"Company commander, it looks like the devils have run into an ambush!"
The group of men fleeing toward the dirt slope slowed their pace upon hearing the shrieks of the Japanese soldiers. One man sprinted to the front of the line and shouted to the leader.
Hearing this, the dark-faced company commander slowed his stride. Looking back, he saw the Japanese soldiers surging up the hill like demons, roaring as they went. Scattered here and there, a few Japanese corpses lay motionless on the ground.
"Everyone, take cover first. I’m going to go take a look—don't throw your lives away."
Hu Youming gestured, signaling his nearly one hundred men to halt. Taking two soldiers with him, he trotted toward the rear. Crawling into the mud and using the slope as cover, he peered carefully up the mountain.
"Hell! That’s incredible! There’s a sharpshooter up there!"
Up close, he could clearly see that the corpses on the ground had all been dispatched with single shots to the head. Listening closely to the sporadic gunfire from the mountain, he realized the shooter must be alone. Even so, Hu Youming was absolutely stunned.
"Damn those bastards. A dozen Japs have been chasing my hundred men for this long—now it's my turn to back him up!"
He clenched his fists and snatched the worn-out Hanyang rifle from his back.
*Bang!*
As the shot rang out, Hu Youming roared, "Brothers, we’ve got reinforcements on the hill! Let’s turn around and kill those mothers!"
Moments later, Hu Youming rallied a group of soldiers, and they charged toward the Japanese with rifles in hand. The sun was dipping behind the hills, dusk was approaching—a perfect time to send the devils to their graves.
"Company commander, we don't have much ammo left. Should we really be fighting?" a soldier shouted, reminding him of their situation during the charge.
Being chased by a dozen Japanese soldiers was a humiliation for a hundred men, but there was a reason for it. On one hand, they had been terrified by the Japanese ferocity; on the other, their own ammunition was long gone. The rifles on their shoulders were no better than firewood. Being a motley crew, their weapons were old and their rifling worn out. Each soldier had only about five to ten rounds of ammunition to begin with, and those had been exhausted during the previous defensive battle. Later, the Japanese naval bombardment and the Air Corps had left their entire army shell-shocked, forcing a retreat—only to be harried by this single Japanese squad.
"Damn it all!"
Hu Youming cursed, patting his pockets only to find three bullets left. Seeing the Japanese about to charge up the hill filled him with rage.
"No more nonsense! Fix bayonets! We’re going to draw blood with steel!"
Hu Youming barked the order and pulled the bayonet from his boot. Chastised by their commander, the men followed suit. They were grown men, seven feet tall; being chased by a handful of Japs had left them feeling stifled.
"Alright then! No more talk! If we die, we die together on the road to the afterlife!" A small man lunged forward, clutching his rifle. Hearing his shout, the others grinned hideously and drew their own bayonets.
Seeing the men’s resolve, Hu Youming made a split-second decision and charged forward. The few remaining bullets in their rifles were spent in an instant.
Below the small slope, the Japanese, having lost their sergeant, were unable to coordinate effectively. They surged toward the hill, intent only on pinning down Lin Feng.
"Baka! Those Chinese are rushing us! Retreat! Retreat!" The Japanese soldier at the very rear saw Hu Youming’s men charging down and shouted in panic, hastily raising his rifle to fire.
High on the mountain, Lin Feng had a clear view of the situation below.
*Bang!*
Another shot rang out, piercing the Japanese soldier through the chest. Hu Youming and his men were quick, and despite the muddy ground, they reached the enemy in no time.
"You little devils! Your ancestors have come for you!"
Grasping his rifle, Hu Youming thrust his bayonet straight into a Japanese soldier’s chest, twisting it violently until the heart was shredded. The Japanese soldiers running up the hill realized what was happening and scrambled to turn around and set up a defensive line.
"Quick! Grab their rifles!"
Pulling his bayonet free, Hu Youming immediately ordered his men to scavenge for weapons. As the Japanese tried to return fire, Lin Feng on the hill—who was certainly not there to serve tea—fired again.
The Japanese fell into chaos; their original thirteen men were now reduced to five and a half. Hu Youming and his men snatched up the rifles and pressed the attack. Every single one was a near-new Type 38 rifle—far better than their old Hanyang rifles.
"Company commander! It’s the devils' Type 11 Light Machine Gun!" The small man beamed, holding the dark machine gun in his arms as he ran to the front.
"Look at you, all happy! Hurry up and finish off those Japs—we still have our reinforcements waiting on the hill!"
Although the situation had improved, the Japanese had not been entirely wiped out. Hu Youming didn't dare slack off, though he couldn't help but admire the Type 38 rifle in his hands.
"You got it!"
After responding, the small man grabbed the machine gun and moved forward. A brief moment of fumbling, and then the distinct rattle of the Type 11 Light Machine Gun filled the air!
*Da-da-da!*
He fired a burst toward the general location of the Japanese, not even bothering to aim, relying entirely on instinct. In that short span, the remaining Japanese suffered terribly, each riddled with four or five bullet holes, dead as they could be.
"Damn it! These little devils have been chasing us for so long—they’re finally dead!"
Hu Youming, feeling more exhilarated than anyone, picked up his bayonet and stabbed the bodies several more times just to be sure, finally letting out a long sigh of relief. This was an entire Japanese squad, equipped with a Type 11 Light Machine Gun! In terms of firepower, compared to their own ragtag unit, they would usually have to sacrifice an entire company just to take them on.
Ever since arriving at the Songhu Battlefield, they had been under constant fire from naval guns or terrorized by the Japanese Air Corps. When their main force was nearly wiped out, their retreat turned into a total rout. They had been in such disarray that they didn't even know where their fellow soldiers were. Yet today, not a single one of his men had been lost, and they had annihilated a full Japanese squad. That kind of satisfaction was hard to put into words.
On the hillside, seeing the retreating troops wipe out the enemy with the captured machine gun, Lin Feng finally relaxed. Facing a reinforced Japanese squad armed with a machine gun alone had been immense pressure. Carrying his rifle, Lin Feng slid down the dirt slope from the mountain hollow.
He walked toward the group of soldiers. Having just arrived in this era, the situation was unclear, so he needed to figure out what was going on. Besides, the courage of these hundred men to turn back and fight despite being in a rout was worth acknowledging. If it hadn't been for the pincer attack, Lin Feng knew it wouldn't have been so easy to wipe out this group of Japanese.
The Japanese had been carrying grenades. Had they made it to the hill and thrown them at close range, he would have been at a serious disadvantage.
"Huh? Company commander, our reinforcements... it’s just one guy?!!"
Many of the men, seeing Lin Feng descend from the mountain, were only just realizing the truth.