Bright Sword: Starting from Obtaining the Equipment Slot

Twenty soldiers scrambled to their feet from behind the earthen slope and ran eastward along the dirt road. Some took off their coats and threw them on the ground as they ran, while others pulled empty magazines from their waists and tossed them aside.

Liu Dazhu ran at the back of the column, glanced back, and saw that the Japanese army was chasing closely.

He quickened his pace and caught up with the group.

The Japanese lieutenant was even more enraged to see the enemy hit and run. He shouted to the soldiers behind him, "Chase them! Don't let them get away!"

The Japanese soldiers quickened their pace, carrying their rifles as they pursued eastward along the dirt road.

Wei Dayong lay prone in the bushes, watching the Japanese pursuers get closer and closer along the dirt road. He counted their numbers—twenty-seven men, led by a second lieutenant, followed by two platoons, each equipped with a light machine gun.

"They're here," Wei Dayong said in a low voice. "Pass down the order: wait until all the Japanese soldiers are inside the ambush zone before firing. Anyone who fires prematurely will be court-martialed."

Wang Xiao relayed the order to the main force behind the southern embankment. Hou Yue also received the order.

On the earthen slope on the north side of the depression, behind the earthen embankment on the south side, and in the bushes, the soldiers of the Independent Company lay motionless behind their respective bunkers. The cold wind blew through the mountains, flattening the withered grass to the ground, but no one moved.

The Japanese pursuers ran along the dirt road, getting closer and closer to the ambush zone.

Three hundred meters.

Two hundred meters.

One hundred meters.

Fifty meters.

Liu Dazhu and Sun Maolin led two squads of soldiers as they ran past the bend in the dirt road, disappearing behind the earthen embankment. Following Wei Dayong's instructions, they found a place to hide after turning the corner.

The Japanese pursuers caught up with the enemy at the bend in the dirt road, less than 30 meters from the ambush zone in the depression.

Wei Dayong lay prone in the bushes, his eyes fixed on the Japanese lieutenant at the front. He could see the pockmarks on the lieutenant's face and the slight trembling of his hand gripping his sword from the cold.

All the Japanese pursuers entered the ambush zone.

Wei Dayong pulled the trigger.

The MP38 submachine gun spat out a string of fire as bullets swept into the Japanese ranks. The two Japanese soldiers in the front row were shot in the chest, their bodies falling backward, their rifles falling to the ground.

Gunshots are the signal.

On the north-facing earthen slope, Hou Yue's two light machine guns opened fire simultaneously. The Type 96 light machine guns emitted a continuous "rat-a-tat-tat" sound, and spent cartridge cases flew out of the ejection port, landing on the ground and emitting white smoke.

Behind the earthen embankment on the south side, two light machine guns of the main force also opened fire. Ma Fenghuai's heavy machine gun fired last—thirty rounds of ammunition were swallowed by the machine gun, the spent cartridges were spat out from the other side, and the bullets swept across the dirt road, hitting the middle of the Japanese troops.

The crossfire of four light machine guns and one heavy machine gun sandwiched the dirt road between the north and south sides, sweeping it.

This was a massacre!

Before the Japanese soldiers could react, a large number of them were mowed down by bullets. The seven or eight soldiers at the front were hit almost simultaneously; some were shot through the chest, and others were shot in the head, their bodies collapsing limply onto the dirt road.

The second lieutenant was shot through the left shoulder, and his sword fell to the ground. He clutched his shoulder and tried to run to the side of the road, but another bullet hit his calf, and he fell to the ground.

"Take cover! Take cover!" the lieutenant shouted hoarsely in Japanese as he lay on the ground.

The remaining Japanese soldiers ran frantically toward the roadside, trying to find cover. But the dirt road was flanked by low-lying areas with no cover, and the nearest cover was more than fifty meters away.

Several more soldiers were shot down.

Wei Dayong changed his magazine, stood up from the bushes, and shouted behind him, "Charge!"

He grabbed his submachine gun and was the first to rush onto the dirt road.

Wang Xiao, seeing Wei Dayong leading the charge from behind the southern earthen embankment, shouted to the main force, "First platoon, fix bayonets and charge with me!"

Hou Yue, standing on the north-facing slope, shouted, "Third platoon, charge!"

The soldiers of the Independent Company rushed down the earthen slope on the north side and the earthen embankment on the south side, bayoneted rifles, and charged toward the remaining Japanese soldiers on the dirt road.

More than a dozen Japanese soldiers lay scattered on the dirt road, their blood staining the ground dark red. Seven or eight Japanese soldiers were still alive; some were lying on the ground firing their guns, while others had already gotten up and were preparing to fight with bayonets.

Wei Dayong rushed to the nearest Japanese soldier, raised his submachine gun, and fired a short burst, three bullets hitting the soldier in the chest. The Japanese soldier fell to the ground before he could even raise his rifle.

Without stopping, Wei Dayong turned and charged toward a Japanese soldier on his left who was aiming his gun. The soldier saw Wei Dayong charging and hurriedly turned his weapon, but before he could pull the trigger, Wei Dayong was already in front of him.

The rifle butt slammed into the Japanese soldier's face, the sound of bones cracking clearly audible. The soldier's body fell sideways, face down, to the ground, and he lay motionless.

Wang Xiao led a platoon of soldiers into the middle of the remaining Japanese troops. He held a Mauser pistol in his hand, firing as he ran, and took down two Japanese soldiers in succession.

Hou Yue charged at a Japanese soldier with his bayonet. The soldier also charged at him with his bayonet, and their bayonets clashed in mid-air, producing a piercing metallic clang.

Hou Yue exerted force, pressing the enemy's bayonet down, and then thrust it forward, plunging the bayonet into the Japanese soldier's abdomen. The soldier screamed in agony, his body going limp.

Wei Dayong saw the wounded lieutenant lying on the ground, one hand covering his shoulder and the other hand touching the pistol at his waist.

He walked over and stepped on the lieutenant's wrist.

The lieutenant looked up, his face covered in blood, muttering something incoherently.

Wei Dayong ignored him, raised his submachine gun, and fired a shot at the lieutenant's head.

Gunshots echoed on the dirt road.

The battle lasted less than three minutes.

All 27 pursuing Japanese soldiers were annihilated; not a single one survived.

Wei Dayong stood in the middle of the dirt road and glanced at the battlefield. The dirt road was littered with the corpses of Japanese soldiers, their blood seeping into the ground and staining it dark red.

Liu Dazhu and Sun Maolin led two squads of soldiers back from behind the earthen embankment. They had turned back after hearing the gunfire, but by the time they returned, the battle was essentially over.

Liu Dazhu squatted down in front of Wei Dayong, panting heavily: "Company Commander, are you all done fighting?"

"It's over." Wei Dayong patted him on the shoulder. "You guys did a good job. The Japanese devils really chased after us."

Sun Maolin grinned, but the smile quickly faded. He looked at the Japanese corpses on the dirt road, his face turning pale.

Wang Xiao ran over from the front and said to Wei Dayong, "Company Commander, we lost one soldier and three were wounded, but none of the injuries are serious."

"Okay, let Lao Wu and the others help take care of it."

"We captured two light machine guns and twenty rifles, but we haven't had time to count the bullets yet."

"Let's gather them together first, and deal with the POW camps later."

Wei Dayong had the soldiers gather up the captured weapons and ammunition and bandage the wounded. Then he called Wang Xiao, Hou Yue, and Ma Fenghuai to his side.

"There are still about fifty Japanese soldiers in the prisoner-of-war camp. We can't give them time to catch their breath; we must act immediately."