The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 488 Westward, Westward (Two-in-one chapter)

More than two hours later, Goro Mano, the major general and brigade commander of the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese army, who had received an urgent telegram from his subordinates, finally rushed to the birch forest below the cliff.

Upon arrival, the first thing they saw was a row of corpses on the ground.

Besides Li Hai and Zhou Wu, there is now one more corpse among those that were seen before.

That was their squad leader. The numerous wounds on his body and his still-closed eyes proved that he had fought valiantly before sacrificing his life.

Unlike when most of the corpses had their clothes stuffed with dry grass, leading one to deduce that Hu Biao and the others escaped in this way.

At that moment, Li Hai and the other two were filled with an indescribable joy.

Looking at these details, Goro Mano was filled with indescribable rage and madness.

He wished he could draw his katana and hack at the already dead Major Tanaka's worthless corpse seventeen or eighteen times until it was mangled beyond recognition.

It also planned to kill all of its useless subordinates who were hanging their heads and didn't dare to look at it.

One reason that made Goro Mano so furious was that he hated his subordinates for being so useless, which caused them to let the duck that was about to be eaten escape.

On the other hand, he was afraid.

First of all, at this point, it's no longer possible to hide the fact that he and Major Tanaka had discovered Hu Biao and his comrades and intended to claim all the credit for it.

Once the hundreds of soldiers on the scene learned of this, it would eventually leak the information to their superiors and allied forces over time.

How should we put it? Whether it's important or not depends on the specific outcome.

If Hu Biao were successfully captured and killed, it would be a trivial matter, and no one in the North China Front Army Headquarters or General Headquarters would say anything about it.

Even if the division commander and brigade commander of the allied forces were to say some sour things out of jealousy, he wouldn't care much.

But if Hu Biao escapes, thus wasting such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kill him, then even with his status, he cannot bear the consequences.

Sitting on the sidelines until the very end is probably the best outcome.

In short, just thinking about those terrible consequences made Goro Mano feel like the sky was falling.

Especially considering all his previous high expectations, the huge gap between the two almost drove him crazy on the spot.

Compared to Major Tanaka's act of jumping off a cliff under immense pressure, Goro Mano's reaction of wanting to kill someone seems insignificant.

After taking a few deep breaths, Goro Mano suppressed the urge to draw his military knife and slash at people.

He beckoned to one of his newly promoted lieutenant adjutants and, without hesitation, issued a series of orders:
"Immediately notify the four battalions of Akagi, Harukawa, Inukai, and Akiyama to immediately cease all current combat missions and move towards Yi County and the surrounding areas."

Block all roads and intersections, conduct thorough checks on all people coming and going, and shoot and kill anyone suspected of being suspicious or resisting.

At the same time, they should be prepared to act with full force as soon as they receive any further orders from me.

"Sir, what should we do if the North China Area Army Headquarters comes to inquire about our situation?" the new adjutant asked with great concern.

Because of Goro Mano's order, the entire Independent Mixed Brigade 2 has withdrawn from this sweep.

This allowed the Japanese North China Area Army to mobilize multiple units, creating a significant gap in the already tight encirclement of the Pingxi base area.

If things go wrong, a large number of local guerrillas might escape through this gap, ultimately leading to the failure of the sweeping operation and a significant reduction in the results.

"Let's leave that for now, we'll deal with this later; also, tell the soldiers present that no one is allowed to talk about Hu Biao and his men, or they'll lose their heads."

After gritting his teeth, Goro Mano said in a desperate move.

That's right! Even now, this Japanese major general is still prepared to continue to conceal the fact that Hu Biao and his men have appeared in the Pingxi base area.

He mainly believed that as long as he eliminated Hu Biao and his group, all the previous problems would be resolved instantly.

After all, the value of one Songhu Tiger is at least equivalent to several Pingxi base areas.

However, he himself knew very well that even if he issued a gag order to the hundreds of his men on the scene, the time he could keep this news a secret was quite limited.

He had absolutely no confidence that he could catch up with and kill Hu Biao and his men in such a limited time.

His desperate gamble was nothing more than a final gamble.

In the time that followed, the Japanese brigade commander suppressed his troubled thoughts; he rallied his spirits and continued to carefully observe the corpses on the ground, his mind beginning to ponder:
"How many men does Hu Biao and his men have left? What is their equipment status?"

How serious are their injuries, and what is their physical condition?

During his deliberations, Goro Mano was extremely serious; the main concern was the aforementioned issues, which reflected Hu Biao and his team's operational capabilities and speed—whether they could catch up, and if so, whether they could capture them.

