Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 281 Landmines! A Dazzling Debut
A single punch stands atop a sheer cliff!
The energy flow is blocked, and there is no strength in the waist!

The explosive power of a fist lies in the smooth and unobstructed flow of internal and external forces.

Chen Jie's mind became clear, and everything around him disappeared from his sight.

His breathing became even.

But each punch contained terrifying shockwave power.

Every pore on my body opens and closes with each breath.

boom!
When a punch is thrown or a kick is delivered, the surrounding air merges together.

With continuous training, his moves became thunderous.

If someone were nearby at that moment, they would see that Chen Jie was shrouded in a thick fog.

With each breath he took, a cloud of mist rose around him.

No mosquitoes or flies should land!
This is the highest level of martial arts power exertion – Iron Bones Hidden Strength!
The contraction of every muscle in the body, the accumulation of strength, and the complete control are all mastered.

He stood with his feet in a half-step position, and his movements appeared very slow.

A punch is thrown out, followed by an elbow strike, and then a shoulder strike against the elbow.

It's a combination of offense and defense, a seamless blend of both!
In an instant, Chen Jie could feel all the strength in his body condensing into a single point.

Internal and external cooperation!

Veins, blood, muscles, bones, skin—!
With eyes slightly closed, it's as if you've opened your inner eye, observing all the changes within your body.

The meaning of guarding the orifice!

His internal organs and everything inside his body were clearly displayed in his mind.

this moment,
Chen Jie felt that he could control everything within his body.

At the same time, he could even clearly hear the flow of blood in his veins, like a rushing stream, flowing endlessly.

Om-!
His sixth sense of crisis began to spread around him, extending further and further into the distance.

One hundred meters!

One hundred and twenty meters!

-

One hundred and fifty meters!

-

Two hundred meters!
Two hundred and thirty meters!
-

Two hundred and fifty meters!
Three hundred meters!
We've finally reached our limit!

"After breaking through to the 'Guarding Apertures' stage in the Spirit Refining Realm, I never expected that my sixth sense of danger could detect a distance of more than three hundred meters!"

"No wonder it's so difficult to assassinate experts who have broken through from the Refining Spirit Realm to the 'Guarding Aperture' Realm with guns."

"Three hundred meters is enough to make any dodge maneuver."

"However, under normal circumstances, any martial artist who wants to break through to the 'Guarding Apertures' realm in their Spirit Refining stage must first enter the 'Blood-Moving Pill Strength' realm!"

"Geniuses like Li Lingyue and Nakajima Shinobu, who were able to break through to the 'Guardian of Acupoints' stage from the 'Great Completion of Marrow Transformation and Energy Transformation' stage, are extremely rare!"

"I broke through to the 'Guarding Aperture' stage in the mid-stage of Dark Force and the Refining Spirit realm. Without the help of the 'Martial Saint Sect,' I probably wouldn't have been able to achieve this even after thirty years of hard training."

Chen Jie took a deep breath and sighed inwardly.

At this moment,

Chen Jie knew that by breaking through to the 'Guardian of the Aperture' stage, he had finally barely entered the ranks of experts.

In the entire West Gate Hall, even the two leaders, Xiong Chao and Zhang Changfeng, were no match for him!
Currently, none of the experts in Ximen Hall have broken through to the 'mid-stage of inner vision' in the Refining Spirit realm, let alone the 'guarding the acupoints'!
this moment,
Chen Jie believed that as long as he had a gun, it wouldn't be so easy for Nakajima Shinobu to completely control him again.

-

Early the next morning.

Sakata Takeo led the main force of the Kwantung Army to the border area of ​​Matsue Prefecture.

Soon after,

The vanguard of the Sakata Army finally discovered Dongmen Goro's 20,000 elite troops and did not launch a surprise attack on Songjiang Prefecture in advance.

what happened?

It wasn't pre-arranged that Dongmen Wulang would lead the army to attack Songjiang Prefecture first.

Then,

Will the Sakata army, armed with heavy weapons, launch a general offensive from the flank and capture Matsue Prefecture in one fell swoop?

In order to successfully capture Songjiang Prefecture, the Black Dragon Society's elite troops had already infiltrated the prefecture through the south gate.

As soon as the Sakata army arrives.

