Chapter 25

Counterattack (2)

Only when the officer's pistol blew away the head of the fleeing soldier did the North Korean soldiers finally stop running. The officer pointed toward the vehicles behind the position and shouted.

"To the vehicles! Machine gunners! Get aboard quickly and return fire!"

Bong-tae pressed himself close to Song Min-jae and tapped him on the shoulder. If they could take out that bastard, it would be over.

"Min-jae! That bastard!"

"Yes! Yes, sir!"

Bang! Bang!

Song Min-jae quickly swung his muzzle toward the North Korean officer and pulled the trigger. But the bullets struck the back of a North Korean soldier standing in front of the officer.

"Uwaaaaagh!"

The North Korean officer's eyes widened in surprise, and he instinctively ducked. He slid behind the shipping-container building and concealed himself.

It was an exceptionally well-chosen position. Neither 1st Platoon at the summit nor 2nd Platoon on the flank had an angle from which to shoot him. It was a blind spot.

'That's not good···.'

Bong-tae's expression hardened. If that officer calmly began reorganizing his troops from there, the situation could change. Second Platoon in particular, positioned on the same level as the North Korean soldiers, was highly likely to come under concentrated machine-gun fire.

Bong-tae sprang up from his prone position. He tapped Hwang Gi-tae, who was busy firing, on the back.

"Hwang Gi-tae! Take command of the men here! Hold your positions and keep firing!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Kang Min-jun!"

"Y-yes?"

"Take this and handle it yourself."

Bong-tae entrusted the Claymore detonator to Kang Min-jun.

"W-where are you going?"

"I'm going to throw a grenade behind that building."

Bong-tae began running toward the shipping-container building. He adjusted his grip on his rifle and recalled Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je's movements. That charge he'd witnessed on the mountain.

There was no way Bong-tae could imitate the movements of someone with more than twenty years of special warfare experience. If Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je was a black panther, then Bong-tae was, at best, a wildcat slightly larger than an ordinary house cat.

He was much slower and clumsier, his accuracy while firing on the move was worse, and he didn't have a high-firepower weapon like a grenade launcher.

But there was one thing.

One thing Bong-tae could do just as well as Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je.

And that was not hesitating.

Never stopping his feet.

Never hesitating to shoot.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Th-that, that crazy bastard! He's doing it again!"

"No! The timing's fucking perfect! Let's shoot too!"

"Keep pushing!"

"Cover Sergeant Kim's left!"

"Yes!"

Hwang Gi-tae ordered the soldiers to fire at the North Koreans to Bong-tae's left. It was a split-second decision that it would be better to relieve Bong-tae of the need to worry about at least one side rather than make him watch both directions while running.

And that improvised decision saved Bong-tae's life. Second Platoon spotted several North Korean soldiers attempting to shoot Bong-tae from the left and easily suppressed them first.

Ratatat! Ratatat!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bong-tae covered the roughly twenty-meter distance in one burst and pressed himself against the building's wall. He pulled the safety pin from the grenade attached to his vest. Then he released his grip on the safety lever he had been holding tightly.

'One···. Two···.'

"Why isn't he throwing it?"

"Sergeant Kim! What are you doing!"

The K413 fragmentation grenade used by the Republic of Korea Army will never explode while the safety lever is held down, even after the safety pin has been removed.

In every grenade, the delay fuse only begins burning once the safety lever is released, causing the grenade to explode four to five seconds later. But some lunatics thought those five seconds were too long.

So they deliberately held the grenade for one or two seconds before throwing it, making it explode before the enemy had time to escape. This technique was called 'cooking.'

Of course, this technique was never taught in basic combat doctrine. The delay time of a grenade could vary considerably depending on manufacturing differences and environmental conditions. No matter how keen someone's sense of timing was, grenades would not explode after exactly the same interval every time.

That made cooking an extremely dangerous act requiring the nerve to attempt it despite knowing the grenade in one's hand could explode at any moment.

Was Bong-tae an experienced veteran? No.

But was he a reckless bastard with more guts than sense? Absolutely.

'Two and a half.'

Bong-tae threw the grenade behind the shipping-container building. He thought he had counted approximately 2.5 seconds, but in reality, considerably more than three seconds had passed.

Thud.

KABOOOM!

The grenade exploded almost the instant it struck the ground. The ceramic fragments inside the fragmentation grenade mercilessly shredded everything behind the shipping-container building.

