Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 30 Panic
Seeing Nagano Yuichiro's behavior, not only Hasegawa, but even the company commander he brought became dissatisfied.

He walked up to Hasegawa and said angrily, "Deputy Captain, isn't the Nagano Regiment Commander being far too disrespectful to you? You are, after all, his superior!"

"It's alright." Hasegawa narrowed his eyes, revealing a cold glint in his eyes: "Some people only realize how hard a wall is after they've hit it. You immediately withdraw all your soldiers."

"The 11th Regiment is supposed to be very powerful, isn't it? I'd like to see how they take the church."

"Hai!"

High above the church walls, sunlight pierced through the thick smoke, barely illuminating the dark corners surrounding the corpses. The remains of two soldiers lay twisted together, their uniforms stained crimson with blood, as if the only faithful witness to this war.

Beside the two corpses, an M1917 water-cooled heavy machine gun was spitting fire wildly, raining down 7.62mm bullets at a rate of 500 rounds per minute, while plumes of evaporated water vapor rose into the air.

Just as the machine gunners were firing desperately, a 70mm high-explosive shell struck the machine gun bunker. In a deafening explosion, flames instantly tore through the air, blasting the M1917 machine gun and its two gunners into the air, where they were reduced to countless fragments and sparks. Metal parts rained down, gleaming coldly and mercilessly in the sunlight.

Not far away, Li Gaoyuan, who witnessed this scene, slapped his thigh hard and said angrily, "This is the second machine gun. It's so frustrating!"

This was half an hour after the Japanese 11th Infantry Regiment launched its attack. In that short half hour, the church defenders had already suffered more than 20 casualties, most of which were caused by the Japanese Type 92 infantry guns and grenade launchers.

The Japanese Type 92 infantry gun was known for its lightness and portability, making it very suitable for use in complex terrain. Because it weighed only 0.212 tons, it only required two or three soldiers to drag it around.

In addition, its total height is only 62 centimeters, making it very easy to hide, hence its nickname "Ghost Cannon".

After the 11th Infantry Regiment joined the battle, its six Type 92 infantry guns also entered the fray. As soon as they entered the battle, they inflicted heavy casualties on the church defenders, destroying several firing points in just half an hour, which made Li Gaoyuan so angry that he cursed.

"Mortars... What are mortars for? Get back at me!"

Under Li Gaoyuan's strong orders, the artillery company began to counterattack, but it was undoubtedly difficult for those gunners who had only been using mortars for less than a day to engage in artillery battles with the Japanese army.

As a result, a lot of shells were fired, but there were no results, and the artillery position was almost exposed.

Fortunately, Su Yaoyang had previously ordered a large number of landmines to be laid around the church. After stepping on dozens of landmines, the 11th Regiment became much more cautious and adopted a strategy of clearing mines while attacking, which allowed the church defenders to catch their breath.

But Li Gaoyuan knew in his heart that once the Japanese army finished clearing the mines, it would be time for them to launch a full-scale attack. At that time, their hundred or so men would not be able to withstand such an attack.

It was at this moment that Su Yaoyang arrived near the church with more than 400 recruited soldiers.

On a street about four or five hundred meters away from the church, Xiong Junfeng looked in surprise at the place shrouded in artillery fire and smoke, and the church's pointed roof that was faintly visible. He couldn't help but ask, "Commander Su, is this the place you said was surrounded by the Japanese?"

"Yes." Su Yaoyang quickly concealed the worry in his eyes and asked, "What... have you changed your mind?"

"That's true to some extent," Xiong Junfeng said with a wry smile. "Judging from the artillery fire we just heard, at least a regiment of troops is attacking the church. With our limited forces, we might not even be able to get past the church and will be wiped out by the Japanese outside."

Although Zhang Zhihao didn't say anything, his expression was full of agreement.

Needless to say, the surrounding soldiers were even more panicked; many showed signs of fear, and if it weren't for the several menacing soldiers standing nearby, some would probably have already deserted. In the early stages of the war, the Japanese army was extremely powerful, and the National Revolutionary Army generally wouldn't dare to engage in direct combat with them without several times their number of troops.

Now, sending these few hundred wounded soldiers, lacking guns and ammunition, to fight against a Japanese army that outnumbers them seven or eight times is no longer fighting a war, but sending them to their deaths.

"Of course I'm not sending you to your deaths like this." Su Yaoyang rubbed his temples helplessly. He knew that the National Revolutionary Army's combat effectiveness and fighting spirit were extremely poor during the War of Resistance against Japan, but he didn't expect them to be this bad.

If this were in later generations, and they knew that war was about to break out with Japan, the aunties chopping vegetables in the kitchen and the old men practicing Tai Chi in the park would all jump up in excitement. They would probably have to fight a bloody battle before they could even sign up.

Unlike now, morale has already dropped by half before the battle even begins.

Qiao Erdan stood in the crowd, and a fellow villager whispered in his ear, "Erdan, are you really going to follow that officer and charge into the Japanese encirclement?"

"Yes!" Qiao Erdan nodded and said seriously, "Since I have taken the reward money from the superior, I must keep my word."

"Are you stupid?" the villager said anxiously, "Are you going to your death for fifty silver dollars?"

Qiao Erdan looked at him as if he were a fool: "You make it sound so easy. Don't you want to return the silver dollars to your superior?"

"I..." The other party was speechless.

Su Yaoyang was not alarmed by the cowardice of the fleeing soldiers; he had prepared a strategy to deal with the situation beforehand.

He roared at the fleeing soldiers, "Shut the hell up! Don't forget you all received my money!"

You all know the principle of "if you take someone's money, you have to solve their problems," right? Or do you think I, Su, dare not enforce battlefield discipline?

As Su Yaoyang spoke, several soldiers from the Training Corps behind him simultaneously pulled back their rifle bolts, making a clicking sound, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

Faced with the dark muzzle of a gun and Su Yaoyang's cold gaze, the fleeing soldiers, who had been somewhat restless, instantly became obedient.

Xiong Junfeng and Zhang Zhihao exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes. It seemed that the two brothers were most likely going to die here this time.

However, they didn't blame Su Yaoyang. They had chosen their own path and received the money. Just as Su Yaoyang said, it's only right to take someone's money and do their bidding...

Seeing that everyone had calmed down, Su Yaoyang snorted and said, "Alright... I know that if I let you rush over like this, you would be unwilling even if you died. I'll take you to change your clothes first."

Follow me...

Ten minutes later, Su Yaoyang led the group to a secluded courtyard. Pushing open the door, a tall stack of ammunition boxes and neatly arranged weapons appeared before them...

(End of this chapter)