Bright Sword: Starting from Obtaining the Equipment Slot

Early the next morning.

Wei Dayong woke up early and found that Wang Xiao was actually guarding his side.

Seeing the other person's obsequious manner, he blurted out, "Did I snore last night?"

Wang Xiao was taken aback; how could he possibly answer that?

However, he quickly changed his mind and, with a look of deep gratitude, said, "Reporting, Company Commander, there was no snoring! But throughout the night, I could hear you blowing the bugle call to lead the Independent Company soldiers to victory from time to time!"

After saying that, he added, "A wake-up call!"

Wei Dayong was taken aback by this, then slapped the other man on the head and said, "I've always emphasized, stop flattering me!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiao realized he was in trouble. He had tried to flatter the new leader, but it seemed the new leader wasn't buying it...

To everyone's surprise, Wei Dayong continued, "But what you're doing now is excellent! Every word comes from the heart! Alright, you should take a rest for a bit, I'll take some people out for a walk!"

After saying that, Wei Dayong and his two soldiers sneaked out of the valley before dawn.

One of them was named Ma Feng, and the other was named Zheng Dali.

Ma Feng used to be a reconnaissance soldier in the Central Army, and he has a very sharp eye.

Zheng Dali was born into the Jin-Sui Army. As his name suggests, he was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with great strength.

Wei Dayong chose these two people to come with him because he valued their abilities.

The three men were dressed in combat uniforms and looked no different from a Japanese special forces team from a distance.

Ma Feng walked at the front, his steps light and quick, his eyes constantly scanning the surrounding terrain.

Zheng Dali followed behind Wei Dayong, a submachine gun slung over his shoulder and a grenade at his waist, walking with a powerful stride.

As Wei Dayong walked, he kept a watchful eye on everything around him.

The terrain within a three-kilometer radius unfolded in his mind, with mountains, rivers, gullies, and dirt roads, every detail crystal clear.

To the east are continuous mountains, to the west is a wide plain, and to the south is a highway, on which Japanese military vehicles occasionally pass by.

The north was the direction they came from; that mountain forest was secluded enough that they didn't have to worry about the enemy finding their hideout for the time being.

The three of them walked along the mountain path for about an hour and arrived at a mountain ridge.

Ma Feng lay down behind a large rock, took out a pair of binoculars from his pocket, and looked down the mountain.

Below the mountain is a flat area with several villages scattered around it.

Beside one of the villages stood a watchtower.

The watchtower was not tall, with two stories, made of brick and stone, and a light machine gun mounted on the roof.

The pillbox was surrounded by a barbed wire fence, and a trench more than two meters wide was dug outside the fence.

There was a courtyard under the watchtower, with several bungalows in the courtyard. You could see several puppet soldiers wearing yellow dog skins walking around in the courtyard.

Ma Feng handed the binoculars to Wei Dayong and said in a low voice, "Company Commander, look at that pillbox, it's in a good location."

Wei Dayong took the binoculars and observed carefully for a while.

The watchtower was built on an earthen slope at the entrance of the village, giving it a commanding position and controlling a large area around it.

However, the watchtower had a clear weakness in its defense: it was backed by a grove of trees that stretched all the way to the foot of the mountain.

If you sneak through the woods under cover of night, you can reach the back of the pillbox directly.

"What's the name of that village?" Wei Dayong asked, putting down his binoculars.

Ma Feng took out a map from his pocket, unfolded it, and looked at it.

"Xiaowangzhuang." Ma Feng pointed to the location on the map with his finger. "These strongholds are usually guarded by a company of puppet troops, plus a small detachment of Japanese soldiers."

Zheng Dali, who was listening nearby, rubbed his hands together and said, "Company Commander, this place is a good fighting spot."

Wei Dayong did not rush to make a decision.

He carefully surveyed the terrain around the pillbox once more.

The personnel situation is roughly as Ma Feng estimated.

The grove of trees north of the pillbox was indeed a good location. The trees weren't dense, but the bushes were thick, making it difficult for someone to be spotted if they went in.

More importantly, the end of the grove is less than fifty meters from the back of the pillbox, with only a barbed wire fence in between.

