Empire of the Ring

"Who the hell did this on the island?"

"The IS are the only ones that damage the body like this. The condition of the skeletons suggests that, but there's no reason that they will come to a remote island in the Mediterranean and do this in a leisurely manner. If they did it, wouldn't they have broadcasted this process?"

As he was saying this, Park Jong-il shook his head.

"Are there pirates in the Mediterranean too?"

"No pirates will dare to act out in the Mediterranean. This is either a war of nerves between crime groups or one of the possible crimes against rich refugees."

Park Jong-il's guess was plausible at first sight, but there were unanswered questions.

There was a simple way to drown them in the sea, but why did they bring them to the island and kill them brutally?

"There's no reason to go through all that trouble when you can just drown them in the ocean."

"There must be a story behind. A power struggle between crime groups would've needed a good example to show off, and if the skeletons are refugees, they must've been killed by a crime ring in Syria involving the ship owners. They could have targeted the refugee's property."

"You're saying that it can happen in the future again."

"They'll try again because they know Kasos is an uninhabited island. We'll have to get ready in advance and get them all at once."

Youngho could not help but feel uncomfortable as it happened on an island that was recently incorporated as royal property.

If what Park Jong-il had conjectured was correct, then such traces would remain throughout the island.

"Why don't we make a big search of the island? If it didn't happen only one time, there must be evidence elsewhere. And we should notify the Greek government to see if there's any record of people coming in and out of the island. It would be better if there was a surveillance camera on the unmanned lighthouse."

"Oh! I didn't think of the surveillance camera."

The Greek government would have installed surveillance cameras around the unmanned lighthouse in case it was broken or damaged.

"Wouldn't the Greek government have set up cameras to monitor Turkish Navy and Coast Guard vessels since they frequently intrude into territorial waters?"

"That could be true. I'll check with the Greek government right now. And I'm going to send a forensic expert over there to check out the skeletons again."

"Don't contact the Greek police but use the intelligence line. I've heard that the police organization is symbiotic with a criminal group."

"Sure. Talk to the rotten police and it'll get into the gang's ears that day."

Corruption among Greek officials was considered the highest level among European countries.

Tax evasion and corruption were rampant to the extent that it was said that the Greek financial crisis was due to "Fakelaki," which meant bribery.

"What if they ask for money, too?"

"No way. We're asking for help as the intelligence department of an ally."

"Why do you think the state bankruptcy occurred in the first place?"

"Give it to them if they ask."

"It would be faster. If we don't pay them, they'll take the time saying that they are following legal procedures."

"Check if there's a surveillance camera first and make contact."

"I'm not sure if they took good care of the cameras even if they exist. I'll have to ask Park Sung-won to find out."

***

When orders were issued to make a major search of the Kasos Islands, the base commander, Park Sung-won, rushed to the scene himself.

"Look everywhere that's suspicious based on the data from the drone. And especially if there are abandoned houses, mark them on the map."

"Base Commander, the map of the island from the Greek government is not precise enough to display the details."

"Just refer to the map and check the difference between satellite images. If there is a difference, we need to go check the scene no matter what."

The reason for the fuss of using drones and satellite images was that there were no surveillance cameras in the unmanned lighthouse on Kasos Island.

The first crew to land on the island scoured the lighthouse and its surrounding area, but no surveillance cameras were found.

Since there was no need to talk to the Greek government, the guards were conducting their research based on satellite data and drone images.

As the investigation progressed, more skeletons were found in various parts of the island.

Some of the skeletons were believed to be children, which made the guards feel sorry.

The fact that the bodies of children were also there meant that there was a high possibility that they were refugees.

When as many as a dozen bodies were found, the royal guards notified the Greek government and were authorized to investigate surrounding areas as well.

So three 100-ton high-speed boats to patrol the area and an oil tanker which served as a temporary dock were deployed to the Kasos Island in a hurry.

The Kazakh Navy's 100-ton high-speed boat, produced in the shipyard in the royal territory, was mainly active in the Caspian Sea, but recently, ten of them were deployed to the Arirang Island.

The boats boasted of 170-ton displacement and a speed of 45 knots and were equipped with two 20-millimeter Vulcan automatic cannons and one 40-millimeter short-range anti-ship rocket despite their small size.

