21st Century Goguryeo

January 14th, 2024, 11:00 (Ukraine time: 11:00)

15 kilometers south of Communarsk, Luhanska, Ukraine

The first detachment of the third Marine Mobile Division (Hwaryong), which arrived in Verdansk two days ago, traveled to Mariupul through the M14 highway and then overnight along the H20 highway, arriving at the northern tip of Donetsk at dawn on the 13th. They spent the first day of their arrival doing maintenance and resting.

At 9 a.m. on the 14th, they resumed their trip, passing through Dewalcep along the M04 highway before finally breaking through the Luhanska main border, 19 kilometers southwest of Kommunarsk. They managed to move quickly when the ground was smooth and flat.

The mission of the 3rd Marine Mobile Division (Hwaryong) was to head toward southern Russia. According to the original route, which was moving from Verdansk to Mariupol and then along the E68 main road to Rostov-on-Don in the Russian Rostovskaya Oblast, which became the first occupied territory.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff, however, confirmed through reconnaissance that all forces of the 51st Guards Army from the Western Military District defending southern Moscow had been diverted to the defense of Luhanska Oblast. As a result, the power of the fifth Marine Division (Earth Dragon) alone was insufficient to deal with the entire 51st Guards Army. Therefore, the existing operational plan was urgently revised, and the 3rd Marine Mobile Division's (Hwaryong) first dispatch force was chosen.

Currently, the 88th Guards Tank Division, the most elite division of the 51st Guards Army, was blocking the road in the direction of 8 o'clock from the center of Luhansk. The 620th Guards Motorized Infantry Division was stationed in a strategically advantageous location to defend the Sphinx Regiment of the Marine Division (Jiryong). In addition, the 36th Guards Air Defense Brigade, 79th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, and 550th Guards Artillery Brigade were on standby to support the two main combat units.

The decision to send the 51st Guards Army of the Western Military District, which was in charge of southern Moscow, to Luhanska and replace them with the 20th Guards Army was unavoidable for the General Staff, which had moved up to the 20th Guards Army, Moscow's last defensive unit.

It was obvious that Moscow would be the next target if they lost the southern part or even lost Ukraine's Luhanska. Therefore, even if the power of the capital defense dropped a little bit, Luhanska's defense was critical and could never be neglected.

<Whoosh! Whoosh!>

Thirty-six C-4 Gaion tanks from the 10th Armored Brigade, which are operating at the forefront, had been flying at speeds close to 100km/h for the last two hours with a magnificent flight sound.

The unmanned light tank C-4 Gaion, weighing only 25 tons, moved as quickly as possible. Furthermore, because it is an unmanned tank system, the enemy risk burden is low, allowing it to perform both lead and forward reconnaissance missions at the same time.

In addition, eight second-generation Eagle-II-M drones flew ahead of them at one kilometer altitude with reconnaissance up to 10 kilometers, and the data collected by them was linked in real-time with the C-4 Gaion tanks.

At the same time, six C-1300 console armored vehicles from the 101st Tank Battalion were following at top speed at a point 10 kilometers behind the brigade headquarters. Six operators in the C-1300 console armored vehicle were in charge of monitoring the C-4 Gaion tank.

Although the supercomputer was controlling the six C-4 tanks in real-time, each operator could manually control them as well in case of an emergency.

Unlike the previous arrangement, the 101st tank battalion, which operates the C-4 Gaion tank, was organized into six platoon units, and each platoon operated six C-4 Gaion tanks.

<Beep beep! Beep beep! Beep beep! Beep beep!>

The alarm sounded from the console armored vehicle of the 1st Platoon, and several tactical symbols appeared on the various monitors that turned out to be enemies. It was detected by the Eagle-II-M drone.

The Eagle-II-M drone, which delivered the detected information in real-time, immediately entered the attack mode.

Currently, the areas where the enemy was detected were Soshiska, a small city in the direction of 10 o'clock in front, and Comisraniska, a city in the direction of five o'clock.

The enemy was at the regimental level, most likely as a subordinate unit of the division defending Kommunarsk.

The operators, as well as non-commissioned officers and officers, were disappointed with the previous amphibious assault on Sakhalin because the C-4 Gaion tanks did not play a significant role. As a result, they were unable to demonstrate its practical abilities.

As the eight Eagle-II-M drones flew into two groups, four in each group, the 36 C-4 Gaion tanks were also divided into 18 units and flew to attack the targets.

<Whoosh~>

Sixteen C-4 Gaion tanks, which hovered above the ground and flew, turned left, and headed to Shostka at the same time.

<Kwaaaang! Kwaaaaaang!>

Shostka was rocked by a loud explosion, and flames erupted from every direction, which could be caused by the explosion of tanks or armored vehicles in cover throughout the city after being pierced by the Eagle-II-M drone's 20-millimeter ultra-high-power laser beam.

The portable anti-aircraft missiles and various firearms were naturally hurled at the drones from all over the city. However, the Eagle-II-M drone simply neutralized the approaching anti-aircraft missile by emitting a powerful SECM (Radio Disruption System) like the latest model, while also avoiding bullets of various calibres with precise evasion maneuvers.

During this time, the 16 C-4 Gaion tanks finally entered Shostka's downtown and immediately began an automatic battle based on all of the enemy's information.

The engagement was at a different level as not only the operators but also the commanders who were watching the war on the monitor had their mouths wide open until it was over.

* * *

January 15, 2024, 14:00 (New China time: 13:00)

Wuhan City, Hubei Province, New China

Several protests following the riots were taking place in the Hubei province and the most populous city of Wuhan.

