The monster’s eye between the rain of crumbling dirt and the pile of corpses disappeared. With seemingly no more dirt to suck in, the corpses also stopped plunging into the pit.
The same bone-chilling sensation Kang Chan had gotten at that weird base in England suddenly surged up inside him again.
It felt as if the monster had been revived and growled at Kang Chan again, promising to rip his throat apart to finally put a proper end to him.
Now, the only audible sound was the noisy thumping of the helicopters in the distance. No one moved or dared to speak.
Everyone turned around to look at Kang Chan, awaiting his next command.
Based on how they waited for his orders with expectant eyes, it didn’t look like anyone saw the bright red light that was staring right at him earlier.
Kang Chan climbed over the barrier toward the left side of the pit that had just been created.
Afterward, he took a few steps forward and glanced back at Gérard, his gaze telling him to follow.
As commanded, Gérard climbed over the barrier after him. Dirt crumbled away little by little with every step he took, causing the corpses to slide closer toward the pit.
“Catch!” Kang Chan shouted.
He grabbed the arm of the corpse right in front of him as Gérard lifted its leg.
Just looking at each other was enough for Kang Chan and Gérard to easily tell the timing for things like this. They swayed the corpse back and forth to gain momentum, then finally tossed it toward the pit.
As the corpse landed, the dirt and other bodies around the pit started to slide down.
They had done it. Now that they knew the circumference of the pit and how close they could get without falling into it, they had found their way out.
Kang Chan nodded to the men standing by on the other side of the barrier. As he did, gunshots from their snipers rang out in rapid succession.
A frantic radio call followed right after.
“RPGs! There are too many of them!”
At the same time, the sounds of RPGs being launched one after another echoed.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtIf their snipers weren’t enough to take care of it, then they would need everyone to run over and provide the choppers as much support as they could.
“Gérard! Let’s go!” Kang Chan shouted.
Kang Chan stuck as close to the left side as possible as he dashed forward.
Running a few steps ahead, Kang Chan vaulted over the barrier in front of him. Seok Kang-Ho and a few other soldiers followed right behind him.
Like the last firecrackers of a fireworks show, white beams of light began to rain down from the two helicopters.
One of the helicopters tilted sideways and began to plummet straight down toward the huts.
“Gérard! Run!” Kang Chan shouted, sprinting as fast as his legs would allow him.
The helicopter was right on top of the huts when Kang Chan heard machine guns and sniper fire coming from it.
The helicopter fell on its side and skidded into the pit before finally crash-landing at the bottom.
As a horrendous ear-splitting crash reverberated throughout the mountain, the ground began to give way.
“Haul your asses up! This way!”
Kang Chan stuck to the corner as much as possible while getting a tight hold and pulling over Seok Kang-Ho and the other soldiers who were running over one after another. He didn’t even have time to think about the pain in his shoulder making him feel as if it was being ripped apart.
Gérard positioned himself next to Kang Chan and helped pull the soldiers over to safety.
“Move fucking faster!” Kang Chan shouted through gritted teeth.
These were special forces soldiers. Even though they were dashing over at a lightning-fast speed, something normal people couldn’t hope to achieve, the ground sank in at an even faster pace.
The South Korean special forces team was at the very back of the group.
Kang Chan fought through the dizzying pain throbbing from his shoulder and right arm as he pulled the soldiers to safety.
The pit was opening its gluttonous jaws wider and wider until there was nearly no room left for the soldiers to secure their footing.
Cha Dong-Gyun and Kwak Cheol-Ho, who were at the very back of the sprinting soldiers, already had their feet buried in the crumbling soil.
“Run!” Kang Chan shouted at the two as loud as he could.
They jumped forward, and Kang Chan gave their forearms a death grip.
Choi Jong-Il and Cha Dong-Gyun dangled from Kang Chan’s arms. Kang Chan held on tighter as the dirt gave way below them.
Seok Kang-Ho grabbed Kang Chan’s legs, and a row of men behind him held on to them with all their strength.
