Empire of the Ring

May's Tian Shan Mountains were only warm in the daytime and went below freezing point in the evening.

A group of men who were climbing the mountain letting out white breaths in the cold hid themselves inside the woods at the hand signal of the leading guide.

"I think there are Chinese troops at the front."

"Why are they roaming around in the mountains in this early morning?"

The man who let out the comment in frustration was none other than Cha In-soo.

"They probably are the search party looking for the militia training ground."

The young Uyghur man who was appointed as a guide of the group explained in his fumbling Kazakh language.

Cha In-soo was on his way to visit the second Uyghur training camp out of ten.

He planned on visiting the campgrounds as they were close to the Kyrgyz border, but the Chinese troops were searching for the militia training camp here again.

So far, the training camps found by the Chinese troops were three.

They were on a subjugation operation by finding the militia camps using a satellite and drones.

Luckily, the second training camp could survive as it was located deeper in the mountains than other camps, but it was frustrating as there was no guarantee that it would not be found. In fact, it would be found soon if the Chinese military continued its subjugation operation.

However, it was nonsense to abandon the camp, so the only way was to reduce the camp or train the militiamen quickly and send them out.

"How far are we from the camp?"

"We need to go at least for three more hours."

In-soo sighed to hear that he still had three hours to go even though his group set off early in the morning when it was still dark.

In this difficult situation, the supply line would be hindered by the Chinese troops as well.

His private military company was in charge of the logistics, training, and medical support for the Uyghur militias, but the task was not easy because of the tight security of the Chinese military and police.

Using aircrafts and drones was not easy as before, so the company gave money, instead of supplies, to the militias active in cities so that they could take care of needed supplies on their own.

"Team leader Pyeon! We can't help it anymore. Get rid of them now!"

In-soo ordered Pyeon Sung-hwan to get rid of the Chinese search party ahead, who was the security team leader set off together from Kazakhstan, the Uyghur militia guide stopped him in alarm.

"You can't do that, President, or the Chinese military will focus on subjugating this area. Then it will only be a matter of time until the second camp will be revealed."

"They will soon find it anyway. It's best to bring the news to the camp as soon as possible after getting rid of them now."

After a moment, a few mercenaries with guns equipped with silencers ran toward the troops in the distance. Some dull noise continued for a while, and the team leader Pyeon waved from afar signaling that everything was taken care of.

Cha In-soo, who arrived at the scene after a moment, asked.

"Is it a regular army force?"

"Judging from their attire, they seem to be armed policemen. There were 14 in total."

"There must be more around in the search party. Let's get out of here fast. Call the camp with the satellite phone and tell them to prepare for pull out."

The armed policemen had camping equipment as if they had been searching for days in the mountains. It meant a large-scale search was being carried out possibly knowing that the second camp was around the area.

This could mean that some militiamen who were trained in the second camp leaked the location after being caught and tortured.

"President, the second camp said that it's already preparing to pull out judging that the place is already exposed. They are getting ready to go to the fourth campsite. I think we should join the second camp first and move together."

It seemed the second camp had not been negligent on their guarding duty.

In-soo frowned to think that he would be roaming around the mountains for several more days.

'I should've listened to Youngho.'

He insisted on visiting the camps against Youngho's earful.

The third camp had already been exposed, so their next destination was the fourth camp. It was unknown what was ahead on the way to the fourth camp either.

***

The fourth training camp they met after camping outside for the past four days was an impregnable fortress.

It was a natural-born fortress with flat areas despite its location in the deep mountains, and the huge rocks and trees that stood as if they were going to poke the sky hid the site from being discovered from the sky.

It was crowded with the joining of the trainees from the second camp, but the wide site was more than enough to handle hundreds of men.

The soldiers from the second camp were relieved to have arrived at a safer place.

Although they hastily pulled out of the camp as if they were being chased, no one was sacrificed along the way, thanks to the great drill instructors.

They met Chinese troops and armed policemen a few times, but the instructors took them down with ease every time.

The Chinese forces had been a wall that could never be climbed to the Uyghur militias so far but seeing how easily they were defeated brought hope to them, which soon turned into high morale.

If they could be trained by such instructors, they would not have to worry about fighting against Chinese forces.

Their trip to the fourth camp slowly turned into going on a picnic from a panic.

Although they were tired from days of camping out, they looked around the new camp here and there excitedly.

Their eyes were full of pride as they joined the militia dreaming of independence, abandoning their professions.

