At this point, if Captain Goto Yuma of the tank company had understood what kind of weapon the Special Operations Brigade was using to bombard them, he definitely wouldn't have allowed Private Makino Uchi Yuki to adopt serpentine maneuvers.

In the face of rocket artillery saturation, there was only one solution: get out of the bombardment zone as quickly as possible. Makino Uchi Yuki's serpentine movements were only prolonging their stay within the affected area.

This gave Si Binwei's company more opportunities to blast the tanks. Captain Goto Yuma felt another violent jolt to his tank.

He knew: this was the second round of attacks aimed directly at his tank.

As the tank shook, a cacophony of clangs and bangs echoed off the armor. Captain Goto Yuma and the other Japanese soldiers inside began a painful struggle for survival.

Even so, as long as the outer armor held! Though in agony, Captain Goto Yuma still preferred to live, no matter how miserable.

Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed. A shell struck their tank directly. Fragments of the tank's armor and the thousands of iron pellets packed inside the rocket flew in all directions.

The two infantry companies following behind the tanks also had a hard time during the rocket barrage.

They had no armor to protect them; even a small iron pellet could wound or kill them.

When they set out, Infantry Company Commander Yamada Musashi had instructed his men to stay close to the tanks and not fall behind.

But as the rocket explosions began, the tanks sped up frantically, leaving the infantry unable to keep pace.

Furthermore, some of the fragments that struck the tanks without penetrating the armor ricocheted back, striking the soldiers like skipping stones, often with fatal consequences.

Too many fragments were bouncing back. The soldiers of Yamada Musashi's infantry company were forced to abandon the tanks and throw themselves to the ground.

The soldiers of Mizuno Kazuo's infantry company did the same. After a few steps of chasing the fleeing tanks, they gave up and had to lie prone.

In just that one round of rocket fire, Mizuno Kazuo's infantry company suffered heavy casualties.

Smoke filled the air, and the cries of the wounded echoed everywhere. Soldiers lay on the ground, groaning in pain, clutching their limbs or pressing their hands against their chests and abdomens – wherever they had been hit, desperately calling for help.

Some of the less fortunate had wounds all over their bodies, too many to cover with both hands. They could only use their fingers to plug the small holes, one finger per hole.

And still, they cried out in pain, knowing that the louder they cried, the more likely they were to be rescued.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease; it was a tried and true principle.

Private Masakami Shin was a green recruit, having joined the army from the home islands less than a month before. Now, he was on the battlefield.

And lying flat on his back. Masakami Shin had three wounds in his chest, and his two hands were simply not enough to cover them all.

He tried to use his fingers to plug each bleeding wound, but his stubby fingers weren't long enough. Masakami Shin was forced to play a game of "two hands, three holes," constantly shifting his hands between the three wounds.

When Company Commander Mizuno Kazuo saw the young soldier, his hands were still moving quickly between the wounds.

Being able to move like that despite his injuries meant he might be saved. Japanese soldiers on the battlefield were selective about who they rescued.

First, they saved the lightly wounded. Soldiers who were likely to survive were prioritized. Then, they saved those who might survive. Last were the heavily wounded who were clearly on their last legs.

Company Commander Mizuno Kazuo personally covered one of Masakami Shin's wounds with his own hand. The warmth of the hand on his chest moved Masakami Shin to tears.

When he realized that his rescuer was none other than the company commander, he was even more touched.

Company Commander Mizuno Kazuo opened Masakami Shin's uniform, examined his three wounds closely, and his face changed instantly.

He haphazardly bandaged Masakami Shin's wounds and quickly moved on to check on his other men.

Two of Masakami Shin's wounds were near his heart. He was clearly beyond saving. Despite his quick movements to cover the wounds, he would die when he bled out.

Company Commander Mizuno Kazuo only bothered to bandage Masakami Shin out of pity for the soldier who had come all the way from the home islands only to die so quickly. It was a wasted effort.

While Mizuno Kazuo's men were busy tending to the wounded amidst the bombardment, Yamada Musashi's men were doing the same.

Between the two companies, there were 370 men. There were too many wounded. Just sending them to the rear was more than the men could handle.

The two company commanders could only gather the wounded together and pile up the bodies separately.

As they struggled to survive on the battlefield, they temporarily lost track of Goto Yuma's tank company.

When the second wave of bombardment arrived, the surviving soldiers from the two companies were shocked by what they saw where they had gathered the wounded.

The bodies of the dead were unchanged; there was no sign of zombies. But where they had gathered the wounded, a crater more than a meter deep and four meters wide had appeared.

The wounded had been blasted into fragments, scattered everywhere. The ground was stained crimson.

