God of Blackfield

Kang Chan kept watching the enemy lines while Kang Chul-Gyu and the rest of the DMZ team nonchalantly ate rice balls.

Just as they were about to finish their meals, their radios crackled.

Chk.

“This is Nam Il-Gyu. Heading up now.”

Rustle, rustle.

After about five minutes, two men emerged from halfway up the mountain.

“Good work,” Kang Chan greeted.

“It’s good to see you again, Assistant Director.”

The two men uncharacteristically smiled, their eyes curving like crescent moons.

“Go ahead and eat first. Give us your report after,” Kang Chul-Gyu ordered.

“Understood.”

The two men lunged for the rice balls as if it were the most important command in the world.

The soldiers of the 606 had barely poured water into the misugaru when the two men turned back around and wiped their mouths with the back of their hands. Their mouths were still full of rice balls.

“Please have some, sir,” one of the 606 offered.

“Hm? You boys are so kind!”

“Thanks. This looks delicious.”

The two men sounded muffled. Right now, they probably would’ve drank anything given to them—even if it was rice cakes or kimchi.

Kang Chan didn’t feel it when he was drinking the misugaru himself, but watching the two men drink it made him feel like he was choking.

It didn’t even take them a minute to finish the misugaru.

“There is what it looks like over there,” Nam Il-Gyu said, picking up a branch and drawing squares in the soil in place of the barracks and the buildings.

He then circled the buildings and the area between them. “There is an underground facility right here. They’ve positioned machine guns here, here, and here. They’re hidden right now, but they’re ready to blast us on sight.”

Those motherfuckers!

This was why they had been so calm despite knowing that Kang Chan and his men had infiltrated their territory. They were planning to eliminate all invaders the moment they entered!

Kang Chan turned to the enemy base once more.

Yang Dong-Sik drew a triangle around one part of his illustration. “This area was a bit suspicious.”

“I tried to enter, but it was heavily guarded with people who behave differently from the ones in the open. I’m guessing they’re special forces soldiers. From what I could see, though, they seem to have ballistic weapons.”

“You went all the way there?” Kang Chan asked in surprise.

“Yes. I couldn’t get inside, though. I’m sorry,” Yang Dong-Sik said with a genuinely apologetic expression.

It was absurd.

Kang Chan, Seok Kang-Ho, Choi Jong-Il, Jeong Won-Min, and Kang Myung-Gu were flabbergasted.

“They had a lot of men stationed at the barracks here. Considering they also have machine guns set up above this cave, I’m guessing this is where the main leadership is located. They only have a few guards around the rest of the perimeter. I don’t know if they think the machine guns they’re hiding will be enough, but they have almost no security around the outer section.”

Nam Il-Gyu’s final comment concluded his report on the enemy’s strategy.

Kang Chul-Gyu glanced at Kang Chan, seemingly asking how he planned to invade them.

“The enemies have probably had ample sleep and breakfast already, so just go sleep for an hour for now. Leave the security to the counter-terrorism team members who have already rested. We’ll discuss our strategy once everyone has rested.”

“Got it,” Kang Chul-Gyu replied. Everyone looked for comfortable places to sleep.

“You should get some shut-eye as well, Cap,” Seok Kang-Ho commented.

“I will.”

Kang Chan stayed up all night.

They weren’t in the middle of combat right now, so he had no reason to refuse sleep.

Kang Chan stretched out to lie down where he was. He then closed his eyes.

Strangely, whenever he came to places like these, he always vividly remembered Kim Mi-Young’s face.

Her distinctive laugh, her round eyes…

Kang Chan soon fell asleep.

***

“They’re a bit sloppy, aren’t they, sir?”

“I agree. I don’t think they’re Quds—what are you looking at?” Cha Dong-Gyun asked.

Kwak Cheol-Ho, who had been looking at the body armor, had looked at him with a mischievous expression.

“Then why did you fall after getting shot by them, sir?”

“You—! You saw the situation earlier!”

“I did. You could’ve used the guy you had stabbed with the bayonet to defend yourself, but you tossed him aside and took the hit instead.”

Cha Dong-Gyun looked at Kwak Cheol-Ho in disbelief, then burst out laughing.

The enemies had come up four times and had been pushed back down again. Enemy corpses had piled up in front of the mountain like a barrier, cutting the men some slack.

“To be honest, it was scary earlier. It made me realize how great the captain is.”

Kwak Cheol-Ho nodded. “Same here.”

“If it had just been us facing the Quds back then, even with all the special forces teams from every single country, we still wouldn’t have survived without the captain.”

Kwak Cheol-Ho nodded again. He then glanced down.

“We’ve killed half of the bastards. Let’s clean the rest so we can eat.”

“Yeah. I realized experience really is important too. I can’t believe we’re having these pockets of peace in a battle like this. We still haven’t lost a single man either.”

“Ha, we almost did, though.”

“Shut it!” Cha Dong-Gyun shouted, feigning anger.

The two began to chuckle.

Pew! Pew!

