Chapter 13: Powerful Enemy Arrives

  The entire courtyard of the Travel Department was pockmarked with craters blasted out by shells, each one at least several meters in diameter, and some as large as ten or more square meters. The green bricks on the ground had been blown away, leaving a scene of utter devastation everywhere. The buildings on either side had been hit by shells and were engulfed in raging flames, illuminating the dark night sky with a fiery glow.

  Luo Xiang emerged from the mound of earth, shaking off the dirt on his head and body, then stood up from behind the bunker. His special warfare uniform had been damaged in many places by the devils' continuous bombardment, and his steel helmet was covered with large and small shallow pits, which were pounded out by shrapnel and hard mud!

  Fortunately, this was on flat ground, although there were some broken bricks, but no stones. If it were in the mountains, the shattered rocks blown up would be a fatal threat.

  Even so, Luo Xiao's cheeks and neck had several scars, all of which were scratched out by the hard mud!

  "Cheng Tianlei, how are you?" He looked around at the soldiers who were all buried up to their waists in mud. Even those whose faces were exposed were covered in a layer of black soot from the smoke and fire, making it impossible to tell who was who. All he could do was shout loudly.

  As soon as the words fell, a pile of mud beside him moved, and Cheng Tianlei poked out from underneath, also covered in mud, with a big black face, and laughed, "Still alive, you little devil thought you could blow me to death? Not that easy!"

  At this time, the warriors shook off the mud on their bodies, then crawled up from the ground and rushed to the back of the bunker with guns in their arms.

  Every time after the bombardment, the devils would launch an attack, which became a convention. The Northeast Army soldiers didn't know at first, but gradually got used to it and started preparing for battle according to the devils' habits!

  Half an hour ago, the enemy's offensive weakened, and the original ten-minute charge was extended to half an hour. In contrast, the enemy's artillery fire became more frequent, with shells being thrown at people as if they were free.

  This is exactly what Luo Xiang was most worried about. As for the enemy's charge, he wasn't too concerned, because his side had the geographical advantage and an absolute advantage in light and heavy weapons. Even if the number of people increased tenfold, they might not be able to break through their defense.

  However, the devils' bombardment left them helpless, and these shells were fired from artillery positions near the Japanese independent guard unit, which was four or five kilometers away. Without artillery, they could only anxiously wait without any means to fight back.

  This increasingly frequent shelling has greatly increased the casualties of the Northeast Army. In just a short while, more than 40 wounded soldiers have been added and 7 sacrificed!

  Fortunately, only two of the Tiger Tooth Special Warfare Team members brought by Luo Xiang were slightly injured and none were killed. If not, Luo Xiang would be heartbroken to death, because these people are all elite, and every team member is a top-notch existence in other troops, and it's more than enough to be a big captain.

  Originally, when the devils' artillery fire was continuous, Luo Xiang had also thought of calling for reinforcements from the Tiger Tooth First Special Warfare Team and Second Special Warfare Team, which had already reached their designated location. However, he later restrained himself. Because the more than 200 people in the First and Second Special Warfare Teams still had important uses and could not be easily mobilized!

  Luo Xiang is planning a scheme, one that will make the devils suffer!

  People helped each other, digging themselves or their comrades out of the mud, slapping off the dirt on their bodies. Some people could even crack jokes at this time, and it's really worthy of being an optimist!

  Cheng Tianlei carried that Czech-style light machine gun with a somewhat deformed barrel to Luo Xiao's side, then peeked outside and said, "Strange, the devils aren't attacking, they're just firing artillery shells. This is really puzzling!"

  "There's nothing that can't be figured out, it's just that the devils have realized that the losses from this strong attack are absolutely too great, so they've changed their tactics and plan to use artillery to slowly wear us down. This way is much safer!" Luo Xiang had long seen through the devil's intentions and thought to himself, "I didn't think that among the devils there would actually be someone with such a calm head, who could grasp our weak point in an instant!"

  The Northeast Army and Luo Xiang are now like giants with a height of 100 meters, stuck in a house with only 10 meters high, can only bend their waists to endure, the whole body's strength is useless, that feeling is absolutely unbearable.

  If it weren't for having an ace up his sleeve and being able to turn defeat into victory, Luo Xiang would have probably chosen to break through the encirclement long ago!

  Looking at the Northeast Army soldiers with fatigue written all over their faces, and then looking at Cheng Tianlei who was replacing the barrel of his Czech-style light machine gun with his head down, as well as the empty eggshells piled up beside him, Luo Xiang also felt a sense of exhaustion!

  But now he can only secretly pray in his heart, "Come on, come on!"

  …………

  In the fields about a dozen kilometers away from Beidaying, on the dirt road leading to Beidaying from the direction of Zhongfang Beidaying, a Japanese army unit was sprinting wildly, killing all the way to Beidaying.

  This is a standard Japanese army battalion, with about 1,100 people. In the front are Japanese machine gunners carrying machine guns, accompanied by deputy shooters carrying wooden ammunition boxes. Behind them are Japanese soldiers carrying Type 38 rifles, wearing khaki uniforms, and aluminum steel helmets, each with a serious expression, exuding a frenzied atmosphere.

  At the back of a long queue, on an Oriental horse sat a Japanese officer with a lieutenant colonel's rank badge, a bright yellow collar patch, a pair of binoculars hanging from his chest, and a command knife at his waist, stretching his neck to observe far away.

  A Japanese soldier rushed over from behind, reported and handed a telegram to the lieutenant colonel, "Lieutenant Colonel Iwata, this is an urgent telegram from Lieutenant Colonel Mori of the Kwantung Army Independent Defense Corps. It orders you to rush to Beidaying immediately, cooperate with the island's main force and Ogawa Uji's main force to annihilate the remnants of the Northeastern Army's Seventh Brigade, and then join forces with the Tomen Division to attack Mukden!"

  "Hmm!"

  Taking over the order, Lieutenant Colonel Iwata scanned it up and down with his eyes, then stuffed it into his pocket. He suddenly pulled out his command knife and pointed forward, shouting, "Full speed ahead! We must arrive at Beidaying within one hour!"

  His battalion received orders and immediately quickened their pace, rushing towards the Northern Great Camp!

  At the same time, in the northeast direction of Beidaying, a fully armed Japanese army battalion also received an order to speed up and rushed towards Beidaying where Luo Xiang and others were.

  Three fully-equipped battalions of the Japanese army, with over 3,000 men and more than a hundred light and heavy weapons, enough to match the strength of an entire division of the Northeast Army, closed in on Luo Xiang and his men from all sides.

  A four-to-one disparity in military strength, and a significant difference in combat effectiveness, coupled with the fact that they were destined to no longer receive support from the Northeast Army, all these unfavorable conditions converged at once, making Rao Xiang's situation suddenly tense.

  A storm is brewing!

  …………