Chapter 219.1: Let’s Send Them Off First (1)

All of the members of the special forces team also heard Gérard’s message over the radio. Kang Chan quickly raised his hand to his helmet and pressed his comms switch on.

Chk.

“Well, Gérard! Welcome to hell!” Kang Chan jokingly announced in French.

Chk.

“Dang, you must have been in quite the crunch to be welcoming me so eagerly, Cap,” Gérard joked back.

“Ha, shut up, you son of a bitch!” Kang Chan retorted in Korean.

When Kang Chan suddenly swore in Korean in the middle of his French conversation, his team members incredulously chuckled at him. Their lack of surprise was evidence that they had become perfectly used to Kang Chan and his quirks by now.

Chk.

“The DGSE has informed me about the situation. We will be jumping in T minus three minutes. Our team is composed of twenty-four members and led by Gérard de Mermier,” Gérard officially declared the team’s details to the South Korean special forces.

Kang Chan looked up at the sky.

Chk.

“The enemies are preparing for a suicide attack out there. It’s dangerous if you come down right in the middle of it!” Kang Chan exclaimed.

Chk.

“We will try to land as far back as possible,” Gérard replied with determination, refusing to take no for an answer.

Around the time Gérard finished his sentence, Kang Chan started to hear the whirrings of an airplane. He looked over the wall of the house to see.

Since he couldn’t stop Gérard from jumping off the plane, the least he could do was prevent him and his team from hanging from a parachute like sitting ducks waiting to get shot.

“France’s Foreign Legion has sent over twenty-four men as reinforcements, but since they will be parachuting down to us, half of them will probably die before they even reach the ground if we don’t do something,” Kang Chan informed his men.

Reading Kang Chan’s expression, Seok Kang-Ho chuckled out loud with anticipation, eyes glinting.

“I need three soldiers who are willing to come outside with me,” Kang Chan declared grimly. Almost immediately, with the exception of Lee Doo-Hee and the other sniper, every single one of his men took a step forward.

These damn motherfuckers!

It was a touching moment. Seok Kang-Ho must have been rubbing off on him because he couldn’t help but internally swear.

“You already have me, though, so you only have to choose two more,” Seok Kang-Ho quickly said, staking a claim before anyone else could.

“Well, all right. Then first off, Yoon Sang-Ki, you’re coming with us,” Kang Chan said.

“Yes, sir! Thank you!” Yoon Sang-Ki thunderously boomed.

Have all these punks lost a few marbles? How can they be so grateful when I’m pretty much taking them on a suicide mission?

Kang Chan looked at each of the soldiers in turn until he made eye contact with Woo Hee-Seung.

“Woo Hee-Seung, let’s go,” Kang Chan announced

“Heh heh heh heh,” Woo Hee-Seung laughed like a maniac.

There isn’t a single sane person here.

Meanwhile, a woman with bombs attached to her chest and the children walking with her had already reached the totaled truck.

“Kwak Cheol-Ho, protect the hostages no matter what happens!” Kang Chan loudly ordered.

“Yes, sir! You can leave them to me!” Kwak Cheol-Ho replied, reassuring Kang Chan and the rest of the team.

The airplane’s noises had become louder.

“We’ll take the M60 on the left and run straight into enemy lines. We have to prevent them from shooting down the paratroopers. Daye! You let the M60 rip. Yoon Sang-Ki, you’re going to be our driver. Hee-Seung and I will cover you,” Kang Chan directed.

The soldiers who would be staying behind walked over to the four while Kang Chan was speaking. They held out their hands to pat Kang Chan, Seok Kang-Ho, Woo Hee-Seung, and Yoon Sang-Ki on their helmets.

“Now, let’s go!” Kang Chan firmly roared.

The three men slung their rifles over their backs and followed Kang Chan over the fence.

***

[The commander has just climbed over the fence and headed outside. It appears he is severely injured… but since this commander has overcome situations in ways that we couldn’t have imagined, we can be sure that he will prevail this time as well.]

The anchor sounded coarse. The fatigue on his face was so evident that it seemed as if all of his strength had been drained away.

On the screen, the commander and three of his men ceaselessly rained bullets on their opponents as they ran for the truck.

[It seems they are attempting to escape!]

The enemy fired back, causing the dirt around them to toss up into the air. Soon, one of the soldiers lurched forward and fell over on the ground.

The male and female anchors both covered their mouths at the same time before breaking into tears once again.

***

“Hold on to me!” Kang Chan shouted over the commotion.

Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho grabbed Yoon Sang-Ki’s shoulders to pull him out of danger as Woo Hee-Seung hurriedly climbed into the driver’s seat.

Du du du du du! Pow pow pow pow! Pew! Peew!

Unfortunately, the cover that the soldiers from the abandoned buildings provided wasn't too helpful. They were too far away, and the woman and the children with her were standing between them and their opponents.

Kang Chan got in the truck, held Yoon Sang-Ki by his shoulder, and forcibly pulled him in.

“Aargh!” Yoon Sang-Ki moaned.

Blood was oozing through his hand as he tightly clenched his stomach.

