February 20th, 2021, 08:35

  Seoul, Yongsan-ku B2 bunker (ROK military joint command center)

  The command center of the Joint Chief of Staff was in an uproar. Since none of the commanders, generals, and operators had faced such a dire situation during the months of waging war, anxiety was at an all-time high, and everyone had cold sweat running down their backs.

  The only person staying calm inside the command center was Chairman Kang Ui-sik, who was watching the main screen silently.

  Even Vice-chairman Choi Ho-il, who had served under the military for 50 years in North Korea, seemed to be anxious and was busy wiping the sweat off his brows at his chair.

  On the main screen at the command center, numerous red dots outlining the movements of the missiles flying towards Corea showed up. There were over 1,500 rounds in total, and this was excluding those that have been intercepted. To be precise, there were 255 rounds of air-to-surface missiles headed towards the 2nd expeditionary force, while 1,233 ship-to-surface missiles were flying towards Jeju Island and inland Corea.

  Like a global power, the U.S. was attempting to win the war by its superiority in numbers. Only America was able to spare this much firepower purely using cruise missiles.

  The Joint Chief of Staff had excluded the Zeus 3 satellite that was above the mainland U.S.’s atmosphere in case of ICBM attacks and ordered the Zeus 1 and 2 satellites to intercept all incoming ship-to-surface missiles targeting Jeju Island and mainland Corea. The anti-air forces on the ground were also ordered to begin interception as well.

  Also, the air-to-ship missiles headed towards the 2nd expeditionary force’s ships were tasked to the Hocula destroyers and the Chungmugong Lee Sun-shin cruiser (CG-1101).

  After the Joint Chief of Staff mobilized all interception methods, an urgent report from the operator rang out across the room again.

  “The skies above Busan! Multiple objects presumed to be falling bombs have been detected. Their velocity is Mach 4.8 and gaining speed! Sixteen are headed towards downtown Busan while the rest are headed towards the 11th fighter wing’s base in Gimhae. The Busan anti-air forces are entering the interception phase.”


  “How can enemy bombs fall on Busan from that altitude?” Chairman Kang Ui-sik, who was maintaining his composure, got up from his chair and shouted.

  However, more bad news poured in.

  “Bombs have been detected above Daegu! 40 rounds! Velocity at Mach 5.1! Based on their trajectory, the targets are downtown Daegu and the 11th fighter wing’s base! Entering the interception phase now.”


  “Bombs have been detected above Gwangju! 40 rounds! Velocity at Mach 4.9! Based on their trajectory, the targets are downtown Gwangju and the 1st fighter wing’s base! We will start the interception immediately.”


  “More bombs have been detected above Gunsan as well. 40 rounds in total, with a velocity of Mach 4.5. Their targets are the 38th fighter wing base and downtown Gunsan! 52 seconds from impact!”


  Due to the numerous reports coming in, the command center was already noisy, but now things were getting worse.

  “Transition into the CAMD system, and tell the Hades satellite to enter into interception immediately!”


  “Sir! There’s not enough time for the Hades satellite to attempt interceptions.”


  Chairman Kang bit down on his lower lip and drew blood when he heard the operations director’s report.

  “Right now, we must get the Zeus 1 and 2 interception satellites to start taking down the missiles immediately and have each fighter wing take charge of defending the skies of each city, sir.”


  “All right, contact the aerospace forces command and have them intercept the missiles with the Zeus satellites.”


  It was a race against time. There were only 30 seconds for the Corean military to intercept the enemy missiles. Operations director, Lieutenant General Kim Yong-hyun gave the communications director the orders which were then relayed to the aerospace command immediately.

  * * *

  February 20th, 2021, 08:35

  The 11th fighter wing’s base at Daegu

  The air raid sirens of the 11th fighter wing that operated the F-15K Slam Eagles and the CB-30P Phoenix bombers started going off. The Skybow A2 armored vehicles, which had the longest range among the armored vehicles that were in charge of interception, started to launch their S-LAM-300 ground-to-air missiles. Since the war was going on, they were ready to launch the missiles round the clock, and the response was quick.

  Each vehicle had two 9-round MLRS(3×3) launch pads. Seven rounds of S-LAM-300 missiles flew into the sky while leaving a white smoke trail into the sky. The first S-LAM-300 missile rose at Mach 6 to close in on the GBU-45/D (MOAB).

  Right before impact, the GBU-45/D MOAB’s rear thrusters exploded and created a force matching a rocket engine, and started to fall towards the surface at high speed. The S-LAM-300 missile lost its target and exploded after shooting into the empty sky.

  The GBU-45/D (MOAB) had detected the radar signals of the interception missiles and operated its thrusters to raise its speed to Mach 10. It was the 21st century’s greatest bomb equipped with an A.I.

