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Half a second later, the space opened up again, and another 250-kilogram aerial bomb fell.

As it flew out of the artillery position, Li Mu circled half a circle. Then, within a second, he opened up space twice more, and two 250-kilogram aerial bombs fell one after the other.

Chapter 427 Air Raid

Just then, the two aerial bombs landed, one hitting the artillery position squarely, the other slightly off-target. However, two more loud explosions followed, sending gun barrels flying and completely destroying seven or eight cannons.

Li Mu circled again, and then two more 250-kilogram aerial bombs fell in quick succession.

Coincidentally, the second two shells also landed at this time. These two didn't perform very well; the blast radius of one shell overlapped significantly with that of one of the first shells. The other shell landed at the edge of the artillery position.

However, even so, five or six cannons were still affected and completely destroyed.

After the last two aerial bombs landed and exploded, another six or seven artillery pieces were blown away. After several rounds of bombardment, the artillery positions became sparser and the targets fewer; staying there would only be a waste of time and bombs.

Without hesitation, Li Mu charged directly at the armored convoy.

By this time, after several explosions, everyone had woken up, and the small camp was in chaos. The armored convoy was densely packed, making it a small target, so Li Mu had to lower his altitude and dive towards the target.

This time the target was small, and the time spent flying overhead was short, with only one chance to open the airspace. A 250-kilogram aerial bomb fell directly down.

Without waiting for the result, it circled half a circle, opened up space, and another 250-kilogram bomb fell down.

It's not impossible to release two or even more aerial bombs by opening up the space once. The key issue is that the bombs are quite large. If they are released into the space at the same time, they are likely to collide in mid-air after being impacted by the huge airflow generated by the aircraft.

These are aerial bombs triggered by impact. Once released into space, two or more bombs explode upon impact with the airflow generated by the aircraft. The aircraft itself is also not spared, not to mention Li Mu, the pilot, who has no chance of escape.

Even if the probability is low, and it might not happen even once in a hundred times, Li Mu wouldn't take the risk even if it only happened once in a thousand times.

At this moment, the ground-based units reacted, and anti-aircraft machine guns and cannons began firing directly at the aircraft.

Li Mu didn't force the issue and flew directly towards the next target, the cavalry brigade.

Behind them, at the armored corps position, two violent explosions rang out, one after the other, sending countless wrecked parts of tanks flying everywhere; seven or eight were destroyed on the spot.

Li Mu flew to the vicinity of the cavalry brigade. After a brief period of commotion, the area quickly stabilized and began to be on alert. Anti-aircraft machine guns and cannons were set up and pointed at the sky.

Li Mu smiled and said, "Since that's the case, let's fly higher. If we fly above 3,000 meters, the machine guns won't be of much use."

As for anti-aircraft guns, cavalry brigades are unlikely to have them. In China, Japan doesn't have much awareness of fire prevention, and even now, Japan's artillery regiments don't have many anti-aircraft weapons.

Flying to an altitude of over 3,000 meters, looking down at the cavalry brigade, Li Mu chuckled. Such a large target, even at an altitude of 10,000 meters, could be hit with a single blow.

Once again flying over the cavalry brigade, the space opened up five times in three seconds, and five 50-kilogram aerial bombs fell down.

Infantry and cavalry are easier to destroy than artillery, armored vehicles, and tanks; fifty kilograms of explosive force is sufficient.

The plane circled half a circle and flew over the cavalry brigade again. Within three seconds, five more aerial bombs were dropped.

Just then, the five aerial bombs that had been dropped earlier exploded. After five consecutive loud bangs, the camp was thrown into chaos, especially the warhorses. Some were killed, and many were shocked. The entire cavalry brigade was in complete disarray.

In the next few minutes, more than twenty fifty-kilogram aerial bombs fell, leaving the entire cavalry brigade camp in ruins. Many were killed, and even more people cried out for their parents and ran out of the camp, covering their heads to avoid the bombing.

Li Mu checked the fuel and time; it was time to return. Just as he thought this, a buzzing sound came from afar. Without a doubt, it was Japanese planes arriving overnight as support.

Li Mu didn't linger, nor did he want to meet them. He turned the plane around, identified the direction, and quickly disappeared into the dark night.

