Empire of the Ring

The U.S. coastal patrol boats arrived at the Caspian Sea safely from the New York Harbor. It was a rash gamble to make the ships sail across the Atlantic since they were only 300 tons and 500 tons respectively.

The length of the ships was about 60 meters long, so they could endure most waves but if the sea state was seven or higher, the survival of the vessels about that size could not be guaranteed. Despite the concern, they luckily made it to the Caspian without any damage.

Since the sixty men of Countryside Force, who were trained to operate the vessels for a short period in America as maritime policies, succeeded to sail across the Atlantic with the new vessels, this was quite an achievement. As they returned, their eyes were full of pride.

Youngho rewarded everyone who would defend the Caspian coast with an insignia.

They would be training with Navies for a while to double their operation ability and would serve their duties as an affiliated organization of the Kazakh Department of Defense. Although the headquarters of the maritime police would be in the Arirang Autonomous State, it would only function as a symbol because its main field of action would be Port of Atyrau and Port Aktau. With the new vessels previously ordered from Korea, there would be four vessels in total, dedicated to the maritime police department of Countryside Force. The number of ships was enough to patrol around Kazakhstan's territorial waters.

The medical team was surprised to see patrol boats entering Arirang Wharf. It seemed that they were worried that the state of public security was bad. Curious, Kim Dong-sung asked to Youngho.

"Mr. Lee. Why are there naval vessels moored at Arirang Wharf?"

"Oh, I guess I haven't told you about this, doctor. It was agreed that Kazakhstan's territorial waters would be guarded by the autonomous state. That's why we were given patrol vessels previously used by the U.S. Navy."

"Is there no sea police in Kazakhstan?"

"The Navy used to be in charge of the maritime police's tasks, so we stepped in to take over the duty. We have our own force, so we thought it was not a problem."

He still did not seem to understand.

For people who just moved to Kazakhstan from Korea, confusion was natural. After Youngho shortly explained things, he finally nodded.

"The country is more than twelve times bigger than the Korean Peninsula but it's true that they lack serious number in the population. It's unprecedented to give the maritime police's job to the civilians of the autonomous state."

"You'll only understand the systems of the countries of the Caspian coast after living here for several years. Everything is very different here."

"So, you're saying that the reason that the teenagers are receiving military training in case of emergency, not because of outside threats."

"Well, you can just assume that as a kind of physical education. In order to protect themselves, they'd need to build strength and learn how to use arms. As soon as we go beyond the stone walls, it's like nature's warzone."

It seemed that experience would be more effective for the doctor, than describing how it was like outside the stone walls for a hundred times. Youngho planned to go camping outside with the medical team this week. He needed to teach them the difference between the outside and inside of the autonomous state.

"Would you like to go camping in the vast plains? You can also try wolf hunting."

"Wow, certainly! I also used guns when I served as a medical officer."

The doctor had served in the military when he was in his 20s, which meant that he had not touched a gun for about 30 years now.

"The guns these days are a little more complicated than before, but I guess you'd be able to get the hang of them quickly."

At Youngho's concern, Kim Dong-sung showed a proud look on his face.

"You have no idea about what we have used during the Vietnam War. It was the M16 rifle."

"Well then, that's no problem. I'd like to see your skills, Dr. Kim."

***

Countryside Force suddenly got busy.

It was because Youngho shared his plan to go camping in the wild outside the state with the newcomers of the state, the doctors and their families, with some of the soldiers of the force. Since the doctors were eager to learn about their new surroundings, the force was willing to help them and protect them in the wild.

After a few days of preparation, the first day of the three-day camping had begun.

"Only six people can get in each vehicle. We should also load our supplies."

Each vehicle could have ten people but since they were driving far, they had to secure some space.

"Doctor Kim, why don't you and your wife come along with me?"

"Do you think my clothes would be enough?"

Youngho was surprised to see the couple only bringing thin jackets.

"The temperature in the day will rise high but the night in the field is quite cold. You need to bring your winter coat."

It was April, but the temperature dropped below freezing point at night. Winter coats were necessary.

"But it's so warm during the day."

Not knowing how the semi-deserted area was like, it was a natural reaction.

This was the purpose of the camping, to teach them how to camp outside and how wild animals could be life-threatening in here.

Fifteen light-armored vehicles set off to the camping sight in a row.

The vehicles were great transportation in the great plains and if it snowed or rained, people could also sleep and eat inside them.

Dr. Kim and his wife inside the car was enjoying the outside view.

"I should make medical volunteer trips often since it's so nice outside."

He could only say that when he had not seen the other side of nature.

Youngho smiled to think that he would not say that tomorrow.

Although the light-armored vehicles were the newest versions, they were not comfortable as cars since they were built for battles. As they drove on a rough field for hours, everyone got tired of the long drive. If there were children in the group, people would have given up in the middle of the trip.

Since it was not the greatest idea to exhaust people on the first day of camping, the group decided to make a camping ground at that point.

When Youngho and Jong-il were busy putting up a tent, doctor Kim Dong-sung approached them.

"I thought we'd be sleeping in yurts where nomads live in."

