Chapter 18

"Damn, that was exciting!"

Mangzi said in a deep voice while sliding along.

"Mangzi, shut up! Have you forgotten the discipline that Brother Dong talked about?"

Sun Tao shouted at Mangzi in a low voice from behind.

"Sure thing! I was just feeling stifled, I won't say anything more."

Mangzi jolted the mortar and shells tied to his back and replied straightforwardly, then closed his mouth.

The group formed a line and quickly moved through the forest, heading straight for the outskirts of Bee Mountain.

While Yoshiziro Ono was slightly off course from the Matsubara family banquet, he arrived at the battlefield where Fujita had been killed, which was only a half-hour journey away.

"What on earth happened? Could the other side be a large force?"

Looking at the scene in disarray, with bodies scattered everywhere, Ono was dumbfounded and muttered to himself.

"Report, Lieutenant, we found Lieutenant Fujita's body over there..."

A Japanese soldier reported cautiously.

"What?!"

Ono's mind exploded. He pushed the reporting soldier away and rushed to the front. Pushing through the crowd, he immediately saw Fujita lying sprawled among the pile of guns.

"Lieutenant Fujita..."

Ono choked up and slowly walked over.

The soldiers, feeling heavy-hearted, slowly gathered around Ono.

"Carry Lieutenant Fujita's body..."

Ono said, trying to hold back his grief.

Several Japanese soldiers left the crowd, stepped on the Type 38 rifles piled on the ground, and together moved Fujita's body away from the pile of guns.

As the body was moved, a small tree that had been pressed down suddenly sprang up, making a buzzing sound and sweeping past the face of a nearby soldier.

"Be careful, be careful..."

Ono hurriedly shouted, fearing that Fujita's remains would be further damaged.

The soldiers carefully moved Fujita's body away from the pile of guns and slowly placed it on a sheet that had been laid out.

"Lieutenant Fujita..."

Ono choked up again. Fujita was the commander who had led him into this land after the troops were increased in China following the September 18th Incident, and had always trusted and cared for him. He felt a deep sense of gratitude towards Fujita.

Tears welled up in his eyes as he gently placed the flag over Fujita's body, stood straight, and began to recite a prayer in a low, solemn voice, holding the highest ceremony for Fujita. The soldiers stood at attention, holding their rifles, heads bowed, and listened to the captain's mournful words with heavy hearts.

At this moment, a soldier suddenly noticed a thin wisp of smoke rising from the ground not far from his feet, faint and ethereal, drifting up from under the snow.

"What is this..."

The Japanese soldier had a question in his mind, but in such a solemn atmosphere, he did not dare to interrupt the captain's ceremony.

The soldiers, heads bowed, did not notice the thin wisps of smoke rising from the pile of guns, which were faint and ethereal, almost imperceptible.

Ono's voice was solemn and low, sincerely praying for his superior and mentor, Fujita.

Suddenly, he felt his breath catch, and the prayer was interrupted. At that moment, an overwhelming force pierced through his body, and his consciousness was extinguished in the violent force.

The soldiers around him felt the same, their breath catching, and a force pulled them forward. Then, a violent force erupted, instantly tearing apart their fragile bodies. In the moment their consciousness stopped, no one had time to react to what was happening.

"Boom!!!"

A deafening explosion shook the mountain. Centered on the pile of guns, a wave-like shockwave erupted, sweeping away all the shrubs and oak trees, carrying the snow, forming a massive wave, and violently rushing in all directions.

Shredded limbs flew through the air, chasing the steel fragments as they flew away. After the shockwave passed, they stuck to the exposed rock like wet mud, splattering black and red blood, adding the final touch to the white landscape. Some of the shredded limbs had already frozen during their flight, falling like rain, pattering onto the rocks dozens of meters away, rolling and colliding.

In the distance, the leaves and snow on the trees that were not affected by the shockwave fell, swirling and drifting in the wind.

In the white world, a gray-red area radiated across the mountain slope. The snow-covered ground, like a beach hit by a heavy rain, was pitted and full of holes.

The scene was devoid of any life. Even the withered vegetation and the not-so-thick frozen soil within dozens of meters had disappeared, leaving only large, vaguely recognizable organs stuck to the rocks. At the center, a rock pit over ten meters in diameter and more than a meter deep gaped like a monstrous mouth, looking up at the sky.

In the distance, the shockwave caused the snow on the trees to fall in clumps, swirling and drifting in the wind.

The marching Yamamoto family banquet was startled by the thunderous explosion, turning to look in the direction of the sound. The entire group stopped, guns at the ready, turning towards the explosion amidst the drifting snow.

"Large-caliber howitzer?"

This thought crossed Yamamoto's mind, but he quickly shook it off. Not only was this far from the supply routes, but even if it were close, such a large cannon could not be brought into the dense forests and mountains of Bee Mountain.

