Chapter 39: General Assault, Inviting the Spirits into the Urn, and Annihilating Them in a Encirclement

The defected puppet soldiers all expressed their stance one after another.

"Having lived like cowards for so long, we will no longer be traitors to our country!"

"The Japanese devils have oppressed us, and this blood debt must be repaid today!"

"..."

Li Yunlong swept his gaze across the puppet soldiers, and seeing that their loyalty had reached a credible level, he nodded with satisfaction.

"Since you are willing to stand up, as long as you complete the upcoming mission, you will be members of the New Regiment!"

"If anyone harbors other ulterior motives, then do not blame me for lacking compassion toward my compatriots!!!"

The murderous intent contained in his words made everyone shudder involuntarily.

They believed that the man before them possessed such capability.

The town of Tongyu was bound to be unable to withstand the attack of the New Regiment, so naturally, they were not foolish enough to continue siding with the Japanese devils.

Several hours later.

Li Yunlong dispatched these defected puppet soldiers toward Tongyu Town.

"Hurry and report! The Eighth Route Army is attacking Matian Town, Huangyadong Town has fallen, and Jiro Hirata has been killed by the Eighth Route!"

"Kotaro Aozora ordered me to deliver the message and requests immediate reinforcement to Matian Town..."

As the puppet soldiers kept spreading the news,
Sato Taka, who had been waiting for word, frowned deeply upon hearing this.

He then personally interrogated the messenger and, after confirming beyond a doubt that they were indeed the puppet troops stationed at Huangyadong Town, his trust increased slightly.

Coupled with the fact that sounds of artillery fire were indeed coming from the direction of Matian Town, and quite densely at that,
Sato Taka was convinced that the Eighth Route Army was attacking Matian Town.

However, having suffered a setback once before, Sato Taka was somewhat fearful, worrying that the Eighth Route Army might be laying an ambush along the way. Yet, if he failed to provide reinforcements and Kotaro Aozora managed to escape safely, the latter would undoubtedly turn on him.

This dilemma left him trapped in indecision.

After a long while,
Sato Taka finally made his decision.

"Pass down the order: leave one company to garrison the town, and the rest will accompany me at dawn to reinforce the company commander!"

"Hajime!"

The Japanese soldiers and the puppet army battalion commander nodded in response.

Seeing that the Japanese had taken the bait, the defected puppet soldiers felt a great surge of joy within and withdrew.

According to the mission Li Yunlong had assigned them, they only needed to make the Japanese believe that Matian Town was under attack, and their mission would be considered complete.

The reason Sato Taka acted thusly was also out of caution,
after all, the difficulty of launching an ambush after daybreak would increase significantly.

Once these puppet soldiers had retired, Sato Taka ordered the Japanese soldiers nearby: "Change into different uniforms and immediately contact the regiment at the other strongholds to inform them of the situation here."

"Hajime!"

Toward the puppet soldiers, Sato Taka could never truly place his trust.

...

Outside Matian Town.

Seeing the dawn gradually breaking, Zhang Dabiao issued an order: "Notify the artillery to get ready, open fire in a quarter of an hour!"

"Understood!"

According to Li Yunlong's plan, the troops under his command would launch a harassing attack on Matian Town.

There were three objectives for this.

First, to keep the Japanese devils guessing about our army's intentions.

Second, to wear down the enemy's physical and mental stamina, lulling them into complacency to prepare for the assault before dawn.

Third, to lure the enemy out of Tongyu Town, providing our forces with an opportunity to annihilate them.

Even if the enemy in Tongyu Town did not reinforce Matian Town, as long as his side captured Matian Town, they could concentrate their forces to deal with Tongyu Town.

This was why Li Yunlong had concentrated his artillery on the attack against Matian Town.

Of course, for Li Yunlong's safety, a portion of the mortars was still kept back to support the troops intercepting Tongyu Town.

As the appointed time arrived,
Yang Zhihua resolutely gave the order: "Fire!"

"Boom, boom, boom... Rumble..."

Mountain cannons and Type 92 infantry guns successively spat out shells, plunging straight toward Matian Town's defensive fortifications.

In an instant!

The puppet soldiers, who were in a daze from a lack of rest, were scared out of their wits by this wave of bombardment.

Some of the enemy soldiers were sent straight to hell.

Neither the Japanese devils nor the puppet troops had imagined that the Eighth Route Army would actually dare to launch an attack.

After all, there had been constant harassment throughout the previous night without any major actions,
which had lulled both the Japanese and the puppet troops into a false sense of security.

Inside Matian Town.

