Bright Sword: Starting from Obtaining the Equipment Slot

Masao Yamaguchi gritted his teeth and issued a new order.

"Change tactics! Concentrate bombardment on the gate with grenade launchers and blow it open! Then the third squad will lead the charge and engage in street fighting! No matter how skilled the bandits are, they are no match for us in close combat!"

The Japanese troops readjusted the angle of their grenade launchers, aiming all their grenades at the gate.

Thump thump thump thump!

Five or six grenades struck the gate in succession, causing it to shake violently and sending iron-clad wood chips flying everywhere.

Although the gate was sturdy, it could not withstand such a bombing, and a large hole was blown in the middle of the wooden plank.

When Yamaguchi Masao saw that the gate of the stockade was damaged, he was overjoyed.

"Charge! Charge in!"

More than forty Japanese soldiers from the third squad, bayonets at their ready, charged toward the village gate with shouts.

They broke down the village gate and rushed into the village.

Masao Yamaguchi thought he had finally found a breakthrough and a smug smile appeared on his face.

But he didn't expect that this was exactly the result Wei Dayong wanted.

After the group of Japanese soldiers rushed into the village, they found themselves facing a long stone-paved road with high walls on both sides.

The walls were covered with small holes, and behind each hole was a crossbow.

Zhou Quanheng watched through the observation hole from the control room as the Japanese troops stormed into the main road.

He gripped the lever tightly and shouted to the craftsmen around him, "Release!"

The craftsmen simultaneously pulled the levers.

Countless triangular iron arrows shot out from the small holes in the wall, their sharp whistling sound tearing through the air as they rained down on the Japanese soldiers.

Before the Japanese soldiers could react, iron arrows came shooting from all directions.

Some had their necks pierced by iron arrows, and blood spurted high into the air.

Some were pinned to the wall by iron arrows, struggling in agony.

Some were hit in the eyes by iron arrows, screaming and rolling on the ground.

Even more terrifying, rows of sharpened wooden stakes and iron spears suddenly flipped up from the wall and stabbed out from both sides.

Several Japanese soldiers were pierced on the spot and hung on the wooden stakes, their bodies swaying as the stakes pierced them back and forth.

The more than forty Japanese soldiers who rushed into the village screamed and scattered, scrambling to escape back.

However, the gate was too narrow, and the retreat was not fast enough.

The iron arrows continued to fire, the wooden stakes continued to pierce, and the trapdoors on the ground were activated.

The dozen or so Japanese soldiers running at the back of the pack lost their footing and fell into a trap filled with bamboo skewers. Their horrifying screams came from the trap.

Only seven or eight members of the third squad escaped the village gate alive. They were pale and stumbled as they ran back.

Masao Yamaguchi froze as he watched his carefully selected suicide squad being slaughtered like livestock.

His lips trembled, and he couldn't speak for a long time.

"Where...where is this...how could bandits have such a trap...My warrior is dead just like that? Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Just as Yamaguchi Masao was feeling lost and dejected, Wei Dayong had already led the main forces of the First and Second Companies through the tunnels to the outside of the mountain stronghold.

Wei Dayong poked his head out from the bushes and looked toward the Japanese positions.

The remaining Japanese troops numbered nearly a hundred, but they were stunned by the crushing defeat they had just suffered, and their formation became somewhat chaotic.

While Yamaguchi Masao was still debating whether to continue the attack or retreat, he was completely unaware that a large number of armed personnel were quietly approaching from the woods behind him.

Wei Dayong lowered his voice and said to the soldiers behind him, "The Second Company will flank from the left and block their retreat. The First Company will follow me in a frontal assault. Once the Second Company is in position, listen for my gunshot signal and attack from both sides!"

Zhou Huaiyuan led the Second Company crouching low and sneaking into the woods, heading towards the rear of the Japanese army.

Wei Dayong led the first company to continue lying in ambush at the edge of the dense forest, waiting for the second company to take position.

Half an hour later, Zhou Huaiyuan sent a soldier back to report that the Second Company had blocked the Japanese army's retreat route.

Wei Dayong stood up and stretched his wrists.

He gripped his pistol, took a deep breath, and roared, "First Company! Charge with me!"

Suddenly, a deafening battle cry erupted from the dense forest, and Wei Dayong was the first to rush out.

The soldiers of the first company followed behind, picked up their rifles, and launched a charge towards the rear of the Japanese army.

Hearing the shouts of battle behind him, Masao Yamaguchi turned around abruptly, his eyes wide with shock.

He never dreamed that a force would suddenly appear behind him.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Rear!" Masao Yamaguchi roared hoarsely.

The Japanese soldiers hurriedly turned around and opened fire towards the dense forest.

However, the forest was too dense; once the bullets entered, they disappeared without a trace, making it impossible to stop the continuous assaults.

Wei Dayong ran incredibly fast; the physical enhancements from the two pieces of equipment allowed him to traverse the mountains and forests like a cheetah.

He rushed to a point 30 meters from the Japanese position, raised his hand, and shot down a Japanese sniper who was firing a light machine gun.

The machine guns went silent, and the soldiers of the first company seized the opportunity to rush out of the dense forest, their bullets sweeping towards the backs of the Japanese troops.

The Japanese army was attacked from both sides and finally fell into chaos.

Wang Xiao saw the fighting starting down the mountain from the stockade wall and immediately ordered the gates to be opened, leading his men out.

He launched a frontal assault on the Japanese army, while machine guns and crossbows on the stockade walls opened fire simultaneously, suppressing the Japanese army's frontal firepower.

Masao Yamaguchi was completely devastated.

His troops were caught in the middle, surrounded by bullets from both sides, and the soldiers hastily fought back under the leadership of their respective sergeants.

"Retreat! Retreat! Retreat to the left flank!" Masao Yamaguchi brandished his sword and charged toward the left flank hillside.

The remaining Japanese troops followed him, fleeing in panic to the mountains on the left flank.

Just then, Zhou Huaiyuan's company flanked the Japanese troops from the direction of their retreat, catching them off guard and taking down several slow-moving Japanese soldiers with a volley of gunfire.

Masao Yamaguchi fled into the mountains, and the number of soldiers around him dwindled.

He ran while looking back, his face showing a mixture of surprise, anger, and shame.

He had just boasted that he could take down the small mountain stronghold in half a day and that the Japanese army of the past was all useless, but now his troops have been routed and he himself is fleeing for his life in a sorry state.

This is incredibly embarrassing.

But at this point, saving face was out of the question; survival was the priority.

Masao Yamaguchi led his remaining troops, stumbling and fleeing for more than ten miles through the mountains and forests, until the gunshots behind them gradually faded into the distance.

He stopped, panting, leaned against a pine tree, and wiped the sweat from his face.

"Count...count the number of people..."

The Japanese platoon leader counted the men and said in a bitter voice, "Company Commander, there are forty-five men left, eighteen of whom are wounded to varying degrees."

Masao Yamaguchi remained silent for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter.

The soldiers nearby were startled, thinking their commander had been knocked senseless.

Masao Yamaguchi stopped laughing, a sly glint in his eyes.

"I laugh at that Qingfeng Village chief; he's nothing but a bandit, short-sighted and foolish! If he had laid an ambush here, we would all be dead today!"

The surrounding Japanese soldiers looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

Masao Yamaguchi straightened his military uniform, forcing himself to appear confident.

"Let's go! Let's head out of the mountains! Once we return to our base and regroup, we must raze this mountain stronghold to the ground!"

Before he could finish speaking, a sudden change occurred; gunshots rang out from the dense forest nearby!