When the six-row, 8-millimeter Laser Vulcan stopped turning and shooting beams of red light, the platoon of Russian combat infantry who approached in white camouflage suits had been scattered across the snowfield; limbs were torn off and dyeing the snow red with their blood.

  “The enemy infantrymen are gone!”


  Just then, Tank 711, the leader of the 1st platoon, approached Tank 712 promptly from the side of the formation and defended it along with Tank 713, rolling just behind them.

  “This is the platoon leader. First, the injured in Tank 713 are to be transferred to our vehicle. Then the leader of Tank 713 is to operate the vehicle again. The battalion headquarters have dispatched an armored medical vehicle.”


  “Roger. The injured are being transferred to 711. Then I will get aboard again,” responded Sergeant Kim Yeong-joo, through the wireless comms network installed in his helmet, gazed at his lying-down colleagues, and ran to his tank.

  A moment later, Sergeant Kim Yeong-joo, opening the tank’s hatch and seating himself in the seat of the tank leader, breathed heavily from exhaustion.

  “Are you all right, sir?” asked Staff Sergeant Yeom Hoon-gi hastily when he saw his superior was back onboard. “I’m all right! Private Kim, do you detect any mines?”


  “Several types of vision failed to detect anything.”


  “What are their landmines made from? Why can’t they be detected?” Sergeant Kim Yeong-joo suppressed his fear of being isolated here and slapped the side of his scope.

  As Private Kim Il-su said, the many vision modes in his scope didn’t detect anything mine-like as he scoured the various spots in the snowy field. Feeling frustrated, he vented his anger.

  Their technology was able to detect any small anti-man landmines made of plastic or wood, discerning the chemicals in their gunpowder.

  “What should we do?” Staff Sergeant Yeom Hoon-gi asked cautiously. “The only way out is through!”


  “Do you mean we should keep moving forward?”


  “The alternative is being a fish in a barrel here.”


  “You saw the magnitude of their landmine explosion. They are capable of blowing up an entire tank. If we move now, it would be like driving into our graves.”


  Even though Sergeant Kim Yeong-joo said so, just like Staff Sergeant Yeom Hoon-gi said, moving on a field of landmines covered with snow was indeed a suicidal act. He did feel fear, even though he didn’t show it. Then a good idea flashed in his head.

  “Yes!”


  Flicking his finger, Sergeant Kim Yeong-joo opened the squad-wide comms and shouted, “This is Sergeant Kim Yeong-joo from Tank 712. Since we cannot detect the landmines, how about we scorch the path ahead with photon cannons and Laser Vulcans? If their armored vehicles approached within 400 meters, the area of the mine-covered field must not be that

  great.”


  “This is the squad leader. That’s a great idea. Except for the vehicles engaged in rescue missions, all other vehicles must secure the path ahead, as Sergeant Kim has said, and get out of this minefield as soon as possible.”


  With the squad leader’s permission granted, Private Kim Il-su hit the gas as if waiting for the go-ahead. With that, Tank 712 sprinted forward again with a rough rumble of its engine.

  “Yeom! Fire the photon cannon with a 10-meter interval.”


  “Roger.”


  As ordered, Staff Sergeant Yeom Hoon-gi kept the barrel of the turret’s cannon as low as possible and began firing photon rounds at a 10-meter interval. Sergeant Kim Yeong-joo showered the space within the interval with 8-millimeter Laser Vulcans.

  With each tank firing toward their path ahead, great columns of snow appeared all around them, following the occasional explosions. Meanwhile, Tank 711 and Tank 721 loaded the injured crewmates and retreated to the backside, where the medical vehicle was headed.

  A whistling sound was heard in the sky, and the spot where the tanks of the 7th Squad found themselves moments ago was relentlessly shelled by mortar and bombs. Countless pillars of snow rose into the air.

  Had they tarried a bit longer, they would have been showered by all those shell strikes.

  The tanks of the 7th Squad, encountering an unexpected setback called anti-tank landmines, pledged to avenge their injured comrades. The succession of tanks marched on furiously toward the Kurganets-25 armored vehicle that was hiding 400 meters ahead on the slope.

  *

  *

  *

  January 25th, 2024, 11:00 (Russia time: 04:00)

  Astrakhan, Astrakhan Oblast, Russia. Near the Astrakhan Bridge (The 75th Machine Infantry Battalion)

  Three hours have passed since the beginning of the street fighting. The 75th Machine Infantry Battalion had completely occupied the satellite city of Astrakhan, situated on the western bank of the Volga. They were now mobilizing themselves to occupy Astrakhan proper before dawn. Spearheading the operation, the 3rd Machine Infantry Squadron began traversing the Astrakhan Bridge.

  It was by far the most dangerous moment in the span of the whole operation. However, as the street fighting began in the eastern part, several Spider-II recon drones flew over the area and identified the hiding spots of the Russians.

  On the side east of the Astrakhan Bridge, various armored vehicles from the 6th Squadron and the headquarters were lined up in a long queue, prepared to provide shelling support.

  When the 3rd Machine Squadron’s armored vehicles were halfway across the bridge, the fierce, explosive sound of the 50-millimeter photon cannon shells being launched was heard from the rear. Several dozens of red photon particle shells flew past the Volga and began striking the buildings along the riverbank.

  They have accurately struck the hiding spots of the Russians detected by the Spider-II recon drones. Dark red flames rose between the buildings hit by the red particle shells. Some of the buildings ended up collapsing.

  Even though the shells were only 50 millimeters, they had incredible destructive power.

