Chapter 332: Success or Death (2)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Outwardly, they are united.
Internally, the First Company and the Second Company have always been rivals.
Now that the First Company has secured an impressive victory, they cannot afford to lose.
At this moment, Wang Ye couldn’t help but wonder if they would make grass shoes. He also glanced at Wu Jianfeng. Could this guy be planning something similar later?
His toes moved a few times inside his shoes, and Wang Ye began to feel a slight pain in his feet…
Soon, the second group began their competition.
The cheers from the audience echoed once again in the arena.
To the excitement of the Iron Bone Heroes Regiment, the Second Company performed exceptionally well this time, and no one had to pick up dropped ammunition.
However, the only downside was that the Third Regiment’s Second Company also performed impressively.
On the competition field, the Iron Bone Heroes Regiment and the Third Regiment immediately pulled ahead of the First Regiment.
This left the First Regiment’s Company Commander with a rather grim expression.
Wang Ye looked over and felt a sense of sympathy for the First Regiment.
If the remaining squads of the First Regiment didn’t perform exceptionally in the next rounds, it would be tough for their Company Commander to save face when they returned.
Of course, Regiment Commander Hong was also visibly nervous.
Because both the Iron Bone Heroes Regiment and the Third Regiment were fiercely competitive on the field. Whether it was the stretcher relay competition or the ammunition box carrying competition, soldiers from both companies were giving it their all.
They were all watching each other while competing.
Each had their own reasons for wanting to win, as well as their unwavering beliefs in their own victory.
But in the end, there could only be one winner.
Unfortunately, it was the Third Regiment’s Company Commander who managed to maintain his smile.
The way he grinned sharply contrasted with the tense expressions of Regiment Commander Hong and the First Regiment’s Company Commander.
Especially Regiment Commander Hong, he was clearly feeling very uncomfortable right now.
During the individual competitions earlier, he had been so triumphant and delighted. Now, he felt equally embarrassed.
He hadn’t come in last place either time, but he had come in second both times, and the time difference between the two second-place finishes was very short.
But, a loss was still a loss.
Second place was second place.
His gaze shifted towards the Fourth Company, and he was looking at Wang Ye. Although he knew that in team competitions, focusing on individuals was futile, at this moment, he couldn’t help but glance over…
“The third group, get ready!” the referee shouted loudly.
A few minutes later…
Finally, this time, Regiment Commander Hong smiled because this time the Iron Bone Heroes Regiment had finally secured first place in the same round.
And this smile continued.
The fourth group.
“Seven minutes and thirty-three seconds,” was the result announced after the First Regiment’s artillery company competed.
It was currently the best result in the entire competition, even surpassing the First Regiment’s artillery company, with the First Company and the Third Company following closely with seven minutes and thirty-six seconds and seven minutes and thirty-nine seconds, respectively.
When it came to artillery, those who specialized in it were truly exceptional.
Even though these were not mortar shells, they still threw hand grenades with precision.
The First Regiment’s artillery company of the Iron Bone Heroes Regiment only used twenty-two hand grenades in total, with each person using only two or three, to complete this challenge.
Then they excelled in the other events, securing this remarkable result.
At this moment, Wang Ye and his team felt the pressure.
“Oh no, the artillery company is tough!” Du Yitong looked at the artillery team members running back with raised hands, and muttered under his breath.
“Never mind them. It’s just seven minutes and thirty-three seconds. According to our training, it’s not difficult for us to win by showcasing our full potential!”
During the internal training of the Fourth Company, they had achieved a best time of seven minutes and twenty-three seconds in the past.
Of course, that was just one exceptional instance.
In that particular attempt, all eight members used only eighteen hand grenades in total to complete the precision hand grenade task.
It would be challenging to replicate this performance later on.
Wang Ye whispered words of encouragement to everyone, and at this moment, Wu Jianfeng also approached the group, beckoning them to gather around.
Looking at the eight individuals in front of him, Wu Jianfeng said, “We’ll be up next. Everyone, stay focused and don’t let external distractions affect you when throwing the hand grenades. Remember the feel of your practice sessions. 1 hope that within twenty hand grenades, you can complete the precision hand grenade throw.”
“Captain, don’t worry, 1 believe we can do it!” Wang Ye spoke up first.
“Yeah, we can definitely do it!”
“Right, we’ve got this!”
Everyone encouraged each other.
The pressure they were under was even greater than that felt by Wang Ye.
Not only did they face the pressure of the artillery company’s performance, but they also had the burden of the reputation of the Fourth Company.
Wang Ye had elevated the reputation of the Fourth Company, but now that reputation was a weight on their shoulders.
