Chapter 150 The Rain of Bullets

Kawa Taro was no stranger to this new weapon. Since switching to this new bomber, his favorite feature was the two twenty-millimeter machine guns.

The rapid rate of fire and high accuracy of these twin autocannons made them far more effective than dropping bombs.

The four machine guns were also excellent, especially when strafing ground targets at low altitude. Whether it was a single soldier or a group, nothing could withstand such firepower.

He often completed missions using only the autocannons and machine gun bullets. Just now, he had spotted the artillery position on Lei Huo Ridge.

He immediately notified the other eight bombers in the squadron to converge on the location, opening fire first.

Although the initial shots missed, only splintering some trees on the mountainside, Kawa Taro was undeterred.

He believed that once they got closer, flying within a hundred or two meters of the Chinese artillery position, they would surely hit their mark.

Takeda Hitoshi, piloting a bomber behind him, felt the same. He fired a few test rounds as well, then ordered his crew to prepare for bombing.

As the entire squadron descended, hugging the ground,

“Boom, boom, boom!”

“Da-da-da!”

…

A sudden storm of bullets erupted from the ground, targeting the bombers.

Two anti-aircraft machine gun companies, totaling twenty-four guns, and an autocannon company with twelve twenty-millimeter cannons, along with two eighty-eight-millimeter anti-aircraft guns, all opened fire on the bombers flying at a mere five hundred meters.

Completely focused on attacking the artillery position, Kawa Taro saw a web of fire streaking towards them from the mountain.

“Damn it!” he thought, instinctively maneuvering the bomber to avoid the barrage.

They were now less than a thousand meters away. As the intense fire net erupted from the mountain, a shell struck the nose of his aircraft.

Kawa Taro's new bomber began to disintegrate from the front. Though not massively powerful, the twenty-millimeter shells were more than enough to shred the fragile aircraft.

The entire plane was ripped apart from nose to midsection. Fujiwara No, and the other six crewmen preparing to drop their bombs suddenly saw the sky and a multitude of fiery trails.

The headless bomber continued forward, momentum carrying it onward. Fujiwara No and his crew were terrified, their minds reeling as they screamed in terror.

At the same time, Takeda Hitoshi's bomber was also under attack from machine guns and autocannons, suffering a similar fate.

One plane, struck by an eighty-eight-millimeter shell, simply disintegrated in mid-air.

The nine bombers were finished. The nine fighters in the sky fared no better. Their aircraft only mounted two machine guns each, while Jiang Yuanwu's twelve fighters each carried an autocannon, giving them a significant advantage.

Combined with the three additional fighters from the Special Operations Brigade,

The weapons advantage and numerical superiority ensured a swift end to the aerial battle.

The air combat had no effect on the ground battle as Shi Junxia and his Second Company were advancing towards Gaoan.

Defending this line were Isono Hideki's company and a puppet battalion under Qin Jinghuan. The initial bombardment had caught the Japanese and puppet troops off guard, but they were still holding their ground.

Tokugawa Ren, the squad leader, started reorganizing his squad as soon as the bombing stopped, ordering the wounded to be gathered and sent to the rear.

The remaining Japanese soldiers prepared for battle. They had anticipated the conflict and had already conscripted numerous civilians to transport the wounded and supplies.

Tokugawa Ren, the squad leader, was looking at his squad which had just lost eleven men, nearly a platoon in that bombing.

Before he could lament, the Second Regiment started their assault.

Shi Junxia's First Company was ten kilometers away at Lion Mountain, tasked with intercepting Japanese reinforcements. The attack was led by the Second Company.

Company Commander Luo Youan organized the attack with a traditional approach: six heavy machine gun carts in the front, followed by soldiers taking cover.

Behind them were two infantry guns and mortars providing fire support, with rocket launchers accompanying the main force.

As the six armored carts rolled into view, Tokugawa Ren's squad panicked.

This was the legendary force they had heard about before the battle against the Special Operations Brigade at Mingrong, but had not encountered at Jurong.

They never expected to meet them here. Tokugawa Ren shouted, “Grenade launchers, take them out immediately!”

While not as heavily armored as tanks, the carts were impervious to heavy machine gun fire.

The best weapon against them was an infantry gun, which Tokugawa Ren’s infantry squad lacked. So he could only resort to using grenade launchers to destroy those pushcarts.

Feng Jun pushed the cart, focusing on charging forward. Lin Dayong operated the heavy machine gun, firing “da-da-da” bursts.