After some thought, the Japanese major general, remembering some urgent situation, shouted again:

"Military doctor, military doctor~"

Amidst these shouts, a Japanese military doctor in his thirties, wearing glasses, hurriedly ran to Mano Goro's side and respectfully asked:
"Brigade Commander, what are your orders?"

“Remove their bandages and see if the wounds are properly treated and inflamed.”

They also cut open their bellies and stomachs to see what they ate and whether they had taken drugs stronger than 'Marching Pills'.

Otherwise, how could some mortal bodies possess such astonishing power?

After pointing at all the corpses except for Major Tanaka with his finger, Goro Mano gave his instructions in a cold tone.

The expression on his face was so ferocious it was almost distorted...

******
It hurts! It really hurts, it hurts terribly. Every part of my body aches, there's not a single good piece of flesh or bone left.

My head was spinning terribly, and my internal organs felt like they had been turned inside out, making me feel nauseous and wanting to vomit. But all I could do was howl and couldn't vomit at all.

In addition, my vision is blurry, and the scenery in front of me is constantly and violently swaying.

All of the above situations are Hu Biao's most genuine feelings at this moment.

It was the only feeling in his head that came after he rolled rapidly all the way down the cliff into the birch forest, until his back hit the trunk of a birch tree and he finally stopped rolling.

At that moment, he genuinely thought he was about to die.

Even so, Hu Biao lay on the ground for several minutes.

Once the dizziness and body pain subsided a little, I struggled to sit up immediately.

After stretching out his hands, he began to grope Annie, who was lying next to him.

Well! Hu Biao's actions were definitely not about taking advantage of the situation.

Instead, he saw Annie lying beside him, her small, delicate face contorted in pain, her brows furrowed deeply.

He couldn't help but worry about his girlfriend, wondering where she had fallen and hurt herself.

So his handsy movements were actually to check if Annie had broken any bones; he had absolutely no intention of taking advantage of her.

Fortunately, Annie is doing well, and the thing Hu Biao was most worried about did not happen.

Because soon after, Annie slapped his hands away.

He said, "Take your hand off my chest, that's enough! Don't worry, apart from some bruises, a fractured bone, and some internal injuries, I should be fine."

Then, looking at Hu Biao with great concern, she asked again, "Are you alright?"

Upon hearing this question, Hu Biao finally forgot about his own situation; he struggled to his feet, moved his limbs, and even jumped a few times.

Although his lips twitched involuntarily from the pain during the ordeal, he was overjoyed when it stopped. He said to Annie, "I'm fine! At least my bones aren't broken, and I haven't been bruised anywhere."

Honestly, rolling down such a steep and high cliff without breaking any bones or cracking one's skull is already the best possible outcome.

Injuries like fractures, bruises, and mild concussions are trivial matters when you think about them.

Therefore, after confirming that the bones were not broken and would not affect their journey much, Hu Biao and Annie breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The reason they didn't dare to relax even slightly was because although the two of them were fine, the situation of the others was still uncertain, so they really didn't dare to relax at all.

With this worry in mind, the two quickly looked around, but after a brief glance, they were immediately overcome with grief.

After a quick look around, it was discovered that apart from the two of them standing there, there was no one else.

Only the taciturn Lao Yu was standing up, leaning against a tree trunk, one hand still clutching his back, his mouth throbbing with pain.

Black Star, Mo Shuiyan, the contractor, Old Car, the veteran, Fifteen, Cao'er, the cultural troupe, and others sat on the ground.

These people didn't look well at all; it was unclear whether they were sitting there resting or injured and unable to stand up.

After eliminating the aforementioned individuals, the remaining people were all lying on the ground, and Hu Biao was unsure whether some of them were still alive.

However, Hu Biao was certain that some people were already dead.

For example, Sister Yi was lying down at exactly eight o'clock, about twelve or thirteen meters away, and her thin neck was twisted into an unusually strange angle.

This indicates that her cervical vertebrae have been broken. Given such severe injuries, it is impossible for Sister Yi to survive.

A female student, presumably named Wang Shuni, lay diagonally about three or four steps away from Yi Jie's body, also completely dead.

She had a large wound on her forehead, and the blood had accumulated into a large pool on her body; her unfocused eyes stared blankly, and she was clearly lifeless.

At the three o'clock position, about twenty meters away from Hu Biao, Fang Youcai lay on his back.

He didn't die immediately, but he was gushing blood from his mouth like a fountain, and there was a clear, deep dent in his chest, indicating that he had broken countless ribs.

