Chapter 1 The Only Intact Fourth Battalion of the First Infantry Regiment

The only intact Fourth Battalion of the First Infantry Regiment remained in hiding. According to Regimental Commander Sato’s plan, this battalion was to act as an assassin. Once its scouts located a weak point in the National Revolutionary Army’s defenses, the battalion would launch a sudden attack, shattering the enemy’s front lines.

The Japanese soldiers, each with their own mission, set out!

The reconnaissance platoons of all twelve companies of the Second Regiment were also dispatched. Each platoon carried a walkie-talkie, allowing them to communicate not only with the Second Regiment headquarters but also with each other.

Not only the Second Regiment, but the Fifteenth Regiment also sent out all twelve of its reconnaissance platoons. Their missions and equipment were identical. The task of these twenty-four platoons was to find the tracks of the Japanese infantry.

To find them, guide the artillery, and then bombard them!

Along the Jian Tou Ridge line, both sides simultaneously sent out numerous reconnaissance squads.

Jing Liquan, the reconnaissance platoon leader of the Second Regiment's First Company, had been lying in ambush in the jungle for two days with his fifty-man team.

They hadn’t returned since their last ambush of a small Japanese detachment. That morning, they guided the heavy artillery to bombard the Japanese artillery positions twice.

The first bombardment destroyed most of the Japanese artillery and killed over eighty percent of the artillerymen. Two hours later, they guided the heavy artillery again, this time destroying all seventy-seven vehicles of a temporary transport unit that had come to assist in the retreat, and killing many of the Japanese soldiers in the unit.

After this second bombardment, the Japanese seemed to have given up completely, leaving only about a hundred soldiers to guard the artillery positions while the rest retreated.

Nakajima Yoshiki, the artillery regiment commander who made this decision, was also very helpless. He understood that as long as there were too many soldiers at the artillery positions, they would inevitably attract heavy artillery fire.

His artillery force was already small and could barely withstand another round of bombardment. Only about a hundred Japanese soldiers died in the artillery regiment during the second attack.

On the other hand, the temporary automobile transport unit, which had come to assist, not only abandoned all seventy-seven vehicles but also lost nearly a thousand of the twelve hundred soldiers sent to support them.

The temporary transport unit left behind over a thousand Japanese corpses and the wreckage of seventy-seven vehicles at the artillery positions.

Now, Regiment Commander Nakajima Yoshiki sat in the command post, directing his soldiers to clear the bodies. There were over two thousand corpses, and it was impossible to transport them all.

Regiment Commander Nakajima Yoshiki ordered the soldiers to prepare firewood and burn the bodies on the spot. After the two thousand corpses were reduced to ashes, they would be much easier to carry away.

At the same time, he ordered the soldiers to fill in all the large and small craters caused by the artillery shells in the road. Most of the artillery regiment's cannons had already been destroyed, but some were still worth repairing, and one or two might have escaped the bombardment.

Repairing the roads now was to create an opportunity to move these cannons out. Otaishikura Keita, the company commander, was a very lucky soldier.

He had survived several artillery bombardments. All the Japanese soldiers still alive in Regiment Commander Nakajima Yoshiki's unit were lucky.

It was a miracle that they had survived one bombardment after another. Initially, these soldiers were reluctant to continue working at the artillery positions.

Regiment Commander Nakajima Yoshiki forced them, and after explaining the situation, the soldiers returned. According to Commander Nakajima, as long as there were fewer soldiers at the artillery positions, the National Revolutionary Army’s heavy artillery would not bombard them.

At least that rule still seemed to apply. Company Commander Otaishikura Keita had already led the soldiers to drag away over a thousand corpses, exhausting them.

“Why are these bodies getting heavier and heavier?” Private Kojima Naoya asked.

“Don’t talk nonsense! The brave warriors are going to see Amaterasu Ōmikami (the Sun Goddess), their remains are sacred and precious,” Sergeant Hashiya Aoi said in a low voice.

