Chapter 181: So just keep running (2)
The fog settled as dawn broke and the sun rose.
Having gone quite far up the mountain, the air around them was starting to become extremely cold. At five minutes past eight, they started going up the second peak.
Even though they had been walking for over five hours and had only drunk water once, none of the soldiers had fallen behind.
They had the patience and physical strength that Choi Seong-Geon would’ve been proud of.
Chk.
“Squads up front, stop.”
Upon hearing Kang Chan’s orders on the radio, everyone felt a strange nervousness.
Chk.
“Daye, secure the area beyond the rock and have some of the men guard the perimeter,” Kang Chan said again.
Chk.
“Alright.”
Kang Chan could see a boulder on the mountain’s slope, which had a sunken area in front of it. What Kang Chan liked the most about it was the huge pile of leaves on it.
Soek Kang-Ho and the rest of Team Two went around and stepped on the leaves. He then had three of his subordinates guard the area from three different positions.
Kwak Cheol-Ho’s Team Three and Kang Chan’s Team One, which brought up the rear, all gathered in one place.
“Kwak Cheol-Ho, station two soldiers up there. Everyone else, eat,” Kang Chan said.
At Kwak Cheol-Ho’s signal, two soldiers quickly went up the part of the mountain where Kang Chan was pointing. Since the area both in front and behind it went downhill, the soldiers could easily spot anyone who approached them.
The soldiers sat back against boulders and drank some water.
Thud.
Seok Kang-Ho took off his military gear and sat near Kang Chan.
This time, they shared the water that Kang Chan was carrying. Afterward, they had C-rations composed of sandwiches, biscuits, chocolate, and thinly sliced ham. They had to eat and sleep whenever they could.
From guns to C-rations, the special forces team was equipped with everything they would need in this operation.
Kang Chan looked at the soldier sitting next to him. He was eating a biscuit with his hand, which had gone from blue to black due to his finger injury.
“How’s your finger?” Kang Chan asked.
The soldier swallowed the remaining biscuit in his mouth, then said, “It’s bearable.”
“Put a twig next to it and tie your finger to it. Get a shot of morphine if the pain gets too much.”
“Yes, sir.”
Finishing their meal in five minutes, some of the soldiers replaced those on guard duty so the latter could eat and rest.
“Kwak Cheol-Ho, split your team into pairs of two. They’ll each rest for ten minutes,” Kang Chan commanded, and Kwak Cheol-Ho skillfully relayed his instructions to his men.
At times like this, they felt much better even if they slept for just five minutes. The soldiers lay down on the leaves and turned to the side.
When the sun rose, they felt their damp body drying up.
“You’re not going to sleep?” Seok Kang-Ho asked Kang Chan.
“Sleep first—let’s switch in ten minutes.”
“Sure.” Seok Kang-Ho lay on his side and curled up.
Kang Chan leaned back against a rock.
He already expected that they would be discovered the morning after they infiltrated North Korea, but he didn’t expect they would face a battle so early into the operation as well.
They reached this area exceptionally quicker than he planned since the soldiers were so well-trained. If they kept going at this rate, then they would likely reach Sinpyeong within a day, which was where Jang Kwang-Taek was.
Even if their enemies sent their troops in the right direction to chase after them, Kang Chan and his team would still have at least two hours of extra time before their enemies could get to where they were.
Moreover, since they were deep in the mountains, their enemies would find it difficult to guess Kang Chan and his team’s next move. Could they even imagine that only twenty-four people came to North Korea to take down Jang Kwang-Taek?
They would come across two anti-aircraft forts before reaching Shinpyeong: One past two mountaintops and another past the third summit.
The best they could do was to keep things simple, accomplish their goals, and return alive as fast as they could.
Those sons of bitches have to be punished for messing with someone dear to us.
As Kang Chan took deep breaths, he heard a soldier say, “Time to switch.”
In response, another soldier woke up Kwak Cheol-Ho.
Rustle. Rustle.
The soldiers near him, including Seok Kang-Ho, also woke and sat up.