The arriving fighter jets, seeing the chaotic scene below, cursed angrily. Faced with the empty, pitch-black night, they could only helplessly watch.

After wandering around the area for a long time without finding anything, they finally turned back, grumbling and cursing.

On the other side, half an hour earlier, around 5 a.m., on the city wall of Linyi, in the pitch black, two soldiers on night watch were yawning and chatting quietly to keep themselves awake.

Suddenly, a soldier seemed to hear a noise, looked up at the sky, and asked in confusion, "That sounded like an airplane. Did a plane fly by?"

Another soldier yawned and said, "What plane? The Japanese planes only come out during the day, when have they ever come out at night?"

The soldier said, "The sound just now seemed to be coming from south to north. Could it be one of our planes heading over to the Japanese side?"

Another soldier scoffed, "Our planes? When have they ever dared to cause trouble on the other side? Especially not now? Impossible. Are you asleep or did you hear me wrong?"

The soldier seemed to want to say something, but then closed his mouth again. They'd been fighting for so long, and it was always the Japanese air force bombing and causing trouble here. When had their planes ever gone over there? At most, they'd just do some reconnaissance.

The scene was quiet for more than a minute when suddenly a loud bang came from the direction of Tangtou Town to the north. The two were startled and thought that the enemy had attacked.

However, there was nothing around.

Next, the explosions in Tangtou Town seemed to tear the sky apart, and they never stopped, one loud bang after another, waking up everyone in Linyi City.

Stunned, everyone climbed onto the walls, rooftops, and city walls, listening to the explosions coming from Tangtou Town and watching the flashes of fire. They looked at each other, knowing that something had really happened to the Japanese.

As for what happened, it's unclear whether it was shelled, bombed by planes, or an accidental explosion at the gunpowder or oil depot.

The soldier who had been standing there was stunned and said, "It really exploded. The plane that just passed by was really one of ours."

Another soldier was dumbfounded, muttering to himself, "How is this possible? When have our planes ever bombed the Japanese? When have we ever been so impressive?"

No one could give him the answer!

Although the 40th Army had suffered heavy losses in recent days, its commander, Pang Bing, was a veteran with rich experience. He was well aware that something unexpected had happened on the other side and that this was a rare opportunity. He immediately dispatched scouts and gathered his troops to prepare for a surprise counterattack.

Unfortunately, the Japanese infantry, some on the front lines and some in the town, didn't suffer many losses. After a brief moment of panic following the explosions, they quickly regained order.

Although the Itagaki Division was arrogant and had good military skills, it immediately strengthened its defensive positions in order to prevent successive surprise attacks or counterattacks.

The 40th Army initially achieved a number of victories by taking the enemy by surprise. However, after daybreak, the battle became intense again. The 40th Army was still at a disadvantage in terms of manpower and firepower, so it had no choice but to retreat to Linyi and the surrounding positions to hold them.

However, Pang was somewhat puzzled as to where these extraordinary individuals came from, and with such fierce firepower, it was a rarity in China.

When Li Mu flew back to Nanyang, it was already broad daylight. He was in a good mood and felt quite pleased with himself. After today's commotion, the Japanese casualties might not have been too great, but some of their artillery and armored troops had indeed been decimated.

In the afternoon, Li Mu read the newspaper and found some unsubstantiated reports about the incident. Indeed, with such a large explosion yesterday, it was impossible to hide it.

The content was quite interesting, with all sorts of claims. Some said it was bombarded by the secret forces of the government, while others said it was bombarded by bomber units.

Some say it was an arms depot that exploded.

There are even more outrageous claims, such as that God couldn't stand it and punished the Japanese by striking them with lightning.

But how could the Japanese possibly admit their defeat, how could they possibly admit to heavy losses? They only told the outside world that there had been minor setbacks and that they would definitely take Linyi within a few days, while in reality they were itching to get back at the enemy.

After fighting for so long and suffering such heavy losses, if we still can't take down even a small place like Linyi, we'll have no choice but to commit seppuku to atone for our sins.

As the elite 5th Division of the Japanese army, how could they allow themselves to suffer such humiliation? Therefore, Linyi must be captured.

Chapter 428 Hard Fight

On the evening of the 10th, a light rain began to fall, and night quickly descended, leaving everything pitch black with no stars or moon.

