Chapter 141.1: Even if it means death (2)
A buzz came from the radio.
“He was hit in the arm. The soldier who shot him needs to take him to the medics, now!”
Crackle.
“A soldier by the entrance was hit in the thigh! Whoever shot him better hurry and evacuate him!”
Crackle.?
“A soldier just fainted! Get him out of here now!”
A series of radio transmissions were heard from inside the barracks. The army surgeon quickly glanced at Choi Seong-Geon and rushed outside.
Four of the medics already had their hands and arms drenched in blood. Meanwhile, a soldier lying on an improvised cot barely managed to regain consciousness.
A nursing officer looked at Choi Seong-Geon while switching the soldier’s blood bag. The soldier’s ruptured blood vessels had been sealed off, but that was only a temporary solution. If they wasted any more time, they would have to amputate his arm.
“What the hell are they doing?! Why are they late?!” Choi Seong-Geon shouted in frustration. Unable to control his temper, he exhaled heavily.
After some time, ambulance sirens echoed from a distance, followed by the blade slaps of a helicopter.
“They’re here! Prepare the soldiers for medevac!”
Vroom! Creaaak!
The soldiers who had already taken out soldiers from the enemy team all dashed outside.
The soldiers who required medical attention had different wounds. One had an arm covered in blood, while another was shot in the thigh. There was also the unconscious soldier who had been carried inside the barracks on a stretcher.
“The bullet went through him! Prepare to stop the bleeding!” urgently shouted a medical officer. His uniform was drenched in so much blood it was almost black. It evidenced just how chaotic the scene was.
Chuf, chuf, chuf, chuf, chuf.?
Helicopter chops continued to echo in the background.
“Get all the patients to a hospital! You go along with them, and report the situation while you’re there!”
“Yes, sir!” the medical officer replied. A strong gust of dust blew through the windows of the barracks, which were shaking so hard it seemed as if they would crack at any moment.
The soldiers rushed forward to transport the patients on stretchers. Meanwhile, the army surgeon pushed aside the medical officer and gave the unconscious soldier chest compressions.
“This is madness! They’re all out of their minds!”
“Gasp! Huff, huff!”
“Haah, haah!”
When the soldier finally began to breathe again, the army surgeon slumped heavily into a nearby chair, both relieved and worn out.
Helicopter noises, blood-soaked soldiers, and shocked medical officers… This was no different from a warzone.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
“The line is secure! This is Training Site Thirty-Seven! Yes, sir! Yes! Understood, sir!” Choi Seong-Geon’s aide nervously replied.
Choi Seong-Geon turned when his aide answered a call. His aide handed him the phone with a bewildered expression.
The exact location of this training site had been kept a secret, and none of the soldiers here had disclosed their ranks or positions to anyone. Since they had gone to such lengths to keep the area secured, it was extremely rare for them to have to answer any phone calls.
Did something urgent happen that required the skills of the special forces team?
“Who is it?” Choi Seong-Geon asked.
“It’s from the Blue House, sir,” his aide replied.
“What?” Choi Seong-Geon asked in surprise, quickly taking the phone. “This is Choi Seong-Geon.”
-General Choi, this is Moon Jae-Hyun.?
”Sir! This is Brigadier General Choi Seong-Geon, sir!” Choi Seong-Geon robustly shouted.
The army surgeon, nursing officer, and medical officers curiously looked over, wondering who he was speaking so politely to.
In the meantime, the helicopter took off to take the injured soldiers to a hospital, and the soldiers who had carried the stretchers were returning back inside the barracks.
-I heard you’re conducting a special kind of training, General. I apologize. It’s because I’m not capable enough as the president that our country’s soldiers have to train in ways others do not. I am not supposed to know why the soldiers are receiving this training. That’s the only way I can keep our nation safe. However, General Choi, no matter what happens, I will take full responsibility. I swear on my title to protect you and the rest of the soldiers.?
Choi Seong-Geon clenched his teeth and turned his gaze out the window, feeling an overwhelming surge of sentimentality.
-Thank you, General. I sincerely apologize to the soldiers. Please deliver my gratitude to them as the president and a man who loves South Korea from the bottom of his heart.?
“Yes, sir,” Choi Seong-Geon said, throat choking with emotion. The fact that someone recognized the soldiers’ efforts in going through this hellish training and understood why they had to do this made his heart swell.
-If there is anything you should need, you can reach me through Section Chief Jeon. I’m sure that’s the easiest way to establish communication with me.
“We are already receiving everything we need, sir.”
Crackle.?
“There’s a new patient! Hurry and transport him!”
Crackle.?
“Got it!”
The army surgeon, a medical officer, and the soldiers swiftly ran outside as if they were dodging bullets.
-I leave this in your capable hands, General Choi.?