After saying that, he approached and whispered, “It is said that these Japanese soldiers who died violent deaths will play tricks on the living. If you think they are heavy, they will become as heavy as Mount Tai, making it impossible to move them even with all your strength.”

After saying that, he added, “Don’t talk nonsense while working.”

He dragged another Japanese soldier toward the makeshift cremation site, muttering to himself, “Why is this Japanese soldier so heavy? He doesn’t look that big. Is it really a ghost?”

He was, after all, an experienced old soldier. No matter what he thought, he didn’t say a word, dragging the corpse to the woodpile.

Then, another soldier came up to clean out the dead soldier’s belongings and wipe his face and hands.

From the soldier’s chest pocket, they took out a photo of a young, beautiful woman smiling at the camera. On the back of the photo was written: My wife, Michiko!

“It seems he can’t bear to leave his wife, so he doesn’t want to die! That’s why he’s become so heavy?” Sergeant Hashiya Aoi guessed in his mind.

“If you didn’t want to die, you shouldn’t have come to this land!” Sergeant Hashiya Aoi muttered.

“You chose this path yourself, so you must finish it, even in death. Don’t make things difficult for us!” Hashiya Aoi and another soldier lifted the dead soldier onto the woodpile. Many Japanese soldiers were already stacked there, piled up like firewood.

When enough corpses were piled up, they would light the front of the woodpile, and the oil from the bodies would be roasted out, causing them to burn fiercely.

Not far from them, several such piles of corpses were already burning. Besides the large flames, the smell of burning corpses was unbearable.

Fortunately, no matter how unbearable the smell, the nose would get used to it after a while.

While the Japanese soldiers were busy collecting corpses, others were busy filling in the craters.

Captain Ushijima So led a group of soldiers filling in the large craters caused by the artillery shells. While filling the holes, they made sure not to touch the cannons nearby.

It was as if a pair of eyes were watching them from the shadows. If they dared to touch the cannons, endless artillery fire would rain down again.

Sergeant Oniyama Kazuma was shoveling soil from the edge of a crater when he suddenly hit something soft.

He smiled and said, “I’ve dug up another treasure!” The treasure he was referring to was a Japanese soldier completely buried by the soil displaced by the shell.

So much time had passed; these soldiers buried in the soil could not have survived.

Often, his shovel would chop off a few fingers or a large piece of flesh from these corpses.

Sergeant Oniyama Kazuma didn’t care, shoveling the fingers and flesh directly into the crater, righteously proclaiming, “This is to let them rest in peace.”

Captain Ushijima So thought maliciously, “If there weren’t other soldiers working nearby, would Sergeant Oniyama Kazuma just push the bodies he dug up into the crater and bury them?”

Another soldier, Kibata Haruo, who had not been in the artillery regiment for long, was seeing so many dead Japanese soldiers for the first time today.

His body trembled constantly, especially when he saw the corpses dug up by Sergeant Oniyama Kazuma, covered in blood and mixed with soil, their faces twisted in gruesome expressions. He was even more terrified.

The more terrified he was, the more Sergeant Oniyama Kazuma insisted that he drag the buried corpses away. Private Kibata Haruo didn't dare disobey the old soldiers.

Trembling, he dragged the corpse to the side and carefully placed it down, kneeling and saying a lot of apologetic nonsense, hoping not to be haunted.

This gave the other Japanese soldiers even more reason to tease him! It was perhaps their only form of entertainment after surviving the ordeal.

In any case, the surviving soldiers of Regiment Commander Nakajima Yoshiki’s artillery unit were truly relaxed now. They could find enjoyment on their own, finding pleasure in their work, which was the only way for them to forget reality.

Jing Liquan, the reconnaissance platoon leader of the Second Regiment’s First Company, had already gathered four nearby reconnaissance platoons. After receiving Lin Fan’s orders yesterday, they had been hiding in these mountains, preparing to locate the Japanese artillery positions.

Two had found the Japanese artillery positions, while the other two had not, but they had not retreated today.

