Chapter 61: Annihilating the Divine Gun Squad

  The helmet had just exposed the trench, and in an instant it was shot into a sieve. Shan Yixuan took off his helmet and looked at the bullet holes from multiple directions, saying: "Damn, don't play like this!" The devils had arranged multiple snipers around them, forming a crossfire pattern, so that as soon as the brothers of the Linghu Rapid Deployment Unit moved, they would be discovered.

  The monkey looked at the hat in Shan Yixuan's hand with a worried and bitter face, feeling that there was no hope of breaking through the siege. Taking out the ghostly sniper was like talking on paper, it didn't have any practical effect.

  The assault team repelled the devils' attack, and both sides have been stuck in a stalemate ever since. Shan Yixuan still held onto hope in his heart and was thinking of ways to take out the enemy's sniper! Many brothers were already showing signs of fatigue due to exhaustion.

  Both sides' top leaders were thinking about how to deal with each other. Tung Pi-wu's tactics made Tojo Koken angry, and the 24th Division, which had been invincible on the battlefield for a long time, felt great pressure when they encountered Tung Pi-wu's troops. This was a pressure that could not be encountered on the front lines. However, Tojo Koken did not lose heart, he had 200% confidence in eliminating Tung Pi-wu and the Eighth Route Army, who thought they were already caught, it was just a matter of time.

  The mobile troops of the National Army arrived at a place ten kilometers away from Zhaojiazhuang in half an hour, and the Eighth Route Army's troops also gathered slowly. Hu Yan rushed to the front of the National Army's military vehicle on horseback, and two men wearing National Army officer uniforms were already waiting for his arrival at the head of the vehicle.

  Hú Yán dismounted his horse and walked forward, saying: "Hehe, I'm really sorry to have kept you waiting for so long!" As he spoke, he glanced at the trucks beside him. The dozens of trucks and motorcycles couldn't help but make Hú Yán secretly admire the excellent equipment of the National Army.

  "Reporting to the superior officer, I am Meng Shuai, currently serving as the commander of the 388th Regiment of the 6th Brigade of the Fifth War Zone. Following the orders from Headquarters, I have come to support you, sir. As per the orders from Headquarters, all officers and men of the 388th Regiment are now under your command until the end of the battle!" A man standing slightly forward, looking more solemn than the others, gave a military salute to Hu Yan.

  "Reporting to the superior officer, I am Zhou Weiguo, currently serving as the commander of the 389th regiment of the 6th brigade of the 5th war zone. Following the order from headquarters, I have come to reinforce your troops, sir. As per the order from headquarters, all officers and soldiers of the 389th regiment are now under your command until the end of the battle!" Zhou Weiguo said, giving a standard military salute to Hu Yan.

  "Alright!" Hu Yan nodded, walked forward and gently patted the shoulders of the two men, saying: "The situation is urgent, I won't say anything else! After the battle is over, I will personally send a telegram to Li Zongren to commend you!" As he spoke, he turned his head to his guard and said: "Map!" The guard quickly spread out the map on the hood of the truck and stepped back.

  "Come, come and see! This is a map of the surrounding area of Yangcheng. My regiment had a large-scale firefight with the enemy here!" He pointed to Zhaojiazhuang and continued: "The enemy has troops stationed in both Magou Village and Zhaojiazhuang. I have dispatched some men from my independent regiment to Magou, but we don't know what's happening yet. I've ordered my third regiment to rush to Magou quickly, hopefully it won't be too late!"

  "General, how are we going to fight this battle?" Meng Shuai frowned while looking at the map. It was unclear whether the Japanese army had set up an ambush outside, and from the markings on the map, Meng Shuai couldn't see any advantageous strategic positions. Nobody knew anything, and continuing to fight would only lead to losses!

  Hu Yan looked at the map and said: "There are many mountain peaks on the outside of Zhaojiagou, if the devils ambush us, they will definitely appear in this generation. We don't enter Zhaojiagou, just attack those who are preparing to ambush us, reduce the safety hazard to a minimum, eliminate the peripheral forces, and then go to solve the devils inside Zhaojiagou! The devils have a division of troops, we must not underestimate them!"

  "Yes!" The two people responded in unison!

  "This way, you're not familiar with the terrain, I'll take my men to scout ahead!" Hu Yan felt embarrassed to let others take the lead, and was about to charge up with his own troops. Zhou Weiguo grabbed Hu Yan's hand and said, "Wait!"

  Hu Yan turned his head and looked at the young Zhou Weiguo, who was already a lieutenant colonel at a young age, making Hu Yan feel that the National Army had a lot of talented people! "Does Brother Zhou have any opinions?"

  "We have come to reinforce your army under the command of Headquarters, and Headquarters' order is for us to follow your command. So, General, you don't need to be constrained. Although our countries are different, Commander said that on the issue of resisting foreign enemies and striking against invaders, we are consistent and united! Our troops have traveled a long distance, but fortunately, they are mobile units. Your army has rushed for a long distance, and your soldiers need rest more than ours. Moreover, you are the commander of the war zone, how can you lead the team in person? Let me, with the 389th regiment's officers and men, take on this charge!"

  Zhou Weiguo's words dispelled the image of the National Army being lazy and greedy in Hu Yan's eyes, and he couldn't help but smile wryly. "Since Brother Zhou has said so, I won't decline anymore, be careful!" He patted Zhou Weiguo on the shoulder as he spoke.