“Kwack! Kwack!” Gérard shouted for Kwak Cheol-ho as he stuck his upper body in the pit and held out a hand.
“Fucking hell!” Seok Kang-Ho cursed through gritted teeth while grabbing onto Gérard’s waist.
Kwak Cheol-Ho managed to catch Gérard’s waiting hand.
Kang Chan, Gérard, and Seok Kang-Ho groaned in pain and frustration at the same time.
“God fucking damn it! Pull!” Seok Kang-Ho vehemently growled.
Even without him swearing, however, everyone was already doing everything in their power to pull the men up.
However, that wasn’t enough to prevent all the soldiers who were holding on from being dragged into the pit little by little.
Kang Chan was now waist-deep inside the pit. With furious, glinting eyes, he glared at Cha Dong-Gyun.
“You little motherfucker!” he shouted, anger accompanying every word.
“We’re all going to die at this rate!” Cha Dong-Gyun, who was hanging from Kang Chan’s left arm, shouted back at him through gritted teeth. “Let go, sir!”
“Cut the bullshit and hold on tighter!”
Cha Dong-Gyun attempted to shake Kang Chan’s grip off, but instead of letting him fall, Kang Chan clenched his jaws even harder as he pulled Cha Dong-Gyun up.
Finally, he grabbed Cha Dong-Gyun by both of his wrists.
“Grab onto my shoulders, you fucking son of a bitch! You’re dead when I get you out of there!”
Kang Chan groaned in pain as he pulled his subordinate up. He felt like his shoulder blades and muscles were being torn away little by little.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmSeeing Kang Chan’s ferociously glinting eyes, Cha Dong-Gyun determinedly extended his left hand and grabbed onto Kang Chan’s shoulder.
Slowly getting pulled into the pit, Kang Chan was already into his thighs.
A red light shone from inside the pitch-black hole.
As Cha Dong-Gyun grabbed onto Kang Chan’s waist to climb up, Kwak Cheol-Ho escaped the pit by grabbing Gérard’s shoulders for support.
“Pull! Pull!”
Once the two were out, the soldiers pulled Kang Chan and Gérard out of the pit like they were playing tug of war.
The moment Kang Chan secured his footing and stood up, he strode up to Cha Dong-Gyun.
He slammed his fist into Cha Dong-Gyun’s face. Everyone, not just the South Korean team, held their breaths as they quietly watched on.
“You son of a bitch! How dare you think about dying here?! You’re a senior member of the South Korean special forces team! Did you even think about the men who are relying on you?!” Kang Chan shouted, his fury getting the best of him.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Cha Dong-Gyun replied as he grinned, his eyes glinting.
He wiped the bridge of his nose with the back of his arm.
Gérard and Kwak Cheol-Ho brought their hands up in a grip and bumped shoulders.
Seok Kang-Ho patted Cha Dong-Gyun on the back, finally bringing an end to the tense atmosphere.
Considering the pit had grown so large that even the barrier had been sucked into it, the men could no longer just recklessly head back. Only the wounded soldiers who had been at the back during the whole commotion could move right now. They should be able to pull everyone out once the rescue helicopters had arrived, but they would have to eliminate the remaining enemies to protect the aircraft beforehand.
Kang Chan shook his head.
Smoke was rising from the helicopter that had fallen into the pit earlier. Unfortunately, they had no means of getting down there right now.
“Everyone, check your weapons!” Kang Chan ordered and then turned his gaze. “Gérard! Ask that helicopter if they need support in rescuing the people in the chopper that crashed on the other side!”
While the soldiers were examining their weapons, Kang Chan lowered his stance and walked over to where the snipers were hiding.
The roars of the helicopter’s rotor blades and the fierce wind hit Kang Chan.
The army interpreter looked at Kang Chan, fear evident in his eyes.
Although the snipers required someone to keep an eye on the perimeter while they were fulfilling their duties, they didn’t have enough hands at the moment. Moreover, their position was probably the safest place to be in right now. Perhaps that was why the interpreter was with them.
Kang Chan hoped that the shock hadn’t made the army interpreter forget how to speak French.