Chapter 210 I Went Mad During the Republic of China 26
Shanghai! The Battle of Shanghai! A meat grinder known as a blood and flesh mill.
Historically, this war lasted for three months, with countless soldiers from both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party dying in the process. Although Shanghai eventually fell, we resisted with our own flesh and blood, shattering the Japanese plan to "conquer the country in three months."
"Before we leave, let's go to northern Hebei and deal with that last straggler who slipped through the net." Zhou Jue's voice was completely calm.
"Brother Tongzi, this is Kuroki Ryu's hideout."
[Coordinates locked: Northern Hebei, Blackwood Long's lair. Initiating teleportation.]
The light flashed by.
In a secluded courtyard in northern Hebei, Kuroki Takashi paced back and forth anxiously.
The disastrous defeat in Beiping left him a fugitive. The command headquarters in Beiping was wiped out, and Beiping was completely controlled by the 29th Army. As the person in charge of intelligence, he was also responsible and could only hide and wait for the storm to pass.
"Baka! Who is it! Is it a ghost?!" he cursed under his breath, kicking over the coffee table next to him.
He suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck, and when Kuroki Takashi turned around sharply, there was nothing there.
He touched his neck and felt a chill run through his body; his heart began to pound uncontrollably.
"Who? Who's there!" He drew his pistol and roared at the empty room.
The only response he received was his own heavy breathing. He slowly relaxed, thinking that he was just hallucinating because he was too nervous.
The instant he lowered his gun, an invisible force gripped his throat, lifting him into the air.
He kicked his legs wildly, his face turned a deep liver color, his eyes bulged out from lack of oxygen, and he gripped his neck tightly with both hands, but couldn't grab onto anything.
He saw it—there was nothing in front of him! Was something unseen killing him?!
Fear took over his entire mind.
"Crack".
With a sharp crack, Kuroki Takashi's neck was snapped, his head tilted to an odd angle, his body twitched twice, and then he fell silent.
Zhou Jue didn't even look at the corpse: "Brother Tongzi, Shanghai, by the Huangpu River, find a high vantage point where you can see the river clearly."
[Received, coordinates locked: HSBC building rooftop on the Bund, Shanghai. Initiating teleportation!]
As soon as Zhou Jue stood firm, a thick layer of gunpowder smoke and a tense atmosphere rushed towards him.
Beneath my feet lies Shanghai, known as the "largest metropolis in the Far East".
In the distance, on the surface of the Huangpu River, a dozen gray steel behemoths lined up in a row, their dark cannon muzzles like monsters ready to devour their prey, pointing directly at the Bund's collection of international buildings.
The flagship "Izumo" was particularly eye-catching, with the fluttering Hinomaru flag waving arrogantly in the wind.
Inside the city, piercing air raid sirens pierced the sky from time to time.
Soldiers chanted orders as they hastily constructed fortifications with sandbags in the streets. Countless civilians, dragging their families along, fled in panic towards the concession, their cries and curses mingling together.
[Target: Japanese Third Fleet, flagship "Izumo", commander Hasegawa Kiyoshi.]
According to intercepted intelligence, they will launch an indiscriminate artillery bombardment of downtown Shanghai in thirty minutes.
"Thirty minutes." Zhou Jue looked at the arrogant warships on the river. "That's enough."
With a thought, she took out stacks of glittering talismans from her system space.
On the bridge of the Izumo, Admiral Kiyoshi Hasegawa, commander of the Third Fleet of the Navy, held up his binoculars and watched the panic of the Chinese on the shore.
A cruel smile played on his lips.
"Commander, all ships are in combat positions and ready to fire at any time," an adjutant reported, bowing.
"No rush." Kiyoshi Hasegawa put down his binoculars and slowly took off his white gloves.
"Let the Chinese experience the fear of impending death a little longer. This prosperous land will soon be reduced to ashes by the Empire's cannons. What a magnificent fireworks display that will be."
He turned around and ordered his adjutant, "Tell the gunners on all the ships to aim their shells at the tallest buildings and the busiest streets! I want their screams to echo throughout the whole of Shanghai!"
