Chapter 1 The Exploding Planes

Three cannon shots rang out in quick succession. Oda Uemon, in the midst of his dive, didn't even have time to react before his plane exploded in mid-air.

Oda Uemon was reduced to a bloody mist, raining down from the sky. The two fighters trailing him met the same explosive fate.

The three planes, diving in a "品" (pǐn - character-shaped) formation, detonated, and the scattered debris created a vast kill zone in the air.

Kazama Taichi, the pilot following closely behind, screamed in terror, "I'm done for! Too close, can't dodge!"

Kazama Taichi's fighter plunged headfirst into the death zone, its windshield instantly shattered by the debris. One fragment pierced directly into his chest.

As he lay dying, Kazama Taichi cried out, "I'm hit! So much blood! My plane is falling! Falling! Boom!"

The entire Eguchi Yoshio squadron heard Kazama Taichi's final, desperate cries for help.

He wasn't the only pilot killed by the wreckage of Oda Uemon's formation. A fighter and two bombers following behind him also lacked the time to alter course, unable to pull out of their dives to avoid the deadly field of debris.

"Boom! Boom!" Four pillars of fire erupted from the ground, signaling the crash of four aircraft.

Two remaining bombers in the squadron had just begun their dives. Seeing the sudden explosions ahead, Kurokawa Ichiro frantically pulled up, barely avoiding the deadly trap at the last moment.

However, its flight path was now unalterable. Flying past Jigong Ridge, it was met by a hail of machine-gun fire. It wasn't the only plane caught in the storm of bullets; another bomber from the same squadron shared its fate.

Countless high-caliber machine gun rounds tore into Kurokawa Ichiro's body, killing the pilot instantly. He died silently in the cockpit.

In his headset, he could still hear the urgent calls of Squadron Leader Eguchi Yoshio: "Kurokawa-san! Pull up! Pull up! You're going to crash into the mountain!"

"Boom! Boom!" Two more explosions. All nine planes supporting Ono Osamu's detachment in Xiao'ao Village were now destroyed.

Lin Fan had only shot down the three leading planes before shifting his aim, targeting the enemy aircraft farthest away. At that moment, Commander Feng Junya ordered another anti-aircraft gun to open fire.

"Thump-thump-thump!" The rhythmic cannon fire echoed through the mountains.

The soldiers of the Sixth Reserve Division, positioned near the Special Operations Brigade, had initially hidden nervously at the sight of so many enemy planes. They sought to conceal themselves, hoping to avoid attracting the attention of the aircraft and thus prevent an attack.

Their positions on the mountaintop and slopes offered a clear view of the enemy planes diving towards the ground.

Then they witnessed the three leading fighters suddenly exploding in mid-air. Four more enemy planes plunged into the area of the explosions, hurtling like arrows into the ground, followed by four massive plumes of fire and smoke.

"What kind of tactic is that? Three shots down seven planes?" The soldiers of the Sixth Reserve Division emerged from their positions, searching for high ground to watch the spectacle.

They were afraid of missing any of the incredible drama unfolding before them.

Their eyes darted around, witnessing planes exploding like fireworks and two others crashing into the mountain.

Afterward, they saw two columns of black smoke rising from the side of Jigong Ridge, and heard from eyewitnesses that numerous streaks of fire had suddenly erupted from the ridge, striking the two enemy bombers, which then crashed into the mountain.

The soldiers gazing at the sky recounted what they saw: the nine enemy planes flying from the east were blown up by the cannon fire from Jigong Ridge.

All nine aircraft to the east had been destroyed. The wreckage of the exploded planes still rained down from the sky.

Squadron Leader Eguchi Yoshio had noticed the attack on Jigong Ridge after hearing Oda Uemon's distress call.

He shouted, "Noda Squadron, the enemy is below you!" Squadron Leader Eguchi Yoshio's tone was urgent. In the short span of time, several planes in his squadron had already been shot down.

By now, he wasn't even sure how many aircraft in his squadron were still combat-ready.

After issuing the order, Squadron Leader Eguchi Yoshio immediately led nine planes towards Jigong Ridge.

