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

At 2 a.m., north of Yixian County

Under the cover of night, a group of shadowy figures crept silently toward the defending troops' positions like rats emerging from their holes. Sergeant Kubo Yasuyuki had a sanitary napkin tied to his head and was covered in high-explosive bombs; this was a one-way trip.

He was surrounded by other suicide squad members like himself, whose mission was to blow up the Chinese bunkers that had claimed the lives of countless warriors in the past few days.

Sergeant Kubo received militaristic education from a young age, and for him, death was a kind of relief, all for the holy war!

As a veteran Japanese soldier who had served for many years, he was skilled in tactical maneuvers and moved nimbly across the ground riddled with shell craters and corpses. Those corpses were his comrades who had spent every day with him. When they boarded the ship, they were all full of vigor, clamoring to build an immortal legacy for the empire. Now they were all cold corpses.

As for Sergeant Kubo and his men, they might not even leave behind any corpses. He wasn't afraid of dying; he was only afraid of failing to complete the mission.

As he drew closer to the main bunker of the Chinese, he climbed over artillery fire zones, barbed wire obstacles, and anti-tank ditches, and crossed mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The dark bunker was finally in sight.

The Chinese had not yet discovered them, and Sergeant Kubo was overjoyed, victory was just around the corner.

His life was also nearing its end, perhaps a final return to humanity. Sergeant Kubo glanced to the east, where his home, his beautiful wife, and his three-year-old daughter were.

If it weren't for this war, he would be with his wife and daughters right now, spending a long night in blissful happiness.

But he forced himself to turn his head away, not daring to look back, fearing that if he looked any longer he would lose the courage to rush towards the bunker.

Everything for the holy war!

Sergeant Kubo's eyes hardened. He bent over, pushed off with his legs, and shot towards the main castle like an arrow.

In order to completely destroy the bunker, the Japanese soldiers chose to perish together with the enemy. Just as Sergeant Kubo lunged at the bunker, he pulled the fuse, pressed his body against the firing port, and clung tightly to the outer wall with both hands.

With his life nearing its end, he felt he needed a slogan, so he roared:

"His Majesty the Emperor Itaya!"

It hasn't exploded yet, then added:

"Miyuki, take good care of Moeko!"

Kubo Moeko was his only daughter, and in the moment before his death, he regretted participating in this damned holy war.

He died silently in the darkness, and Miyuki and Moeko will belong to someone else from now on. What did he gain?

"boom!"

The massive shockwave blasted Sergeant Kubo into pieces that even Miyuki couldn't recognize. The main castle was also destroyed as he had wished, and he was strapped with a full 20 kilograms of high explosives.

"boom!"

"Boom!"

Explosions followed one after another, bunkers were destroyed one by one, and fire briefly illuminated the night, igniting Colonel Nagano's hope of breaching Yicheng.

Colonel Fujita even waved his fist and said:

"Nagano-kun, it's a success! Under the watchful eye of Amaterasu, the warriors accomplished the impossible mission—all the Chinese bunkers have been destroyed!"

Nagano also said excitedly:

"Yosh, this is the power of Bushido! The Chinese can never defeat it. Fire! Charge!"

The Japanese artillery units couldn't wait any longer. After receiving orders from the joint command, they impatiently hurled volleys of shells into the city. The city was quickly set ablaze, and the raging flames made the faces of the Japanese soldiers look exceptionally ferocious, like demons from hell.

South of the city, the headquarters of the 648th Regiment

Regiment Commander Yao Zhiqing's expression was as resolute as iron in the firelight, his eyes filled with contempt. The Chengyuan position had long been abandoned under orders, and the Japanese had only blown up an empty bunker.

He now admires Senior Zhao immensely. The latter seemed to have anticipated the Japanese attack and made preparations in advance, causing the Japanese's powerful punch to fall into thin air.

What followed was brutal street fighting. The soldiers of the 648th Regiment, from top to bottom, were fearless, and no one could compare to Baoshan City.

He had never been afraid of Baoshan City, which was in dire straits, and he certainly wouldn't be afraid of Yicheng.

Here are more than two thousand brothers in the regiment, and behind them is the all-powerful Commander Zhao, and thousands of reserves!

Under Yao Zhiqing's cold gaze, thousands of Japanese soldiers charged into the city, yelling and shouting. Gunfire and shouts erupted, and the whole city seemed to suddenly awaken.

Colonel Nagano felt a sudden pang of unease; the smile on his face vanished instantly, replaced by an indescribable worry.

