Chapter 45

The small fuselage, long wings, and circular engine intakes on both sides of the fuselage, the cockpit was narrow, and the pilot seemed to be nestled inside.

This was an aircraft that had never appeared on the battlefield in Afghanistan. The guerrillas had some understanding of the Mi-24, but this new aircraft filled them with fear. Under the wings, it was loaded with bombs.

Muhamed stood on a high hill and, through his binoculars, caught sight of the two aircraft, his heart suddenly racing.

"Prepare the anti-aircraft machine guns, prepare the shoulder-fired missiles!" Muhamed shouted, quickly jumping onto a machine gun position on the hilltop. If the Soviets flew over, he could open fire in the shortest time possible.

The aircraft that had flown in were the Soviets' latest T-8 attack aircraft!

This was a specialized anti-armor ground attack aircraft, robust and durable, with key parts of the fuselage made of titanium alloy. It had not yet been officially designated, but it would later be known as the Su-25 attack aircraft, with the NATO codename Frogfoot.

Development began in the 1970s, and two of the eight prototypes were directly dispatched to Afghanistan to operate alongside the Mi-24. Throughout the Afghan conflict, it was riddled with damage, withstanding machine gun fire and Stinger missile attacks. Sometimes, even with the rear fuselage destroyed, it could still fly back to base. It was essentially a flying tank!

No matter from which direction it was attacked, it had armor protection, making it very difficult to shoot down.

The bombs hanging under the wings, if dropped, would bring a sea of fire to the area. Although Muhamed inwardly felt things were not good, he remained calm on the surface. He was the core of everyone, and if he wavered, the morale of the troops would be shaken.

The two attack aircraft flew past in the distance, not heading towards the guerrillas' base.

Muhamed breathed a sigh of relief. There had been no leak of information, and the Soviets were supposed to be unaware of this place. Now, they were likely just on a routine flight, displaying their might.

As the attack aircraft flew away, Muhamed stood on the hilltop and said, "The crisis is over, continue training."

Just as he was about to come down from the hilltop, Muhamed's eyes suddenly widened. The wings of the two aircraft gently shook, and bombs began to fall.

That direction was Ghost Village!

"Quick, gather!" Muhamed shouted. His eyes turned red, and his fists clenched tightly. The Soviets! They must all die!

The other guerrillas followed Muhamed, running quickly along the mountain path. In the distance, thick smoke was already rising from deep within the mountains.

The mountain path was rugged, and after two hours of running, the guerrillas, out of breath, looked at the village before them.

Everywhere was engulfed in flames. All the mud houses were burning, with thick smoke billowing. There were no more cries from the fire, and there were no survivors in the village.

"Mom!" Aga shouted, wanting to rush into the village. He was from this village, and his father was already gone, leaving only his mother here.

"You can't go in," two guerrillas beside him held him back forcefully. If he rushed in, he would only be trapped in the fire.

On the ground, there were some black substances. Muhamed knew these were special incendiary bombs dropped by the Soviets. If one stepped on this black substance, it would immediately ignite.

Scorched earth policy! The Soviets had used this policy to strike against the Afghan guerrillas. Although it ultimately failed, it led to more Afghans being displaced and fleeing to foreign countries.

The Soviets, in their madness, dared to use such methods! Muhamed remembered his last visit to Ghost Village, where the people had been very supportive of the guerrillas, helping to transport ammunition. The village chief had even had a good chat with Muhamed. Now, with this fire, the people of the village had all disappeared.

This was an inhumane method. During the Japanese invasion of China, they had implemented the Three Alls Policy in North China, massacring entire villages that supported the Eighth Route Army. This made many villagers reluctant to accept the Eighth Route Army, and without the support of the people, the fighters were like fish without water, making that period the most difficult for them.

Now, the Soviets were also using this method, bombing any village that supported the guerrillas, hoping to force the Afghan people to submit.

Muhamed's teeth bit into his lip, and blood trickled down his chin.

"The Soviets are bastards, capable of such beastly methods!" James, who had run over, was also stunned by the scene: "Mr. Muhamed, when we return to Peshawar, I will report this to our superiors. The United States will fully support the Afghan guerrillas' liberation cause!"