On Jigong Ridge, the Second Regiment's anti-aircraft machine gun company and two 88mm anti-aircraft guns were positioned. The twelve anti-aircraft machine guns of the Eleventh Company of the Second Regiment had just shot down two low-flying enemy bombers.

Company Commander Hua was overjoyed, directing his entire company to fire at the diving enemy planes.

After receiving the order, Squadron Leader Noda Shunichi looked down and immediately spotted the two anti-aircraft guns firing.

The entire squadron of nine planes dove downwards. They had been flying at high altitude under Eguchi Yoshio's orders.

They were flying above 7,000 meters. Now, upon receiving the order, they were trying to dive as quickly as possible to suppress the deadly accurate cannon below.

Four fighters in the squadron were diving almost vertically, while the five bombers, being too heavy, didn't dare to dive so steeply.

The four fast-diving fighters were immediately met by the barrage from the other anti-aircraft gun under Feng Junya's command.

Lin Fan was still dealing with the nine enemy planes to the east, and only after shooting them all down did he anxiously adjust his anti-aircraft gun.

He prepared to fire at the enemy planes rushing toward him.

Far away, on a high point, Chen, the Division Commander of the Sixth Reserve Division, alternated between raising his binoculars and lowering them to observe the enemy planes in the sky.

The advantage of binoculars was that they allowed him to see far and clearly, but the disadvantage was that they narrowed his field of vision, preventing him from seeing the overall situation.

At this point, he could clearly see that the Special Operations Brigade's anti-aircraft gun positions were on Jigong Ridge, and the enemy planes were all charging towards it.

"Those damn Japanese are fierce. Eighteen of their planes have crashed, and they still won't run. They're trying to destroy the Special Operations Brigade's anti-aircraft gun positions even if it costs them their lives." Division Commander Chen said to his Chief of Staff.

"The Special Operations Brigade is in danger now! With so many enemy planes charging so recklessly, I hope they'll be alright!" The Chief of Staff said worriedly.

"They'll be fine! It's not easy to hit accurately from a plane," Division Commander Chen said confidently.

"Is there anything we can do to help them?" Division Commander Chen asked.

His Chief of Staff shook his head with a bitter expression. "We don't have any anti-aircraft guns, and they're too far away for our machine guns to reach. There's nothing we can do!"

Yes! Faced with the enemy's planes, the millions of Nationalist infantry soldiers had always been helpless.

There were barely two units in the entire Nationalist army that possessed anti-aircraft guns like the Special Operations Brigade!

During the Battle of Shanghai, the entire country only had twenty 88mm anti-aircraft guns. A whole nation only had twenty anti-aircraft guns.

Division Commander Chen was not as relaxed as he sounded. He kept his eyes glued to Jigong Ridge.

The four fastest planes of the Noda Shunichi squadron had already descended to an altitude of 3,000 meters when Mukai Ryunosuke, leading the squadron, suddenly felt the plane shake violently. The entire aircraft suddenly began to spin out of control.

Miyazawa Taro, behind him, watched in shock as the plane with only half a fuselage spiraled downward in front of him.

Mukai Ryunosuke fell spinning out of control. On Jigong Ridge, Commander Feng Junya happily patted the cannon, "Good shot! Next one!"

He was happy because it was his anti-aircraft gun that shot down the plane.

For an anti-aircraft gun, shooting down an enemy plane was a very difficult thing. Of course, maniacs like Lin Fan were not included.

"Thump-thump-thump!" Lin Fan's cannon roared. Miyazawa Taro watched in horror as a streak of fire flew from the ground, heading straight for him.

Before he could react, he felt an intense heat searing his body.

The entire fighter broke apart. The two fighters following behind him were also shot down at the same time.

After Lin Fan's barrage, the twelve machine guns of the anti-aircraft machine gun company stopped firing, as the remaining enemy planes were too high for them to reach.

They could only stop and watch the performance of the brigade commander and the regimental commander.

Seeing this scene from afar, Division Commander Chen slapped his thigh and cheered, "Well done! Well done!" The officers and soldiers of the entire Sixth Reserve Division cheered and applauded from outside their trenches.

