Chapter 187 The Last Stand

　　Captain Nakamura Takuma noticed something different about the defending troops during this assault: they were no longer running away!

　　This gave Captain Nakamura Takuma boundless imagination: perhaps a miracle could still happen?

　　He commanded the Japanese soldiers to charge with even more vigor, and those soldiers under Captain Nakamura Takuma, now with hope, understood their captain's spirit.

　　They, too, followed their captain's thoughts and slowly began to get excited. However, the vast majority of the soldiers were already numb.

　　No matter what kind of stimulation, they could no longer muster even a bit of fighting spirit. These soldiers just wanted to die quickly and be reborn in paradise.

　　This was the third time the Japanese soldiers had launched an assault on the Special Forces Brigade's Second Company's defense line. Both the soldiers of the Special Forces Brigade and the soldiers under Company Commander Chu Xiuxian could see that the Japanese soldiers had suffered too many casualties.

　　Seeing these Japanese soldiers charge within thirty meters, Company Commander Lu ordered, "Bombard!"

　　With just one word of command, a series of explosions erupted: "Boom! Boom!" continuously.

　　Before the explosions had even stopped, Company Commander Lu was already ordering, "Charge!" He was the first to lead the charge.

　　Following Company Commander Lu's order, Company Commander Chu also charged out, shouting as he ran, "Brothers! Follow me!"

　　The difference between "Follow me!" and "Charge!" had a world of difference in effect on the soldiers on the battlefield. "Follow me!" meant following behind the company commander to charge.

　　With the commander charging in the front, what hesitation could the soldiers have?

　　"Charge!" meant the commander standing behind and directing, and the soldiers would look left and right to see if others were charging before taking their own steps.

　　Now that Company Commander Chu was charging in the front, all the soldiers of his company charged out.

　　Captain Aiba Feng, who had been hit by bombs for the third time, wanted to die at this moment: the team in front was too dishonorable.

　　Using the same trick again and again. Did they not know how to adapt?

　　Too many Japanese soldiers had come out of Conghua County today, and Lin Fan had to give up on some of them, letting them escape.

　　Feeling like he had suffered a great loss, neither Lin Fan nor Regiment Commander Shangguan Zhiwen had any intention of letting go of these Japanese soldiers who had entered the ambush.

　　The Special Forces Brigade's Fifteenth Regiment had not only deployed three infantry companies in the front, but also a anti-aircraft machine gun company.

　　Lin Fan brought the Fourth War Zone's observation group to another position, watching the last moments of more than two thousand Japanese soldiers from the top of the mountain.

　　Brigade Commander Wu Xing of the 186th Division had been following Lin Fan closely. He personally witnessed the various companies under Lin Fan dissolving the attack of a Japanese battalion.

　　He also saw the dense corpses of Japanese soldiers falling on the hillside. Brigade Commander Wu Xing silently compared: a company of the Special Forces Brigade had more than two hundred soldiers, equipped with heavy firepower such as mortars, infantry guns, and heavy machine guns.

　　This was even stronger than the firepower of his own battalion. A regiment of the Special Forces Brigade also had an anti-aircraft machine gun company and a rocket launcher company.

　　Brigade Commander Wu Xing had seen anti-aircraft machine guns before, used to shoot down enemy planes. But what were rocket launchers? Even Brigade Commander Wu Xing, who had attended military academy, didn't know.

　　During the battle just now, he heard Lin Fan order the rocket launcher company to bombard the Japanese artillery and infantry together with the artillery regiment.

　　But Brigade Commander Hao Xing still hadn't seen what the rocket launcher actually looked like.

　　Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh: Lin Fan, this brigade commander, had an artillery regiment under his command, which was already much stronger than his own division commander.

　　Bai Yong, the staff officer of the Fourth War Zone observation team that had been following the Special Forces Brigade, had gained a lot in the past two days.

　　He had already seen that weapons and equipment could be equipped to one's own team, but fighting will could not be directly equipped with weapons.

　　The soldiers of the Special Forces Brigade had high morale, high combat quality, and completely obeyed the command of their superiors during combat. These were things that his own team could not do for the time being.

　　He had also asked Lin Fan how to cultivate the soldiers' morale and combat quality.

　　Lin Fan's answer was simple: "Win battles and train hard!"

　　When Lin Fan heard that some Japanese soldiers were fleeing towards Zengcheng, he brought the entire command post to the small hilltop in front of Elephant Mountain, watching the final fate of the Japanese soldiers who had entered the encirclement.

