Chapter 304: Lord, Please Go Ahead

Once spotted by an aircraft on the road, even without dropping bombs, a machine‑gun sweep can cripple the entire regiment.

Therefore, He Er Jilong made an extremely bold and extremely painful decision.

He Er Jilong ordered: completely abandon Transport Vehicles and all heavy vehicles.

This means the 116th Regiment will revert entirely to a primitive era. All supplies, ammunition, food, even the wounded, will no longer be carried on wheels but rely solely on soldiers' shoulders and the backs of mules.

However, the Japanese Class A Division already has a large number of war horses.

In fact it's nothing; these Class A Divisions only wreak havoc in Huaxia, and would be no big deal on an Ouzhou battlefield.

They chose a completely different route, along the Jingmen Mountains, that rugged, overgrown Small Path, weaving toward Xiaoting.

"Send the order down, increase the pace!" He Er Jilong barked loudly at the adjutant behind him.

The adjutant glanced at the rolling hills around, his face showing difficulty: "Colonel, the soldiers have been marching all night, and the mountain roads are hard; everyone is exhausted…"

"Do you want to die?!" He Er Jilong snapped around, his eyes fierce, "The Division Commander has ordered that we must reach Xiaoting today! If we are even a step late, we become the Imperial's criminals! What are these mountains? What is this road?"

He waved his hand toward the surrounding peaks: "Fortunately, the outer part of the Jingmen Mountains is mostly hills, not high in altitude. If it were high‑altitude peaks, we might truly be unable to cross. But now, this is the life‑line God has left the Imperial Japanese Army!"

Yes, this is a life‑line.

Although abandoning vehicles drastically reduced marching speed, and scaling mountains exhausted every soldier, and the mud beneath and thorns along the road constantly battered their bodies, this allowed them to perfectly evade Allied Forces aircraft reconnaissance.

At the rear of the marching column followed a particularly conspicuous figure.

He kept that once‑fashionable, now ridiculous middle part haircut, as if no one had ever called him a traitor!

His hair shone oily and immaculate on his scalp, even after half a night of slogging through the mud he dared not disturb a single strand. Atop his head, the Japanese Imperial Army cap sat perfectly straight, its brim pulled low to try to hide his constantly darting eyes.

At his waist, a bulging "Turtle Box" South 14th Model Pistol hung from his belt, swaying with each step and clanking the belt buckle. The outfit, together with his perpetually crumpled face, was a textbook traitor.

The man was Zhuge Mingliang.

Although his name sounds impressive, even evoking the wisdom of the three‑visits to the thatched cottage, his deeds have disgraced his ancestors.

He huffed and panted through the sludge, constantly wiping the sweat from his forehead with his cuff, his small eyes darting around like a frightened mouse.

Those who don't know might think he's watching for the enemy, but those familiar with him know his mind is probably scheming some dirty trick, or figuring out how to swindle a couple more cigarettes from the Imperial Japanese Army.

At this moment, he was standing beside the sycophancy of 116th Regiment Commander He Er Jilong, his face piled with an obnoxiously fawning smile.

"Lord, your great wisdom!" Zhuge Mingliang bowed and raised a thumb, the finger trembling slightly with excitement, "This road truly is a divine road! Those Chinese planes could never have guessed we'd come this way. This is what we call… surprise attack, catching them off guard!"

He Er Jilong rode his warhorse, though the ride was rough, he still found the flattery somewhat gratifying. He glanced down at the sniveling lapdog at his feet, a faint restrained smile appearing, and nodded approvingly.

"Yo‑si!" He Er Jilong praised in stiff Chinese, "Good work! The Great Japan Imperial Army won't shortchange you. When we reach Xiaoting, there will be a big reward!"

"Hey! Hey! Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!" Zhuge Mingliang laughed until his snot bubbles were about to burst, his waist bending even lower, as if to press his face to the horse's hoof, "To serve the Imperial Japanese Army is my honor! A great honor!"

Watching Zhuge Mingliang's whimpering, tail‑wagging plea, He Er Jilong's smile gradually cooled, a blatant contempt flashing in his eyes.

In the eyes of this regiment commander, educated by Japanese militarism, someone like Zhuge Mingliang is not even worth the roadside weeds.

For a few dollars, or merely to survive, they can betray their country, compatriots, even ancestors without any bottom line.

These people, though handy now like a pair of dirty socks, are deeply despised by He Er Jilong in his heart.

If it's for the Imperial Japanese Army's victory, using them is fine; but should the piece become useless or block the way, He Er Jilong would crush it without hesitation, like squashing a stink bug, feeling no ripple of remorse.

"You, lead the way ahead!" He Er Jilong, tired of the traitor's chatter, flicked his whip coldly.

"Yes! Yes! Lord, please watch closely; the forest ahead will be smooth once we pass through!" Zhuge Mingliang, though sensing the Lord's cold tone, felt no shame and hurried even more diligently ahead.

Behind him, He Er Jilong watched the forward‑leaning silhouette, a flash of light crossing his eyes.

From William's aerial view, the dense canopy and rolling hills were merely meaningless terrain. No one could imagine that beneath those layers of green cover, thousands of Japanese were crawling silently like ants within this massive blind spot.

He Er Jilong looked up toward Xiaoting, where a muffled artillery boom drifted faintly.

"Hmph, birds flying in the sky will never see the foxes running on the ground," He Er Jilong sneered, gripping his command sword tighter, stepping heavily, leading his ferocious troops toward the battlefield's flank, inch by inch.

Zhuge Mingliang, while leading ahead with uneven steps, occasionally pretended to wipe sweat, furtively glancing upward at the sky.

In truth, his heart burned with urgency.

The buzzing of the aircraft overhead sounded to him like celestial music. He knew they were Huaxia planes, scouting the Japanese's large forces.

Zhuge Mingliang had been waiting for this moment! Though he usually played the subservient dog before the Japanese, beneath his oily façade lay a heart long despaired and full of hatred; his family perished in the Japanese's burning raids, and he had not returned home in the South when it happened—by the time he got back, everything had changed.

He was waiting for a chance—a chance for revenge!