Empire of the Ring

Today was the day when 100 soldiers of the Arirang Autonomous State’s Countryside Force were sent to the Kyrgyzstan border area. They were named “special squadron” because they were equipped with 20 Turkish Cobra tactical armored vehicles. On each vehicle, a 12.7-millimeter machine gun was mounted at the front and 20-millimeter heavy machine gun on top. The four-wheel-drive amphibious tactical armored vehicle, which could carry 10 fully armed combatants, was equipped with run-flat tires and a fire protection function.

The autonomous state recently ordered 30 more tactical armored vehicles from Otokar the Turkish military vehicle company. It was because the state currently had 55 long-range armored vehicles, in which 35 of them were built for civilian use, and their only assault weapon was the detachable light machine gun.

Being the head of the state’s military force, Cho Chul-hwan insisted on going to the border with other soldiers, but he had to stay since the state was not free from terrorism either.

Youngho had mixed feelings as he watched the soldiers went on the tactical armored vehicles to hit the road. He was not sure if it was a good idea to send them just to show that the autonomous state was a member of Kazakhstan. If something dreadful happened to the soldiers, he would not be able to lift his face in front of their families.

The battle might not take place at the border, but if it did, there would be some sacrifices.

Most of the state’s Countryside Force guards volunteered thinking that it was only one of the other jobs that the state offered. Of course, they accepted the inevitable training to become soldiers, but they were no different from ordinary people.

It was very burdensome to send them to battlegrounds where their blood would spatter and flesh fell. However, it was not plausible to leave them as incompetent soldiers forever since they needed to protect the state. Thus, the state had made a bold decision to send them to the border so that they could have real experience. Youngho only wished that the soldiers would be reborn as solid warriors and return safely.

***

Although the tensions at the border between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were escalating and Europe was suffering from terrorism, there was still much work to be done.

Youngho first would have to fly to Batumi to deliver diamond stones to Eriksson and visit the Danish shipyard.

The first thing that he had to do was to select diamonds to deliver to Eriksson immediately. Youngho delivered about 500 stones, half of which would be processed for jewelry and half for industrial use. He still had a lot more left, but he thought that he would hold onto some diamonds for the state just in case. He would only give just the minimum amount that would help maintain a smooth relationship with Eriksson and the Information Agency.

Youngho met Eriksson in Batumi and gave him the diamond stones.

As he was about to leave for Denmark, he got a call from Jong-il. His voice sounded so urgent that it was obvious that something bad had happened.

“You’d better hurry back to the state instead of going to Denmark. It doesn’t look good at the border.”

“What’s happening?”

“It looks like the battle there is fiercer than expected. There have already been dozens of casualties on both sides.”

“What about our soldiers?”

“There’s still no fighting in the area where they were deployed.”

“So, that means there can be attacks in their area too.”

“Yeah, so cancel all of your other schedules and come back now.”

“Ok. Just get the state on high alert. The terrorists might come to the state now that they know the Arirang Autonomous State is participating in the war.”

“We already closed down the airfield and the wharf. Don’t worry.”

It was a good thing that In-soo and Jong-il took had taken action quickly.

Everyone knew that the Countryside Force soldiers were at the battlefield, and the IS might be looking for opportunities for retaliation.

If anything else, the wharf facility and the industrial complex near it should be guarded tightly since the infrastructural facilities for the state’s development were all gathered there.

The state’s security checkpoints were in operation, but the number of checkpoints alone was not enough to cover all of the territories of the state. If one was determined to sneak in, he could get through no matter how tight the security was unless the entire state was surrounded with high walls.

Worried about the Arirang Hotels in different locations, Youngho made sure that all the guards were alerted. It was because all of the facilities named Arirang could be targeted by the IS now.

He called Katya in Tskhinvali to see if she was doing fine. She laughed when she heard Youngho’s worrying.

“Boss, you have to give them a warm welcome if they come here in this remote valley. The military here would love it if a suspicious stranger was found here since no one comes here.”

“Aren’t you afraid of the IS?”

“Hahaha… Who do you think I am? I’m used to working with the mafia now. Don’t worry about this place and just take good care of my Rena. I had a video call with her yesterday. She looked bright.”

“Of course she should. She’s being treated like a princess by everybody.”

“Thank you, boss. It sucks that there’s nothing I can do other than saying thank you through the phone.”

