Even if I'm a useless bum at Whampoa Military Academy, I'll be invincible in the War of Re

Tani Hisao slumped to the ground. The 6th Division had exhausted its forces, with only a few subordinate regiments remaining. The cavalry regiment was responsible for protecting the division headquarters and was not fit for street fighting. The supply and engineer regiments had transferred many men to reinforce the front lines, and the rest were tasked with defending the division headquarters.

The only ones that could be of any use are the artillery regiments, but now that the two sides are entangled, shelling them might kill more of their own men, since the other side has the numerical advantage.

Hisao Tani suddenly realized that he could do nothing and was so desperate that he could only stare blankly. Colonel Shimosuke also had no good solutions, and the situation in the city had slipped out of their control.

"Your Excellency, the Chinese cannot be allowed to break through. You should immediately telegraph all regiments to intercept them at all costs. At the same time, report to His Highness the Prince, so that he can coordinate with the divisions to assist in the defense, lest Zhao Yunwen escape in the chaos."

Colonel Shimono, as chief of staff, did offer some suggestions, which, although not very effective, were better than nothing.

Colonel Shimono's words reminded Tani Hisao that the most important thing at this time was to show Princess Asaka his determination, so as not to be blamed after the war.

Tani Hisao rolled to his feet and roared at Colonel Shimono:

"Report to His Highness immediately that I have already organized forces to block the Chinese. Please coordinate with the divisions to deal with them, especially the Ninth and Sixteenth Divisions in the east of the city. They must hold their ground."

Hisao Tani's words were clever, pushing the 9th and 16th Divisions to the front as scapegoats. If the guerrilla column broke out, the primary responsibility would lie with the eastern front, easily absolving himself of blame. It was a case of "better to die than to die."

Colonel Shimotsubou understood perfectly; this was tantamount to shirking all responsibility, and his steps became much more steady.

This was destined to be a sleepless night. From the headquarters of the Japanese regiments and divisions to Prince Asaka, everyone was in a state of panic. Various strict orders were issued to the troops, but they stopped abruptly at the battalion level.

The communication couldn't be relayed; the battalion commander couldn't contact the company commander at all, the orders were rendered useless, and the divisions remained disorganized.

The 16th Division was the first to fall into chaos and was also the most thoroughly thrown into disarray, followed by the 9th and 6th Divisions. The 13th Division was the most relaxed, as it was almost completely unaffected on the western front.

The 114th and 5th Divisions were not the main players; the key was the 9th Division, which blocked the guerrilla detachment's breakout route and bore the brunt of the attack.

Hisao Tani's response was impeccable, but he did not expect Zhao Yunwen to launch a flanking attack on the south city. The most elite special operations battalion, the 7th Regiment, easily tore through the armor and stormed into the south city.

The Japanese 6th Division was doing its best to block the three regiments in the south of the city. At the critical moment, Zhao Yunwen led the special service battalion to disrupt their formation. They seemed to have eyes in the sky, and every strike hit the weak spot. They quickly cut deep into the enemy's rear and routed the Japanese army.

Almost every soldier in the special operations battalion carried a submachine gun. They would fire at any Japanese soldier they saw. They were all veterans and didn't need to aim deliberately; they just went by instinct.

The 7th Regiment's flanking attack completely disrupted the Japanese formation and effectively supported the breakout of the South City Group. However, the Japanese troops in the city were not to be underestimated; the 6th and 9th Divisions were both formidable divisions.

The 6th Division, in particular, has been conquering cities and territories since its landing at Hangzhou Bay, and its morale is high, with most of its members being veterans.

Although their rhythm was disrupted, the veterans, led by their squad leaders and platoon leaders, fought desperately and inflicted heavy casualties on the breakout force.

Zhu Dacai is like a lone wolf lurking in the night; he doesn't strike easily, but when he does, it's deadly.

As a veteran, he had a good sense of direction. He had already killed three Japanese soldiers and rescued four comrades along the way. He was also wounded in several places, but it did not affect his combat ability.

The five men formed a combat team, with Zhu Dacai as the team leader. Although Lu Shida was a second lieutenant, he had to listen to him.

A machine gun emplacement spewing fire ahead blocked their path. Lu Shida suggested taking a detour, but Zhu Dacai firmly replied:

"Where do we go in this pitch black? Just kill them!"

Lu Shida really wanted to say that there were more than a dozen Japanese soldiers, but he swallowed the words back. Facing Zhu Dacai, who exuded a murderous aura, he was somewhat intimidated.

Zhu Dacai never considered listening to anyone else; in this life-or-death situation, he only trusted himself.

