Chapter Ninety-Two: The Ambush at Twin Dragon Valley, Part Two

It had to be said that this little Japanese devil, Isa Kazuo, was truly arrogant indeed. Even while being suppressed, he still wanted to organize his troops for a countercharge.

Yet Isa Kazuo did have reason to be arrogant.

By the Japanese army’s usual standards of combat, with their firepower, no Nationalist force should have been able to withstand them at all.

And though the ambush waiting for him from the Seventh Regiment did possess somewhat stronger firepower than other units, in Isa Kazuo’s eyes, it was still hardly anything to fear.

After all, he was the regimental commander of the Japanese army and a veteran of many battles. From the fighting earlier, Isa Kazuo had already made out that although the enemy’s firepower was fierce, they had only a scant few machine guns, and no grenade launchers or artillery at all.

Judging from the scale of their position, there were probably not even a full regiment’s worth of men.

A single regiment’s strength and they thought they could block the Seventh Regiment, even lay an ambush? They did not even know how they would die.

Isa Kazuo thought dismissively. Then, seeing that two companies had already gathered, he drew his sword and pointed it at the front, shouting at the top of his voice, "Brave soldiers of the Empire, use the bayonets in your hands to kill these despicable Chinese and defend your honor! Banzai!"

"Banzai!"

At his command, the Japanese seemed almost brainwashed. All at once they roared in fanatic unison, leveled their rifles, and surged toward one side of the Nationalist positions.

Hidden on the left was the First Battalion of the Second Regiment, while on the right was the Second Battalion.

By then, Japanese artillery fire was concentrated on the Second Battalion on the right, battering it so hard that it had no chance to fight back. Its firepower was abruptly suppressed, while the First Battalion on the left was being covered by Japanese machine guns at full force.

With that support, the two Japanese companies also took the First Battalion on the left as their breakthrough point and threw everything into the assault.

Roaring as they charged, the two companies of Japanese soldiers were also raked by streams of bullets that swept across the defenders’ positions, leaving the troops completely pinned down and their return fire weak.

Watching the assault troops rush rapidly toward the left, while the Chinese showed little in the way of return fire, Isa Kazuo said smugly, "These lowly Chinese pigs think they can block the brave soldiers of the Empire with such pitiful equipment? How laughable. They do not even know how they will die!"

"One charge and they can no longer hold out. How dull."

Isa Kazuo even sighed theatrically and said with feigned regret, "Once the brave soldiers of the Empire have charged up, bring their commander to me. I will personally cut off his head and let them learn the fate of those who dare provoke our Empire!"

"Hai!" Hearing this, the battalion commander beside him hurriedly flattered him. "Your Excellency the regimental commander is wise and mighty beyond compare. How could these despicable Chinese pigs ever be your equal? I am certain that under your guidance, our Seventh Regiment will surely capture Dingyuan and win great merit!"

"Yoshi! Very good!" Flattered, Isa Kazuo was filled with smug pride and radiated triumph.

However, while they were speaking, the situation on the battlefield suddenly changed!

The soldiers of the First Battalion on the left, who had been under Japanese attack, had been suppressed all along. But when the Japanese infantry advancing on them had come halfway and were just about to break through, the battalion commander suddenly revealed a mysterious smile and shouted loudly, "Brothers, get your gear!"

At those words, the soldiers of the First Battalion calmly lifted light and heavy machine guns from the trenches and set them up, aiming the muzzles at the Japanese.

Others quickly mounted grenade launchers and infantry guns as well, training them on the enemy.

Once everything was ready, the commander did not waste another word. He bellowed, "Brothers, fire! Let the little Japanese devils taste our steel!"

"All right, we have been waiting for this moment!"

A machine-gunner, after his assistant had fitted the belt, swung a Maxim heavy machine gun toward the Japanese and pulled the trigger.

Rat-tat-tat...

The Maxim let out a savage roar, and bullets poured down like a torrential storm toward the Japanese.

At the same time, the other soldiers opened fire with every light and heavy machine gun they had, and the two Japanese companies were instantly swallowed up in a storm of lead.

"Damn it, you Japanese devils! You really think that giving you a little advantage means we are soft targets?" a burly man with a scar across his face said contemptuously as he fired the Maxim heavy machine gun with both hands.

Watching the Japanese fall in rows before his muzzle, he let a vicious smile curl at his lips. "If the battalion commander had not first told us to hold back and let you get careless, do you really think you would have had any chance to suppress us? What a ridiculous dream."

It turned out that these two battalions had deliberately concealed their strength at the outset. Once the Japanese had grown careless and even committed troops to the attack, they suddenly unleashed their full power and caught the little Japanese devils completely off guard.

It had to be said, this tactic worked.

The surge in firepower instantly stunned the Japanese!

The Japanese were completely unable to suppress the ambushing troops’ fire, and even trying to return fire had become extremely difficult. Several Japanese machine-gunners were cut down the moment they exposed themselves.

The others were pinned down in an instant.

As for the two Japanese companies in the assault, now that they had lost fire support and were hit by such a torrent of bullets, they were utterly bewildered.

Ferocious fire continued to rake them. Under the sweep of the machine guns, these Japanese soldiers fell like grass before the scythe, collapsing in heaps!

The casualties were appalling!

And yet this was only the beginning.

"Fire the guns!"

The battalion commander shouted. In the next instant, more than a dozen grenade launchers and Type 92 infantry guns hurled their shells.

Boom, boom, boom...

Shell after shell landed around the little Japanese devils, and the entire Seventh Regiment was instantly blanketed in artillery fire.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The shells exploded, scattering fragments in all directions. The surrounding Japanese had no time to react at all; one after another they were struck by shrapnel and dropped to the ground, screaming.

Some of the Japanese operating machine guns, grenade launchers, and mortars received even more special attention. Shells slammed straight into them, and those little Japanese devils, who had been swaggering just moments before, were swallowed up by the explosions. Their bodies were hurled into the air.

They crashed to the ground like ragged sacks, dying without even managing a single scream.

This scene left Isa Kazuo, who had still been reveling in victory, frozen in terror.

He stared blankly at everything before him, disbelief rising in his eyes as he stood utterly stunned.

"W-what is going on? Why is the Chinese army’s firepower this fierce?" Isa Kazuo roared in incredulity.

But no one answered him.

The only reply he received was the thunder of artillery and the deafening chatter of machine guns.