Li Mu frowned. Night raids also require certain conditions. Not to mention this kind of weather where you can't see your hand in front of your face, sometimes the starlight and moonlight are too dim, which is also not an option.

Simply put, in addition to being able to determine direction and location in the sky, night raiders also need to be able to identify ground targets.

With the sky too dark, how can targets on the ground be identified? A dark grove of trees could easily be mistaken for an enemy force.

It would be ridiculous to bomb the wrong target or not be able to find the target at all.

As Li Mu sighed, Pang Bing, the commander of the 40th Army guarding Linyi, sat there under the oil lamp, his face also covered in the smoke of battle.

After the initial skirmish in the early morning, the small army rested for a morning, then went on a frenzied attack on the positions around Linyi in the afternoon. Within half a day, most of the defensive positions around Linyi had been lost.

Alas! In the end, it's still a matter of insufficient strength.

The Japanese seem to have suffered considerable damage; their artillery firepower has been reduced, and they have lost a third of their attacking armored vehicles.

However, in terms of firepower, it still overwhelms the 40th Army.

Moreover, the infantry's strength was not diminished, and their attack power remained formidable.

Given their current frenzy, they've barely managed to hold on today, but who knows what tomorrow will bring?

……

On the morning of the 11th, the Banheng Division became even more frenzied, launching a full-scale attack on Linyi under the cover of aircraft, artillery, and armored vehicles.

Despite their desperate resistance, the 40th Army soldiers stationed in the northeast of Linyi were overwhelmed by the vast disparity in firepower and weaponry. Faced with the relentless attacks of the 5th Division, their position was finally breached.

The areas east of the Yi River and south of Tangtou Town, including Baita, Shaling, Taiping, and Tingzitou, fell one after another. The main force of the Fifth Division of the Japanese Army was advancing directly to the walls of Linyi City, and the ancient city was in imminent danger.

The 40th Army's troops, scattered across various positions, were also forced to the vicinity of Linyi City. In order to withstand the Japanese army's frenzied attacks, Pang urgently adjusted the battle plan, ordering the 116th Brigade to guard the front, the 115th Brigade to the right flank, and the 229th Regiment and the Special Service Regiment to serve as the general reserve. He also ordered all units to hold their positions to the death.

The battle that day was extremely fierce. Pang not only sent his own guards to the front line, but also his grooms, cooks, stretcher bearers, and transport soldiers into the battle. He only left a few personal guards and messengers by his side.

To defend Linyi, Pang Bingxun was prepared to risk his life and the remaining five infantry regiments. It seemed that only in this way could he be worthy of this responsibility. Although they were a ragtag army, and even one facing disbandment by the government, their determination to resist the Japanese was no less than anyone else's.

As evening approached, the Japanese army approached the city of Linyi. Swarms of Japanese planes frantically swooped down and bombed the city, turning the 40th Army's positions into a sea of ​​fire... The 40th Army fought to the death and refused to retreat.

The battle continued into the night, and both sides seemed to have exhausted their strength. Linyi was ultimately held, although only ruins remained.

At night, Pang Bing lit a cigarette and gazed into the distance. He didn't know if reinforcements would arrive before Linyi fell, and he planned to spend his life there. The 40th Army would fight to the last man to prevent the Japanese from advancing even an inch south.

"You little devils, even if I die, I'll make you pay with your lives."

Pang stubbed out his cigarette and led his guards to patrol the position. Tomorrow's war would be even more brutal. Many people, perhaps all of them, would be left here forever…

On the 11th, Li Mu went to check on his metal mold processing factory, which was already in operation. Li Mu gave them a task: to produce a metal casing and then deliver it to the newly established arms factory.

He simply wanted to manufacture his own aerial bombs. These things are quite expensive, and the future demand is huge, so he wanted to produce them himself if he could.

Don't let the sophisticated sound of aerial bombs fool you. Aside from some special types like incendiary bombs and armor-piercing bombs, which are more difficult to manufacture, most aerial bombs and ordinary bombs/explosive packs use the same explosives and operate on the same principles.

The only difference is the fuse. The fuses used in bombs and explosive charges have a fixed time limit, meaning they must explode after a certain period of time once ignited.

Aerial bombs are trigger-activated; they do not have a fixed detonation time. They explode when they hit the ground and trigger the firing pin.