“Go!” Kang Chan ordered as soon as Seok Kang-Ho got in. In response to his booming command, the car started with a vroom.

Clunk!

Seok Kang-Ho grabbed onto the M60 and opened the chamber to load more rounds into it. Meanwhile, Kang Chan raised his hand to his helmet.

Chk.

“Woo Hee-Seung, don’t mind the direction too much. Just avoid hitting the kids and keep yourself as close to the floor as possible!” Kang Chan shouted.

Vroooom!

The engine roared loudly in response. However, their speed didn’t change much from before.

Tu ta ta ta ta ta ta! Tu ta ta ta ta ta ta! Tu ta ta ta ta ta!

The M60 began to fire rough, powerful bullets in rapid succession.

The smell of gunpowder instantly filled the air. Kang Chan’s ears were ringing so much that it made him dizzy, but he pushed through it and aimed his rifle in front of the truck. He had to protect Woo Hee-Seung at any cost.

Tu du du du! Bam bam bam bam! Tu ta ta ta ta! Pew! Pew!

The combat had turned into a cacophony of gunfire and bullets bouncing off the truck’s hood.

Chk.

“Jump.”

Kang Chan hadn’t even heard the airplane yet when Gérard’s voice came through the radio.

Come down, punk! I’m going to protect you no matter what it takes!

Sparks flew relentlessly from the steel plate in front of Kang Chan.

Tu ta ta ta ta ta! Tu ta ta ta ta ta! Tu ta ta ta ta ta!

The M60 certainly packed formidable power.

Unfortunately, the woman and children started to run toward the truck.

We still have to buy at least one more minute!

Kang Chan changed his position.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

The woman and children naturally weren’t familiar with combat. They halted and hesitated when the dirt in front of them splattered at their feet from the bullets. The woman holding the hands of the children was standing at the very front, her extremely tear-streaked face coming into clear view.

Tu ta ta ta ta! Tu ta ta ta ta ta! Tu ta ta ta ta!

Tu du du du! Pew! Pew! Pow! Crash!

“Send the children over!” Kang Chan shouted.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Kang Chan gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger. Dirt splattered again in front of the woman’s feet.

“Send the children!” Seok Kang-Ho shouted at the top of his lungs in Arabic, momentarily pausing the trigger to speak.

Tu ta ta ta ta! Tu ta ta ta ta! Tu ta ta ta ta!

Tu du du du du! Tu du du! Tu du du du!

Vrooom!

The truck swerved in a different direction once again. At that moment, the woman shouted something through clenched teeth and pushed the children forward.

“Hurry!” Kang Chan shouted through gritted teeth as he pulled the trigger of his rifle.

The children hesitantly stopped as they scurried over.

“For god’s sake, please hurry up!” Kang Chan shouted again.

Tu du du du du! Tu du du du du! Pow, pow, pow, pow! Pow!

Tu ta ta ta ta ta! Tu ta ta ta ta ta! Tu ta ta ta ta!

The children started to move closer toward the truck.

Craaaash!

However, before they could reach it, an explosion erupted. It was so destructive and loud that Kang Chan felt as if it made his eardrums bleed.

Creak.

Woo Hee-Seung frantically swerved the truck away. When Kang Chan turned around to look, they found two young girls sprawled on the ground.

“Daye!” Kang Chan shouted urgently.

Tu ta ta ta ta ta! Tu ta ta ta ta ta!

Kang Chan quickly ran toward the children.

Vrooom!

Realizing the situation, Woo Hee-Seung blocked Kang Chan from the enemy’s line of sight with the truck, and Seok Kang-Ho continued to unleash hell with the M60, providing cover.

Kang Chan carried the bloodied girls in his arms. If they left these abandoned girls out here, they would inevitably suffer the cruelest death imaginable.

Tu du du du! Crash, crash, crash, crash! Tu du du! Pow pow!

Kang Chan pushed the girls into the truck, and Yoon Sang-Ki, who was still gripping his own stomach, pulled the girls toward him with all his might.

Vrooom!

Tu ta ta ta ta! Tu ta ta ta ta! Tu ta ta ta!

Seok Kang-Ho began to open fire again. As he did, they heard a different type of gunfire.

Bang, bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang, bang!

It was all too familiar and too pleasant to hear.

Vrooom!

The truck screeched as it turned and started for the abandoned buildings with Kang Chan tightly hanging off of it.

***

“Woohoo!”

Loud cheers erupted, shaking the apartment complex by its foundation. Yoo Hye-Sook clapped with tears streaming down her face.

Her tears were partly because of the news of the arrival of the French special forces and partly because she was moved by the commander rescuing the two fallen girls even in the middle of all the chaos.

Kang Dae-Kyung was breathing heavily, still in tears.

Concerned, Yoo Hye-Sook brought him some water, but Kang Dae-Kyung refused it. Yoo Hye-Sook set down the glass in the middle of the living room floor.

On the screen, the entire French special forces team was seen saluting the Korean commander.

[It appears the French special forces are expressing their respect to the commander.]

The anchor, who didn’t know any better, uttered some irrelevant commentary.