The Iron Direction

Chapter Three: Warehouse

500 meters!

Perhaps the Japanese army was overconfident in the power of their planes and artillery, or perhaps they simply didn't take our Chinese troops seriously. So, during their charge, they marched with their heads held high, without pausing to seek cover or crouching to avoid incoming bullets.

But this seemed normal, because even I didn't believe we could withstand the Japanese offensive. At this time, even the regular Nationalist troops were riddled with factions and infighting, making it difficult for them to coordinate and form a strong fighting force—something the Japanese had already experienced. Moreover, we weren't even a regular army…

400 meters!

The cold glint of the Japanese bayonets reflecting in the smoke stung my eyes and rekindled the fear in my heart. The scene before me almost took my breath away; even my hand gripping the gun trembled uncontrollably, and I couldn't steady my aim several times!

300 meters!

Why hadn't they ordered their menacing soldiers to fire?

At this distance, I could clearly see the sneers on the Japanese soldiers' faces. At this speed, they wouldn't even be a minute before they reached us. If we didn't fire now, it would be too late!

I nervously glanced at Platoon Leader Chi not far away, but he seemed unfazed, coldly staring at the Japanese soldiers before him, still showing no intention of giving the order to fire.

"Fire!" Only when the Japanese soldiers were only two hundred meters away did Platoon Leader Chi shout, raising his rifle and firing the first bullet at the enemy.

Suddenly, a dense barrage of gunfire erupted. The Japanese soldiers at the front rank trembled violently as if electrocuted. Spurts of blood exploded from their bodies following the whistling of bullets. Everywhere lay wounded Japanese soldiers, their screams and howls filling the air. The air reeked of gunpowder and blood—a scene like a bloody curtain drawn back from hell before me.

But the Japanese didn't retreat. They charged forward like a pack of wild beasts, those in front falling trampling over the corpses of their fallen comrades.

And so, these two sworn enemies engaged in a brutal s*******r on this vast expanse of farmland!

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out, followed by a jolt in my shoulder as a bullet flew from my chamber.

This was the first time I had pulled the trigger since regaining consciousness. Compared to the previous shots, at least I wasn't closing my eyes now. But this didn't seem much better than shooting with my eyes closed, because I found that my target was still alive and kicking, completely unharmed…

“Bang! Bang!” Two more bullets were fired, but the result was the same; I had no idea where the bullets were going.

I believe one reason for this was that my hand was shaking too much. So I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to calm myself down. Then I recalled the horrific scenes of Japanese soldiers massacring civilians that I had seen in movies in modern times… Everyone says that if your heart is filled with hatred, you will fear nothing, and that's really true!

When I opened my eyes again, the hatred in my heart had overwhelmed my fear. At that moment, all I could think about was firing bullets into the chests of Japanese soldiers. So I pulled the bolt, raised my rifle, and fired at the Japanese soldiers not far away…

“Bang!”

With a gunshot, a Japanese soldier’s head exploded like a watermelon right in front of me. In my crosshairs, I could clearly see his face was mangled by bullets, red and white splattered everywhere. Then, he quickly collapsed to the ground like a deflated balloon.

“Bang!”

Another Japanese soldier fell to my gun. At that moment, I felt no fear, nor did I have time to be afraid, because the Japanese soldiers had already rushed to within seventy meters of our front line… I knew very well what this meant. During my university military training, my instructor had told me that the most common tactic in combat was to throw a volley of grenades at close range, and then, while the enemy was disoriented by the grenades, rush in with bayonets and stab them wildly!

We could do that, and the enemy could too, especially since the enemy in front of us were seasoned Japanese soldiers… So, to avoid being blown to bits by the Japanese grenades, the best way was to use our rifles to keep them out of danger…

However, just because that's what I thought didn't mean everyone else thought the same! Before I could even prepare myself, Platoon Leader Chi ordered us, “Fix bayonets!”

“Huh?” I was stunned. Fixed bayonets? To fight the Japanese hand-to-hand?

