freenovelworld Chapter 682: Big Knife! Chop at the Japs' Heads!
Chapter 682: Big Knife! Chop at the Japs' Heads!
The darkness before dawn is deepest. The sea is covered with a thin layer of mist, and only the bleak moonlight can barely outline the contours of the strait.
The Japanese camp was built along the river, some distance away from Shimonoseki City.
The camp was silent, with only the monotonous footsteps of the patrolling sentries and the crackling of the burning campfire.
After several days of peaceful confrontation, most of the Japanese soldiers fell into a deep sleep.
The first person to discover the abnormality was not the patrolling sentry on the shore, but a towering wooden watchtower by the river.
The Japanese sentry on the top of the tower rubbed his sleepy eyes and subconsciously looked at the foggy river surface.
At first, he thought he was dazzled. There seemed to be something tumbling in the river, like a school of big fish.
He blinked hard and looked again in the faint moonlight.
What big fish is that?!
They were clearly narrow, low boats speeding silently towards them!
The small boats were densely packed, like arrows gliding on the water, breaking through the mist one after another and rushing towards the shore!
The sentry's sleepiness was instantly driven away by boundless fear, and his scalp exploded.
He hurriedly grabbed the cannon leaning against the wall, and without even taking careful aim, he lit the fuse in the direction where the dark shadows on the river were densest.
boom--
The sharp gunshots tore through the silent night sky, like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake.
The Japanese iron cannon can only be called a matchlock gun at best, and its range is naturally impossible to reach that far.
The flash of fire from the muzzle flashed in the darkness, and the lead bullet whizzed towards the center of the river, far away from the target, splashing a splash of water in vain.
But the sound of the gunshot was enough to wake up the rest of the sleeping devils.
The next second, the sentry's shrill scream pierced the night sky:
"Enemy attack! The Fengtian Army has crossed the strait!"
The entire Japanese camp exploded in an instant, and the sleeping soldiers were awakened. They grabbed their weapons and rushed out of the tents in panic.
Under the rough scolding and kicking of the samurai, the low-ranking foot soldiers tumbled and crawled to the shore to hastily gather and form a line of defense.
Torches lit up one after another in the camp, and there were chaotic figures everywhere. The sounds of terrified shouts, warriors' curses, and the collision of weapons filled the air.
Li Che stood at the bow of a reinforced paddle boat, wearing the dark black goose feather armor, and his scarlet cloak was rustling in the sea breeze brought by the galloping ship.
Behind him, the oars hit the water, making a dull and rapid "splash" sound.
The sailors, with their muscular upper bodies naked, rowed the boats like windmills.
In the hazy moonlight, the details on the opposite bank were blurred, but Li Che could hear the terrified shouts of the Japanese soldiers and several fires gradually lighting up in the camp.
The distance was rapidly closing. Li Che estimated the distance and suddenly raised his right hand.
He swung his sword downward fiercely towards the musketeers who were ready to attack in the cabin.
"Fire!"
There were no flag signals at night and the orders could not be conveyed, so the musketeers on Li Che's ship had to fire first.
The flint struck, sparks ignited the powder pool, and a dazzling flame spewed out of the muzzle.
Immediately afterwards, other ships heard the gunshots and pointed their muskets at the shore. The silent river surface suddenly erupted with dense explosions like frying beans.
Bang bang bang bang bang——
Countless tongues of fire flashed in the darkness, and the unique crisp sound of the Fengtian Army's flintlock rifles merged into one.
Dense lead bullets hit the Japanese troops who had just gathered on the shore like hail.
The screams instantly drowned out the chaotic shouts. Some of the Japanese foot soldiers had not even fully erected their wooden shields before their bodies were pierced by high-speed lead bullets.
Blood flowers bloomed eerily in the light of the fire, and the souls of the devils returned to the divine toilet one by one.
When a foot soldier saw his companion fall beside him, he curled up behind his shield in fear.
But the next second, he felt as if his chest was hit hard by a heavy hammer, and a stream of hot liquid instantly gushed out of his throat.
As his consciousness was about to completely disappear, he struggled to look down.
He only saw a charred hole on the shield, and blood was gushing out from his chest.
The Fengtian Army used real flintlock rifles, how could their power be blocked by a shield?
A Japanese general saw the formation becoming increasingly chaotic, his eyes bloodshot and roared in anger:
"Counterattack! Cannon ashigaru! Shoot now!"
The arquebusiers on the shore finally woke up from their dream and began to load gunpowder and light the fuse in a hurry.
For a moment, the sound of ignition and sporadic counterattack gunfire were heard.
Whoosh whoosh—
The lead bullets fired by the Japanese army flew towards the river surface with a whistling sound, but most of them only stirred up a series of small splashes on the water surface, making a muffled "puff puff" sound, and could not reach the Fengtian Army's small boats approaching at high speed.
The Japanese judged the distance based on their experience. Logically, if the enemy's muskets could hit them, their own muskets would definitely be able to hit the enemy.
But they ignored the difference in weapon levels between the two armies. Fengguo's flintlock rifles obviously had a much longer range than the iron cannons in their hands.
Seeing that their own firepower was like scratching an itch, and the Fengtian Army's small boats were still approaching rapidly, the Japanese front-line generals' faces turned pale, and a hint of fierceness flashed in their eyes.
He suddenly drew the sword from his waist and issued a cruel order:
"Everyone, close in! Push the front line forward to the coastline and trap the Feng invaders in the sea!"