Then,

With the Black Dragon Society's elite forces working from within and without, they are absolutely capable of defeating the garrison in Songjiang Prefecture.

Why did Dongmen Wulang set up camp halfway through the journey instead of attacking Songjiang Prefecture first, at the most crucial moment?

Sakata Takeo was furious when he saw what was happening around him.

After dismounting from his warhorse, he immediately ordered Dongmen Wulang to come and see him.

The siege plan was disrupted, and the consequences were severe.

When Goro Higashimon came up to him, Takeo Sakata was taken aback.

At this moment, Dongmen Wulang looked haggard, with bloodshot eyes.

It looks like,
He didn't sleep all night; his mind was completely exhausted.

If someone unfamiliar with the situation saw Dongmen Wulang's current state, they might suspect that he was possessed by a ghost last night.

original,

Last night, the Kwantung Army stopped its encampment and did not continue its march.

The special forces regiment of Ximentang had already retreated and did not continue the attack.

but,

The remaining scouts responsible for gathering military intelligence did not stop their activities.

They were several kilometers away, and every now and then they would fire a few shots with mortars at Dongmen Wulang's allied forces.

The entire night left everyone in the Kwantung Army restless and unable to get proper rest.

Dongmen Wulang didn't sleep well all night and was in very poor mental condition.

He even dispatched elite troops of the Kwantung Army, wanting to kill all these damned guys.

but,

Whenever the Kwantung Army dispatched troops, those scouts from the Saimon Hall would quickly retreat and disappear without a trace.

After things calmed down, shells came from another direction.

Each artillery attack caused considerable losses to Dongmen Wulang's troops. Although the casualties were not large, they made everyone feel uneasy.

Dongmen Wulang had no choice but to order his men to strengthen security and send men to intercept them from the outside.

Therefore,
Not only did Higashimon Goro not get enough rest, but the entire Kwantung Army did not sleep well either.

Everyone was exhausted, in very poor condition, and listless.

After hearing this, Takeo Sakata's face turned extremely ugly.

this moment,
He gained a deeper understanding of the Ximentang army of the Daqian Dynasty.

in fact,

The Sakata Army was very skilled in this harassment tactic.

He valued the mobility of the army and was skilled in large-scale surprise attacks and flanking maneuvers.

When conquering Northeast China, he usually had his vanguard use harassment tactics to raid the enemy's supply lines.

Relying on this tactic of rapid mobility, Sakata's army swept through the Russian army.

but,

To his surprise, the Ximentang army of the Great Qian Dynasty was now using this rapid mobility tactic against him.

In plains terrain, Ximentang's use of such mobile tactics would be unlikely to be effective.

Under the suppression of artillery and heavy machine guns, even getting close to open areas was difficult.

As soon as Ximentang's elite troops appear, they will be repelled by the artillery.

but,

In the jungle, this rapid and mobile harassment tactic caught the Kwantung Army off guard.

Heavy machine guns and artillery became obsolete.

The Kwantung Army's most effective heavy armor formations were also weakened to the extreme.

Everyone will become a sitting duck, constantly hunted down by the enemy.

Damn it—!
It seems that this attack on Songjiang Prefecture will not be so easy.

Ximen Tang will become a formidable enemy that the Sakata Alliance will encounter after arriving in Daqian!

The key is,
Soon, someone arrived on horseback to report that the Black Dragon Society's elite assassination attempt on Ximen Hall's Grand Commander Chen Jie had failed!

Just as Takeo Sakata heard this news.

Unexpectedly, Ximentang's scouts opened fire again from several kilometers away.

The harassment tactics have never stopped.

When the Kwantung Army retaliated with artillery fire, the jungle quickly fell silent again.

This has happened many times before.

The Kwantung Army dares not enter the jungle now, they are terrified of being killed.

Sakata Takeo couldn't see how many enemy troops there were, but judging from the scale of the harassment, their numbers were definitely not large.

However, these people possessed artillery and continuously launched artillery attacks.

They were elusive in the jungle, appearing and disappearing without a trace, leaving the Kwantung Army helpless.

Of course, the Sakata Army could not retreat.

