Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 329 I once caught a cannonball with my bare hands

"Damn it, this is outrageous!"

Upon receiving the cavalry battalion's report on the situation in Nanye Village, Chen Chengxing angrily launched into a tirade of curses.

The small blast furnace in Nanye Village was built not long ago, and it was time to increase production.

As a result, it was severely damaged by a round of artillery fire from the Japanese.

The Chinese battlefield is about to see a reversal of fortune.

The more equipment you have at this point, the more benefits you can reap later.

Just as the arsenal was preparing to ramp up production of grenades and artillery shells, the Japanese blew up their own small blast furnace.

"Weiguo, you immediately lead the special forces and reconnaissance platoon to pursue the Japanese."

"Work together with the cavalry company to take them down!" Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Yes!"

Zhou Weiguo immediately led his team to set off.

He watched the Japanese soldiers' actions and felt a sense of familiarity.

Zhou Weiguo was now curious to see who was leading this group of Japanese soldiers.

Despite being blocked by the cavalry battalion at Xila Mountain, Takeshita Shun remained calm.

He was not the kind of commander who would take unnecessary risks; he was always very careful and cautious in every operation.

Therefore, Takeshita Shun did not choose to launch a rash attack this time.

All the Japanese special forces soldiers were lying in ambush in a safe place behind the hill to carry out their operations.

This move by the Japanese made Sun Desheng extremely uncomfortable.

"boom!"

With a single shot, the heavy machine gun that was providing suppressive fire immediately fell silent.

The machine gunner lay prone on top of the heavy machine gun.

"Damn it! Keep your head down and fight!" Sun Desheng shouted.

There's a sharpshooter on the other side; the cavalry battalion's heavy machine gunners have all been wiped out.

Moreover, the company and platoon leaders who originally carried Mauser pistols have now switched to other guns.

The sharpshooter's first target was the officer with the Mauser pistol.

Seven or eight of the cavalry battalion commanders had already been killed in action, which made Sun Desheng tremble with heartache.

After realizing he had lost his target, Japanese sniper Yamamoto Taiichiro curled his lip in disdain.

The only option was to target ordinary soldiers.

As for the rule that snipers should fire one shot and then move on to another, Yamamoto Taiichiro did not follow it at all.

That's the behavior of a coward. A true warrior should stay rooted to the spot and not move an inch.

On the battlefields of the Pacific, true sharpshooters were those who tied themselves to trees.

Faced with the threat of the Japanese sharpshooters, the cavalry battalion soldiers could only temporarily hide behind the mountain ridge.

Since the Japanese are not launching an attack, there is naturally no need for us to fight to the death.

For a moment, an eerie silence fell over the battlefield.

A moment later, the squad leader of the first detachment of the assault team found Takeshita Shun.

"Sir, if we drag this out any longer, it might be disadvantageous for us. Should we break out?"

“The enemy has heavy weapons. Breaking out now would be too dangerous.” Takeshita Shun shook his head.

We definitely need to break through, but not now.

"The order is for each of the three-person teams to occupy the surrounding mountain passes and hilltops to prevent the Eighth Route Army from encircling them."

“We need to wait until nightfall to take action,” Takeshita Shun ordered.

During the day, the threat from heavy machine guns and mortars is too great.

"Hai!"
Just as the Japanese were setting up their defensive positions, Zhou Weiguo led his special forces and reconnaissance platoon to encircle them.

However, the Japanese now hold a superior position and have formed a crossfire.

The soldiers of the New Second Regiment attempted to attack several times, but gained little advantage.

Even the special forces team suffered a serious injury.

"Have the militia maintain their encirclement of Xila Mountain and lay landmines in key locations," Zhou Weiguo ordered.

Although the special forces of the New Second Regiment also have submachine guns, they are only equipped with three due to ammunition shortages.

Facing a Japanese special forces unit equipped with a large number of automatic weapons, it would be very difficult to break through unless they risked their lives.

But to sacrifice the entire special forces team and a large number of soldiers for just thirty-odd Japanese soldiers, the regimental commander would rather die than give up.

After setting up the blockade, Zhou Weiguo circled around to the other side of the mountain and found Sun Desheng.

"Battalion Commander Sun, what's the situation on your side?" Zhou Weiguo asked.

"Staff Officer Zhou, the situation is not optimistic," Sun Desheng said.

"Although the cavalry battalion occupied advantageous terrain, the Japanese did not launch a strong attack."

"I judged that the Japanese might be preparing to break out at night."

If the Japanese don't launch an attack, the terrain they occupy is of little use.

If the cavalry battalion leaves its fortifications and launches an attack, the ones occupying the advantageous terrain will become the Japanese.

Therefore, even though he knew the Japanese were stalling for time, Sun Desheng did not launch an attack easily.

The firepower that more than thirty submachine guns and light machine guns could unleash was extremely terrifying.

"Battalion Commander Sun, did the cavalry battalion bring all their heavy weapons?" Zhou Weiguo asked.

