Chapter Five The First Shot

  "Fire..."

  At the sound of the order, rifles, submachine guns, machine guns, heavy machine guns, and mortars all let out a roar, bullets and shells pouring down on the highway in the valley like raindrops. The valley was filled with the sound of gunfire and explosions. Wherever the machine guns passed, the enemy fell like harvested wheat, each one bursting into a blood flower as they hit the ground. Every explosion from the shells sent several people flying into the air, only to fall back down in pieces. Those who were blown apart but still hadn't died used their last bit of strength to let out pig-like screams towards the sky.

  The sudden blow left the enemy reeling, they scurried about like ants on a hot skillet, desperately searching for a place to hide. But the volunteer army was lying in wait on both sides of the highway, leaving no blind spot for them to shoot from. They had nowhere safe to hide, and the merciless bullets continued to take their lives one after another... In just a short moment, the valley turned into a bloody canvas.

  This is the battlefield, I am shocked by the enemy's cries, shocked by the enemy's panic, and even more shocked by this human hell in front of me...

  "Good-for-nothing!"

  The disdainful snort from the mustachioed man made me realize that I still hadn't fired a single shot, but now I couldn't care less about my own dignity or whether I was a coward. All I could think was that those beautiful victories in books, on TV, and in stories, those thrilling battles, were actually so terrifying.

  "Rat-a-tat-tat...!" The bugler sounded the charge.

  "Kill..."

  "Charge..."

  The warriors began to charge, three battalions under the cover of firepower on both sides of the high ground, like three steel knives inserted into the battlefield. One knife inserted at the head, one at the tail, and one cut in between. Our battalion was the knife that cut in between, and I felt like a gap on the blade.

  I was almost dragged down the mountain by the beard, but as soon as I ran out of the trench, I couldn't stop my feet. Because of the slope and the soldiers rushing forward in front and back, if you want to stop your feet, there is only one result, that is, being knocked down the mountain.

  I involuntarily ran down the mountain, staring blankly at the mustachioed man in front of me who was rushing forward while skillfully loading, aiming and firing his rifle with a loud bang, each shot hitting one of the fleeing enemies.

  "Thud, thud..." With a few shots ringing out, the soldier beside me was hit, his body rolling down the hill due to inertia. Warm blood splattered onto my face, quickly freezing in the sub-zero temperatures, forming small, icy dots on my skin.

  I panted heavily, realizing that the enemy was organizing a defense and wanted to make a final desperate struggle.

  The enemy was getting closer and closer, I could even see their panicked faces and the black holes of their gun barrels. Then suddenly, one of those faces burst out with a cluster of blood flowers, and the entire body collapsed to the ground like an empty leather bag that had been drained of air.

  "Honk..." The old squad leader blew the small trumpet that had been hanging around his neck. Before I could react to what was happening, I was pressed to the ground by one of Lao Hu Zi's large hands, and then I saw everyone in the platoon simultaneously pull out hand grenades, light the fuse, delay for three seconds, and with a flick of their wrists, dozens of hand grenades arced through the air and landed on the enemy's position.

  "A loud rumble... " A massive shockwave shook the ground I was lying on, and bloody gravel and mud splattered onto my body and head like raindrops.

  "Kill...!" Liao Duan's mustache was already bristling with rage, he let out a loud roar and charged into the smoke produced by the hand grenade explosion along with the other soldiers.

  A more brutal hand-to-hand combat began.

  The sound of gunfire grew fainter, the machine gun and explosion sounds disappeared without a trace, replaced by the sound of horns, shouting, fighting, and heart-wrenching screams...

  People are as their names, the whisker-like beard is like a fierce tiger going down the mountain, taking the volunteer army soldiers straight into the enemy's position. The waist-cutting regiment was different from other charging regiments, and the enemy was intercepted and cut off, and in the chaos of fleeing, it was very likely that they would all rush to the middle, and the central part was where the enemy camp command was located, and some enemies who were brave enough to resist were mostly in this position.

  An enemy with an eight-character mustache, holding a shiny bayonet, charged at the old squad leader with a loud shout. What he didn't see was that the old squad leader had a submachine gun in his hand. The old squad leader didn't even stop his footsteps, and with one swift motion, he knocked him to the ground.

  With his mustache fluttering, the three-section staff in his hand was simply magical, thrusting, slashing, and clubbing, none of the enemies who came forward could withstand his two moves.

  The Type 38 rifle was originally a standard weapon for the Japanese infantry, and after Japan's defeat in World War II, China collected a large number of Type 38 rifles. This rifle has a long stock, and with the bayonet attached, it is over 1.5 meters long, making it one of the longest rifles in the world.

  It is said that an inch longer is an inch stronger, and an inch shorter is an inch more dangerous. Such a long rifle was used in close combat, which can be said to have taken advantage of the situation, let alone the master who used it was a volunteer soldier who had participated in the War of Resistance against Japan and the Liberation War. Therefore, although the enemy had the upper hand in numbers at this point on the waist, those enemies who rushed up were still falling down in batches under the bayonet of the volunteer soldiers.

