On the Ryukyu battlefield, the stealthily advancing soldiers of the Special Operations Brigade moved swiftly forward.
Halting before a concealed outpost, Liu Ren turned his gaze toward the men beside him.
Just then, the soldier stepping up beside him shouted toward the post, "We're falling back to reinforce the perimeter! We're on our way to headquarters to report on the Americans' 'special' tactics!"
"Countersign!" a sharp voice demanded from the shadows, as the Japanese soldiers hiding in the dark cautiously observed them.
Dragging a captured Japanese soldier forward, Liu Ren pressed the flat of his dagger against the man's throat and whispered in demonic undertones, "Think of your family. Your children. Your parents..."
"Kamikaze!" the terrified captive screamed at the top of his lungs, blurting out the patrol's countersign.
"Clear the barricade, disperse!" the sentries above called out, and Liu Ren wasted no time leading his special operations detachment through the checkpoint.
As they pressed forward with heads lowered, Liu Ren fell into grim silence.
Japan's defeat was already sealed. Naha had long fallen, and Mitsuru Ushijima was merely putting up his final, desperate resistance. But Liu Ren had no intention of simply watching him die, because beside Ushijima was the one person he wanted to torture most: Chang Yong!
It was this very bastard who had advised Prince Asaka, orchestrating that atrocious bloodbath years ago. Ushijima could commit seppuku if he wished—his fanatical tactics had already given Liu Ren ample justification for a wholesale massacre—but Chang Yong was different. He had to die by Liu Ren's own hands.
Darting through the darkness, Liu Ren continuously snatched sentries for intelligence along the way as they closed in on the command center.
Yet as they reached the final defensive line, Liu Ren had not anticipated that the captive he had just seized would suddenly screech at the top of his lungs, "Enemy! Enemy! They're enemies...!"
*Thwack!*
Spinning his blade in reverse, Liu Ren drove his dagger straight through the man's throat, twisted it viciously, and roared, "Infiltration blown—switch to full assault!"
The deafening roar of gunfire tore through the night.
Raising their submachine guns, the soldiers opened fire and quickly scrambled for cover. But just as the Japanese recovered from their shock and began swarming forward in suicidal waves, an explosion shattered the air.
*Boom!*
Leaping out from the rear, the "Slavic warriors" let out a thunderous bellow: "Waaagh!"
"Fight!"
Thrilled by the rattle of gunfire, the Slavic warriors charged straight out, braving the storm of bullets like heavy battle tanks.
"Nani?!"
Watching the hulking Slavic warriors charge at them in disbelief, the Japanese troops were struck with sheer terror.
In the next second, the Slavic warriors smashed through the heavy barracks gate and stormed inside.
Staring at the spectacle in stunned bewilderment, Forrest gasped, "Are those things even fucking human? Are you sure they weren't brewed in your labs as bio-soldiers?!"
"Bazooka! Hand me the bazooka!" Liu Ren roared, ignoring Forrest. The Slavic warriors had already breached the compound, but he hadn't. If those brutes managed to crush Chang Yong to death with their bare hands, Liu Ren would have nowhere to cry about it.
A screeching rocket blasted forth.
Shouldering the bazooka, he fired straight into the forward bunker. A violent explosion erupted, obliterating the Japanese firing position in an instant.
Hearing rapid footsteps rushing in from the distance, Liu Ren roared, "Fortify our positions right where you stand!"
Scrambling behind cover, his men swiftly assembled defensive barricades. With assembled Gatling guns and Maxim guns mounted in place, the makeshift line instantly turned into an impenetrable wall of steel.
Leading his squad into the barracks, Liu Ren caught sight of a Slavic warrior crushing a Japanese soldier beneath his boot. He immediately bellowed, "There are more enemies outside! Go! Slaughter every last one of them!"
"Enemies? Fighting? Hell yeah!"
Bellowing with savage delight, they grew wildly excited at his words.
Hoisting their Gatling guns, the Slavic warriors charged back out into the open. Seeing the relentless waves of Japanese soldiers rushing toward them, they went completely berserk.
