The First Book of National Heroes: The Lonely City's Bloody Battle Chapter 33: The Final Dawn

  Although the rain had subsided a lot, visibility was still less than ten meters, and at this time, many sections of the ancient city were flooded with water that reached knee-deep. Many ruins and debris were submerged underwater, making it a nightmare for rapid marching.

  The Japanese troops dispatched knew that the Chinese army they were looking for was wearing the Imperial Army uniform, but due to the urgency of the situation and the large number of participating Japanese units, coupled with the impact of the torrential rain, the Japanese troops could not effectively identify and communicate with each other.

  But the hundred-odd Chinese soldiers led by Song Yuanhang were different, they could shoot indiscriminately without any scruples, in the torrential rain, the Japanese army who was nervous to the extreme would fire immediately once they saw a shadow.

  The Japanese encirclement troops fell into temporary chaos, and Song Yuanhang took advantage of this rare chaos to divide the troops into small teams of ten people, using the firepower advantage of automatic weapons to inflict heavy casualties on the Japanese army, while the ammunition carried by Chinese soldiers was also rapidly consumed.

  In the ruins of two streets in the heart of the battlefield, there were corpses of Japanese soldiers everywhere, and blood had dyed the accumulated rainwater on the ground red.

  However, at dawn, the chaos of the Japanese army was quickly changed. Looking at the Japanese troops withdrawing quickly and in an orderly manner, Song Yuanhang had a very bad premonition.

  Chinese soldiers scattered in the ruins took advantage of this rare opportunity to clear ammunition or reinforce temporary shelters, and the heavy rain gradually subsided, with visibility restored to about 50 meters.

  Song Yuanhang's premonition finally came true, looking at the Japanese army with white armbands of the Kempeitai, advancing in small teams of over a dozen people taking turns to cover each other, Song Yuanhang realized that the Japanese army must have surrounded this place tightly, and the Kempeitai emblem worn by the attacking troops was definitely used to identify friend or foe.

  Yagyu Kazuo, who had taken over command from Kimori Heiichiro, was now smiling triumphantly at the corner of his mouth. He was extremely grateful to General Takeuchi for giving him this opportunity for revenge, especially since both the military and general headquarters were paying attention. However, the order that forced this Chinese army to surrender made him feel very awkward.

  To demonstrate his excellent command ability and the exquisite combat skills of his subordinates, Yagyu Ichimonji did not use artillery, but instead ordered other troops to encircle and then had his three 12-man squads take the lead, with the two companies following behind making a focused attack.

  In view of the multiple friendly fire incidents that occurred last night, Ryūsei Ichimaru ordered all attacking units to wear MP insignia for identification purposes.

  The specially trained Japanese army vanguard carefully coordinated with each other, adopting a step-by-step approach, steadily and surely using blasting methods to clear out the Chinese soldiers hiding in each ruined building one by one.

  Chinese soldiers were suppressed by the Japanese army, and their activity range became smaller and smaller. At this time, the sky had already emitted a pale white light, and the rain was also getting smaller.

  Faced with the Japanese army's exploratory attack, Song Yuanhang can be said to be at a loss. Although the Japanese troops who were the vanguard had only about 30 people, the Japanese soldiers who also held a large number of automatic weapons could always form an absolute advantage in terms of troop strength and firepower within a small range against the Chinese soldiers defending the ruins. If nearby Chinese soldiers launched a rash counterattack to reinforce, they would be hit by the subsequent firepower of the Japanese army.

  Looking at the twenty or so soldiers who were guarding him together with himself, Song Yuanhang smiled wryly and said: "Do you regret it?"

  The soldiers who were originally watching in tension all looked stunned, looking at the deputy commander who had been fighting on the front line since the siege in confusion.

  A Shandong-born veteran adjusted the slightly tight Japanese military uniform on his body, pulled open the gun chamber with a "click", and checked it before saying: "Comrade, once we join this dare-to-die squad, we don't plan to come back alive. What's there to regret? I'd rather die fighting devils in the front lines, at least that way I'll be a good man twenty years later."

  A sergeant in his twenties with glasses next to the old soldier listened to the old soldier's words, turned his head and glanced at Song Yuanhang, smiled faintly and didn't speak again.

  The old soldier looked at the glasses in the rubble and said to Song Yuanhang, "That kid Qin Haitao is a student who joined the team after the Kunlun Pass battle. He can write and calculate, it's a pity he died here! I'm afraid he hasn't even smelled the scent of a woman yet!"

  The old soldier's words triggered a burst of laughter from the Chinese soldiers in the ruins, and many Chinese soldiers near the ruins also looked out curiously.

  After a day and night of torrential rain, a brief lull finally appeared, the humid air seemed to be able to squeeze out water, and the thin layer of fog floating on the ground quickly turned into thick fog.

  Yagyu Kazuo was gritting his teeth at the sudden thick fog, he was very clear that the Chinese army commander who hated him to the bone was a cunning guy, just like a muddy eel covered in oil, if you let your guard down for a moment, he would slip away, which would not only be a shame for Yagyu Kazuo himself, but also for the entire division, the military department, and even the Great Japanese Imperial Army.

  Soon, the dense fog echoed with the heavy footsteps of the Japanese army and the continuous issuance of orders. Song Yuanhang clearly saw that the Japanese had started to play a rogue, this kind of tactic that disregards the lives of soldiers has become a traditional trick for the Japanese army to defeat their enemies in critical situations.

