Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

"Commander, it's all taken care of."

"All eighty-one Japanese soldiers were killed, and we suffered zero casualties."

He paused, then added.

"All forty men from Battalion Commander Deng's side have returned. Two soldiers have scraped their skin, but it's nothing serious."

Zhou Tianyang nodded, put away his sniper rifle, and scanned the entire valley with his eyes.

The corpses of those Japanese soldiers lay scattered all over the ground.

Judging from the equipment carried by the pursuing team.

This stronghold was indeed well-equipped and had a substantial reserve of troops; they had captured several light machine guns alone.

The ammunition is also much more plentiful than that of a regular squad outpost.

Deng Chen walked over from the bushes and stopped in front of Zhou Tianyang.

His expression was complicated.

He seemed to have been touched by something, but he didn't speak immediately.

He paused for a few seconds, as if he was organizing his thoughts.

"Commander."

He spoke, his voice lower and hoarse than usual.

Zhou Tianyang looked at him without saying anything, waiting for him to continue.

"When your soldiers fired, I could tell they weren't just blind."

"After firing a round, the magazine reload speed is extremely fast, with almost no pause in between."

"This kind of teamwork can't be developed in a day or two."

His gaze lingered on Zhou Tianyang's face for a moment.

"I've also seen well-performing units when I was in the 88th Division."

"The tactical skills of your unit are no worse than any I have ever seen."

Zhou Tianyang didn't reply, but simply nodded slightly.

He turned around and glanced at the direction of the mountain pass in the distance. The watchtower was still there, and the wall was still there, but the main force that had pursued them had been completely wiped out.

The remaining dozens of Japanese soldiers in the stronghold, though still a considerable number, were still a significant force.

However, they lost the courage to take the initiative and cowered in their fortifications, afraid to show their faces.

"Ma Yong, arrange for people to gather up the captured ammunition and weapons, and take everything that can be taken with them."

Zhou Tianyang didn't turn around, but gave a calm instruction.

"Leave the stronghold as is for now, as long as they don't dare to chase after us."

"Yes."

Ma Yong responded and turned to urge the soldiers to speed up the cleanup of the battlefield.

Zhou Tianyang withdrew his gaze, glanced at Deng Chen, and smiled slightly before walking towards the battlefield.

Deng Chen stood there watching his back.

A moment later, he also started walking and followed.

This ambush not only cleanly and efficiently wiped out the main force of the stronghold.

This allowed Deng Chen to witness firsthand the practical effectiveness of the New Second Regiment's combat style.

The more than three hundred veterans he brought with him.

In those twenty minutes, they also completed a psychological transformation from bandits to regular soldiers.

A few minutes later.

Deng Chen squatted down next to a Japanese soldier's corpse.

He reached out and unfastened the ammunition pouch from his waist, opened it, and glanced inside. There were sixty bullets inside.

He closed the lid and tossed the box into the bag next to him.

His movements were clean and efficient, and his face showed no emotion.

Behind him, more than three hundred veterans were busy working in different places.

Some people were squatting in the pile of corpses searching for ammunition and grenades, while others were gathering the captured guns by the roadside.

Someone used a bayonet to pry open the ammunition box and carried out the bullets one box at a time.

No one whispered or complained; everyone was focused on their work.

The movements carried a calm and practiced ease, as if they had been doing this countless times in the past.

Zhou Tianyang stood on a rock at the edge of the valley, watching the busy figures.

The veterans under Deng Chen's command cleaned up the battlefield more efficiently than he had expected.

They worked in groups of three, with a clear division of labor.

One person was responsible for searching people, another for collecting guns, and yet another for organizing ammunition; they worked together seamlessly.

The entire process involved almost no extra communication; the connection was made using only a few simple gestures.

Ma Yong strode over from the other end of the valley, carrying two Type 96 light machine guns on his shoulders.

He walked up to Zhou Tianyang, put the things down, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and spoke with an barely suppressed excitement.

"Commander, we've captured quite a lot this time."

"There are three light machine guns alone, more than sixty Type 38 rifles, and an estimated 20,000 rounds of ammunition."

Zhou Tianyang nodded, his gaze sweeping over the ever-growing pile of supplies.

"Have Battalion Commander Deng's men continue searching, don't miss any corner."

"The Japanese soldiers often hid loose bullets in their ammunition boxes; sometimes seventy or eighty bullets could be found on a single corpse."

Ma Yong responded and turned to run back to the center of the valley.

Zhou Tianyang jumped down from the rock, walked to the pile of captured supplies, bent down, picked up a Type 38 rifle, pulled back the bolt to check the rifling, and then put it down.

These guns are in better condition than those previously captured.

This shows that the Japanese soldiers at this stronghold did a very good job in their training and daily maintenance.

He then walked over to the group of light machine guns, squatted down, and checked the condition of the bolts.

Then he stood up and his gaze returned to the direction of the mountain pass stronghold.

It has quieted down over there.

The sentry on the top of the pillbox was nowhere to be seen, and there was no sign of anyone moving through the firing ports on the wall.

The remaining people in the stronghold completely retreated, daring not to show their faces again.

Deng Chen walked over from the other end of the valley.

He walked over to Zhou Tianyang, put the bag on the ground, glanced in the direction of the mountain pass, and spoke with a sense of certainty.

"Commander, the remaining men in the stronghold are too afraid to come out."

"Although they still have several dozen men, their main force is gone, and their commander died in the valley."

"The only thing they can do now is to stay in their fortifications and wait for reinforcements."

Zhou Tianyang withdrew his gaze and looked at Deng Chen.

"How long do you think it will take for reinforcements to arrive?"

Deng Chen thought for a moment, then stretched out his finger and gestured in the air.

"Judging from the location of this stronghold, the nearest Japanese garrison is at least ten miles away."

"From the moment they realized something was wrong to reporting it to their superiors, and then to the superiors mobilizing troops to come over."

"It will take at least an hour and a half."

He paused, then added.

"Moreover, although the Japanese reaction speed is fast, it also depends on whether they have enough mobile forces."

"If they only send a small squad as reinforcements, they'll just be throwing their lives away."

"If a larger number of troops need to be mobilized, the preparation time will be even longer."

"We still have half an hour."

Zhou Tianyang glanced at the sky; there was still some time before nightfall.

"Tell the brothers to speed up and take everything they can carry. Destroy what they can't take on the spot."

"Leave the stronghold there for now, and deal with it later when there's an opportunity."

Deng Chen nodded, turned around and shouted towards the center of the valley.

"Give it your all!"

"Take everything you can!"

The veterans' movements indeed became even faster.

Although the pace of the whole process quickened, it remained orderly and without any panic.

About twenty minutes later.

Several large bundles of captured supplies have been piled up in the center of the valley.

Rifles, machine guns, ammunition boxes, and food bags.

The soldiers each carried the weight they could carry, and the loose ammunition that they couldn't take with them was gathered together in one place.

A simple detonation device was made using captured grenades and explosive charges.