Moon Jae-Hyun attempted to finish up the call quickly, likely having heard the radio transmission over the phone.
“Mr. President,” Choi Seong-Geon began.
-Yes, go ahead, General.?
“If I can protect my country with my blood, I am happy,” he said firmly.
-I believe that is the motto of our special forces, isn’t it? I didn’t know you possessed the talent to make people tear up, General. Then… I will contact you again at another time.?
The line was disconnected.
Choi Seong-Geon wasn’t certain if proceeding with this training was the right thing to do, but the moment he shouted the special forces’ motto, something inside him began to blaze.
When he handed the phone to his aide, a patient entered the barracks. The army surgeon applied pressure on the shin of the soldier, who was lying on a stretcher.
Choi Seong-Geon furrowed his brows and looked at the soldier.
“Haah!” he exclaimed. He gritted his teeth and walked out of the barracks.
The two soldiers sitting at the entrance sprang to their feet. Choi Seong-Geon pulled out some cigarettes from his pocket and offered them to the soldiers.
“We’re all right, sir.”
“Just take it, punks,” Choi Seong-Geon stated.
“Thank you, sir.”
Choi Seong-Geon was the only one who had a lighter with him, so the soldiers politely held their cigarettes to him to light them up. They turned their heads to the side as they breathed out puffs of smoke.
“Haaah.”
Choi Seong-Geon saw a few soldiers approaching the barracks through the smoke he exalted. They were most likely the soldiers who had gotten shot but on their bulletproof vests.
Some of the soldiers who were shot in the solar plexus were carried in on stretchers because they had lost consciousness. The shock of the bullet’s impact had rendered a few of them unable to breathe.
“General Choi!” they greeted as they saluted him.
“Take a smoke, men,” Choi Seong-Geon responded.
The soldiers tried to politely refuse but when they saw the look in his eyes, they quickly accepted the cigarettes. Again, Choi Seong-Geon didn’t hand them the lighter but instead lit their cigarettes for them instead.
It had already been three hours since the training started at eight in the morning.
***
Cha Dong-Gyun’s eyes glinted as sharply as Choi Jong-Il’s piercing gaze.
He could see them. The moving shapes in front of him were way clearer than when they had first begun training.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
The occupying forces were also shooting back at them with the firm intent to hit them. Hence, neither side could make any hasty movements.
‘So this is the purpose of this training!’
His comrades were carried out in stretchers, bloodied in the blink of an eye.
His senses had become so heightened it was as if he could feel every hair on his body. The moment he made a single mistake, bullets would come flying at his bulletproof vest or helmet. Worse, if he was unlucky, he’d end up with a hole in his arms and legs.
This was incomparable to the mock battles they had. That kind of training couldn’t even come close to this.
Pew! Pew!
The moment Woo Hee-Seung leaned forward to take a look, bullets immediately came shooting in his direction. At this rate, this wouldn’t end even if night came. They had already used every drop of energy they had and were now just hanging on through pure resolve.
He never imagined he would experience this in a mock battle.
Bang! Bang! Pew! Pew! Pew!
Cha Dong-Gyun fired three consecutive shots from his position to cover Woo Hee-Seung, who ran out.
Just then, the radios began to crackle.
“This is the God of Blackfield. The morning training is over. I repeat. The morning training is over. Everyone, gather at the entrance,” commanded Kang Chan.
***
“Haaaaaaah,” Suh Sang-Hyun sighed as he leaned his head against the wall.
Creak.?
Even though they had been informed that the training was over, Suh Sang-Hyun still reflexively raised his gun, and Kim Tae-Jin aimed his rifle with a click.
It was Team Two. They had reached the entrance of the rooftop.
Seeing Seok Kang-Ho’s smirk as he stepped on the rooftop, Suh Sang-Hyun scowled.
“Are you all right? Let’s head back down,” Seok Kang-Ho said.
Did this man not get nervous?
Click. Click.?
Suh Sang-Hyun whipped his gaze around every time he heard the sound of a gun. It had become instinctive to him now.
***
“Good work, everyone!”
Team One, which Kang Chan led, and the occupying forces that were led by Kwak Cheol-Ho arrived at the entrance with their guns pointed at the ground.
Kim Tae-Jin was running on fumes at this point, but he cast Kang Chan a curious look, wondering why he stopped the training.
“The agents are too tired. If we go any further with the training, some of the soldiers will actually die,” Kang Chan explained.
Kim Tae-Jin nodded in understanding. He was aware that even his own focus had waned. He had a little less than half left to go in him.
They all left the makeshift city and walked down the mountain path. They were so tired that a hundred meters seemed like a kilometer.
“Is the training done for today, then?” Kim Tae-Jin asked.
“I’m planning on picking back up with it after lunch,” Kang Chan answered.
“I see,” Kim Tae-Jin responded.
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