"Give me the grenades and hand grenades. You hang the Japanese soldiers here, and I'll sneak over and kill them."

Remember, when you hear a noise, rush forward and fight like crazy!

After Zhu Dacai finished speaking in a low voice, he began collecting the grenades. He gathered four in total, stuffed the long-handled grenade into the grenade pouch, and then secured it with leg wrappings, making a cluster bomb. After finishing, he said to Lu Shida:

"I'm leaving this to you!"

After Zhu Dacai finished speaking, he disappeared into the darkness. Lu Shida shouted coldly:

"Brothers, fight!"

Led by Lu Shida, the four men lay prone on the rubble and opened fire on the Japanese soldiers. They were quickly met with machine gun fire, and bullets whizzed past their heads, making their scalps tingle.

Zhu Dacai moved nimbly through the ruins, sometimes running, sometimes stopping, his wolf-like eyes firmly fixed on the location of the firing points.

He quickly reached the Japanese right flank, less than forty meters away, and could hear the commander's shouts.

This is a heavy machine gun strongpoint, with a short wall made of sandbags blocking the main street.

Shops lined both sides, but they had been bombed into ruins, with rubble and debris everywhere. The Japanese were cunning; they had ambushed a rifle squad on each side of the ruins, hiding them very well, but they couldn't escape Zhu Dacai's keen nose.

He was also very bold, managing to sneak up right under the noses of the Japanese sentries. There was no other way, as cluster bombs couldn't be thrown from that far away.

The pull cords of the three grenades were tangled together. Zhu Dacai pulled them off and threw the grenade pouches over as well.

With several loud bangs, the heavy machine gun was overturned to the ground by the shockwave. Most of the Japanese soldiers in the machine gun team were killed or wounded, and the remaining few were dazed and confused.

After throwing the cluster bomb, Zhu Dacai rolled on the spot, barely dodging the bullets from the sentry. He then took out the only melon grenade he had left, pulled the pin, smashed it against a brick, and threw it at the Japanese soldier.

This thing is quite lethal, but it's a bit inhumane. You have to bump it before throwing it, which makes it easy to give away your position.

The grenade landed precisely behind the Japanese soldiers, and the explosion produced hundreds of shrapnel fragments that sent all three Japanese soldiers back to their hometowns.

At this moment, Lu Shida and his men had already rushed up. The two sides fired ping-pong balls wildly. Several Japanese soldiers who were still in a daze were killed, and two of the five men were also killed in action.

Lu Shida was shot, but it wasn't a fatal wound; it was a penetrating one, and he can still fight.

The remaining three had no time to grieve; they didn't even know the names of their two fallen comrades—too many had died.

After quickly cleaning up the battlefield, mainly picking up grenades and useful bullets, I stuffed any valuables I found into my pocket. I didn't take anything extra; when you're escaping, you can do whatever makes things easy.

The three regrouped into a combat team. Zhu Dacai led the way with his rifle, Lu Shida took over the Czech-made rifle, and the other veteran switched to a Type 38 rifle. His short-barreled Mauser was running out of bullets.

The three men, one in front and two behind, made their way through the ruins. They avoided the Japanese soldiers they encountered, and for those they couldn't avoid, they fought them head-on. During this time, they killed two groups of seven Japanese soldiers in total, and fortunately, they did not hurt anyone else.

As dawn broke, the gunfire ahead grew increasingly intense. Zhu Dacai could even discern a large number of domestically produced weapons, indicating that they had already reached the east side of the city.

Zhu Dacai and others also joined the battle, making a final stand!

As more and more soldiers from the south city broke through the encirclement, the pressure on the Japanese troops in the east city increased dramatically, and signs of local defeat appeared.

After Zhao Yunwen led the Special Service Battalion and the Seventh Regiment to disrupt the Japanese army's formation, they did not linger. Instead, they advanced eastward along the main road, arriving at the foot of Fugui Mountain half an hour later than Zhu Dacai.

The remnants of the 9th and 16th Divisions of the Japanese army were scattered, and the east of the city had been taken over by guerrilla detachments, including various regiments.

At daybreak, the various regiments met at the foot of Mount Fugui. Although many people were still trapped in the encirclement, the main force had broken through the encirclement, and Zhao Yunwen also met Zhang Yi and others who came to meet him.

As old buddies, the two gave each other a big bear hug, and everyone cheered to celebrate their reunion.

Zhao Yunwen raised his voice and said:

"Now is not the time to celebrate. We still have many brothers trapped in the city. Are you willing to follow me back into the enemy lines and rescue them?"

"willing!"

"willing!"

"war!"

Zhao Yunwen waved his hand:

"Brothers, kill them!"