Chapter Twenty: Crushing Defeat

  The Japanese reinforcements arrived quickly, but the Chinese army seemed to have suddenly taken stimulants and were harassing them everywhere with small units. The devils rushing to reinforce the No. 1 sentry post called by You Fei would occasionally be shot down by snipers on the side of the road. When they rushed to the place where the sniper fired, there was no one there without exception. If you don't pay attention to these harassment teams, the Japanese soldiers who were advancing were shot down and almost none of them could get up again. Suffering such unnecessary losses was also unacceptable for the Japanese officers.

  Three directions of devils reinforcements, almost crawling on the ground marching, snail-like walked for half an hour, only went out more than a mile.

  Scattered gunfire continued to ring out.

  Yóu Fēi led the stout and strong Shàng to the last part of the crowd, where the fleeing people had spread out in a loose, giant fan shape across the fields. Originally, they had agreed to pass through Checkpoint No. 1 within half an hour, but that time had passed, and although the soldiers had attracted the enemy's attention, there were still over a thousand refugees who hadn't made it through. At this point, could Yóu Fēi give the order to retreat according to plan? That would have meant sending those thousands of people to their deaths. All Yóu Fēi could do was watch as the enemy emerged, about to catch up with them.

  "Let's go! We're going to help our brothers out! If we can't, then I'll die right here!" You Fei said to the people beside him.

  The highest commander of the Japanese army who came to support the attacked outpost was none other than the bean bridge squadron leader who had his hat knocked off by Zhang Mingshan in Lukou Town. He also discovered through binoculars that the civilians were fleeing towards the direction of the outpost, but unfortunately, his pursuing troops just couldn't speed up, and it seemed impossible to use machine guns to sweep away this group of Chinese people like he did in Lukou. Bean bridge thought that continuing like this was not a solution, as they clearly couldn't see any large-scale Chinese army, yet they couldn't avoid those crazy attacks that were like mosquito bites. After crawling on the ground for half an hour, Bean bridge suddenly had an idea, and with a sinister grin, he said: "We retreat. Yes, all troops coming to support from the west will retreat two kilometers to assemble."

  "Got it!" The orderly took his orders and went off to inform them.

  You Fei had just rushed to a low hill near the Japanese army, and found that the Japanese army was retreating. He Tianhao and several Lie Feng's men came over: "Big brother! The devils have retreated!"

  "Good! He's using a cannon to shoot mosquitoes, what a waste of energy! Let the villagers hurry up and leave. We can't stay here for long!"

  "Yes!"

  "Be careful! Don't be careless, you and a few brothers go to monitor the movements of those bastards. The devils won't let it go like this, use your brain, can't you see what kind of tricks they're playing?"

  "Haha! Big brother, I don't know either! Let me go take a look first!"

  "Uh! Be careful of ambushes, don't get too close!"

  You Fei returned to the occupied Devil's Peak outpost from the front line, feeling uneasy in his heart. The iron wire blocking the road had been moved away long ago, but the crawling crowd couldn't speed up no matter what. You Fei couldn't help but lend a hand to a person who was slowly moving at the front of the crowd to carry his oversized package. The man said with a strange expression: "No need! No need!" You Fei angrily said: "Still thinking about politeness, your life is almost gone." He took the large package in his hands.

  With a stumble, the weight of the bundle almost brought You Fei to the ground. He used all his strength to steady himself and then moved forward, not much faster than the other man. Glancing at the somewhat frail owner of the bundle, You Fei curled his lip and didn't even bother to guess what was inside. He handed the bundle back over the checkpoint to the man, shook his head, and sighed at the slow-moving crowd behind him. Now that he thought about it, those who were moving slowly were all carrying too much stuff. If they let the soldiers force the civilians to throw away their belongings, wouldn't that be just like the bandits? The devils hadn't caught up yet, so he'd follow them for now.

  The development of the situation didn't give You Fei much time to sigh, He Tianhao hastily rushed over: "Big brother, the devils haven't retreated far, but instead concentrated and went around to the east. What's strange is that they're not rushing to charge over, but rather letting some people wear those pig-nose clothes, slowly approaching us!"

  "So strange?" You Fei said, looking eastward, where a gentle breeze with a hint of coolness was blowing.

