December 21st, 2023, 16:00 (Kurdistan Time 10:00)

  Hussen-Abad, West Azerbaijan, Republic of Kurdistan (Garrison Base of 3rd Mechanized Infantry Company)

  On November 16th, the 75th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, which succeeded in capturing Karachiyaden after battling for two days, entered the surrounding villages one after another. It eventually succeeded in pushing Iranian troops out of West Azerbaijan on December 11, however, that wasn’t the end of the war.

  At present, the 75th Mechanized Infantry Battalion and the 55th Guards belonging to the 3rd Guards Division of the Republic of Kurdistan were in a confrontation along the border between West Azerbaijan and the northern states of East Azerbaijan. In particular, the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Company of the 75th Mechanized Infantry Battalion was carrying out the front-line security mission with the village of Hussen-Abad, 13 kilometers west of the main border, as an outpost.

  Hussen-Abad Village was once a village of about 200 people, and most of the residents were Kurdistan. When the war for independence of the Kurdistan Republic began, men volunteered to join the Kurdistan garrison, and the elderly, women, and children fled to a safe place. Not long ago, when the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Company completely occupied Hussen-Abad, the evacuees began to return home one by one.

  Most of them were old men, women, and children, but the village of Hussen-Abad was gradually revitalized. Although some buildings and public facilities were in ruins due to the fire of war, the villagers united themselves and began restoration work. The PEACE unit’s engineering unit also supported them with various heavy equipment to help with the restoration work. As a result, Hussen-Abad village was soon looking like its old self.

  Although their homes were devastated by the scars of war and families were grieving the death of their loved ones, their faces were always full of bright smiles. The independence of the Kurdistan Republic was the best thing for them as they had been living in poverty and treated as low-class citizens in a land that had become foreign territory under the influence of foreign powers for centuries.

  From the early hours of the morning, as residents began restoration work, four Hyeonmoo armored vehicles appeared on the other side of the Koi-Maku road that crossed the village with loud engine noises. This was the garrison of the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Company, and on the right was a long inverted C-shaped hill, which was like a natural fortress that could protect them from the Iranian forces’ firepower.

  The Hyeonmoo armored vehicles that entered the road belonged to the 1st Reconnaissance Platoon, which had come out for reconnaissance around the state border and to police the village.

  “This is Steamed Corn, Bad Potatoes move to the square to carry out the village security mission.”


  “This is Bad Potato! Roger that!”


  While maneuvering along the road, the 312 armored cars, which had received orders from the platoon commander, broke out of the procession and turned toward the town square. Then, as soon as they arrived at the plaza, the rear hatch opened, and the members of the 2nd squad got off one at a time, creating a boundary around the area.

  “Wow!”


  In an instant, the village children who were playing at the nearby playground rushed in and surrounded the 2nd squad members who had gotten off and held out their hands with innocent faces.

  “Mister! Chocolate! Give me candy, please.”


  The kids shouted in Kurman and he couldn’t understand them but the children continued to reach out their hands and cling to them. Not being able to move, the 2nd squad members turned to Private Kwak Young-hwan. Private Kwak Young-hwan also shouted with an embarrassed expression while being surrounded by children.

  “Hey! Hey kids! I gave you everything I had the last time. No more! I’m here for a mission today. I’ll give you more next time, so everyone get out of the way! You will get hurt. Hurry!”


  But the children didn’t care and kept reaching out, asking for chocolates and candy.

  “Kids, I don’t have it!”


  Private Kwak Young-hwan, who was wounded in the last battle in Marku, was transferred to the Peace Corps headquarters, received treatment for a month, and returned on the 13th. Ever since that day, the village children would reach out their hands whenever they saw Private Kwak Young-hwan or the soldiers of the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Company.

  “We are in pain because of that b*stard.”


  When Corporal Seong-ho Kim was also surrounded by the children and unable to move, he glanced at Private Kwak Young-hwan.

