Chapter 13: Ruthless Pursuit and Slaughter

  A mere thirty or forty soldiers, with only one MG42 and a few rifles and submachine guns, were to hold off more than ten Soviet tanks. This sounded like a fairy tale. Crouching on the damp earth, Linen looked at the "sand" in his hand, its maximum range was 200m. When those T-34s advanced within 200 meters, would he and his comrades around him still be alive?

  As he thought of this, he took off the Mauser rifle with only four bullets left from his back and slung the "sand" gun belt diagonally between his left shoulder and right waist. The effective range of the Mauser rifle was more than twice that of the Soviet-made submachine gun, but it still could not pose any threat to the approaching Soviet tanks. At this time, a German officer took out a glass bottle from his backpack, which contained a light yellow-green liquid. He quickly unscrewed the metal cap on the bottle mouth, sprinkled some of the liquid onto a piece of cloth, then stuffed the cloth into the bottle mouth, leaving only a small part outside. The Soviet tanks were still over 1,000 meters away, and even the strongest man in the world could not throw an ordinary bottle that far. However, the officer still threw the bottle with all his might towards the front - taking advantage of the slight height of the hill, it flew nearly 50 meters before shattering on impact, and a flame burst out instantly!

  In an instant, another big ear along steel helmet also threw out a similar burning bottle, one after another two groups of fire on the ground were raging, although the fire was fierce, but anyone with common sense knew that only gasoline could not burn for long. Lin En also saw it at this time, the German soldiers' move was to intimidate the other side: Don't think we can't do anything to you, look, these Molotov cocktails are enough for you to drink a pot of.

  Ancient war elephants were most afraid of fire, and the Soviet tanks could indeed fearlessly drive over these two burning lands, but they had to beware of the Molotov cocktails that German soldiers held in their hands at any time. The leading tank did not slow down noticeably, but several behind it stopped simultaneously, carefully aiming and firing continuously with tank guns at the positions where German soldiers were located. Suddenly, flames flashed and shrapnel flew on the small hill.

  The high-explosive shell that fell nearby let out a deafening roar when it exploded, and even with his mouth agape, Lynn could only slightly alleviate the shock to his eardrums - the rock music in the bar was already stimulating enough, but the sonic boom here was probably more than ten times stronger! The ground was also shaking along with the explosion, and Lynn felt as if he was lying on a trampoline, every time someone jumped up or fell down on the other side, his body would experience a corresponding bounce, and this shockwave came so fiercely that in an instant, it made his internal organs churn and his joints ache.

  The temporary earth mound, although having a high and low momentum, can slightly resist the direct shooting of bullets, but has no sheltering effect on the shells that fall nearby. In just a few moments, several soldiers were blown up, and the number of wounded was temporarily uncertain. But if this continues, in less than ten minutes, these people will be wiped out!

  As they approached the start of the incline, the lead Soviet tanks finally slowed down their advance, pounding targets less than a thousand meters away. The barrels on their turrets were almost pressed downwards, and the onboard machine guns began firing as well. A string of bullets instantly sent snowflakes and mud flying on the hillside. In this situation, the sergeant who had previously ordered them to defend in place finally shouted out new orders. Lin could not understand - his ears were also unclear, and he was dazed and waiting for death when he suddenly felt the rifle strap on his back being grabbed by someone with great force. It turned out to be "Butcher"! Under his beckoning gesture, several other soldiers from the same combat unit also stood up and crouched down to run backwards.

  Just a few steps into the run, a shell whizzed by, and the massive impact sent Lin En flying like he had been tackled by a strong football player. He lost his balance and fell out about a meter away. Luckily, another soldier with a big earlobe helmet came from behind and helped him up, allowing him to barely keep up with his comrades' pace. With his head down and waist bent in an awkward posture, he sprinted for dozens of meters before hastily turning back. Most soldiers had already retreated, leaving only the last few on the hill using weak firepower to slow down the Soviet tanks. This was a display of fearless fighting spirit!

  At this moment, Lin En's heart was filled with a sour feeling: the best team may not necessarily win the championship, and it is also true on the battlefield.

  At the normal cross-country speed of the T-34, even when climbing a gentle slope, it would take at most two minutes to cover a distance of one thousand meters. However, after Lynn and his men left the hill, they ran for four or five minutes before the shells came crashing down again. Turning back to look, the hill was already in the hands of the Soviet tanks.

