Chapter 44: Open Fire!!!

"Have all platoons reached their designated positions? Accurate to the meter!"

Li Yunlong looked at Zhang Dabiao beside him, lowering his voice to a bare whisper.

Zhang Dabiao immediately leaned in, matching his hushed tone:

"Reporting, Regiment... Brigade Commander, all platoons have reached their preset coordinates!"

Two days prior, Lin Ran had paid another visit, though this time he brought no weapons or supplies. Upon learning that headquarters had approved his plan, he had redeemed dozens of walkie-talkies from his system.

These devices were the crucial linchpin!

The brigade commander happened to be present at the time. Unable to refuse, Lin Ran ended up drinking with the senior commander for an entire evening.

They hit it off splendidly!

The brigade commander had grown immensely intrigued by Lin Ran's proposed concept of "tactical infiltration combined with firepower saturation." Seizing the opportunity, Lin Ran requested a piece of calligraphy from the brigade commander.

With these dozens of walkie-talkies now in hand, the final shortcoming of the night raid plan was completely resolved.

Checking that every platoon had arrived with pinpoint accuracy, Li Yunlong raised his wrist to look at his watch.

Less than half an hour remained until the scheduled time of attack.

His gaze drifted once more toward Zhicheng; that son of a bitch Sakata was holed up right inside that city.

"Inform all platoons to stay completely hidden. The moment the signal flare goes up, open fire immediately!"

Zhang Dabiao nodded hastily. "Rest easy, Commander! Everyone is well concealed!"

Setting up fifty covert firing points around a main city and three county towns was simplicity itself.

The little Japanese bastards would never dream in a million years that anyone would dare launch a sneak attack on their military barracks.

Time ticked away second by second.

The fifty concealed launch sites stood like fifty steel beasts crouching in the dark of night, silently adjusting their muzzles.

Li Yunlong checked his watch once more. When the hand pointed squarely at two o'clock, he whipped out his signal pistol.

"Bang!"

A flare, red as fresh blood and trailing a dazzling fiery tail, soared abruptly into the heavens!

In the dead of night, it could be seen from a great distance.

Almost at the exact instant the signal flare took flight, Li Yunlong stepped forward with a fierce stride and waved his heavy arm downward:

"Fire!!!"

...

Zhicheng, Sakata Regiment Barracks.

Rows upon rows of uniform, three-story red brick buildings lined the compound.

It bore the distinct aesthetic of the little Japanese.

Even now, many such relics remained scattered across the Northeast.

At this moment, nearly four thousand Japanese soldiers of the Sakata Regiment were fast asleep.

Only sporadic beams from searchlights swept mechanically back and forth, accompanied by the crunchy, hollow rustle of a few listless patrol boots pressing into the frozen earth.

"These Chinese are utterly spineless! They're only fit to be slaves!" a short, chubby Japanese soldier muttered with a heavy yawn.

"Those pretty girls, though—such juicy creatures! Heh heh..." Another Japanese soldier wore a lewd grin, licking his lips as he reminisced about the "spoils of war" from earlier that day.

"Next sweep, I'm going to grab ten of them! Hahaha..."

Their unbridled laughter grated harshly against the stillness.

The patrolling Japanese soldiers were completely at ease. This was deep inside the city—who in their right mind would dare sneak in to raid the barracks?

They had all spent a hefty sum of money, pulling strings and calling in favors, just to secure a transfer to the Chinese theater.

Once here, danger was virtually non-existent, but the rewards were astronomical!

Especially during the grand sweeps—they adored the sweeping operations organized by Senior Officer Tada.

They could do whatever they pleased.

Any treasure that caught their eye? Plunder it!

Any pretty girl they fancied? Violate her!

Any ordinary citizen who displeased them? Butcher them!

Life in the emperor's service was endlessly blissful!

Just as one Japanese soldier tilted his head back for a yawn, he froze dead in his tracks.

"Baka! Look at that, what is that?"

The remaining Japanese soldiers raised their heads in blank confusion.

The next second, every expression froze solid!

Dozens of artillery shells trailing flaming tails were hurtling directly toward them.

"Bakayaro!"

"Yamete!"

