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

Inside the nameless valley, Shinohara's squadron was being ravaged by a fierce storm, with crossfire from the mountains on both sides efficiently and quickly reaping the lives of the Japanese soldiers.

Light and heavy machine guns, grenades, mortars, and thousands of rifles—such intense firepower left the Japanese soldiers utterly helpless.

Captain Shinohara's eyes were practically spitting fire as he cursed the Chinese for their lack of martial ethics and their reliance on sneak attacks, telling them to come down and fight with bayonets if they dared!

On the mountain ridge, a loud bugle call rang out, and the ambushers emerged, their gleaming bayonets flashing in the sunlight.

Captain Shinohara brandished his ancestral sword, yelling loudly:

"Warriors, the time has come to serve the Sky Locust!"

"Let the Chinese see the Imperial Army's assassination skills!"

Captain Shinohara was very excited. He was a master swordsman, and ordinary people couldn't even get close to him.

Although the Japanese only had thirty or fifty remaining soldiers, they were fearless in the face of an ambush force that outnumbered them by more than ten. The 10th Division consisted of veteran Japanese soldiers who had undergone specialized bayonet training.

The distance between the two sides had closed considerably, and Qin Haitao was once again at the forefront. He had switched his Mauser pistol to burst fire mode, held it flat, and fired a burst at the charging Japanese soldiers. He had his eye on Captain Shinohara.

Before Captain Shinohara could even draw his sword, he was struck by several bullets and fell unwillingly at Qin Haitao's feet.

Qin Haitao didn't even glance at him. He fired his Mauser pistol continuously, quickly emptying the magazine. At least four Japanese soldiers died under his gun.

The other Japanese soldiers were also devoured by the swarming troops, without even a ripple appearing in the water; Shinohara's company was completely annihilated.

The guard, Tie Dan, protested to him:

"Battalion Commander, why are you at the front again! If you keep doing this, I'm going to report you to the regimental commander."

Tie Dan was assigned by Wang Guohua to be Qin Haitao's bodyguard, mainly to protect him closely. He also had to do some odd jobs, as Qin Haitao's one arm was ultimately inconvenient.

Qin Haitao said casually:

"You can only blame yourself for being too slow, kid. You'll need more practice to be my bodyguard!"

Tie Dan's face flushed. He was a member of the reconnaissance company, yet he couldn't even outrun the one-armed battalion commander. He was utterly humiliated.

Qin Haitao had no shame in front of Tiedan; as the battalion commander, it was perfectly normal for him to be first. He immediately shouted the order:

"Quickly clean up the battlefield, the Japanese reinforcements are on their way!"

Before the soldiers of the First Battalion could even get their fill, the Japanese were all wiped out, and many of them hadn't even had a chance to make a sale!

When they heard that the Japanese were coming to their aid, they were not afraid at all; on the contrary, they were looking forward to it.

The soldiers quickly cleared the battlefield, picking up some guns and ammunition, and incidentally finishing off the Japanese soldiers.

Before the battlefield was completely cleared, chaotic gunfire erupted ahead. Japanese reinforcements had arrived and were exchanging fire with the Third Company, which was on guard at the perimeter.

Qin Haitao roared:

"Brothers, take only your guns and ammunition—retreat!"

"Tiedan, go and inform the Third Company to fight and retreat simultaneously."

After receiving the order, the main force of the First Battalion quickly retreated, while the Third Company fought and retreated. Their destination was the "Number Two" blocking point, where the Second Battalion was already on high alert.

The First Battalion retreated very quickly; their specialty was mobile warfare, and the Japanese reinforcements, despite their best efforts, could not catch up.

When the reinforcements reached the nameless valley, they were horrified by the corpses strewn across the ground and screamed. The commander brandished his saber and roared:

"You bastard, you despicable Chinese! You think you can just run away after taking advantage of us? Chase after them!"

"Chase after them and kill them all!"

No wonder Major Okamoto was furious. Shinohara Company was under their command, and losing an entire company would infuriate anyone.

Driven by Major Okamoto, the Japanese soldiers relentlessly pursued and attacked the Third Company, bullets whizzing and gunfire echoing far and wide through the valley.

Lieutenant Captain Nakagawa said worriedly:

"Okamoto-kun, there is a pass ahead. The terrain is treacherous, and the Chinese will definitely be there to block the Imperial Army. If we pursue too closely, we may suffer losses."

"Nakagawa-kun, you're overthinking it. Although Black Wind Pass is strategically important, the terrain outside the pass is open, making it unsuitable for an ambush."

Okamoto had just finished showing off when the rumble of cannons sounded from the front. This slap in the face came too quickly.

