Chapter 319: Come At Us! (2)

The enemies’ black silhouettes slowly closed in on their location, eventually covering enough distance for the South Koreans to check their clothes.

The South Korean team had Oh Gwang-Taek, ten soldiers from the Jeungpyeong special forces team, and twenty-six soldiers from the DMZ team. Meanwhile, their opponents numbered three hundred, just like Cha Dong-Gyun had estimated.

When their enemies went past him, Yang Dong-Sik began to salivate. Anyone who had reached this level of nervousness would make a noise loud enough to startle those around them if they swallowed their saliva. That was why they’d much rather keep it in their mouth for now.

Rustle. Rustle. Rustle.

Amid the darkness of this Mongolian wilderness, their opponents carefully walked along the low and high ridges.

Cha Dong-Gyun’s plan was simple.

Once the fight started, like slicing a cake into three large pieces, Kang Chul-Gyu, Nam Il-Gyu, and Yang Dong-Sik would split the enemies into groups and cut into their ranks. They would then lure them into the sunken area in the middle of where they had initially set up their ambush and attack them head-on and from within, killing them one at a time.

The Jeungpyeong special forces team and the DMZ team had paired their members together.

Oh Gwang-Taek and a soldier from the special forces team were behind Kang Chul-Gyu and Kim Tae-Jin, and Yoon Sang-Ki and another soldier were behind Nam Il-Gyu. Two other members of the Jeungpyeong special forces team were with Yang Dong-Sik.

Cha Dong-Gyun had been clenching his jaws ever since he was given command.

They were executing an operation that required his sunbaes—including Kang Chul-Gyu—to infiltrate their opponents’ ranks even though hadn’t even identified them yet.

Kang Chul-Gyu soon informed Cha Dong-Gyun, who was feeling very anxious because he made the plan, how many enemies they would be able to handle.

Rustle. Clatter.

With each step their opponents took, Cha Dong-Gyun could feel the hair on his entire body standing on end.

Soon, however, he began to feel as if he was watching a neverending advertisement at a movie theater. After a terribly boring period, their enemies finally arrived at the spot they had hoped for.

If he hadn’t fought with Kang Chan before, he wouldn’t have been able to stay calm right now.

Cha Dong-Gyun took a deep breath. He then slowly moved his index finger. Once he pulled the trigger, the door to hell would burst open.

Everyone assumed a similar stance, waiting for Cha Dong-Gyun to open fire.

BANG!

Cha Dong-Gyun pulled the trigger, sending a bullet flying through the air.

Bang! Bang bang bang! BANG! Bang bang bang! Bang bang! Bang bang bang!

The terrifying gunshot reverberated throughout their surroundings, the echo lasting for a few moments. Unfortunately, the wilderness prevented them from seeing who or what the bullet hit.

One after another, their opponents fell backward like a stack of straws. However, they soon retaliated.

Du du du! Du du! Du du du du! Du du!

The hostiles quickly got into position and started to return fire. Among them, their experienced commander stood out.

If they decided to hold out here, then this battle would be determined by numbers alone.

Chk.

“Cut through their ranks!” Cha Dong-Gyun ordered through the radio.

Whoosh! Whish! Whoosh!

Kang Chul-Gyu and Kim Tae-Jin ran toward the enemy forces. Nam Il-Gyu and Yang Dong-Sik led their teams out as well.

Bang bang bang! Bang bang! Bang bang! BANG! Bang bang bang!

The rest provided those charging in with cover fire from behind, taking down one opponent after another.

The muzzles of their M16s and the K2s[1] kept spouting out flames.

Loud gunshots rang out from the opposing forces’ AK-47s as well.

BANG! Pew! Bang bang bang! PEW!

Du du du! Pew! Du du! Du du du du! Pew!

Gunshots ceaselessly pierced through the winds and echoed throughout the wilderness, the trees unable to completely silence them. Oh Gwang-Taek just kept firing.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The recoil of his K2 assault rifle made his shoulders shake. The unpleasant smell of gunpowder rushed up his nostrils.

Du du du! Pow pow pow! Du du! Pow pow! Du du du! Pow pow pow!

Although bullets kept whizzing past them and piercing into their surroundings, Oh Gwang-Taek remained unfazed. He just kept gunning down those who were aiming at Kang Chul-Gyu and Kim Tae-Jin, riddling them with bullets.

He had to stop their enemies from attacking the DMZ team members no matter what. That was the only way he could protect his brothers-in-arms.

