:35, 24th of November, 2023 (Iraqi time 09:35)

  The square in front of the Kirkuk city hall, at Kirkuk city, Iraq

  When the battle of the Golden Division began on the afternoon of the 21st, they did not receive a stable supply of coal for a day and a half but succeeded miraculously in defending under bad conditions. And then, after the 112th Marine Battalion and 113th Marine Task Force completely occupied the Kirkuk oil field, and as soon as joining the 111th Marine Battalion, the battle was turned around. The six armored brigades of the Golden Division suffered and the division itself nearly destructed, with only some remaining troops retreating from Kirkuk.

  The 111th Marine Battalion, which had faced the six armored brigades of the Golden Division for a day and a half, lost around 50 percent of its military power and about 20 soldiers, but facing six armored brigades and smashing two of them were marked as a milestone in the history of war and a great achievement.

  When the Golden Division retreated from Kirkuk city, Iranian troops were no longer seen to block the 11th Marine Corps Brigade (Gwangryong).

  In response, the 11th Marine Corps Brigade (Gwangryong) immediately evacuated the city of Kirkuk, and during a day-long street war, the Iranian military guerrilla unit stationed in the city was completely wiped out.

  Kirkuk City, the last occupied city in the Kurdish Republic’s war of independence, had been ended by the 11th Marine Corps Brigade (Gwangryong).

  In front of Kirkuk City Hall Square, where endless gunfire finally subsided, the 111th Marine Battalion’s tanks, marines, and Kurdistan Republican guards lined up to prepare for the hoisting ceremony of the national flags of Corea and the Republic of Kurdistan.

  The 11th Marine Corps Brigade (Gwangryong)’s commander gave the honor of raising the national flag of Corea to the Marines who had made the greatest contribution among the 111th Marine Battalion.

  This honor of heroes was for Sergeant Kim Yoon-Sung, who was the tank commander and member of the tank 312 crew, Corporal Lee Hae-Sung who was the gunner, and Sergeant Gil Min-Joon who was the driver.

  The three had smiles on their faces that they didn’t seem to be able to hide, and stood in front of two hoisting tables wearing white gloves. Next to them stood three Republican guards originally from Kirkuk, who represented the Republic of Kurdistan.

  After a while, the Corean national anthem went off at the signal of Officer Jeong Hoon-byeong of the battalion, and three members of the 312 tank crew raised the Corean flag to the beat in a disciplined manner.

  The camera shutter of the battalion and the war correspondent went off, and crowds of reporters of the public broadcaster KBS, who had rushed to the area last night, filmed the hoisting ceremony.

  “He he it is, it is worth coming to the Middle East for this show,” with a smile that he couldn’t hide, Corporal Lee Hae-Sung opened his mouth a little bit and mumbled.

  “Oh! The right side of my face is handsome, but they’re only filming from one side. Damn it, I’ll change seats before it starts,” Sergeant Gil Min-Joong, the driver, also murmured with a smile.

  “Shh! Won’t you be quiet? Shut up and keep up the beat!” Sergeant Kim Yoon-sung had been glaring at them, a look that didn’t match his strong personality, but it was probably because he was nervous.

  “Oh, Deputy Manager! Don’t frown. It’s on air all over the country.”


  “Be quiet!”


  With the end of the national anthem, the flag hoisting ceremony of the Corean flag was over.

  Then, as the national anthem of the Republic of Kurdistan was played, the republic’s flag that had several paintings on a green background slowly began to rise.

  The eyes of more than 200 Kurdistan Republic guards who were lined up next to the Marines, did not miss the flag and their tears were falling like a broken necklace of pearls.

  The Coreans were proud people with a long history of five thousand years. However, the feeling of the Kurds would not have been different from what the people felt on August 15, 1945, when 36 years of Japanese colonial rule ended and the Koreans were liberated from the occupation that brutally stamped on their history of brilliant cultural traditions and cut off the stem of Korean history.

  At the end of the hoisting ceremony, the Kurdistan Republican guards hugged each other and shed tears, and some of them rushed to the Marines and shook hands with them and raised their thumbs. In this amicable atmosphere, everyone had a break except for some exploratory missions.

  “Wow! It’s a win! Will my face be on the news tonight for sure? If I knew this would happen, I would have put on some face masks; my face is completely black.” Sergeant Gil Min-Joon was lying on a makeshift bed and examining his face with a small hand mirror, sighing as he looked at his burnt face.

  “Oi! Mr. Gil Bang! Don’t you think soldiers need to be black-faced to look manly?” Corporal Lee Hae-Sung, who was fiddling with a portable game console, scolded him with a look of incomprehension.

  “Hey, you! I’ll become a model as soon as I’m discharged. I am only two months away from discharge, son!”