Now, after receiving Platoon Leader Jing Liquan’s call on the walkie-talkie, all four platoons arrived. They did not assemble at Platoon Leader Jing’s current location.

Instead, the soldiers of the four reconnaissance platoons quietly approached the Japanese artillery positions through the jungle, surrounding the remaining hundred or so soldiers of Regiment Commander Nakajima Yoshiki’s artillery unit from four directions.

Zhong Youcai whispered, “Platoon Leader! I’ll sneak around to the side and fire a rocket into the Japanese command post.

First, we'll destroy the command post, and the Japanese soldiers outside will become headless flies.”

Outside Regiment Commander Nakajima Yoshiki's command post, there was a machine gun and several Japanese soldiers guarding it. The platoon had clearly seen from a distance that there were a dozen or so Japanese soldiers inside the command post.

Platoon Leader Jing ordered in a low voice, "Li Youde, go with him!"

The four reconnaissance platoons had a total of two hundred soldiers, and they were all in position, waiting for Zhong Youcai to fire the first shot.

Each platoon had found its target. In fact, at this point, only the command post was being guarded by Japanese soldiers with weapons; the rest were busy filling in the craters and burning corpses, with no one on guard.

Zhong Youcai slowly crawled through the undergrowth, carefully traversing nearly a hundred meters of thick vegetation, reaching a position about one hundred and fifty meters from the Japanese command post.

From this position, he could clearly see that the door of the command post was open. Firing a rocket into the command post from one hundred and fifty meters away required great skill.

Firing from the front would reduce the difficulty by at least half!

Zhong Youcai slowly set up the rocket launcher, took a rough aim, and began to adjust his breathing, following Lin Fan's advice: be calm, see clearly, and move slowly.

Li Youde vigilantly watched the Japanese soldiers who were still dragging corpses not far away, guarding against them discovering them.

Zhong Youcai calmly adjusted for a few minutes before aiming, focusing his eyes on a Japanese soldier inside the command post.

The soldier was standing in front of a table, not moving for several minutes, as if he were a corpse.

He gently squeezed the trigger, and immediately, Zhong Youcai reloaded a second rocket, fearing that he might miss with the first shot and wanting to be prepared.

"Boom!" A rocket flew in through the door of the command post and exploded. At the same time, gunshots rang out incessantly.

All the soldiers of the four platoons rushed out from their hiding places. When the first rocket exploded, the Japanese machine gunner outside the command post immediately turned the machine gun toward Zhong Youcai.

The second rocket had already been fired, this time targeting the Japanese machine gun!

When Ejima Ziyang heard the explosion inside the command post, he immediately looked in that direction.

He quickly spotted smoke rising from the bushes not far away and hastily turned the machine gun towards that direction. Just as his gun was aimed at the bushes, he saw a rocket flying straight towards him.

The rocket was getting bigger and bigger in his eyes. Ejima Ziyang could even see the metal fins on the tail of the rocket, but he had no time to react.

A deafening explosion and a wave of heat washed over him. Ejima Ziyang was thrown into the air by the blast, and countless pieces of shrapnel caught up with him mid-air. The machine gunner silently accepted the shrapnel into his body.

Then, his entire body began to spray blood like a shower.

After firing two rockets, Zhong Youcai stood up happily and charged toward the Japanese soldiers ahead. Li Youde closely followed.

"Good shot!" Li Youde loudly praised his comrade. They had been partners for a long time, and this time he thought Zhong Youcai had done his best.

Two shots, two hits, not only had they wiped out the Japanese leadership but also taken out their machine gun.

When the first explosion rang out, Company Commander Ishikura Keita, who was watching the Japanese soldiers dragging corpses, stared blankly at the command post that was exploding and catching fire.

"What's going on?" He didn't know. He only knew that Regiment Commander Nakajima Yoshiki, who had survived two artillery bombardments, was definitely dead this time.

Then, he heard a series of gunshots. Company Commander Ishikura Keita saw the second explosion, watching the rocket fly out from the bushes and strike the machine gun position in front of the command post.

