered with bottomless quagmires, perhaps you would step forward and never be able to retrieve your foot again, only waiting helplessly for the arrival of death.

  As he stepped deeper into the marsh, the clamor of German pursuers behind him gradually grew fainter. After the last burst of gunfire, Chu Si Nan let out a sigh of relief, knowing that those pursuers had been deterred by this expanse of marshland.

  "Captain Comrade, it seems we have no choice but to take a risk and make our way across."

  After nearly half a day's trek, the group stopped in front of a vast and empty marsh. Looking ahead, they saw a black and endless pond, who knew that this was the real land of death. Akhromeyev's face turned pale, he looked at Chusinan beside him and said in a difficult tone.

  "Don't worry, there will be a way." Chu Si Nan was indeed open-minded. He patted the shoulder of the "Future Marshal" and comforted him with a smile, "It's just that this place is rare to have a dry land, let's rest here for now, and then we'll get through it together."

  As if infected by his emotions, Akhromeyev's face also flashed a smile, he nodded heavily and then walked to the side of a withered dwarf tree and sat down.

  Chu Si Nan sat down cross-legged on the spot, then opened the front of his clothes and used the hem to wipe his face vigorously. On his face, there was still some blood plasma that had splashed up when he encountered the enemy in the morning, which had now dried and become hard and sticky, with a strong smell of gore that made people feel very uncomfortable.

  "Comrade Captain," seeing Chu Si Nan wiping his face, Ahkhrarov pulled out a gray handkerchief from the pocket of his military uniform and handed it to him, saying "Here, use this."

  "Oh, thank you, Comrade Akhromeyev." Chusinan took it without hesitation, wiping his face with one hand while asking with the other, "How long have you been in the army?"

  "In just one more week it will be exactly two years, Comrade Polkovnik." Akhromeyev replied.

  "Oh, so you're a veteran too," Chu Si Nan said casually, "What's your take on this war of ours?"

  "With the leadership of great Comrade Stalin and the Supreme Command, our great Soviet power will surely achieve its final victory." Akhromeyev said with a serious expression.

  "What's your view on our military debacle at this stage?" Chu Si Nan said calmly.

  Akhemerov's eyes flickered, and a hint of hesitation appeared on his face. After a moment of silence, he said: "This is mainly because the Germans are too cunning and shameless. They unilaterally tore up the non-aggression treaty with us, and our troops were caught off guard by their sudden attack. It's natural that we suffered some losses in the initial period. However, this situation won't last long. Our great Soviet regime has a solid foundation, vast territory, great strategic depth, and sufficient supplies from the rear, which can sustain a prolonged war of attrition. In contrast, the German fascists do not have these favorable conditions."

  Chu Si Nan nodded silently, he had to admit that Akhmerov was very clever and cautious. On the previous question, he just lightly brushed it off, playing a trick of concept substitution. In fact, anyone with discerning eyes could see that the Soviet Union's defeat in the early period was due to three reasons: first, the central leadership's ossified thinking and mistakes; second, the tactical problems of the Soviet military command; and third, the large number of soldiers but lack of effective command. The central leadership's ossified thinking didn't need to be mentioned, Stalin was straightforward and decisive, whatever he said in the Soviet Communist Party Central Committee, no one dared to oppose him. He speculated that the Germans would definitely attack the Soviet Union, but thought it would happen in 1942, so the Soviet Union did not make preparations for an early response. If it weren't for Stalin's arbitrary style, how could the Soviet Union not have received intelligence about the German invasion? Moreover, the famous spy Sorge had also sent back intelligence from Japan that Germany was going to attack, even specifying the exact time of the attack.