Bright Sword: This unit is really ruthless

"It's... it's useless..." Sun Desheng grabbed Zhang Ling's hand and shook his head, "I... I can't do it anymore... You... you should leave... Don't... Don't worry about me..."

"What nonsense are you talking about! How could I abandon you!" Zhang Ling's eyes were red, and he said firmly, "I promised you that I would take you home!"

"Home... hehe..." Sun Desheng smiled bitterly, "I... I no longer have a home..."

"You have! You still have us, and the entire independent regiment!" Zhang Ling shouted, "We are your brothers and your family!"

Sun Desheng was stunned for a moment, a complicated look flashed in his eyes. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but suddenly he started coughing violently. Blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth, staining the collar of his shirt red.

"Ahem... Zhang... Zhang Ling..." Sun Desheng grabbed Zhang Ling's hand and said with his last bit of strength, "I... I beg you... one thing..."

"What is it, you tell me? As long as I can do it, I will go through fire and water for it!" Zhang Ling held Sun Desheng's hand tightly and said solemnly.

Sun Desheng took a deep breath and said intermittently: "I... I have a sister... named Sun... Sun..."

Before he could finish his words, his eyes suddenly widened, his hands dropped weakly, and he closed his eyes forever.

"Old Sun! Old Sun!" Zhang Ling cried out in grief, but Sun Desheng would never respond to him again.

He hugged Sun Desheng's cold body tightly, his heart filled with grief and self-blame. He hated himself for not discovering the devil's intention earlier, and hated himself for not protecting his brother!

"what--"

Zhang Ling roared to the sky, his voice filled with endless sadness and anger!

Zhang Ling felt a buzzing in his ears and darkness in front of his eyes. When he came to his senses, he found that he had fallen into a pit. The bottom of the pit was damp and cold, and there was a musty smell.

"What the hell is this place?" Zhang Ling cursed and struggled to climb up, but found that the pit wall was wet and slippery and he couldn't grab at all.

"Lao Zhang! Lao Zhang! Where are you?"

Kong Jie's anxious shout came from above, and Zhang Ling's heart warmed, and he quickly responded: "I'm here! I fell into the pit!"

"Trap? What trap?" Kong Jie's voice sounded a little confused.

Zhang Ling explained helplessly: "It's just a dirt pit. You can see me if you look down."

After a while, Kong Jie's voice suddenly came from above: "Oh! I saw it! I saw it! Just wait, I'll pull you up right away!"

Zhang Ling looked up and saw Kong Jie lying on the edge of the pit with a rope in his hand. He threw the rope down with great effort, and Zhang Ling grabbed the rope and climbed out of the pit with the help of Kong Jie.

"I say, Lao Zhang, you have such great luck that you even fell into a pit during a battle." Kong Jie teased as he helped Zhang Ling brush off the dirt on his body.

Zhang Ling smiled bitterly and said, "Who says it's not true? I don't know when this devil dug the pit, and I almost died here."

"Okay, at least everyone is fine. Let's retreat quickly. We can't stay here for long." Kong Jie said, calling on the soldiers to continue retreating.

Zhang Ling ran with the team and finally got rid of the pursuing devils. They came to a valley and prepared to rest and count the casualties.

"Zhu Zi, what are the casualties like?" Zhang Ling asked.

Zhuzi replied with a sad face: "Reporting to the company commander, we have suffered heavy casualties this time. More than a dozen brothers have been killed and more than 20 brothers have been injured."

Zhang Ling's heart sank when he heard this. Although they won the battle, they also paid a heavy price. He took a deep breath, suppressed the sadness in his heart, and asked, "Have the wounded been properly settled?"

"They are all settled in, and the doctors are treating them now," Zhuzi replied.

Zhang Ling nodded and asked, "Where is Captain Kong?"

"Battalion Commander Kong is over there, talking on the phone with the brigade commander." Zhuzi said, pointing towards a big tree not far away.

Zhang Ling looked in the direction of the pillar and saw Kong Jie holding a phone and shouting into the receiver: "Brigade Commander, don't worry, everyone in our independent regiment is great. Although we suffered a little loss this time, we will definitely complete the mission!"

Zhang Ling walked over and heard a deep voice coming from the other end of the phone: "Kong Jie, I know you are not convinced, but the situation is special now. You must obey orders and retreat immediately!"

"Brigade Commander, but..."

"No buts! This is an order!" The voice on the other end of the phone left no room for doubt.

Kong Jie sighed helplessly and could only agree, "Yes!"

After hanging up the phone, Kong Jie said to Zhang Ling with a depressed look on his face: "Lao Zhang, the brigade commander ordered us to retreat, saying that a large force of the devils is coming this way, and we can't fight hard."

Zhang Ling nodded to show his understanding. He knew that now was not the time to act on impulse, and preserving strength was the most important thing.

"So what should we do now?" Kong Jie asked.