The signalman rushed over to report:

"Commander, there is an ambush at the entrance of the valley ahead. The Chinese have used several cannons to intercept them, and the Imperial Army has suffered heavy casualties."

Okamoto took a deep breath and said:

"The Chinese do indeed have a blocking force at Black Wind Pass. Tell the warriors to retreat 300 meters and wait for me to arrive before making a decision."

The Japanese soldiers had anticipated being ambushed on their way to Taierzhuang. As the vanguard, their mission was to clear the obstacles.

Urged on by Major Okamoto, the battalion headquarters quickened their pace and soon arrived at Black Wind Pass.

The shelling had ended, and the Japanese soldiers had calmed down. The mountains on both sides of the valley entrance were steep and densely forested, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Major Okamoto took command, searching for a breakthrough with his binoculars. Captain Nakagawa leaned over and said:

"Okamoto-kun, the Black Wind Pass is flanked by rolling mountains, with only a valley pass as a passage. The Chinese have taken advantage of the terrain; it'll be difficult to fight them!"

Major Okamoto said nonchalantly:

"In the face of modern artillery, even the most treacherous passes cannot stop the Imperial Army. Let's try fighting them first."

The order was given to Asada's company to launch a probing attack on the eastern mountain ridge, with the machine gun company and infantry artillery platoon providing fire support, to probe the Chinese forces first.

This is a common tactic used by the Japanese. In their eyes, Heifengkou was just an ordinary pass that could be taken in a few rounds of assault.

After receiving orders, the Asada Company advanced into the mountains in a well-organized formation. The skirmish lines were spread out, and every Japanese soldier was carrying a gun, crouching low, and moving cautiously. They would lie down at the slightest disturbance.

The 1st Company and artillery company of the 2nd Battalion were defending the eastern mountain ridge, while the 2nd and 3rd Companies were defending the western ridge. The eastern mountain ridge was steeper.

The first battalion, which retreated into the valley, served as a reserve force, ready to reinforce the second battalion at any time.

Second Battalion Commander Wang Minghui graduated from the seventh class of the Whampoa Military Academy. He was previously the battalion commander of the Sixth Regiment of the Training Corps and participated in the First and Second Battles of Shanghai, possessing rich combat experience.

Seeing that the Japanese only numbered around a hundred, he decided not to expose his artillery and to rely on his company to repel the attack.

The officers of the Training Corps were very proud and unafraid of the Japanese. He kept the Japanese troops until they were halfway up the mountain before ordering them to open fire.

The brothers in the company fired at the Japanese soldiers, especially the firepower of six Browning medium machine guns, which became the Japanese soldiers' nightmare.

The three 60mm mortars also opened fire at full capacity, hurling volleys of shells into the enemy ranks and easily suppressing Asada's company.

The artillery company's six cannons hadn't been used yet; their opponents were the Japanese heavy machine guns and mortars.

Asada's squadron suffered heavy casualties, and Major Okamoto frowned as he gave the order:

"Instruct the infantry artillery platoon and machine gun company to fire freely and suppress the Chinese firepower."

After the communications soldier left, Lieutenant Captain Nakagawa said:

"Okamoto-kun, it's rumored that the defense of Feixian is the Sulu Guerrilla Column, an elite force that broke out of Nanjing. They are well-equipped, and Yamamoto's battalion was defeated by them."

Major Okamoto had lost his previous arrogance. He had previously fought against the poorly equipped Northwest Army, but this time he had truly broadened his horizons.

Several Type 92 heavy machine guns joined the battle, and bullets rained down on the defending troops' positions. Major Okamoto was horrified to find that he was at a disadvantage in the exchange of fire with the defending troops' machine guns.

Eight can't beat six, but luckily they have infantry guns.

This was the main firepower unit of the Japanese army, at the battalion level, and it was invincible on the North China battlefield.

As Major Okamoto anticipated, two shells flew toward the defending position, hitting a machine gun emplacement. The gunner was killed by shrapnel, and the gun was overturned to the ground by the shockwave.

The other machine guns were so frightened that they immediately moved away. Wang Minghui shouted coldly:

"Let the artillery battery shoot down the Japanese infantry guns!"

At the Second Brigade Command Post, Zhao Yunwen was closely monitoring the battle on the periphery when Xie Polu rushed over to report:

"Commander, the main force of the Laigu Detachment has left Pingyi City, carrying a large number of artillery pieces."

Zhao Yunwen's eyes flashed with murderous intent, but he held back. Now was not the time to destroy the artillery group; it would be bad if he scared off the Laigu Detachment.

"Send a message to the Sixth Regiment: once the Japanese heavy artillery arrives, abandon the position. Do not engage in a direct confrontation!"

Xie Polu accepted the order and left. Zhao Yunwen's gaze once again turned to the distance, and no one knew what he was thinking.