Sharlan summoned Smithen and sat down across from him early in the morning.

“

Whew

! I got a briefing from the unit commander last night, not a written report.”

Sharlan glanced at the paper that he had scribbled on and looked up with a troubled expression.

“According to Chan’s report, the 11th unit killed more enemies than two Foreign Legion regiments and two special forces units combined. And that’s despite the fact that they kept one of the men out of combat.”

Sharlan paused, his gaze sliding to Smithen’s shoulder.

“The act of stabbing you in the shoulder is punishable, but it’s hard to punish him. The DGSE has high hopes for him, and as you saw last night, all of the soldiers admire him greatly. We can’t ignore that.”

Rustle.

Sharlan pushed the paper aside.

“If word gets out that you acted cowardly, it’ll get tough for you here, especially with Haller and Forman killed in action. Do you know what the first thing Kang Chan did after he lit his cigarette?”

“I don’t sir.”

“

Ahem

. Even though he was still covered in blood, he went to Haller and stayed by his side for half an hour. Thirty other men stood silently with him. If he tells anyone about your cowardice…” Sharlan trailed off and slid his right hand across his throat.

“You’ll be strangled in your sleep. You’ve thrown the pride of the 13th Regiment of the Légion Étrangère to the ground.”

“That’s not quite the full story, sir.”

Sharlan smirked. “Smithen.”

“Oui.”

“Was there anything special about Kang Chan that you noticed during this operation?”

“Nothing, as far as I know.”

“Good.” Leaning back against his chair’s backrest, Sharlan continued, “The unit commander has requested you be transferred to another unit. Given his personality, I doubt he’ll go around telling others about your issue, but I don’t know if the rest of the soldiers will stay quiet.”

“Please give me another chance.”

Smithen clung to Sharlan with a desperate look in his eyes.

“There is one way,” Sharlan responded as if he had been waiting for Smithen to say those words. “I can cover your issue in exchange for sending the child that Kang Chan had brought to France. That’s too much work for me to do, though.”

“Please help me, sir. I’ll do whatever you ask in the future, just as I have been doing.”

Smithen looked into Sharlan’s piercing eyes, his expression and tone desperate.

“Can I trust you?”

“You know you can easily get rid of a regular soldier like me. Even so, I’ll stay loyal to the end.”

Sharlan smirked as if imitating Kang Chan.

***

Mubaki had been with Kang Chan for about three days. He was still young, but even he could tell how much the soldiers respected Kang Chan.

He had never seen an Asian person before. Even at this base, he was the only Asian man.

The respect that all the soldiers had for Kang Chan made Munbaki’s heart beat faster.

Since then, he had started calling Kang Chan “

Capitaine

.”

“Munbaki! Come here!”

The soldiers all took Munbaki around. They gave him food and even played ball with him, which he had never seen before.

It was fun, surprising, and a bit unnerving for the young child. Soon, the cause for his anxiety arrived.

Flushed from having kicked a ball around with the soldiers, Munbaki came back to Kang Chan.

“Munbaki,” Kang Chan addressed.

“Oui,

Capitaine

,” Munbaki replied, sitting down across from him.

“You’ll be departing for France tomorrow.”

“

Capitaine

?”

“We can’t stay here together. The soldiers here will be going our separate ways in two days too.”

“I’ll run errands for you. I’ll do anything you ask.”

Kang Chan smirked and extended his hand. His hand smelled faintly of cigarettes as he stroked Munbaki’s hair.

“They’ll find you a place to stay and a school. When you finish school, you can apply for the Foreign Legion. I won’t say anything then.”

“After finishing school?”

Kang Chan nodded in response.

Even Munbaki knew that even if he pleaded, he couldn’t stay here.

“

Capitaine

,” he quietly called. “You’ll still be here when I come, won’t you?”

Kang Chan chuckled and nodded.

“Promise me,” Munbaki urged.

“I promise.”

Munbaki lifted his right hand and spat in his palm. He then held it out to Kang Chan.

“If I take this, will the promise be official?”

“It’s a promise that you can never break.”

“If you don’t feel like coming back anymore, don’t do it,” Kang Chan said. He then spat in his palm and shook Munbaki’s hand.

The next day, Munbaki left with tears streaming down his cheek. The day after, Kang Chan traveled to Kilima, Democratic Republic of Congo. Smithen accompanied him. �

***

Three months passed. Since then, more soldiers had been sent to Kang Chan’s unit, and they had gone to four more operations.

Afterward, Kang Chan formally requested a leave of absence. It was something he had never done before, but the higher-ups granted his request without question. He deserved to be rewarded for his capabilities and tremendous performance in their last four operations.

Unexpectedly, Kang Chan spent his vacation in Kilima. His break meant the 11th unit got a break too.

The unit needed three more soldiers. Despite the difficult nature of his unit’s missions and the fact that every operation resulted in deaths or injuries, volunteers were outpouring.

For these soldiers, who had chosen to be in the special forces, the 11th unit was a badge of honor, pride, and legend.

“Pick from here.”

Sharlan thrust a file in front of Kang Chan.

“I heard one of them told you about wanting to join. Apparently, he had a lot of issues at the special forces team's training. I was told to tell you to use your discretion to decide, but they want your decision asap.”

Kang Chan took the file from Sharlan.

“Why don’t you go out and meet some girls? Let loose?”

“I just wanted to take a short break. I needed some days when I don’t have to be on standby for missions.”

Sharlan remained expressionless. “Alright, then. Check the file out and select three people by evening.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kang Chan left Sharlan’s barracks and returned to his own.

Thud!

Throwing the documents on the table, Kang Chan sat in front of it and took out a cigarette.

