Chapter 16

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As the cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

The Japanese troops split into two groups, moving along both sides of the ridge, threading through the forest, heading in the direction where the snow tracks disappeared. Another dozen or so Japanese soldiers followed the tracks, their figures flashing through the woods, making it easier for the troops above to see the direction of the pursuit.

The troops advanced quickly and cautiously, vigilantly observing the ridge and the surroundings. Clearly, the two ambushes they had suffered had made them sufficiently wary.

However, this time, it was beyond Fujita's expectations. This armed group did not attack again but instead headed straight for a low hill along the ridge.

When the two search teams met at the end of the ridge, they encountered no interference, as if the enemy had already fled.

Fujita looked at the starting point of another ridge a kilometer away, waved to stop the troops, and carefully observed the hill, which was a hundred meters lower than this side.

There were no tall trees on this side, and after descending the slope out of the mixed forest, there were only oak trees and shrubs. Although the view was not very open, it was not easy to hide people. Especially near the hill, there were large areas of tiger laurel, a unique thorny shrub in these mountains, with sharp thorns and no leaves to cover, making it even harder to hide.

After several binoculars carefully observed and found the tracks disappearing behind the small hill, Fujita confirmed that the armed group had fled. Even if the hill was a good defensive position, Fujita did not believe that seven people would dare to resist over a hundred regular troops. If the enemy really did set up a defense, it would be right into Fujita's trap.

"Follow the tracks, the machine guns and mortars provide rear cover!"

After confirming the situation ahead, Fujita gave the order to continue the pursuit. He believed that the gunfire had already attracted the two nearby squads, and this armed group would soon be forced to fight him head-on.

At the top of the small hill, behind a half-meter-high snow ridge, Liu Zhong and others were buried in the snow under their cloaks, their eyes fixed on Dong Ku, who was about twenty meters away, observing from the only rock protruding from the hill, through the camouflaged oak trees.

After the order was given, the Japanese troops spread out, over a hundred people stretching out over thirty to forty meters, trudging through the snow, climbing the gradually rising hill; their guns were ready, and their eyes were fixed on the hill.

Seeing all the Japanese leave the top of the hill, Dong Ku quietly extended his hand and made a preparatory gesture.

Liu Zhong and others, who were both nervous and excited, immediately moved, lifting their cloaks, removing their grenade pouches, pulling out the grenades, twisting off the caps, pulling the pins, and placing them beside them.

Seeing the Japanese start to climb the hill, Dong Ku put away his binoculars, raised his M4A1, and focused on the rear artillery and machine gunners.

The troops trudged through the snow, stepping on the tiger laurel, quickly advancing to the top of the hill; the soldiers in front tried to step on the tiger laurel to flatten it, but some still sprang up.

"Ouch... Bastards!"

A thumb-thick tiger laurel, covered in sharp thorns, sprang up and hit a Japanese soldier, the sharp thorns piercing his face, causing him to cry out in pain and curse softly.

Stopping, the soldier removed his gloves and was about to pull out the thorns when he suddenly saw something strange flying overhead.

"Grenade!!"

Ignoring the thorns, he shouted and threw himself onto the ground, covered in sharp thorns.

As he shouted, the soldiers watching overhead saw the grenades flying, and they quickly lay down to avoid the shrapnel. As long as the grenade did not explode nearby, it would not cause significant damage.

"Fire!!"

Fujita, about fifty meters away, following the troops, saw the black dots flying from the top of the hill, drew his command knife, and pointed at the hill, giving the attack order.

Four light machine guns quickly found firing positions, set up, and prepared to fire. The mortar operators put down their mortars, set up the stands, and began to measure the distance and adjust.

At this moment, the explosion sounded abruptly, flames flashing in the air, as beautiful as fireworks. With the explosions, shrapnel rained down from a height of several meters, the hissing sound tearing off the dry leaves from the oak trees, instantly clearing the view.

Screams followed, countless shrapnel piercing the bodies of the soldiers lying on the ground, some dying silently, twitching; those not fatally wounded screamed in agony.

As the explosions began, the machine gunners, who had just lain down, were killed from left to right in a few breaths, their heads exploding, falling beside the machine guns. The mortar operators, who had not yet measured the distance, also fell silently, blood and brains splattering everywhere.

Following the fireworks of the explosions, several more black dots flew from the top of the hill, riding the shock waves, landing above the Japanese lying on the ground.

Amidst the screams, the Japanese clutched their heads, burying themselves in the snow covered with sharp thorns, trying to minimize their exposed area to avoid the grenade explosions.

Fujita crouched at the sound of the explosions but did not lie down, his eyes fixed on the hill, waiting for the machine gun fire.

At the top of the hill, Liu Zhong and others held smoking grenades, counting silently in their heads, and after three counts, they threw them into the air below with all their might.

