Chapter 48: All-Out Assault, Annihilate the 110th Brigade

Explosions rang out successively from more than twenty enemy tents on the outer perimeter. The seven or eight soldiers sleeping inside each tent were instantly blown to pieces, without even a chance to utter a single sound.

Having completed the assault on the outer tents, the assault team, gripping their submachine guns, pressed forward in a charge.

Those Nationalist soldiers were jolted awake from their slumber by the explosions, but the moment they crawled out of their tents, a hail of flying bullets mercilessly pierced their bodies.

The roaring sound of the submachine guns echoed through the pitch-black night.

An endless stream of gunfire wove into a dense net, launching a surprise attack upon the enemy camp.

"Rat-tat-tat-tat!"

These sounds became the nightmare of the Central Army soldiers. The soldiers in the forward tents were gunned down right on the ground without even having a chance to mount a resistance.

The enemy soldiers in the rear crawled out of their tents only to hear the frantic shouts of their commander.

"Hold your positions! No one is allowed to fall back! First platoon, second platoon, get up there for me!"

The company commander bellowed as large numbers of soldiers followed closely behind, rushing forward to plug the gap.

However, before they could reach the frontline engagement zone, bullets from the flanks—sweeping through the darkness like fiery whips—lashed out viciously at them.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

The roar of machine-gun bullets tearing through human flesh reverberated continuously in the night.

Before those Nationalist soldiers could rush out, the bullets had already found their marks in their bodies.

"There are enemies on the flanks too!"

The Nationalist soldiers shouted. At that very moment, flare after flare soared into the sky.

Lifting their heads, they saw surging crowds of people flooding in from both flanks, sweeping toward them like a mountain torrent or a tidal wave.

Zhang Chengren had just stepped out of his tent. Under the glaring light of the flares, he froze for a moment as he watched the enemy troops flanking them.

Where on earth did the enemy get so many troops?

Could it be that the enemy forces on the opposite bank had abandoned their positions entirely and launched a surprise assault on their 110th Brigade's camp?

Only this possibility seemed to explain it.

"Hold the line! Detach a company of troops to check across the Yachi River and see if the enemy is still there."

Zhang Chengren shouted, a sudden thought flashing through his mind.

If the enemy force attacking them right now was the main force of the Red Army from across the river, then the defenses on the opposite bank must be completely hollowed out. Could he directly lead his main force across the river to the other side of the Yachi River?

If that were the case, he could still lead his main force into Guiyang, become the first to reach the Generalissimo's side, and still claim the merit of having rescued the ruler.

Meanwhile, a large number of Central Army troops in the front of the camp were steadily routing. The assault team's firepower was exceptionally ferocious; over a hundred submachine guns, operating in this almost face-to-face combat, displayed a terrifying and overwhelming suppression capability.

The Nationalist soldiers were barely able to form any effective defensive positions before they were driven back in continuous retreat, or else—running just a bit too slow—they were riddled with holes by the submachine guns' bullets.

"Machine gun company, build your positions and form crossfires to delay the enemy's advance!

Enforcement squad, keep your eyes peeled! Whoever dares to flee or incite soldiers to flee will be shot on the spot!"

Shouting at the top of his lungs, Zhang Chengren personally led dozens of guards to rush forward and plug the gap.

Under the illumination of the flares, the soldiers of the machine gun company hurriedly deployed their defensive positions and opened fire toward the front.

Yet these machine gun positions had already been targeted by the artillery company led by Wen Song and Xiao Shitou right as they were being set up.

Utilizing the light of the flares, Wen Song quickly locked onto the coordinates of several machine gun positions.

He began shouting, ordering the men to adjust the firing data.

In Wen Song's view, the ideal tactic would be to lay down a creeping barrage two hundred meters ahead of the assault team to help sweep away obstacles.

However, the artillerymen under Wen Song's command were mostly novices, with Xiao Shitou being the only one of decent caliber. If a creeping barrage was mishandled, shells might end up landing right on top of their own men.

Therefore, he adopted the safest method: prioritizing the suppression of the enemy machine gun positions.

With no restrictions on the number of artillery shells they could fire this time, Wen Song was able to let loose and go all out.

"Fire!"

Shells streaked through the air, blanketing the enemy's machine gun positions, and one flank's machine gun nest instantly fell silent.

Without pausing, Wen Song continued to adjust the firing data to bombard the enemy machine gun position on the other flank.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Another wave of explosions echoed, clearing obstacles for the continued charge of the assault team.

"Comrades, keep charging!"

Yang Gang roared, taking the lead in the charge. The soldiers behind him followed closely, their submachine guns continuously spitting tongues of flame.

"Rat-tat-tat-tat!"

With the machine gun positions wiped out and no fire support points left, the defensive line that had only just stabilized was broken through once again in the blink of an eye.

The enforcement squad soldiers were even beginning to be swallowed up by the routing troops as they retreated en masse.

Zhang Chengren realized that the situation was turning critical, as he was struggling to hold his ground against the forward assault team alone.

Moreover, the enemy forces on the flanks were drawing closer and closer by the minute.

Relying solely on the light of the flares, Zhang Chengren could already see that the enemy forces on the flanks were even more numerous—at least seven or eight hundred strong.

The only remaining hope was to send a force across to the other bank of the Yachi River and check whether the defenses on the opposite bank had truly been completely emptied.

Right at that moment, the company commander who had led the detachment to the opposite riverbank came running back, his face covered in blood.

"Brigade Commander, this is bad! The enemy on the opposite bank is attacking over here too!"

"What?!"

Zhang Chengren thought he had misheard. Weren't the enemies attacking them right now the ones from across the river?

"The enemy from across the bank is attacking! A massive sea of them—at least two or three thousand people. All our outposts along the riverbank have been overrun."

The company commander spoke, his eyes filled with terror.

Originally, he had led his soldiers to follow orders and check whether anyone was still defending the opposite side.

As soon as they reached the outpost, however, the enemy's machine gun fire greeted them fiercely.

Furthermore, when the flares lit up the sky, they could see massive waves of enemy troops crawling out of the river like water ghosts, slaughtering their way toward the position.

The enemy's machine-gun firepower across the river was terrifyingly fierce, pinning them down so they couldn't even raise their heads. By the time they finally managed to lift their heads, the enemy's grenades were already raining down upon them.

Two rounds of grenade blasts left them with heavy casualties, and then gleaming bayonets came lunging straight at them.

It was only because this company commander ran fast that he managed to escape; otherwise, his life would have been left right there.

By now, Zhang Chengren had figured it out. This group of enemies on the opposite side had always possessed a force of four to five thousand men, and had simply concealed the rest of their troops beforehand.

He could scarcely imagine that the commander of this Red Army faction could be so daring.

Knowing full well that the Yunnan army was right behind them and that the main forces of the Central Army were about to arrive, they still dared to launch a surprise offensive against them.

"Brigade Commander, what do we do?"

The company commander shouted.

"Retreat! Fall back immediately!"

Knowing that if they kept fighting, the handful of men he had left would likely be wiped out entirely, Zhang Chengren decisively issued the order to retreat.

Yet it was already a bit too late to retreat. Having crossed the river, the 3rd and 4th Regiments had directly outflanked the rear and flanks of this Japanese force—wait, Nationalist force—cutting right across their retreat path.

Amidst the darkness, the desperate 110th Brigade began its final resistance.