In the trench, Huang Zhitong, just dug out of the earth by his men, stared blankly at the colossal figure above.
"Damn it, what's going on!"
Before he could figure out what had happened, he saw a figure leap down. The person sized him up with a stare and then gave him a thumbs-up.
"True man! I like true men like you!"
"We are from the Wild Wolf Regiment of the 387th Brigade, I am Battalion Commander Qin Qiong."
Qin Qiong said with admiration, offered him a cigar, and patted him lightly on the shoulder.
"Alright, leave the rest to us. You guys get some rest and just watch the show!"
Huang Zhitong sat in the trench, completely bewildered. Which division did the 387th Brigade belong to?
Hearing the rumbling of tanks and the constant explosions of artillery shells, he instinctively stood up and surveyed the entire position.
Holy crap!
So many tanks!
The Eighth Army couldn't field these things. Could these belong to the Guojun (Nationalist Army) forces?
"You little brat are looking for death!"
Before he could ponder further, Qin Qiong yanked him back.
Immediately afterward, the sound of tank cannons thundered from above.
"Boom!"
Loose soil from the edge of the trench rained down on Huang Zhitong and the soldiers of the Sixth Company.
Among Qin Qiong's fifty tanks, twenty were modified Type 59 QN506 fire support vehicles. The Tianhuo Army soldiers operating them had been sent to the Shandong Military Region to learn for three days prior to their arrival.
As the tanks began their bombardment, these behemoths, perfectly embodying the concept of a modified Type 59, commenced their debut.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~"
Dozens of missiles flew over the Sixth Company's position, trailing flames as they streaked towards the Japanese regiment.
The Japanese soldiers on the opposite side were already bewildered by the tank cluster.
They had been terrified when they first saw these tanks.
But when they saw the tanks positioned in front of their lines, blocking artillery shells for the Sixth Company soldiers, they almost jumped for joy.
However, they soon became dumbfounded. Those tanks were still able to fire after being hit by 60mm mortars! Not only that, but the power of their shells was astonishingly great!
It was almost comparable to the Japanese Type 99 mountain gun!
Just over twenty shells landing on their positions brought unprecedented casualties to the Japanese.
The regimental commander, seeing dozens more missiles flying from the opposite side, was so shocked that for a moment, he couldn't find the words in his native tongue to express his feelings.
He instinctively shouted a phrase he had heard from Chinese civilians.
"Wo cao! Wo cao! Wo cao!"
Simple and crude, it expressed his complex emotions with just two syllables.
"Boom!"
A missile landed not far away, its shrapnel piercing his mouth and exiting the back of his neck.
"Wo cao!"
He uttered the last two words of his life, then tilted his head and fell to the ground.
Thirty tanks, twenty fire support vehicles, plus two hundred Tianhuo Army soldiers armed with AKs, cleared out the thousand-strong enemy regiment in less than twenty minutes.
Qin Qiong looked at the Gatling gun in his hand.
Damn it, I was too hasty!
I didn't even get a chance to fire...
The thunderous commotion here made Chu Yunfei restless, and he immediately sent people to scout the situation.
However, the scouts he sent were scared away by the scene of the missile salvo before they could even get close...
—
Erdaohezi, New First Regiment Defense Zone.
As a Japanese regiment marched, their transport vehicles triggered a landmine buried on the road.
Upon seeing this, the regimental commander quickly dismounted and called for engineers from the following vehicles to disarm the mines.
"Orikegudure........"
"Orikegudure........"
"Haya-gū........"
The New First Regiment soldiers ambushed on the high ground on both sides of the road watched quietly. One of them leaned towards Company Commander He Beifeng and asked, "Company Commander, should we fire?"
He Beifeng rolled his eyes. "Fire what? I'm not firing. Our mission now is to watch the show!"
After a long while, when the Japanese engineers entered the minefield, he whispered, "Xiao Zhang, pull the fuse!"
Xiao Zhang beside him yanked the rope connected to the landmine.
"Boom! Boom!"
A series of explosions instantly blew away the Japanese engineers who were clearing the mines.
Seeing that the effect was good, he chuckled, "Regimental Commander Ding's idea is really brilliant, targeting the Japanese engineers. Without engineers to clear mines, their vehicles can't move on the road!"
Xiao Zhang said from the side, "Company Commander, half of the Japanese engineers were blown up by us, and the remaining half have started clearing mines again."
He Beifeng extended his Type 17 pistol. "Now is the chance. Target the Japanese engineers!"
"Open fire!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
As soon as he spoke and before he could pull the trigger, he was astonished to see dozens of artillery shells land in the midst of the Japanese ranks.
The sudden support left him confused. He turned to Xiao Zhang and asked, "Did the regimental commander arrange heavy artillery?"
"Didn't hear about it~" Xiao Zhang was also bewildered.
The Japanese below were even more stunned by this artillery bombardment. The regimental commander shouted to reform the ranks and quickly set up defenses based on the direction of the incoming shells.
More than a dozen mortars formed an artillery position, with infantry guarding them.
The rest cautiously looked towards the road they came from.
"Rumble~~~~"
A steel torrent appeared in the distance. It was a tank army!
The regimental commander's mouth fell open in surprise: "Nani!"
"Is this a new tank the Empire has developed? When was it sent here!"
The staff officer next to him grumbled with a frown, "Regimental Commander, these tanks don't seem very reliable. The shells just landed on our own heads."
"Our brave warriors suffered heavy casualties. I suggest that after this battle, the officer in charge of this tank unit must be sent back to the Empire to face a military tribunal!"
They never even considered that this could be enemy forces!
China lacked the ability to manufacture tanks independently. If they were purchased from abroad, the Empire's spies would have notified all war zones immediately.
Therefore, this tank unit in front of them must be reinforcements sent by the Empire!