Zhang Ling pondered for a moment and said, "Let's find a safe place to rest first, and then..."

Before he could finish his words, suddenly, a burst of hurried horse hooves sounded from a distance, breaking the silence of the valley.

"Who is it?" Kong Jie asked vigilantly.

"It's one of us!" A familiar voice came.

Zhang Ling and Kong Jie looked in the direction of the sound and saw a figure in military uniform riding a tall horse galloping towards them.

"It's Ding Wei!" Kong Jie recognized the man at a glance. It was Ding Wei, the commander of the New 1st Regiment.

Ding Wei rode his horse up to them, dismounted, and walked straight to Zhang Ling. He looked him up and down and asked, "Are you Zhang Ling?"

Zhang Ling nodded. Before he could say anything, Ding Wei grabbed his hand and said excitedly, "Good boy, you have done a great deed! I have heard of your name for a long time, and today I finally see you in person!"

Zhang Ling was a little overwhelmed by Ding Wei's enthusiasm. Before he could react, Ding Wei continued, "Come on, follow me to see the brigade commander. The brigade commander wants to celebrate your success in person!"

Before Zhang Ling had the time to refuse, Ding Wei pulled him towards the brigade headquarters.

"Wait, Ding Wei, why are you here?" Kong Jie shouted from behind.

Ding Wei said without turning his head: "The brigade commander sent me to pick you up. By the way..." He lowered his voice a bit, "I have an important task for you!"

Zhang Ling's body fell heavily to the bottom of the pit, and a sharp pain came from his ankle. He gritted his teeth, endured the pain, and looked around in the weak light. This was an abandoned air-raid shelter, and the entrance was covered with weeds and rubble. If he hadn't fallen, it would have been difficult to be discovered.

The cave was small, and the air was filled with dampness and mold. Zhang Ling tried to stand up, but the severe pain in his ankle prevented him from moving. He had no choice but to sit down against the wall, took out a lighter from his pocket, lit a cigarette, and took a deep puff, trying to calm his panic.

"Damn it, what the hell is this!" Zhang Ling laughed bitterly. He never thought that he would leave the battlefield in this way. He knew that Yamamoto Ikki's death was a heavy blow to the Japanese, and they would definitely retaliate at all costs. Now he was in danger, isolated and helpless. It would be harder than climbing to the sky to survive.

But Zhang Ling did not give up hope. He was a time traveler from the 21st century, with knowledge and experience beyond this era. He knew that in this era, as long as there was a gun, there was still a glimmer of hope.

He carefully checked his equipment, except for the submachine gun that had run out of bullets, there was also a Browning pistol and several grenades. There were not many bullets, but it was better than nothing.

At this moment, there was a chaotic sound of footsteps outside the cave, mixed with shouts in Japanese. Zhang Ling's heart trembled, knowing that the Japanese were chasing him. He quickly loaded his pistol, held his breath, and listened carefully to the movement outside.

"Mr. Yamamoto, we have searched the area thoroughly and found no trace of Chinese troops," a voice said.

"Damn it! Yamamoto Taikun was killed by the Chinese army. They must be hiding nearby. Search them carefully!" another voice roared.

Zhang Ling's heart sank. He knew that the Japs would not let him go, and he had to find a way to escape.

He looked around and found a crack in the cave wall, which looked like a passage leading to the outside. He endured the pain in his ankle, crawled to the crack and observed carefully.

The crack was very narrow, only enough for one person to pass through. Zhang Ling hesitated for a moment, then decided to take a risk. He stuffed his pistol and grenade into his clothes, took a deep breath, and got into the crack.

The crack was long and dark, so Zhang Ling could only grope his way forward. He didn't know where the crack led to, nor did he know what was outside, but he had no choice but to move forward.

After climbing for an unknown amount of time, Zhang Ling finally saw a faint light. He was delighted and sped up his crawling speed.

"Snapped!"

With a crisp gunshot, a bullet flew over Zhang Ling's head, hit the rock wall, and splashed up a piece of rubble.

"Who?!" Zhang Ling was shocked and quickly shrank back and hid behind a rock.

"Don't shoot, we're one of us!" a familiar voice came.

Zhang Ling stuck his head out and, in the dim light, saw a tall figure standing at the entrance of the cave with a rifle in his hand.

"Li Yunlong?!" Zhang Ling shouted in surprise.

"Zhang Ling, is that you?!" Li Yunlong also recognized Zhang Ling and strode over. "Why are you here? I heard that you killed Yamamoto Ikki. You're awesome!"

Li Yunlong, the head of the Eighth Route Army Independent Regiment, is a legendary figure with a bold personality and bravery in combat. Zhang Ling joined the Independent Regiment shortly after traveling through time and became a close friend of Li Yunlong.

"It's hard to explain in a few words. Let's not talk about this for now. The Japanese are chasing me. We have to leave here quickly." Zhang Ling said as he struggled to stand up, but the injury to his ankle made him break out in a cold sweat.