The morale of the soldiers following behind him was sky-high.
The battalion commander was leading by example.
Naturally, their courage soared by more than a hundredfold.
“Waaah!”
Thud, thud.
Even their footsteps were in perfect sync, brimming with military discipline.
Taesu seemed thoroughly encouraged as well, his voice rising.
“Napoleon style, huh.”
“‘Follow me’?”
“Or maybe, ‘This mountain ain’t that mountain,’ who knows.”
Taesu spoke playfully.
The battalion commander was going in personally?
That was far more difficult than it looked.
But his admiration lasted only a moment.
Now it was time for them to move as well.
Soon, Squad Leader Sam took the lead.
“Shh.”
Rustle.
They approached the village quickly, suppressing even the sound of their breathing as much as possible.
Taesu and the other two had already received professional military training, so they moved in the same way.
Soon, they were nearing the village.
Squad Leader Sam quietly whispered into the radio.
“Wolf Rescue Team, arrived at Point A.”
The reply could not be heard by the others, as it came through his in-ear.
And then, at that moment—
Ratatatat!
Kwagwagwang!
The sounds of machine guns and explosions erupted simultaneously from all over the outskirts of the village.
It was like stirring up a village that was already in chaos.
The residents were in a panic.
“Kyaaaak!”
“@%#@$$%.”
Screams, shouts, and all manner of cries.
Chaos filled the village.
At that very instant, starting with Squad Leader Sam, everyone slipped into the village.
Now they had truly entered the middle of a battlefield.
Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon hardened their gazes and moved together with the soldiers.
Everyone had entered the village.
Squad Leader Sam scouted from the front and opened the path.
His squad members moved while maintaining vigilance.
The medical team followed behind them, and finally, the assistant squad leader’s team came after them, watching the rear.
All told, they were a fairly large group of ten people.
Because they had a covert objective, they could not use the main road.
Swish, swish.
They were moving through alley after alley.
Taesu was more than a little impressed.
‘They said they were special forces.’
That was not just a convenient name for their unit.
When they moved, they were swift, and they kept watch over their surroundings with hawk-like eyes.
Even their movements were special.
At a glance, it looked as though they were moving haphazardly and chaotically.
But in truth, they were thoroughly protecting the medical team.
No matter where an unexpected variable occurred, they could respond immediately.
They had said this was Colonel Clark’s direct bodyguard unit.
It made Taesu think anew about exactly what kind of position Colonel Clark held within the PKO, to be protected by people like this.
‘I should really reflect on myself.’
Taesu felt awkward for no reason.
Until now, he had stubbornly opposed Colonel Clark and steadfastly raised objections to him.
If Colonel Clark had truly become angry, Taesu might have been buried somewhere in Kashmir without a sound or rumor.
But Taesu’s thoughts did not last very long.
The inside of the alley was relatively quiet.
That was why the sound of a large group moving stood out.
Chakchak, chakchak.
Kim Hyeokgwon looked down and gave a bitter smile.
“Our footsteps are going to be louder than our voices.”
“It’s not like we’ll be moving like this forever.”
At the same time as Taesu answered—
“Please maintain noise discipline.”
Assistant Squad Leader Leo whispered the warning from behind.
Taesu and Kim Hyeokgwon immediately shut their mouths.
They knew how much attention the soldiers were paying to guarding them.
So naturally, they complied.
After moving through several more alleys—
Squad Leader Sam stopped at a fork where the path split three ways.
“Hold this position.”
“Sir.”
Chak!
The squad members split up like lightning.
Then they guarded every alley—the forked paths as well as the road they had come from.
Taesu, Jeong Minsu, and Kim Hyeokgwon stood leaning against the wall of a building.
“Hoo, hoo.”
Their chests heaved as they caught their breath.
It was because they had moved quite a long way at a fast pace without resting.
Squad Leader Sam checked their current position on the map once more.
Then he brought the radio as close to his mouth as possible and whispered.
“This is Redfox Baby. Arrived at Point B. Maintaining all-around security.”
After finishing the transmission, Squad Leader Sam focused on his in-ear.
Whatever the other party said, Squad Leader Sam pressed the radio button again.
“Then as of this moment, we’ll disperse into three teams. Callsigns are Red, Fox, and Baby. Over.”
Then he exchanged a few more words with the other side over the radio.
Meanwhile, the medical team heard that much and huddled together.
Taesu spoke to Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon in as quiet a voice as possible.
“Whoever arrives first, don’t wait. Start emergency treatment immediately.”
“Being told to wait in this kind of atmosphere would be downright cruel.”
“That’s why I’m telling you to push through.”
When Taesu emphasized it, Kim Hyeokgwon asked furtively.
“Then how much should I open up?”
“Why bother hiding anything?”
“True. No need to hide it, waste time, and say hello to a bullet.”
Kim Hyeokgwon understood immediately.
At that moment, Jeong Minsu said a word.
“I think I heard that from here on, it’s their territory.”
“That’s right. Let’s avoid standing out as much as possible.”
“Doctor Choi. You really shouldn’t be the one saying that.”
Jeong Minsu glanced sideways at him.
Taesu was about to bristle for a moment, then stopped.
Looking back on the past, he could not exactly say Jeong Minsu was exaggerating.
“I know how to distinguish time and place too.”
“That’s a relief. What a relief.”
“But why do I have to listen to you worrying about me?”
