Chapter 179.2: No different from back then (2)

Everyone went down the stairs and into a parking lot that had a fence in front of it. Eventually, they met up with six soldiers in diving suits, guarding three rubber boats.

After the three special forces teams got into their respective boats, the WARFLOT. The WARFLOT soldiers skillfully pushed the boats into the sea.

Woong.

They plan to use a motor?

Kang Chan was curious, but everyone had their respective area of expertise.

Waves slapped against the rubber boats as they drove through the waters.

Seawater splashed on them while they were lying down flat on the boats. In what seemed like an instant, they traveled enough distance for the two-story building to be shrouded by darkness.

The boat changed directions and navigated through the sea like crazy.

After about an hour at sea, the boats slowed down.

Seeing a dim light, Kang Chan guessed that there was a port in the distance.

The boats drove toward the strange-looking rocks for about five minutes before finally turning off the engine.

The two WARFLOT soldiers aboard each boat picked up the oars next to them and began rowing.

They were definitely professionals. Even though there only two of them rowing per boat, they moved at about the same speed as when they were using the motor.

Swoosh.

They docked the boats between the rocks, then jumped into the water and grabbed the boats.

Kang Chan nodded to the WARFLOT soldiers.

Swoosh.

Two soldiers jumped into the water, which rose from their knees to their waists with each sway, for every wave that hit the boats.

Kang Chan was the last to get off the boat. He gave a thumbs up to WARFLOT soldiers who manned the boats.

Swoosh.

By the time Kang Chan heard the waves hit the shores again, the boat was already some distance away. They were so fast that they seemed like ghosts.

Kang Chan and his team would move once the waves retreated back to the sea.

Kang Chan crouched close to the rocks and examined the shore.

As Kim Hyung-Jung said, North Korea didn’t have searchlights on. Right now, they could only see the complicatedly installed wire mesh.

Swoosh.

Seok Kang-Ho and Kwak Cheol-Ho went to Kang Chan’s side.

Kang Chan hadn’t gotten a bad feeling about this yet. He turned to the left and slowly examined the place where he guessed the guard post would be. As he expected, he found a guard post, rocks, and a sand dune.

I can only see one guard post so far.

Kang Chan looked to their right. Due to the dark rocks around them, he could only guess where the guard post would be, not pinpoint it.

Swoosh.

The waves splashed against them, drenching their thighs and butt. Even so, they couldn’t just recklessly rush into enemy territory.

He had to decide whether to dash to the rock that was five meters in front of them or wait until the guards’ shift was over so they could properly locate the guard post to their right.

However, if they waited for so long that the sun started rising, they would be losing a golden opportunity.

Kang Chan pointed to the guard post to their left with his index and middle fingers, which was a signal that told their snipers to aim for wherever their commanding officer was pointing. In response, Kwak Cheol-Ho immediately issued an order to the snipers.

Kang Chan then gestured at Seok Kang-Ho and pointed to the ground with both his index fingers. He was telling him that they were going to secure the target location that they would soon be heading to.

They began to prepare for their next move.

With Seok Kang-Ho now on standby, the snipers aimed their rifles at the guard post.

It was only five meters away.

Even if the enemies in the guard post found Kang Chan and his team running toward them, they were at a distance where as long as they didn’t have their guns pointed at the South Korean special forces teams, they wouldn't be able to immediately pull the trigger.

Swoosh.

As soon as the waves crashed on the shore and retreated back to the sea, Kang Chan began making his way toward the rock, which was his goal.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

The rocks on the ground were seemingly crushed with each step they took.

Kang Chan couldn’t waste any time now—stopping halfway through was no different from him dancing around in the open and asking their enemies to shoot him.

As soon as he reached the rock, he pressed himself against it.

Haah. Haah.

The rock had tumbled over toward the sea.

Their enemies didn’t seem to have noticed them yet, considering they hadn’t shown any response. Moreover, Kang Chan wasn’t getting a bad feeling from this either.

To the left of the rock was a path that they could use to go up the slope that was one meter tall.

There was the ceasefire line to worry about, but if they could cut the chain at the very bottom, then it would be easy to climb onto the slope.

Dayeru was the most reliable person in times like this.

It was better not to use the radio, but they didn’t have any other way to communicate right now.

Chk.

“Daye, you’re up,” Kang Chan said.

Swoosh.

Another wave violently crashed against the shores and headed back.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

At the same time, Seok Kang-Ho quickly approached Kang Chan.

Kang Chan gestured to the ceasefire line with his head, and Seok Kang-Ho answered with glinting eyes.

As the sound of the waves rushed toward them…

Click.

… Seok Kang-Ho cut the chain at the very bottom of the ceasefire line. Kang Chan then patted Seok Kang-Ho’s shoulder and pointed to the top.

Swoosh.