The military order is like a mountain!
Although the foot soldiers were trembling with fear, they could only move forward tremblingly under the pressure of the warriors' swords.
The front line quickly advanced to the seaside, and the soldiers in the front row even had half a foot in the icy sea water.
And this time, the distance was finally close enough.
However, in the short time they advanced, the second round of volleys from the Fengtian Army's flintlock rifles arrived!
The most commonly used armor by the Japanese was bamboo armor, which was made of lacquered bamboo strips. It was difficult to protect against bows and arrows, let alone muskets.
A few ashigaru armors were made of iron sheets, and each set weighed only four to five kilograms. They looked shiny, but in fact, their defense was very poor because they were very thin.
Closer distances brought more horrific casualties. Lead bullets penetrated wooden shields, tore through bamboo armor, and finally pierced the body.
The Japanese line fell down in an instant like wheat cut by a sickle!
The Japanese general roared: "Shoot!"
The Japanese cannons finally let out a more intense roar.
This time, the lead bullet finally hit the target.
The Fengtian Army's small boat, which was at the forefront, was immediately in trouble. Wood chips flew all over the hull, and the rowers on the deck were hit and fell into the dark and cold sea with screams.
The companion beside him tried to pull him away, but was also hit in the arm by a stray bullet, and blood immediately flowed out.
The soldier next to him immediately rushed over to take his place and rowed hard.
At the same time, the Japanese archers also joined the attack, and a round of dense arrows was thrown over.
But the power of bows and arrows was far less than that of muskets, especially the arrows shot by the Japanese light bows, which were weak and most of them bounced off the Fengtian Army soldiers' sophisticated armor with a clanging sound.
Only a few unlucky rowers were shot, and they fell down with a groan because they had no armor to protect them.
This distance of less than a hundred meters instantly turned into a Shura field.
The two sides fired at each other frantically at a very close distance, with lead bullets whistling and arrows flying.
People kept getting shot and falling into the water, people kept wailing and falling on the shore, and more and more corpses and struggling figures floated on the sea.
Thick gunpowder smoke mixed with the smell of blood filled the cold air.
Finally, the first batch of Fengtian Army boats approached the shoal.
"Charge! Kill!"
The Fengtian Army soldiers in the cabin, who had been holding back their strength for a long time, let out a thunderous roar. They grabbed the prepared grappling hooks and threw them hard onto the shore.
call out!call out!call out!
Iron hooks cut through the air, some got caught on the rocks on the shore, some got entangled in trees, and even an unlucky Japanese foot soldier had his shoulder blade hooked by an iron hook. With a shrill scream, he was pulled down by several Fengtian Army soldiers and dragged into the sea.
The keel at the bottom of the ship rubbed against the sand and stones, making a harsh sound.
"Long live the country! Kill——"
The Fengtian Army's brave first-board warriors, wearing light armor, jumped over the side of the ship one after another.
Walking on the sea water and the soft sand, waving long swords, they charged towards the confused and terrified Japanese army line on the shore.
The knife light reflected a cold luster under the reflection of the torch and moonlight.
The blood waves completely dyed the narrow beach red.
At the orders of the generals and warriors, the Japanese army rushed forward and fought back against the landing Fengtian Army with shield and spear formations.
The musket line established in the rear naturally could not do what they wanted, and a round of volleys shattered the musket formation.
However, the gunshots also exposed the position of the musketeers, and the Japanese arquebusiers fired back.
At an extremely short distance, the two sides were almost shooting at each other head-on, and people were constantly being shot and falling down.
As soon as the battle began, both sides were already blood-thirsty.
The Japanese warriors drew their swords from their waists and rushed to the front of the battle with roars, and the shouts of killing in two languages intertwined together.
A samurai grinned and thrust his sword into the chest of a Fengtian Army soldier. Then he pulled out the bloody blade and shouted "Devil" arrogantly.
However, the next second, a goose-feather knife flew out from behind and pierced the shoulder of the Japanese warrior.
The warrior half-knelt on the ground, holding his shoulder and looking forward in confusion.
But then a fiery red figure floated out, and with a flash of cold light, it cut off the warrior's head.
Yang Xuan pulled out his own sword from the headless corpse, and charged into the enemy line with two swords in hand, causing another round of miserable screams from the Japanese devils.
Seeing their commander so brave, the Fengtian Army soldiers were immediately inspired and fought bravely against the enemy.
Soon, a semicircular area with a radius of one kilometer was cleared with the landing point as the center.
The heroic fighting of the first warriors provided conditions for the landing of the following troops.
Li Che acted decisively and led the Royal Guard Battalion and more musketeers to land on the shallows.
As soon as he stepped onto the soft sand, Li Che took a deep breath, and his nostrils were filled with the smell of blood.
Hu Qiang was on the left front, Ying Bu was on the right front, Qiu Bai and Qu Jinshan were fighting on the sides and rear, and a group of personal guards surrounded them, protecting Li Che firmly in the middle.
Ying Bu held the silent sword in his hand, looked around vigilantly, and said to Li Che: "This place is extremely dangerous. Your Highness must be careful and do not leave my side..."
Before he could finish his words, a strong wind blew past him.
But he saw his own prince holding a knife in his right hand and a round shield in his left hand, rushing out like lightning.
He was still muttering excitedly a tune that Yingbu had never heard before:
"Big knife! Chop at the devils' heads!"