Chapter 76: Riding A Tiger, Hard To Get Off
Looking at Song Mei’s worried gaze, Su Yaoyang didn’t speak. He raised his head to look at the churning yellow-green mustard gas around them, a surge of anxiety flashing in his heart.
After this round of poison gas release by the Japanese army, unless thorough disinfection and cleaning were carried out, the church area was no longer suitable for human habitation. The Japanese were truly vicious with this move.
Su Yaoyang took a deep breath and said to Mi: “Sister Mei, you first comfort those wounded soldiers. I’ll think of something.”
“Okay.”
Song Mei nodded, turned to leave, but then looked at Su Yaoyang and couldn’t help saying: “Yaoyang… no… Regiment Commander… don’t be too anxious. Fortunately, you equipped everyone with gas masks in time. Even if we can’t stay here, we can still break through the encirclement to another safe area.”
Although he couldn’t see Song Mei’s expression through the mask, Su Yaoyang still felt a warmth surge in his heart. He nodded and said: “I know. You go ahead and get busy.”
“Alright, I’ll go get busy then.” Song Mei also knew she couldn’t help much by staying here, so she turned and left after speaking.
After Song Mei left, Su Yaoyang walked to the remaining top of the church, stood high and looked down. He saw clumps of yellow-green poison mist rolling over the ruined streets, like twisted giant pythons coiling around the earth.
They couldn’t stay here. The troops had to withdraw, but the surroundings were full of Japanese troops. Where could this isolated unit withdraw to?
“This damned poison gas!” He couldn’t help cursing under his breath. “You’ve pissed me off. I’ll give you a taste of fighting poison with poison… Huh…”
His words suddenly stopped short, as if he had thought of something.
Then his right hand habitually grasped the necklace around his neck, and he infused his mental power into it. Soon, the familiar panel appeared in his mind.
Light weapons, firearms and ammunition, trucks, light armored vehicles… and here… he found it…
He suddenly saw the icon for a weapon option turn from gray to bright, and this icon was labeled with a name… isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate.
“It’s you… I finally found you.”
Looking at this name, Su Yaoyang’s heart suddenly beat violently…
At dusk, the badly battered 6th Division was exhausted. Over a thousand casualties forced Tani Hisao to halt the attack.
The temporary command post of the 6th Division was filled with choking tobacco and sour sweat smells. The telegraph machine’s clicking sounded like mocking something.
Tani Hisao kicked over the paulownia tea table with one foot. The celadon teacup shattered into powder under the officers’ boots, tea stains spreading twisted marks on the operations map.
Veins bulged on his neck, his whites of eyes crawled with bloodshot, his Adam’s apple rolled up and down loosening his collar button, looking like an enraged hyena.
“Baka!”
His roar shook the window frames buzzing. The staff officers shrank their necks in unison.
A young officer wearing round-framed glasses accidentally knocked over an ink bottle in panic. Thick black ink dripped along the table edge, blooming ferocious spots on the cement floor.
Tani Hisao suddenly fell silent. This deathly stillness was more suffocating than roaring. He grabbed his sword scabbard and smashed it heavily onto the sand table. The Nanjing city wall model with the Rising Sun flag collapsed with a crash, raising fine plaster dust.
He pointed at the several battalion commanders standing at attention before him and roared: “Half a day… just half a day, and you’ve suffered over a thousand casualties. Especially you… Bamboo Down-kun…”
He stared at 45th Battalion Commander Bamboo Down Yoshiharu Major, his eyes nearly spitting fire:
“Your 45th Battalion should have broken through the enemy’s No. 2 defense line at the first moment and directly entered the church to annihilate that man named Su Yaoyang. But in less than twenty minutes, your 2nd Company retreated in defeat. Has all your bushido spirit been fed to the dogs?”
“Hai!” Bamboo Down Yoshiharu lowered his head, wanting to argue but unable to speak, feeling deeply ashamed.
After speaking, Tani Hisao’s hand moved toward the Southern pistol at his waist.
Seeing this, everyone’s breathing paused for half a beat. Only when they saw he pulled out just a crumpled cigarette case did everyone relax.
The moment the match was struck, the dim yellow flame lit his twitching lips. Between the glowing and dimming cigarette tip, the staff saw a scar on his temple eerily gleaming purple-red.
“Gentlemen!” Tani Hisao’s hoarse voice rang out, a puff of smoke also exhaled from his mouth.
“This mission was snatched from the 9th Division’s hands. If we fail, you know what the consequences will be.”
“Hai!” The several battalion commanders responded solemnly in unison.
They certainly knew that now it was no longer a matter of the 6th Division’s honor, but a struggle over status with the 9th Division.
Not only was 9th Division Commander Yoshii Ryoji watching them, but Prince Asaka Yasuhiko and the generals of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army were also watching. If the 9th Division failed, from Tani Hisao down to these battalion commanders, they would probably all be replaced and spend the rest of their lives in the reserves.
“Okamoto-kun!” Tani Hisao looked at the major on the left, thin-faced, short-statured, wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
This major snapped his legs together and bowed slightly: “Division Commander, please give your orders!”
Tani Hisao said solemnly: “Okamoto-kun, the 13th Battalion’s combat strength has always ranked first in the 6th Division. Tomorrow, your battalion will launch the main attack. I give you only one day.
If you can’t take the enemy positions before nightfall, I will personally take command and command for you… Do you understand?”
“Hai!” 13th Battalion Commander Okamoto Yasuyuki bowed and responded solemnly.
His words were few, but the fleeting ferocity on his face said everything.
“Yoshi.”
“Division Commander!” A staff officer strode forward, bowed, and said loudly: “Headquarters just called… Tomorrow morning, the Commander-in-Chief will personally come to supervise the battle.”
The operations conference room was filled with thick tobacco smell. The ashtray by Tani Hisao’s finger was piled full of twisted cigarette butts.
When the staff officer gasped out the words “His Royal Highness,” his fingers holding the cigarette suddenly stiffened, and half a cigarette ash silently broke off onto the operations map.
In the corner, someone knocked over an enamel teacup. Brown tea stains spread on the Nanjing city defense blueprint, resembling the bloodied Qinhuai River they shelled yesterday.
Major Okamoto Yasuyuki’s gold-rimmed glasses gleamed coldly. The eyeballs behind the lenses trembled unnaturally, then he secretly wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
“Gentlemen.”
Tani Hisao suddenly stood up, his sword scabbard clanging against the table leg. All the battalion commanders stood up as if electrocuted, fine sweat beading on their temples under their helmets.
Outside the window came the roar of car engines. Someone’s military boots scraped squeakily on the wooden floor.
The red and blue pencil in the operations staff officer’s hand suddenly snapped. The lead core scratched a ferocious crack on the NJ urban area assault route map.
Tani Hisao noticed the water surface in his teacup trembling slightly, only then realizing his knee was uncontrollably bumping the table. He viciously stubbed out the cigarette, sharp pain coming from his scalded fingertip—this was the only real sensation at the moment.
“Tomorrow morning… I will personally go to the front line to supervise the battle. I hope you gentlemen will go all out and annihilate the enemy defenders!”
“Hai!”
