Chapter Fifty: Fierce Attack and Heavy Blow

  The soft dawn, the most gentle sunlight in the world, which was originally able to soothe people's hearts, had no effect at all on the rugged and battle-scarred terrain of Shilishan. On the contrary, the light reflected off the cold rocks was equally cold and stern. This sunlight seemed unable to warm up the icy rocks or the even colder hearts of the people standing on both sides of the rocky beach.

  Koizumi Takehira got up before dawn, more than four hours ago. Now that the sky is bright, he has been up for over an hour. The whole troop of soldiers has also finished their dry rations and are fully armed and ready to go.

  Although still young, Ozawa Takehiro has also experienced numerous battles, and can be said to be a seasoned veteran. However, at this moment, he couldn't help but feel his whole body trembling with excitement. What was the reason for his excitement today? Even Ozawa himself couldn't put it into words. Previously, when facing off against the Central Army, he hadn't felt this way. But now, facing off against a motley crew like the 259th Brigade, he felt an unprecedented surge of fighting spirit and passion. Was it because of the unpleasant encounter with his old flame, Ozawa Sakaki, a few days ago, which stirred up his masculine pride? Or did his subconscious regard the 259th Brigade as a strong opponent? Even Ozawa himself couldn't say for sure.

  Koza Takehira stood with his hands resting on the hilts of his swords, the blades still in their scabbards. Although the swords had not been drawn, a thick killing aura emanated from him and seeped out through the scabbards. Looking at the stone fortress that rose majestically from the ground, Koza's heart tightened. If he had two independent field artillery battalions with 150mm howitzers at this moment, those fortresses would be reduced to rubble with just one shot. Unfortunately, his brigade was not equipped with such heavy artillery, and all he could do was win more battles and accumulate military achievements in order to persuade the old fogies in the Ministry of War to upgrade his brigade and strengthen its combat power. Koza was secretly calculating his chances in his heart.

  Like Ozawa Takehiro, Xu Zhiwei also got up early. Since he found the battlefield where he could fully reveal his brutal nature, Xu Zhiwei's spirit was shaken as soon as he heard that there was a battle to be fought. Compared with fighting in groups on the street before, the bloody fight on the battlefield is the real death game between men. Xu Zhiwei thus became wildly infatuated with the battlefield.

  The ferocious Xu Zhiwei not only had a bloodthirsty and warlike personality himself, but also required his subordinates to be generally brave and fierce. On the battlefield, being afraid of the enemy was what Xu Zhiwei feared most. He would rather say that his troops were incompetent than allow others to say that his subordinates were cowardly. Therefore, in daily training, he whipped the spirits and wills of all soldiers belonging to the 137th Regiment like a demon. The 137th Regiment, which had undergone baptism by fire and Xu Zhiwei's high expectations, could be said to be the true elite of the 259th Brigade. You Fei once described the 137th Regiment as follows: "This is a starving wolf, it may not have the massive body of a black bear or the wise strategy of a fox, but its constantly drooling fangs are the most terrifying weapon in the world. Those who face it cannot show any weakness, otherwise they will be killed and torn apart."

  At this time, Xu Zhiwei looked around at the 137th division soldiers who were waiting in formation. These soldiers wore the only uniform military uniform of the entire brigade, looking more regular and neat than other brigades. In this era of material scarcity, although most soldiers had a yellowish complexion on their faces, their thin cheeks and sharp eyes all showed tenacious willpower and fierce combat spirit. Xu Zhiwei nodded, knowing his own troops best. The devils in front of the position seemed to be getting restless, and he muttered to himself: "Damn it, come on, I'm itching for a fight!"

  At dawn, the temperature was still relatively low, but at this time, the soldiers in the trenches had already sweated, their inner turmoil making them emit heat all over their bodies, and their palms were constantly sweating. However, the fingers on the trigger remained steady, and the wooden stock resting on their shoulders didn't move a bit. The soldiers of the 137th Regiment were mostly old hands who had come through many battles, each adjusting their breathing to concentrate their attention on the sights and targets, so when they faced the attacking troops rushing up like a stormy sea, their hearts and guns became one, fearless and undaunted. To die in battle was to fulfill their duty to the country, while retreating would be punished by law and lose face. These old soldiers had already made their choice, which is why the 137th Regiment could be so fierce.

