jdhmnovel Chapter 441: Bat Shadows Spread Across the Prairie, Thunder and Fire Break the Situation
Chapter 441: Bat Shadows Spread Across the Prairie, Thunder and Fire Break the Situation
Qing Leitao and Chen Feiyang walked deeper and deeper into the cave. Inside the dim cave, the wet rock walls were seeping with water droplets, and every step was accompanied by the sound of "tapping" of water stains.
Suddenly, just as Lei Tao's fingers touched Chen Feiyang's shoulder, a sharp flapping sound echoed from the cave, like a ghostly wail. Hundreds of bats, like a black wave, densely packed through the stalactites on the cave ceiling. Their scarlet compound eyes shone faintly in the faint morning light, like the gaze of death.
Chen Feiyang instinctively raised his submachine gun, but Lei Tao held his wrist tightly. Lei Tao opened his mouth slightly and squeezed out a few words, almost through his teeth: "Don't shoot!" His voice was extremely low, but it revealed unquestionable majesty.
The two men turned off their flashlights and clung to the damp rock wall, keeping their bodies as low as possible, not daring to breathe. The sharp wing bones scraped their scalps, sending a chill shiver through their skin. Lei Tao held his breath, his peripheral vision catching sight of a protruding stalagmite in a recessed area of the cave wall. He grabbed Chen Feiyang, and the two quickly rolled toward the shelter. His back slammed hard against the cold stone pillar. The calcium carbonate crystals, formed over the years, shimmered in the darkness, interweaving with the morning light from outside to create an eerie light and shadow.
At the same time, a muffled explosion like thunder was heard outside the cave. Two Japanese search teams stepped into the booby-trapped area that Lei Tao had carefully laid out before. With a deafening roar, the chain detonator was triggered, and six anti-personnel mines exploded simultaneously. Shrapnel swept out like a rainstorm, and the six Japanese soldiers were instantly riddled with sieves, with their limbs and broken helmets thrown into the air. Amidst the billowing smoke, the Japanese sergeant leading the team had one arm blown off. He let out a beast-like roar and struggled to crawl towards the cave. The roar echoed at the cave entrance: "They are in there! Prepare the flamethrowers, burn them to death!"
Lei Tao grabbed Chen Feiyang and crouched behind a stalagmite. Just then, the Japanese soldiers outside the cave had already set up their flamethrowers, ready to spew forth blazing flames. A flicker of determination flashed in Lei Tao's eyes, and he suddenly dragged Chen Feiyang deeper into the cave. After groping along the cave wall, Lei Tao found a protruding rock. He turned back and gestured to Chen Feiyang, who nodded knowingly.
Lei Tao grabbed a sharp stone and, with all his might, hurled it at the stalactites at the cave's ceiling, where bats gathered. "Bang!" The resounding impact of the stone against the rock wall reverberated through the cave, shattering the deathly silence like a hammer. Tens of thousands of bats were instantly enraged, their crimson compound eyes forming a bloody web in the gloom. Their barbed wings frantically flapped, and like a black vortex, they swept towards the cave entrance.
"Shoot! Shoot!" The roars of the Japanese rifle crew were drowned out by the sharp fluttering of wings. As the front-line soldiers pulled the trigger, the dense swarm of bats smashed the muzzles of their guns. Sharp claws tore through gas masks, and sharp fangs pierced necks. Screams echoed as three soldiers were tackled to the ground by bats, instantly covered in a writhing mass of shadows.
Ichiro Goike swung his command knife, and tongues of orange-red flames instantly engulfed the cave entrance. Bats caught in the flames screamed shrilly, their wings sizzling in the intense heat. The burning limbs didn't fall, instead flapping their black wings even more frantically. In their final moments, the bats, engulfed in flames, erupted in astonishing ferocity. They no longer dodged bullets, but like flaming black meteors, they plummeted towards the Japanese soldiers.
A bat, its wings ablaze, crashed into the flamethrower's gas mask like a falling fireball. High-scorching flames instantly streamed through the gaps in the mask, searing his skin. The flamethrower screamed in agony, frantically tearing at the mask with his hands, only to have his flesh singed inside out. His frantic fingers pulled the trigger of the flamethrower, sending tongues of orange-red flame carelessly spurting into the air, igniting more bats and then returning fire to the Japanese soldiers behind him. For a moment, the cave was ablaze, and the sounds of screams, the crackle of bullets, and the fluttering of bat wings mingled like hell on earth.
