One man's resistance against Japan, I mobilized a million people to aid Shanghai.

Luodian.

This place can no longer be called a town; as far as the eye can see, there is only scorched earth.

The walls were ground to dust by repeated artillery fire, the ground was covered with deep craters, and the murky water shimmered with a dark red hue.

The air was filled with a lingering stench—a mixture of gunpowder, blood, and burnt corpses—that made one want to vomit.

After a day of bloody fighting, Zhu Yong's 14,000 brothers were reduced to less than 10,000.

However, he only killed fewer than three thousand people.

A casualty ratio of five to three.

Although all his clones were special forces soldiers, even special forces soldiers were just a filler in the gaps when faced with such overwhelming artillery fire.

The brutality of modern warfare is beyond the control of any single individual.

If the fighting continues at this brutal pace, Zhu Yong doesn't know how many more days he can hold out.

Zhu Yong slowly walked out of the command post. Even though the future was uncertain, he still had to inspect the position. The more perfect the defense, the more damage he could inflict on the Japanese.

Today, Luodian's defense line is a ring-shaped defensive perimeter less than one kilometer deep, centered on the town center and relying on several relatively sturdy ruins and crisscrossing trenches.

The clones in the trenches were now completely unrecognizable.

His military uniform was tattered, he was covered in filth, his eyes were sunken, and his lips were chapped.

Many people were injured, their bandages filthy and oozing pus and blood.

Medicine was exhausted in just one day. If it weren't for the large amount of weapons and ammunition captured earlier, the 108th Division would have suffered even greater losses today.

However, this ammunition can only support them for three days at most. If Chen Cheng's 15th Army Group still cannot come to their aid after three days, then they will have no choice but to fight the Japanese with bayonets.

Zhu Yong stood behind a half-collapsed low wall in the core position, observing the desolate battlefield outside through binoculars.

The Japanese camp was brightly lit, and searchlights constantly patrolled the surroundings, giving Zhu Yong no chance to launch a sneak attack.

Zhou Weiguo slowly approached Zhu Yong and softly reported to his superior:

"Commander, a telegram from Commander Chen of the 15th Army Group."

"read."

"To Commander Zhuge: I am delighted to hear that your unit has successfully thwarted the enemy's fierce advance and achieved a resounding victory in your first battle!"

"Luodian's location is of paramount importance, concerning the overall situation, and the Chairman is also deeply concerned about it."

"The enemy's Third Division is launching a fierce offensive on our Jiading front, but its morale has been dampened and it has suffered heavy casualties."

"I hope that your unit will continue its recent victories and, relying on the existing fortifications, inflict even greater casualties on the enemy's 13th Division, firmly hold the enemy in place, and prevent the Yamada Detachment from turning west. In this way, our chances of winning the Battle of Jiading will greatly increase."

"I hope you will continue your efforts, hold your ground, and await reinforcements. Our army will surely arrive in three days!"

"Three days?"

After listening, Zhu Yong murmured softly, "Then we'll hold out for three days and fight the Japanese to the death!"

"Commander Zhou, tell the brothers to conserve every bullet and hold every inch of ground."

"Our troops are launching a fierce attack towards Jiading; victory is within reach!"

Zhou Weiguo nodded. Compared to Zhu Yong's confidence, he was filled with anxiety and found it hard to believe that the Nationalist army could arrive on time.

Nothing was said that night, and the next day arrived in the blink of an eye.

six o'clock.

Before night had even fallen and just as dawn was breaking, the Japanese attack had already begun.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Using the same formula as yesterday, the Yamada Detachment of the Japanese army launched an attack at the most frenzied pace from the very beginning.

鬼子野炮兵第19联队的24门75mm野炮和4门150mm重榴弹炮，对罗店方向发起了前所未有的猛烈炮击。

Moreover, Type 96 carrier-based attack aircraft and bombers launched from the aircraft carriers "Kaga" and "Ryujo" roared in from the sky, dropping heavy bombs and incendiary bombs.

The entire core position of Luodian was as if it had been thrown into a furnace, with the ground shaking, flames shooting into the sky, and thick smoke obscuring the sun.

The shockwave hurled dirt and body parts tens of meters into the air.

Even though Zhu Yong had his clones deepen the air-raid shelter as much as possible last night, many brothers were still killed by the shockwave inside.

The artillery preparation lasted for a full hour and a half.

Subsequently, the Japanese tank detachment, leading an infantry battalion, began a mindless charge.

After the artillery fires, the infantry charges; after the infantry charges, the artillery fires again!

The Japanese army's three-pronged attack has always been the same. The reason why the Japanese army was able to achieve great victories in the early stages of the War of Resistance was because the Japanese army's combat power was indeed strong in the early stages. On the other hand, the National Army's defense was too weak, and it was often surrounded and outflanked by the Japanese army.

Without depth of defense, the Nationalist army would immediately scatter like birds and beasts if the Japanese showed any inclination to flank them.

In Luodian, the battlefield, spanning a radius of 5,000 meters, was covered with a dense network of trenches, leaving the Japanese with nowhere to flank. They had no choice but to launch a direct assault.

Upon seeing the Japanese soldiers charging forward, Zhu Yong immediately roared:

"The Japanese devils are coming! Drive them back!"

Zhu Yong's clones surged out of the anti-aircraft guns in droves, resisting at every firing point, determined to fight to the last man.

The clones displayed astonishing combat skills at this moment. Their accurate shooting in the trenches, flexible tactical movements, and willingness to sacrifice themselves at crucial moments, along with their determination to perish together with the Japanese, made it impossible for the Japanese to advance an inch.

Even though the Japanese had heavy artillery and tanks, they still couldn't break through Luodian's defenses, and they couldn't even occupy the outer defense line.

The battle raged until dusk. The Japanese failed to break through the core position, but left behind layers upon layers of corpses on the perimeter.

Today, Zhu Yong lost another 5,000 men, leaving him with less than 4,000 men.

......

at the same time.

After being driven back for two consecutive days, the Japanese detachment commander, Yamada Chichiji, was furious in the command post.

"Useless! Stupid pigs! You couldn't even take down a small place like Luodian! You are a disgrace to the empire!"

Yamada Chichi gave the two regimental commanders in charge of the attack a thorough dressing-down.

But they kept their heads down and didn't dare to say a word.

Seeing this, the chief of staff advised:

"Commander, this unit is fighting like a cornered beast, determined to die, and their resistance is extremely tenacious."

"I suggest requesting assistance from Commander Matsui to bombard Luodian with incendiary bombs and burn the entire city down, thereby accelerating the offensive."

"Baka! Useless! We need reinforcements to attack Luodian? You're an absolute idiot!"

Yamada Senji, extremely arrogant, roared in anger:

"Tomorrow you will personally lead the attack. If you still cannot take Luodian, you will all commit seppuku to atone for your sins."

"Hai!"