They had just been worried about the Special Operations Brigade's anti-aircraft gun positions, but now, in the blink of an eye, four attacking fighters had been shot down. How could the soldiers not be happy?

Lin Fan didn't stop and continued to fire at the five bombers still at high altitude, "Thump-thump-thump!"

The cannon fire continued, and the bombers in the sky exploded like fireworks. In Xiao'ao Village, Ono Osamu's detachment could see all the planes in the sky exploding and burning.

This unexpected, yet somehow anticipated, situation was a major blow to the newly arrived Japanese replacements.

In their minds, the Japanese were invincible. The Japanese infantry was invincible, the Japanese planes were invincible, and the Japanese battleships were invincible.

Just this morning, they had updated their worldview, as it seemed that the Japanese infantry wasn't invincible and could be defeated by the Nationalist army.

Their worldview had barely been updated when they saw a group of planes flying over, putting on a fireworks show above their heads. One plane after another exploded in mid-air, and it seemed the Japanese planes weren't invincible either.

This completely shattered worldview caused these untrained recruits to break down. Many of them were crying out, "I want to go home!" "We want to go home!"

Their thoughts were obviously incorrect. Even Detachment Commander Ono Osamu could hear the tearful cries of "I want to go home!" from inside his command post.

This made his already pale complexion turn ashen as a corpse. He had also seen the situation in the sky.

"Those useless pigs, they actually charged straight into the Nationalist's guns!" Even as Detachment Commander Ono Osamu cursed, he knew in his heart.

"It's not that the air force is incompetent, it's just that the Special Operations Brigade is too strong!"

For Liu Laopao, the Second Regiment Commander, the aerial fireworks display was hardly appealing.

He was only concerned with quickly breaking through Xiao'ao Village and having his entire regiment occupy it. That was his goal.

Regimental Commander Shangguan Zhiwen thought the same way. If the regimental commander had such thoughts, his soldiers naturally had to work hard to achieve them.

Even though the sky was lively, the soldiers of the two regiments had no time to watch. They continued to follow the same routine they had used against the Japanese:

Artillery bombing first, infantry charging behind! There was no hint of stopping.

Asaou Yosuke, the newly appointed Captain of the First Battalion of the Third Garrison Regiment, could only urge his soldiers to hold on, to hold on against the Nationalist soldiers charging up.

Captain Asaou Yosuke had only been a company commander of the Third Battalion yesterday. He had escaped with Captain Matsushita Yuta, but instead of being punished, he had been promoted two ranks, which made him very excited.

The only regret was that although he now had a battalion, its combat power seemed to be less than even a company of his men from yesterday.

Especially now, with Nationalist soldiers having charged to within a hundred meters of the defense line, these newly deployed Japanese soldiers were still crying and clamoring to go home.

Their bodies were on the battlefield, but their minds weren't! Captain Asaou Yosuke thought with some malice, "If you don't fight well, you'll be returning to the embrace of Amaterasu soon enough. I can send you back to your hometown in an instant."

Regardless of what he thought, Captain Asaou Yosuke could only try to suppress the crying and shouting soldiers.

He ordered them to pick up their guns and fire at the charging Nationalist soldiers. At this point, he discovered that these replacement soldiers were loading their rifles with trembling hands before firing blindly ahead.

They weren't even aiming. What could Captain Asaou Taro do in this situation?

He could only let these soldiers fire their guns and cannons, if only for the noise!

Company Commander Shi Junxia of the First Company and Company Commander Xuan Yiren of the Second Company, who were charging forward, were unaware that the Japanese soldiers in front of them had changed.

They were still attacking according to the same pattern they had used against the Kitakaze Ayumu Battalion, but this time they could clearly feel that there were more Japanese soldiers in front of them, but the resistance was much weaker.

That was because the First and Second Battalions of the Ono Osamu Detachment were now holding the line in front of them.

However, these defending soldiers took one or two minutes to fire each shot. In between shots, they had to take time to wipe their noses and tears. These Japanese soldiers fighting in the trenches looked like first-graders being punished to do their homework.

