Chapter 25

The Japanese soldiers were herding pigs, cattle, and sheep towards Hu Hao. There was no other way for the animals to go; this was the only path!

"Boom!" The pigs, cattle, and sheep flew through the air. But the animals were smart; they knew it was dangerous ahead and safer to run back. So all the pigs, cattle, and sheep turned around and rushed back.

"Damn it, shoot quickly, make those animals run forward," a Japanese lieutenant colonel said.

"Rat-tat-tat" The machine gun fired. The lieutenant colonel kicked the machine gunner far away. He was about to say not to shoot the animals, just scare them, when a voice shouted, "Lieutenant Colonel, be careful!" The lieutenant colonel just raised his head when he suddenly flew up, as a cow galloped past beneath him.

As soon as the lieutenant colonel landed, the cows, pigs, and sheep all trampled over him.

"Quick, shoot, kill those animals," the officer behind shouted. There was no choice; the pigs, cattle, and sheep were all heading for the military camp.

The camp was now in chaos. The pigs, cattle, and sheep were rampaging inside. The Japanese couldn't shoot; they might hurt their own men. They could only try to drive the animals away, but the frightened animals were not easy to drive. The pigs and sheep were manageable; at worst, they would fall and break a few bones.

But the cows were different; if they collided, it would be fatal.

"Damn it, kill those cows, shoot," a major general shouted when he saw many soldiers being knocked down by the cows.

After more than half an hour, the Japanese finally managed to kill all the animals. The entire camp was in disarray, with tents knocked over and holes everywhere.

"Who the hell came up with this stupid idea? If I find out, I'll shoot him," the major general, who had his arm in a sling, said. A cow had come by, and he had fallen and broken his arm while trying to avoid it.

"Commander, what should we do now? We can't break through the minefield, and the higher-ups are pressing us. The 20th Division is already engaged with the Eighth Route Army, and the casualties are heavy," a colonel beside him said.

"Let the lieutenant general figure it out. I can't send my men to their deaths," Major General Sakai said.

"Commander, the lieutenant general is looking for you," a communications soldier came over.

Major General Sakai went to see Lieutenant General Doihara. "Commander, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, you're injured. What happened?" Doihara asked.

"It was those animals. I want to know who came up with this stupid idea. If I find out, I'll skin him. Many of my men are injured now," Major General Sakai said.

Beside him, the chief of staff, Colonel Sano, blushed.

"This was an accident. We planned to use the animals to charge through, but we didn't expect the mines to make them all run back," Doihara said.

"Commander, what do you need me for?" Major General Sakai asked.

"Well, the 20th Division is in great danger, surrounded in a narrow area of less than 20 kilometers. They are already engaged with the Eighth Route Army, and the casualties are heavy. We must break through the Eighth Route Army's defenses and rescue the 20th Division," Doihara said.

"So, we need your regiment to lead the charge. The 27th Regiment has suffered heavy losses, and your 15th Regiment has also lost about 400 men today, but your combat strength is still intact. I want to assign this task to your regiment."

"What? Sir, you want us to step on mines again? We barely made it 200 meters last time and lost more than 400 men in less than half an hour. It's still 40 kilometers to the Eighth Route Army's base. Even if we put our entire regiment in, it wouldn't be enough," Major General Sakai said, agitated.

"Don't get excited. I plan to use tanks to clear the way, and you just follow behind. I don't think there are many mines on the main road, so just stay on it. Only tanks can pass this road now," Doihara said.

"Alright, but if my regiment suffers too many losses, please replace me," Major General Sakai said, bowing.

Wang Wankai finished reading the joke and was bored, staying inside the shelter. It was snowing outside and quite cold, so Hu Hao didn't want to go out, as it would bring snow back and make the shelter wet, making him uncomfortable.

Rumble, rumble. Suddenly, the sound of engines came. Hu Hao immediately poked his head out to look. There were about seven or eight tanks in front of the Japanese, followed by a long column.

"Are you kidding me, Japanese? You're being too generous, giving me tanks to blow up. Alright, I'll take this gift," Hu Hao thought. He couldn't stay in the shelter anymore, knowing the Japanese were coming with tanks. If he fired, the Japanese could blast him with a tank shell, leaving nothing left.

After passing through several shelters, Hu Hao retreated at least a kilometer and found a good position to hide. On his way back, he heard a few explosions but didn't have time to check.

"Hehe, Japanese, three tanks are out of commission. I wonder how many more you have for me to blow up," Hu Hao saw through the sniper scope that three Japanese tanks had been pushed to the side of the road and were smoking. He guessed no one inside had survived.

The Japanese tanks continued forward. "Boom!" A dull explosion shook the ground. The lead tank was also out of commission, with black smoke pouring out.

Hu Hao thought the Japanese would push the tank aside, but unexpectedly, the tanks stopped moving forward.

"What's going on? Out of fuel? That can't be, they just started!" Hu Hao wondered.

Suddenly, the Japanese tanks started to reverse.

"Huh, why are they reversing? Are they not coming forward?"

Hu Hao was puzzled. He had only blown up four tanks, and they were already retreating. Wasn't this demoralizing?

"Japanese, are you messing with me? I just retreated, and now you're not coming? Do you know I didn't even have breakfast? It's already noon, and the food hasn't arrived. Are you playing with me?"

Actually, the Japanese tank crews had no choice. They had lost four tanks in less than a kilometer. No one knew how many more mines were on the road. The entire division only had eight tanks, and today, every tank that hit a mine had no survivors.

War involves sacrifices, but knowingly sending men to their deaths is foolish. So the Japanese tank crews refused to continue. "What, you want us to clear the mines? We are among the few tank crews in the empire. You can't just push us to the front to die."

So the Japanese tank crews immediately turned around and drove back. A colonel kicked the tanks, trying to make them move forward, but they ignored him.

"You're just messing with me, Japanese!"