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

"Alright!" The soldiers felt a surge of satisfaction watching the fleeing Japanese and puppet troops, clutching their weapons with reluctance to let go! Holding their light-handled rifles and firing away—that was the real feeling of fighting! It was simply exhilarating!

"boom!"

Half an hour later, a loud explosion shook the earth! The tall pillbox collapsed, and smoke billowed high into the air. Everyone watched as the pillbox turned into a pile of ruins...

A group of people were pulling three large carts full of supplies back home. They were all from poor families and couldn't stand waste. Guns, ammunition, bedding, food supplies—they loaded them onto the carts as much as they could fit. They even wanted to strip the corpses of the Japanese and puppet troops naked and take them away with their loincloths!

To disguise their actions, they even threw away most of the vegetables, which made everyone quite regretful!

However, unlike last time, the group didn't spout nonsense; instead, they walked silently with Hu Zi, their faces grim.

Tiger held his wife's already cold body, his eyes filled with grief, his movements stiff and lifeless, covered in blood as if he had just walked out of hell!

“Brother! No one could have predicted something like this. We all know you’re not feeling well, but you destroyed a pillbox, killed so many Japanese soldiers and puppet troops, and the culprit, Chief Ma, was also killed by the Japanese. Your sister-in-law’s revenge has been avenged!”

"Take your sister-in-law back to the village and bury her, so she can stay with us brothers and fight the Japanese devils! Every Japanese devil we kill is the greatest comfort to her, and she can finally rest in peace!"

Mancang walked beside Huzi, gently comforting him, his own pain evident in his words. Of the three great sorrows of life, the loss of a spouse in middle age is the most heartbreaking, especially since they hadn't even left behind a child!

However, no matter how great the hatred, it should be put aside in the face of fighting the Japanese invaders. The dead are gone, and only by fighting the Japanese more can such a tragic situation not be repeated!

"..." Tiger's stiff face seemed to twitch slightly, and he turned his head to look at Mancang, seemingly becoming a little more awake.

"Your sister-in-law biting her tongue and committing suicide because she couldn't bear the humiliation fully demonstrates her loyalty to you and the family! Such a woman is worth cherishing! Now that the great revenge has been taken, it's time to let your sister-in-law rest in peace and be laid to rest as soon as possible!" Mancang encouraged.

"...Not yet!...That old devil Yamato isn't dead yet!" Tiger's hoarse voice revealed endless hatred, and his eyes were so red they could bleed!

"...He can't escape! As long as he's still on our territory, he can't get away! Sooner or later, he'll be killed by our brothers!" Man Cang pondered for a moment and then confirmed that the Japanese officer had escaped.

"...I want to twist his head off with my own hands..." His voice was still hoarse, but his tone was incredibly firm!

"Alright! The brothers are with you!" Man Cang said just as firmly.

"..." Tiger choked up for a moment, and after a long silence, he let out a long breath and his demeanor softened.

"...Turn left ahead and you'll find our family's ancestral graves...Let Fang Xia rest in peace!...We'll give her a grand funeral after we kill that old devil Yamato!"

“…Alright!…” Mancang looked up and beckoned his brothers to turn around outside Mafang Village, bypass the village, and head towards a wasteland…

Shortly after they left, two Japanese military vehicles and three sidecar motorcycles roared past the intersection they had just passed. It was Inoue Masao, who had come to inquire after receiving a report from Watanabe Sando at the Shichiri-kyo stronghold!

If Mancang and his men had followed the previous route into Mafang Village, they would have run right into this group of Japanese soldiers! Given their smoke-covered and disheveled appearance, it would have been difficult for them not to be spotted!

Inoue Masao was shocked upon receiving news of the attack on the pillbox! An armed force capable of attacking a pillbox had suddenly appeared in his territory! Moreover, he had not received any prior warning, which showed that the Imperial Army's control over this land was far from sufficient!

Without even reporting to Nagano's left-wing commander, he quickly assembled his troops and headed towards the Mabuchi stronghold. Regardless of who attacked the blockhouse or their motives, they had to be suppressed with swift and decisive action! Others might not know, but Inoue Masao knew perfectly well that the Mabuchi stronghold held extraordinary significance for the entire Imperial Army of Koya Prefecture. If this stronghold fell to the enemy, it would cause considerable trouble for the entire region!

Soon the troops arrived at the stronghold. The towering pillboxes had been leveled, and the broken bricks and tiles were mixed with mangled corpses. The burned beams and rafters were still smoldering...

"Tell me the details!" Inoue Masao looked at the devastation and felt a mix of emotions. The soldiers scattered to search for survivors, and he asked Watanabe, who was beside him, for the situation three times.

"Hey! Li Zisheng, tell me the details quickly!" Watanabe Sando said to Li Zisheng, the captain of the detective team, who was not far away.

"Hi! Reporting to you two gentlemen, we were ordered to track down the group that robbed Chairman Lü's opium den. We heard gunshots nearby and came to investigate..." Li Zisheng recounted the information he had gathered.

The detective team was ordered to investigate the smashing of the opium den, but unfortunately, this bunch of good-for-nothings were good at eating and drinking, but after half a month of running around investigating, they had no clues at all. These lackeys just dawdled and wandered around under the guise of investigation.

Just as Li Zisheng and his four or five team members were casually strolling through the market, the gunfire from the stronghold suddenly alerted them, and they quickly led their team members to investigate from a distance.

Upon inspection, everyone was stunned to see a group of Japanese soldiers and puppet troops fiercely attacking the pillbox! They seemed to be at a disadvantage, being suppressed by the people on the pillbox and forced to stay in the bunker near the bunker, afraid to show their faces!

This news is absolutely explosive. The Japanese are notorious for their strength and ferocity. Even for the regular Nationalist army, taking down a pillbox wouldn't be easy, right? Who could sneak into a pillbox silently and suppress the Japanese so much that they couldn't even raise their heads?

Li Zisheng felt that the time to make a contribution had come, so he ordered his men to continue observing from a distance while he hurried back to the market to call Watanabe Sando.

After seeing a dozen or so Japanese soldiers and puppet troops flee, the team members naturally dared not linger and withdrew as soon as possible. Then, a violent explosion was heard, and the seemingly impregnable pillbox collapsed into a pile of rubble! The group was so frightened that they turned tail and ran, wishing they had more legs!

"Who is it? What are their characteristics? What are their clothes, weapons, and numbers? Where are they now?" Inoue Masao was filled with questions.

"No...I don't know...I didn't see it at all..." the detective stammered.

"Baka! Go investigate!" Inoue Masao roared. All that talk, and then they knew absolutely nothing about the crucial issue—how could he not be furious?

"Huh?...Hey!..." Li Zisheng felt like he had shot himself in the foot. How were they supposed to investigate if they didn't have a single clue? The Japanese soldiers were trembling with fear, yet they had run into Yan and were on the verge of death?

"Report! This was found on the soldier's body!" Just when everyone was at a loss, a Japanese soldier came over with a crossbow and reported.