Gu Ji patted Ler on the back.

"No time to celebrate, the Fog Army has surrounded us, we need to get to the mountain quickly!"

The mountain naturally refers to Rutana Volcano.

Everyone nodded, with Luca leading the way, Gu Ji in the second position, followed by Eugen and Apu, and finally Ler covering the rear.

July is the hot season in the southern outer islands.

The forest was stiflingly hot, with a layer of wet leaves on the ground often hiding slippery, soft mud and decaying wood, and clumps of vines and haphazardly sprawling plants made walking even more difficult. It wasn't long before everyone was drenched in sweat.

Fortunately, Gu Ji relied on SERE Survival Training to find a water source from water vines.

Time ticked away second by second.

As the sun gradually sank in the west, the team finally reached the southeastern foot of Rutana Volcano.

And surprisingly, there was conflict here as well.

A large number of lemon trees had been crushed by tanks, and patches of wild grass had been burned. The bodies of Fog Army and Han Army soldiers were strewn across the ground.

Gu Ji immediately noticed one officer's body with an M24 grenade hanging from his belt and an Stg44 assault rifle beside him. He had coveted this gun for a long time and only approached to "loot the body" after confirming there was no danger.

Approaching the center of the battlefield,

he discovered that many bodies were not killed by artillery but were burned to death. Sure enough, one body carried a round metal device on its back resembling an XO bottle—it was a flamethrower!

Flamethrowers are a unique individual combat weapon, which have virtually lost their utility in modern warfare but were highly effective during WWII for attacking enemies in trenches or shelters with fire.

Don't underestimate this thing; mid-WWII flamethrowers from various countries had a range of 30 to 40 meters, capable of firing continuously for about 2 seconds per burst.

At close range, this large blast of fire would scare anyone.

Just as Gu Ji discarded his Mauser rifle and exchanged its leather case for the Stg44 assault rifle's 30-round magazine, his ears suddenly twitched instinctively.

"There's movement at 1 o'clock, right in front of me!"

Swosh swosh!

Ler and Eugen reacted instantly, but just as they aimed their guns, a low voice shouted from behind a tree:

"Don't shoot! I'm from the 1st Airborne Division!"

"Drop your weapon and show me your hands!"

Under Luca's stern command, a young soldier stepped out from the forest, dressed in light gray-green coveralls, wearing leather boots, and a pilot goggles cap.

"My name is Felix, I'm a pilot. This morning, I was on a mission to air-drop supplies from Lebudas to Astani. My aircraft's wing was shot down by Fog Army's anti-aircraft guns over Rutana Volcano, and I had no choice but to bail out."

For some reason, hearing this reminded Gu Ji of his father.

Luke listened skeptically, without lowering his gun.

"If your crash was in the morning, why are you still here now?"

"I can't find a way out; the forest is full of Fog Army. I heard at Dunkirk that Mosnili has been urgently summoned by Roman King Vittorio Emanuele III, who intends to dismiss him from all his posts."

"Now the Roman Army has lost the will to fight. The Hawk Army has captured 53,000 Roman troops in Palermo, and the United Kingdom has maneuvered the 30th Corps around the east of Rutana Volcano, preparing to join forces with the US 7th Army to encircle Astani."

Felix's words shocked everyone present.

Could Apu have been right, that they have already been abandoned by the empire?

But Gu Ji heard a critical piece of information:

Mosnili has been deposed!

Anyone who studied high school history knows this historical event occurred on July 25, 1943.

That means today is the 25th.

So the system's requirement for me to reach Ludwig Port within three days implies the disaster should happen before the 28th.

Gu Ji carefully recalled.

But after scouring all historical records of major disasters in Hans Country, he couldn't find a relevant case.

"So how can we rendezvous with the main force? Brother Herman, do you have any good ideas?"

Eugen instinctively looked at Gu Ji.

To him, Gu Ji now seemed omnipotent.