He saw Sergeant Ejima Ziyang being blown into the sky and showering the ground with blood.

After Sergeant Ejima Ziyang fell to the ground, no longer visible, Company Commander Ishikura Keita finally woke up. He saw the National Revolutionary Army soldiers charging out of the bushes behind the command post.

He started shouting, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Counterattack!"

His orders came a little late. The fastest soldiers had already charged past the Japanese cremation piles.

These soldiers, with rifles in hand, their bayonets gleaming with cold light, charged toward the Japanese soldiers.

Sergeant Kojima Naoya, watching the Second Regiment soldiers charging toward them, was so scared that he couldn't move. He had heard the company commander's order.

But counterattack? The Japanese soldiers' guns were racked up a hundred meters away. What could they counterattack with? Fists?

The charging soldiers didn't stop, following Platoon Leader Jing's order: "Finish the battle in three minutes, withdraw in ten minutes."

The charging reconnaissance platoon soldiers attacked the Japanese soldiers who were still stunned with bayonets.

One stab for each Japanese soldier. Some Japanese soldiers were already running away frantically. The Special Operations Brigade soldiers who had charged from four directions had surrounded them.

There was nowhere for these Japanese soldiers to escape!

Company Commander Ishikura Keita watched as Sergeant Kojima Naoya was stabbed and fell. He still had his weapons: a command saber and a pistol.

He drew his command saber, gripped the hilt with both hands, and slashed at Platoon Leader Luo who was charging towards him. Platoon Leader Luo, who was charging forward, raised his rifle and deflected the Japanese soldier’s saber.

He then used his right hand to push the butt of the rifle forward, slamming it hard into Company Commander Ishikura Keita’s nose, causing him to cry and his snot to run. The saber fell to the ground with a clang, and he staggered backward.

Platoon Leader Luo pulled back his rifle and accurately stabbed the Japanese officer in the throat.

The experienced Sergeant Hashiya Aoi could not find a way to escape. He had run from south to north and then from north to east, but still couldn't find a gap to escape through.

With no way out, Hashiya Aoi desperately jumped into a crater more than two meters deep. Seeing him jump in, the First Platoon Leader of the Third Company laughed and said, "I've only ever seen a dog jump over a wall in desperation, this is the first time I've seen a Japanese soldier jump into a pit." He threw a grenade into the crater without hesitation.

With a "boom," Hashiya Aoi would never be able to climb out of the pit. Captain Ushijima So, who was leading the soldiers to fill the craters, heard the sound of rocket launchers firing nearby.

He saw Zhong Youcai and Li Youde stand up from the bushes and screamed, waving his shovel as he charged towards the two soldiers.

Sergeant Oniyama Kazuma also screamed and charged forward with his shovel. Private Kibata Haruo was too frightened to move and sat on the ground, trembling.

Li Youde raised his rifle and blocked Captain Ushijima So's descending shovel, while Zhong Youcai swung his rocket launcher, smashing it down on the Japanese soldier who was already defenseless.

With great force, Captain Ushijima So's head was smashed like a watermelon.

Such a ferocious figure frightened Sergeant Oniyama Kazuma, who was charging towards them. He quickly stopped.

Since he wasn't coming, Li Youde wouldn't let him off, rushing forward and thrusting his bayonet straight into his chest.

With just one stab, he created two holes in the Japanese soldier, and then followed up with another stab.

Seeing Zhong Youcai at this point, he smashed the head of the Japanese soldier who was sitting on the ground trembling.

His rocket launcher was covered in red, white, and black blood and brain matter.

The ferocity of the two soldiers frightened the Japanese soldiers filling the holes, and they scattered in all directions, running inside.

No matter how these Japanese soldiers ran, they couldn't escape their fate. Platoon Leader Jing ordered, "Fill the intact cannons with shells and block the muzzles.

Detonate the Japanese shells! We don't have time to take these things away, and we can't leave them for the Japanese."

