Chapter 460

On the Yuhuatai Position, raging fires burned so fiercely that the glow nearly illuminated the entire horizon. For a moment, a stark contrast emerged between the city of Jinling and the area outside its walls. Across the mountain paths beyond the city, many Japanese soldiers had narrowly escaped the flames of battle. Though they had survived, they were utterly exhausted, both in body and spirit. Some had even charged out from the inferno, their bodies covered in severe burns. These were the low-ranking Japanese infantry, and they were the slowest to retreat. Having lost their unit cohesion, they had discarded their rifles and artillery just to survive. Even so, of this force of ten thousand, fewer than one in ten would likely survive. The soldiers scattered along the sides of the roads, moving listlessly, their only desire to reach their base as quickly as possible. An air of defeat, stagnant as dead water, permeated the hearts of the Japanese troops. Behind this mass of retreating soldiers lay Jinling. Though the city had been subjected to shelling and aerial bombardment, the damage remained under control. As soon as the fighting ceased, the military police had immediately set out to clean up the aftermath. This first wave of the high-stakes defensive battle had been successfully weathered.