"We did bring them, but the other side had a very skilled sharpshooter, and my heavy machine gunners suffered heavy casualties."

Sun Desheng was somewhat helpless, and most importantly, he had not yet found any trace of the other party.

"Sharpshooters?" Zhou Weiguo then realized why the cavalry battalion hadn't launched an attack.

Although the sharpshooter's weapon is just a rifle, the threat he poses in combat is enormous.

If the enemy cannot be eliminated, the cavalry battalion's light and heavy machine guns will likely have no opportunity to fire.

"Have you located the other side?" Zhou Weiguo asked.

“Nothing was found.” Sun Desheng shook his head in distress.

"However, based on my deduction, the other party must be at least four or five hundred meters away, which the soldiers cannot detect visually."

Sun Desheng tried various methods to seduce her, but none of them worked.

With only a dozen or so telescopes in the cavalry battalion, it was impossible to observe the entire battlefield simultaneously.

Firing is a matter of a split second, and can only be observed when the gun is within sight.

To confirm this, several consecutive observations are needed.

After all, although there was only one particularly skilled sniper in the Japanese squad, the other marksmen were also quite good.

"Let me think of a way," Zhou Weiguo said after thinking for a moment.

By this time, Zhou Weiguo had already seen the fallen archers; they all had been shot between the eyebrows.

Besides being an excellent marksman, this Japanese soldier was probably also very arrogant.

This gave Zhou Weiguo an opportunity.

A few minutes later, the heavy machine guns of the Eighth Route Army, which had not fired for a long time, began to spray bullets at the Japanese positions again.

"Da da da".
Yamamoto Taiichiro, who was disguised in the grass, immediately moved the muzzle of his gun over.

After a quick aim, Yamamoto Taiichiro pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

With a bang, the heavy machine gun stopped firing again.

"Lieutenant Colonel, your marksmanship is simply superb," ​​the observer beside him exclaimed.

The Eighth Route Army's heavy machine guns fired for less than 10 seconds in total, from the moment they opened fire to the moment they shut down.

Yamamoto Taiichiro smiled upon hearing the observer's praise.

His approach, like that of the Japanese high command, was to achieve the greatest goals with the least resources.

Since one bullet can take down an enemy, there is no need to use two.

That is why Yamamoto Taiichiro actually disliked the special forces.

He felt that the special forces' firepower delivery was a complete waste.

To deal with the Eighth Route Army, we should vigorously develop sniping techniques and use sniper fire against sniper fire.

In this way, the locust army can achieve considerable results at a minimal cost.

He would never have joined this special forces team if it weren't for orders from his superiors.

However, before Yamamoto Taiichiro could even feel smug for a few seconds, another heavy machine gun opened fire.

"Hmph! The Eighth Route Army is simply courting death!" Yamamoto Taiichiro said with a stern face.

"I'd like to see if you outnumber me or I have more bullets!"

"boom!"

After the gunshot, the helmet that had been protruding from the heavy machine gun was hit by a bullet, and the gunfire stopped instantly.

"Lieutenant Colonel, another hit!" the observer exclaimed excitedly.

"That Eighth Route Army soldier we just shot was also wearing a helmet. It seems the Eighth Route Army thinks a helmet can stop bullets." "Heh. Foolish Eighth Route Army soldiers," he scoffed.

"A steel helmet can only stop stray bullets and shrapnel, but it cannot stop direct bullets."

"Kobayashi-kun, keep an eye out and see if there are any other infantrymen wearing helmets. Eliminate them all this time!" Yamamoto Taiichiro ordered.

The Eighth Route Army soldiers who had previously not worn helmets were now clearly elites of the new Second Regiment.

Killing such an enemy is more valuable than killing ordinary Eighth Route Army soldiers.

"Hai!"

The Japanese observer immediately raised his binoculars and began scanning the Eighth Route Army's lines.

"Lieutenant Colonel, there's one over there!"

"boom!"

"10 o'clock!"

"boom!"

"2 o'clock!"

"boom!"

Zhou Weiguo, who was hiding behind the cover, picked up the helmet that had been shot off, adjusted his direction, and drew a line on the map.

As one decoy helmet after another was destroyed, more and more lines appeared on the map.

"It's basically confirmed; it should be in this area," Zhou Weiguo said, looking at where the lines converge.

"Take all the binoculars out and keep a close eye on this hilltop!"

"You must find that damned Japanese devil!" Sun Desheng ordered.

He was starting to hate this Japanese sharpshooter.

"Keep using those broken helmets as bait," Zhou Weiguo ordered.

"Mortars, get ready. Once the target is identified, immediately provide fire support."

"yes!".
Yamamoto Taiichiro, standing atop the mountain, glanced at the helmet that had reappeared and curled his lip in disdain.

However, since the Eighth Route Army soldiers are not afraid of death, let's send them on their way.

"Bang!" "Bang!"
Just as Yamamoto Taiichiro was happily recording his victories, a "whoosh" sound came from the sky.

"Oh no! It's a mortar!"

Yamamoto Taiichiro immediately realized that the Eighth Route Army had discovered him.

