Chapter 145: When Giants Collide, the Bold Prevail!

"Ah... Damn you, Japanese bastards, go to hell!" A furious roar erupted from further down the street as Fang Xiaodong, leading his men to reinforce the position, witnessed this tragic and heroic scene.

This roar was laced with sorrow, sounding like the desperate cry of a wounded lion, filled with deep grief yet burning with intense fury!

"Charge! Kill them!" Fang Xiaodong took the lead, roaring at the top of his lungs, "Brothers! The soldiers of the Third Battalion have fulfilled their mission; they fought to the very last man. Are we going to fail now?"

"Resolute is our China, together we face the national crisis. Until our blood runs dry, we shall never cease the fight! To slay the enemy and serve the country is today! Charge, kill the Japanese!" Fang Xiaodong brandished his broadsword and thundered the command.

The soldiers following closely behind felt their eyes turn bloodshot at these words. Gripping their broadswords and bayonets tightly, they launched a ferocious assault toward the Japanese.

Fang Xiaodong had witnessed that harrowing scene, and how could these soldiers have missed it?

Watching their comrades-in-arms resort to mutual destruction with the Japanese at the critical moment of crisis, the fury in their hearts had long since broken all bounds!

There was only one way left: kill!

Only by slaughtering every single Japanese soldier in front of them could they vent their rage!

Their fellow soldiers had suffered catastrophic casualties, an entire battalion wiped out. Among those fallen men were their comrades, their kinsfolk, and their friends, and now, they were dead!

As their surviving brothers-in-arms, all they could do was fight valiantly, slaying as many Japanese as possible to accompany their fallen comrades in death!

Though uttering no response, the soldiers charged forward in grim silence, gripping their weapons so tightly that their knuckles turned ghostly white.

"Baka! These damned Chinese!" Seeing this unfold, the Japanese major cursed with bitter hatred.

After finally annihilating that suicidal band of Chinese soldiers and believing they could finally break through, who would have thought that Chinese reinforcements would arrive so swiftly! If they wished to push through, they would have to wipe out these Chinese soldiers blocking their path first!

Despite his hatred, a flicker of fear surfaced in the major's eyes, clearly revealing his inner terror!

The suicidal charges of the previous soldiers had dealt a profound psychological shock to the Japanese troops. Even now, whenever these Japanese soldiers recalled that scene, a chill crept into their hearts.

Given the choice, he truly wished he did not have to face these fanatical Chinese!

The major could see it clearly: the Chinese soldiers charging toward them were burning with rage, radiating a soul-shaking murderous intent. Without a doubt, they were far more fanatical and reckless than any enemies they had encountered previously!

This battle would undoubtedly be arduous!

Fortunately, however, their subsequent troops were continuously pouring through this breach. As long as they were willing to pay the price to annihilate this faction of Chinese soldiers, it was merely a matter of time!

Yet, the major knew that while the reinforcements had arrived, the Imperial soldiers coming to support them were all gripped by fear, their arms trembling slightly as they gripped their rifles.

They were all terrified!

Yet they also understood that there was no turning back now!

Only by obliterating the enemy could they survive!

In this narrow clash, only the brave would survive!

The major was forced to violently suppress his inner panic, having no time to dwell on his anger toward the defending soldiers who had just carried out the suicidal charges. He understood that they had to seize this location with the utmost speed and widen the breach if they were to survive!

If they were beaten back by the Chinese soldiers once more, everything would return to square one, forcing them to endure this terrifying onslaught and suffer heavy casualties all over again!

Yet their fallen comrades would never come back to life, and they certainly had no desire to witness such an outcome!

Therefore, they could only tread upon the corpses of their enemies and comrades alike, advancing! Advancing! Ever advancing!

Destroy the enemy! Survive!

There is no pity on the battlefield, no benevolence, and certainly no mercy!

There is only the roar of artillery and the sound of bullets piercing flesh. Only when you have annihilated your enemy can you afford to exercise your benevolence and mercy; otherwise, on this battlefield, you are merely cannon fodder!

Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself!

Every victory and every success is a road paved with corpses, clearing obstacles with artillery fire and bullets, without a single exception!

When bitter enemies meet, their eyes burn with crimson hatred.

The two sides had now collided. Harboring a blood feud, there was naturally nothing left to say; it was time for bayonets to draw blood.

In such circumstances, any words paled into utter insignificance before bayonets and artillery!

"Charge! Kill them!"

As the two forces crashed together, Fang Xiaodong let out a mighty roar and plunged into hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese.

Urged on incessantly by their major, the Japanese soldiers fought desperately with their bayonets as well.

The soldiers harbored a pent-up fury within their chests, their anger soaring. Gritting their teeth, they launched a relentless assault against the Japanese, cutting them down one after another. Numerous Japanese soldiers fell beneath their blades, completely shaken by the sheer ferocity of the Chinese soldiers' tactics!

Yet the Japanese also understood that they had reached the end of the line; they had to kill the enemy to survive!

Spurred on by this fierce confrontation, their eyes turned bloodred as well, and they engaged the soldiers in desperate combat.

As the slaughter continued, more and more Japanese reinforcements kept pouring through the blasted breach, immediately throwing themselves into the melee against the soldiers.

Though the soldiers put up a desperate resistance, the Japanese outnumbered them significantly, and knowing full well that they had no retreat—that to fall back meant certain death—the soldiers suffered heavy casualties, gradually losing the upper hand!

Fang Xiaodong hacked down a Japanese soldier with a single slash, took a ragged breath, surveyed his surroundings, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Brothers! Our fellow villagers are right behind us! Our brigade commander is right behind us! They are all watching us!"

"If we fail to hold Dingyuan, the Japanese will drive straight through, and our brother soldiers fighting bitterly on the main battlefield of Xuzhou will find themselves caught in a pincer attack, while countless compatriots will suffer brutal deaths at the hands of the Japanese! Brothers, tell me, are you willing to see this happen?!"

"No! We are not willing!"

The soldiers shouted back in unison amid the carnage, their voices filled with unwavering resolve and determination!

"Good! Since that is the case, we shall nail ourselves firmly to Dingyuan! Even if we die, even if we become corpses, we will shackle the Japanese advance and make it impossible for them to take a single step further in Dingyuan County!" Fang Xiaodong roared at the top of his lungs, "The brothers at the front have already interpreted the phrase 'co-existing with the position' through their actions. Can we, as the First Regiment, allow ourselves to be outdone by the Second Regiment?"

"If those Japanese dogs can charge without regard for casualties, are we sons of China nothing more than spineless cowards? Since those Japanese bastards are playing with their lives, we will accompany them to the very end! When it comes to risking one's life, when has a son of China ever feared anyone?!"

"Let the Japanese see for themselves whether their skulls are truly harder, or if the sons of China possess a truer, hotter blood!"

"Brothers, charge! Kill the Japanese!"

Fang Xiaodong's words set the blood of every single soldier boiling.

Just as their regimental commander had said, were the sons of China truly inferior to the Japanese?

Since the Japanese were launching their attacks regardless of the cost, and since they wished to ravage their compatriots and slaughter their kin, how could they, as sons of China and as soldiers, harbor a fear of death? How could they dare to retreat?

Every soldier widened their bloodshot eyes and roared in fury, "Charge! Slaughter them all!"