Chapter 290: A Desperate Fight

The roar of the B-29 bombers approached from afar, vibrating so intensely that it made his eardrums ache.

He Yuzhu's eyes, fixed tightly on the radar screen, turned abnormally cold, and his fists clenched ever tighter.

Ershuan glanced at the bombers in the sky, then at He Yuzhu who had yet to take action, cold sweat streaming down his face; he finally couldn't help but shout: "Company Commander, the planes are right overhead, why haven't you reported the firing parameters yet?"

He Yuzhu held the walkie-talkie and said coldly: "The planes are at an altitude of 7,500 meters; our anti-aircraft guns have a maximum range of 7,000 meters, we can't hit them."

"Damn those Americans! They're truly devious!" Ershuan cursed through gritted teeth, his fist slamming heavily into the snow beside him.

"All personnel on the tanks, enter the anti-bombing caves immediately..." He Yuzhu repeated.

Once the order was given, the soldiers on the tanks scrambled out from the hatches underneath; though somewhat confused, they still retreated into the bunkers in an orderly fashion.

Ershuan asked anxiously: "Zhuzi, what about the anti-aircraft gun positions?"

"Leave it to fate."

"But, it's such a pity!" Ershuan said.

He Yuzhu shouted toward the anti-aircraft gun positions: "Brothers, cover the artillery with camouflage nets and retreat into the cave, all of you."

The soldiers at the anti-aircraft gun positions immediately draped the artillery covers over the guns and used pine branches to camouflage them.

He Yuzhu, meanwhile, covered the radar and computer with a white cloth, though in reality, he stowed them away into his space.

Since the start of the Korean War, the United States had implemented an embargo against China; even in Hong Kong, it was difficult to buy vacuum tubes, making it very hard to assemble computers, so He Yuzhu had to protect these items well. After all, shooting down planes still depended on them.

At this moment, the B-29 fleet had flown overhead, and bombs poured down like raindrops.

The entire mountain hollow was plunged into a sea of fire, and the pristine white snow was blasted into ugly, black craters.

After dropping their bombs, the planes flew away proudly.

Because preparations had been made in advance, all the Volunteer Army soldiers had already entered the anti-bombing caves; this round of bombing, while seemingly perilous, actually resulted in zero casualties.

The only loss was five tanks that had been destroyed.

Because the anti-aircraft gun positions were closer to the mountain and well-camouflaged, they were not discovered and escaped disaster.

Just as the smoke had yet to dissipate on this side, a bloody drama was unfolding on the mountain road on the other side.

A team of soldiers tried to bypass the tanks to attack the Volunteer Army, only to be blown to pieces by landmines.

Major Smith had no choice but to have the troops stop their advance and ordered the engineer company to tow away the tanks blocking the path.

When a dozen engineers used a tank to tow a destroyed tank, a loud "Boom!" rang out; a landmine buried under the tank exploded violently, instantly tossing more than ten men into the air, with severed limbs and arms splattering everywhere.

"Detect the landmines first! Then move the tanks!" Smith roared at the top of his lungs, and the engineers were forced to stop.

Hearing the explosions from afar, He Yuzhu revealed a long-lost smile; he knew the opportunity had arrived.

After handing over command of the scene to Wang Tieshan, He Yuzhu shouldered his small cart and sniper rifle, sprinting across the snowfield like a snow leopard; his speed was comparable to a fierce tiger descending a mountain, and in an instant, his figure became a black dot.

Half an hour later, he successfully reached the highest point of the mountain, looking down at the stalled enemy troops below.

The American engineers were struggling to dig through the frozen soil to clear mines; a middle-aged American engineer swung his pickaxe while complaining: "How were these mines buried? There isn't a single trace of the ground being disturbed; it's as if they grew out of the earth."

"Who's to say otherwise?" a young soldier chimed in.

He Yuzhu moved quietly on the mountaintop and soon discovered an officer shouting at the engineer captain: "Kevin, how much longer to clear the mines?"

"Sir, at least four hours!"

"There's no time left. Sam, take the tank battalion and ram those destroyed tanks out of my way!" Colonel Smith said.

Tank Battalion Commander Sam immediately objected: "Colonel, there are anti-tank mines on the ground; if the tanks go up there, they're finished! I suggest using infantry to charge through the minefield and eliminate those enemies."

Just as Colonel Smith opened his mouth to speak,

A "Bang!" of a gunshot rang out, and a bullet flew into his mouth, exploding inside his skull.

Brain matter splattered onto the faces of everyone nearby.

"Enemy attack!" the guard shouted, wiping the brain matter off his face.

"Bang, bang, bang..." Gunfire erupted all around.

He Yuzhu on the mountaintop had already made his escape.

The sudden death of the commander threw this infantry regiment into immediate chaos.

A messenger ran back and forth, attempting to gather the commanders of the three infantry battalions and two tank battalions to discuss countermeasures.