Putting aside the fact that he couldn't explain himself to Oyama Iwao, the commander of the Kwantung Army, he himself couldn't bear the shame.

quickly,

The Sakata Army made adjustments, directly dispatching five 1,000-man squadrons to conduct a counter-encirclement operation on the edge of the jungle.

Simultaneously,

The main force followed closely behind, slowly advancing towards Songjiang Prefecture.

Whether it's the army's flanks or the front, as soon as Ximentang's scouts appear, they will be subjected to direct fire coverage and indiscriminate attacks.

As a result,
Although they were attacked by Ximentang's scouts with artillery many times along the way.

However, the attack occurred at a great distance, and most of the artillery fire hit open ground, causing no casualties to the Kwantung Army.

It wasn't until noon.

The 100,000-strong army of the Sakata Army finally crossed the jungle and successfully arrived outside the city of Matsue.

The enemy is at the city gates!

"General, according to the intelligence provided by the Ninja Vanguard, a purge has been carried out in Songjiang Prefecture, and many of our infiltrators have been captured!"

"The rest of the people have all fled the city!"

"Moreover, the moats outside the city have been greatly increased, and low walls have been added."

"It seems that Songjiang Prefecture has strengthened its defenses, and our previous battle plan has become ineffective!"

Fujita came to Sakata Takeo and Higashimon Goro's side.

He pointed to the city wall of Songjiang Prefecture, several kilometers away, and said with a solemn expression.

Simultaneously,

He even harbored a sense of schadenfreude.

He had had enough of the ridicule during this period.

In particular, Dongmen Wulang always put on an arrogant and condescending attitude in front of him.

Dongmen Wulang led 20,000 elite Kwantung Army troops. According to the original battle plan, he was to launch an attack first to tie down the defensive forces of the Songjiang Prefecture.

Next,
The Sakata Army launched a general offensive from the flank, and with the help of infiltrators, they captured Songjiang Prefecture in one fell swoop.

but,

Dongmen Wulang hasn't even arrived in Songjiang Prefecture yet; he was beaten halfway there and lost all fighting spirit.

Although Fujita Tsuyoshi showed no outward emotion, he was so excited that he almost burst into song.

Since the last time he followed Matsusaka Tsuji to attack Qingdao, Shandong, they were defeated and fled.

Upon returning to the Kwantung Army headquarters in Lushun, he was severely reprimanded by Commander-in-Chief Oyama Iwao.

Although Commander Ōyama Iwao did not remove him from his military post, he allowed him to join the Sakata Army to atone for his crimes.

but,

Having experienced defeat, within the Sakata Army, only Takeo Sakata did not show any mockery.

Everyone else mocked and ridiculed him, laughing at his incompetence.

Many people even attributed the Matsusaka Army's defeat to Fujita Tsuyoshi's incompetence.

In particular, Goro Higashimon led the way in mocking Tsuyoshi Fujita.

For some time now, Fujita Tsuyoshi has been holding back a grudge.

Now, Dongmen Wulang finally knows how terrifying Ximen Tang is, right?
Seeing Higashimon Goro's haggard appearance, Fujita Tsuyoshi finally felt a sense of relief.

snort!
They talk all the time about their army, claiming it can sweep across the globe.

They've only just encountered Ximentang's vanguard, and haven't even met their main force yet, and they've already had their heads blown off.

Let's see if you dare to laugh at me again!
Laozi led the Matsusaka Army and at least engaged in fierce battles with the main force of the Ximentang.

Although they ultimately lost, they were not completely wiped out and inflicted considerable casualties on Ximentang.

call--!
Thinking of this, Fujita Tsuyoshi couldn't help but exhale.

of course,

He couldn't possibly show it in front of Dongmen Wulang.

At the same time, one must also show a hint of respect.

In every respect, Dongmen Wulang was a major general, a much higher rank than him.

After hearing what Fujita Tsuyoshi said, Sakata Takeo frowned slightly.

He had previously received intelligence from the Ninja Vanguard that there were two trenches on the outer perimeter of Matsue Prefecture, which could slow down the advance of the Kwantung Army.

Therefore,
He had already arranged for a supply corps for this attack on Songjiang Prefecture, bringing with him a lot of iron frames and wooden planks.

If they encounter a trench, they can use planks to build a bridge, allowing heavy machine guns and artillery to quickly break through and approach the city gate.

but,

The combination of trenches and low walls can be quite challenging.