At that moment, I didn't realize that the battlefield didn't allow for questions, and no one would give me an answer, because there simply wasn't time.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Platoon Leader Chi brandished his pistol and roared at us, “Brothers! Fight the Japanese! Charge…”

“Charge!” One after another, the soldiers charged towards the enemy with bayonets, while I was still frantically searching for my bayonet…

Later, I realized it was fortunate that I hesitated and didn't charge, otherwise, the story that followed wouldn't have happened.

The Japanese and our front lines were not far apart; a direct confrontation would be instantaneous, with close combat occurring almost instantly. While firing at the Japanese might have been manageable, the difference in skill between us quickly became apparent in hand-to-hand combat.

Japan was a nation that revered Bushido; almost every Japanese person of that era knew a few strokes of a samurai sword. Furthermore, the Japanese army emphasized bayonet fighting techniques during training, making them virtually all bayonet masters. But what about us? I believe many of us, like myself, had never even touched a bayonet before going to the battlefield…

The battlefield is a cruel place; the scales of victory do not tip in our favor based on who is righteous or braver.

Therefore, despite our soldiers' burning passion to defend our homeland, we were still at a disadvantage due to the vast difference in skill between us and the enemy.

From my perspective, all I could see were blood-stained knife tips emerging from the bodies of our soldiers, some from their backs, some from their necks… The Japanese swordsmen were incredibly accurate and ruthless. Even as our soldiers dodged and parried, the Japanese could still accurately strike their vital points.

One soldier after another fell before me, and the entire battle line retreated step by step. With each step they took, they left behind pools of blood on the ground, a horrifying sight, and the lives of patriots…

This couldn't go on!

I had just fitted my rifle with a bayonet, ready to charge, but the sight made me stop in my tracks. I must clarify that my hesitation wasn't out of fear. Strangely enough, the fear of war is particularly intense before a battle, but once it begins, it's less so. It's like being extremely nervous before a college entrance exam, but suddenly feeling relaxed once you're actually sitting in the exam hall and starting to write.

The reason I didn't charge forward with the soldiers was because I knew this wasn't a sustainable strategy. Even if I rushed forward, I'd only be adding another corpse to the ground; I couldn't even slightly hinder the Japanese advance…

But what could I do? I was just a lowly soldier. Not only could I not command this army, but even if I could, I feared it would be too late!

Suddenly, I looked back and saw that the door of a warehouse behind me had been blown apart by Japanese artillery fire, revealing boxes of gasoline drums inside. Looking at the sloping terrain nearby… without further hesitation, I grabbed my rifle and ran towards the warehouse!

"What are you doing?" A sharp shout made me involuntarily stop, and then a pistol was pressed against my head.

I couldn't help but cry out inwardly: What kind of day is this? One after another, my own men have guns pointed at my head…

“Get back!” The owner of the pistol was an officer wearing a peaked cap. He narrowed his eyes and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: “Get back now, or I’ll shoot you dead!”

Only then did I realize that he thought I was a deserter. It was said that the Kuomintang had a detachment to supervise the troops during battles, and they specialized in killing soldiers who tried to desert. Now it seemed that it was indeed true…

“Sir!” I said somewhat tremblingly, “I don’t want to desert, I want to go to the warehouse…”

“Go to the warehouse for what? Get back!” The peaked cap officer didn’t listen to my explanation at all.

“Sir! I want to go to the warehouse to get gasoline and burn those damned Japanese!” After a slight hesitation, I decided to speak my mind. At worst, I would just die, right?

Hearing this, the peaked cap officer was stunned for a moment, then turned his head to look in the direction of the warehouse, and the gun in his hand lowered.

I knew things were going well, so I quickly pressed my advantage, saying, "Sir, the front line is about to fall. We can roll the gasoline drums down, order the troops to retreat, and then detonate them..."

Before I could finish, the officer in the peaked cap holstered his pistol and yelled at me urgently, "What are you standing there for? Go now..."

Then he waved to the dozen or so soldiers behind him, saying, "You guys, come with me... hurry up!"