Foolish! Once I kill you, your belongings are still mine! Meeting Sai Diaohan!

Seeing that the Japanese of the Seventh Route Army still refused to surrender, Zhang Dabiao immediately said to Wang Chengzhu, "Zhuzi, open fire! Let these bandits taste what it's like to be shelled!"

"You got it," Wang Chengzhu replied instantly.

The next second.

"Open fire!" Wang Chengzhu ordered.

The artillerymen of the New First Regiment immediately began firing the cannons in front of them.

Bang, bang, bang, bang...

As many as a dozen cannons were fired simultaneously, and more than a dozen shells soared into the sky, heading straight for the stronghold of the Seventh Route Army.

The bandits inside the stronghold widened their eyes as they watched the sudden barrage of shells.

Although the stronghold of the Seventh Route Army was not small, when all was said and done, it was still just a mountain stronghold.

For the New First Regiment to shell it with a dozen cannons was a classic case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

The bandits of the Seventh Route Army truly had not expected that the New First Regiment would actually start shelling without the slightest hesitation.

Heilong, the chief chieftain of the Seventh Route Army, also widened his eyes at that moment, his face full of shock and disbelief.

He never imagined that the Eighth Route Army would actually shell his stronghold, and moreover, without holding back any shells at all, unleashing a full-firepower assault.

"These Eighth Route Army soldiers are completely insane!" Heilong said, his face pale with utter astonishment.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen shells had already landed within the stronghold of the Seventh Route Army.

Boom, boom, boom, boom...

Rumble...

Deafening explosions resounded, unleashing a terrifying destructive force as the artillery fire swept wildly in all directions.

The wooden buildings inside the stronghold were instantly blasted into ruins by the sweeping flames of war.

Quite a few bandits were caught in the blast, some killed and others wounded.

In an instant, the entire stronghold of the Seventh Route Army was thrown into complete chaos.

The fierce artillery fire from the New First Regiment caught these bandits completely off guard.

Especially the defensive fortifications built by these bandits—except for the trenches, almost all other surface fortifications and structures were blown to ruins.

After just a single round of artillery fire, the defensive works of the Seventh Route Army's stronghold suffered heavy damage.

However, the New First Regiment was evidently not satisfied yet.

A second round of artillery fire quickly swept toward the stronghold of the Seventh Route Army once again.

Seeing the incoming artillery fire once more, the bandits inside the stronghold hurriedly hit the dirt.

Boom, boom, boom, boom...

Rumble...

Under the second round of bombardment, the casualties among the bandits of the Seventh Route Army mounted further, and their fortifications were completely pulverized.

After two rounds of bombardment, the stronghold of the Seventh Route Army had completely lost the protection of its defensive works.

Seeing this, Zhang Dabiao immediately issued an order: "Brothers of the First Battalion, charge with me!"

Following that, Zhang Dabiao took the lead and charged out at the forefront, followed closely by the warriors of the First Battalion.

Seeing this, Heilong hastily shouted orders: "Stop hugging the ground! Get up immediately and intercept the Eighth Route Army's charge, quick!"

Hearing Heilong's command, the bandits of the Seventh Route Army immediately began trying to intercept the charging soldiers of the New First Regiment's First Battalion.

It had to be said that the firepower of this bandit group was indeed quite formidable, and every single one of them was equipped with a rifle.

With such equipment configuration, they indeed did not look like ordinary bandits.

However, no matter how well-equipped the Seventh Route Army was, bandits were still bandits after all, and a gap in combat effectiveness still existed between them and a regular army.

Even their combat morale fell short by a massive margin.

Led by Zhang Dabiao, the soldiers of the First Battalion braved a hail of bullets and charged straight into the stronghold of the Seventh Route Army.

The bandits fought desperately to resist, but to no avail.

Soon, the soldiers of the First Battalion broke through the defensive line and rushed into the interior of the stronghold.

After that, the soldiers swept through the stronghold like wolves entering a flock of sheep, clearing out the bandits of the Seventh Route Army.

When all was said andốt done, these bandits were nothing more than a mob, entirely incapable of being a match for a regular military force.