The scene was too horrific, far worse than anything the soldiers had heard about hell.

Now, the two infantry companies had just over a hundred men left, and they no longer had any distractions.

Company Commander Yamada Musashi had time to check on Goto Yuma's tank company.

His eyes scanned the smoke-filled battlefield, searching for any tanks that were still operational.

The smoke obscured his vision, and he couldn't find a single tank that was still moving.

Company Commander Mizuno Kazuo was much more astute. He counted the tanks burning in the smoke: one, two, three…

When he reached twelve, both company commanders realized that Goto Musashi's tank company had been completely annihilated. There wasn't a single one left that could be driven.

The two company commanders looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.

Their eyes were filled with fear and dread! Should they retreat or continue the advance?

At this moment, Company Commander Mizuno Kazuo thought of the military police. Fortunately, his unit wasn't being followed by those beastly enforcers. The two companies could still retreat.

But Yamada Musashi clearly didn't want to retreat like this. They had left with the full responsibility of the entire garrison headquarters on their shoulders.

If they retreated after suffering such heavy losses, wouldn't that make them the same as the second-rate mine security units and puppet troops?

Wouldn't that make them the same as the garbage units sent by the 10th Independent Mixed Brigade?

He couldn't retreat! The two company commanders had been communicating with their eyes the entire time. Seeing the growing determination in Yamada Musashi's eyes, Mizuno Kazuo's eyes also hardened.

He spoke first: "Continue the attack!"

He issued the order to his men. After Mizuno Kazuo's command was given.

"Advance!" Company Commander Yamada Musashi's command followed.

The surviving soldiers no longer paid attention to the newly wounded.

Those wounded soldiers tried their best to suppress their moans. They had all seen what had happened to the first group of wounded.

If it weren't for their good intentions of gathering the wounded together, they wouldn't have been wiped out all at once.

Company Commander Wu Long watched the smoke billowing ahead, countless rockets exploding among the Japanese tanks.

The scene was spectacular. However, after the first round of rocket explosions, the smoke on the battlefield blocked the view of all the soldiers in the Second Company, making it impossible to see the results.

The second round of rockets rained down, making it even more difficult to observe the true situation on the battlefield.

Company Commander Wu Long became anxious and shouted into the radio, "Company Commander Si! Good shooting! Right on target! Two rounds are enough! Enough!

The Japanese tanks are completely gone. I think we can stop for now."

Company Commander Wu Long was at the front line, the most direct observer. Since he said it was okay to stop the bombardment, Company Commander Si immediately ordered: Stop the third round of bombardment.

Less than five minutes after the rocket artillery company stopped firing, a group of Japanese soldiers charged out of the smoke-filled battlefield.

It was the soldiers of Yamada Musashi's company and Mizuno Kazuo's company who had finally broken through.

They charged out of the smoke-filled battlefield and stopped less than 400 meters from the Second Company's defenses. They were stunned by the sight of the battlefield covered in dead horses and the bodies of the Japanese cavalry.

The two company commanders looked at each other again: Should they continue the charge?

They had already crossed the bombarded area. What should they do now?

The combined strength of the two companies was less than a hundred men. Was it worth attacking with such a small force?

The Special Operations Brigade soldiers hiding behind the defenses could also see that there weren't many of them either. It seemed to be just one company. The numbers were relatively even.

What to do?

This time, Company Commander Yamada Musashi's gaze was firm: He was determined to break into the Special Operations Brigade's defenses.

Company Commander Mizuno Kazuo was actually wavering. He regretted that he hadn't turned back decisively in front of the wrecked tanks.

If he had, he wouldn't be in this dilemma now.

The two company commanders were exchanging glances. They didn't speak. There were too many soldiers around. Openly discussing whether to attack or retreat would severely damage morale.

In the end, Company Commander Mizuno Kazuo gave in. He had to reluctantly agree to Company Commander Yamada Musashi's order to continue the attack.

The most nervous people were the officers and soldiers of the Second Company, who saw the Japanese troops stalling in front of them.

They were afraid that the Japanese would turn back, which would make today's battle incomplete. Letting a hundred Japanese soldiers go back was a crime against themselves.

Now, seeing the Japanese carefully probing their way towards the defenses again.

Company Commander Wu Long specially instructed, "Bring the heavy machine guns and light machine guns back into the defenses. Don't scare the Japanese away by showing them the muzzles.

No one is allowed to fire without orders. If we scare away the Japanese, today's battle won't be perfect."

Hearing the company commander's orders, all six heavy machine guns of the Second Company were quietly withdrawn, along with the light machine guns, and hidden behind the defenses.