The two hundred soldiers moved quickly. Platoon Leader Jing rushed to the front of the Japanese command post, wanting to go inside to find any documents or intelligence, but the command post was already on fire, blocking the entrance.

Disappointed, Platoon Leader Jing had to return empty-handed, looking at Platoon Leader Luo, Platoon Leader Jiang, and the others, smiling and saying, "Now I can rest assured. There shouldn't be any living Japanese soldiers left in the artillery regiment!"

Platoon Leader Jiang smiled and said, "Not only did we take their lives, but we also left none of their cannons." On the artillery positions, there were still three or four cannons that appeared to be intact.

Now, the soldiers of these reconnaissance platoons, regardless of the consequences, loaded shells into all the cannons that could accept them and filled the muzzles with dirt.

The remaining shells on the artillery positions were pushed into a huge crater and were being filled with dirt.

Originally, Platoon Leader Jing was planning to blow them up, but considering that detonating them would require explosives and wouldn't be a clean job, and since the Japanese had already filled many craters here,

they piled the shells into a crater and filled it up. If there was a chance, they could dig them out for their own use; if not, let the shells rot in the soil!

In less than ten minutes, all the members of the four reconnaissance platoons had withdrawn. The cannons that had their muzzles filled and shells loaded had their firing cords extended hundreds of meters, and the soldiers hid in the craters and pulled the lanyards.

Another earth-shattering, deafening explosion reverberated through the sky. Dozens of cannons were completely destroyed, leaving the Japanese unable to find even a single usable part.

After destroying the Japanese cannons, the four reconnaissance platoons quickly disappeared into the mountains.

The huge explosion and the smoke rising into the sky from the artillery positions immediately attracted the attention of the Japanese, who quickly called Regiment Commander Nakajima Yoshiki, but they couldn't get through.

When the Japanese signalmen ran to the battlefield, they realized that the entire artillery regiment of the Hata Detachment had been wiped out, with no survivors. All the cannons were also destroyed, reduced to scrap metal to be melted down.

Upon receiving this news, Detachment Commander Hata Shigeichi went into a frenzy. At this point, he regretted being too arrogant.

If he hadn't proactively sought to independently attack Maga Ridge, the entire Hata Detachment would probably be defending Jiujiang City right now!

Speaking of defense, all the division and regimental troops transferred to Jiujiang City were resting at this time.

Thinking of this, anger rose in his heart: he must defeat the National Revolutionary Army troops in front of him and annihilate them completely to regain the lost face.

With this in mind, he ordered the Second Infantry Regiment: "Tonight, move the entire position forward and hide near Chenjia Mountain."

He believed that the National Revolutionary Army on the other side had already completely annihilated his artillery regiment near Chenjia Mountain and would not leave any troops behind because it was no longer necessary!

Regardless of what Detachment Commander Hata Shigeichi was thinking, his subordinates were carrying out his orders. Section Leader Mizunashi Shintaro of the Second Battalion of the First Infantry Regiment was leading his thirteen-man squad through the jungle, having crossed two hills.

They deliberately avoided the main road, entering the mountains, where the mountains were high and the forests were dense. The Japanese soldiers were walking along mountain paths that were mostly covered by bushes and weeds.

Along the way, the mountains and forests had a slight yellow tint. Autumn had arrived, and animals could be seen running through the woods from time to time.

But they hadn't seen a single person. As the Japanese soldiers walked through the silent forest, Sergeant Hatsune Rintaro asked with some concern, "Section Leader! If we keep going like this, will we be able to find our way back?"

He voiced the concerns of most of the Japanese soldiers in the squad, who were genuinely afraid of getting lost in the mountains. Section Leader Mizunashi Shintaro said nonchalantly, "We have a compass. As long as we find the right direction, we can come back without getting lost."

With the section leader's affirmative answer, the squad continued forward for another hour, but they still didn't see anything.

At this point, even Mizunashi Shintaro didn't know where his squad was. He struggled to figure it out on the map, finally saying uncertainly, "According to the map, we've already reached behind the National Revolutionary Army's lines.

