Not enough Japanese devils to kill? 1.4 billion people volunteer for the Battle of Shanghai.

Around the Japanese tank "01", the Japanese infantrymen who were working in coordination with the tank were now like a pack of wild dogs being chased, slumped against the cold armor of the tank.

They were panting heavily.

It looked like it was about to explode.

Sweat mixed with dirt covered his face.

Private Matsumoto felt like his heart was about to jump out of his throat.

「はあ……はあ……はあ……」

He was panting.

Every breath carried the stench of blood.

That 800 meters was the longest distance he had ever run in his life.

Bullets whizzed past my ear.

His companions fell one after another.

He thought he was going to die too.

But now—

He survived.

He leaned against the tank.

Feel the cold steel.

At that moment, the steel felt warm to him.

It is safe.

It can save lives.

"It's nothing to do..."

He murmured.

"It's alright...it's alright..."

Private Matsumoto even managed a slight smile.

That was the smile of someone who had survived a catastrophe.

That is--

The smile that made him think he had survived.

Next to Private Matsumoto, Sergeant Yamamoto was also leaning against a tank.

He wiped the sweat from his face.

Sweat mixed with dirt covered his face, but he didn't bother to wipe it off.

"Sukeko...is saved..."

Then he turned and shouted to the surviving soldiers:

"Get closer to the tank! Don't show yourselves!"

"The Chinese can't hit us!"

The soldiers huddled together.

It clings tightly to that steel "guardian".

There was also a Japanese soldier named Kitamura, the fellow villager who had dragged Matsumoto along the way, who was now also relying on a tank.

He turned to look at Matsumoto, panting, and patted him on the shoulder:

"生きてるぞ!"

(Still alive!)

Matsumoto also laughed:

「ああ……生きてる……」

(Hmm...alive...)

The two Japanese soldiers looked at each other and smiled.

They ran across the death line together.

We survived together.

They thought...

Beside them was a young soldier named Ono.

He is only nineteen years old this year.

I've only been in the army for three months.

This was his first time on the battlefield.

That 800 meters was the longest distance he had ever run in his life.

His legs were so weak from running.

I almost fell several times.

But Kitamura pulled him back.

They dragged him behind the tank.

Now, he's relying on tanks.

Looking at the veterans who were still falling in the distance.

Looking at those who were stronger and more experienced than him—

died.

And he survived.

He didn't know why.

But he knew that it was this tank that saved him.

He raised his head.

Looking at this enormous steel war machine.

Look at its thick cannon barrel.

Look at its thick armor.

His eyes were filled with adoration.

「すごい……」

(That's amazing...)

He murmured.

Then, he closed his eyes.

I thank the Emperor in my heart.

Thanks to the people who built the bean tank.

Thank you for this vehicle—

The steel behemoth that can protect him.

A smile appeared on his lips.

That was the smile of a new recruit who had survived for the first time.

That is--

A smile that suggested they were now safe.

Behind this group of infantrymen was a machine gunner named Ito.

He was carrying a machine gun, which weighed twenty pounds more than the others.

He was the slowest runner.

He was almost beaten to death by the Chinese.

Bullets whizzed past his ears with a "whoosh" sound.

One bullet even grazed his ear.

Blood flowed down, smearing half of his face.

But he still made it there.

They survived.

At that moment, he placed the machine gun on the ground.

He plopped down on his bottom.

Leaning against the tank.

He was panting heavily.

"Assist, and I will be a great man."

(It's all over now...)

Then, he took out a cigarette.

Click on it.

I took a deep breath.

Smoke was exhaled from his mouth.

It drifted away next to the tank.

He looked at the smoke.

Looking at his comrades who were still falling in the distance.

There was an indescribable feeling in my heart.

It seemed like she was relieved.

He seemed pleased with himself.

like-

The sense of superiority that comes from thinking, "I'm smarter than you, I can run faster."

He was smoking.

Leaning against the tank.

I feel like I've never felt so comfortable in my entire life.

There was another man named Nakamura, who was the youngest officer in the group.

second lieutenant.

He had graduated from the sergeant school less than six months ago.

He leaned against the tank.

He was panting.

His face wore a complex expression.

It seemed like shame.

It seemed like she was relieved.

like-

The disbelief that "I actually survived."

He almost peed his pants in fear.

As bullets flew, he lay prone on the ground, too afraid to move.

Sergeant Yamamoto rushed over and kicked him in the butt, sending him flying.

"Run! Run if you don't want to die!"

He ran away.

They ran like madmen.

Now, he has survived.

He leaned against the tank.

Looking at Sergeant Yamamoto.

I want to say thank you.

But I can't bring myself to say it.

Just watching.

There are several more.

I don't know its name.

Private First Class, Private Senior Class, Private First Class.

