21st Century Goguryeo

January 25, 2024, 09:40 (Russian time: 09:40)

A snowy field west of the Onon River, Zabaykalsky, Russia (The current location of the 26th Tank Battalion, the 60th Armored Brigade, the 20th Armored Division)

The 26th Tank Battalion was the first to cross the river successfully. It crept forward while exchanging fierce cannon fire with the enemy, ambushing units popping out of various low-lying hilly areas. One by one, the battalion suppressed the enemy positions as the other two battalions of the 60th Brigade, and the mobile headquarters also managed to cross the river. The latter group immediately got ready to participate in the battle up ahead, as well.

Several White Tiger tanks of the 26th Battalion were damaged by the attacks of enemy ambushing units that escaped earlier scouting efforts. But the fire support coming from FAH-91SP Peregrine Falcon attack choppers helped them overcome this critical situation. In addition, the 58th Air Defense Artillery Division's rear portion, which was unleashing indiscriminate shelling, was raided by Eagle-1 attack drones, effectively silencing their noisy cannon fire.

Soon, the 60th Armored Brigade's remaining tank battalions joined the exchange of fire while ascending the hilly terrain, signaling that the river crossing operation was a success.

On the other hand, the main units of the 20th Armored Division (decisive battle) performing the Unda River crossing operation were met with fierce resistance by the Red Armored Corps' 29th Armored Division. As a result, they suffered considerable damage, but befitting the reputation of Korea's top three combat divisions, they eventually succeeded in crossing the river. Currently, they were engaged in an intense firefight while traversing low-lying, hilly terrain.

"This is the battalion commander! All companies, report your damage situation!"

Once the fight entered a temporary lull, the battalion commander's voice traveled through the battalion's communication network to reach his fellow soldiers. Soon, the company commanders began submitting their reports.

"7th Company! Three tanks damaged! The rest nine, mobility and combat capability, unaffected!"

"8th Company! Four tanks damaged! One tank out of commission, the rest seven, mobility and combat capability, unaffected!"

"9th Company! Two tanks damaged! Two tanks out of commission. The rest eight, mobility and combat capability, unaffected!"

"HQs company! One tank damaged! Two tanks immobilized, one tank out of commission. The rest fourteen tanks, unaffected!"

The company commanders confirmed the damage they had suffered as their reports came in without confusion or delay. Sergeant First Class Kim Young-joo listened to the communication, frowned deeply, and then tapped on the console. "Our company lost three units. And they all belong to the third platoon! They must've been done in by the earlier ambush. Damn it!"

"Was there any KIA, sir?" asked Staff Sergeant Yeom Hoon-gi.

Kim Young-joo, tapping on the console's keyboard, sighed in relief. "Whew. No. Other than several injured, no one has died."

"That's good news, sir. I mean, we're taking the lead, so this level of damage is negligible, no?"

"We just got lucky, that's all! But, honestly, I got sh*t-scared when enemy tanks popped out of the snow earlier."

"Even you, sir? Yeah, me too! I've never been that surprised before, sir. We sure got lucky with the small scale of the enemy ambush units back then. We probably would've been wiped out for good if we were facing brigade-level resistance."

"Stop jinxing us, will you? What do you mean that we would've been wiped out?"

"But sir, didn't you get scared, too?"

"Uh, that? I was just saying that it took me by surprise, that's all!"

"Ah? You're doing it again! Sir, you're weaseling out of it again!"

As Yeom Hoon-gi cried out, the battalion commander's emergency order came over the radio. "This is the battalion commander. Confirm the intel added to your digital map transmitted to you just now. The access password is 3348P."

"1st platoon, confirmed!"

"2nd platoon, confirmed!"

"3rd platoon, confirmed!"

"HQs platoon, confirmed!"

The platoon commanders immediately inputted the communication and battalion passwords into the console to receive the updated digital map, which was distributed to all the tanks in the platoon.

"Our battalion will move out from the current location, travel past Target C, and reach Target F. Our ultimate goal is to provide rear support to the division's main forces."

"Urgh! It looks like our battalion will have to go through the most dangerous zone... again!" Sergeant First Class Kim glared at the digital map and tutted unhappily.

