Chapter 468: Don’t Fall Behind Me (1)

After dinner, Smithen walked over with a limp. However, as soon as he saw Kang Chan’s sharp gaze, he straightened up and walked properly, bewildering the watching soldiers.

“Daye is injured too. Is this really okay?” Éiric asked.

“They probably considered that when assigning the mission, don’t you think?” Kang Chan replied as Mazani muttered something in Arabic.

“Bricks! Make sure you stay behind me,” Kang Chan ordered.

“Oui,” Bricks answered.

Being an American, he often chatted with Dayeru in broken English.

“Bricks. Coffee, okay?”

Thanks to Dayeru, ‘English’ had become a real pain in Africa.

“Okay? It’s not okay! Didn’t I tell you not to make him fetch coffee?” Kang Chan scolded Dayeru, but Bricks just got up with a smile.

Somehow, ever since Dayeru, Bricks, and Gérard joined, Éiric and Mazani also started hanging around more. Even Montechelle showed up frequently, making Kang Chan’s table more crowded than usual.

Bricks returned with a large tray carrying enough coffee for everyone, and they sat around smoking and laughing. This was the kind of scene that Kang Chan had always tried to avoid. After all, it was always painful to get close to someone only to see them return as a bloodied corpse.

Dayeru scalded himself while gulping down his coffee, causing him to twist in discomfort.

“

Agh

! Hot!”

Kang Chan burst into another round of laughter.

“Damn blockhead!” Gérard cursed in French, which only made everyone laugh harder.

Even Dayeru’s furious glare brought on some tearful chuckles.

Kang Chan was sure that this was all because of Bricks. He was too gentle and had eyes that didn’t seem to belong in a place like this. No matter what anyone asked of him, he’d listen with a smile, slowly melting the hearts of the soldiers. Daye and Gérard, who were particularly lonely, further drew the others into this camaraderie.

Kang Chan lit a cigarette and looked up at the darkening sky over Kilima in Africa.

If one of them were to die first, it would be incredibly hard for him. He could still vividly remember the eyes of Enzo, Gillot, Reznov, Haller, and Forman.

Click! Fwoosh!

“

Hoo

.”

As Kang Chan exhaled smoke, Gérard gazed at the last traces of the red sunset with his deep-set eyes.

***

They departed at nine the next morning, moving to the runway by truck and boarding the transport aircraft. For their unit, this was just another day at the office.

After a six-hour flight, they landed in Congo around four in the afternoon. The target location, Saba, was a four-hour truck ride from the sizable city of Owando.

Twenty minutes after leaving Owando, they found themselves on a bumpy dirt road surrounded by trees on both sides.

Thudud! Thududud!

Even though they were still in Africa, the sunset always felt different depending on the country and region. Guys like Smithen would brag about having a woman in every region they passed through, but for Kang Chan, each journey brought memories of the people in his heart—people he wished he could still mingle, laugh, smoke, and curse at the bitterness of coffee with.

“We’ll take a short break here,” Kang Chan ordered.

“Oui,” the driver quickly responded and pulled the vehicle over to a suitable spot.

Click.

Kang Chan got out of the truck and moved to the rear.

“Éiric! Post two guards up there! We’ll eat and then take a twenty-minute break!”

“Oui!” Éiric responded.

While Montechelle surveyed the surroundings, Éiric sent two soldiers up, and the rest began eating their C-rations between the truck and the road.

Clang. Clang.

Mazani and Dayeru brought C-rations over to Kang Chan. Five minutes were more than enough for this kind of meal. After finishing his meal, he went up to relieve the soldiers on guard duty with Éiric.

Awoo! Awoo! Awoooooo!

They didn’t notice anything unusual; it was just the familiar sounds of the forest and the occasional wolf howling in the darkness.

Clang. Clang.

About five minutes later, Dayeru, sweating from his back injury, climbed up to where Kang Chan was stationed.

“What is it?” Kang Chan asked.

“

Phuhuhu

.”

Is this really a time to laugh?

Dayeru was the kind of man who would spend all day with someone and only communicate by speaking a few English words, rolling his eyes, or laughing.

