Chapter 260: I Can, But Not You (1)
Whoosh! Puk!
The blood from the chest, whom Kang Chan was holding by the collar, splattered all over Kang Chan's face. The muzzle of the rifle next to him sparked red, likely because blood had covered his eyes.
Whoosh! Thwack! Whoosh! Thwack! Whoosh! Thwack!
Despite his bullets piercing through the foreheads of charging enemies, the area in front of him was still full of enemies in black bandanas and military uniforms.
Ratatatatat!
One of their enemies perched on the defensive barrier and pulled the trigger of his AK-47, causing the allied troops beneath it to convulse.
Whoosh! Thwack!
Kang Chan fired back, his bullet piercing the enemy's forehead. At the same time, loud rifle fire erupted in front of him.
Ratatatatat! Ratatat!
The hail of bullets violently tore apart the enemies lying in front of him as he ducked down.
Bastards! We’re just making piles of corpses at this point!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Seok Kang-Ho shot an enemy in the neck.
Swoosh! Whiz! Whiz!
Kang Chan grabbed the arm of the Qud who had just fired at them. He then unsheathed his bayonet and slashed with enough force to nearly sever the enemy's limb.
Bang! Clang! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Kang Chan had fought so many battles alongside Seok Kang-Ho and Gérard that they already knew why he decided to pull out his bayonet and how to cover him in such moments. They were well aware that when they were forced into a melee combat, someone had to clear the way.
Puuk! Puk! Whiz! Pwook!
With more than ten enemies charging at them, aiming a rifle from the vanguard became impossible. In such cases, they had no other option but to resort to fighting with bayonets.
Puk! Crk! Psssh!
As if a rubber hose had been punctured, blood spurted into the air the moment Kang Chan pulled the bayonet from his target’s neck.
Puk! Puuk! Puk! Puk!
Blood splattered all over Kang Chan’s face. It was as if someone was spraying water into his nose and mouth using a garden hose during the summer.
Gulp!
‘I’ll get killed if I let the blood in my mouth distract me! If I fall now, it won’t take long for the Quds to kill the people I’m protecting as well!’.’
Whiz! Pwook! Puk! Puk!
With his left arm, Kang Chan grabbed another enemy by the nape and plunged the bayonet into their neck multiple times. As he did, he stared into the eyes of the terrified, the resentful, and even those in tears.
Pssh! Psssssh!
The blood from his prey spewed over his face, flowing down to his nose, mouth, and throat. It didn’t matter how they looked at him. He had no other option but to keep thrusting his blade into their necks.
Tatatang! Thud! Tatang! Thud! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Crack! Crack!
His bayonet would snag on the bones in his enemies’ throats whenever they twisted in agony.
"Aaaargh!"
Crunch!
Kang Chan tightened his grip on his weapon.
‘Hell? We can discuss me going to hell after I’ve ensured the men's safety!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sound of a sniper firing from atop the mountain reached Kang Chan's ears.
‘I doubt even hell can be worse than this!’
Crack! Puk! Ratatatatat! Ratatat!
Bullets tore into their ranks as Kang Chan pulled an enemy by the collar and forced his bayonet, the blade of which had dulled after cutting through so many bones and muscles, into their neck. He then retreated and unholstered his pistol.
Click!
‘Damn it!’
Bang! Bang! Bang! Thwack! Bang! Bang!
Seok Kang-Ho was changing magazines when Kang Chan felt a sharp pain on the right side of his stomach. If he had been hit a bit closer to the middle, it would have grazed his spine and made him collapse screaming.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As he heard Seok Kang-Ho returning fire again, he unsheathed his bayonet again. Not long after, he heard Andrei shout through the radio.
Chk.
"We’re out of ammo!"
Puk!
Kang Chan thrust his bayonet into a charging enemy's solar plexus. He then crouched down and hit them with his shoulder, driving him up into the air.
"Aaargh! Aaaaargh!"
Slash!
With a twist of his blade, the enemy finally slumped lifelessly.
Tch.
"Melee combatants! Hold on just a bit more!"
He had no time for lengthy speeches.
"Eeek!"
After pushing off the foe he had slung over his shoulder, Kang Chan charged toward the enemies up the ridge.
"Captaaain!!!" Gérard shouted after him.
"Shit!" Seok Kang-Ho cursed, unable to suppress his concern for their commander. Unfortunately, retreating was not an option.
A misstep here could mean the annihilation of the Spetsnaz.
Tch!
"Snipers! Cover the captain!" shouted Seok Kang-Ho.
Countless enemy bodies were strewn in front of the chest-high dirt wall that was providing the men with cover.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Bang! Whoosh! Bang! Whoosh!
Cover fire poured in during the brief opening.
Click!
