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

"Good shot! Keep it up, take down the other iron turtle too!" Tiger shouted at the top of his lungs.

Tiger's confidence soared after taking down a Japanese tank with a single shot. But Xizi was inwardly distressed! It wasn't impossible to shoot a tank with a mortar, but the difficulty was simply too great! That last shot had a large element of chance; it was more like a lucky guess! He had absolutely no confidence to do it again! Hitting a moving target with a rifle was already difficult enough, let alone with a mortar—you couldn't even aim while holding it. Estimating the lead by observing the trajectory was practically no different from a lucky guess!

The pressure was greatly reduced after destroying one tank, and the brothers from the two battalions attacked even more fiercely!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Boom boom boom boom!"

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Guns, cannons, arrows—all kinds of weapons roared and clashed, making the entire battlefield feel like a pot of boiling water!

……

Many Japanese officers were stunned! Staring at the rain of arrows, they stood there dumbfounded, forgetting to take cover. It was only by being pulled behind tanks by the soldiers around them that they escaped unharmed.

I had heard about the power of arrow rain before, but hearing about it and seeing it with my own eyes are two completely different things! The sight of thousands of arrows being fired at once was terrifying. Compared to a hail of bullets, the visual impact of this was definitely more shocking!

"Report! Lieutenant Colonel, our casualties exceed three hundred, and one tank has been destroyed by the enemy and is no longer usable..." The soldier reported loudly to Tatsuo Shiga.

"What?!" The dragon man under the branch couldn't believe it. How long had the battle even started? When did the Imperial soldiers become so weak? And how was that tank destroyed? With a grenade?

When he saw the broken cannon barrel through the binoculars, he believed it. He then scanned the surroundings and saw too many people lying on the ground groaning in pain. Those who were not injured were hiding behind tanks, struggling to fight back. His heart felt as if it had been doused with a bucket of cold water. It was chilling to the bone!

At this point in the battle, the enemy had gained the upper hand; with their tanks and artillery rendered ineffective, they had lost their advantage. As long as the enemy's arrow barrage continued, the battle could not be sustained! Moreover, the arrow barrage could explode, making it truly impossible to defend against!

"Retreat immediately!"

Tatsuo Shigeshita gave the order to retreat to the area where the tanks were destroyed. As long as those tanks were repaired, the battle could still be fought!

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers knew that there was no chance of victory if they continued to hold on, so they quickly obeyed the order. At this moment, saving more lives was the victory!

The retreat was swift, and soon only some severed limbs and a tank with its cannon barrel missing remained on the battlefield. Not a single Japanese soldier or corpse was left behind!

……

Northwest of Xiahou Town, a few hours earlier, Nagano Yokoo and Kato Oka, with over four hundred Japanese soldiers and two tanks, had arrived at Sitai Village. Beyond that lay Xiahou Town's territory. Zhishita Tatsuo had ordered them to bypass a large portion of Guya County that night and attack Xiahou Town from the undefended northwest. They were instructed to launch the attack at 10:00 AM, capture the Xiahou Town Chamber of Commerce compound within two hours, and then join forces with the main attacking force to completely reclaim both towns!

"Nagano-senpai, it's time!" Kato Oka urged Nagano Yokoo.

"Alright! Order everyone to set off immediately! Take Xiahou Town within an hour!" Nagano Yokogami commanded.

"Hi!" Kato Oka was also quite looking forward to this operation. They had learned that the Mo Dao Regiment had established the Killing Ghost Pass outside the Dayan Mountain and stationed a battalion of troops there for a long-term garrison.

This time, Zhixia Longnan directly abandoned the enemy's stronghold and ordered them to attack from the undefended northwest. If so many of them suddenly appeared in the enemy's heartland, wouldn't you be surprised? Wouldn't you be taken aback? He could even imagine the shocked look on the enemy's face when they saw them! "You wasted manpower and resources defending Dayan Mountain, I'm not playing with you anymore! I'll target the weakest point and leave you helpless!"

It has to be said that Tatsuo Shida is indeed a military officer who came from the battlefield. How come he didn't think of such a good idea before?

"Rumble..."

Soon, two tanks led the way, and several hundred men, guns at the ready, swaggered into Sitai Village. However, to everyone's surprise, the doors of every house along the country lanes were locked; the entire village was deserted, not a soul in sight!

This is too strange! In the past, every time I entered the village, there was always chaos, with chickens flying and dogs barking, and the villagers trembling with fear, shutting their doors and hiding in their homes, too scared to come out. But now, it's eerily quiet all around. There's not a single chicken in sight, let alone a person!

How can we play this?

"Nobody's here, let's move forward quickly! Taking over Xiahou Town is the most important thing! We have plenty of beautiful girls here!" How could Changye Hengsheng not see the disappointment on these people's faces? After being oppressed by the Mo Dao Gang for so long, they were all holding back their energy to run wild on the other side's territory!

"Hahaha, soo-ga! Rabbit, give it to me! Hurry up!"

"Yosh! The pretty girl is getting to work!"

Most of these Japanese soldiers had just come from the battlefield, and they were all excited when they heard they were going to enter a village and there were pretty girls there. They didn't care about the mission at hand at all. With the powerful Imperial Army launching a surprise attack and having two tanks, they hadn't even considered the possibility of failure!

Since there was no one around, there was no obstruction and no intention to kill or plunder. The troops quickly passed through Sitai Village and headed towards the next village. Baiyue River was already in sight!

……

Liu Jinchao was originally a villager from Sitai Village. After Xiahou Town was taken over by the Modao Regiment, Sitai Village was also transformed. He was selected to serve as the militia company commander to ensure the safety of the villagers.

Old Third Uncle, who got up early this morning to collect manure, missed his chance and rushed back to tell him that a group of Japanese soldiers and two iron turtles had come to the village!

Liu Jinchao was so frightened that he jumped out of bed and quietly went to the place the Third Master had mentioned. Upon seeing it, he was immediately terrified! So many Japanese soldiers! Was war about to break out?

Without delay, they quickly gathered the village militia and went door-to-door to inform everyone to hurry into the mountains to hide. They hid their grain on the spot, took their valuables, and led their cattle and sheep into the deep mountains.

Watching his fellow villagers head into the mountains, he led the militia to the next village. He instructed the militia to evacuate immediately and notified the Mo Dao Regiment to gather militia from nearby villages to discuss countermeasures. Despite the chaos, they remained organized, having all been trained beforehand.

"There's a battle going on in Mafang Village. These Japanese devils who came from Wating Township are clearly up to no good! If they get past us, Commander Mancang will be in danger!" Huang Da Kui, the militia company commander of Huangjin Village, said worriedly.

"That's right! With so many Japanese soldiers and Iron Turtle, a sneak attack from behind could wipe out this whole regiment of Mo Dao soldiers!" Huang Shaozhong, the militia company commander of Huanglong Village, chimed in.

"Now is not the time to talk about these things! In the past few months, the Mo Dao Regiment has been doing a good job for us ordinary people by distributing land and recruiting soldiers! Now that the Mo Dao Regiment is in trouble, we can't just stand by and do nothing and let the Japanese swagger past. We men can't do that!" Liu Jinchao said, glaring at them.