Because Captain Austin could not see such an expression, he continued the briefing at once.
- It seems the fighting was quite fierce. If Malnoi falls, the advance distance to Jammu becomes considerably shorter.
“Yes. And after that?”
- Civilian casualties are said to be significant. The Indian Army has requested dispatch as quickly as possible.
Taesu had heard the gist of what came next, so he spoke first.
“I heard the NGO’s estimated arrival time is about six hours from now.”
- That is the current estimate.
“That’s too long for the distance.”
- All the shortest routes to Malnoi are mountainous terrain, so movement is expected to be slow.
Captain Austin explained the reason as best he could.
Taesu answered first, his brow furrowed.
“Understood. Thank you for telling us.”
- I am your dedicated pilot. I ought to do at least this much. Five minutes to arrival.
Captain Austin called out sharply.
They had already been flying for more than twenty minutes.
The briefing was only happening now because they had just broken through unstable air currents.
Even so, considering the helicopter’s speed, it was quite a distance.
When he looked down, a mountain range lay beneath them.
Above all, there were only three of them on this dispatch as well.
Naturally, the mention that it was just after urban warfare grated on his nerves.
“I think we need to stay on edge.”
- Looks like it.
- Let’s just make sure we’re thoroughly prepared.
Each of them said a word, then closed their mouths.
The phrase urban warfare had everyone’s nerves pulled taut.
None of them had experienced anything like it.
The bombing site in Mohar remained their most vivid memory.
In Ijambak, war had gone on around them, but it had never invaded the city itself.
In a way, this was the moment they were heading to a battlefield for the first time.
So the tension could not help but be different.
A short while later.
They finished preparing to rappel.
Each of them slung a bag on his back and fastened an auxiliary line around his waist.
It looked as if they were short on supplies, but that was not all.
A large cargo container was moving along beneath the helicopter.
It was a gift box packed full of relief goods and medical supplies.
Before they knew it, they had passed the mountain range and the plains began.
Captain Austin’s sharp voice came through.
- City sighted. Thirty seconds to arrival.
The three of them moved quickly.
They had no leisure to look down.
Part of them consciously avoided it, afraid they might be frightened.
They had only moved for a moment when Captain Austin’s voice rang out again.
- No suitable landing site. Switching to hovering. Ten seconds to descent.
Sasak.
Grabbing the right door handle, Taesu gave a low order.
“Open the door.”
- Door open.
Drrk, drrk.
On the opposite side, Jeong Minsu opened the sliding door in time.
It was the same moment he looked down.
The expression vanished from Taesu’s face as if it had been a lie.
“…….”
- Oh, shit.
Kim Hyeokgwon’s rough words, full of irritation, came through.
Taesu understood that reaction all too well.
The entire city was so devastated it looked like ruins.
Smoke and flames rose here and there.
It was hard to find a single intact building.
People sat collapsed between buildings or along the roadside.
Corpses lay strewn everywhere.
The broken homes and shops looked as if they might collapse at any moment.
After looking around, emotionless words slipped from Taesu’s mouth.
“Is this really the world we live in?”
- Damn it. Hell would be more comfortable than this.
- They say life is hell? Bring the bastard who said that here and have him run his mouth again.
Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon’s voices sounded as if they would burst from the helmet speakers.
It was a wail, a scream.
Taesu was the same.
It was a horrific scene he could not bear to take in with his eyes.
This was war?
It had taken away the very foundation of life and living.
And yet, how could anyone say this was an act for their sake?
By Taesu’s common sense, he could not understand even a speck of it.
The lower the helicopter descended, the more intense his emotions became.
Just as the irritation in his chest reached its peak.
It seemed that Captain Austin’s eyes, too, were filled with that miserable sight.
Thud.
The vibration of the container touching the ground came up to them.
At the same time, Captain Austin’s voice came through cold and harsh.
- Descend.
“Jump.”
Whiwhiwhik.
Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon jumped from the helicopter with heavy hearts.
Soon, the three landed on the ground.
The first thing they did was untie the ropes.
“Doctor Choi, rope release complete.”
- Doctor Jeong, complete.
- I’m done too. Austin, take off now.
Kim Hyeokgwon, who had been a hair late, was the last to report the situation on the ground.
Soon the helicopter rose, and Captain Austin’s final transmission came through.
- Please make even one flower of hope bloom. Chijijik.
Dudududu.
After his request ended, mechanical noise sounded from the helmet radios.
“A flower of hope, huh.”
“We’d like to do that too.”
“Damn it. This time, it really is only us.”
Kim Hyeokgwon sounded dizzy.
With Colonel Clark away on business, Squad Leader Sam and his squad members had gone along with the escort vehicle.
That meant there was no support personnel afterward.
Only three of them.
They would have to struggle against death for six hours until the NGO arrived.
That was how they felt.
But reality was simply bleak.
They could not stand there forever.
“Let’s hurry.”
“Yeah, let’s move. Move.”
Encouraging one another, the three moved their bodies.
The helmets disappeared into their bags, and radios and in-ears appeared as communication tools.
They had practiced even reducing that time to the minimum.
After preparing communications, the next step was to spread out the contents of the container.
But they could not all rush to it.
“Uuuugh.”
“Kgh, keck, keck.”
“Waaah.”
The cries ringing out from every direction made their chests feel as if they would burst.