Since today is the 25th, it means the Hans-Roman Army can hold out for a few more days, as the Allied forces reached Moncina on August 5th.

But he definitely wouldn't stay here to hold out for reinforcements.

So he embellished,

"The situation in Astani is grim; we should find a way to retreat to Moncina or Lebudas, and request support from headquarters."

"But how can we break through the Fog Army's encirclement?"

Ler couldn't help but ask.

Perhaps feeling abandoned, or finding the defeat of Hans Army hard to accept, or resonating with the corpses of fallen comrades along the way.

In any case, there was no longer any fighting spirit in his eyes.

Gu Ji looked up at the pilot.

"Felix, do you know if there are any planes nearby?"

"I know what you're thinking, but unfortunately, I've already tried."

Felix raised his hand, pointing to Rutana Volcano.

"The Hans Army has a military bunker at the mountain's foot with planes and artillery inside, but it's currently guarded by two squads of over twenty Fog Army soldiers, and we simply can't defeat them."

"Do they have heavy artillery?"

"No."

"Then there's still a chance, but..."

Gu Ji paused slightly, "We need to find a way to distract them, so we need someone to create a big commotion to draw the Fog Army's main force away."

Everyone understood what that meant; unlike previous retreat cover, this was essentially a suicide mission.

Luca looked at each of their faces one by one.

Gu Ji had just led the team through life and death;

Felix was a pilot;

Ler had lost his will to fight;

Eugen kept his head down, slightly tense.

His lips twitched slightly, and just as he was about to speak, unexpectedly, the most timid Apu stepped forward.

"I'll do it!"

When Apu said this, his entire body trembled.

Beside him, Eugen's eyes lit up, suddenly raising his head.

"Yes! Let Apu go. You've been hiding behind everyone; now it's your turn to make a sacrifice!"

Luca squinted slightly.

Anyone could see that Apu was a completely untrained rookie, but as he scanned everyone, only Apu was of any use.

He walked over to Apu's side, grasping his shoulder as he had with Gu Ji.

"Apu, take the flamethrower, and I hope you complete this mission honorably. Hans's spirit will give you strength!"

"Yes!"

Apu stood up straight.

Despite his fear, he still obeyed orders, stripping an MK.II series portable flamethrower from a Fog Army corpse.

The nearly 20-pound weight looked particularly mismatched on his small frame, but Apu still tried to stand straight.

Luca and the others also gathered equipment from the bodies.

"Move out!"

Seeing everyone ready, he then ordered Felix to lead the way to the Hans Army bunker.

Along the way, Apu constantly muttered to himself:

"Victory forever, my honor is loyalty, Hans's spirit will bring me strength..."

Gu Ji turned back and met his eyes.

In this youth's eyes, he saw fear, innocence, and ultimately that fervor that was starting to form in Eugen's eyes.

They finally reached the bunker location.

Gu Ji hid behind a tree, using binoculars to observe ahead.

It was open mountainous terrain, and the mountain's edge had been excavated to form a semi-circular bunker, with a military green Hans Army He111 medium bomber parked inside, alongside anti-aircraft artillery and a sentinel tower.

The Fog Army was currently occupying several critical positions around the bunker's perimeter, particularly the sentinel tower and anti-aircraft artillery.

Gu Ji's mind was racing, continuously conducting tactical evaluations.

"The difficulty lies in two points: the sentinel tower and the artillery. We'll flank them from the rear, taking down the sentinels first, then forcing the gunners away from the artillery with grenades."

"Apu, you are responsible for distracting the enemy from the front. Once you hear the first gunshot, start moving, and ideally draw them out of the mountain bunker; can you do it?"

"I can!"

Apu forced a smile.

Although it was clear he was putting on a brave front, it was a significant improvement from before.

Luca found it hard to keep watching this young man.

He turned his head.

"Then let's go with Herman's plan, prepare to move!!"

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