Although Kang Chan’s vacation was over, there were no immediate operational orders. In times like these, the 11th unit usually spent their time working out. It was probably one of the best ways to get to know new recruits, too

Twelve split into six-person teams for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon to play a special forces sport called “intense ball.”

First, they set up a plastic bottle in the middle of a circle. They could throw the ball from outside of the circle or jump into it with the ball. As long as your foot didn’t touch the circle, you were good. It was similar to handball.

Naturally, points were scored by knocking down the other team’s bottle with the ball. Although the game was called intense ball, touching the opposing team member holding the ball meant they were out, so there was little chance of injury.

The action was as fast-paced as basketball, with the attacking teams always changing, and the field was half the size of a soccer field. Hence, it involved a significant amount of running around.

“

Haah

!

Haah

!”

Not surprisingly, ten minutes into the game, they were all already gasping for air.

“Run!” Kang Chan yelled, pushing the soldiers.

The men took off their shirts under the African sun and resumed running relentlessly.

Dayeru was outstanding. The big guy moved so smoothly, and the first day they played the game, Smithen realized he was no match for him.

After the match, they were all sweating buckets.

They huddled in the shade of the barracks, drank water to cool off, showered, and took naps. They were all enjoying the perfect break.

Kang Chan, fresh out of the shower, was cleaning his pistol when someone spoke to him.

“Captain, check this out.”

Éiric walked over to the table and held out a photograph to Kang Chan. It was a picture of an exhausted-looking woman holding a newborn child.

“My little sister just gave birth to a baby girl.”

Kang Chan almost burst out laughing.

He already found it a wonder that Éiric’s sister resembled Éiric’s rugged face so much, but even the daughter she had given birth to was the spitting image of her uncle.

“Doesn’t she look like me?” Éiric asked with a grin.

“Congratulations,” Kang Chan replied, though he wasn’t sure if it was something to congratulate.

Éiric looked pleased that his niece looked like him. An uncle with no concern for his niece’s future—Kang Chan thought he was a selfish bastard.

Kang Chan lowered his gaze to the table and reassembled the disassembled pistol.

He was afraid of soldiers that suddenly got through his walls like this. That was why he deliberately kept his eyes on the pistol.

As the day came to an end, the fiery red sunset began to appear in the distance.

Click, click.

Just then, Kang Chan heard heavy footsteps.

“Captain.”

It was Dayeru.

The big-headed guy set a mug in front of Kang Chan.

Dayeru had beaten Smithen like a dog when he had asked him for coffee. However, he somehow knew Kang Chan’s tastes and had prepared some sweet coffee.

Éiric looked at Dayeru and the mug in front of Kang Chan with interest.

“Take a seat.”

Dayeru sat down at the table to Kang Chan’s left. His coffee was also mixed with cream and sugar.

Would it have hurt this punk to make some coffee for Éiric too while he was at it?

Kang Chan checked the grip and trigger of his assembled pistol and then chambered a round.

Click! Clack!

Weapons that were well taken care of like this became the force that protected the unit.

Kang Chan strapped the pistol to his waist.

This time, Mazani came over with two mugs, one of which was for Éiric.

Two sweet coffees, and two black coffees. The four sipped from their mugs as they sat around.

Coffee that had the perfect balance of cream and sugar was a life-comforting concoction. Unfortunately, the one that Dayeru had brought wasn’t that comforting yet.

“

Tabac

?” Dayeru asked in a thick, awkward accent.

Kang Chan sighed, finding Dayeru’s French ridiculous. He couldn’t believe Dayeru managed to join the Foreign Legion’s special forces with only this level of French. Still, he liked that Dayeru was suggesting having cigarettes.

When Kang Chan smirked, Dayeru smirked back and handed him a cigarette. He also took out a lighter.

Clunk. Chk.

“

Hoo

.”

As they smoked, the sunset dyed the entire world red, making it look as if it had been plunged into a sea of blood.

“I don’t like your name, Dayeru. I’ll just call you Daye from now on,” Mazani said.