The soldiers of the First and Second Companies didn't care about that. They just followed protocol and continued to attack fiercely, charging into the Japanese trenches and starting the familiar bayonet fight.

Private Ito Kinoshita couldn't stand the threat of the gleaming bayonets anymore. He threw down his rifle, jumped out of the trench, and turned to run.

He had barely run five meters when a gunshot rang out, and Private Ito Kinoshita fell to the ground.

He had been shot by the execution squad that Ono Osamu Detachment Commander had specifically sent to supervise the battle. Ito Kinoshita's death caused the other Japanese soldiers who were running to stop and hesitate.

"Bang! Bang!" Several more gunshots rang out, and several more fleeing soldiers were shot down. Now all the Japanese soldiers could only turn and charge towards the approaching First and Second Companies, crying and shouting.

Only now did these Japanese soldiers, who had been praised as special talents during their training on the home islands, understand that they were nothing special. They didn't even possess the combat skills of an ordinary soldier, not even a bit.

The only purpose in sending them to the battlefield was to be cannon fodder.

But they had realized this too late. Many things were like this, and they couldn't be undone with regret.

The two thousand replacements that had entered the Third Regiment were the unluckiest. They had been added on the first day, and annihilated on the second.

Captain Asaou Yosuke had benefitted from retreating before, and this time he saw that the fighting force in front was collapsing as soon as it engaged the Nationalist army. Those newly arrived Japanese soldiers only shouted nonsensically when they fought with bayonets, waving their rifles around like windmills.

Did they think they were performing on a stage? These soldiers were stabbed to the ground by the soldiers of the First and Second Companies.

This situation caused Captain Asaou Yosuke to have thoughts of retreating and immediately acted on them. Not only did he retreat, but Captain Sanpo Daiki of the Second Battalion, who was also defending here, retreated as well, including the twenty guards of the execution squad.

They hurriedly ran into the command post of the Third Garrison Regiment and were pleasantly surprised to find Captain Matsushita Yuta was also there, and Captain Oda Rokuro of the Fourth Battalion had not been left behind either.

Ono Osamu Detachment Commander looked at the four battalion commanders who had all retreated from the front line, and each of them had brought nearly a hundred soldiers with them.

It was clear that these soldiers weren't the ones who had been added last night. They were all veterans under his command.

Ono Osamu Detachment Commander sighed, "Let's go!" Before leaving, he ordered the guards to burn down the command post.

The Japanese soldiers, completely without command, were in chaos. Especially the replacement soldiers, they knelt down crying and begging for mercy.

Company Commander Shi Junxia led his team into Xiao'ao Village, they didn't stop, they chased after the fleeing soldiers.

Not only was the Second Regiment chasing after them, but the soldiers of the Fifteenth Regiment were also doing the same.

The soldiers of the Fifteenth Regiment were holding back a surge of energy, they wanted to prove on the battlefield that the Fifteenth Regiment was no worse than the Second Regiment.

With this mentality, Company Commander Jing Chengxuan and Company Commander Lu Lejia were of course unwilling to give up the opportunity to hunt down the Japanese.

As for cleaning up the battlefield of Xiao'ao Village, there were so many companies behind them.

Where could Ono Osamu Detachment Commander run after escaping from Xiao'ao Village?

Of course, they would run to the nearest main force of the Japanese! The closest was the 27th Mountain Artillery Regiment. Regiment Commander Murakami Seichi had only come over from there this morning when Xiao'ao Village was bombed.

At the time, he had suggested that the Ono Osamu Detachment evacuate Xiao'ao Village and have his artillery regiment carry out a blanket bombardment of the entire Nationalist army attacking Xiao'ao Village.

The Japanese had carried out this tactic more than once, and many times it had completely stopped the Nationalist army from advancing.

Heavy artillery bombardment could cause serious casualties to the charging forces, and at the same time, it could seriously damage the morale of the enemy.

However, his suggestion was rejected by the Ono Osamu Detachment at the time. Now Xiao'ao Village had been lost, and the Ono Osamu Detachment had escaped with less than eight hundred soldiers.

