Bright Sword: Starting from Obtaining the Equipment Slot

Gunshots suddenly rang out from the depths of the dense forest, with bullets coming from three directions simultaneously toward the mountain road.

Masao Yamaguchi's laughter stopped abruptly, his smile froze on his face, and he suddenly collapsed behind a protruding rock.

The bullet grazed his scalp and struck the pine tree behind him, shattering the bark and splattering wood chips all over his neck.

"Baka! Where did that gunshot come from?!" Masao Yamaguchi lay on the ground, frantically pulling out his pistol and firing two shots haphazardly in the direction from which the gunshot came.

The remaining forty-odd Japanese soldiers immediately dispersed and sought cover.

Several soldiers who reacted a little slower were hit by bullets on the spot, screaming as they fell on the mountain road, blood flowing down the cracks in the gravel.

On the other side, Kong Jie squatted behind a large blue stone, holding a Type 38 rifle in his hand, squinting at a Japanese sergeant who was giving orders on the mountain road.

"Without the advantage of surprise attacks, don't rush to fire. Get closer before you shoot," Kong Jie said to the soldiers behind him without turning his head. "We don't have many bullets, so conserve them!"

A young soldier lay prone beside him, clutching a hand grenade made in the border region, his palms sweaty.

"Commander, where did these Japanese devils come from? They look so disheveled, like they were driven over from the other side of the mountain."

Kong Jie did not answer; his finger remained firmly on the trigger.

He had been leading the Independent Regiment out for almost two days when he received an urgent order from the division headquarters the night before last, saying that the team escorting the radio had gone missing in the Qingfengzhai area and the radio was also missing.

The division commander was furious and ordered the independent regiment operating in the vicinity to immediately launch a search and rescue operation.

He led a team to search along the mountain road all night, but to no avail.

Just as they were preparing to continue deeper into Qingfeng Village, they suddenly heard dense gunfire in the distance. He immediately judged that it was no ordinary battle, and decisively ordered his troops to take cover on the spot and ambush along the hillsides on both sides of the mountain road.

Not long after, the group of fleeing Japanese soldiers came stumbling and staggering towards them.

A cold smile crept across Kong Jie's lips. The Japanese soldiers looked like they'd been beaten up by someone. Whoever had attacked them, since they'd run right into his line of fire, he might as well take their heads.

Kong Jie pulled the trigger sharply, and the bullet pierced the chest of the Japanese sergeant with precision.

The Japanese sergeant froze, his command sword fell to the ground, and he fell forward, rolling down the hillside until he hit the root of a pine tree and came to a stop.

There were more than 120 people in the company. Although their weapons were mixed, including Hanyang rifles, Type 38 rifles, and old-fashioned rifles, and their ammunition was not sufficient, they could not withstand the large number of people and the high ground. They fired from all directions, and the bullets came down from all sides, making the mountain road dusty.

Masao Yamaguchi lay behind the rock, the muscles in his face twitching incessantly.

He couldn't understand how so many ambushes could suddenly appear in this desolate wilderness. He had just been beaten up by bandits at Qingfeng Village, and now he was ambushed and beaten up on the way by another group. Had he forgotten to check the almanac before going out today?

"Squad Leader! There are at least sixty men on the left hillside! And sixty or seventy on the right!" Squad Leader Nakamura crawled to his side and reported with a look of terror on his face.

Masao Yamaguchi gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down.

He strained his ears to discern the gunfire and suddenly noticed a detail. The gunfire from these ambushers was chaotic; although the density of fire was high, the killing efficiency was not high.

In the previous volley, fewer than ten of our men fell; most were grazed by stray bullets. This is not a well-equipped unit.

"Don't panic!" Masao Yamaguchi ordered in a low voice. "Their marksmanship is poor, and they're short on ammunition. Concentrate fire and launch a counter-charge up the left slope, tear open an opening, and break out!"

Upon hearing the order, the Japanese soldiers immediately adjusted their formation.

Several light machine gunners set up their crooked machine guns and began firing wildly at the left hillside.