The course laid out for the 7th Company was to travel south along the bank of the Onon River, which mainly consisted of hilly terrain. In other words, it was an extremely dangerous route with uncomfortably high odds of the hidden Russian units ambushing them.

"Give me a break! Sir, I would love our company to stop taking the lead now," grumbled Staff Sergeant Yeom while scanning their surroundings via the scope.

Corporal Kim Il-soo suddenly joined in the conversation through the in-vehicle communication system. Judging from his big boy talk, he seemed to be suffering from yet another bout of baseless confidence.

"No need to worry, sirs! I'm here to save the day! I shall use my unmatched movement skills to ensure our safety."

Yeom Hoon-gi cried out. "Hey, Corporal Kim! When this war is over, you better head to the white building up the hill and get your head checked out!"

"That's enough banter! We received the orders to move out. So, Corporal Kim, get going!"

"Yes, sir!"

Corporal Kim meshed the accelerator on the right, along with that spirited reply. 712 White Tiger tank's engine bellowed into life like a real tiger's roar, and then it began charging ahead.

<Rumble! Rumble! Ruuuumble!>

The nine White Tiger tanks of the 7th Company, buried half in the snow, slowly increased their pace. They spread out and entered a crab formation while maintaining a steady distance.

After twenty minutes of travel, their digital map indicated that they had gone past Target C. The distant roars of shelling and explosions grew louder and louder as they approached Target F.

Tank 712 reached the peak of a small hill. The spectacle viewable through the tank's scope and the wide-angled cameras reminded them once more of the horrors of the war.

In the distant snowy fields, countless tanks, armored vehicles, and infantry were tangled up in a chaotic mess to wage an intense firefight. The battle between tanks on the division scale was so visceral and cruel that not even a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster could replicate it.

Over a hundred tanks and armored vehicles were crushed and engulfed in reddish-black flames. Meanwhile, countless corpses were strewn about over the snow like crimson paint blobs smeared across a white canvas.

"7th Company! We're to perform suppression on the enemy's rear immediately! Move out! As you enter the range, you have permission to fire at will! Destroy as many enemy armored vehicles as possible!"

The crew of the 7th Company's White Tiger tanks, momentarily stupefied by the spectacle unfolding on the battlefield, quickly sobered up at the company commander's yell coming through the communication equipment. They cranked their machines up and began dashing forward.

The vast amount of snow was shoved to the left and right as the tanks charged ahead. The snow trails, resembling pure-white pollen of some flower, danced in the wake of the heavy tanks before scattering in the air.

"First target, set! Fire at will at the targets I set as soon as we enter the firing range!" Sergeant First Class Kim Young-joo roared. Even though they hadn't entered the firing range, he had already marked different enemy targets visible through the cameras.

"Understood!" Staff Sergeant Yeom energetically replied while lining up the aiming reticle of the cannon on the first target, an enemy tank.

But then, a massive explosion went off right next to their tank. The explosion's kinetic energy was so great that the 45-ton Tank 712 was briefly rocked by the impact.

"What was that?!" Kim Young-joo hurriedly changed the camera angle toward the sudden explosion. His jaw soon fell to the floor at the unbelievable sight before him.

Tank 713, right next to their White Tiger tank, which belonged to the same company, had gone airborne from the powerful explosion below the vehicle. It soon crashed down to the snowy field below with a loud bang.

The power of the explosion must've been incredible to lift a 45-ton tank that high into the air.

"What's going on, Sergeant First Class Kim?!" Yeom Hoon-gi asked, his eyes still glued to the aiming scope.

"I'm not sure yet. No shells came flying in, so what the h—?"

Before Kim Young-joo could finish his sentence, another loud explosion went off from a different direction. He witnessed another White Tiger tank flip onto its roof from that powerful blast.

Only then did the urgent voice of the company commander burst through the communication device.

"Goddamn it! Anti-tank mines! Stop right where you are! You're all prohibited from advancing any further!"

"Out of nine tanks, two were critically damaged by the anti-tank mines. The rest came to an immediate stop."

The undercarriage of a C-3 White Tiger tank was constructed out of Hydranium alloy, which boasted a considerable defense against anti-tank mines. However, mines capable of flinging a tank so high into the air had never been seen before. As a result, the damage to the vehicles must've been extensive.

"Tank 713 and Tank 722, I want damage reports now!"

