Chapter 42

The bullet mine, a cheap and effective defensive weapon, was proving remarkably practical for the Eighth Route Army. The Japanese had originally intended to launch a surprise attack on the Independent Regiment. However, having failed to mobilize their puppet troops early on, they had now lost the element of surprise. Left with no other choice, they sent large numbers of puppet troops ahead to scout the path. This only served to alienate the puppet soldiers. In the past, death meant the end of everything, but now, scouting for the Japanese meant being maimed. The Japanese certainly wouldn’t provide them with medical care, and their future livelihoods were now in jeopardy. To be trapped in a state where one could neither live nor die was the most crushing fate of all. After several more days of toil, the Japanese finally reached the designated battlefield. This was only because the Eighth Route Army had deliberately slowed down. The battlefield was ready, and the soldiers' broadswords were already hungry for battle.