Chapter 278: Night Raid on the Mountain God Temple

He Yuzhu and Tian Dan returned from Xishan; neither went home, going directly to the Garrison Headquarters.

Tian Dan reported the situation regarding the saboteurs in Xishan to Director Ye of the Military Control Commission overnight.

After hearing this, Director Ye was furious and made an immediate decision: "Tian Dan, take a regiment over there tonight; you must clear out these black sheep for me!"

After He Yuzhu finished attending the meeting, it was already past seven in the morning; he slept right in the Military Camp and was still woken up by Tian Dan in the afternoon.

"What time are we leaving?"

"Hurry and wash up, we're leaving immediately," Tian Dan said, handing over a towel.

In the dead of night, over two thousand soldiers silently surrounded the Mountain God Temple.

The moon wove through the clouds, flickering bright and dim, adding a sense of murderous intent to the silent mountain forest.

Regimental Commander Sun circled the Po Miao several times before returning to He Yuzhu's side to ask: "Comrade Xiao He, I heard you scouted the situation inside the temple. Tell me, what is the situation? Give me some advice as well—how should this battle be fought?"

He Yuzhu hurriedly waved his hands: "Regimental Commander Sun, I don't know the first thing about fighting. However, I can draw the situation inside and outside the temple for you!"

He Yuzhu took out paper and a pen, and in a few quick strokes, sketched out a detailed topographical map.

Regimental Commander Sun took the drawing, his eyes lighting up, and praised: "Comrade Xiao He, your drawing is very professional!"

"You flatter me," He Yuzhu smiled modestly.

After looking at the map, Regimental Commander Sun called the battalion commanders to his side and used the light of a flashlight to issue orders: "First Battalion, feign an attack from the front; Second Battalion, attack the flanks; Third Battalion, attack from the back door. Make sure not to let the enemy escape to the back mountain..."

At exactly two in the morning, the general offensive began.

Da-da-da-da—the roar of Machine Guns tore through the night sky.

In less than an hour, the soldiers had captured the entire Mountain God Temple.

This should have been a cause for celebration, but over two hundred enemy agents managed to escape through a secret tunnel, retreating to the back mountain to hold their ground, adding a variable to this offensive.

The terrain of the back mountain was extremely treacherous, with nearly vertical cliffs on both sides and only one narrow path leading to the summit. A frontal assault would inevitably result in heavy casualties.

Regimental Commander Sun was so anxious he kept rubbing his hands, then ordered Mortars to shell the summit, but the summit was too narrow, and most of the shells landed behind the mountain.

He found He Yuzhu and Tian Dan, his brows locked in a frown: "This bunch is too cunning; they actually escaped to the mountain. It's truly troublesome. Do you two have any good ideas?"

Tian Dan said: "If there's really no other way, we can go to the Headquarters to mobilize artillery and shell them."

Regimental Commander Sun shook his head: "The mountain roads here are too hard to travel; it won't be easy to get artillery in!"

Seeing this, He Yuzhu comforted him: "Regimental Commander Sun, don't worry. I'll go look at the cliff on the side; perhaps I can climb up."

"How is that possible? That cliff is almost vertical! Even a Houzi couldn't climb it!" Regimental Commander Sun shook his head repeatedly.

"Let me try!" He Yuzhu said with a determined gaze.

Regimental Commander Sun looked at He Yuzhu with skepticism.

He Yuzhu shone his flashlight, then returned to the two of them and said: "I can do it! But I need you to coordinate with a feigned attack."

"That's easy!" Regimental Commander Sun agreed immediately.

Tian Dan, however, said with deep concern: "Even if you get up there alone, how will you deal with them?"

"Two packs of Explosive will be enough for me," He Yuzhu said with a firm tone.

Regimental Commander Sun still felt uneasy: "Comrade Xiao He, for everyone's safety, we can surround them without attacking; starving them for a few days will also solve the problem."

"Let me try!" He Yuzhu said full of confidence.

