Chapter 220.1: Let’s Send Them Off First (2)

“Gérard,” Kang Chan called.

“Oui!” Gérard swiftly replied and walked over to him.

Gérard was behaving as if he were just another subordinate of Kang Chan. Moreover, instead of finding it odd, the French special forces team seemed rather proud of it.

Kang Chan spread out the map in front of Gérard.

“If we take this road, we will have no choice but to follow the edge of that ridge. We can’t stop an Igla from a moving truck, after all,” Kang Chan explained.

Gérard lifted his gaze from the map to Kang Chan and waited for him to continue.

“We will be taking three trucks. Three people will stay here to keep them safe from the Igla. They will be making a break for it only after making sure the people in the truck are safe.”

“Perfect. Daye and I can stay behind with you,” Gérard stated matter-of-factly, which was exactly what Kang Chan and Seok Kang-Ho predicted earlier.

“Monsieur Crack can take command of the trucks, no?” Gérard confirmed.

“Monsieur Crack?” Kang Chan repeated.

He followed Gérard’s gaze to see who he was talking about, finding Kwak Cheol-Ho looking back at them, wondering what they were discussing in French.

“Captain,” Gérard suddenly called.

“What?”

“Why don’t we take two of our snipers and five other soldiers as well? Once the others leave, we can have the snipers hold this area off, which would give us the chance to ambush the enemies,” Gérard suggested.

Why is this punk suddenly acting so cocky?

“If we’re going to protect the hostages, we might as well make sure we eliminate all the risks and get the job done properly. Escaping later with just the three of us will be difficult if we leave the enemies in good condition anyway,” Gérard politely explained his idea.

Kang Chan’s eyes glinted sharply.

“You little son of a bitch,” Kang Chan abruptly cursed.

In the face of the sudden Korean expletive, Gérard remained steadfast. Amid the tension, Seok Kang-Ho, who didn’t even know what the two were talking about, carefully looked between Kang Chan and Gérard, concern evident in his gaze.

“Gérard,” Kang Chan said.

“Oui,” Gérard politely replied when he noticed the change in Kang Chan’s tone.

“Don’t try to act smart in front of me,” Kang Chan warned.

“Captain, you’ve done more than enough. You can leave this place to us and get out first.”

Kang Chan smirked, but Gérard didn’t step down.

Kang Chan had his suspicions about why Gérard was suggesting an increase in the number of men who would be staying behind. As it turned out, he was right. Gérard was trying to send him away while the French special forces kept the enemies from attacking them.

“As mandated by the rules of the 13th Regiment, I have already checked if anyone wanted to opt out of the operation. Not a single one of the men here will be able to run away with peace of mind if they have to leave you behind, Captain. The group that will be escaping must have a commander to lead them anyway, so…” Gérard trailed off, having noticed the look that Kang Chan was giving him.

“What the hell is he saying?” Seok Kang-Ho asked, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

Since the French soldiers all heard and understood what Gérard suggested, Kang Chan decided to relay it all to Seok Kang-Ho and the South Korean team.

“Looks like becoming a pullet has taught the chick how to use his brain,” Seok Kang-Ho joked.

What does this punk think he’s doing? Why is he agreeing with Gérard?

“Well, he’s right, you know. If you leave the group that’s escaping to Kwak Cheol-Ho, who’s going to be interpreting for the French soldiers?” Seok Kang-Ho reasoned.

Kang Chan found the situation so absurd that he couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

“Fine, all right then!” Kang Chan eventually agreed.

Gérard, Seok Kang-Ho, and nearly all the other soldiers looked at Kang Chan at the same time.

Kang Chan began to speak in French first.

“We’ll divide the French team into two. Seok Kang-Ho, you, me, and half of the French team will go into enemy territory while the rest escape,” Kang Chan ordered.

“I’ll go make the preparations,” Gérard replied with satisfaction before turning around with his team members.

“Kwak Cheol-Ho!” Kang Chan called, having him walk over to the map. “Half of the French team will take one truck, and the civilians and the injured soldiers will take another. Keep going down this path for about an hour and you should reach Sanggar, which is where the helicopter dropped us off earlier. I’ll be staying behind, so I’ll call the base using the satellite phone from here. All you have to do is get there.”

“Permission to stay behind with you as well, sir,” Kwak Cheol-Ho replied with great resolve.

“Denied,” Kang Chan refused.

Kwak Cheol-Ho didn’t seem to want to back down, however.

“Kwak Cheol-Ho, this isn’t the time to act based on emotions. Those soldiers, our men, need a leader. Who else can act as their commander if not you?” Kang Chan continued, attempting to convince him.

“I can’t even speak French,” Kwak Cheol-Ho said in regret.

