Even if I'm a useless bum at Whampoa Military Academy, I'll be invincible in the War of Re

Company Captain Ding Chao, seeing the Japanese soldiers charging again, roared:

"Brothers, those Japanese devils are asking for it! Give them a good beating!"

The soldiers of the Eighth Company increased their firepower, and all the machine gunners were switched to long bursts of seven or eight bullets, sweeping away the entire area.

Grenades were thrown down in rows, blasting the Japanese soldiers to pieces and crushing their fighting spirit. The momentum that had just been built up was immediately suppressed.

Private First Class Kitajima was so frightened he almost wet his pants. Many of his comrades around him had died, and the soil on the hillside was soaked with blood.

He was a reserve soldier who served in the logistics squadron for two years. After retiring, he opened a ramen shop in Kyoto, got married, had two children, and lived a peaceful life. His dream was to sell ramen for the rest of his life, become a ramen master, and eventually pass on his skills to his son.

The holy war began, and good news kept pouring in. Rumors spread like wildfire: so-and-so robbed a hundred taels of gold in Jinling City, sent the money home, built a big house, and opened a factory.

All they heard were stories of overnight riches. The army had conquered most of China, and gold and jewels were everywhere, impossible to plunder. After hearing so many of these stories, nobody wanted to make ramen anymore.

Getting up early and working late to make ramen is no match for grabbing it fast.

More and more reservists are applying to return to the military, and there are simply not enough spots. Several or even a dozen people are competing for one spot, and Beidao originally had no chance.

Luckily, the recruiting officer took a liking to his wife, so Beidao obediently offered her up, which allowed him to secure a spot to come to China and make his fortune.

As soon as he disembarked from the transport ship, he was sent over and added to the 116th Regiment of the 13th Division. Many of the new recruits who shared his dream of getting rich had already died, and he was still alive purely out of luck.

Private First Class Kitajima fired two shots, the bullets flying off somewhere, just to deal with the sergeant who was glaring at him with wolf-like eyes.

Bullets whizzed overhead. After witnessing his friend being cut in two by a Maxim bullet, Bei Dao felt nauseous and vomited all over the place.

"You idiot, coward!"

The sergeant cursed fiercely, waiting for Kitajima to retreat so he could carry out military law.

Private First Class Kitajima's legs went weak; the battlefield was far too bloody, completely different from what was portrayed in domestic propaganda.

He no longer expects to steal gold and silver; he only wants to survive, and staying alive is the most important thing.

The two sides were locked in a stalemate, exchanging fire at each other from a distance of several dozen meters, with people being hit from time to time. This was the real battlefield in China.

The golden age is over, and most new recruits are just cannon fodder.

The brutal battle lasted for several hours, and after suffering heavy casualties, the Japanese finally stormed the 185th Regiment's position.

At a shout from Regiment Commander Yan Zijing, the entire regiment leaped out of the trenches and engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand combat with the charging Japanese soldiers.

Private First Class Kitajima's opponent was a Chinese corporal, wielding a knife in both hands, covered in blood, who had just slashed down a Japanese soldier, and whose intense killing intent could be felt from a distance.

Bei Dao had practiced assassination techniques, and he was confident that he could take down the Chinese man in front of him. The Type 38 rifle with a bayonet attached was much longer than a broadsword, and every inch longer meant an inch stronger.

Bei Dao gripped his rifle tightly with both hands, feeling uneasy under the glare of the Chinese veteran opposite him, as if he were facing a dead man.

This was a blatant provocation. Private First Class Kitajima was enraged and roared:

"You idiot, die!"

The rifle was thrust straight at Corporal Wang Xiaoer, whose steps faltered from fear.

Wang Xiaoer had killed five Japanese soldiers in Taierzhuang. He had a clear understanding of the true nature of Private First Class Beidao, who was unsteady on his feet and acted carelessly.

"court death!"

Wang Xiaoer let out a cold shout, swung his broadsword upwards, and knocked Bei Dao's rifle away with the thick back of the blade. He leaned forward, slashing downwards with the blade, the edge of the sword slicing across Bei Dao's neck.

Kitajima felt a chill on his neck, and the rifle in his hand fell to the ground. He instinctively reached out with both hands to support his head.

His head rolled to the ground first, and his genitals also spewed urine. Wang Xiaoer frowned in disgust at the smell of urine.

Private First Class Kitajima collapsed, and the world lost another ramen master.

Kitajima's blood sprayed all over Corporal Wang Xiaoer's face, making him look extremely ferocious, like a killing god from hell, which almost made Asano drop his gun in fright.

Private First Class Asano's movements were clearly distorted; his bayonet grazed Wang Xiaoer's waist, missing him by a hair's breadth.

Asano missed his best opportunity. Wang Xiaoer was positioned on the flank of the Japanese soldiers, and with a swift thrust of his broadsword, he pierced through Asano's body.

Every inch shorter, every inch more dangerous!

Wang Xiaoer killed two Japanese soldiers in a row and shouted with satisfaction. Before he could adjust his posture, a blade flashed straight towards him.

This is a Japanese lieutenant officer with superb swordsmanship, who slashed several times in one go.