  The cool breeze blew away the heat on Ozawa Takeo's face, and the Fujiwara and Shōta units were already ready to go. All the soldiers held their Type 38 rifles with bayonets attached, and the glint of the bayonet blades reflected a chilling aura. Ozawa was somewhat satisfied with the morale, but he was extremely worried about how to deploy his cavalry unit effectively. The rugged terrain in front of them seemed like an insurmountable barrier, and Ozawa didn't dare risk his precious cavalry unit by ordering a charge. On the other hand, the slow-moving infantry units would have to pay a heavy price if they tried to cross the vast open area. Ozawa slowly drew out his military sword.

  The clear and transparent blade revealed the image of Ozawa Takeo, who saw a tightly pursed mouth with an aura of killing intent. In the past, he probably would not have imagined himself in this state today. Ozawa Takeo let out a light sigh, his right hand wearing white gloves wielding the sword directly at the 137th Regiment's position, shouting loudly: "Great Japanese warriors, the time to devote ourselves to the Emperor has come, kill!"

  With a single order from Ozawa Takeo, the 50mm mortar site quickly erupted in a thunderous roar, with the frequency of shell launches being abnormally fast. Due to the absence of ammunition constraints, the artillerymen were conducting dense saturation bombardment, and there was no need for aiming at all.

  Xu Zhiwei, who was at the forefront of the position, heard Ozawa Takeo's loud roar and scolded: "Little devil is shouting, I'll beat you up and make you pee!" As soon as Xu Zhiwei finished speaking, a small steel cannon shell landed in front of him, and dust flew everywhere, covering Xu Zhiwei's face.

  This immediately got Xu Zhiwei's goat, "Damn it, you little devil think you're the only one with a small cannon? Someone come and pass on the order to the artillery team, tell them to use the small cannons they got from the devils to blast those little devils, let them take their own homemade shells." The signal soldier immediately went to pass on the order.

  Smoke bombs fell like meteors on the gravel beach where the two sides confronted each other, and thick smoke rose, although it couldn't block out the sun, but the thick white smoke almost covered the entire gravel beach. From the telescope, Xu Zhigui could only see a distance of 40 meters, and beyond that, nothing was visible, but he could imagine that the dense Japanese soldiers were advancing forward in scattered formations like ants.

  It was astonishing that a sinister smile spread across Xu Zhiwei's face, and soon after, the sound of explosions echoed continuously on the rocky beach, with deafening thunder-like roars that were enough to intimidate anyone. The intermittent wails of despair between the explosions made one's heart chill. Although Xu Zhiwei couldn't see it, he could imagine the scene of shattered flesh and severed limbs. Excitedly, his blood rushed through his veins as he unbuttoned a button on his collar. He sneered coldly, people said Xu Zhiwei was brainless, but who would have thought that he had obtained all the explosives from the logistics warehouse of the travel department? Previously, Wang Lie had been searching everywhere for explosives to use, and after getting them, Xu Zhiwei had buried all the explosives in the rocky beach at the front edge of the array, about a kilometer deep and a hundred meters wide. This was equivalent to setting up a large tomb for the devils.

  Koizumi Takehiro was extremely shocked by the massive explosion, 137th Regiment couldn't possibly have any heavy artillery, he was very clear about that. Even with his eyes closed, he could think of it as a large number of landmines being detonated in the middle, but judging from the intensity of the explosion, these mines were small mines detonating explosives, with extremely huge power. Its massive killing power wasn't the most important thing, what was even more terrifying was its enormous psychological damage to the troops.

  The first wave of the assault team was a battalion under Fujiwara's command, and before the next wave could follow up, it had already been bombed to pieces. Only a dozen or so soldiers were left, but they too were scared out of their wits, yelling wildly as they ran back.

  Those dozen or so soldiers were like a steel needle piercing his eyes, making Ozawa Takeo feel an unbearable pain. He shouted frantically: "Baka, imperial scum, kill these scum for me, kill..." The sky was filled with the sound of Ozawa's mad roar, accompanied by countless gunshots. Those people running back and forth were shot to pieces before they could even reach the enemy's position a hundred meters away. The soldiers lying in the pool of blood had shed their last drop of blood and went to serve as chamber pots for their deceased emperors...

  "Charge forward, you bunch of gutless bastards! The Empire doesn't have soldiers as weak as you, kill, kill..." The air was filled with the sharp, ear-piercing roar of Ozawa Takehiro.

  The soldiers of the second and third echelons rushed forward like ducks under the officers' scolding, where was the armor, where was the armor. At this time, Koide Takehiro's heart was so depressed that he regretted being too hard on people in the past. If he could have gotten along with those bastards in the logistics department, things wouldn't be as bad as they were now. Koide Takehiro lifted his spirits and stopped thinking about it. Now he could only lead the soldiers forward in a strong attack.