Unable to raise his voice, Taesu showed his dissatisfaction with a frown.
Jeong Minsu was the same.
“You need someone to nag you a little.”
“Please understand how I feel, wanting that someone not to be you.”
“You think you’re the only one with feelings? I have feelings too. I don’t want to do it either.”
As the two bickered, Kim Hyeokgwon cut in abruptly.
“I understand how both of you feel, but please understand how I’ll feel if you keep chattering like this and I get angry.”
“We know very well.”
“We were trying to be quiet.”
Taesu and Jeong Minsu both smiled awkwardly in the same way.
Kim Hyeokgwon shook his head as he looked at the two of them.
“You two have no sense of tension in your lives.”
On the other hand, Taesu felt much more at ease seeing Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon like that.
‘This much is enough.’
He was especially grateful that Jeong Minsu was adapting well to the situation.
Just then, Squad Leader Sam approached the medical team.
“When the radio call comes in, we’ll immediately disperse and move to our respective points.”
“Understood.”
“And please stay a little more on edge.”
Squad Leader Sam delivered a heavy blow.
The three of them, looking sullen, subtly avoided his gaze.
That was when it happened.
Tap.
Squad Leader Sam suddenly put a hand to his in-ear.
His brow twitched slightly, then he nodded.
Seeing that, the medical team also instinctively realized the time had come.
Taesu quickly looked at Jeong Minsu and Kim Hyeokgwon, saying nothing as he merely held out his fist.
“……”
Thud, thud.
The two of them took turns bumping their fists against Taesu’s.
It was a gesture of encouragement for one another at the moment they had to part.
The medical team expressed their worries and concerns in their own way.
The soldiers were the same.
As they were about to begin the operation in earnest, the tension was extraordinary.
For the first time, Squad Leader Sam asked in a clear voice that everyone could hear.
“Squad, do you remember Redfox’s order?”
“Sir.”
“A soldier’s honor does not come from living or dying.”
“It begins and ends with protecting what must be protected.”
Everyone spoke the same words in one voice.
It was a statement that clearly showed what sort of belief Colonel Clark usually held.
Squad Leader Sam continued with a satisfied expression.
“There is something we must protect right now, correct?”
“Sir.”
“Good. Then disperse.”
Squad Leader Sam’s order flowed out heavily.
At the same time, the soldiers quickly split and regrouped, forming three teams.
Red Team consisted of Squad Leader Sam, Taesu, Corporal Guspia, and Corporal Alton.
Fox Team consisted of Assistant Squad Leader Leo, Jeong Minsu, and Private First Class Antony.
Baby Team consisted of Sergeant Ryan, Kim Hyeokgwon, and Private First Class Rachel.
Battalion Commander Valentino was commanding all of it.
“Fox, moving out.”
“Baby is moving too.”
Step, step.
They walked off in different directions.
Lastly, Squad Leader Sam said,
“We’ll move out as well.”
“Let’s go.”
At the same time as Taesu answered—
Squad Leader Sam chose another fork and began moving.
They had chosen different paths, but their final destination was the same.
Imagining the moment when they would all safely reunite, they moved forward, looking only ahead.
Red Team’s movement speed became considerably faster.
Now that their number had been reduced from ten to four, hand signals were relayed quickly.
Like that, they passed through one alley, then another.
Since they moved only through alleys, they indeed did not encounter the enemy.
But just because it was quiet here did not mean the world had become quiet.
Dududu. Boom!
The sounds of gunfire and artillery continued to ring out from time to time.
The distance was fairly close, but there was no direct threat.
In various places, the personnel deployed by the battalion were engaging the terrorists.
Battalion Commander Valentino was surely standing at the front.
He must be holding out while hoping that the medical team would meet their isolated and wounded comrades as soon as possible.
For that purpose, the battalion’s forces were united as one in standing against the terrorists.
In order to grasp such circumstances, Squad Leader Sam radioed each time they moved.
“Red current position, arrived in front of a house with withered flowers on the second-floor railing.”
Tap.
After reporting, he put a hand to his in-ear and focused on the radio.
Whenever that happened, gunfire would invariably ring out nearby.
Ratatat.
When Squad Leader Sam focused on the radio, they did not move.
At those times, it was Corporal Guspia and Corporal Alton’s time.
Rustle.
With Taesu at the center, they stood back-to-back and guarded all 360 degrees.
“……”
“……”
Not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
Amid that tension, they gripped their rifles tightly.
They exuded a solemn resolve that not even a single ant would be allowed to approach Taesu.
Taesu found their appearance astonishing.
‘Are these really the people I know?’
He even felt that doubt.
That was how completely every standard was aligned with Taesu, the person they were protecting.
It was then.
Click, click.
A metallic noise reached his ears.
It was the sound of Squad Leader Sam lightly tapping his rifle.
Everyone’s eyes focused on him.
Tap.
Squad Leader Sam raised his fist, signaling them to stay where they were.
He was even sparing his words.
It seemed something had happened.
Nod.
Everyone expressed their understanding with a nod.
Then Squad Leader Sam pressed himself against the wall and carefully moved sideways.
When he reached the corner, he continued to focus on his in-ear.
Taesu watched him with a strange expression.
‘What is it?’
Just as he thought that—
Squad Leader Sam gripped his rifle heavily.
Then he quickly rounded the corner and opened fire.