The gym was filled with the heat the soldiers were emitting.

Cho Chul-hwan, the chief of the Countryside Force, made a brief bow and introduced each of the county's leaders.

Youngho thought that the event would end with a handshake after the introduction, but suddenly he was forced to take the podium because Chul-hwan asked him to give an inspiring speech. Since he did not have anything prepared, he reluctantly took the podium.

As he was introduced as a duke and the owner of the county, everyone was expecting something hopeful from his mouth. They were not here for a mission, but only for a new job and money, Youngho did not know what would encourage them.

"I'm Lee Youngho, who invited you all to this place. I and my friends standing next to me served in the Korean Navy Special Forces back in Korea. I know some of the applicants are from the Navy Special Forces and some from the Army Special Forces."

Everyone seemed surprised when Youngho introduced the leaders as former special forces.

"I know you've had a lot of trouble applying and coming to here. I'm sure you're safe here because it's not a dangerous area right now, but you may have to do something tough going forward. I'm not going to give an additional speech, believing that you know how Arirang was created. I've called you here to protect the Koryoins, Serbians, and the people who live here."

When Youngho's talk became heavy, everyone became serious.

"I don't know if you're here with the intention of making money as mercenaries, but please remember that the Arirang Autonomous State's residents are welcoming you as a new family. From now on, you are not foreign soldiers, you are the young men of the state. If you've left Korea to earn money, I hope this will be a good opportunity for you to step up to the world. As much as you love the state, it will do you no harm."

Youngho was going to conclude there, but he could see all the faces of the soldiers who were expecting more from him. No one looked bored. So, he continued.

"You are now residents of the Arirang Autonomous State. I can a.s.sure you that you'll never feel lonely here. You won't be forced into dangerous operations, either. You're all precious members of the Arirang state. I also left Korea with the same mindset as you. I've been working hard, and now I've got a city like this."

There was a brief burst of applause at this point. It seemed that Youngho's accomplishments here had touched the heart of the people who left their country for a better life.

"Your seniors, who arrived here a few years ago and settled down before you, married here and made families. And now they're all managers who get more than 70,000 dollars a year. It's because they worked hard thinking that this is their second home, not a temporary place to stay and leave later. I want to give you that opportunity too."

This time, there was a thunderous ovation with a shout of 'waaah.'

As a person in the congregation shouted, 'Hail to the duke of the Arirang Autonomous State!', some people booed him saying that he was already kissing up to Youngho. The heavy atmosphere was quickly reversed. The mention of salary and marriage captivated them.

"Who's the one who just shouted "Hail to the duke"?"

Youngho asked and one guy raised his hand.

"I'll take you out, specially as an administrative soldier. I love people who kiss up to me. But, don't complain that you don't get the combat commission."

"Hahaha..."

Youngho's joke was greeted with laughter. The first face-to-face meeting with the foreign legion ended well.

***

Michael came to the state with his entourage.

After a trip to the CIA headquarters, he was supposed to meet Youngho in Frankfurt, but he appeared in the state without notice on a CIA airplane. It was an urgent matter.

"What a surprise. How should I interpret this sudden visit?"

"You told me that I'm an honorary citizen here. Should I notify you in advance when I'm coming home? And what are all those Asian guys?"

Michael asked as he pointed to the foreign legion soldiers strolling around the runway.

"I accepted former members of the South Korean special forces because I thought the state needed more force."

"You're thinking of launching a coup, aren't you?"

"It's just a self-defense force. It's not like anyone else is going to protect the state, so I stepped up."

"Who's going to invade Kazakhstan? The border area issue is already settled."

"Look at the anti-government protests. Russia could send troops to Kazakhstan at any time under the pretext of protecting its own people. Should I stay still in this situation?"

"You think Russia's going to attack your state? You're not taking this opportunity to be greedy, are you?"

Michael was quick-witted. Still, Youngho pretended to know nothing about that. He changed the subject quickly.

"So what brings you here in this urgent manner?"

"Things are getting twisted. President Nazarbayev's power is falling rapidly, so he won't be able to sustain it even for a few months. So, I've been ordered to persuade you."

"I won't do any reckless move. Things have changed a lot since I talked to you."

"Good idea. Instead, I promise you other support measures."

"If you're going to give me a weak support and interfere with the decisions of the autonomous state, I'd rather not receive it."

"Listen, the future of Central Asia is at stake. If the Arirang Autonomous State is compromised, my career will be at stake, too. If I could, I want to make it an American satellite city."

"Well, I'd like to hear it in detail."

"Let's have a drink and talk."

