21st Century Goguryeo

November 25th, 2023, 21:00

Min River (65th Gyeonggap Infantry Division (Sunset) at the southern end of Gangjin (Hurun Bayel) in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

The Min River, which flows from south to north, looked like a small stream of water split into several branches, with small veins spreading from the aorta in all directions. Although the river was frozen due to the cold weather, it was not strong enough to allow dozens of tons of tanks and armored vehicles to safely pass. Eventually, they became stuck in large muddy puddles and were unable to move.

Furthermore, the Hyra River, which flows horizontally to the north, has numerous S-shaped curves, and a 140-kilometer C-shaped swamp had formed in the front. As a result, the 29th Army would be forced to detour around the C-shaped swamp area, bypassing it at two points above and below. In other words, the defending Korean military could fully predict the 29th Army's detour route.

For this reason, the Min River was the best place to defend. Accordingly, the upper path was defended by the 65th Armored Infantry Division (Sunset) while the lower path was defended by the 5th Armored Division (Key).

Without this topographical advantage, defending the 160-kilometer defense line with only two divisions would have been impossible.

As the night fell, the snowstorm intensified, and the temperature outside dropped to minus 15 degrees Celsius. As time passed, the temperature dropped even more. The temperature is expected to drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius at 5 a.m., according to the weather forecast.

Undoubtedly, the weather properly shows what the cold in Siberia is really like.

Because the 5th Armored Division was an armored unit, the majority of them were in tanks and armored vehicles, so there was no need to worry about the cold. However, the soldiers of the 65th Armored Infantry Division were in a different situation. Even though they wore protective suits and were able to keep their body temperatures stable, they were physically and mentally exhausted due to the weather and lacked the will to fight.

In response, division headquarters directed that the subordinate units rotate and rest in the armored personnel carrier.

The 37th Regiment 101st Battalion 3rd Company 1st Platoon 2nd Squadron, entered the transportation armored vehicle, wearing light armor suits. Sergeant Park Won-young, the highest-ranking soldier, removed his armored helmet, which covered his entire head, and sat on a chair, grumbling.

"Wow! That's harsh. It's terrifying! Is the snowfall particularly severe today?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. It was fine during the day but by night, the snowstorm has intensified to the point where the temperature has dropped to minus 16 degrees Celsius."

Corporal Shin Myung-ho, who sat next to him, responded while checking the temperature displayed on the LCD of the terminal attached to his left wrist.

"That's correct. Today is extremely windy. Sergeant Park, by the way! Do you think they will launch an attack today? I don't think they will in this kind of weather, no matter how accustomed they are."

Sergeant Oh Sung-wan, sitting opposite, asked Sergeant Park Won-young, who was grumbling with his arms folded.

"It's not up to them. It's up to the commander."

"Damn, of all the places to be deployed to, why must it be this, the most difficult one? I am supposed to be discharged in four months."

"Sergeant Oh! Are you frowning? Are you talking about your military service in front of the other sergeant?"

Sergeant Oh Sung-wan smiled and said with a playful look.

"Ah! Why are you like this? We are both sergeants."

"What? Both sergeants? You can only eat my leftovers, you b*stard! How dare you to think we are on the same level?"

At that moment, Sergeant Oh Dong-gil, the squad leader, came in, sat down, looked around, and scolded them.

"Let's be quiet when we have a break! Our two sergeants and privates!"

"Private Kim Byung-gyu."

"Private Sang Hyeon-cheol."

"Did you check the battery?"

"Yes, I did. It's 80 percent charged."

"Yes, I checked just now. It is at 75 percent."

"Don't forget to check the battery whenever you have time and change it immediately if it drops to 20 percent! We have enough on standby, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Yes, that's right."

The two private soldiers answered energetically.

"Good! And, while you're resting, respond quietly and calmly."

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, sir."

"I like the discipline of these soldiers."

Sergeant Oh Sung-wan smiled and was pleased with the answers of the two disciplined private soldiers.

"This is all because I trained them well."

When Corporal Shin Myung-ho shrugged his shoulder and replied arrogantly, Sergeant Oh Sung-wan glared at him and pretended to poke his eyes with his fingers.

"Corporal Shin! It isn't because you trained them! It's because they understand what it's like to serve in the military."

"It was all because of my training that they were able to serve in the military properly."

"Phew. You're all talk and no action!"

"Hey! Sergeant Oh! Aren't you the same? Isn't Corporal Shin just copying you? If you disrespect your senior, your successor will be the same."

"That's not true. It's a higher rank than corporal and we both have the same rank of sergeant."

"Sigh! Even if you die, your mindset won't change. Let's stop talking. I'm going to sleep."

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

As the sound of simultaneous explosions rang, a slight trace of the smell of gunpowder began to drift in.

"What? Are they already moving on?"

At that time, the commander's voice erupted from the Turkion-Xa communicator mounted on the squad leader's lightweight combat helmet.

"Jijik! This is Water Sprinkler! It appears to be a Russian military cavalry (attack preparation shooting). All Water Sprinklers stick to their current positions! All squads currently resting in armored vehicles will move to their respective positions."

