The Iron Direction

Chapter Four

A dozen soldiers from the 29th Army, led by their officer, hurriedly ran to the warehouse. Even without the officer's orders, we knew what to do: each man pushed over a barrel of gasoline and rolled it outside. With a series of clanging sounds, a dozen barrels of gasoline were soon lined up outside the warehouse.

"Pass down the order immediately!" the officer grabbed a communications officer beside him and said, "Tell the brothers to be alert and retreat as needed!"

"Yes, sir!" the communications officer replied, grabbing his rifle and running towards the front lines.

However, at this point, it seemed unnecessary for the communications officer to relay the order, because the troops resisting the Japanese on the front lines were nearing collapse, their retreat practically a withdrawal. In other words, the Japanese were essentially chasing our soldiers…

This wasn't to say our soldiers weren't brave enough, nor that they fought poorly; in fact, I knew very well they had done their utmost. However, the difference in skill level was a harsh reality, and the Japanese's pre-war preparations and training played a decisive role at this point.

But on the battlefield, skill level wasn't the only factor determining victory or defeat, and I believed the Japanese would soon realize this.

"Release!" With the officer's order, a dozen or so soldiers, including myself, released the oil drums. The dozen or so drums of gasoline clattered and rolled down the slope, increasing in speed as they went, some even flying high into the air after hitting rocks…

At this point, I started to worry about our soldiers; after all, each drum of gasoline weighed at least several hundred pounds, and being hit like that would be fatal, if not fatal. However, I quickly realized my worries were unnecessary. The soldiers had received prior warning, and since they were now fleeing towards us, they were well-prepared when the drums rolled down. They easily avoided the rolling drums by simply adjusting their retreat route.

The Japanese soldiers following behind were in a much worse situation. They had been relentlessly pursuing our troops, and with their vision obstructed by our soldiers, they hadn't noticed the oil drums. Caught off guard, they collided head-on with them…

Despite their superior military skills, their flesh and blood couldn't withstand the crushing force of the rapidly rolling oil drums. Screams erupted, and the Japanese formation quickly crumbled. The quick-witted scrambled to dodge the oncoming drums, while the less agile were instantly crushed and mangled.

However, they didn't know… their nightmare had only just begun!

In fact, I believe that by this time, a significant portion of the Japanese soldiers knew what awaited them!

The Japanese weren't fools; they knew the rolling drums were oil drums, and they knew they contained gasoline, which was flammable. Yet, they still chose to continue charging forward instead of retreating.

Some might not understand why the Japanese soldiers would knowingly risk their lives, but I can understand their actions. The reason was simple: they hadn't received orders to retreat!

Orders were inviolable to the Japanese army, even at the cost of lives.

I once heard of a Japanese officer who, while training his soldiers to march in formation, forgot to shout "Attention!" because those around him were chatting. As a result, the entire group of Japanese soldiers marched down a cliff several meters high, suffering heavy casualties. Some even got up injured and continued marching…

This certainly demonstrates the strict discipline of the Japanese army, but on the other hand, it also seems to prove that they had lost their humanity, becoming mindless, emotionless war machines!

It was precisely because of this that my oil drum plan was such a resounding success!

"Fire!" With the officer's command, we, already prepared, immediately aimed at the oil drums and pulled the trigger.

What happened next was predictable: with a series of loud booms, bursts of bright red flames exploded before our eyes. Groups of Japanese soldiers were blasted into the air before crashing heavily into the flames.

Screams and cries filled the air, and the air was instantly thick with the stench of gasoline and burning flesh.

Each exploding gasoline drum sprayed flaming gasoline dozens of meters away, turning our view into a sea of fire. Everywhere we looked, burning Japanese soldiers ran frantically, some rolling on the ground, some waving their arms, others jumping and running, seemingly trying to escape the inferno. But no matter how they ran, they couldn't escape the raging flames…

The battle stopped at that moment. Both the Japanese and the Nationalist troops halted their movements, staring blankly at the inferno between them. Even the ruthless Japanese were terrified by the hellish fire before them, unable to advance an inch. Our soldiers, on the other hand, stood on one side of the fire, coldly watching the Japanese soldiers being burned alive.

