Chapter 1 The Order on the Mountaintop

The order from Second Platoon Leader He Yi on the mountaintop was clearly heard by the Japanese soldiers charging towards them: "Grenades!"

Grenades again!

What could Company Commander Fujiyama Enji do when dozens of grenades were hurled down?

He could only command: "Take cover!"

If his soldiers continued to charge forward, allowing the full force of the grenades to be unleashed, even twice their number wouldn't withstand the destruction.

Squad Leader Uekawa Shojo lay prone on the ground, feeling the tremors caused by the exploding grenades.

By lying flat like this, they could avoid injury as long as they were four or five meters away from the blast.

That's exactly how it played out. The first batch of grenades thrown from the mountaintop were released hastily, exploding on the ground and causing minimal damage to Fujiyama Enji’s company.

Only a few unlucky soldiers were wounded, which secretly relieved Fujiyama Enji.

His company was lying in wait less than forty meters from the summit. If the Nationalist soldiers paused for even a moment, they could use those twenty seconds to charge up and drive them off the mountain.

As the first grenades detonated, a second volley of a dozen more rained down from above, this time exploding mostly in mid-air.

This caused considerable casualties among Fujiyama Enji’s troops. Squad Leader Uekawa Shojo could feel shrapnel flying everywhere. The downward trajectory of these fragments was lethal.

Cries of "Aiya! Aiyo!" echoed on the slope, as wounded soldiers writhed in agony, some rolling uncontrollably down the hillside.

Then came the third wave of grenades! Did these Nationalist soldiers know how to do anything other than throw grenades?

Squad Leader Uekawa Shojo thought to himself. But these grenades were indeed suppressing the entire infantry company.

Fujiyama Enji lowered his head and body as much as possible to minimize his chances of being hit.

With the third round of grenades, Fujiyama Enji finally had an epiphany.

He realized that the Nationalist soldiers on the summit were few in number. They were using grenades to stall for time, waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

He couldn't afford to keep lying prone. Even if it meant sacrificing lives, he had to get the entire company to charge, or they would have no chance of taking the summit.

Realizing this, Fujiyama Enji shouted: "Machine gun cover! Infantry, charge!"

As he issued the order, another batch of grenades came down. More mid-air explosions, more soldiers struck by shrapnel.

If the Nationalist soldiers continued this barrage, the entire company would be wiped out.

Fujiyama Enji’s orders were immediately followed. The Zenbu Munetake machine gun platoon behind them began firing.

The "da-da-da! da-da-da!" of machine gun fire sounded from behind, as bullets flew towards the summit.

The Japanese machine gun fire made the grenade-throwing soldiers of the Second Platoon wary. They could no longer stand and take aim as before.

The Second Platoon soldiers were forced to lie prone, throwing grenades blindly. This greatly reduced their accuracy and effectiveness.

The machine gun fire emboldened Fujiyama Enji’s infantry company. The fact that the grenades no longer exploded in mid-air also gave them a chance to charge.

They obeyed their commander's order, stood up, and charged towards the mountaintop.

On the summit, Second Platoon Leader He Yi saw that his troops had secured favorable positions and that the light machine guns were in place.

The Third Platoon had also just arrived. A bazooka man, seeing the dire situation, shouted at the top of his lungs, "I'm firing!" forgetting the hundred-meter safety distance.

This was a warning for his comrades to take cover from the rocket's blast.

Hearing the shout, Second Platoon Leader He Yi quickly lay down, and all the soldiers of both platoons followed suit.

With a "Boom!" a rocket exploded less than forty meters in front of them.

The rocket launcher had intentionally fired a bit further. As soon as the first one hit, another soldier followed up with a second "Boom!" as another rocket exploded within the Yoshioka Oyu machine gun platoon.

It wasn’t that the rocket launchers disliked them more, but rather that they were slightly further away, making it a bit safer to fire at them.

Even so, the mud and rocks kicked up by the rockets still showered down on the soldiers of the Second and Third Platoons from fifty meters away.

The soldiers of the Fujiyama Enji company, who had just stood up, were knocked down again by the continuous barrage of rockets.

Though fewer in number than the grenades, the rockets were far more powerful. Squad Leader Uekawa Shojo didn't survive the barrage.