  Only six GBU-45/D MOAB bombs were intercepted by the first wave of S-LAM-300 missiles. The anti-air force’s Skybow A2 vehicles attempted a second interception, but the speed of the MOAB made it leave the target altitude. They had no choice but to leave it to the CSMA-1 Skyhorse A2 artillery force and the C-30 Flying Tiger A2 forces.

  The six CSMA-1 Skyhorse A2 armored vehicles set their two 6-round MLRS (3×2) launch pads at an 80-degree angle and started to launch their S-LAM-100 Light Dragon missiles. Dozens of the missiles with an effective range of 30km flew into the sky while being entwined with each other like snakes. Soon, multiple flashes of light started to show up in the sky.

  Boom! Boom!

  Flashes of light showed up between the clouds like a lightning storm, and the sounds of the explosions rang across the skies in Daegu. The citizens of Corea, who had not heard a single air-raid siren for the two months of war against China, panicked from the air-raid sirens. They started to run for shelter in bunkers and subway stations, causing the city to be in chaos.

  The interception rate of the S-LAAM-100 Light Dragon missiles was quite high. Out of 34 rounds, 22 were intercepted successfully. There were now 12 GBU-45/D MOABs left, but there wasn’t enough time for a second attempt. The Skyhorse A2 armored vehicle and the C-30 A2 Flying Tiger armored vehicle’s secondary weapons, the 12mm 6-barrelled Vulcan guns started to spin and spray white laser beams towards the sky.

  Dozens of laser beams flew into the sky to form a net. Soon the GBU-45/D MOAB that emerged from the skies could be seen falling at frightening speed by the naked eye.

  Boom! Boom!

  A few seconds later, the 11th fighter wing was struck by the MOABs that broke through the laser Vulcan beam’s net of fire. The giant explosion caused a shockwave that spread across a few kilometers. It destroyed the airbase’s buildings and shattered the windows of the homes nearby.

  A firestorm ensued after the explosion, causing everything within an 80m radius to be wiped out. A mushroom cloud then rose and started to break down the surrounding buildings. Some of the wreckage flew a few kilometers away.

  The igloos that protected numerous aircrafts all collapsed helplessly from the explosion.

  Luckily, 60 F-15K Slam eagle jets had all been sent out to protect the second expeditionary force’s fleet, so they managed to survive the explosion.

  However, 16 CB-30P Phoenix land bombers were damaged severely.

  The 11th fighter wing had sustained heavy losses from only three rounds of the GBU-45/D MOABs. The base and city of Daegu were covered in thick black smoke that started to cover the sky.

  * * *

  February 20th, 2021, 08:35

  The 23rd fighter wing’s air force base at Kyungnam, Gimhae

  From space, the GBU-45/D MOABs falling at frightening speed exploded each time a red beam of light flashed. A few minutes ago, the Zeus 1 satellite which was intercepting the ship-to-surface missiles flying towards Corea had been ordered to change directions and intercept the bombs falling on Busan and Gimhae.

  Boom! Boom!

  Flashes of light showed up between the white clouds. Then, the second and third GBU-45/D MOABs blew up after being hit by the laser beams. The Busan anti-air forces and the anti-air forces under the 23rd fighter wing started to launch their S-LAM-300 surface-to-air missiles. The 30 rounds of missiles were about to crash into the GBU-45/D MOABs, but they used their self-thrusters to avoid the interception. Only eight MOABs were intercepted by the first wave of S-LAM-300 missiles.

  However, unlike Daegu, the Zeus 1 satellite continued to use its precision targeting to intercept the GBU-45/D MOABs with its laser. Also, the local anti-air forces used their CSMA-1 Skyhorse A2 and C-30 Flying Tiger A2 armored vehicles to launch interception missiles and managed to take out all of the MOABs. Luckily, none of the GBU-45/D MOABs fell on Busan and Gimhae like they did on Daegu.

  * * *

  February 20th, 2021, 08:40

  The outer atmosphere above southern Corea

  The Joint Chief of Staff concluded that there must be a high-altitude bomber that was not being detected by the radars, and immediately deployed the CFS/A-31SP Three-toed Crow space jet. Four Three-toed Crow jets were flying within the atmosphere at high speed.

  However, no trace of an enemy bomber could be found. The four Three-toed Crow jets changed their altitude and widened their radar scans. The Three-toed Crow jet 1 decided to raise its altitude to 1000km and check the outer atmosphere. When the main and sub engines started to heat up, the jet sped up to Mach 18 and reached its maximum speed of Mach 38 to fly into the outer atmosphere.

  The outer atmosphere that was nearly a vacuum was peaceful. It was as if the earth was floating in a black sea. The dream-like and dazzling view made the co-pilot, Captain Oh Sang-gu, lose his focus during the mission and exclaim.

  “Hey! Focus, will you?” Major Ahn Hyeok, the pilot of the jet, shouted at him.

  “I am sorry, sir!”


  “Sir! We found them.”