Behind them, a squad of soldiers, crouching low with their rifles, followed directly behind the carts, advancing rapidly.

Whenever they encountered obstacles, the soldiers spread out and fired. Most of them were armed with submachine guns, providing intense firepower.

Sergeant Major Kita Shimeji operated his machine gun, continuously firing at the oncoming carts. The bullets struck the metal armor, producing a constant “ding-ding-dang-dang” sound.

While the sound was satisfying, indicating that every bullet hit its target, it had no effect.

However, the bullet blew Yuan Tian Taiyi’s head off, splattering Kita Shimeji’s face with brains.

Just then, Onodera Yosuke finally fired his grenade launcher: with a "boom," a grenade soared far away.

It landed more than a hundred meters behind the attacking force, infuriating Tokugawa Ren. “I told you to hit the carts in front, not the empty ground behind!”

He stormed over to Onodera Yosuke and roared. Corporal Onodera Yosuke, who had only recently learned how to use the grenade launcher, became even more flustered.

He hurriedly reloaded and fired again, missing even further. Tokugawa Ren was speechless with anger.

He knew that the Sixth Division, after nearly two years of war, had replaced its frontline soldiers and junior officers several times.

The soldiers under his command were no longer the well-trained veterans of the past. They were now hastily trained recruits, sent to the front after only ten days or half a month of training in Japan.

Some of them hadn’t even known how to fire a gun a month ago. They only learned the basics after joining the Sixth Division.

Corporal Onodera Yosuke was one of them. Before being drafted, he was a simple farmer in the Kumamoto countryside.

He heard that those from his prefecture who had participated in the war were becoming heroes, and the entire island was buzzing with their heroic deeds.

Hearing that the Sixth Division, formed by men from Kumamoto, had become the strongest unit in the Japanese army, Onodera Yosuke wanted to join in the glory.

So, he put down his hoe and picked up a grenade launcher. In reality, this wasn’t his first battle. He had fought several engagements against the Chinese soldiers of the Ninth War Area.

Corporal Onodera Yosuke just randomly launched grenades back then, and Tokugawa Ren had never scolded him or made any demands.

Why was he suddenly changing his tune today?

Didn't he know he was a novice? Expecting a novice to aim a grenade launcher accurately was like forcing a duck onto a perch – impossible!

Tokugawa Ren was desperate. He knew that mastering a grenade launcher required practice; it was a weapon that relied on experience.

But today, he had to demand accuracy from this recruit. If they didn’t hit their targets, the advancing machine guns would be upon them!

In previous battles, Onodera Yosuke’s accuracy hadn’t mattered. They hadn’t lacked firepower back then.

The more anxious he became, the worse Onodera Yosuke performed. Four or five grenades were fired, but none posed any threat to the advancing troops.

Although the Second Company had been training for a year, this was their first real combat experience.

Squad Leader Fan Leyong, taking cover behind the heavy machine gun, continuously directed Feng Jun to make small adjustments, avoiding the rocks on the ground.

He also helped push the cart up the slopes. They were advancing quickly, and while they encountered obstacles, none could stop them.

The infantry guns positioned behind the Second Company spotted Kita Shimeji’s machine gun firing continuously.

Gunner Hua Chaorong requested instructions from Squad Leader He Taijun. “Squad Leader! The enemy machine gun keeps firing. Let’s take it out!”

He Taijun, looking at the distant machine gun, immediately agreed. He adjusted the gun and fired, missing slightly.

Another shot, and it hit the target. Hua Chaorong, watching the machine gun fly into the air, said with a smile, “Squad Leader, this is different from training.”

“How so?” He Taijun asked. He had been transferred back from the front lines, where he had been a gunner.

He Taijun didn’t really know how real combat differed from training. Hua Chaorong said, “During training, we don’t panic. The targets have been measured with rulers, and we know the exact distances and angles.

When firing, we even consider the wind direction. But on the battlefield, we can only estimate distances, and the smoke obscures everything.

As for the wind, we just guess. During training, I could hit every shot, but today, after fighting for so long, that was the first time I aimed at a machine gun and actually hit it.

One out of ten!”

Squad Leader He Taijun laughed. “Those training exercises are just for show. Real combat is what matters. You’ll get used to it after a few more shots.

Those who perform well in training usually improve quickly in real combat.”

With the support of the infantry guns and mortars behind them, the advancing infantry had already breached the Japanese defenses.

Tokugawa Ren didn’t hesitate any longer, shouting orders for his men to leap out of the trenches and charge.