Kang Chan picked up an AK-47 and shot the enemies fighting the Spetsnaz.
Ratatatat! Brrrrrt! Ratatatatat! Brrrrrt!
With each bullet that hit, bodies jerked and blood splattered.
"Andrei!"
Ratatatat! Ratatat! Ratatatatat!
He managed to buy the Spetsnaz time to retreat, but he was hit in the legs, side, and shoulder as a consequence.
Thwack! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Kang Chan staggered, but he didn’t let his wounds stop him. With a smirk, he threw himself forward.
Squelch!
Amid the dead, he reloaded his rifle.
Ratatatat! Ratatat! Ratatatatat!
"Daye!"
Ting! Ting!
The sound of safety pins being pulled from grenades echoed grimly all around him.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
For snipers to fire as rapidly as they were now, their hands would have to move so fast to reload that they wouldn’t be visible anymore.
"Captain!"
Ratatat! Ratatat! Wheeek!
Kang Chan stopped reloading and dove into a gap between bodies.
Kuuuuuung! Kuuuuuung!
Thud! Thump! Rustle!
More arms, legs, and other body parts flew over the wall than clods of dirt.
Ratatatat! Ratatatatat! Ratatatatat!
The Spetsnaz changed the magazines of their AK-47s. The close-quarters combat and the explosions from the grenades seemed to have given them some respite.
Ratatat! Ratatat! Ratatat!
The sound of gunfire finally faded. With the Spetsnaz securing their position, the enemy was forced to retreat and regroup.
"Huff! Huff!"
Gérard and Seok Kang-Ho rushed to Kang Chan, who lay next to a corpse.
"Fuck!"
I’m already feeling bitter about being shot, but now I have to listen to this bastard cursing at me too? It’s not like his shoulder wasn’t shot either.
"Alright, let’s get you up!"
Seok Kang-Ho and Gérard grabbed Kang Chan under the armpits and helped him up.
"Krrrgh!"
Damn it!
Kang Chan gritted his teeth and climbed over the defensive wall. He felt as if his body was being torn apart.
Thud! Thud!
What remained of their forces were busy throwing enemy corpses over the wall and moving their dead or wounded to the rear.
Click-clack! Click-clack!
Others checked the enemies’ rifles and stacked magazines to one side.
"Seven dead. No injured," said Andrei, covered in blood. He lurched over to Kang Chan.
In close-quarters combat like this, hardly any men could come out with mere injuries. More often than not, they would be shot in the forehead or heart, and if they managed to somehow survive, the enemy would simply shoot them again before they could resist.
"Six of our men are dead," Robert spoke as he walked over to them, a grim expression on his face.
When Kang Chan looked up, Tyler, who was standing beside him, added, "Seven, sir."
"Position the remaining personnel in front. In such battles, the enemy never pauses for more than five minutes."
"Understood."
With that one word, the commanders quickly acted. Kang Chan turned to Cha Dong-Gyun.
"Five dead," Cha Dong-Gyun reported, making Kang Chan involuntarily take a deep breath.
"I need a new bayonet," Kang Chan commanded.
Cha Dong-Gyun nodded and left.
"What about the French team?" Kang Chan asked.
"Three casualties, two in critical condition." Seok Kang-Ho responded
Being near Kang Chan resulted in casualties.
"Let's hurry," said Seok Kang-Ho.
He moved closer to Kang Chan as he cut a bandage with a bayonet. He then rolled it tightly and pushed it into the wound on Kang Chan's shoulder. Injuries like this had to be covered immediately.
"Krrrgh!" Kang Chan groaned.
Like this, Seok Kang-Ho pushed the fabric of the bandages into each of Kang Chan’s four wounds and tied them all up afterward. Rather than wrapping them thoroughly, he just looped the bandages twice and tied them tightly enough to avoid completely cutting off the blood flow.
The procedure brought Kang Chan excruciating pain, but it would make his wounds feel like nothing more than a minor ones once he returned to battle. It would seem as if he didn’t even get injured in the first place.
Gérard wrapped a bandage over Kang Chan’s left shoulder and armpit while Seok Kang-Ho wrapped his right shoulder. As they did, blood soaked the bandages until not even a hint of its white color was left.
Afterward, Kang Chan sheathed the bayonet he received from Cha Dong-Gyun into the sheath tied around his leg.
Click! Click-clack! Clicker-de-clack!
He piled up AK-47s beside him, picked one up, and checked its magazine.
"Looks like we killed around a hundred fifty to two hundred of the bastards.”
Smirking, Kang Chan looked ahead of him. They still had four hundred to four hundred fifty enemies to deal with.
"Damn it! We only got to eat ramyeon once!"
Seok Kang-Ho glared at their enemy’s position, his face smeared with blood and his eyes glinting more fiercely than ever. Gérard and the others were no different.
