Chapter 50: Special Japanese Troops Shock the Deputy Commander: Rising Dough! How Can a Mysterious Unit Be This Powerful?

Upon arriving at the frontline headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, the brigade commander immediately sought out the deputy commander-in-chief.

"Deputy Commander, I've just come from the Independent Regiment," the brigade commander reported. "The Independent Regiment was ambushed by the Japanese last night. Over a hundred Japanese special forces soldiers inflicted heavy losses on them."

"The Independent Regiment suffered hundreds of casualties, yet they failed to keep a single Japanese soldier... In the end, all they recovered was a single Japanese steel helmet!"

"What?" Upon hearing this, the deputy commander flew into a rage on the spot. "Is that Kong Jie good for nothing? How on earth was this battle fought?"

"Calling them a main force regiment is a joke! They're softer than dough!"

Anticipating this reaction, the brigade commander stood quietly to the side, waiting for the deputy commander to vent his anger.

He had to let the deputy commander let off steam before the rest of the report could be made.

Given the disastrous outcome for the Independent Regiment, Kong Jie had to take the blame—there was no getting around it.

As the direct superior of the Independent Regiment, the brigade commander was bound to catch flak as well!

Once the deputy commander finished his tirade, the brigade commander cautiously spoke up, "Deputy Commander, I know you're furious, but please calm down for a moment."

"While the Independent Regiment's performance in this battle is certainly worthy of censure, I have much more important information to report to you."

"Go ahead, let's hear it..." The deputy commander furrowed his brows, sensing that something was amiss.

"The special forces unit that ambushed the Independent Regiment yesterday is quite extraordinary," the brigade commander said in a deep voice. "I went to Yang Village to inspect their equipment, and it's a full suite of specialized gear."

"It includes MP38 submachine guns, semi-automatic pistols, tactical vests..."

"In short, these Japanese soldiers were fully armed. Clearly, they are a special operations unit that the Japanese have invested heavily in, and their combat effectiveness is terrifyingly high."

"After all, the Independent Regiment is one of our main force regiments, and we've all witnessed their combat capability in the past. Yet, against this group of special forces Japanese, they were utterly crushed."

"This just goes to show how formidable these Japanese special forces truly are."

Hearing the brigade commander's report, the deputy commander wore an expression of sheer astonishment.

"The equipment of this Japanese unit is that sophisticated? Entirely German-equipped!" The deputy commander widened his eyes in disbelief. "The Japanese must have spent a fortune."

"Why would the Japanese deploy such a unit to attack the Independent Regiment? Aren't they out of their minds?"

"Even if the Independent Regiment is a main force regiment, the Japanese shouldn't expose such a powerful force to them... After all, this is supposed to be their secret weapon."

The deputy chief of staff, who was also present, had listened to the entire conversation between the brigade commander and the deputy commander.

At this moment, the deputy chief of staff turned to look at the map hanging on the wall and said, "Something isn't right here. Give me a moment."

He fixed his gaze on the map and quickly spotted the anomaly.

"Deputy Commander, look at the map..." The deputy chief of staff traced a line with his finger. "Based on the intelligence reported by the Independent Regiment..."

"This group of Japanese special forces most likely came from Yuancheng."

"From Yuancheng all the way to Yang Village, the movements of this Japanese special forces unit went completely unnoticed. Leaving such a pristine infiltration route on the map is a testament to their capability."

"However, going to all this trouble couldn't possibly be just to target the Independent Regiment."

"It's not that I look down on the Independent Regiment, but the Japanese simply wouldn't expend this level of effort for a single regiment."

"Look further, Deputy Commander. If you follow the Japanese infiltration route past Yang Village and keep going, you'll find Dahewan, where our Eighth Route Army frontline headquarters is located."

"I recall that the Independent Regiment had just rotated into Yang Village, haven't they?"

"If the Independent Regiment hadn't been rotated there, this group of Japanese special forces could have bypassed Yang Village entirely and struck directly at our frontline headquarters."

"It's just that, due to delayed intelligence, the Japanese didn't know the Independent Regiment had rotated into Yang Village... and thus their operation happened to collide with them."