The company commander's urgent calls continued, but the two tanks didn't respond. There was a reasonable possibility of the crew members in both vehicles suffering from critical injuries from the twin impact forces of the explosion and landing back on the ground.

The condition of Tank 722 seemed especially urgent, as the mine-created explosion had flipped the vehicle onto its roof, effectively burying it in the thick pile of snow. It'd not be surprising to see casualties in a situation like this. So the platoon leader of the nearest tank, Tank 721, personally jumped out of his vehicle to rush toward Tank 722.

"Tank commander! Shouldn't we also go outside and check?" Yeom Hoon-gi asked, sounding worried about the unresponsive Tank 713.

Sergeant First Class Kim Young-joo quickly opened the hatch and jumped outside. He madly waded his way through the waist-deep snow as if he was swimming and eventually managed to climb up Tank 713's turret.

In an emergency, the hatch of a White Tiger tank could be accessed via a password. Kim Young-joo quickly inputted the code on the number pad and yanked the hatch open.

<Pshuuuuuuu~!>

The grey smoke exploded out from the open hatch. All this smoke must've come from the console and other equipment heavily damaged from two consecutive impacts.

<Cough, cough!>

Kim Young-joo covered his mouth and slipped inside the tank through the hatch. He soon discovered the unmoving figures of the tank commander and the gunner, thrown out of their respective seats. They were all unconscious.

"Hey, Yeom! You come here, too! Everyone here has blacked out. They might asphyxiate from all this smoke, so hurry!"

"Yes, sir!"

A short while later, Staff Sergeant Yeom Hoon-gi hurriedly ran toward Tank 713.

"Staff Sergeant Yeom! Stay up there! I'll lift the tank commander's hand through the hatch, so you pull him outside!"

"Understood!"

Right at that moment, the company commander's urgent order came over the radio to signal that things had just gotten worse.

"Up ahead, 3500 meters! Several enemy units have been spotted! Other than Tank 712 and Tank 721, everyone else, commence suppression fire! Hurry and rescue the crew, you lot!"

The hiding Russian armored corps units heard the anti-mines going off and began rushing toward the location of the 7th Company. To make matters worse, their armored vehicles were the latest Kurganets-25 infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) fitted with Kornet-EM guided anti-tank missiles.

<Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!>

The White Tiger tanks of the 7th Company, trapped by the anti-tank mines, heeded the commander's order and initiated the first strike. The photon cannons fired one after the other; the crimson particles flying near the speed of light slammed into several Kurganets-25, about to reach the distant hill's peak.

However, the enemy was obviously not planning to sit back and do nothing. The twin missile tubes mounted on either side of the turrets fired their loads of Kornet-EM guided anti-tank missiles. At the same time, the 30-millimeter 2A42 automatic heavy machinegun spat out armor-piercing (AP) rounds with a series of thunderous roars.

<Blamblamblamblamblam! Blamblamblamblamblam!>

<Fshoooowooosh~!>

Excluding the IFVs that got hit by the photon cannons' crimson particles and turned into balls of flames, around 30 Kurganets-25s still in operation initiated their attacks on the stranded 7th Company, setting off many raucous explosions and sparks of all sizes to dance in the air.

Corporal Kim Il-soo, now left alone in Tank 712 without the tank commander or the gunner, hurriedly maneuvered his vehicle to the front of Tank 713. He was planning to use his vehicle to serve as a shield against enemy shelling during the rescue operation.

"Pull him outside!"

Despite the harsh explosion noises going off everywhere while 30-millimeter AP rounds whizzed by nonstop, Kim Young-joo and Yeom Hoon-gi managed to drag the tank commander and the gunner out of the tank and lay them down behind the tank. Their next destination was the driver's hatch, but then...

<KA-BOOM!>

"Wuaaahk?!"

A pillar of snow exploded right in front of their eyes. Kim Young-joo, about to open the hatch, was thrown back violently from the shockwave. One of the Kornet-EM missiles aiming for Tank 712 missed and exploded in the nearby snowy field.

"Uwaaahk?!"

"Ouch! Sergeant Kim! You okay, sir?!" The shocked Yeom Hoon-gi hurriedly rushed to Kim Young-joo, buried in the snow, spread-eagled and shook him. Thankfully, the latter regained consciousness with a weak grunt, his protective suit sparing him from the shrapnel injuries.

