Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 76 Riding a Tiger and Being Difficult to Dismount
Seeing Song Mei's worried eyes, Su Yaoyang didn't speak. He looked up at the churning yellow-green mustard gas around him, and a sense of anxiety flashed through his mind.

After the Japanese army released poison gas, the area around the church was no longer suitable for human habitation unless it was disinfected and cleaned. The Japanese were really vicious in this move.

Su Yaoyang took a deep breath and said, "Sister Mei, please calm down the wounded first, and I'll think of something else."

"Ok."

Song Mei nodded and turned to leave, but then looked at Su Yaoyang and couldn't help but say, "Yaoyang... no... 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 fight our way out to another safe zone."

Although he couldn't see Song Mei's expression through the mask, Su Yaoyang still felt a surge of warmth in his heart and nodded, saying, "I understand, you can go ahead and get busy."

"Alright, I'll go take care of my work now." Song Mei knew that she wouldn't be of much help if she stayed any longer, so she turned and left after saying that.

After Song Mei left, Su Yaoyang walked to the top of the remaining church and looked down. He saw clumps of yellowish-green poisonous fog rolling on the ruined streets, like twisted giant pythons coiling around the earth.

They couldn't stay here any longer; the troops had to evacuate. But the Japanese were everywhere, so where could this isolated force go?
"This damn poison gas!" he couldn't help but curse under his breath. "You've angered me, I'll fight fire with fire... ugh..."

His words abruptly stopped, as if he had thought of something.

Then, he instinctively grabbed the necklace around his neck with his right hand and infused it with his mental energy. A familiar panel then appeared in his mind.

Small arms, firearms and ammunition, trucks, light armored vehicles... and here... he found it...

He suddenly noticed that a weapon option icon had changed from gray to a bright color, and the icon was labeled with a name... isopropyl methylflufenicol.

"It's you... I've finally found you."

Upon seeing this name, Su Yaoyang's heart suddenly skipped a beat...

By evening, the 6th Division, which had suffered heavy losses, was exhausted. More than a thousand casualties forced Tani Hisao to halt the offensive.

The 6th Division's temporary command post was filled with the acrid smell of tobacco and sweat, and the clicking of the telegraph machine seemed to be mocking something.

Tani Hisao kicked over the paulownia wood tea table, and the celadon teacup shattered into dust under his boots, leaving distorted stains on the battle map.

The veins on his neck bulged, his eyes were bloodshot, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, loosening his top button, making him look like an enraged hyena.

"idiot!"

His roar made the windowpanes vibrate, and the staff officers instinctively shrank back.

In a moment of panic, a young officer wearing round-framed glasses accidentally knocked over an ink bottle, and thick black ink dripped down the edge of the table, leaving hideous spots on the cement floor.

Tani Hisao suddenly fell silent, a deathly stillness more suffocating than any roar. He grabbed his scabbard and slammed it heavily onto the sand table. The model of the Nanjing city wall, adorned with the Rising Sun Flag, collapsed with a crash, raising a cloud of fine plaster dust.

He pointed at the several regimental commanders standing before him with their hands at their sides and roared, "In just half a day... in just half a day, you've already suffered over a thousand casualties, especially you... Takeshita-kun..."

He stared at Colonel Takeshita Yoshiharu, the commander of the 45th Regiment, his eyes practically spitting fire:

"Your 45th Regiment should have broken through the Chinese's second line of defense immediately and stormed into the church to annihilate that man named Su Yaoyang. But in less than twenty minutes, your second battalion retreated. Have you all given up your Bushido spirit?"

"Hai!" Takeshita Yoshiharu lowered his head, wanting to explain but unable to utter a word, feeling only unbearable shame.

After speaking, Tani Hisao reached for the Nambu pistol at his waist.

At this point, everyone held their breath for a moment, until they saw that he had only pulled out a crumpled cigarette pack, at which point everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The moment the match was struck, the dim yellow light illuminated his twitching lips, and in the flickering of the cigarette butt, the staff officer saw a scar on his temple that was eerily glowing with a purplish-red luster.

"Gentlemen!" Tani Hisao's hoarse voice rang out, and a puff of smoke came out of his mouth.

"We snatched this mission from the Ninth Division. If we fail, you know what the consequences will be."

"Hai!" Several regimental commanders responded solemnly in unison.

They were well aware, of course, that this was no longer a matter of honor for the Sixth Division, but rather a struggle for status with the Ninth Division.

Not only was the 9th Division Commander Yoshizumi Ryosuke watching them, but Prince Asaka Yasuhiko and a group of generals from the Shanghai Expeditionary Army were also watching them. If the 9th Division suffered a defeat, from Tani Hisao down to these regimental commanders, they would probably all be replaced and would probably have to stay in the reserves for the rest of their lives.

“Okamoto-kun!” Tani Hisao looked at the colonel standing on the left, who was thin, short, and wore gold-rimmed glasses.

The colonel stood with his legs together and bowed slightly: "Division Commander, please give your orders!"

Tani Hisao solemnly said, "Okamoto-kun, the 13th Regiment's combat strength has always been among the best in the 6th Division. Tomorrow, your regiment will launch the main attack. I'm only giving you one day."

If we can't take the Chinese position before dark, I'll personally take command and lead in your place... Do you understand?"

"Hai!" Captain Okamoto Yasuyuki of the 13th Regiment bowed respectfully and replied.

He didn't say much, but the fleeting ferocity on his face said it all.

"Yoshi"

"Your Excellency, Division Commander!" A staff officer strode over, bowed, and announced loudly, "Headquarters just called... Your Excellency will personally come to oversee the battle tomorrow morning."

The war room was filled with the strong smell of tobacco, and the ashtray between Tani Hisao's fingers was piled high with twisted cigarette butts.

When the staff officer gasped for breath and uttered the words "Your Highness," his fingers holding the cigarette suddenly froze, and half of the cigarette ash broke off silently on the battle map.

In the corner, someone knocked over an enamel teacup, and brown tea stains spread across the Nanjing city defense map, much like the bloodstains from the Qinhuai River they had bombarded yesterday.

Colonel Yasuyuki Okamoto's gold-rimmed glasses gleamed coldly, and his eyeballs behind the lenses twitched involuntarily before he secretly wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

"Gentlemen."

Hisao Tani suddenly stood up, his saber scabbard slamming against the table leg with a jarring sound. All the regimental commanders rose at the same time as if struck by lightning, fine beads of sweat beading on their temples beneath their helmets.

The roar of a car engine came from outside the window, and the creaking sound of someone's military boots scraping against the wooden floor.

The red and blue pencil in the operations staff officer's hand suddenly broke, the lead leaving a jagged crack on the NJ city attack route map.

Hisao Tani noticed the surface of his teacup trembling slightly, then realized his knee was slamming uncontrollably against the table. He stubbed out his cigarette, a sharp pain shooting through his burned fingertips—the only real sensation he felt at that moment.

"Tomorrow morning... I will personally go to the front line to supervise the battle. I hope you will all do your best to annihilate the Chinese defenders!"

"Hai!"

(End of this chapter)