Chapter 567: Singapore Campaign (5)

Seeing that the Chinese Air Force had already successfully completed its bombing mission.

Kuno Kenta felt uneasy, believing that the Chinese forces would launch an attack toward Kuala Lumpur.

But at this time the Southern Army's focus was on Singapore.

Kuno Kenta asked for assistance from the 25th Army commander Xia Shan Feng Wen.

Singapore is relatively close to Kuala Lumpur.

However, this would disappoint Kuno Kenta.

Xia Shan Feng Wen only told him to strengthen air defenses, as the Chinese forces were still attacking Moulmein.

Indeed, Du Yuming, leading the 200th Division and the 96th Division, was launching an attack on Moulmein.

After receiving Xia Shan Feng Wen's order, Kuno Kenta immediately sent people to inventory the anti‑aircraft weapons, and seeing the few anti‑aircraft machine guns at hand, his face showed a panicked expression.

"Regiment Commander, we have only three anti‑aircraft machine guns; we cannot intercept Nanko's bombers!" the staff officer reported, his face ashen.

Kuno Kenta slammed the table hard, his tone violent yet tinged with desperation: "Baka! Even if there are only three, set them up! Notify all soldiers to enter the anti‑aircraft bunkers and prepare for the bombing!"

At that moment, Kuno Kenta heard the roar of engines in the sky and wondered why they were flying so low; it didn't sound like Japanese aircraft.

Kuno Kenta stepped out of the command post and saw a dozen or so black birds circling in the sky.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Especially why they were not bombing Singapore.

At this time, the second wave of bombing formation had reached the skies over Kuala Lumpur; the lead pilot, looking at the Japanese Army positions below, issued a solemn command over the radio.

"All crews, attention: target the Japanese Army's 48th Division, 32nd Regiment camp and arsenal in Kuala Lumpur; drop bombs precisely and annihilate their living forces!"

Fifteen P‑38 Lightnings immediately adjusted formation, patrolling at high altitude to guard against sporadic Japanese anti‑aircraft counterattacks while closely monitoring the surrounding airspace to prevent Japanese air reinforcements.

Nine B‑29 bombers gradually descended, their bomb bays opening slowly; heavy bombs, whistling through the air like rain, fell toward the Japanese camp.

"Boom—!"

The first bomb hit the Japanese arsenal precisely; a violent explosion erupted instantly, fire leapt skyward, thick smoke billowed, and the ammunition inside the arsenal ignited, causing a chain reaction.

The massive shockwave flattened the surrounding barracks in an instant, hurling debris, wood chips, and the remains of Japanese soldiers into the air.

Kuno Kenta stood behind the command post bunker, watching the carnage, his eyes filled with fear and resentment.

He ordered the anti‑aircraft machine guns to engage, but the fire from the few guns was like a drop in the bucket, unable to reach the high‑altitude bombers.

Instead, the P‑38 Lightnings spotted them; the P‑38s' cannons fired fiercely, completely destroying the ground anti‑aircraft machine gun position, and the Japanese soldiers operating the guns fell instantly into pools of blood.

"Regiment Commander, the camp is half‑destroyed, the arsenal gone, the soldiers suffer heavy casualties, we cannot resist!" the staff officer reported, crawling and rolling.

Kuno Kenta gazed at the camp shrouded in flames, the sounds of explosions and screams filling his ears, his despair deepening.

He knew clearly that without anti‑aircraft weapons, facing the Chinese bomber formation, they could only take hits passively, with no means of retaliation.

The bombing lasted a full thirty minutes; the Japanese Army's 32nd Regiment camp was completely destroyed, the arsenal, barracks, and fortifications reduced to ruins, more than half the soldiers killed, and Kuno Kenta, with the remaining troops, fled in a disheveled scramble into Kuala Lumpur's buildings, daring not to show themselves again.

After completing their bombing run, nine B‑29 bombers slowly climbed, escorted by fifteen P‑38 Lightnings, and headed back toward Yangon.

The aerial bombing had just ended, Kuala Lumpur's smoke still lingering, when the cruiser Dingyuan, operating separately from the main Nanko fleet, arrived silently offshore with two Coastal-class destroyers.

The ship drifted slowly across the sea, the crew standing at attention, eyes fixed on the distant silhouette of Kuala Lumpur.

The smell of smoke in the air drifted with the wind, mingling with the salty sea, adding a further sense of grimness.

Kuala Lumpur's location is highly advantageous; scattered to its west are several islands, arranged naturally into a defensive barrier.

Cruiser Dingyuan's captain Liu Qing, holding a telescope, carefully observed the sea and island distribution, his expression steady: "Relay the order: the fleet shall stay in the outer sea and not approach Kuala Lumpur's near waters."

The staff officer beside him asked with some doubt: "Captain, why not approach the harbor and bomb directly? That would yield a better strike."

Liu Qing shook his head, pointing at the distant islands: "You see those islands; they lie just beyond the range of the Coastal-class destroyers."

The Coastal-class destroyers have a range of only eight to nine nautical miles, roughly sixteen kilometers, insufficient to fire shells into Kuala Lumpur's city.

"Now, the only weapon capable of striking targets within Kuala Lumpur is our Dingyuan's main gun. Moreover, rashly approaching the near sea would easily fall into a Japanese ambush, not worth the risk," Liu Qing said.

The staff officer suddenly understood and immediately transmitted the order.

The cruiser Dingyuan slowly adjusted its hull, its main gun turret turning gradually, the barrel precisely locking onto Kuala Lumpur's crucial port—Yingda Island.

"Aim at Yingda Island's pier and storage area, commence bombardment!" Liu Qing ordered.

Dingyuan's main gun roared instantly.

"Boom—boom—boom!"

The massive cannon roar was deafening, shells whistling as they flew toward Yingda Island, leaving streaks of dazzling fire in the sky.

The first shell hit Yingda Island's pier precisely; a violent explosion erupted instantly, the wooden pier shattered, stone and planks flew, several small transport ships moored at the shore were struck and burst into fierce flames, the firelight reddening the sea.

Soon after, follow‑up shells struck the port's storage area precisely; the warehouses were instantly blown apart, the supplies ignited, thick smoke billowed, merging with the lingering aerial bombing smoke to shroud the entire Yingda Island in a gray haze.

The two Coastal-class destroyers kept watch around Dingyuan, their radars operating at full power, closely monitoring the surrounding waters to prevent Japanese small‑craft raids.

The crew performed their duties skillfully; although they could not join the bombardment, they remained highly vigilant, safeguarding Dingyuan.

Dingyuan's main gun kept roaring, shells pouring onto Yingda Island's port like rain; in just twenty minutes the port was completely destroyed, the pier collapsed, the storage area turned to ruins, no longer able to serve its transport and supply function.

At that moment, Kuno Kenta, hidden in a Kuala Lumpur building, heard the distant ship cannon roar from offshore, and panic surged in his heart.