Chapter Ten: The Devil's Artillery Position

  In the empty space, dozens of devils were busy. Some were debugging the sighting instrument, some were moving shells, and others were running back and forth for no apparent reason. The small position was filled with smoke, and from time to time, a certain large-caliber gun would fire in a loud noise, shooting out shells and ejecting shell casings.

  In the center of the position, the devils' cannons were neatly lined up in two rows, with two barrels per row, for a total of four brand-new field guns. A devil officer was loudly directing. On the artillery position, the voice was small and others couldn't hear it at all. Even if the voice was loud, others might not necessarily be able to hear it. It's just that in such an environment, people would instinctively raise their speaking volume, which is a professional habit unrelated to anything else.

  With the few miserable mortars of the Temporary Second Division, even if they knew the exact position, wanting to strike and destroy this artillery position was just a pipe dream. The Temporary Second Division was the old foundation of Old Feng's Northwestern Army, although it was later incorporated into Zhang Shuai's Northeastern Army, but Zhang Shuai didn't bring out many heavy weapons from Fengtian City either. When the Northeastern Army generals left in a hurry, those stupid and clumsy big black things couldn't be taken away in time. As for the Temporary Second Division, which joined later as a non-regular force, it was even more impossible to receive any heavy weapon supplies.

  Since it's impossible to call in any firepower support, the discovery of this enemy artillery position doesn't have much concrete intelligence value. Gaoquan is not reconciled to this, having gone to great pains and risked his life to gather such important information, only to bring it back and find that it won't be of much obvious help to the troops.

  The number of devils on the position was not large, and there were no more than thirty in total. Gao Quan checked his equipment again, two pistols, seventeen bullets left, one grenade, one dagger, and a 10x military telescope. As for the single soldier's equipment at that time, he was already armed to the teeth, but wanting to rely on these weapons, alone, to take down the devil's artillery position, seemed a bit difficult. The main thing was that Gao Quan's left shoulder was still injured, making it a bit difficult for him to move around. If he were in his prime, Gao Quan would have been confident in taking down the devil's position of several dozen men with just one pistol and sufficient ammunition, but now, the situation was indeed a bit tricky.

  It's not the character of Gaoquan to give up without trying. Squatting on the tree, he narrowed his eyes and carefully observed the Japanese artillery position, trying to find a weakness. Except for nearly twenty devils in the middle, there were also several guards holding 38-style rifles on the periphery. Due to the location of this position being relatively remote and behind the Japanese position, the defensive force was relatively weak, which might be considered a weakness?

  The deafening roar of the cannons was indeed a test of one's nerves. The artillerymen were already accustomed to it, but the Japanese guards on duty looked somewhat annoyed, their faces showing obvious signs of impatience. They were probably dissatisfied with being assigned this "thankless task" by their superiors. In reality, they were already quite fortunate, unaware that those Imperial warriors they admired, who had charged towards the Great Wall pass, were now covered in wounds, and every moment on the front line saw more of them falling.

  It's not that the superiors are not considerate, but in the hearts of these soldiers, the care they receive has turned into mistreatment. These soldiers even plan to file complaints with higher-level commanders after completing this task. If the commander who sent them here knew their true thoughts, he would probably regret not sending these young masters to the front line and lose sleep over it all night.

  Gao Quan's legs were numb from crouching in the tree when a Japanese soldier carrying a rifle and responsible for sentry duty turned his head and strolled over in this direction. Gao Quan's muscles immediately tensed up.

  The Japanese soldier walked to the big tree where Gao Quan was, undid his belt and urinated against the trunk. Gao Quan secretly let out a breath, just as he thought this devil should leave, this guy stopped after adjusting his pants. The devil pulled out a cigarette from his upper pocket, lit it with a match, took a nice drag, then looked at the busy artillerymen in the array with great interest, and leaned his rifle against the tree. This guy had completely lost the sense of responsibility and vigilance that a sentry should have.

  The opportunity has arrived! Gao Quan silently slid down from the other side of the big tree. When he landed, his feet stepped on withered leaves, making a faint rustling sound. Gao Quan's whole body stiffened, remaining still and motionless.

  The cannons roared on the battlefield, but the Japanese soldier didn't hear any sound. However, he still sensed that something was off. This guy was also a sharp person, and he quickly grabbed his rifle leaning against the tree, holding it up and slowly turning around to the back of the tree.

  The muzzle turned from the front of the tree, just exposing a small section. Gao Quan's hands moved as fast as lightning, and his right hand grasped the barrel, pulling it into his arms! The devils behind stumbled, one of them rushed forward. Gao Quan's left hand was inconvenient, only his right hand could exert force, so he loosened his grip on the barrel and pushed it forward, grabbing the devil's neck with a loud shout, "Hey!" His powerful hands crushed the devil's laryngeal cartilage! The devil's two feet bounced violently on the ground several times before going limp.

  Like a leopard grasping its prey, he grabbed the ghost's neck and dragged it behind the big tree.

  Quickly take off the devil's upper garment and put it on himself, put the hat with the cloth curtain on his head, and hold up the Type 38 rifle. A brand new devil soldier was born immediately.

  He pulled the brim of his hat down, slung the rifle over his shoulder and gripped the pistol at his side with his right hand. He walked slowly towards the nearest guard, his head bowed. His trousers weren't those of a Japanese soldier, but the smoke on the battlefield was so thick that it was hard to see clearly. The Japanese who saw him approaching naturally thought he was one of their own comrades, perhaps coming to ask for a light. The cannon boomed again and the Japanese waved in greeting, shouting something, but in the din of the cannons, no other sound could be heard.

  Gao Quan quickly walked up front, stretched out his hand and hugged the devil. The cannon fire just now provided him with cover, taking advantage of the cannon fire, he shot the unsuspecting devil's heart with one bullet, the devil went to see his great god in happiness, without any pain.

  There were six guards in total. Gao Quan circled around the artillery position and took out all six devils. The remaining ones were those artillerymen in the middle.

  Gao Quan really wanted to take advantage of the cannon fire, one shot at a time, and take out the artillerymen in between, one by one. The idea was good, but he couldn't do it. The enemy's artillerymen were all in the middle of the position, close to each other, and if one fell, others would definitely discover it. Now he still had eleven bullets left, not enough for one per person. Rifle bullets were plentiful, but the wound on his left shoulder made him unable to hold the 38 rifle steadily with one hand. This was not a city wall loophole, and except for tree trunks, there was nothing suitable to use as support around him for the time being. Gao Quan's eyes scanned the surrounding area, and suddenly fixed on an object.