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

"Go back and take care of your families first. We'll discuss the next steps once we've confirmed the location," Zhao Renyi continued to persuade. A deep sense of powerlessness washed over him. How could his entire clan possibly stand against the invading Japanese?

After much persuasion, they finally managed to get everyone to go back. The remaining elders of the clan looked at each other with worried expressions in the ancestral hall. As members of the sword-wielding clan, they were naturally more knowledgeable than ordinary people. They were certain that Cao Jiagui's surprise attack was a conspiracy targeting their village! Recently, the Japanese had been forcibly conscripting people to work in the mines, causing chaos throughout the town. Cao Jiagui must have seen that their village was large and powerful, and that they didn't usually listen to him, the head of the local government, so he was taking advantage of the situation to undermine their village's power.

That's a really ruthless move!

“There was an accident at the Shaojialing Iron Mine a while ago, and a lot of miners fled. This time, the arrests are probably to send them back to the Shaojialing Mine. It’s time for us old guys to take action. We can’t live like this if we don’t rescue the kids.”

"That's right! Renyi, you have the best idea. What do you suggest? I'll go back and sharpen the knife right away!"

"I'm bringing my dog ​​along too, he'll be reliable in a pinch!"

"Huh?..." Everyone was taken aback. The one who spoke was Second Master, Third Master's older brother. He had spent his whole life hunting in the mountains and raising dogs, and he was very skilled at it. Dozens of local dogs in the village obeyed his commands and were as intelligent as humans.

"Second brother, can you still ride a horse? Young man, your dog-taming skills might be useful!" Zhao Renyi said, his eyes lighting up.

"Alright! Just let us know whenever you're up to something, and bring plenty of meat and all the village dogs!" Second Master didn't mince words. First Third Master disappeared, and now his two sons had been taken away. How could this old hunter sit idly by? He'd take the risk, even if it cost him his life. He was over sixty; it was worth it!

"Alright! This time, it's just you and Chengzi on the operation. Take good care of the dogs, and set off as soon as I get any news. The rest of you shouldn't go and cause any trouble. After you're done, don't worry about the dogs, just come back as soon as possible." Zhao Renyi saw a glimmer of hope. If they could successfully rescue the person, even the death of many dogs would be worth it!

"Alright! We'll do as you say!" Second Master and Chengzi exchanged a glance and said.

With the younger generation gone, only those two are relatively young and still quite agile. The others are all unsteady on their feet, so their presence would be pointless!

The next day, the scouts brought news that, as expected, the conscripted men were to be sent to the Shaojialing Iron Mine to work as miners; more than a hundred men in total were to be sent to Shaojialing the following day. As was customary, nearly two hundred Japanese soldiers and puppet troops from the town would escort them to the mine.

Upon receiving the news, Zhao Renyi immediately gathered several old buddies to discuss countermeasures. After some discussion, they decided to take action at Horseshoe Bay, located at the border of Xiahou Town and Qili Township. Second Master and Chengzi set off overnight with more than thirty dogs from the entire village to ambush at Horseshoe Bay, waiting to release the dogs to rescue the Japanese soldiers as soon as they arrived.

"Old buddies, this time we're counting on you for the sake of all the children in the village. If anything happens to you, don't blame the children. In the next life, let's switch places, and I'll guard your house and protect your property..." Second Uncle took out a piece of dried meat and stuffed it into his dog Dahuang's mouth, his eyes full of affection.

He'd had Dahuang for six years; it was a robust and imposing dog, the village's king of dogs. Whenever they went hunting, Dahuang was always there, and they never came back empty-handed. This time, with over thirty dogs out, it was hard to say how many would make it back.

"It's all the Japanese devils' fault! Blame the Japanese devils for not being human. Why do they bully us ordinary people? We hand over so much grain to them every year, it's better to feed it to the dogs!" Chengzi complained when he saw that Second Master was reluctant to part with the grain.

"Man proposes, God disposes. Whether the children can be saved depends on their fate! It's just a pity about so many dogs, they are all very obedient..." Second Master said with pity, looking at the thirty-odd dogs surrounding him.

Second Master's dog-training skills were unparalleled. At dawn, the two men lay in ambush in the Horseshoe Bend ravine. More than thirty dogs sat obediently around them, not barking once, like well-trained soldiers!

They fed each dog some cured meat again and waited quietly for the Japanese soldiers to arrive. As the sun rose high in the sky, two Japanese military trucks, one after the other, slowly approached from a distance, escorting a group of laborers. Machine guns were mounted on both trucks, sandwiching the laborers between them, with a squad of puppet soldiers on each side holding guns to guard against any escape.

These laborers were tied together by their hands with a long rope, so they had no way to escape.

"Hurry up! There'll be lots of good food at the mine! As long as you work hard, the Imperial Army will treat you very well!" A Japanese soldier in the lead vehicle shouted, urging them on.

"That's utter bullshit! You'll be working yourself to death in the mines! Your words are like farts!"

"Those who work for the Japanese and come back alive are lucky; this time we're probably going to be killed!"

"We have to find a way to escape! We have elderly parents and young children to support, what will we do if we're not home?"

"Look at this situation, how are we supposed to escape? What if we really die here?"

"We'll figure something out once we get to the mine. I heard that the last batch of miners escaped successfully not long ago, and the Japanese have been setting up roadblocks and conducting searches these past few days, all to find those who escaped!"

"That's right! If others can get out, so can we! We can figure something out once we get to the mine. Once someone's been shot while armed, there's no saving them!"

……

"Baka! Walk faster and don't talk! If you speak in a low voice, you'll die!" the Japanese soldier shouted, raising his gun.

The convoy slowly entered Horseshoe Bend along the road. As they passed through the ravine, a pile of rocks suddenly rolled down from the opposite mountain, hitting the military vehicles and blocking their path.

With a screech of brakes, the military vehicle came to a stop in front of the pile of rocks. The Japanese soldiers jumped out of the vehicle, raised their guns, and searched the opposite hillside for anyone who might be there.

"Enemy attack! Be on alert! Keep a close eye on the laborers!" A Japanese soldier gave the order and raised his binoculars to search for the troublemakers.

Only two machine guns on the two military vehicles were pointed at the laborers, remaining vigilant. The rest of the Japanese soldiers were all drawn to the sudden appearance of the large rock and were searching up the mountain. Most of the puppet troops had their guns pointed at the laborers, their eyes fixed on the mountain, craning their necks...

Just then, a pack of stray dogs silently sprang out of the ravine and attacked those with guns, biting them with their mouths. In an instant, more than a dozen Japanese soldiers and traitors fell to the ground!

"Huh?...Wolf?..." A puppet soldier, whose thigh had been bitten with two bloody holes, stared wide-eyed and shouted.

"No! It's dogs! So many! Shoot them!" Another puppet soldier saw it clearly and turned his gun to shoot at a dog not far away.

But just then, another dog suddenly darted over and bit his arm, causing him to drop his spear and engage in a fierce fight with the dog.

"Baka! Where did these stray dogs come from? Open fire!" Upon seeing so many dogs entangled with the soldiers, the Japanese soldiers immediately ordered the machine gunners to fire.

"Huh?... There are puppet troops..." the machine gunner hesitated.

"Baka! They're just Chinese, don't worry about them! Hurry up!" the Japanese soldier urged.