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“Today, we’ll be training together. First, running. We’ll head to the makeshift city and run along the exterior of the city. Everyone warm yourselves up,” Kang Chan ordered. At his words, the soldiers began to stretch their muscles, using professional movements.
Seok Kang-Ho, Choi Jong-Il’s group, and Suh Sang-Hyun stood with the soldiers.
“Let’s go if you’re done,” Kang Chan declared.
“Soldiers, turn left! Begin running!” Cha Dong-Gyun shouted, and the soldiers began to run.
Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat.
The rhythmic sound of military boots crunching on the ground could be heard as the soldiers moved along. After about a hundred meters, the makeshift city came into view. A road spanned along the outskirts of the city, making it easier to run.
Kang Chan ran with them on the left, matching their pace. As he ran with them, he learned that their skills weren’t inferior at all.
Even though it was just a running exercise, through their speed, breathing, and the inexplicable energy that they exuded, he learned that they were certainly capable.
If these soldiers rigorously trained like the Foreign Legion and accumulated intense combat experience, they would truly become an exceptional unit.
However, the real-life combat experience obtained from just one battle or operation wouldn’t be enough. They would have to accumulate and have experience passed down to them during a period where more than half their current members and the new recruits that would replace them would likely die.
Kang Chan understood why Jeon Dae-Geuk, Kim Hyung-Jung, and Kim Tae-Jin had been feeling as if the special forces team wasn’t being raised to their full potential. Despite having the determination and endlessly repeating their training, they had never had the opportunity to go into a real battle.
It was an unfortunate tragedy. The special forces team was confident in their expected success in any operation, but they couldn’t make any progress because they feared the consequences that would follow. This was comparable to a talented child not being able to advance properly because their father’s abilities to guide the child to their fullest potential were insufficient. Jeon Dae-Geuk, Kim Hyung-Jung, and Kim Tae-Jin probably felt how the father in the metaphor would feel.
Kang Chan continued to think to himself as they ran 10 kilometers in no time.
Kang Chan gradually felt his blood heating up. The determination and passion emanating from the soldiers’ bodies were relayed directly to him.
“Let’s pick up the pace!” Kang Chan commanded as he started to run faster.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
The soldiers’ upper bodies moved in rhythm from side to side with each step they took forward. Their running formation was still intact although they had run over 10 kilometers and were picking up speed.
Kang Chan could see they had trained to no end. They had pushed themselves to the extreme because they couldn’t gain real combat experience.
Kang Chan turned his gaze to observe the soldiers. They all looked tired, but they kept moving forward. They were running with the thought that stopping could cause their comrades to die.
‘These punks.’
It would make Kang Chan uncomfortable to develop a fondness for these men. If any one of them died, he would face an extremely hard time enduring their loss.
However, Kang Chan’s heart was already being moved just by witnessing the soldiers’ determination and passion as they ran.
Now, they had already run 20 kilometers. Every single soldier was already wheezing for breath, but none of them showed signs of giving up.
“Let’s return to the barracks!” Kang Chan shouted upon seeing the path in the mountains that led inside the makeshift city.
The running formation veered off the outer road of the small city and entered the mountain path.
“Haah! Haah!”
In front of the barracks, Kim Tae-Jin, Choi Seong-Geon, and his aide watched the soldiers return.
Kang Chan and the soldiers were completely drenched in sweat.
“Do you have helmets and bulletproof vests?” Kang Chan asked Choi Seong-Geon.
“We have it all,” Choi Seong-Geon replied.
“Please prepare those. Rifles as well,” Kang Chan requested.
When Choi Seong-Geon gave the order to prepare what Kang Chan asked for, his aide quickly went to work.
By the time the soldiers’ breaths had calmed down a little, the officer had finished putting down helmets, bulletproof vests, and rifles in front of them.
“Please give us some live ammunition,” Kang Chan stated.
Choi Seong-Geon whipped around to turn to Kang Chan, and the soldiers all looked at Kang Chan in shock.
“Did you just say live ammo?” Choi Seong-Geon asked, doubting his ears.
“Yes. We will conduct today’s training with live ammo,” Kang Chan reiterated.
Choi Seong-Geon was at a loss for words, and even Kim Tae-Jin couldn’t hide his surprise.
“Please explain how you will proceed with the training, Mr. Kang Chan,” Choi Seong-Geon requested with a stiff glare.
Kang Chan walked up onto the steps in front of the barracks.
“I plan to launch a preemptive attack on our enemy countries soon. I need twelve people from the soldiers here. If you wish to volunteer, take a step forward,” Kang Chan commanded.
The soldiers all took a step forward as one with a thud. It was as if they had rehearsed it in advance. Seok Kang-Ho and Suh Sang-Hyun stepped forward as well.
“Today, we will train with live ammunition. You will be split into two teams, but you may only shoot each other on the helmets or on the bulletproof vests. Any soldier who gets injured by gunfire or shoots a member of the opposing team will be eliminated from the candidates. If you are displeased with these conditions, you may step back,” Kang Chan announced.