They could not see the effects of the explosions but could hear the screams mixed in. Without further instructions from Dong Ku, they faithfully followed the order to throw all ten grenades each; even Hu Zi, though weaker, could still throw them thirty meters.

At the base of the rock, Dong Ku lay quietly, the silenced gun barrel quickly turning, harvesting the lives of the machine gunners and mortar operators. The silent sniping continued amidst the explosions, one soldier's head after another exploding like watermelons in the scope.

They are regular troops!!

Amidst the intense explosions, Fujita realized that the enemy on the hill was not just an armed group but regular troops.

"Fire!!"

He raised his command knife again, roaring loudly.

But his voice was met with no response.

"Bastards!"

Fujita turned to look at the machine guns and mortars. This turn made his mind buzz; the four machine gunners, along with their assistants and ammunition carriers, were all lying in the snow. The mortar operators, six in total, were now only two, trembling in fear.

"There's a sniper!!"

Fujita shouted, quickly hiding behind an oak tree with dry leaves. The dozen or so soldiers following him now saw the machine gunners and mortar operators dead, and they all quickly lay down in the snow, using the shrubs for cover, raising their guns to search for the direction of the sniper.

"Attacked by regular troops!!"

This thought flashed through Fujita's mind, and he shouted hoarsely, "Attack!!!"

But his loud voice was drowned out by the continuous explosions.

"Lieutenant! We are under attack by a large Chinese force, should we consolidate our position and wait for reinforcements?!"

A sergeant shouted in fear.

This shout was also drowned out by the explosions.

At the center of the explosions, the scene was now a mess. The bare branches of the shrubs could not withstand the rain of shrapnel and broke within seconds. The Japanese soldiers, buried under broken branches and leaves, either screamed in pain or desperately crawled down the hill, ignoring the thorns piercing their faces and necks.

"Maizi, Mengzi, retreat and stand up!"

Dong Ku shouted at the ones throwing grenades.

Maizi threw the smoking grenade in his hand, grunted, grabbed four grenades, retreated two meters, and stood up with a push. Mengzi did the same, holding grenades as he retreated.

"Ten o'clock direction, sixty meters!"

Dong Ku shouted without turning his head.

After a week, the two had understood many military terms and immediately put down their grenades, pulled the pins, and with a short run, threw two grenades blindly, then retreated and picked up more grenades, repeating the action.

Fujita was shouting hoarsely to withdraw from the grenade coverage area and reorganize the attack when he saw two black shadows flying toward his position through the leaves.

"Bad!!"

As the grenades flew, Fujita was shocked and shouted, "Watch out for the grenades!!"

As he shouted, the two grenades flew overhead, and as he lay down, they exploded with a loud bang!

In the explosion, he felt a numbness in his buttocks, and warm blood flowed down his thighs.

"Injured..."

As this thought flashed through his mind, Fujita, enduring the pain, quickly crawled, and before the second grenade arrived, he had already passed the cold bodies of the machine gunners and headed down the hill.

Behind him, seven or eight uninjured soldiers and a sergeant also retreated, moving in the same way, using their hands and feet, standard crawling, pushing the snow, and chasing Fujita.

At the same time, not far from here, about twenty kilometers away, the squad led by Lieutenant Oda increased their pace, no longer paying attention to their surroundings, heading straight for the location of the explosions. As he ran, Oda was puzzled; such intense and frequent explosions clearly indicated a large battle, but why were there no sounds of artillery or machine guns? What was Lieutenant Fujita up to?

In another direction, the squad led by Matsumoto also rushed toward the location of the explosions, but they were farther away and would arrive about an hour later.

When each of them had two grenades left, Dong Ku switched to a Type 38 rifle and fired a shot, stopping a struggling Japanese soldier.

As Dong Ku's shot rang out, Liu Zhong grabbed Hu Zi, who was about to take another grenade, picked up his gun, and quickly climbed to the snow ridge, found a moving target, and fired without hesitation.

The gunshots continued as the others joined in.

As the gunshots rang out, Fujita had crawled about thirty to forty meters, about a hundred meters from the hill. Out of the grenade coverage area, he turned and saw a few more soldiers following, and he shouted, "Set up a defensive position, hold and wait for reinforcements!"

"Hai!"

The seven or eight soldiers lying on the ground quickly turned, found cover, and raised their guns.

A hundred meters, for the Japanese troops known for their accurate shooting, hitting the target was not a problem...

PS: Tiger laurel is a unique plant in the northeastern forests, belonging to the Aralia family, covered in sharp thorns, and called tiger laurel by the residents of the Heilongjiang mountains due to its resemblance to a tiger's penis. The young shoots, also called tiger buds, are rich in nutrients and can be eaten in the spring, either dipped in sauce, served cold, or stir-fried, making them a rare delicacy.

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