I used the Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) to fight the Japanese.

Having lost six tanks, the Japanese soldiers, burning with rage, charged forward, quickly crossing the newly blasted crater, bypassing the section marked with anti-tank cones, and returning to the road to rapidly approach their target.

"Stay alert and watch the crops on both sides, rabbits, here you go!" the dragon man under the branch shouted the order.

That last wave of attacks gave them a real shock, forcing these arrogant Japanese devils to be on high alert. Who knows, a sudden volley of arrows might come from the fields and they'd be in for a world of hurt! We'd heard plenty about the power of arrows in Guya County! Who would have thought they were so adept at using artillery and explosives as well!

Soon, the Japanese soldiers had advanced to within a kilometer's radius, and the enemy's position was in sight. The commanders around Tatsuo Shida took out their binoculars to observe.

"What?... What's that?..." A commander looked at the scarecrows and tattered clothes scattered on the scorched earth of the distant position with a puzzled expression. The position had been bombed to such an extent, were the enemy still there? Could it be that the renowned Mo Dao Regiment had been destroyed by the artillery fire from the front?

No, that's not a real person!

"Baka! These cunning rats tricked our artillery fire with those tattered straws! Those lowly Chinese are so cunning!" The commander finally realized what was happening and said angrily.

"What?!" Tatsuo Shigehira was immediately alarmed. Could something so bizarre be happening? These artillerymen were veterans who had seen countless battles!

"Baka! Utterly stupid!..." Ryūō Shizuka raised his binoculars and saw the scarecrows on the scorched earth, their chests covered in knives, and he was furious. Many of the scarecrows were still smoking, their blackened straw heads grinning as if mocking their stupidity!

"Have both tanks fire on the area opposite the position immediately to pinpoint the enemy's exact location as quickly as possible!" Even if he was furious, he had to suppress his anger. How could they fight a battle if they didn't even know the enemy's exact location?

The area opposite the scorched earth was also farmland, with crisscrossing ridges covered in withered, yellow weeds. It looked completely empty; no one could possibly be hiding any enemies. But the rest of the area was even more deserted. Could it be that the enemy was hiding in Mafang Village and hadn't come out?

Obviously impossible! Regular armies know to deploy their forces in the open field and fight face-to-face. Would these lowly people really be willing to destroy all those houses? After eliminating these possibilities, only that crisscrossing field ridge is the most suspicious!

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

After several rounds of shelling, that area was turned into scorched earth. The farmland was blasted into a mess, with withered vines and rotten leaves scattered everywhere. However, the expected Mo Dao Regiment was nowhere to be seen, and not even a scrap of cloth was found!

"Baka! Did these lowly Chinese people escape?" a commander said angrily.

He wasn't the only one puzzled. At first, there was shelling and explosives, but after all that, they only found one position. They bombarded it for ages, but still couldn't find the enemy! This was the strangest battle they'd fought since the start of the war!

"Stop the artillery fire and order the troops to advance in search formation!" Tatsuo Shigeshita ordered grimly.

“Hi!” the officer replied.

Since we can't find the enemy, let's keep advancing! We refuse to believe that the enemy will stay hidden forever! Do you think the mighty Imperial Japanese Army would be scared off by such petty tricks?

At this moment, they are less than three kilometers away from Mafang Village. If they don't come out and take Mafang Village in one fell swoop, it will be as easy as taking candy from a baby!

……

The Mo Dao Regiment hadn't fled, of course. Since capturing the two towns, Mafang Village had remained their primary defensive target. Under Man Cangdi's guidance, they had designated the farmland several kilometers outside the village as their battlefield, where they had set up a complete defensive system!

First, there was the position the Japanese destroyed; it was their last line of defense. But this time, to lure the Japanese into a major offensive, the brothers turned it into an exhibition area to attract their attention! Clearly, it worked very well!

Secondly, there were the tunnels. Tunnels were a crucial weapon for our martyrs in fighting the Japanese invaders! While there were caves at Killing Ghost Pass, the flat terrain here naturally provided plenty of tunnels. At this moment, Da Zhao and his men were hiding in a tunnel next to a water channel, several hundred meters away from the Japanese. The channel had been modified; together with the tunnel, it could be used as a trench as soon as someone emerged. A winding stream flowed at the bottom; neither the Japanese nor the local people would have guessed it was a trench!

"Battalion Commander, let's start the fire! The Japanese are already within firing range!" the hunter asked, standing beside Tiger.

"Xizi! Those two iron turtles are yours! Brothers, give them a shout!" Tiger wasn't one to drag his feet, and with his command, the battle officially began!

A group of men quickly popped their heads out of the ditch, set up a fire, and started scrambling to start! All those fancy tricks were for the sake of surprise; now that the Japanese were getting close, everyone was holding their breath and giving it their all!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Boom boom boom boom!"

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Boom boom boom boom!"

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Boom boom boom boom!"

It was the same familiar recipe and the same familiar taste. When bursts of arrows exploded among the Japanese soldiers, the brothers all smiled knowingly. The hard work of the past two months had not been in vain!

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

"Bang bang bang bang!"

"Boom boom boom!"

The Japanese counterattack came immediately. The battle-hardened Japanese soldiers were much stronger than the previous batch. Although the rain of arrows took the lives of many of their comrades, after a brief period of panic, they quickly located their positions and organized a counterattack.

"Xizi! What's going on? Those two iron turtles haven't fallen yet?" Huzi urged, watching the two tanks relentlessly bombarding them. At this close range, the tanks couldn't possibly take them down! One shot from that guy could bury a whole section of the ditch; they couldn't withstand more than a few shots! Luckily, Qingshui and his men had taken out six tanks beforehand, otherwise, eight tanks alone would have been enough for them to handle!

"Immediately!" Xizi was also sweating profusely with anxiety. He had put in a lot of effort since he started learning artillery from Third Master. It was precisely because of his proficient mortar firing skills that Third Master assigned him to lead three mortars with the team for emergency response. The tanks were steadily approaching them, and the previous shots hadn't hit any vital organs at all, making the young man even more anxious.

After personally recalibrating the firing parameters, Xizi quickly stuffed a shell into the barrel, ignoring the need to cover his ears as he watched the shell arc towards the nearest tank.

"boom!"

The shell made intimate contact with the tank's cannon barrel, and after a loud bang, the barrel was twisted off the tank's front and fell to the side, emitting black smoke! What a coincidence that this shot was fired! I guess it was the first time the Japanese had ever encountered something like this!