Reborn as the Villain's Wife, I Shine in 80s-Chapter 476 - 461 signals of beacon fires rising from all sides

Thousands of miles away, smoke and fire covered the landscape.

Rows of tanks stretched like a long steel dragon, advancing along the narrow mountain road of the enemy’s territory. The weeds and thorns along the path were crushed under the tanks’ steel tracks, leaving behind a trail of mangled vegetation.

High ground. The enemy occupied the heights, while our forces were stuck below. Hidden in the dense jungle behind, our soldiers lay in ambush. As the tanks crept up the slope, they kicked up clouds of dust. Many soldiers were motion-sick; with the vehicles jolting constantly, they tied themselves to the tanks’ smoke launchers for stability and to focus on attacking the enemy.

Suddenly, something came hurtling towards them not too far ahead. The soldiers saw it trailing smoke, drawing a vivid arc through the air. "Oh no, it’s a grenade—!" Before the soldier could finish shouting, the grenade landed solidly on the tank, and his body was blown to pieces.

"BOOM!" Layers upon layers of fiery shockwaves erupted.

Chaos. Utter chaos.

"Get off the vehicles! Quick, get off!"

"The enemy is here!"

"Requesting reinforcements!"

Amid the screams of the soldiers came more deafening explosions; grenades rained down in rapid succession, catching them off guard. Grenades are indiscriminate, unfeeling, and merciless.

The soldiers in the rear rushed forward, returning fire toward the enemy, but the smoke was too thick to see clearly. Some had barely raised their guns before being blasted away. Those remaining had no choice but to retreat into the jungle to take cover.

They watched helplessly as their comrades fell before them, blood splattered in every direction, bullets pouring like rain. The screams in their throats were stifled; they couldn’t annihilate the enemy all at once.

The cacophony of gunfire and explosions intertwined, relentless and deafening.

After a fierce battle, the scene was too horrific to bear.

An entire company was nearly wiped out. One by one, new troops rotated in, including soldiers from the Fourth Company.

Their mission was to capture the high ground ahead. But the heights were easy to defend and nearly impossible to assault. The ground was littered with corpses. Medical personnel inspected for any signs of life, carrying the wounded away on stretchers.

Tragically, only a scattered few had survived.

Wherever they looked, some soldiers lay riddled with bullet holes, yet their hands still clutched their rifles close to their chests.

Jiang Jinghuai silently observed the surrounding turmoil. The rolling dust nearly obscured his vision of the enemy’s position. The stench of blood and gunpowder was overwhelming, but he was long accustomed to it.

"These savages! Commander, we can’t wait any longer—we’re ready to charge up there now!" His soldiers’ emotions were running high, their eyes wide with fury, their blood surging.

"Hold on!" Jiang Jinghuai raised his hand, his deep eyes fixed ahead. "We have to change our strategy. Relying on brute force at this moment will get us nowhere. We must rely on cunning."

Most of the soldiers were fiery and passionate; they all wanted to surge forward at once.

"But the higher-ups ordered us to seize the heights. No matter the sacrifice, we must take that hill. It’s not brute force we fear—it’s the lack of it! For our fallen comrades, shedding blood and giving our lives is worth it!"

Jiang Jinghuai’s voice turned low and firm. "We’re at the bottom, and they’re on top. Charging recklessly is a death sentence. You’ll end up like them. Death isn’t the worst thing here, and I know none of you fear it. But would dying like this satisfy you?"

The soldiers shook their heads one by one.

"I’ll lure the enemy out so we can infiltrate their position and blow them to hell. Stay ready to back me up." Jiang Jinghuai’s thumb brushed along the barrel of his rifle as he abruptly made his decision.

"No, Commander! It’s too dangerous!"

"We can’t disobey orders. Those are direct commands from above!"

"..."

Every face was streaked with dirt and grime, and Jiang Jinghuai’s wasn’t much better. He spoke evenly, "When in the field, a commander’s discretion overrides orders."

A commander’s discretion. The earlier scene had shaken them deeply. Jiang Jinghuai changed his mind in a split second. He recalled the note Tian Sangsang had given him, its contents aligning perfectly with his current thoughts. It was time to alter their approach.

No more passively taking fire, letting the enemy mow them down like fools! No more blindly charging forward, driven only by raw anger! It was time to crush the enemy’s arrogance, reignite the pride of the Tian Chao people, and deliver a devastating gift of their own!

Jiang Jinghuai gestured, gathering the soldiers into a circle. He whispered a few lines, and they nodded repeatedly. "Commander, just make sure you stay safe! We’re waiting for your signal!"

And so, another battle began. But this time, our forces fired only a few shots, provoking the enemy, before vanishing into the tall grass. Their uniforms blended seamlessly with the green, luring the enemy into complacency for a brief moment. Amid the thunderous gunfire, a tank suddenly lurched forward, wobbling precariously until the figure riding atop slipped and fell to the ground.

When the enemy soldiers aimed their guns, they realized the fallen man was a commander. One of them turned to his comrade and said, "Keep him alive; we can use him for a prisoner exchange. They’ve still got some of our people."

During war, prisoner exchanges were a common occurrence. Two enemy soldiers dragged the "barely-breathing" Jiang Jinghuai toward their camp. The enemy gates opened, revealing ranks of soldiers standing solemnly, their rifles ready, eyes cold and unyielding.

"Throw him in with the other prisoners!" A superior officer glanced at Jiang Jinghuai, who was bleeding heavily, and ordered in a foreign tongue, "And wake him up once inside—interrogate him. Prisoners aren’t just held for exchange. They’re meant to be broken. They’ll keep you alive just enough, but nothing more. And because the enemy was often in a stronger position, prisoner exchanges were rarely fair. The enemy always inspected their captives first, determining their condition before deciding whether to release prisoners in return."

The two captors, assuming their prisoner was completely unconscious and given they were within their own secure area, relaxed their vigilance. They’d already confiscated his gun and searched him for other weapons.

What they didn’t expect was that as soon as they reached the holding area, the "unconscious" man suddenly sprang to life. One captor didn’t even see it coming before a blade sliced his throat, blood spurting everywhere. He fell to the ground without even a sound. The other captor barely had time to scream before his mouth was smothered; with a muffled gasp, he too stopped breathing.

"BOOM!" The ground beneath them seemed to tremble violently.

"Something’s wrong!" Nearby enemy soldiers rushed towards the commotion, but before they reached the scene, another "BOOM" erupted. The searing heatwave from the explosion flung them backward.

Additional enemy soldiers charged in, only to be met with fierce, echoing gunfire.

Hearing the menacing explosions from below the mountain, our soldiers could no longer contain their impatience. The burning desire to fight surged within them like an unstoppable blaze. They gripped their rifles tightly and sprinted toward the high ground!