Volume 1: First Battle Chapter 4: The 29th Army

  The battlefield should be cruel, this is a place where the weak are preyed upon by the strong from the very beginning, there is no room for mercy!

  A dozen soldiers, led by the officer, hastily ran to the warehouse. Without needing the officer's command, we knew what to do. Each of us pushed over a barrel of gasoline and rolled it out of the warehouse. With a series of clattering sounds, more than a dozen barrels of gasoline were lined up outside the warehouse in no time.

  "Pass down the order at once!" The officer grabbed a nearby signalman and said, "Tell the brothers to be smart and retreat according to the situation!"

  "Yes!" The messenger replied and grabbed his rifle before running towards the front line.

  However, at this time, it seems that there is no need to send orders through the communication officer, because the troops on the front line resisting the Japanese army have almost collapsed, and their retreat speed can be said to be withdrawing. In other words, the little devils are actually chasing after our soldiers...

  This is not to say that our soldiers are not brave enough, nor is it to say that they did not fight well. In fact, I am very clear that they have done their best. However, the gap in quality is a cruel reality, and Japan's pre-war preparations and training played a decisive role at this time.

  However, on the battlefield, the difference in quality is not the only factor that determines victory or defeat. I believe Little Japan will soon experience this.

  "Go!" With the officer's order, more than a dozen soldiers including me loosened the oil barrels in our hands, and more than a dozen gasoline barrels rolled down the slope with a clattering sound, getting faster and faster as they rolled down. A few even bounced high into the air after hitting rocks...

  At this time, I was a bit worried about our soldiers. After all, this barrel of gasoline weighed at least several hundred kilograms. If it hit them, even if they didn't die, they would be seriously injured. However, I soon discovered that my worry was unnecessary. The soldiers had received wind of the situation beforehand and were now facing us as we retreated. So when the oil barrels rolled down, they were well-prepared. They simply adjusted their retreat route slightly and easily avoided the rolling oil barrels.

  The Japanese army following behind them didn't have it so good, the Japanese army was originally chasing after our army from behind and with the vision being blocked by our soldiers they didn't notice those oil barrels at all, caught off guard they crashed right into those oil barrels...

  Although the Japanese military was of good quality, how could their flesh and blood withstand the crushing of those high-speed rolling oil barrels? The cries of agony rose in an instant, and the Japanese army's formation quickly became a mess. Those who were quick-witted were busy dodging the flying oil barrels, while those who were not agile enough were knocked to the ground with blood and flesh scattered everywhere.

  But what they didn't know was... their nightmare had just begun!

  In fact, I believe by then a considerable number of Japanese troops already knew what was waiting for them ahead!

  The Japanese are not fools, they of course know that the rolling down is an oil barrel, and of course they also know that the oil barrel contains gasoline and gasoline will catch fire, but they still choose to continue rushing forward instead of retreating.

  Perhaps some people can't understand why the Japanese army continued to advance despite knowing there was a risk to their lives, but I can understand their actions. The reason is very simple: they had not received an order to retreat!

  Orders were unchallengeable for the Japanese military, even if it meant paying with one's life.

  I once heard that a Japanese military officer was training soldiers to march in step, but because of the chatter around him, he forgot to give the command "Attention!" As a result, the entire squad marched off a cliff tens of meters high, suffering heavy casualties. Some of the injured even crawled back up and continued marching in step...

  This can certainly demonstrate the strict discipline of the Japanese army, but on the other hand, it seems to prove that they have lost their humanity and become thoughtless and selfless war machines!

  It is precisely because of this that my oil barrel plan achieved unprecedented success this time!

  "Fire!" With the officer's order, we who had long been ready immediately aimed at those oil barrels and pulled the trigger.

  What happened next can be imagined, with a series of deafening explosions, clusters of bright red flames burst open before our eyes. Groups of Japanese soldiers were blown into the air and then heavily fell back down into the raging fire.

  Wails rose and mournful cries filled the sky. The air was suddenly filled with the smell of gasoline and a burning odor.

  Each gasoline barrel exploded and splashed gasoline with flames to dozens of meters away, our eyes suddenly became a sea of fire, everywhere were Japanese soldiers who were on fire, running wildly in it, some rolled on the ground, some waved their arms and ran around, others jumped and ran, as if they wanted to escape from this sea of fire, but no matter how they ran, they couldn't escape the raging flames...