But why haven't we seen a single National Revolutionary Army soldier? Nor have we seen their defenses?"

No one answered! He was the section leader, and even with a map and compass, he couldn't find his way. How could the other soldiers possibly find their way?

Hatsune Rintaro said anxiously, "It would be great if we could find a local to ask!" But that was just wishful thinking. The Japanese soldiers had noticed a strange phenomenon:

When they were in Shanghai and Nanjing, they could ask ordinary people for directions and get warm responses. Sometimes, they could even ask for water from people's homes.

But since arriving around Wuhan, the local people hated them. They would run away as soon as they saw them, and these mountains were so dense that they would disappear in a moment.

Even if they caught them, the information they gave was false. These people were very cunning.

Later, they couldn't even see ordinary people anymore. The National Revolutionary Army had evacuated all the people from the battle zone.

As a result, it was difficult for the Japanese soldiers to even find a guide! Marching only on the main roads, or taking shortcuts through the mountains, often led to delays.

Section Leader Mizunashi Shintaro was in a very bad mood! He was truly lost this time, but he suppressed his anxiety and prepared to turn back.

In any case, Jiujiang was south of Mahui Ridge, and they just needed to follow the compass! Mizunashi Shintaro's squad walked for another hour.

Without any of the other soldiers pointing it out, Section Leader Mizunashi Shintaro knew that they were truly lost this time. He had ended up on a road he had never been on before. He had no choice but to stop the squad by a small stream, let all the soldiers eat some dry rations, rest for a while, and then look for a way out.

Originally, he had wanted to follow the compass back, but the compass had led him to this place he had never been before.

Yan Haosi, the reconnaissance platoon leader of the Second Regiment's Fifth Company, had already spotted Mizunashi Shintaro's squad, but the Japanese unit kept moving.

Eager to wipe them out, Platoon Leader Yan Haosi didn't allow the entire platoon to take action right away. Now that the Japanese soldiers had finally stopped and started resting,

a platoon of soldiers quietly approached the Japanese. Platoon Leader Yan didn't have any intention of capturing them alive; he just wanted to kill them all.

The three squads in his platoon each occupied one direction. According to Platoon Leader Yan's orders, each soldier in one squad was assigned to shoot one Japanese soldier!

The signal would be three bird calls, and the soldiers in the three squads would open fire simultaneously! If any Japanese soldiers escaped the initial attack, they must intercept them.

Now, the First Squad that Platoon Leader Yan was with was in position. The squad leader emitted two bird calls, and after a while, two bird calls came from the opposite side.

Sergeant Hatsune Rintaro was finally energetic enough to speak again, "There are so many birds in this valley!"

Just as he finished speaking, two more bird calls came. Section Leader Mizunashi Shintaro said irritably, "The birds are just answering each other!"

As soon as he finished speaking, three bird calls rang out. Just as the bird calls ended, he saw puffs of smoke rising from the bushes less than a hundred meters ahead, along with flashes of fire. Then, he heard the sound of gunfire.

He could only see people firing from the front. The Japanese soldiers in Mizunashi Shintaro's squad didn't see the gunshots coming from behind, as well as from their right.

The soldiers of the Fifth Company's reconnaissance platoon fired at the Japanese soldiers they had targeted, and the initial volley wiped out the thirteen Japanese soldiers.

There were no escapees as Platoon Leader Yan feared. After the gunshots subsided, a squad of soldiers charged out from behind Mizunashi Shintaro's group, quickly stabbing each Japanese soldier, confirming that they could no longer be alive.

Then, they took their weapons, ammunition, dry rations, medicine, bandages, and satchels. The only thing they didn't do was take their clothes and pants.

While the soldiers of the First Squad were still cleaning up the battlefield, a few birds suddenly flew up in the distance. Platoon Leader Yan made a gesture, pointing to the direction where the birds had flown from.

