Chapter 58: Fierce Battle (Three)

  The devils continuously fired at the charging warriors, and several warriors were hit by the devils and fell to the ground. Sun Zhongming, who had fallen to the ground, did not sacrifice himself, but instead stubbornly crawled towards the truck with the explosive package. Warrior Qiao Yulin dodged the devil's gunfire, but was still some distance away from the truck, and the devil's gunfire made it impossible for him to get any closer. In order to blow up the truck, he crawled towards the truck with the explosive package, and when the devils discovered this, they fired at him. Despite being hit by bullets, he endured the intense pain and threw himself at the side of the truck.

  "Little Japanese devils!", he shouted at the top of his lungs, using his last bit of strength to detonate the explosives on his body and throw himself under the truck.

  A loud "boom" shook the air, and the fire snake engulfed the ghost's truck, causing the wooden crates on the truck to explode, triggering a secondary explosion of the weapons inside. Sun Yulin was also affected by the blast, being blown back more than two meters, his body covered in blood and wounds from the shrapnel.

  The second row of troops successfully blew up a truck of the devils, and although he had a diaper on his face, he still smelled a strong onion flavor. He only felt a dizziness in his head, almost fell to the ground, but he shook his head hard and endured the dizziness, immediately retreated back, and several other trucks were also blown up by the soldiers one after another. After successfully blowing up the devils' truck, the soldiers retreated one after another. Soldier Sun Laifu was running back when suddenly the truck behind him exploded again, and the blast wave pushed him out far away, with a heavy object pressing on his body. He pushed it open with force, and found it was a person. After careful identification, he found it was soldier Qiao Zhiyong who had been following him. Qiao Zhiyong had been blown up by the explosion, with blood and flesh all over his body, only a weak breath left, and dark red blood flowing out of all seven orifices.

  "Da Gui, hold on!", Sun Lai Fu picked up Qiao Zhiyong from the ground with one hand and shouted loudly, but Qiao Zhiyong's injuries were too severe and he was almost gone.

  "Alright! Hold on, I'll take you back, it's okay!", Sun Laifu gently wiped the blood off Qiao Zhiyong's face with his hand, picked him up from the ground and ran quickly towards higher ground with all his might.

  "Sun Lai Fu, retreat quickly!" The warriors saw Sun Lai Fu holding Qiao Zhiyong and running back and forth, anxious for him, and hastily shouted.

  Several warriors stood up to go down and respond to him, but at this time the devil's machine gun rang out, bullets ruthlessly hitting Sun Laifu's body, but he still didn't let go and charged forward a few more steps, then hugged Qiao Zhiyong together and fell to the ground.

  "Come on, little Japanese devils!", the warriors were enraged, aiming their guns at the Japanese soldiers and firing a burst of shots. Several Japanese soldiers were killed by the angry warriors.

  Continuous explosions are happening on the highway, with more and more smoke on the ground, and the color is getting deeper.

  "Quick retreat, organize a withdrawal!", Li Xinmin ordered the company and platoon leaders under him, immediately organizing the soldiers to retreat. They had to leave here immediately, without the protection of protective suits, they would really not be able to get out if they stayed any longer. If things went wrong, all these people might have to stay here, so he decisively gave the order to withdraw.

  The Eighth Route Army soldiers in the battle heard the order to retreat and quickly retreated according to plan. They left Zhangjiayuan rapidly along the high ground.

  "Company Commander, come quick! They won't make it!", Liu Wentao suddenly called out to Li Xinmin as they retreated, bringing him before several soldiers.

  "What's going on here?" Li Xinmin asked Liu Wentao after seeing the several soldiers. The scene was shocking, with severe rotting wounds on the bodies of these soldiers. It was unclear what had happened, but they were severely deformed and looked disgusting. Just as Liu Wentao was about to touch them, Li Xinmin grabbed his hand. "Don't touch! Be careful, it's dangerous!"

  "They were injured when the car exploded, and at first they were fine, but unexpectedly they didn't make it, and their wounds ended up like this." Liu Wentao explained to Li Xinmin.

  "Has anyone of you bumped into them?" Li Xinmin asked.

  "No! They were just like that a moment ago, they could still walk." said the warriors.

  "They were poisoned by the enemy's toxic gas, it seems they can't hold on anymore." "Battalion commander, I'm in so much pain! Send me off!" "Battalion commander! Save me!" A wounded soldier begged Li Xinmin. Looking at their painful appearance, Li Xinmin's eyes couldn't help but get wet.

  "What shall we do, Captain?" Liu Wentao asked anxiously.

  "Let's send these brothers on their way! They'll suffer more this way!", Li Xinmin said to Liu Wentao, holding back his sorrow.

  "It can't be like this! Save them!" The second row of soldiers rushed forward and said. He couldn't bear to see these brothers die like this, they didn't die under the enemy's guns, but were shot dead by their own comrades here, it was very unwilling in his heart.

  After all, having lived and fought with these brothers for so long, a deep bond has already formed.

  "What do you know, kid? The company commander didn't want it to be like this either, but they're in such a state now, it's better to let them go quickly." Liu Wentao pushed away the second squad leader. The soldiers all cried, who can remain unfeeling when faced with this situation? How can one not feel sad in this kind of situation?

  "Sorry, brothers, your sworn brothers will avenge you! Go in peace!" Liu Wentao said, pulling out his pistol and aiming at the soldiers on the ground. He couldn't bear to look and turned his head away. "Bang! Bang!", he fired several shots in succession, sending these suffering soldiers on their way.

  "Find a place and bury them!", Li Xinmin ordered the soldiers.

  The warriors then found a vacant lot nearby, dug several holes with their knives, and buried several of the warriors. Li Xinmin also chopped off several pieces of wood to make simple tombstones.

  Li Xinmin and his men were able to withdraw from Zhangjialing smoothly because the devils did not pursue them. It was not that the devils did not want to pursue them, but they were also busy with their own affairs and could not spare the effort to chase after them.

  Li Xinmin and his men destroyed the truck, and the weapons that were being transported were also destroyed. A large amount of toxic gas was released, and Li Xinmin's ambush site on this section of road was surrounded by high terrain on both sides, causing the toxic gas to linger in the valley for a long time. Although Commander Sanpu later ordered his soldiers to wear gas masks, the gas masks were specific to certain types of gas, and some were effective while others were not. This time, they were transporting many different types of weapons, and the corresponding protective equipment was on the trucks, which were destroyed by the Eighth Route Army soldiers. Only Commander Ishihara's unit had brought a full set of protective clothing, which Sanpu's men wore. However, many Japanese soldiers could not wear this protective clothing and simply wore gas masks while fighting on the road for so long, inhaling large amounts of toxic gas and viruses. After a long time, the virus and toxic gas began to take effect, and many Japanese soldiers started to die. Large numbers of Japanese soldiers fell to the ground, and those who were not yet dead continued to struggle on the ground, some clutching their necks with both hands, while others dug two trenches in the ground with their hands. Others had severe headaches and kept banging their heads against the ground.