“They’ll understand you if you speak simple English.”

Kwak Cheol-Ho met Kang Chan’s gaze and never looked away.

He knew how Kwak Cheol-Ho was feeling right now better than anyone. This was why all of these punks had found a way to his heart in the first place.

“This is a direct order from your commander. Take the hostages and our wounded men to Sanggar,” Kang Chan.

Kwak Cheol-Ho made puppy eyes at him. He looked as if he was extremely wronged.

“Kwak Cheol-Ho,” Kang Chan urged.

“Understood, sir,” Kwak Cheol-Ho finally answered. He stood up, his rifle clunking.

Seok Kang-Ho grinned while he looked at the map.

“We can use the two trucks in the back and the truck with the M60 on it,” Kang Chan mused.

“I’ll have the men bring over the truck to the front. The M60 doesn’t have much ammo left, though.”

Kang Chan nodded and folded the map back up. “Who has the satellite phone?”

One of the soldiers quickly came over, pressed the call button, then handed it to Kang Chan.

The dial tone rang just once before the phone was answered.

- Base speaking.

Kim Hyung-Jung’s voice came through the line.

“Base, Delivery and the cargo will be moving together. Prepare the helicopter for evac,” Kang Chan ordered.

- Understood.

“Is the broadcast being televised in real time?” Kang Chan asked.

- According to our estimations, it has a one-minute delay.

Kang Chan let out a low sigh.

If they could get onto the truck in a minute, they could probably make a move before the enemies could catch onto their plan, but just getting the hostages and the injured in the trucks would already take too much time. Even if it didn’t, the enemies would see them as soon as they left the abandoned building anyway.

“Four of the injured are in critical condition. Requesting medical personnel. Over.”

- We will make the arrangements.

Now that Kim Hyung-Jung had given his word that they could provide Kang Chan with everything he requested, Kang Chan did not have anything else to say. He hung up the call and handed the phone back to the soldier just as two trucks came toward him from behind.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“Get the injured inside the trucks first!” Kang Chan ordered.

The palpable tension filled the abandoned houses.

The South Korean soldiers left their surroundings to the French team and focused on getting their injured comrades into the truck.

Kang Chan walked over to the hostages.

“Once all the soldiers have been carried over, you can get into that truck,” Kang Chan instructed, using formal speech again.

They did not respond, but they didn’t argue against his orders either. The battle had left them extremely pale, especially after the knife fight.

***

[Ah! A few soldiers who appear to be injured and the hostages are boarding a truck. It seems they are planning to escape with the assistance of the French special forces team. I sincerely hope they can escape safely.]

This was the most hopeful scene they had witnessed so far, allowing strength to return to the anchor’s voice. Loud applause echoed from all over the apartment complex.

Kang Dae-Kyung had stopped crying.

He cried like a young child during the last horrific fight, but he had gone numb now. However, he still forced himself to keep watching the broadcast.

If he could save his son by sacrificing his own life, he would have already jumped off the apartment railing without even thinking twice about it. That was just how much he loved his son. As a father, he could not help but feel ashamed that he was crying like a baby while his son was enduring such a terrifying battle so valiantly.

They would endure it together.

Amid the gruesome situation he could only watch, his son continued to hold on, even going as far as using his knife and throwing grenades.

I have to watch everything. I have to watch him until the very end.

Once everything was said and done, he believed he would watch his beloved son coming out of that hell.

Hence, Kang Dae-Kyung stopped himself from crying.

“Are you okay?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked with concern.

Her question made him feel a lump in his chest, but he gritted his teeth and pushed back the tears.

“Have some water. You’ll get a headache later,” Yoo Hye-Sook suggested.

“All right,” Kang Dae-Kyung replied, taking the water that Yoo Hye-Sook handed him. He carefully took two sips.

Son, I’ll endure watching you go through hell, so you better persevere and get out of there.

“There’s something I’m not aware of, isn’t there?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked suspiciously.

Seeing Yoo Hye-Sook’s swollen red eyes, Kang Dae-Kyung shook his head.

“As I said earlier, the broadcast just made me remember my time in the military,” Kang Dae-Kyung replied.

However, Yoo Hye-Sok continued to express her doubt. “You said all you did during your enlistment was sweep snow.”

“I only told you that so I wouldn’t worry you. We went through that kind of training too.”

“Does everyone really go through that kind of training when they join the military? Will our Channy have to go through that when he enlists in the future too?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked.

Kang Dae-Kyung smiled.

Their son wouldn’t go through that training. At most, he would likely be the drill sergeant—never the one being trained.

[The commander and about ten of his men have not gotten in any of the trucks yet.]

When the anchor’s commentary reached Kang Dae-Kyung’s ears, he quickly turned his head to the screen.