Chapter 26: The Iron-Blooded First Column Shatters the Resolve of the Ma Clique and the Nationalist Forces; Red Army Reinforcements Finally Arrive

Blood dripped from Su Changqing’s left hand, trailing down his arm.

This battle! It had raged from dawn until dusk. Nearly every soldier and officer of the First Column had been thrown into the fray. The battlefield was littered with corpses. Even the fanatical and brutal Ma Family Army had been beaten to the point of collapse. Baizhang Pass, which appeared to be teetering on the edge of ruin, stood like an insurmountable chasm to both the Ma Family Army and the Blue Sky Party forces.

Commander Hu frowned as he looked toward the pass. Just moments ago, two regiments of the Blue Sky Party had been committed to the fight. Yet, this unit—which Commander Hu had personally cultivated as his elite inner circle—had, unsurprisingly, been routed. Their performance had been no different from that of the Ma Family Army.

"My junior schoolmate is truly a tough nut to crack," Commander Hu remarked, his voice tinged with genuine admiration for his adversary despite the carnage. "To think that even at this stage, his troops are still holding their positions. The reputation of the founder of the Hong City Iron Army is well-deserved."

Stunned by the utter brutality of the scene before him, Commander Hu could not help but praise his junior.

"Damn it!" roared the leader of the Ma Family Army. "Commander Hu, once we chew through Baizhang Pass, you must hand over the commander of these Red bandits to me. I want to skin him alive! I’ll chop his head off and use it as a chamber pot!"

The losses suffered by the Ma Family Army in this battle were staggering—so great that the heart of the Ma leader throbbed with every beat. While Su Changqing’s arrival had altered the tragic outcome for the Western Route Army, it had not changed the cruel nature of the Ma forces. In Su Changqing’s memories, after the commander of the Hong 5th Army had sacrificed himself, the Ma Family Army had severed his head and hung it on a pole for public display. The commander of the Hong 9th Army, captured after being severely wounded, had refused to surrender and was hacked to death. Other high-ranking officers of the Hong Army had been similarly butchered, their corpses desecrated. This was the primary reason why Su Changqing was willing to be ground to dust rather than abandon his position at Baizhang Pass. He refused to let his comrades—those he lived and fought alongside—suffer the same fate.

Of course, Su Changqing also trusted that the comrades he was sacrificing his life to save would not abandon him, nor would they abandon the First Column. He believed the high command in the base area would never stand idly by while the First Column was annihilated at Baizhang Pass. A major reason Su Changqing had chosen the Hong Army was his faith in a force driven by such pure conviction.

"Comrades!" Su Changqing shouted. "The Ma Family Army wants to tear through our lines and carry the flames of war into our base area. They want to destroy the new base that so many of our comrades have built with their blood and their lives. Tell me, do you agree to this? Are you willing to let these beasts, these bandits, destroy the new hope our brothers paid for with their lives?"

As Su Changqing’s voice died down, a thunderous roar erupted from the Hong Army soldiers: "No! We will not!"

"Our base is behind us! The salt mines are behind us! Are you willing to join me, to stake your lives on protecting our base, on guarding the hope of the Hong Army? Will you fight to the death and never retreat?"

Fueled by a surge of adrenaline, the exhausted soldiers found a burst of astonishing strength. "Fight to the death! No retreat!"

Facing the enemy’s renewed assault, Su Changqing prepared for the final stand. The entire First Column had long since accepted the prospect of death.

"Hah! Old Ding!" Su Changqing laughed. "I never thought my last battle would be with a dog-brained fellow like you."

"I haven't lived in vain, but damn it, I still remember that time in the haystacks with my sweetheart..."

"Hah! Old Li!" Ding Wei retorted. "Go to hell! We're at death's door and you're still bragging! If we make it out of this, I'll find you a wife."

"You old bachelor, you haven't even solved your own problems, and you're talking about finding me a wife!"

"Hahahaha..."

"Old Ding, I think it’s fate that you, me, and that dog Kong Jie are together. Dying together really isn't a bad deal!"

"Get out of here! Who the hell wants to die with you?"

"Old Ding, I'm going in!"

Li Yunlong, his face smeared with blood, brandished his broadsword and charged headlong into the surging ranks of the Ma Family Army and the Blue Sky Party troops.

"Li Yunlong, you dog, wait for me!" Ding Wei, unwilling to be outdone, charged into the fray as well.

Nearby, Kong Jie looked at Su Changqing, whose left arm was severely wounded. "Column Commander, your injury is serious. Leave the charging to me."

"Go to hell!" Su Changqing snapped. "My life is precious, but yours isn't? If it weren't for me, you, Ding Wei, and Li Yunlong wouldn't be in this position. Kong Jie, do you hate me?"

"Column Commander," Kong Jie replied with a grin as he aimed at the oncoming enemy. "When I joined the Hong Army, I accepted that I might die on the battlefield. If I can hold Baizhang Pass with you and save the lives of over twenty thousand comrades, then losing this life is worth it."

"Column Commander," Kong Jie continued, "Li Yunlong is right. You are a genius at warfare. To hold out this long with four thousand men against a force ten times our size, and to drive the enemy to the brink of collapse multiple times—I am truly in awe of you."

Su Changqing laughed heartily at the sincere praise. "Good! That’s all I needed to hear! Don’t worry, we won't lose this battle! We are going to bring the brothers of the First Column back to the base."

Through his system, Su Changqing knew that the Western Route Army, led by his own senior, was racing to reinforce Baizhang Pass. They only needed to hold on a little longer.

"Kill!" Su Changqing led the charge, with Kong Jie right behind him.

The fighting was unimaginably brutal. When bullets ran out, they used bayonets and broadswords. When bayonets snapped and blades dulled, they used rocks—anything they could get their hands on. If they had nothing, they used their hands, their teeth, and their heads. This ferocious hand-to-hand combat instilled a deep psychological terror in the enemy soldiers.

"Madmen! They're all madmen!"
"Don't kill me! I quit! I'm not fighting anymore!"
"Run! Run!"

Seeing his soldiers on the verge of breaking again, the Ma leader nearly shattered his own teeth from clenching his jaw. Commander Hu, too, wore a look of grim desperation. The intensity of the battle and the combat effectiveness of this Hong Army unit had far exceeded his expectations.

But what truly shattered them both was the sound of a bugle call echoing from their flanks—a sound that made their scalps crawl.

*Doo-doo-doo... doo... doo-doo-doo...*

Under the piercing sound of the bugle, a red tide seemed to sweep in from both sides.

Commander Hu’s heart sank. "We can't win this. The Red bandits' reinforcements have arrived."