May 11, 1996, 9:17 AM.
Southern Indiana, five kilometers southeast of the "Crossroads," in the valley of the "Slaughterhouse."
The name sounds ominous.
Just like the damn Luofeng Slope.
The last reserve force of the Italian Brigade, the remnants of the 2nd Sniper Battalion, the brigade engineer company, and a cobbled-together logistics guard platoon, totaling approximately four hundred men, seven VCC infantry fighting vehicles, and four M60 tanks, under the near-crazed orders of Colonel Bertolini, left the relatively safe defensive circle, advancing along the Route 73 branch, to reinforce the fiercely combated "Crossroads."
Bertolini himself did not advance with the team.
He remained at headquarters, his face ashen, his fingers nervously tapping the radio panel. Communication with the homeland was still disrupted, and the backup channel only emitted ear-piercing electrical noise.