The moon shone on the crown of their heads as it hung high in the night sky. The soft light it cast illuminated their movements.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Damn it! This isn't a commercial for bugs, yet here we are, watching these bastards dressed in black approaching from the darkness like they’re cockroaches!
Click-clack!
As Kang Chan picked up his rifle, the others also lifted their rifles and took aim.
As the enemy finally came into view, weaving through the partially collapsed huts of the tribe, Kang Chan heard a determined shout from beside him.
"Green Berets!"
"Hooah!"
They didn't want to lose. They didn't want to be scared.
"Spetsnaz!"
"Arrai!"
"SBS!"
"Oorah!"
Gérard grinned. The scar on his cheek twitched.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
"Captain!" Gérard called out to Kang Chan as he took aim. The enemies were clustering around the native huts now.
Kang Chan couldn’t risk looking away from their enemies now. If they were to erupt into a charge, all hell would break loose once more.
This bastard! Why call me when you’re not going to say anything?
"Legion Etrangere!" Gérard ferociously yelled.
"Legio Patria Nostra!" the Foreign Legion special forces team roared in response.
"Pfffft!"
Seok Kang-Ho's vicious laughter echoed right after.
"Aaaaaaaaaarrrggh!"
The enemies broke into a charge.
Yes! That's how we met! Shouting "The legion is my homeland" every morning!
In his miserably lonely life, finding meaning in the daily entanglements with Seok Kang-Ho and Gérard had become Kang Chan;s solace. Perhaps he was fighting so desperately because he was afraid of losing them.
Whoosh!
Kang Chan was the first to shoot. Seemingly taking it as the signal for the continuation of their battle, gunfire and sparks erupted from both sides once more.
Let’s survive! Even though we’re fighting so desperately, we should still try to live on!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Ratatat! Ratatat!
The Quds were still ten meters away from them.
Ratatat! Brrrrt! Wheeeng! Brrrrt!
Their bullets destroyed the defensive wall in front and broke the mound behind Kang Chan into smithereens. At the same time, they halved the distance between them.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Ratatat! Ratatatatat!
An enemy leaped over the wall only to collapse in front of Kang Chan with a hole in his forehead.
Kang Chan grabbed a Qud by the collar.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Kuuuuung!
Thanks to a sniper taking out the hostile who had pulled out a grenade, a massive explosion occurred in the middle of the enemy ranks.
Thud! Rustle! Ratatat! Ratatat!
Severed wrists and piles of dirt flying all over. Amid the gruesome scene, Kang Chan unsheathed his bayonet and stabbed his opponent’s hand.
Wheeeng! Puk! Puk! contemporary romance
Don't take it too hard, rookie.
Ratatat! Thud! Bang! Thwack!
When the South Korean soldier next to Kang Chan collapsed against the wall behind them, Kang Chan bore a bullet into the forehead of the enemy who shot him.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Puk! Puk! Wheeeng! Wheeet!
Wasting not even a single second, Kang Chan swung his bayonet again.
You were quite cool in Afghanistan! I’ll remember you for as long as I live!
Pwook! Krrk!
"Aaargh! Aaaagh!"
Crack! Crunch!
‘I’ll only leave this place once I've killed all these bastards. You know that, right?’
Thwack!
A sharp pain surged from Kang Chan’s left shoulder shortly after he heard Seok Kang-Ho’s gun click empty. As Kang Chan returned fire with his pistol and took a few steps back, Seok Kang-Ho was knocked back while he was reloading.
Bang! Bang! Tatatat! Tatatatat! Tatang!
Gérard stepped forward and guarded Seok Kang-Ho from the front, and Kang Chan stood by his side with a pistol.
Tatang! Bang! Tatang! Bang! Bang! Tatang!
At this rate, they would only keep being pushed back.
"Gérard!"
Whoosh!
Kang Chan charged at the enemy.
Pwook! Puk! Puk! Pwook!
With the enemies charging at them and preventing them from taking aim, they were left with no other option but to switch to their bayonets and engage in melee combat.
Wheeet! Pweet! Wheeeet! Wheeeng!
"Damn it!"
Much to their surprise, despite all the gunfire, shouts, and screams, they still heard Seok Kang-Ho's curse quite clearly.
Seeing Kang Chan change fighting styles, the commander and selected members of each team charged at the enemy. At times like this, the members at the back of their formation had to cover fire for those at the front. However, doing so came with the risk of friendly fire.
The moon reached its zenith as they stormed toward the incoming hostiles.
Hurry up!
Pwook!
Kang Chan thrust his bayonet into an enemy's neck. He then pushed forward.
"Grrrk! Grrrrk!"
Pshhhhhh!