Being around him somehow made Kang Chan feel as if he was losing his ability to express himself. However, since Dayeru seemed to be trying to learn how Kang Chan moved, Kang Chan didn’t say anything on the matter.

Kang Chan, with his rifle slung over his right shoulder, and Dayeru, who had his left hand on his rifle’s handguard, spent their time guarding the area around the soldiers. Stars soon appeared in the sky like flowers blooming out of season.

“Daye.” Kang Chan pointed downward, signaling Dayeru that it was time to move.

When on a mission, there was no need for unnecessary words.

Vroom! Thud! Thud!

With headlights on, the truck rumbled along the mountain road. After traveling for two hours, the driver pulled over to the side—they had reached the designated point.

While Éiric and Montechelle kept watch, Kang Chan and the soldiers disembarked. The truck immediately drove off right after.

Kang Chan surveyed the area and positioned the soldiers in four locations. It wasn’t a high-pressure rescue mission. Hence, with the long journey over, he planned to rest for at least two hours before proceeding.

Except during their forty-minute guard duty, it didn’t matter whether the soldiers slept, sat around, or stared at the stars hanging precariously in the sky.

Kang Chan leaned against the forest that covered the mountain.

Meanwhile, Bricks had a weary look in his eyes. To think that someone who couldn’t handle this level of tension had made it into a special forces team—surely they didn’t rank candidates at the training camp based on written tests.

Seeing Bricks awkwardly and forcibly smile, Kang Chan chuckled and turned away. The weather, the travel time, even the calmness in his heart—everything was going smoothly.

After resting for two hours, Kang Chan resumed the march with his soldiers.

Darkness had a way of making him doubt everything he saw and heard. A sudden gust of wind or the rustling leaves in the moonlight could tempt a soldier to pull the trigger. Without experience and trust in their comrades, they could easily make a mistake or, conversely, miss an enemy ambush.

Kang Chan walked silently, his index finger resting on the trigger guard of his rifle. Even without any warning signs from his heart, letting his guard down for even a moment could turn him into a mouse distracted by a worm right in front of a snake’s jaws.

Rustle!

Click! Click! Clack!

Suddenly, an animal darted out of the forest, startled by the gun barrels aimed in its direction. Kang Chan, crouching low, slowly turned his rifle toward the direction from which the animal had emerged. If the animal had been startled by something, they couldn’t afford to move until they were certain it wasn’t the enemy.

Kang Chan pointed in a direction with his index and middle fingers, and Éiric cautiously moved toward it. This was what their training was for. When Éiric went on reconnaissance, two soldiers had to follow him to cover his flanks without needing any instructions.

After about five minutes, Éiric returned to his position. Kang Chan nodded and then turned around.

***

They walked for a solid three hours before finally reaching their target location. All they had to do now was wait for sunrise and secure the runway. Following Kang Chan’s orders, the soldiers settled down to rest. Since they had about two hours of free time, now would be the best time to sleep.

Finally, the sun rose. The runway was about two hundred meters away from the edge of the mountain where Kang Chan was positioned. After observing the runway for a while, Kang Chan tilted his head in puzzlement. A concrete runway being built in a place like this was odd enough, but the skills and number of the rebels occupying it were even harder to comprehend.

There were only about twenty of them, and their movements showed they were not properly trained. It was hard to believe that a special forces team, especially Kang Chan’s unit, had been mobilized against an enemy that was so poorly organized.

Is there another force hiding somewhere?

Kang Chan instructed Éiric and Mazani to scout the area around the runway. Runways were typically built in open areas, so aside from the edge of the mountain where Kang Chan and the soldiers were positioned, there wasn’t much room left to conceal any additional forces.

After about fifteen minutes, Éiric and Mazani finally returned. The looks on their faces confirmed that they didn’t find anything unusual.

Could they have dug into the ground around the runway like moles?

Digging through concrete to hide was no easy task, and the ground around the runway, bathed in the morning sunlight, showed no signs of disturbance.

Damn it!

The enemy was noisily chatting as they ate their breakfast, almost as if they were praying for death. There was no reason to delay any longer.