"Fight!"
Raising their Gatling guns, they sprayed lead into the oncoming ranks. A churning metal storm tore through flesh and bone.
Watching the Japanese troops being shredded into flying chunks of meat, many of the Allied soldiers stared in awe.
They had known these five hulking simpletons for a long time, but never had they expected the five to survive all the way from Guadalcanal to this very day. They had continuously operated in the deadliest sectors of every battlefield, barreling right through even across sectors where chemical agents had been unleashed. They were nothing short of miraculous!
While the Slavic warriors charged the Japanese horde with roaring Gatling guns, Liu Ren had already breached the primary headquarters.
The instant he kicked the door open, the Japanese guards raised their rifles to fire.
Seeing them, Liu Ren ducked behind the bunker wall, pulled the pin on a grenade, and hurled it inside.
*Boom!*
A deafening blast erupted, shrapnel ripping through the Japanese guards. Leaving them writhing in despair on the floor, Liu Ren advanced with his submachine gun raised.
Rounding a corner, he saw an officer brandishing an officer's sword, slashing wildly toward him. "Bastard! Die!"
*Clang!*
Liu Ren raised his submachine gun to parry the downward slash, only to see another flustered officer reaching for his hip holster.
Wrenching the blade aside with brutal force, Liu Ren drove an elbow into the swordsman's face, then delivered a vicious kick square into the face of the officer attempting to draw his sidearm.
By then, other Japanese soldiers in the building had heard the commotion and rushed into the corridor.
Spraying relentless bursts down the hallway, Forrest bellowed with laughter, "Come on, you bastards! Hahaha!"
Stepping forward one deliberate pace at a time, Liu Ren roared, "Which one of you is Chang Yong?!"
Staring at Liu Ren in utter shock, Ushijima clutched his bruised cheek, his eyes wide with disbelief. Had this man not come to kill *him*? Why was he demanding to see his chief of staff, Chang Yong?
Catching Ushijima's sideways glance, Liu Ren glared at the man he had just kicked to the ground. "So you're fucking Chang Yong, are you?!"
With that, Liu Ren brought his boot crashing down onto the man's knee.
*Crack!*
"Aaargh!"
A shrill, agonizing shriek tore from Chang Yong's throat as he writhed in torment.
"And you must be Ushijima, that stubborn old fanatic?" Liu Ren turned to Ushijima, flicking his toe to kick the katana off the floor and catching the hilt in his palm.
Swallowing hard, Ushijima bellowed, "Come on, then! A true samurai will never—"
"Never your mother! Idiot!"
Plunging the katana straight through Ushijima's belly, Liu Ren gave the blade a savage twist and ripped it sideways.
Ushijima stared at Liu Ren in horror. Before he could utter another word, blood gushed uncontrollably onto the floor.
Tossing the sword into the corner, Liu Ren did not even grant him the customary honor of a seconding decapitation. Instead, he turned toward Chang Yong. Slowly approaching, he hoisted the man up by the collar, drew out his axe, and raised it high. "My technique is a bit rusty. Bear with me."
"No, no...!"
A bloodcurdling scream erupted. Chang Yong watched his own severed arm fall to the floor and wailed in sheer terror.
Before long, when Forrest caught up with his squad, he was met with the most horrific sight he had ever witnessed in his life.
"Oh, God!"
Clapping a hand over his mouth, Forrest spun around immediately, overwhelmed by the unspeakable savagery. Even as a veteran of the Great War, he had never laid eyes on anything so ghastly.
Wiping the blood from his cheek, Liu Ren stepped out of the room, holding his axe in one hand and carrying his grim trophy in the other.
Looking at him, Forrest fought back a wave of nausea and stammered, "Liu... if you worshipped Satan, you'd have countless disciples. Because you're not fucking human!"
A savage grin curled Liu Ren's lips as he strode outward into the night.
Chang Yong alone was not enough. Back in Tokyo, there were still "old acquaintances" waiting for him!
Chapter 74