“Oh, don’t feel bad. I should thank you instead because Rena is being a good sister to Leon. And for the time being, I’m going to send Il-kwon as your bodyguard. Your security is too lax.”

“You don’t have to do that. If you ask the military here for security, they’ll send some soldiers to the hotel.”

“I see. Okay, instead of sending Il-kwon, I’ll just send two security guards to escort you.”

“Boss…”

As Katya did not know what to say, Youngho quickly hung up. It was because he would hear her whimper if he kept talking to her.

***

Tactical armored vehicles were fixed at the wharf and the industrial complex of the autonomous state. Since soldiers were helpless against sudden attacks, it was more effective to guard in a tactical armored vehicle which could even endure rocket fires.

There was nothing like tactical armored vehicles where people could work and rest at the same time effectively. It was perfect for the facility’s perimeter as it had excellent mobility and could even deal with helicopter attacks with a machine gun and 20-millimeter heavy machine gun. Light armored vehicles were also busily patrolling around the state.

Upon his return from Batumi, Youngho inspected the conditions of important facilities. He then gathered people in the situation room and waited for news of the border area.

“I’m not worried about the ground security, but I’m worried that we only have one ship guarding the Arirang River. I can’t ask them to work 24 hours a day.”

“We can put the yachts in.”

“We don’t have enough Maritime Police guards. They are all doing their Kazakh Naval duty. How do we get them here?”

“Then the security guards of Zeynep Security Service should get on board. They used to be navies, sailing yachts is nothing to them.”

“They’re busy conducting Countryside Force soldiers all over the place.”

“Then let’s take over their shift instead of waiting here. They must be tired by now. Our communication system is perfect, what are we scared of? We can go back to the docks in twenty to thirty minutes if unexpected things happen. I don’t want to do nothing here.”

“Should we? We only have to guard around the wharf anyway. Let’s do that.”

“Great. Get four ground guards to accompany us.”

“We alone are enough. Why are we taking guards with us?”

“No, we need someone to take over the machine gun and the steering room just in case we have to leave the boat.”

“Oh, I didn’t think of that. I don’t want anybody to take over our expensive boat.”

Jong-il was too frustrated to be in the situation room that he wanted to go out and patrol around himself. It was no big deal since they only had to guard about 20 kilometers around the docks. It was better than sitting in the situation room and making a fuss anyway. Youngho was also anxious about the whole stressful situation, so he got up with Jong-il, leaving only Cha In-soo in the situation room.

It was a pitch-black night. The 100-ton yacht slowly patrolled at the mouth of the river with its searchlight on. Youngho bought this yacht to sail in and out of Volgograd, but Jong-il had armed it with all sorts of weapons. It was finally being put to use today.

A guard was arranged at each side of the two machine gun stands. Jong-il, who was controlling the searchlight at the steering room suddenly turned the light off and turned it back on.

“What is it?”

“I see a boat or something at the foot of that side. Can you drive the boat over there?”

He then gave the security guards a few instructions through his headset.

Youngho sped up slightly to get to the foot where Jong-il pointed out. There were two small motorboats anchored between the reeds. Each motorboat was occupied by one person.

They could see them holding a rifle on their boats. The yacht that Youngho and Jong-il were on was the only patrolling boat at the Arirang River at the moment. The strangers with a gun in motorboats could not be an ally.

The motorboats were small, but they could usually carry up to four to five people each. However, if only one person was left, the rest had already landed on land. If they did not carry a gun, they could be mistaken as fishermen at night, but they were definitely enemies.

The enemies were about to fire at the yacht, so Jong-il ordered to launch the machine guns immediately. Within a minute, the two boats became like a beehive with holes all over the boats’ body. The same time the machine guns were fired, Youngho contacted In-soo to announce an emergency to the whole state.

“In-soo. It looks like at least six to eight terrorists have infiltrated the state. It’s about 25 kilometers from the wharf, so they wouldn’t have gotten to the city area yet. Keep the perimeter security tight, and fly more drones.”

“I heard a gunshot from the outer guard post. Did you guys fire shots?”

“Yes. It was from our boat. I’ve already taken down two of them. Tell the guards to fire at anything that moves. They probably brought a portable rocket launcher since they came on a boat. Make sure our soldiers don’t get out of the armored vehicle, and use searchlights and light bombs to block their access.”

There was no reason to confront them and engage in a battle. They would not be able to move if the searchlights and star shells were set off. If they still pushed forward to fight, then they would have to be shot down.