"Hai!" The adjutant stood at attention and saluted excitedly.
Just then, Zhou Jue's figure disappeared from the rooftop.
The next second, she appeared on the turbid Huangpu River, right next to the huge ship "Izumo".
Zhou Jue stretched out his hand, his fingertips swirling with spiritual energy, and affixed a talisman that shimmered with a faint light to the keel of the ship. The talisman merged into the steel like water.
Next, she took out several pieces of high-energy explosives and used her spiritual power to fix them to the outside of the ship corresponding to the ammunition depot and the engine room.
Having done all that, she began repeating the same operation: destroyers, gunboats, transport ships...
Soon, all the ships were successfully marked.
"Brother Tong, synchronize all the detonators. I want them to detonate at the same time."
Synchronization complete, awaiting instructions.
Zhou Jue returned to the rooftop of HSBC and quietly watched the river.
On the bridge of the Izumo, Kiyoshi Hasegawa glanced at the clock on the wall and nodded in satisfaction.
He straightened his uniform, walked to the command platform, and picked up the communicator.
"Attention, all fleet!" He cleared his throat, his voice filled with fervor.
"For His Majesty the Locust King! For the Great Sakura Empire!"
He slowly raised his right hand, preparing to give the command he had been waiting for.
"open……"
"boom--!!!"
Before he could utter the word "fire," a muffled thud from the depths of hell suddenly came from beneath his feet.
As if struck by an invisible giant hand, the Izumo was violently thrown upwards before crashing back into the water.
Inside the bridge, everyone was thrown to the ground by the immense force.
Kiyoshi Hasegawa slammed his head against the control panel, immediately bleeding profusely from his head.
"What's going on!" He struggled to his feet, but before he could even stand up, a second and a third explosion followed!
"Boom! Boom—!"
He rushed to the porthole, and the sight before him terrified him.
A massive column of water, over ten meters in diameter, accompanied by thick black smoke and twisted steel plates, shot into the sky from the hull of the "Izumo".
The sturdy hull looked like a torn piece of paper, with a terrifying hole through which river water was pouring in frantically.
That's not all!
Centered on the Izumo, the cruisers Chokai and Yubari, along with several destroyers, exploded one after another like a string of lit firecrackers!
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The surface of the Huangpu River instantly turned into a sea of fire.
The shockwave from the explosion even shattered the windows of many buildings on the Bund.
On the shore, the Chinese soldiers and civilians, who had already fallen into despair, all stared in disbelief at this incredible scene on the river.
A young company commander, who was holding a machine gun and ready to fight to the death with the position, opened his mouth wide, not even noticing the cigarette in his hand fall to the ground.
"Then... what happened?" he murmured to himself.
"It's blown up! The Japanese warship has blown up!" Someone shouted first.
The next second, deafening cheers erupted from countless throats, resounding through the sky!
"It's sunk! The Japanese ship is sunk!"
"God bless China! God bless China!"
Countless soldiers threw off their helmets, jumped out of their fortifications, and shouted and jumped towards the river.
The fear and humiliation that had been suppressed for too long transformed into ecstasy and shouts at this moment.
On the rooftop, Zhou Jue watched the burning, tilting, and slowly sinking steel debris on the river.
The Izumo broke in two and was sinking into the river at a visible speed, billowing black smoke.
Kiyoshi Hasegawa has probably already been fed to the turtles.
"The Japanese navy must be in serious trouble now," the system's voice rang out as soon as Zhou Jue finished speaking.
[Warning! High-level phone call intercepted from Japanese headquarters!]
[Naval offensive thwarted, high command furious! Emergency operational orders issued!]
The originally planned reinforcement force, the "Shanghai Expeditionary Army" commanded by Army General Iwane Matsui, has changed its course!
[New landing point: Hangzhou Bay, Jinshanwei!]
They plan to launch a forced landing from the flank and rear of our defenses, encircling the Shanghai garrison in a deep penetration!
Zhou Jue turned his gaze south: "Trying to flank us from the side? Playing a landing game?"
"Then let them never be able to get ashore!"
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