Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 41 My mental strength has increased again.
In a house about two miles from the church, Yuichiro Nagano sat silently on a small folding stool with a gloomy expression.

What was supposed to be an easy harvest trip turned into a tough nut to crack; the Chinese army stationed at the church was proving to be a real pain.

After only one morning of fighting, the 11th Regiment had already suffered 40% losses, and the retreating troops were experiencing varying degrees of fatigue. Even the rank-and-file soldiers had begun to voice their complaints.

This situation immediately alerted Yuichiro Nagano.

Indeed, the Japanese army has always been known for its strict military discipline, but everything has its limits, and once those limits are exceeded, it can easily backfire.

That's the situation now. In just one morning of fighting, they lost a third of their troops. If the fighting continues, the 11th Regiment will be wiped out in less than two days.

Footsteps sounded from the side, and the regimental chief of staff walked in from outside, his voice slightly heavy, "Commander, I have just returned from an inspection outside."

The situation below is not good; the soldiers are generally becoming resistant.

After all, our troops have been fighting continuously in places like Shanghai and Nanjing since September this year, and the casualties have never stopped.

Despite several resupply attempts, the soldiers were exhausted both physically and mentally.

"We can't continue fighting like this. We should report to Lord Kunisaki and ask the General to send reinforcements. Otherwise, if we suffer too many losses, it will be difficult to explain to our superiors."

After pondering for a long time, Nagano Yuichiro finally stood up slowly, walked to the table, and picked up the phone. "Moshi moshi... Is this the Kunisaki Detachment Command? This is Nagano Yuichiro, the commander of the 11th Regiment. Please let General Kunisaki take the call; I have important intelligence to report to him..."

With a muffled thud, Kunisaki Tadako slammed the phone down, his face ashen.

"Idiot... Nagano Yuichiro is an idiot, and what is Hasegawa doing? Why is he just watching the 11th Regiment do such a stupid thing without stopping them? What is he trying to do?"

Seeing Kunisaki's anger, the staff officers beside him were so frightened that they dared not utter a sound. After a long while, Colonel Nagano Tomohisa, the chief of staff of Kunisaki's detachment, finally advised:
"Team leader, now is not the time to be angry."

Yuichiro Nagano is an arrogant man, and even he had to make a call for help, which shows how urgent the situation was.

The most urgent task is to send reinforcements to support them as soon as possible.

"That's all we can do." Kunisaki's expression softened slightly. He walked around his desk twice with his hands behind his back before stopping.

"Pass on my order: the 41st Regiment, the 3rd Field Artillery Battalion, and the 1st Cavalry Company must assemble immediately and depart in one hour."

Tomohisa Nagano gaped: "Commander, aren't you making a mountain out of a molehill?"

Because Kunisaki Sono was the brigade commander of the 9th Infantry Brigade of the 5th Division of the Japanese Army before becoming the detachment commander, Nagano Tomohisa excitedly even called out his previous rank.

"Making a mountain out of a molehill?" Kunisaki sneered. "The 11th Regiment has already lost almost a battalion under the command of that idiot Yuichiro Nagano. Do you still think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill?"

Tomohisa Nagano said anxiously, "But the 41st Regiment is still searching for the remaining Chinese troops in the Guanghuamen area, and it will be difficult for them to assemble within an hour."

Kunisaki Sono said with a gloomy face, "If Yamada Tetsujiro doesn't even have this much ability, then there's no need for him to continue serving as the commander of the 41st Regiment."

"Hai!"

Seeing that Kunisaki had made up his mind, Nagano Tomohisa could only bow and leave.

At exactly five o'clock in the afternoon, a shrill alarm clock rang in a small room of St. Paul's Church.

Su Yaoyang slowly opened his eyes. As he woke up, he felt a throbbing pain in his head. He shook his head vigorously to clear his mind.

He knew this was a side effect of overusing his mental energy.

But there was no other way. The fierce battle this morning had consumed too much ammunition, and there was another tough battle to come, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and cash in another batch of ammunition.

Just after the transformation was completed, he was struck by a sharp pain in his head, which almost made him faint on the spot. He managed to find a room, set an alarm, and fell into a deep sleep.

After getting out of bed and putting on his shoes, Su Yaoyang saw a bowl of water on the table. He picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp. The cool water, with a sweet taste, went down his esophagus into his stomach, and he instantly felt much more refreshed.

Su Yaoyang immediately understood that this was placed by the bedside by the little girl, Xiao Lu.

After taking a long breath, he warned himself, "I can't overuse my mental energy like this anymore. If I continue like this, I don't know if I can even break out of Nanjing. I might just kick the bucket first."

"Sigh... I still don't have enough mental energy. Every time I exchange for weapons and ammunition, I feel terrible for a long time. And I can only exchange for light weapons. I don't get any heavy weapons at all."

As Su Yaoyang muttered to himself, he habitually focused his mental energy into the necklace. However, this focus caused several new weapon icons to suddenly appear in his consciousness.

Upon closer inspection, he recognized the vehicles as trucks and some light armored vehicles.

"Holy crap... This includes American 10-wheeled trucks, German Opels, Panzer II and III tanks, Chaffee tanks, Pak 36 37mm anti-tank guns, and even M116 75mm howitzers."

Looking at the dazzling array of trucks, light tanks, and light artillery, Su Yaoyang felt his mouth water.

"These are all good things, but unfortunately I can't redeem them yet. I need to get a good night's rest to fully restore my mental energy."

Moreover, trucks, tanks, and anti-tank guns all require specialized personnel to operate; even if they were hastily produced, no one would know how to use them.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Wait a minute... I just want to take my woman and fight our way out of Nanjing, then find a place to live out the war peacefully until it ends. Why am I always thinking about getting some big stuff? This thinking is not right."

As Su Yaoyang tried to put some strange thoughts aside, he left the room. When he arrived at the cathedral, he found that Li Gaoyuan, Tang Guantao, and a group of other officers were already standing in the hall waiting for him.

Entering the hall, Su Yaoyang glanced around at everyone and asked, "Brothers, is the army ready?"

"Sir, the Second Battalion, the Third Battalion, and the Artillery Battalion are ready and can launch an attack at any time."

"it is good!"

Su Yaoyang raised his voice: "Order the artillery battalion... to immediately begin shelling the Japanese troops' assembly area. The second and third battalions will launch their attack in ten minutes!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)