Chapter 8: Soaring into the Sky

If it were an ordinary person, then these would be sufficient; however, for Muhammad, they are absolutely not enough

Although the time was short, Muhammad devised a very clever series of intricate traps.

Only the helicopter pilot witnessed all of this

If that is the case, the simplest way for Shelov would be to throw the grenade out, let it detonate, and that would be the end of it

In this explosion, none of the three—Shelov, Markov, and Ilyich—escaped unscathed. Had it only been that one grenade that detonated, perhaps they could have retained their bodies intact. However, now, the three of them were almost blown to pieces.

Pressure-triggered landmines? The Afghan guerrillas, where could they possibly have pressure-triggered landmines? If they possess such grenades, it indicates that they are quite affluent guerrillas. Just a few days ago, they took down a guerrilla group that was surprisingly equipped with curved swords.

All the armor-piercing shells and shrapnel shells on the tank were moved out by Muhammad and buried beside the two large boulders

Ilich knew that this was the most dangerous moment, feeling the position of the grenade's safety lever, where it must be released last

They remained unaware of what was happening until their death

The sound of "ding" is not loud, yet it heralds death; it is the sound of the grenade's safety lever being released.

He calculated with great precision, leaving no waste whatsoever; those eliminated were the finest soldiers of the Soviet Union

This is a common Soviet-made F-1 grenade, designed and produced by the Soviet Union during World War II. However, the research and development of this weapon did not progress as rapidly as other weapons, so even though it is now the 1980s, it is still in use and has been widely proliferated to third world countries

Underneath the two captives, there sat a counterfeit explosive device, a genuine explosive device connected by a thin string, and an armor-piercing round. These arrangements were sufficient to blow away anyone attempting to disarm the explosive devices.

Sherlov completed everything and completely relaxed. Then, he picked up the grenade from the ground with his hand, placing half of it into a small pit that was just below.

Ilich was very successful; when his buttocks completely left the ground, he turned his head and saw Shelkov had already pressed down the safety lever of the grenade

The grenade was precisely placed on top of the primer of the armor-piercing round. As soon as the grenade exploded, it immediately ignited the propellant of the armor-piercing round

Seeing that others had hidden themselves, Sherlov lit a cigarette and said to Ilyich: "Slowly raise your buttocks, be careful, it must be slow"

This fuse is set for a zero-second detonation grenade. To eliminate the danger, it is quite simple; just reinsert the safety pin. Generally speaking, those who use grenades tend to remove the safety pin and throw it away, not keeping it, and usually, they will just toss it aside.

Right beside the grenade, another pointed-headed object immediately reacted as if it had been pricked, and promptly joined in the explosion

He just took out a hand grenade and simultaneously pulled a thin string. The lever of another hand grenade tied to the other side of the string was secured with a rubber band. The thin string pulled the rubber band, causing the lever to spring open. At the same time, the firing pin struck the primer, and then, this old F-1 grenade immediately exploded

At this moment, the safety pin of the grenade has been removed, and the grip is being held down. If this state is maintained, it will never explode, which is also the reason why these two unfortunate tank soldiers have remained safe until now

Only at this moment, Muhammad, who is still traversing the mountain path, feels a sense of pride in his heart. In a few days, he plans to return there to see the scene, which is sure to be quite splendid.

The explosive force was so powerful that after the explosion, a large pit with a diameter of over ten meters was created, and even the massive rock was blown several meters away.

Muhammad, an elite from the special forces of the twenty-first century, made the Soviets taste bitterness

He does not know that he still has not completely guessed correctly

"Give it to me." Shelov took it and then reinserted the pull ring back into the grenade

However, Shelov did not forget

In order to increase the lethality, Muhammad buried rubble on top and also buried tools such as wrenches from the toolbox above the tank tracks inside. These items, when propelled, possess immense power

Although he was caught, Ilyich did not move

He has already jumped up, not even afraid of the flying debris, and just wants to rush forward

Squad leader! The members of the reconnaissance team hiding behind the rocks, upon witnessing this situation, were immediately filled with anxiety, especially Miro, who was originally supposed to be the one to disarm the booby trap; now, it was the squad leader who was going to take his place in facing death

It is insufficient to only execute two captives and the one who disarmed the booby trap; those Soviet soldiers waiting nearby are even more the targets of Muhammad

Because this type of grenade can change the timing of the delay by rotating the spiral on top, this grenade is now set to a delay time of zero

After the explosion, there were no surviving scouts left on the ground; all the scouts, composed of the finest soldiers from two squads, remained here.

