The War of Resistance Against Japan: Starting with a Calm View of Life and Death

The bugle call sounded.

"It's the Independent Regiment! It's our main force!" Wang Yuan, who was lying in the bunker, almost jumped up when he heard the bugle call.

Zhou Jindong didn't say anything, but pushed him back into the pit.

He stared at the highway below the mountain, where everything was in complete chaos.

As Okada Tomohisa rode on his horse, the moment he heard the horn, he froze as if struck by lightning.

He turned around abruptly and saw a dense mass of gray figures suddenly emerge from the woods on the high ground to his right.

Those people moved extremely fast, surging out from the reverse slope like a gray tide, and instantly occupied the advantageous terrain on both sides of the road.

"Heavy machine guns! Set them up! Block the highway!"

A loud shout came from the right-hand high ground; it was the voice of the battalion commander of the Independent Regiment.

"Knock knock knock knock—"

Two Maxim heavy machine guns roared at the same time, bullets lashing the road like whips.

The Japanese troops' retreat was instantly cut off, and several slow-moving Japanese soldiers were shot in the waist by large-caliber bullets, spraying blood high into the air.

"Baka! It's the main force! It really is the main force!" Fujita Hiroshi covered his head and huddled under the carriage, his voice distorted.

Okada Tomohisa, being a seasoned veteran, found his ferocity aroused in this desperate situation.

He drew his command sword, the blade pointing towards the high ground on the left—the very spot where Zhou Jindong and his men were defending.

"Don't worry about what's behind us! There aren't many Eighth Route Army soldiers in front, charge! Tear open a gap and break through towards Yangfangkou!" Okada Tomohisa spurred his horse's flanks and brandished his sword. "Artillery! Blow up that machine gun emplacement on that hill! Infantry, charge! Charge!"

The resilience of the Japanese army was clearly demonstrated at this moment.

Although their retreat was cut off, these eight hundred-plus Japanese soldiers were, after all, veterans who had received rigorous training.

Under the officer's orders, the initially panicked Japanese troops quickly split into two groups. One group built fortifications on the spot to block the main force on the right, while the other group turned around and launched a more frantic attack on the high ground to the left of Zhou Jindong and his men.

"They're here! Everyone, perk up!" Zhou Jindong roared, and fired his Mauser pistol first.

He was aiming at a Japanese soldier carrying a grenade launcher.

The Japanese soldier had just set up his cannon and hadn't even had time to load it when Zhou Jindong's bullets arrived, and the soldier fell to the ground without uttering a sound.

"Beat him! Give him a good beating!" Sun Erniu lay prone not far from Zhou Jindong.

He aimed at a Japanese soldier who was charging forward at a bent-over position, held his breath, and pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The bullet missed, hitting a rock at the feet of the Japanese soldier, sending sparks flying.

"Damn it!" Sun Erniu cursed and quickly chambered a round.

"Don't panic! Aim carefully before you fire!" Zhou Jindong shouted as he fired. "Zhang Fang! Take your men to the left flank; the Japanese are trying to flank us from that side!"

Zhang Fang responded and led the dozen or so men in the second row to crouch down and run to the flank.

As soon as they arrived, they saw a group of Japanese soldiers with bayonets at their sides sneaking up from the blind spots of the terrain.

"Grenade!" Zhang Fang shouted in a low voice.

More than a dozen grenades flew out at the same time, tracing arcs in the air before landing among the Japanese soldiers.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

An explosion rang out, and black smoke mixed with bits of flesh shot into the air.

The Japanese troops were stunned by the bomb before they could even form a formation. The remaining few tried to retreat but were picked off by Zhang Fang and his men with volleys of gunfire.

But this is only the beginning.

Tomohisa Okada is risking his life, completely disregarding casualties.

The Japanese soldiers began firing their ammunition cannons in a frenzy.

The shells seemed to have eyes, falling on the guerrilla positions.

"boom!"

A loud bang exploded around Zhou Jindong, and dirt and stones rained down on him.

Zhou Jindong felt a "buzz" in his ears, and the world went silent for a moment, followed by a sharp tinnitus.

He shook his head, emptied the dirt out of his ears, and refocused his vision.

A machine gun emplacement not far away was blown up, burying two soldiers underneath, with only half of their legs sticking out and twitching.

"Medic! Medic!" Wang Yuan roared, his eyes red, as he fired his light machine gun wildly, pinning down a line of Japanese soldiers charging up the hillside.

"Never mind me! Keep fighting!" Zhou Jindong spat.

He grabbed his pistol and fired three shots down the mountain.

Three Japanese soldiers fell on the way of the charge, but the Japanese soldiers behind them continued to charge forward, stepping over the bodies of their comrades.

They screamed and yelled, their eyes filled with despair and madness.

"Fifty meters away! Prepare grenades!" Zhou Jindong roared.

The surviving soldiers on the position pulled out their grenades, their fingers gripping the pins, their eyes fixed on the approaching helmets.

Forty meters... thirty meters...

You can even see the sweat and ferocious expressions on the faces of the Japanese soldiers.

"Throw!"

Dozens of grenades were thrown down like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

This round of explosions completely destroyed the Japanese army's charging formation.

Limbs and severed arms hung from the treetops, and the scorched earth was covered in dark red blood.

But the Japanese troops did not retreat.

A second lieutenant brandished his sword, kicked a hesitant soldier beside him, and led the charge.

"Fix bayonets! Charge with me!" Zhou Jindong roared and jumped out of the cover.

His pistol was out of bullets, but he still had a Type 38 rifle with a bayonet fixed in his hand.

Wang Yuan, Zhang Fang, Sun Erniu, and all the soldiers who could still move charged out with bayonets at the ready.

The two torrents collided violently halfway up the mountain.

"kill!"

"Kill them!"

The sounds of metal clashing, flesh being pierced, and the screams of the dying mingled together.

Facing Zhou Jindong was a tall Japanese soldier with a bayonet in hand and a fierce look in his eyes; he was clearly a master bayonet fighter.

The Japanese soldier roared and thrust his bayonet straight at Zhou Jindong's throat.

Zhou Jindong didn't retreat. He stepped to the side, his rifle butt forcefully deflecting the Japanese soldier's bayonet. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the bayonet stabbed into the Japanese soldier's abdomen like a venomous snake.

The Japanese soldier reacted quickly, forcefully pulling his abdomen in, causing the bayonet to miss and pierce his thigh.

"Ah!" The Japanese soldier screamed, and slammed the butt of his rifle down on Zhou Jindong's head.

Zhou Jindong ducked to avoid it, but tripped, and the Japanese soldier lost his balance and fell forward.

Zhou Jindong seized the opportunity to straddle the Japanese soldier's back, gripping his neck with his left hand while stabbing him hard in the back with his right bayonet.

"Pfft!"

Zhou Jindong was drenched in hot blood.

He drew his bayonet, but before he could even catch his breath, another Japanese soldier charged at him from the side.

"Dongzi, watch out!"

Sun Erniu rushed out from the side, and using the momentum of his charge, he slashed the Japanese soldier's shoulder with his large blade.

The blade was embedded in the bone, stuck in the collarbone, and couldn't be pulled out immediately.

The Japanese soldier screamed in pain and raised his bayonet to stab Sun Erniu.

"Fuck your mother!" Sun Erniu roared, not only did he not retreat, but he pounced on the Japanese soldier, biting his ear and holding the soldier's waist tightly with both hands, and the two rolled around in a ball.