Chapter 1 The Uprising of Gunfire

"Boom!" "Tuk tuk tuk!" "Da da da!" All sorts of gunfire suddenly erupted on the mountaintop.

Kase Kazuo's squadron, lighting torches and advancing towards the summit with trepidation, bore the brunt of the attack and suffered heavy casualties.

The sound of regular combat finally echoed from the summit, easing the anxiety of Captain Uehara Yosuke at the foot of the mountain. He loudly commanded, "All machine guns, heavy machine guns, provide cover! Suppress the firepower on the summit!"

His battalion had few troops remaining in place, with the main force already on the mountainside.

To say they would suppress the firepower on the summit! Captain Uehara Yosuke was overestimating his abilities.

Having just annihilated two Japanese infantry squadrons, the six light machine guns they had captured were all given to Company Commander Su's unit. At this time, Company Commander Su's unit already had fifteen machine guns.

His soldiers fought with great enthusiasm. On this defensive line, not only did they have fifteen machine guns, but Company Commander Hua's unit also had five mortars and two infantry guns.

These artillery pieces bombarded the Japanese fiercely! Kase Kazuo's squadron and Fukatsu Yuto's squadron, the two closest squadrons, were caught in a sudden attack.

All the Japanese soldiers immediately prostrated themselves on the mountainside, with a storm of bullets flying overhead. They no longer cared about the torches in their hands.

They quickly took out their guns and began to fight back. Sergeant Major Mizuki Daiji was a machine gunner.

He quickly set up his machine gun and began firing at the defending soldiers on the summit. His machine gun was immediately targeted, with at least two machine guns firing at him.

Sergeant Major Mizuki Daiji hadn't even finished a burst of fire when he took a bullet to the head, falling to the ground dead without a chance to struggle.

Sergeant Major Ito Yuta quickly took over the machine gun dropped by Mizuki Daiji and immediately resumed firing. These Japanese soldiers had now recovered some of their morale.

Although they had lost more than a dozen soldiers in the sudden attack, the storm of bullets from the summit made the two squadrons realize that the people who had annihilated Kanzuki Kazuo's squadron and Eikura Eita's squadron of nearly four hundred soldiers on the summit were people, not some legendary demons.

Understanding this, they were no longer so afraid. They threw away their torches, picked up their rifles and machine guns, and began firing at the firing points on the summit while prostrating on the mountainside.

At the same time, the Japanese soldiers of the Uehara Yosuke Battalion at the foot of the mountain were much more relaxed. They believed that as long as they were people, they were not to be feared.

The Japanese soldiers of the Konoe Yuto Squadron suffered no casualties in this wave of attacks because they were relatively far away. After the gunfire, they also threw away their torches and picked up their weapons.

Company Commander Konoe Yuto loudly ordered the heavy machine guns in the squadron to immediately fire at the summit to cover the soldiers of Kase Kazuo's squadron who had already rushed halfway up the mountain.

The Yoshida Taro squad regained their senses in the attack and continued to climb towards the summit. Although they could not walk to the summit as easily as they had at first, these Japanese soldiers without mental baggage felt somewhat relieved.

Sergeant Major Ito Yuta took over Mizuki Daiji's machine gun, but he was unable to hold on for long. After only changing a magazine, he took a bullet to the chest.

Unable to continue firing, he could only retreat and let another soldier in the squad take his place. Machine guns, grenade launchers, and mortars had always been the primary targets of the Special Operations Brigade.

The three Japanese squadrons on the mountainside had more than a dozen machine guns in total. They were all heavily targeted, especially the heavy machine guns of the Konoe Yuto Squadron.

Gunner Nakama Torataro had only been firing for less than five minutes when shells began to fall around him.

Although he had not been hit at first, it was clear that the bombing from the summit would not stop until he was killed.

Two or three more shells landed. Although Gunner Nakama Torataro was not yet dead, his assistant gunner and two other Japanese soldiers who were preparing to replace him were either killed or injured by the shrapnel.

Without an assistant gunner to load ammunition, Gunner Nakama Torataro had to stop firing and loudly called for other Japanese soldiers to come and help.

