Chapter 1466: Toying Around (1) |
KA-BOOOOOOOM!!!
Human eyes couldn’t keep up with the speed of 120mm shells fired by modern tanks.
Most people would only see the smoke billowing out from the tank’s gun the moment it fired a shell. In the case of self-propelled artillery firing from far away, humans might spot tiny little dots hurtling through the air if they squint hard enough.
Of course, that story only applied to ordinary people. Because Kang Jin-Ho had no problem with accurately tracking the incoming shell.The corners of his lips curled up ever so slightly.
This is… actually fun.
He wanted to experience this properly at least once in his life.
During his trip through North Korea, Kang Jin-Ho’s mind had been too “preoccupied” to respond properly against the bombardments.
Who could blame him, though? Even he had never experienced artillery shells relentlessly raining down on him at unbelievable speeds until that moment, after all.
No matter how strong he was, it’d still be difficult to do his best against unknown types of attack… unless he had experienced it at least once before.
However, that was not the case today. He was at peak physical and mental condition. And that was why he could see the incoming shell with so much more clarity.
Kang Jin-Ho rapidly retrieved the Crimson Destiny and Azuremourne from the ground before resuming his stroll toward the American military.
Whoooooosh!
The tank shell brushed past him. The wind pressure alone would’ve been enough to rip the flesh apart and break the bones of an ordinary person, but not Kang Jin-Ho. Such a thing didn’t apply to him.
Modern weapons were undoubtedly powerful. That didn’t mean they weren’t without their flaws, however.
The first flaw Kang Jin-Ho had identified was that, once fired, bullets and shells could not change their trajectories.
Of course, one might say that couldn’t be seen as a flaw in the first place. Why would anyone feel the need to alter the trajectory of a shell? In a war between ordinary people, the focus would naturally be on how fast the shells traveled and how powerful they were, not how straightforward a shell’s trajectory was.
But it’d be a different story while fighting against martial art experts.
Powerful experts could easily spot and sidestep such a simplistic attack, no matter how fast said attack was. They would only need to take two steps to the side, and that was enough to get them out of the attack’s effective range.
And when the shells were being fired one at a time, like right now?
Ka-boom!
Kaaa-booooom!
The ground Kang Jin-Ho had walked past exploded; the desert broke apart, sending sand and rocks everywhere.
Despite the carnage behind him, however, Kang Jin-Ho’s gait remained unhurried. The cigarette smoke leaving his mouth intermingled with the smokes from the explosions.
***
“They missed the target?!”
Mercer’s brows shot up high. But that could be right!
One tank missing its target was understandable. The operators inside couldn’t have fully recovered from the effects of that earthquake, after all. However, for all three tanks to miss, too?
Such a thing should be “almost” improbable considering when they were all aiming at the same target!
Did that mean the target had… dodged shells fired by tanks?!
“That’s a load of bullsh*t!”
Mercer loudly gritted his teeth. However, he soon had to acknowledge that he was wrong about this situation.
The target still maintained his unperturbed attitude.
Even though explosive shells fired by tanks landed behind him, Kang Jin-Ho still leisurely closed the distance. And it was precisely his attitude that helped Mercer realize that what happened was no mere coincidence.
…And he also finally realized why Phil Burton said earlier that they shouldn’t consider the target as a human being!
Fine! I admit that I have no goddamn idea what’s going on here! But!
Mercer’s scowl deepened as murderous intent rapidly filled his expression.
But I’m still gonna blow you apart!
He roared at the top of his lungs. “Fire the second volley! Keep firing! Do not stop to confirm the destruction of the target!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Order any units that have recovered their operational capabilities to join the shelling immediately! Grind the enemy to dust!”
“Sir, yessir!”
The adjutant’s prompt reply got swallowed up by the loud noises of the tanks firing their shells.
Ka-boooom!
KA-BOOOOOOOM!
The desert rumbled and quaked again, but this vibration differed from the earthquake earlier.
That was because these vibrations were born from a series of explosions, something that could only be felt on a battlefield. And Mercer felt more and more alive as his senses picked up on all these rumblings.
His troops would rely on their overwhelmingly superior firepower to utterly crush the enemy today!
Yes! Nothing is more important than artillery in modern warfare!
Other commanders might vehemently disagree with Mercer, but they were all talking nonsense, at least in his honest opinion. The artillery and the air force leveled the enemy’s territory first so that the infantry could swoop in and occupy the conquered region. That was how wars were fought in the modern era.
