64: Chapter 64 Li Yunlong: Fire!

Taiyuan Airport.

The order from Major Saburo Nakamura of the 3rd Aviation Brigade was quickly relayed to the airport.

Instantly, the entire airport was in an uproar.

First Aviation Squadron Leader, Major Kobayashi Futo, received the order. Seeing the words "thousands of trucks" on the telegram, he wore a scornful smile:

"Yosh! It seems the Eighth Route Army has struck it rich! What a pity, they will soon turn into a pile of burning scrap metal!"

"Gentlemen, this is a good opportunity for us to clean up the mess for those incompetent guys in the Army and demonstrate the martial fortune of the aviation corps!"

"Hai! Squadron Leader!" The pilots replied in unison.

"Board the planes! Target: Yang Village!"

Major Kobayashi Futo put on his flight cap and was the first to step into the cockpit of his Type 97 heavy bomber.

He looked through the porthole and watched the ground crew loading the last 250kg aerial bomb onto his beloved plane.

A Type 97 heavy bomber had a payload of exactly 1000kg, capable of carrying four 250kg aerial bombs.

One flight squadron, ten heavy bombers in total!

That meant they were carrying ten tons of ammunition for this sortie!

"Gentlemen, you've all seen the order, right? Yang Village, supplies for thousands of trucks!"

"It seems those earth rats hiding in the Taihang Mountains have scraped together some belongings from somewhere and dare to flaunt them so openly!"

The team members responded one after another:

"Haha! The Squadron Leader is right! These poor Eighth Route Army soldiers have probably never even smelled gasoline a few times, right?"

"Thousands of trucks? I think they just gathered all their wheelbarrows together!"

"Perfect! Let these Chinese see what real air strikes are!"

"Let them know that those crawling on the ground will never be able to fight those flying in the sky!"

Major Kobayashi Futo was very satisfied with the fighting spirit of his subordinates.

"Those idiots in the Army were scared out of their wits by a broken tank that appeared from nowhere and even lost their stronghold. They have truly disgraced the soldiers of the Empire!"

"Today, let us, the warriors of the aviation corps, teach our colleagues in the Army a good lesson!"

"Tell them that only by mastering air superiority can one achieve true victory!"

"Hai! The Squadron Leader is wise!"

"Leave the job of cleaning up after the Army to us!"

"Let those Army idiots looking up at us from the ground see what true martial fortune looks like!"

The pilots clamored one after another.

They didn't take this bombing mission seriously at all, thinking it was just a relaxed and happy "armed parade," a one-sided slaughter of the weak.

They didn't even have fighter escorts!

Ten heavy bombers were executing this mission.

"Alright, gentlemen!" Major Kobayashi Futo pulled down his goggles and pushed the throttle.

"Target, Yang Village! Let us go and present a grand 'fireworks show' for those Chinese who don't know the meaning of death! Depart!"

"His Majesty the Emperor, long live!!"

"long live! long live! long live!!"

Amidst the fanatical shouts, ten Type 97 heavy bombers taxied and took off in sequence, forming a neat formation in the air.

Under the sunlight, the scarlet "meatball" emblems on the wings and fuselage looked particularly dazzling.

Inside the cabin, the pilots were still casually joking with each other:

"Hey, Kameda, aim precisely when dropping bombs later, don't throw the bombs into the barren mountains again!"

"Don't worry, the target is so big this time, I could hit it with my eyes closed!"

"I heard the Eighth Route Army doesn't even have decent anti-aircraft machine guns, so we can fly lower and strafe them with machine guns first. That will be satisfying!"

"That's right! Let those bumpkins taste the power of the Imperial Aviation Corps!"

"Hahaha..."

"long live!!"

Meanwhile.

Yang Village.

Li Yunlong, Kong Jie, Ding Wei, Zhao Gang, Zhang Dabiao, and others were using the last bit of time to familiarize themselves with the 85mm anti-aircraft guns they were commanding.

As they operated them, their shock grew stronger.

Li Yunlong grinned: "Damn it, don't look at this thing's barrel, it's almost catching up to the 105mm Howitzer, but this thing is really damn easy to operate!"

"Whoever invented this thing is really a damn genius!"

Ding Wei added: "Yes! Look how light it is to turn! The aiming feel is also good!"

Kong the Hothead chimed in: "Satisfying! This gun must be satisfying to fire!"

Zhao Gang was more focused on details. He carefully observed the breech mechanism and loading method, and the more he looked, the more shocked he became:

"Old Li, have you noticed? The design of this gun... is too reasonable!"

"Everything Mr. Shen Wang brought truly has an unspeakable... exquisite quality to it!"

Zhang Dabiao had the loudest voice and shouted: "Regimental Commander! This thing is too exciting! I can't wait to try the gun on the devils' planes!"

Everyone praised it with their mouths, but they all had a string tightened in their hearts.

Although everyone was shocked by the excellent performance of the 85mm gun itself, the deciding factor was the miraculous "proximity fuze" that Shen Wang spoke of.

Is this thing really as mysterious as Mr. Shen Wang said?

If it doesn't work... these dozen or so regimental and battalion-level cadres, plus the most elite shooters of the Independent Regiment, are all exposed under the noses of the devils' bombers. The consequences would be unimaginable!

The command layer of the 386th Brigade would likely collapse by half in an instant!

Trust is trust, but there is great terror between life and death. A trace of instinctive worry and doubt is always inevitable.

Just at this moment of intertwined anxiety and expectation—

"Whoosh—woo—!!!" The air defense alarm sounded again from the northwest!

"They're here!"

The Brigade Commander, in an observation position in the rear, raised his binoculars and shouted in a deep voice.

Everyone on the position perked up and instantly entered combat state!

"All positions! Prepare for combat!"

Soon, a dull roar of engines came from the horizon, approaching from far to near, pressing down like rolling thunder.

Immediately after, ten Type 97 heavy bombers appeared in everyone's eyes.

It must be said, the devils' pilots were truly extremely arrogant!

Their flight altitude was extremely low. Looking from afar, it was as if they were flying against the mountain ridges.

Saying they were flying against the ground might be an exaggeration, but the altitude was at most a thousand meters!

They were even slowly descending in altitude!

"Those damn devils! Flying so low, they really don't take us, Old Li, seriously!"

Li Yunlong gritted his teeth, his eyes spitting fire.

This was the frustration of facing the devils' air force in the past!

The other side was just so unscrupulous!

On the other side, Zhao Gang's breathing was steady. The gun he was responsible for had locked onto a bomber slightly to the right.

Kong Jie, Ding Wei, Zhang Dabiao, and others also locked onto their targets.

For a moment, only the slight friction sound of the anti-aircraft guns turning and the heavy breathing of the soldiers remained on the position.

Watching the enemy planes getting closer, even the aerial bombs under the wings were clearly visible!

Now!

Li Yunlong seized the opportunity and used all his strength:

"Fire—!!!"