Oh Gwang-Taek didn’t even have time to observe them or feel sympathy for them.

Crunch!

Meanwhile, Kang Chul-Gyu grotesquely twisted their opponents’ necks. They couldn’t even resist.

Stab! Splatter!

Every time his right hand moved, blood gushed out from their necks.

Kang Chul-Gyu ran even deeper into their ranks.

In response, the enemies swiftly aimed at Kang Chul-Gyu. However, witnessing one of their own being killed made them hesitate, giving him enough time to either break their necks or slit their throats.

Kim Tae-Jin had never fought so closely with Kang Chul-Gyu before. Running and covering him made him feel as if he would soon go insane.

Their enemies were all around them now. If just one of them managed to hit him and Kang Chul-Gyu, they would definitely die.

Du du du! Du du! Du du du!

Intuitively feeling the same way, their enemies blindly shot at them. Nevertheless, Kang Chul-Gyu didn’t stop. Once he had sent his target sinking to the ground, he immediately rushed past them.

He was moving so fast that Kim Tae-Jin was eventually forced to stop covering him just to keep up with him, but even that alone proved too difficult to accomplish.

Both sides continued to shoot at each other.

Along with another soldier, Oh Gwang-Taek covered Kang Chul-Gyu and Kim Tae-Jin. He looked willing to lay down his life to complete his duty.

They were still twenty meters away from their target location.

Thump! Thud!

Kang Chul-Gyu and Kim Tae-Jin reached the middle of their enemies’ position in no time at all. As they did, Kang Chul-Gyu brought the rifle on his back to his front.

In the meantime, Kim Tae-Jin dragged and built a wall using corpses.

Bang! Pow! Bang! Pow! Bang! Pow! Bang! Pow!

With every pull of the trigger, Kang Chul-Gyu took down an enemy.

In the past, the Spetsnaz, the Baekrang team, and North Korea’s Airborne Corps of the People's Liberation Army Air Force shuddered whenever they saw the DMZ King in battle. That same beast was coming back to life right now.

Bang bang bang! Du du du! Du du! Bang! Bang bang bang! Du du du!

Pow pow pow! Pow pow!

Soon, however, a soldier who respected Nam Il-Gyu sank to the ground, shaking as if he was having a seizure. Even though Kang Chul-Gyu was covering fire with his superhuman shooting skills, he was still shot.

Bam! Crack! Pew! Pew! Splatter!

Nam Il-Gyu relentlessly twisted their enemies’ necks and swung his bayonet. Not long after, they finally succeeded in splitting them into three groups.

From deep in the sunken area, they gunned down their opponents. However, since Kang Chul-Gyu and Kim Tae-Jin were crouching close to each other like a coiled snake, their shots were ineffective.

As Yang Dong-Sik had his team cover for him, he made his way through their enemies like a madman.

They were tackling this battle in a completely different way from how they normally fought at the DMZ. Nevertheless, they had no intentions to withdraw. They had to win this fight.

Stab! Splatter!

Yang Dong-Sik stabbed an enemy in the neck, then roughly pulled the bayonet out of them.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

At the same time, Kang Chul-Gyu embedded bullets right between his targets’ eyes. The scene made Kim Tae-Jin conclude that the first phase of Cha Dong-Gyun’s plan was a success.

He couldn’t believe that Cha Dong-Gyun thought that they should occupy the middle of the battlefield despite facing three hundred hostiles. Still, his clever strategy proved effective.

Bang! Pow! Bang! Pow! Bang! Pow!

Positioning Kang Chul-Gyu in the middle of the warzone only made this operation even more perfect. Every time he opened fire, anyone who had raised their heads or targeted his allies helplessly collapsed.

They had killed close to half of their enemies. It seemed their combat capabilities weren't as strong as they had feared.

The pace of the battle momentarily slowed down as the enemies adjusted the formation of their three groups, which were in different locations.

Both sides dragged and piled corpses in front of them.

Rustle. Rustle.

Nam Il-Gyu and Yang Dong-Sik, who had been put in charge of different areas, crawled their way to Kang Chul-Gyu.

Their foreheads, arms, and at least two other areas of their upper bodies were soaked in blood.

“Are you hurt?” Kang Chul-Gyu asked Kim Tae-Jin, his rifle still pointed toward their enemies.

“I’m okay, sunbae-nim,” Kim Tae-Jin replied. He then looked down at Kang Chul-Gyu’s waist. Much to his surprise, blood was seeping out of it. “Let me patch you up.”

