November 1st, 1937, 2:00 PM:

Feng Junya, the direct squad leader of Lin Fan's westernmost forward哨位(sentry post), suddenly spotted a group of *guizi* (Japanese devils) approaching in their direction.

Lin Fan had specifically instructed him about this哨位(sentry post): it was the direction from Xin Jing, and the company commander had returned along this road last night.

Feng Junya quietly retreated, careful not to disturb anything unnecessary.

In the morning, he had heard the company commander say that even with their caution last night, they could still detect flaws from a distance.

Since morning, he had been afraid to touch a single blade of grass or tree around him.

Retreating to the position of the tree branch he had placed there earlier, he shook it frantically.

He only stopped when he saw the branches on the opposite hilltop shaking in response.

Then, he gently lowered the branch, and the opposite side did the same.

After that, Feng Junya began to run frantically towards the hilltop where their base was located.

By the time he met Lin Fan, he saw that all the soldiers of the Special Operations Company were ready.

The three teenagers, who had just arrived that morning, were also dressed in Japanese uniforms.

They stood in the middle of the formation.

Everyone quietly awaited Lin Fan's next instructions.

Lin Fan smiled and said, "Everyone, rest!"

Then he asked Feng Junya, "How many *guizi* (Japanese devils) are there? Are they passing by or specifically looking for us?"

Feng Junya thought for a moment and said, "It looks like there's a *zhongdui* (company) of *guizi* (Japanese devils), and they don't seem to be passing by.

Because they aren't taking the main road, they're coming along a small path.

Most importantly, they're coming from the Xin Jing direction."

Lin Fan and the three Ji siblings understood: the *guizi* (Japanese devils) were tracking them.

The *guizi* (Japanese devils) were coming! Should they fight or retreat?

Looking at their current position, it wasn't the best ambush location.

Looking at the surrounding environment, Lin Fan found it difficult to decide for the moment.

He looked at Ji Wudi, "Are there any relatively dangerous places nearby where we could block these *guizi* (Japanese devils)?"

Ji Wudi shook her head, "No! This is the terrain for thirty *li* (15 kilometers) in every direction."

Lin Fan really didn't know how this girl usually played around. When she said this, her tone was certain, as if she had really walked all over the surrounding area.

Lin Fan asked Feng Junya, "Are there any tanks or artillery in the *guizi* (Japanese devils)队伍(group)?"

Feng Junya said with certainty, "No! There are machine guns in the *guizi* (Japanese devils)队伍(group), and a high-ranking officer is riding a tall horse."

Since that was the case, Lin Fan no longer hesitated.

He ordered, "The guards in the other three directions will pay close attention to the situation in all directions.

We will fight the *guizi* (Japanese devils) here.

Note: We must make a quick decision in this battle and not let a single *guizi* (Japanese devils) go back.

Otherwise, our plan to bomb the *guizi* (Japanese devils) airport tonight will be ruined."

Lin Fan ordered, "Squads five and six will guard this mountain. Do not dig fortifications.

When the *guizi* (Japanese devils) arrive on the opposite side and can clearly see you, act panicked and run away in all directions.

But after running away, quietly return and guard this place."

"Squads one and two, go around behind this mountain, then go back and lie in ambush on the left-hand side.

Squads three and four, go to the right-hand side to lie in ambush, also going around behind the mountain. Do not let the *guizi* (Japanese devils) discover anything before the battle starts.

Squad seven and the direct squad, we'll go around to the right rear three hundred meters from where Captain Feng was just hiding.

After all the *guizi* (Japanese devils) have passed by, block their retreat.

Remember! Don't expose your position. Today, we're going to catch the *guizi* (Japanese devils) off guard."

The officers and soldiers of the entire Special Operations Company were nervous, afraid, and excited at this moment.

This was the first time they were fighting the *guizi* (Japanese devils) in the field.

And the first time was against a *zhongdui* (company) of *guizi* (Japanese devils) that outnumbered them.

The company commander also wanted to ensure that none of the *guizi* (Japanese devils) in this *zhongdui* (company) escaped.

If this battle were won, probably no one in the world would believe it.

When the three Ji siblings heard Lin Fan's arrangements, they felt only excitement.

They hadn't expected this Company Commander Lin to be so courageous.

Although they were in the countryside and didn't hear the news so promptly, they weren't ignorant villagers.

A *zhongdui* (company) of *guizi* (Japanese devils) could stand up to a *ying* (battalion) or *tuan* (regiment) of the National Army.

