Chapter 99: Picking Up the Dagger (Part 1)

  Dong Li Mao didn't want to wake up Qie Lan Xiang, a woman as heavenly as her shouldn't be tainted by the things happening in front of her with those pure and beautiful eyes. He picked up Qie Lan Xiang who was leaning on the chair, took a glance at Teng Lai Gui's turtle tail kneeling on the ground, hanging his head down, fainted from pain, and said to Wang Jia Gui: "Withdraw!"

  A scout company soldier's right shoulder was hit by the two Japanese devils shot by Knife Lanxiang, except for not being able to use a sniper rifle, it did not affect his walking.

  Still in front were Wang Jia Gui and two warriors, with Dong Li Mao carrying a sword and Lan Xiang following behind him, while several warriors brought up the rear.

  A dozen people ran out of the tusi's mansion and quickly sprinted in the direction they had entered the village earlier.

  Dong Li Mao somehow found the strength, and he carried Knife Lan Xiang without feeling any weight, his footsteps as light as if he wasn't carrying anyone.

  At this time, Zhao Yong and others were still fighting with Japanese devils on the riverbank.

  At the other end of the highway, there was no more gunfire, only the occasional explosion of ammunition on trucks.

  After Gu Hao and his men finished launching the rocket-propelled grenades they were carrying, they retreated to the pre-arranged rendezvous point according to Dong Li Mao's orders, where they lay in ambush waiting for Dong Li Mao and his men to withdraw from the village.

  War, the greatest victims are civilians, almost half of the village was enveloped in flames, the houses of Burmese residents were mostly thatched huts, which caught fire easily, and those near the highway were swallowed up by the big fire. More than half of the village was illuminated by the raging fire as if it were daylight. The villagers fled in all directions, dragging their families with them, crying out for their parents, mixed together with Japanese devils.

  Dolan Xiang woke up in Dong Li Mao's arms, weakly asking: "Brother Dong, have Xia Hua and the others been rescued?" Her mind seemed to still be stuck before entering the Tusi mansion.

  "Lan Xiang, are you awake? Don't speak." Dong Li Mao saw Wang Jia Gui and others leaning against the wall of a house in front, as if they had discovered devils ahead.

  On the little path to their left, a fairly large group of Japanese devils came running over.

  Hu San and Liu Xingyu, knowing there were enemy forces ahead, immediately raised their guns and rushed forward.

  Wang Jiagui knew in his heart that he couldn't hide, and listened as the footsteps got closer and closer. He used hand gestures to tell the two soldiers beside him how to deal with the devils. One of the soldiers quickly ran across the path, dashing towards a wall behind a house on the other side, where he threw a grenade at the devils running down the path. Then Wang Jiagui and another soldier popped out from their hiding spot, firing their guns in rapid succession.

  The devils who ran towards them had originally planned to detour through the forest behind the village, ambushing Zhao Yong and his men from behind. There were over a hundred of them, but unexpectedly they encountered Dong Li Mao and his men here. The commander was very experienced, and after being ambushed, he immediately dispersed the troops, dividing them into two sides to secretly surround Dong Li Mao's group. Meanwhile, the devils who remained on the small path began to return fire from a hidden location, aiming to hold off Dong Li Mao's group until the encirclement tightened from both sides.

  Dong Li Mao and the others did not expect that this time they encountered more than a hundred Japanese devils, and even less expected was that on both sides there were devils quietly surrounding them.

  Hu San and Liu Xingyu joined the battle with Wang Jia Gui, a dozen or so people, only Hu San and Liu Xingyu had submachine guns in their hands, naturally stronger than Wang Jia Gui's sniper rifle, very suitable for this alley fight. But compared to the two machine guns of the Japanese devils, they were still much inferior, the two machine guns of the Japanese devils almost locked Dong Li Mao and others on this side of the path.

  Liu Xingyu, despite being a scholar, had learned to shoot and kill after following Dong Li Mao through several battles. Although he usually wore glasses and looked gentle, when he used his submachine gun to attack, he was also a man of courage. He showed no fear, leaning against the wall with both hands holding the submachine gun, firing at the little devils on the left, then did a forward roll, dodging the dense bullets shot by the little devils' machine guns, and fell onto the small path opposite, sticking his back to the wall, quickly changing the magazine, and then poking out half of his body to fire at the little devils again.

  While Liu Xingyu was only paying attention to the enemy in front of him, several little devils had quietly gathered around his back. One of them, holding a Type 38 rifle with a bayonet, intended to stab Liu Xingyu in the back.

  Dong Li Mao, on the small path over there, saw the Japanese devils sneaking up behind Liu Xing Yu. In a moment of urgency, he tightly hugged Knife Lan Xiang with his left hand and quickly drew out the handgun from his waist with his right hand, firing two shots in succession at the Japanese devil who was about to stab Liu Xing Yu with a bayonet.

  Dolan Xiang grasped Dong Li Mao's neck with both hands when he drew his gun with his right hand, her head leaning on his shoulder to help him aim at the target in front. After two shots rang out, she let go of Dong Li Mao and stood on the ground with both feet, saying: "Dong Gege, don't worry about me, go kill those little devils and avenge Xia Hua Jie and the others!" She had already recalled that tragic scene she saw earlier.

