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Chapter 104
Chapter 104
Chapter 104
October 31, 2020, 09:20
B2 Bunker, Yongsan-ku, Seoul (ROK Military Joint Command Center)
The main screen in the command center showed the twenty-four Black Phoenix jets from the 10th Fighter Wing’s 101st Battalion firing mid-range missiles and slaughtering the Chinese jets. However, the mood in the command center was a bit more subdued than before.
This was because of the report that three Phoenix jets from the 103rd Fighter Wing Battalion had been shot down.
“I’m sorry, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sir!” Lieutenant General Na Tae-yoon, who was the operations director for “Rise of Goguryeo,” said to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“It’s fine. How is this your fault? It’s our fault for making assumptions about the Chinese. And unless we are God himself, we can’t create perfect tactics and predictions.
This was an absolute misjudgment by the Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters. Before the war broke out, they had expected the Chinese to deploy up to 100 jets at most. Therefore, they concluded that with only twenty-four Phoenix jets they would be able to secure aerial victory without sustaining any losses. However, the Chinese Central Military Commission had sent out a larger number of jets than the Joint Chiefs of Staff had expected, causing the Korean air force to sustain losses.
“It was foolish of us to assume the Chinese would operate within normal boundaries.” The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff tapped Lieutenant General Na Tae-yoon’s shoulder a few times and asked, “What percentage of their jets did they deploy? They sent out over 320 4th-generation fighter jets.”
“We estimate 55% when adding the number of jets they lost previously to the 320 jets they deployed.”
“55%. To send that many jets, the Chinese must have been absolutely determined. I can’t believe they would pour out 55% of their air forces for one battle.”
Tactical Director Lieutenant General Kim Yong-hyun joined the conversation. “From now on, we will send out enough jets to match 30% of the total number of Chinese jets being deployed, sir.”
“Yes, an incident like today must never occur again. Chief Commander of the air force?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What’s the status of the deployment of the forward division to Shin Ui-ju?”
“I can tell you about that, sir.”
Lieutenant General Kim Un-ho, the tactical commander of the air force, spoke up.
“Currently, 48 Phoenix jets, 24 Black Phoenix bombers, 24 Phoenix land attackers, and 16 bombers are all moving toward the Shin Ui-ju air force base. We’ve finished the move by 85%, and when maintenance and other weaponry are placed tonight, we’ll be able to deploy all of them for missions at the Shin Ui-ju joint fighter wing by tomorrow morning.”
“That is good. We prepared faster than expected. Great work. Then, we will transition the 8th Fighter Wing to backup missions to give them time to recover and conduct maintenance. Starting tomorrow, let’s deploy the joint fighter wing for air battles and missions for air superiority.”
“Yes, sir.”
The tactical operator interrupted the conversation and said loudly, “Reporting, sir. We have just struck down a Chinese KJ-200 early air radar.”
“An early air radar?”
“The KJ-2000 that approached the sky near Fu-Xin was struck down by a mid-range missile from the Alibaba flight wing, and reports are coming in that the Chinese fighter jets in the area are retreating.”
When the early air radar was detected and struck down, the Chinese Central Military Commission regretted their decision to move the radars and ordered all their jets to retreat. The 60 J-11BS and J-10B jets from the Chinese air force all withdrew from the battle and headed back toward Jinzhou Base at high speed.
“What’s the final status of the battle?”
“I will report both the first and second battle at once, sir. 252 jets out of 320 enemy jets have been struck down, consisting of 48 J-20 jets, 64 J-11B jets, 64 J-30 jets, 22 J-11BS jets, and 54 J10B jets.”
“Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sir! With this kind of loss, the Chinese won’t have enough forces to defend the Beijing area or deploy forces to Sun-Yang. It seems we have achieved air superiority completely.”
Chief Commander of the Air Force, Shin Sung-yong, looked at the screen, which showed various information, and smiled brightly.