Bong-tae tucked his rifle against his side and rushed around the back of the building. His finger was poised to pull the trigger at any moment.

'If I see anyone, I shoot immediately.'

But Bong-tae didn't need to pull the trigger. Behind the building lay two men who had been torn beyond recognition by the grenade exploding at close range, along with the North Korean officer collapsed on the ground.

All of them were incapacitated.

'Got them···!'

Bong-tae quickly lowered himself and surveyed his surroundings. Seeing that the cover provided by the shipping container had been blown apart, the North Korean soldiers shouted loudly.

"The company commander was killed by a grenade!"

"Withdraw! Withdraw!"

"Everyone withdraw!"

The roughly ten surviving North Korean soldiers practically crawled as they ran toward the two vehicles they had parked. But that was exactly where Bong-tae had concealed the Claymore.

"Second Platoon! Get down! Detonate!"

The members of 2nd Platoon immediately stopped firing and flattened themselves against the ground. Without a second's hesitation, Kang Min-jun pressed the Claymore's detonation button.

KABOOOM!

What awaited the North Korean soldiers who thought they could escape once they reached the vehicles was a shower of cold steel balls. Ten North Korean soldiers collapsed to the ground without even managing to scream.

Kang Min-jun squeezed his eyes shut. The Claymore had already exploded, but he still couldn't release the detonator from his hand.

"···Ugh."

Kang Min-jun knew very well how difficult it was to save a person's life.

Yet what he had just done was the exact opposite. Instead of saving lives, he had taken them. And he had killed ten people with terrifying ease, with a single movement of his finger.

Kang Min-jun desperately suppressed the urge to burst into tears. Lee Hwan, who had been watching his expression, gently patted him on the shoulder.

"···."

"Hang in there."

Kang Min-jun nodded. Then he flung the Claymore detonator over the bushes.

The scattered gunfire abruptly ceased.

The North Korean soldiers who had been harassing the summit with mortar fire from the mineral spring had all fallen onto the cold ground of Cheonju Mountain, defeated by the 33rd Battalion's coordinated surprise attack.

Bong-tae shouted to the members of 2nd Platoon.

"Some of those bastards might still be alive! Don't let your guard down!"

"W-what do we do if some of them are alive?"

"Isn't there something called the Genova whatever?"

"Wasn't it the Genesis something?"

"The Geneva Conventions, you ignorant bastards."

The soldiers vaguely recalled something they had heard several times during military education.

The Republic of Korea was a party to the Geneva Conventions. During armed conflict, even enemy soldiers must not be attacked indiscriminately if they are wounded. Anyone who has lost the ability to fight is entitled to protection and, if treatment is possible, has the right to receive medical care.

Attacking enemies who have surrendered or discarded their weapons and are no longer resisting is also prohibited. It might be hard to believe, but North Korea is also a party to the Geneva Conventions. At least under international law, it bears the same obligations.

Bong-tae shouted as though none of that was a big deal.

"If a bastard's holding a gun, shoot him! If he's sticking his hand inside his vest and fiddling around, shoot him too! If something looks suspicious, just shoot!"

"C-can we really do that?"

"That's what we're supposed to do!"

Just then, the officer lying in front of Bong-tae let out a faint, ragged breath. Startled, Bong-tae aimed his rifle at him.

"C-cough···. Gah, gah···."

Black blood welled up from the officer's mouth. He was still alive. Every time he breathed, thick, bloody foam trickled from the corners of his mouth.

"···Urgh."

"Don't move. If you move, I'll shoot immediately."

The officer narrowed his eyes and stared at Bong-tae, who was aiming a rifle at him. Bong-tae's muzzle trembled slightly.

Goosebumps rose on Bong-tae's skin. The dying man's eyes were far too calm. His pupils didn't waver in the slightest. His bloodshot eyes seemed filled with an unwavering conviction.

"Heh···. Hehehe···."

The officer's body armor had already been shredded by grenade fragments. Blood continued seeping through the large tears in his vest, and his chest rose and fell irregularly.

Bong-tae lowered his gaze to the officer's hands. A pistol lay on the ground right beside him. Bong-tae slowly closed the distance, then suddenly lunged forward and kicked the pistol away with all his strength.

Thud. Clatter.

The pistol slid across the dirt before bouncing several meters away. The officer quietly watched Bong-tae, then raised the corners of his mouth ever so slightly.

"What the hell are you grinning at! Kang Min-jun! Take a look at this bastard!"

