Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2636 The Taegukgi in the Rainforest (First Update, Please Subscribe)
From the training ground to the battlefield!
For Kim Jae-gi, the training he received at the elite soldier school was to prepare him for the battlefield.

And now... he has finally arrived on the battlefield!
We've finally arrived in Zhenla!

Kim Jae-gi leaned back in the passenger seat with a hint of pride in his expression, feeling the wind blowing in from outside.

Several Warrior off-road vehicles and M35 off-road trucks were driving on the red dirt road, their wheels splashing up patches of red mud.

A white South Korean flag was fluttering on the hood of the off-road vehicle. This unit was from South Korea, and at South Korea's request, the ASEAN Joint Forces Command finally approved their accession.

To some extent, this also signifies that South Korea is getting closer to ASEAN – a long-held dream of South Korea.

At least, as an officer, Kim Jae-gi, like many South Korean officers, is well aware that South Korea is powerless to resist external pressure on its own and needs to rely on the power of collective defense to protect itself.

"Squad leader, I heard you just graduated from the 'Elite Soldier School'?"

While the driver was asking questions, he couldn't help but glance at the "elite badge" on the squadron leader's chest. In South Korea, only a very small number of officers have this badge.

"um, yes!"

Kim Jae-gi said with pride and satisfaction:
"I am the 785th officer in South Korea to receive the 'Elite Badge'."

"Wow, that's really amazing!"

For a moment, the car was filled with compliments, with phrases like "best soldier" and "most outstanding commander" ringing out one after another.

Kim Jae-ki was used to this. Since returning to South Korea after the graduation ceremony, he had received such compliments not only from soldiers and colleagues, but also from generals.

It was precisely because of the general's appreciation for him that he came to Zhenla as a member of the advance team of the South Korean army—South Korea joined the Allied forces!

A month and a half ago, President Park Chung-woong stated in the National Assembly that in order to "demonstrate solidarity between allies, South Korea will send troops to Chenla and the Middle East to assist allies in their war efforts." Subsequently, Vice Foreign Minister Han Pil-dong, who was in Chang'an submitting an application to join the Nanyang Free Trade Area, made a request to the President at the Presidential Residence to send troops to assist in the war.

The Prime Minister's Office naturally did not refuse the help offered on its own initiative, and after discussion by the defense department, it agreed to their request to send troops.

In just one month, South Korea organized troops to go to Chenla, with the White Horse Division as the vanguard. Kim Jae-gi, who had just returned to South Korea, also came to Chenla as a member of the advance team.

The driver, Kang Seong-hoon, had fought in Saigon with the White Horse Division and had extensive combat experience. From the moment they set off, his eyes frequently scanned the dense rainforest along the roadside.

"Sergeant Jiang, there's no need to be so tense,"

The speaker was the translator accompanying the vehicle, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible pride:

"Since the government forces launched their counter-offensive, they have been unstoppable, sweeping all before them. Those Thang Long bastards are no match for the government forces at all, and the roads are very safe now."

"The main reason is that the allied forces are strong enough!"

Kim said at the base point:

"Those Ascended Dragons still think that, just like before, they can disappear into the rainforest and ambush people at will. But they have no idea that the war has long since changed."

Then he pointed to the sky and said in a smug tone:

"Now, hundreds of drones are hovering overhead every moment."

Thermal imaging and high-definition cameras capture every blade of grass and tree in the rainforest with crystal clarity.

They had just tried to disappear into the forest when the drone signal came back, followed by a precise air strike. Under the coalition's precision strikes, they didn't even have a chance to hide in the rainforest.

When he spoke, his tone was full of a hint of arrogance, as if this power belonged to South Korea.

"In the past few months, although the SEA has not sent ground troops in, the air force has been busy. All the cities and factories in Thang Long have been razed to the ground, and all the planes have been shot down, not a single one is left."

As for Cambodia, they could only passively endure the attack. Their tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery were all rendered useless. They had essentially reverted to a primitive state, armed only with rifles and machetes, unable to cause any real trouble.

Kang Sung-hoon, who was driving, frowned. He had participated in the Vietnam War and naturally knew how formidable those guys were.

He turned to look at Kim Jae-gi, his tone tinged with doubt:
"Company commander, given that the situation is so clear and the coalition forces are so powerful, why haven't they captured Phnom Penh yet?"

Upon hearing this, Kim Jae-gi shrugged helplessly, the smug look on his face fading considerably.

"The Allied Command's orders require a steady and methodical approach. Therefore, we must first eliminate the enemy hiding in the rear before we can take Phnom Penh directly."

In fact, he could roughly guess the headquarters' idea: to lure the main force of the Thang Long army to Chenla, then annihilate them there, thereby forcing them to withdraw from Saigon and return to the north.

But this is just his guess.

"The enemy behind us?"

Kang Sung-hoon was even more puzzled and asked:

"The main force of the Vietnamese has been defeated, who else is left?"

Kim Jae-gi's voice deepened, and he uttered two words:

"Chizhen."

"Chijin?" After a moment of surprise, Kang Sung-hoon said:
"Didn't they say they surrendered a long time ago?"

Kim Jae-gi shook his head, his eyes becoming complicated:

"Most of them surrendered, but there were some die-hards who hid deep in the rainforest, in places unknown to others. They were familiar with the terrain and skilled in guerrilla warfare. Compared to the crippled Rising Dragon Army, these people were the real trouble."