  The battle came to a halt at this moment, and both the Japanese army and ** stopped their movements in a daze, staring at the flames that blocked the two armies. Even the Japanese army's ferocity was intimidated by the hellish fire in front of them, and they didn't dare take another step forward. Our soldiers stood at one end of the flames, coldly watching the Japanese army being burned in the fire.

  No one shot at them, because no one wanted to give these beasts an early release; nor did anyone speak, because the warriors all wanted to quietly appreciate the downfall of these animals. Thinking about how arrogant those little Japanese were in their daily lives, thinking about how they treated our parents and fellow villagers, and looking at their miserable state now, there was a kind of unspeakable pleasure in our hearts...

  This is perhaps the cruel side of human nature. Even I, who used to be afraid when seeing dead people before, can now face such a scene without changing my expression.

  But the battlefield should be cruel, this is a place where the weak are eaten by the strong, and there is no room for mercy!

  As the shouting of the Japanese army in the flames became less and less, weaker and weaker, the other group of Japanese troops also retreated silently, leaving only the thunderous cheers of the soldiers.

  "Great job, Commander Xu!" Chi Pai Zhang, covered in blood, rushed to the front of Da Gai Mao with an arrow step and excitedly said: "Damn it! I didn't expect those little Japanese devils to be so fierce. I almost got taken down by them! Commander, luckily you had that trick with the fire-burning turtle shell armor, or else I'd have been done for..."

  "Chi Pai Chang! Don't thank me yet!" The big hat called Xu Lian Chang nodded at me and said: "Are these the soldiers under your command?"

  "What's wrong?" Chi Pai Zhang only noticed me beside him now, and after sizing me up from head to toe, his face suddenly turned cold: "How come you little brat don't have a single drop of blood on you? You're not trying to play truant, are you?! I won't let you off easy..."

  "Hey! Pool Long!" Seeing Pool Long was about to take action, Xu Lian Chang hurriedly stepped forward to stop him: "Pool Long, you need to change this hot temper of yours! He's a good soldier, and it was he who came up with the idea of using fire to burn the turtle shell armor!"

  "Hmm!" Chi Pai Chang was taken aback, then he heavily patted my shoulder and burst out laughing: "He's got guts!"

  As he spoke, he burst out laughing loudly with Xu Lianchang.

  I couldn't help but be taken aback by Pool's sudden change in behavior, he was just about to hit me a moment ago, but the next second he was treating me like his own brother. The stark contrast between before and after left me somewhat bewildered. But thinking about it, I also find it not surprising, this is probably the boldness of soldiers, they will love their comrades like brothers, but towards enemies or those who humiliate the unit's dignity, they will grit their teeth in hatred!

  "Hmm..." Just as Chi Pai Zhang and Xu Lian Zhang's laughter had yet to subside, a strange whistling sound came from the sky.

  Because of previous experience, this time I realized it was the Japanese devils' bombardment at the first moment, so I lay down in a shell hole without waiting for the company commander's order.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, wave after wave of shells soon exploded on our position, with an intensity that surpassed the previous bombardment, but for some reason, this time I felt only exhilaration and no fear.

  Later, I thought about it and I think there are two reasons. One is that I know the little devils can be defeated, although we are all new recruits, but we can still defeat their attack with our own strength; another reason is that I know this time the little ghosts fired artillery because they couldn't bear the shame of being defeated by us, a group of new recruits, and they used shells to vent their anger!

  I don't have any other hobbies, I just like to see my opponents get angry, because I think it's a very fulfilling thing to be able to make my opponents angry, best of all is to be so angry that they smoke from their seven orifices and hit the ground with their heads. Of course, if they cut their belly open, that would be even better! So now little Japan is the more I shoot cannons, the more I secretly laugh...

  But one thing is certain, the little Japanese had not many shells to spare, so the shelling became desultory after a few minutes, and they perhaps feared we might try another oil-drum stunt, for they did not again attack our camp.

  "Little brother! Here..." The sound of the cannon grew faint, and Chi Pai Zhang crouched down and ran to my side, handing me a large iron knife, saying: "This was given to me by the company commander to deliver to you..."

  "A big knife?" I was somewhat puzzled, is this thing still useful in an era with guns?

  "This is the tradition of our 29th Army!" Chi Pai Zhang explained with a red face: "Commander Xu asked me to give you this knife, which means acknowledging that you are one of us in the 29th Army..."

  "What? You're soldiers from the 29th Army?" Upon hearing this, I was shocked and suddenly remembered that Chi Pai Zhang had told me before that this place was Nan Yuan, and the unit I belonged to was still a military training regiment... My whole body turned cold and my mouth was agape for half a day, unable to close.