Blood sprayed onto his face as he pulled out his bayonet, but he couldn't afford to avoid it or close his eyes. He had to create space so those at the back could start providing cover fire.
Ratatatat!
Sparks from a rifle flashed right before his eyes, instantly turning everything dark. Nevertheless, he showed not an even ounce of hesitation. The enemy was all around him. He just had to thrust toward wherever he heard breathing.
Pwook!
"Ugh!"
His vision returned as he heard a scream, returning him to a world dyed in red once more.
Kang Chan pulled out the bayonet stuck in the enemy's nape.
Puk!
"Aaaargh!"
Thwack!
Missing not even a single beat, he shoved the enemy by the chest with his shoulder and pushed forward. In this situation, advancing more than a meter risked being surrounded and killed. Hence, the best he could do was create enough space for their fellow soldiers at the back to open fire.
Ratatatat! Ratatatatat! Tat! Ratatat! Thud!
Sparks erupted all around. One of their allies fell to the ground in front of the defensive barrier.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A steady stream of sniper shots echoed all around them, targeting those attempting to pull out grenades.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Tatang! Whoosh! Whoosh! Tatang! Tatang!
Seok Kang-Ho and Gérard’s gunshots mixed, knocking down the enemies around Kang Chan.
Pwook! Puk! Puk! Thwack!
Kang Chan managed to swing his bayonet three more times before finally taking a hit to his right shoulder.
"Urgh!"
He gritted his teeth. When he tried to launch another attack, immense pain coursed throughout his body. It made him feel as if his shoulder was being torn off.
I can't stop now! The bastards behind me will die if I do! Do you know why I became the God of Blackfield?
Pwook! Puk! Puk!
The pain was so intense that his consciousness blurred with each swing he made.
Ratatat! Tatang! Tat! Whoosh! Ratatat! Whoosh! Tat! Ting! Ting!
Amid the crossfire, Kang Chan heard safety pins being pulled from grenades. Explosives were certainly more effective when enemies were crammed together.
Wheeeek!
Seeing a grenade in the air, Kang Chan pulled the enemy's collar with his left hand. He stabbed them in the neck and pushed them toward the grenade.
"Fucking hell!" Gérard shouted.
Kuuuuung! Kwaaang! Thud!
Kang Chan felt as if he was flying. Soon, he crashed in front of the defensive barrier.
Ratatatat! Ratatat! Ratatat!
Like madmen, his subordinates stood up and engulfed the battlefield with a rain of bullets using the AK-47s that they had gathered earlier.
Brrrrt! Brrrt! Brrrrt!
Wherever bodies exploded, flesh and blood splattered.
Ting! Wheeeek! Kuuuuung!
Splash! Thud!
One of the corpses flew over Kang Chan.
“Huff! Huff!”
Lying among the corpses, he looked at the moon, now appearing red in the sky, as if watching over him.
Having fun?
Kang Chan thought the moon was talking to him. In his haze, he had forgotten that it couldn't speak.
Right now, if someone carelessly opened their mouth—if they asked why he lived like this or if he really wanted to live through all of this—he would probably immediately stab them with his bayonet.
"Ugh!"
Kang Chan involuntarily groaned as he got up. His right shoulder was in visibly bad condition. The pain coming from it traveled down his arm to the joint, making him feel as if it was being torn apart.
"Daye!" Kang Chan called. Seok Kang-Ho suddenly came to mind as he was about to climb over the defensive wall.
A moment later, a pair of arms reached over and pulled him by the shoulder.
‘It already feels like my shoulder is being torn apart,’ Kang Chan thought. ‘Who the hell is—’
"I'll do whatever you ask!" Andrei bluntly exclaimed.
He stood right in front of Kang Chan, snarling and covered in blood.
"So keep commanding us until we've killed all these motherfuckers!"
This fucking bastard! I already have Daye to take care of! Having to look after two idiots would be too much!
"Monsieur Kang!"
"Call me captain!” Kang Chan ordered.
"Understood, Captain!"
Andrei stared at Kang Chan for a moment before turning around and heading back to his position.
Kang Chan leaned against the defensive wall as he walked, using it to keep himself upright. After a while, he found Gérard binding Seok Kang-Ho's upper body.
"Daye!"
"I'm fine! Fuck!"
Of course he is! That bastard wouldn't die that easily.
Ignoring the pain, Kang Chan approached Seok Kang-Ho.
"You better fucking hold on, got that?” Kang Chan shouted.
"What made you think I’d die here? I’m not leaving ramyeon and kimchi behind" Seok Kang-Ho replied.
They didn’t have much time left. The enemies would resume their offensive in five minutes. They had to prepare as much as they could before then.
Just as Kang Chan was about to turn away from Seok Kang-Ho, he heard a sound from the distance.
Du dudududududd!
A helicopter was cutting through the clouds.