Wang Xiaoer was forced to retreat repeatedly, and the blade was almost broken in the process of parrying.

Finally encountering a formidable opponent, Wang Xiaoer was not flustered at all, but rather very excited.

Because the Japanese had seized the initiative, he remained on the defensive, allowing them to slash at him repeatedly.

The Japanese lieutenant's offensive was as fierce as a storm, each strike aimed straight for Wang Xiaoer's vitals. He kept parrying, unable to find an opportunity to strike back.

"You idiot, die!"

"Baka! All you do is dodge attacks, you're not a real warrior."

Wang Xiaoer wasn't just dodging aimlessly; he was using the "Eight Blades of Breaking the Edge" technique, combined with unpredictable footwork, to evade the Japanese soldiers' continuous attacks until the lieutenant ran out of strength and his moves became distorted.

Wang Xiaoer suddenly exerted his strength, seizing the initiative with several consecutive strikes, forcing the Japanese lieutenant to retreat repeatedly and slowing down his movements considerably.

Despite their meticulous planning, the Japanese soldiers made a mistake in their defense and were cut down by Wang Xiaoer. Enraged, Wang Xiaoer swung his knife at the Japanese soldier's head, turning him into a headless corpse.

At this point, the situation on the field had become clearer. Most of the new recruits and the weak had fallen, and those who survived were either experts or those with a strong constitution.

Most of the soldiers in the 185th and 186th Regiments were veterans. Bayonet fighting was commonplace for them, and they would sometimes deliberately seek out the Japanese to fight to the death in order to save bullets.

The Japanese troops, mainly composed of new recruits, were at a disadvantage, and suddenly collapsed, no one knew who started it.

They were terrified by the 31st Division's reckless fighting style. Despite the efforts of officers and veterans to suppress them, it was to no avail.

There are too many new recruits. Such a unit cannot fight fierce battles with bayonets drawn. It is a miracle that it has lasted this long.

First the new recruits collapsed, then the veterans followed suit, and things spiraled out of control.

This scene unfolded before the eyes of Major General Numata Tokushige, who was furious. Having suffered a humiliating defeat in his most proficient area of ​​close combat, he was utterly humiliated and cursed:

"Baka yarou! A disgrace to the Imperial Army! A disgrace to the Empire!"

"Open fire! Kill them all!"

The chief of staff was so frightened that he quickly tried to stop him:

"General, you mustn't! Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war!"

"Baka yarou! They have failed the Emperor—fire!"

Numata Tokushige roared at the top of his lungs, but the chief of staff did not carry out the order. He reasoned that the law could not punish everyone, and that they could not all be killed. He waited for the brigade commander to calm down.

The Japanese troops retreated like a tide, leaving behind corpses all over the ground. The main forces of two regiments were defeated, and the Numata Brigade was utterly humiliated.

Major General Numata gave the two regimental commanders a thorough dressing-down before his resentment subsided. He didn't bring up the matter of enforcing military law again, and the two regimental commanders wouldn't enforce it anyway.

The defending troops presented a different scene, with the soldiers of the 93rd Brigade cheering in unison. This victory was hard-won and exhilarating.

The Japanese left more than 700 corpses on the position, while the entire brigade suffered only more than 500 casualties. If the corpses on the hillside are included, the exchange ratio is more than two to one.

Brigade Commander Nie said excitedly:

"Report this to the division commander immediately; he's waiting!"

On the northern front, at Eagle's Beak Ridge, the Japanese offensive continued, with the 16th Division fighting much more tenaciously.

They deployed five infantry battalions on the front and three on the flanks, almost mobilizing their entire force, with thousands of men nearly filling the Eagle's Beak battlefield.

Most of the artillery was engaged in combat, and although more than a dozen were destroyed by Schneider Mountain Artillery Battalion, they were still providing fire support.

The defending 645th and 650th Regiments fought with almost all their might to hold off the Japanese.

Qiu the Madman, enraged, slammed his general's hat down on the table, grabbed his enamel mug, gulped down the water inside, and then muttered:

"Commander, the Japanese are really crazy. Thousands of them keep charging, wave after wave, like they don't care about their lives."

Both regiments suffered heavy casualties, barely managing to hold them off!

Zhao Yunwen remained calm and composed, showing no emotion whatsoever, displaying the demeanor of a great general.

"Yu'an, don't be impatient, just hold them off."

"The Japanese offensive can't last long. We're suffering heavy casualties, but they're suffering even more. In a war of attrition, China fears no one!"

Zhao Yunwen's words seemed to have a magical power, gradually calming down Qiu Fengzi, who was in a berserk state. The two sides were locked in a battle of wills.

"Commander, I was too impatient. It was mainly because I was anxious to see one old brother after another fall down."

"Yu'an, I'm anxious too, but as the commander, I absolutely cannot show it, otherwise it will affect the troops."

Casualties are inevitable in war; killing a thousand enemies means losing eight hundred of your own. It all comes down to who can hold out the longest.

Qiu Fengzi didn't say anything more, but turned his gaze to the battlefield, where life-and-death battles were taking place.

Before long, Chief of Staff Ma Weilan excitedly shouted:

"Commander, the Japanese have retreated! We've won!"