His section of the line was part of Isono Hideki’s company’s defense. Seeing the dire situation, Captain Isono ordered Meng Wuyou, the commander of the puppet battalion, to immediately reinforce them with his entire force.

Captain Isono Hideki estimated that there were over two hundred attackers, all armed with submachine guns.

A company equipped like that must be the elite of the Ninth War Area’s forces. With his squad holding the line, and the puppet battalion of over eight hundred men providing support, they should be able to defeat this attacking force!

The other side of his company was under attack by another force.

This force was led by Gui Wen, the commander of the First Regiment, with Ji Wudi in the First Company, leading the charge.

Gui Wen had tried to prevent her from being on the front lines, but Ji Wudi had assigned him to command from the rear: a regiment couldn’t have all its commanders on the front lines!

And so, Ji Wudi armed herself with a submachine gun, with a guard carrying her rifle on his back, advancing behind the heavy machine guns.

First Company Commander Jing Liquan had been a platoon leader in the elite First Company of the old First Regiment.

He knew Ji Wudi’s identity. Putting aside her current position as commander of ten regiments, she was also the brigade commander's fiancée, which made the First Company commander's head spin.

He was constantly worried about something happening to Ji Wudi in his company, but she didn't seem to care, and kept pushing forward.

Ji Wudi looked through the observation port in the heavy machine gun shield and saw the enemy machine gun firing continuously.

She slung her submachine gun over her shoulder, and her guard immediately handed her the rifle. Ji Wudi expertly disengaged the safety, chambered a round, and dropped to the ground, firing a shot at the distance: "Bang!"

She immediately got up, following behind the push cart. Her movements were smooth and fast.

The guard knew her well. After the shot, he reported excitedly, "Dean! The enemy machine gun has been taken out. It's not firing anymore."

Ji Wudi smiled. “I just killed the machine gunner. They’ll quickly replace him.”

She didn’t return the rifle to the guard, keeping it in her hand, and kept a close watch on the machine gun.

Company Commander Jing Liquan and Platoon Leader Li Quan had seen her actions. They knew that Captain Ji had fired a shot, but they didn't know what she had hit.

Hearing the guard’s report, they were shocked that she had killed the enemy machine gunner with a single shot. It was unbelievable.

The guard said dismissively, “The hospital is the most important unit in our Special Operations Brigade. On the battlefield, nobody knows if they’ll be injured, but the soldiers know that if they are, we have the best hospital and the best doctors to treat them.

When the hospital was first established, if there wasn't someone strong guarding it, would those wounded soldiers listen?

Without Dean Ji guarding it, would the doctors in the hospital listen?”

Hearing that, Jing Liquan suddenly remembered: most of the doctors in the hospital were Japanese. They were all prisoners of war!

So that's how it was. The soldiers who joined the Special Operations Brigade later hadn't seen Ji Wudi in action and had thought that she was just a woman who didn’t have much combat prowess.

Ji Wudi emptied the five rounds in the rifle and switched back to her submachine gun. She didn’t say a word and followed behind the cart, charging forward.

She was already a woman of few words. When Lin Fan wasn’t around, she barely spoke a few sentences a day. When facing the Japanese, she only saw the enemy in her eyes.

The guard reloaded the rifle and followed closely behind. The cart encountered a high rise, making it difficult to push up.

Ji Wudi finally spoke. “The heavy machine gun will set up a position here and cover me!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she rolled away from the protection of the cart and began crawling forward on the ground, moving quickly.

Finding a position, she stopped and fired a burst from her submachine gun, taking down two enemy soldiers in front of her.

With another roll, "Da-da!" She shot down another Japanese soldier. Her movements were fast and fluid, demonstrating how many times she had practiced it.

Jing Liquan didn't expect that the person they were supposed to be protecting had charged forward and was now in the lead.

What could he do now?

“Heavy machine gun, set up a position here, suppress enemy fire. Everyone, charge!”

He could only order the entire company to charge. The enemy defenses were about one hundred and twenty meters away. Charging quickly, they could reach them in fifteen seconds.

Hearing the order to charge from behind, Ji Wudi immediately got up, still crouching low, and charged while firing her gun.

The submachine gun developed by Lin Fan was indeed effective. It had a high capacity, accurate fire, and, most importantly, a very fast reload speed.

As Ji Wudi charged, she watched the enemy closely: the heavy machine guns and machine gunners were the highest priority targets, followed by the Japanese soldiers who were aiming their weapons.