The off-road vehicle continued forward, and the muddy road gradually became smoother. A town appeared ahead, named Siem Reap, one of the few settlements along the way.

As the car approached the town, Jiang Chenghun saw that the roadside was full of locals. They were dressed in tattered clothes, but held all kinds of handicrafts in their hands—wooden Buddha statues, woven toys.

As the convoy approached, villagers surged forward, some even hawking their wares through the car windows in broken English.

"Sir, please buy one, it's cheap, very cheap."

"Look at this, it's handmade, and it's very beautiful."

The convoy showed no sign of stopping, but Jiang Chenghun, gripping the steering wheel, gradually slowed down. According to battlefield rules, stopping was not permitted unless absolutely necessary.

This is to ensure the safety of the convoy. Even if someone is hit, the convoy cannot stop. This is not the arrogance of the occupying forces, but for safety. You cannot guarantee that there won't be bombs or RPGs on the roadside when the convoy stops.

But the road was narrow and there were too many people. The villagers surrounded the vehicles, forcing the convoy to move slowly through the crowd.

Kim Jae-ki peered through the car window, carefully observing the villagers. Their expressions were peaceful, with contented smiles, rosy complexions, and a glimmer of light in their eyes—no longer the numb, lifeless look he had seen on television.

When the Allied forces first arrived, the people here were like a group of zombies, numb and devoid of any vitality.

But now their faces were brimming with life, with the hopeful glow of being reborn. Kim Jae-ki sighed, his tone tinged with emotion:

“You probably can’t imagine that just a few months ago, the people here were living in fear and hunger. They were emaciated and staggered when they walked. They looked more like walking corpses than human beings.”

Then, Kim Jae-gi said:
"With the help of the coalition forces, the government forces launched a counter-offensive, and now all the suffering is over. The Republican government has redistributed the land to individuals."

"Now that the people have their own land, they can grow crops and support their families; finally, there's hope for the future." Kim Jae-ki paused, then added:
"In tropical places like this, where resources are plentiful, people shouldn't go hungry even if they only eat bananas. But here, they can become so emaciated that they starve to death, which is simply unbelievable."

A young soldier standing nearby chimed in:
“It’s more than just starvation, Captain. I’ve heard that many people starved to death here in the past, many…”

As the soldiers were talking, Kim Jae-ki saw a vendor pushing a bicycle walk towards the convoy. He was a middle-aged man wearing a faded shirt and had a kind smile on his face.

His bicycle handlebars were adorned with numerous handicrafts, including wood carvings and grasshoppers woven from straw, all of which appeared to be exquisitely crafted.

Although he looked no different from an ordinary vendor, Kim Jae-gi had a vague intuition that the man was not an ordinary farmer.

As the man pushed the cart forward, he waved to the machine gunner on the roof, holding up a small wooden carving and loudly hawking his wares.

The machine gunner on the roof grinned and waved at him, signaling him not to come closer. But the man seemed not to understand and continued pushing the vehicle, slowly approaching the SUV.

No one noticed that the man's hand had quietly reached into the back basket of the bicycle. A tattered blue cloth covered it, and beneath it lay an anti-tank mine. The mine's fuse had been replaced with a grenade fuse, and a thin rope protruded from it.

"Stop him, don't let him get any closer!"

Kim Jae-ki shouted, and then the machine gunner shouted back at him, even pointing his machine gun at him. The vendor hurriedly moved to the side of the road in terror.

The convoy continued moving forward when, suddenly, the man pulled the fuse. Instantly, a puff of white smoke billowed from the rear basket, and he rode his bicycle toward the troop transport truck.

"There's a bomb!"

A few seconds later, a deafening explosion rang out.

The violent shockwave instantly overturned the truck closest to the man, causing it to explode like a toy, its body twisted and deformed, billowing thick smoke.

The shockwave from the explosion swept across the surrounding area. Villagers on the roadside had no time to escape and were thrown into the air by the powerful force. Screams and cries echoed throughout the town in an instant.

Kim Jae-gi was sitting in the car when he felt a tremendous force slam into the car body. His head hit the car window hard, and his vision went black for a moment. When he came to his senses and looked out through the cracked car window, the scene in front of him made him gape in astonishment, unable to even utter a word.

The town, which was just moments ago full of life, has now become a living hell.

Thick smoke billowed from the burning car. Scattered around the wreckage were the bodies of villagers, their blood staining the muddy ground. The wounded groaned in agony on the ground; severed limbs and mangled bodies were everywhere, a gruesome sight.

The convoy stopped, and the soldiers jumped out of the vehicles. Some rushed to the explosion site to provide assistance, while others, holding their guns, vigilantly scanned their surroundings, fearing another attack.

Kim Jae-gi's face was deathly pale. As he got out of the car, he shouted for help to save the wounded while staring in astonishment at everything around him, his eyes filled with fear and disbelief.

The rosy-cheeked villagers and their lively hawking voices still seem to echo in my ears. But in the blink of an eye, everything has vanished.

Is this war?

The wind, carrying the stench of blood and gunpowder, rushed towards him. Looking at the horrific scene before him, he felt a tightness in his throat.

This is not war, this is slaughter. Those people are not fighting, they are killing and creating panic. This is how they wage war.

(End of this chapter)