"Mr. James, please document everything here with a camera," Muhamed said. "This is a clear crime committed by the Soviets, and the world should know about it."

Although the Soviets were not afraid of world public opinion and had already put their face on the line when they invaded Afghanistan, this was still an effective way to gain more support from the Western world for the Afghan guerrillas.

"Instructor, can we just stand by and watch our people suffer from the Soviets' brutal attacks? They don't even spare civilians!" Khwaja said.

The Soviets had crossed the line this time. War should not involve civilians, and occasional collateral damage could be tolerated, but now, such blatant bombing of civilian villages was unacceptable.

The guerrillas all came from the surrounding villages, and the Soviets' actions were unforgivable!

"Of course not," Muhamed said. "Blood debts must be repaid in blood! The two Soviet attack aircraft are the main culprits in this attack on our villagers. We must kill the pilots to avenge the villagers!"

Muhamed could not deal with the aircraft in the sky. Even if he set up anti-aircraft guns, he wouldn't know the Soviets' flight routes. Even with Stinger missiles, if they were out of range, he could only watch helplessly.

However, the aircraft would eventually return to base, and the pilots would have to get out of the aircraft and live normal lives, eating and sleeping. Although the ultimate enemy was the leaders in Moscow, the immediate executioners were these two pilots.

Muhamed's goal was clear: whoever dared to harm the villagers, no matter who they were or at what cost, he would eliminate them! Eye for eye, tooth for tooth!

"Lieutenant Muhamed, the mountains are the guerrillas' paradise. Entering a big city would be very dangerous. Jalalabad is heavily defended, and the air base is their key defense. A few heavy machine guns could wipe you all out. How do you plan to find and eliminate those two pilots?" James asked.

"I need the help of American friends," Muhamed said. "I know your intelligence system is very comprehensive. I need to know the exact information about these two pilots."

Although Muhamed had informants in Jalalabad, Dana was still faithfully carrying out her mission, but her status was not high enough to gather information from inside the air base. Only the Americans could achieve this.

"Mr. James, you have seen the tragedy here. If we don't effectively deter the Soviets, they will continue to use such extreme methods to harm civilians, hoping to force the Afghan guerrillas to surrender," Muhamed said. "Please help us."

Muhamed's request was excessive, asking the Americans to provide intelligence, but he was also the most sincere. James knew he could not refuse.

"This is a Muslim world," James said. "I don't know how deep our intelligence has penetrated, Lieutenant Muhamed, but I can try. Don't have too high expectations."

"Mr. James, your side must be very interested in these two pilots. They are not ordinary pilots; they are test pilots. The value of a test pilot exceeds their body weight in gold. If these two test pilots are lost, it would be a huge loss for the Soviet aviation industry," Muhamed said.

The Su-25 had not yet been officially designated, and the prototype T-8 was sent to the Afghan battlefield to test the aircraft's combat effectiveness in real combat. Moreover, this untested, undocumented attack aircraft could only be flown by test pilots.

Test pilots, who come from regular pilots but are more advanced, fly many extreme conditions to test the aircraft's performance, always facing life-threatening situations. For example, a stall spin is almost always a fatal accident for a regular pilot, but they must deliberately enter a stall spin and then recover, providing data for the flight manual.

The Americans might not care about the deaths of these villagers, as it was all political posturing, but eliminating two Soviet test pilots would be very interesting to them.

Sure enough, when Muhamed mentioned the test pilots, James's eyes lit up: "Alright, I will contact Peshawar immediately."

On the outskirts of Jalalabad, at the air base.

Originally, this was just a base for Mi-24 helicopters, with a dirt runway overgrown with weeds. The Mi-24 helicopters did not need a runway, only a helipad.

The weeds on the runway had not yet been cleared, and Soviet soldiers lined up to clean up the empty cans and shell fragments on the runway. Suddenly, the sound of aircraft engines roared overhead.

Two uniquely shaped aircraft appeared in the sky above the airfield, flying low over the runway with a deafening roar. They made a three-turn and took off again, aligning with the runway to land.

When the wheels touched the runway, they bounced slightly, but the sturdy aircraft successfully landed.