Chapter 166: [Battle of Menglianggu] Unlock database?

Seeing the reinforcements arrive.

The 7th Company Commander on the opposite side subconsciously assumed they were troops from his own regiment, and it wasn't until they walked up close that he realized they were not.

And it was only then that everyone else saw clearly.

This panting 7th Company Commander was covered in mud, and half of his uniform was soaked through with blood.

The combat situation was urgent; there was no time for lengthy conversation.

The Battalion Commander who led the team returned a military salute and then spoke:

"We are from the 4th Column, ordered to come and provide support."

"What is the situation now?"

"Medic!"

Seeing the two bullet holes piercing the 7th Company Commander's uniform, the Battalion Commander immediately called for a medic.

And this 7th Company Commander did not refuse.

Yu Feng and Fang Ming had been too far away to see clearly, but up close, the 7th Company Commander's face was deathly pale; if he wasn't bandaged now, he would bleed to death even if he hadn't died in battle.

The medic hurried over with gauze to bandage him.

However, the 7th Company Commander simply took off his coat and led everyone toward the defensive point on the hillside, with the medic following alongside while wrapping the gauze.

After quickly arriving at the position.

Everyone discovered that there were only a dozen or so people left on the entire position.

Gunsmoke filled the hillside, and there were shell craters everywhere; one could imagine how intense the enemy's firepower had been.

The 7th Company Commander panted heavily, pointed toward the main peak of 'Meng Liang' in the distance—which stood over 500 meters above sea level—and said:

"Meng Liang is now completely surrounded by our army."

"As long as we hold this place and don't let a single enemy soldier out, we wait for the subsequent reinforcements to arrive."

"Then we will have won."

"But the enemy's firepower is too fierce; it's been a very hard fight."

Just as he was speaking, a sentry in front suddenly shouted:

"The enemy is coming up again!"

Hearing this.

Everyone became alert, and the Battalion Commander who led the team ordered:

"Everyone! Prepare for battle!"

Then he looked at the 7th Company Commander:

"Don't worry, leave the position to us."

"You all go and rest for a while."

However.

The 7th Company Commander shook his head:

"No, we can still fight."

"Where the position is, we are."

His tone was exceptionally resolute.

Dozens of their comrades from the company had died right here.

If there had been no reinforcements, they wouldn't have retreated from here even if they were down to the last man, let alone now that reinforcements had arrived.

By now, the soldiers had quickly taken their positions; although the 7th Company soldiers were covered in wounds, their movements remained agile, and the medic was checking on their conditions, watching the 7th Company Commander's resolute eyes.

The Battalion Commander who led the team said nothing more and nodded heavily.

Watching the faint silhouettes under the moonlight, the Battalion Commander ordered:

"Let them get close before firing!"

Everyone was ready for battle.

As the enemy approached.

"Fire!!!"

At the order, the position suddenly erupted with gunfire.

They began shooting at the distant enemy, and the opposite side quickly organized a counterattack; rifle bullets whistled past their scalps.

Yu Feng and Fang Ming also had solemn expressions, shooting with the rifles in their hands.

Although the dark environment had some impact on them, their marksmanship remained, and almost every shot resulted in an enemy soldier falling; the hand grenade throws organized by the Battalion Commander also had a great effect.

The grenades exploded amidst the enemy's charge, and the surrounding soldiers fell instantly.

But behind them, more soldiers were being driven to charge regardless of casualties; for a time, the night sky was lit up and flickering with the light of the exchange of fire.

The battle lasted for over an hour.

The enemy only retreated when they were unable to break through.

Yu Feng and Fang Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

Over an hour had passed.

During this time, the enemy had even charged up twice, wanting to engage in hand-to-hand combat, but were killed back by the soldiers.

It was unbelievable.

The 7th Company had actually held out for a whole day against such a charge?!

The gap in equipment could not be bridged.

But the determination to win was something the other side definitely could not compare with.

And what Yu Feng and the others didn't know was.

At this moment, the officer on the opposite position was also in disbelief, hiding behind cover, holding binoculars and looking at the 7th Company's position that was flickering in the moonlight:

"Damn it! What exactly is going on?!"

"Didn't they say there were only 10-something people left? How come we haven't taken it even after losing nearly two companies?!"

He lowered his binoculars and looked at his adjutant through gritted teeth.

The adjutant was also somewhat fearful, trembling all over:

"There were only 10-something people left."

"That's what they saw after charging the position and reported back to me."

In over a day of attacking, they had indeed charged onto the 7th Company's position.

And the last time they charged up, the surviving soldiers reported back that there were only a dozen or so people left on the other side, otherwise he wouldn't have reported it up.

This officer took a deep breath:

"Who reported it?"

"Bring them to me!"

The adjutant shivered:

"Yes!"

He then hurried off to find the person, but soon ran back:

"Regiment Commander."