He was struck in the chest by a piece of shrapnel. Though not immediately fatal, he was unable to continue fighting.

Too many soldiers in Fujiyama Enji’s company were in the same state.

The six rockets neutralized Fujiyama Enji’s order.

No one dared to stand up and charge. This delay allowed the company's heavy machine guns to arrive. Four heavy machine guns were pushed into position.

Second Platoon Leader He Yi shouted: "Cease firing rockets! Machine guns, open fire!"

They were in a superior position, raining fire down on the prone Japanese soldiers.

On the other side of the summit, First Platoon Leader Jing Liquan and his men threw a volley of grenades and charged forward, following closely behind the explosions. In a matter of ten meters, they were in the midst of the Japanese ranks.

The forty-odd soldiers of the First Platoon engaged the Kato Yujo infantry company in a bayonet fight.

The soldiers of the 101st Division's Kato Yujo infantry company and Ito Jiro machine gun company had only lost a small squad in the rocket barrage.

They still had over a hundred soldiers on the mountaintop.

The leading elements of the Kato Yujo infantry company alone far outnumbered the Nationalist soldiers charging up the hill.

Facing three times their number, Company Commander Kato Yujo was pleased.

With the machine gun company behind them, they outnumbered the Nationalist soldiers by a factor of seven or eight. He wasn’t afraid of a bayonet fight.

Company Commander Shi Junxia led the First Platoon into the fray, shouts of battle echoing across the mountaintop.

He knew his platoon was outnumbered and at a disadvantage in a bayonet fight, but there was no other option.

Company Commander Shi shouted: "Three-man squads, link up, maintain formation, and advance together!"

The forty-odd soldiers of the First Platoon immediately formed up as ordered.

In three-man squads, they advanced and retreated together, supporting each other. Despite being outnumbered, the soldiers charged forward.

When the sound of explosions echoed on the mountaintop, Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki’s expression changed.

His sense of danger had indeed come from the summit. If the Nationalist soldiers captured the high ground, they wouldn't be able to stay there.

The supplies and ammunition still on the train couldn’t be moved, and they would be forced to retreat. This was a decision he was unwilling to make.

So, Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki ordered: "The Ikebeno Kamehide infantry company and the Kishida Taro machine gun company will immediately charge the mountaintop and seize it at all costs!"

These two companies belonged to the Sixth Division. Originally, Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki had intended to use them later to break through the Nationalist defense line.

Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki had complete confidence in these two companies. He believed that Company Commander Ikebeno Kamehide and Company Commander Kishida Taro could lead their soldiers to victory.

But now, he had no choice but to send them in. This high ground was too important to the entire battalion.

The sudden sound of gunfire on the once-empty summit indicated that Nationalist soldiers were trying to seize this strategic location.

He had to deploy his two most capable companies.

Upon receiving the order, Company Commander Ikebeno Kamehide had already noticed that the Nationalist artillery hadn't bombarded Kato Yujo’s company.

Now, his company would also take the same path that was free from artillery fire.

The fighting on the summit didn’t affect the difficulty faced by the Tanaka Toshiharu company.

As part of the 27th Division’s rearguard in Jiujiang, Company Commander Tanaka Toshiharu knew that the main force had suffered heavy losses on the Ruichang-Wuning highway.

But the 27th Division was comprised of Japanese settlers recruited from within Japan.

These soldiers were all fierce and bloodthirsty thugs who were willing to fight to the death. They were among the most formidable in the Japanese army.

After breaking free from the rocket barrage, the Tanaka Toshiharu company was bombarded by mortars and infantry guns.

But this couldn't stop their advance. When they got closer, the artillery of the 15th Regiment ceased fire, as they were afraid of hitting their own men.

The Zenbu Munetake machine gun company, which was following behind the infantry, was equally determined. Though they had also suffered heavy casualties, they kept up.

The Tanaka Toshiharu company charged straight at the Eighth Company's position, and Company Commander Tao Dazhu returned fire in kind. The Eighth Company’s six heavy machine guns had been pulled back slightly and were now firing from newly dug emplacements.

