Chapter Fifty-One: Every Inch of Land, Every Drop of Blood

  The human body is fragile, the slender neck cannot withstand a hundred kilograms of impact, and the thin skin cannot stop the invasion of sharp blades. This extremely fragile body, after picking up the sharpest firearms, became the most terrifying creature on this planet, with all beasts trembling under its feet, and the world conquered by it.

  The howling little devils used their bodies as shields and charged forward crazily amidst the landmines, their shrill cries like those of ferocious beasts shaking people's souls. Even the brave Xu Zhiwei felt a chill upon seeing this. The troops had only ten steel cannons equipped, but due to limited ammunition, they could only fire a few rounds before running out. At this time, the devils were inching forward, and soon they crossed the minefield. The massive explosions ceased, and the smoke gradually dispersed. The originally chaotic battlefield became clear, with no corpses visible on the ground, as they had all been trampled underfoot by the dense group of devils.

  The devils divided into three echelons and advanced forward, causing a huge impact on the defenders' field of vision due to their wide formation. Xu Zhiwei burst out laughing: "Little devils, come on! Let's see if you dogs can crawl up to grandpa's feet and lick my shoes!"

  Unlike Xu Zhiwei, who was like a madman, the soldiers defending in the trenches were surprisingly quiet. The officers next to them did not give any orders, and no one fired a shot. There was no gunfire in their ears, but in front of them was a dense group of Japanese soldiers slowly advancing. The psychological pressure was immense, and it's unimaginable how they felt at that moment. Not a single person panicked and opened fire, partly because the 137th Regiment was mostly composed of veteran soldiers, and also because of their strict training. The reason why they were only allowed to open fire when the distance was one hundred meters away was due to the limitation of ammunition. The closer the distance, the more they could conserve ammunition, especially for machine gun sweeps. The machine guns stood inside the stone forts, firing in a fan shape from a high vantage point, as if harvesting wheat with incredible ferocity.

  However, the devils that the 137th Regiment faced today seemed to be three points stronger than those they had encountered before. They rushed to a distance of two hundred meters and began to fire steadily, with bullets flying over the heads of the soldiers of the 137th Regiment. Some soldiers who poked their heads out too high were hit by gunfire. These shots that could directly hit the head were not stray bullets, but deliberate firing. Xu Zhiyuan couldn't help but feel a deep sense of vigilance towards this team in front of him. Therefore, he didn't wait for the devils to get within one hundred meters and gave the order for collective dense fire at a distance of one hundred and fifty meters.

  The 137th regiment soldiers who had been hiding in the trenches for nearly an hour finally heard the order to fire and let out a sigh of relief, and at the moment the bullets were fired, their original tension completely disappeared, replaced by a fierce determination to fight to the death.

  The flames spewing out of the muzzle are a kind of fury and anger, dealing with bandits and invaders, only by facing each other with knives, guns, clubs, and rods. The scorching shell casings thrown to the ground, the clanging sound of the shells accompanied by the pounding heartbeat, all rose and fell together. All 137 soldiers held their breath, all their energy was concentrated on the mechanical process of aiming, shooting, aiming again, and shooting again.

  Looking at the row upon row of fallen soldiers, Ozawa Takeo's heart was bleeding. Those soldiers were the flesh and blood on his mind, without them he wouldn't be able to sweep across the enemy lines, establish military achievements or gain recognition from his superiors in the army department, securing a stable position for himself. This is also why he couldn't afford to fail, in his mind there was only victory or death, never defeat. Ozawa Takeo went mad, calling out to the Japanese Emperor in his heart, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins. Ozawa Takeo shouted loudly: "Order the artillery to concentrate all firepower and bombard those stone forts with machine guns! And have Shōta's unit dispatch a small team, each carrying an explosive pack, I want you to take down those stone forts! Tell the selected soldiers that after they die, I will request the Empire to treat their families generously, their memorial tablets will be moved to the shrine, alongside the heroic spirits of past generations, receiving the reverence and worship of all future generations of the Empire. For the Great Japanese Empire, for His Imperial Majesty, please!"

  As Ozawa's order was given, a suicidal bomber with a death wish emerged, and the artillery positions also bombarded several tall stone forts without stopping. Xu Zhiyuan saw that the situation in the fort was critical, and his heart was tense. He asked the communication soldier to pass on the order: "Tell those machine gunners who are holding out in the fort that I do not allow a single second of pause in the firepower inside the fort, even if the fort collapses, they are not allowed to retreat half a step. The 137th Regiment only has men who die standing, and no women who retreat crawling!"