“Phew!” Seok Kang-Ho said as he twisted his neck.
Crack. Crack.
This fucker is surprisingly good at that.
Seok Kang-Ho stood up and examined their surroundings. He then told Kang Chan, “Get some sleep.”
“Got it. Don’t laze around.”
“Don’t worry.”
Kang Chan lay down on his side and fell asleep not long after.
***
Kang Chan woke up from the feeling of someone tapping him.
He felt much better than before.
With his rifle hung on his side, Seok Kang-Ho handed Kang Chan a water pouch.
How come those fuckers haven’t used even just one helicopter to look for us?
Kang Chan thought hiding under all this cover seemed useless now.
It was a quarter past eight in the morning.
A soldier with a receiver in his ear held up a small radio in the air and glared at the sky.
Two minutes went by.
The soldier looked from side to side for about another minute, turned off the radio, and took out the receiver in his ear.
“According to the intel I received, military forces in downtown Pyeongyang seemed to have attempted to assassinate their supreme leader with a car last night. The military authorities apparently identified us as the disruptive forces sent here by the North Korean leader.”
What on earth is going on?
“And because of that, Jang Kwang-Taek is now focusing the North Korean troops near Shinpyeong and the ceasefire line,” the soldier added.
“Then we’re at least sure that son of a bitch is in Shinpyeong, right?” Seok Kang-Ho suddenly asked.
“They didn’t specifically say anything about that,” the soldier replied.
“Gather around,” Kang Chan called everyone as he opened the map, put it in the middle, and pointed to a certain part of it.
“This is where we’re at right now. At our current pace, we should reach Shinpyeong in twenty hours.” Kang Chan then slid his index finger across the map. “This is Dokgeom-ri. If a problem occurs, then we are to rendezvous here. You’ll have to get here on your own.”
The soldiers looked up from the map as Kang Chan continued, “We have to be at Sinpyeong within fourteen hours. That means our estimated time of arrival is at ten this evening. We’ll carry out the operation in the dead of the night and escape before dawn.”
Kwak Cheol-Ho inhaled loudly.
“Our enemies are two hours behind us, and that gap will only keep growing since they have to get here first during their search. Now, our battle will be all about how quickly we can get to Shinpyeong. Any questions?” Kang Chan asked.
Silence.
Kang Chan picked up the map, folded it, and put it in his inner chest pocket.
“Team One and I will take the front. Kwak Cheol-Ho, have Team Three stay in the middle. Daye and Team Two will bring up the rear. We’ll head out once everyone is ready,” Kang Chan said.
The soldiers answered with their gazes.
We can do it. Let’s go!
Starting with Kang Chan, the soldiers patted each others’ helmets. Doing this made them strangely emotional.
Kang Chan then walked to the front and chose which path they should take.
The best option was to walk along the ridge, but that would make it easy for their enemies to see them. Fortunately, the mountain was tall and had large enough trees to negate that disadvantage for now.
Those who had no experience in increasing their pace—even a little bit—while walking or running didn’t know what it felt like. They wouldn’t notice anything at first, but as they picked up the pace, they would quickly tire out and their military gear would gradually feel heavier.
Those in front of the formation had to maintain their speed, keep their guard up, and choose the best paths to take all at the same time.
Clunk. Clunk. Crunch. Crunch.
The sounds of their rifle and military gear rang out in beat with their footsteps.
These soldiers had already gone on operations with Kang Chan before, so they already knew what to do during basic guard duty and were skilled enough to know how nervous they should be based on Kang Chan’s reactions.
They had been walking for about forty minutes when, for the first time, Kang Chan’s nerves stood on edge.
They were on a tall mountain, which made it difficult for their opponents to fend them off since they had no idea where Kang Chan and his team were. Nevertheless, he felt anxious.
When Kang Chan’s aura changed, the soldiers behind him started becoming nervous, causing a chain reaction all the way to the back of their formation.
Kang Chan slung his rifle off his right shoulder and put his index finger on the trigger.