Chapter 17

In the smoke-filled mountain forest, the air was thick with the choking stench of gunpowder and blood, the remnants of a brutal grenade blast. Leitao moved through the dense jungle like a vigilant leopard; the mist drifted through the trees like thin gauze, doing nothing to dampen the suffocating tension. A Japanese Army squad leader, relying on years of combat experience and keen intuition, finally pinpointed Leitao’s location after a grueling search. His eyes burned with a primal rage, like a cornered beast ready to lunge at its prey. "Attack! All units, attack!" the squad leader shrieked, his saber slashing wildly through the air as he pointed toward Leitao’s position. In an instant, the Japanese Army soldiers surged forward like a tide. They advanced rapidly, firing their Type 38 rifles incessantly; bullets whizzed past like a torrential downpour, splintering branches and sending plumes of dirt flying into the air.