Regimental Commander Sun was filled with disbelief, and Tian Dan was even more worried for He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu took two packs of Explosive from a soldier and wrapped them in a bundle to carry on his back.

He began to climb at a chosen position.

Di-di-da-di-da—the bugler sounded the charge.

Da-da-da-da! The Machine Guns roared again, and bullets splashed sparks against the mountain rocks.

He Yuzhu gripped the rock crevices tightly, moving nimbly on the nearly vertical cliff face as if walking on flat ground.

Tian Dan watched from below with her heart in her throat; every leap He Yuzhu made seemed like shaking hands with the Grim Reaper.

Just as He Yuzhu was about to reach the top of the cliff, several patrolling enemy agents suddenly appeared at the edge.

Although the sky was dark, they used the light of their torches to discover someone climbing the cliff, and he was about to reach the top.

"Someone is coming up the cliff!" one person shouted.

The others quickly went to pull their triggers.

Tian Dan's heart tightened below, and she secretly cried out that it was bad.

He Yuzhu was quick-witted and fast-handed; with a flick of his wrist, a Box Cannon was already in his grip.

He hung by one arm from a protrusion on the rock, his body suspended in mid-air, and raised his gun with the other hand to fire.

Bang! Bang! Bang! After a few gunshots, those patrolling soldiers fell to the ground.

"He Yuzhu, well done!" Tian Dan shouted excitedly from below.

By this time, He Yuzhu had already flipped onto the cliff top.

Only then did he discover that this summit was a narrow, sloping ridge over several hundred meters long and only ten-plus meters wide—truly a great place for defense.

Fortunately, there were many large rocks and trees on the summit, making it easy to hide.

The previous gunshots had also alerted another team of patrolling enemy agents, and a dozen people fired directly toward him.

He Yuzhu rolled and hid behind a giant rock; bullets struck the stone, sending sparks flying, pinning him down so he couldn't even lift his head.

He Yuzhu made a prompt decision, lit one pack of Explosive, and threw it forcefully into the air.

The pack of Explosive traced an arc of over twenty meters—

BOOM!!!

Amidst the deafening explosion, several enemy agents were blown into mid-air.

The second pack of Explosive followed immediately, exploding higher and further away, and the remaining enemies were also blown away.

He Yuzhu seized the opportunity to leap out and advance rapidly.

He Yuzhu blended into the enemy ranks, and most of them still thought he was one of their own retreating from the front.

The enemies on the mountain were mainly gathered within a narrow area of fifty meters, and they were firing continuously toward the small path leading up the mountain.

A plan formed in He Yuzhu's mind.

He remembered the Yellow Explosive confiscated from the cellar of Xu Damao's stepfather, which would come in handy right now.

He flashed into the space and quickly connected the Detonator and the ignition device.

Once he emerged from the space again, he quickly threw the Explosive at the enemies, immediately pressed the detonation button, and then quickly flashed back into the space himself.

Boom—!!!

With a deafening roar that shook the earth, the entire mountaintop trembled.

When He Yuzhu appeared again, there were very few enemies left on the mountaintop who could still move, and even those who were alive were missing arms or legs.

He raised his Submachine Gun and began to finish off the remaining enemies.

At this moment, the soldiers from the foot of the mountain also charged up.

Fearing friendly fire in the darkness, He Yuzhu hurriedly retreated toward the edge of the cliff.

After descending the mountain, he saw Tian Dan still staring fixedly at the cliff, so he smiled and greeted her: "Sister, were you worried about me? I'm fine!"

Tian Dan rushed up and punched him, her voice choked with sobs: "When I heard the explosion, I thought you had been blown to death!"

"It's fine, I threw the Explosive into their ammunition crate." After He Yuzhu finished speaking, he lay down on a rock to rest; although his stamina was good, free-climbing had still consumed most of his energy, leaving him feeling exhausted.

At this time, Regimental Commander Sun ran over in a great hurry, shouting with a tearful voice: "Comrade Tian Dan, Brother He, he..."

"Lao Sun, don't curse me, I'm alive and well!" He Yuzhu said while lying down.