This time he was much smarter, finding Japanese soldiers to carry the heavy machine gun to another location and continue operating.

When his heavy machine gun stopped firing, the bombing from the summit also stopped synchronously. The artillerymen on the summit even thought they had destroyed the firing point.

After changing locations, Nakama Torataro's heavy machine gun had just started firing when shells fell again. This time his luck was not as good as before, and he was the first Japanese soldier to be injured.

This heavy machine gun had now seen off at least seven Japanese soldiers, but the Japanese soldiers died while the heavy machine gun remained. The Japanese soldiers had to continue to replenish it.

The Japanese soldiers of the Yoshida Taro squad continued to attack the summit. Although their advance was a little slower, they eventually entered within one hundred meters of the defensive line.

The soldiers of the 3rd Company of the 15th Regiment of the Special Operations Brigade on the summit carefully aimed at the Japanese soldiers crawling towards the summit. Although they could not achieve a one-shot-one-kill, they still caused splashes of blood to appear from time to time on the bodies of the Japanese soldiers lying on the ground.

The Japanese soldiers of the Yoshida Taro squad now realized that although these National Revolutionary Army soldiers on the summit were not the demons they had initially imagined, their ferocity was no less than that of demons.

Of the fifty-four Japanese soldiers in the entire squad, more than ten had died during the attack, leaving at least nearly forty Japanese soldiers.

Now, Squad Leader Yoshida Taro painfully discovered that only thirteen Japanese soldiers in the entire squad were still continuing the attack.

A full squad of Japanese soldiers was now reduced to the size of a platoon. This summit was difficult to attack today.

Although Company Commander Kase Kazuo was at the rear, he could still clearly see the situation of the entire squadron. The worries of Squad Leader Yoshida Taro also arose in his mind:

Of the one hundred and eighty-four Japanese soldiers in the entire squadron, there were now less than one hundred left. Such losses were a bit too heavy.

More importantly, the casualties of his squadron continued to increase. Five machine gun firing points covering the entire squadron's attack had been destroyed.

With five fewer machine guns on their side, the attacks from the summit had not decreased at all. On the contrary, several machine guns had been freed up to specifically target the charging Japanese soldiers.

Fortunately, Company Commander Fukatsu Yuto's squadron was following behind. They were in a slightly rearward position, so the damage they sustained was much lighter. After a rough estimate, the casualties of the entire Fukatsu Yuto squadron should only be twenty or thirty Japanese soldiers.

Company Commander Kase Kazuo ordered, "Stabilize on the spot and wait for the Fukatsu squadron to come and charge together."

He had already seen that the further they charged forward, the more severe the attacks they encountered. If the Japanese soldiers of his squadron charged to within fifty meters, there would probably be less than fifty soldiers left.

Company Commander Fukatsu Yuto was still very energetic at this time. Seeing that the Kase Kazuo squadron in front had stopped, he immediately ordered his soldiers to speed up and catch up.

If his squadron could be the first to attack the summit, it would also be a considerable achievement.

If they wanted credit, of course they had to work hard.

Sergeant Major Kubozuka Emon quickened his pace and caught up with the Japanese soldiers in front. In this way, the soldiers of the two squadrons were completely mixed together.

They attacked the summit together, and with the Yamamoto Kazuo squad of the Fukatsu Yuto squadron coming up to share the casualties, Squad Leader Yoshida Taro finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least his remaining thirteen Japanese soldiers could live a little longer.

The Yamamoto Kazuo squad fully assumed the task of attacking the vanguard. After advancing twenty meters, Squad Leader Yamamoto Kazuo immediately discovered that his squad was losing men every minute.

The shooting from the summit was so dense and accurate that his soldiers would be hit by bullets as long as they exposed themselves even a little.

This became an unbearable pain for them. If they continued to lose men like this, his squad would be almost wiped out after advancing another twenty meters.

Company Commander Fukatsu Yuto now realized that the casualties would increase so much for the Japanese soldiers charging in front. The National Revolutionary Army on the summit mainly directed their firepower at the foremost Japanese soldiers.

Company Commander Su was now completely admiring Company Commander Hua Wuque. He watched the Japanese soldiers charging in front being constantly shot, struggling, and then being shot again.