Dayeru wordlessly drank his coffee as he listened. He then grimaced, his shoulders shaking. The hot coffee seemed to have singed his tongue.

Kang Chan laughed in disbelief as he watched the big, large-headed man wriggle like a crocodile.

***

Sharlan was dissatisfied, and the man sitting across from him looked uncomfortable.

They were at an open-air cafe in the Kilima neighborhood.

The cold coffee and tea and crumpled cigarettes in the ashtray reflected the two men’s emotions.

“We won’t make any more mistakes,” the man spoke in British English.

“My position’s much more awkward now due to the soldiers’ respect for that Asian commander. I hope you use more proper mercenaries this time,” Sharlan rebuked in French. “I can’t believe a special forces sniper killed the wrong man. It’s hard to trust you after what happened in Agadez; the DGSE wouldn’t have been so sloppy.”

“He used a weapon that was dropped on the ground to avoid arousing the suspicions of the French DGSE, and he was just unlucky. We haven’t been involved in any of the four operations since, so I think you can rest assured that the DGSE won’t be suspicious of you.”

Click.

The man unhooked his leather briefcase and slid a plastic folder toward Sharlan.

“These are shares of Gong Te automobile and a proof of deposit from Paribas.”

Sharlan just lowered his gaze, not even bothering to extend his hand or anything.

“We have information that a red glow was seen in Chad. We’re going to be supporting the Islamist rebels there. The DGSE has probably gotten wind of it too and will send that Asian commander over.”

Sharlan frowned as he focused on what the man was saying.

“It will be easier for you to manage the 13th Regiment’s special forces unit if that man, whom the DGSE trusts, falls in battle. You can trust the mercenaries we’ll be sending this time.”

“Are you sending the SAS or something?” Sharlan sarcastically remarked.

“That’s right.”

Sharlan looked at the man in surprise.

“They will be selected from active duty.”

“I’ve got one more question. What is that red glow?”

“That’s not important.”

“If the 11th unit will be dispatched for it, it has to be a little important.”

“It’s energy, but it’s almost depleted.”

Sharlan’s eyes glinted. “So it’s not a jewel.”

“It’s a special energy that only we and France know how to harness. Even if you were to sneak it away, it would be treated as a mere jewel by anyone but us or the DGSE.”

“Is that a warning?”

“Well, sometimes, we become greedy for things beyond our comprehension. It’s mutually beneficial for us if you don’t forget that.”

“

Hmm

.”

Sharlan could finally see the big picture. To his surprise, the Eye of Ndulele and the Sultan’s artifact meant energy.

‘Scary bastards.’

The people in the intelligence world were frightening.

Sharlan had considered secretly bargaining off the Blackhead if he obtained it, but they were blatantly warning him against it.

“It’s time to go.”

The man across from him stood up, and a group of black men who had been around them shifted toward him. They were all British special agents.

After a quick nod, the man disappeared into the crowd.

‘SAS agents, huh…’

Sharlan stared at the yellow African sky.

It would be hard for even Kang Chan to get out of this trap.

That man was too valuable to eliminate. Unfortunately, he wasn’t as greedy as Smithen.

Being without greed was fine, but Kang Chan had strangely managed to twist Sharlan’s plans. He especially disliked how the special forces soldiers respected Kang Chan more than him.

‘That fucking Asian bastard.’

Sharlan silently picked up the plastic folder on the table.

***

Smithen entered Sharlan’s barracks.

“Sit down.”

Sharlan motioned to a seat across from him.

“How was your break?”

“It was nice.”

The bastard’s knack for taking a beating was how he had survived for so long. It was the reason he was now the longest-surviving man of the 11th unit, second only to Kang Chan.

“There’s going to be an operation in two days.”

“What?”

Sharlan sighed quietly. “It’s nothing special, but they’ve been saying some nonsense about seeing some glow in that area, so if you see anything like that or if your unit commander does anything strange, let me know.”

“Understood.”

Sharlan looked at Smithen with dissatisfaction.

“I might be giving you special treatment, but I won’t tolerate abandoning the pride of the special forces. If you do anything reprehensible to the soldiers again, I’ll be the first to send you elsewhere. Consider yourself warned.”