No one fired a shot, for no one wanted to let these beasts find their end too soon; no one spoke, for the soldiers wanted to quietly savor the fate of these savages. Thinking of the usual arrogance of these Japanese, of how they treated our people, and then seeing their current miserable state, we felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction…

Perhaps this is the cruel side of humanity. Even I, who used to be afraid of the dead, could now face such a scene without flinching.

But the battlefield is meant to be cruel; it has always been a place where the strong prey on the weak, with no place for mercy!

As the shouts of the Japanese soldiers in the flames grew fewer and weaker, the other Japanese troops retreated silently, leaving only the thunderous cheers of the soldiers.

"Well done, Company Commander Xu!" Platoon Leader Chi, covered in blood, rushed to the man in the peaked cap and exclaimed excitedly, "Damn it, I didn't expect the Japanese to be so powerful! I almost got hurt by them! Company Commander, thank goodness for your fire-burning technique on the rattan armor soldiers, otherwise I would be lying here..."

"Platoon Leader Chi! Don't thank me yet!" The man in the peaked cap, called Company Commander Xu, nodded at me and said, "This is one of your soldiers, isn't it?"

"Yes, so what?" Platoon Leader Chi only then noticed me beside him, looked me up and down, and then his face suddenly turned cold: "How come you're not covered in blood? You didn't desert, did you? I'm not letting you get away with this..."

"Hey! Platoon Leader Chi!" Seeing that Platoon Leader Chi was about to make a move, Company Commander Xu quickly stepped forward to stop him: "Platoon Leader Chi, you need to change your hot temper! He's a good soldier, you know, he's the one who came up with this fire-burning technique on the rattan armor soldiers!"

"Hmm!" Platoon Leader Chi was taken aback upon hearing this, then slapped my shoulder hard and burst into laughter, "Damn it, you've got guts!"

He then joined Company Commander Xu in laughter.

I was somewhat dumbfounded by Platoon Leader Chi's actions. He had just been about to attack me, but the next second he was acting like a brother. The stark contrast was hard for me to accept. But thinking about it, it wasn't surprising. Perhaps this was the straightforwardness of soldiers. They loved their comrades like brothers, but towards the enemy or anyone who insulted the dignity of the unit, they hated them with a vengeance!

"Whoosh..." Before Platoon Leader Chi and Company Commander Xu's laughter had even faded, a strange howling sound came from the sky.

Having learned from past experience, I immediately realized it was Japanese artillery fire, and before the company commander could give the order, I dropped to the ground in a shell crater.

Sure enough, swarms of shells soon exploded on our position, the intensity of the bombardment even greater than the previous one. But for some reason, this time I felt only exhilaration, not fear.

Later, I realized there were two reasons: first, I knew the Japanese weren't invincible; even though we were just new recruits, we could still thwart their offensive with our own strength; second, I knew the Japanese were firing because they couldn't bear the humiliation of being defeated by us new recruits—they were venting their anger with shells!

I don't have many other hobbies, except for enjoying seeing my opponents angry. I find it very satisfying to make them angry, ideally to the point of fuming and banging their heads on the ground. Of course, committing seppuku would be even better! So the more the Japanese shelled us, the happier I felt...

However, it was obvious that the Japanese didn't have many shells, so after a few minutes the shelling became sporadic harassment, and perhaps they were worried we'd burn the oil drums again, so they didn't launch another attack on our camp.

"Little brother! Here..." As the shelling subsided, Platoon Leader Chi crouched down and ran to my side, handing me a large iron sword, saying, "The company commander asked me to bring this to you..."

"A sword?" I was puzzled. In this age of guns, was there still a need for such a thing?

"This is a tradition of our 29th Army!" Platoon Leader Chi explained with a beaming face, "Company Commander Xu asked me to give you this sword, which means he acknowledges you as a member of our 29th Army..."

"What? You're soldiers of the 29th Army?" Hearing this, I was shocked, remembering that Platoon Leader Chi had told me this was Nanyuan, and that my unit was a militarytraining regiment... I felt a chill run down my spine, my mouth agape for a long time...