Chapter 9

As Liu Zhong and the four others, wearing snowshoes, gnawed on the frozen mushrooms in their hands, they slowly disappeared on top of the snow ridge. Dong Ku and Shunzi quickly retreated, erasing their tracks and pulling out the wooden sticks they had stuck in the snow, eventually making their way up to the snow ridge and vanishing from sight.

Not long after Dong Ku and the others disappeared, Shan Kou Heng'er followed the footprints in the snow to the entrance of the Black Wind Pass. Seeing the scattered grape stems and the frozen mushrooms cut by a knife on the snow, Shan Kou Heng'er gritted his teeth and roared, "They lingered here! The Chinese pigs have no food, hurry up and chase them!"

The soldiers, with rations in their mouths, didn't have time to catch their breath. They briefly checked the surroundings, confirmed that the footprints led forward, and then rushed into the Black Wind Pass with their guns at the ready.

"Report to Lieutenant Shan Kou, we've found guns discarded by the mountain people ahead!"

A sergeant reported.

Shan Kou Heng'er, holding a pistol in one hand and a command saber in the other, quickly moved forward to take a look. He saw a trail of chaotic marks extending to the distance on the slope, and not far from the marks that hadn't been filled by snow, a Type 38 rifle was discarded. Further up, a military overcoat covered in snow was thrown on the snow crust.

Seeing the items on the snow slope, Shan Kou Heng'er pulled out his command saber and shouted, pointing in the direction of the marks, "The Chinese pigs can't hold on! Chase them!"

Far away on the top of the snow crust, Hu Zi, with a white cloth tied to a tree branch, peered through the binoculars Dong Ku had given him. He exaggeratedly described how Dong Ku had eliminated about thirty Japanese soldiers while looking ahead.

Liu Zhong and the four others, exhausted, leaned against the snow pit, chewing on the frozen mushrooms left by Shunzi and the others. Their guns were all placed beside them. Mazi, Shunzi, Dog Dan, and Shanzi lay in a row in the snow pit, which resembled a trench, excitedly and nervously waiting for the Japanese to appear.

"The Japanese are coming!"

Hu Zi, who was observing, suddenly stopped his chatter and whispered.

Before Hu Zi's words had even finished, Liu Zhong and the four others threw away the frozen mushrooms in their hands, grabbed their Type 38 rifles, and leaned against the snow wall, ready to shoot. Mazi and Shunzi, along with the others, stared intently at Hu Zi, waiting for him to tell them how close the Japanese were. They didn't dare to peek, remembering Dong Ku's words that whether they could eliminate the Japanese depended on following his instructions.

Shan Kou Heng'er didn't know there was an ambush ahead. He followed the main force, constantly urging them on. Under his urging, the Japanese soldiers spread out over a width of forty to fifty meters, quietly rushing towards the top of the snow ridge. In less than two minutes, they reached the top of the snow ridge.

At the top of the slope, the ground ahead was flat like a lake, visible for over two kilometers.

"There they are!"

Through his binoculars, Shan Kou Heng'er saw two long rifles stuck in the snow and a military overcoat on the snow crust in the distance. Clearly, the mountain people had discarded all their burdens and were fleeing forward.

"Hmph! You think reducing your load will help you escape? Without food, how far can you run?"

Shan Kou Heng'er put down his binoculars, muttering to himself. Several methods of torture flashed through his mind, and then, with a fierce look in his eyes, he ordered, "Watch out for ambushes, and chase them forward!"

Following the order, about a hundred Japanese soldiers formed a scattered formation and pursued the tracks. Suddenly, the sergeant leading the charge stopped abruptly, his body sinking sharply as one leg sank deeply into the snow crust.

A soldier beside the sergeant instinctively reached out and grabbed his arm as he sank. Just as he was about to pull him out, a violent tremor came from under his feet, followed by three闷响 like rolling thunder!