Colonel Fujita's expression also changed drastically, and he said with a cold face:

"The Chinese seem prepared. Are we taking too much of a risk?"

Colonel Nagano fell silent, unsure how to respond, as the course of the battle had deviated from their expectations.

In order not to affect morale, he could only say, in a self-deceptive way:

"Fujita-kun, we must believe in our warriors. Even if the Chinese have a conspiracy, it is all in vain in the face of the absolute strength of the Imperial Army."

The city has been breached; victory will surely belong to the Imperial Army!

Colonel Fujita forced aside his worries, straightened his chest, and said:

"That's right, the Imperial Army is invincible!"

Captain Masao Nomura thought so too. At this moment, he was leading hundreds of Japanese soldiers and advancing along the main road. After entering the city, he was completely in the dark. Many Japanese soldiers had already rushed into the residential area, but he was still thinking about advancing along the main road. He wanted to break through the entire city first.

Yicheng runs north-south, with the main road in the city running from north to south. If the Japanese can break through Yicheng, they can once again march on Taierzhuang and wipe away their previous humiliation.

A dark barricade blocked their path, with several machine guns and dozens of rifles already laid out in preparation; while in the shops on both sides, the other two platoons of the Second Company were hidden, ready to join forces to deal with the Japanese.

The 2nd Company's fire platoon was equipped with flares that could be fired from M2 mortars. When the Japanese entered the ambush position, the company commander decisively ordered the flares to be fired, and the night sky was instantly illuminated, exposing the Japanese to the soldiers' guns.

Masao Nomura was blinded by the sudden bright light. Before they could figure out what was happening, a burst of gunfire suddenly erupted from directly in front of them.

The light and heavy weapons of the first platoon and the firepower platoon opened fire fiercely on the Japanese soldiers. The crossfire formed by four M1919 Browning medium machine guns instantly swept down a large number of Japanese soldiers, as easily as shooting targets.

Captain Nomura was lucky to escape the first round of fire, but he was not happy at all. Under the dense barrage of bullets from the ambush, Nomura's squadron had suffered more than half casualties, and the rest were fleeing in all directions.

The flanks were the preferred option for most Japanese soldiers, but what awaited them were also the dark muzzles of guns. The officers and soldiers of the second and third platoons blocked the escape routes on the east and west flanks, and sent some men to go around to the back of the Japanese soldiers to trap them.

Gunfire erupted, screams filled the air, and Captain Nomura was almost in despair; this was completely different from what he had imagined.

Normally, after a city falls, it should be a time for celebration. However, instead of enjoying the benefits of the fall, they were ambushed by the Chinese and faced the risk of total annihilation.

"You bastard, you despicable Chinese!"

"Thrust! Thrust!"

Captain Nomura chose to break through from the front. Arrogant and disdainful of turning back to escape, he was determined to die on the charge.

The soldiers of the Second Company fulfilled his wish, bombarding the Japanese with a barrage of bullets. This was not a fair battle at all, but a one-sided massacre.

Nomura led more than thirty Japanese soldiers in a desperate charge toward the barricades, where they fell one by one under a hail of bullets until they were all dead.

Their desperate charge was nothing but a self-indulgent suicide attempt. The defending troops only lost a lot of bullets, with no casualties. These Japanese soldiers didn't even have machine guns to fire.

Those Japanese soldiers who fled in all directions did not fare well either. They were wiped out by the officers and soldiers on both flanks and those who were trapping the enemy. The gunfire soon ceased, and the battlefield returned to tranquility.

The Second Company left some troops to keep watch, while the others, led by their squads and platoons, cleaned up the battlefield, and the First Platoon continued to hold the barricades.

There were many such barricades, all of which were fortifications on the surface. The real killer move was the tunnels that were spread throughout the city. The defense of the city walls bought enough time to build the fortifications, which is why Zhao Yunwen dared to let the Japanese in to fight.

The second platoon leader excitedly reported to the company commander:

"Company commander, we have found the bodies of 117 Japanese soldiers, and a few more have not yet been found. We have also captured 89 rifles and pistols, 6 grenade launchers, and a quantity of ammunition and supplies."

This was almost an understrength squadron, nearly wiped out. The company commander was about to assign new combat missions when a burst of gunfire came from the flank and rear.

The second company commander said solemnly:

"These must be Japanese reinforcements coming after hearing the gunfire. The second and third platoons quickly retreat from both flanks and form a triangular formation with the first platoon's fire support platoon to block the Japanese's flanking maneuver. We'll meet the Japanese head-on."