  As the artillery fire shifted, the pressure on the soldiers in the 137th Regiment's trench position was alleviated, but the stone fort was subjected to intense attacks like a target. The stones of the fort were blown into powder and dust flew everywhere, making it impossible for the gunners to see anything in front of them. They could only continue firing their machine guns based on their previous judgment, suppressing the Japanese soldiers who kept trying to charge forward. When Xu Zhiyuan's order reached the stone fort, all the machine gunners straightened their backs. They were the backbone of the regiment's firepower and had no right to fall down. They had the right to die standing up but absolutely no right to retreat.

  In the middle of a stone fort, there was a machine gunner named Li Wu, and his deputy was Liu Er Gou. The Czech-made heavy machine gun in Li Wu's hands had become scorching hot, while Liu Er Gou was responsible for reloading and cooling down the barrel with water. This heavy machine gun was the only one in the entire regiment, its rapid firing speed made it a fierce beast that made people's hearts tremble. However, its reloading also required even greater haste, especially since its barrel would quickly overheat. Liu Er Gou wished he could use his own hands to cool down the barrel. He didn't want this machine gun to stop, for once it stopped, who knew how many more brothers would lose their lives due to insufficient firepower?

  The high temperature of the barrel was palpable to Li Wu through the scorching trigger, and his hands were red and swollen as if they had been pulled out of water. The enemy's small cannon was too accurate, shaking the stone fortress that seemed to be made of large stones but had many gaps between them. Although it could withstand a few shells, when the number of hits increased, the fortress not only shook slightly but also produced flying stone powder and sweat on their faces, causing unbearable itchiness. At this time, Li Wu and Liu Er Gou didn't have the energy to wipe their faces, so they had to endure it.

  Suddenly, a small piece of rock on the top of the stone castle loosened and fell straight down. The rock happened to land right on Liu Wu's head, with its sharp edge heavily striking his forehead and severely scratching his left eye. The intense pain almost made Liu Wu faint, and he felt blood covering his entire face and head. His left eyeball seemed to be jumping out of its socket, and the pain was more severe than anything he had ever experienced before. However, he continued to grit his teeth and kept firing with the trigger in his hand. Meanwhile, Liu Er Gou beside him didn't notice Liu Wu's condition at all.

  The blood continued to flow, and Li Wu slowly felt the pain drifting away from him. However, a wave of drowsiness swept over his entire body, and his eyelids finally couldn't help but slowly close. Suddenly, the machine gun stopped firing, and Liu Er Gou only then discovered that Li Wu was already covered in blood. "Li Wu, Li Wu!" Liu Er Gou shook Li Wu, checked his breath, and tears burst forth, wetting the rough, dark face of this simple man.

  Seeing the heavy machine gun bunker ceased fire, Xu Zhiwei burst into rage: "What's going on? Why did bunker No. 1 lose its firepower? Quickly order the squad leader of the machine gun squad to open fire! I want firepower! Whatever the problem is, solve it quickly!"

  The signal soldier had not yet arrived at the stone fortress, and the reserve machine gunner had already entered the stone fortress to replace Li Wu's position. Li Wu's body was also dragged out. After entering, the machine gunner found that Liu Er Gou's left knee joint was actually pressed by a large stone, and Liu Er Gou's forehead was covered with cold sweat. The machine gunner asked nervously: "Brother, what happened to your leg? Medic, medic..."

  Liu Ergou covered the machine gunner's mouth, his face was pale, his lips had lost all color, and he "smiled" with a corner of his mouth: "Brother, it's just that my left leg is disabled, it's nothing, I still have two hands that are handy. I guarantee that reloading will not be slow. I don't want to see brothers fighting desperately while I'm carried to the medical room like a dog. You know those big moms in the medical room look even uglier than pigs."

  The machine gunner let out a laugh, and then fell silent again, gripping the gun tightly in his hand, releasing the safety catch to continue firing. However, at this moment, he couldn't see anything in front of him, except for the dust and smoke, and it seemed as if a layer of fog had veiled his eyes...

  When the No. 1 stronghold finally spat out a flame, Xu Zhiyuan's suspended heart could finally be put down slightly. However, a smaller stronghold on the side could not withstand the heavy bombardment and finally collapsed with a loud noise. Xu Zhiyuan was stunned for a moment, and then his anger ignited in his chest. His sharp voice rang out again: "Brothers, let's show those bastards that we are invincible! The 137th Regiment is unbeatable, kill!" It's unclear whether it was Xu Zhiyuan's roar or the collapse of the stronghold that triggered the ferocity of the soldiers, but in an instant, the firepower on the battlefield became even more intense...