Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 179 Is that all?
A bomber was hit directly, its wing broke off instantly, and it plummeted into the valley, trailing thick smoke and flames. The explosion illuminated half the sky.

Another fighter jet attempted to dive and escape, but was torn to pieces by crossfire, with debris scattering like raindrops.

The valley echoed with the piercing sound of metal tearing apart, mixed with the pilot's desperate cries and curses.

On the anti-aircraft gun positions, the gunners gritted their teeth, sweat rolling down their faces and soaking their gray-brown uniforms.

With his cheeks aching, Lao Cao pressed his sights firmly against a Type 97 fighter jet diving down at him and pulled the trigger.

The 20mm cannon barrel trembled incessantly, firing high-explosive shells into the sky like a crimson whip tearing through the leaden-gray clouds, while the Type 97 fighter jet continued its descent towards him.

The two were like two warriors facing off, simultaneously thrusting their blades at each other, neither willing to dodge first, gritting their teeth and betting that the other would give out first.

"what……"

While firing desperately, Lao Cao opened his mouth wide and shouted loudly, as if only in this way could he vent the fear in his heart.

Opposite him, the Type 4 fighter jet was swooping down, four 25-kilogram bombs under its wings gleaming coldly in the sunlight, while two machine guns spat out fire.

Because the two sides were so close, Lao Cao could even see the ferocious and menacing faces of the Japanese pilots in the open cockpit.

"go to hell……"

As Lao Cao roared, he pressed the trigger tightly. His adrenaline was surging, and he forgot about death and fear. He had only one thought in his mind.

That is to shoot down the enemy plane overhead, even if it means going to hell with it.

Suddenly, several 20mm high-explosive shells pierced the wing of the Type 97 fighter jet, and the aluminum skin instantly caught fire, then rolled up like shredded paper.

As the wing was knocked off, the iron bird suddenly tilted to one side, and two black dots flew out from under the wing. These were bombs that had not yet been deactivated. They crashed heavily into the earthen slope of the valley, but only stirred up a few waves of dust.

The Type 97 fighter jet crashed heavily onto the hillside dozens of meters away from Lao Cao's anti-aircraft artillery position, turning into a huge fireball with a loud explosion.

The massive shockwave from the explosion nearly knocked Old Cao off balance, and his gunner was even thrown so hard by the near miss that he landed on the iron frame of the anti-aircraft gun, the hard protrusions piercing his buttocks and making him wince in pain.

Before he could even start cursing, he heard Old Cao burst into a tirade of profanities.

"Ma Laosan, what the hell are you standing there for? Get up and load the ammunition! The Japanese planes are coming again!"

"Northeast direction, Type 97 bombers and fighter jets, altitude 2,000!"

Amid Lao Cao's curses, the second wave of planes burst out of the clouds and swooped down on them, beginning another battle of life and death...

"Get out of my way!"

"Sir, you cannot go out. We must ensure your safety!"

"Bullshit... I'm not going to fight, can't I even take a look at the entrance!"

Inside the command post, Su Yaoyang was arguing with several staff officers who were blocking his way.

Xu Dapeng and several guards stood firmly in front of him.

"Xu Dapeng, if you stop me again, believe me, I'll shoot you!" "Chief, even if you shoot me, I won't let you out. If anything happens to you, I won't have enough heads to chop off even if I have nine!" Xu Dapeng replied in a gruff voice, almost making Su Yaoyang furious.

“I…………%￥#@”

Driven to desperation, Su Yaoyang unleashed a string of profanities, but no matter how much he cursed, the guy just wouldn't budge, driving him crazy.

Finally, pushed to the limit, Su Yaoyang gritted his teeth and roared, "Xu Dapeng, I'll just stay at the door and watch; I absolutely won't go outside. If that doesn't work, believe me, I'll fire you right now!"

Hearing the deafening explosions and roars outside, Su Yaoyang felt incredibly anxious, as if a hundred rats were scratching at his heart.

Seeing Su Yaoyang's flushed face, Xu Dapeng was afraid that if he really pushed the other party too far, he might be dismissed as the battalion commander of the guards, which would be troublesome.

He could only back down a step. "Alright, but you have to promise me, Commander, that you can only watch from the entrance of the command center. If there is any danger, you must retreat immediately."

"Okay, okay... I got it, get out of the way." Su Yaoyang walked out of the command post impatiently.

The group was stunned as soon as they appeared.

The once clear sky was now covered by thick smoke, and streaks of fire were constantly being fired from the mountainside into the sky.

Countless shells exploded in the sky, forming a deadly fire net.

Dozens of Japanese planes, like nimble swallows, kept weaving through these fire nets. Occasionally, a plane would crash into the fire net and instantly turn into a fireball or, emitting thick smoke, crash to the ground with a mournful cry.

At this moment, Wolf Valley seemed to have transformed into a hell of death. The burning wreckage of the planes turned the valley blood red. The fuel tank and ammunition of a crashed Type 97 heavy bomber exploded, and the blast wave overturned two nearby Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns.

A Type 97 fighter jet zigzags erratically through a hail of bullets, its canopy reflecting blinding flashes of fire.

Subsequently, Su Yaoyang witnessed him diving into the densest ground artillery fire, his onboard machine gun relentlessly strafing the ground gun positions, until a burst of shells fired by the Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun pierced through the cockpit.

The out-of-control fighter jet skimmed across the valley floor, its propellers slicing through the bodies of two bomb loaders before crashing into a ditch. Metal fragments mixed with blood and flesh rained down like a storm, followed by a plume of thick smoke.

The air raid lasted a long time, and the gunfire that had been going on for nearly half an hour finally stopped when the last Japanese plane fled northwest, trailing thick smoke.

The barrels of all the anti-aircraft guns gleamed a dark red from overheating, and the position was littered with discarded shell casings. In one spot, an unextinguished flame reflected the image of a flight boot hanging halfway from a tree branch.

The entire valley was filled with burning fires and airplane wreckage, resembling a hellish place recently ravaged by demons.

This scene not only stunned Su Yaoyang and the Shanxi militia soldiers who had just emerged from the anti-aircraft bunker, but also silenced the Japanese soldiers below the valley.

"Our...our plane was shot down by the Chinese just like that?"

Both sides could see the aerial battle just now very clearly.

Nearly thirty planes bombed Wolf Valley relentlessly, but the final result was that the Japanese air force was almost completely wiped out, which was unprecedented in previous battles.

This precedent would undoubtedly deal a severe blow to the morale of the Japanese army.

(End of this chapter)