Chapter 302: The Battle of Xiaoting, the Sky Eagle

The distant P-38 "Lightning" fighter aircraft formation, like a flock of predatory eagles, appeared over the skies above Xiaoting.

They were not unfamiliar with Xiaoting, because they had already come yesterday and had given the Japanese Army below a gift in advance.

Below the cloud layer, the earth stretched in a desolate expanse.

William's aircraft suddenly dropped altitude, circling twice at low altitude, his gaze like a torch scanning the Xiaoting below. Apart from the few glaring plaster flags fluttering on the city walls and the scattered black specks moving in the trenches, he did not find the large‑scale Japanese Army forces he had expected to be gathered.

Too quiet!

This seems a bit off, or rather, these Little Devils are hiding too well.

William furrowed his brow, his hands tightly gripping the control stick, a flash of resolve passing through his eyes. Since the Little Devils' main force was not in the open, they must have already moved north to intercept the 150th Division and the First Battalion.

He quickly pressed the throat microphone, his voice steady and powerful echoing through the entire channel:

"Ghost 1st Squadron, attention! Move forward along the cloud pool direction, searching ahead. Drop all loaded aerial bombs, and blast that supply line for me!"

Immediately after, he turned the aircraft's nose, his gaze fixed on the map position to the North, and issued a deep command:

"Squadron 1, and Squadron 2, follow me north! Our target is Dangyang; go find and destroy the enemy's reinforcements!"

"Squadron 1 received!"

"Squadron 2 understood!"

The radio channel carried the teammates' crisp responses, especially Nick of Squadron 2, whose tone brimmed with eager excitement.

In the blink of an eye, the massive formation of thirty‑six fighter aircraft traced a huge forked line across the sky. The fuselages shuddered; half the aircraft roared as they turned toward the cloud pool on Xiaoting's flank, while the main formation centered on William pulled up its noses, a chilling howl accompanying them as they surged toward Dangyang.

It should be known that since the Little Devils invaded China, their bombing formations have only deployed that many aircraft in a few large‑scale battles. Smaller skirmishes usually involve only a dozen or so aircraft, but even those dozen planes cause massive damage to ground forces.

The key is air superiority, which lets you see the enemy's positions, where troops gather, and their firepower locations; a light press of a button can pull out the enemy's fire points.

In the cloud pool direction, the forest concealed the ground Japanese Army, which hid within the forest positions; the aircraft that just swept by made them feel extremely fortunate.

But when the Huaxia Army's aircraft returned again, before they could react, the shadow overhead already descended. Squadron 1's fifteen P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft hesitated not at all, pouring aerial bombs from their undersides like hail.

Boom—!

A series of violent explosions rang along the mountain path beside the cloud pool, flames shooting skyward, soil and rubble hurled dozens of meters into the air. The Japanese Army transport vehicle convoy winding along the path instantly turned into piles of burning scrap metal, black smoke billowing, blotting out the sky.

At the same time, William's leading "Ghost 2nd Squadron" had already sped through Xiaoting's airspace, heading north toward Dangyang.

Their objective was crystal clear: the Japanese Army reinforcements at Dangyang.

Long before William's P-38 Ghost 1st and 2nd Squadrons took off, Yan Xing, William, and Jiang Anguo had already clarified today's bombing targets, and today's operational mission had been crafted airtight:

Before 3 p. m. this afternoon, all aircraft will strike the Japanese Army in the directions of Xiaoting, Dangyang, and Zhijiang in continuous devastating waves.

And the climax, after three o'clock, all aircraft will regroup and concentrate their full fury on the dock at Yichang's riverbank.

Jiang Anguo wants the Little Devils to think their attack focus is on Xiaoting, then march north from Xiaoting to assault Yichang, as long as the surrounding Japanese Army units are all engaged in rescuing Xiaoting.

At that moment, it would be the optimal time for the Independent Regiment to land at Yichang from the south bank of the Yangtze River.

William's P-38 aircraft will bomb with utmost ferocity, turning the riverbank dock into ruins, clearing a safe zone for the ground forces.

Just yesterday, the 448th Regiment and the Independent Regiment's First Battalion landed north of the River, already drawing the Japanese Army at Zhijiang over.

Last night, after the 232nd Regiment's reinforcement toward Zhijiang was blocked at Baiyang Town, the Japanese Army garrison commander of Xiaoting, Captain Hai Fu Sanqianxiong of the 104th Regiment, again requested support from Nei Shan Yingtai Lang.

Nei Shan Yingtai Lang ordered the 116th Regiment to rush south to support Xiaoting.

The 13th Division Commander Nei Shan Yingtai Lang still cannot grasp why the Huaxia Army dares to attack the heavily fortified Yichang defensive line.

His intelligence department, within its reports, found that the Telegram most frequently mentioned was China's 150th Division, which was also because yesterday's battle report returned to Chongqing was intercepted by the Japanese Army, revealing the 150th Division.

Jiang Anguo also deliberately confused the Japanese Army; of course, even adding an Independent Regiment, the Japanese Army would not think that a division plus a regiment would dare attack Yichang.

When Nei Shan Yingtai Lang asked which war zone's elite the 150th Division belonged to within Huaxia, none of the subordinate officers could answer.

Later, after investigation, it turned out the 150th Division was a Sichuan Army unit, not welcomed by the Chongqing Military Committee, essentially a marginal unit.

"Nani!" Nei Shan Yingtai Lang thought the unit was crazy.

The intelligence was crystal clear: the China army's attacking force was a ragtag unit, and such a ragtag unit fought so heroically!

You are not an elite unit; why would a single division dare to attack Yichang? Yet now Yidu has fallen, and the Yangtze River gunboat flotilla sent out has suffered heavy losses.

Captain Hai Fu Sanqianxiong of the 104th Regiment also perished in China's Yangtze River.

Moreover, just a few days earlier, China's air force suddenly air‑raided all airports in Central China, including Yichang Airport, destroying almost all combat and bomber aircraft capable of taking off.

Thus the Japanese Army lost its air superiority.

Nei Shan Yingtai Lang felt there must be a conspiracy, but he couldn't articulate it, because the th War Zone was attacking Yueyang, and the 6th Regiment of the 3rd Division defending Yueyang had already withdrawn.

China's th War Zone concentrated forces to attack Yueyang, which can be said, and the 150th Division was to intercept its own support for Yueyang, which also makes sense.

But you finished Yidu yesterday, and today you crossed the river to attack Xiaoting; isn't that a bit excessive?

Nei Shan Yingtai Lang ordered Captain Sen Xie Kangyan to annihilate the China forces that had crossed the river; Captain Sen Xie Kangyan truly had to bear the hardship alone.

He had just received news that the two squadrons of front‑line Japanese Army officer Song Jin Wu Zhi were completely wiped out; at this moment, Sen Xie Kangyan did not think he could eliminate the opposing China forces.

At the same time, Sen Xie Kangyan felt the China air force above had gone mad, crazily dropping aerial bombs onto the ground; that wasn't enough—aircraft in the sky unleashed machine‑guns, cannons, and all their ammunition onto the Little Devils hiding in the forest.