The Japanese soldiers of Yamada Musashi's and Mizuno Kazuo's companies, who were advancing, were closely observing the defenders' situation.

They saw the Second Company's movements, of course, but they interpreted them as: The defenders were scared and some of the soldiers were running away!

This was terrible! The rule of the battlefield was that one side rose as the other fell. Either the east wind prevailed over the west wind, or the west wind prevailed over the east wind.

Since the Special Operations Brigade soldiers were running away, the morale of the soldiers in the two Japanese companies immediately soared.

The Japanese soldiers were taking bigger steps as they advanced. A smug smile appeared on Company Commander Yamada Musashi's face. The defenders were starting to run away, and his insistence had been proven correct.

It was because of his correct insistence that they were able to see the light of victory. His voice was full of confidence as he shouted his orders: "Charge!"

Company Commander Yamada Musashi pointed his command saber straight ahead. All of his men, as well as the men of Mizuno Kazuo's company, charged forward with shouts, following his command.

Company Commander Mizuno Kazuo, having been stripped of his command, didn't dare to say a word. He could only silently speed up his pace and follow the rest of the company as they charged forward.

They charged into the area where the cavalry company of Suimi Munefumi had been ambushed. The smoke had long since cleared, and the bodies of the Japanese soldiers and dead horses were clearly visible on the ground.

The scene was still a little better than the sight of the wounded being killed when they were gathered together.

Only the Japanese soldier who had been impaled on a tree stump stood out, and that soldier wasn't dead yet.

Seeing them arrive, that soldier was still able to cry out, begging the soldiers to give him a quick death.

Company Commander Yamada Musashi looked at the soldier: the blood from his body had been pouring down the tree stump, turning the entire stump red. A small pool of blood had collected at the base of the tree.

This soldier was definitely not going to survive. Company Commander Yamada Musashi decisively used his command saber to put him out of his misery.

He didn't use a gun because Company Commander Yamada Musashi was afraid that firing a gun would alert the defenders up ahead. What if they started firing as well?

As it was now, the soldiers of the two companies advanced along the path soaked in blood, and the defenders didn't fire at all. That was much better.

The defenders didn't even bother to look up to observe the situation. Company Commander Yamada Musashi was very pleased with this situation.

He felt that this was the normal way to start a battle. When they had been following Goto Yuma's tank company, they had been given the wrong script.

Company Commander Wu Long watched the Japanese soldiers charge within 100 meters. He couldn't express his excitement: less than a hundred Japanese soldiers had dared to charge straight in like this.

It was as if they had come here specifically to give them kills. If even one of them got away, the horse meat wouldn't taste good at lunch.

Ninety meters, eighty meters... Even though the Japanese soldiers had started to speed up in the last hundred meters, it clearly wasn't enough for Company Commander Wu Long.

He just wanted the Japanese soldiers to hurry up, to charge within 30 meters of the defenses. Then he would order the claymore mines to be detonated, followed by a bayonet charge to finish off these Japanese soldiers, and then they could peacefully clean up the battlefield.

Company Commander Wu had promised to treat everyone to horse lungs. The horse had been killed, but no one had been sent to divide the meat yet. How could he not be anxious?

Although Company Commander Yamada Musashi didn't know what Company Commander Wu was thinking, he was directing his soldiers to charge faster.

In reality, charging those last few dozen meters would only take ten seconds or so. Seeing that all the Japanese soldiers had entered his ambush range.

Wu Long immediately ordered: "Detonate!"

There were only less than a hundred Japanese soldiers. After giving the order to detonate the claymore mines, Company Commander Wu didn't stop at all. He continued to give orders: "Charge! Fix bayonets!"

"Charge! Fix bayonets!" All the soldiers of the Second Company stood up. They had been lying prone inside the defenses, afraid of scaring the Japanese soldiers.

Now, they stood up one after another, holding their rifles with fixed bayonets, and charged towards the Japanese soldiers.

Company Commander Yamada Musashi watched as the company charged to within 30 meters of the Special Operations Brigade's defenses. The defenders still hadn't fired.

This clearly meant that they were afraid and didn't dare to fire. Extremely excited, Company Commander Yamada Musashi shouted again: "Charge!"

As he shouted, the earth shook and the ground trembled. A "boom!" of explosions rang out.

A dense mass of black shadows rushed towards the Japanese soldiers. The explosions were too sudden. They were so sudden that the Japanese soldiers were completely unprepared.

They didn't have time to make any tactical maneuvers at all. The iron pellets packed into the outer layers of the claymore mines had already been driven deep into their bodies.

The Japanese soldiers immediately felt what that soldier who had been impaled on the tree stump had felt. Many of them had been hit by more than a dozen iron pellets at the same time. They were in so much pain that they just wanted to die quickly.

