The candlelight inside the karst cave flickered in Wang Qingzhi's eyes, casting the red and blue flags on the sand table in an eerie, ghost-fire glow. She sat dejectedly on a stone stool in the cave, her slender fingers twisting the hem of her dress unconsciously, her knuckles turning white from the force. Xia Huai'an read the battle reports one by one, his voice echoing among the damp rock walls. Every single report felt like a knife digging into her heart.
"Report from the Third Guerrilla Battalion: Time: Midnight on the ninth day of the sixth month; Location: Yanshan Gorge."
"Situation: Night raid. A fifty-man squad of our Third Guerrilla Battalion sneaked near the enemy camp under the cover of night. First, they used bows and crossbows to kill the sentries, then threw Molotov cocktails to ignite the enemy tents. While the enemy panicked to put out the fires, our squad used hand grenades to bombard the stables, startling the horses and causing them to charge into the camp, trampling countless men."
"Results: Hundreds of enemy soldiers killed or wounded, over two hundred horses scattered in panic."
"Casualties: Three of our men lightly wounded, zero fatalities."
Wang Qingzhi snapped her head up, the candlelight casting trembling shadows across her pale face. She watched as Xia Huai'an's slender fingers plucked a blue flag from the sand table, his movement as casual as picking a wildflower. The sand grains shaken loose from the flagstaff fell in a soft patter, resembling t…
Chapter 156