And with more than a thousand pursuers behind them, it suddenly made the originally confident Murakami Seichi Regiment Commander panic.

Its mountain artillery regiment could only hit targets at a distance, not at close range. At such a close distance, it had to rely on infantry to defend.

Looking at the panicked expression of the Ono Osamu Detachment Commander, it was clear that the morale of the eight hundred soldiers under his command was completely gone at this time.

What to do now? It was definitely too late to retreat immediately. Murakami Seichi Regiment Commander could only order all the logistics and support personnel in the regiment to arm themselves and guard the front line.

At the same time, he said to Ono Osamu Detachment Commander: "Ono-kun! Please order all the infantry under your command to return to the front line to fight."

Ono Osamu Detachment Commander, who was still in shock, took a breath for a moment. It was clear that the current situation was not good, and he dared not stay any longer. He shouted loudly: "Immediately join the defense battle! Quick!"

At this time, he could no longer hesitate.

Company Commander Shi Junxia had excitedly reported to Regiment Commander Liu: "Report Regiment Commander! Japanese artillery positions discovered!"

Lin Fan, who was shooting down enemy planes, only gave one order when he received the report: "Take it down!"

Lin Fan had been looking for the Japanese artillery positions ever since they arrived here yesterday. Now that he knew its exact location, what was there to hesitate about?

The Second and Fifteenth Regiments had both discovered the positions of the 27th Mountain Artillery Regiment, and Lin Fan's orders had to be carried out.

But Lin Fan was still busy. Although the four fighters of Noda Shunichi Flying Squadron had been shot down, there were still five bombers diving down.

Both anti-aircraft guns were firing at the five bombers: Thump-thump-thump! The sound of the cannons roared non-stop, and the five bombers in the sky exploded one after another.

This hellish scene terrified Eguchi Yoshio Squadron Commander and the nine planes in his formation that were flying over from afar.

Kamikata Yuma, who was flying in the lead, pleaded in a trembling voice: "Squadron Commander Eguchi! Can we return?

The Nationalist's air defense weapons are too powerful. Even if the entire squadron rushed over, it wouldn't be enough for them to shoot down!"

Kamikata Yuma had only seen the entire scene of Noda Shunichi Squadron's nine planes being shot down. In reality, he hadn't even seen what the other two squadrons looked like when they were shot down.

Before Squadron Commander Eguchi Yoshio could answer, the pilot of the fighter, Sakibe Keita, also chimed in: "Yes! The Nationalist army's anti-aircraft artillery is too powerful. We can't break through their fire circle and attack their artillery positions."

With two soldiers taking the lead, Inukai Kakuya, the pilot of the bomber, hurriedly added: "Three squadrons in the entire squadron have already been destroyed."

Squadron Commander Eguchi Yoshio knew in his heart: "If the Nationalist's anti-aircraft positions on the ground aren't destroyed, they won't dare to come here in the future.

Besides, artillery positions can still be changed. Even if we retreat today, we don't know when we'll encounter them again next time."

He ordered coldly: "Oda, Noda, Mukai, Kurosawa and the others have already opened up a path. You only need to hold on for a while and you can destroy the Nationalist's artillery position.

I believe that there are only a few such artillery units, otherwise our army would have been attacked long ago.

Work together to level this place to the ground."

Since the squadron commander insisted on continuing the bombing, the other Japanese soldiers dared not run. Inukai Kakuya was very sad: not only was his bomber big, but it also carried a lot of load, and all the evasive maneuvers in the air were far less nimble than fighters.

And now he wasn't allowed to leave first, but had to join the attack on the Nationalist army's positions not far away.

This was not an attack at all, but a suicide mission.

Pilot Sakibe Keita thought to himself: Could it be that the space below is connected to the Yellow Springs Road to hell?

All the planes that rushed into that space flew along the Yellow Springs Road into hell?

Regardless of what the Japanese soldiers thought, Kamikata Yuma, who was flying in the lead, had already begun to dive.

He proposed to escape, but the proposal was not approved. He could only dive towards Jigong Ridge with a heart full of sorrow, heading towards the locations where the streaks of fire were coming from on the ground.