But their arms had been broken. Now, they couldn't even die if they wanted to. As for surviving? There weren't many Japanese soldiers who were still able to stand. It was hard to say whether they hadn't been injured at all, or whether they were injured but hadn't realized it yet.

What terrified Company Commander Yamada Musashi and Company Commander Mizuno Kazuo was that the Special Operations Brigade soldiers in the previously silent positions suddenly burst out with a huge shout.

The situation on the battlefield was truly changing in an instant. Just now, the morale of the Japanese soldiers had been sky-high. Now that they had been ambushed, their morale had plummeted to freezing point.

The morale of the Special Operations Brigade soldiers, on the other hand, was sky-high. Each soldier charged forward with their guns, like a fierce tiger descending from the mountains.

Thirty meters was only a matter of seconds. The soldiers of the Second Company who were charging at the front shouted loudly: "Charge!"

This was what the soldiers did during normal training. When they shouted "charge," they would thrust their guns forward, feeling faster and more powerful.

Company Commander Yamada Musashi, who had been stunned by the explosions, finally realized that he had to command.

Therefore, Company Commander Yamada Musashi adjusted the position of his command saber again and shouted at the Special Operations Brigade soldiers who were charging towards them: "Charge!"

This time, there was no confidence in his shout. As he shouted, the twenty or so Japanese soldiers who were still standing finally reacted.

Some of them charged towards the soldiers who were charging towards them, while others turned and ran.

Company Commander Yamada Musashi didn't run. After giving the order, he also began to pick up his pace.

Company Commander Mizuno Kazuo had been muttering to himself ever since the bombs had gone off, "I knew we should have retreated!" He kept repeating that sentence.

When he heard Company Commander Yamada Musashi's order, Company Commander Mizuno Kazuo couldn't take it anymore.

He didn't listen to the order and didn't give any orders. He just made his choice with his actions. He turned around and started to run away.

The dozen or so Japanese soldiers who went to meet the Second Company's charge were killed by the Second Company soldiers before they could even make a splash.

Company Commander Yamada Musashi didn't enjoy the luxury of lasting even a second longer than the average soldier. He was attacked from both sides by two soldiers and was struck down in a single move.

Company Commander Yamada Musashi fell backward, his eyes wide open, unwilling to die. He didn't understand why he had been defeated so badly.

As he died, he already knew that none of the soldiers in the two infantry companies would be able to escape.

Company Commander Mizuno Kazuo didn't understand this principle. He was still trying to run away. Although these few Japanese soldiers who had been stimulated were running faster than they had been charging.

But these Japanese soldiers had walked all the way from Tian Jia'an without resting. They had wavered earlier and then decided to continue the attack.

They had been charging from a distance of 500 meters. The Japanese soldiers who had been charging for 500 meters were already exhausted.

Now, they were just stimulated, which released the last bit of strength in their bodies.

Company Commander Mizuno Kazuo led the remaining soldiers and ran less than 100 meters before they were caught up by the soldiers of the Second Company. None of these soldiers dared to turn around and fight.

They were stabbed in the back by the soldiers of the Second Company while they were running away, and then they were stabbed two more times to end their sinful lives.

Company Commander Mizuno Kazuo was killed in the same way. After all the fleeing soldiers were killed, the battlefield hadn't quieted down yet.

In the distance, near the burning tank wrecks, there were still some injured Japanese soldiers waiting for rescue.

Platoon Leader Ma Xuelong led his men over to clean up the area that had been bombed by the rocket artillery.

Platoon Leader Yang Yongchun led his men to clean up the Japanese soldiers who had died on this battlefield during the charge.

Platoon Leader Guo Fei, under the command of Company Commander Wu, had already begun to butcher the horse meat.

Regiment Commander Tang Youwei of the Logistics Regiment was now the regiment commander with the most men under his command.

He originally had 5,000 logistics soldiers, although they had all been converted into combat troops, they were still called the Logistics Regiment.

Then, the Logistics Regiment recruited more than 3,000 villagers nearby to clean up the battlefield on the second line of defense.

At this time, Regiment Commander Tang You had sent three companies and 500 villagers to the Second Company to help clean up the battlefield.

According to the Special Operations Brigade's habit of cleaning up the battlefield, even the tanks that had been burned by fire were to be recovered completely. Nothing would be wasted. Good steel would be smelted and reforged. The worse stuff would be turned into molten iron and made into iron pellets.

The Special Operations Brigade currently uses iron pellets in many of its weapons. All artillery shells, grenades, and claymore mines need them.

Therefore, the Special Operations Brigade is professional when it comes to cleaning up the battlefield!