  All of this happened too quickly, in just two or three seconds.

  Liu Xingyu almost died under the bayonet of a little devil in this short two or three seconds, and it wasn't until the devil's body was pressed against his that he realized there was someone behind him. He used the devil's corpse as cover to shoot at several devils behind him, killing two of them. Several others retreated back to take cover behind a wall, squatting in the corner to fire at Liu Xingyu, but their bullets all hit the devil who had been shot by Dong Li Mao with his pistol.

  "Company Commander, you guys hurry up! I'll cover your retreat!" Wang Jiagui yelled while crouching at the foot of the wall and firing his gun.

  Dong Li Mao handed the knife to Hu San and said, "Take Lan Xiang and leave quickly!" After finishing speaking, he ran a few steps, did a somersault on the ground, and rolled over to Liu Xing Yu's side. He took the submachine gun from Liu Xing Yu's hand and fired at the little devils in the corner of the wall. Without looking back, he shouted loudly to Hu San, Lan Xiang, and several snipers: "You all leave quickly!"

  After shouting, he rushed towards the few devils who were sneaking up from the side. Suddenly, a devil's bayonet stabbed towards Dong Li Mao's left rib from the left side. Dong Li Mao retracted his abdomen and bowed his waist, sliding back half a step. The bayonet grazed his abdominal skin, piercing through his clothes. Dong Li Mao then used his left hand to strangle the devil's neck, using his body to block in front of him. His right hand fired the submachine gun at the devils in front, and the bullets shot by the little devils all hit the devil in front of him. Dong Li Mao was like holding a human shield, and this shield still held a Type 38 rifle. When Dong Li Mao approached the few little devils step by step, they seemed to have run out of bullets and stopped firing, instead holding their rifles with both hands and charging towards Dong Li Mao together.

  Dong Li Mao then picked up the rifle in the hands of the little devil who was used as a human shield, let go of the already dead devil, and stood still waiting for several devils to rush towards him.

  Dong Li Mao didn't understand close-range bayonet fighting, but he was calm and composed at this moment.

  The first devil to rush up was stabbed straight, the bayonet charging towards Dong Li Mao's chest. Dong Li Mao used his 38th large cover to block the incoming bayonet to the left, took a step forward and counterattacked with a single spear. His blocking and stabbing motion was standard for close combat, simple and practical, clean and efficient. His hand could feel the bayonet piercing through the devil's chest.

  Just as Dong Li Mao's bayonet pierced the chest of the first ghost who pounced on him, another ghost's bayonet approached his back. At this time, Dong Li Mao had no way to pull out the bayonet and turn around to counterattack. He seemed to have grown a pair of eyes on his back, using the bayonet to lift up the pierced ghost, moving forward two steps, then flashing to the left, throwing the lifted ghost towards his back, using the ghost's body to block the bayonet. The poor little devil who had not yet completely lost his breath let out a few wails, his head tilted to one side, spitting out fresh blood, and died between the two 38-style bayonets.

  Dong Li Mao took advantage of the opportunity to pull the trigger of his rifle, firing two shots in a row. The bullets pierced the body of the Japanese soldier on the bayonet and shot into the chest of another Japanese soldier opposite him. Dong Li Mao kicked open the corpse on the bayonet, pulled out the bayonet from the Japanese corpse, and suddenly two Japanese soldiers rushed over from both sides. Dong Li Mao's eyes turned red with rage, and he shouted loudly: "Kill...!" Holding his rifle, he charged forward towards the Japanese soldier on the right, in a posture of mutual destruction. The Japanese soldier seemed to have never seen anyone fight with such ferocity before, and was shocked into stunned silence for a moment, letting out strange cries as he tried to turn around and run away. However, Dong Li Mao would not let him go, and before he could fully turn his head, the bayonet plunged straight into his right ribcage. The other Japanese soldier seemed to be intimidated by Dong Li Mao's ferocious posture, and did not dare to charge forward again. When Dong Li Mao turned around with the bayonet, the Japanese soldier was so frightened that he turned around and ran away. Dong Li Mao then opened fire, shooting down the fleeing Japanese soldier with one shot.

  Liu Xingyu hid at the foot of the wall, holding a handgun. He wanted to help Dong Limao, but was worried that the bullets would deviate and hit Dong Limao. Dong Limao's fierce battle with the enemy made Liu Xingyu's heart skip a beat. After Dong Limao shot and killed an enemy soldier who tried to escape with his rifle, Liu Xingyu suddenly saw another enemy hiding in the corner of the wall, aiming at Dong Limao. With a sudden surge of anxiety, he shouted "Captain be careful..." and fired his handgun at the enemy several times. Perhaps due to the influence of Liu Xingyu's incoming bullets, the enemy's shot deviated by a few inches, almost grazing Dong Limao's ear as it flew past.

  Dong Li Mao heard Liu Xing Yu's shout and knew something was wrong, then he heard the gunshot. Next came the whistling sound of bullets flying past his ears. He turned around to see that devil pulling the bolt, preparing to fire a second shot. Dong Li Mao took a few steps forward and threw the Type 38 rifle in his hand at the devil like a javelin. The bayonet, still dripping with Japanese devil's blood, plunged into the devil's chest with a "puchi" sound, almost nailing him to the ground face up.