Chapter 56: Successive Artillery Strikes Covering the Battlefield

  "Cut the crap, with your current formation, the devils will be able to pinpoint your firepower configuration in the first wave of attack. If I'm not mistaken, next they'll be launching mortar and artillery attacks on your position!" Chen Shaoqin hastily explained a few sentences before immediately turning to the battalion commander and saying, "You're the leader of this unit, it's your responsibility to keep them alive, stop hesitating and retreat 200 meters back to build a second line of defense!"

  The company commander was still hesitant, seemingly unsure how reliable Chen Shaoqin's words were. Although he had not stayed behind to fight the devils voluntarily earlier, having just defeated the puppet army and tasted the sweetness of a great victory, it was only natural that he felt reluctant to retreat at this time.

  But just as he hesitated, the enemy's shells poured down on the position like hail, accompanied by a deafening sound that made one's heart tremble with fear. This was followed by a series of thunderous explosions, and in an instant, the position was shrouded in dust raised by the blasts. No one could see anyone else, and all they could feel was the shockwave from the exploding shells knocking them to the ground.

  However, the devils' shells did not stop due to this round of shelling. After the first round of explosions covered Chen Shaoqin's position, the second round of shelling began immediately, and a string of shells shot out from the little devils' mortars and grenade launchers again, whizzing towards Chen Shaoqin's position.

  "Retreat! Retreat!" The battalion commander was stunned by the powerful explosion, but he remembered one word, which was to retreat. He didn't hesitate and gave the order, then ran towards the village with Chen Shaoqin. Chen Shaoqin didn't forget to pull up Xue Yumei, no matter what, as a man, he couldn't leave Xue Yumei behind, neither for personal nor public reasons.

  The troops heard the order and closely followed Chen Shaoqin's team, rushing towards the road inside the village. The bomb exploded right behind them, a string of explosions shook the earth, like an earthquake, making it impossible for people to stand still. Many brothers fell to the ground because they couldn't stand firm and were swallowed up by the devils' explosion.

  When withdrawing to the small bridge at the village entrance, Chen Shaoqin ordered the troops to stop and said to the battalion commander: "You will build defensive fortifications here, no matter what, you cannot let the little devils cross this bridge, otherwise the old people of Yangjia Village will suffer from the little devils' atrocities!"

  "The devils' equipment is so powerful, relying on us to guard this place is simply impossible. You can stay here and play with the little devils if you want, I, Han, will not stop you, but I'm out of here! Han's eyes saw his chance to escape, he turned around to look at the road he retreated from, it was all engulfed in the devils' cannon fire. His heart couldn't help but feel lucky to be alive, so when he heard Chen Shaoqin's words, he knew he would never again take risks and lead his brothers to continue confronting the devils here, after all, this is just a futile struggle."

  "What? Battalion Commander Han, do you want to be a deserter again?" Xue Yumei heard Battalion Commander Han's words and pointed the gun at his waist again, saying "If you want to lead these brothers under your command to desert, my gun won't be so polite!"

  "You say you're just a little girl, how come you like dancing with knives and guns?" Han Ying felt something cold and hard poking at his waist, slightly turned around, said to Xue Yumei, and tried to push away the gun in her hand. He didn't want others pointing guns at him while talking.

  Xue Yumei didn't expect to be pushed away by this kid, and when she saw him trying to push her, she held the gun in her hand even tighter: "You'd better behave yourself, or I don't know if my index finger will tremble with tension and cause the gun to misfire!"

  "Speak up, isn't it to stop the little devils right here? Nothing to worry about, this is what we soldiers are supposed to do!" Captain Han knew his situation and had no choice but to humble himself again in front of this young girl. He turned around and gave orders to his comrades behind him, "Comrades, let's stop those little devils right here! We absolutely cannot let them cross this bridge!"

  "Yes!" All the brothers listened to the order and started digging a second line of defense in a hurry. Nothing else was on their minds, after all, the little devils who had been charging towards them on the mountain road were already right before their eyes, so they naturally knew what was most important.

  "Keep an eye on him here!" Chen Shaoqin saw that everything was in order, so he let Xue Yumei continue to supervise Han Yingchang, while he himself didn't wait for Xue Yumei's response and immediately ran towards the other side of the bridge. "I'll go help Liu the cripple and his men!"

  Xue Yumei didn't say much, she just gripped the gun in her hand even tighter. She knew that at this moment, her gun was more important than anything else, and not a single mistake could be made, otherwise Chen Shaoqin would have to fight alone with the remaining brothers and little devils here.

  When Chen Shaoqin rushed to the forefront of the position that had already stopped firing, Guai Zi Liu and A Si, along with Xiao Shi Tou, also arrived just in time and met up with Chen Shaoqin. Guai Zi Liu stepped forward and said: "Officer Chen, it's great to see you! I thought we three wouldn't be able to catch up with you!"

  "Don't worry, it's all right!" Chen Shaoqin went forward to support Liu with his crutches as he came down from the mountain slope, then said, "This isn't the time to talk about these things, let's leave here first and talk later!"

  "Yes!" Liu the adopted son didn't hesitate, and immediately led A Si and Xiao Shi Tou to follow Chen Shaoqin as they ran towards the bridge. But at this moment, the main force of the little devils also charged over, firing their guns at Chen Shaoqin's group while charging forward. Fortunately, the location was narrow, and the main force of the devils couldn't deploy fully; otherwise, with the devils' strength and such a close distance, it would be difficult to escape alive.

  Although the geographical advantage gave Chen Shaoqin and his men a certain initiative, the heavy firepower on the Little Devil's side was still a threat. The 92-style and grenade launcher, mortar were set up again by the Little Devils, facing the direction of Chen Shaoqin's retreat, adjusting their position, planning to launch another artillery attack, with the purpose of eliminating Chen Shaoqin and Liu Wai, the situation became increasingly severe...