He said with a smile, "Company Commander Hua, your method of concentrating the fire of the entire company's rifles on the first few dozen Japanese soldiers is really effective. Even if these Japanese soldiers charge close, there won't be many left."

Company Commander Hua said with a smile, "We use ten guns to aim and fire at one Japanese soldier at the same time. Even if he's an eel, he can't escape. Although there are still many Japanese soldiers behind them, we also have a backup plan. When they charge into the area with the directional mines, these Japanese soldiers will be finished."

Company Commander Su said, "Another Japanese squadron has come up the mountainside. It's a bit annoying! Why do your artillery pieces keep targeting them?"

"Killing more of those Japanese soldiers farther away will prevent them from making any waves even if they join the battle later. They're just coming up to die," Company Commander Hua explained.

"You don't want to let a single Japanese soldier go back alive?"

"Of course! Now that these Japanese soldiers have come, they shouldn't think about going back," Company Commander Hua said with a smile.

Company Commander Konoe had already observed that his squadron was taking the most artillery shells. The entire squadron was superficially at the rear of the attacking formation, but in reality, it was suffering no less damage than the two squadrons in front.

Under these circumstances, he could not retreat, so he could only order the Japanese soldiers of the entire squadron to speed up and join the two squadrons in front as soon as possible on the mountainside.

The attack on the mountainside was all in the eyes of Battalion Commander Uehara Yosuke. Seeing that the attack of the three squadrons was going smoothly, Battalion Commander Uehara Yosuke finally felt a little relieved:

This time, they should be able to occupy this summit!

Company Commander Fukatsu Yuto and Company Commander Kase Kazuo remembered the order of Battalion Commander Uehara Yosuke: when they reached within fifty meters of the defensive line, they should first send a squad to probe.

Should they send the Yoshida squad to probe now? A force of only ten soldiers could still be called a squad?

Even if the Yamamoto Kazuo squad was added, there were fewer than forty Japanese soldiers in total.

In any case, a force of forty Japanese soldiers was not small. The two squads were combined into one, and they charged upwards.

The remaining soldiers of the two squadrons waited behind to see the result of these two squads' charge.

Company Commander Hua, seeing that the Japanese soldiers were not all charging up to receive bombs, but only sending a small group of soldiers to probe, ordered, "Grenades ready!"

Seeing the Japanese soldiers charge to within forty meters, he loudly ordered, "Throw!"

The soldiers of his company ate meat and trained every day. The minimum requirement for throwing grenades to pass was forty-five meters.

Now, at this distance, and throwing from a high place to a low place, they immediately stunned the forty-odd Japanese soldiers of the Yoshida Taro squad and the Yamamoto Kazuo squad.

With at least fifty grenades thrown, each Japanese soldier was bombarded by more than one grenade.

After the continuous explosions, Company Commander Kase Kazuo watched the pile of corpses in front of him, adding many more corpses and Japanese soldiers rolling around on the corpse pile, struggling and groaning.

The two mixed squads, without a single one continuing the attack, and without any escaping back, all fell not far in front.

At this time, the Konoe Yuto squadron finally caught up.

Three squadrons, a full three hundred-plus Japanese soldiers, were gathered here: what should they do?

The tactics of the defending soldiers on the summit had not changed much. They were still using bombs. Company Commander Konoe Yuto proposed, "Charge directly!"

He wanted to use the "banzai charge" tactic that the Japanese were best at. Although the casualties would be greater, it was very safe.

The other two company commanders looked at the three hundred-plus Japanese soldiers around them and felt that this method was good. It was passed unanimously.

"Banzai!" The three company commanders simultaneously drew their command swords and issued an order for a full charge at the defensive line on the summit.

"Banzai!" More than three hundred Japanese soldiers stood up from the ground at the same time, hunching over, holding their guns, and shouting as they charged towards the summit.

This scene made the remaining Japanese soldiers of the Uehara Yosuke Battalion watching at the foot of the mountain feel their blood boil. They liked to see their side use this kind of passionate and effective way to attack.

The Japanese soldiers of the three squadrons braved the machine gun fire from the opposite side and began their final sprint.

