Chapter 172: The Division Commander Is Already

Ahead, a muffled gun and artillery sound could be heard faintly; seeing the urgent battle report mentioned by Li Defa in the telegram, Jiang Anguo's eyes grew brighter.

Tap tap tap tap—

The rapid footsteps shook the mud, splashing water everywhere.

Behind, all the Independent Regiment's soldiers clutched their weapons tightly, their faces full of resolve, following their Regiment Commander, they ran wildly toward Jiang Fei's position.

In the downpour, a torrent of steel surged forward.

Damn! Come on! Little Devil, give me your best!

Jiang Fei, eyes reddened, roared in a hoarse, desperate frenzy. The MP40 Submachine Gun in his hand was out of ammo; with a clack he tossed the empty gun and seized the sniper rifle set aside.

He abruptly raised the gun, and the scope instantly locked onto a Japanese Army officer screaming as he charged forward.

Bang!

A bullet pierced precisely into the officer's chest; he staggered, only knocked down, not killed outright, still struggling in the mud.

Jiang Fei couldn't bother confirming the result; his finger swiftly cycled the action and pulled the trigger at the next target.

In the rear command post, Jin Gang Zong Si Lang paced back and forth, the sound of his boots in the mud unusually restless. The casualty numbers from the front were overwhelming, and Division Commander Watanabe Masao was still missing, evidently captured. Each piece of news struck his heart like a heavy hammer.

Hesitating, Jin Gang Zong Si Lang halted, slowly closed his eyes, his chest heaving violently. In that moment, he seemed to make a resolute farewell.

After only a brief thought, he snapped his eyes open, a dead, cold glare within, issuing a command that shocked everyone.

"Fire on the Chinese army," Jin Gang Zong Si Lang whispered, his voice as cold as ice.

The adjutant beside him thought he misheard, eyes wide, anxiously asked again: "Regiment Commander, what did you say?"

"Fire on the Chinese army!" Jin Gang Zong Si Lang repeated, this time raising his voice sharply, roaring.

"But... the Division Commander is still in the Chinese army's hands! If we fire, the Division Commander..." the adjutant's voice trembled.

Jin Gang Zong Si Lang shook his head, a cruel grin spreading across his face: "No. From now on, Division Commander Watanabe Masao, you have heroically perished on the pursuit of the Chinese army. For the honor of the Imperial Japanese Army, fire on the Chinese army; spare no cost to annihilate them all!"

He turned, facing away from the adjutant, and coldly tossed out the final words: "I will bear all the consequences."

Jin Gang Zong Si Lang was well aware that once he gave this order, even if to cover up the 'miskill' of the Division Commander, the awaiting consequence would be a military tribunal's harsh penalty, perhaps even seppuku apology. He also hadn't thought he could survive to return to Japan.

Or rather, from this moment, the emperor‑loyal Jin Gang Zong Si Lang was dead in spirit, leaving only a war machine that would stop at nothing to wash away the disgrace.

The Japanese Army's messenger quickly relayed the order "Fire on the Chinese army, regardless of collateral damage".

The previously noisy offensive on the front suddenly and oddly halted.

Jiang Fei and Li Defa sensed something amiss, and cautiously stuck out their heads to glance at the distant Japanese Army positions.

It was eerily quiet there; the Japanese soldiers had all retreated behind cover, leaving only steel helmets exposed.

"Bad! Little Devil is about to fire at us!" Jiang Fei's pupils contracted. As a company‑level officer with ample combat experience, he instantly saw through the scope that the Japanese were rapidly setting up a Grenade Launcher position and adjusting the firing angle.

Damn, I completely forgot this!

The words had just left his mouth.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Sharp whistling sliced the rain, several grenades launched from the Grenade Launcher whooshed down around Jiang Fei's position, erupting a series of mud columns.

It was obvious the Little Devil was testing range and correcting trajectory.

Sure enough, only a few seconds later, a heavier barrage rolled in. The second wave's shells were far more accurate, many landing directly inside the trench.

Boom! Boom!

The explosions roared deafeningly, soil and shrapnel flying sideways. Many soldiers who couldn't dodge were blown up by the Grenade Launcher shells, blood instantly staining the trench red.

Careful!

Li Defa's keen ears caught the distinctive rapid shriek overhead, the sound of death approaching. He had no time to think, instinctively shouted and lunged at Jiang Fei beside him, trying to use his body to shield the blast.

Boom boom boom—

Several bombs fell almost simultaneously on the spot where Jiang Fei and Li Defa had just been and the surrounding area; the massive fire engulfed both, the blast wave hurling them violently into the deep, muddy trench.

When the smoke cleared, the air was thick with a strong scent of blood and scorched earth.

Li Defa lay in the mud, a huge gash torn in his chest by shrapnel, blood gushing out, his eyes still wide open, death unblinking. He was blown up on the spot, not even having time to utter a last word.

Jiang Fei also suffered; the violent shockwave and flying shrapnel caused him excruciating pain all over.

He trembled, pushing aside a broken gun barrel crushing him, trying to prop himself up, only to discover his left leg was numb—a severed limb, white bone protruding through his uniform, exposed to the rain.

Sss—

Jiang Fei inhaled a cold breath, but made no sound, clenching his teeth hard. He glanced at the lifeless Li Defa beside him, eyes blazing, his fists grinding together with a crackle.

He had just been bragging about how many devils he'd kill, and now this fresh life was gone, not even a whole corpse left.

"Platoon Leader Li..."

Jiang Fei, suppressing the searing pain, quickly unfastened his combat belt and drove it hard into the root of his broken thigh.

As the tightening belt's pain came, the bleeding slowed a bit; he didn't want to die like this, he still wanted to kill more devils to avenge his brothers.

He also found a morphine ampoule in a nearby soldier's pack and injected it directly into his thigh.

He reached for his rifle, his most trusted companion. But his hand met only two broken pieces of wood and steel.

Jiang Fei's sniper rifle had been blown in two.

"Is anyone still alive?!" Jiang Fei shouted loudly, his voice hoarse.

This round of ruthless bombardment by the Little Devil was a devastating blow to Jiang Fei's Special Forces Unit. Even though the unit had previously spread its positions to avoid artillery, the enemy's artillery had already pinpointed them in earlier attacks, and with Jin Gang Zong Si Lang's reckless order, the fire covered them with pinpoint accuracy.

Thus, just this first highly targeted barrage nearly wiped out the entire Special Forces Unit.

Jiang Fei strained to turn his neck, his gaze scanning the wrecked ground, counting the figures still able to move.

Including himself, only eight remained.

"Ha ha, brothers, is this enough loot?" Jiang Fei asked with a grim laugh, the blood on his face carved into channels by the rain.

"Not enough! I can still kill two more!" a blood‑splattered soldier leaned against the trench wall, his abdomen badly wounded yet still brandishing an MP40 Submachine Gun.

"Two aren't enough! I can still kill five!" another soldier, missing an arm, still roared with red‑eyed fury.

Niu Pi's bragging grew bigger and his tone grew wilder, but everyone present knew this was their last stubbornness. Even the elite soldiers obtained via the WarSystem's System Exchange are flesh‑and‑blood people, with their own joys, anger, sorrow, happiness, a fear of death, and a yearning for life.

But now they choose to hide their fear deep in their hearts, confronting death with the most arrogant words.

At this moment, these eight people, each wounded, are like a pack of lone wolves still fighting like trapped beasts in a desperate situation.