  "Yes!" Zhou Weiguo stood at attention and saluted, then turned around and ran to the front of the car, saying: "Follow me, 389th Regiment!" As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers of the 389th Regiment quickly got off the truck and followed Zhou Weiguo in a forced march towards the mountain peak on the map.

  Hu Yan held up the binoculars and gazed at the uneven mountain ridges in the distance, then turned around and commanded: "Order the troops to advance five kilometers and set up a temporary command post!"

  "Yes!" All troops advanced quickly, the National Army started their cars slowly following behind the Eighth Route Army. Hu Yan didn't expect that the National Army could cooperate so well, and he couldn't help but feel a little grateful for Li Zongren's kindness.

  The Japanese army, who had not seen a personal shadow for half a day, began to relax their vigilance, and the sentry posts already had soldiers smoking. Zhou Weiguo led a battalion of troops to launch a surprise attack from the side, while two other battalions launched attacks from both left and right sides. As one of the first batch of soldiers sent by Chiang Kai-shek to study in Germany, Zhou Weiguo felt very honored.

  "Rat-a-tat-tat! A fierce burst of gunfire erupted from the first relatively conspicuous mountain pass. The sound of M3 submachine guns made Yun Yixuan, who was hiding behind the wall, even more excited."

  "Xuan Ge, have our reinforcements arrived?" Liu San heard the gunfire and was also somewhat excited. Being blocked by the enemy here is really unbearable.

  Shan Yixuan slightly furrowed his brow. The M3 submachine gun should only be equipped with a small number of elite National Army troops, so how could the sound of an M3 appear here? The M3 submachine gun is the king of close combat guns, and its accuracy in suppressing firepower in close combat is much higher than that of the Czechoslovakian light machine gun. Moreover, it is convenient to carry and has a light weight, making it the first choice for special forces. However, in this era, even if the reinforcements are from the 115th Division, it's impossible for them to have the funds to purchase so many high-quality American weapons! "Judging by the sound, it should be coming from the front mountain slope. This group of devils is probably a detachment led by Togo Kichitaro to block our reinforcements. If that M3 submachine gun sound is from our own people, then the Japanese devils hiding in the back mountain should be finished off!" Only occasional shots from Type 38 rifles could be heard on the mountain slope, but what made people's hearts more excited was the sound of the M3 submachine gun. Shan Yixuan couldn't help but think with some worry that he hoped this sound wasn't coming from a Japanese gun.

  "Is the team led by Watabe Kenichi, apart from being equipped with Mauser 98K sniper rifles, also equipped with M3 submachine guns?" asked Qīngténg Yìmù somewhat worriedly, hoping that the gunfire was not the sound of a Japanese attack on the reinforcements.

  Qīng Téng thought for a moment and said firmly, "The M3 submachine gun is indeed powerful, but it's only good at close-range combat. Since our wars with you are mostly offensive battles, the army didn't equip us with this American-made weapon!"

  "Then I can rest assured!" Shan Yixuan smiled, thinking that the opportunity to get rid of the Japanese sniper had arrived. He picked up his binoculars and looked in the direction of the mountain peak ahead, following the trajectory of the bullet. In the distance, a Japanese soldier wearing camouflage clothing was holding a sniper rifle, wiping the sweat from his face. The intense gunfire made him feel uneasy, and after a minute, the sniper quickly turned around, aiming his gun at the source of the sound.

  "Brothers, the opportunity has arrived!" Duan Yixuan picked up his gun and smiled wryly. This time he also wanted to form a sniper team. He immediately said: "The intense battle on the mountain slope in front of us makes the enemy snipers very uneasy, so we have an opportunity to take advantage of it. I've identified where the bullets are coming from, which are 11 o'clock direction, 3 o'clock direction, 9 o'clock direction and 6 o'clock direction! Brothers crawl forward, quickly enter the grass on the opposite side, one by one, don't let the enemy discover you. After finding the enemy snipers, it's best to use cold weapons to deal with them, otherwise it will alert other sniper teams!"

  "Also, after you complete the task, don't come back. Take up the guns in their hands and cover for our reinforcements! Remember, whether it's the National Army or the Eighth Route Army, as long as they are Chinese, they are our compatriots! They risked their lives to ensure our safety, and when you get the sniper rifle, you must also do your best to take out the threats around them! Do you understand?" Single Yanxuan looked seriously at all the brothers of the Linghu Trench Assault Team. Each one of them had undergone training, although they were not elite, but in his eyes, they were elites!

  "Xuan Ge, is that sniper rifle the same as Xiao Feng Ge's treasure?" Hu Zi asked with wide eyes. Ever since he saw Xiao Feng use that gun to become even more accurate, faster and more ruthless, he had been dreaming of having a sniper rifle like that.

  Shan Yixuan smiled and nodded, "Yes. Brothers, since we don't have any information about the enemy sniper's accurate position, relying solely on this helmet to judge their location will definitely result in a big discrepancy. They may also change sniping positions after firing, but that possibility is small, because even if we discover them, we can't do anything about it! So, brothers, after you set out, you'll have to rely on your own judgment to find the enemy, and your mission is to find them and take them down!"