Chapter 56: Unwinnable Battle

  When Ozawa Takeo received the news that the entire artillery battalion had been annihilated from the soldiers who came to deliver the message, he was so enraged that he shot and killed those few soldiers who escaped. In a fit of rage, Ozawa ordered Fujihara and Katsuta to launch a desperate attack, at this time Ozawa's eyes were completely red, he no longer cared about casualties, now the 259th Brigade had become a thorn in his side that must be eliminated.

  You Fei was very dissatisfied with the passive situation of the 137th Regiment, so he required all officers above the rank of captain to take up arms and fight alongside the soldiers. Xu Zhiyuan, who often had his hands on his hips, was even scolded by You Fei until he was covered in sweat, and You Fei almost hit him in the face, nearly turning it into a pancake.

  You Fei stood at the forefront of the battlefield, shouting and scolding the soldiers to counterattack. Just then, news came that Wang Lie had returned, and You Fei happily hugged a haggard-looking Wang Lie.

  Suddenly, You Fei noticed that Wang Lie's expression was very sorrowful. You Fei hastily asked: "Wang Lie, why does your face look so bad? Where is Lao Sun? Why didn't he come back with you? Has he gone to fight the devils again?"

  "Old Sun is dead." Wang Lie said in a low voice with tears welling up in his eyes.

  One sentence was like a thunderbolt, You Fei was shocked and retreated several steps, "Dead?" For a moment, You Fei fell into silence, he thought back to the scenes of his previous interactions with Lao Sun, his heart aching with a sharp pain.

  "Big brother, don't be too sad!" Originally meant to comfort You Fei, Jiang Zhuang couldn't help but tear up first. Xu Zhiyuan's rough features also showed a sorrowful face. Lao Sun was someone he had always respected greatly, and even the usually cold and hard Xu Zhiyuan couldn't bear the news of his passing.

  Bad news never comes singly. Before the Flying Swallow had time to indulge in nostalgic memories of Sun Qingyun, urgent war reports were already coming from the direction of Cone Mountain Ridge.

  The right flank of Cone Mountain has been breached by the Fujiwara Corps, and the entire New First Division is fighting to the death. Dong Tianhao has already bid farewell to You Fei and others, it seems that he has made up his mind to die, and it is likely that he will share the same fate as Cone Mountain.

  Wang Lie sighed and said, "The journey is long, once the Zhēnzi Ridge is broken, the interdependent triangular formation will be destroyed. When that happens, the devils will surely launch a large-scale invasion, and it will be impossible to defend. It's still possible now, let's retreat!"

  You Fei gazed at Wang Lie with indignation, if it were someone else, he would have shouted and scolded to disrupt the military's morale. However, Wang Lie fearlessly stared back at You Fei, his eyes firm and unyielding, not intimidated by You Fei's fierce glare. You Fei sighed, his voice filled with sorrow: "Perhaps I was wrong from the start... Wang Lie, let's follow your suggestion, the new first battalion is beyond salvation. Order Gao Yongtai to quickly retreat from the battlefield and meet up with us later to break through to the west together."

  Wang Lie immediately dragged his tired body to take care of the preparations for withdrawal. You Fei looked at Wang Lie's back and could feel the deep sadness in Wang Lie's heart due to Sun Qingyun's death. The two had been partners for so long and already had a very deep emotional bond. He understood that it was an unhealable wound, a heart-wrenching pain that was hard to bear.

  "Big brother, how can we just abandon Old Dong and the others? Is this still human?" Xu Zhiwei shouted with a red neck.

  You Fei was originally full of anger, and when Xu Zhiwei said this, he became even more furious, almost exploding. He rushed over and grabbed Xu Zhiwei, shouting loudly: "Is your grandfather saying that I'm not human? Is it or isn't it?" Seeing You Fei's emotions getting out of control, Jiang Zhuang hurriedly rushed over to hug him, forcibly pulling him away from Xu Zhiwei. Jiang Zhuang advised: "Big brother, don't get angry, Xu Zhiwei has a broken mouth and can't speak properly, you're not unaware of this, why are you taking it seriously? Xu Zhiwei, what are you still standing there for, hurry up and leave!" Jiang Zhuang loudly scolded Xu Zhiwei. At this time, if Xu Zhiwei continued to provoke You Fei, Jiang Zhuang was really afraid that he would collapse from anger.

