As a "liberated warrior" from the Northeast Army, aside from assisting the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army with some local work, Gao Yucheng had also participated in combat. The ferocity and skill of the Revolutionary Army had astounded him. Therefore, while stationed at the second line of defense, he felt relatively calm. For the Japanese to break through the Revolutionary Army's first line of defense, they would have to pay a tremendous price. By the time the second line was called into action, the battle might very well be over.

Just as the Japanese artillery bombardment ended, intense gunfire erupted from the first line of defense. After a burst of firing, the sound of shooting gradually died down. The sound of bolts being pulled and bullets being loaded rang out continuously across the position. It seemed the enemy's attack had been contained. A few minutes later, however, earth-shattering cries of "Banzai! Banzai!" suddenly erupted from beyond the first line. The sound was like a tsunami crashing against a mountain.

The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army should have been returning fire fiercely, but the density of the gunfire was far less than before. Instead, shouts of "The bolt is frozen!" rang out constantly. While the Revolutionary Army's fire density dropped, the Japanese fire showed no sign of weakening. Accompanied by the dull thudding characteristic of running on snow, the Japanese shouted "Banzai" and charged right up to the first line of defense.

"Fix bayonets! Charge!" The commanders on the first line shouted one after another. With a clatter of metal, moments later, the sharp clash of bayonets, the screams of soldiers being stabbed, and the angry roars of hand-to-hand combat merged into a single din.

Gao Yucheng peeked out from the second line. Under the dim sky, he vaguely saw the Revolutionary Army soldiers in snow camouflage and the Japanese soldiers in black uniforms already engaged in a massive chaotic melee. Along with the sound of rapid running, Gao Yucheng heard the sharp piercing sound of bugles. That was the charge call for bayonet combat. "Fix bayonets!" the commander beside Gao Yucheng shouted.

It wasn't just one commander shouting; all the commanders near Gao Yucheng were issuing the same order. Gao Yucheng shivered. He had received a tiny bit of bayonet training, but he never expected his first experience of hand-to-hand combat to begin like this. And his opponents were the formidable Japanese soldiers. In that instant, Gao Yucheng felt as if a black fog had suddenly risen before his eyes; the already dim sky now turned almost completely dark.

The news that the Japanese had used an artillery barrage to cover their approach and then launched a bayonet charge against the Revolutionary Army's position quickly reached the 18th Army Headquarters. Army Commander Mu Husan was somewhat surprised. But he immediately understood; there was absolutely nothing wrong with this deployment by the Japanese 19th Division. In the current situation, the 19th Division held no advantage in firepower or defensive positions. Choosing close-quarters combat and bayonet charges was the best option for the Japanese to maximize their combat effectiveness. Not to mention that in snowy weather, bayonet fighting held a significant advantage.

If this were not the Northeast, but North or Central China, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army would have many ways to make their positions stronger. For example, landmines and various alarm systems. However, the temperatures of twenty or thirty degrees below zero in the Northeast made it extremely difficult for the Revolutionary Army's mines to function in this world of ice and snow. Firstly, they were hard to bury; secondly, the mines carried by the Revolutionary Army were not designed for such extreme cold. With snow several feet deep and the bitter cold, the failure rate of the mines exceeded 80%, so Mu Husan simply didn't order any mines to be laid this time. In the dim snowy weather, it was actually easier for the Japanese to move covertly. When all these factors were put together, it made the Revolutionary Army's plan seem inflexible. Moreover, before the battle, the troops hadn't expected the Japanese to implement close-quarters combat so thoroughly.

"Order the troops to counterattack resolutely! The man remains with the position!" Mu Husan shouted the cold order into the phone.

"Commander, the Japanese devils are putting their lives on the line! With the way things are, I have to lead the troops up there myself. Send reinforcements quickly!" The commander of the 6th Regiment, 2nd Division, yelled into the phone and then hung up.

Putting down the phone, the 6th Regiment Commander listened to the earth-shaking shouts of killing not far away. He shouted, "Guard Company, fix bayonets and follow me!"

The intensity and determination of the Japanese assault were something the regiment commander had not anticipated either. If this weren't the Northeast, setting up a dozen machine guns on the position would have resulted in a bloody massacre of the Japanese. But this was the Northeast. The light machine gun units on the position had fired, but the troops had been fighting for so long that ammunition supply was insufficient. When snowflakes fell on the hot machine guns, they melted; if the ammo supply lagged even slightly, the snow water would freeze into ice, easily jamming the guns.

It wasn't just machine guns; rifles were the same. Once the bolt froze, it couldn't be pulled open. The Japanese seemed to have more combat experience in this regard. They were willing to endure their first wave being mowed down in swathes by the Revolutionary Army's firepower, while the second wave held their fire. They waited until the Revolutionary Army's fire paused, until the cold caused weapon failures that severely impacted shooting, then the second wave of Japanese joined the remnants of the first wave, firing fiercely as they closed in on the Revolutionary Army's defensive positions. After suppressing the Revolutionary Army's fire, the Japanese didn't stop to exchange fire but charged up with bayonets fixed.