If you can sneak past the barbed wire, you can rush directly to the bottom of the pillbox.

There was a small window on the back wall of the first floor of the pillbox. The window wasn't big, but it was big enough to throw a grenade.

"Let's take another look." Wei Dayong handed the binoculars back to Ma Feng. "Look at a few more places, don't rush to decide."

The three of them wandered around the area for most of the day, checking out several of the Japanese and puppet troops' strongholds.

Besides the watchtower in Xiaowangzhuang, there was another stronghold called Majiagou, built by the roadside. It was much more heavily defended than Xiaowangzhuang, and surrounded by open ground, making it difficult to approach.

The other watchtower, called Lijia Kiln, was built even further away, in such a remote location that there was little to gain from attacking it.

Ma Feng put away his binoculars, turned to Wei Dayong, and said, "Company Commander, I think Xiaowangzhuang is the most suitable. There are gaps in its defense, and it's not too far from the valley where we're hiding. We can retreat after we've finished fighting."

Zheng Dali nodded in agreement, saying, "Ma Feng is right, this place is easy to fight in."

Wei Dayong went over the three targets in his mind again and finally made a decision: "Xiaowangzhuang will do. Let's go back and discuss it with everyone, and we'll take action tonight."

The three men descended from the ridge and walked back along the path they had come from.

After walking less than three miles, Wei Dayong suddenly stopped.

He suddenly raised his hand, signaling Ma Feng and Zheng Dali to stop.

Ma Feng and Zheng Dali immediately crouched down, raised their submachine guns, and pointed them forward.

Wei Dayong expanded his field of vision to the maximum extent.

A scene flashed through my mind: a group of people were exchanging fire a kilometer ahead.

He examined them carefully and realized that the attackers were wearing yellow dog skins and were puppet troops.

There were two people surrounded in the middle, dressed in the gray uniforms of the Eighth Route Army.

This group of puppet soldiers consisted of fourteen people, divided into two squads.

One class attacked head-on, while the other class tried to flank them from the side, attempting to encircle and trap them.

The two Eighth Route Army soldiers were pinned down in a ditch by the roadside, bullets hitting them so hard they couldn't lift their heads.

Wei Dayong turned to Ma Feng and Zheng Dali and said, "Listen, there are gunshots! There's something going on ahead."

Ma Feng paused for a moment, then asked, "Shall we go take a look?"

"Yeah, no matter who's fighting, one side is definitely the Japanese." Wei Dayong raised his submachine gun. "Let's go help them out. Follow me!"

The three of them crouched down and crept along the ditch beside the road.

The gunfire grew closer and more frequent.

The puppet army used Type 38 rifles, which had a crisp sound as the bullets flew through the air with a whistling sound.

The two Eighth Route Army soldiers were hiding in a ditch, and their Mauser pistols were almost out of bullets, so they could only return fire intermittently.

A puppet army squad leader lay on the earthen slope by the roadside, shouting into the ditch in a hoarse voice.

"Eighth Route Army brothers, you can't escape now! Lay down your guns and surrender, the Imperial Army will treat prisoners of war well!"

A voice echoed from the ditch: "Wishful thinking!"

The person who answered was a young man, and his words sounded very refined.

The puppet army squad leader, with his hoarse voice, was humiliated by the insult and turned to shout at the puppet soldiers behind him, "Beat them! Beat them to death!"

The gunfire intensified again.

Wei Dayong led Ma Feng and Zheng Dali to sneak up behind the puppet troops.

The puppet troops were so engrossed in the fight that all their attention was focused on the two Eighth Route Army soldiers, and they didn't notice anyone sneaking up behind them.

Wei Dayong gestured to Ma Feng, indicating that he should lead Zheng Dali around from the left while he himself would flank from the right.

Ma Feng nodded, patted Zheng Dali on the shoulder, and the two of them crouched down and disappeared into the roadside bushes.

Wei Dayong managed to sneak up to a position less than 30 meters behind the puppet troops.

He lay prone behind the earthen slope, resting the butt of his submachine gun on his shoulder, and aimed at the puppet army squad leader with the hoarse voice.