Listening to those sounds, they looked at one another.
Because they had not decided who would stay behind and open the container.
At a time like this?
It was a battle of wits.
All three quickly slung their bags over their shoulders at the same time.
The weight was no joke.
Even so, they strained and got them settled on their shoulders.
Taesu was ahead by a hair.
“One.”
“Two.”
Kim Hyeokgwon was second, and Jeong Minsu was last.
“Damn it. Go.”
Thump, thump.
Jeong Minsu set down his bag and immediately began unfastening the container.
At that moment, Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon ran in the same direction.
Tadadak.
They did not even feel the weight of their bags.
Seeing the horrific cityscape filling their vision, they could think of nothing.
Patients were visible right before their eyes.
“Huuuh…….”
“Uuugh…….”
Groans came from every direction.
They desperately wanted to run straight to those people tormented by pain.
But there were far too many patients for them to blindly run only toward what was in front of them.
They had to secure a place to carry out first aid.
‘Somewhere as wide and flat as possible. Where is it……? Where?’
Sasasak.
Taesu’s eyes moved busily, as desperate as he was.
Just then, Jeong Minsu’s voice came through the in-ear.
- Taesu, based on your current direction, ten o’clock.
“Ten o’clock? Where?”
Whik.
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon looked at the indicated place at the same time.
It was near the main road.
There was a flat, wide place that looked like an intersection.
Jeong Minsu’s field of vision was certainly broad.
There was no time to praise him, so Taesu skipped it and immediately gestured.
“That spot is perfect.”
“Let’s go.”
Sasak.
They quickly changed direction and sprinted toward the destination.
Taesu was sincerely grateful for the muscles trained in hellish exercises.
That thought lasted only an instant.
They were on their way to the designated location.
Taesu quickly looked around, checking patients.
‘There, there, there.’
Kim Hyeokgwon was doing the same.
Just then, Jeong Minsu’s voice came through the in-ear once more.
- North is at nine o’clock from the intersection.
It was important information.
In an unfamiliar area, it was essential when confirming one another’s positions.
The direction of sunrise and sunset was also something to consider in emergency treatment.
Once that reference point was set, Taesu lifted his radio and asked.
Beep.
“How long do you think it’ll take to unfold the container?”
- I just got the net off. Alone, two hours won’t even be enough.
“Got it. Mr. Hyeokgwon, once you arrive at Point Alpha, just set up the site and start searching for patients immediately.”
“Let’s talk after we get there.”
Kim Hyeokgwon cut the conversation short.
That was how close Point Alpha had become.
Chajak.
As soon as they arrived, they set their bags down first.
Then, opening his bag, Taesu emphasized the order.
“I’ll handle emergency treatment. Mr. Hyeokgwon, start by searching for survivors.”
“You’re telling me to just pass by all those patients, all those people?”
“No. We have this.”
Sureureuk.
Taesu took a belt like an ammunition belt out of his bag.
Military morphine injectors could be seen between the sections.
It was a belt for medical staff, and calling it an ammunition belt did not feel awkward.
Handing it over, Taesu gave an additional brief order.
“If it’s urgent, administer morphine. Mark the right hand in blue.”
“Fine. Let’s do it.”
Chwareuk.
Kim Hyeokgwon roughly pulled out a morphine ammunition belt as well.
Then he slung it diagonally over both shoulders, looking as if he were about to go to war at any moment.
That expression was correct.
If it had been the soldiers’ war until now, from this moment on, the medical staff’s war was about to begin.
Wearing the morphine belt, Kim Hyeokgwon ran and lifted his radio.
Since they were separated, they had to report their actions as much as possible to reduce confusion.
- Beep. I’m heading out n— Damn, emergency patient already found.
“Location confirmed. Just run.”
Taesu pulled the dispatch bag from inside the large bag and sprinted.
Tadadak.
It was the exact location Kim Hyeokgwon had pointed out.
In the meantime, Kim Hyeokgwon continued what he had just cut off.
- Beep. Damn it, can this be done with three people? You headquarters bastards, are you out of your minds?
“We don’t have time to complain.”
- Beep. I know, I know that too. Whew. Let’s find the survivors first.
“Underst— Mr. Hyeokgwon, stop. Morphine starting there.”
Taesu gauged the distance between them and shouted sharply.
At that moment, Kim Hyeokgwon stopped as if his ankle had been grabbed.
Then he quickly looked around and began approaching the nearest emergency patient.
Meanwhile, Taesu was also approaching an emergency patient.
Tadadak.
Now he was right in front of him.
He quickly checked the exposed affected areas with his eyes first.
There was hardly anything to check.
“Gguuugh. Uuugh.”
The patient was writhing in pain.
He looked like a young man.
He was suffering with both hands pressed over the right side of his face.
Blood flowed through the gaps between his hands, and dust clung to it.
The upper arm of his right arm and his thigh were also full of blast wounds.
The moment Taesu saw those injuries, they overlapped with the photos Squad Leader Sam had shown during training.
Those wounds were?
“Indirect grenade blast.”
The defining traits of wounds from a grenade blast were that the affected area was broad and the wound itself was uneven.
In a word, they were gruesome.
That sight only deepened Taesu’s resentment.
‘Those sons of bitches. I’ll chew them up.’
While he growled inwardly with all his might, he reached the patient.