Despite the People's Statement issued by Prime Minister Shi Xiaolong two days ago, the protests worsened as time went on. The arson and looting of public offices continued indiscriminately, but there was only one difference.

That difference was the response of the public security and the New China Army to the violent protesters. Until the People's Statement was issued, they fired firearms and suppressed the protesters violently, but now they kept a safe distance and just watched. They seemed to be more concerned about the conflict with the violent protesters.

As the New China suppression forces responses were less violent, the protesters turned even more violent.

It was simply displaying the characteristics of Chinese people who would push harder when the other person lowered its guard.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched along the streets all day in downtown Wuhan, the only large city in New China that was not targeted by the "planning operation" attack. They smashed the public offices operated by the state. The public security building, which had more public authority than any other country, became a top target for protesters and was set on fire.

"Overthrow Wang Jing-wi! Overthrow Wang Jing-wi!"

Protesters, who occupied all 16 lanes on the highway and marched for a long time, clearly demonstrated how angry they were now by adding the word "overthrow" before President Wang Jing-wi's name, which had never been used so impetuously before.

There were approximately 300,000 protesters gathered there alone, and among them was someone who was moving forward amid the never-ending sea of people. Although his face was covered with a black cloth and only his eyes were noticeable, they were sharp, and he had the built of a man.

That man who was able to reach the front line quickly stopped and studied the situation before him for a moment.

Currently, 50 meters in front of the crowd of protestors, the dispatched public security and the New China suppression forces had stepped back while keeping their shields raised high. They observed the protesters without stimulating them as much as possible.

Realizing what was going on, he quickly took something from his backpack. It was about the size of a fist, resembled a potato, and had a yellow button.

He pressed the yellow button, then jumped out in front, and with an elaborate hand action threw it forward.

It was as if he had thrown a grenade. After throwing it, he threw nine more in the same manner before disappearing back into the crowd of protestors.

The things that he had thrown flew in a parabolic line but did not reach the security and suppression forces at first. They instead fell on the road and rolled around. Until finally, they got close to one of the suppression force's feet.

He saw a round object that reached his feet but did not bother about it at first, thinking it was just a stone. However, upon a closer look, he noticed a small blinking light and the moment he attempted to pick it up with his hands, a powerful storm erupted around him.

<Bang!>

The nearby suppression forces ran away. Then the remaining nine exploded one after the other.

<Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!>

Even though it was smaller than a grenade, its explosive power was several times higher.

The suppression forces in the front row were so badly ripped that it was difficult to recognize their shapes, even though they were wearing shields and various safety gear. Their pieces of flesh had exploded everywhere.

At the same time, the protesters on the other side were shocked by the sudden explosion and came to a halt. They were looking around, unsure of what was going on. They also appeared to be embarrassed.

"What? What?"

"What's going on?"

Although they marched and smashed various government offices and put them on fire, they were not violent toward the suppression forces in front of them.

The suppression forces in the back, whose lives had been saved by the fellow suppression forces in the front row, on the other hand, lost their minds for a moment when they saw the terrible scene. As a result, they all loaded their QBZ-95G rifles, which they were carrying on their shoulders, and began firing randomly at the protesters in front of them.

<Ta-da! Ta-da! Ta-da! Ta-da! Ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da, ta-da!>

Some suppression forces quickly depleted the ammunition by stacking it in a row and pulling the trigger.

"No! Stop shooting! Stop shooting! Don't shoot, kids!"

The officer with the rank of sergeant major, who had fallen and momentarily lost consciousness due to the power of the explosion, managed to get up and waved his hand.

However, his voice was buried by continuous gunfire.

Because they had lost their senses, the suppression forces were unable to hear the commander's order. Even though all of the officers had shouted to them to stop shooting, it was ineffective.

Several suppression soldiers, who emptied all five ammunition rounds they had in a short time, finally slung their rifles back on their shoulders and began inspecting themselves.

Meanwhile, in the midst of hundreds of protesters lying on the floor and those running away, someone shouted through a loudspeaker.

"Let's not go back! Let's not let them shoot at us again. Don't go back and keep going forward. Everyone! Let's keep going!"

He was the one who had thrown the bombs a while earlier. Listening to his words, the protesters who were running away turned around as if they were awakened, and soon stared at the suppression forces and shouted. They then began to throw stones they had collected from the ground or ran forward with various wood, steel pipes, and baseball bats they had brought with them.

On the other side, the suppression forces soldiers were exhausted after firing.

Oh my god!

Both sides clashed, with shouts becoming increasingly loud.

Even though the suppression forces were armed with rifles, they were at a disadvantage in this fight since there were as many as 200,000 protesters. Even though thousands of protesters were shot and killed earlier, it is still a small number compared to 200,000 people.

While the two sides collided on the 16-lane highway, the man who had just shouted in the loudspeaker removed the black cloth that had covered his face and quietly escaped behind the protesters.

Then he sent out a secret message to someone.

"This is Blackbird Two! Mission completed. Heading to the new hunting ground. Over!"

"This is the Blackbird's nest! Got it. Move carefully!"

The man was the head of the third division of the Special Operations Bureau, a secret department of the National Intelligence Service, Cha Dae-il, who until recently used the name Jeong-gwang as a Korean-Chinese.

Three days ago, Team leader Cha Dae-il was apprehended by Chinese border guards after crossing the Zhang River with more than 50 illegal immigrants, only to be released safely in the afternoon thanks to the previous day's efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He had completed his new mission successfully.

Among the protesters currently taking place in all cities in New China, numerous agents from the Special Operations Bureau, like Team Leader Cha Dae-il, were on missions that put their lives at risk.