Chapter 140.2: Even If It Means Death (1)

“They’re taking too long,” a soldier said.

“Keep waiting on standby!” Kwak Cheol-Ho commanded through clenched teeth. His palms were drenched in sweat.

‘Is this what the God of Blackfield is aiming for?’

Anxiety and nervousness were apparent on the soldiers’ faces. It was as if they were in a real fight.

Kwak Cheol-Ho glared at the entrance path. At that moment…

Bang! Bang!

“Agh!”

The two gunshots were immediately followed by shouts.

Kwak Cheol-Ho’s head instinctively whipped around. Which bastard had actually shot live ammo?

Seeing the soldiers' surprised faces, Kwak Cheol-Ho gritted his teeth further.

***

“It sounds like it has started!” Suh Sang-Hyun whispered frantically to Kim Tae-Jin, who had turned around from his leaning position against the wall so he could scan his surroundings.

At that moment…

Bang! Bang!

Holes were bored on the wall of the rooftop he was resting on.

Kim Tae-Jin urgently got down on the ground.

“Argh! This is driving me insane!” Suh Sang-Hyun agitatedly complained, speaking the words in Kim Tae-Jin’s mind.

***

Cha Dong-Gyun was dumbfounded. It wasn’t just him. The other soldiers and even Choi Jong-Il, who already had experience with Kang Chan from the day before, looked astounded.

The moment Kang Chan found two of the enemy soldiers, he rushed toward them while shooting at them.

The soldiers were wearing bulletproof vests, but the two sentries still fell back as if someone had pulled them by the napes.

What if he shoots them in the neck, chest, or inner thighs by accident?

Kang Chan was not only shooting at his enemies. He was running while doing so. Was he that confident in his skills?

Cha Dong-Gyun quickly glanced at Choi Dong-Il.

Was this what live ammo training truly was? For the first time, Cha Dong-Gyun’s fingers began to tremble. His fingers wouldn’t have trembled to this extent if Kang Chan was an enemy.

***

Seok Kang-Ho glared fiercely at the soldiers.

“You and you, head back!” he growled at the soldier who hadn’t provided cover fire and the soldier who was supposed to rush forward.

“Please give me one more chance!” the soldier pleaded.

“Head back, you motherfuckers! Everyone could’ve died because of you bastards!” Seok Kang-Ho shouted.

“I won't run away from the fight again! Please give me a chance!”

Seok Kang-Ho gritted his teeth and glared at the soldier.

“Think about why Captain is doing this! Anyone will die if they get shot in the head, but he’s still risking his life for this training. Do you think doing this stimulation will benefit Captain or me in any way? From now on, I will mercilessly send away anyone who doesn’t listen to my orders.”

The soldiers clenched their teeth.

“Get a visual on the base!”

The soldier who begged for another opportunity turned to look at their target.

“Cover me!” Seok Kang-Ho shouted as he suddenly leaned forward and aimed his gun at the opposite building’s rooftop.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!

***

The rooftop spewed out cement dust.

“Hahahaha!” Suh Sang-Hyun laughed bitterly.

Kim Tae-Jin glanced at their other two team members.

“Return fire.”

Seeing the tense expressions on the soldiers’ faces, Kim Tae-Jin realized why Kang Chan had chosen to conduct this kind of training.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

He quickly fired his gun and hid behind the wall with a

thud

. He had no particular target and just shot in the direction of the mountain.

However, he had to do this if he wanted to bring the team members to reality. Their foreheads could be pierced by bullets, and their necks could be blown up too.

‘Have courage. I’m sorry. It’s our fault that you are all like this.’

.

Swoosh! Pew! Pew!

When he got up and fired two shots, a few bullets from the opposite side hit the wall.

“Haah! Haah!”

Kim Tae-Jin gasped for breath. However, there was a faint smile on his lips. He had seen the determination on the faces of the two soldiers.

‘Thank you. Take advantage of this opportunity to grow.’

Suddenly, Kang Chan’s face flashed in his mind. Kim Tae-Jin thought the long-cherished wish he held his whole life could actually come true.

***

Pew!

“Aah!”

Seeing Kang Chan wave him over, Choi Jong-Il rushed to his side.

His mouth was dry. The soldier who had flown back earlier like his nape was dragged was still down. Even so, Kang Chan led their team members forward with hand gestures.

Aside from Kang Chan, no one had fired their guns yet.

There won’t be any point to the training then!

Choi Jong-Il suddenly got an ominous feeling. Soldiers who couldn’t fire a single shot would be eliminated without exception. Choi Jong-Il had witnessed Kim Hyung-Jung, Kim Tae-Jin, and Jeon Dae-Geuk’s frustration more closely than anyone else. They had despaired multiple times after having to give up on missions despite trying to prepare for them.

‘I’m not going to let that happen this time! I’m going on this mission!’

Choi Jong-Il knew where Kang Chan’s target was.

Click!?

Seeing something move, Choi Jong-Il quickly aimed his rifle.

Pew! Pow!

“Ugh!”

Thud.?