After saying "Take it down", Lin Fan had already adjusted his muzzle and fired at the diving enemy plane.

In fact, even if Kamikata Yuma's proposal had been approved, the last nine planes in the squadron would not have been able to escape in the end.

Their only chance to escape was to immediately start running away when Lin Fan fired his cannon just now.

Because this time Eguchi Yoshio Squadron Commander divided the entire squadron into four squadrons, patrolling in different directions, there were indeed planes among them that could escape.

But after Lin Fan shot down three squadrons of planes, it was just a daydream for these Japanese soldiers to think of escaping.

Kamikata Yuma used his fighter to release a brilliant firework, proving that Eguchi Yoshio Squadron Commander's last insistence was wrong.

This wasn't the end. Following behind him, Sakibe Keita, who was driving a fighter, was also diving. At the last moment, he said, "Squadron Commander Eguchi! You are wrong! Noda, Oda, Mukai, and the others did not open up a road to attack, they opened up the Yellow Springs Road to the gates of hell."

His words were still echoing in his headset, followed by a violent explosion.

Sergeant Sakibe Keita used the last explosion to end the whole sentence. One fighter after another was exploding.

Squadron Commander Eguchi Yoshio's eyes turned red: these soldiers under his command were still resenting him for not retreating even in death.

But was it his fault? If they had to hate someone, it should be themselves. From the moment they set foot on this land, their destruction was already doomed.

Inukai Kakuya could no longer endure this fear. He turned the nose of his plane and tried to fly away from the side: he no longer wanted to fly in this deadly airspace.

Squadron Commander Eguchi Yoshio was at the very back of the entire formation. He clearly saw Inukai Kakuya's desertion, but this time he did not stop him, and he did not even scold him in the headset.

He silently sent a sentence: "I hope you can escape back." Eguchi Yoshio sent his last blessing to Inukai Kakuya, and then his fighter also turned into a ball of fire in the air.

Inukai Kakuya, who had received the blessing, lived for ten more seconds. The soldiers of the Sixth Reserve Division watched from afar as the Japanese planes exploded in the air one after another.

Now there was only the last bomber left fleeing. "Thirty-five! They've shot down thirty enemy planes." The eyes of the thousands of soldiers were sharp.

The data they counted was also very accurate, all eyes were watching the last Japanese bomber.

If gazes had heat, the gazes of these officers and soldiers of the Sixth Reserve Division would definitely be able to burn down the bomber that Inukai Kakuya was driving.

Although the gazes didn't burn down the enemy plane, they saw the most beautiful scenery in their hearts: the last enemy plane exploded in the air, and the wreckage of the plane scattered out large pieces of debris.

The cheers of the soldiers hoarsened their throats, but they were still cheering and celebrating.

Such a scene was really satisfying. Division Commander Chen personally called the Special Operations Brigade to congratulate them.

He also reported the air battle that had just occurred on the front line to the Second War Zone Command. To be precise, it wasn't an air battle.

All the planes in the air were Japanese, there wasn't a single Nationalist plane! This was a one-sided massacre!

This was Division Commander Chen's summary of the battle that had just taken place in the air.

Chief Xue Yue listened to Division Commander Chen's report and was overjoyed. They had annihilated the Japanese planes yesterday, and today they shot down the Japanese planes again.

No wonder Brigadier General Lin Fan had to carry two anti-aircraft guns with him no matter where he went.

It turned out that as long as the Japanese appeared in his sight, they couldn't fly anymore! Thinking that he had just ordered Lin Fan yesterday to make sure to shoot down the enemy planes passing through his airspace.

Look, today he shot down thirty-six enemy planes at once! That old man Okamura Neji must be so angry that he's spitting blood!

Xue Yue guessed right. As soon as the air battle ended, Regiment Commander Murakami Seichi reported the bad news that the entire aviation squadron had been wiped out, with no survivors.

Upon receiving this report, Commander Okamura Neji's face suddenly turned pale, and he opened his mouth and vomited a mouthful of blood.