　　Company Commander Tao Dazhu of the Eighth Company of the Fifteenth Regiment was now commanding his troops to set up a defense line along the highway.

　　This defense line extended from the hillside to the highway, completely cutting off the retreat route of the Japanese Infantry 161st Regiment.

　　At this time, the mood of Regiment Commander Inui Tadao was exactly the same as that of Captain Aiba Feng: "If the Infantry 108th Regiment that was in this position just now had left even a single platoon to guard this place, my regiment would not be in this situation now."

　　Now, the entire regiment was completely surrounded by the Special Forces Brigade, and the only way to survive was to fight desperately.

　　Regiment Commander Inui Tadao first gathered all the Japanese officers above the company commander level to make a final mobilization: "Gentlemen! The situation on the battlefield is grim. We have pursuers behind us and blockades in front of us.

　　The only plan for today is to break through from the front!"

　　Company Commander Watanabe Saemon was sent back by Captain Aiba Feng to provide support. He usually didn't even qualify to attend the operational meetings hosted by the regiment commander.

　　Being able to attend this meeting today already made him so excited that he couldn't find his place.

　　Hearing the regiment commander's mobilization, he asked loudly, "Regiment Commander, why not ask the division commander to send a battalion to attack from behind the defending troops?

　　A two-pronged attack can not only open up the road, but even wipe out all the National Army blocking the way."

　　Company Commander Watanabe Saemon's words represented the opinions of all the company commanders present. They were just suppressed by the regiment commander's power and dared not speak. Now that Company Commander Watanabe was the first to bring it up.

　　These company commanders all spoke at once, each with an indignant and righteous look on their faces.

　　Seeing his subordinates behaving so unruly, Captain Kishitani Kaisen couldn't help but become extremely angry.

　　He shouted loudly, "The Regiment Commander is wise and insightful, how could he not think of such a plan? Since the Regiment Commander doesn't have such a plan, it means this plan won't work."

　　Regiment Commander Inui Tadao was in a good mood for the first time. He waved his hand to stop Captain Kishitani Kaisen's words and said with a wry smile, "The reason why this plan won't work is not because of us, but because the other regiments are unwilling to send troops to cooperate."

　　"Why?" Company Commander Sanukido Jinjiro asked loudly.

　　"Because they also want to break through! The current Infantry 108th Regiment has already retreated towards Zengcheng. They have withdrawn from the battlefield and retreated safely.

　　Regiment Commander Miyata Kenjiro will not send another Japanese soldier to take risks. The Infantry 170th Regiment is attacking towards Conghua.

　　Their attack is very unsuccessful, and they can't even send a small team to help us break through.

　　Therefore, gentlemen, today we must rely on everyone!" After saying these words.

　　Regiment Commander Inui Tadao deeply bowed to these lower-ranking Japanese commanders.

　　This bow immediately made the company commanders present feel flattered, and they all said that they would personally lead their troops to charge in the front, guaranteeing to open up a retreat route for the entire regiment.

　　Company Commander Haiatsu Yotaro thus became the vanguard for the entire regiment's retreat, with his company charging in the front.

　　Standing on the top of the mountain, watching the last Japanese troops in the encirclement begin to flee, Lin Fan ordered the artillery positions concentrated on the top of the mountain to open fire.

　　Lin Fan was not idle either, personally operating a mortar to strike the main force of the Japanese army.

　　This caused the two thousand Japanese soldiers who had just been gathered by Inui Tadao to suffer a devastating blow. Dozens of mortars simultaneously bombarded the Japanese army, making it impossible for the Japanese Infantry 161st Regiment to even organize its formation.

　　Company Commander Haiatsu Yotaro, who had patted his chest and guaranteed to Regiment Commander Inui Tadao, desperately led his entire company to charge forward, but Lin Fan was relentless in targeting his company.

　　With Lin Fan's precise bombardment, Company Commander Haiatsu Yotaro led more than a hundred Japanese soldiers to charge, but when they reached fifty meters in front of the Eighth Company's defense line, less than twenty Japanese soldiers remained.

　　With so few Japanese soldiers, even Company Commander Haiatsu Yotaro, who had been completely overwhelmed with emotion by the regiment commander's bow, knew that he could not charge any further.

　　Company Commander Fujieda Taiichi, who followed closely behind him, had a similar experience. His company suffered no less bombardment than the Japanese soldiers in front, and the casualties were also very high.

　　Now, Regiment Commander Inui Tadao had realized that his regiment would be subjected to fierce bombardment from the National Army as long as they tried to break through.

　　If they didn't break through? They were still waiting to die here!