However, it is not that simple. Shelov knows that the person who set this trap is just waiting for him to make this foolish move

Until released, the grip plate loses external force, and the internal firing pin spring drives the firing pin, ejecting the grip plate from the rear. Simultaneously, the firing pin strikes down to ignite the delay fuse, and after a few seconds, it detonates the explosive, subsequently triggering the grenade.

If at this moment, Shelov could pry open the ground beneath, he would surely regret his recklessness

Damn, there is another grenade beneath this grenade! This grenade is merely a trigger; when this grenade is picked up, it pulls the fine wire underneath. On that wire, there is also a delayed grenade set to zero, which has similarly had its safety pin removed.

In an instant, Sherlock understood everything, but unfortunately, at that moment, his life had already reached its final end

Muhammad called several people to complete the arrangement. He would not waste the remaining armor-piercing shells on the tank. Although the warhead of the armor-piercing shell cannot explode, once the propellant inside the shell is ignited, it will also increase the lethality

As Shelov pondered, he reached out, only to feel that the hand grenade seemed to be propped up by something. Following that, he heard a crisp sound

Boom! In an instant, the earth shook and the mountains trembled

They all wanted to step forward, but just as they had not yet taken a step, a surge of overwhelming energy rose beneath their feet

The reason for having the two captives sit beside the tank was also well considered; there are more than 20 meters to the two large boulders. Therefore, when one person remains here to clear the concealed mines, the others will certainly seek cover nearby, and these two boulders provide the best shelter

Indeed, Illich soon found it

Found it. At that moment, Ilyich approached, holding a pull tab in his hand

"Search the ground and find the pull ring of the grenade," said Shelkov.

In reality, no one who uses grenades would do this; grenades are meant to explode the enemy, not oneself. Therefore, ordinary soldiers often forget this characteristic of grenades

Everyone, not knowing what had happened, was all sent flying into the sky amidst the sound of the explosion

The shell of this grenade is composed of pineapple-shaped iron fragments, designed to break into many pieces upon detonation, with a lethal radius of thirty meters. The standard procedure is to immediately take cover after throwing it; otherwise, the thrower may also be injured.

In other words, as long as the grip of this grenade is loosened, it will immediately explode. Even if Shelov picks up this grenade, if he does not hold it steadily, it will detonate instantly

armor-piercing projectile

Behind another large rock, the soldiers of the other reconnaissance squad were also very anxious; they were a cohesive unit, and their comrade had sacrificed himself

I was just captivated by the grenades above, thinking that they were everything, not realizing that the real traps lay below

Having said that, Shelov lay beside him, his eyes able to see Ilyich's backside, while at the same time, he conveniently extended his arm inside.

At that moment, the individuals from another helicopter also arrived. Upon seeing the situation, they instinctively took cover behind another large rock. They understood that disarming the concealed explosives was extremely dangerous, and it was possible that they could end up with no remains.

When the grenade exploded, the armor-piercing and shrapnel shells buried together were also detonated. As for those grenades, Muhammed still kept them for their significant purpose, unwilling to part with them

At such times, it is imperative to minimize casualties

Sherlov looked at the grenade he had picked up in his hand, with a severed thin wire dangling from below.

Accompanied by a tremendous explosion, countless fragments, shrapnel, and even wrenches flew up from beneath their feet

This is also the standard procedure for using a regular hand grenade: press down on the grip, pull the safety pin, and then throw it.

The pineapple-like shell cracked open along the lines of the pineapple, scattering in all directions, with flames leaping forth.

Next to the armor-piercing and shrapnel shells, a grenade with its safety pin cleverly removed is placed. When it explodes, the ground will shake violently, causing the safety lever of the grenade here to be ejected, which will ignite the delay fuse and subsequently detonate the explosives

Sheloff maintained this posture, watching Ilyich search around. At this moment, Sheloff had developed a certain admiration for the person who had laid such cunning traps, realizing that he truly knew a great deal!

The Afghan guerrillas really know how to fool people, is this how they disguise pressure-triggered landmines

Armor-piercing shells are capable of penetrating the opponent's armor due to their extremely high velocity. To accelerate these armor-piercing shells to such speeds, high-energy propellants are required. When this propellant ignites, it immediately creates a large crater over one meter deep at the location where it is buried