“Haah! Haah!”

However, Kang Chan fired and landed a bullet first.

Choi Jong-Il couldn’t even pull the trigger because he was scared.

Kang Chan smirked as he looked at Choi Jong-Il.

‘Was my skill only at this pathetic level?’

Choi Jong-Il’s pride was severely hurt.

“Please let me go,” Choi Jong-Il pleaded.

Kang Chan had ordered them not to speak, but Choi Jong-Il couldn’t bear it.

It was true that he was more scared of pulling the trigger on his fellow soldiers than getting shot himself. However, even if he couldn’t be as daring as Kang Chan, at the very least, he had to aim for the enemy soldiers’ bulletproof vests.

Kang Chan nodded and pointed to a location with his finger. He then raised his fingers and began to count.

One, two…!

Pew! Pew! Swoosh! Pow!

While Choi Jong-Il ran to his target, his team members covered his back. The enemy soldiers returned fire. Someone had finally pulled the trigger from the other side.

It gave Choi Jong-Il peace of mind. He didn’t have to be scared of shooting anymore. It looked as if Cha Dong-Gyun was requesting Kang Chan to send him too.

“

Hahahaha,

” Choi Jong-Il let out a strange laugh.

***

Pew! Pow!

“Aaaahh!”

One member from Team Two, the team that Seok Kang-Ho was leading, fell to the ground, clutching his thigh. The dirt around him was quickly stained red with blood.

Crackle.?

“The soldier who just fired has to hurry and help the injured member back!” Seok Kang-Ho shouted into the radio.

Crackle!

“Got it. I’m heading down,” Kim Tae-Jin replied to Seok Kang-Ho’s radio transmission. All the soldiers could listen to this channel.

***

“Argh, damn it!”

Choi Seong-Geon swallowed the curses at the tip of his tongue and slammed his desk after listening to the radio. He was smoking so many cigarettes that his glass ashtray was already half full.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

“Where’s the ambulance?” Choi Seong-Geon asked.

“The army surgeon is waiting on standby at the entrance,” his aide informed him.

There was no knowing where the injured soldier was shot or how much he was hurt.

“Motherfucker!” Choi Seong-Geon swore.

Choi Seong-Geon had devoted all of this time to raising these soldiers to the point that he almost didn’t have time to take care of his own children.

You are the strength that supports this country! You are as strong as any elite team in the world!

That was what he genuinely believed, and he habitually repeated those words to the soldiers too.

Unable to contain his frustration, Choi Seong-Geon stepped out of the barracks to cool down.

‘Endure and get through this! You will be the soldiers rewriting the history of South Korea’s special forces.’

Rough engine sounds began to approach the barracks, and dust rose from the mountain road.

“Just how much did he get hurt?!” Choi Seong-Geon growled as he cursed at the vehicle with a white cross that was coming toward him from afar.

***

Pew! Pew! Pew!

The members of Team Two acted as if they were beside themselves. Although the one who shot their team member was their colleague, they were aggressively firing back at the other side as if he had fallen from the bullet of an enemy.

Whoosh!?

Their muscles had been stiff from nervousness, but they were all ready to go now.

A team member dashed forward and dove toward the ground as he aimed his rifle.

Seok Kang-Ho watched him with a satisfied smirk.

***

The occupying forces were inside the building. It was difficult to know how many were waiting inside, but Team One had completely blocked the entrance of the building to prevent anyone from getting out.

Kang Chan pointed at his position with his finger, and the rest of the team members immediately understood his plan to also block off the other side.

Pew! Pew! Swoosh! Pow!

This was the dictionary definition of urban warfare. The walls that concealed the soldiers crumbled, leaving cement dust rising as they did.

Everyone was aware of what happened over the radio.

Not long after, shadows appeared at the entrance of the building.

Pew! Clang!

The head of the soldier standing at the entrance jerked back, and he fell to the ground.

‘This man can’t be real.’

Cha Dong-Gyun was filled with disbelief and shocked beyond words.

The interior of the entrance was dark, and it was difficult to make out any shapes. However, Kang Chan still managed to land a bullet on the soldier’s helmet from twenty meters away.

If this was one of their common training situations and he was given the time, Cha Dong-Gyun was confident he could accurately hit his target as well. However, Kang Chan just suddenly sprang up from where he was giving them directions and made the shot.

The soldiers of the occupying forces were shooting furiously in their direction from inside the building.

What are you gonna do now?

That seemed to be what Kang Chan’s eyes were asking them, taunting them.

‘I’ll do it, and I’ll do it properly. Mark my words.’

Cha Dong-Gyun didn’t want to give up and run away here.

If all of them could fight as well as Kang Chan in actual combat situations… if Kang Chan’s dexterity came from extreme and grim operations that resulted in the deaths of half the team members, Cha Dong-Gyun would willingly put his life on the line to learn Kang Chan’s combat style and experience.

Kang Chan smirked. This was the first time he had smiled during the operation.

With a determined look, Cha Dong-Gyun glowered at the location Kang Chan pointed to.