His carefully grown beard was also stained with a lot of blood, which made his face look particularly ferocious.

Okamura Neji's expression could not be transmitted to Xiao'ao Village, a hundred miles away.

After receiving Shi Junxia's report, Liu Laopao immediately ordered the entire regiment to leave a infantry company to clean up the battlefield, and the remaining companies were to rush forward to take down the Japanese artillery positions.

However, taking down the Japanese artillery positions was not the goal of Regiment Commander Liu and Regiment Commander Shangguan.

Regiment Commander Shangguan Zhiwen had recently seized 188 Japanese planes at the Shizhushan Airport overnight.

Now he had some aversion to destroying equipment. Regiment Commander Shangguan wanted to capture them intact.

He ordered the entire regiment to leave a company to clean up the battlefield, and the remaining companies to rush up and surround the Japanese artillery positions: "Don't let the Japanese move a single cannon or a single shell."

Liu Laopao and Shangguan Zhiwen temporarily held a military meeting outside the Japanese artillery positions.

The two sides made a division of labor: the Second Regiment attacked from the west and south, and the Fifteenth Regiment attacked from the east and north.

According to the direction of this highway, if the Japanese wanted to escape, they could only run along the Ruiwu Highway towards Ruichang.

This was the direction of the Fifteenth Regiment's attack, and Regiment Commander Shangguan guaranteed that the Fifteenth Regiment would stop the Japanese.

Every regiment of the Special Operations Brigade was experienced in ambushes. Although this highway had been repaired by the Japanese, they could still see fresh soil and rocks everywhere, and the road was not very smooth.

Placing directional mines on such a road did not require any technical skills to camouflage.

Just placing them down would prevent the Japanese from discovering them. To be safe, the soldiers of the Ninth Company of the Fifteenth Regiment still made careful arrangements.

In another direction, the attack of the Second and Fifteenth Regiments had already begun.

This time, the eight hundred Japanese soldiers who had escaped from Ono Osamu Detachment already knew that this was their last line of resistance.

The Japanese soldiers of the Murakami Seichi Mountain Artillery Regiment were also clear about this, and their resistance was active.

The fighting was also desperate, and Murakami Seichi Regiment Commander had used all the artillerymen as infantry.

Even so, all the Japanese soldiers in his regiment only totaled more than 2,500, and with the 800 Japanese soldiers in the Ono Osamu Infantry Detachment, they had a total of 3,300 Japanese soldiers.

Now the Second and Fifteenth Regiments, which were attacking the 27th Mountain Artillery Regiment, had a total of 5,000 troops.

Each of the two regiments had an anti-aircraft machine gun company on the high ground to serve as air defense, and an infantry company was cleaning up the battlefield in Xiao'ao Village. There were 5,000 soldiers attacking the Japanese artillery positions, without any discount.

Almost double the troops, and the soldiers of the Special Operations Brigade were now pursuing the Japanese in the wake of a great victory.

Their morale was higher than the Japanese, their firepower was stronger than the Japanese, and their numbers were greater than the Japanese. The three factors of height, strength, and quantity were superimposed.

The first line of defense of the Ono Osamu Detachment, cooperating with the Murakami Seichi Regiment, was in danger in less than ten minutes.

At first, only the First and Second Companies of the Second Regiment in the west and the First and Second Companies of the Fifteenth Regiment in the east were chasing after them.

Ono Osamu Detachment Commander divided all the Japanese soldiers in his hands into two equal parts and added them to the east and west to defend.

Captain Asaou Yosuke and Captain Sanpo Daiki joined forces again. Their troops were at the front line, firing at the charging soldiers of the Special Operations Brigade.

This time, the charging soldiers were still two companies, and they were the same old opponents.

Company Commander Shi commanded the troops, and the same six heavy machine guns were in front to block bullets, and the whole company commander was advancing behind them.

The concentrated artillery fire continued to bombard the Japanese defense line. The Japanese soldiers of the First Battalion of the Mountain Artillery were guarding this direction.

When had the Japanese soldiers of the Nakatani Naoki Battalion ever been bombarded like this? Since they joined the war, they had always been the ones who shelled the Nationalist army.

