Chapter Fifteen: Night Raid on the Machine Gun Nest

  Gao Quan had been in the army for a long time and had developed a strong skill set. He took advantage of the night to walk on the mountain road, although it was dangerous, but he was not deterred. His two eyes were fixed on the feet of the soldiers in front, and he couldn't take a wrong step.

  A low cry of "ah" came from the front, followed by the sound of "rustling" stones falling, and several cries of surprise. Judging from the sound, someone had lost their footing and fallen off the cliff.

  "Everyone keep up, pull the rope tight." A series of low shouts came from the front, a rope was handed over, Gao Quan reached out to grab it and passed the head of the rope back to Wang Dazhu. The team formed a long dragon, relying on the faint starlight, they felt their way forward.

  Over one hill and another, the continuous queue was like a black line. After using the rope, although there were still people slipping and falling in the team, no one fell off the cliff and died again. Everyone came to kill the devils, didn't die on the battlefield of killing devils, but fell down the mountain and got killed, wouldn't it make people clench their fists and sigh?

  After crossing six mountain peaks, the enemy's machine gun sound became clearer. The brigade commander told everyone that this was the last mountain peak. After crossing this mountain peak, on the other side of the mountain peak, it was the enemy's machine gun position. Everyone checked their equipment, rested for ten minutes, and then set off to kill the devils.

  Gao Quan took out a cold steamed bun and slowly chewed on it. Supplementing energy before battle was very important. Having not rested well all night, putting some food into his body would supplement his energy while also boosting his spirits.

  Wang Dazhu and Qian Sihai were also forced by Gao Quan to eat something, since they had already taken these two as their friends and trusted subordinates, Gao Quan naturally wanted to instill some of his ideas in them, in order to increase their chances of survival on the battlefield.

  As we approached the top of the mountain, we could hear continuous gunfire ringing in our ears, like many firecrackers exploding at the same time. The enemy's machine gun position was indeed here. On the mountain peak, there were devils on guard duty. As soon as the vanguard troops approached, they were discovered by the devils. The morale of the vanguard troops was high, and they charged forward with their big knives to fight the devils. The follow-up troops suddenly accelerated their speed, like a flood that overwhelmed the devils who were on guard duty at the top of the mountain. After crossing the highest point of the mountain peak, the brigade commander gave the order: "Kill!" Two thousand brave warriors, like two thousand tigers bursting out of a gate, charged down towards the enemy's machine gun position from their high ground.

  Gao Quan raised his steel knife and strode forward, a row of brothers following closely behind him. The devils in the position were busy, when suddenly a shout for killing appeared above their heads, stunning them. The machine gunners inside the position wanted to turn their muzzles towards the mountain head to shoot, but it was too late! In an instant, a large piece of shining knife shadow had already arrived in front of their eyes.

  The warriors of the 29th Army held up their big knives and charged straight down from the top, killing all the way to the devils' machine gun positions. Most of the devils in the machine gun position were not equipped with rifles and bayonets, and due to the angle, their heavy machine guns could not be adjusted to fire upwards. The heavy machine guns were too heavy for one person to move, and the devils were stunned by the sharp knives.

  Suzuki was directing his machine gunners to attack the Romanovka Pass. The Imperial Army's offensive, which had already suffered a great loss at Xifengkou, had barely retreated and regrouped, and with reinforcements from Manchuria, they had assembled an army of over 10,000 men before turning to attack the Romanovka Pass, but the attack was still not going smoothly.

  Xifengkou was defended by the 37th Division under Feng Zhi'an. From March 9 to 14, in just five days, the Imperial Army troops were repelled with nearly 10,000 casualties. It was thought that the area around Luowenyu, where Liu Zuoming's forces were stationed, would be a weak point and could be breached, but after two days of fighting, the Imperial Army had still made no progress except for further losses. The Great Wall, built by Chinese emperors over 2,000 years ago, was still proving to be such an impassable barrier that Lieutenant Colonel Suzuki was at his wit's end.

  Tonight, the Japanese army launched a general offensive against all troops in front of Luoyingyu Pass, with the intention of taking the pass at one stroke. Lieutenant Suzuki's machine gun battalion was undoubtedly the main supporting firepower for the attacking troops. The lieutenant himself directed the battle on the battlefield, ensuring that every machine gun under his command played its maximum role, inflicting the greatest casualties on the Chinese garrison at Luoyingyu Pass. In his heart, the lieutenant intended to wipe out all the defenders with his machine guns, so that when they charged forward, they would find the pass had become a dead city. Of course, this was just an unrealistic fantasy deep in his mind; Lieutenant Suzuki's clever brain knew it was impossible. He now only hoped that from the machine gun position he commanded, he could provide the strongest support for the troops launching the general offensive, and let the brigade commander understand his capabilities.

  Maybe after this battle, I can be promoted to deputy wing commander.

  The moment the shouting and killing sounds erupted from above, Lieutenant General Suzuki heard it. The lieutenant general immediately knew that the Chinese were playing their old trick of a sneak attack again! At Xifengkou, the 37th Division had used this tactic before, and Lieutenant General Suzuki's heart was instantly lifted to his throat, his eyes wide open, not particularly large, looked up, under the starlight, a piece of sparkling knife light almost dazzled the lieutenant general's eyes.

  "Hyaah! All hands prepare for battle!" Lieutenant Commander "Kokoro" drew his own command sword, gripping it tightly with both hands, and crouched slightly at the legs, ready to fight.

  Shōsa was a true warrior, and when it came to close combat, he had no fear. With his hands grasping the hilt of his sword, he let out a loud cry, and immediately five or six guards with long spears and bayonets gathered around him. Suzuki, being a Shōsa himself, knew that when an officer was about to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, it was only natural for the attendants and guards to rush over to protect him. There was also a military clerk who didn't have a rifle, but held a handgun, and he too anxiously gathered around Shōsa's side.

  Gao Quan's left shoulder still ached slightly. The gunshot wound that little devil had left him with last night, although he had already changed the dressing twice, would still seep blood when he made big movements. However, this pain didn't bother Gao Quan at all; the occasional pangs of pain in his shoulder actually helped him stay alert and clear-headed.

  The soldiers of the Second Division surged forward like a tide, and the devils on the machine gun position were in a state of panic. Some grabbed rifles, some held pistols, clubs, stones, and one guy who couldn't find anything handy was fighting with a canteen in one hand and a lunchbox in the other, it's unclear whether he wanted to engage in close combat or prepare for dinner.

  In the middle of the battlefield, there were several little devils holding Japanese swords. One guy had a few more guys gathered around him carrying rifles with bayonets. Gao Quan took one glance and figured out that this guy was the leader of these devils. Letting out a tiger's roar, he charged forward with his sword in hand.

  Gao Quan was flanked by Wang Dazhu and Qian Sixi, each holding a large knife in their right hand and a pistol in their left. This night raid team originally had short guns, but these two were squad leaders among the soldiers, so naturally they each got a pistol. Gao Quan had a wound on his shoulder, but he didn't get assigned a handgun; instead, he had two Japanese-made Nambu pistols tucked into his waist, which he had captured himself, in case his knife wasn't handy and he needed to switch. Gao Quan charged forward, with Wang Dazhu and Qian Sixi closely following on either side, ready to provide cover for their comrades at any moment. Just then, a sudden burst of gunfire erupted from among the enemy, "Bang! Bang!"