Heavy machine guns and artillery are not light, so to improve mobility, it is necessary to cross trenches and climb over low walls.

Especially the Japanese cannons, which weighed several hundred kilograms, were not so easy to climb over the low wall.

The same applies to heavily armored soldiers; even if they can cross the trenches...

However, encountering a low wall will inevitably slow down the charge.

Next,
Sakata Takeo held up his binoculars and observed the defensive fortifications of Matsue Prefecture from afar.

Three more trenches have been added!

That is to say, there are a total of five trenches, each three meters wide.

The distance between the trenches was approximately fifty meters.

The low wall was built right next to the trench, making a rapid assault extremely difficult.

Damn it—!
It seems that the defenses of Songjiang Prefecture have been strengthened considerably.

To attack Songjiang Prefecture, it is necessary to level these low walls and fill in the moats.

Once inside the Ximentang cannon's firing range, the Allied Forces of the East will be subjected to a barrage of artillery fire.

Thinking about this, Takeo Sakata had a bad feeling.

Next,
Sakata Takeo took out the map and carefully considered it for a moment.

After inspecting the defenses of Songjiang Prefecture, he quickly mobilized two battalions, totaling seven thousand men.

Then,

He equipped these 7,000 men with 50 Japanese cannons and launched the first attack on Songjiang Prefecture.

Because Higashimon Goro's army delayed its attack, Sakata's army could only launch a probing attack.

no way,
Without knowing the defenses of Songjiang Prefecture, we must not allow our main force to launch a rash attack.

Otherwise, if the enemy's firepower is too strong, it is easy for the main force to suffer heavy losses.

The two battalions that Sakata Takeo mobilized were naturally the puppet troops of the Daqian Dynasty!
Since it's a test, of course, 'cannon fodder' will be sent out.

We can't possibly send the main force of the Kwantung Army to serve as cannon fodder, can we?
For Takeo Sakata, it was necessary to use two large battalions of "cannon fodder" to test the defensive strength of Matsue Prefecture.

Anyway, these Daqian "puppet troops" have defected to the Kwantung Army, and their greatest use is as "cannon fodder"!
The Kwantung Army has occupied the northeast of the Great Qian Dynasty.

'Cannon fodder' will keep coming!

Even if all the Daqian "puppet troops" in these two large brigades were wiped out, there would be nothing to regret.

At worst, we can just recruit another batch of "puppet troops" after returning to Northeast China.

The Northeast has a large population, and the Kwantung Army could easily recruit 100,000 "cannon fodder" if needed.

Although they knew that attacking Songjiang Prefecture at this time would only make them cannon fodder for the Kwantung Army.

but,

The commanders in charge of the two battalions of "cannon fodder" dared not disobey orders.

They sighed helplessly and led several thousand men toward Songjiang Prefecture.

The fifty Japanese cannons were arranged in five rows.

Boom! Boom! Boom!
Artillery first!

Japanese artillery would fire directly when it approached the trenches and low walls.
The generals of the Daqian "puppet army" were well aware of their responsibility to act as cannon fodder. Their purpose in taking the lead in the battle was to flatten the defensive fortifications outside Songjiang Prefecture.

As the artillery bombarded the trenches, the low walls were also blasted down.

In less than ten minutes, the first line of defense was easily breached by the Daqian 'puppet army'.

but,

Just as these "puppet troops" passed through the first line of defense.

A terrifying scene unfolded.

Boom—boom—!
Many of the puppet troops' soldiers had their legs suddenly blown off.

Explosions continued to occur without warning!
On the city wall of Songjiang Prefecture, several kilometers away, all was quiet; no one fired a shot.

but,

Explosions continued to occur all around.

The 'puppet troops' at the forefront have now become cannon fodder.

Because they encountered a weapon that army infantry feared most.

——Landmines!
The area between each trench around Songjiang Prefecture was densely covered with landmines!

When these puppet troops of the Daqian regime, who were being used as 'cannon fodder,' entered the minefield, they were quickly blown up.

These are newly produced high-explosive landmines from the Ximentang Arsenal, which are extremely lethal.

Simultaneously,

This was also the first grand feast that Simond prepared for the Kwantung Army.

(End of this chapter)