"We'll be helpless if our enemy attacks all at once."

"We've done well this time. We should be glad that we didn't miss a single intruder."

"Don't you think there will be a rumor that we've been attacked?"

"Why would the central government say that to the press? It'll be the last thing that they want the public to know."

"I'm afraid that they targeted our state."

"They must be here to warn us because we sent the Countryside Force to the border area, but we're not going to tolerate this. Tell the intelligence agents to find out their hideouts and strongholds right now."

"How did they come in so fast? We need to find out who ordered them to attack us. I didn't know they were this organized."

Jong-il was concerned that the state had been exposed to the IS. The problem was that there was the IS group that was established in Kazakhstan as well. The evidence was that retaliation came just days after the Countryside Force was deployed to the border area. Youngho also did not expect that they would come this fast.

"I'm also worried about the Countryside Force dispatched to the border area. They might strike them now that we're exposed."

"You mean the IS group is making light of us. Okay. I'll tell Chul-hwan about the situation and tell him not to disperse our troop."

"We don't even have that many to be called a troop. Just tell them to stay inside the tactical armored vehicles as much as possible. That's the only protection they could get."

"I hope the residents will not be swayed by this."

"There's no sign of that at all. You know the Serbian residents are used to battles from the Balkans, and even Koryoins who's from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are used to disputes."

The residents were not very anxious because they lived in chaotic regions where they had seen many regional battles and disputes. Although some facilities were damaged, people were rather encouraged to see the intruders defeated.

***

After the invasion incident, the vigilante army was formed by the residents of the state to take charge of the vacancies of the Countryside Force that had been sent to the border area. Serbian and Koryoin immigrants joined together to form the force. In an instant, 500 people gathered together, and all the idle rifles that were in the warehouse were mobilized.

Guns were dangerous things, but the people of the state were basically able to handle guns because of the life they once led. The natural environment of the Balkans and Central Asia had forced them to use guns since childhood as they had to chase away wolves and other animals to protect their sheep and goats.

"How are they?"

"I thought I would have to teach them to become soldiers, but they are as good as veterans."

"They can't be as good as soldiers."

"They're in great shape. Even people who are in their 50s moved like they're in their 20s. I gave them basic training and sent them to the perimeter with a rifle and ammunition."

"With them taking over guarding job, isn't there any disruption to the state's production line?"

"We have limited the number of employee volunteers from each workplace, but the backlash is severe. They all want to serve for the state saying that if the state is breached, their workplace would be useless. I appreciate their enthusiasm."

"It's great that we've got as many as 520 armed guards now."

"They're experienced people. They'll do a good job at patrolling. There's no way the perimeter's going to collapse."

"Then we should mobilize the fis.h.i.+ng boats of the state as well."

"Why don't we use the boat that we built for the Kazakh Navy? The state's exposed to terrorism. The Navy won't find a problem with this."

The speedboat, which was due to be delivered to the Navy this month, was in the middle of a test run, and In-soo suggested using it for patrolling purposes. The safety of the autonomous state was his priority.

The state notified the Navy that it would use the 100-ton patrol boat that the Kazakh Navy had ordered for now. Instead, the 500-ton patrol vessel that was used to patrol around the Arirang River was given to the Maritime Police to guard the coastal border of Kazakhstan. Since it was a large s.h.i.+p, it was not suitable to guard only the small river anyway.

Hearing the news, Lieutenant Commander Jun of the Kazakh Navy was excited for the vessel that was provided by the Arirang state. He had always been sad that such a great s.h.i.+p which was acquired from Korea was used to guard the river only. It was a bit too much to say that a s.h.i.+p with great firepower was only protecting the river. With such great power turned to the coast, it was not too bad that a 100-ton speedboat would be delivered to the Navy one year late.

For the autonomous state, it was more effective to operate a 100-ton cla.s.s speedboat, which was smaller but more mobile than a 500-ton cla.s.s vessel.