What made Company Commander Lin have such courage?

Lin Fan arranged for the three Ji siblings to hide behind the hilltop.

Ji Wudi simply led the two donkeys to the back of the mountain, and then, carrying a gun, followed behind Lin Fan.

Her younger brothers and sister also carried the guns Lin Fan had given them and followed.

Lin Fan could only acquiesce to their following!

Kosada Haruhi was becoming more and more confident as he pursued them. He said excitedly, "Those people are just ahead."

By the time Colonel Iriyama Ryosuke, riding on his horse, looked through his binoculars at the hilltop where the Special Operations Company was stationed,

More than one hundred and eighty *guizi* (Japanese devils) had appeared in the eyes of the Special Operations Company soldiers.

The first and second squads, who were still on the hilltop, suddenly discovered the *guizi* (Japanese devils) appearing on the opposite hilltop and immediately panicked.

They no longer bothered to hide.

They all got up from the ground and ran wildly in all directions.

Without binoculars, the soldiers of Kosada Haruhi's *zhongdui* (company) could see the grass and trees swaying on the opposite hilltop, with figures flashing past from time to time.

Colonel Iriyama Ryosuke sat firmly on his horse and drew his command saber: "Charge!"

He estimated the distance to be about one thousand five hundred meters.

His soldiers could charge up there in just over five minutes.

A rabble!

A bunch of bandits!

Someone among these bandits must have passed by Xin Jing last night, discovered something, and killed his soldiers.

Now it was time for them to pay the price.

Colonel Iriyama Ryosuke smiled and patted his horse, Chamaru.

This horse had been brought by General Matsui Iwane when he came from the Northeast.

It was a special gift to him to reward him for his achievement in leading his soldiers to seize the Hongqiao Airport.

Colonel Iriyama Ryosuke had always liked this horse very much.

Ji Wudi, Ji Guochou, and Ji Jiahen watched as Lin Fan stopped, while his soldiers continued to sneak forward quietly.

Wu Xiaobao and Zhao Long also stopped.

Lin Fan set up three cannons: "Each cannon, fire one shell!

Only drop it when I count to three."

Wu Xiaobao and Zhao Long happily picked up a shell each and rubbed it against the muzzle of the mortar.

Ji Wudi thought for a moment, and followed their example, holding a shell and squatting in front of the remaining cannon.

Lin Fan looked at her hand, which was trembling slightly, and gently reached out, "You can also hold it with both hands.

After dropping it in, immediately take your hands back.

Otherwise, if the shell hits your hand, we'll all be finished."

He said it lightly!

Wu Xiaobao and Zhao Long forcibly suppressed their laughter.

Ji Wudi nodded firmly, "I remember, after dropping it in, immediately take my hands back."

At Lin Fan's current location, there were fifty mortar shells.

He looked at the path the *guizi* (Japanese devils) were advancing on and set up three target zones.

Adding his cannon, it was completely a small artillery position.

Lin Fan watched as the *guizi* (Japanese devils) appeared on the hilltop, charging towards the Special Operations Company's station like ducks leaving a coop.

Lin Fan also saw the fleeing figures of the soldiers of squads one and two.

He waited quietly, waiting for the *guizi* (Japanese devils) to charge halfway up the mountain.

Colonel Iriyama Ryosuke still had a confident smile on his face: Did these bandits think they could escape his grasp?

He had already seen the soldiers at the front of the charge about to reach the top of the mountain.

Lin Fan's low voice sounded: "Attention! Drop!"

The shell in his hand was dropped into the cannon barrel at the same time.

Four shells were launched from this place at the same time.

The three Ji siblings were about to stand up to see what the results of the shells they had just fired were.

Wu Xiaobao and Zhao Long immediately pulled the three of them down, scolding, "On the battlefield, you must hide yourself at all times.

Danger is always lurking, and no one knows which comes first, accidents or tomorrow.

Do you want to become targets for the *guizi* (Japanese devils) by standing up?"

The smile on Colonel Iriyama Ryosuke's face suddenly froze: he heard the whistling sound of the shells falling.

Before he could react, he felt his body suddenly become light and floaty, as if he was a pig in the wind, being blown away.

Ji Wudi once again saw Lin Fan's hand speed!

In her eyes, Lin Fan's hand was like the wind, grabbing shells from the ground and dropping them into the cannon barrel.

With a loud bang, the shell flew out.