Also, the value of the artillerymen would go up by several folds if things like the safety of civilians and the pressure from the international community were no longer a factor in the battle.
KA-BOOM!
KAAA-BOOOOOOM!!!
And the enemy must be learning that painful lesson right now, too!
No, wait. Maybe he can’t learn anything anymore.
Because he should be dead by the time the lessons started, after all!
Mercer rummaged through his pocket. However, he could only frown in disappointment after finding his own pack of cigarettes. That was because he belatedly remembered that smoking during operations was strictly forbidden. While groaning unhappily, he let go of the pack and pulled his hand out from the pocket.
Smoking in the middle of a battle might look cool in movies, but in reality, it’d be nothing more than an act of insubordination.
Dammit. Why did that man have to smoke in front of me? Now I want to smoke, too!
Despite his nicotine craving getting on his nerves, however, Mercer had regained most of his cool by now.
KA-BOOM!
KAA-BOOOOM!!! BOOM! BOOOOOOM!!!
Explosions continued to ring out. Thick curtains of dust, kicked up by those explosions, completely blocked Mercer’s view. Such was the thickness of the dust that it almost looked like a sand storm commonly seen in the Sahara desert.
Could anyone have survived that?
Well, it’s not completely impossible, thought Mercer.
If a man was lucky enough to survive ten lightning strikes, he might also be lucky enough to stand in a spot untouched by all the raining shells and survive the bombardment that way. Even if he did, however… His will to fight should have evaporated from the harrowing experience!
“Hold your fire!” Mercer shouted loudly.
The adjutant followed up by yelling into his walkie talkie. “Hold! Your! Fiiiiiire! Hold your fire, now!”
The tanks unleashing their firepower nonstop until then abruptly ceased all activities. White smoke billowed from the guns and danced in the air like cigarette smoke.
To Mercer’s eyes, it was as if these tanks were smoking his cigarettes for him since he couldn’t do it himself. He couldn’t help but chuckle wryly when that thought slipped into his mind.
After briefly shaking his head, Mercer ordered his adjutant. “Once the smoke clears, confirm the status of the enemy.”
“That might be difficult, sir. Because that bombardment probably has vaporized him completely.”
“Sure, but at least take a look first and then give up, will ya?”
If it was possible, Mercer would like to uncover at least a clump of flesh or hair of the enemy. Because he’d like to dig a grave for a man brave—or stupid—enough to fight against an armored division all by himself. And he wanted to force new recruits joining the division to go and pay their respects to this man, too.
“Dammit… Why did we even do this, anyway?”
They had suffered too many losses just for this idiotic training exercise. Who could have predicted that there would be an earthquake in this precise location? Just thinking about how long it’d take to repair the tanks and artillery until they could be operational again filled Mercer with so much dread.
“…Commander.”
“What is it?” Mercer replied while not even bothering to look back at his adjutant.
“O-over there, sir…!”
“Mm?”
When Mercer finally looked, he realized his adjutant’s face was uncharacteristically pale. Now also confused, Mercer turned around to see what the adjutant was looking at.
…And that was when he finally saw it, too.
In the distance was the billowing gigantic dust cloud seemingly trying to blanket the heavens above. And in the center of this dust cloud that resembled a sandstorm was a dark silhouette.
“…?!”
Mercer had to stare at this silhouette for a long, long time before finally realizing that it was shaped like a human being. And he also realized he could hear the faint footsteps coming from the dust cloud.
But that should have been impossible. All kinds of loud noises filled this area, after all. And there was the distance to consider, too!
Even then, Mercer’s hearing clearly picked up the sounds of someone’s approaching footsteps.
Not too long afterward, a man broke through the dust cloud and stepped into the open.
“…!”
That man’s hair was a mess. A thick layer of dust covered him from top to bottom. Even then…
He didn’t even have a scratch on him. Not even one!
The man frowned a little while wiping the dust away from his face. He then mouthed a still-burning cigarette and took a deep but slow puff.
“Fuu-woooooo…”
The man tossed the cigarette on the ground, then tightly gripped the abnormally long swords in his hands.
“Thanks for that warm welcome,” said the man.
Mercer didn’t know which language the man spoke, but he thought he could still understand the meaning behind those words.
He could clearly see the corners of the man’s lips curl up ominously.
That man was Mercer’s enemy. There was no doubt about it.
However, even though he could see the enemy getting closer, any thoughts of resistance had already fled from Mercer’s mind. This surreal situation had completely robbed him of his ability to think rationally.