The six heavy machine guns were staggered vertically up the slope from the railway, with another six heavy machine guns from the Sixth Company further up, also firing on the charging Japanese soldiers.

Higher still, the Seventh Company’s six heavy machine guns were sweeping the Zenbu Munetake machine gun company in the rear.

Taking advantage of the terrain, the three companies were laid out in a staggered formation up the slope, making it extremely difficult for the Tanaka Toshiharu infantry company. These soldiers were not afraid of death, but they were not immune to it.

The eighteen heavy machine guns raking them with fire were simply too much to bear.

The barrage was impossible to withstand.

Company Commander Tanaka Toshiharu could only order his men to return fire and suppress the Nationalist machine guns.

At the same time, he looked to the Zenbu Munetake machine gun company behind them, hoping they could silence the heavy machine guns on the slope.

Company Commander Zenbu Munetake ordered his men to open fire. With no emplacements or trenches for cover, they could only find whatever obstacles or natural terrain they could to shield themselves, and exchange fire with the three companies of the Special Operations Brigade on the slope.

The three companies of the Special Operations Brigade were well-entrenched, and each soldier was well-concealed. The heavy machine guns had steel plates as shields and were impervious to Japanese machine gun bullets.

The other soldiers were equally well-hidden, lying prone in the emplacements, exposing only their heads, and taking careful aim at the Japanese soldiers.

Though the three companies hadn't yet fully committed to the fight against the Tanaka Toshiharu company, they were already making their advance all but impossible.

In particular, the soldiers of the Zenbu Munetake machine gun company were taking the brunt of the heavy machine gun fire.

Sergeant Tasokoro Emon, a machine gunner in the company, had finally managed to reach a rock. He set up his machine gun on top of it and opened fire on the heavy machine guns on the slope.

After firing just one burst, Sergeant Tasokoro Emon was surprised to find that his target was impervious. The bullets only sparked when they hit.

He had seen this before: Nationalist bullets bouncing off tanks. He remembered the helpless and distraught look on the faces of the Nationalist soldiers.

Now, it was his turn to feel helpless and powerless. His machine gun bullets couldn’t penetrate the Nationalist soldiers' armor.

Sergeant Tasokoro Emon had chosen a good position. The rock in front of him blocked all the bullets, making him feel very safe.

But his constant firing eventually attracted the attention of two heavy machine guns on the slope.

The two heavy machine guns opened fire on his position, immediately suppressing his fire.

He dared not raise his head to shoot, but instead dragged his machine gun down, hugged it to his chest, and leaned against the rock, feeling the slight tremors as the heavy machine gun bullets struck the stone.

The rock was large enough that the heavy machine gun bullets couldn’t break it down.

After a while, Sergeant Tasokoro Emon no longer felt the tremors. He set up his machine gun again, resigning himself to not targeting the machine gun emplacements.

Instead, Sergeant Tasokoro Emon aimed at the infantry, firing at the soldiers who only exposed half of their helmets.

This infuriated the Nationalist heavy machine gunners. While suppressing the wily Japanese machine gunner, Su Wencheng said angrily: "Bazooka, blow up that rock!"

Just then, a "da-da-da!" of machine gun fire echoed from the slope. It was the sound of an anti-aircraft machine gun. Company Commander Tao had seen that the machine gun behind the rock posed a great threat to the entire company.

He immediately called on the radio: "Company Commander Fei! See that rock fifteen meters up the railway? Blow it up! There are some Japanese soldiers hiding behind it, popping out like rats to cause trouble."

Company Commander Fei ordered a single anti-aircraft machine gun to fire a burst: "Is this it?"

"That's it! Blow it up!" This was what Company Commander Tao wanted most right now.

He hated the Japanese soldiers hiding behind that rock.

Company Commander Fei ordered the entire company: "Company Commander Tao requests that we blow up that rock. The entire company will concentrate fire to eliminate that Japanese firing point."

Twelve anti-aircraft machine guns all opened fire on the rock. Still leaning against the stone, and waiting for the Nationalist heavy machine guns to stop firing so he could set up his machine gun again, Sergeant Tasokoro Emon suddenly felt the entire rock shaking.

The rock felt as if it had come to life, trembling incessantly. Through his back, he could feel the stone crumbling.