Due to insufficient preparation, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was caught off guard. No one expected the Japanese to skip reconnaissance by fire and instead send a large force in a do-or-die assault regardless of casualties. The defensive positions made of ice and snow were built for firefights, and due to the rush, they didn't pose a very effective obstacle against infantry bayonet charges. Not to mention that after the snow fell, the once smooth defensive slopes now offered plenty of footholds.

The regiment commander was from Northern Jiangsu and had joined the army in 1910. He had fought some battles, but he never expected to witness a bayonet fight on a regimental scale. In an age where thermal weapons completely dominated warfare, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was forced into cold weapon hand-to-hand combat in this world of ice and snow.

"Am I going to meet my end here today?" An ominous premonition flashed through the 6th Regiment Commander's mind. But at this moment, the entire 6th Regiment was embroiled in melee combat. The Japanese army's suicidal charge had indeed achieved its goal. The commander had no other choice but to lead his troops to meet the enemy.

The commander arrived just in time. He had just led the Guard Company to the second line of defense when he saw a group of Japanese soldiers breaking through. The leading Japanese soldier was waving a katana, hacking towards a soldier opposite him. The soldier clearly had no will to fight and merely raised his rifle tremblingly to block. The Japanese soldier struck with great force, and because the soldier cowered and his posture was wrong, the blow, combined with a slip of his foot, sent him falling to the ground. The commander cursed "Coward!" in his heart, raised his hand, and with one shot, dropped the Japanese soldier who was raising his katana to finish off the fallen soldier.

"Kill!" The commander waved his pistol and led the Guard Company into the charge.

Gao Yucheng hadn't expected the Japanese to charge so quickly. He had just stood up to rush forward with his comrades when he ran headlong into a large group of enemies. The leading Japanese soldiers weren't using bayonets but were wielding katanas. In this kind of melee, katanas were somewhat more effective than bayonets. Or perhaps it was because the Japanese soldiers wielding them had exquisite swordsmanship; they actually hacked down several Revolutionary Army soldiers in a row, breaking through the line. Because he had been lagging behind, Gao Yucheng ended up being the last line of resistance.

Under the dim sky, visibility was poor to begin with, and with the fear in Gao Yucheng's heart, the darkness before his eyes seemed to thicken. He barely made out the enemy's hacking motion and blocked with his rifle almost instinctively. A massive force transmitted through his arms, and Gao Yucheng's foot slipped, sending him crashing to the ground. Now, the darkness before his eyes became even heavier, and everything around him was practically indistinguishable. The only thing he could see clearly was the silhouette of the Japanese soldier raising his katana again.

"It's over!" Gao Yucheng thought. But in such a situation, he felt as if his body had been immobilized by a spell; he couldn't move at all. Just then, a gunshot rang out, and the Japanese soldier fell in response. Then, Gao Yucheng seemed to hear a roar of "Kill!", and a squad of Revolutionary Army soldiers charged up from behind to join the fray.

Gao Yucheng couldn't determine where the shouts of "Kill" were coming from. The Chinese soldiers shouted "Kill" (Sha), while the Japanese soldiers shouted "Charge" (Totsugeki) or "Die". In this life-and-death struggle, voices were severely distorted, blending into an indescribable noise.

But what they were shouting didn't matter anymore. The clash of bayonets, the impact of rifle butts against barrels, the interspersed gunshots, and even the loud explosions and flashes of hand grenades filled the air. In the gloomy dawn, all Gao Yucheng could make out were figures that were vaguely white and figures that were black, fiercely attacking each other and moving about. People screamed constantly, people fell constantly, but the frontline was like a giant beast devouring humans; no matter how many fell, the space between the first and second lines of defense remained filled with moving figures.

Although his eyes couldn't see clearly, Gao Yucheng could smell the pungent gunpowder smoke and the scent of blood. He could clearly hear the various collisions, gunshots, roars, and screams. He could feel the slight sting of snowflakes hitting his face. But he just couldn't see anything around him clearly. In this terrifying vortex of war, Gao Yucheng suddenly couldn't help but kneel on the ground and weep.

However, this weeping was so insignificant compared to the cacophony filling the battlefield that it couldn't attract anyone's attention at all.

The 19th Division Commander looked solemnly toward the distant south, even though his line of sight couldn't see the actual battlefield. Still, he looked south. He had racked his brains to finalize this attack plan; the Miyazaki Brigade had undertaken the assault mission, engaging the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army through tragic hand-to-hand combat.

