The gunfire from the hilltop, though not intense, was lethal, each bullet finding its mark.

This caused considerable distress to Okada Yuzhen's company as many of his men fell.

Okada Yuzhen's company had barely advanced a hundred meters. If they continued to be picked off like this,

his company wouldn't even make it to the top of the hill.

However, charging upright would likely result in even more casualties than crawling forward slowly.

The conflicted Company Commander Okada Yuzhen could only order, "Maintain suppressing fire on the hilltop!"

His company's machine gunners had already been rotated twice; the mortars on the hilltop kept targeting them.

The shells seemed to have eyes, always landing right beside the machine gunners.

The attack on the slope stalled. The Japanese soldiers ceased their advance and began seeking natural cover to establish a defensive position.

The soldiers of Taiichi Nojiri's company, positioned slightly further back, also halted. They continued firing at the hilltop from the base of the slope but made no further progress.

Thus, in front of the 3rd Company's position, the Japanese had established three lines of fire: Okada Yuzhen's company about a hundred meters from the defensive line, Taiichi Nojiri's company, and the remaining soldiers of the Kaitou Sekiya battalion on the road at the foot of the hill.

Company Commander Hua Wuque directed his troops to fight the Japanese at a steady pace. The situation on the battlefield favored the Special Operations Brigade.

The Japanese unit had no artillery support. Their grenade launchers had already been eliminated by the infantry guns.

Protected by trenches, the two company commanders patiently engaged the Japanese.

The situation for Rintaro Imai's company was less stable. As he led his men forward,

all he saw were the remains of tanks. Some were still smoking, indicating that something inside was still burning.

Naoto Kurokawa's squad was at the forefront, spotting the Special Operations Brigade soldiers charging towards them.

The Japanese soldiers quickly dropped to the ground and opened fire.

This immediately drew fierce retaliation. The six heavy machine guns pushed to the front opened fire on the road.

Showing no fear of Naoto Kurokawa's squad's machine gun fire, they were immediately targeted by mortars, infantry guns, and rocket launchers.

Such overwhelming firepower was used against a single Japanese squad.

Sergeant Itou Kakushin was instantly blown away, his grenade launcher flying into the air before crashing to the ground, rendered useless.

Sergeant Yosuke Igarashi, positioned further back, narrowly avoided being killed, but his face was covered in dirt.

When he struggled out of the dirt, he saw that the enemy, who had briefly stopped advancing, was now moving forward again.

Only a few rifles from Naoto Kurokawa's squad were still firing.

What about the rest of the soldiers? Sergeant Yosuke Igarashi searched everywhere for his comrades.

Squad Leader Naoto Kurokawa was also looking for his men. The recent barrage had inflicted heavy casualties on his squad. Squad Leader Naoto Kurokawa had miraculously survived,

but the soldiers around him were either dead or wounded. None were fit to fight.

Rintaro Imai's company witnessed the plight of Naoto Kurokawa's squad.

Without hesitation, he personally led the entire company forward. From the rear, he had clearly seen that the attacking force numbered about four hundred men.

Rintaro Imai's company had over one hundred and eighty soldiers, more than enough for defense.

However, the loss of thirty or forty men from Naoto Kurokawa's squad had significantly reduced the company's strength.

The main problem was the enemy's artillery, which they lacked. The entire company was being bombarded.

Forced to endure the shelling while only able to retaliate with rifles, whose bullets had no effect on the advancing vehicles.

With a growing sense of foreboding, Company Commander Rintaro Imai sent a soldier back to report to Battalion Commander Kaitou Sekiya, requesting reinforcements!

He had no choice but to hold his ground amidst the artillery bombardment.

After Company Commander Guo Xingwang of the 15th Regiment, 4th Company of the Special Operations Brigade ambushed the Japanese tank unit, his unit was the closest to the Japanese infantry.

Therefore, they received orders to charge down the hill, sweep along the road, and launch an offensive against the Japanese. A company from the Fourth War Area would support the 4th Company's actions.

The 5th Company would also provide support from the rear. The remaining companies of the 15th Regiment had received orders to move forward and cut off the Japanese 104th Division.

Company Commander Guo led his troops along the road and immediately encountered Rintaro Imai's company blocking their path.

Naturally, he would eliminate any obstacles in his way. Although only two companies were charging in the front, two companies of mortars and infantry guns provided fire support from behind.

At the same time, the six heavy machine guns pushed to the front didn't stop. Zhou Chengfu operated a heavy machine gun, spraying bullets at the Japanese soldiers in front.

The Japanese soldiers were lying prone on the road or behind natural obstacles on the hillside, putting up a stubborn resistance.

Although their resistance could block the direct fire of the heavy machine guns, it couldn't withstand the indirect fire of the mortar shells.

Ten mortars against a single Japanese company were more than the Japanese could bear.

Company Commander Rintaro Imai watched his company rapidly dwindle in numbers, his heart aching. However, he couldn't retreat; retreating without orders would be desertion.

He could only look back at the road he had come from, thankfully, Battalion Commander Kaitou Sekiya was also watching the battle in that direction.

