Chapter 359: Let’s Go Together (2)

An eerie silence hovered between the Jeungpyeong special forces team, who were holed up in the mountains, and the Quds hiding behind the trucks.

They had taken out five enemies.

Although Cha Dong-Gyun didn’t expect them to run toward them like lunatics, he still found it suspicious that they were hiding behind the trucks with their hair or the ends of their bandanas peeking out above.

Cha Dong-Gyun tried to think like Kang Chan and make a move. He recalled what Seok Kang-Ho had told him after losing Han Jae-Guk.

‘Settle down.’

‘All the men will die if the commander gets overwhelmed.’

‘Calm them down. Think about what Captain would have done. If you can’t, fake it.’

What would Kang Chan have done if he was here?

Kang Chan had faced some of the most undeniably horrific enemies, yet he had always encouraged his men in times of crisis.

‘I’ll try to do it. I will do it.’

Kang Chan had told him that Cha Dong-Gyun’s training was second to none but found it unfortunate that Cha Dong-Gyun lacked experience.

Did Cha Dong-Gyun enjoy being dragged around to places where he could die?

Pft.

Cha Dong-Gyun smirked like Kang Chan.

Without all that experience, how would he be able to face the two hundred Quds clad in those stupid black outfits?

Cha Dong-Gyun pressed a button on his radio.

Chk.

Had he ever radioed others in past situations like these?

Kwak Cheol-Ho, who was about five meters away, and Yoon Sang-Ki, who was positioned a bit farther away from him, glanced at Cha Dong-Gyun.

“We only have one hundred ninety-five enemies left.”

Kwak Cheol-Ho stared at Cha Dong-Gyun in disbelief.

“If our experience in Africa is any indication, they’ll come at night. That’s probably why they’re wearing black military uniforms.”

The enemies were a good distance away, and they had hidden themselves perfectly. Maybe that was why some of the special forces team members chuckled in disbelief at the situation.

Chk.

“Snipers, keep an eye out for enemy RPGs and machine guns. I want everyone else to rest in groups of two with a nearby teammate. When night falls, we’ll teach the enemies a painstaking lesson about who we learned from.”

Kwak Cheol-Ho glanced at him from a slight distance away.

Since when did we start looking at two hundred Quds with such ease?

Chk.

“I’m going to try to imitate what the captain always says...”

And why is this guy so chatty today?

Kwak Cheol-Ho gave him a look that said, “What is he going to say this time?”

“Today, every single one of those bastards will be meeting the God of Death. After all, that’s who taught us how to fight. I will stand at the very front. We’ll kill them all, and then we’ll all go home together.”

After the radio transmission, Cha Dong-Gyun casually turned his attention back to the enemy.

Kwak Cheol-Ho and Yoon Sang-Ki’s reactions were a bit different than when Kang Chan spoke, but Cha Dong-Gyun didn’t mind.

They had become a team that could afford to be so nonchalant in front of the enemy.

Cha Dong-Gyun let out a quiet sigh and looked up at the mountain.

Twenty minutes? Thirty?

The darkness in the shadows had eaten up the middle of the mountain and was slowly moving toward the wide berth of enemies.

At that moment, a sniper who had been watching from high above reported in.

Chk

.

“The enemy’s rear is moving.”

Click! Click! Click! Click!

They’d been taught to check and double-check all the time. Cha Dong-Gyun and his men inspected their guns and glared at the enemy.

‘We’ll do well, sir.’

He felt like Kang Chan was watching over him.

***

The forest had grown dark.

Kang Chan pressed a button on his radio.

Chk.

“On your feet. Let’s go.”

The sounds of his men strapping on their armor and picking up their weapons echoed off the Afghan ridge.

“Daye, I want you to keep a tighter perimeter.”

“Got it, Cap.”

Choi Jong-Il, who had been standing beside him, nodded at Kang Chan and walked onward with Seok Kang-Ho.

“Gérard, stay frosty.”

“

Oui

.”

Seok Kang-Ho and Gérard understood Kang Chan’s gaze, tone, and instructions better than anyone.