  The leader of the Tofu Squad was now flying far away from You Fei, holding a telescope to observe You Fei in the crowd. "Hmph! The Chinese have no idea how formidable the Imperial Japanese Army's gas soldiers are. It's a pity that those fools at the sentry post left them with weapons to deal with large crowds, and they wasted them for nothing. So, let me fulfill their wish!"

  Tofu completely believed that all the Japanese soldiers in the guardhouse had been summoned by their Empress Amaterasu, so it was impossible for any prisoners to appear. There hadn't been enough time to use poison gas, and the reason must have been that there wasn't enough time to use it. Therefore, fulfilling his "last wish" also became a good reason for Captain Tofu to use poison gas.

  A faint yellow mist spread out with the gentle breeze. This kind of weather is really suitable for the use of poisonous gas! Even long-range poison gas bombs are not needed, iron canisters of poison gas can be used completely.

  Yu Fei looked towards the east and saw that eerie layer of fog. From a distance, people who came into contact with the fog started coughing violently, then fell to the ground, struggling in agony.

  "Damn! It's toxic gas!"

  "Quickly into the bunker!" He Tianhao pulled Yu Fei, and they drilled into the bunker. He Tianhao took out those suits with pig noses, checked them roughly, and put one on. "Big brother! Light a cigarette for me to smell! Quick!"

  Yu Fei took out a cigarette and lit it, placing it in front of the pig nose mask on He Tianhao's face. He Tianhao took a deep breath and shouted: "Damn! That's it! Put it on quickly! This pig nose blocks all the smells from outside!"

  You Fei couldn't help but praise He Tianhao's quick thinking, jumping to the entrance of the bunker and shouting to the soldiers: "Gather the whole company, everyone here come over. Change clothes, go and take down those little devils who released toxic gas."

  A dozen or so soldiers rushed over, but there were not enough protective suits. You Fei didn't even keep one for himself and instead prioritized the members of the Lie Feng squad to wear them. "You guys go and take care of those poisonous devils! Bury the iron cans with poison in the ground! The lives of thousands are counting on you!"

  "Dragon! Leave one set for you!"

  "Damn it! Still dawdling. I have a way to deal with this poisonous gas. You guys hurry up and leave. Shout loudly when you go out, so the matchmaking ones can avoid it."

  "Yes!" He Tianhao responded, rushing out first. In fact, there was no need to call out to the villagers, they heard the coughing and struggling sounds, saw the effect of the toxic gas, and panicked, running wildly. Shouting anything was useless now.

  Just now when I saw the poisonous gas, You Fei noticed this inhumane thing, and when crossing the earth mound, it floated slightly upwards. Based on this, You Fei inferred that the poisonous gas was relatively light, and hiding in the lower part of the bunker should be able to avoid it. He gathered the nearby soldiers and had them block the holes at the bottom of the bunker with objects. You Fei and the soldiers, as well as two sharp-eyed old villagers, crouched at the bottom of the bunker, waiting quietly.

  "Hey, don't worry, the enemy's gas masks are limited. We can just leave it to Liefeng Squad outside. Let's all stay still and wait for the gas to pass. It's not too strong, it'll dissipate soon."

  The bunker was built hastily, the walls around it were strong enough but there was no cover on top. The coughing sounds and cries of those who had been infected outside grew closer and closer, everyone inside the bunker looked nervously at the patch of blue sky above their heads.

  A faint yellow mist drifted over, driven by the wind, and sank into the bunker more than half a foot before coming to a standstill. Everyone was silent, staring at the floating specter above their heads.

  Death is so near.

  You Fei also slowed down his breathing, afraid of startling the god of death hidden in the light yellow mist.

  The shouting of people outside lasted for about five minutes, but to those in the air-raid shelter, it seemed like five years. Under the invisible pressure above their heads, they didn't even dare to move.

  The gunshot sounded and had already become very faint by the time it reached here.

  The German gas troops, after releasing enough toxic gas, took up their bayonets and stabbed the people lying on the ground all the way. "Ah!" The cries of "ah!" spread far away in the silent plain. At this time, the angry gunfire of the Stormtrooper team sounded. After two rounds of shooting, soldiers from both teams with gas masks were twisted together to kill each other.

  "Big brother! I'm back."