The battle situation was completely one-sided.

Upon entering the stronghold, Zhang Dabiao soon spotted Baihu attempting to escape amidst the chaos.

Zhang Dabiao immediately raised his rifle, took aim, and pulled the trigger.

Bang...

The bullet pierced through the crowd and blew Baihu's head wide open.

...

An hour later.

The bandits inside the stronghold had been completely cleared out by the soldiers of the First Battalion.

Heilong was also captured alive by the soldiers and dragged before Zhang Dabiao.

"Officer... Officer, please spare my life!" Heilong begged on his knees, his face filled with terror. "As long as you spare my life, I'll give you all the gold and silver treasures in the stronghold, plus an arsenal!"

Hearing Heilong's words, Zhang Dabiao's eyes immediately lit up: "You bandits actually have an arsenal?"

"Yes, yes..." Thinking he still had a chance, Heilong nodded hastily. "As long as you spare my life, I'll take you there right now."

"I'll give you all the treasures in the stronghold, I swear I won't hold anything back."

Hearing this, a look of mockery appeared on Zhang Dabiao's face: "Foolish. Once we kill you, all these things will still be ours!"

With that, Zhang Dabiao raised his muzzle and pulled the trigger.

Bang...

Heilong collapsed to the ground with wide-open eyes, dying with lingering grievances.

Casually disposing of Heilong, Zhang Dabiao gave an order to the surrounding soldiers: "All personnel, clear the battlefield!"

The soldiers of the First Battalion immediately acknowledged the order and sprang into action.

Before long, they scavenged a large quantity of gold, silver, and jewelry, and also located the arsenal Heilong had mentioned.

Upon receiving the report, Zhang Dabiao rushed over to inspect the arsenal.

One look, and Zhang Dabiao was genuinely astonished.

Inside the small arsenal, all kinds of production equipment were remarkably complete, fully capable of manufacturing rifles and artillery.

Presumably, it was only because these bandits lacked the corresponding technical expertise; otherwise, with so much equipment present, the combat strength of the Seventh Route Army could not have been as weak as it was.

Zhang Dabiao took a deep breath and muttered to himself, "It seems these fellows from the Seventh Route Army have plundered no small amount of wealth in the name of resisting Japan, to the extent that they could even acquire such equipment."

"It's just a pity for those ordinary people who were deceived by the Seventh Route Army."

After expressing his sentiment, Zhang Dabiao immediately told the soldiers present, "All hands, haul all this equipment back to our Jinsui Town arsenal. These are rare and valuable goods!"

"Yes!" the soldiers of the First Battalion promptly responded.

Having resolved the stronghold of the Seventh Route Army, Zhang Dabiao and Wang Chengzhu returned to Jinsui Town with a massive haul of spoils of war.

...

Meanwhile.

Li Yunlong and Wei Dayong were not idle either.

Li Yunlong had received intelligence that deep in the mountains not far from Jinsui Town, there was a patriotic bandit organization known as the Red Spear Society.

Therefore, the two of them had traveled there to pay a visit.

To show their sincerity, the two men did not bring any other soldiers from the guard platoon.

However, when Li Yunlong and Wei Dayong arrived at the Red Spear Society, the entire stronghold was decorated with lanterns and festoons, looking extremely festive—it was obvious they were celebrating some happy occasion.

"Did we time this a bit too coincidently?" Wei Dayong raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Who knows, we might even get to catch a wedding banquet. It's obvious someone important in the Red Spear Society is getting married."

Li Yunlong ignored Wei Dayong's remark and instead said to the guards at the gate of the stronghold, "I am Li Yunlong, commander of the New First Regiment of the Eighth Route Army. I want to see your Sai Diaochand!"

Not daring to be negligent upon hearing this, the bandit guard immediately went to report the situation to Sai Diaochand.

Inside the main hall of the stronghold.

"Are you sure it's Li Yunlong, commander of the New First Regiment, who has come?" Hearing the guard's report, Sai Diaochand stood up excitedly. "Quickly, invite them in!"

"Never mind, I'll go myself."

With that, Sai Diaochand walked straight toward the stronghold gate...