Among them, the Kyrgyzstan and Tajik sections were blocked by the Tian Shan Mountains and the Pamir Plateau, so they could not be crossed.

Although there were mountain roads leading to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, there was no way to get to Central Asia if the roads were blocked.

The most accessible area was the eastern border of Kazakhstan, where two-thirds were blocked by the Tian Shan and Altai mountains.

In fact, the only areas facing China were part of the Pamir Plateau and the Kazakh border which was about 500 kilometers long.

Although Chinese people had been living there without permission, the border area was no longer crowded except for soldiers because it was sorted out in the early days of the const.i.tutional monarchy.

Kazakhstan's mountain soldiers built bunkers and were stationed in areas where the Chinese used to live without permission, and now laser gun units and unmanned attack drone units were stationed as well.

One of them was the laser gun unit that neutralized a Chinese fighter jet this time.

All members of the laser gun unit that shot down the fighter jet and the mountain unit that captured the pilot were also given a medal and bonus for their achievement.

"Captain, why don't we take down another fighter jet and ask for a group vacation?"

Captain Erhan laughed at the soldiers' words.

"That's only possible in your dreams. Don't you know that we're in a wartime?"

"But that fighter jet costs about 40 million dollars. It's 80 million dollars for two, so the rewards should be a lot."

"You guys know nothing but money. We were lucky to shoot down one fighter jet, but a chance like that won't come again."

"I've heard the mountain soldiers say that this area has been frequented by Chinese fighters for a long time. So there's plenty of chance. We were probably deployed here for the very purpose."

The Chinese fighter was famous for having many problems, so the Chinese side also thought that the recent fighter jet crash was also because of its defects.

Chinese troops no longer flew reconnaissance flights after the crash.

Instead, it was monitoring the border area with unmanned aerial vehicles.

"Captain, we've just spotted a flying object on the radar. It's approaching us at about 200 kilometers per hour."

Captain Erhan, who briefly looked into the radar screen, immediately issued a combat deployment.

"Run the generator at once. I think it's an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft."

He also did not forget to announce the appearance of an unmanned spy plane on other laser units.

A moment later, an aircraft, one-third the size of ordinary fighter jets, came into view.

Flying at an alt.i.tude of about 3 kilometers, it was conducting reconnaissance activities, narrowly avoiding Kazakhstan's airs.p.a.ce.

Captain Erhan, who agonized for a while when it came within range of the laser gun, issued an order to shoot it down.

"Fire the laser!"

"Captain, it's out of our airs.p.a.ce."

"It's an unmanned aircraft. Just shoot it down. They won't even know why it fell down with their skills."

The unmanned aerial vehicle, which was directly hit by a laser gun that flew at the speed of light, faltered for a while and soon began to plummet to the ground.

Since that day, all Chinese unmanned aerial vehicles patrolling near the border had been shot down.

Kazakhstan's laser gun units were using China's unmanned aerial vehicles as targets for laser gun firing practice.

As the unmanned aerial vehicles continued to crash without even knowing the cause, the Chinese military began to panic.

So, border-based Chinese troops started to watch drone flights closely.

However, they were soon dumbfounded after seeing drones, which were flying well, suddenly cras.h.i.+ng in front of their eyes without any signs of attack.

***

The Chinese military was shocked recently when its fighter jet and unmanned aerial vehicles crashed without any clear cause.

It did not seem Kazakhstan's military launched any attack on the outside.

If there was any evidence, it would report to Beijing and come up with countermeasures, but there was no clue.

It requested to send back the wreckage of the crashed fighter jet and other aircrafts, but the Kazakh military did not even snort.

It only responded that it would decide their release after investigating why they violated Kazakhstan's airs.p.a.ce without permission, and rather called for compensation for forest fire damage caused by the recent crash of a fighter jet and unmanned aerial vehicles.

It also argued that the Chinese side sent defective planes to induce provocations on purpose.

It was a mockery that Chinese fighter jets and unmanned planes were not great.

Zhao, the commander of the Western Front, sat on the sofa in his office and was in agony.

He was feeling a sense of crisis that the current situation might jeopardize his position.

He was running out of time because he would be branded incompetent if the situation stayed this way.

In order to make up for the mistake of losing a fighter jet and 10 unmanned aerial vehicles even though the battle has yet to begin, he must achieve even a small achievement and save face.

Standing up from his seat, he took a closer look at the map of the western border, which occupied one side of the wall.

His eyes, which were looking into the Kazakhstan border, were facing downward.

Soon, he picked up the phone as if he had made up his mind.

"Administrative officer! Put me on the phone with the commander of Xinjiang District."

Although Beijing's order to never be rash while the call was connecting came to his mind, he had a sense of self-confidence that the Pamir Plateau could be easily obtained by the current force.