The soldiers of the First Squad immediately returned to the jungle, while the Second and Third Squads quietly moved towards the direction where the birds had flown from.

Squad Leader Koshigaya Mitsuteru could only lead a twelve-man squad on this mission. Like Mizunashi Shintaro's squad, they had gotten lost in the mountains.

However, they were resting a little further upstream, and suddenly they heard gunshots from downstream. He was an old soldier who had been rolling around on the battlefield for countless years.

From the sound of the gunshots, he immediately judged, "Those are the sounds of Type 38 rifles firing.

Friends are firing down there; let's go take a look!"

His analysis was correct. Those gunshots were indeed from Type 38 rifles. Squad Leader Koshigaya Mitsuteru led twelve Japanese soldiers, making it thirteen in total including himself, rushing towards the direction of the gunfire from upstream.

The gunshots only lasted for a moment before stopping. The birds in the surrounding area all flew into the sky, making it easy for Squad Leader Koshigaya Mitsuteru to determine the direction.

The mountain path was winding. They turned three corners along the mountain path by the stream but hadn't seen the friendly troops they expected, nor had they heard any more gunshots.

The birds that had flown up earlier had landed again, chirping. Two of the bird calls seemed a little different, and the difference was only noticeable to those who were paying attention.

Squad Leader Koshigaya Mitsuteru didn't pay any attention to it. They were still anxiously and cautiously exploring forward.

There were two more bird calls in the forest. Private Yanagida Haruto laughed and said, "The birds are having a meeting; they're constantly chirping."

Just as he finished speaking, three more bird calls rang out. Just as he was feeling smug that he had guessed correctly, the sound of gunfire erupted in the forest again.

The gunshots rang out continuously, only once, before stopping. Platoon Leader Yan and his men, after firing one round of ammunition, immediately charged out.

Private Yanagida Haruto, who had been shot twice but hadn't died, looked in terror at the National Revolutionary Army soldiers charging out of the bushes, screaming.

He desperately crawled backwards, trying to get away! His hand suddenly touched the face of Squad Leader Koshigaya Mitsuteru, who was already dead.

At this point, Squad Leader Koshigaya Mitsuteru was no longer breathing. There were still several Japanese soldiers in his squad who hadn't taken their last breath.

Looking at the charging soldiers, these Japanese soldiers couldn't muster the slightest will to resist, and they didn't have the strength to struggle.

Private Yanagida Haruto thought that since he was injured and didn't have the strength to resist, these National Revolutionary Army soldiers would treat them well.

He didn't expect that the soldiers would charge up fiercely and thrust their rifles down, and it was all he could do to let out a scream before he could no longer breathe.

He clutched at the bayonet that had pierced his throat, not wanting it to be pulled out, his eyes bulging and gasping, as he struggled desperately.

Soon, the thirteen Japanese soldiers in the squad had been wiped out. Platoon Leader Yan laughed and said, "What's wrong with the Japanese today? They keep appearing in squads!"

He led his team back into the mountains, going up to the mountaintop before reporting their latest findings to all nearby reconnaissance platoons that could hear them.

This information was immediately relayed to Lin Fan, who was told that the reconnaissance platoon of the Second Regiment's Fifth Company had successively annihilated two Japanese squads, both of which had thirteen soldiers.

One of the squads was even led by a Japanese squad leader. Lin Fan immediately understood: "The Japanese soldiers are dividing into smaller units, somewhat similar to later special operations tactics."

He immediately conveyed this situation to the Special Operations Brigade and the Second Heavy Artillery Regiment, as well as the two infantry regiments of the Sixty-sixth Army, instructing them to remain vigilant and to deploy both overt and covert sentries around the camps and positions, taking precautions against small groups of Japanese soldiers coming to sabotage.

All twenty-four reconnaissance teams dispatched by the Special Operations Brigade received reminders from the brigade commander: the Japanese were now operating in smaller units. When operating in the jungle, each reconnaissance platoon should pay attention to the surrounding environment, and be wary of ambushes by small Japanese groups.