“Don’t worry, sir.”

For some reason, Smithen sounded quite confident.

***

Romain wiped his face with the back of his hand.

The intelligence bureaus of Britain, the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and Israel were all buzzing.

What the hell is going on?

Romain felt as if he’d been pushed to the side. He couldn’t stand it.

He only had Lanok to blame. Although he needed solid information, the French DGSE director was so personally protective of himself that it was hard to get any intel on him.

“

Hmm

.”

Romain sighed heavily and looked over the Foreign Legion’s recent work. Its soldiers were always called in to eliminate rebels who were slaughtering civilians or harming the French honor.

What is going on?

Lately, however, its special forces had been frequently deployed to areas with Blackheads.

Romain knew they were after the damn jewel. What he didn’t understand was why in the world the DGSE was fighting all over Africa in search of it.

He leaned back in his seat and contemplated.

Why would they sacrifice precious special forces soldiers for jewels that could be easily brought with the budget that the DGSE had?

Romain leaned over his desk again and scrutinized the new operation order.

‘Gorko?’

There was no doubt that it was the hiding place of the Islamic insurgency’s leader, but that wasn’t enough justification to deploy three special forces units and five companies. An army that large would be enough to intervene in a country’s civil war.

Sharlan, the commanding officer.

Romain tapped his index finger slowly on the desk. He had been keeping an eye on this soldier under the assumption that he could one day use him to get rid of Lanok, that bothersome man.

***

Although Dayeru looked dumb and had a big head, thick neck, and arms that were the size of Kang Chan’s thighs, anyone who would say that to his face would have their teeth, arms, or necks broken.

Dayeru was quick-witted, determined, and tenacious. He had endured the torment of instructors at two training centers and joined Kang Chan’s unit with great expectations. However, now that he was here, he couldn’t help but think that there wasn’t much to it.

He had heard all the rumors about Kang Chan and what the 11th unit was like. Contrary to what he had heard, though, all Kang Chan had done so far was smirk. He didn’t show any of the ferocity or cool laughter that he showed in the bar.

Kang Chan looked sharp and hard, and Dayeru could see that Kang Chan was athletic when they played sports, but shouldn’t the man pull him to the side for a conversation or something now that he had come all the way here?

He even made him sweet coffee, yet—like always—Kang Chan just smirked.

Did he read their commander wrong? He was so sure that Kang Chan had the eyes of a strong man.

Dayeru shook his head. He had acknowledged Kang Chan.

Even if Kang Chan wasn’t who Dayeru thought he was, the latter believed he should still be satisfied that he had a proper identity now.

Dayeru clicked his tongue and headed to the corner. He then hunched over and boiled water.

He could do this much for the first man he’d ever wanted to follow in his life.

Dayeru poured three spoons of coffee, three spoons of cream, and then five spoons of sugar into a mug.

What’s with his childish tastebuds anyway?

This wasn’t coffee. This was a sugary drink with coffee flavoring.

Dayeru couldn’t help but admit that he had gotten a bit used to it, though. After all, he had been drinking it with Kang Chan. It wasn’t all that bad to enjoy it with a cigarette.

The water was boiling away. Now, he just needed to pour the water into the mug.

Dayeru couldn’t believe he was making coffee in such a place.

‘I need to stop by Excelment.’

He felt bad for not being able to soothe the old ladies.

“

Argh

! Hot! Shit!”

Dayeru put his fingers in his mouth and glared at the kettle, his eyes glinting.

For some reason, he had never had a great relationship with things that were hot or required fire. Except for cigarettes.

“

Urgh

.”

Dayeru took the coffee that he had made with much difficulty to Kang Chan.

“Chan!” Sharlan suddenly shouted, and Kang Chan stood up.

Kang Chan smirked upon seeing the mug. He then began to walk over.

It was strange. Kang Chan hadn’t said anything, yet Dayeru understood that Kang Chan wanted him to wait for him.

Dayeru placed the mug at Kang Chan’s spot and made himself a mug of sweet coffee as well.

“

Ah

, shit!”

It was still hot.