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墨書 Inktalez
In the distance, the Japanese Soldiers attempted to swim across the water once again. This time, they were quite clever; they submerged themselves and only surfaced for air when they were in the middle or close to the shore. This batch of Japanese Soldiers seemed to be better swimmers.
Tie Zhu's eyes lit up as he observed the Japanese Soldiers' movements, and he immediately came up with a plan. When he was a child playing hide-and-seek, a Tiger in the village had used this method to hide for a long time, eventually causing the adults at home to search everywhere before he leisurely crawled out of the water.
Tie Zhu took out his Bayonet, cut some reeds, and found a few longer and more intact ones to lay down on the ground.
After carefully observing his surroundings, it seemed that no one was paying particular attention to his location. He slowly stepped into the water with one foot.
The reed marsh wasn't very large, but it connected to the Qihe River, extending about one or two meters.
Tie Zhu walked slowly in the water, moving lightly, afraid that any large ripples caused by his movements would attract the attention of the Japanese Soldiers.
He didn't know how deep the Qihe River was, but after walking about a meter, the water had already reached his waist. Tie Zhu placed the reed in his mouth and slowly bent down, submerging himself completely.
The reed was quite long; Tie Zhu positioned his helmet next to his backside and sat at the bottom of the water, tilting his head back in a very awkward and uncomfortable posture.
About a minute later, a Japanese Soldier appeared stealthily on the shore, holding a Type 38 Rifle and carefully inspecting the surrounding area.
Tie Zhu remained hidden underwater, unaware of what was happening outside. The sounds of gunfire were intense; he couldn't hear anything around him and now regretted hiding in the water as this position was extremely uncomfortable.
The soldier meticulously checked the surrounding area but found nothing except for a severed arm in the reeds.
After about ten minutes, Tie Zhu slowly raised his head above the reeds, covered in various items like aquatic plants and dry leaves.
The bridge had been repaired and was connected by materials used by the Japanese Soldiers. Tie Zhu didn't know how they managed it, but it was indeed fixed.
On both sides of the bridge, the Japanese had built simple defensive structures and set up Machine Guns. Japanese soldiers were continuously moving back and forth on the bridge as if checking something.
The fighting in the town remained intense, with the Nationalist Army and Japanese Soldiers continuing to battle for control of each building.
The Japanese Soldiers' superb marksmanship and coordinated tactics inflicted heavy casualties on the Nationalist Army.
The defenses on the eastern front, held by one battalion and the Third Battalion, had completely collapsed, retreating in disarray after losing over two hundred bodies.
The battle had reached a stalemate, with soldiers from both sides fighting desperately and bloodily.
A Kuomintang Soldier, holding his ground in a Small Building, was shot five times before pulling the pin on a Grenade, taking two Japanese soldiers with him.
The Japanese Soldiers went wild as well, charging into the Small Building held by the Nationalist Army with a detonated Grenade, resulting in mutual destruction with all the Nationalist Army inside.
Every second saw casualties; every second saw soldiers forever resting on this land.
As time passed, the Nationalist Army began to adapt to Urban Warfare, and their casualty rate started to decrease. Initially, it took over ten men to take down one Japanese soldier; now, an average of two or three could kill one.
Hu Lian paced back and forth in the makeshift command center, sending out telegram after telegram urging reinforcements, yet still found no sign of any help.
“How is the situation?”
Several staff officers rushed back to the command center under heavy fire. Hu Lian immediately approached them; these were the men he had sent out for reconnaissance. The town was in chaos again, reverting to the morning's tumultuous fighting.
After exchanging glances among themselves, one of them, Li, the Staff Officer, stepped forward: “Regimental Commander, the situation is not good. The conditions in the town are very complicated. Of the three bridges over the Qihe River, only one is still under our control, but it should be destroyed. The First Battalion and Third Battalion have suffered heavy losses; some Japanese soldiers have already established a foothold in the town and are gradually advancing. Our forces are beginning to suffer significant casualties as well. However, we have stabilized for now. But if we don’t receive reinforcements, we won’t last until dark!”
After hearing this, Hu Lian let out a long sigh and began pacing again inside the room, contemplating countermeasures. If they continued like this, the entire 66th Regiment would be wiped out without any effect: “We can’t keep fighting like this. Xu Staff Officer, send a telegram immediately to Division Headquarters. If we don’t see reinforcements within two hours, Luodian will surely fall. This is crucial for the situation at the Soochow battlefield; we need support quickly!”
Xu Staff Officer shook his head and continued sending telegrams. He had already sent no less than ten such messages to Division Headquarters but received only four words in response: Hold fast and await reinforcements. Luodian had already lost part of its territory but remained under orders to hold fast and await assistance.
“Li, the Staff Officer, you lead a squad of guards and relay the order to all soldiers to not worry about the gains and losses of one room or one floor. They should move as much as possible Japanese, and instead of holding a position, they should find opportunities to strike at the enemy's back. Even if they have to drag them, they must do so until dark!”
“Yes!”
After issuing the command, Hu Lian slammed his hand on the table. The battle was now beyond his control; he could only leave it to fate.
The telegram from the Division Headquarters finally showed some change. It was no longer the cold words of holding firm and waiting for reinforcements. For some reason, two Recruit Training Camp units had been pulled to support the 66th Regiment, departing in half an hour and currently undergoing reorganization training.
Li, the Staff Officer conveyed Hu Lian's orders building by building, and the situation on the battlefield began to show subtle changes.
The Japanese Soldier noticed that the Kuomintang Soldier, who had been stubbornly defending each building and room, had disappeared. Instead, there were constant disturbances coming from the flanks and behind. Although there were fewer obstacles on their advance, the speed of the Japanese push began to slow down as the offensive momentum was gradually dragged down by the Nationalist Army.
Tie Zhu slowly crawled ashore and carefully checked his weapon. He didn't know if the gun in his hand would still work after getting wet. After wiping off the water as best as he could, he slowly extended his Sniper Rifle out from the reeds, aiming at a Machine Gunner near a bridge in the distance.
Due to a lighter defensive task, the Japanese Machine Gunner was chatting with his Ammunition Loader while smoking a cigarette. Since they crossed the bridge, they hadn't seen a single shadow of the Nationalist Army. Even though gunfire could be heard not far away, their vigilance had still decreased.
“Bang!” A muffled gunshot rang out—very low, almost inaudible amidst the surrounding sounds of gunfire. The Japanese Soldier a hundred meters away couldn't hear it at all.
The bullet still missed, just barely grazing past and hitting a sandbag beside the Japanese Soldier.
Tie Zhu didn't understand why his shot went off target. To hit his target, he specifically avoided aiming for the head and chose instead to aim for the larger upper body area, yet it still missed!
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