They were just running.

Still on the run.

Still afraid.

But now—

They survived.

They leaned against the bean tank.

He was panting.

Smiling.

I'm so glad.

Inside the tank, Ichiro Watanabe's cursing could be heard.

You could faintly hear it through the steel plate.

"Baka!"

"A bunch of useless trash!"

"Running so slowly!"

The infantrymen outside heard it.

But they didn't care.

Let them curse.

At least they survived.

Sergeant Yamamoto even smiled.

He knew that Watanabe was cursing them.

But he doesn't care.

Being scolded is better than dying.

He leaned against the tank.

Looking at his comrades who had fallen behind him.

Thinking to myself:

"Go ahead and curse, just let us live."

Just then.

One of the Japanese soldiers raised his head.

His name is Inoue.

He's a scout with the best eyesight.

He saw a black dot in the distance.

Very small.

in the sky.

He froze for a moment.

"What is that?"

He squinted.

I want to see it clearly.

But the black spot kept getting bigger and bigger.

faster and faster.

More and more—

clear.

It's a cannonball!

Inoue's eyes widened suddenly.

The pupil contracted to the size of a pinpoint.

He opened his mouth.

I want to shout.

I want to issue a warning.

But it was too late.

Because that shell had already arrived.

then.

Their prized bean tank exploded.

"boom--!!!"

The flames from the explosion shot skyward.

That bean tank that was just as sturdy as a mountain a moment ago.

That steel behemoth they thought could protect them.

The car they were leaning against, pressed against, thinking they were safe—

"Guardian Angel".

Like a toy.

It was blown up

At this moment, Private Matsumoto, leaning against the tank, had not yet reacted.

He was still smiling.

He was still muttering, "It's okay now."

then.

An explosion occurred.

He felt his body being lifted up by a tremendous force.

Like a fallen leaf.

It tumbled in the air.

He saw Beicun, the fellow villager who had been dragging him all the way.

It took flight too.

With him.

up in the air.

Kitamura's eyes were still open.

Look at him.

Mouth open.

What do you want to shout?

But I can't shout it out.

Only blood gushed from his mouth.

then.

The village of Beicun has fallen into disrepair.

It landed in the pile of burning tank wreckage.

Disappeared.

Ono, the nineteen-year-old recruit.

He was leaning against a tank, thanking the Emperor.

then.

The tank exploded.

He felt something hit him hard in the back.

heat.

It's hot.

Then came the pain.

Heart-piercing pain.

He lowered his head.

I saw a hole in my chest.

A hole the size of a bowl.

Blood gushed out of that hole.

It's still warm.

It smelled fishy.

He reached out, trying to cover the hole.

But as soon as my hand touched it, it slipped away.

It's too slippery.

It was all blood.

His legs went weak.

Kneel down.

Lie down on the ground.

In his final moments, he was still thinking about that sentence:

「すごい……」

"That's amazing..."

He didn't know exactly what made that tank so powerful.

All I know is that it exploded.

He exploded too.

Ito, that machine gunner.

He was smoking a cigarette.

Leaning against the tank.

Enjoying the thrill of surviving a disaster.

then.

The tank exploded.

He felt his body fly up.

The cigarette was still between his fingers.

It's still smoking.

He was in the air, looking at the cigarette.

Look at it.

then.

He fell.

It landed next to the tank wreckage.

The cigarette was still tucked inside.

It's still smoking.

But he no longer smokes.

Dead beyond dead.

And Lieutenant Nakamura, the young officer who almost wet his pants in fear.

He leaned against the tank.

Looking at Sergeant Yamamoto.

I want to say thank you.

I haven't said it yet.

The tank exploded.

His body was torn in two by the shockwave.

His upper body flew five meters away.

The lower body remained standing in the same spot.

I stood there for two seconds.

Then he fell down.

It has to be said that Private Matsumoto was really lucky.

It didn't die completely in the air and fell to the ground.

But his leg was broken.

His face was covered in blood.

He lay there.

Looking at those burning tanks.

Looking at those charred corpses.

Looking at those—

The person who was breathing alongside him just moments ago.

Kitamura is gone.

Ono is gone.

Ito is gone.

Sergeant Yamamoto is gone too.

He lay there.

Mouth open.

He was completely dumbfounded.

He murmured that sentence:

"It's nothing to do..."

"It's alright...it's alright..."

From Private Matsumoto's perspective.

The hull of the Japanese tank "01" is still burning.

Flames burst forth from every crevice.

Those once-sturdy armors are now glowing red-hot.

Deformed.

distortion.

melt.

Steel, at a temperature of two thousand degrees, flows like a candle.

dripping on the ground.

It dripped onto those corpses.

It makes a "buzzing" sound.

That sound was like a sigh from hell...