Youngho and Michael went to the administration office and shared some drinks. Michael, who had been savoring the scent of whiskey, took out his favorite Cuban cigar and offered it to Youngho. It took quite a while to burn up all the cigars. His gesture was an indication that the conversation would take a while.

"There was a tentative agreement with the Russian government."

When Youngho tried to open his mouth, he stopped Youngho with his hand and continued.

"We reminded Russia that although there are relatively many Russians in Kazakhstan, there are more other peoples involved in this. The U.S. and Russia have decided to only engage in external threats."

"You mean, even if there are signs of brutal suppression of the people with public power in Kazakhstan, the two countries will not intervene?"

"Kazakhstan is a strictly independent country. Even if they ask for troops, no one will want to jump into a civil war."

"What if this government asked for Russia's help to stay in power?"

"Russia won't respond. That's what we've agreed on."

It was a bit rea.s.suring that Russia was in check for now. Russia, however, would never cease to support huge funds for the independence movements in the northern city. That could not be stopped.

"That's why I'm here to warn you not to overstep."

"It wouldn't matter if we act in a self-defensive manner. I mean, when the autonomous state is attacked, right?"

"Of course you should protect the state in that case."

"I don't know why the U.S. is not considering the northern city where the majority of its population is Russian. It sounds like it doesn't matter if Kazakhstan is split into pieces."

"That is an internal matter of Kazakhstan. We can't do anything about it."

"That's what happened in Ukraine. It was all taken away by Russia."

Michael looked puzzled at this point.

The Ukraine crisis ended with the surrender of a quarter of its territory to Russia. It was also a place where there was an overwhelming number of Russians.

"There's a limit to what we can do. That's why the U.S. is also going to secretly support the Arirang state."

"I am in a position of duty to protect the Arirang state. If you're not going to give me solid support, it's better to take your hands off."

Youngho could tell that Michael came with a big offer, but he was not giving it so easily. He was cautious because Youngho might reject it.

He was promised that the state would not act out of proportion, but he could not prevent the right of self-defense.

The invocation of the right to self-defense included pre-emptive attacks. If there were any signs of attack from an outside force, the autonomous state could attack it beforehand. That was why the foreign legion was formed.

After agonizing for a long time, Michael opened his mouth,

"I'll support you with patrol s.h.i.+ps first. We're still free to go through the Russian ca.n.a.l, so we can give you that."

"One or two s.h.i.+ps are not enough."

"First of all, we're going to support ten 500-ton cla.s.s s.h.i.+ps that had been used by the U.S. Coast Guard."

That much reinforcement would give the power to take over the whole Caspian Sea to Youngho. Although he was exuberated, he kept his poker face and answered in a calm manner.

"What's the use of a huge conventional patrol s.h.i.+p? It would be better if we had a 200-ton missile s.h.i.+p."

"The s.h.i.+ps are equipped with a missile and a close-up defense system. This will be enough to protect the Caspian Sea and the Ural River in the worst-case scenario."

The U.S. did not want to miss out on the western Kazakhstan, where an enormous amount of oil and gas were buried. Maybe there was some kind of deal with Russia behind Youngho's back. Even so, it was not a loss-making business for him. Ultimately, it is an opportunity for the state to lay the foundation for independence.

If a security s.h.i.+p came in, it was like a foreign unit.

Michael had originally intended to give five patrol s.h.i.+ps, but he offered more after seeing that Youngho was determined to raise the self-defense.

In terms of maneuverability and firepower, there was no such thing as a combat s.h.i.+p.

The s.h.i.+p that Michael offered was a combat s.h.i.+p that had firepower equal to that of a battalion of the Army, even though it weighed only 500 tons. Of course, it would be comparable to fighter jets armed with state-of-the-art equipment, but were conventional battles took place, the force of combat s.h.i.+ps was the last straw. If it was equipped with anti-aircraft and anti-s.h.i.+p missiles—equipped with artillery, it was a great power in the Caspian Sea and Ural river.

"Is there any more?"

"What more firepower do you need when you have full armored vehicles?"

"I'd like a weapon that would be a threat to anyone. It would be a great deterrent power."

"You've got hidden weapons, haven't you?"

"How can I be bold enough to give out something that I've stolen? We have to leave it as a hidden power."

"You're getting brazen. How are you going to handle it later?"

"Isn't oil what America wants? I'll pay back the U.S. with oil."

When Youngho mentioned oil, Michael was intrigued slightly. So, Youngho drove a wedge in.

"I'm going to give you a great role as a bridgehead in Central Asia. However, we can't guarantee when the United States acts against the interests of the autonomous state."

"I don't think that will ever happen. To add my personal opinion to this, the U.S. needs the Arirang Autonomous State very much."

"What can you give me?"

"What kind of weapon do you want?"