Before the Gurkha mercenaries could execute their joint attack, Taeseong was the first to lunge at the closest mercenary.
“……!”
He aimed his knife, gripped in his right hand, at the enemy’s nape. But it was merely an elaborate feint. The moment the enemy hastily raised his guard, Taeseong swiftly drew another knife from his tactical vest and stabbed the mercenary in the side.
Twice. Precisely.
With movements as fast and precise as a phantom, the Gurkha mercenary, who had been hit first, collapsed, groaning in pain and cursing.
“यो बदमा! (You bastard!)”
However, proving that the title of the world’s strongest was no exaggeration, the two remaining mercenaries attacked Taeseong simultaneously.
They moved as if they were one.
Their Gurkhas, blades designed to sever heads in a single strike, came slashing down with ferocious momentum. Yet, Taeseong remained unfazed, deflecting their trajectories by swinging his dual knives diagonally.
‘Dragging this out will put me at a disadvantage. I need to end this as quickly as possible.’
The sound of clashing blades echoed from above as well. Judging by the skill of these opponents, Yu Gi-jun was likely struggling against them.
Before Taeseong could expand his thoughts further, the two mercenaries launched a intense assault.
Sometimes targeting his vital points, other times his arms and legs with unpredictable movements, the Gurkhas demonstrated why they were called the ultimate mercenaries.
‘Are they twins?’
Even the longest-standing comrades rarely moved in such perfect unison. Yet, these two fought as though they were one. Through their masks, their eyes were identical, as if copied and pasted.
‘Left shoulder. Right thigh. Left upper arm. Right side. And solar plexus.’
Gradually, their movements became familiar to him.
“I admit your coordination is impressive. But you rely too much on brute force.”
As time passed, the twins’ bodies accumulated more wounds. Despite maximizing the advantages of their joint attack, they were the ones being pushed back.
They grew impatient, realizing that although they may have held the upper hand at the start, their worsening injuries were tilting the battle in Taeseong’s favor.
‘यो राक्षस कहाँबाट आय! (Where did this monster come from!?)’
‘यो यमको अवतार हो! (Is he an avatar of Yama!?)’ TL : Yama is god of death in Hinduism and Buddhism.
Making their decision, the twins abandoned defense entirely.
They understood that the longer they dragged this out, the worse it would be for them. They chose to take a risk, believing a swift end to the fight was their only chance. It was a sound decision.
But…
They had chosen the wrong opponent.
Taeseong deflected every incoming attack as if he had already seen the future. Even as they swung their kukri in desperation, the twins couldn’t hide their shock at the supernatural precision of his movements.
The overwhelming gap in skill.
Their eyes widened in sheer terror, as if they had seen a ghost—until Taeseong’s knives sank deep into their throats.
Slice!
“……रिप (Reaper).”
That was their final word.
It wasn’t that they lacked skill. Unfortunately for them, luck had not been on their side.
Even though the battle was over, Taeseong, moving with ghostly precision, drew his pistol from its holster and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
His target was the first Gurkha mercenary he had attacked.
Though gravely wounded and momentarily out of the fight, the mercenary had used the opportunity to aim his gun at Taeseong.
But unfortunately for him, Taeseong had already anticipated it. A finishing shot was not a choice—it was a necessity.
“Looks like it’s wrapping up upstairs as well.”
Just in time, Sergeant Choi and Yu Gi-jun descended the stairs.
As expected of one of the unit’s strongest soldiers, Choi didn’t have a single scratch on him, whereas Yu Gi-jun’s uniform was riddled with cuts.
Fortunately, none of the injuries seemed life-threatening. But in his current state, it was clear he wouldn’t last much longer.
Taeseong approached Yu Gi-jun and tore strips from the Gurkha’s uniform to use as makeshift bandages. The depth of his wounds was concerning, but stopping the bleeding was the priority.
After finishing the emergency treatment, Taeseong asked,
“How’s the wound?”
“Haha. This isn’t even worth calling an injury. Don’t worry about me. Just a scratch.”
“You must have had a tough time.”
It was sergeant Choi who responded instead, laughing heartily.
“Yeah. He put up a hell of a fight to stay alive. Well, given that the opponents were Gurkhas, I get it. But if I hadn’t helped, he’d be dead for sure. His head would probably be rolling somewhere over there by now. Hahaha!”
Yu Gi-jun pursed his lips, seemingly wounded by Choi’s mockery.
“…The terrain was unfavourable. They had the high ground, and I was below, so my reach—”
Listening to his excuses, Taeseong cut him off bluntly.
“Since when do we concern ourselves with favourable or unfavourable conditions?”
“That’s…”
“Sergeant Yu Gi-jun.”
“…Sergeant Yu Gi-jun!”
“The enemy won’t wait until conditions are in our favour. Always assume the worst.”
“I understand.”
