Chapter 339: War Drums Sound! The Battle of Yiling!

Jiang Anguo stands on Moji Shan.

The river wind whistles, and he feels a heat wave from explosions in the air.

Across his view, William's Ghost Battalion's P38 "Lightning" fighter, like a messenger from hell, swoops with a sky‑rending howl, pouring high‑explosive bombs capable of destroying everything onto the opposite shore's Yichang dock.

The rolling Yangtze River stretches between the two mountains, separating Moji Shan from Yichang dock, yet the straight‑line distance between them is only a little over six hundred meters.

Each aerial bomb leaves the wing, Thud!

Boom!

The explosions are so close that every muffled ground‑impact fuse detonation is immediately followed by earth‑shaking rumble.

Even across the wide River Surface, the terrifying blast instantly shreds the Japanese soldiers with shrapnel.

The scene before his eyes is cruel enough to frighten.

Yet thinking that all the dead on the opposite side are Japanese, Jiang Anguo feels an intense surge of excitement.

Japanese can only leave this land by lying down; surviving a departure from Yichang is almost impossible, and Jiang Anguo will give Little Devil no chance.

Unless they are capable of crossing the ten‑thousand‑mountain wilderness of western Hunan.

Over forty high‑explosive bombs are not carelessly dropped; they fall like precise scalpels, densely landing in the narrow area of Yichang dock.

In an instant, flames shoot upward, a massive mushroom cloud rises, turning the once clear sky into a snarling blood‑red.

The sound of explosions, the thunderous collapse of buildings.

This is no longer the human world; it is clearly a hellish battlefield.

One could say that under such saturated fire coverage, no living being stands on Yichang dock at this moment.

The once‑arrogant Japanese forces that entrenched here, along with all fortifications, appear utterly fragile before absolute violence and are instantly erased.

Even any truly lucky survivors are likely blown to pieces, only able to clutch their heads like bereaved dogs, barely surviving amid ruins and smoke.

Jiang Anguo suddenly raises his right hand and swings toward the River Surface.

Thud!

Thud!

A muffled, powerful drumbeat then erupts behind him.

At some point, Moji Shan had already placed twenty large drums.

Twenty Guard Company soldiers swing their arms wide, striking the drumheads heavily one after another.

Thud!

Thud!

The sound is rugged and primitive, bearing an ancient bleakness and lethal aura, its wave somehow completely drowns out the rolling Yangtze's surf beneath his feet.

This is a war‑drum rally, a death‑battle horn sent to the entire army.

As the drums beat rapidly, the transport ships at the Riverbank are already ready to depart.

The soldiers grip their steel spears, eyes blazing at the opposite shore.

Each drumbeat lands like a heavy strike on the soldiers' hearts, arousing the latent ferocity and bloodlust within them.

The drumbeat is no longer mere rhythm; it is the sound of attack, a command, urging warriors to rush toward the enemy lines.

In modern warfare no one uses war drums for support; Jiang Anguo is the first.

Yao Quanyi stands at the bow, feeling the deafening drums behind, a surge of hot blood rushing to his head.

He suddenly draws his command sword, its blade pointing at the bomb‑ravaged Yichang dock across the shore, and with all his might shouts, "Advance, kill Little Devil, retake Yichang!"

That shout instantly ignites the whole unit's fury.

"Kill Little Devil, retake Yichang!"

Roars like thunder, rising and falling, echoing over the Yangtze sky for a long time.

The Independent Regiment's morale soars.

The transport ships, amid drums and shouts, cut through the Yangtze at top speed, launching the final charge toward the opposite shore.

Within Yichang city, dark clouds press down.

The Japanese Army's 13th Division headquarters is set in the former government salt bureau site; the blue‑brick, gray‑tile building is now wrapped in sandbag, barbed wire, and sentries, the air thick with a pungent mix of char and smoke.

Division Commander Nei Shan Yingtailang stands before the battle map; just now, Huaxia forces' aircraft turned the entire Yichang dock into a sea of fire.

Nei Shan Yingtailang can hardly believe that the Imperial, after losing land‑air support, would be defeated so thoroughly.

He assigned the 116th Regiment, which was to go from Dangyang to Xiaoting for support, and due to the Chinese Air Force's air raid, it was almost completely wiped out.

"Bad!" he feels a sudden sinking in his heart, almost blurting out.

Looking out from the command post's observation window, thick smoke rolls toward the dock, black clouds surge upward dozens of meters.

The explosion sounds continue endlessly; even miles apart, the ground still trembles slightly.

He knows, it's over!

The piles of ammunition, fuel, food at Yichang dock, plus the dozen or so transport barges moored at the Riverbank, along with hundreds of soldiers loading supplies, were likely turned to ash in that precise air raid.

This is not harassment, not a probe, but a declaration of war.

"Division Commander…" Chief of Staff Xiaolin Xinnan's voice trembles, his face pale as paper. He clutches the desk edge, nearly losing balance, "the Chinese army… seems truly about to attack Yichang."

A strange sound comes from across the Yangtze; it is neither artillery nor aircraft engines, but a sound that makes those present feel a spiritual tremor!

Now Xiaolin Xinnan and Nei Shan United Kingdom Tairang can be absolutely certain that the Chinese army intends to attack Yichang.

Earlier this morning, they had scoffed at the intelligence assessment: one division plus one Independent Regiment? With such scant forces, daring to retake Yichang, the Yangtze throat? Pure fantasy!

Yet now, looking at the all‑consuming flames outside the window, he can no longer smile.

In fact they wondered why Huaxia air force bombed the Japanese positions north of Yichang; there are solid permanent fortifications, a Japanese heavy artillery brigade stationed there, and another Japanese heavy artillery brigade in Yichang with 150 mm heavy mortar cannons.

Xiaolin Xinnan also wonders why the Chinese army does not attack Yichang directly.

As Division Commander, Nei Shan Yingtailang thought the Chinese army would attack from the north, i. e., the Shipa direction, so he reinforced part of his forces to Yichang's north side.

The appearance of the Huaxia Air Force, which bombed the Yichang dock, completely overturned his perception; behind it, there must have been meticulous deployment, perhaps even direct support from the Allied Forces.

And that Allied Forces is the United States they imagined; Huaxia could not possibly have such advanced aircraft, only the United States would have them.

What chilled his spine even more was the tactical intention.

In just one day, the Chinese army not only seized Yidu on the south bank of the Yangtze River, but also successfully crossed the Yangtze and secured its foothold.

At the same time it defeated the vanguard of the 232nd Regiment of the 39th Division coming from Zhijiang, and this morning the worst news: the 116th Regiment was attacked by the Chinese Air Force and the entire regiment was wiped out.

Nei Shan Yingtailang had always thought that the Chinese army would first attack Xiaoting, which indeed was not wrong; Xu Guozhang's 150th Division was attacking Xiaoting.

It has now already taken Xiaoting.

And precisely because the Japanese Army's intelligence department learned that the Chinese army's main force was gathering at Xiaoting, Nei Shan Yingtailang sent the Independent Mixed 17th Brigade to Xiaoting for support.

Nei Shan Yingtailang said slowly, "Baka! The Chinese army's main force is on the opposite bank, towards Moji Shan; they have been luring our troops out of Yichang to prepare for the final assault!"

But even if they realized it, what then? In fact, Nei Shan Yingtailang was also worried about this, which is why he redeployed the 116th Regiment towards Dangyang and also requested support from the 39th Division in Jingzhou.

Unfortunately, both his own units and the reinforcements were ambushed on the way!