　　In just a short time, he had cut off his tail to survive, and those tails that had been cut off had now been completely wiped out. Regiment Commander Inui Tadao could see thousands of National Army soldiers chasing along the highway behind him.

　　These soldiers were rushing towards him along the highway and hillside, and the breakthrough in front was not going smoothly.

　　Regiment Commander Inui Tadao had no choice but to order, "Company Commander Watanabe Saemon, Company Commander Sanukido Jinroku, establish a defense line at the rear of the entire regiment to block the pursuers."

　　Receiving the regiment commander's order, Company Commander Watanabe Saemon's face turned pale.

　　Judging from the Special Forces Brigade soldiers chasing from behind, Company Commander Watanabe Saemon certainly knew that his Aiba Feng Battalion had been completely annihilated.

　　If his company established a defense line here to block the pursuers, their end would be no different, they would die here.

　　Company Commander Watanabe Saemon wanted to live, not die. But facing the regiment commander's order to send his entire company to their deaths, he did not dare to resist in the slightest.

　　Company Commander Sanukido Jinjiro also understood that the task they had accepted now was to have his entire company die here.

　　But what else could they do? Resist! They didn't dare.

　　The thoughts of the two company commanders were also the thoughts of the Japanese soldiers under their command.

　　When these Japanese soldiers received the order to establish a defense line on the spot and prepare to block the pursuers, they were unwilling.

　　Sergeant Matsutake Itsami shouted loudly, "Let the troops who are acting as vanguards retreat, and we will go. We will definitely be able to open up the road ahead."

　　In the eyes of these ordinary Japanese soldiers, rushing forward to die was fighting desperately for the hope of life. It was worth it even if they died.

　　If they held their ground here, they would not have even a bit of hope of surviving. The result of staying here was death, only a dead end.

　　Of course they were unwilling!

　　Sergeant Matsutake Itsami's idea represented the ideas of all ordinary Japanese soldiers. It immediately received the support of many Japanese soldiers.

　　But Company Commander Watanabe Saemon did not allow these Japanese soldiers to act recklessly. He shouted loudly, "Obey the order! Establish a defense line on the spot and hold it. Anyone who talks nonsense and disrupts morale will be executed on the spot."

　　Sergeant Matsutake Itsami sneered, "They are attacking poorly in the front, and they want us to take the blame and die. I don't care, I'm going to charge to the front."

　　As he shouted loudly, Company Commander Watanabe Saemon strode to the front of this restless Japanese soldier, and a gunshot rang out.

　　With a "Bang!" all the noise disappeared.

　　Sergeant Matsutake Itsami was shot in the head and slowly fell to the ground.

　　The rest of the Japanese soldiers who had just been echoing him were immediately afraid to speak. They all stared blankly at Company Commander Watanabe Saemon.

　　Company Commander Watanabe Saemon ordered loudly: "Defense! Defense! Establish a defense line!"

　　Squad Leader Inukai Taiji quickly followed up: "Suzuki-kun, you are here. The machine gun is here, you guys immediately lie down and establish a defense line."

　　With Squad Leader Inukai Taiji's intervention, the Japanese soldiers of the entire company began to act silently.

　　Company Commander Watanabe Saemon quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He was really scared just now, scared that his subordinates would mutiny.

　　Just as he breathed out, the corner of his eye saw several Japanese soldiers quietly retreating from the defense line and chasing towards the regimental headquarters in front.

　　This time, he dared not impulsively shoot again, nor dared to shout loudly.

　　He could only turn a blind eye and let those cowardly Japanese soldiers escape.

　　In fact, Company Commander Watanabe Saemon knew in his heart that even if his company was at full strength, it would not be able to resist the pursuers behind.

　　These Japanese soldiers were now lying on the ground, and shells were still falling on their heads.

　　He saw more than a dozen Japanese soldiers who had just escaped from the defense line being hit by a shell. More than a dozen Japanese soldiers fell at the same time, and none of them got up again.

　　When he saw this scene, Company Commander Watanabe Saemon not only did not feel sad, sympathetic, or mournful, but also had a feeling of happiness.

　　It was as if the shells of the Special Forces Brigade had helped him punish those Japanese soldiers who did not obey orders.

　　The situation of Company Commander Sanukido Jinjiro's company was not much better. These Japanese soldiers could all see the situation clearly now: staying meant certain death, escaping still had a glimmer of hope.

　　But now, it was their company commander who was forcing them to stay and die, and all the Japanese soldiers directed all their hatred towards the company commander.