Located on the left wing of Kurgan Mountain, the British First Division saw the flag of the Kingdom of Britain rise on the front fort of Kurgan Mountain. They immediately decided to capture this damned trench in the shortest possible time.

"Pass my orders! The entire Scottish Rifle Corps advance! I don't care what price we pay, I only want victory!" Sir George Brown, the commander of the First Division, ordered his aide to quickly convey his orders to the commander of the Scottish Rifle Corps. He did not want to be the last to reach the mountaintop.

"Yes, sir!" The aide saluted his superior officer with a serious expression and then rode over to the Scottish Rifle Corps commander responsible for the attack to convey Sir George Brown's orders.

The commander of the Scottish Rifle Corps looked incredulously at the aide in front of him. No one understood better than their corps how tenacious the Russian soldiers on the mountainside were.

In just over three hours, nearly one-fifth of the corps' soldiers were wounded. Now, the commander not only refused to let them retreat and rest, but also ordered them to attack regardless of casualties. This seemed as if the soldiers were being treated as less than human.

"Are you sure these are the orders from the commander?" The commander of the Scottish Rifle Corps asked the aide once more, hoping to hear a different answer than before.

Unfortunately, the aide's answer was exactly the same as the first time.

"I know it's not easy for you either! Since the commander's orders have been issued, please execute them immediately!" The aide said to the commander.

The commander forced a bitter smile. He knew that after this battle, their corps might face the risk of completely losing combat effectiveness.

Just as the aide said, even though the commander knew what fate awaited them next, the hierarchical obedience in the army and the honorary title of the Scottish Rifle Corps left no room for retreat.

The commander of the Rifle Corps took a deep breath, calmed his urge to curse, and solemnly said to the aide, "Please tell the commander that the Scottish Rifle Corps will fight to the last man for honor! We will never retreat until the enemy is completely annihilated!"

"I will relay your words to the commander word for word!" The aide also looked gravely at the commander of the Rifle Corps, whose eyes revealed a resolve to die.

After the aide left, the commander gathered his battalion leaders to convey the commander's orders to them.

"Why is it us!" One of the battalion leaders said indignantly, "Are they just going to sit back and reap the rewards? We've sacrificed too many brothers for this damn trench!"

"This is an order! There is no room for negotiation!" The commander responded to the battalion leader firmly and then looked around, "We are soldiers! We must resolutely execute orders, even the most dangerous ones! For the honor of Britain, we must fight to the last soldier! As your commander, I can assure you, I will stand with you."

Then, the commander of the Rifle Corps shouted, "For Britain!"

The battalion leaders followed the commander's call, shouting, "For Britain!"

After a simple mobilization, the commander and his men advanced towards the left trench of Kurgan Mountain in a tight formation. Almost every soldier's face was expressionless, and the military band began to play the march.

When the Scottish Rifle Corps reached the vicinity of the trench, the Russian Imperial Army attacked the Scottish Rifle Corps once again from the trench.

Strangely, the Scottish Rifle Corps did not encounter artillery attacks this time, and the firepower from the Russian Army in the trench was much weaker than before.

This unexpected change puzzled the Scottish Riflemen but also boosted their confidence.

The Scottish Riflemen, armed with Lee-Enfield 1853 rifles, shot at the Russian Imperial Army in the trench. Under the powerful suppressive fire of the rifles, the Russian Imperial Army in the trench fell one after another.

The expected casualties did not occur for the Rifle Corps commander. When the leading troops approached the inside of the trench, the Russian Army inside and behind the parapet began to retreat.

Without cover, the gap between the Russian Imperial Army and the Scottish Rifle Corps widened further, with many Russian soldiers being shot down by the Scottish Riflemen.

When the first rifle company reached the trench, the scene before them shocked the Rifle Corps. The trench was already filled with soldiers of the Russian Empire, who were crying out in pain and for help, making it seem like hell had descended on earth.

Unable to bear it, the leading company captain quickly ran to the commander to report the situation inside the trench. After hearing the lieutenant's description, the commander followed him into the trench. Seeing the enemies lying on the ground, he sighed and shouted to the Slavic soldiers in Russian, "The follow-up medical team will arrive soon! It won't be long until you are saved!"

Then, the commander of the Scottish Rifle Corps found a Russian officer with not too severe injuries (his right arm and left leg were broken by a Lee-Enfield) to inquire about the whereabouts of the Russian Imperial Army.