“

Tsk

,

tsk

!”

Kang Chan called Montechelle over and pointed at the man standing on the far left. He was the only one properly holding his rifle while keeping watch.

Next, he pointed Éiric to the left and Mazani to the right. Kang Chan would take the center.

Montechelle spent a moment setting up his CheyTac rifle on the ground.

Click.

Montechelle chambered a round and nodded. Kang Chan turned to look at Bricks.

‘Don’t fall behind.’

‘Oui.’

Kang Chan raised his rifle, causing tension to quickly fill the air. By this time, the sun had risen more than halfway, looming ominously large on the right side of the runway. At the beginning of this new day, they targeted the rebels who were noisily eating their breakfast. It was like a snake eyeing the industrious mice right in front of it. Whatever brought them here to this runway, there was no turning back now that they had encountered each other.

Huff. Huff.

The sound of their breathing naturally reached his ears, signaling that the operation had begun.

When Kang Chan nodded, Montechelle pressed his right eye to the scope. This was a makeshift runway in Saba, Congo. The rising sun blazed, the wind kicked up dust, and the forest played a deathly tune with its branches and leaves.

Bang—Whoom!

Montechelle's CheyTac changed everything in an instant. The head of a rebel holding a rifle exploded.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

Kang Chan was the first to charge forward. Éiric and Mazani sprinted out from either side soon after.

Bang! Bang! Ratatatat! Bang!

The startled enemies tried to raise their rifles but ended up falling to the ground before they could.

If a Foreign Legion company had been deployed instead, they could have captured the rebels alive. However, the runway was too far away. Trying to arrest them with this number of soldiers would have resulted in casualties. Besides, they had orders to secure the runway before the rest of the Foreign Legion arrived.

Bang! Thud! Crash! Clang!

One of the enemies near the frying pan fell into the campfire, scattering the breakfast they had prepared all over the ground.

Ratatat! Bang—Whoom!

Montechelle ended the situation by blowing off the head of another enemy who had started returning fire.

Click! Click!

With his rifle still aimed, Kang Chan reached the campfire and assigned four soldiers to secure their perimeter.

“Clear it out!” he ordered.

“Oui!” Mazani responded.

Mazani and the soldiers began dragging the dead enemies to one side.

“Bricks!” called Kang Chan.

Lowering his rifle to his right, Kang Chan called the rookie and walked from the campfire toward the runway.

Whooosh!

The wind blew fiercely, scattering dust, smoke, and the smell of burning wood in all directions.

Clang. Clang.

Kang Chan, who had almost crossed the runway, looked sharply at Bricks. “Explain why you didn’t shoot.”

Bricks looked shocked and flustered.

“Did you ever think that your hesitation could put the comrades who trust you in danger? In that moment of hesitation, a bullet could have been driven into someone’s head!” Kang Chan yelled.

Despite swallowing nervously, Bricks couldn’t give a proper answer.

“Shooting a target during training is completely different from putting a bullet into a person. You’ve chosen the wrong path. After this mission, you should go your own way.”

Whooosh!

The harsh wind lashed at Bricks without mercy.

“Please give me another chance, sir,” Bricks said.

Kang Chan silently looked at him.

“Next time, I’ll make sure to show you what I’m capable of.”

Éiric and Mazani, who had just finished clearing the enemies' bodies, were watching them. They could probably guess why Kang Chan had brought Bricks along.

“Why are you so determined to stay here?” Kang Chan asked, lighting a cigarette.

Click! Fwoosh!

Kang Chan exhaled. “

Hooo

.”

In that brief moment, the dust that had settled in his mouth made it feel gritty.

“If you’ve done volunteer work, go join the peacekeeping forces. That’s your path.”

“I wanted to save them,” Bricks confessed. “I wanted to save the tribespeople from dying so horribly. That’s why the moment I heard about you, Captain, I decided to come here. I made up my mind when I saw the severed head of a child I had cared for.”

Kang Chan exhaled smoke like a sigh again. “

Hooo

!”

Damn it!

Here was a special forces soldier, standing before him, saying things like that while his eyes reddened. It made no sense to him at all.