Company Commander Tao had ordered two heavy machine guns to block the left and right sides of the rock, to prevent the Japanese soldiers hiding behind it from escaping.

The twelve anti-aircraft machine guns quickly disintegrated the rock. Sergeant Tasokoro Emon knew: this location was no longer safe.

He said to the other Japanese soldiers hiding there: "This rock is about to be destroyed! We have to run!"

"Where to run?" Omasa Yosuke pointed to a depression fifteen meters behind them.

Sergeant Tasokoro Emon nodded: "You go first, I’ll cover you." After saying that, he fired his machine gun aimlessly into the air.

He might as well be shooting at birds. He had no chance of hitting any of the Special Operations Brigade soldiers on the slope.

But this didn't stop the other soldiers from listening to him. They immediately rushed towards the position they had marked.

Just as Omasa Yosuke rushed out, he was cut down by heavy machine gun fire before he even landed.

None of the other soldiers reached their intended destination.

This put Sergeant Tasokoro Emon in a bind. He no longer intended to play along. He had just wanted to use them as scouts.

He hadn't expected the path to be so dangerous, with a 100% mortality rate!

He dared not go there now, but all the exits were blocked. He had nowhere to go!

Just as he was agonizing over his situation, there was a "crashing" sound. The rock he was leaning against was shattered into pieces, and several anti-aircraft machine gun bullets pierced his body.

Sergeant Tasokoro Emon couldn't escape after all. He followed Omasa Yosuke and the other soldiers to play with their Amaterasu Omikami.

With the machine gun fire from Sergeant Tasokoro’s position silenced, the soldiers of the Eighth Company were once again able to cheerfully take aim at the Japanese soldiers.

They targeted those who were pinned down and unable to stand, and picked them off one by one.

Company Commander Tao happily thanked Company Commander Fei: "Old Fei, after this battle, I'll treat you to a drink."

Company Commander Fei didn't stand on ceremony: "I want the best vintage liquor."

"No problem!" Company Commander Tao agreed without hesitation.

The anti-aircraft machine guns of the Eleventh Company then began to search for targets. With their support, life became even harder for the soldiers of the Zenbu Munetake machine gun company.

The Japanese soldiers of the Tanaka Toshiharu company were being raked by heavy machine gun fire, and the dense barrage made it impossible for them to raise their heads.

In this situation, no matter how fearless they were, they couldn’t charge forward. The soldiers could only crawl towards the First Company’s position.

Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki had been closely following the Tanaka Toshiharu company’s advance.

Seeing the ferocious firepower of the Nationalist soldiers, he grew anxious. How could they fight like this?

Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki ordered: "Mortars and infantry guns from all companies will support Company Commander Tanaka Toshiharu."

They had no infantry guns. Although there were more than two thousand Japanese soldiers here, roughly the strength of two battalions, they were cobbled together from various rearguard units. They had a few mortars, but no infantry guns.

Even so, his orders were carried out immediately. Only the Nakamura Daiki company of the 18th Division had three mortars.

Squad Leader Yamada Kaisen directed the three mortars to bombard the positions of the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Companies.

He positioned the artillery behind a ridge, so he couldn't see the 15th Regiment’s defense line. Of course, that also meant that Company Commander Inui and his men couldn't see the Japanese mortar position either.

The cunning Squad Leader Yamada Kaisen was firing from behind the ridge, making it impossible for the Special Operations Brigade’s artillery to locate them. They could only roughly estimate their direction from the trajectory of the shells.

Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki was very pleased with Squad Leader Yamada Kaisen’s position: cunning and slippery, with a touch of the Sixth Division’s spirit.

As the Japanese artillery began its bombardment, the heavy machine gun fire was disrupted.

This gave the Japanese soldiers of the Tanaka Toshiharu company a chance to catch their breath, and they began to quickly crawl forward.

Regiment Commander Shangguan Zhiwen saw a shell overturn one of their carts.

He immediately ordered: "Rocket launchers, adjust fire and bombard the area where the shells are coming from."

The two rocket launcher batteries, upon receiving the order, immediately began to adjust their parameters. Squad Leader Yamada Kaisen’s artillery position wasn’t far from the train that had just been bombarded.

