78: Chapter 78: The Regimental Flag!!!

"Hahaha, it seems Mr. Shen is also very satisfied with this battle!"

Seeing Shen Wang's mouth curling up in a smile that was harder to suppress than a machine gun, the Brigade Commander also breathed a sigh of relief.

Since he had provided so much powerful equipment, if they didn't fight a brilliant battle, they would truly feel undeserving of it!

Shen Wang laughed and said, "Satisfied! Very satisfied!"

The group talked and laughed.

Just then, Zhang Dabiao directed a few soldiers to carry in a wooden box that looked quite heavy.

"Report, Brigade Commander! Regiment Commander! This is the loot captured from the ruins of the Imperial Army regimental headquarters! It's packed with the good stuff!"

Although the Xiao Pu Regiment headquarters had been razed by Shen Wang, things like silver and gold would not be damaged.

Everyone crowded around to look and couldn't help but marvel.

The box was packed to the brim with gleaming gold bars!

A rough count revealed more than a dozen of them!

Next to them were several cloth bags; upon opening them, they were full of shiny silver dollars, likely numbering over ten thousand!

"Those damn Japanese devils, squeezing the people for every drop, they're really rich as hell!" Li Yunlong picked up a gold bar, weighed it in his hand, and cursed.

But it had to be said, the county town was indeed much wealthier than the mountains!

The Brigade Commander also remarked with emotion, "This is just the initial cleanup; just from the Imperial Army regimental headquarters, we've found so much!"

"Don't forget, in this battle we killed or captured over 6,000 of the enemy. Even if we only found two silver dollars on each beast, that's over ten thousand…"

Everyone was marveling at the abundance of the loot.

Suddenly, Shen Wang's gaze sharpened, and he stepped forward abruptly.

Immediately after, he picked up a long object from the corner of the box that had been half-hidden by gold bars, wrapped in fine silk!

One end of the object was clearly a magnificent flagpole inlaid with gold!

Seeing this, Zhang Dabiao quickly explained, "Mr. Shen, we didn't know what this was. We just saw the flagpole was inlaid with gold and thought it must be a treasure, so we brought it along."

Shen Wang didn't answer; his breathing instantly became rapid, his hands even trembling slightly as he carefully untied the silk ribbons.

Seeing Shen Wang's unusually excited reaction, the Brigade Commander was stunned for a moment, then seemed to think of something extremely terrifying and highly improbable.

Then, the Brigade Commander also stepped forward abruptly, his voice trembling with disbelief:

"Mr. … Mr. Shen … this … this … could it be …"

The two looked at each other and saw the answer in each other's eyes!

One on each side, they slowly unfolded the banner completely in front of everyone—

It was indeed a Rising Sun Flag!

However, unlike a standard Rising Sun Flag, this one was decorated with magnificent purple tassels around its edges, and there was a blank space left in the bottom left corner.

Right in that blank space were the words, "Infantry 36th Regiment."

"regimental banner!!!"

Shen Wang and the Brigade Commander roared these three words almost simultaneously!

An Imperial Army regimental banner!

Bestowed personally by the Emperor, it was the highest honor and spiritual symbol of an Imperial Army established unit!

If the banner exists, the unit exists; if the banner is lost, the unit is destroyed!

Since the outbreak of the War of Resistance, not a single Imperial Army regimental banner had ever been captured!

And now, this banner, symbolizing the glory and existence of the Imperial Army Infantry 36th Regiment (Xiao Pu Regiment), had actually … actually fallen into their hands completely intact?

Although Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang, Zhang Dabiao, and the others didn't understand the specific significance of this flag, seeing the Brigade Commander and Shen Wang—two men who had seen it all—so rattled, they immediately understood this was an incredible treasure!

"Brigade Commander, Mr. Shen, what's… what's the big deal about this tattered flag? Isn't it just an Imperial Army flag?" Li Yunlong leaned in, stared at the banner, and asked, scratching his head.

The Brigade Commander took several deep breaths, barely suppressing the turbulent waves in his heart. He pointed at the banner and explained to everyone in an extremely serious tone:

"This is not an ordinary Imperial Army flag! This is a regimental banner! It is bestowed personally by their Emperor to each infantry regiment under their standing army divisions!"

"In the eyes of the Imperial Army, this banner is the soul and highest honor of their entire regiment! It symbolizes the formation of the unit and the favor of the Emperor!"

"The Imperial Army has an iron rule—if the banner exists, the unit exists; if the banner is lost, the unit is destroyed!"

"Once the battle situation becomes critical and there is a risk of the regimental banner being captured, the flag guard company must do whatever it takes, even burning it at the last moment, to ensure it never falls into enemy hands!"

Xiao Pu Jiro probably never imagined until his death that the regimental banner he had treasured and prepared to burn at the last moment would actually be captured!

There was no helping it; he died too quickly!

In less than a minute, Shen Wang had fired five shots in succession; how could he have had time to deal with the regimental banner!

Shen Wang added from the side, his tone carrying a hint of chill: "If the Imperial Army finds out their regimental banner has fallen into our hands, they will undoubtedly spare no cost and mobilize heavy forces to seize it back!"

"It might even trigger a large-scale operation by the Imperial Army across the entire Shanxi Province!"

After hearing the Brigade Commander and Shen Wang's explanation, Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang, and the others finally realized the gravity of the situation and gasped in shock!

"Damn it! So this tattered flag is that important!" Li Yunlong smacked his lips.

The Brigade Commander's expression was extremely grave. He immediately ordered Zhao Gang and Li Yunlong: "This matter is classified as top secret! Everyone present must keep it strictly confidential! The existence of this banner must not be known by anyone other than those present here!"

The Brigade Commander knew that things had escalated!

The significance of capturing the regimental banner even exceeded the capture of He County itself!

Once this news got out, it would surely cause a huge uproar!

He had to report this earth-shattering situation to headquarters immediately.

"I'm going to contact headquarters right now!" After saying this, the Brigade Commander turned and walked away.

However, just as the Brigade Commander turned around, the system's notification sound rang out in Shen Wang's mind again:

【Ding! Congratulations to the Host for capturing a regimental banner, military merit points + 10000】

【Ding! Triggered system diamond-level series mission — "The Shame of the Imperial Army"！】

【Mission Requirements: Accumulate the capture of ten Imperial Army regimental banners (1 / 10)】

【Mission Reward: Diamond-level ten-draw lottery (Guaranteed SSR)】

…

Shen Wang was instantly dumbfounded!

It wasn't because of the extra ten thousand military merit points, but because of that diamond-level ten-draw lottery!

Diamond-level! That was a higher-tier lottery than gold-level!

A single draw required consuming a full ten thousand military merit points!

The corresponding prizes were weapons and supplies at the division or brigade level!

And the guaranteed diamond-level SSR reward … Shen Wang couldn't even imagine what kind of heaven-defying item that would be!

If he drew a combined arms brigade …

Just the thought of it made his blood boil!

However, after the excitement came immense pressure.

Capture ten regimental banners? This difficulty was no small feat!

Shen Wang looked at the shimmering gold mission notification in his mind, and the corners of his mouth curved into a smile filled with fighting spirit.

"Ten … regimental banners, is it …"