"Alarm! Sound the—"

Before the Japanese soldier could finish, the rocket shells slammed into the ground.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Rows of red brick buildings collapsed in an instant.

The Sakata Regiment was reduced to a field of ruins in the blink of an eye.

Regiment Commander Shintaro Sakata was jolted awake by the deafening roar.

He rushed outside the barracks, and upon seeing the shattered, smoking wreckage of his compound, his eyes turned bloodshot.

"Bakayaro!"

Before Shintaro Sakata's cry had even faded, another wave of rocket shells arrived on schedule.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

...

It was not just the Sakata Regiment. The Yoshino, Sasaki, and Fujiwara regiments under the 36th Division, along with the engineer, cavalry, artillery, and transport regiments, were all taking fire.

Wailing filled the air across the entire 36th Division, leaving countless dead and wounded!

Outside the city, Li Yunlong could see nothing of the destruction, but listening to the battle reports relayed by his brothers via walkie-talkie, the esteemed regiment commander looked happier than if he had eaten a bowl of honey.

"Sector 1! Sakata's camp! It's... it's all collapsed! It's on fire! A massive blaze!"

"Target 3! The enemy artillery position! The ammunition depot blew up! Sent straight to the heavens! A mushroom cloud! Such a huge mushroom cloud!"

"Sector 5! The cavalry stables! Completely finished! The horses and the Japs have been burned to charcoal!"

"Report! Luxian Fujiwara Regiment camp! A sea of fire! No movement left! Absolutely no movement!"

...

Triumphant battle reports poured in continuously.

Beside him, Zhang Dabiao could no longer contain himself. He leaped into the air, punching the dark with his fists, so overwhelmed with excitement that his words became jumbled:

"We did it! Regiment Commander, we actually did it! Those Japanese bastards are done for! An entire division! A full Class-A division!"

Even political commissar Zhao Gang, usually as steady as a mountain and renowned for his composure, completely lost his cool at that moment.

Could this really be our Eighth Route Army? Zhao Gang asked himself inwardly.

He was utterly stunned by the terrifying firepower of these 107mm multiple rocket launchers!

Compact and nimble, yet possessing apocalyptic destructive power!

This was no longer combat; this was a unilateral, industrialized slaughter!

Zhao Gang finally understood why superiors placed such immense importance on this Mr. Lin.

Putting everything else aside, simply securing the continuous resupply of rocket ammunition relied entirely upon that single man.

On the other side, Li Yunlong stared blankly in the direction of the city.

To be honest, even he had not expected that Lin Ran's audacious and insane plan would actually succeed, damn it all.

At that moment, old Li gained an entirely new understanding of modern warfare.

"Heh, seems my old-fashioned notions of charging in with fixed bayonets are getting a bit outdated. But then again..."

Li Yunlong chuckled low in his throat.

As the saying goes, when the devil is high by one foot, the righteous rise by ten!

Recalling the comprehensive plan the brigade commander had entrusted to him before departure, Li Yunlong's wide mouth split nearly to the back of his head.

Pounding the 36th Division to dust was merely the appetizer.

"Notify all troops, assemble in the direction of Chenzhuang!"

Zhang Dabiao, still riding the high of his celebration, blinked in surprise. "Regiment Commander, we're not going in?"

Li Yunlong gave a low chuckle. "What's the rush? Can a cooked duck fly away? Headquarters has other arrangements!"

The entire army had planned for days, expending astronomical resources, just to wipe out a single Japanese division?

The superiors' appetites reached far beyond that!

This wave of rocket fire had blanketed virtually every vital sector of the 36th Division, deliberately sparing only the headquarters of the division commander.

That son of a bitch was not allowed to die just yet.

...

Meanwhile.

Eighth Route Army Headquarters.

The command room was brilliantly lit. The deputy commander-in-chief, the chief of staff, division commanders, and various other high-ranking generals were all clustered tightly around the map.

Despite it being past two in there morning, not a trace of drowsiness could be found.

"Report!"

A communications staff officer practically burst through the door, clutching a freshly decoded telegram in his hand.

"Urgent dispatch from the 386th Brigade! East wind nights weave flowers on ten thousand trees!"

It was a mere seven characters.

Yet everyone present beamed with exultation.

The deputy commander waved his hand decisively:

"The real show begins now!"