Kotaro Aozora was startled awake by the fierce shelling. Snapping to alertness, it rushed outside to assess the situation.

It saw shell after shell landing on the frontline defensive fortifications,
while numerous puppet soldiers were retreating backward.

A moment later,
a Japanese soldier hurried over, reporting with a somewhat panicked expression: "Officer, the enemy has attacked outside the town. Their artillery fire is too fierce; we simply cannot hold them off."

Kotaro Aozora pressed against the defensive works to observe the situation outside, its expression extremely grim.

Outside the town, the enemy was advancing rapidly under the cover of artillery fire.

Infantry-artillery coordination?
The Eighth Route Army actually understood this tactic as well?

And they seemed quite proficient in applying it.

The fact that the Eighth Route Army possessed such formidable artillery fire caught Kotaro Aozora completely off guard.

Originally, it had assumed that as long as it could hold out through the night until reinforcements requested by its soldiers arrived, these Eighth Route troops would inevitably retreat, and it would be safe.

It had never expected the Eighth Route Army to launch such a ferocious offensive.

"Immediately contract our forces, engage the enemy in urban street fighting, and hold them off at all costs until reinforcements arrive!"

"Hajime!"

"Officer, but I'm afraid those puppet troops won't risk their lives. With our forces alone, it will be very difficult to hold out until reinforcements arrive."

Kotaro Aozora commanded with a flash of murderous intent: "Anyone who shrinks from battle will be executed!"

"Hajime!"

With Kotaro Aozora contracting the defense, the First Battalion's advance became much smoother, and before long, they pushed into the town.

The two sides erupted into fierce combat.

...

On the other side.

As the fierce battle in Matian Town intensified, the commotion grew larger and larger, especially with the successive bombardments by the artillery.

Hearing the commotion coming from the direction of Matian Town, Li Yunlong knew that Zhang Dabiao had launched his attack.

"Pass the word down: keep a sharp lookout. The enemy in Tongyu Town is very likely to show up."

"Understood!"

To ambush the enemy forces coming out of the town as reinforcements, Li Yunlong led one company from the First Battalion and an artillery platoon to lie in ambush on both sides of the highway leading to Matian Town.

At the same time, he arranged for scouts to keep a close watch on the entrances and exits of Tongyu Town.

Before long, a soldier trotted over and reported: "Regiment Commander, the enemy has been spotted. Their force is about an enhanced company strong, and among them, about 20 Japanese devils are approaching."

Li Yunlong felt a mild surge of delight.

From the looks of it, the majority of the enemy force in Tongyu Town had come out to reinforce.

This also proved that the defected puppet soldiers had won the trust of the Japanese; otherwise, the little devils would not have dispatched so many troops to reinforce Matian Town.

"Execute according to plan!"

"Understood!"

To heavily inflict losses on the enemy from Tongyu Town, weaken their strength, and prepare for the subsequent assault on the town,
Li Yunlong decided to use a small force to put up a blocking resistance, drawing the enemy into the trap before annihilating them.

...

Shortly after leading his troops out of the town, Sato Taka heard the intense sounds of artillery fire echoing from the direction of Matian Town, which greatly alarmed him.

From the sound of the explosions, he could roughly deduce the caliber of the artillery being used.

There were Type 92 infantry guns, and it seemed even mountain guns?

This was the main force of the Eighth Route Army attacking Matian Town!

At that moment, Sato Taka believed the words of the puppet soldiers and immediately ordered an acceleration of the marching speed.

However, he had the puppet soldiers go first!

After all, he was still worried about potential enemy attacks.

Just as Sato Taka had anticipated, the Eighth Route Army had indeed set an ambush, but the enemy force was only about a platoon strong.

Seeing this, Sato Taka further verified his suspicion.

The main force of the Eighth Route was attacking Matian Town!

Otherwise, there wouldn't be only this handful of troops putting up resistance.

Consequently, Sato Taka ordered the puppet army battalion commander: "Have your men quickly break through the Eighth Route's blockade and reinforce the company commander. When the time comes, I will personally recommend you for a commendation."

"Hajime!"

To lure the enemy into the trap, this platoon of the New Regiment fought while retreating. Although they were outmatched, they still put up a stubborn defense.

This caused both Sato Taka and the puppet battalion commander to gradually become convinced that the enemy had no further ambushes laid out.

"Brothers, wipe out these Eighth Route soldiers, and the Imperial Army will handsomely reward you!"

"Charge!"

...

Brothers, the data metrics are looking a bit sluggish. Please take a moment to click [Request More Chapters] and drop a tip!