"No matter how hard the economy is, I don't understand that the Greek government has been so neglectful about this island. It's strange that officials coming to manage the unmanned lighthouse couldn't have found the bodies. It's not like there's no sign of outsiders coming in or out."

Park Sung-won also agreed with his subordinate's report.

There were signs of outsiders' intrusion all over the beach, and it was strange that lighthouse keepers did not report it to the higher-ups.

Moreover, the lighthouses on other uninhabited islands were not functioning properly due to the lack of management, and it was a bit strange that only the lighthouse on Kasos Island was managed exceptionally well.

***

Three high-speed boats deployed on the island of Kasos were taking turns patrolling the waters.

Today, the high-speed boat 203 was patrolling the northern waters of the Kasos Island, so it had been circling the area for hours.

Lieutenant Sultan came out on the deck and stretched his body relaxingly.

Nothing had happened for days, and it was getting boring.

He was thinking about going fishing when he got back to the temporary base after his duty.

But Sergeant Denise in the radar room broke his sweet dream.

"Sir, we've got two very fast ships on the radar. We've been tracking it for 20 minutes, and it's a little weird."

"What's the speed?"

"I think it's about 30 knots."

"Can yachts make such a high speed?"

"It's possible, but it doesn't make any sense given that the island is far away from the mainland. With that speed, there won't be any oil left to go back to the mainland."

"They're probably yachts that came out for sightseeing from the nearby inhabited island."

"It doesn't make sense, boats that came out for sightseeing continue to sail for about 20 minutes at such a high speed."

"How far is it from us?"

"These boats are running parallel to us on the left side. If we go at the highest speed, we'll confront them in about ten minutes."

Lieutenant Sultan, who had been contemplating the words of Sergeant Denis, immediately ordered to prepare for a battle.

This was because such a high speed of two regular boats, not one, in a place far from the mainland was abnormal.

"All prepare for combat deployment! Track the unknown vessels at top speed."

"Yes, sir! Action stations!"

When the order was issued, the high-speed boat, boasting a speed of 45 knots, dashed like a bullet.

As they sailed at its full speed for about 10 minutes, they could see two boats running side by side in the front.

The boats' appearance was not special, but being able to achieve that speed meant they were equipped with high-speed engines.

Although it was customary for the majority of civilian ships to slow down if naval vessels were approaching fast, they were speeding up rather than slowing down.

"Make a command for anchorage!"

"Yes, sir!"

The piercing sound of the boat horn was reverberating over the sea at regular intervals.

No matter how loud the boat engines were, it was enough to be heard.

Still, the two boats showed no sign of slowing down.

"Warning shots with machine guns!"

As soon as the order was issued, combat-deployed soldiers fired close to the unknown boats.

White foams rose when the bullets hit the sea.

The boats still did not stop after several machine gunshots.

Lieutenant Sultan whose face was already reddened issued another order.

"Raise the Vulcan cannons to the front and fire threatening shots."

This could be quite threatening as the 20-millimeter Vulcan cannons could fire more than 3,000 bullets per minute.

"Captain, this could turn into a diplomatic issue."

"This is the Greek territorial sea. We were legally authorized to patrol the waters by the Greek government. And it doesn't make sense that those boats are running away from us like this. Fire the Vulcan guns. I'll be responsible for this."

"Aye, aye, sir! Start threat shooting ahead of the unknown boats with Vulcan cannons!"

The empty shells fell on the deck as the bullets were fired with a loud noise.

Two boats slowed down and waved white towels, which showed no intention of resisting, as the shots continued for about ten seconds.

Still, the royal ship slowly approached the side of the boat after another menacing shot.

"Tell everyone to come out to the deck after turning off the engine."

"I wonder if they will understand English."

Most of the people on the deck looked clean, and there were also little children on the boats.

Most of the refugees in the Mediterranean or the Aegean Sea were dressed in shabby clothes and were usually skinny and exhausted.

But that was not the case with the people on the speed boats that sailed at 30 knots.

"Captain. This is strange. If they're a refugee, they don't have to go through the Kasos Island. If they go along the Turkish coast, they'll get to their destination faster… I think it's an organization that only carries rich refugees."

"Yes, it is strange. The men in the front don't look like a refugee either."

"I think they were running away from us after seeing us near Kasos Island."

"Give personal firearms to the crew and let's go near to the boats."

"You want to get on the boats?"

"They look suspicious. Of course, we'll search for them."