Selecting recruits had always been uncomfortable for him. At some point, applicants started to flood in, and Kang Chan was given the authority to choose from them. It was a burden.

Click! Hiss!

“

Hoo

.”

Kang Chan began to open the file with a cigarette in his mouth. Just then, a soldier approached with a mug of coffee.

“Recruitment?”

He sat down across from Kang Chan and held out the mug. The sweet smell of coffee wasn’t too bad.

Kang Chan took the mug and sipped the coffee, then leaned his upper body against the backrest.

“Why didn’t you go out?”

“I didn’t have anywhere to go.”

“You mean you don’t have any money to spend?”

“I had enough to lend Smithen.”

Kang Chan grinned, and the soldier grinned similarly.

Kang Chan exhaled once more. He then glanced at the file.

He couldn’t believe there were so many madmen wanting to join a unit that was only ever given tough missions.

“Lots of them want to go on operations under your command.” Éiric looked up from the documents and puffed up his chest exaggeratedly. “I, for one, am also honored to be working with you. Can you see how proud I am?”

One minute he’s laughing and talking, the next he’s a bloody corpse.

“I like it. When I come back from a hard mission with you, when soldiers from other units show their respect for you, and when the Foreign Legion soldiers look at you with admiration. Every time I witness those, I think of how glad I am to have come here and serve under you.”

“Crazy bastard.”

Éiric grinned. “Lots of guys imitate the way you change magazines and the way you smirk, you know. I’m off now.”

Éiric stood up.

The Irishman had a solid physique and a good personality.

Kang Chan took another sip of coffee and flipped open the cover of the file. He had to select three men, including a sniper.

As soon as he looked at the first page, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

It was Dayeru.

The beady eyes on his huge head were glaring at Kang Chan as if demanding to quickly choose him.

How is he already eligible to come here?

Even going straight from regular training to special forces training required the influence of the DGSE.

Kang Chan looked at Daye’s training and file notes.

#Finished training early. Recommended by God of Blackfield.

Just based on the official file, Dayeru seemed like an excellent soldier. Kang Chan peered at the cursive writing at the bottom.

#Speaks no French at all. Unwilling to learn. Violently oppressed his peers during training. Will have difficulty fitting in wherever he is placed.

In other words, it was warning whoever was reading the file to never pick him. Dayeru seemed to have pissed off the instructor who wrote it.

#Discharged from training early under the condition that he apply to the 11th unit, 13th Regiment. If denied, he will be discharged as a misfit for the Foreign Legion.

The words “misfit” and “discharged” were in bold.

Kang Chan looked at the applicants in the back. Aside from Dayeru, they all had at least two years of experience in special forces teams. Because special forces training usually didn’t end around this time of the year, the only fresh soldiers were those who had applied with the condition of being discharged.

Kang Chan selected three men and returned to Sharlan’s barracks with the file in hand.

Upon seeing Dayeru’s file, Sharlan gazed up at Kang Chan. However, he only said, “Alright, I’ll let them know.”

***

Kang Chan spent his break running around the base and working out. Soon, his men returned as well. Not too long after their arrival, the three soldiers whom Kang Chan had selected walked into the Kilima base.

Click, click.

Three men walked toward Kang Chan’s barracks. Two were carrying MP5SDs, and one had a CheyTac.

Seeing Kang Chan, Dayeru’s eyebrows twitched.

“Why didn’t you learn French?” Kang Chan asked.

Dayeru responded with his signature laugh. “

Phuhuhu

!”

“Mazani!” Kang Chan called. A soldier quickly came over. “This man will stay with you in your barracks. He can’t speak any French, so be patient with him. Take him.”

“Yes, sir.”

Mazani, an Algerian soldier, gestured Dayeru toward his barracks.

“Captain,” Dayeru suddenly called in French.

That was it. After that, he rapidly said something in Algerian.

“He heard that’s what they call you here. He also thanks you for letting him come here,” Mazani interpreted.

Pft.

“Tell him to go change and come back so we can have a smoke.”

“Yes, sir.”

Mazani relayed Kang Chan’s words to Dayeru, and Dayeru glanced at Kang Chan once before leaving.

“You two are from special forces teams, so I don’t have to give you any orders in particular, do I? There’s a barrack back there that’s empty. You two can stay there for now.”

“It’s an honor to be staying with you, Captain,” Monachel, the new sniper, responded and turned back.

Kang Chan had always found receiving recruits uncomfortable. Familiarizing himself with new faces and the ruckus that followed was bothersome as well.

Crash! Crash!

Kang Chan frowned and got up from the table.

The other two had experience, so Dayeru was the only one who would make such a fuss.

Click, click.

As Kang Chan walked over, he heard a series of crashes and punches.

Three soldiers standing in front of the barracks quickly moved aside.

Flap!

Kang Chan immediately lifted the veil covering the barracks’ entrance and entered.

Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!

Dayeru was sitting on top of Smithen, who was as big as him, and beating him one-sidedly.

“Enough!” Kang Chan growled.

Dayeru’s head snapped up.

Covered in blood, Smithen groaned. Sitting on top of him, Dayeru’s eyes blazed with fury.

Kang Chan looked him straight in the eye.

It was the typical look of a man who had lived in a world where fighting was the only way to survive.

If Dayeru disobeyed, Kang Chan could simply beat him again. If that didn’t fix him, Kang Chan would break his arm and send him away. Those who didn’t listen to orders could endanger the lives of others.

“You son of a bitch,” Kang Chan spat out in Korean.

At that moment, Dayeru got off of Smithen.

Kang Chan looked at Mazani, wanting an explanation.

“Smithen refused to make coffee, sir,” Mazani said.

Smithen, now holding his nose, barely managed to get up.

Ha. That stupid idiot.

Kang Chan wordlessly left the barracks.