All fis.h.i.+ng boats were also mobilized to guard the Arirang River. The fishermen were also vigilant, so they were given weapons too. Most of the fis.h.i.+ng boats owned by the state's s.h.i.+pyards were around 10 tons, but they became more plausible as machine guns were installed on them. Fishermen knew all of the ways of the Arirang River so well, so they knew where to guard and where enemies could hide.

"Whoa, those fishermen will overpower the Maritime Police guards."

"Well, they know the river like the back of their hands. I should leave the river security to the vigilant army from now on."

"I don't worry about the sea and river guards, but I'm worried about the Countryside Force at the border area. Chul-hwan said that he's got this covered but you know how the IS can be so extreme. I'm not sure if our soldiers are ready for them."

***

As expected, an incident broke out at the border area.

Innocent-looking local people turned out to be IS members who wrapped themselves with bombs. The Countryside Force soldiers were off guard when the local people approached them and suddenly launched a suicide bombing attack at them. Five soldiers were injured in the attack.

It was not until such an accident that civilians were not allowed to enter the border area, but it was already too late. There were no light injuries since all of them were seriously injured.

Three out of five people were in critical condition and taken to a hospital in Almaty, so Youngho immediately flew to Almaty on a 12-seater jet with the state's doctors. The injured soldiers would be treated there and brought back to the autonomous state's hospital once they are stabilized.

Cho Chul-hwan, who greeted Youngho's group could not say a word as if he had committed a great crime. The soldiers were badly hurt, so his heart was dismayed.

"I have no face to show you."

"Hey, don't be too hard on yourself. How can we determine an enemy if they disguised themselves as civilians?"

"I should have been a little more cautious. I forgot how American soldiers suffered with the same trick so many times."

"It's a drag. But we can't fire at civilians because of this."

Chul-hwan accused himself of failing to stop civilian access beforehand.

However, if the soldiers pointed a gun at civilians, it would also be problematic.

The Countryside Force had an area of several kilometers to guard, and some areas were inhabited by local people, forcing them to contact residents. When soldiers entered local villages, it was natural for curious residents to flock to see strange-looking tactical armored vehicles.

There was no way that the Countryside Force would bring guns to curious residents. If it happened, it would turn the communities against the Arirang Autonomous State, so the soldiers could not dare to do so.

Now that a potential danger was revealed, the force would have to firmly block civilian access when they operated.

"I heard that the state has been attacked as well."

"Yeah. We tried hard to stop them, but they destroyed our grain silos and oil storage. I'm glad there were no casualties, but I'm afraid that they'll come again with reinforcements."

"We'll have to punish them no matter what. I'll make them pay back a dozen times."

"The problem is that it's hard to tell who's who. We'll have to doubt all bearded men."

"They've taken the offensive, mainly toward the Kazakh military in the border area, but now the region where the Countryside Force is currently at is no longer a safe zone. If they use guerrilla tactics, our guys who are exposed now will be in danger. There's no countermeasure."

"Then I guess we have to go take care of this on our own."

"Are you saying that we should cross the border?"

"n.o.body will argue about crossing the border at a time of war. The Kyrgyz government has also been devastated in all the cities. Our agents have investigated that it's at the stage of anarchy now."

"Did you find their location?"

"Yes, we've got it. I've identified their stronghold in the mountains about 50 kilometers from the border."

"All right, it's time for revenge."

Since the state could not take an action arbitrarily, Youngho reported that he and his friends were crossing the border to the Kazakh Army. The approval was given without delay when the tactical armored-vehicle battalion of the Arirang Autonomous State reported that it would target an IS base near the border.

Although they would be crossing Kyrgyzstan's border, the Kazakh Army did not hesitate a bit. For the sake of the secret of the operation, the battalion was not informing the Kyrgyzstan government about the operation. Since Kazakhstan was the leading country of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan would not claim to violate its boundary. Moreover, the country was not in the state that could control the IS group by itself. It did not matter that much anyway since the concept of a border in Central Asia was not so clear that cattle ranchers and hunters crossed borders frequently without qualms.

As they were leaving, Cho Chul-hwan ground his teeth, saying that he would not let go of any enemy he spotted this time.