Just then, a sniper’s gunshot rang out. The two men saw two enemies, who had been approaching the machine gun, fall to the ground in quick succession.

“We have enough bullets, don’t we?”

“The ones we brought with us when we first got here are enough.”

“Let’s push, then.”

Kwak Cheol-Ho glanced down.

“Turn the men in the third line around and have them move to those two locations and outward there. We’ll push down from both sides. Once we get there, it’s just a matter of getting our hands on their machine guns to put an end to this.”

“Understood,” Kwak Cheol-Ho responded, his tone now different from when he was joking and relaxed. With their relationship, he could easily tell whether Cha Dong-Gyun was joking or giving orders.

“We’ll send two teams of five. Get Yoon Sang-Ki and two more to complete our team. It won’t be fun if the real Quds join us.”

“I’ll get them ready.”

When Cha Dong-Gyun nodded, Kwak Cheol-Ho quickly returned to his position.

***

Kang Chan jerked up, shaking his head.

When he fell asleep tense, he woke up exactly when he needed to.

He twisted his neck from side to side and picked himself up off the floor.

“Here you go.”

Seok Kang-Ho, who had been standing guard by his side, handed him a plastic pack of water.

Kang Chan took a sip and then splashed water on his face. It was a habit he had picked up in Africa.

Afterward, he returned the pack to Seok Kang-Ho and rubbed his hands together, shaking the water off.

Fuck!

The cuts on his face stung like hell. He had forgotten he had them.

“Your scowl is fucking terrifying. Your eyes—”

“What?”

“I’m just saying.”

The men who had been listening smiled.

Seok Kang-Ho had to be the most shameless person in the world.

Kang Chan recollected his bearings and looked at the drawing and the enemy territory on the ground.

The DMZ team was impressively experienced. Nam Il-Gyu had learned so much from their short scouting mission. They even conducted in the brightness of day, not in the dark of the night.

“Wake everyone up.”

“Yes, sir.”

One of the soldiers stood up.

At the touch of his hand, the men opened their eyes and sat up immediately. They rustled but said no words.

A moment later, Kang Chul-Gyu, Yang Dong-Sik, Nam Il-Gyu, Choi Jong-Il, Woo Hee-Seung, Lee Doo-Hee, Jeong Won-Min, and Kang Myung-Gu approached Kang Chan.

Seok Kang-Ho and Gérard were already next to him.

Kang Chan picked up a branch and pointed at the drawing in front of him. “Here’s the plan. We’ll start by dividing into teams and getting to this area.”

“606, groups of three. You’ll hit these three locations at the same time.”

Jeong Won-Min ingrained the locations in his mind, then nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“DMZ team, support the 606. If the enemies have machine guns here, then they likely have some in other places too. Find any that they might still be hiding. Check for claymores or other booby traps as well.”

“Got it,” Kang Chul-Gyu replied firmly.

“The counter-terrorism will enter Repello Cave with me once the operation begins. We’ll go in teams of two and take out any enemies inside to secure the machine guns set up there.”

“Yes, sir,” Kang Myung-Gu replied with a nod.

“Jeong Won-Min, once the operation starts, fire the RPGs at the machine guns underground. Can you operate them?”

“Of course, sir.”

“Fortunately, they don’t have a civilian wall. I was worried they’d use innocent bystanders as meatshields. Anyway, we’ll move out as soon as everything is ready.”

Kang Chan quickly told Gérard the plan in French.

“You’ll come with me into the cave.”

“Oui,” Gérard replied with a satisfied expression, rifle by his side.

“And don’t get in my way!”

“I’m not a chick any more!”

“Do I have to remind you of Mongolia?”

Kang Chan looked at his watch.

They were about to have their final battle. Considering the connection of the satellites wasn’t the best anyway, he might as well finish the battle first before calling the situation room.

Besides, now that he knew that Lanok was on the move again, he already had faith that Lanok would make some arrangements.

It took a few moments for the DMZ team and the 606 to confer and for the counter-terrorism team to finalize the numbers for each cave.

It was almost time to go.

They all checked their weapons and cautiously switched the safety off.

Although they had discussed the plan and divided the tasks in a relaxed atmosphere, there was no guarantee that everyone here would return alive.

A knife-like tension swept through the air.

“After this operation, no organization will ever dare point their weapons at South Korea again,” Kang Chan said as he looked at the men standing by his side. “The goals of this operation are to kill all the UIS in there and get back home safely.”

The men looked at him with different expressions.

Kang Chul-Gyu and the DMZ team members’ expressions appeared to find his speech impressive, while Seok Kang-Ho and Choi Jong-Il seemed to be saying that much was obvious. Meanwhile, the 606 and the counter-terrorism team looked as if they were shouting, “What an amazing captain!”

“Any questions?”

Everyone looked at each other with the determination to succeed and the desire to get out alive.

Kang Chan looked at his men, then turned. “Let’s go.”

Clank. Clank.

He lowered his stance, reducing the chances their enemies could see him from below.