He would be able to earn the Chinese government's favor if he took over the Pamir Plateau in a surprise move.

As soon as Kazakhstan closed its borders with China, it also reinforced its forces in the Pamir Plateau, which was considered the most vulnerable.

The Tajik militia, known for its bravery, was also reconvened there to prepare for any eventuality.

This was because the Pamir Plateau was an alpine region where only nomadic people could engage in normal activities as it was their home.

It was difficult for ordinary people to even breathe normally when they moved at 3,000 meters above sea level.

In some cases, people suffered from high-acidity symptoms due to lack of oxygen.

In other words, not everyone could cross the Pamir Plateau.

However, Chinese troops stationed in Xinjiang Uyghur were slowly flocking to target such a place.

Although it was an order, the natural environment would not be easily overcome by military discipline.

The immediate cold in the plateau was also another problem.

Zhao, the Chinese commander of the Western Front, only thought of the fact that the region was a relatively vulnerable area, but overlooked the harsh natural environment.

Chinese troops were struggling from climbing the Pamir Plateau, but after arriving at the plateau, they were stuck adjusting to the alpine environment.

Since they had already violated the territory of the Federal Kingdom of Kazakhstan without permission, it was basic to strengthen its vigilance and search the area to see if there were any enemies.

However, underestimating the Kazakh military, the Chinese troops were neglecting their guard.

The Tajik militia and Kazakhstan's mountain soldiers, who were looking into the situation in detail, used all available firepower to launch attacks.

There was nothing to be desired by the enemies who invaded their territory.

The Chinese army, which advanced to the plateau, was a regiment-level force, mainly a mechanized unit.

When the attack began, the Chinese military was busy fl.u.s.tering, let alone responding.

Although all the firepower was mobilized, the Kazakh military's firepower deployed in the area was not that great.

Even if there was a battle in the highlands, it was a battle against nature rather than against fire, so whoever endured longer would have a better chance of winning.

The Chinese troops rushed from Xinjiang Uyghur to the Pamir Plateau after receiving a sudden dispatch order were already in a state of exhaustion, but they were confused when sh.e.l.ls poured from all sides.

However, the Chinese military had also begun to come to its senses and strike back. The Kazakh military also had to slow down for a while as the Chinese military's tanks, self-propelled guns, and armored vehicles poured out their firepower.

In terms of firepower, the Chinese military was overwhelming.

Nonetheless, it was only for a while.

The Kazak side resumed its targeted attack on Chinese tanks.

The Chinese military's attack was more like a wildfire than a target shooting.

It failed to deal a major blow to the Kazakh troops, which had been attacking while thoroughly covered up.

As the Kazakh troops focused on attacking special trucks carrying sh.e.l.ls as the top priority for the attack, other vehicles in the radius of their explosion were affected.

***

-Your Highness, we've been informed that the number of prisoners, including the wounded, is about 450. The rest of them were killed in action.

"They don't have the guts for surrendering so easily."

-It is said that they lost their fighting spirit because of the fierce spirit of our forces.

"We've had a great result, then."

The regiment level usually consisted of about 2,000 troops, but about 1,300 troops came into the Pamir Plateau, led by mechanized troops.

It was a fierce battle against two infantry squadrons, 30 tanks, 12 self-propelled guns, and 50 armored vehicles, and half of them were down.

-It's a landslide victory.

"What about the damage on our side?"

Asked by Youngho, the Army Chief of Staff, Khasan, hesitated for a moment.

-Well… It's... 57 injuries and 92 deaths.

It would be a great record to only have this level of damage even after dealing with a regiment level of troops, but the Pamir Plateau was the home turf.

Suffering this much damage even though the troops waited in trenches in their home turf, it was a matter of commander's qualifications.

"It doesn't matter how much damage we've done on the Chinese side. What good is it if so many of our soldiers are killed and injured? Who was in charge of this operation?"

-The local commander ordered the annihilation operation.

"What a stupid thing to do! The other side would have retreated if we just had let them be because of the natural environment. Or you should have attacked moderately and then fell back. If you sacrificed your troops like that, what's the point of winning?"

If the commander was in front of him, Youngho would have hit him once in anger.

-Your Highness, the commander is also on the death list.

"What? The commander was killed? Why would you die leaving your men alone?"

-Your Grace, please calm down. The commander took the lead in attacking and was the first victim. So the soldiers lost their cool that they missed the timing to fall back.

"Is it true that he was the first victim?"

Precious lives had been lost for Kazakhstan.

It was hard to imagine the hearts of the soldiers who lost their comrades and commander. They would have attacked the Chinese soldiers with such sorrows, and the Chinese would have surrendered under the pressure of that momentum.

Youngho could not help but burst into tears at the thought of them, who had been ready to die and fought fearlessly.