Three waves of snow erupted almost simultaneously in the middle of the Japanese soldiers, who were lined up in a row. The Japanese soldiers at the crest of the waves didn't even have time to scream before being thrown into the air!

The snow crust then bulged abruptly, like three giant steamed buns, lifting the Japanese soldiers more than three meters into the air before crashing down, raising a cloud of snow dust that billowed in the cold wind!

Shan Kou Heng'er, at the back of the formation, was thrown like a ball, rolling to the rear. The soldiers near him were also flipped onto the snow by the bulging snow crust, rolling with Shan Kou Heng'er, causing chaos.

Worse off were the soldiers near the large bulges. They didn't even have a chance to struggle before disappearing into the snow as the bulges rose.

The Japanese soldiers who weren't affected were shocked and, in the tremor, scrambled to move away.

But as they took a step, the cracked snow crust immediately trapped their feet, sinking them up to their thighs, causing the Japanese to fall face-first into the snow, even losing their guns.

"Help me!"

A soldier, like he was in quicksand, struggled in terror, reaching out to his companion, who was still mostly visible above the snow, for help.

But his companion couldn't help him. He was using all his strength to grab onto chunks of snow, trying in vain to crawl out of the snow pit, which felt like quicksand. The more he struggled, the faster the snow grains under his feet moved, and in a moment, he was swallowed by the snow.

"Save..."

A Japanese soldier, about to be completely buried, only managed to shout half a word before his mouth was filled with snow. His veins bulging, he struggled to grab something to pull himself out, but there was only snow around him. The once white snow now seemed like a giant beast with a gaping mouth, mercilessly swallowing him without even a burp.

"Let go!!!"

Not far away, a soldier kicked frantically, trying to crawl forward in terror. His foot was grabbed by a companion behind him, who wouldn't let go no matter how hard he kicked.

In the struggle, the soldier in front despaired as his body sank with the quicksand-like snow, slowly descending. The snow chunks he grabbed either crumbled into grains or were pressed into the soft, sandy snow.

"No!!"

He screamed in terror, his body sinking deeper into the quicksand-like snow. The snow covering his vision blocked his view of the foot, which was desperately kicking, only a foot away from his hand. In his desperation, his hand, fingers spread wide, quickly disappeared under the snow.

At the moment the explosion sounded, about five to six hundred meters away from the explosion site, Hu Zi, holding the binoculars, stared in shock, his breathing seemingly halted.

"Hu Zi! What's happening?"

Shunzi, anxious, whispered.

"They... they... are all dead..."

Hu Zi, shaken, murmured.

"All dead?!"

Shunzi quickly crawled to Hu Zi's side, peering ahead, but the drifting snow blocked his view, and he saw nothing.

Mazi, with an impatient temper, snatched the binoculars from Hu Zi and, mimicking Hu Zi, put his eye to the lens.

"Damn! Brother Dong is amazing!!"

Seeing the模糊的 Japanese soldiers struggling in the snow pit, Mazi shouted excitedly.

"Let me see!"

Mazi crawled over to grab the binoculars.

"Let me see too!"

Liu Hai also came over and said...

Shan Kou Heng'er, lucky to roll to the edge of the large pit, regained his senses and looked in horror at the scene before him. He saw soldiers struggling and sinking into the snow. The cries for help in the drifting snow made Shan Kou Heng'er even more hesitant to move. He shouted loudly, "Everyone, lie down! Spread your legs!!"

The surviving soldiers, either at the edge of the large pit or a bit further away, were about to get up to find a target. Hearing Shan Kou Heng'er's shout, they immediately realized the danger, spread their legs, and either lay or crouched, looking around for a target but not daring to move.

The cries for help suddenly stopped, and the area became quiet, with only the sound of the wind. In just a few seconds, the Japanese soldiers who had been trapped in the snow had all sunk and were buried under the snow, which was over ten meters deep.