"From this perspective, the Independent Regiment's encounter was purely an accident, and they effectively took a bullet for our headquarters."

"Otherwise, had those Japanese soldiers truly broken through to our headquarters, we would have been in grave danger."

"After all, even when wishing to avoid entanglement with the Independent Regiment, these Japanese soldiers still managed to inflict such massive casualties upon them."

"Our headquarters has only two security regiments; they clearly are no match for this special forces unit."

Upon hearing the deputy chief of staff's analysis, both the deputy commander and the brigade commander immediately grew alert.

"Indeed," the deputy commander said, furrowing his brow deeply. "The Japanese would never make such a massive fuss over a single Independent Regiment."

"The Independent Regiment accidentally took a bullet for us."

"However, it is also a fact that the Independent Regiment fought poorly, and they must be punished."

"Otherwise, they'll just make the same mistake again."

Despite saying this, the harshness in the deputy commander's tone had largely dissipated.

Just then, the brigade commander suddenly added, "By the way, although the Independent Regiment failed to pin down these Japanese special forces..."

"As this special forces unit was retreating past Yangjiagou, they were ambushed by another mysterious force."

"Over a hundred Japanese special forces soldiers suffered heavy casualties in Yangshugou, with only a small fraction managing to escape."

"More than fifty Japanese special forces soldiers perished right there in Yangshugou."

Hearing this, both the deputy commander and the deputy chief of staff widened their eyes in absolute shock.

"Someone actually inflicted such heavy losses on this Japanese special forces unit?" the deputy commander asked in utter disbelief. "The opposing force must be unimaginably powerful."

Comparing the performance of this mysterious force with that of the Independent Regiment, the difference was night and day.

"What is the background of this unit? Their strength is astonishing!" the deputy chief of staff asked, curiosity written all over his face.

The brigade commander shook his head. "Unknown. The opposing force made quick work of them, concluding the battle in less than half a minute, and cleared the battlefield in just a few minutes. They didn't leave a single thing behind—not even a single corpse of their own."

"This shows that the mysterious unit suffered minimal casualties while severely battering the Japanese special forces."

"Furthermore, their numbers shouldn't be very large, which can be deduced from the traces left at the battlefield."

"After all, if there were too many people, it would be impossible to appear and vanish like ghosts."

"The more I speculate, the more formidable I realize this mysterious unit is."

"I just have no idea where they came from."

The deputy commander, the deputy chief of staff, and the brigade commander exchanged glances, seeing the profound shock mirrored in each other's eyes.

"We've never heard of such a powerful unit emerging from the Central Army or the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, have we?" the deputy commander guessed with a frown. "Could it be a secret force they've been cultivating?"

"Unlikely..." The brigade commander shook his head. "Because when this mysterious unit retreated, they deliberately left behind a complete set of Japanese special forces equipment; otherwise, we wouldn't even have been able to gauge the strength of those Japanese soldiers."

"The Central Army and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army wouldn't be that generous."

The three of them debated and guessed about the mysterious unit for a long time, but reached no consensus.

It wasn't that they didn't want to suspect Li Yunlong, but rather that there was simply no connection between the two.

With no other choice, the three of them had to change the subject.

"Deputy Commander, how do you plan to deal with Kong Jie?" the brigade commander asked.

"Relieve him of his post and let him reflect deeply," the deputy commander said with a stern face. "Even though their Independent Regiment blocked a bullet for the headquarters, the fact that they fought a lost battle is indisputable, and such a crushing defeat at that."

"Kong Jie unquestionably has command issues."

"Then who should we assign to command the Independent Regiment?" the brigade commander asked, somewhat troubled.

Neither the deputy commander nor the deputy chief of staff had a suitable candidate in mind at the moment.

"Sigh..." The deputy commander suddenly let out a sigh. "If only Li Yunlong were still around. That rascal has all sorts of unorthodox ideas and knows how to lead troops well."

"Having him take over the Independent Regiment would be the most fitting choice."

"It's just a pity that we still haven't heard any news of him to this day..."