Chapter 151: Repelling the Japanese Forces!

Fang Xiaodong felt his consciousness gradually beginning to blur.

Struggling fiercely to cut down a Japanese devil, Fang Xiaodong used his broadsword to prop up his body and prevent it from collapsing. He took several rapid, heavy breaths, the wound on his back burning with a fiery pain.

He had no idea how many times that wound had torn open. Fresh blood had soaked his entire back, and he could even feel that the blood across his back had already congealed, sticking tightly to his skin, creating a thoroughly agonizing sensation.

Aside from the injury on his back, in this short span of time, numerous other wounds had accumulated all over his body.

On his arms, his legs, his abdomen—a total of over a dozen wounds. Blood was draining away rapidly, and the strength within his body was quickly fading. His consciousness was slipping away bit by bit. He knew that he had reached the end of his tether, that he was at his absolute limit.

He panted heavily, greedily inhaling the gunpowder-laden air. Although the air was mixed with smoke and gunpowder, making it choking to draw into his lungs and leaving a burning sensation behind, to still be standing and breathing the air... was truly an extravagant luxury!

Squinting through his narrowed eyes at the distant setting sun, which was fast sinking below the horizon, the residual glow of dusk spilled across the earth, dyeing the entire landscape in a hue of blood. It looked just like this tiny street where they fought right now—everywhere was covered in blood, everywhere lay corpses.

The setting sun was like blood!

"Charge!"

The sounds of shouting and killing echoed from all around, but they were much scarcer than before, sounding sparse and ragged. With eyes blurred and partially sealed shut by congealed crusts of blood, Fang Xiaodong took in his surroundings: the figures of Japanese soldiers were everywhere, and the brave fighters of the First Regiment had dwindled significantly.

*At this rate, it won't be long before the First Regiment... is completely wiped out!* Fang Xiaodong thought to himself. *Why haven't the reinforcements arrived yet?*

At this thought, a look of profound sorrow surfaced on Fang Xiaodong's face. He harbored no doubts about the Brigade Commander, nor did he hold any resentment toward Chen Qingzhi for failing to dispatch reinforcements sooner. He knew the Brigade Commander must have other critical matters to attend to; he understood!

He only felt a deep sense of regret.

Despite holding out for so long, the South Gate was ultimately going to slip through their hands, and the Japanese devils were going to occupy it in the end!

Could Dingyuan still be held?

Fang Xiaodong wondered.

...

Wang Yachuan had already spotted the group locked in a fierce, brutal slaughter in the distant street. He even caught sight of Fang Xiaodong, who was propping his failing body up with his broadsword, swaying precariously. He also saw the remaining few soldiers of the First Regiment desperately holding their ground against the Japanese troops, fighting like cornered beasts driven to desperation!

At this sight, Wang Yachuan's eyes split with fury. Gripping his rifle tightly, he roared and charged forward, "Brothers, charge with me! Kill the Japanese devils and reinforce our comrades!"

"Charge! Kill the devils!"

The soldiers following closely behind Wang Yachuan also witnessed the harrowing scene unfolding in the alley. Shock washed over every single one of their faces, instantly replaced by blazing rage.

The battle had reached such a stage—just how many brothers from the First Regiment could possibly be left alive?

At that thought, the eyes of the Third Regiment soldiers turned bloodshot in an instant!

With glaring, blood-red eyes and ferocious roars, they charged forward alongside Wang Yachuan!

"Kill! Kill the Japanese devils!"

The earth-shaking battle cries rang in his ears. Fang Xiaodong, whose consciousness had been slowly fading, snapped awake with a start at the sound. He couldn't help but raise his head to look, only to see a large, shadowy mass of soldiers sprinting toward them at full speed in the distance.

And leading that vanguard figure was... Wang Yachuan!

At the sight, Fang Xiaodong's eyes lit up instantly!

A boundless wellspring of strength seemed to surge through his entire body. He hoisted his broadsword once more and echoed the cry, "Brothers, our reinforcements have arrived! Charge! Kill the devils! Slaughter them!"

Having heard the battle cries of the arriving reinforcements, these soldiers essentially found their spirits instantly lifted. Their morale rallied, and they fought back against the Japanese devils with renewed, desperate vigor.

Meanwhile, upon seeing the massive, dark tide of defenders' reinforcements arrive, the Japanese soldiers felt a sudden wave of cowardice strike their hearts.

As for the Japanese battalion commander, the moment he saw the defenders' reinforcements flood in, his heart plummeted straight to the bottom, turning ice-cold!

The defending forces that had intercepted them earlier numbered less than a thousand men, yet they had exacted a horrifyingly heavy toll on his troops. Now, so many more had come to reinforce them, and judging by the scale, it was at least the strength of a reinforced regiment. If this crowd fought with the same madness as those who resisted before... the battalion commander simply dared not imagine the outcome!

Yet, what one fears the most is precisely what arrives!

When the reinforcements collided directly with the Japanese forces, the soldiers of the Third Regiment led by Wang Yachuan, having witnessed the brutal, life-or-death struggle of the First Regiment, felt their anger surge to a boiling point. Consequently, they unleashed an incomparable combat effectiveness. Each and every one of them fought like raving demons, locked in mortal combat with the Japanese. Their suicidal ferocity even outshone that of the First Regiment soldiers before them!

The Japanese soldiers finally broke under the pressure!

Back during their fight with Fang Xiaodong's First Regiment, the Japanese had already begun to harbor deep fear. Had it not been for the enemy's small numbers coupled with their own numerical superiority—using sheer numbers as a crutch to muster the courage to keep fighting—they probably would have retreated long ago.

But now that the enemy reinforcements had arrived, the fear in the hearts of the Japanese could no longer be suppressed. Panic swept across their faces as they began to fall back.

"Baggot! Hold your ground! Hold it! The Great Japanese Empire has no soldiers who fear death!" the battalion commander shrieked at the top of his lungs, attempting to halt the retreating troops.

Hearing this, a flicker of hesitation crossed the faces of the Japanese soldiers, unsure whether they should press the attack or fall back.

However, just as the majority of the Japanese troops were paralyzed by indecision, agonizing shrieks rang out one after another from the frontline soldiers who were in direct contact with the defenders. That sound sent a chilling shudder through every single Japanese soldier.

Unable to bear the psychological blow any longer, the Japanese troops broke into a desperate, chaotic rout!

No matter how frantically the Japanese battalion commander screamed, the defeat of the Japanese forces could no longer be reversed!

This fierce and brutal combat had finally come to an end!

Ever since the afternoon when the Japanese breached a gap, followed by the First Regiment rushing in as reinforcements to intercept them, the battle had raged all the way until dusk. The slaughter was nothing short of horrific. The soldiers of the First Regiment, long since exhausted to their absolute limits, collapsed heavily onto the ground, gasping for breath.

Having driven back the Japanese, the newly arrived soldiers of the Third Regiment finally had a moment to carefully survey the street. The sight that met their eyes made them instantly draw in a sharp, cold breath.

Just how much brutal carnage had taken place here?!

No words could possibly describe the cruelty of this battle, and any rhetoric used to portray this scene would appear utterly pale and feeble.

Corpses were piled as high as mountains, and there wasn't even a patch of bare ground left to step on. During the fighting, the soldiers had essentially trampled over corpses as they engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Severed limbs and broken weapons could be seen everywhere, blood had pooled into winding rivers, and the heavy stench of iron lingered relentlessly. The entire street looked precisely like a living hell on earth!