Chapter Nineteenth: Forcing a Breakthrough

  The devils at the west gate of Zhulong Town finally collapsed under the pincer attack from inside and outside the "Divine Eagle". In desperation, some devils started to hold up their bayonets for a suicidal charge, while others tied hand grenades to their bodies in preparation for a final showdown. Chen Jifan looked at these devils struggling like trapped beasts with disdain, and coldly gave the order: "Deputy Platoon Leader Song, this is yours now. The rest of you follow me."

  Song Guanhu received the order and shouted, "Brothers, wipe out these little devils and avenge our fallen brothers!" As soon as he finished speaking, bullets rained down on the remaining devils' heads.

  "Divine Eagle" under the leadership of Chen Jifan swiftly charged towards the south gate and east gate. As the west gate was the focus of "Divine Eagle"'s attack, only a small number of devils were left to defend the south gate and west gate. A dozen or so devils could not withstand the wolf-like "Divine Eagle" warriors. The east gate and south gate were quickly taken down.

  The gunfire in the town finally stopped, and the enemy's resistance was completely cleared. Luo Yuguang ran to Chen Jihong and whispered: "Report to the company commander, the special combat team successfully completed the mission, the town government office has been taken down, three people were injured in the whole team, and no one died!"

  "Great job, Luohan! Every member of our special forces team is doing a great job!" Chen Jifan patted Luo Yuguang's shoulder.

  "Time is pressing, we must quickly gather our spoils of war." Zhong Dingcheng came over to remind them.

  "Lao Zhong, you're in charge of arranging the guards at the town gate and maintaining law and order. Also, send out scouts to observe in three directions: east, south, and west. Report immediately if there's any news about the enemy. Luohan, lead the way ahead and go to the town government office."

  The town hall was located in the northwest of the town, and when Chen Jifan and the "Divine Eagle" main force arrived, Xu Yang was leading people to search room by room.

  "What about Xuyang? Go and get him over here, tell him Lianzhang is looking for him." Luohan instructed.

  Luo Yuguang briefly reported to Chen Jifan on the road about the process of taking over the town government, and also asked for credit for Xu Yang. Chen Jifan subconsciously touched the Browning High Power in his waist, it seems that this gun can't be kept anymore.

  "Report, special warfare team member Xu Yang has arrived to report for duty. Please instruct, Captain!" Xu Yang hastily ran in front of Chen Jifang and Luo Yuguang.

  "Well done, this time the troops were able to successfully capture Zhulon Town, you have made great contributions," he said, taking the gun off his waist, "This is your reward, keep up the good work."

  Xu Yang happily accepted his prize, with a look of love that couldn't be put down.

  "Right, report to Captain, we've found the treasure, the enemy has ammunition and food at the town hall."

  "Oh? Lead the way ahead quickly!"

  We've struck it rich! The warriors of the "Divine Eagle" were drooling at the sight before their eyes. A whole house full of weapons, ammunition and food.

  Chen Jifan pulled out a dagger from his boot and quickly walked towards an ammunition box, prying it open with force. A sea of yellow bullets immediately appeared before his eyes.

  "Move!" Chen Jifan gave an order, and everyone rushed in, seven hands and eight feet started moving things out.

  Behind the town hall, there are actually 10 mule-drawn carriages? Chen Jifan really has a feeling of making a fortune.

  The weapons moved out of the warehouse include: two Type 92 infantry guns, 30 boxes of shells; six 90mm mortars, 72 boxes of shells; 24 grenade launchers, numerous grenades; two Type 92 heavy machine guns, six Type 96 light machine guns. Twelve Type 97 sniper rifles, over 500 Type 38 rifles, and countless bullets of various types.

  What made Chen Jifang even happier was the last batch of things moved out, 40 Mauser 7.93mm boxes and 4 cases of 8,000 rounds of ammunition. Especially the bullets, now the "Divine Eagle" special warfare team uses 7.63 caliber bullets, this time the Flower Machine Gun can finally show its power.

  Taking advantage of the troops' tight loading, Xu Yang brought Chen Jifan to the devil's command post, which was Yamashita Tomoyuki's lair. The map on the wall had been taken down and rolled up into a ball, and the radio and telephone had also been packed away.

  "Company Commander, come take a look." Xu Yang said with a mischievous grin to Chen Jifan.

  "You little brat, you're really inexperienced, a few gold bars can make you so happy?" Chen Jifan pretended to be calm and collected.

  "Commander Lian, take a closer look, it's not just a few, but a whole box, and there are 5 more boxes over here, all filled with silver dollars! Commander Lian, this time we've really struck it rich!"

  Chen Jifan did get rich, but Shan Xiaojie was miserable. Two infantry squads were led by Zhao Jun's four rows to wander in the wilderness for two hours, with no results, and five imperial soldiers' lives were lost in vain.