The Eighth Route Army soldiers on the hillside were pinned down and unable to lift their heads. Taking advantage of this gap, Yamaguchi Masao led more than twenty soldiers in a counterattack on the left side of the hillside, howling as they charged.

Upon seeing this, Kong Jie immediately ordered, "Machine gun platoon! Keep them under control!"

The Independent Regiment's machine gun platoon had only two Czech-made light machine guns, one of which was jammed. The remaining machine gun rattled on, its bullets sweeping down the hillside, taking down two or three charging Japanese soldiers and suppressing their momentum.

For a time, the two sides fought back and forth!

In a pine forest a kilometer away, Wei Dayong lay on a moss-covered boulder, observing the battle ahead through binoculars.

Behind him, the soldiers of the company lay prone on the ground, their guns pointed forward, ready to engage in battle at any moment.

Wei Dayong handed the binoculars to Wang Xiao beside him and said in a low voice, "It should be the Eighth Route Army ahead. Luckily we spotted them early, otherwise we would have been mistaken for friendly forces."

Wang Xiao took the binoculars and looked at them, then frowned: "Battalion Commander, why did we stop chasing? If we had caught up with them in one go and attacked from both sides, none of these Japanese devils would have escaped."

Wei Dayong shook his head: "Dressed like this, if we rush in, they might think we're reinforcements for the Japanese. In that case, it's hard to say who will fight whom!"

He paused, then turned to Ma Feng and said, "Go back to the mountain stronghold quickly and invite Shen Yan here. The sooner the better. Also, have her bring the radio with her."

Ma Feng responded, crouched down and disappeared into the woods, running quickly towards Qingfeng Village.

Wei Dayong continued to observe the battle ahead. Although Kong Jie's company had a large number of men, their equipment was indeed too poor. After that burst of intense fire, the gunfire had noticeably thinned out.

Many soldiers charged down with bayonets at their heels, clearly having run out of bullets.

Wei Dayong frowned as he watched. He turned to Wang Xiao and said, "Have the brothers stay put and keep watch. No one is allowed to act without my order."

Wang Xiao responded and relayed the order.

The assault battalion soldiers lay prone in the pine forest, staring blankly at the battle in the distance. But their equipment was different; they had plenty of ammunition and seven or eight light machine guns.

These equipment are far superior to those of the friendly forces on the other side.

On the hillside ahead, one of Kong Jie's platoons flanked from the left, blocking Yamaguchi Masao's retreat. The Japanese army was attacked from three sides, and their formation was completely thrown into chaos.

Several Japanese soldiers began to crawl into the ravine, but Kong Jie personally led his soldiers to chase after them and killed them at the bottom of the ravine in a hail of bullets.

Masao Yamaguchi glanced back; there were fewer than twenty soldiers left beside him. Squad Leader Nakamura had been shot in the left arm, blood streaming down his sleeve, and he was biting a strip of cloth to bandage himself. The other soldiers were covered in mud and blood, some barely able to hold their rifles steady.

"Squad Leader! We're surrounded!" a bearded soldier cried out in despair.

Masao Yamaguchi raised his hand and slapped him across the face: "Useless trash! We are the warriors of the Locust Army! Even if only one of us is left, we will die on the battlefield!"

Although he said that, he was already planning how to break through.

He looked around, his gaze settling on a low-lying area on the right hillside. That area had the weakest firepower, guarded by only seven or eight Eighth Route Army soldiers.

"Everyone, follow me to break through to the right flank!" Masao Yamaguchi ordered in a low voice, then suddenly stood up and led the remaining troops in a desperate charge towards the right hillside.

Kong Jie saw through his intentions and immediately led a squad to intercept him. But Yamaguchi Masao was going all out this time, personally charging to the front.

The bullet hit Kong Jie's feet, forcing him to lie down. His shoulder slammed into a rock, causing him to gasp in pain.

With just this brief pause, Masao Yamaguchi led seven or eight Japanese soldiers out of the encirclement and plunged into the depths of the dense forest.