"boom!"

The shell landed less than 30 meters away from Yamamoto Taiichiro.

"This is a test firing! Retreat immediately!"

Yamamoto Taiichiro grabbed his sniper rifle and ran for his life.

However, just a few seconds later, shells began to fall from the sky one after another.

"Boom!" "Boom!"
"Don't stop! Keep firing!" Zhou Weiguo ordered the gunner who was about to stop after firing three rapid shots.

The best way to deal with snipers is to use artillery fire.

Upon hearing Zhou Weiguo's order, shells began flying out again.

Yamamoto Taiichiro, who was on the hilltop, was just about to take advantage of the cessation of shelling to escape when the shelling stopped, but then the shells started coming back on him.

Faced with shell after shell, Yamamoto Taiichiro didn't dare to stand up at all.

The only thing to do is to keep your body low to the ground to avoid being hit by shrapnel.

"Damn it! Have the Eighth Route Army gone mad?!"

Faced with the continuous barrage of shells, Yamamoto Taiichiro gritted his teeth and said.

Since the first test shot, there have been more than 50 shots fired so far.

But the Eighth Route Army showed no signs of stopping.

With so many shells, you could use them on the rest of the special forces.

They might even be able to launch a strong attack.

However, Zhou Weiguo clearly did not hear Yamamoto Taiichiro's voice.

The artillery platoon continued to bombard the hilltop with its mortars.

The artillery platoon's three mortars carried a total of 120 shells, and they fired more than 70 of them on this hilltop.

By the end, the water in the cannon's drainage tanks was all used up, and all three cannon barrels were emitting white steam.

Seeing this kind of exertion made Sun Desheng's lips twitch.

These are cannonballs from the cavalry battalion.

On the hilltop covered by artillery fire, the Japanese spotter heard the shelling stop.

He patted the dirt off his head and looked up in the direction of Yamamoto Taiichiro.

Yamamoto Taiichiro was lying motionless on the ground.

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant!"

The observer crawled over while shouting.

It wasn't until the observer crawled up to Yamamoto Taiichiro's side that he realized why Yamamoto wasn't moving.

It turned out that a shell had fallen from the sky and hit Yamamoto Taiichiro in the abdomen from behind.

Fortunately, the shell did not explode, and Yamamoto Taiichiro survived.

"Lieutenant Colonel! Lieutenant Colonel!" The observer slapped Yamamoto Taiichiro's face hard.

A moment later, Yamamoto Taiichiro, who had been unconscious, woke up.

"Kobayashi-kun," Yamamoto Taiichiro said weakly.

"What's wrong? I can't feel anything in my lower body."

As he spoke, Yamamoto Taiichiro tried to turn his head to look.

"Lieutenant Colonel, don't move."

The observer immediately stopped Yamamoto Taiichiro's actions.

"You have... uh... a shell in your body."

The Japanese observer didn't know how to explain this.

"Cannonballs?"

Yamamoto Taiichiro's previously somewhat confused mind immediately cleared up.

He never imagined that one day he would be hit by a shell, and that it wouldn't even explode.

Is this a stroke of luck or a misfortune?

However, regardless of luck, figuring out how to deflect the shell has become a problem.

The shells didn't explode earlier, probably because the human body cushioned the impact.

The best way to eliminate the problem is to remove the fuse.

However, the fuse was inside Yamamoto Taiichiro's abdomen.

Another option is to pull it out directly, but that also has its problems.

Putting aside whether the shell would explode, the blood loss caused by pulling it out alone could kill Yamamoto Taiichiro.

However, danger cannot be ruled out, as Yamamoto Taiichiro is neither able to be moved nor can he receive first aid.

In the long run, it will also lead to death.

Just as the Japanese observer was frowning in worry, Yamamoto Taiichiro gritted his teeth and said:

"Dig a hole under me, cut open my abdomen from the front, and reach in to try and unscrew the fuse!"

Upon hearing Yamamoto Taiichiro's idea, the Japanese observers were stunned.

What kind of method is this?
"Hurry up, I feel my body getting colder and colder, which is a symptom of blood loss," Yamamoto Taiichiro said.

Regardless of whether doing this will save him or not, if we wait any longer, he will die first.

"Alright then," the Japanese observer said helplessly.

Now we have no choice but to try anything, even if it seems hopeless.

The Japanese observer first dug a trench to ensure that his arm had enough room to move.

Then they dug a hole right in front of the shell.

"Lieutenant Colonel, just bear with it."

The Japanese observer took off his military cap and let Yamamoto Taiichiro bite it.

Then he used a dagger to cut a gash in Yamamoto Taiichiro's abdomen.

The Japanese observers, lacking professional knowledge, failed to notice that Yamamoto Taiichiro's abdomen was now hard.

With that cut, the incision was definitely made, but immediately a large amount of blood gushed out.

As the pressure inside their abdomen decreased, the Japanese spotter saw the shell sliding downwards.

"Baka!"

"boom!"

(End of this chapter)