  The hiding Russians immediately began their retaliatory shelling. The self-propelled artillery and mortar cannons that were being cooled in the rear of the city started their strikes. The infantrymen and the soldiers manning the anti-tank weaponry, who had been peeking from behind walls and corners so far, began shooting as well.

  The heated battle began with the Volga dividing the two sides. The armored vehicles of the 3rd Machine Squadron halfway across the bridge, just past the in-river island, also received focused target firing by the Russians.

  “Argh!”


  “We may all end up falling here.”


  “No!”


  Vehicle 311, spearheading the caravan crossing the bridge, belonging to the 1st Scout Platoon, was suddenly filled with the anguished screams of the crewmates. The whole vehicle was being shaken, and the sounds of various explosions kept ringing in the outer carapace of the armored vehicle.

  Vehicle 311, belonging to the 1st Scout Platoon in the 3rd Machine Squadron, continued to be filled with the frantic clamor of the crew as it marched on.

  “Are we all going to end up as barbecued humans in this tin can?” In his fearful state, Private Gwak Young-hwan uttered a half-joke, half-wail. He had been keeping quiet with his head lowered until now.

  “Don’t say such a terrible thing!” Kim Seong-ho, Private 1st Class, also the direct superior to Gwak, smacked the back of his head. “Ouch! Hostile work environment! The situation is hostile enough as it is!”


  “Hostile my a*s! I did that to get you to come to your senses. You were babbling nonsense.”


  “Yes!”


  At that moment, an incredible impact was inflicted on the left side of the vehicle. As a result, vehicle 311 lost balance, skidded, and stopped when it hit the guardrail of the bridge.

  The inside of the vehicle was a jumbled mess.

  Sergeant Go Gi-jun, the vice-chief, shouted through the comms, his voice resounding in the metallic interior of the armored vehicle. “Everyone get off! The vehicle is immobilized.”


  An enemy anti-tank missile had unfortunately struck the left wheels of Vehicle 311. As a result, two of them ruptured and were now basically torn-up rags.

  “Are you sure, sir?” asked Private Hong Han-ho, the squad leader.

  “I said, we’re immobilized! Do you really want to end up as burnt meat in this tin can? But, if we receive target fire, that will be our reality! So first, we will get off, then take cover behind the vehicle.”


  “Roger. Get off! Everyone get off!”


  With the squad leader’s order, the infantrymen tasked with the unloading procedures got off the tank at once and immediately took cover behind the vehicle. They then threw several smoke bombs in front of the vehicle.

  The dark grey smoke from the smoke bombs concealed Vehicle 311 from enemy sight.

  “That was close! Just moments ago, we were all on the threshold of the afterlife.” Private Gwak Young-hwan shook his head as he looked at the armored vehicle stopped over the edge of the bridge.

  Vehicle 311 had the front third of its vehicle protruding from the bridge surface. They could have fallen several dozens of meters below the bridge if it slid a bit further. They had lucked out.

  “F*ck! Why did they have to hit the wheels?” Sergeant Go Gi-jun, getting off the vehicle last, swore exuberantly.

  “What shall we do now, sir?” asked Private Hong Han-ho.

  Sergeant Go Gi-jun scouted the area ahead of them with the various vision modes of his combat suit.

  “We will run!”


  “It must be more than 300 meters to the end of the bridge. Will it be feasible?”


  “We have cars behind us from which we can take cover! You’ll have to wait here. Our squad will clear the area in front of us. Then you move with the 5th Squad.”


  “Yes, sir.”


  Using smoke bombs and taking cover behind the armored vehicle, they could still hear the various explosions from the bridge’s eastern side, indicating that the battle was still fiercely ongoing. Just then, the sound of a jet engine was heard in the eastern sky; then, something swooped by very quickly. The crew and the passenger infantrymen of Vehicle 311 all tensed up.

  They feared it might be a Russian fighter jet. However, fortunately, the object was from their side: a CUF/A-22NP Phoenix unmanned fighter jet hurriedly dispatched from the Baekbum Gim Gu (CV-001).

  The CUF/A-22NP Phoenixes, which had been deployed dozens of times in a day to take control of the skies above Ukraine and southern Russia, were now being deployed to provide air support for the 75th Machine Infantry Battalion.

  Wordlessly laughing at the Russians’ anti-air weaponry, the six CUF/A-22NP Phoenixes dropped several bombs at their targets’ precise locations, then promptly soared into the sky and disappeared.

  It all happened in an instant.

  With massive explosions, an impact sufficient to collapse a building echoed across Astrakhan. The Russians were mainly hiding on the side east of the bridge. The bombings completely disarmed the Russians’ defensive front.

  vert

  The 3rd Machine Squadron and the 5th Machine Squadron didn’t lose their moment to mobilize.

  The infantrymen taking cover behind Vehicle 311 sprinted forward with all of their might as soon as the armored vehicles of the 5th Machine Squadron began moving. “Don’t overextend! Take cover frequently as

  you run!”


  With the squad leader, Hong Han-ho’s orders, the crewmates made their way, dodging between and behind the various cars on the bridge.

  Even though their defensive perimeter was neutralized, the Russian soldiers hiding along the Volga kept shooting at them.

  Thanks to the armored vehicles of the 5th Machine Squadron providing retaliatory fire or shielding them from the raining bullets, the crewmates of Vehicle 311 all made their way across the bridge to its end.

  “Now, we will separate into two groups and enter the city! We will keep each other within 100 meters. Don’t overdo it! Everyone, stay alert!”


  At the squad leader, Hong Han-ho’s order, the squad members, all winded against the half-collapsed walls of a building, separated into two groups, one headed by the squad leader and the other led by the vice-leader, entered the streets of Astrakhan.

  21st century Goguryeo