After giving a firm answer, Gérard fell back with Woo Hee-Seung.

Kang Chan slowly looked around as darkness fell.

In the twilight, the bend of the ridge was clearly visible. It was as if the mountains beyond had been lit up.

They were deep in enemy territory. There was no telling when or where the battle would begin.

Kang Chan breathed in slowly.

His bandaged wounds were throbbing, and every time he moved, searing pain surged up as if it had been waiting for him.

Nevertheless, he knew he could handle this. He would grit through the pain if that was what it would take to finish the job and return safely with his men.

Kang Chan set his thoughts about missiles aside for now and wondered how the Jeungpyeong special forces team was doing.

He looked behind him.

Chk.

“The front is clear,” Seok Kang-Ho radioed in.

Chk.

“Be more alert while you move. Let’s go.”

The men began to move.

Thud, thud. Click, click.

Kang Chan walked on as well, keeping his middle position. The moment he did, an ominous feeling bloomed from within him.

Damn it!

In this situation where they couldn’t predict anything, his instinctive warnings of not knowing what to expect felt so gut-wrenching. He would rather their enemies ran toward them head-on.

As the sun continued to set, Kang Chan sharply looked around the ridge once more.

***

After drinking some water, Yang Dong-Sik his water pack back in his back pocket.

The world had certainly advanced. From clunky canteens, they now only had to carry a wide, thin plastic pack.

He hadn’t run into any snipers yet. Considering he hadn’t heard any crackle on the radio, he assumed the whole team hadn’t found any either.

‘Where are these assholes hiding?’

Yang Dong-Sik pulled out the bayonet slung around his shoulder.

Their surroundings had already become pitch black.

The dark Afghanistan sky made the moon seem like it was shining brightly out of nowhere.

In a way, it reminded Yang Dong-Sik of Yang So-Mi.

He had always known that she was going to run a restaurant—a Chinese-Korean fusion one.

Based on the way that chubby girl went mad for a bowl of jjajangmyeon, he already knew that that was her path.

Yang Dong-Sik shook his head and moved forward.

He had to focus.

The DMZ team had been assigned to the route over the mountain to the mountain across it and the grassy areas.

If the slope was too steep even for Yang Dong-Sik and the DMZ team members to head straight, then that would mean the enemy would not be able to hide from those areas either.

Swish. Swish.

Yang Dong-Sik moved as silently as he could. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t completely muffle his movements like Kang Chul-Gyu.

Well, he supposed Kang Chul-Gyu looked more like a bobcat than a human when he moved. The way he slid through the grass and approached the enemy without a sound made Yang Dong-Sik glad Kang Chul-Gyu wasn’t an enemy.

Why did she have to marry that guy, though?

Yang Dong-Sik’s son-in-law, a chef, had an affair.

No!

Yang Dong-Sik shook his head again and sighed quietly.

He was having too many random thoughts because of his damned son-in-law. Yang So-Mi might have been chubby and had a temper because she took after Yang Dong-Sik, but she was a fine woman. He couldn’t believe that bastard dared cheat on her!

‘That motherfucking son-in-law!’

Yang Dong-Sik gritted his teeth, determined to give his son-in-law a visit.

Under the faint moonlight, the mountain seemed eerie and spooky.

He was passing through a dangerous path. His world right now could end instantly if he ran into the tip of a muzzle.

‘I wonder how our juniors are doing.’

He was having too many random thoughts today.

***

As darkness descended, Jeong Won-Min slightly relaxed.

The darkness between the river and the road was especially blacker, making it much easier to move.

Chk.

“Scouts, check out the hill that bends up ahead. We need a place to settle down for the evening.”

Chk.

“Yes, sir.”

They had been traveling without any rest or water.

All the men probably understood, though. The Jeungpyeong special forces team was going against two hundred Quds, the DMZ team was dealing with sixty snipers hiding all over the mountain, and Kang Chan and the counter-terrorism team had to go around the rugged mountain to get to their destination.