Lei Tao's palm scurried along the damp rock walls of the cave. Suddenly, his fingertips touched a crack covered in icy ridges—the very entrance to the secret passage he'd marked with his infrared detector. "Follow closely!" he whispered, dragging Chen Feiyang through a crevice barely wide enough for one person. Debris tumbled beneath their feet as they advanced cautiously and swiftly. The stalactites dangling from the cave ceiling clung like sharp blades. The bandage on Chen Feiyang's shoulder scraped against the rock wall, leaving a trail of blood on the calcium carbonate crystals.
As they reached the cave's ceiling, curses emanated from the Japanese soldiers beneath the rotten leaves. Lei Tao quickly pulled a dagger from his belt, thrust it into the cracks of the loosened stalactites, and pried it open. A half-meter-wide circular opening appeared beneath the damp moss. Morning light filtered through tangled vines, illuminating Chen Feiyang's pale face. Holding their breath, the two men crouched down as they emerged from the cave. Beneath their feet was a hundred-meter-high cliff, the treetops like green waves surging in the mountain breeze.
"Set the bombs!" Lei Tao retrieved a sensor-activated bomb from the Bagua gyroscope's space and precisely buried the sensor in the fallen leaves. This bomb was sensitive to human heat and vibrations, triggering a chain reaction if the Japanese pursuers approached. Chen Feiyang leaned against a tree trunk, panting heavily, as he watched Lei Tao drape the bombs with camouflage netting. The withered grass and gravel blended seamlessly into the terrain.
As they raced along the ridge, the shrieks of bats and the cries of Japanese soldiers echoed behind them. Looking back, Goike Ichirō was furiously hacking at the bats with his command knife raised, when his boot accidentally stomped on the barrel of a fellow soldier's rifle. With a bang, the sergeant stumbled to the ground, clutching his bleeding thigh, his helmet rolling into the thorn bushes. The bats swarmed the chaotic Japanese ranks, scattering them. In panic, some fired at their comrades, and the bullet grazed Goike Ichirō's ear.
The two men raced through the dense forest for half an hour, the roar of the pursuers gradually fading. Lei Tao slowed only when the roar of a waterfall reached him from the cliffside. Chen Feiyang clutched a tree trunk, coughing violently. Blood foam seeped from between his fingers, staining the bandage red. "Rest first." Lei Tao squatted by the river, scooping up cool water and splashing it on his face. The water, mingled with smoke and blood, meandered down. The cool water relieved the tension and fatigue of the previous battle. Chen Feiyang also walked to the river, scooped up some water and took a few sips, then looked at Lei Tao with a hint of worry in his eyes: "Brother Lei, what should we do next? Although the Japanese have been temporarily disrupted by the swarm of bats, they still have many more people than us, and they will definitely reorganize and chase us." Lei Tao stood up, wiped the water droplets from his face, and looked into the distance with a firm gaze: "We can't keep hiding passively like this. We have to find a way to cause them some trouble, preferably leading them into a trap." Chen Feiyang scratched his head, thought for a moment, and asked: "Trap? Brother Lei, do you have any good ideas?"
As the last flaming bat crashed to the scorched earth, Goike Ichirō kicked aside the corpse of a soldier, a sinister glint in his eyes. "Enter the cave! Live or dead!" He personally led a dozen well-equipped soldiers, bayonets gleaming, and cautiously entered the cave. The pungent stench of bats and gun smoke filled the air. The beam of a flashlight flickered among the stalactites, casting eerie shadows on the rock walls.
The corporal at the front of the column suddenly kicked a loose rock, the crisp sound piercing the stillness of the cavern. Just as Goike Ichirō was about to issue a warning, the ground suddenly vibrated slightly. The infrared sensor on the induction bomb detected multiple heat sources approaching, and its red indicator light flashed wildly. The bomb detonated, sending a massive blast of air sweeping through the cave, carrying debris and debris. Over a dozen Japanese soldiers were instantly blown away by the blast, their limbs scattered among the burning stalactites.
Goike Ichiro was blown out of the cave by the blast and fell to the ground, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. He struggled to stick his command knife into the ground, then pulled himself to his feet. He stared at the cave entrance, where rubble was constantly pouring down, his eyes burning with mad fury: "I will tear you to pieces!" He drew the flare pistol from his waist and fired a red flare into the sky. As the flare soared into the sky, the roar of an engine could be heard from the sky. A Japanese reconnaissance plane was flying towards the waterfall.