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

"Company commander, we've received a reply from above!"

In the pine forest where Xu Fei and his men were hidden, the communications soldier, covering the earpiece of his walkie-talkie and lowering his voice, excitedly reported to Xu Fei:

"The battalion commander said that the coordinates have been reported up the chain of command."

However, coordinating the air force to load missiles and take off takes time, and the brothers in the air won't arrive until the afternoon.

The orders we received were to remain hidden and wait, and absolutely not to alert the enemy.

Xu Fei lay prone in the mud and water, calmly nodding.

He knew that the process from identifying the target to reporting it up the chain of command, and then coordinating the deployment of aircraft across different branches of the military, was complicated.

The fact that they could summon bombers within a few hours, including the time the planes spent on the road, shows that the efficiency of their 33rd Army Corps is astonishing in the Great Xia army.

Moreover, the Japanese command post in front of us is quite large; with its massive antennas and radio equipment, it won't be able to move anytime soon.

"There's also good news."

The communications soldier swallowed hard and continued:

"The higher-ups said that the armored forces of the 1st Honor Brigade are only a dozen miles away from us."

The legion command has begun to coordinate and liaise with higher levels of government.

If we're lucky, the start of the battle will be signaled by our planes launching a bombing raid.

At that time, armored vehicles will launch a simultaneous attack from the road on the east side of the town and the open area on the south side.

"Great, that's fucking great."

Xu Fei slammed his fist into the mud, his mind racing.

Since armored units were drawing the enemy's heavy fire from the front, there was no need for his hundred-odd infantrymen to launch a frontal assault.

He raised his binoculars and carefully observed the terrain around the Confucius Temple, quickly discovering a hidden attack route.

"First platoon leader, second platoon leader, crawl over here."

Xu Fei waved his hand, pointed to the terrain in the distance, and decisively made arrangements:

"Once the planes bomb and the armored forces charge, the Japanese defenses will definitely be thrown into chaos."

We won't take the main road.

Do you see that dense thicket of wild jujube bushes to the west?

We crawled through there and then waded across the waist-deep muddy river.

After crossing the river, there was a desolate, chaotic graveyard.

We used those stone tablets and graves as cover and drove straight into the west wall of the Confucius Temple, where the Japanese command post was located.

"Take advantage of the chaos and sneak in, then strike at the heart of the enemy's lair."

The platoon leaders listened with shining eyes, nodding repeatedly.

"Pass on my order: the entire company shall rest on the spot."

Xu Fei glanced at his men:

"Take out the unleavened flatbread and pickled mustard greens you carry with you, quickly fill your stomach and regain your strength."

Also, listen up, all of you.

Xu Fei pointed seriously to the water bottle at his waist:

"If you want to drink water now, either don't drink it all at once, or drink the whole kettle clean in one go."

That way, when we're charging ahead and making a clattering sound in our canteens later, the water bottle won't be empty.

"If anyone makes a noise and alerts the Japanese, I'll smash their sand pot!"

"Yes."

The soldiers responded in tacit whispers, took out their hard, dry flatbreads, and, with pickled mustard greens, began to swallow them with difficulty while lying in the muddy water.

Time passed by, second by second.

Around 2 p.m., a muffled engine roar finally came from the gloomy sky.

"They're here."

Xu Fei suddenly looked up and raised his binoculars to look at the clouds.

On the hazy horizon, six classic Ju-87 Stuka dive bombers roared in, heavily escorted by twelve Bf-109 fighters.

"Goodness, eighteen planes..."

The other soldiers around also murmured in surprise.

Xu Fei looked at the massive formation of aircraft in the sky and was secretly astonished.

As a graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy, he knew more than his ordinary soldiers.

Considering the current shortage of aviation spare parts in Daxia, and the precious physical strength of the pilots.

Our own legion can only launch a few dozen sorties a day at most.

The fact that nearly twenty aircraft were dispatched to bombard the area shows how much importance the legion command attaches to this target.

"Looks like there's definitely a big, fat fish inside." Xu Fei excitedly licked his chapped lips.

Meanwhile, on the Japanese positions around the Confucius Temple.

"Enemy planes! Enemy planes are attacking!"

A sharp-eyed Japanese sentry pointed to the sky and screamed in terror.

"Quickly, air raid siren!"

Several Japanese soldiers rushed frantically to the hand-cranked alarm in the corner of the position and frantically shook the handle.

"Waaaaah—waaaah—"

The piercing air raid siren instantly echoed over the Japanese positions.

Inside the Confucius Temple, countless Japanese officers dressed in yellow woolen uniforms rushed out of the main hall in a panic, looking up at the sky.

But it was all too late.

The 33rd Army Corps' fighter planes were extremely fast; by the time the Japanese spotted them, the formation had already reached the target area.

There was absolutely no time left for the Japanese to prepare anti-aircraft fire or to evacuate and take cover.

"Buzzing—!!!"

Inside the six Stukas, the pilots decisively pushed down the control stick, and the Jericho trumpet on the landing gear instantly emitted a death shriek.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Heavy aerial bombs, carrying terrifying kinetic energy, accurately struck the courtyard of the Confucius Temple and several surrounding high points.

The earth was trembling violently.

The towering pillar of fire, mixed with thick black smoke, instantly engulfed the entire Confucius Temple.

Those Japanese heavy machine gun positions that attempted to fire into the air were torn to shreds along with their guns by the violent shockwave.

Limbs, broken sandbags, and blue bricks flew through the air.

"Da da da da da—!"

As soon as the Stuka pulled up, several Bf-109 fighters swooped down fiercely.

The aircraft's machine guns and cannons on the nose and wings were firing at full power.

The dense barrage of tracer rounds, like deadly whips of fire, lashed back and forth across the Japanese positions.

Some Japanese soldiers who were lucky enough to survive the bombing were shot in two by machine gun shells before they could even get out of the mud.

"Crunch, crunch—"

Just when the Japanese soldiers were dizzy and desperate from the bombing.

From the distant highway, the sound of tire tracks grinding against the ground could be heard.

"Company commander, our Iron Turtle is here!" The platoon leader excitedly pointed to the south.

Xu Fei turned his head and gasped in shock, then burst into ecstasy.

On the muddy road, a dozen ferocious steel behemoths, spewing black smoke, charged wildly towards them.

That was the armored unit that the 1st Honor Brigade had rushed to the scene.

Leading the way were eight agile 38(t) light tanks, followed by seven Jagdpanzer mortars without turrets but equipped with long cannons.

Beside the turret, their own military flag fluttered brightly amidst the smoke of battle.

Behind them were more than 20 trucks fully loaded with infantry.

This small armored assault team marched for more than 40 kilometers in one go, even rushing through a small village heavily fortified by the Japanese, before finally arriving here.

由于一路上的桥樑最大载重只有20吨不到，因此赶到的坦克以9.9吨的38t轻坦和16吨的同样是38t底盘的追猎者歼击车为主。

As for the 22-ton Panzer III medium tank and Lin Feng's 56-ton Tiger heavy tank, which he considered his trump card, they could only arrive at the front line after the engineering units spent time reinforcing the various bridges along the way.

Even though this force was not large, it was still an unbearable burden for the Confucius Temple, which was guarded by less than a battalion of more than 800 Japanese soldiers.