Choi Seong-Geon glanced at Kim Tae-Jin with a look of protest. Just then, Seok Kang-Ho came forward and took a helmet, bulletproof vest, and submachine gun for himself. Choi Jong-Il, Woo Hee-Seung, and Lee Doo-Hee followed suit.
They put their helmets on despite their faces still drenched in sweat. They also wore their bulletproof vests, tightening the front.
“Damn it!” grumbled Suh Sang-Hyun. Everyone heard what he said. However, even he came forward and picked up a helmet and vest.
“This should be fun,” Kim Tae-Jin jokingly said as he also stepped up and picked up a helmet and vest too, surprising everyone in the area.
“Sir, how will this kind of training be effective?” Cha Dong-Gyun loudly and boldly asked, breaking the silence.
“Should we just do real combat instead?” Kang Chan sarcastically asked.
“You know that’s not what I meant, sir!” Cha Dong-Gyun replied.
“You told me all of you had trained and prepared!” Kang Chan shouted back with force.
It came as a shock. The always calm and composed Kang Chan never raised his voice, but he just did.
Kim Tae-Jin looked down, pretending to examine his bulletproof vest so he could hide his surprised expression.
“What will you do if something unexpected happens while you’re out on a mission? Are you going to make excuses like you are now? Because it’s not what you’re used to, because information was leaked, because you’ve never fought against moving enemies with live ammo?”
Kang Chan turned his sharp glare to the rest of the soldiers.
“Never ever forget what it means to have no combat experience! You will go on missions where more than half of you won’t return alive! After that, more new recruits will be sent, and you will go on missions again where even more will die! Those who survive will become veterans, and their experience will trickle down to the new men. Cha Dong-Gyun! How long do you think it will take until then?”
Cha Dong-Gyun couldn’t find anything to say.
“Navy SEALs! Spetsnaz! The elite team of the Foreign Legion! All year long, they all engage in numerous big and small operations and battles. What about you? You should’ve gone out on a new mission after the Mongolian operation was over. Can any of you tell me if you’ve been on new missions since then?”
Kang Chan glared at the soldiers.
“It’s madness. I know. But there isn’t a single person in this world who can give you combat experience other than yourself. Simulated battles? Bullshit. How do you think you would feel if the soldiers who were shot yesterday were actually killed, but you have to go on the same kind of operation again today anyway?”
It had been so long since Kang Chan felt his blood boil to this extent.
“There’s no need for you to train if you don’t want to. However…”
Kang Chan looked directly into Cha Dong-Gyun’s eyes.
“I need soldiers who will return from operations alive, no matter what it takes—even if information was leaked, even if they are completely surrounded by enemies. I need agents who can survive until the very end! None of you understand how it feels to see your comrades fall dead to the ground, covered in blood! So if you’re going to spout bullshit, leave!”
Seok Kang-Ho peeked at Kim Tae-Jin. Neither of them had ever seen Kang Chan so enraged, so they were quite taken aback.
Kang Chan and Cha Dong-Gyun’s eyes remained unflinching on each other. It was as if they were having a staring contest.
This was it. This was as far as Kang Chan could go. He was moved and touched by the passion of the soldiers and the sincerity of Jeon Dae-Geuk, Kim Hyung-Jung, and Kim Tae-Jin.
His blood boiled because of all of that, but he couldn’t force the soldiers to do anything they didn’t want to.
The operation required the soldiers to be prepared to die. Kang Chan could inform them and advise them, but he wouldn’t or couldn’t drag them along.
Cha Dong-Gyun’s cheek twitched. He took two steps forward.
“Lieutenant Cha Dong-Gyun, volunteering for live ammo training!” he shouted through clenched teeth, gripping a helmet and a vest.
“Sergeant Yoo Kwang-Yeol, volunteering for live ammo training!”
“Staff Sergeant Park Dae-Gi, volunteering for live ammo training!”
“Second Lieutenant Yoon Sung-Gi, volunteering for live ammo training!”
The soldiers declared their intentions with strong resolve as if they were making a pact. They stepped forward one by one, grabbed their helmet and vest, and put them on.
“You punks!” Choi Seong-Geon bellowed stiffly as he watched the soldiers with gritted teeth.
Kim Tae-Jin looked up at the sky to hide his red eyes.
“Officer! After you provide live ammo, call all the medical officers who are available and have them report here!” Choi Seong-Geon shouted.
“Yes, sir!” his aide replied.
Even as Choi Seong-Geon gave the order, the determined soldiers continued picking up their helmets and vests with clenched teeth.
Kang Chan descended down to the barracks and picked up his own equipment.
“God of Blackfield!”
Just then, Cha Dong-Gyun called for Kang Chan, his voice strong and resolute.
“If South Korea’s special forces will be able to launch preemptive attacks as a result of this training, I will gladly give my life!”
When Kang Chan turned to him, Cha Dong-Gyun neatly turned half a circle and faced the soldiers.
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“What is our motto?!” he shouted.
“If I can protect my motherland with my blood, I am happy!”
Their shout, fierce and intense, echoed proudly throughout the mountains as their blood boiled further.