  “How would I have known that it would be like this? I just gave them what I had because they were cute and pretty. Seriously, why is Corporal Kim so dry and barren like the land here?”


  “What! Barren?”


  “I hope that you care about your Junior who has returned from treatment after being injured.”


  “Hey! After being in the hospital, are you trying to be clingy? You have no discipline.”


  At this point, a rescuer appeared.

  “Hey, guys! Come here!”


  When Sergeant Go Gi-jun, the head of 312, got off the armored car and took out a bunch of chocolate bars from the paper box and shook it, the children flocked to him.

  “Wow!”


  “Hey, guys! Slow down! You will get hurt. Don’t worry, I’ll give it all away.”


  As Sergeant Go Gi-jun gave out the chocolate bars, the 2nd squad members, who were freed from the children, were divided into two groups – the squad leader and the sub-leader – to begin the full-scale village policing under the instructions of the squad leader, and moved on to their own routes.

  The troops of the four airborne combat divisions, which arrived in the Kurdistan Republic on December 1, were urgently dispatched to about 200 large and small cities excluding the war zone and started a full-fledged policing mission. Arrest rates for bombers had increased significantly. As a result, the number of bombing attacks in the Republic, which used to occur three to four times a day, had significantly decreased. However, certain cities had not yet managed to escape the risk of being attacked.

  “Check carefully and, if you find anyone looking suspicious, subdue them immediately!”


  After the last of the instructions were given, Sergeant Hong Han-ho, the divisional major, moved up the village and began scanning the residents who were working on the restoration work all over the place.

  Each time they were scanned with the shield glasses, the residents who had the identification chip implanted on them were marked with a green dot followed by a small beep, allowing for easy and simple identification.

  The current president of the Kurdistan Republic has issued an order to deport foreigners from all territories declared a republic, and the residents of the territory were to be arrested.

  December 21st, 2023, 17:00

  B2 bunker, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Namju (The Republic of Korea Armed Forces Joint Command and Control Office Conference Room)

  Shin Sung-yong, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who returned from a two-hour meeting in the Foreign Ministry’s VIP reception room, immediately convened only the high-ranking staff. Then, Shin Sung-yong, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had a brief explanation of the contents of the meeting with the Ukrainian Defense Minister in the reception room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in front of the chief of staff of each military and about 10 other high-ranking staff. After 10 minutes of explanation of the key points, Shin Sung-yong returned to his seat, and Kim Yong-hyun, deputy chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, asked the first question.

  “Did the president formally approve it?”


  “Well, not yet. But to tell you the truth, Minister Kang is saying that she is contemplating it. If you have had such a meeting, I think that approval is only a matter of time.”


  “Chairman! I wonder if intervening in the Ukrainian civil war will really help our country.”


  Lieutenant General Lee Hoon-sang, head of the Strategic Planning Division, who had been with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded to the negative opinion of Kim Yong-hyun, deputy chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

  “Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff! Intervention in the Ukrainian civil war seems to be seen as an extension of the Korean-Russian war. As indicated in the reconnaissance report of the Overseas Reconnaissance Bureau in the morning, the Russian Army has mobilized the 49th Army as well as the railway brigade of the Southern Military District to defend the Eastern Front. In other words, the fact that even the 49th Army, which had deeply intervened in Ukraine’s civil war, was mobilized can be seen as a sign that we will somehow mobilize all our forces to stop the invasion of Siberia.”


  “Who doesn’t know that? I don’t think it’s right to get involved in the Ukrainian civil war when even in the United States or Europe have abandoned them.”


  “The Ukrainian civil war is a civil war, but in reality, it can be seen as a proxy war for Russia supporting the rebels from behind. For the Republic of Korea, which is currently at war with Russia, intervening in the Ukrainian civil war will not be a problem at all.”


  Yoon Gi-yoon, deputy general of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who nodded at Lieutenant General Lee Hoon-sang’s words, interrupted the conversation.