He had been intentionally hard on their training. If there was something he didn’t like, he forced them to do it again. He believed it was that kind of training that would save his men’s lives during desperate moments.

Chk.

“Position secured.”

Chk.

“Everyone stop. I want four men on the perimeter up ahead. The rest can have dinner two meters apart,” Jeong Won-Min ordered.

As commanded, the men all stopped.

They didn’t know where the enemy was. If they huddled together while eating, they could be wiped out by one enemy machine gun. Hence, they would wait to sit down two meters away from the next soldier who sat down.

Click.

Once the soldier in front of him had sat down, Jeong Won-Min hid on the hill facing the road as best as he could and then got down as well.

Rustle. Rustle.

Then, he pulled out a C-ration from his pack.

The moon was too damn bright.

Rustle. Rustle.

Listening to the sound of the wind and the crinkling of the C-rations being unwrapped, Jeong Won-Min forced himself to eat the rice balls.

People might ask why he chose to eat so pathetically and was so obsessed with the 606 despite all the hardships.

Jeong Won-Min picked up a nutritious misugaru [1]drink and lifted it to his mouth.

Oh bright moon, let your moonlight shine on me.

Let those bastards see the Taegeukgi on my left arm.

Jeong Won-Min opened his plastic pack and sucked in some water.

Those people didn’t know the sound of their motherland calling for them.

Hardships? Would those people have the slightest idea of the last wishes of the men who died in the International Building?

What about the wishes of their pilots who died somewhere in the sky? They couldn’t even leave a body behind.

Jeong Won-Min folded and folded the plastic of his C-ration and shoved it into the end of his gear.

Turning around, he saw the rest of his men had finished eating as well and were sitting in similar positions to him.

Sergeant Choi Chul-Han, who had been cursed at but still clung to his job, grinned at Jeong Won-Min.

Don’t you hate or resent me?

No, sir!

Jeong Won-Min felt like he could hear Choi Chul-Han’s answer from his gaze.

Noticing that Choi Chul-Han had rice and misugaru dripping from his chin, Jeong Won-Min frowned to prevent a smile from forming.

You saving that for later?

What do you mean, sir?

Jeong Won-Min almost burst out laughing.

At that moment, their moment of peace spiraled into chaos.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Choi Chul-Han’s head jerked forward.

Click! Click! Clank! Clank!

The soldiers quickly got into position and aimed all around them.

Rustle. Rustle

.

Jeong Won-Min practically crawled across the ground to get to Choi Chul-Han.

“Hey! Choi Chul-Han!”

Pew! Pew! Tat! Tat!

“They’re across the river, on top of the mountain!”

“Snipers! Find those bastards and return fire!”

Jeong Won-Min pulled Choi Chul-Han. Blood dripped from his nose, ears, and eyes, staining the rice at the corners of his mouth and the misugaru on his chin.

He’d been hit in the neck, which was why his head was halfway off.

You idiot! You should have stayed still!

I should’ve smiled at him earlier!

They didn’t have any time to waste, however. Jeong Won-Min turned around and raised his barrel toward the direction of the enemies’ position.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Tat! Tat! Tat!

The dirt in front of him splattered.

“Casualty report!”

“Koo Seung-Jo and Sung Ho have been hit.”

Pew! Pew! Thud! Ding!

Pew! Pew! Pew!

This time, the bullets flew from a different direction.

The snipers were all gathered here!

“The radio!” Jeong Won-Min shouted to his side.

***

Dust rose again in the distance.

The darkness had nearly consumed everything around them.

Chk.

“Snipers! Watch for the oncoming truck!” Cha Dong-Gyun radioed and held back a curse.

The moon was too bright for the situation. Trucks were coming at them with their headlights off.

Chk.

“Fifteen trucks! Based on the enemy’s reaction, they seem to be reinforcements!”

Those motherfuckers! That’s why they were waiting!

While Cha Dong-Gyun was assessing the situation, the approaching trucks joined the Quds’ trucks.

Enemy soldiers jumped out of only half of the new trucks.

Cha Dong-Gyun couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

If there were enemies in the unloaded trucks, that meant they had at least three hundred new enemies to deal with.

