Chapter Eighteen: Pursuit

  That is to say, their casualties were not very heavy, otherwise they should not have had enough manpower to take away the bodies. It seems that the commander of this battle was a well-trained officer. Inoue stared at the bullet shells on the ground and began to think, wondering if it was a hasty battle or a deliberate smoke screen, as there were no shell casings taken away from the scene, which made Inoue unable to determine for a while. Inoue waved his hand and called over a team of Japanese soldiers, several wolf dogs started sniffing along the bloodstains, two small teams of devils were dispatched to assist Inoue in tracking down, and another battalion of puppet troops was led by Ma Yi, who was personally appointed by Mei Da. Since Ma Yi gained Mei's recognition as a traitor in Tongluo Village, he had received many benefits, and this time he was even assigned to assist Inoue in tracking down the rebels, which made Ma Yi feel so grateful to Mei that he almost became his reborn father, under the envious eyes of everyone, Ma Yi led the puppet troops with his team following Inoue's departure.

  Mei Huan-yu smiled secretly, "This little ant is indeed born to eat this bowl of rice." Let him exercise and it's good, so as not to always have to show up himself. This way, some difficult and dangerous things can be handed over to him in the future, which can avoid danger and appear to promote subordinates. If successful, there will be his own credit; if failed, it is just a matter of misusing people. It's much better than working hard to death and being scolded by others. Mei Da Hanjian's family secret method was indeed performed perfectly. Under the gaze of everyone's admiration, Mei Huan-yu turned his head towards the night sky.

  The starlight twinkles, and the light that was emitted billions of years ago finally arrives on this planet, making the lonely night even more mysterious and quiet.

  The team led by Inamura followed behind the wolf dogs, which were specially raised and trained to track down enemy trails. They were fed with Chinese blood and flesh at ordinary times, and they were very intelligent and sensitive. They had found the dens of the bandits many times before. This time, he was transferred to Tongcheng and brought them all together on purpose. Tonight, they hadn't been fed yet, and the wolf dogs were frantically tracking the smell. In their experience, as long as they caught up with those delicious meats, they could tear them down from the living bodies. This made them extremely excited, and they also led the team of devils and puppet soldiers to hastily track forward.

  The road was winding and tortuous, as if the rebels had deliberately chosen a difficult path for pedestrians to hide their tracks. Inamura frowned, this road didn't seem like their trail, the fallen grass and trees on the road showed that many people had disappeared in front, seemingly scattered and escaped. But the wolf dog's tracking seemed to be following only one person's trail, what was the reason? Inamura suddenly waved his hand to stop several Japanese soldiers who were pulling the wolf dogs, but one of the wolf dogs suddenly broke free from its restraints and rushed forward frantically. Inamura was shocked, and hurriedly ordered the Japanese army to stop their actions. Before he had even finished speaking, a huge explosion sounded from the front, and the wolf dog let out a mournful cry before falling silent. The people in front were terrified, if it hadn't been for Lieutenant Inamura's quick thinking, it wouldn't have been just the wolf dog that died. Several people looked at each other, all of them filled with respect for this lieutenant.

  A former engineer soldier of the Japanese army carefully approached the grass thicket in front with a mine detector he carried with him. Inoue's ability to have no place where he could not go and his collection of various talents were not unrelated, these people played an important role in dealing with the rioters, now they once again showed their effect. The engineer carefully extracted a tripwire from the grass thicket, and then swept out another landmine.

  Looking at the dark landmine in front of him, Ma Yi's forehead was covered with cold sweat. Just now, he had tried his best to run ahead to show his loyalty, but unfortunately, his physical strength was no match for the Japanese soldiers who had been trained since childhood, so he had no choice but to follow behind. The scene before him once again reminded him of the cruelty of the battlefield. Seeing the situation in front of him, he couldn't help but think that Commander Mei would definitely be careful and follow from behind if he were in this situation, and would never try to rush forward like himself. It seemed that he could never surpass his superior after all.

  Inamura was also astonished, the fleeing rebels were able to set up a decoy array and scatter while retreating, and even set up a trap. The experience of this team made him take a big surprise, if it weren't for the wolf dogs not being fed and behaving abnormally, I'm afraid the front half of the team would have been wiped out by now. He himself might have been seriously injured.

  Everyone cautiously held their guns and slowly approached the explosion site. The wolf dog had disappeared, and on the ground were scattered parts that were once a wolf dog. It was hard to believe that this was once a lively and intelligent wolf dog. Igamura felt a pang in his heart. This wolf dog, Pureichiro, which was blown up, was raised by him since he was a child, with deep feelings. This time, it was actually blown up by the cunning Chinese bandits. It had saved his life.

  But now is not the time to grieve, let's catch the culprit and mourn later. Dear Junichiro, may your spirit in heaven not wander far away. Ikemura wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes, turned around and led the crowd to continue tracking down. Indeed, a mound of freshly dug earth appeared before their eyes, as if someone had hastily buried something. However, no one dared to make any rash moves this time, who knows what might be buried inside?

  It's better to let the engineers do it, but this time they were disappointed. There were no booby traps inside, only some mutilated corpses that seemed to have died recently. The remaining physical characteristics clearly indicated that they were Chinese people, and the clothes they wore confirmed this point. Moreover, the calluses on their fingers proved that these should be the remnants of the party that attacked the Japanese military convoy earlier. Looking at the bodies in front of him, Ikemura's heart was filled with anger. It was their flesh and blood that made Jun'ichirō go crazy and run forward, resulting in triggering a landmine. In his rage, he grabbed a rifle from a Japanese soldier and stabbed the corpses wildly until the splattered flesh hit his face and he came to his senses. The surrounding Japanese soldiers turned their heads away, unsure whether they were afraid of sympathizing with the corpses or worried that this seemingly abnormal officer would give them a knife.

  Inamura let out a burst of laughter and then returned to normal. The group continued to track, but it was clear that he would be disappointed. Not far away, a small river wound its way through the landscape, and the scent of the rebels had disappeared. It seemed that the rebel commander who led the team had also considered this and had left a retreat route here in advance. Inamura became more and more interested in this opponent. He ordered his men to bring back the bodies of the rebels, including the one he had pierced through, and fed them to several wolf dogs. Watching them devour the corpses with excitement, Inamura felt a thrill of pleasure. Several puppet soldiers quietly lowered their heads, unsure whether they were mourning for their comrades or feeling a sense of tragic fate. However, it seemed that they would still have to be the ones to carry the bodies.