"What you see now is all our members!" The Russian officer, leaning against a wall of yellow soil, replied calmly to the Scottish Rifle Corps commander.

"Impossible! During the last attack, you still had enough troops to counterattack us!" The commander said incredulously to the Russian officer.

"Those were the detachments led by Prince Peter Gorchakov! Wherever needed, they will go to reinforce! Once our crisis was resolved, they naturally wouldn't stay here!" The Russian officer replied through gritted teeth to the commander.

"So you're now..." The commander suddenly thought of something.

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"To put it bluntly! Right now, we're nothing more than abandoned pawns!" The Russian officer uttered with a despondent expression, talking to himself, "A useless pawn!"

For some reason, when the Russian officer mentioned the words "abandoned pawn," the Firearms Corps Commander felt a sense of empathy.

As the Firearms Corps, were they not also Commander Brown's "abandoned pawns"?

"Friend, cheer up! You and your men have held us back for quite some time; you've accomplished your mission excellently!" The commander couldn't help but encourage this enemy.

"Really?" The Russian officer's face lit up with a glimmer, longing for acknowledgment.

"Of course..." The commander affirmed with a nod.

"That's great!" The Russian officer managed a slight smile before fainting beside the wall.

...

"Excellent! I knew they could do it!" Sir George Brown said to himself with a smile after receiving the good news from the Firearms Corps.

"Uh, Commander, I think!" The aide hesitated before speaking.

"What do you think?" Sir George Brown, in high spirits, asked the aide.

The aide swallowed hard and, with gritted teeth, said to George Brown at that time, "Commander, I think you should apologize to the Scottish Rifle Corps!"

"Apologize?" Sir George Brown paused for a few seconds, instinctively responding, "Why should I apologize?"

"You clearly know the Scottish riflemen have suffered significant casualties, yet you wanted them to continue the attack! Isn't that sending them to their deaths?" The aide accused George Brown indignantly.

George Brown gradually wiped the smile off his face, his expression becoming particularly serious, "Then what should I do? Withdraw the Scottish Rifle Corps and have another regiment take their place? Who would fill that gap? If the follow-up troops win easily, wouldn't the Firearms Corps have grievances."

The aide was rendered speechless; from a rational standpoint, George Brown made no mistakes, but from an emotional angle, his orders were inhumane!

"This is the battlefield! Not a social setting, where emotional thinking is not allowed!" Sir George Brown harshly criticized, "I must be responsible for the honoring of the entire division! If my mistake leads to the annihilation of their corps, rest assured, I would accept any punishment without your reminder!"

"I..." The aide wanted to say more but saw that George Brown was already riding toward the direction of the Scottish Rifle Corps, prompting the aide to instinctively ask the commander, "Where are you going?"

George Brown halted his horse and turned to respond to the aide behind him, "Need you even ask? To apologize to all the members of the Scottish Rifle Corps at your request!"

"Didn't you just say..."

"I said the victors do not bear any reproach! Now that the Firearms Corps has won for me, if they need an apology from me, I will certainly meet their demands without hesitation!" Sir George Brown responded firmly.

George Brown and the aide, with a distance of half a horse's length between them, moved toward the trench occupied by the Scottish Rifle Corps. As they were about to reach the trench, Kingscott's Aide appeared before them, conveying Commander Largren's orders!

"All members of the First Division advance to the summit of Kurgan Mountain with all due speed! No one is allowed to stop for any reason!" Kingscott's Aide said sternly.

"Yes!" The commander responded to Kingscott's Aide.

After Kingscott's Aide departed, George Brown turned to the aide beside him and said, "What did I just say!"

"I'll notify them immediately!" The aide rode to relay Commander Largren's orders to all units of the First Division.

All members, including the Scottish Rifle Corps, followed Commander Largren's orders to head to the summit of Kurgan Mountain. Oddly, on the way up, the First Division no longer saw groups of Russian Imperial soldiers, only sporadic, scattered soldiers wandered around Kurgan Mountain like headless flies.

Upon reaching the summit, George Brown and his aide saw Commander Largren, who seemed to have been on the summit for a while, and beside him were Sir Cambening of the Highland Brigade and the Duke of Cambridge's Lantern.

"Commander, where are the soldiers of the Russian Empire? Why haven't I seen any along the way?" George Brown asked Commander Largren as he approached.

"Look there!" Commander Largren pointed into the distance, and George Brown followed the direction Commander Largren was pointing. Less than three kilometers from Kurgan Mountain, a grand army was moving southward.

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