The men naturally followed him. Choi Jong-Il, Woo Hee-Seung, and Lee Doo-Hee could easily tell his intentions with a glance, while Seok Kang-Ho and Gérard essentially moved as one with him.

Kang Chan led the men forward.

***

Tension rang through the ranks and over the bodies of the dead enemies.

The Jeungpyeong special forces team knew that their enemies could pounce at any moment.

As the sun showed off the swarming insects and the bugs crawling over the corpses in search of a place to burrow, the men from the third line moved along the ground for cover.

They had plenty of ammo and grenades left.

After all, they had only been defending. Meanwhile, the enemies had tried to push past them four times already. Moreover, they seemed to have been lulled into a false sense of security by their numerical superiority.

Cha Dong-Gyun and his men would end everything in a flash.

In combat, there was no reason to give a tired, demoralized enemy time to regroup.

Finally, the radio transmission they had been waiting for came in.

Chk.

“Ready.”

Cha Dong-Gyun pressed a button on his radio.

Chk.

“It’s time to put an end to this battle. General Choi Seong-Geon is watching us right now, and General Park is waiting for good news. We also have to show the captain what we’re capable of.”

He released the button, causing a crackle in the background. However, he wasn’t finished yet; there was more to be said.

Amid the sharp silence, as the men turned to Cha Dong-Gyun, the wind and the enemy’s shouting pierced their ears.

Chk.

Cha Dong-Gyun pressed the button again.

“Jeungpyeong special forces team, we will win this battle and keep South Korea safe from terrorism. I couldn’t have asked for better men to have beside me. On my command.”

The men turned back to the enemy.

“Go!” Cha Dong-Gyun shouted.

Peeew! Pew! Pew! Peeew!

Gunfire erupted from the enemy’s flanks.

Peeew! Pew! Peeew! Pew!

Sniper bullets hit the enemies who dashed out in surprise, causing their heads to explode.

Peew! Pew! Peeew! Pew! Peeew! Pew! Pew!

“Go go go!”

Cha Dong-Gyun, Kwak Cheol-Ho, Yoon Sang-Ki, and two other men ran downward.

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

The panicked enemy fired back, but Cha Dong-Gyun and his men didn’t stop. Instead, they took advantage of the enemy corpses, using them as cover as they rushed toward the machine guns with their rifles blazing.

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

Bullets flew from the gaps in the trucks where the enemies were hiding.

The snipers could only do so much. They had to stop rockets from being launched.

Du du du! Du du! Thud! Du du du du!

Kwak Cheol-Ho stumbled and fell forward. There was no time to look back now, however.

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

This time, the soldier who had been running at the end wobbled and fell hard.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

At that moment, Cha Dong-Gyun, Yoon Sang-Ki, and the other soldier with them reached the truck with the machine gun.

Pew! Peew! Pew! Peew!

The snipers quickly covered them.

Du du du! Ping ping ping! Du du! Bang! Du du du! Bang, bang, bang!

As enemy bullets hit the truck, causing sparks to fly, Cha Dong-Gyun climbed into the driver’s seat.

The truck seemed to loom above everything else.

If he climbed in from the back, he would have just died turning the machine gun.

Creaak. Click!

Cha Dong-Gyun turned the large muzzle and swung his arm around to pull the machine gun’s breechblock.

Then, he put his index finger on its trigger.

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

A booming noise rang in his ears, and a pungent odor assaulted his nose.

Pow pow pow pow pow pow! Pow pow pow pow pow pow! Pow pow pow pow pow pow!

In an instant, the tides were turned.

Yoon Sang-Ki and the other soldiers also turned the machine guns toward their enemies.

You motherfuckers!

Du du du du du du du du du!

Bullets were sucked into the gun. Shells spewed out on the other side. At the same time, Cha Dong-Gyun and his men riddled the other trucks with holes and tore apart their enemies.

As planned, all of his men, except the snipers, leaped forward.

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

Two of them grabbed two unmanned machine guns. The rest slung their rifles around their sides and tossed grenades like confetti.

Booooom! Boooom! Booom! Booom!

It was less of a battle and more of a slaughter, like the fight against the Quds in Africa.

It didn’t matter if this battle could stop the terrorist attack heading to South Korea. More than enough bullets had been shot.

The men who had turned to the side to operate the machine guns were now somewhat standing upright. Cha Dong-Gyun continued to shoot.

He was proceeding according to what he had learned. He would wrap everything up neatly to ensure his allies would survive.

Du du du du du du du! Booom! Boom! Booom!

The one-sided attack lasted for over ten minutes.

Finally, Cha Dong-Gyun let go of the machine gun and lifted his rifle.

“Machine guns, stand by!”

He jumped off the truck and quickly dashed to the enemy’s base.

The smell of blood washed over him. He then saw mutilated corpses lying on the ground.

One of the bodies squirmed.

Pew! Pew!

Cha Dong-Gyun shot the writhing enemy in the head twice. His subordinates did the same to anyone else who dared move in their presence.

The long battle was finally coming to an end.

Du du du du du du du du du.

Just then, they heard an unidentified helicopter in the distance.