  The university's 1,000-meter test, Lin En had to give it his all just to finish with a little over four minutes, and now he was carrying a heavy load of firearms equipment, his body extremely fatigued. Yet, in the same amount of time, he had run seven or eight hundred meters. It seemed that fighting for survival could indeed tap into the human body's hidden potential to a great extent. However, this distance was still not enough to save his life. The Soviet tank's cannon fire had decreased somewhat, but the DT machine gun (a tank version of the Degtyaryov light machine gun) was still roaring behind him, its 7.62mm bullets having an effective range of 800 meters, capable of causing direct harm to the human body at this distance when firing in bursts at a group target. As a result, Lin En's ears were filled with the whizzing sound of bullets flying by, his eyes saw the muddy water splashing up from the ground where bullets hit, and out of the corner of his eye, he kept catching glimpses of soldiers in steel helmets falling to the ground after being shot. Although the situation was completely different, Lin En suddenly felt that his fate was not fundamentally different from that of the Soviet prisoners of war who had been shot earlier - the only difference being that this time the bullets were coming from behind him.

  At full speed, Lin En had already made mental preparations to be hit by a bullet at any time. Another ten seconds passed, and the number of people around him continued to decrease, but the bullets still hadn't found their mark. Suddenly, a soldier running in front of him, who was also from the same combat unit, was shot in the leg. He let out a loud cry as he fell forward. The "Butcher", who had been running behind him, quickly ran over to help him up. In the face of life-threatening danger and concern for his comrade's safety, Lin En had initially intended to prioritize the former, but the "Butcher"'s actions instantly changed his mind. Switching his Mauser rifle to his left hand, he supported his injured comrade with his right arm, and together they managed to keep up with their retreating comrades, albeit at a slow pace, as one of them hopped on one leg after being shot. By this time, there were fewer than twenty soldiers bringing up the rear!

  After descending the hill, the sandy path turned northwest and extended for about 5 kilometers to a small village. Lin En had been running with his head down all along and hadn't had time to observe carefully. As he supported his injured companion and moved forward, he raised his head and looked straight ahead. He strained his eyes to look forward and was surprised to find that the village was surrounded by defensive fortifications, and on top of a pointed house in the village, a German flag was still fluttering! Having finally seen hope, Lin En's heart was filled with joy, but at this moment, the Soviet tank fire suddenly became fierce, apparently determined to wipe out the remaining dozen or so German soldiers during their retreat.

  "Hurry, hurry!" Lin En squeezed out the familiar words from his lips. Not to mention that the people around him couldn't understand, the loud explosions of the shells had greatly reduced people's hearing sensitivity. The soldier being supported could only hop on one leg, and the wound hadn't been treated at all, he was already exhausted. His pale face was bloodless, but his eyes were still full of longing for survival. "Butcher"'s physique was robust, but he was half a head shorter than Lin En. At this time, most of the wounded man's weight was on him, in this harsh winter, his face was red and sweaty, with sweat dripping down his hair and neck, and those large leather boots left deep footprints with every step.

  Lynn's situation was no better, his legs were like lead, and he had to carry the weight of his companion's arm on his shoulder. He felt that he couldn't hold on for another moment. As they approached the village, they could even see people wearing helmets with earflaps waiting for them in the trenches. Lynn gritted his teeth, driven by an unprecedented willpower, forcing his arms to move and his legs to stride forward. However, a wicked shell whizzed in, landing less than ten meters away from his left side, and a scorching blast slammed into them, sending all three tumbling backward despite their efforts to resist.

  At the moment when he heavily fell to the ground, Lin En had only one thought in his mind: Has my WWII journey come to an end, God?

  Dizzy ears have endless ringing.

  Another shell came, seemingly falling closer, and the world in front of Lin's eyes shook violently, as if space had already distorted. Large and small clods of mud burst forth like fireworks in the night sky, dispersing in beautiful parabolic curves. In an instant, his head slightly cleared up, and Lin suddenly felt a tearing pain in his left arm. At first, he thought it was shrapnel wound, but the persistent feeling didn't seem to be a big wound, so he knew it might just be the previous wound bursting open again.

  With difficulty, he turned his head to the left and saw that "Butcher" and the wounded comrade were still moving. He then turned his head to the right, where the T-34s in view were like toy-sized, with over a dozen vehicles advancing towards them from front and back. The leading vehicles' machine guns flashed as they fired, and the slightly raised cannon mouths occasionally spat out a cluster of black smoke. The whistling sound of the shells cutting through the air arrived instantly, landing on the side closer to the village.

  This terrible scene made Lin feel hopeless, he lay on his back, the sky was so blue, the clouds were so white, as if they had not been stained by the flames of war at all. The spirit of his comrades in arms who did not abandon each other in desperate situations was like a ray of sunshine that fell through the gap between the dark clouds, allowing him to end this unexpected journey with some comfort. Suddenly, he remembered a heroic phrase from an Israeli of his time:

  Even if the whole world has abandoned us, we will never abandon our own people!