At this time, Lin Fan thought about when he first arrived here, he wanted to establish a special operations team to carry out special operations against the Japanese.

But as he took it step by step, now it had become like this. Special operations had now become primarily positional warfare.

Lin Fan thought bitterly, "I wonder when things will calm down a bit so that I can train a true special forces unit."

By the time the various reconnaissance squads at the front received Lin Fan's reminder, more than one reconnaissance team had already engaged in combat with the Japanese soldiers.

They just weren't as lucky as Platoon Leader Yan, who had successively annihilated two Japanese squads. At this time, they reported their results.

Lin Fan tallied them up, and they had already annihilated seventeen Japanese squads, which was a full company of Japanese soldiers.

"I wonder how many squads the Japanese sent out this time?" Lin Fan thought to himself.

Section Leader Kojima Kosuke was leading his Japanese soldiers, not taking the same route as Mizunashi Shintaro's squad. He led the entire squad on an unconventional path, walking along the ridges beside the railway line.

When his squad reached two hills in front of the Second Regiment's defensive line, they crossed to the east, wanting to lead the Japanese soldiers three or four kilometers inside, and then head directly into the National Revolutionary Army's defensive line.

Kojima Kosuke believed that the National Revolutionary Army's defensive line would not extend so far into the mountains. After they acted on this plan,

they encountered no resistance and smoothly bypassed the National Revolutionary Army's defensive line. Sergeant Mikasanomiya Kotaro said flatteringly, "Section Leader Kojima is truly brilliant, getting through so easily.

If Captain Sakashita Akira could have invited Section Leader Kojima to be his advisor, we would have already broken through into Mahui Ridge."

This flattery pleased Section Leader Kojima Kosuke, and he said happily with a smile, "Yes! It's a pity about the lives of the thousands of brave soldiers of the First Battalion! They were lost due to recklessness."

They continued to advance, pleasantly exchanging thoughts, and wanted to go further in, and then traverse laterally, to find the artillery positions from behind the National Revolutionary Army's defensive line.

As the Japanese soldiers of Kojima Kosuke's squad began to traverse laterally again, they became serious, as this was already behind the National Revolutionary Army's defensive line, and the Japanese soldiers had to be careful to watch out for any National Revolutionary Army soldiers.

What Section Leader Kojima Kosuke didn't notice was that there were pairs of eyes watching them from the jungle. They had already entered the territory of Regiment Commander Shi of the Sixty-sixth Army. Regiment Commander Shi and Regiment Commander Ning Hezhi

were the two regiments that stayed in Mahui Ridge to assist the Special Operations Brigade.

This was the order of Army Commander Ye Zhao. Regiment Commander Shi received a notice from Lin Fan, telling him that the Japanese were sending out numerous small squads, and they might try to get behind the defensive lines to sabotage.

He and Regiment Commander Ning followed Lin Fan's advice and sent out squads in platoons to lie in ambush on the roads.

Xie Hetao, the first platoon leader of the first company, did not expect that his platoon would actually ambush a squad of Japanese soldiers.

His platoon had forty-four soldiers, and fighting thirteen Japanese soldiers was easy. The unsuspecting Japanese soldiers of Kojima Kosuke's squad didn't know that they had fallen into a trap.

When the Japanese soldiers entered the trap, Platoon Leader Xie made a hand gesture, and one of the soldiers detonated the bombs they had buried.

These were directional mines they had learned from the Special Operations Brigade. The explosives were captured, and the iron pellets were homemade, following the Special Operations Brigade's example.

Boom! With a loud explosion, Platoon Leader Xie shouted the order to charge!

When the smoke cleared, he led forty soldiers into the battlefield and saw that none of the thirteen Japanese soldiers had escaped.

With just one bomb, all thirteen Japanese soldiers had fallen. Regrettably, nine of them were dead, and it was clear from the injuries that the other four wouldn't survive.

"This bomb is really powerful!" Platoon Leader Xie exclaimed excitedly. All the soldiers in his platoon were also excited.