"Yes!"

Kang Min-jun quickly ran over and examined the officer's body. His brow furrowed almost immediately.

Although Kang Min-jun was a board-certified neurosurgeon, trauma was also a field he knew well. He had seen many emergency trauma patients during his undergraduate years and residency, and his treatment skills were excellent.

But the officer's condition was far too severe. He had lost too much blood. Blood pouring from his chest had soaked not only his back but also the ground beneath him.

Several of his ribs had fractured outward and were protruding from his chest, and severe burns from the explosion were visible across various parts of his skin.

Kang Min-jun bit his lip for a moment. The man was beyond saving.

"···Please bear with it a little longer."

He opened his first-aid pouch and took out a morphine autoinjector. Reducing the man's pain, even slightly, was the only medical treatment he could provide now.

Just as Kang Min-jun was about to inject the officer's arm, the North Korean officer weakly pushed his hand away.

"···No need."

"Please stay still."

"Don't··· need it···."

Bong-tae clenched his teeth.

"Shut up, you bastard. Kang Min-jun! Can you save this bastard?"

"···."

Kang Min-jun remained silent for a long time. As though he understood the meaning of that silence, the officer bared his bloodstained teeth and smiled again.

"Heh···. Heh···. You've got guts··· and you're quick."

"I said shut up!"

"···Even among you southern brats···. There are some worth something."

Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth again. After taking several ragged breaths, he muttered in a voice that sounded ready to fade away.

"But···. This war··· is one we've··· already won···."

"Shut your fucking mouth."

Bong-tae snapped coldly. But the officer could no longer hear the sounds around him. In his mind, he pictured the face of one person hovering before him. The person he believed was like the true sun.

"···Chair···man··· Kim··· Myeong-seong···."

He slowly drew the final breath of his life.

"Long live···."

The officer's head fell limply to the side. Kang Min-jun looked at Bong-tae and shook his head. Bong-tae clenched his teeth and stood up.

Just then, Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je shouted from above the forest road.

"Sergeant Kim Bong-tae!"

"Yes! Staff Sergeant!"

"Join us over here!"

"Yes, sir!"

Bong-tae quickly assembled the members of 2nd Platoon. He checked whether anyone had been injured. There were no casualties.

"Ah, wait a minute."

As though something had suddenly occurred to him, Bong-tae hurried over to the North Korean vehicles. He quickly began fiddling with various parts of the machine guns mounted on top.

"W-what's he doing?"

"Who knows. Probably something weird again."

Bong-tae removed the long barrel from the machine gun's receiver. The vehicles were equipped with Type 73 battalion machine guns, inferior copies of the Czech Vz.26.

Despite never having seen this type of machine gun before, Bong-tae managed to disassemble it skillfully. He flung the two machine-gun barrels deep into the bushes.

"Hmm···. If we could drive them, we could use them as cover. What a waste."

He had considered capturing the North Korean vehicles, but there were no keys in the ignitions, and he didn't have time to search the North Korean corpses for them. Instead, Bong-tae drew the bayonet from his combat vest and vigorously punctured the tires several times.

Stab. Stab.

Air rushed out with a sharp hiss as the tip of the bayonet pierced the rubber. Bong-tae stabbed all four tires without leaving a single one intact.

"Second Platoon! We're moving out!"

"Are we just leaving the North Korean rifles here?"

"If you can use them, take them. Otherwise, throw them into the bushes. Make sure they can't find them immediately even if they come back later."

"Yes, sir."

The soldiers took only a few rifles that appeared to be in good condition and threw the rest into the bushes. They also dismantled the mortars and scattered the parts where they couldn't easily be found.

Having quickly finished clearing the area, 2nd Platoon immediately headed toward the summit.

"···."

No one in 2nd Platoon said a word.

It was already their third victory of the day. Without suffering a single casualty, they had brought down nearly two hundred North Korean soldiers.

But not one of the soldiers in 2nd Platoon was happy. In just a few hours, they had witnessed how easily people could die.

Even when commanders made no particular mistakes, sheer luck or one small act by a courageous soldier could cause dozens of people to lose their lives in an instant.

War swallowed far too many lives in a single moment, regardless of individual will.

And this was only the second day of the war.

If battles of this scale continued, the certainty that they themselves would someday become one of the corpses lying below weighed heavily on the minds of the members of 2nd Platoon.

Only after reaching the summit did the members of 2nd Platoon finally have a chance to catch their breath. Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je patted each of them on the shoulder and shouted.

