The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 427 The Crippled Heaven and the Deficited Earth Combination (Two Chapters Combined)

At the same time, in the same assault team where Hu Biao and others were located.

After the initial, easy advance paved with artillery, the advance became difficult and slow once the artillery fire ceased, leading to a fierce battle with the Japanese.

In the northeast direction, the assault team consists of Black Star, Mo Shuiyan, Old K, and Warehouse Manager.

They are currently in the same predicament as Hu Biao and others, struggling to make any progress.

Crouching on the right side of the turret of a T-26 tank, Black Star held a replica MP28 submachine gun and fired a series of precise short bursts.

For a time, he was alone with only one gun, occasionally throwing out a precise grenade.

They actually managed to successfully defend against all the various attacks launched by the Japanese soldiers from the right side of the tank.

Those Japanese soldiers who tried to charge forward were either suppressed or knocked down on the spot.

Especially those Japanese soldiers who were carrying explosive packs or several grenades, he could usually take them down from a distance of thirty or forty meters.

They didn't even have a chance to get close to the tank, let alone blow it up.

Although not much time has passed since the start of this battle, the number of Japanese soldiers killed by him has already reached double digits.

It perfectly showcased his formidable individual combat skills, honed through countless bloody battles as a seasoned transmigrator.

However, this guy's face, now covered in gunpowder and blood, showed no sign of smugness, but rather an indescribable anxiety.

The reason that Black Star made that expression is actually quite simple:
Black Star's current role is that of the most dangerous, most miserable, and most casualty-riding infantryman in the entire assault team, sitting on a tank.

Come to think of it, they were sitting on top of an unprotected tank, making them perfect targets.

The bullets fired by the Japanese soldiers couldn't penetrate the armor of the tank after hitting it; they just bounced off with a trail of sparks.

The rebound, however, easily killed or wounded these accompanying infantrymen.

Even worse, the Japanese could throw grenades or launcher-launched fragmentation grenades, which would land on the tanks.

The T-26 tanks might not be a big deal, but the accompanying infantry would be wiped out almost instantly.

The above-mentioned situations, which involved heavy casualties and near-death experiences for the troops, were actually foreseen by Hu Biao, Hei Xing, and others when they were initially developing the battle plan.

The reason for choosing this arrangement is naturally because these accompanying infantrymen, who sit on tanks and charge alongside them, have a reason to exist.

Because of the narrow observation port of a tank, the crew can only deal with threats from the front at most.

The threats from the left and right were so strong that they couldn't even be detected, let alone resolved; without the cover of accompanying infantry, believe me, they would be blown up in no time by the Japanese soldiers lying on the side or rushing up.

Despite knowing the immense danger and casualties associated with accompanying infantry, Hu Biao and his team still had no choice but to arrange for a group of men.

They selected a group of the most combat-effective veterans from the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment to serve as them.

This is also why Black Star, who had already driven a tank once before on the battlefield of Dunwu Temple, did not hide in the relatively safer tank to act as the driver this time.

Instead, he, Old K, and the warehouse manager each sat on a tank, serving as the main reason for accompanying the infantry.

Since we cannot alleviate the danger to our brothers, let us face and bear this danger together with them; if we are to die, let us die together.

Annie and Hu Biao, the regimental commander and chief of staff of the two independent regiments in northern Jiangsu, were initially intended to serve as accompanying infantry.

It was only because Qiu Qingquan's attitude and tone were a little too sincere when he invited her that she agreed to form a three-person team with him and drive a tank to launch an attack.

Here's a brief interlude: Qiu Qingquan almost vomited on the spot as soon as he opened his mouth.

Why? It wasn't because of the bloody scene before him, but because Qiu Qingquan, who had never gotten carsick before, was now getting carsick in tanks.

After speeding, making sharp turns, drifting, and even charging up a dirt slope, the tank flew several meters in the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

Annie managed to make an old-fashioned T-26 tank feel like a modern-day interdimensional off-road rally.

Poor Qiu Qingquan had fought so many battles and had never encountered such a scene.

He was so tormented by the unprecedented bumps and swaying of the tank as it moved, and by the fact that his head hit the tank multiple times, that he almost threw up.

I managed to suppress the urge to vomit, and thankfully, I didn't embarrass myself.

Qiu Qingquan still felt a sour taste in his mouth, and for a moment he regretted it deeply.

In a lull in the fighting, something occurred to him, and he suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself hard in the buttocks, cursing in a voice only he could hear:
"I told you not to be so foul-mouthed! Why did you invite a crazy woman like Annie to drive a tank?"
People still call me Crazy Qiu. Compared to Annie, I'm totally normal, okay?