  The storm miraculously defeated the brutal devils once again. However, this time they also suffered heavy losses. He Tianhao and two Stormtroopers covered in blood stains threw a pile of hazmat suits on the ground, exhaustedly saying: "Big brother! Let's retreat!"

  "What about the others?" You Fei asked.

  He Tianhao didn't say a word and his expression couldn't be seen, only the faint "woo woo" sound coming from inside the gas mask.

  "You little devil! I'll curse your ancestors!" Yu Fei roared, causing the poisonous fog above his head to churn and surge.

  "Big brother, let's go quickly!" He Tianhao forcibly put a gas mask on You Fei. The others also wore their gas suits with tears in their eyes. A group of people walked out of the guard post and headed in the opposite direction of the occupied area.

  Yu Fei turned his head to look at the land filled with corpses, and the last batch of villagers still did not come out. Yu Fei finally came out, but only a dozen soldiers were left by his side. It was almost a complete defeat. How could Yu Fei not feel heartbroken?

  "Come on, Commander! Hurry over here! This way! The poisonous fog won't be able to keep the devils at bay for much longer." Wang Lie poked his head out from the grass by the side of the road and called out in a low voice.

  You Fei rushed forward excitedly and grabbed Wang Lie: "Wang Er Dan! You're not dead yet! Only you, little scoundrel, are clever enough to run out of the poisonous gas. I'm wearing this pig nose thingy, can you still tell it's me?"

  "Haha! Commander, you're so majestic and powerful, even your way of walking is different from others."

  You Fei pulled Wang Lie and said sorrowfully: "Other brothers! May have all been finished. Left on the devils' side!"

  "Big Brother!" "Big Brother!" Jiang Zhuang and Xu Zhiwei rushed out. One on the left, one on the right, they hugged You Fei tightly.

  "Ah! You two aren't dead after all! Too... too good!" Yu Fei was so excited that his words became somewhat incoherent.

  "Company Commander!" Another soldier stood up and saluted Yu Fei.

  Some soldiers immediately emerged from their hiding places and quickly formed a line.

  "First platoon reporting for duty!" "Second platoon reporting for duty!" "Liefeng squad reporting for duty!" The soldiers who had arrived ahead of time and those who had narrowly escaped the poisonous fog stood together in formation, shouting their reports to You Fei. They had been waiting here for their company commander since they escaped.

  Each row was left with only a few people. Especially the Gale Force Team, which was left with only four people: Wang Lie, He Tianhao, Zhang Mingshan and Li Lifa.

  You Fei waited for a while without speaking, after a long time, he asked stupidly: "Where is the first row? How long is the first row? Where are your people? Who arrived in the first row?"

  No one answered him.

  "Little devil! I'm not done with you yet!" Yu Fei shouted loudly in the direction of the ghost.

  Only thirty-one people were left. The rest was the price paid for this great retreat.

  You Fei led his thirty-one subordinates forward with a sorrowful face.

  "Big brother! I've brought out some of those poisonous gas canisters from the devils. When night falls, I'll sneak into their sleeping quarters and give them a taste of their own medicine." He Tianhao said.

  "Hmm!" You Fei replied coldly.

  "Commander, those civilians up ahead have all scattered, shouldn't we go take care of it?"

  "Hmph!" You Fei shook his head, "They've reached a place where they can run wild, no longer needing people like us."

  "But if the poisonous gas has dissipated and the devils are chasing after us..."

  "Alright! Stop nagging. Am I the squad leader or are you?" You Fei said lazily as he walked. Those villagers who refused to give up their belongings made You Fei's teeth ache with hatred, for them, he had sacrificed fifty-nine brothers who shared life and death with him. Finally arriving at this point, the villagers all scattered and ran away, You Fei helplessly said a few cold words. He was originally just a rogue, adhering to the creed of not suffering losses, but this time he had suffered a great loss, feeling depressed to the extreme.

  Suddenly a sound of pulling the gun bolt.

  Wang Lie and He Tianhao were still covered in blood, exhausted, with the pig nose mask hanging crookedly on their backs. They were half-closing their eyes, following their instincts as they walked. Suddenly, there was a commotion, and they reacted the fastest. In an instant, they opened their eyes wide and pointed their guns at the figure in front of them.

  After a rustling sound, dozens of people jumped out from the roadside. They were also holding guns, with their muzzles aimed at You Fei and others.