Then another shell was dropped in.

After repeating this five times, Lin Fan switched to another cannon barrel and continued to repeat the same action.

Colonel Iriyama Ryosuke didn't have time to react at all before Lin Fan's first shell sent him back to the embrace of Amaterasu.

Also sent back at the same time were at least a dozen *guizi* (Japanese devils) soldiers around Colonel Iriyama Ryosuke.

Company Commander Kosada Haruhi never thought that he, who had been a hunter in his hometown for fifteen years,

Would become prey today, and a rabbit with no power to fight back.

Lin Fan's first shell was given to Colonel Iriyama Ryosuke, who was riding a tall horse; the shell fired by Ji Wudi was given to Kosada Haruhi, who was the first to appear in her sight.

When this group of *guizi* (Japanese devils) appeared, Lin Fan paid special attention to the first *guizi* (Japanese devil) who appeared.

Because he knew that the first *guizi* (Japanese devil) to appear must be a tracking expert.

Such *guizi* (Japanese devils) were too dangerous.

Such dangers, of course, needed to be eliminated as soon as possible.

The time Kosada Haruhi was attacked was no more than a second apart from the time Colonel Iriyama Ryosuke died.

At the same time, two other shells exploded.

The *guizi* (Japanese devils) of Kosada Haruhi's *zhongdui* (company) were completely unprepared.

They were bombed by the shells.

They only thought about chasing and killing those who were fleeing in all directions, but they didn't expect that they would be bombed first.

And at the beginning of the battle, the commander died.

Just as the first round of four bombs had just exploded, another round of shells came down.

After being pulled down by Wu Xiaobao, Ji Wudi immediately followed Lin Fan's example and went to hold another shell, she wanted to continue!

The feeling of firing the cannon made her feel very excited!

However, Ji Wudi's actions were stopped by Wu Xiaobao, "We must conserve!

We don't have that many shells, so we must use them sparingly."

Ji Wudi silently looked at Lin Fan.

Wu Xiaobao immediately understood. For the sake of the beauty, he was willing to popularize knowledge for her, "Our company commander is a divine gunner, look at the battlefield."

The three Ji siblings carefully observed the battlefield. They saw limbs flying up everywhere a shell exploded.

When Lin Fan fired the first shot, the entire Special Operations Company's squads one, two, three, four, five, and six immediately began to shoot.

They opened fire from the front of the *guizi* (Japanese devils)队伍(group), as well as from the left and right at the same time.

The *guizi* (Japanese devils), who had just been bombed into confusion by the shells, hadn't recovered yet, and were met with a rain of bullets like pouring water.

These *guizi* (Japanese devils) hadn't completely woken up from the shell bombing, and were stunned by this head-on attack.

Squad Leader Tokuno Sota immediately stood up and issued an order, "Charge!"

He was then swept by a machine gun from the left, and the *guizi* (Japanese devils), who had just been like headless flies, suddenly found their backbone again.

They bowed their bodies and charged towards the mountain ahead.

This was the task that Colonel Iriyama Ryosuke had originally ordered, but the *guizi* (Japanese devils)' charge encountered great difficulties.

The opponents on the mountain occupied the high ground, and their machine guns were also too powerful.

There was also something that puzzled these charging *guizi* (Japanese devils): the people on the mountain, those who were constantly firing, were wearing exactly the same thing as them.

The uniforms of the Imperial soldiers.

Squad Leader Tokuno Sota, who had just issued the order, had already died.

Those *guizi* (Japanese devils) who had been following behind Squad Leader Tokuno Sota slowed down their charge.

These *guizi* (Japanese devils) were still hesitating whether to continue charging.

The people blocking them in front were all Imperial soldiers!

The second Squad Leader of the *guizi* (Japanese devils), Tomita Daiki, immediately took over command, "Charge!"

He didn't care what kind of clothes the soldiers in front were wearing!

As long as they were against him, even friendly forces couldn't be spared!

It was just that his fate was no better than Squad Leader Tokuno Sota's.

Squad Leader Tomita Daiki was shot by the soldiers of squads three and four, who were ambushing in the bushes on the right, less than three seconds after issuing the order.

The only remaining *guizi* (Japanese devils) squad leader, Okita Yumi, could no longer survive in hiding. He could only stand up and issue an order, "Charge!"

Squad Leader Okita Yumi's fate didn't become any better either.

The dense rain of bullets from three directions quickly hit him.