“I can see their loss is great after seeing all the statistics on screen, those fools. Now! Let’s take a look at the ground forces’ status.”
* * *
October 31, 2020, 21:35 (China Standard Time, 20:35)
5 km Southwest of Sun-Yang province, China.
While a large-scale air battle took place over Sun-Yang, the ground forces were conducting an elimination tactic against the losing Chinese army groups. The 65th Army Group’s headquarters was attacked by the Peregrine Falcon Choppers, and the chain of command was broken. This caused the Chinese forces to collapse, and with no orders from their superiors, they retreated to Pan-jin province when the 61st Armored Brigade attacked. The 60th Armored Brigade pushed past the 39th Army Group’s final line of defense to Sun-Yang to begin preparations for urban warfare, while the Capital Armored Division and 3rd Armored Division broke the 40th Army Group’s defenses and were focusing on eliminating what remained of the 40th Army Group.
The 7th Mobile Corps soldiers were all exhausted both physically and mentally from the battle, which had gone on for six hours, but they were determined to reclaim the lands of old Goguryeo that had been taken from their ancestors 1400 years ago, and continued to prepare for the urban battle.
The 712 tank made repairs on its exterior and interior, and it was busy getting resupplied with Black Dragon missiles and photon cannon power packs.
“Staff Sergeant Kim! Are the settings for Black Dragon done?”
“Yes, sir. We have finished loading all eight rounds and have finished loading the other eight to the cabin.”
“Corporal Yeom, how about the caterpillar that was hit earlier today?” Sergeant First Class Oh Young-taek asked Corporal Yeom Hoon-gi, who was checking the exterior of the tank.
“The repair battalion came in to check it, and they said it’ll be able to move without any issues.”
“That’s a relief. Has the 12 o’clock control camera been repaired?”
“The repair battalion replaced that as well.”
“Okay, good! Let’s all grab something to eat! We’ll go into urban warfare in thirty minutes. If we don’t eat now, we’ll die from hunger rather than battle.”
“Yes, Commander.”
Corporal Yeom Hoon-gi looked around the exterior of the tank once more and then pulled out three M.R.Es from the ration container inside the tank. Then, he pulled the strings on the bags to heat the food up. White steam billowed out from the bag, and the food became warm.
“Here, eat this, sir.”
Corporal Yeom Hoon-gi gave the puffed up M.R.E bags to Staff Sergeant Kim Young-joo and Sergeant First Class Oh Young-taek.
“M.R.Es are the best when we’re out in the field. Wouldn’t you agree, sir?”
Staff Sergeant Kim Young-joo seemed very happy eating the warm tuna fried rice, since the last meal he ate was lunch, which was nine hours ago.
“Yeah, you can keep eating M.R.Es until you die and be a soldier for life.”
“Staff Sergeant Kim, sir. Are you going to sign up for long term service?” Corporal Yeom Hoon-gi asked while he ate.
“Of course not. I’m going to go short term and leave. If I don’t, I won’t be able to get married like the Sergeant First Class!”
“Is that so?”
“Hahaha. I’m joking, sir.”
The crewmen of the 712 tank didn’t show their happiness at being able to share a meal with all of their comrades uninjured, but they did spend an enjoyable mealtime together, and their camaraderie was strengthened.
* * *
October 31, 2020, 22:00 (China Standard Time, 21:00)
5 km Southwest of Sun-Yang province, China.
When mealtime was coming to a close, the voice of the company commander came on the communication line.
-10 minutes from now, each platoon will enter into urban warfare. Platoon 1 only has two tanks left. Therefore, stay cautious while in battle.
While the company commander’s orders came through the radio, the spider drone that was sent out by the company headquarters flew toward downtown Sun-Yang. The drone was sent to detect the Chinese forces movements, and possible ambushes.
-Platoon 2 will take the lead. Then, we’ll move platoons 1, 3, and headquarters in that order at low speed. Be wary of Chinese forces with anti-tank rounds ambushing at the buildings, Over.