“When we return to base, we’ll start training from scratch.”
“…….”
“Mission continues.”
As Taeseong turned and took the lead, voices murmured from behind.
“Why’d you have to act tough? Because of you, now we all have to train again. God knows how hard he’ll push us this time. You know what he’s like when he gets pissed.”
“……Sorry.”
“I’m joking, dumbass. A man’s bound to have moments like that. Back when I was your age, I got my ass kicked by some foreigners too. If this kind of thing gets to you, you might as well cut your balls off. Not like you’ll be using them anyway.”
“…I have a girlfriend.”
“This bastard… Maybe I should’ve let you die.”
Taeseong held a deep appreciation for this side of Master Sergeant Choi.
Earlier, he had cracked jokes to ease Yu Gi-jun’s tension. Now, he was using humour again to lighten the stiff atmosphere.
Taeseong may have been superior in combat and leadership, but when it came to comradeship, Choi was unmatched.
By nature, Taeseong found it difficult to show warmth to his subordinates.
To most of them, he appeared cold and distant—always unwavering, never showing signs of struggle.
And when they witnessed his superhuman feats in battle, that distance only grew.
But thanks to Choi, the team maintained a delicate balance.
After about twenty more steps, a steel door came into view.
Taeseong opened it, revealing a long corridor lined with iron bars on either side.
A prison for the hostages.
Walking forward, Taeseong examined the captives inside. They varied in race, age, and gender.
But they all shared one thing in common—scrawny bodies and lifeless eyes, staring back at him with hollow gazes.
Too weak to even speak. Their lips did not move.
‘At least there are no casualties.’
“Yu Gi-jun, stay here and handle the rescue.”
“…What about you, Captain?”
“I’m going to eliminate the target.”
“Understood.”
The leader of the extremist terrorist organization “AIAI,” Kadrik Alvarez. Only by eliminating him for certain could they consider the mission a success.
“I’ll go too, Captain.”
Taeseong gave a silent nod and walked forward. Sergeant Choi followed behind.
Beyond this hallway, just around the corner, was the room where Kadrik Alvarez was staying.
But it was eerily quiet.
Even if most of the enemy forces had been withdrawn, it made no sense that there was no one guarding the leader’s room.
“Something feels off.”
Sergeant Choi seemed to have the same thought. They remained on high alert as they advanced. Turning the corner, they spotted a door.
With the door between them, Taeseong and Sergeant Choi pressed against opposite walls and exchanged glances.
“…….”
After about ten seconds, it was decided that Sergeant Choi would open the door.
As soon as their decision was made, he moved without hesitation.
He flung the door open. But inside—
The room was empty.
And, of course, Kadrik Alvarez was nowhere to be seen.
Sergeant Choi turned to Taeseong.
“Captain, it looks like—”
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
A timer sound echoed from somewhere inside the room.
The beeping, which had been steady at first, started accelerating.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
“Sergeant Choi!”
Taeseong’s body moved faster than his words.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted as searing heat blasted out from the room. A time bomb hidden under the desk had detonated.
Fortunately, Taeseong’s sharp hearing had picked up the ticking just in time. His quick decision saved both of them.
Rolling across the floor, Master Sergeant Choi quickly got up and brushed off the debris clinging to his uniform.
“…Those goddamn bastards. We almost took a one-way trip to hell. Thank you, Captain. You just saved my life. I owe you a drink when we get back.”
“Good to hear.”
But there was a bigger issue.
“…It seems they knew we were coming.”
Taeseong nodded grimly.
The time bomb had been set to explode at the perfect moment—as if they had been expecting them.
Could this really be a coincidence?
No. Absolutely not.
Which meant…
Static crackled through the radio.
[This is Bravo. This is Bravo. Charlie, respond.]
“This is Charlie. Signal is clear.”
[……The intel we obtained was completely false. It appears that operational details were leaked to the enemy. Tango and the remaining enemy forces are converging on the battlefield. The mission is a failure. Withdraw from the area immediately—]
Static.
Then silence.
Sergeant Choi, who had been grinning moments ago, now wore a furious expression.
“Those goddamn bastards… Now they tell us the mission was compromised? Are they kidding me…?”
Sergeant Yu Gi-jun, having heard the transmission, rushed over with a grave look on his face.
“Captain… What do we do now?”
Taeseong didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he accelerated his thoughts.
This mission had been doomed from the start. The operation had been leaked, and the enemy had surrounded the entire area.
This was a trap from the beginning.
They were like rats caught in a barrel.
Holding their position and engaging in a prolonged battle was pointless.
If they stayed, they would eventually be worn down and killed.
Once he organized his thoughts, everything became clear. There was no need to overcomplicate it. The answer had been decided from the start.
“Yu Gi-jun, take charge of leading the hostages from the rear.”
“…What?”
“I’ll clear the way.”
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