"Yeom, is that you? Y-yeah, I'm okay! I'm just dazed right now. Don't worry about me, and pull the driver out instead!"

"Got it, sir!"

<Ping, ping, ping, ping!>

30-millimeter AP rounds rained down ceaselessly, only to hit the side armor on Tank 712's turret and ricochet everywhere. Amid the chaos, Yeom Hoon-gi finally managed to yank open Tank 713's hatch and reach in to grab the back of the collar of the tank driver, Private First Class Lee Hyun-ho. Yeom Hoon-gi gritted his teeth and summoned all the strength he could muster to drag the unconscious Lee Hyun-ho out... but then, a stray bullet brushed past his thigh!

"Ouch!" Intense pain ripped through his senses instantly, but Yeom Hoon-gi didn't let go and successfully pulled Private Lee Hyun-ho out through the hatch's opening.

"Huff, huff!" Yeom Hoon-gi dragged the unconscious driver to the rear of the tank. He leaned against the caterpillar, huffing and panting breathlessly after his stamina had depleted completely.

Sergeant First Class Kim Young-joo ungainly crawled over to him and worriedly asked, "You okay, Yeom?"

Yeom Hoon-gi examined his thigh, then nodded. "Looks like it just brushed past me, sir."

No matter how good the protection offered by the suit was, bad luck could still lead to a stray 30-millimeter AP round going straight through the armor.

Yeom Hoon-gi massaged his numb-feeling thigh, then shifted his attention over to the three crew members of Tank 713. After using X-K01 terminals attached to the left wrists of the unconscious trio to diagnose their current injuries... Other than losing their consciousness from the impact force, the tank commander and the gunner suffered broken ribs but no other significant injuries. However, Lee Hyun-ho's situation was more severe after traces of cerebral hemorrhage were discovered in his skull.

For now, he was given on-field first aid, but he needed to be transferred to the non-combat zone in the rear immediately to receive an emergency operation.

"Company commander! All three crewmen were rescued, but we discovered traces of cerebral hemorrhage in Private Lee Hyun-ho, the driver. He needs an immediate evac, sir!"

"Did you at least perform first aid?"

"Yes, sir."

"Got it! I'll lodge the request for an evac right now, so protect him until the end of the firefight!"

<Boom! Bang! Ka-boom!>

Another round of explosions went off in the surroundings, forcing Kim Young-joo and Yeom Hoon-gi to instinctively react and shield their unmoving comrades with their bodies.

"Ah?! 11 o'clock! Enemy infantry to your left!" Corporal Kim Il-soo cried out from inside the tank.

Kim Young-joo looked at Yeom Hoon-gi. "I'll remain here, so you go back inside and start shooting them down! At this rate, our tank will get destroyed, too!"

"Yes, sir!" Yeom Hoon-gi replied and hurriedly hobbled toward Tank 712's hatch before slipping inside.

<Whiiiiirrrr!>

The turret of the White Tiger tank, which had been acting as a shield until now, finally whirred back to life, spinning around to face the direction that Corporal Kim had pointed out.

Yeom Hoon-gi checked the situation through the scope and confirmed that dozens of enemy infantry armed with anti-tank weaponry had disembarked from their armored vehicles and were cautiously making their way over to them.

"You bunch of rat b*stards!"

Yeom Hoon-gi slipped out of the photon cannon gunner's seat and settled down in the tank commander's position, then raised a long lever to his side to a vertical position. It was the remote control stick for the six-barrel, 8-millimeter Laser Vulcan. His right hand quickly manipulated the control stick to take aim. Then, he used his thumb to flick open the safety cover and depressed the red button!

The six-barrel, 8-millimeter Laser Vulcan issued a cheerful tune as its barrels began spinning rapidly. Countless rays of light mercilessly rained down on the Russian infantry.

<Bzzzzzz~! Vzzzzzt~!>

Yeom Hoon-gi pressed the button for a few seconds before releasing it, then pressed it again. The crimson rays of light hacked and shredded the hapless Russian soldiers apart.

<Kuwaaahk! Keuh-huk!>

Cries and screams rang out as lasers tore through the soft human bodies, turning their victims into wretched chunks of meat. It was a disgusting and sickening sight that was quite hard to stomach.