Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 46 has nothing to do with you
On both sides of the narrow street, the ancient brick walls appear slightly yellowish in the afterglow of the setting sun, and the stone slabs on the street are worn smooth by the passage of time.

The air was thick with the acrid smell of gunpowder, as if every breath carried the heavy marks left by war. The center of the street was a scene of devastation; more than a dozen Japanese soldiers lay dead on the ground, their pools of bright red blood contrasting sharply with the dull brickwork, and a nauseating stench of blood rose from the ground.

In this unexpected encounter, the security regiment's rapid-fire weapons proved to be a significant advantage.

Two Thompson submachine guns and six Garand rifles fired hundreds of rounds in just a few seconds, turning the Japanese soldiers in front of them into a sieve at the cost of one dead and two wounded.

The weapons scattered on the ground by the Japanese soldiers gleamed coldly; rifles, grenades, and bayonets lay intertwined, a scene resembling a slaughterhouse, powerlessly recounting the conflict that had just taken place.

Several corpses could still be seen on the ground, still trembling slightly; they were Japanese soldiers whose bodies had not yet completely stiffened.

Everything around seemed to freeze for a moment. In this narrow, cramped alley, only the smoke of gunpowder still lingered, swirling in the air.

Su Yaoyang was the first to recover and yelled at the soldiers beside him, "What the hell are you all standing there for? Hurry up and clean up the battlefield!"

After saying that, he went first to the two colonels who had been killed, bent down and began to feel around.

"Colonel Hasegawa, Colonel Nagano Yuichiro... Hiss... This guy is actually the commander of the 11th Regiment, and this Hasegawa guy is actually the deputy commander of the Kunisaki Detachment, and these two swords they carry with them..."

Without a second thought, Su Yaoyang collected the two men's knives and identification documents, and instructed the highest-ranking sergeant among the soldiers to take the two corpses back.

After receiving the order, the sergeant looked around and said to Su Yaoyang with some concern, "Commander, why don't you come back with us? It's too dangerous here."

How could it not be dangerous? In that sudden encounter, if any Japanese soldier's hand had trembled even slightly, Su Yaoyang would have been going to meet his great-grandmother.

"All right!"

Su Yaoyang hesitated for a moment before agreeing. He had already killed the commander and deputy commander of the 11th Regiment, so there probably weren't many people left in the entire 11th Regiment. There was really no need for him to take any more risks.

"Sound the retreat bugle immediately and order all troops to cease pursuit and withdraw immediately!"

"Tick tock..."

The resounding bugle call echoed across the battlefield. The soldiers of the security regiment who heard the bugle call were slightly taken aback, and then the officers gave the order to retreat.

Twenty minutes later, almost all of the Second and Third Battalions, which had been ordered to attack, withdrew.

As soon as Su Yaoyang returned to the church, a petite figure rushed into his arms.

"Alright... don't cry... I'm perfectly fine, aren't I? I was just directing the battle from the back, there was no danger at all." Su Yaoyang comforted the little girl in his arms with a smile.

"Young Master, you lied to me again... Waaah... How embarrassing..."

Xiao Lu, her face streaked with tears, hugged him even tighter upon hearing this. The strong smell of gunpowder and blood emanating from her young master was making her sneeze, yet he still tried to deceive her.

Seeing that the little girl still didn't seem to want to let go, Su Yaoyang patted her shoulder and said softly, "Alright, there are so many people watching."

Several of our brothers were wounded in this operation. You go help Sister Mei first; I have some things to take care of.

"Um……"

Xiao Lu gave a muffled reply, sniffed hard, wiped away her tears, and turned to run away.

After watching her leave, Su Yaoyang was about to go find Li Gaoyuan when he heard a voice in English behind him. "Hey... Mr. Su!"

"what……"

Su Yaoyang turned his head and saw that it was John Miller, whom he hadn't seen for a day.

John walked over excitedly, about to say something, when he saw Su Yaoyang in military uniform. He paused for a moment before saying in a somewhat uncertain tone, "Su... should I call you Major now?"

“No…” Su Yaoyang shook his head, deliberately keeping a straight face and saying in English, “To be precise, you should call me Colonel, because I have been promoted to regimental commander.”

The reason he was still wearing the major's armband was because he hadn't had time to change his rank yet.

“Oh…that’s incredible.” John shrugged in surprise.

However, he was clearly not very concerned about Su Yaoyang's promotion to colonel. He then said excitedly, "Colonel, I have good news to tell you. After my arduous and extraordinary efforts, I have repaired that truck!"

"Really...that's certainly good news." Su Yaoyang paused for a moment, then smiled. "So, why did you come here now...?"

"Oh...of course I'm saying goodbye, and also collecting my reward, which you promised me." John was getting anxious. "You're not planning to go back on your word, are you?"

"of course not."

Su Yaoyang hesitated for a moment before carefully saying, "Mr. John, as you have probably seen, my men and I are bleeding and sacrificing for this country."

Just now, we fought a bloody battle with the Japanese in order to break through their blockade and escape.

But we still have many wounded soldiers and women here, and we need vehicles to evacuate them, but I can hardly find a single driver who can drive, so..."

"NO...NO...No, absolutely not!"

John shook his head vigorously. "I'm just a corpse collector. My job is to collect corpses, not to join either side in the war."

So I'm sorry, I can't grant your request, and I won't be able to drive you.

"I can pay you a salary... a very generous salary..."

"This is not about salary; no amount of money could make me give up my life."

"John, I heard you fought in World War I and were even a tank crewman, is that right?"

"Yes, but that has nothing to do with you...wait...how did you know?"

John was startled and looked at Su Yaoyang in shock.

"Of course, it was Chen Qiaozhi who told me." Su Yaoyang betrayed the young man with glasses without hesitation.

“Damn it, I knew it was him,” John muttered, but then shook his head. “But you might be overestimating me. I was driving a British Mark tank.”

But that was twenty years ago. Tanks now are vastly different from those of twenty years ago. Most importantly, I can't fight for you.

(End of this chapter)