“It’s fine. The bullet only grazed it,” Kang Chul-Gyu replied, acting as if it wasn't a big deal.

Kim Tae-Jin couldn’t raise his head. He felt bad—not only did he stop covering Kang Chul-Gyu, but he didn’t even notice that the man was injured.

Chk.

Cha Dong-Gyun radioed in, “Since our base is directly behind us, we’ll take down the group to our twelve first. Kang sunbae-nim, please let me know once everyone in your area has finished preparations.”

Chk.

“Copy that. I’ll let you know as soon as we’re ready,” Kang Chul-Gyu answered.

“Looks like our opponents right now don’t even belong to a regular army,” Yang Dong-Sik commented as he finished bandaging himself.

He then examined Kang Chul-Gyu’s mood with perplexity.

“Choose six soldiers who’ll be coming with us,” Kang Chul-Gyu commanded.

“Yes sir,” Nam Il-Gyu answered. He had also been watching Kang Chul-Gyu, who exuded charisma that was difficult for anyone to disobey. He was known to do this every now and then.

***

After his call with Kim Hyung-Jung, Kang Chan put his phone down.

“I’ve just been informed that the one invading our base in Mongolia is the UIS militia of Libya. Their military might has apparently increased a lot recently because retired special forces soldiers have joined them as commanders.”

“How many of them are attacking the base?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.

“They still haven’t figured that out.”

Seok Kang-Ho softly exhaled. “Considering they’re only a militia, they’re better than expected. Few retired soldiers would’ve joined them even if they were a special forces team.”

Kang Chan looked outside the window.

There was only a week left until Abibu arrived in South Korea. He wanted to finish everything he could before meeting that fucker.

He picked up his phone and called someone. The call rang three times before it was answered.

- How can I help our main character?

Sarcasm was evident in Vasili’s voice.

“Why don’t I just kill Romain and Josh?”

-

Hmph

!

The way Vasili responded made Kang Chan feel as if Vasili was looking down on him.

- I’ll kill as many bastards like Josh as you want me to for as long as you can figure out where the nuclear warhead is.

Damn it!

The UIS militia’s invasion of the South Korean base in Mongolia was already making things crazy for Kang Chan. Now, Vasili also wanted him to find the nuclear warhead.

- You won’t gain anything in North Korea no matter how many times you go there. For someone in the world of intelligence, your way of thinking is too bland.

Kang Chan sighed. Vasili seemed to think that Moon Jae-Hyun and Hwang Ki-Hyun’s desperate wish was too simple.

- The Star of David is just using North Korea as an excuse. They’re planning to launch a nuclear missile from somewhere. They may launch it from North Korea, but if they do, that would mean North Korea accepted the payment and lent their country to them without even knowing that the missiles would fall in Seoul and that one of the missiles would be fitted with the nuclear warhead.

Kang Chan laughed, finding the situation absurd.

- If North Korea really wants to discuss the war with South Korea, they’ll probably request about five hundred billion won. To the commander of North Korea, this matter is more or less just a way to hit an unexpected jackpot without even having to do anything.

“Why is the United States pretending to be oblivious about South Korea sending money to North Korea, then?”

Kang Chan heard Vasili sighing, seemingly to get rid of his frustration.

- Because they will definitely profit if a war breaks out in the Korean Peninsula. Not only will it allow them to steal conventional weapons by using the money that South Korea will send to North Korea, but it will also give them a chance to get a stake in the next-generation energy facility again. They just won’t be able to actively go for it because of Russia and China.

“This is so fucking complicated.”

- South Korea has always been this way. If your president and government had been a little foolish, we would be discussing what to do about South Korea without you right about now.

“Let me ask an honest question—what should I do?”

A moment of silence passed before Vasili answered.

- Come up with a condition that would make Josh hand over the nuclear warhead. Lanok, Yang Bum, and I will eventually find it, but he might launch it before we do. Presenting an offer that he would be tempted by is the fastest way to stop this.

“What’s Josh’s number?”

- I’m not a telephone operator.

Finding Vasili’s response funny, Kang Chan couldn’t help but smirk and laugh.

- The great DGSE will tell you right away if you contact them.

Vasili sounded a lot sterner now, perhaps offended by Kang Chan’s laughter.

“Thanks, Vasili.”

- Stay on your toes when you’re dealing with Josh. He’s not the type to miss an opportunity.

Beep.

Vasil was still the same as how Kang Chan remembered him.

Kang Chan put his phone down on the table, then told Seok Kang-Ho, who looked curious, about the call.

