nycdaug Chapter 436 When the grenade pull ring is buckled on the death lapel, who will be the unlucky one?
Chapter 436 When the grenade pull ring is buckled on the death lapel, who will be the unlucky one?
As Zhou Zhiyuan and his men reached the perimeter of the observation post, damp moss made a subtle squelching sound beneath their boots. Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the sandbags, casting a mottled shadow on the face of a Japanese soldier who was wiping his bayonet. The soldier suddenly looked up, his Adam's apple rolling as he placed the bayonet across his chest—he had smelled an unusual scent of blood.
Chen Erzhu's wrist swung out three flashes of silver light. Poisoned flying knives sliced through the night, two piercing the Japanese soldier's collarbone, the last piercing his throat. Before the dying convulsions had even ended, the other four men had already leaped out like black panthers. Wang Mazi ducked and slid closer to his target, his bayonet thrust upward from the Japanese soldier's jawbone, crushing his brainstem as he used the momentum to spin around. A stream of warm blood splattered onto the sandbag he had been standing on, sending up a splatter of fine sand. Li Sanhu's arms, like iron clamps, locked onto the neck of another Japanese soldier, his knees digging into his lower back. With a crisp "crack," the cervical vertebrae fractured, and as the body collapsed, he used the momentum to lunge forward, using his palms to support himself and roll over to avoid the spurting blood.
The rightmost Japanese soldier had barely reached for his pistol when Zhao Si's dagger pressed against his carotid artery. "Shhh!" Zhao Si whispered into his ear, and suddenly the blade pressed down, precisely severing the aorta. Warm blood streamed down his arm. The soldier's eyes widened, a muffled sob escaping his throat as his body slowly collapsed onto the sandbag. As Zhao Si pulled out his dagger, he wiped the blood onto the corpse's shirt.
The entire process took less than twenty seconds. Zhou Zhiyuan bent over to examine the bodies, confirming no one was alive. He then quickly bundled five wooden-handled grenades into a cluster grenade. He ripped open the disciplinary button on the corpse's uniform, fastened the trigger, and then unbuttoned the uniform. He secured the cluster grenade to the corpse with Japanese leggings and gently covered it with his uniform. "Wait until they move the bodies..." Zhou Zhiyuan wiped the blood off his face, "that's the second wave of surprises."
However, just as Zhou Zhiyuan was about to evacuate, a burst of gunfire suddenly rang out from the foot of the mountain, startling the night owls in the forest. His heart tightened, and he immediately led his team to run towards the direction of the gunfire. They didn't care that the branches of the bushes had torn their clothes.
Zhang Weiguo and his troops had just reached the edge of a cliff. Under the moonlight, the cliff seemed bottomless, with only wisps of mist drifting in the air. Before they could catch their breath, heavy machine guns from the Japanese ambush suddenly unleashed a barrage of fire, raining down bullets. Gravel flew, and several Eighth Route Army soldiers were instantly riddled with bullets. Zhang Weiguo shouted, "Enemy attack! Take cover!" He threw two soldiers beside him to the ground, but his own arm was grazed by shrapnel, and blood flowed.
At the rear of the group, Lei Tao quickly retrieved two wooden-handled grenades from his Bagua spinning top. He bit the trigger cord with his mouth and gave a powerful tug. After a three-second delay, he gripped the grenades with both hands and launched them toward the Japanese position. The two wooden-handled grenades, smoking, spun in the air, hurtling toward the Japanese machine gun position. Seconds later, one grenade exploded in the area where the Japanese machine gunner was positioned, while the other exploded above him with a deafening roar of "boom, boom." The scorching airwaves of the explosions, carrying sharp shrapnel, instantly shredded the grass along the cliffside. The powerful impact blew the Japanese machine gunner and his heavy machine gun away, leaving a streak of blood in the air before crashing heavily onto the rocks more than ten meters away.
A scorching blast of air washed over them, blinding them from the thick smoke. Coughs erupted. Taking advantage of the thick smoke, Zhang Weiguo, crouching low, led his men toward the cliff's edge. He untied the climbing ropes and tied more than a dozen of them simultaneously to the trees at the edge. Just as they swung the other ends of the ropes over the cliff, preparing to retreat, a group of Japanese soldiers, armed with Type 38 rifles, suddenly emerged from the nearby woods. The Japanese commander, brandishing his sword, roared, "Surround them!"
Over thirty Japanese soldiers formed a fan-shaped formation and surrounded them. Lei Tao threw his last two incendiary bombs into the bushes on the right, instantly halting the enemy's advance. Liu Zishan led the wounded back toward the cliff edge, while Zhang Weiguo set up his captured Type 99 light machine gun and fired wildly, "Brother Lei! You go ahead! We'll cover your retreat!"
"Brother Lei! Southeast corner!" Zhang Weiguo's shout was shattered by the intense gunfire. Lei Tao spun and threw two grenades. In the flash of light, he caught a glimpse of the Japanese commander, sword brandished, directing his men to set up their grenade launchers. In the nick of time, Zhou Zhiyuan suddenly rushed out from the side. The bamboo tube bomb exploded in the grenade launcher position, and shrapnel pinned three Japanese soldiers to the tree trunk.
"Get off the cliff!" Liu Zishan cried out, his voice tinged with tears. A stray bullet struck the young soldier beside him in the chest, staining the cliffside gravel red with blood. Lei Tao retrieved the Scorpion submachine gun from the Bagua Gyro, loaded it with an extended magazine, and retreated, firing. Bullets sparked off the rocks, and one ricocheted off his left shoulder. Fortunately, his body armor protected him, though his hand remained numb for a moment.
Zhang Weiguo had already descended the rope when he saw a Japanese soldier above him, half-extending himself, preparing to cut the rope. Lei Tao suddenly switched his Scorpion submachine gun to burst fire, muzzle flashes illuminating the terrified Japanese soldiers' faces as a hail of bullets chopped them into a sieve. But more Japanese soldiers surged forward. Lei Tao fumbled for an incendiary grenade, pulled the safety pin, and hurled it into the crowd.
The incendiary grenade traced an orange arc in the air, exploding into a sea of flames upon landing. Napalm clung to the Japanese soldiers' uniforms and skin, and screams mixed with the smell of scorched flesh filled the air. Suddenly, Lei Tao noticed a large number of dark figures moving behind the Japanese troops, likely reinforcements.