  Xu Zhiwei dragged his head and walked away in silence. Xu Zhiwei thought about it and felt uneasy, so he angrily led a small team of guards to leave the main team and rushed towards Jingzi Ridge.

  When You Fei learned that Xu Zhiwei had run away, his men had already run ten miles away and couldn't catch up with him. You Fei looked in the direction of Jingzi Ridge, helplessly shedding tears. He wasn't a heartless person, abandoning the New First Regiment was a decision he had to make as a commander. Xu Zhiwei's words earlier had struck a chord in You Fei's innermost vulnerable spot. Now that Xu Zhiwei had gone ahead, it was impossible for his sworn brothers to think of a way to rescue him back. With tears streaming down his face, he silently recited towards the direction of Jingzi Ridge: "Old Dong, Zhiwei, soldiers of the New First Regiment, let me, You Fei, be the only one to betray you, just so that the 259th Brigade can continue to exist, just so that other brothers can break out of the encirclement."

  Xu Zhiwei led the small team to quickly arrive at Jingzi Ridge, and after breaking through the devils' blockade line, Xu Zhiwei arrived at the New First Regiment which had been reduced to only one company. After the devils broke through the defense line, the New First Regiment was counter-encircled by the elite devil soldiers. The warriors of the New First Regiment were relying on their last breath to hold on.

  Xu Zhiwei stepped on the corpses to get here, and the devils didn't notice that someone would come from behind to kill them, so Xu Zhiwei and his men were able to slip in through the gap. Otherwise, with just a few dozen people, they could only be cannon fodder for others.

  Dong Tianhao was stunned when he saw Xu Zhiwei, and at this time, the people who could come were all those he had thought of one by one. But you would never have thought that the person coming would be Xu Zhiwei, with whom he had been at odds for a long time. Xu Zhiwei burst out laughing and said to Dong Tianhao: "What's up, old Dong? Seeing me come doesn't make you so happy that you're stupid, haha!"

  Dong Tianhao was not a reserved person either. He burst out laughing loudly and said in a loud voice, "Brother, I've been waiting for you!"

  Xu Zhiwei grasped Dong Tianhao's outstretched hand tightly, and the two people had never felt their hearts as warm as they did at this moment. Xu Zhiwei chuckled and said: "Big Brother wants me to tell you that the warriors of the 259th Brigade have not forgotten the New First Regiment!"

  One sentence made Dong Tianhao burst into tears, and he cried: "Thank you, brother, the brothers who died in the new first regiment can rest in peace now."

  The two men looked at each other and smiled, the unpleasantness of the past was already thrown away to the ends of the earth. The two stood shoulder to shoulder, picked up their rifles and started shooting at the Japanese soldiers who were rushing forward like ants...

  Large dark clouds covered the only remaining ray of light in the sky, and before the sun had even set behind the mountains, the day seemed to have turned black. The wind howled eerily, as if crying for someone.

  After receiving the order from You Fei, Gao Yongtai immediately began to retreat. Sheng Tai had some perception, but he was powerless against the highly resilient 146th Regiment's all-around defense. He couldn't help but let the 146th Regiment slip away under his nose.

  Like Katsuji Watanabe, Takahira Ozawa could only watch as the 137th Regiment troops on the opposite side of the gravel beach slowly retreated, leaving behind only a small force to pin down the enemy, while most of the 137th Regiment soldiers escaped.

  The 137th and 146th Divisions broke through to the west after meeting on Central Road.

  It was a heavy blow, the new first division had only 146 divisions with two regiments and 137 divisions with one reinforced regiment left, all the rest were killed or wounded. Such a huge loss made You Fei want to cry but have no tears. On the side of the ninth brigade, although the number of casualties was nearly two thousand, which is less than half of the death toll of the 259th brigade, in the heart of Ozawa Takeo, this was already a failure, and it was an inexcusable failure.

  The wind continued to blow, and the sky seemed even darker...