They didn’t want people to say that the Fourth Company had no one else but Wang Ye.
So, each of them felt the pressure and was holding back their determination.
Soon, the competition for the fifth group on the field came to an end.
The First Regiment finally secured first place for the first time, which visibly eased the Company Commander’s expression.
However, Wang Ye noticed that the performances of the other two teams in this round were also quite good.
Although the Iron Bone Heroes Regiment’s heavy machine gun company ranked second, their time was also impressive at seven minutes and thirty-five seconds.
“The sixth group, get ready!” the referee announced, and Wang Ye’s team, consisting of eight individuals, had been waiting in line behind the starting point.
They hadn’t been running around despite the cheers from the crowd.
In fact, the teams that had been running around were those from the fifteenth group onward.
They were scheduled to compete tomorrow, so they didn’t need to stay in formation today. However, Wang Ye’s team and the teams from the previous fifteen groups had been waiting in line.
Now, Wang Ye and his team moved forward in formation.
The Chief of Staff stood to the side, observing, but didn’t approach them.
Wu Jianfeng walked alongside them and encouraged them, saying, “Do your best and fight for some honor!”
After saying this, he prepared to leave.
He didn’t make any remarks about having to wear grass shoes if they lost, as the pressure on them was already substantial.
However, despite Wu Jianfeng’s restraint, the Company Commanders of the two neighboring regiments seemed quite unsettled.
The Company Commander of the Fourth Company in the First Regiment looked at his team members and said, “If you defeat the Fourth Company of the Iron Bone Heroes Regiment, I’ll have the cooks slaughter a pig and we’ll feast on meat and drink!”
The Company Commander of the Fourth Company in the Third Regiment also glanced at Wang Ye and then loudly declared, “As long as you defeat the Fourth Company, regardless of the competition’s outcome, i’ll have the cooks slaughter two pigs, and there won’t be any limit to your alcohol consumption!”
“Hehe, they’re trying to challenge our Iron Blood Fourth Company, what do you say?” Wu Jianfeng, who was originally about to leave, smiled and asked loudly as he looked at Wang Ye and his team.
“We don’t accept!” the nine of them replied loudly and in unison.
“What if you don’t accept?” Wu Jianfeng asked again.
“We’ll defeat them!” they answered in a resolute and synchronized manner.
This scene made the generals on the high platform burst into laughter.
“Young lads have quite the spirit!”
The Division Commander joined in, saying, “Indeed, when we see them, it’s as if we’re looking at ourselves back in the day. It’s a pity that many of our old comrades’ lives are frozen at this age forever!”
“Hey, let’s not talk about that… Let’s just go have a drink with them later!” The laughter of the Division Commander suddenly froze as he glanced at the Corps Commander and stopped himself from continuing.
The topic had become too heavy.
In fact, most of the division and corps-level commanders here had experienced the front lines during their early years, and some of the brigade-level commanders had as well, including Regiment Commander Hong.
“Well, let’s watch the competition, shall we? Wang Ye, that young lad, is on the field!” The Division Commander’s smile returned to his face.
Indeed, at that moment, Wang Ye was on the field.
After a brief equipment check and some verbal jockeying among the three companies, the referee instructed the three company commanders to step back.
The first soldier from each company was ready to go.
In the case of the Iron Blood Fourth Company, Wang Ye was the first one up, serving as the point man.
This sequence of entry had been adjusted during their training multiple times.
It was intended to put pressure on the other teams while boosting the confidence of their own team.
“Get ready in prone position!” The referee gave the command, and Wang Ye dropped to the ground with his rifle.
In team competitions, they didn’t need to carry backpacks, but they had to have their rifles, ammunition pouches, hand grenades, and water bottles with them.
At this moment, Wang Ye was lying down alongside the first soldiers from the other two regiments.
At this moment, the two soldiers from the other regiments felt immense pressure as they looked at Wang Ye.
They had been cheering earlier, but that was when they thought of Wang Ye as just one person competing in the overall team rankings. It was like the artillery company and the heavy machine gun company, where they believed that no matter how strong Wang Ye was individually, he was still just one person.
But now, in this head-to-head competition, and at the beginning of the group stage, they were facing Wang Ye directly. It was safe to say that they were feeling the pressure.
They were certain they couldn’t beat Wang Ye. After all, he had achieved the second-best result in the entire division for the crawling tactics.
Now, all they could hope for was that when Wang Ye was crawling, he might get caught on the barbed wire, which could slow him down a bit.
Of course, such a mistake was nothing more than a wishful thought in their hearts…
“Get ready!”
“Bang!”