Chapter 218.2: You Guys Fought Well (2)

“Surround the hostages!” Kang Chan yelled.

Just like how the first shot and second shot were different, the first and second times they threw the grenades were different as well!

Bang! Grumble!

Parts of the wall broke off as if it was going to crumble down, and the enemies’ feet, which were blown off, fell in between the civilians with a thud.

Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho picked up their enemies’ guns.

Du-du-du-du! Du-du-du-du! Du-du-du-du!

Would people believe Kang Chan if he said that there was a rhythm in combat?

Unexpectedly, people were easily broken by the cancellation of operations they looked forward to or the leader of their team dying.

Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho pounced on and fired at the enemies with the M85A2 machine guns that they had picked up. In response, the enemies started to retreat.

Du-du-du-du! BANG! Du-du-du-du! BANG!

Soon, Kang Chan also noticed the enemies hiding behind the trucks, their heads planted on the ground.

You motherfuckers! I’m not called the ‘god that brings death’ for no reason!

“Huff Huff. Huff Huff.”

His helmet, top, and hands were covered in blood. Even his mask was drenched in it, making him constantly smell the strange scent of blood.

“Aaack!”

After some time, they heard an ear-piercing scream from behind them. It sounded as if it could rip the world apart.

“Ah! Argh!”

Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho ran over, finding the guide of the civilians on the floor, screaming and struggling to move away.

It did not take long for Kang Chan to identify the reason the guide was screaming—he had just seen the enemy’s feet that landed near them after the grenades blew them off.

The ground that the hostages were sitting on was completely soaked by now.

Still, he was at least proud of them for not puking—

“Hurgh! Blurgh!” the hostages started to vomit.

Damn it!

The screaming stopped only after a soldier bent down, picked up the feet, and quickly threw them to the side.

“Lee Doo-Hee!” Kang Chan called.

“Yes sir?”

“Stop any incoming missile at all costs!”

“Yes sir.”

All of them had been wounded in some way. Lee Doo-Hee was covered in blood, and even Kang Chan had an open cut on his side.

“Kwak Cheol-Ho! Assign two of our men to help Lee Doo-Hee!” Kang Chan continued.

With a glance from Kwak Cheol-Ho, two soldiers ran to provide aid. Their masks were completely drenched in blood.

Right now, they at least had some time to breathe and recollect themselves before their enemies reengaged them in combat.

“Those four are in very dangerous conditions,” Kwak Cheol-Ho quietly told Kang Chan.

Behind the hostages were four soldiers, all of whom had lost consciousness. One of the soldiers who had been shot in the thigh earlier seemed to have been shot again during the battle. That was made evident by Yoon Sang-Ki, who was wrapping the soldier’s chest with bandages as fast and tightly as he could.

“Hurgh!”

The hostages still hadn’t stopped vomiting. Unfortunately, the soldiers could not really do anything for them. After all, they were reacting this way because this was their first time witnessing so much blood.

“Hurgh! Blurgh!”

Like an infectious disease circulating among the hostages, when one person vomited, the others started puking well. Watching the Shiite member with a slit throat twitching in front of them only made the situation worse.

Gérard, since you’re already on your way here, hurry up!

Kang Chan looked at the distant sky.

***

It would be an understatement to describe the South Korean special forces team’s situation as just desperate.

The female news anchor cried and gasped while the soldiers were fighting. Now pale with fright, she had begun to tremble as well. Meanwhile, the male news anchor continued to hold back his tears. Nobody could have ever expected that they would witness such a battle today.

[Please, everyone! Please pray for our soldiers’ safe return and for the wounded to arrive back home alive!] one of the news anchors said, still on the verge of tears even though the battle had died down for now.

However, that was all they could really say. Whenever the screen showed the wounded soldiers next to the hostages and the ten to twenty remaining soldiers who were using all of their strength to protect them, they failed to stop their tears from falling.

[Right now, we have no choice but to rely on the capabilities of the South Korean special forces commander. As a citizen of South Korea, I cannot help but be ashamed that I have been completely oblivious to the fact that our soldiers have been fighting desperate and noble battles all this time to protect our country and its citizens! Thank you, our beloved special forces!]

Every time a soldier fell or an enemy came over the walls, the news anchors’ hearts ached, thinking it was all over for the soldiers now. Fortunately, the commander tirelessly pounced on the hostiles climbing over the wall, defeating each and every one of them.

When the battle stopped, the commander began to check their defenses in four different areas. At the same time, the soldiers started dragging their enemies’ corpses out of the building.

What would it have been like if they could hear the battle?

At that moment, one of the news anchors quickly turned their heads, seemingly coming to their senses.

[It has been an hour now since our soldiers occupied the abandoned house, and a little over thirty minutes since that desperate battle for survival started. Unfortunately, our soldiers don’t seem to have any food or water. Just thinking about how parched they probably are in that cold and tense situation makes me feel guilty to even just have a sip of water.]