With the noises from the sea covering their tracks, Kang Chan stepped on Seok Kang-Ho’s hands and pulled himself up.

Despite the rocks and the pine trees in the distance, Kang Chan finally got a clear view of the guard post to their left.

He then looked to their right. He could see their surroundings a bit better from where he was propped up, but he still couldn’t find the other guard post. At the very least, he felt relieved because they had rock formations in front of them, which they could use for cover, and the black sea behind them. Hence, their enemies also found it difficult to detect them.

Their snipers still had their guns aimed at the guard post to their left. Since they couldn’t find the one to their right, Kang Chan decided to guess where it would be based on the location he saw on the map earlier. He then pointed to where it could be.

Swoosh.

Chk.

“Move to the rock in pairs,” Kang Chan said.

Chk.

“Understood.”

As ordered, the soldiers came over in pairs, moving along with each hit of the waves.

Haah. Haah.

Kang Chan could hear his own breathing. His heart wasn’t pounding yet.

Swoosh. Crunch. Crunch.

The moment the waves grew unusually quiet, Kang Chan began to hear his subordinates stepping on the rocks.

Kang Chan sharply glared and aimed his gun to his right.

Swoosh.

After a while, he heard the waves again.

Kang Chan had to trust Seok Kang-Ho and his subordinates’ judgments while they were below the rock.

Right now, it would be best to focus on taking out the enemies that they could see.

They still hadn’t discovered the damn guard post that was supposed to be to their right. If it was made by boring a hole through the rocks or by digging a trench and building a bunker, then Kang Chan and his team would certainly have trouble finding it from where they were. For all he knew, the enemies there could have already detected him and his team and were already aiming their guns at them.

Swoosh.

Kang Chan couldn’t even tell the soldiers to hurry since they couldn’t move in crowds.

After the waves hit the shores a few times more…

Rustle.

… Kwak Cheol-Ho came up from the left side of the rock.

Kang Chan pointed to his eyes with his index and middle finger, then pointed to the guard post to their left. In response, Kwak Cheol-Ho began closely monitoring it, allowing Kang Chan to look for the guard post to their right.

Rustle. Rustle.

The soldiers climbed up the rock one at a time.

Considering they cut the chains of the ceasefire line, their enemies would find out that someone infiltrated their territory by tomorrow anyway.

Kang Chan and his team had to move as far as they could from this place before that happened.

Rustle. Rustle. Rustle. Rustle.

After the soldiers went up to the rock, they got into position.

Swoosh. Click.

Finally, Seok Kang-Ho grabbed the hand of a soldier on top of the rock and climbed up.

Kang Chan estimated the distance between them and the mountains on the horizon. From here, he concluded that it would take them two hours to reach the mountains. They had to get past the national road and rail as well.

It was thirty minutes past one right now.

].

Kang Chan crouched as low as he could while leading the way.

They were twenty minutes away from their next stop. If nothing happened within that time, then they would be able to get out of the seashore guard posts’ range of vision.

When moving at night, making sure they didn’t make any sounds was of the utmost importance. They also had to move slowly enough for anyone glancing over the area to not notice them.

After about ten minutes, they came across a small pine grove.

Kang Chan didn’t see anything inside it that bothered him. His guts didn’t find anything wrong with it either.

Things were going so well that Kang Chan was starting to wonder if things could be this easy.

They walked very slowly. The best-case scenario that they could hope for right now was to remain undiscovered until the sun rose.

Kang Chan slowly stood up upon entering the forest. The wind from the sea noisily went past him.

Kang Chan looked back at Seok Kang-Ho, then nodded. In response, Seok Kang-Ho and the soldiers squatted down and got into position.

An hour away from here, they would find a rice pady and a field. Another hour beyond that, they would rhea the national road, a railway, and a mountain.

Dayeru and Kwak Cheol-Ho brought up the rear of their formation. Dayeru was on the left, and Kwak Cheol-Ho was on the right.

As Kang Chan made his way through the dark forest, he gradually picked up the pace.

During times like this, the only things he could trust were his eyes and his intuition.

He couldn’t let his guard down because his instincts weren't warning him about anything, but even if it did, he still couldn’t waste any time.

Whoosh.

The sounds of the waves no longer reached them, but it was replaced by the wind noisily reverberating as it blew past the forest.

If their senses became overly sensitive now, then there was a chance that one of them would mistake a branch for a gun or an enemy with a dagger. If they opened fire because of that, then everything would be over.

On the other hand, if they stumbled upon an enemy but hesitated to take them down because they weren’t sure if it was a branch, then they would be faced with an irrevocable consequence.

Swish. Whish.

The trees swayed as the wind blew violently.

I trust them. I have to trust them.

During times like this, Kang Chan had to trust his subordinates. They already had the skills to differentiate a branch from their enemy anyway.