  At this moment, retreating from the mountain would be like falling off a tiger's back. If he went back like this, his future prospects would be ruined. Any superior officer would not forgive a commander who lost troops and achieved nothing. With bad luck, he might even face execution. But if they continued to pursue, could the demoralized troops catch these Japanese soldiers who were as agile as monkeys? Even he himself did not believe it.

  The sound of gunfire from the direction of Zhulong Town finally woke up Shan Xiaojing.

  "Ah! We've fallen into the Japanese devils' trap. Retreat and reinforce Zhulon Town!" Shan Xia's heart was burning with anxiety.

  He didn't dare to imagine the consequences of losing Zhulong Town. The imperial army's weapons and food stored there, his own savings, and the lives of more than 70 imperial soldiers were all at stake. More importantly, Zhulong Town was responsible for providing logistical support to the entire Nakajima unit on the island, and if it fell, it would be equivalent to cutting off the rear route of the Nakajima unit, and if anything went wrong with the commander, he would not be able to redeem himself even with his death.

  "The enemy is retreating in a long line." The fourth row of scouts reported to Zhao Jun.

  "Want to run? I haven't had enough fun yet! Orders, stick to me from both sides!"

  Yamashita no longer had the heart to entangle with Zhao Jun here, and reinforcing Zhulóng Town was the most urgent. In the face of Zhao Jun's harassment, he simply arranged for a machine gun and about 20 people to stay behind and block, while the rest galloped back without stopping.

  Zhao Jun saw that the devils were not eager to fight and thought to himself that this was not good, they couldn't hold out against these devils, and there would be big trouble at the company commander's place.

  "Alright, you want to play, I'll play big with you." Zhao Jun glared at him and cursed.

  "Old Fourth Brother, bring a machine gun with you, I'll give you another squad. Take care of the devils in front of us, and the rest will follow me."

  Zhao Jun led thirty-four row warriors to bypass from the left hillside, if the troops were fast enough, they could catch up with the devils in front and hold them back.

  The four rows were mostly militia, and Chen Jifan considered that Zhao Jun had been the captain of the militia company before, so he threw his old subordinates to him. Zhao Jun also knew that even if they stopped the devils, it was impossible to hold off two infantry squads with more than 100 people just relying on these thirty new hands, but he didn't care about that much, as long as he could fight for one more minute for the company commander.

  Yamashita's troops rushed forward with urgent orders, while Zhao Jun also led his team in a frantic sprint. Along the way, he either shouted slogans or helped soldiers carry guns. In short, he tried every means to make the team hold on tight and try to block the devils here.

  The four warriors finally ran down the mountain in exhaustion and arrived at the front of Jin Kaito.

  "No rest allowed, construct fortifications on the spot, inspect arms and ammunition, quickly!"

  Chen Jifang did not forget the fourth row, and after the troops entered Zhulon Town, they did not delay for a minute. They loaded all the weapons, ammunition, silver coins, food, and other spoils of war onto carts, and Chen Jifang ordered a complete withdrawal from Zhulon Town.

  The old hundred surnames of Zhulong Town all came out of their homes and surrounded the road on both sides, watching these bandit-like troops.

  "Has the National Army come back?" a middle-aged man asked with sleepy eyes.

  "No, the National Army doesn't even have decent uniforms, they're probably just bandits."

  "What nonsense are you talking about? They're a team that fights against devils, called 'Divine Eagles'..."

  Logically, Chen Jifan should have shouted to the villagers to increase his influence or distributed some food from the car, but time waits for no man. Moreover, if the devils come back and investigate, the grain will only harm these innocent people.

  Chen Jifang ordered to set fire to the town government office and withdraw from Zhulon Town, and the troops went west over the bridge and then turned south, entering the hilly area.

  "Company Commander, observation post reports, the devils in the south and the 4th platoon have made contact, gunfire is very dense, battle is very fierce."

  Upon hearing the report, Chen Jifan furrowed his brow. He knew that Zhao Jun must be fighting against the devils, otherwise it wouldn't have been such an intense battle. The 4th squad had only 40 people, and they were blocking over 100 devils - a perilous situation indeed.

  "Lao Zhong, you lead the main force ahead first, I'll take some men to meet up with Xiao Jun."

  As soon as Zhao Jun got into trouble, Luo Yuguang, Hu Yunfeng and Zhao Jun all asked to go to war, and many militiamen also shouted to save their "company commander".

  "What's going on? What a mess! Wen Chuanhao, Luo Yugang, Hu Yunfeng, Meng Xiaofei, Xu Yougen, Wang Dafu, you come with me to receive the fourth row. The rest of you follow Commander Zhong immediately. Anyone who disobeys will be dealt with by military law!"

  Chen Jifan led six people rushing rapidly in the direction of the gunfire.