"Take a short break! First Platoon will stand guard. We'll rest in shifts."

"···Yes, sir."

"Phew···. I seriously feel like I'm going to die."

"Fuck···. This is really fucked."

The members of 2nd Platoon moistened their throats with water from their canteens. They began resting in various positions, but everyone's gaze remained directed downhill.

Downtown Pocheon was still submerged in thick white smoke. The battle was still raging.

It was a clash between the latest generation of tanks, classified as third-generation—or rather, 3.5-generation. K2 Black Panthers, Type 99s, and T-90Ms were fiercely engaging one another in downtown Pocheon.

There were no major differences in their basic firepower, protection, or detection capabilities. But in the battle raging through downtown Pocheon, far more tanks operated by the North Korean Army were being destroyed than Black Panthers.

The biggest difference was the skill of their crews.

The K2 Black Panthers in particular concealed their hulls behind the corners of buildings and waited for opportunities. The instant they identified a target, they burst out from cover.

Their main guns were already aimed at their targets while they remained behind the buildings. Before even coming to a complete stop, the Black Panthers braked sharply and fired their shells.

KABOOOM!

Almost simultaneously with firing, they reversed and concealed themselves behind the buildings again. The entire sequence of movements looked so natural that it was almost as though it had been programmed in advance.

By contrast, the Type 99s and T-90Ms moved sluggishly. It seemed the North Korean crews were unable to draw out their full capabilities.

The timing of emerging from cover, unnecessary hesitation in their movements, the speed at which their main guns turned toward targets—everything looked as awkward as a child operating a complicated machine.

"Looks like we're pushing them back···?"

"Good. Good! Smash them all to pieces!"

The members of 2nd Platoon shouted quietly from the summit of Cheonju Mountain. Anyone could see that the 7th Corps had the upper hand in the tank battle in downtown Pocheon. Unless something unexpected happened, they might be able to push all the way into northern Pocheon.

But just then.

WHOOOOOOSH—

WHOOOOOOSH—

A tremendous sound came from the sky. The members of the 33rd Battalion instinctively raised their heads high, searching for its source.

"Hey! Get down!"

Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je's shout shook the mountaintop. He recognized the sound immediately. This was nothing like the low-altitude flight noise of the Army Aviation helicopters they had seen with the 3rd Division.

It was coming from much higher up.

It was the sound of a much faster aircraft.

"Aircraft!"

The faces of the 33rd Battalion soldiers turned deathly pale. Everyone remembered that the Republic of Korea was currently in a situation where its Air Force couldn't operate.

Which meant.

There was a much greater chance that the thunderous roar coming from the sky belonged to enemy aircraft.

The North Korean Air Force.

The supreme predator of the battlefield had appeared.

"···Fuck."

Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je muttered a curse under his breath. The soldiers weren't even surprised that Staff Sergeant Kim had sworn for the first time. They were all trembling, desperately hoping that no missiles would fall on their position.

FLASH!

For an instant, a flash of light engulfed downtown Pocheon as though another sun had risen.

KABOOOOOOOM!

KABOOOM!

Blinding light covered the entire world before the sound of the explosion reached them, and the mountain beneath their feet shook violently. The sound followed a beat later.

The entire northern section of downtown Pocheon erupted upward.

The explosion of a guided bomb dropped from a fighter jet hurled not only concrete, steel beams, and earth from the surface into the air, but also everything buried underground.

"Fuck! Get down! Get down!"

Immediately afterward, more guided bombs rained down on downtown Pocheon in rapid succession. One, two, three, four.

KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!

The sheer firepower was so tremendous that the Hellfire missiles capable of destroying a fifty-ton mass of steel called the Cheonma-2 in a single strike seemed like children's toys.

Before the thunderous explosions had even faded, Bong-tae alone raised himself upright among the members of the 33rd Battalion, looking like a meerkat.

"···Huh?"

Bong-tae tilted his head slightly. Then he rubbed his eyes once and looked toward downtown Pocheon again. Startled, Lee Jin-gu grabbed Bong-tae's combat uniform and pulled him down.

"Sergeant Kim! I said get down!"

"Hey, hey. Just a second."

"What do you mean, just a second!"

"Those···. Aren't those our fighter jets···?"

At Bong-tae's words, Staff Sergeant Kim Hong-je sprang upright. The bombs dropped by the fighter jets were destroying only North Korean tanks.

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