"They... they died."

"Just died in the charge."

Hearing this.

The man called Regiment Commander was so angry he wanted to raise his horse whip to strike, but upon raising his hand, he remembered his precious horse whip had been lost on the road while being pursued, so he could only kick the adjutant hard:

"Gather all officers for a meeting."

Trapped here, unable to break out.

Everyone was terrified; no one wanted to die.

However:

The meeting lasted the entire night, and they didn't come up with a single way to break out.

There was no way.

It was really because Meng Liang was here; although it was said to be easy to defend and hard to attack.

That was in reference to the main peak.

Apart from the main peak, because the whole mountain was too steep, building defensive fortifications on such large slopes meant that even holding the high ground had some disadvantages.

Not to mention that the surrounding small peaks had all been occupied.

Using the strength of one company to block half of their regiment, leaving them unable to move.

Until dawn, they hadn't thought of a single solution.

Either fight to the death to break out, or be trapped to death here.

The sky gradually brightened.

The group of officers walked out of the tent and came to the hillside.

As the Regiment Commander picked up his binoculars and looked at the flag on the distant position, besides the 7th Company's flag, there was another flag they hadn't seen before:

"Which ace unit of the 4th Column is this?"

However, everyone took turns looking, and none could match it to any ace unit of the 4th Column in their memory.

For some reason.

Everyone's faces turned dark.

Since it wasn't a 4th Column ace unit, that meant... they were being blocked here by an ordinary 4th Column unit?

"Assemble!!!"

Soon.

All the soldiers on the position assembled under orders, and the Regiment Commander above mobilized them:

"Those who want to live, make one last charge; at all costs, break through the opposite position for me!"

"Those who want to die can stay here!"

"Do you want to live, or die here?!"

As the words fell.

The soldiers below raised their guns and shouted:

"Live! Live!!!"

Then all the remaining soldiers and officers quickly took action.

And on the opposite side.

On the position, they faintly heard the soldiers over there shouting something like a mountain-shaking roar.

Fang Ming frowned slightly, turned up the volume of the stream, and faintly heard them shouting 'live' 'live', and couldn't help but have a solemn expression.

Was this a fight to the death?

Just as he was about to notify the others, two soldiers ran up carrying two shoulder poles of steamed buns, which were still emitting heat and fragrance.

Smelling this, everyone's stomachs immediately began to growl.

"You're all hungry, right? Come and eat!"

Everyone gathered around, and each was given a steamed bun.

Fang Ming was curious:

"Where did this come from?"

"We didn't see any of this being carried during the march."

Yu Feng looked toward the foot of the mountain and said:

"It was all brought by the local folks."

In just one night, Yu Feng and Fang Ming had also become familiar with the language habits of the 【Republic】 side, and looked in the direction Yu Feng was pointing.

Fang Ming saw many wooden pushcarts in a hidden spot at the foot of the mountain.

The cooking squad and some women and elderly people were busy down there.

After everyone finished their buns, they quickly returned to their positions on the front line; the abnormality on the opposite side also attracted the attention of others.

The Battalion Commander who led the team walked over, looked at the gathering enemy forces, and said with a solemn expression:

"Everyone's full, prepare for battle."

"We all know how we crossed the river, and now we've eaten the buns sent by the folks; if we can't win this, do we still have the face to live?!"

As the words fell.

The surrounding soldiers spoke with determination:

"No!"

The Battalion Commander who led the team took a deep breath:

"That's right! If we can't win this, we have no face to live!"

"It looks like the opposite side is about to launch an all-out attack!"

"The folks are still behind us; we absolutely cannot let the enemy pass through here!"

"No matter what, we must hold!"

"Nail the enemy to this spot for me!!!"

As the words fell.

The soldiers also quickly took action.

Both sides.

One side for their own lives.

The other side bearing the expectations of their fathers and fellow villagers.

Both were prepared to fight to the death here.

Not long after.

Boom—!

Boom—!

The enemy's artillery shells had already landed on the position, and the counterattack began as well.

The cooking squad at the foot of the mountain put down their spatulas, a few people escorted the folks away, while the rest picked up guns and rushed to the position to fight.

The battle began just as the sky brightened.

It lasted until nearly noon.

During this time.

The defensive position here was breached several times, leading to brutal hand-to-hand combat.

Even Fang Ming was drawn into it; facing three enemy soldiers who rushed up, Fang Ming used his bayonet to stab two to death, but was stabbed through the stomach by the third.

Fang Ming grabbed the man's wrist with one hand, pulled the pin on the grenade at his waist with the other, and gritted his teeth as he lunged forward.

The two rolled and tumbled down the hillside.

Boom—!!!

The explosion caused many charging enemy soldiers to fall; taking advantage of this gap.

The breach that had been charged was quickly plugged again.