Cha Dong-Gyun turned around and looked to his sides.

Chk.

“Remember when we fought in Afghanistan! They could try to push toward us or attack us after surrounding us! We wait until they get as close as possible! Snipers, keep your eyes on the missiles and the machine guns!”

He then glared forward.

Just then, Yoon Sang-Ki asked a ridiculous question.

“How come they always come in hordes for us?”

He was shouting without using the radio, so his question echoed throughout the mountain.

It didn’t matter, though. The enemies knew that they were hiding here anyway.

“You bitches! Our policy is one hundred per man!” Kwak Cheol-Ho shouted. “Make yourself presentable and greet our guests!”

It was so outrageous that Cha Dong-Gyun wondered if they had gone mad. However, listening to what they said made his heart pound eagerly.

Hence, Cha Dong-Gyun also shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Let’s finish them up! We’re going to return together!”

The moment his shout hit the mountain, the new trucks started up once more.

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!

“Snipers! Get them!”

“Yes, sir!”

That’s right, abandon the radios! This is more like it!

Click. Clack! Click! Click!

In the darkness, under the moonlight, Cha Dong-Gyun and his men all aimed at their enemies.

“Allahu Akbar!” The enemies shouted far louder than the Jeungpyeong special forces team’s shouts.

The large number of enemies made the widespread, powerful shouts scarier.

Vroom. Vroom. Vroooom.

The trucks began to move toward the mountain. At the same time, the new enemies ran after them under their cover.

Chk.

“I don’t see the Quds! Keep watch of our flanks! I want those guarding the snipers to check for enemies coming from the back!”

The enemies were now within one hundred meters.

‘C’mon!’

Cha Dong-Gyun put his index finger on the trigger.

This situation was similar to the one that they had been in Africa. The enemies were using the night to creep up like cockroaches.

Cha Dong-Gyun steadily pulled his index finger.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!

The bullets from his and his men’s rifles flew toward the trucks and the enemies hiding behind them.

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

Right after, their enemies returned fire.

The battle had started. All hell was about to break loose again.

***

Kang Chul-Gyu stopped in his tracks and scanned his surroundings.

His heart was warning him and his instincts were screaming not to go any further—no, to get out of here.

His heart had never pounded like this before.

He was on his way down the side of the mountain, which was narrow enough to be in between two other mountains.

His heart began to beat a little louder.

Kang Chul-Gyu quickly pressed a button on his radio.

Chk.

“Stop!”

He had already hidden himself.

Kang Chul-Gyu glared at the mountain up ahead. Not only was it close, but it also overlooked their position.

‘Is that where they are?’

With a warning like this, it was best to go alone.

Chk.

“Stay where you are until I tell you otherwise. If they approach, deal with them our way.”

Kang Chul-Gyu lowered his stance and began to move. Hoping that all the snipers were hidden in the mountain above, he sharpened his nerves and stepped forward.

Peeeeeeew! Peeeeeeew! Peeeew!

Just then, with a whistling sound, white smoke flew down from the top of the mountain.

Dash!

Kang Chul-Gyu rapidly turned around and ran away from the approaching smoke.

Boooom!

Two more explosions erupted, one near him and the other at the bottom of the mountain. The impact sent him into the air and violently crashing down.

Thud!

Peeeeeeew! Peeew! Peeeeeew!

As another RPG shot toward them, Kang Chul-Gyu gritted his teeth and forced himself to move.

Booooom! Boom! Boooom!

He was pushed high into the air.

Thud!

Right after, he fell back to the ground.

Rustle.

“

Argh

!”

He leaned his arm on the ground to push himself up.

Peeeeeew! Peeeew! Peeeeeeeew!

Missile after missile flew toward Kang Chul-Gyu and where the rest of the DMZ team could be.

Booooooom!

Kang Chul-Gyu once again crashed onto the ground.

1.

Misugaru a mixture of powdered grains that are usually mixed into a hot or cold beverage, usually water or milk. It’s a popular breakfast drink. ☜