Soon, rockets screamed through the air. Three volleys, a hundred rockets, were used to take out Squad Leader Yamada Kaisen’s three mortars.

This was something that ordinary Nationalist units couldn’t afford. By conventional calculations, three hundred rockets to destroy three mortars was a loss.

But this was the wealth of the Special Operations Brigade. Regiment Commander Shangguan only wanted to reduce the losses to his companies. If the Japanese mortars continued to bombard them, the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Companies would be constantly under fire.

This was unacceptable!

With the support of the three mortars, the soldiers of the Tanaka Toshiharu company finally reached a position less than forty meters from the First Company’s position.

At this point, they no longer tried to conceal themselves. Company Commander Tanaka Toshiharu, lying prone on the ground, shouted: "Grenades! Charge!"

At the same time, Company Commander Tao gave the same order. Both sides would use grenades first, then charge in for a bayonet fight.

A bayonet fight was what the soldiers of the Tanaka Toshiharu company had been longing for since the start of their advance.

It was also what the soldiers of the Eighth Company had been eager for since joining the Special Operations Brigade. They had never lost a bayonet fight on the battlefield.

Both sides, from different standpoints, chose the same method of fighting. They both charged simultaneously, and the forty meters was closed in seconds.

When Company Commander Tanaka Toshiharu saw that the two sides had already engaged in close combat, he was shocked to realize that so few of his soldiers were left.

A full-strength infantry company of one hundred and eighty-four soldiers had been reduced to just over fifty, a single squad.

At this point, he panicked and shouted: "Zenbu-kun! Reinforcements! Reinforcements!"

The soldiers of the Zenbu Munetake machine gun company hadn't abandoned them. They followed closely behind, joining the melee.

But the survivors of the Zenbu Munetake machine gun company were also few. Although there were slightly more of them than the survivors of the Tanaka Toshiharu infantry company, the difference wasn't significant.

When the two sides engaged in a bayonet fight, Company Commander Ho, watching from the slope, saw that the Japanese were outnumbered by the Eighth Company.

He was reassured. They didn't need the Seventh Company’s help. The First Company could wipe out the Japanese force by themselves.

The Seventh Company began to reinforce their positions. They had started digging trenches at the beginning of the battle, and now that they were complete, they could expand them further.

When the soldiers of the Tanaka Toshiharu company engaged the Nationalist troops in close combat, they finally realized that they weren't facing cats, but tigers.

In a bayonet fight, two Japanese soldiers couldn’t match one of them. How could they win this battle?

Tanaka Toshiharu stared blankly as his soldiers fell one by one. He was truly stunned and helpless.

Their firepower couldn’t match the Nationalist soldiers. They had sacrificed over a hundred soldiers to engage the Nationalist troops in close combat, only to find that the Nationalist soldiers were even better at bayonet fighting.

Having chosen this method of fighting, there was no turning back. Company Commander Tanaka Toshiharu could only charge forward. He could only die under the Nationalist soldiers' bayonets to give Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki an explanation.

These thoughts went through Company Commander Tanaka Toshiharu’s mind before he was promptly killed.

After he and the remaining soldiers of his infantry company died, the soldiers of the Zenbu Munetake machine gun company died even faster.

Squad Leader Yamada Kaisen’s artillery fire had ceased sometime ago. Seeing that the Tanaka Toshiharu company and the Zenbu Munetake company were on the verge of collapse, Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki ordered: "Mortars! Open fire on them!"

The soldiers around him showed no surprise. In their eyes, Tanaka Toshiharu and his men were already dead.

Opening fire now would kill the Nationalist soldiers as well. It was a tactic, a method of fighting.

But after a long time, the artillery fire that Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki had been expecting didn't come.

He was furious: "Artillery fire! Quickly!"

A soldier reported: "Squad Leader Yamada Kaisen’s artillery squad has been wiped out. We cannot fire."

Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki slumped to the ground. He was truly exhausted, not physically, but mentally. With so many Nationalist soldiers standing in the open, fighting in a bayonet fight with the last few Japanese soldiers, a single barrage could kill at least a dozen of them.

A hundred Nationalist soldiers could be wiped out with two barrages.