“Are you thinking of meeting this Josh guy?” Seok Kang-Ho asked afterward.

“Wouldn’t it be better to meet someone I know first?”

“Someone you know?”

Kang Chan nodded.

***

There were about forty hostiles positioned in front of them.

Their enemies had poor military strength that did not do their superior numbers justice.

Their commanders and a few others had remarkable skills, but unfortunately for them, South Korea had Kang Chul-Gyu. Those who acted out when the fight started quickly turned into corpses, mostly because of his rifle.

Gunshots still rang out from time to time.

“We’ve finished all preparations,” Nam Il-Gyu reported.

Kang Chul-Gyu raised his hand to his helmet.

Chk.

“Captain Cha, we’re ready.”

Chk.

“Understood,” Cha Dong-Gyun answered.

Chk.

Cha Dong-Gyun continued, “On my command, President Oh and Yoon Sang-Ki, cover Kang sunbae-nim’s team. Kim Tae-Jin sunbae-nim, please support the soldiers at the center.”

Nam Il-Gyu, Yang Dong-Sik, and three other soldiers unsheathed the bayonets attached to their upper left arms.

Click! Clank! Click! Click!

As Kang Chul-Gyu checked how many bullets he had left in his magazine, Kim Tae-Jin and the others inspected their rifles.

Oh Gwang-Taek, who was quite far away from them, swallowed dryly. His boiling blood was urging him to charge toward their opponents with Kang Chul-Gyu.

He didn’t expect that this was how soldiers felt in moments like this. The battle he experienced in Libya was just outright horrible. However, watching Kang Chul-Gyu and Kim Tae-Jin running into their enemies’ ranks a moment ago made him feel emotions that he couldn’t put into words.

These people are just... Fuck! This is why everyone should experience the hardships they go through!

Oh Gwang-Taek wanted to fight and even die in their stead.

Is this why these soldiers argue against each other about who gets to join a mission even though they know they could be heading to their deaths?

Now, a new battle was about to start.

Kang Chul-Gyu, Nam Il-Gyu, Yang Dong-Sik, and three others would run toward their enemies again. They would have to make their way through a rain of bullets, then position themselves in the middle of enemy ranks.

Oh Gwang-Taek pulled his rifle very close to him, then pressed its stock against his shoulder.

I’m going to protect them.

Oh Gwang-Taek’s eyes glinted.

Chk.

“We’re executing the next phase of our operation now,” Cha Dong-Gyun ordered.

Yang Dong-Sik was about to run out when Nam Il-Gyu grabbed him by the nape.

“Hey! Focus, you fucking idiot!” Nam Il-Gyu exclaimed.

‘Why did he stop me? What’s going on?’

Confused, Yang Dong-Sik glanced at the others.

Chk.

“Three, two...”

Cha Dong-Gyun started to count down.

“Go go go!”

Bang bang bang! Bang bang! Bang bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!

Du du! Du du du! Du du du! Du du! Du du du!

The South Korean team simultaneously began opening fire, and their enemies immediately retaliated.

With Kang Chul-Gyu in the lead, Nam Il-Gyu, Yang Dong-Sik, and the others sprinted into their enemies’ position.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Amid the firefight, everyone watched Kang Chul-Gyu running and shooting at the same time. He was truly worthy of being called the DMZ King, a legend feared and respected by military figures.

The Jeungpyeong special forces team had assumed that he was simply better than others. In Libya, they thought he was just good at being in command. However, those who could see him fight right now felt as if they finally understood why he was known as the DMZ King.

Watching him made them feel so reassured it was almost as if Kang Chan—whom not even six hundred Quds could overpower—was the one charging ahead.

Bang bang bang! Bang bang! Bang bang bang!

Watching Kang Chul-Gyu fight made the soldiers’ blood boil.

Even though he was running, he immobilized one enemy after another, requiring only one bullet for each target.

So much adrenaline surged within his men that it seemed as if they had taken drugs. Their enemies were so afraid that they couldn’t even aim at him anymore.

Whoosh! Whish! Whoosh!

As loud gunshots rang, Nam Il-Gyu and Yang Dong-Sik ran even deeper into their enemies’ position.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

As they did, Kang Chul-Gyu knelt down and provided them with cover fire. The others did the same for him.

“Fuck!” Oh Gwang-Taek suddenly swore, feeling a strange rush in his heart.

1. A standard service rifle of the South Korean military. It was developed by the South Korean Agency for Defense Development ☜