  Sergeant Gil Min-Joon, who was 183 centimeters tall and had a good appearance, was an aspiring model even before joining the military.

  “Hahaha, who’s going to make you a model?”


  “Uh huh, I was wondering if Corporal Naburintang was coming or not, you know he is dog crap? Do you want to die?”


  “Oh! Do I want to die? You’re so mean to your comrades who have risked their lives to fight next to you.”


  “Fellow soldier! What nonsense is this! You’re a corporal, Naburintang! I’m a sergeant, which is higher than a captain, jerk!”


  “A sergeant! I’ll become a sergeant next month.”


  At that time, Sergeant Kim Yoon-sung, the deputy manager of staff, entered the barracks.

  “Hey! Who is a higher sergeant than a captain? You sons of bitches! Eat this and rest!” Sergeant Kim Yoon-sung threw a plastic bag to Corporal Lee Hae-sung.

  “What is this? Oh, it’s cold!” Corporal Lee Hae-sung, who, without thinking, caught the plastic bag, was surprised by the coldness on his palms. Then he opened the plastic bag and checked the content.

  “Wow! This is tank girl! How did you find this?”


  “What? Jjujuba? Tank girl?”


  Sergeant Gil Min-joon flew to Private Lee Hae-sung’s bed like he was diving and snatched a tank girl.

  “Wow! Mr. Deputy Manager! Where did you get this?”


  “Didn’t come from anywhere! The supplies…… I begged the administrator for two more,” Sergeant Kim Yoon-sung shrugged his shoulders and said proudly.

  “Wow! Our angel, Deputy Manager! We love you.”


  Corporal Lee Hae-sung and Sergeant Gil Min-joon with unbecoming eyes picked the tank girl sticks and put them in their mouths.

  “Wow! It’s so delicious. I feel the cold all over my body.”


  “How long has it been since you had one? Hahaha.”


  It wasn’t just the delicious tank girls that they liked so much. It was because they were grateful for the relief that they had survived the horrific battle and tears welling up when they heard the news of their close comrades’ deaths, and that they were able to joke around and laugh with each other like this.

  :36, November 24th, 2023

  International waters, East Sea, 43° 1′ 17.06″ north, 139° 23′ 53.69″ east (the location of the 7th Maritime Task Flotilla)

  Admiral Ahn Hyung-kyun and tactical controller Kim Hyuk-min had nothing to do on the Gwanghae warship (DDG-1001), which was converted into an automatic interception system. They only listened to each operator’s report and watched the main tactical screen.

  Artificial intelligence supercomputer Hocula had targeted and launched suitable ship-to-air missiles from the most dangerous anti-ship missiles.

  In response, various anti-aircraft missiles soared into the sky at the function and the stern of the Gwanghaeham (DDG-1001) and several other K-VSL (vertical launchers) installed in the middle, as well as other Hocula destroyers.

  The status was displayed in real time on the tactical screen of the battle command room. Colorful models, symbols, and several colorful lines made the digital map of the tactical screen chaotic.

  Bam! Coo! Bang!

  A hypersonic anti-ship missile launched from the Far East fleet collided with the GTAS-300 Sea-Dragon ship-to-air missile, creating a spectacular fireworks show. These fireworks continued to happen from one place to another.

  “Target number one! Successfully intercepted! Target number two successfully intercepted!”


  In fact, even if there was no report from the operator, a close look at the tactical screen showed whether the intercept was successful or not.

  It was a successful intercept if the lines of different colors met, blinked a few times, and then disappeared, and a failed one if one line was drawn to the 7th Maritime Task Flotilla.

  However, the operator was obligated to report it.

  And like a hotteok restaurant that is hot everywhere, the air in the battle command room where related information was being reported, was both heavy and hot.

  In no time, they were trying to intercept all of the hypersonic P-800 Onyx and supersonic P-700 Granites from the Far East fleet, when one of the radar technicians reported, nearly screaming with a face as if he had seen a ghost.

  “A new missile has appeared at a point 298 kilometers northward! Presumably a surface-to-ship missile! The speed is about Mach 2.5! There are 19 now! It keeps increasing. 22 now! Its final count is a confirmed 24!”


  The radar technician reported the increasing number of red remote points on the monitor screen and the detected missiles information was identified on the monitor of the Identification Analyst across the DB identification of friend or foe.

  “The supersonic surface-to-ship missile, P-800 Onyx, turned out to be an export type, P-800 Yahont! 300km range and Mach 2.5.”


  Russia developed the P-800 by upgrading the P-500 Bazalt. There were two versions of the P-800; the P-800 Onyx for local use and the P-800 Yahont for exporting. The P-800 Onyx, which is for local use, has a speed of Mach 4.5 and a range of 600 kilometers, while the exported version is a downgraded version with a speed of Mach 2.5 and a range of only 300 kilometers.