They faced a powerful firepower of forty machine guns, five mortars, two infantry guns, and three rocket launchers.

Machine guns fired, artillery shells exploded, rockets exploded, and hundreds of rifles fired at the charging Japanese soldiers.

This caused the front ranks of the charging Japanese soldiers to fall continuously. After these Japanese soldiers launched their charge, they no longer hesitated.

When the Japanese soldiers in front fell, the Japanese soldiers behind them continued to charge forward in the same way. The banzai charge tactic was like this: it was either you die or I die.

The three squadrons of Japanese soldiers suffered heavy casualties, but their speed of advance was also very fast. They looked like they had broken through to within thirty meters of the defensive line.

Company Commander Hua loudly ordered, "Everyone, prepare bayonets!"

After letting the soldiers prepare for close combat, he ordered, "Explode! Two more!"

Every time they attacked and engaged in close combat with the Japanese soldiers, the task of the first squad was to restore the directional mines before engaging in close combat with the Japanese soldiers.

Now, upon receiving the company commander's order, four consecutive explosions of "boom!" sounded.

Uehara Yosuke, who had stood up to watch the battle at the foot of the mountain, could no longer stand steadily. He took a step back and fell to the ground, his face pale. He had a bad feeling.

Chief of Staff Fukusho Hyoe understood him. He helped Battalion Commander Uehara Yosuke up beside him and said in a low voice, "Don't worry! The reinforcements sent by the division commander have arrived."

Battalion Commander Uehara Yosuke looked towards the way they had come and indeed saw a team of Japanese soldiers running towards them, less than five hundred meters away.

He was slightly relieved. He looked at the summit again: it was still filled with smoke, and smoke and dust shrouded the entire summit. They could not see clearly what was happening above.

Company Commander Kase Kazuo, Company Commander Fukatsu Yuto, and Company Commander Konoe Yuto, the three of them gathered together, commanding at the very back of the team.

When the directional mines exploded, the three company commanders were not harmed in the slightest. They only heard four thunderous explosions in front of them and felt the ground trembling like water waves.

The faces of these three Japanese company commanders turned pale. They were all holding their command swords, and suddenly they raised them in unison and shouted loudly, "Banzai!"

They rushed into the middle of the Japanese army, which had fallen to the ground.

The Japanese soldiers, who had been caught off guard by the sudden explosion, reacted immediately upon hearing the loud orders from their respective company commanders. The Japanese soldiers who were still standing and able to fight immediately realized what was happening.

They immediately began to echo, "Banzai!" They continued to step on the corpses and bodies of the injured Japanese soldiers, stepping on the mountainside that was already flowing with blood, and charged towards the Special Operations Brigade soldiers who had already rushed out of the trenches.

This time, more Japanese soldiers charged up than the previous two times. Even after using four directional mines, there were still about one company of Japanese soldiers left.

Company Commander Hua led the charge in the front, followed closely by Company Commander Su. Company Commander Hua loudly ordered, "Maintain three-man combat teams, charge!"

He was reminding Company Commander Su that Company Commander Su and his hundred-odd soldiers were much worse at bayonet fighting. At this time, they needed to rely on numbers.

Company Commander Su reacted and loudly ordered, "Form three-man teams immediately and engage in close combat with the Japanese soldiers!"

Company Commander Hua, who was in front, had already started shouting loudly, "Kill!"

His voice was full of energy, and he pierced the chest of the opposite Japanese soldier with a transparent hole with just one shot. The soldiers of the Third Company also rushed in front of the Japanese soldiers, just like Company Commander Hua.

With the bayonet thrust forward, they shouted loudly, "Kill!"

The shouts of more than a hundred soldiers greatly inspired the soldiers under Company Commander Su, who were not very good at bayonet fighting.

But they were stimulated by the shouts of their comrades, and their blood was boiling, and their fighting spirit was soaring. One by one, they also shouted, "Kill!"

These soldiers on the battlefield shouted "kill" every time they thrust a shot.

Soon they discovered that with each shout of "kill", the strength in their hands seemed to increase, and the Japanese soldiers seemed to be bowing their heads.

Company Commander Kase Kazuo and the other two kept rushing forward and finally reached the front.