The Mysterious Soldier of the Anti-Japanese War

Chapter 318: Lei Tao's urgent plan to resist the bandits' attack on the city

Lei Tao and his team were sitting in a tent, pencil in hand, marking their next move on the battle map. Without warning, a deafening bang erupted, like a bomb exploding in their ears, jarring their eardrums. The people inside swayed uncontrollably, knocking over a glass of water on the table, spilling liquid all over the floor.

Before everyone could recover from the loud noise, fierce gunfire rang out.

"Oh no! The bandits are coming out in full force to capture the camp and then plunder the town!" A militia member rushed into the tent in panic, staggering, his voice shrill with fear.

Lei Tao reacted quickly, stood up, slammed his hands on the table, and shouted: "Don't panic! Follow my instructions!" This shout calmed the panicked crowd a little.

Lei Tao quickly thought of a response strategy. He glanced at everyone in the room and spoke quickly but clearly, "We'll be divided into four groups. In one group, Chen Feiyang will lead a few militiamen to defend the front. We'll pile up sandbags and use the houses as cover to pin down the main force of the bandits. We can't retreat a single step and absolutely cannot let them break through our defenses! Everyone, work closely together, take turns firing, and suppress the enemy's firepower!"

"Group Two, Liu Zishan, will lead ten militiamen to make a detour from the left. Utilizing the terrain, advance stealthily and make sure not to reveal your whereabouts. Once you're close to the bandits' flank, observe their firepower deployment, identify their weaknesses, and then concentrate your firepower to disrupt their offensive rhythm."

"I will lead the third group to go around the right side and behind the bandits. Move quickly and quietly to avoid being spotted. Once we reach the designated position, we will immediately launch an attack and expose the bandits to attack from both front and back."

"Four groups of Li brothers, armed with two machine guns, will occupy the commanding heights on either side. These are excellent firepower output points. You must keep a close eye on the battlefield. If the bandits show any signs of breaking out, suppress them with machine guns. Utilize your superior position to support the other three groups and trap them in the encirclement!"

Everyone nodded. Liu Zishan stepped forward and said, "Brother Lei, don't worry, we'll listen to you! We guarantee to complete the task!"

"Okay, let's go!" Lei Tao gave the order, and everyone quickly took action. They crouched down, holding their guns, and rushed towards the battlefield according to their respective tasks.

As he reached the door, several bullets whizzed towards him. Lei Tao quickly moved in a serpentine manner, dodging left and right, accurately avoiding the bullets with each move. Just as the bullets almost grazed the corner of his clothes, he suddenly exerted force, leaped high, completed a tactical jump and roll in the air, and landed flat on his back.

Some bullets struck the doorframe, sending wood chips flying; others struck the wall, sending dust flying. Taking advantage of this gap, Lei Tao spotted a thick stone millstone nearby and immediately ran over. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a smoke bomb, removed the safety pin, and hurled it toward the area where the bandits were concentrated.

The smoke bomb landed, sending a cloud of white smoke swirling through the air, sending the bandits into a state of panic. Lei Tao seized the opportunity and charged toward the stone mill, several bullets darting past his head. Upon reaching the mill, he quickly squatted, leaning his back against it, panting rapidly, sweat dripping down his cheeks.

He poked his head out slightly and peered through the gap in the smoke. Seeing a bandit groping forward in the smoke, Lei Tao raised his M1911 pistol, took aim, and pulled the trigger. With a "bang," the bandit screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his chest.

Hearing the gunshot, the other bandits shot at Lei Tao, their bullets hitting the stone mill and sending sparks flying. While the bandits were reloading, Lei Tao reached into his waistband, pulled out an M1 grenade, removed the safety pin, and counted silently: "One, two, three!" As soon as the three seconds were up, he stood up and threw the grenade at the bandits.

The grenade exploded above the bandits' heads, sending a powerful blast and shrapnel flying. The bandits had no time to dodge, some were blown away, some were hit by shrapnel and rolled on the ground screaming, and some were knocked to the ground by the blast.

Chen Feiyang and his team, who were on the front line, used sandbags and walls to build a defensive line and continued to fire at the bandits. Despite the fierce firepower of the bandits, not a single militiaman retreated.

"Everyone hold on, we can't let the bandits break through our defense line! As long as we have people here, we're in this position!" A team member shouted loudly, his voice clearly audible amid the sound of gunfire, boosting everyone's morale.

At this time, the bandit leader Zhu Erba was standing on the mountainside, watching the siege go on for so long that he was furious. He waved his hand viciously and roared, "Push the homemade cannons up here and blow down the city wall! If I don't take this place today, I'm not Zhu Erba!" Several bandits hurriedly pushed out two homemade cannons.

"Hurry, load the gunpowder and aim at the city wall! Move quickly!" Zhu Erba urged. The bandits trembled as they loaded the gunpowder and shells into the homemade cannons and nervously lit the fuses.