  The K-330P Bastion anti-ship artillery, which was deployed on the southwest coast of Ussuri, Primorsky Province to support the Far East Fleet, was originally designed to be exported. However, as the war with Corea approached, Russia deployed all weapons, even the ones designed to be exported.

  “Is it surface-to-ship?

  “Yes, three K-330P Bastion surface-to-ship artilleries are identified.”


  “I will hit the starting point. If you could fire an anti-ship missile at this fleet, you will pay for it.”


  Admiral Ahn Hyung-kyun wanted to launch a starting point attack on the launching system that fired the KH-47M2 Kinzal air-to-ship missiles, but he had no choice but to clench his teeth and get over it because it was over 1,200 kilometers away.

  However, the K-330P Bastion surface-to-ship battery was close enough to hit the starting point.

  “Manual preparation for 12 Cheollong B surface-to-surface missiles!”


  “Yes, we target 12 Cheollong B surface-to-surface missiles, 4 for each target.”


  Unlike the existing Cheollong A surface-to-surface missiles, the Cheollong B surface-to-surface missiles, equipped with 50 small plasma-diffused ammunition, were specialized in starting points attacks on armored units or mobile launching vehicles that could burn 20 soccer fields to the ground per unit.

  Kim Hyuk-min, a tactical control officer, reported again saying that the officer in charge of surface-to-surface missiles had begun the launch process manually.

  “Set up 4 Cheollong B missiles per target! Ready to fire!”


  “Fire!” Kim Hyuk-min, the tactical control officer, immediately approved the launch once he heard the officer’s report.

  In the second 48-cell K-VLS2 (vertical launcher), a silver-colored Cheollong B surface-to-surface missile burst into the sky, appearing through white smoke. A total of 12 Cheollong B surface-to-surface missiles disappeared from sight in an instant, drawing a large arc behind them.

  The Cheollong B surface-to-surface missile, which flies to the starting point target, will follow the moving target through its own active radar before the final launch and spray 50 bomblets when it’s at 100 meters above the ground. Even if the K-330P Bastion surface-to-ship artillery moved immediately after firing the P-800 Yahont missile, there was a high chance that it would be well-tracked and destroyed.

  “What is the current status of the Haesung A missiles?”


  Since Russia’s anti-ship missiles flying toward the 7th Maritime Task Flotilla were being handled by the Hocula Automatic Interception System, Admiral Ahn Hyung-kyun now turned his attention to the Haesung A anti-ship missiles flying toward the Far East fleet and asked questions.

  “Yes, out of the 28 missiles, 7 missiles have been intercepted. We’re on the verge of a collision with the remaining 21 Russian anti-aircraft missiles.”


  “Well, the primary interception rate is up to 25 percent!”


  Kim Hyuk-min, a tactical control officer who heard Admiral Ahn Hyung-kyun talking to himself, said, “Except for the proximity defense system, this will be the last interception.”


  “I suppose so!”


  “7 missiles in this second interception! Assuming that two missiles are intercepted by the proximity defense system, at least 10 to 14 missiles will be able to hit the Far East fleet.”


  Admiral Ahn Hyung-kyun also accepted the remarks of the confident tactical control officer Kim Hyuk-min by nodding his head.

  At this time, the voice of the radar technician rang in the battle command room again. Now, he was neither surprised nor reporting this in a voice that was nearly screaming. They were now calmly accepting the reality of being in the worst situation.

  “Oh, several new air-to-ship missiles have emerged! It is an air-to-ship, 385 kilometers west, with 10 kilometers altitude, and the launching vehicle is a Su-35 fighter-bomber. Total 24 missiles confirmed! 250 seconds to reach the front!”


  “KH-22S Burya, a long-range air-to-ship missile, has been identified!”


  When the radar technician reported it, the identification of friend or foe (IFF) immediately knew and reported it, “KH-22S Burya, the air-to-ship missile ranges from 600 kilometers to 1,000 kilometers, and its speed is from Mach 3.5 to 4.5.”


  As the number of missiles launched at them increased, Admiral Ahn Hyung-kyun questioned Russia’s decisions in the current situation, “What the hell are the Russians thinking to fire more than 200 missiles at just six destroyers?”


  Russia’s total number of anti-ship missiles fired to the 7th Maritime Task Flotilla was up to 248 missiles. So far, 88 Russian anti-ship missiles have been intercepted!

  There were still 160 left.

  The biggest problem here was that the arrival time of up to 100 out of 160 anti-ship missiles was at the same time slot. It also included the 40 most dangerous KH-47M2 Kinzal aircraft.