Chapter 142 Wake up!

As the battle raged on, the Japanese devils launched their assault against Dingyuan County like madmen, completely disregarding any casualties. Under such relentless onslaught, heavy casualties were inflicted upon the defending soldiers.

By this stage of the fighting, the mortars and grenade launchers of both sides had basically been knocked out. The Japanese troops were forced to press forward toward Dingyuan armed only with rifles. Lacking fire suppression, their casualties naturally increased sharply.

Yet the Japanese soldiers seemed utterly fearless. Whole rows of them fell, only for more to rush forward in their place, paying no heed to death or injury.

At that moment, Japanese warplanes also rushed in to provide reinforcements. A bomber squadron continuously dropped aerial bombs into Dingyuan City, inflicting massive casualties upon the defenders.

With the coordination of the Japanese aircraft and infantry, several sections of the city walls sustained varying degrees of damage. In particular, the South Gate, garrisoned by the Independent Brigade and serving as the primary axis of the Japanese advance, bore the brunt of the devastation.

By this point in the battle, even the Independent Brigade had exhausted its artillery resources. Many of their heavy guns, which had been used for fire suppression during earlier Japanese attacks, had been spotted and bombed to destruction by Japanese warplanes.

This made the defense extremely difficult for the Independent Brigade soldiers at the South Gate.

"Whoosh..."

A sharp, piercing sound cut through the air as a bomber shrieked into a steep dive. Then, reaching a certain altitude, it pulled up sharply, releasing its payload at the exact moment of ascent.

Due to the momentum of the pull-up, the aerial bombs hurtled accurately toward the top of the city wall.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Several aerial bombs detonated instantly, hurling over a dozen soldiers into the air and blasting a massive crater into the ramparts.

"Spit! Spit!" An officer, caught in the shockwave of the blast and struck in the arm by a flying boulder, collapsed to the ground covered in dust and grime, blood pouring from a large wound.

"Damn it all! These Japanese devils' planes are truly something else!" the officer cursed, spitting out the dirt from his mouth.

"Major, what are we going to do? With the Japanese planes constantly bombing us, the brothers won't be able to hold out much longer!" a nearby soldier said, lifting the officer with a worried expression on his face.

"What is there to fear?! Just because the Japanese have planes, does that mean we stop fighting this war?!" The major glanced up at the aircraft in the sky again, gritting his teeth as he spoke, "Damn it, these Japanese flying beasts are a real pain in the neck. Do you think we can shoot one of them down? If we could bring one down, this battle would be a whole lot easier!"

"How on earth would we have the means to deal with warplanes? They fly in the sky, and they're so high up. Machine guns simply can't reach them, and even if they hit, it probably wouldn't do any good!" the soldier poured cold water on the idea without hesitation.

"You brat, I was just speaking hypothetically, and you have to tear down my premise!" The major was instantly displeased, slapping the soldier on the head and cursing playfully.

The soldier just chuckled and said nothing.

The major pressed himself against the city wall, looking down at the Japanese troops below, and said, "Alright, stop hanging around behind me, it's an eyesore! The Japanese attack is too fierce; go help the boys with the counterattack!"

"Yes!" Hearing this, the soldier reached for his rifle to begin shooting, but out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of a warplane diving at high speed toward their left flank. His expression changed drastically, and he shouted urgently, "Major, watch out!"

As he spoke, he lunged forward, throwing his entire body over the major and tackling him to the ground.

In that very instant, a stream of bullets swept across the area.

Puff, puff, puff...

A string of rounds raked across the top of the wall, kicking up dense rows of bullet craters, extending all the way across the soldier's body and beyond.

A dozen soldiers, caught completely off-guard, were riddled with bullets. Their bodies convulsed as they lost all strength and tumbled backward off the ramparts, crashing onto the ground outside the city with no hope of survival.

The major had no time to process this rapid sequence of events. Only now did he snap back to reality.

Looking at the soldier pinning him down, his back covered in a dense pattern of bullet wounds, the major's eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

"Wake up! Damn it, you wake up!"

The major pulled the soldier off his body, propped him against the inner wall, grabbed him by the collar, and roared at the top of his lungs.

The major didn't even know the soldier's name, yet the man had died just like that to save him. This ignited a blazing fury in the major's heart. Seeing the soldier completely lifeless, veins bulging in his eyes, he yelled in rage, "Dammit! I told you not to follow me, not to follow me, but you insisted on tagging along! Now you die right in front of my eyes—do I owe you something in this lifetime? Brat, wake up!"

Partings of life and death on the battlefield were something the major had seen plenty of! Under normal circumstances, his heart would no longer be moved by the deaths of comrades.

After all, death was an everyday occurrence in war!

If he had to grieve every time a comrade fell, how could this war ever be fought?!

Yet now, because a soldier had died to save him, the major found it impossible to forgive himself.

The man shouldn't have died!

He had died for him—died to protect him!

They had exchanged only a few words and known each other for mere minutes, yet a living, breathing human being had fallen right before his eyes, filling the major's heart with scorching fury.

"You Japanese bastards, I'll tear you apart!"

The major let out a furious roar. At that exact moment, another piercing screech echoed through the air as a bomber plunged downward. Several aerial bombs slammed directly into the base of the city wall, blasting a massive breach through the masonry.

The adjacent section of the wall, undermined by the explosion, instantly collapsed!

The South Gate had been breached in one spot by the Japanese!

"Oh no! The wall has been blown down by the Japanese! Quick, send men to plug the gap! We must not let the Japanese break through!" a shrill cry rang out in his ear.

Yet the major paid no heed. He simply stared up at the bomber that had just collapsed the wall, its machine guns strafing the area at will, his eyes blazing blood-red.

"Japanese devils, go keep my little brother company in hell!"

Watching the warplane ruthlessly strafe the position, causing numerous soldiers to cry out in agony as they fell, the major swept his gaze around, spotted a machine gun, scooped it up, and began firing wildly at the enemy aircraft.

"Rat-tat-tat..."

Bullets zipped through the air, but none of them struck the Japanese bomber.

The Japanese pilot operating the aircraft had already noticed the major's actions, a look of contempt flashing in his eyes.

"Ignorant Chinese, you think you can shoot me down with just the machine gun in your hands? How ridiculous!" The Japanese pilot sneered, intending to pull his plane up, but then his eyes rolled as a mischievous and cruel thought suddenly struck him.