The news anchors looked as if they had calmed down to some extent.

[The citizens are raising our flag.]

However, when the broadcast began to show national flags hanging at every house, the news anchor burst into tears again.

***

The soldiers had survived another crisis.

Pressing his lips tightly together, Kang Dae-Kyung cried like a child. He unknowingly clenched his fist so tight that Yoo Hye-Sook, who had been holding his hand, frowned.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked. She had also begun to cry after seeing his husband crying helplessly. Even as tears fell down her face, she couldn’t help but grow suspicious, thinking, ‘Is he crying because of Kang Chan?’

“Nothing!” Kang Dae-Kyung wiped his tears with the back of his hand. “I just can’t help but remember my time back in the military! Ugh!”

Kang Dae-Kyung’s tears continued to drop.

“Don’t cry! Seeing you like this breaks my heart.”

“I’ll stop—urgh! Argh!” Like a child who could not get what he wanted, Kang Dae-Kyung couldn’t stop himself from crying..

***

After disposing of their enemies’ corpses, the soldiers guided the South Korean civilians and moved their wounded comrades somewhere a bit cleaner. Kang Chan then took his weapons and checked how much ammo he had left. Suddenly feeling hungry, he couldn’t help but smile when he remembered the sushi that Kang Dae-Kyung bought some time ago.

Kang Chan looked up at the sky.

Are Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook watching us fight through the broadcast as well?

“What are you doing?” Seok Kang-Ho asked Kang Chan as he walked over to him.

“Nothing. I’m just staring at the sky out of hunger.”

“Phuhuhu.” Seok Kang-Ho was the only person who could still bring themselves to laugh during difficult times like this. Despite his laughter, however, his eyes never once stopped glinting. He never forgot about the dire situation they were in either.

“If those bastards attack us again, we are going to have a lot of trouble just keeping everyone alive,” Seok Kang-Ho commented.

“Those fuckers are also going to need some time to regroup before they can execute another offensive.”

“What do you think? Those bastards are going to result in that tactic now, aren’t they?” Seok Kang-Ho asked Kang Chan.

“You already know the answer to that, so why even bother asking me about it?”

Seok Kang-Ho only nodded in response. Now that their large-scale attack had fallen through, the Shiite militia was bound to resort to suicidal strategies. The next wave of enemies that would charging toward them would likely have bombs strapped to their chests. If even just one of them managed to get inside the building, then all of their efforts and sacrifices would be rendered meaningless.

If they were up against even more cruel bastards, then they would be seeing women and kids at the frontlines soon.

In such a situation, Kang Chan and his men would be forced to shoot people down even if they hadn’t checked who was carrying bombs yet. Unfortunately, among those that their enemies would send at them, only a few would actually be strapped with explosives.

However, determining if a woman or a child was equipped with bombs was actually quite easy. If they were crying, then they would most likely have bombs strapped to their chests. If they were just breaking out in cold sweat, then they were most likely unarmed and just sent out to confuse their targets.

That was the case with almost all women and children, at least.

“Ah, fuck! I’m hungry!” Seok Kang-Ho yelled.

Why does this fucker curse when he’s hungry?”

Seok Kang-Ho let out a groan as he turned around.

The bandages wrapped around Seok Kang-Ho’s shoulder, forearm, and waist were red with blood. Meanwhile, those around Kang Chan’s side and right leg were also drenched in dark blood.

Kang Chan walked toward the wounded soldiers—which was every member of their team right now. The ten who could no longer move properly were lying down right next to the hostages. Among them, four were in such bad conditions that with each passing second, the situation they faced grew even direr.

Soldiers prepared and brought different supplies to different operations. In missions like this, bringing C-rations would be found quite funny. Much to their relief, they did bring morphine and several other essential medical supplies.

These bastards have really become a team worthy of global recognition.

Although they made it seem as if it was easy to pull out their pistols and unsheathe their bayonets while wounded, that could not be any farther from the truth. However, seeing them do that provided a huge morale boost to the other soldiers who relentlessly fought alongside them.

Kang Chan had to find a way to save these men and the hostages who were now looking at him with frightened eyes. Fortunately, they had at least stopped vomiting all over the floor.

“The enemies are coming!” Kang Cheol-Ho yelled after a bit more time passed, informing the rest of their team.

As the terrified hostages watched him closely, Kang Chan quickly headed to the frontline. Gritting his teeth, he glared at the hostiles making their way to their position.

They’re wearing shaylas[1]!

Women wearing maghnaehs[2] were moving alongside them.

Their enemies were definitely going to be walking right behind these civilians.

Curious about what was happening, Kwak Cheol-Ho examined their situation.

Chk.

At the same time, they heard their radio crackle, followed by someone saying, “God of Blackfield, this is Gérard.”

1. This was written as 루싸리 (‘Lusari’), but it’s actually a Shayla, an Islamic headgear worn by some Muslim women in the presence of any male outside of their immediate family. ☜

2. An Iranian type of hijab ☜