Chapter 28: Inviting You into the Urn (Part 1)

  The air in the northeastern wilderness is very fresh in the morning!

  A faint, milky white mist floated in the fields, drifting with the gentle morning breeze. Dew drops condensed on the grass leaves by the roadside, sparkling with brilliant light under the newly born sunlight.

  A magpie that got up early jumped from the top of one tree to another, and then combed its black and grey feathers with its beak while excitedly chirping.

  The early bird catches the worm, and this magpie seems to endorse this saying!

  The magpie suddenly lifted its head and looked into the distance, seemingly discovering something, and let out two uneasy chirps!

  On the distant horizon, a cloud of dust rose, as if it were a pillar supporting the sky, swaying back and forth, rolling in this direction. The murky feeling made people feel that the originally clear sky was polluted!

  The magpie chirped twice and then spread its wings to fly far away, intuition made it feel that the smoke dust accumulated unknown danger.

  Time is not long, the dust is much closer now, and it can be seen that the dust is formed by a group of people running on the dirt road in the field, besides the noisy footsteps and shouting!

  The whole team was dressed in khaki military uniforms, with a military cap on their heads, a steel helmet on their backs, puttees tied around their legs, and sturdy fur-lined boots on their feet.

  Some flags in the troops and red circular signs on the soldiers' military caps and helmets can be seen as a Japanese army unit.

  However, the Japanese army that was once invincible and proud today is in a pitiful state, with each face covered in dust and their clothes stained with mud. Some of them have torn clothes, with fragments hanging from their shoulders fluttering in the wind.

  In the midst of the troops, several Japanese officers were surrounding a Japanese officer wearing a lieutenant colonel's insignia, who was hurrying forward.

  "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Speed up! Up ahead is Lieutenant General Tōno Ichimaru's 16th Brigade. If we can just merge with them, we'll be safe!" Shimomoto Masakazu endured the intense pain of his fractured ribs and continued to encourage the morale of the soldiers around him.

  He wasn't even clear where Lieutenant General Tōno Ichimatsu's 16th Brigade was now, perhaps just leaving Liaoyang or already at the edge of Fengtian City, or... anyway, he himself didn't know what the outcome would be in front.

  But he had to encourage the soldiers to move forward, even if they couldn't see hope in front of them for the time being. The second battalion also could not give up, giving up would mean the entire army was annihilated.

  By now, the second battalion had less than 300 people left, with almost a third of them wounded. All heavy weapons had been abandoned, and all that was left were rifles in hand.

  "Even if I were to take these soldiers out, I reckon it would be enough to qualify for a military tribunal!" Shimamoto Seiichi smiled wryly, knowing that the mistake he had made this time was too great, directly and indirectly burying three infantry battalions.

  "Never mind, let's get these soldiers out of here first!" thought Shimamoto Masakazu, and then urged the troops to speed up.

  At this time, about a mile behind their troops, the sound of gunfire was heard. With the sound of gunfire, several Japanese soldiers running in the back fell to the ground, apparently hit.

  "The Chinese are catching up!" The soldiers shouted, and suddenly panicked in their hearts. Some soldiers began to leave the ranks and ran forward, no longer following military discipline!

  At a critical moment of life and death, people's selfish nature is thoroughly exposed!

  Bang!

  A Japanese soldier who was running at the front fell to the ground, suddenly stunning those Japanese soldiers who had run out of formation and they all stood still on the spot!

  I inserted the pistol into the holster at my waist, and Shimamoto Masakazu gasped a couple of times before shouting, "Hachiga, you are soldiers, and as soldiers, you must maintain military discipline! It's better to die than to violate orders!"

  "Hey, Captain, we know we were wrong!" After a barrage of curses, those Japanese puffed up heads cleared up a bit, and they all bowed to Shimamoto Masayuki together.

  "Alright, I'll give you a choice: either pick up your guns and cover the retreat of the main force, be a hero; or get shot by me, be a deserter!"

  Dozens of Japanese soldiers didn't even think about it and chose the first one, no one wanted to be shot as a deserter, that way they would die without being able to face the Emperor.

  "Captain, I request that the third squad stay behind to intercept the enemy!" The squad leader of the second company's first platoon's third squad, Tachibana Shirō, stepped forward and asked Ishimoto Masayuki.

  Shimamoto Seiichi's heart moved slightly, he knew that the third squad of Momozono Yotsurou had been basically wiped out by Luo Xiang and others due to their fierce fighting, now counting the personnel of the small team, there were only about a dozen soldiers left.

  "I'm counting on you, Momotarō! The Second Unit won't forget your debt!" Shimamoto Masakazu bowed deeply to Momotarō, then personally removed his command sword and handed it over. "Momotarō, this is my sword, I hope it will accompany you in breaking through the enemy's encirclement!"

  Hi!

  Momotarō took the command sword handed over by Shimamoto Masakazu, then swiftly drew it out. The blade pointed straight at Roshō and his pursuers, "Charge, brave warriors of Yamato!"

  A dozen Japanese soldiers shouted and rushed towards Luo Xiao!

  Shimamoto Masakazu shouted "Hurry up!" as he took a last look at the Northeast Army and Momotsu Denjiro's men fighting together.

  The Japanese army ran forward like crazy, relying on the dying struggles of more than a dozen Japanese soldiers to temporarily hold back Luo Xiang and his men.

  Listening to the increasingly sparse gunfire and shouting behind him, Shimamoto Shigeichi understood in his heart that Taneno Shirō and those people seemed to have all been finished off.

  With reverence for Momotarō, Shimamoto Seiichi urged his troops on with all his might, rushing wildly in the direction of Liaoyang. He knew that time was life and death, and to escape they could not afford a single moment's delay!

  It seemed that the sound of gunfire had started again behind him, and Shimoto Seiichi's heart was filled with frustration. He hadn't expected Luo Xiang and his men to be so fast on their feet, catching up with them in such a short time.

  "Hurry up! Hurry up!" Isumoto's voice was hoarse from shouting, and even the pain in his ribs was temporarily forgotten.

  Just then, a crisp gunshot rang out from the woods ahead, and the bullet accurately hit the horse's head, causing it to fall forward!

  With the sound of gunfire, a group of agile figures rushed out of the forest and quickly lay down at the edge of the irrigation ditch near the forest, with their automatic rifles pointing directly at the Japanese soldiers opposite them!

  "It's all over!" Iijima Masakazu's head buzzed as he realized he had fallen into the enemy's encirclement when he saw those figures in camouflage, moving swiftly!

  Looking at those stern faces, the black holes of the gun barrels, and especially the familiar tactical movements, Shimamoto Masakazu couldn't help but clench his fists. "What to do, what should I do?"

  …………