  Yamashita Kengo didn't expect the Chinese troops in front of him to be so persistent, and they even circled around to his front to block his advance. Moreover, they repelled his attacks four times in a row. He clearly knew that the enemy's numbers were not many, and there was no solid fortification to support them, but he still couldn't take them down.

  Under all sorts of helpless circumstances, Yamashita ordered a telegram to be sent to Commander Oshima, saying that a large number of Chinese armed forces had been discovered near Zhulong Town, and it was suspected that they were planning to seize our supply depot. The troops are currently engaged in fierce battle with them, please hurry back to provide reinforcements.

  ōshima Hidetaka saw the telegram, didn't say a word, and turned pale with rage. He waved his hand to order the entire army to retreat immediately. Unwilling to give up, this time's campaign preparation was so thorough, could it be ended like this?

  "This is the ninth time," Zhao Jun's physical strength had begun to decline, leaning against the bunker and panting heavily. In front of him, Japanese corpses were scattered all over the place, and his own side had also paid a heavy price. Thirty people had been reduced to nine, with each one injured except for himself, and more fatally, they were running out of bullets. If the devils launched another charge, they would have no choice but to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

  Actually, the situation on this side is not much better. The nine charges organized by himself were all repelled, and more than 40 people have been lost. The casualties of the troops are almost half! The surviving soldiers had no expression on their faces, completely different from when they first left the town. As soon as he thought of the precarious Zhulóng Town, Yamashita was even more anxious. This small unit's desperate blocking action proved that Zhulóng Town was under fierce attack. If he couldn't provide timely reinforcements, the consequences would be unthinkable!

  Yamashita quickly organized the tenth attack, putting all his houses on the line, and even the twenty people who had been withdrawn after the break were brought back. He believed that the opposing troops had also reached the point of exhaustion.

  "Look, they're coming." someone said to Zhao Jun.

  Seeing Shang Changfu, Zhao Jun did not feel any excitement because Shang Changfu was carried back with a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was in a coma. Moreover, only 4 people came back alive.

  "Good brothers," Zhao Jun walked up and patted their shoulders, "the devils are coming, prepare for battle!"

  The four rows of warriors who were short of ammunition could not stop the devils' crazy attack, but just as a few devils had rushed into the bunker, several gunshots came from behind the fourth row, followed by intense machine gun fire. The devils, who were unprepared, were immediately knocked down in batches. The devils behind continued to charge forward, but they were met with 5 or 6 Japanese hand grenades, which exploded one after another among them.

  Yes, Chen Jifan finally arrived with his men.

  The tenth attack by Yamashita was repelled in the same way, with another dozen or so casualties. With his ammunition almost gone, Yamashita was unable to launch another attack.

  Chen Jifan saw the four rows and felt a surge of hot tears for the first time. He asked Zhao Jun: "Can't you walk anymore?"

  "My head, I'm fine, it's just that most of the brothers have sacrificed themselves, and there are still many seriously injured." As he spoke, his voice choked up.

  "Wen Chuanhao, Luo Han Duan Hou, protect the fourth row of brothers and retreat!" Chen Jifan ordered.

  Watching a dozen or so people retreat from under their own eyelids, Shan Xiaojian felt a sense of powerlessness. Pursue? What to pursue? Shan Xiaojian slowly drew out his military knife and unbuttoned his shirt...

  Yamashita said a sentence, "Village head, I'm in your care." Then with both hands he thrust the military sword into his own abdomen.

  Oshima Hideki received the news of "Shenying" attacking Zhulong Town, but he was not worried at all. Zhulong Town had a complete squadron guarding it, and dealing with the Chinese armed forces would be no problem for several days. It's just that it came in handy, and they could wipe them out in one go in Zhulong Town.

  However, when he led the troops back to Zhulang Town, there was not a single soldier of the Japanese army. What greeted him were dozens of defeated soldiers and the bodies of those who had been killed in the mountains nearby.

  Zhulong Town fell, and the combat supplies stored in the warehouse by the Imperial Army were looted. The 500 men under ōshima Yoshiki's command would soon face starvation. ōshima gazed at the empty warehouse, feeling like rushing out to chop the corpses on the mountain into pieces.

  Yamashita, this stupid pig, ruined his own carefully planned law enforcement campaign and handed over so many combat materials to the Chinese. With these materials, this opponent will make the Imperial Army even more headaches in the future.

  Oshima locked himself in the house for several hours, thinking about how to explain to the Huazhong Military Command. First, the entire Nakamura detachment was annihilated, and then Zhulong Town was looted by someone using a clever trick. Even he couldn't believe that the Imperial Japanese Army, which had defeated the Central Army on the battlefield, would be made so miserable by an amateur team. When he returned, he would definitely ask the intelligence department to thoroughly investigate this "Divine Eagle" team.

  Chen Jifan can't think about Oshima Hideki's situation now, he has to consider bringing Zhao Jun and the fourth row back safely and reunite with the main force.