Then, they could send in an infantry company, break through the enemy lines, and launch a counterattack. Victory would only be a matter of time.

But all of this was just a plan, an impossible plan, because the artillery squad had been destroyed first.

Company Commander Tao Dazhu didn't allow the entire company to remain in the open for long. After killing the Japanese soldiers, they didn't even bother to clean up the battlefield, but immediately returned to their emplacements.

In just a short time, two Japanese companies had been wiped out. Although they weren't from the Sixth Division, Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki was still a little heartbroken.

Now, he could only order the Nagatomo Kuro infantry company and the Matsutake Sumikaze machine gun company of the 106th Division to guard the front of the train and hold their position.

He would wait for the outcome of the battle on the summit before ordering the Ikebeno Kamehide infantry company of the Sixth Division to come down and give all the other Japanese soldiers a lesson.

He would show these soldiers how the soldiers of the Sixth Division fought!

The Fujiyama Enji infantry company was being pinned down by two platoons of the First Company, while the Yoshioka Oyu machine gun company behind them was in a similar state.

The two companies were in a dilemma. Although the summit was only thirty meters away, the rugged mountain path was difficult to traverse.

Now, with the addition of the First Company’s heavy machine guns, they were being constantly swept by fire.

This forced the two Japanese companies to huddle in the dips where the machine gun fire couldn’t reach.

But they were too close to the summit. If the machine gun fire couldn’t reach them, the Nationalist soldiers could still hit them with grenades, making life miserable for the Japanese soldiers.

Company Commander Fujiyama Enji was already looking for a way out. He wanted to retreat, regroup, and reorganize his forces before attacking again.

But the retreat path was also within the range of the machine guns on the summit, making it impossible to retreat.

The Yoshioka Oyu machine gun company was finally able to find positions to open fire. Their weapons were heavy, and they were behind the infantry.

They were still further away from the summit, beyond the reach of the grenades, but their machine guns could still fire.

To Company Commander Fujiyama Enji’s frustration, the machine gun bullets from the Yoshioka Oyu company couldn't penetrate the Nationalist machine gun carts, rendering them useless.

As the Japanese machine guns opened fire, the bazooka men of the Second and Third Platoons, who had just fired several rockets, sprang to action again. They shouldered their bazookas and sent two more rockets towards the Japanese machine gun emplacements.

This time, without Company Commander Fujiyama Enji having to remind them, the soldiers of the Yoshioka Oyu machine gun company voluntarily retreated.

They were further away, and their retreat path wasn't completely cut off. In this situation, advancing was impossible.

If they fired, the opposing machine guns would retaliate, and artillery shells would be brought down on them. It was an unequal fight.

The other two Japanese companies, which had already reached the summit, were engaged in a bayonet fight with the First and Second Companies.

When Second Company Commander Xuan Yiren led his men up the hill, he only glanced at the situation. Two platoons with four heavy machine guns guarded one direction, so it should be safe.

In the other direction, only forty-odd soldiers of the First Company were engaged in a bayonet fight with over a hundred Japanese soldiers.

More Japanese soldiers were continuing to stream up the hill from behind. Without hesitation, Second Company Commander Xuan Yiren charged towards this direction.

He shouted: "First Squad, throw grenades at the rear of the Japanese! Mortars, shell the hillside behind the Japanese!"

They couldn't see the hillside behind the Japanese. Company Commander Xuan Yiren had simply inferred that there were more Japanese soldiers behind them, from the fact that more and more of them were appearing from that direction. That was why he ordered the mortar attack.

He didn't care if there were any Japanese soldiers behind the hillside. He would just shell it for a while.

The soldiers of the Second Company joined the melee, immediately relieving the pressure on the soldiers of the First Platoon.

Xuan Yiren rushed to Company Commander Shi's side and shouted: "Go bandage yourself and come back!"

Company Commander Shi’s sleeve was already red with his own blood and the blood of the Japanese soldiers.

Most of the soldiers in the First Company’s First Platoon had been wounded. Company Commander Xuan Yiren shouted: "Second Company takes over, let the First Company’s comrades retreat and bandage their wounds."

The melee had been fierce, and the wounded soldiers had no time to tend to their injuries. They had to keep fighting.