Kong Jie got up from the ground, rubbed his shoulder, glanced into the dense forest, and raised his hand to stop the soldiers who wanted to give chase.

"Stop chasing! Don't pursue a cornered enemy. We're running low on ammunition. Get the medic up here and bandage the wounded. The rest of you, clean up the battlefield and collect anything usable."

Upon receiving the order, the soldiers began clearing the battlefield.

More than thirty Japanese soldiers lay scattered on the hillside. The soldiers of the Independent Regiment squatted on the ground, rummaging through the Japanese soldiers' backpacks and ammunition boxes, stuffing bullets, grenades, and dry rations into their own pockets.

Kong Jie sat on a rock and had the medic apply medicine to his shoulder.

At this moment, Company Commander Zhao Hong jogged over, squatted down in front of Kong Jie, and said, "Regimental Commander, the battlefield has been cleared. We captured two light machine guns, more than twenty Type 38 rifles, and more than two thousand rounds of ammunition."

Kong Jie nodded: "How many of our own casualties were there?"

Zhao Hong's expression darkened: "Eleven dead, nine seriously wounded, and sixteen lightly wounded."

Kong Jie remained silent for a moment, then stood up and dusted himself off. Just as he was about to order the troops to assemble, he suddenly saw a group of people emerge from the edge of the dense forest.

The group of men wore a motley collection of bandit-style short jackets, but the Type 38 rifles they carried were brand new and gleaming. Leading the way was a tall, broad-shouldered young man with exceptionally bright eyes.

Kong Jie frowned. The soldiers around him also alertly raised their guns.

"Stop! Who goes there!" Zhao Hong shouted sharply, pointing his pistol at the young man.

Wei Dayong stopped, spreading his arms to indicate that he meant no harm. The soldiers behind him also stopped, their guns pointed downwards, making no provocative moves.

"Brothers of the Eighth Route Army, don't misunderstand! We are the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Assault Battalion, we're one of our own!" Wei Dayong shouted loudly in Kong Jie's direction.

Kong Jie squinted at him, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the bandit's short jacket and the sophisticated weapons.

He had seen all sorts of troops, but this was the first time he had encountered one with this configuration. It was neither like bandits nor like a regular army, yet its equipment was ridiculously good.

"You say you're on the same side, what proof do you have?" Kong Jie asked.

Just as Wei Dayong was about to answer, a soldier behind him suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Battalion Commander, they won't believe us. With our attire and these weapons, no one will believe us."

Wei Dayong waved his hand: "No rush, wait for someone to arrive."

He had already recognized the person in front of him as Kong Jie, one of the original Jin-Sui Iron Triangle characters.

Although Li Yunlong often scolded him as Kong Er Lengzi, he was actually a man of great talent!

This can be seen from the final fate of this person in the original work.

So Wei Dayong stood still, keeping his arms outstretched.

The two sides remained locked in a standoff, neither willing to lower their guns first.

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

Looking at Wei Dayong's calm and composed demeanor, Kong Jie suddenly found it rather interesting. This young man, with dozens of guns pointed at him, remained unfazed; either he truly had a clear conscience, or he was incredibly audacious.

"You said you were an anti-Japanese national salvation assault battalion, but I've never heard of that designation before," Kong Jie asked, his tone softening slightly.

"We were only recently established, and our designation was directly approved by the Second War Zone Command," Wei Dayong said frankly, making up a lie.

Kong Jie raised an eyebrow: "Second War Zone Command? You're Commander Yan's men?"

"To be precise, it's an independent assault battalion. It's directly under the Second War Zone, but not part of any division's organization."

Kong Jie and Zhao Hong exchanged a glance, both feeling that something was amiss. Why would Yan Xishan's troops come to a place like Qingfeng Village? And their attire didn't look like that of a regular army at all.

However, if it really is Yan Xishan's team, it wouldn't be surprising, given the diverse population there!

Just when the two sides were deadlocked, people finally arrived from the other side of the mountain road.