  To minimize casualties among his own troops, Ryūsei Itagaki decided to launch a final attack on the Chinese army within the encirclement. This glorious mission was entrusted to the Ikuo Battalion of the 55th Division and the Tanaka Battalion of the 56th Division, which would bear the entire burden of the attack.

  The rugged terrain and narrow streets filled with rubble allowed the Japanese army to deploy less than two companies of troops, yet even so, the Japanese army's strength at this moment was several times that of the Chinese soldiers.

  The battle erupted unexpectedly, and out of fear, some Chinese soldiers in the ruins began to fire intensely towards the direction of the footsteps coming from the thick fog.

  In the thick fog, the miserable cries of Japanese soldiers and the wails of the wounded suddenly rang out. The weakness of automatic weapons was soon exposed, and Chinese soldiers who were not good at controlling their rate of fire quickly ran out of ammunition.

  Song Yuanhang closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, realizing that the ammunition was almost gone. Survival is what every normal person yearns for. For Song Yuanhang, who had already died once, death was not scary; he just didn't want to end it so simply. He still had many things to do and many wishes unfulfilled! So Song Yuanhang was unwilling to die, but if he were to surrender to the Japanese... then he would rather die.

  For a professional soldier, from the day he puts on his uniform, his life no longer belongs to him. His only mission is his responsibility to the country and nation. For a soldier, especially a Chinese one, surrender is unacceptable and incomprehensible. Between honor and life, Song Far-hang chose the former without hesitation.

  Song Yuanhang was the first to rush out of the ruins, followed by all the inspired Chinese soldiers. After firing half a magazine, Song Yuanhang met a Japanese sergeant who came face to face with him. The experienced Japanese sergeant was slightly stunned when he saw the Chinese lieutenant appear in front of him, but when he found that his opponent was rushing towards him, he swung his military knife and hacked at Song Yuanhang.

  Song Yuanhang dodged half a step to avoid the Japanese sergeant's military knife, and swung his left arm to heavily smash the M1 carbine on the Japanese sergeant's face. Taking advantage of the Japanese sergeant falling to the ground and screaming in agony, Song Yuanhang inserted the barrel of the M1 carbine into the Japanese sergeant's mouth.

  He pulled out two Mauser pistols, Song Yuanhang endured the wound on his right shoulder and fired left and right! He shot down the Japanese soldiers who were close to him. After quickly running out of bullets, Song Yuanhang casually grabbed a Type 38 rifle with a bayonet from the body of a dead Japanese soldier.

  Song Yuanhang suddenly thrust forward, and a Japanese soldier who was unprepared was pierced through the chest. He then relied on his intuition to dodge a flashing dagger with a backhand, and took advantage of the momentum to hook the dagger onto the opponent's neck with a single pull.

  Blood splattered on Song Yuanhang's face, and the brave Chinese soldiers were already fighting with the Japanese army. The dense fog was filled with the sound of killing shouts in two different languages, blood was splashing everywhere, and flesh and limbs were flying.

  Bayonets, rifle butts, bricks, fists, and teeth - for the survival of their nation, for the honor of their soldiers, Chinese soldiers used everything they thought could be used as a weapon. This represents the collision of the national souls in the subconscious of two nations.

  As the Chinese soldiers' cries of "kill" erupted again and again, the Japanese soldiers trapped in the fog began to retreat. Although the Japanese army had several times more troops than the Chinese, the fog cancelled out the Japanese advantage in numbers and individual combat skills.

  A fierce battle in thick fog, where both sides are evenly matched, is ultimately decided by the will of the soldiers; whoever dares to take the narrow path will emerge victorious!

  Yagyu Ichinan, who had been following the troops' slow advance, raised his hand without hesitation and shot dead several retreating Japanese soldiers, but more Japanese soldiers slipped past him under the cover of the thick fog.

  Those panicked soldiers finally made Ryota Yuzuki realize a fact, the brave warriors of the Great Japanese Imperial Army were already trembling with fear.

  Even Takeuchi Hiroshi and Watanabe Masao, two division commanders who were watching from a distance, were also frightened!

  The brave Chinese soldiers, although they repelled the Japanese army's attack, also suffered heavy casualties. Song Yuanhang, who had a blood groove carved out by the Japanese bayonet at his waist, took off his overcoat and used his shirt as a tourniquet to wrap around his waist.

  The Chinese soldiers who retreated back to Song Yunhai's side were less than twenty, the extremely brutal hand-to-hand combat had cost Song Yunhai dozens of soldiers, although the Japanese army's casualties far exceeded those of the Chinese soldiers, but for the lone Chinese soldiers fighting alone, every fighter was extremely precious.

  The retreating Japanese army was reorganizing, and the sound of officers scolding and beating soldiers continued to emerge. Ryūsuke stood with a look of shame in front of Takeuchi Hiroshi and Watanabe Masao, unable to respond to this defeat.

  Takeuchi Hiroshi furrowed his brow and slammed the ground with a samurai sword, saying: "It seems we can't force these Chinese to surrender!"

  Watanabe Masao clearly knew that Takeuchi Hiroshi was making excuses for Yagyu Kazutoshi, but what he considered was not this problem! The war with the Tang Dynasty made Watanabe Masao, a graduate of the Army University's Strategic Department, aware of a very serious problem!