The Japanese army had to face a difficult breakout battle. The 19th Division Commander had determined that the Revolutionary Army had deployed a defensive position nearly seven kilometers long and five kilometers wide. Regardless of how this position was constructed—even if it was just piles of snow—attacking it with normal tactics would cause the Japanese terrible losses. The only way to win was to exploit the localized weakness in troop numbers caused by the Revolutionary Army defending such a vast area with relatively few troops.

Having taken in the wounded from the 20th Division, no matter how unhappy he was about it, the 19th Division Commander had to confirm one thing: The Chinese army he was facing was a well-equipped force with superior tactics and tenacious fighting will. There was basically no possibility of defeating them in a standard exchange of thermal weapon fire. The only chance for victory lay in hand-to-hand combat.

Therefore, after deploying feints in several places, the 19th Division Commander threw the Miyazaki Brigade—half the division's strength—at a single point. As long as they could break through this point, the Japanese could capitalize on the momentum to crash into the Revolutionary Army's defensive position and breach it. Then they could link up with the reception forces opposite. If they could achieve this, the split Revolutionary Army would suffer a devastating blow. So, no matter the sacrifice upfront, it was worth it.

The reports coming back so far proved that the tactical tension was very successful; the Japanese had broken into the Revolutionary Army's position as hoped. Now was the climax of the brutal melee. The 19th Division Commander did not believe that the success of such a raid would bring a sweeping victory. If it were that easy, the 20th Division wouldn't have been annihilated by the attacks of this Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army.

"Gentlemen! Do your best!" The Division Commander prayed silently in his heart.

"Motherfucker! Just how many Japanese are there!" The regiment commander roared in anger. He had already emptied three magazines and had established preliminary contact with the commanders of three battalions. The 1st Battalion, deployed at the very front, must have been wiped out. At least, no one had seen any commanders from the 1st Battalion.

The three battalions he had contacted had also suffered heavy casualties. Battalion commanders and commissars were all fighting to the death on the front line. The closest one, the 3rd Battalion Commander, Deputy Commander, and Commissar, had all heroically sacrificed themselves. The 3rd Battalion's 1st Company Commander had temporarily taken over command, but the only troops he could direct were the 1st Company and remnants of the 2nd and 3rd Companies; the 4th Company was completely gone. The situation for the 2nd and 4th Battalions was similar.

A rough calculation showed that of the 6th Regiment's 1,800 men, less than half remained. The large group of Japanese that had initially charged over was also basically dead. The troops were rapidly adjusting their deployment, attempting to re-establish defense on the second line.

But the Japanese gave the 6th Regiment no such chance. Opposite them, Japanese soldiers in black uniforms surged over the ground covered in white and black corpses, swarming continuously toward the less than one thousand survivors of the 6th Regiment.

The regiment commander pulled the trigger again at the Japanese charging toward him, but the pistol didn't fire. He pulled it several times, but it still didn't fire. The commander didn't hesitate; he threw the pistol at the Japanese soldier's head. The sky was a bit brighter now; seeing a dark object flying from a distance, the Japanese soldier instinctively dodged to the side. In that split second, a Guard Company soldier positioned further forward lunged and drove his bayonet into the Japanese soldier's chest.

The Guard Company was the last force to launch a counter-charge, and by now, their casualties were over half. Hand-to-hand combat was like this; life and death were decided in less than a minute. Even if you weren't killed by your opponent, heaven knew what kind of enemy might charge from the side. The Guard Company soldier had just pulled his bayonet from the Japanese corpse when he saw more Japanese surging forward, shouting "Banzai! Banzai!" and reaching them in moments.

The regiment commander grabbed a rifle from the ground and shouted to the bugler behind him, "Blow the charge!"

The sharp, piercing bugle call momentarily cut through the shouts of killing on the position, sending a clear signal to charge to the troops of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's 6th Regiment. After less than half an hour of bloody fighting, the soldiers' physical strength was significantly drained. The white mist breathed out from their heavy panting instantly froze in the bitter cold, sticking to their eyebrows and beards, making it look as if they had grown white eyebrows and beards. The Japanese opposite were much the same; although their uniform colors were vastly different, the soldiers of both armies had faces covered in frost.

As the charge bugle sounded, some Revolutionary Army commanders and soldiers tried to fire again, but very few guns could shoot. The Japanese made no such effort at all; they charged over howling with bayonets fixed. Some weren't careful and tripped over the corpses littering the ground, which slowed the Japanese down just a tiny bit.

"Comrades! Take off your greatcoats!" Someone shouted first, but on this highly collectivized battlefield, such a shout had a considerable group effect. Someone took the lead in throwing off their thick greatcoat, and moments later, almost all the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army soldiers had thrown off their greatcoats. The cruel and fierce hand-to-hand combat immediately unfolded once more.