  “Yes! That’s right! It’s a war between Ukraine and Russia. How about using this opportunity to help Ukraine end the civil war and even occupy the southern regions?”


  Lieutenant General Lee Hoon-sang further strengthened his voice and continued the explanation in support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Yoon Yoon-sang.

  “That’s right. As Deputy Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, if the Ukrainian rebels recapture the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk provinces and push forward as far as Volgogradskaya, Russia will not be able to focus on the Eastern Front. Ukraine has also promised to authorize the use of our troops in all territories of Ukraine until the end of the war with Russia. It is only 480 kilometers from the Ukrainian border to Moscow.”


  Kim Yong-hyun, deputy general of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who had objected to whether he partially agreed with the continued remarks of Lieutenant General Lee Hoon-sang, asked a question that made everyone take a step back.

  “Um, is that so? Will our military be able to afford to fight in Ukraine?”


  “I think that part will be decided through future meetings, but I think that two mechanized divisions will be enough to end the civil war in Ukraine and head up to Volgogradskaya. However, it is rumored that the 12th Carrier Group, which is currently in the Gulf of Oman, will move to the Persian Gulf to provide real-time fire support.”


  Chairman Shin Sung-yong of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who nodded at Lieutenant General Lee Hoon-sang’s words, said with a rather satisfied expression on his face.

  “Haha, lieutenant general Lee has thought a lot before returning. I think that the Ukrainian civil war intervention was, in a way, an opportunity to hold Russia on a leash.”


  “That’s right. Wasn’t this what the chairman said in the morning – that he would become a self-reinforcing agent of Russia?”


  “Haha, it was a wild guess this morning but look at how things have turned out. Now! In the future, we will set up an operation plan together with the head of the operation headquarters!”


  December 21st, 2023, 18:00 (Kurdistan Time 12:00)

  Hussen-Abad, West Azerbaijan, Republic of Kurdistan

  After walking around the village of Hussen-Abad for two hours and carrying out security missions, the division commander turned to the square where the armored car was waiting when the squad leader’s assembly order was issued through wireless communication.

  “Private Kwak! What’s on today’s lunch menu?”


  Corporal Kim Seong-ho, who was in a good mood at the thought of having lunch, asked Private Kwak Young-hwan, his best friend and right successor.

  “Sergeant Kim! Am I of that level to memorize such things?”


  “Wow! Look at this kid! You are completely out of your mind. You’re surely not.”


  “Hey! Get back to your senses! We are still on duty.”


  Sergeant Lee Jin-tae, the division commander who was going ahead, turned his head and rolled his eyes. The two, who had been arguing up until now, faced each other and exchanged whispers.

  “Ah! He is being rigid, he is being too rigid again, isn’t he?”


  “He’ll probably be rigid until the time he gets discharged.”


  “Haha, I mean it! Ahh! You are being so rigid!”


  At that time, Yoon Ho-jin, the youngest member of the squad who was following behind, looked carefully in the direction of 3 o’clock and shouted urgently.

  “Sergeant! 3 o’clock! We’ve found a suspicious person along the wall behind the playground 80 meters away.”


  “Are you sure?”


  “Yeah, they just got out of the building next door and have disappeared behind the wall, but they definitely weren’t marked with a green dot.”


  In response to the additional explanation of Private Yoon Ho-jin, Sergeant Lee Jin-tae, the division commander, immediately switched the shield glasses to inverter mode and checked the wall behind the playground.

  When the two people who were hiding behind the wall were identified, Sergeant Lee Jin-tae, the division commander, immediately gave instructions.

  “Corporal Kim and Private Kwak approach each other from the 5 o’clock position. Private Yoon and I will approach from the 12 o’clock position. Children are playing in front of you, so approach them as carefully as possible!”


  “Yes, all right. Private Kwak, let’s go!”


  When Corporal Kim Seong-ho ran forward, detoured to the right, aiming with a CS-2 laser rifle equipped with a 30-millimeter smart grenade, Private Kwak Young-hwan followed behind……