Now, with the addition of over a hundred soldiers from the Second Company, the soldiers of the First Platoon finally had the chance to bandage their wounds.

Company Commander Shi didn't try to act tough. He took a few steps back, took out bandages and white powder, and prepared to bandage his wounds. "That was fun," he said. "So many Japanese soldiers, they just keep coming."

He took off his jacket, exposing a long wound on his arm. He sprinkled the white powder on it and began to bandage it.

The powder was a specially formulated medicine that Lin Fan had specifically purchased for the Special Operations Brigade. At this time, the effectiveness of the powder had also attracted the attention of the Nationalist high command, and they were also using it extensively in their forces.

After bandaging his wound, Company Commander Shi looked at Platoon Leader Jing and asked with a smile: "Need any help?"

Platoon Leader Jing had even more wounds. Without hesitation, he replied: "Yes!"

The soldiers of the First Platoon helped each other bandage their wounds. Company Commander Shi ordered: "Lightly wounded, stay in the fight! Seriously wounded, rest in place!"

After giving the order, he rushed back into the battle. Most of the soldiers of the First Platoon also rushed back into the fight after bandaging their wounds.

Xuan Yiren said with a smile: "Teacher, you've already been wounded in the arm. Go command on the other side. I'll take over here!"

He deliberately called Company Commander Shi "teacher" to poke fun at his poor swordsmanship, since he had been wounded.

Shi Chengxuan replied with a smile: "Just by listening to the gunfire, you can tell that Third Platoon Leader and his men have the upper hand. The Japanese are being pinned down at the foot of the hill.

They don't need me to command them. It’s different here. The Japanese are coming in increasing numbers."

He was right. The first wave of soldiers from the Kato Yujo company had only lost a few dozen men in the rocket barrage.

They hadn't encountered any resistance on their way to the summit. The Kato Yujo infantry company with over a hundred men, plus the Ito Jiro machine gun company with over a hundred men, was a significant force.

Hearing this, Company Commander Xuan Yiren immediately ordered the mortars to bombard the unseen hillside behind them, hoping to stem the tide of incoming Japanese soldiers.

The sudden barrage of artillery fire made it difficult for the Sixth Division’s Ikebeno Kamehide infantry company and the Kishida Taro machine gun company.

Squad Leader Sekiya Hinata, who was at the head of the advance, heard the shouts of battle from the summit and knew that the fighting was fierce.

The soldiers of the entire squad were rushing uphill as fast as they could. To increase their speed, the soldiers had discarded their packs and canteens, keeping only essential combat gear.

Just as they reached a position less than thirty meters from the summit, a few shells came flying out of nowhere. One of them landed right in the middle of Squad Leader Sekiya Hinata’s squad.

The shell killed Squad Leader Sekiya Hinata instantly, and took the lives of a dozen other soldiers.

This was just the beginning of a fierce artillery barrage. The shells continued to rain down on the squad.

It was as if there was something there that was attracting them. The remaining soldiers of the Sekiya squad were in a bind.

They couldn’t advance, as the shells kept exploding in front of them.

They were reluctant to retreat. They had come so far. As they hesitated,

Company Commander Ikebeno Kamehide’s order came down: "Retreat, find another way to get up there."

He had realized that the shells weren't targeting them specifically, but were simply blocking the path.

The two companies of soldiers were only slightly behind them, but the shells weren’t falling on them. This meant that the people firing the shells couldn't see his company.

Realizing this, Company Commander Ikebeno Kamehide stopped trying to force his way up this route.

Many paths led to the summit. He would try to find another route on this side of the hill.

He had to move forty meters to the right, where there was a slightly gentler slope that the soldiers could climb.

This time, the Ono Temple Kinoshita squad was leading the way. They had been following behind the Sekiya Hinata squad, and now they were at the head of the advance.

As these soldiers popped their heads over the ridge, they were immediately spotted.

Before the company commander could give the order, the mortars and rocket launchers of both companies opened fire on them.

The Second Company’s heavy machine guns were also brought up, and positioned in the most convenient location. They opened fire on the Japanese soldiers as they emerged.

The Ono Temple Kinoshita squad was pinned down by the Nationalist machine gun fire.