He Yuzhu had already set his sights on this messenger. When the officers gathered, the sniper rifle rang out again, and two tank battalion commanders fell one after another.

The force of several thousand men fell into a state of total disarray.

The remaining two infantry battalion commanders had no choice but to quickly nominate the most senior, Colonel Clark, as acting regimental commander.

This hot-tempered brute was bent on revenge and immediately ordered: "Abandon the tanks, infantry charge directly! Take this valley at any cost!"

Seeing the enemy about to launch an attack, He Yuzhu retreated quickly. He used his small cart as a sled, sliding down from the cliff covered in thick ice, reaching the foot of the mountain in just a few minutes.

As soon as he returned to the position, he issued a series of orders: "Twenty tanks aim at the mountain pass, fire as soon as you see the enemy enter; Third Platoon's anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns lock onto the pass and fire with everything you've got; Second Platoon use heavy machine guns to seal the road, don't let a single enemy in."

After making the arrangements, He Yuzhu personally rushed to the front line; he knew that sniping a commander was far more valuable than eliminating a few soldiers.

At this time, Clark was holding a gun, supervising the battle, and executing anyone who dared to retreat on the spot.

Under his coercion, over a thousand US troops attacked into the mountain hollow.

American soldiers kept stepping on mines, explosions rang out one after another, and before they even entered the hollow, over a hundred soldiers had lost their lives.

When the US troops entered range, He Yuzhu's scope steadily locked onto a commander charging at the very front.

A "Bang!" of a gunshot rang out, and blood bloomed on the commander's chest as he fell onto the snow; the bright red bloodstains were particularly striking against the backdrop of white snow.

This gunshot was like a starting pistol, and all the weapons on the position opened fire simultaneously.

Machine guns spat tongues of fire, tank cannons roared, and the company charging at the front was instantly halved, with the wounded wailing in agony on the snow.

They crawled and cried out, but no one went to carry them off the battlefield. The mountain pass, dozens of meters wide, was like a death trap; anyone who crossed it would never return.

"Retreat!" A company commander would rather disobey orders than charge again, and he led dozens of soldiers in a rout.

The first attack ended in a miserable defeat.

Clark stared at the wounded Company Commander Parker and roared: "Tell me, why did you retreat?"

Parker panted heavily and said: "The Chinese firepower is too fierce! They have dozens of tanks and a large number of Heavy Machine Guns. Without tank cover, we simply cannot charge in."

Clark pondered for a moment, then said frantically: "Damn it, those rotten tanks again! Engineer Company, at all costs, drag all those disabled tanks away for me!"

A Company Commander offered a strategy: "Sir, we can install pulleys on those large trees and drag them from a distance using long steel cables. Even if they explode, it won't hurt anyone."

"Good idea! Take action immediately!"

After two hours of arduous work, forty disabled tanks were successively dragged to the side of the road.

By the time all obstacles were cleared, it was already two o'clock in the afternoon.

The US Military's tank army slowly approached the mountain pass, followed by over a thousand soldiers.

The steel tracks crushed the accumulated snow, emitting a harsh creaking sound.

When more than thirty US Military tanks roared into the mountain pass, He Yuzhu suddenly blew the whistle in his mouth.

Forty Rocket Launchers fired simultaneously.

Boom—boom—boom!

The sounds of explosions rang out one after another.

Balls of fire rose into the air from the tank formation.

Almost at the same time, all the firepower on the Volunteer Army's positions erupted: the ammunition belts of the Anti-aircraft Machine Guns wove a net of fire in the air, Anti-aircraft Gun shells tore through the sky with shrill whistles, and tank cannons let out earth-shaking roars.

In an instant, the entire valley turned into a purgatory.

However, after this batch of tanks was destroyed, thousands of US Military soldiers, in order to escape that sea of fire, charged toward the three positions on He Yuzhu's side like madmen.

He Yuzhu made a prompt decision and shouted: "Everyone in the Second Platoon, put down your Rocket Launchers, switch to Machine Guns, and fire at them with everything you've got!"

Forty soldiers quickly put down their Rocket Launchers, grabbed twenty light and heavy Machine Guns, and fired violently at the surging crowd.

The muzzles of the Machine Guns spat out scorching tongues of fire, and bullets rained down upon the enemy.

The enemy fell in rows, just like harvested wheat.

But no matter how they fired, the enemy forces seemed endless; one wave fell and another surged up.

Suddenly, a cry for help came from the tank position: "The enemy is coming up, we can't hold them off!"

He Yuzhu abruptly put down his Machine Gun and said: "I'm going to help the tank position, you watch this place."

Ershuan hurriedly guaranteed: "Go ahead, Zhuzi! As long as we are here, the position will stand!"

He Yuzhu's figure quickly disappeared into the pervasive smoke of gunpowder.