"Boom, boom!" Two cannon shots rang out, and the shells, emitting a trail of black smoke, flew towards the city wall, smashing heavily into it. Bricks and stones flew everywhere, and the immense force of the impact shook the militiamen on the wall to their feet. Several were hit by the bricks and stones, and fell to the ground screaming. A gap more than half a meter wide appeared in the wall.

"One more time, make the breach even bigger!" Zhu Erba shouted. The second round of shells followed, hitting the wall again, tearing the breach even wider. The wall was crumbling, and the dust raised by it covered the sky.

The second group of militiamen, led by Liu Zishan, had already circled around the bandits' flank. They quietly approached, and when they were a few dozen meters away, Liu Zishan seized the opportunity and shouted, "Shoot!" The militiamen opened fire, catching the bandits off guard. Their formation was thrown into disarray, and they fled in all directions.

"What's going on? Why are there soldiers on the flank?" a bandit leader shouted in panic.

The three militia groups led by Lei Tao also successfully circled the bandits' rear. Using the jungle undergrowth for cover, they approached unnoticed. Seeing the bandits' attention focused on the front and flanks, Lei Tao secretly rejoiced. He lowered his voice to his men, "Follow my orders! Fire together! Aim and shoot, one shot at a time!" The men nodded, their index fingers resting on the triggers, catching their breath and awaiting the command.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Gunshots rang out, and the bandits were caught in a dilemma, being attacked from both sides. They fled in all directions and became a mess. Zhu Erba saw his team being beaten so badly that he paced back and forth in anger, cursing non-stop.

At this moment, a bandit was frightened by the fierce firepower and turned to flee. Seeing this, Zhu Erba grabbed the Hanyang rifle from his subordinate, cocked the bolt, took aim, and pulled the trigger. "Bang!" The bandit fell straight to the ground, blood flowing from the back of his head. Zhu Erba pointed his gun at everyone and roared, "If anyone deserts the battlefield again, don't blame my Hanyang bullets for not recognizing anyone. Charge forward, take this place, and rob the gold, silver, treasures, and women as you please!" The bandits were frightened by this scene, and under Zhu Erba's coercion, they bravely rushed towards the militia position.

Lei Tao saw Zhu Erba and was furious. He quickly took aim and pulled the trigger. With a "bang", the bullet grazed Zhu Erba's arm and flew past. Zhu Erba quickly hid behind the bunker.

"Damn it! Beat him hard!" Zhu Erba shouted with gritted teeth.

The battle reached a stalemate, and Lei Tao knew he had to end it quickly, otherwise, if bandit reinforcements arrived, the consequences would be disastrous. He observed the battlefield and found that although the bandits were suppressed, they were still resisting stubbornly and tended to gather at the breach in the city wall. Lei Tao realized that the bandits were trying to force their way through the breach and enter the town.

Lei Tao acted decisively and said to the three groups of militiamen around him: "Listen everyone, the bandits want to break through the gap in the city wall, we can't let them succeed. Groups one and two will continue to contain them, and our group three will concentrate their firepower and move towards the gap. We must seal the gap before the bandits gather!" The militiamen nodded, quickly stood up, and advanced towards the gap in combat groups, taking turns to cover each other.

At the same time, Lei Tao communicated with Group 4 through flag language, asking them to concentrate their machine gun firepower on the area near the gap to prevent the bandits from approaching. After Group 4 received the signal, two machine guns spewed out flames and rained bullets into the gap, making the bandits unable to raise their heads.

As the three groups advanced, they encountered a small group of bandits. Lei Tao calmly directed his troops, arranging two militiamen to draw fire from the front while another two, taking advantage of the terrain, flanked the group. Using trees and mounds for cover, the flanking troops quietly advanced on the bandits. Once they were close enough, the flanking troops suddenly rose and opened fire, while the frontal militiamen also launched their attacks, quickly eliminating the group.

As the three groups gradually approached the gap, Lei Tao discovered that Zhu Erba was also organizing the bandits to reinforce the gap. Zhu Erba personally took a pistol and drove the bandits forward. Lei Tao's heart moved. He knew that if he could kill Zhu Erba, the bandits would be leaderless and the battle would end quickly.

Lei Tao and Chen Feiyang found a hidden position and set up their sniper rifles. Lei Tao observed Zhu Erba's every move through the scope, waiting for the best opportunity. Zhu Erba was constantly moving back and forth on the battlefield, commanding the bandits, making it difficult to get a stable shooting opportunity.

Just as Zhu Erba stood still again and roared loudly to urge the bandits to charge, Lei Tao decisively gave the order: "Shoot!" The militia pulled the trigger and the bullet whizzed out. However, Zhu Erba seemed to sense the danger. At the moment the bullet was fired, he suddenly turned sideways and the bullet flew past his body.

Zhu Erba realized there was a sniper and immediately hid behind a big tree. But he did not give up the attack, but instead drove the bandits to charge more frantically.