Chapter 422

The valley was thick with the acrid smell of gunpowder, mixed with the coppery reek of fresh blood that lingered in the air. The battle was over, but the battlefield lay in dead silence. Leitao stood amidst the wreckage, his clothes stained with dust and enemy blood, looking both exhausted and resolute. Looking at the scattered bodies of the Japanese Army, he immediately gave an order to the Netherworld Squad: "Go through the enemy corpses and finish off any who might be playing dead. Leave none alive!" Weary though they were, the squad members sprang into action upon hearing the command. Picking up the Type 38 rifles with fixed bayonets that lay on the ground, they began methodically checking the Japanese bodies one by one... Zhao Fugui strode across the battlefield, covered in blood. His saber was still dripping—with the blood of both the enemy and their own men. He said to Leitao, "Captain Lei, it's infuriating that we let Matsui Ichiro get away this time!" Leitao patted his shoulder. "We dealt them a heavy blow. The next time we cross paths, we won't let him escape."