Perhaps it was because this huge bulge was too loud, clearly audible even amidst the engine's heavy, ox-like roar; even as Annie drove the tank recklessly, she didn't forget to ask:
"Old Qiu, what's wrong?"

"There are mosquitoes~" Qiu Qingquan said decisively, his mouth twitching.

In short, the accompanying infantry are among the worst off in the current assault force, and as they advance, the number of Japanese soldiers rushing up is increasing.

The situation for Black Star and other infantrymen was becoming increasingly difficult...

******
The moment he felt the bullets in his submachine gun run out, Old K instinctively shouted, "Reload!"

The moment the words fell, Zhong Shidao, who was standing right next to him, an officer who had come from the Central Training Corps and was now the deputy battalion commander of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, immediately made a good cooperation.

He, who was originally firing at the front of the tank, immediately turned to the right side of the tank, filling the firepower gap left by Old K when he was changing magazines.

But as Old K removed the empty magazine and took the last magazine from his chest sling and put it on, he couldn't help but utter a curse word: "Fuck it."

Not only were his spare magazines almost empty, but they were also nearing their end.

Such a crazy rate of fire caused the gun barrel to get extremely hot, appearing visibly red and slightly deformed, on the verge of being destroyed.

More importantly, there were originally eight accompanying infantrymen on this T-26 tank when it set off.

Now only three men remain. The other brothers who died in battle were tied to hooks and handles with ropes.

They didn't fall off as the tank moved forward; instead, they lay sprawled out on the tank.

He, Zhong Shidao, and another brother were left in such a fierce battle that they didn't know when they would be shot and killed.

After changing the magazine, Old K was about to continue firing at the Japanese soldiers on the left, trying to buy some time for the guy who was about to run out of bullets.

His main strategy was to kill a few Japanese soldiers first, as long as he survived.

At this crucial moment, a series of ringing telephones came from the metal box a little behind him.

The ringing of this bell naturally indicates that the crew members inside the vehicle have something important to discuss with them.

Old K didn't dare to delay for a moment, and immediately took a step back to pick up the phone and answer it.

As Old K had predicted, the tank crew was now in trouble—a very unexpected and extremely distressing trouble.

As soon as the call connected, before K could even speak, a series of urgent words rang out:
"The glass of the observation ports for the driver and machine gunner is now completely stained red with blood, and you can't see anything. Please help wipe it clean quickly."

Such a simple sentence immediately filled Old K's heart with endless sorrow.

Where did all this blood come from? It came from the blood of those brothers who died in battle and are now lying in tanks.

The tank must have bled so much blood in a short time that the tank was stained red, resulting in this outcome.

However, he also knew that in the current assault, a tank was far more important than the accompanying infantry.

Despite his grief, he immediately sprang into action, shouting, "You two continue, I have other tasks," before heading towards the tank.

He had only taken one step when he felt a pull on his waist and realized that the rope holding him up was too short.

Without a second thought, he pulled a dagger from his thigh and cut the ropes binding him. Then, he quickly moved to the front of the tank, found a spot away from the machine gun barrel, lay down, and hooked each foot onto a handle to secure himself.

He stretched out his body and peered through the glass of the observation hole where the machine gunner was located.

During this process, stray bullets occasionally struck the tank's frontal armor with a 'clang,' sending up sparks before bouncing irregularly.

One of the ricocheting bullets flew past Old K's left ear.

Even though his ear wasn't knocked off, the burning sensation was still a terrible experience.

However, in the actual cases that followed, besides trying to act as quickly as possible, Old K could only pray to all the gods and Buddhas to protect him and hope that he wouldn't get hit.

To be honest, Old K has had some good luck.

He quickly wiped the bloodstains off the machine gunner's observation port glass with his dirty sleeve, without being hit by a bullet in the process.

After moving his body and wiping the glass on the driver's machine gun muzzle with his sleeve, he was still unharmed. He was incredibly lucky.

The only problem was that his sleeves were already filthy from the intense fighting.

After being used to wipe the machine gunner's observation port, it had become so dirty that it didn't work very well when used to wipe the driver's observation port.

It has a fairly clear layer of blood, which should seriously affect vision.

After hesitating for half a second, Old K reached for a small medical kit at his waist, intending to pull out a clean gauze to wipe it again.

It was this decision that cost Old K dearly.

Or perhaps, his good luck finally ran out at this point.

When a clean white gauze was used to wipe the glass of the driver's observation window, the previously blurry glass immediately became clear.

At this point, Old K was finally able to get up and return to a slightly safer position.