Before the soldier he had sent to request reinforcements could arrive, the Yuji Yoshida and Mitsuki Kinohito companies were already charging towards him.

At this point, Battalion Commander Kaitou Sekiya was losing his composure. His battalion had only entered the battle for less than fifteen minutes, and all five of his infantry companies had already been deployed.

Battalion Commander Yosuke Uehara could only watch as Battalion Commander Kaitou Sekiya's forces were completely exhausted. He wanted to retreat but didn't dare to make the suggestion.

He could only look at Battalion Commander Kaitou Sekiya, hoping he would have the courage to tell Regimental Commander Shiro Kasaki the truth about the battlefield and allow them to withdraw.

At the very least, the Japanese soldiers should withdraw from the current battlefield. With the Chinese forces occupying the high ground, these Japanese soldiers couldn't fight anymore!

What made Battalion Commander Uehara even more dissatisfied was that even though the battle had reached this point, artillery support had not arrived.

How could they fight an offensive battle without artillery support?

In reality, Battalion Commander Uehara also knew why today's battle was so difficult: mainly because the Chinese forces defending the hilltop had not cooperated well.

Based on their experience in attacking Guangzhou over the past half-month, no matter how the Fourth War Area's troops were armed, as long as the Japanese got close and charged once, most of the Chinese troops would run away.

If they didn't run, the Japanese could organize another attack and drive the Chinese forces defending the position away. No position couldn't be taken with two charges.

But today, the unit defending the hilltop didn't fall for that. No matter how many times they attacked, they wouldn't retreat.

This was the death of the Japanese. Battalion Commander Uehara looked at the remaining non-combat personnel in the battalion and ordered, "Prepare for battle!"

He didn't have any expectations for the fate of Battalion Commander Kaitou Sekiya's battalion.

By now, Battalion Commander Uehara could see that without the support of heavy artillery, it was a complete pipe dream to defeat the defending forces here.

Unfortunately, the regimental commander didn't understand his experiences, and the division commander understood even less.

Feeling like he was the only sober-minded person in the entire 104th Infantry Division, Battalion Commander Uehara felt even more pain in his heart: he saw the end of the entire division but was powerless to make any changes.

Battalion Commander Kaitou Sekiya clearly didn't glean so much information from Battalion Commander Uehara's gaze. He could still calmly comfort the poor battalion commander who had lost all his combat troops: "Uehara-kun! Don't panic, we'll break the situation soon."

He said these words while staring at the remnants of Rintaro Imai's company in front of him.

Rintaro Imai's company had received the support of two companies, and they could hang on for a little longer.

But only for a little while. The 4th and 5th Companies had all arrived, and twelve heavy machine guns were constantly advancing.

The two companies from the Fourth War Area that were moving with these two companies weren't lagging behind either. Although they didn't have heavy machine guns that could block bullets and couldn't be at the front, they also had machine guns in their hands, and a considerable number of them.

These machine gunners set up machine gun positions in the rear and fired wildly at the Japanese.

Ning Xiuxian was a machine gunner in the Cantonese Army. Today, all nine machine guns in their company were concentrated together, forming a machine gun position, and firing at the Japanese.

This time they were firing, not suppressing the Japanese fire. Ning Xiuxian was having a great time.

This was the first time he didn't have to constantly worry about his comrades disappearing as they fought. In front of their machine gun position were hundreds of soldiers from the Special Operations Brigade attacking.

This gave him an unspeakable sense of security. Coupled with the artillery bombardment of the Special Operations Brigade, the Japanese could only shrink back and counterattack.

And these counterattacks from the Japanese were ineffective. Seeing their side's troops so brave.

Company Commander Bu Xitai was also deeply moved: today, his company had been fighting the Japanese continuously.

They had just ambushed the Japanese tanks, and now they were launching an offensive against the Japanese infantry.

Launching an offensive against the Japanese was something they had never dared to imagine before. In the past, being able to hold their positions was a great achievement. Now they could also counterattack.

The troops were the same as before, and the soldiers were the same as before. But today, these soldiers were clearly different. You could tell from the way they charged forward.

Each and every soldier charged forward without hesitation, not looking left or right.

Company Commander Rintaro Imai was now in a very difficult situation. The defensive line his company was guarding, although reinforced by the Yuji Yoshida and Mitsuki Kinohito companies, faced even greater pressure.

The pressure on the three companies was still increasing. The Special Operations Brigade troops attacking from the front had charged to within a hundred meters of them.

Even at such close range, the soldiers of Mitsuki Kinohito's company didn't have many chances to fire.

It wasn't that his soldiers didn't want to fight, but they simply didn't have a chance to raise their heads. The Japanese soldiers who were able to fire were firing blindly.

They were only trying to fire their bullets, not caring where they went.

The situation for Yuji Yoshida's company wasn't much better. His company's soldiers were also under heavy fire.

Bullets kept whizzing over Company Commander Yuji Yoshida's head, and the whistling sound made the Japanese shudder.

Faced with this situation, the three company commanders made the same choice: bayonet charge!

They now only hoped to use close-quarters combat to bridge the gap in firepower. With the orders of the three company commanders, the Japanese soldiers began to fix their bayonets, preparing for battle.