Cha In-soo was also exhausted but was lifted up because of the vital atmosphere of the camp.

Although he was in his 40s, he was able to travel with young soldiers since he had been training everyday with young mercenaries and security guards, which he was thankful of because he would have been a burden to all if he had not.

"President, you could go take some rest in the lodging. You must be tired."

Worried about In-soo's age, team leader Pyeon Sung-hwan asked him to rest.

"Oh, you think I'm physically behind you, team leader Pyeon?"

"That's not it, but you should save some strength to go back to Kazakhstan. The returning trip won't be easy either."

"Will it be as difficult as this pull out mission?"

The Chinese government was bent over backwards to root out the militias judging that the increased number of militia forces and their improved armament level was due to the help of outside forces. The only way was to find their training camps in the mountains and destroy them.

On top of that, even Uyghur civilians were helping the militias, so it was arresting any suspicious people and torturing them.

It was a warning to all not to help the militia activities, but the Uyghurs were not afraid of the suppression of the Chinese government.

Rather, they were proud to be prisoned for the independence movement.

The high-handed policy was making them more united, so the Chinese government soon had to change its policy to appeasement, but such a shallow strategy could not turn back the Uyghurs' hearts.

Such a phenomenon was not only happening in Xinjiang Uyghur but also in Tibet.

Independence movement was stronger than ever under the help of Kazakhstan.

***

Not returning to Kazakhstan right away, Cha In-soo planned to look around the rest of the surviving camps in Xinjiang Uyghur and the training camps in Tibet, too.

Any underlying problems of the camps could not be resolved quickly if he was sitting at his desk in his office.

He knew that the answers were always found at the scene.

Pyeon Sung-hwan's face almost turned teary at Cha In-soo's words.

The trip was supposed to end after visiting one campsite, so he came to guard Cha In-soo with his team members without thinking too much.

However, on the first day of the trip, he had to face combat with Chinese armed police.

He went through the trouble of pulling out with the trainees at the second camp and traveling to the fourth camp, but it was daunting to think that he would have to travel to Tibet going through the same trouble.

"President, the Chinese forces' vigilance is too tight. We don't even have a transportational means to get there."

"There are several training camps down the mountains. We will stop by each of them to see how things are running, what's the problem? We will hunt down some enemies who stick out on the way."

"President! You said we will be back after visiting the second camp. If we delay your return, our company's work will be delayed, too. His Highness will also be worried greatly if you don't come in time."

Team leader Pyeon made Youngho as an excuse thinking that In-soo would budge since even though they were close friends, they were officially in a hierarchic relationship when it came to work.

"To His Highness, I will have to make a personal call. Now is not the time to go back to the royal territory and think of the situation in a leisurely manner."

"But you need to go back and be in charge of the logistics task…"

"The company is running well without me. I'm checking it in real-time. What's wrong?"

"I also have a lot to do. We need to supply things in time from the rear side in order to reduce the sacrifice of the militias."

"Oh, did you follow me in a breath when I said I'm going on a business trip even though you were that busy?"

Pyeon had to give in as no excuse worked on Cha In-soo.

"Just know that I asked you to return. I'll report this to His Highness and the Intelligence Chief as soon as we get back."

"Oh, do you want to take over my position?"

"Well, of course, but would His Highness give me that spot so easily?"

The two had been working together since the beginning of the Arirang royal territory, so they were good friends, not to mention, as they had the same background of Korean Naval Special Forces, they had a lot in common.

"You'll have to give all you got to get this position. Go flatter His Highness more, alright?"

Pyeon shook his head as a sign of giving up.

On the other hand, In-soo's mind was busy.

Since many training camps had been found by the Chinese forces, he needed to come out with a measure quickly not to lose the hard-earned momentum of the independence struggle in Xinjiang Uyghur.

Finding a solution was the priority.

"It will be overwhelming to get to Tibet with our team only. I'd like to reinforce the team."

"The training camps are combined, so there should be some instructors available. Recruit some of them. Let's stir some things up on the way to Tibet."

"…"

"Team leader Pyeon, you also said you were sick of the desk job. Why don't you show off some skills that you've been training hard for?"

"Oh, when have I ever trained? Look at my belly that's been growing while working at the desk."

"You worked out hard before the trip."

"Does working out for a few days count?"

"Don't be a crying baby and schedule our trip. Think about where to shake to scare the Chinese troops. I need to give a little help to the militias on the way down."