But not all were swallowed. In the view of Shan Kou Heng'er and a few nearby soldiers, a corporal, with his hand outstretched and his head exposed, stood there, not daring to call for help. It seemed that his feet had touched solid ground or the bodies of his comrades.

"Unpack your backpacks! Give me the straps! Hurry!"

Seeing someone still exposed, Shan Kou Heng'er, while removing his command saber's scabbard, shouted.

A few nearby soldiers, hearing the shout, carefully removed their backpacks, quickly untied the straps, and threw them to Shan Kou Heng'er.

"Hold on!"

Shan Kou Heng'er caught the straps, tying them to the scabbard as he shouted.

The corporal's face showed relief, and the hope of survival made his outstretched hand tremble slightly.

The other soldiers who could see him held their breath, waiting for Shan Kou Heng'er to throw the rope. Those nearby had already started crawling towards Shan Kou Heng'er to help with the rescue.

Shan Kou Heng'er quickly connected several straps, swinging the scabbard like a lasso and throwing it with all his might. With a whoosh, the scabbard with the straps arced through the air and landed near the trapped corporal.

Seeing the life-saving rope, the corporal's eyes widened, and he reached out to grab the scabbard as it passed over his head. Just as his fingers touched the scabbard, his head wobbled, and before he could cry out, he disappeared, leaving the scabbard to land silently on the edge of the funnel of flowing snow, slowly tilting.

"Ah..."

The Japanese soldiers, who had been watching the rescue attempt, sighed in disappointment and lay on the snow in frustration.

"Damn!"

Another Japanese soldier, crawling towards Shan Kou Heng'er to help, punched the snow in anger.

"No!! Damn!!!"

Shan Kou Heng'er, lying on his back, roared in anger.

Before his shout had even finished, he saw a black dot flying towards him from the corner of his eye.

"What is that?!"

He shouted, puzzled.

Before his shout had even finished, the surrounding soldiers hadn't even seen what he was shouting about when, with a short whistling sound, the black dot landed about twenty to thirty meters away from him.

Boom!

In the explosion, a cloud of snow rose. In Shan Kou Heng'er's view, several soldiers at that location were lifted and then suddenly disappeared, as if they had never existed.

"It's artillery!"

Shan Kou Heng'er, no longer angry, shouted in terror, preparing to crawl away. But just then, more black dots flew from the same direction, and with a series of muffled explosions, they landed around him.

"Finished..."

As the snow beneath him trembled and the terrified cries rose, this thought flashed through Shan Kou Heng'er's mind.

The trembling of the snow made Shan Kou Heng'er's body sink, but only a few centimeters, and he didn't sink into the snow.

"Heaven protect me..." Feeling himself still on the surface of the snow, Shan Kou Heng'er rejoiced, praying to his god. He spread his arms, fingers spread, pressing them into the snow, and slowly exerted force to support his body, preparing to roll out of the softened area.

About two hundred meters from the explosion site, Dong Ku, with a white cloth on his head borrowed from Shunzi, locked onto a raised head through his scope. Staring at the terrified, helpless eyes, he steadily pulled the trigger. Smoke from the grenade launcher at the end of the barrel drifted in the wind as the barrel vibrated.

Just as Shan Kou Heng'er had rolled away from the softened area, he suddenly saw a nearby soldier's head explode. The head, bursting like a watermelon, shocked him. This was an ambush; they had been ambushed by regular troops!

"Leave here! We are under ambush!!"

Shan Kou Heng'er, gripping his command saber, shouted without looking for his pistol, and rolled back the way he came.

A few other lucky soldiers who hadn't fallen into the snow were still in a state of joy. Hearing their superior's order, they rolled down the slope without hesitation.

"Brother Dong Ku is truly a god!"

Liu Zhong, who had taken the binoculars from Liu Hai, sincerely exclaimed.

Before his words had even finished, he suddenly saw a figure rolling down the slope.

"Bad! The Japanese are trying to escape!!!"

Liu Zhong instinctively shouted.