Li Jingsong sat in his command center, the weight of the war etched into his face. Beside him, his Chief of Staff was urgent: “We must bring up the 4th and 5th Regiments now, sir. Otherwise, the line will break.”
“Call the 4th. Get them up here immediately. Split them up and reinforce the existing positions,” Li Jingsong said, his voice trembling slightly.
It wasn’t just fear. Earlier, while observing his troops, he estimated that out of his three regiments—roughly 6,000 men—barely 2,000 were actually returning fire during the climax of the assault. He didn’t want to think about where the rest were. Though the formal casualty reports hadn’t arrived, he knew the butcher’s bill was staggering.
“Sir, the Commander is on the line!” a staff officer shouted. Li Jingsong stood and marched to the phone.
“Report. This is Li Jingsong.”
“Jingsong, how is the situation?” It was his father, Li Tianyuan, Commander of the 27th Army. “The enemy has paused. What are your casualties?”
“Heavy. Very heavy, Father,” Li Jingsong replied instantly.
“What? Listen, you have to hold for a week. That is a direct order from High Command. The 26th Army has only just entered Tianyu Province; they need more time to establish the fallback line. I’m also working on defenses here, but I need two days. You must hold.”
“A week? Father, you might as well come collect my corpse then,” Li Jingsong’s voice rose with agitation. “I don’t even know if I can hold through today. The three regiments I have on the line have likely lost half their strength, and it’s not even 10:00 AM. If the Allies launch another wave today, this entire division will be wiped out by sunset!”
“Jingsong, the other two divisions are in even worse shape. Their losses are higher. But we must hold here for a week. It’s a ‘death order’ from the military. If we break, we’ll all face a court-martial!”
“Let them face the court-martial! Why are there no reinforcements? Why haven’t they used the Air Force transport wing to fly in fresh troops? Are they just using the 27th Army as a sacrificial lamb?” Li Jingsong roared into the phone. The other end went silent.
“Father, tell those people at High Command to come down here and try holding for a week with one army. We’re being hammered by naval guns, bombers, and tanks, all while facing a sea of infantry. Tell them if they’re so capable, they should come lead the defense themselves!” Li Jingsong slammed the phone down.
He wiped his face and walked to the observation slit. On the horizon, the massive Allied fleet remained anchored, a dark omen on the water.
“Commander, look! They’re dropping the landing craft again. Another wave is coming!” an aide shouted.
“Alert all units! Prepare for battle!” Li Jingsong ordered, his eyes fixed on the sea.
In the trenches, Hu Hao was also watching the landing craft drop into the water.
“Dammit, here we go again,” he muttered. He turned and yelled to the men in the trench, “Move the wounded into the bunkers! Now! The enemy is attacking again. Check your ammo!”
His voice was echoed by the Platoon Leader nearby. Hu Hao scavenged several magazines from the ground—likely left by fallen soldiers—and ducked into his bunker to reload them. Soon, Huan Xingtao and the rest of the squad returned, their faces ghostly pale.
“Load up. Hurry!” Hu Hao said. He knew why they looked like that. They had seen the bodies of their friends, and the raw reality of a battlefield was turning their stomachs.
“Right,” they muttered, their hands shaking as they pressed bullets into magazines.
Hu Hao finished loading and leaned against the wall. A minute later, the others followed suit.
“Here. Light ’em up.” Hu Hao tossed a pack of cigarettes to the center of the group. Only he and Huan Xingtao were regular smokers, but the others didn’t hesitate. They picked them up in silence, passing around a lighter. The atmosphere in the bunker was suffocatingly heavy.
“Hao-ge, thank you,” He Jizhong said quietly. “If not for you, some of us wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”
The squad knew it was the truth. Their sector was intact only because Hu Hao had personally decimated the landing force in front of them and guided their every move. In other squads, the lucky ones had lost three men; the unlucky ones were gone entirely. In their squad, all ten were still alive—the only full squad in the entire company. Their Company Commander and First Lieutenant were already dead, their bodies lying in a side chamber of the bunker.
“Don’t mention it,” Hu Hao said with a faint smile.
He knew the cruelty of war, but these men were learning it the hard way. Despite their ranks, they were essentially greenhorns who had never seen blood. When the shells started falling, instinct was their worst enemy.
“Hao-ge, do you think we can hold today?” He Jizhong asked.
“I’ve been tracking our strength. We have three regiments on the line and two in reserve. Reinforcements should be arriving soon. We’ll hold,” Hu Hao said. Though he tried to sound confident, the men could hear the underlying tension in his voice.
Suddenly, the trench outside grew noisy.
“What’s going on?” Hu Hao asked.
“I’ll check,” Huan Xingtao said, peeking out. He ducked back in quickly. “Hao-ge, reinforcements are here. Looks like the 4th Regiment.”
“Why the hell are they still standing in the open? Do they want to die?” Hu Hao stood up and scrambled out.
“GET IN THE BUNKERS! WHAT ARE YOU STANDING AROUND FOR?” Hu Hao roared at the fresh soldiers milling about the trench.
“Who are you to tell us what to do?” a Squad Leader from the 4th Regiment barked back, clearly annoyed.
“Get in the holes! The naval guns are about to start ranging us! MOVE!” Hu Hao ignored the attitude and kept shouting.
“The bunkers are full of corpses! It reeks of blood in there. How are we supposed to hide in that?” a soldier complained.
“Would you rather be a corpse yourself? Get in! The shelling is starting!” Hu Hao pointed to the sea. The landing craft were closing in.
“Aide! Move those bodies out of there and stack them in one bunker! How are we supposed to use these positions?” a Second Lieutenant from the new unit ordered.
“Are you out of your mind?” Hu Hao cursed. “There’s no time to move bodies! Get your men inside! Look how close those boats are!”
“Watch your mouth, Private,” a Captain from the 4th Regiment snapped. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”
“Forget them, Hao-ge. Let’s go,” Huan Xingtao said, grabbing Hu Hao’s arm. “Once the lead starts flying, they’ll figure it out.”
“Dammit… if your casualty rate spikes, your own men are going to kill you,” Hu Hao spat at the Captain before diving back into his bunker.
“What did you say? Come back here! You think a Private can talk to me like that?” the Captain roared, following Hu Hao toward the bunker entrance.
Whistle… Whistle… Whistle…
The air screamed as shells tore through the sky.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The trench erupted in fire. The Captain immediately dove into Hu Hao’s bunker, his face twisted in terror.
“You want to die? Get out there and get your men into cover!” Hu Hao screamed at him.
“W-what?” the Captain stammered.
“Get out! Direct your troops into the bunkers! This is just the ranging fire! MOVE!” Hu Hao shook him.
“A-ah! Right! You! Tell the men to take cover in the bunkers!” the Captain shouted to his runner.
The runner looked paralyzed.
“MOVE IT!” Hu Hao barked, his voice like a whip.
The runner scrambled out, screaming for the men to find cover. Some soldiers dived into the bunkers, while others simply hugged the bottom of the trench. Hu Hao listened to the chaos outside and sighed. These were the reinforcements—fresh recruits who didn’t even know the basics of staying alive.