"Well, if we would stay here for the long term, yurts would be better but if you're only camping for a night or two, tents are more efficient."

The tent they were making now was a large one that could fit portable beds and a heating system inside. They could install a yurt too but that would be an annoying job.

"I haven't seen any wolf or person since we left the state."

"Well, they are nocturnal creatures. Unless they are extremely hungry, they would show up only when it gets dark."

"Do they roam around the tent at night?"

"Sure. I'm sure we can expect to see some tonight."

Although he seemed to be excited to see wolves, Youngho wondered if he could stay up at night since everyone was extremely tired due to long, six hours of travel time. They would probably fall asleep shortly after dinner.

***

The purpose of today's camping was mainly to let the medical team experience the nature of Kazakhstan, but it was also for Countryside Force's shooting training. That was why everyone was in their combat uniform. As all of the soldiers of the Countryside Force had their uniform and insignias on, they looked serious.

As Countryside Force became the official defense force of the autonomous state, the intensity of its training was raised and its devices were modernized. They looked very professional and systemized now. The soldiers who came along with the medical group today were 40 people, which was about 20 percent of the total number of Countryside Force.

Since they didn't have many chances to use heavy firearms near the autonomous state, they brought mortars, portable rocket launchers, and machine guns to practice. Only the minimum number of guards were left at the campground and everyone else headed to an empty field on light-armored vehicles.

They looked like they had been training hard as they were moving in perfect order, according to their drill instructors who worked at Zeynep Security Service previously.

"Whoa, that's quite the skill! Man, but what's that one doing out there? Doesn't he know what hiding means? I don't believe this. Cha Insoo said he taught them according to the special training manual."

Jong-il was complimenting and complaining as he evaluated their state of training.

"They're doing great. You can't expect to be satisfied at once."

"They're just too relaxed because they are stuffed with a good life."

Life was difficult in Korea around in the 1970s, but now it was not the same.

"Dude, we're even too young to say that. What time are you referring back?"

"If they don't have strong willpower like now, expensive devices are pointless. They'd be busy running away from their enemies in war. Should I train them myself?"

Everyone seemed to be high-spirited after their shooting training.

Although a few soldiers were stunned by the noise of the machine guns, most of them were highly motivated. It was because they were now prideful that they had learned how to use heavy firearms. Since they practiced until they were out of ammunition, they now knew the basics skills. From now on, their training would be focused on learning how not to blink an eye at explosive noises.

The mortars and portable rocket launchers were easy to get used to since they would burst from afar, but machine guns on the armored vehicles and light machine guns were deafening. It was a good idea to bring the soldiers to practice those weapons as much as they could.

Youngho and Jong-il also fired rocket launchers as much as they wanted.

"Man, if only we had this when we were in Xinjiang Uyghur. We would've destroyed the whole base."

"You know, if that happened, that Chinese force would have demolished the whole Xinjiang region."

"When are they going to earn their independence if they act so slowly like that? They need to go through a major rough time to get to the conclusion."

Youngho did not think that China would ever give up Xinjiang even if it went through a war with the region due to the region's rich underground resources and its locational purpose of being a buffer to other nations. It did not seem like it was going to happen in the near future.

The whole group returned after it became dark.

"Mr. Lee. We wanted to shoot guns as well. Why didn't you take us?"

The doctors who were left at the campground the whole day were disappointed that they did not get to touch the arms.

"Why would you want to practice using the weapons? They only deafen your ears."

"Do you know what a man's dream? It's to drive in the wild wilderness and fire guns at random. That's been my desire for a long time."

Youngho did not know that even doctors had such a wild dream. They did not seem to have the strength to pick up a wooden poker.

"Then, would you like to try shooting tomorrow?"

"Of course. We need to learn to protect ourselves as well if we are going to live here from now on. I don't want to be protected by others forever."

That was the right idea but the training would not be easy as they thought.

"Very well. Then, you should receive safety training and basic training tomorrow."

"training?"

People did not like receiving training regardless of their age. However, it was a necessary step.

"Alright. Everyone, get down and get to the position. Hey, trainee! I told you that you can't hold a gun like that multiple times."

"Instructor, please cut us some slack. We're not soldiers here."

The doctors began to complain when they had not even trained for an hour yet. Youngho told the instructor to go easy on them, but he was being strict as usual. It was only basic training but it was a difficult task for the doctors who did not have strong bodies to use guns freely.

"Complaining to your instructor is not allowed during your training. If that's a problem to you, I shall take your gun away."

Doctors finally stopped complaining.

The instructor wanted to train them strictly now so that they could really learn to protect themselves, but to prevent any safety accident, they needed to be trained a little bit harshly.

Residents of the autonomous state all carried guns since things were wild and dangerous outside the stone walls. Anyone could get attacked by wild animals at any time. If one did not have the strength to protect himself, he could easily turn into a chunk of meat. The wolves did not care if its prey was a human or another animal.

"Stand again and get to your position now. Hey, trainee, your muzzle's shaking."

The doctors were already getting exhausted now since the use of guns needed extra focus and self-control. Although Youngho was convincing the instructor to go easy, he was actually enjoying seeing the doctors strictly getting trained.