The officers on the opposite side were already in despair, because their soldiers were almost all gone:

"Crazy! They're crazy!"

"Those guys are all crazy!"

"What on earth did they give them to make them fight so desperately?!"

They couldn't understand, and their soldiers couldn't understand either.

Their determination to fight to the death couldn't break through the opposite position; why were they fighting so desperately?

However.

They were destined never to get an answer.

Because they couldn't see the folks at the foot of the mountain helping to transport supplies, nor could they see the bridge over the Wen River that they had blown up being repaired by the women using their shoulders.

As the gunfire gradually faded, the battle completely subsided.

This portion of the enemy was completely annihilated.

Yu Feng, having gone through a high-intensity battle all morning, also breathed a sigh of relief:

"We held it, Little Shandong."

"You..."

Just as he turned his head, he found that Little Shandong, who had been loading his bullets, was lying on the ground with bullets and a rifle in his hands.

Blood was continuously flowing from his skull.

He had been shot through by a bullet; Yu Feng's pupils shrank sharply as he shouted:

"Medic! Medic!!!"

He hurriedly lifted Little Shandong, wanting to provide first aid to this teenage NPC who had chatted with him all night, but searched his entire body and found no first-aid supplies.

The medic ran over, but seeing the wound where the bullet had penetrated the skull, his face also changed drastically:

"He can't be saved."

It was a miracle that he was even breathing now.

At this moment.

Little Shandong, whom Yu Feng was supporting, slowly opened his eyes, opened his mouth, and asked with difficulty:

"Yu... Brother Yu... did... did we win?"

Yu Feng took a deep breath, his heart continuously repeating that this was just an NPC, just a plot, but the voice that came out of his mouth was indeed trembling:

"We won, we won."

Hearing this, a smile couldn't help but appear on Little Shandong's blood-covered face:

"Hehe... I knew it..."

"The door panel... wasn't dismantled in vain..."

Little Shandong's voice gradually faded, and his arm fell limply.

Plop!

His arm fell to the ground.

This was the reason why those enemy soldiers who had lost their lives could never understand until their deaths... why they fought so desperately.

The screen on Yu Feng's side suddenly dimmed slowly.

【Battle of Meng Liang】

Then the plot popped up.

Inside the stream.

Yu Feng hadn't recovered yet, staying in the game room in a daze.

He didn't even click the 【Settlement】 button that popped up.

The Blue Star netizens in the stream were the same; Fang Ming didn't disturb him, but instead flipped through the photo album of Yu Feng's stream, finding the map of the place where they had just fought.

This was all the 【Republic】 maps that Yu Feng had collected during his time as a newspaper editor in the American Federation in 【Immersive Plot】 mode.

Although they were paper copies, they could still be understood roughly.

Fang Ming looked at the map.

After a long while.

Yu Feng finally came back to his senses, rubbed his face, and took a deep breath:

"Alright."

"This plot hits a bit hard."

"I've recovered."

"Let's look at this settlement."

Yu Feng then clicked the settlement button, and the introduction for the 【Battle of Meng Liang】 popped up.

【Battle of Meng Liang】

【This was a key battle in the 【Republic】 War of Liberation, hailed as the turning point of the East China battlefield. The East China Field Army, with the spirit of "taking the head of the general from among a million troops," completely annihilated 32,000 men of the enemy's 74th Reorganized Division.】

【During the battle, the Liberation Army, at the cost of 12,000 casualties, created a classic example of "winning against the odds, winning against the strong." This battle completely disrupted the enemy's offensive deployment in Shandong and greatly boosted the morale of the national liberation.】

【This battle formed a strategic echo with the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army's advance into the Dabie Mountains during the same period, marking the 【Republic】 War of Liberation's entry into the strategic counter-offensive stage.】

【Note: After unlocking the 【Republic】 database, you can experience the full version of the 【Battle of Meng Liang】】

【Hint: Gaining the favor of the 7th Company Commander allows you to participate in hidden plots as a 7th Company soldier in subsequent "specific" plots.】

【Note: Due to your heroic performance on the position, you have gained the attention of the 7th Company Commander.】

Looking at the pop-up notification, Yu Feng digested it and said to the Blue Star friends in the stream:

"【Republic】 database unlocked?"

"7th Company Commander's favor?"

"Will there be plots for a company later on?"

"And when did the 【Republic】 have a database? It's not on the Polaris official website, right?"

Saying this, he exited the game and clicked into the Polaris official website.

Suddenly.

Everyone was stunned, and Yu Feng was also surprised:

"Huh?"

"When was this made?"

Originally, there was no 【Republic】 database on the Polaris official website.

But right in the center of the interface.

An image labeled 【Republic】 Database had appeared, and the background of the image was the combination of the red dragon and five golden stars from the CG. ===== CHAPTER 167 =====