The 26th Armored Battalion, which was engaging in urban warfare in order to occupy Sun-Yang, started checking the buildings on their left and right, keeping watch for anti-tank attacks, and slowly moved into the city.
Sergeant First Class Oh Young-taek, commander of the 712 tank, was in charge of the 2 and 3 o’clock directions. He checked all buildings within 50 m to 500 m with his infrared scanner and inverter scanner. When they arrived at the large intersection, about to turn to their 3 o’clock, the Laser Warning Receiver sounded the alarm that lasers had been detected.
Beep~ Beep~ Beep~
Sergeant First Class Oh Young-taek checked the source of the laser on the digital map, set the target, and then gave Staff Sergeant Kim Young-joo the order to launch.
“11 o’clock, distance 400, fire!”
Pew.
With the sound of the photon cannon, the eighth floor of the twelve-story building 400 m away exploded, spraying glass everywhere. A blue flame engulfed the building.
“That’s our Staff Sergeant Kim! You’re always fast!”
“That was nothing, sir.”
The 7th Company’s target was the government building 3 km away along the six-lane road. A moment later, the twelve tanks of the 7th Company had fully entered the six-lane road and started moving slowly, scanning each building for Chinese forces. This area was perfect for a surprise attack, so tensions were high.
“11 o’clock, distance 250, floors 2 and 3. Chinese forces with anti-tank rounds spotted!”
Pew pew pew pew~ boom bang~
Woosh~ Boooom
The stream of laser Vulcan beams broke the building’s windows, and the Chinese infantry and soldiers hiding in the buildings were torn into pieces.
Lieutenant Kim Tae-gun, the company commander, spoke on the battalion communication line when they were 2 km away from the government building.
-Six enemy tanks, two anti-tank armored vehicles, and infantry armed with numerous anti-tank rounds have been detected at the target location. Also, there are four new tanks in the road, distance at 320. Over!
The company headquarters sent out the reconnaissance information from the spider drone in real-time to each of the tank companies.
The 712 tank’s commander, Sergeant First Class Oh Young-taek, turned his scope to his 3 o’clock and looked along the three-lane road. Just as the company headquarters said, there were four tanks emitting electromagnetic waves, waiting to ambush.
“Found them. But I can’t tell what type of tank they are.”
Sergeant First Class Oh Young-taek muttered while looking through the scope, and Staff Sergeant Kim Young-joo also checked with his own scope and answered. “Even if it is new, it would probably be Type-99A2s (ZTZ-99A2).”
Then, the order came from the company commander.
-This is the commander. Tank 711 and 712 attack the four enemy tanks at 3 o’clock, distance 320! Over!
-711, confirmed! Over!
-712, confirmed! Over!
At the company commander’s order, the 711 and 712 tanks turned to the three-lane road and, while firing their photon cannons, started moving in the direction of the unknown new tanks.
-Tank 711, requesting 712 tank to cover us from the back while we move at high speed, Over!
-Tank 712, confirmed. Over!
After the commander of the 711 tank requested the 712 tank to cover fire for them, the tank began to move forward at high speed.
Vrooooo.
The 711 tank, which was charging toward the T-intersection, fired its photon cannon at the Chinese tanks, and continued moving forward.
The photon cannon round hit the turret of one of the Chinese tanks, and its entire cannon flew back and caught flame. The Chinese tanks also didn’t back down, instead retaliating with their own cannons. The sound of the Chinese cannons was louder than before, and the soldiers could feel vibrations from it.
Boom! Boom! Bang!
One of the two shells made an air splitting sound and flew past the top part of tank 711’s turret, and it exploded after hitting a building. The second shell, however, hit the caterpillar of the tank. The caterpillar came loose, and the 711 tank leaned to the left before coming to a halt.
Whirrrrl~ Creeeek!