  The enemy, after being stabbed with a bayonet, would not die on the spot unless they were stabbed in a vital area. The volunteer army soldiers did not rush to finish them off when the enemy had lost their fighting ability, so for a time, the ground was filled with bleeding and wailing enemies. Some covered their wounds and crawled desperately, trying to escape the battlefield and find a glimmer of hope; some cried as they desperately stuffed their intestines back in, their faces disbelieving at seeing their own intestines; others shook all over, their limbs convulsing, their eyes gazing hopelessly at the increasing number of volunteer army soldiers before them...

  I stood there in a daze, looking at all of this. In the trenches it was still far away, but now I'm standing here in reality. My nose smells the stench of blood, my ears hear the wails of agony, and my hands and face are stained with blood. In this hellhole where blood is everywhere, even lifting my foot gives me a sticky feeling.

  "Kill..."

  His voice was hoarse and powerful, I recognized that it was the voice of the man with a goatee. At this time, he had already left his comrades' line of defense, his rifle swaying from side to side as he rushed in another direction, until he reached a large red foreign horse, whereupon he stretched out his hand to grab the reins of the horse. It was only then that I remembered Old Squad Leader's instructions and understood the man with a goatee's goal.

  But just then something unexpected happened.

  "Boom..." A hand grenade exploded not far away, and the foreign horse was suddenly frightened, raised its head and let out a long whinny. Its four hooves kicked wildly without distinguishing friend from foe. Lao Hu Zi, who was caught off guard, took a kick that looked quite severe. He flew far away, fell to the ground with his feet up in the air, struggled for several moments, but couldn't get up for half a day.

  Hand-to-hand combat doesn't allow for even a moment's pause, the enemy sees an opportunity and immediately seven or eight people surround you, the closest one raises his bayonet and viciously thrusts it at your goatee...

  "Bang......"

  With a gunshot, the bayonet fell to the ground, its owner had an extra bullet hole in the middle of his forehead, and he collapsed softly to the ground.

  I was stunned, and I simply didn't dare to believe that this shot was fired by myself. Loading, aiming, firing, all in one go, and looking at the accuracy... right between the eyebrows! The feeling just now was like I had been playing with guns since childhood.

  He looked at the mustachioed man again, who was now struggling to sit up, holding a rifle in his left hand and fending off three enemies with great effort.

  I didn't have time to think, I raised my gun and rushed towards the man with the braided beard. At the same time, my right hand skillfully loaded the rifle without aiming, and with a swift motion, one of the enemies attacking the bearded man fell to the ground. Under the enemy's astonished gaze, another one was knocked down at an extremely fast speed. By then I had already reached the bearded man's side, and with one gun butt, I smashed the remaining enemy's face into a pulp.

  I was suddenly grabbed from behind by an enemy who wrapped his arms around me, gun and all. I shook him off with force, sending the gun and the enemy flying far away. Looking around, several more enemies closed in on me. I picked up a nearby pickaxe and let out a loud roar: "Ka-cha ka-cha ka-cha..." With three swift swings, I chopped holes into the chests of the three leading enemies.

  "Don't move!" I glared at the four enemies who were about to charge from behind with a pair of beast-like eyes, holding up the foreign hoe that was still dripping blood. "Don't move! Surrender and we won't kill you..."

  The four enemies were stunned, holding their guns for a long time without saying a word. After a while, they dropped their guns one after another and raised their hands in terror...

  "Hahaha... " The bearded man sitting behind me opened his big mouth and laughed loudly: "Kid, I underestimated you, one swing of the foreign axe knocked down three people, caught four, ruthless enough..."

  I stood there stupidly, looking at the person in front of me who was holding up their hands and staring at me in terror. I myself felt very surprised, because I had never known that I had such skills, nor did I know that I had such ferocity.

  The volunteer army soldiers quickly killed their way to my side, and the enemy's battalion command post was destroyed in just a few minutes. The enemy officers and men dropped their equipment and scattered in all directions. The smarter ones knelt down with their hands up, while the dumber ones jumped into the Jiulong River. It was so cold that they froze as soon as they hit the water, which saved the volunteer army from wasting a few bullets. Those who were even dumber still ran around wildly, despite having the volunteer army soldiers' guns pointed at their backsides...

  "The three companies along the highway will cover the enemy's artillery, while the other companies return to the position to block the enemy's reinforcements!" This was the last order given by the regiment commander.

  ……

  A small dividing line

  This chapter is dedicated to the 40th Army, 118th Division, 353rd and 354th Regiments of the Volunteer Army who launched the first annihilating battle abroad. In this battle, 325 enemies were killed, 161 captured, 38 vehicles seized, 12 howitzers and 163 various firearms.

  Tribute to the brave volunteer soldier Zhao Shun San, who in the Yunshan Battle's hand-to-hand combat, killed three American soldiers with a single broadsword and captured four others. This chapter uses his heroic deeds due to plot requirements.