You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you brought out a Tiger tank?

In the wilderness, amidst withered grass, behind an abandoned mill.

"Bang."

The crisp sound of gunshots broke the silence of the wilderness.

A Japanese corporal had just poked half his head out to observe what was ahead when a bloody hole appeared between his eyebrows, and he fell straight down into the paddy field.

"Over there, fire."

The remaining Japanese soldiers immediately raised their guns to return fire, but it was to no avail.

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat."

Suddenly, a tongue of fire shot out from the bushes on the flank.

The MP-18 submachine gun fired its signature crisp burst, instantly turning the three Japanese scouts attempting to flank them into sieves.

Lin Feng's reconnaissance squads were all elite special forces soldiers armed to the teeth.

They wore camouflage smocks with fragments and face paint. Each squad had a Mauser 1924 rifle with a scope for long-range combat, while seven MP-18 submachine guns were used for close combat.

The Japanese soldiers with Type 38 rifles were no match for the reconnaissance squads at close range in the surrounding graveyards and woods.

Most importantly, each reconnaissance squad was equipped with Motorola walkie-talkies, enabling them to share intelligence in real time and create situations where they outnumbered their opponents in certain areas.

The Japanese scouts were still using the naked eye to locate the enemy and flag signal communication from the time of war. Against an opponent with full map coverage and automatic firepower, they were simply being utterly crushed.

In just half an hour, the three waves of scouts sent out by the Japanese disappeared without a trace, as if they had vanished into thin air.

-----

Inside the command post of the 13th Division, Lieutenant General Tatehiro Ogisu, the division commander, stood in front of the hanging military map, and drew a heavy circle on the high ground called "Hanayama" with a red and blue pencil in his hand.

"Based on the ballistic trajectory and impact point distribution, the Chinese artillery positions are located here, and the range of these cannons exceeds 10 kilometers."

Ogisu Ritsuhei stared at the red circle, his brows furrowed.

The staff officer beside him was still reporting:

"The enemy's artillery explosions were extremely powerful. The diameter of the craters and the distribution of fragments indicate that they were at least howitzers with a caliber of over 100mm, and possibly even mixed with heavy artillery of 150mm caliber."

"How is this possible?!"

Ogisu Rippei slammed his pencil on the table, his eyes filled with disbelief and shock.

As the commander of a Class A division, he knew the strengths and weaknesses of the Great Xia army like the back of his hand.

The Japanese intelligence department did a very thorough job.

Within the Great Xia Dynasty, only the Fengtian Arsenal in the Northeast, which had long since fallen, and the Jinyang Arsenal of the Shanxi clique in the Northwest, were capable of producing heavy artillery of this caliber.

In the heart of the Central Army's territory in Jiangnan, the only heavy artillery that could be found were the "Rheinmetall" or "Krupp" cannons that the Nanjing government had imported from the Hans country at great expense.

"However, intelligence indicates that the only mechanized heavy artillery unit of the Chinese army, the 10th Artillery Regiment, had already been ordered to withdraw to the Nanjing direction several days ago."

Ogisu Ritsubei grabbed the chief of staff by the collar and questioned him almost roaringly:

"Where did these dozen or twenty heavy artillery pieces that are currently bombarding the 65th Regiment come from?! Did they fall from the sky?!"

The chief of staff was sweating profusely and stammered, unable to answer.

This is absolutely unbelievable.

The current situation is that the Central Army has transferred all its elite troops back to Nanjing to defend the capital of the Great Xia.

Still east of Nanjing, the troops attempting to defend on both the northern and southern fronts likely lack any elite forces.

Logically speaking, a defensive line like Jiangyin's, apart from the river defense fortress, would at most have a few 75mm mountain guns to maintain appearances.

But now, the enemy's firepower density is even more ferocious than that of an Imperial Army field heavy artillery regiment.

This unknown, completely beyond what intelligence had anticipated, sent a deep chill and unease through Ogisu Ritsuhei.

"We must get the intelligence; we must gouge out the eyes of this artillery unit!"

Just then, the tent flap was lifted.

A slender major with round-framed glasses and a refined demeanor, like a university professor, walked in.

His name is Kenji Takagi.

Unlike traditional army officers who are full of "brainstorming" mentality, Major Takagi has a sophisticated air about him.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander."

Takagi adjusted his glasses, not displaying the usual trepidation of a subordinate, but rather an unusual confidence:

"The conventional scout teams have failed. The enemy's reconnaissance soldiers are very professional. They have built a tight security network. Ordinary infantry would only be sent to their deaths if they went up there. They simply cannot get close enough to conduct reconnaissance."

Looking at Takagi, Ogisu Ritsuhei's previously agitated emotions calmed down slightly.

Kenji Takagi studied at the Hanns Berlin Military Academy for three years, specializing in small-unit infiltration and special operations that emerged after World War I.

After returning to China, he formed the "Takagi Special Forces," a squadron-sized unit, with all members equipped with expensive imported automatic firearms and professional sniper rifles.

However, in the eyes of the conservative old-timers in the Army Department, this kind of unit that does not emphasize large-scale troop charges and only knows how to "sneak around" is a heretical approach and is not favored at all. It even faced the risk of being disbanded several times.

Only Ogishu Rippei saw this as a sharp blade and, against all odds, brought him along.

"Takagi-kun, do you have any ideas?" Ogisu Rippei asked.

"Please allow my special forces to deploy."

Takagi stood at attention, his tone revealing the arrogance of a technically skilled officer:

"My team members are equipped not only with Type 38 sniper rifles with 2.5x optical sights, but also with imported Bergman MP-28 submachine guns."

We exist specifically to hunt high-value targets and counter-surveillance.

"Since the enemy wants to play sniper warfare and special reconnaissance, then I will use more sophisticated tactics to teach them what 'modern special warfare' is."

"Once their observation posts are eliminated, this heavy artillery unit will be blind. Then, the Imperial Army's artillery fire can turn around and saturate them."

Ogisu Rippei stared at Takagi for a few seconds, then nodded heavily.

Conventional methods have failed; now we can only pin our hopes on this sharp blade that no one else has high hopes for.

"Alright! Go ahead, Takagi-kun."

A ruthless glint flashed in Ogizu Rippei's eyes:

"Blind the eyes of these Chinese people! I want to see what kind of monsters and demons are hiding on this Flower Mountain."

The wilderness and forests outside Jiangyin City quickly turned into a huge hunting ground.

Takagi led his fifty-odd elite soldiers, whom he had personally trained, into the battlefield without making a sound.

They definitely have some skills.

The Type 38 sniper rifles they used, although still bolt-action, perfectly inherited the advantages of the ordinary Type 38 rifle: long range, high accuracy, and small muzzle flash.

Moreover, these Japanese soldiers were also very good at camouflage.

They tied grass and trees to their bodies, and even buried themselves in rotting soil, lying there motionless for hours.

"Bang!"

A very faint gunshot rang out.

On Lin Feng's side, a scout who was lying in ambush suddenly felt a jolt in his shoulder, and blood spurted out.

"There's a master."

The wounded scout gritted his teeth and rolled into the shell crater, growling into the walkie-talkie: "Cave 5 has been hit, location unknown, no muzzle flash seen, and the Japanese sniper is here too."

Now, the two sides are evenly matched.

A silent sniper duel has begun.