Chapter 21

Hu Hao rested there for more than an hour without seeing any movement from the Japanese. Now, the Japanese mine-clearing soldiers dared not clear mines anymore. They swept for a long time without finding any, and they might step on one themselves; who could bear it? Their mine-clearing soldiers were not mine-stepping soldiers.

Lieutenant Colonel Hei Yu was waiting for news from the regiment, but there was no news from there. He didn't know what the higher-ups were thinking. Was he supposed to just wait here? There were still tens of thousands of troops waiting to pass through behind him.

Finally, the command vehicle that left in the morning came back, and Major General Guan Yu got out.

"Baka, why haven't you passed through yet? The division commander is already angry. If you can't pass through, you'll have to commit seppuku," Major General Guan Yu said to Lieutenant Colonel Hei Yu.

"Sir, the mine-clearing soldiers don't dare to go forward now. The previous mine-clearing squad leader was blown up by a landmine," Lieutenant Colonel Hei Yu said, bowing his head.

"Nani? They don't dare to go forward? What's going on?" Guan Yu asked.

"Yes, sir. The mine-clearing soldiers swept several times without finding any mines, but a soldier accidentally stepped on one, causing an explosion. Eight mine-clearing soldiers died, and thirteen were injured, including the squad leader," Lieutenant Colonel Hei Yu said.

"Baka, you fool. The Eighth Route Army didn't bury many mines here. This is a feint from Sun Tzu's Art of War. You should organize your troops and pass through quickly," Guan Yu scolded.

"Hai, sir, but what about our vehicles and artillery? The road is already destroyed, and they can't pass through," the lieutenant colonel asked.

"Leave them here, send troops to guard them, and wait for the engineers to repair the road. Now, organize your troops and move out."

"Hai, sir, you are wise." The lieutenant colonel said and went back to organize his troops.

"Hmm, the Japanese are trying to come through," Hu Hao said to himself as he saw the Japanese organizing their troops.

"Are you kidding, little Japanese? Do you think your lives are too long? Well, your lives are short anyway, so come on," Hu Hao said.

The Japanese had barely moved 100 meters when a landmine was triggered. With a loud boom, several Japanese soldiers were thrown into the air, and a large number fell to the ground. Many Japanese soldiers were now lying on the ground, not daring to move.

"Sir, the Eighth Route Army still has landmines," the lieutenant colonel ran to the major general and said.

"Baka, I see that. The Eighth Route Army doesn't have many landmines left. Have your soldiers spread out and pass through. Spread out. The Eighth Route Army doesn't have many landmines. We must reach the Eighth Route Army's base by nightfall," the major general said.

"Continue forward, spread out," the lieutenant colonel shouted in the middle of the formation.

The Japanese stood up, reorganized their troops, and continued forward.

"Boom" Less than 50 meters later, another landmine was triggered. However, this landmine only had a Japanese hand grenade, so it didn't kill many. Lieutenant Colonel Hei Yu ran forward to look. "Baka, cunning Eighth Route Army. Now, advance at full speed. The Eighth Route Army doesn't have many landmines," the lieutenant colonel shouted.

The Japanese began to accelerate and were about to enter Hu Hao's firing range. As soon as the Japanese entered Hu Hao's range, he started shooting.

"Bang" Hu Hao pulled the trigger, and a soldier in front fell. The Japanese reacted quickly, immediately finding cover and shooting at Hu Hao. This was exactly what Hu Hao wanted.

"Boom" "Boom" "Boom"

Several consecutive explosions left the Japanese not knowing where to hide.

"Hehe, Japanese, do you know the power of grandpa? I'll see how you can charge now," Hu Hao laughed.

The Japanese began to counterattack slowly, but the range was too far, and Hu Hao was well hidden. The Japanese were just shooting in this direction, while Hu Hao kept shooting. As long as they were within his range, he wouldn't let them go.

Lieutenant Colonel Hei Yu crouched by the roadside, his right hand injured by shrapnel from the explosion.

"Baka, shoot in that direction," Lieutenant Colonel Hei Yu pointed at Hu Hao and shouted.

The Japanese began to counterattack in an organized manner, but Hu Hao was not afraid. To hit him, one needed a very good gun, excellent marksmanship, and a lot of luck. It was difficult for the Japanese to hit him.

Hu Hao kept shooting and reloading. Seeing his soldiers die one after another, Lieutenant Colonel Hei Yu was furious and shouted, "Men, charge in that direction."

The Japanese soldiers, hearing this, began to crouch and charge toward Hu Hao. Before they had walked 10 meters, a landmine exploded, turning them into pieces.

Lieutenant Colonel Hei Yu saw that this wouldn't work and ordered, "Fall back, all fall back."

Falling back was the right move, but many soldiers didn't use the main road; they retreated on the sides, triggering many landmines. Many of Hu Hao's landmines on the main road were actually buried on the sides. This made the retreating Japanese suffer greatly.

"Boom, boom, boom..." Explosions continued, and the retreating Japanese didn't know which direction to go. Out of the 400 to 500 Japanese who entered, only about 200 were left after the landmine explosions. Unfortunately, Lieutenant Colonel Hei Yu was also killed by a landmine.

The retreating Japanese stopped at their starting point, and many injured Japanese were groaning on the sides of the road. Hu Hao didn't let them go; as long as they were Japanese, killing them was a merit.

Hu Hao now focused on killing the injured who were moving. As long as they moved, Hu Hao aimed and shot. The farther away, the harder it was to hit.

"Baka, cunning Eighth Route Army," Major General Guan Yu walked back and forth, thinking of a plan.

Hu Hao didn't care and continued to kill the injured Japanese. He had plenty of bullets, and if he ran out, he could get more from Platoon Leader Li.

"Er Lengzi is too fierce. Look, hundreds more are dead. If we keep fighting like this, the Japanese won't even reach our defenses before they are almost all gone," a soldier next to Platoon Leader Li said.

"Yes, but the Japanese will probably come up with a plan to stop Er Lengzi. Go back and get some bullets from the regiment. The bullets Er Lengzi brought this morning are almost used up," Platoon Leader Li said.

"Okay," the soldier said and walked back. Platoon Leader Li was still watching Hu Hao and the Japanese from a small hill.

Major General Guan Yu had walked many circles and said to a lieutenant colonel beside him, "Captain Jing Tian, you will temporarily take command of the 59th Regiment. Their regimental commander and chief of staff have been killed. Take charge for now."

"Hai, thank you, sir," the lieutenant colonel said.

"Jing Tian, I now order you to form your regiment's artillery squad and bombard the entire road," Major General Guan Yu said.

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