Given his continuous vomiting of blood, it can be confirmed that the broken ribs had pierced into soft internal organs.

With such severe internal injuries, Xiao Cui, the only proper medical personnel among the transmigrators, would have unfortunately died in battle.

Even if the girl were still alive, there would be no way to help her with such severe injuries.

Even so, Hu Biao and Annie quickly stepped forward, ready to do something within their power for Fang Youcai.

Before the two could get close, Fang Youcai, who was probably experiencing a final burst of lucidity, suddenly sat up from the ground.

He turned his head, staring intently in the west, and pointed his right hand in that direction, shouting repeatedly:

"Westward, always westward~"

He shouted this twice, but the third time he managed to utter the word "Xiang" before abruptly stopping; he spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground.

His sunken chest stopped rising and falling; he was completely dead.

At this point, there were no more Eighth Route Army soldiers left in Hu Biao's small team.

No! Hu Biao's team actually included Eighth Route Army soldiers.

Although the veteran, the fifteen-year-old, the bugler, the cultural troupe member, and the ten-and-a-half-year-old were not yet adults, their actions still made them steadfast and brave Eighth Route Army soldiers.

That's why, when Fang Youcai shouted "Go west!"

All nine children, who had been sitting or lying down, stood up and raised their small arms to give Fang Youcai a standard military salute.

Besides sadness, there was also an indescribable determination in his eyes.

Just by seeing this scene, Hu Biao and the others knew that no matter how much they tried to persuade the children, they would insist on replacing or taking over Fang Youcai's place.

They were tasked with a mission whose time, place, and content were all unclear.

Fortunately, their decision did not constitute a forced coercion of Hu Biao and the others' actions.

As early as last night, during their arduous breakout, Hu Biao and the other seasoned transmigrators had already gained a clear understanding:

Helping the wounded, including Fang Youcai, and the veterans and children, to complete that unclear mission was the main purpose of the mysterious entity that arranged for them to travel through time.

Once they complete that mission, it will probably be time for them to return to the modern world.

Therefore, they and the group of children should have the same goal.

It is absolutely wrong to say that these children forcibly hijacked their actions, preventing them from taking the opportunity to leave, or even to go to the Pingding County base.

As for Hu Biao and his men, what would happen if they forcibly led these children to continue their breakout and departure, instead of carrying out the mission?

Hu Biao and his group also had a vague intuition: things would be bad, and many unexpected situations would arise.

In any case, that process and outcome were definitely not what they wanted to see...

Even after Fang Youcai's voice abruptly stopped and he collapsed to the ground, dead, a group of children still maintained their salute.

They must have realized something: there are no adult Eighth Route Army soldiers left in the ranks.

That task of 'going westward along the Great Wall' has now fallen on their young shoulders.

Seeing this, Hu Biao was about to say a few words to comfort them and tell them not to be too sad or worry about the mission.

Just then, another series of loud tumbling sounds came rapidly towards them from the direction of the cliff.

Turning my head quickly, I discovered that it was a Japanese soldier carrying some stones of various sizes, tumbling down the cliff.

Before Hu Biao could even speak, Annie had already shouted:

"Make way, everyone, make way quickly, don't get hit by the stones."

Thanks to Annie's warning, the people who were blocking the way for the Japanese soldiers reacted quickly and moved aside, successfully avoiding the falling Japanese corpses and the stones they were carrying. No one was injured.

They were waiting for that one Japanese soldier to slow down more and more as he rolled along, until he finally came to a complete stop.

Hu Biao then realized that this unlucky fellow was actually a Japanese major, possibly the same Tanaka major who had been making a fuss and trying to get them to surrender.

"Good heavens! Finally, God has opened his eyes and let this Japanese major slip and fall to his death."

Old Yu, clutching his back, walked over and glanced at the scene. He then muttered a surprised and delighted comment, never considering the possibility that Major Tanaka might have committed suicide.

Mr. Nanze, who was walking with his left leg dangling from the seat next to him, was about to join in with a few sarcastic remarks after hearing this.

After composing himself, Hu Biao began to call out:

"Attention everyone, start moving around and check your bodies immediately."

If there are no major problems, hurry up and help the injured, and collect and organize the scattered equipment and supplies so that we can set off again.

Hurry up, everyone. We're only safe for now.

"After we tidy up, everyone hurry up and leave, lest the Japanese soldiers catch up with us again."

Under this order, everyone composed themselves and quickly got to work; they didn't want the Japanese to keep chasing them for another day and night...

(End of this chapter)