However, could anyone say he was making a mistake right now? Especially when the result would still be the same regardless of whether he did something or not?
“Then… It’s my turn to say hello, isn’t it?”
Kang Jin-Ho smirked, then charged forward while wielding the Crimson Destiny and Azuremourne.
“…! F-fire! Fire at will!”
Mercer sobered up in an instant. Unfortunately for him, Kang Jin-Ho was even faster.
By the time Mercer’s command left his lips, Kang Jin-Ho had already reached the tanks at the front of the formation.
Kang Jin-Ho’s sword ruthlessly sliced through the nearest tank.
Slaaaaash!
What the hell?! Mercer gasped, his expression dyed in pure shock.
Did that man really swing his sword at a tank? Was he being serious just now?
During the Second World War, the Japanese forces became targets of well-deserved mockery for inventing the so-called sword combat techniques against armored vehicles. After that debacle had died down post-war, the idea of using “cold weapons” to deal with armored vehicles had completely disappeared.
These days, cold weapons weren’t even brought into the battlefield unless they were to serve specific purposes. But that man was trying to slice a tank apart with a sword? Seriously?
Unless he was a complete loon, how could he even…
Just as Mercer’s thoughts reached that far…!
Claaaaang!
His hearing was overwhelmed by this indescribable metallic noise. And his vision was filled with the sight of the severed upper half of the tank flying through the air!
Reggie Mercer stared at this scene in stupefaction. Was he looking at a scene from a movie? Was that it?
What the f*ck?! We’re not shooting a goddamn Sci-Fi movie here, okay?!
In movies, you’d often seen heroes wielding light*abers chopping, slicing, and dicing through machines with ease. But in reality, only an immature child would attempt to do the same.
But a phenomenon only possible in movies actually happened right before Mercer’s eyes.
He could clearly see Kang Jin-Ho leisurely pulling his sword back. That man still looked unperturbed, as if he hadn’t done anything special or notable just now. And then, Kang Jin-Ho lazily cocked his foot before…
BAAAAANG!!!
He casually kicked the lower half of the tank away!
“What?!”
He kicked a tank away?! Like a ball?
Mercer’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets from sheer shock at this scene.
“How the f*ck?!”
That tank was an M1A2, which weighed well over sixty tons. Even with its upper half missing, the damn tank should still weigh over fifty tons! But that man had no problem kicking it away?
An ordinary man wouldn’t even be able to kick fifty kilograms away, never mind fifty tons!
What is the meaning of this?!
Unfortunately for Mercer, he had no time to question his own sanity right now. Because reality was moving at a speed his brain simply couldn’t keep up with!
“Duuuuuck!”
“Uwaaaahk?!”
The flying tank fell mercilessly to the ground. Soldiers saw the massive projectile weighing sixty tons falling on top of them and scattered in unbridled panic.
However, only people could do that. Stationary equipment could not.
The flying tank landed on one of the self-propelled artillery, currently immobilized after its tracks got destroyed during the earthquake.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The artillery got shoved back from the impact force that should have been impossible to produce in reality. While the artillery clattered to the left, the lower half of the tank tumbled to the right. The two weighty projectiles slammed into other immobile equipment in the surroundings, causing even more destruction in the process.
And rather obviously, Kang Jin-Ho didn’t stop there.
Whoosh!
Another tank got sliced apart vertically.
“Huh?”
“W-what the hell?”
The terrified tank operators inside the vehicle trembled like lone leaves against the storm winds when their eyes met Kang Jin-Ho’s.
Then again, how could they not be terrified? When this man cut their tank apart with a mere sword?!
Kang Jin-Ho coldly glared at them. He used his chin to point away from the tank. “Hey. Get out.”
“…”
“Now!”
Even before their brains could process what Kang Jin-Ho said, their bodies moved first. The tank operators screamed in terror while stumbling hurriedly outside through the open gap between the two halves of the tank.
Once they were gone, Kang Jin-Ho unhesitantly kicked the both halves of the tank away.
Bang!
Boom!
The halves flew away like soccer balls toward other tanks in the vicinity.
Explosions resounded, while screams echoed from everywhere.
Terror instantly descended on this nameless stretch of the desert.
Sccccreeeek…!
While casually dragging the tips of the Crimson Destiny and the Azuremourne on the ground, Kang Jin-Ho slowly headed to the center of the armored division’s formation.
“Let’s conclude my introduction here, shall we?”
And instead… Why don’t we begin for real now?