The Mysterious Soldier of the Anti-Japanese War

Chapter 168 The Eighth Route Army's Raid on the Western Stronghold

At the same time, hearing the sound of artillery fire from the east, the Eighth Route Army and the Military Control Commission rushed to the stronghold and material storage station in the west respectively.

The Eighth Route Army soldiers, each agile, cleverly exploited the terrain's cover under the leadership of their company commander, rapidly approached the Japanese stronghold. They moved through the mountains and forests, their footsteps light and swift, trying not to make a sound.

On the way, the soldier in charge of reconnaissance suddenly gestured for everyone to stop. Not far away, a Japanese patrol was approaching in a measured pace. The patrol's expressions were serious, and they observed their surroundings vigilantly, their rifles tightly gripped to their chests.

The company commander's eyes flashed, and he whispered an order to the soldiers: "Prepare your bows and crossbows, and kill them silently!" The soldiers took out their bows and crossbows from behind, put on sharp arrows, and aimed at the Japanese patrol.

An experienced Eighth Route Army soldier took aim at the foremost Japanese sentry, took a deep breath, steadied his arm, and then gently loosened his fingers. With a whoosh, the arrow flew out, instantly piercing the sentry's throat. Without even a sound, the sentry clutched his throat and collapsed.

Other soldiers also fired arrows, their sharp arrows like black lightning, accurately hitting the Japanese patrol soldiers. Some arrows hit the Japanese soldiers in the chest, while others hit the head. Before the Japanese soldiers could react, they fell to the ground.

One of the Japanese soldiers noticed something was wrong and was about to open his mouth to shout, but a sharp arrow pierced straight into his mouth, blocking his voice.

The whole process was quick and silent. In a blink of an eye, all the soldiers in the Japanese patrol team fell down, and no one was able to sound the alarm.

The company commander nodded with satisfaction and waved his hand: "Keep moving forward!" The Eighth Route Army soldiers put away their bows and crossbows and quickly advanced towards the Japanese stronghold again.

When they approached the stronghold, they found that the Japanese army had been prepared and the stronghold was surrounded by barbed wire and machine gun positions.

The company commander observed the situation and whispered, "First Platoon, go around from the left and destroy the barbed wire. Second Platoon, provide cover fire. Third Platoon, follow me and prepare to charge!"

The soldiers acted quickly, and a row of soldiers approached the barbed wire cautiously and cut the wire with pliers. At this moment, a Japanese sentry noticed something unusual and was about to shout when he was shot dead by an Eighth Route Army sniper.

The Japanese machine gunner quickly loaded his rifle and fired wildly at the advancing Eighth Route Army. Several Eighth Route Army soldiers exposed to the machine gun fire were instantly hit by more than a dozen bullets and fell in a pool of blood. Upon seeing this, the company commander shouted with red eyes, "Take cover! Where's the sharpshooter? Blow up this damn machine gun position for me!"

The sharpshooter heard the sound and moved, shouting: "Yes! If I don't blow up this machine gun position, you don't have to shoot me, I will go to block the gun myself!"

The company commander ordered the soldiers in the second platoon to concentrate their firepower to cover the grenadiers, and the machine gunners in the second platoon fired desperately at the Japanese machine gun positions, suppressing the Japanese firepower.

At this time, the grenade thrower quickly approached the machine gun position, holding a grenade tightly in his hand. When he approached the appropriate distance, he pulled the fuse and threw it with all his strength after a three-second delay. The grenade drew an arc in the air and flew accurately over the Japanese machine gun position, exploding instantly in the air.

The massive explosion ripped the machine gun position into a shambles, sending machine gun parts and the remains of Japanese soldiers flying everywhere. The ferocious firepower instantly went silent, and the air was filled with the choking smell of gunpowder and blood.

The company commander took advantage of this opportunity and shouted again: "Comrades, charge!" The soldiers rushed towards the stronghold like a tiger descending the mountain.

But the Japanese resistance remained stubborn. They continued to fire bullets from other bunkers in an attempt to stop the Eighth Route Army's attack. One soldier was unfortunately shot in the leg, but he gritted his teeth, knelt on one knee and continued to shoot.

"Suppress fire!" the company commander roared, and several light machine guns concentrated their fire on the Japanese firing points, providing cover for the charging soldiers.

The company commander gave an order: "Charge!" The soldiers of the third platoon rushed towards the stronghold like tigers descending the mountains.

The Japanese troops in the stronghold put up a fierce resistance, and the two sides engaged in fierce close combat. The Eighth Route Army soldiers fought bravely and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese troops.

A young soldier was stabbed by a Japanese soldier, but he endured the severe pain and stabbed the bayonet into the Japanese soldier's chest with his backhand.

Under the heroic charge of the soldiers, the Japanese defense line gradually collapsed. However, at this moment, a Japanese armored vehicle drove out and fired at the Eighth Route Army.

"Bring the explosives!" shouted the company commander.

A soldier, holding a pack of explosives, rushed towards the armored vehicle under the cover of his comrades. With a loud bang, the armored vehicle was blown up.

Suddenly, the Japanese machine gunners in the machine gun position hidden on the hillside behind the stronghold opened fire, suppressing the Eighth Route Army soldiers in the bunker.

"Damn it, there's a bunker here!" the company commander cursed.

"Company commander, I'll go get it!" A young soldier volunteered.

"Be careful!" the company commander warned.

The soldier took advantage of the smoke to advance quickly, but the Japanese machine gun fire was so fierce that bullets whizzed past him.

When he was about to approach the bunker, a bullet hit his shoulder and he stumbled and fell to the ground. But he endured the severe pain and continued to crawl.

Finally, he crawled to the bottom of the bunker and threw a grenade in through the firing hole.

"Boom!" With a loud noise, the machine gun in the bunker went silent.

"Charge!" the company commander shouted again.

The soldiers rushed out of the bunker and continued to attack the interior of the stronghold.

At this time, Japanese soldiers threw grenades out of a room in the stronghold. Several soldiers were unable to dodge and were injured.

"Blow up that house with a grenade!" the company commander ordered loudly.

The soldiers threw grenades into the house one after another. After a burst of explosions, the Japanese troops in the house became silent.

After a fierce battle, the Eighth Route Army finally occupied the stronghold and seized a large amount of supplies.