At the same time, shells falling from the sky exploded around him.

Now, the only commander who could stand up in the entire *guizi* (Japanese devils) *zhongdui* (company) was the squad leader.

Obviously, this was not the time to stand up and command.

The sweeping from three directions continued, and the shells above their heads continued to fall.

Those charging *guizi* (Japanese devils), mixed with the bushes on the hillside, fell to the ground like firewood being chopped by villagers.

Lin Fan looked at the charging steps of the *guizi* (Japanese devils) not far away, and slowed down the frequency of the shells he was firing.

He said to the few teenagers squatting beside him, "When firing cannons, what you need to pay attention to are: the angle and the left and right.

The design of the mortar allows it to theoretically hit any target within range in 360 degrees, with no blind spots.

Whether this target is visible or invisible,

Therefore, to fire this kind of cannon well, you must learn to calculate and have a lot of experience.

This must be practiced with a large number of shells."

Ji Wudi looked at Lin Fan's skilled movements and the flesh and blood that exploded from each shell in the distance.

She asked enviously, "How many shells did you fire to get to this level?"

Lin Fan's movements didn't stop, he calculated silently, "I don't know exactly how many I've fired,

But I've fired at least three thousand mortar shells."

These few little devils only focused on the three thousand in the words three thousand mortar shells,

They didn't pay attention to the noun that followed.

In fact, what Lin Fan meant was that he had fired at least three thousand mortar shells, not counting other types of shells.

Lin Fan said to Wu Xiaobao and Zhao Long, "You teach the three of them how to shoot guns!

I'll fire a few more shots and then we'll start charging."

From a distance, Lin Fan had already seen that the *guizi* (Japanese devils)队伍(group) had now begun to split.

Some *guizi* (Japanese devils) were charging towards the mountain in disregard of their lives, while some *guizi* (Japanese devils) had stopped moving forward.

Those who stopped became the focus of Lin Fan's attacks.

In the current situation, Lin Fan wasn't afraid of the *guizi* (Japanese devils) charging, he was just afraid that they wouldn't come forward to die.

So he had to take out those who weren't charging first.

He who is courageous in daring kills; he who is courageous in not daring lives. Of these two, one is advantageous and the other injurious. Who knows the reason that Heaven dislikes what it dislikes?

These few sentences were said by Lao Tzu in the Dao De Jing.

Now this choice was placed before the dozens of surviving *guizi* (Japanese devils) ordinary soldiers on the nameless hillside.

To bravely charge forward, many *guizi* (Japanese devils) had already tried it.

Those people were all dead.

As for not bravely running away, whether they lived or died was still unknown.

Without the restraints of their officers, these ordinary *guizi* (Japanese devils) soldiers, who numbered less than thirty,

Finally chose to follow their hearts.

At this moment, they abandoned the Bushido spirit that they had been receiving all these years and betrayed the instructions of the supreme leader.

They began to turn around and run away.

Just as they made this decision, another three or four *guizi* (Japanese devils) fell in the队伍(group).

Lin Fan fired a shell, arched his body and stood up, "Wu Xiaobao, Zhao Long! Guard the artillery position!"

The cannon barrels and mortar shells on the ground were left here, Lin Fan didn't want any accidents to happen.

His body darted forward and began to move quickly.

Suddenly, he smelled a fragrance of women around him, and glanced at it out of the corner of his eye.

The Ji sisters had followed.

Strangely, Ji Guochou, as a young man, was not as fast as his two older sisters.

From this, it could be seen that his two older sisters had often run in the wild.

Thinking about it, it was understandable, without a strong body, how could they have traveled all over the area?

And be so familiar with the mountains and rivers near their hometown!

While charging, Lin Fan took the opportunity to fire a shot.

Ji Wudi found again that every time this man who saved her last night fired a shot,

A *guizi* (Japanese devil) in the distance would fall.

The first person to turn around and run away appeared in the *guizi* (Japanese devils)队伍(group).

He wouldn't be the first, and then the second and third would appear.

Soon all the remaining twenty or so *guizi* (Japanese devils) turned around and started running away.

Squads five and six were blocking the *guizi* (Japanese devils) on the hilltop, and they were the farthest away from these *guizi* (Japanese devils).

Of course, there was no way to chase them.

They could only watch helplessly as the comrades of squads one, two, three, and four chased and beat these *guizi* (Japanese devils).

They already knew the fate of these *guizi* (Japanese devils).