This was the first time they had been bombed by the Second Regiment, and the Japanese soldiers of the Nakatani Naoki Battalion now knew what it was like to be bombed.

Looking at Private Endo Shuzo, who was still complaining that artillery was not infantry and should not be forced to fight on the front line, being blasted into the sky by a shell a second ago, and the fallen body was incomplete.

The shock of this scene was too great for these Japanese artillerymen, and several of them turned and ran.

Nakajima Takuto, the captain of the Ono Osamu Detachment who was in charge of the execution squad, did not say anything and fired two shots, killing a deserter.

Then he loudly ordered: "Anyone who dares to run will be killed!"

The artillerymen, who had only run a few steps, could only return to the battlefield. But the battlefield was too bloody.

There were explosions everywhere, and flesh and blood were flying everywhere. The battlefield was filled with smoke, and they could vaguely see a large number of Nationalist soldiers approaching in the distance.

In another direction, the First and Second Companies of the Fifteenth Regiment were also attacking the Japanese artillery positions, and there was also artillery cover.

The resistance of these Japanese soldiers was very resolute, and they were still firing despite the artillery fire.

The Second and Fifteenth Regiments also opened up two other directions to attack. These two directions were new battlefields that had just been opened up.

Company Commander Zheng Tianan of the Third Company led his troops to the south and launched an attack on the Japanese defense line in that direction.

The six heavy machine guns in the front kept rushing forward. The Japanese counterattack firepower on the defense line was very weak. After the Third and Fourth Companies rushed within a hundred meters,

Some of these Japanese soldiers actually ran backwards. And it wasn't just one or two, but a group of a dozen Japanese soldiers running backwards.

This was the first time Company Commander Zheng had encountered such a situation! Although the situation was new, Company Commander Zheng didn't panic. He still ordered the troops to continue charging steadily and surely, as long as they charged up.

The Japanese Mountain Artillery Second Battalion was defending this direction. The Japanese soldiers of the Kagawa Tatsuya Battalion had always been artillerymen, and they had never fought so close to the Nationalist army.

Today, these artillerymen picked up their guns and were completely unprofessional. When they met professional infantry like the Third Company, the Japanese began to collapse as soon as they made contact.

Captain Kagawa Tatsuya saw that the situation was over and they couldn't hold on. He didn't suppress the troops anymore and quickly ran back.

Murakami Seichi Regiment Commander was still begging Division Commander Ochiai Kanekuro in the command post to send troops to rescue him immediately.

At this moment, Captain Kagawa Tatsuya had already run back. "Report Regiment Commander! It's not that I didn't want to defend the defense line, it's just that the attacking Nationalist army was too fierce, and the artillerymen under my command had never seen such a Nationalist army.

They were all afraid to continue fighting, and all the artillerymen under my command ran away. This situation must be reported to the Regiment Commander as soon as possible, so I came back." Captain Kagawa Tatsuya's reasons were sufficient.

In this situation, not to mention anything else, Murakami Seichi Regiment Commander already knew that the situation was over. What could he do with Captain Kagawa Tatsuya? Enforce battlefield discipline and execute him on the spot?

Don't joke around. If Murakami Seichi Regiment Commander dared to do that, the Japanese soldiers who had run back would definitely not agree.

In this situation, even if Division Commander Ochiai Kanekuro sent all the infantry of the entire division, it would be too late, it was too late.

Murakami Seichi Regiment Commander, who had dropped the microphone, looked at Ono Osamu Detachment Commander: "What to do?"

When he asked these three words, Murakami Seichi Regiment Commander felt very ashamed. In fact, the meaning of his sentence now was: "How to escape?"

Escaping on the battlefield was also a skill, especially in the current situation, where they were surrounded on all sides. Although they were not surrounded like an iron bucket, they were surrounded so that no water could leak out.

Although Ono Osamu Detachment Commander had escaped once, he said very modestly: "This matter requires Captain Matsushita Yuta."

"Quick! Quick, summon Captain Matsushita." Murakami Seichi Regiment Commander ordered repeatedly.