"Phew. The Russians will officially start, right?"

As soon as the Russian artillery attack began, Sergeant Park Won-young sighed and put his helmet on.

jju jju jju jju jju jjuung~ jju jju jju jju jju jjuung~

The sound of the 20-millimeter laser Vulcan beam firing from the rear was distinct. It was the C-30 Biho A3, the latest model belonging to the headquarters in charge of air defense of the 101st Battalion.

The C-30 Biho A3, which replaced the existing 12-millimeter laser Vulcan, fired a powerful 20- millimeter laser beam into the sky.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Every time the light ray passed by, various colors of fireworks burst in the sky.

"Get ready to leave! Check your suits!"

"Checked!"

At the command of Sergeant Oh Dong-gil, the squad leader, the members of the squad wearing lightweight combat helmets checked each other's light armor suits.

The lightweight suit, codenamed C-LA, was made of an appropriate mixture of hydronium alloy and liquid metal alloy. It cost about 10 million won per pair. Despite its high price, it was known as an angel's gift among infantry because it protected them well from most shells.

"Everything is fine!"

"Gear operation is fine!"

"The front display is fine!"

According to the suit confirmation procedure, the crew members shouted and finally checked their weapons, the CS11 compound laser rifle.

"CS11 is fine!"

"Okay! Let's get off."

The rear hatch of the transport armored vehicle opened at the same time as the squad leader's final order and the squad members exited quickly.

Kwang! Kwang!

Although the C-30 Biho A3's 20-millimeter laser Vulcan beam intercepted the projectiles, their numbers were enormous. As a result, large and small explosions occurred as they landed in the nearby area.

Squad two arrived at Sector 312, their assigned area, and looked ahead from their respective positions, avoiding the rain of shells. Tanks and armored vehicles, represented by various luminous points, could be seen through the blizzard on the front display of their lightweight combat helmet.

"They're f*cking b*stards. Let's freeze them to death!"

Sergeant Park Won-young reacted nervously to the Russian army's interruption of their break.

"Hahaha. Don't you think we'll be frozen before they are?"

Sergeant Oh Sung-wan joked while looking at Sergeant Park Won-young with his CS11 composite laser rifle pointing forward.

"Red lava is erupting in my heart right now. How could I possibly be frozen?"

"Oh, yeah!"

"Jigjik! Stick to your current position and charge when the attack order is issued."

The squad leader's command was issued via the squad network. Private Kim Byung-gyu, the squad's youngest member, gulped. He was a new recruit who had only been with this squadron for a month.

"Hey! That's fine. There is no Russian weapon capable of piercing your armor! So, you can fight with confidence. Do you understand?"

Corporal Shin Myung-ho, who is in charge of recruitment management and training, gave a slight tap on Private Kim Byung-kyu's helmet and encouraged him.

"Private Kim Byung-kyu! I got it. I'll fight hard."

"Also, don't use your real name when you are engaged in war."

"Yes, sir."

Suddenly, the sound of shells falling in the surrounding area subsided. It seemed that the division's artillery units stopped firing and left the camp.

* * *

November 25th, 2023, 22:00

5 kilometers south end of Soyangsan Mountain (Limenmin) in Namgang River, Bukmanju

As the 5th Army's main forces rushed from three directions to catch the two armored brigades of the 82nd Armored Division (Balhae), the Joint Chiefs of Staff launched the 'Triangle Annihilation Operation.'

As a result, the 82nd Panzer Division switched to defensive tactics 70 kilometers south of North Pyongan, and the Capital Panzer Division, which was maneuvering from the rear, detoured to the upper left and joined them. The 20th Panzer Division (decisive battle) was also scheduled to join, but after receiving information from the Apollo reconnaissance satellite that two division-level armored units had been detected in the Dalenechensk region, they quickly turned south.

They were the 5th Army's 81st SS Panzer Division and the 70th Motorized Infantry Division. It appeared to have made a major detour down to attack the rear of the 82nd Panzer Division (Balhae).

To avoid the unexpected additional forces of the 5th Army, the 20th Armored Division was removed from the 'Triangle Annihilation Operation' and the Joint Chiefs of Staff determined that the Capital Armored Division and the 82nd Armored Division could defend alone.

Meanwhile, with all subordinate units of the 8th Corps's 23rd Mechanized Guard Division retreating to the rear and entering area defense, the 81st SS Armored Division and 70th Motorized Infantry Division, which had broken through the border, had a long line of fire and were maneuvering quickly toward a small farmland cut between two connected mountains.

If this entrance was blocked, they would have to detour another 80 kilometers toward the southwest end. For this reason, they tried to pass as quickly as possible. However, there was a troop ambush on both ridges. The four-legged drones were folded to lower their posture as much as possible, and the powerful SECM (Radio Disruption System) was emitted while covered in a special camouflage film that changes color to match the surrounding terrain to deceive Russian armed forces' reconnaissance drones and reconnaissance tank.

These were the 5th Border Battalion of the 58th Border Regiment belonging to the 23rd Mechanized Border Division.

24 C-1000 Haitai unmanned robots were deployed on each side of the ridge and they waited for the Russian armored units to pass.