The intensity of the Japanese counterattack weakened, and the heavy machine guns of the 4th and 5th Companies advanced even faster.

When the two sides were only thirty or forty meters apart, Company Commander Rintaro Imai stood up and shouted loudly, "Charge! Charge! Charge!"

He was impatient. The remaining soldiers in his company only numbered a squad. With so few soldiers, they were now starting to charge.

As the first Japanese company stood up to charge, the remaining two company commanders also issued the same order.

Company Commander Guo Xingwang of the 4th Company and Company Commander Jin Rongcheng of the 5th Company certainly approved of the Japanese decision. For them, whether the Japanese stubbornly resisted on the spot or counterattacked like now.

Both led to the same outcome. The worst outcome would be if the Japanese all ran away, in which case, there might be some survivors.

Now that the Japanese were all charging up for close combat, none of these Japanese soldiers would survive.

The twelve heavy machine guns cleared the way. Company Commander Guo led his troops to charge to the front. Company Commander Jin on the other side didn't fall behind either and led his troops to charge up.

With the two companies of the Special Operations Brigade charging in front, Company Commander Bu Xitai and Company Commander Chang Chengzhi weren't willing to be left behind either. They all led their men to charge up.

The people at the front of the two sides had just met when they burst into shouts of killing.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The soldiers of the 4th and 5th Companies shouted loudly. The Special Operations Brigade, which had an absolute advantage in strength, crushed the three Japanese companies.

Ning Xiuxian and the dozen or so soldiers in their machine gun position saw that the two sides had become entangled together.

These soldiers couldn't find any targets to shoot at. They picked up their machine guns and charged towards the battlefield in front. They wanted to join in the bayonet charge.

Wei Le, a machine gunner from another company of the Chinese army, also picked up his machine gun and charged towards the battlefield at this time.

Ning Xiuxian was tall, strong, and had long legs. He ran very fast when he charged.

His machine gun didn't have a bayonet. He held the barrel in both hands, swung the machine gun around, and smashed it at the Japanese.

The butt of the gun hit a Japanese soldier's head, and it burst open.

Ning Xiuxian didn't stop. He swung the machine gun around and smashed the butt of the gun at another Japanese soldier.

The people next to him clearly heard the sound of bones breaking. Half of this Japanese soldier's shoulder was crushed.

Sergeant Saburo Kase's entire shoulder was crushed by the barbarian on the other side. He screamed loudly in pain. He also threw away the rifle in his hand and turned to run.

Ning Xiuxian, who had caught up, hit him again with the butt of the gun. Sergeant Saburo Kase's head was almost completely embedded in his chest cavity. This situation was even more terrifying than Yuta Yamamoto's head being broken just now.

Saburo Kase, whose mouth was directly hit to the chest position, even the sound of his cries was painful. The Japanese soldiers who saw this scene around him were trembling.

They were really afraid of the tall Chinese soldier not far away. He was holding a light machine gun upside down, and the butt of the gun was stained with some red and white things, and blood was dripping down.

Company Commander Bu was very happy that the soldiers under him could be so brave, and praised loudly, "Ning Xiuxian fought well!"

Looking at the way the Special Operations Brigade soldiers fought, Company Commander Bu was very envious.

Everyone belonged to the Chinese army sequence, but they were so strong. Compared with his subordinates, they seemed too weak.

Now that he saw the soldiers under him were so powerful, finally a outstanding soldier stood up and earned a little face for his team.

How could Company Commander Bu be unhappy? Ning Xiuxian, who received the company commander's personal praise, immediately rushed towards the company commander's direction. There were several Japanese soldiers charging at the company commander over there.

Those Japanese soldiers originally wanted to attack Company Commander Bu.

Seeing Ning Xiuxian striding over, these Japanese soldiers hurriedly changed their target. It's just that on this battlefield, they couldn't find any easy targets to bully.

Every soldier was like a piece of iron, which could kill these Japanese soldiers.

Battalion Commander Kaitou Sekiya personally saw three companies under his command being completely annihilated by the Chinese forces. The Chinese troops in the distance, after sweeping away the three companies under his command.

They didn't stop there. They didn't even stop to rest and were still moving forward.

This made Battalion Commander Kaitou Sekiya feel embarrassed. He no longer had any reserves in his hand. He could only learn from Battalion Commander Uehara and organize the Japanese soldiers of the entire battalion headquarters.

Battalion Commander Uehara suggested, "Let's establish a defense line here, forming a mutually supporting position on the hillside and the road."

The Japanese soldiers of the two battalion headquarters added up to more than 300. What else could Battalion Commander Kaitou Sekiya say?

Although there were still two infantry companies alive in his battalion, they were as good as dead. The Rintaro Imai Company was firmly suppressed on the hillside and could not move forward.

The Okada Yuzhen Company was also on the hillside, unable to advance or retreat. It was unwilling to retreat, but it couldn't rush forward.

Since that was the case, they could only hold on in place, hoping that a miracle would happen on the battlefield.

For the 104th Infantry Division, there was no miracle in this battle.