Chapter 44: The Little Devil Arrives

  The cannon fire stopped, and the Japanese infantry was about to charge. Zhang Damao shook off the mud on his body, stretched out his left foot and kicked away a round log that had been blown up by the artillery fire in front of them, and crawled out of the bunker. At this time, the soldiers who were still in the bunker no longer needed the order of their superiors, and they had already begun to repair the fortifications that had been blasted into pieces on their own initiative.

  Zhang Daman stood up and looked around the battlefield. The anti-artillery fortifications that had just been covered on the trenches were blown open, and several trenches were even bombed out. It was unknown whether there were soldiers buried inside who did not have time to come out. At this moment, Zhang Daman couldn't care about so much anymore.

  He spat a mouthful of saliva, stretched his head out of the trench and shouted at Zhang "Misty" Long's machine gun bunker below the mountain: "Zhang 'Misty' Long... do you guys have any issues?"

  "Don't worry, the enemy's artillery can't reach here"

  Hearing Zhang 'Ming' Long's voice, Zhang Da Mang took a glance at the soldiers who were busy with repairs and picked up his binoculars.

  "The dog day's... ... ..." didn't look at it and it was fine, but when he looked at it, his heart started drumming and he was startled.

  "What's wrong?" Li Liansheng, who had been directing the soldiers to reinforce their positions, asked hastily when he heard Zhang Daman's tone was off. Zhang Daman didn't say a word but handed him the binoculars instead.

  "Damn... As expected, the Japanese ' elite' troops are indeed formidable. So many 92 cannons and mortars." Li Liansheng held up his binoculars to gaze out at the enemy lines, and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. At this moment, the Japanese army across from them was adjusting their 92 infantry guns, the dark muzzles pointing directly at the Chinese army's positions. Four 92 infantry guns, enough firepower for an entire battalion, were lined up on the right side of the 92 cannons, and two Japanese soldiers were carrying a mortar, with five mortars in total. And behind them, machine guns that couldn't be seen yet, judging from the artillery setup, definitely wouldn't be few either.

  "Isn't it said that only one squadron of the Japanese army is supporting? How can they have such firepower, look at this formation, this is a firepower configuration that only a full Japanese army corps can have!" At this time, Dong Dajun, who had just returned from inspecting the artillery fire damage, also held up his binoculars and said.

  "Damn it..." Zhang Damao looked at Dong Dajun, intending to ask him about the casualties from the artillery fire, but his hand unconsciously reached for the cigarettes in his pocket. Although the howitzer's power was enormous, its main purpose was to destroy fortifications, and as long as the cover was well-built, casualties would not be too high. The mortar and 92-type infantry gun were light artillery that could suppress enemy fire at the beginning of an infantry charge, accurately striking a specific target. So when it came, you couldn't dodge, because if you dodged, after a few rounds of shells, the devils might have already rushed to your position. This was also the most hated tactic of the Chinese army. However, this tactic usually only worked against armies without heavy weapons; otherwise, simply deploying a few cannons to attack their infantry gun positions would make those 92-type infantry guns disappear instantly.

  Zhang Damao's greatest capital now is Zhang 'Ming' Long at the foot of the mountain, Zhao Zhibang in Danbing Canyon, and another 'Teng' devil's crooked machine gun.

  "Die for you, give everything..."

  "Ah, Ha Ya Valley..."

  "Ah ya valley, pounce to death..." The Japanese infantry finally started their charge, dividing into three batches to attack the Chinese army's position. More than 20 Japanese soldiers running in the front were about to enter the minefield. Zhang Damao crouched on the edge of the trench, gritting his teeth and staring at the triangular formation of the Japanese army dodging left and right, his voice stuck in his throat.

  "Boom!" With a loud explosion, the Japanese soldier who first stepped on the landmine was blown into the air. The other Japanese soldiers immediately dropped down in alarm at the sound of the explosion, and then stood up again with their backs bent under the shouting of their officer behind them, continuing to charge forward.

  "Boom, boom, boom, boom..." Seven or eight explosions rang out in succession, and eight or nine Japanese soldiers were instantly sent to the afterlife. The rest of them cowered on the ground, not daring to move again. In fact, if the Japanese army had dared to sacrifice a few more soldiers, they could have completely broken through the minefield in front of them. Because Zhang Daman had only densely buried over 70 landmines along that one line, and the rest were scattered and buried in places he thought were suitable for concealment, waiting for the devils to step on them when they tried to hide.

  The Japanese commander at the back saw that the first batch of vanguard troops who had already rushed out were ordered to retreat, and Zhang Daman knew that the devils must have used shells to clear mines. The minefield selected by Zhang Daman was just an uphill slope for the Japanese army, and it was impossible to use rolling stones or logs to clear mines. Sure enough, after the frontmost Japanese troops retreated from the minefield a certain distance, the five mortars began to intensively bombard what they thought was the minefield. For a time, the sounds of shell explosions and landmine explosions were intertwined, causing a deafening explosion that even Chinese troops hundreds of meters away on the mountain could feel shaking.

  "In the midst of the Japanese army's more than 20 minutes of intense bombardment, dozens of landmines were finally detonated. At this time, the Japanese commander's shout rose again."

  After the first batch of Japanese troops had rushed to a place about 400-500 meters in a straight line from the Chinese army, the machine guns and mortars of the Japanese troops in the rear followed the second batch of Japanese troops.

  The Japanese troops who were rushing to the front line were the remnants of a Japanese army unit that had been battered just a few days ago, with only over 50 men left. They knew that if they moved forward any further, they would enter the Chinese army's "shooting range". For a moment, they hesitated, but under the scolding and reprimanding voices of their commanding officers behind them, they finally charged forward, guns in hand, dodging left and right.

  "With a loud shout, Zhang Dabao gave the order, and instantly a burst of gunfire erupted from the Chinese army's position. In no time, several high-ranking Japanese officers fell to the ground with their heads shot off."

  "Die for you, give everything..."

  "Ah ya valley... ... ..." Seeing the Chinese army opening fire, the devil's commander waved his military knife, and six machine guns were set up immediately, rattling and firing, bullets hitting the position and chirping, six machine guns fired simultaneously, the Chinese army on the position was shot and couldn't lift their heads, taking advantage of this opportunity, the infantry rushed forward 30-40 meters.

  Bang, bang, bang... Before Zhang Damao could give the order, Zhao Zhibang had already fired two shots in quick succession. One bullet hit a Japanese machine gunner right between the eyebrows, while the other struck the wrist of the deputy shooter who was just about to take cover, causing him to roll around on the ground in agony.

  Seeing two consecutive machine gunners being killed, the remaining 5 'machine guns' hesitated for a moment, but they also failed to escape Zhao Zhibang's bullets. Two shots rang out and another 'machine gun' fell silent. However, these two men did not have such good luck. Both were hit by a single shot in the middle of their eyebrows, without even having the chance to groan before falling silent.

  "When they saw two machine guns being taken out, the commander of the Japanese reinforcements finally realized that the Chinese army's godly marksmen were not just bragging. He was so angry and frustrated that he wanted to rush forward, but was pulled back by several Japanese soldiers beside him."