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

"boom!"

The grenade exploded, but its aim was terrible; it missed the guard tower by several meters! It didn't damage the tower at all!

However, Third Master was still quite excited. This thing was like setting off firecrackers during the New Year, making quite a commotion! So he grabbed a grenade and peeked through the crack in the door, and then he made up his mind.

He pulled the latch again, slammed it against the wall, and threw it away...

"boom!"

The grenade exploded in mid-air before it even hit the guard tower, followed by a loud hiss as flames erupted at the base of the tower!

It was the explosives that Hu Zi brought back that worked. When he came out, Zhao Mancang had instructed him to scatter the gunpowder under the two towers. This was the moment they had been waiting for! Without detonators, the gunpowder could only be used as kindling, and sure enough, it caught fire!

"Alright! There's one more, Third Master, please continue!" Zhao Mancang encouraged.

"Good!" Third Master's confidence soared after his successful strike. He jumped to the other side, peered through the crack in the door, located the other guard tower, unfastened the bolt, tapped it on his bald head, and threw it out!

Alright! Third Master's having too much fun, he's practicing his Iron Head Kung Fu with a grenade!

"boom!"

A single shot hitting the bottom also ignited a raging fire!

"Beautiful!" Zhao Mancang kept praising the sights, and soon the two guard towers collapsed one after the other, and the machine guns stopped firing!

"Third Master, keep going! Throw it where there are a lot of Japanese soldiers!" Zhao Mancang encouraged Third Master to keep going, his aim was much better than the rest of them!

"Alright! Just watch!" Third Master got carried away after taking down two guard towers in a row, and after confirming the Japanese soldiers' positions through the crack in the door, he continued to set off firecrackers! He looked just like a child celebrating the New Year!

……

"Baka! Who's working inside?" The Japanese soldiers who had been arranged by Kato Nobuo to ambush in the bamboo grove arrived at the battle site and knelt down in front of a patrol squad leader, asking in a deep voice.

"I don't know! It must be those Maru! The Imperial soldiers sleeping inside must have already met their demise!" the squad leader said.

"Baka! Major Nagano fought bravely and should still be alive! Now everyone listen to my command, retake the courtyard and rescue the Major!" The ambush squad leader, with a higher rank, immediately took command of the scene!

"Hey! But we only have five people left..." the squad leader said with shame.

In just a short time, under the enemy's relentless bombardment, these men suffered heavy casualties. The two guard towers were blown up, and the Japanese soldiers on top were undoubtedly dead. Now, including the six men who had just returned, they only had eleven men left, and under the enemy's bombardment, they couldn't get any closer!

"Baka! We are the rigorously trained Imperial Japanese Army, more than enough to deal with these lowly people! What are you two still hiding for? Get back to the ranks!" The last sentence was directed at two Japanese soldiers lying prone nearby on a stealth mission. These two had run out of the thatched hut after the battle began, but lacking weapons, they could only lie there helplessly! Now that their squad leader had spotted them, they had no choice but to blend into the ranks.

The ambush squad leader turned to look at the soldiers beside him and felt a pang of sorrow. He had been working in this mine for almost a year, when had he ever suffered such a loss? Usually, they were the ones who beat and scolded the laborers, but now it was the laborers' turn to turn against them.

First, someone pretended to be a ghost to scare the team, causing widespread panic. Now, they've quietly taken over the courtyard and are fighting them head-on. It seems they've suffered a major loss!

Wow, impressive! I have to say, they've really met their match this time!

"You guys, attack from the front to draw the Japanese attention. The rest of you, follow me to the rooftop!" The ambush squad leader immediately saw the crux of the problem: the enemy was using the courtyard wall to throw grenades at them, making it impossible for their guns to hit them. They hadn't brought any grenades on patrol, and once the gate was closed, they were simply sitting ducks!

Let the rest climb onto the roof, and things will be different. Without the advantage of the courtyard wall, these people will be like meat on a chopping board, manipulated and shaped at will!

……

The fighting on the Japanese side was in full swing, and the laborers' living quarters were in complete chaos! Especially the captured soldiers; after the first grenade exploded, everyone in their thatched hut was instantly awakened. Once they saw the battle unfolding over there through the doorway, none of them were sleepy anymore! In their eyes, this intense fighting was definitely no less than a small-scale battle!

"Have the Japanese gone mad? What's with them fighting each other?"

"Who had the audacity to take over the whole courtyard without a word?"

"No way? There are twenty or thirty Japanese soldiers inside, is that even possible?"

"Could it be our comrades from the army coming to rescue us?"

"You're overthinking it! Don't you know what the brothers in the army are like?"

"They kept throwing grenades without firing a single shot. That's not how soldiers behave! Do you think it might be one of these poor, downtrodden people?"

"Huh? Who's so bold?"

"Luo Da Ge! What are you trying to do?"

"Run! If we don't run now, when will we? Brothers, let's not waste any more time!"

Do you have a solution for those barbed wire fences?

"Hehe, just follow along!" Luo Xiang said, pulling out a small piece of metal.

"Damn! You're a real sly one! Quick! Let's get to work as fast as we can!"

The group peered around and, seeing that everyone in the houses was eager to try and no Japanese soldiers were paying attention, quickly slipped out of their rooms. They rushed to the spot closest to the railway, crawled down, and began working on the barbed wire. Their method was the same as Zhao Mancang's: first, they sawed a notch in a piece of iron, then repeatedly broke it in half, splitting it in two to finish!

After breaking all three nets, the group rushed towards the railway and ran in the direction of leaving the mountain. Once they were out of the mining area, they were truly free to fly as high as birds in the sky and regain their freedom!

After a dozen or so captured soldiers successfully escaped, the remaining men became restless and rushed out of the house, through the barbed wire, and across the railway sleepers, running for their lives!

Soon the thatched huts were empty, and more than 300 people squeezed onto the railway and ran for their lives!

"Hahaha, I'm free! My wife at home is waiting for me to pamper her!"

"Come on! You haven't been active in so long, don't break your back!"

"Let's hurry and escape! We can't stay in this godforsaken place for a second longer. We can think about our wives later after we get out!"

"We're safe once we're out of the mining area! Those heroes who fought the Japanese were real men! When we get back, we'll definitely make a memorial tablet for them and offer incense to them morning and night. They're much better than those soldiers!"

"That's true! I don't know which deity displayed their divine power, but they bombed the Japanese devils so badly! It's so satisfying!"

"It was so satisfying! Seeing those Japanese devils blown to pieces was incredibly cathartic! If I ever encounter such heroes again, I'll definitely thank them properly!"

"How can we express our gratitude if we don't even know who it is? And who knows how many will be left after this battle..."