"Over there, quickly!"

Several thoughts flashed through Yamamoto's mind, and he pointed in the direction of the rising black shadow, giving the order to turn around.

The intense explosion reached the ears of Dong Ku and his group, who were rapidly sliding down. Dong Ku made a turn, pushing up a wave of snow, and stopped beside a large tree, raising his hand to signal the others to stop.

Liu Zhong and the others, out of breath, stopped beside Dong Ku, turning excitedly to look in the direction of the explosion amidst the falling snow.

"Rest for five minutes."

Dong Ku said briefly, leaning against the tree and relaxing his shoulders, which had been tightly bound by the backpack.

Liu Zhong and the others found a tree to lean against, standing to rest. However, they found it strange that Dong Ku, who came from the capital, knew that one should not sit down after exerting oneself on the snow to avoid the cold air entering the body and causing illness. This was a resting method known only to those who had spent a long time in the northeastern forests, and he did it so casually.

"Dong Brother..."

Huzi called out softly.

"Huzi, you want to know the effect of the explosion, right?"

"Sure!"

Dong Ku's understanding made Huzi very happy and also made the others eager and excited to hear his answer.

"If my guess is correct, it will still be a standard army squad that comes." He paused, looking at the few people around him, and continued, "The殉爆 of over 500 grenades is not much less powerful than a 300mm howitzer shell, and with the fragments from over a hundred guns, the destructive power far exceeds that of a large-caliber heavy artillery. The Japanese also have the custom of honoring the dead, so as long as they get within 30 meters, they will all die, without a single one left!"

"Really!!"

Huzi's face was flushed with excitement, and the shadow of nausea from the bloody battlefield had completely disappeared.

"My goodness! One explosion killed over a hundred, the Japanese are really not tough! A few more times and they'll be wiped out!"

Mangzi said excitedly in a low voice.

Although the others did not speak, their excitement was evident on their faces. Dong Ku's god-like ability made them believe without doubt that the result would be as he said.

Dong Ku knew this would happen, but he did not scold Mangzi. He knew that such overconfidence was inevitable and that only after experiencing several battles would they not become arrogant...

Leaving Dong Ku and the others resting aside, Yamamoto's group reached the explosion site in less than half an hour.

When he saw the destruction that could have been caused by a heavy aerial bomb, Yamamoto was secretly alarmed.

"Search the area! Be alert!"

After a brief moment of shock, Yamamoto ordered the search of the surroundings. He did not know where Captain Fujita was, nor where Lieutenant Ono was, and he had no idea what caused the explosion here.

After the troops dispersed, he ordered, "Send a message to find out where Captain Fujita and Lieutenant Ono are."

"Hai!"

The radio operator set up the S-38 American-made transceiver and began calling Fujita and Ono.

As the radio operator tapped the keys, the search team suddenly stopped, looking at the ground in fear, unable to take another step.

"What's going on?!"

Seeing the search team stop, Yamamoto shouted.

"R... e... p... o... r... t... a... l... l... b... r... o... k... e... n..."

A corporal, trying to suppress the nausea in his stomach, turned back to report.

"Broken pieces?"

Yamamoto took a few steps towards the area with no snow. When he saw the items under the soldiers' feet, his pupils dilated, his scalp tingled, and a sense of foreboding crept into his heart.

In his line of sight, the ground was covered with fingers, severed arms, and unidentifiable pieces of organs, turning the entire area into a hell of shredded bodies.

"Report!"

The radio operator interrupted Yamamoto's thoughts at an inappropriate time, reporting, "Cannot contact Captain Fujita or Lieutenant Ono."

"What? How can the search team be radio silent?!"

Yamamoto was shocked and loudly ordered, "Search the area, identify the dead!" As he spoke, he ran back to the radio operator, picked up the handset, and began calling Fujita in clear code...

"Damn!"

When the report of the clear code call from Lieutenant Yamamoto reached Okamura in Misan, he was furious. Although there were no large-scale armed forces in China at the moment and the radio equipment was lacking, a clear code call could be intercepted by the Soviets, which was a breach of security.

"Order Matsubara to stop the clear code call and return for punishment!!"

Okamura roared.

The intelligence officer stood at attention, about to turn, but Okamura suddenly realized that Matsubara was not a new recruit and would not forget the order to not use clear code in this area. Could it be...

A thought flashed through Okamura's mind, and he called the intelligence officer back, asking, "What did Matsubara call about?"

"Report, Lieutenant Colonel, Matsubara is repeatedly calling Captain Fujita and Lieutenant Ono!"

"What?"

Okamura realized something was wrong. Either Fujita and Ono were in trouble, or Yamamoto had been ambushed and was urgently calling for help. He got up and said, "Let's go to the radio room."

"Could it be that Fujita and Ono have been killed..."

Looking at the translation in his hand, Okamura muttered in disbelief.

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