Just as a smile crept across Old K's face, a startled exclamation suddenly reached his ears: "Old K, watch out!"

Upon hearing this warning, Old K immediately realized that the situation was dire.

But at this point, it seems too late to do anything.

He saw a small dark shape land with a 'thud' four or five meters away; even if he couldn't see clearly what it was, he figured it was either a small melon grenade or a fragmentation grenade launched from a grenade launcher.

Old K was right; it was a small black shadow that had just landed.

It was a grenade launched by the Japanese using a grenade launcher.

Furthermore, the Japanese soldier who used the grenade launcher was definitely a veteran, and his timing was excellent; the grenade exploded violently as soon as it landed.

The explosive force sent dense fragments flying in all directions.

This time, Old K wasn't so lucky and managed to dodge the shrapnel; in fact, because he was so close, he even got pricked by several shrapnels.

The most fatal bullet landed a little below his legs, on the inner side of his right thigh.

Thanks to Old K's usual habit of placing his vital parts on the left, the shrapnel failed to damage his most valuable components.

However, the shrapnel had pierced his leg, and the resulting excruciating pain caused his entire body to tremble uncontrollably.

His feet, which had been gripping the handles tightly to secure his body, suddenly gave way, and he was thrown off by the jolting motion of the tank.

This wasn't even the worst part for Old K. What truly left Black Star and the others, who were only glancing at the scene out of the corner of their eyes, speechless was...

Of all times! Old K was thrown forward and landed several meters in front of the tank.

The moment he landed, even the tank driver could clearly see this scene through the observation port he had wiped clean.

In terms of neural response, however, there is not enough time to make any further movements.

Therefore, when Old K fell to the ground, he was horrified to see the bloody tracks running straight over his right calf.

The inhuman pain he was in caused him to struggle violently on the ground.

No matter how much strength he exerted in his struggle, he couldn't pull his poor right leg out from under the 9.5-ton tank.

By the time he could pull it out, the entire tank had already driven over his right leg.

By this point, the right leg was severely deformed, and it was probably not a comminuted fracture, but a powdery fracture.

After a quick glance at his familiar yet unfamiliar deformed right leg, Old K was overcome by a wave of weakness and collapsed to the ground.

Perhaps the pain was too intense because of the damage to his right leg.

For a moment, Old K wanted to faint to reduce the pain, but he couldn't. His consciousness was somewhat blurred, and he couldn't struggle to sit up.

That's how he saw and learned about some of the things that happened afterward.

With about 300 meters to go, their second assault team could completely break through the Japanese turtle formation and separate the Japanese soldiers of the 18th Division.

The subsequent battles were much easier for them.

However, since Old K and his men could see the problem clearly, the Japanese soldiers naturally realized it as well; led by officers and veterans, they became even more frantic in their obstruction.

This also means that the remaining 300 meters will not be so easy to penetrate.

The main problem was that their second assault team suffered heavy losses on their way here. The tanks and armored vehicles were okay, but four tanks and one armored vehicle were destroyed.

Most of the armored forces remain relatively intact.

However, the accompanying infantry suffered heavy casualties, with some having only one survivor left, who was covered in blood.

It's unclear whether it belonged to him or to one of his fallen comrades.

The cavalry unit, which had taken turns charging forward twice, also suffered heavy casualties. Now their galloping formation was somewhat sparse, with only about 250 or 260 riders left.

As for those modified trucks, how many are left now? To be honest, Old K doesn't know.

Before he could count them all, a truck stopped not far from him with a loud screech of brakes. It seemed to be planning to stay there and hold the line, waiting for the infantry to rush up and set up defenses.

As the truck stopped, three people jumped out of the cargo compartment.

Two men opened fire for cover, while another man dragged him by the collar toward the back of the carriage, intending to pull him inside. He had a good chance of surviving.

But during the process, Old K would rather have died.

Because the person dragging him along at that moment was Mo Shuiyan, affectionately known as "Crippled Dead" by everyone in the team.

As he dragged Old K toward the carriage, he first stared intently at the deformed right leg, examining it closely for a few moments.

Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he became beaming with excitement.

Finally, he addressed Old K, saying, "Hello! Tieguai Li."

It's quite a coincidence that among the newcomers who transmigrated this time, the third brother lost an arm and you lost a leg. The two of you even formed a duo called "Heavenly Cripples and Earthly Imperfections".

Screw Tieguai Li, screw Tiancan Dique.

If it weren't for the fact that he's extremely weak right now and no match for this 'crippled bastard,' Old K would really like to have a good fight with him.

Then, Old K, who finally received his own nickname, suddenly blacked out and fainted...

(End of this chapter)