The IS stronghold in the border area, which was struck by 20 tactical armored vehicles of the Countryside Force led by Cho Chul-hwan, had been cleverly disguised, but there was no difficulty in finding it as intelligence agents of the autonomous state had already kept photos of it in detail.

Not expecting such ambush, the enemy soldiers were confused by the roar of the armored vehicle. Although the mountains were quite steep, it was not difficult for four-wheel-drive tactical armored vehicles to approach.

The Countryside Force planned to cut off all the escape routes and annihilate all of them at their base, but when they checked the drones, women and young boys were there too. Cho Chul-hwan was at the lead ambush site while his friends including Youngho were scattered around the site to support him.

Women could be necessary for cooking and doing chores, but it was questionable why boys in their early and mid-teens were here. The Countryside Force soldiers, who were on high alert to strike the base at any moment were hesitant as they saw those people who seemed to be civilians in the base.

Cho Chul-hwan, who had been eager to redeem himself with today’s battle, was also in a quandary. According to the data given by intelligence agents, everyone here was supposed to be an IS member, but if that was the case, women and children were members of the IS group too. Realizing that something was wrong, he ordered the soldiers to standby. He contacted Youngho on his headset.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“We’re at the verge of striking their stronghold, but I need to make sure that this is the right target.”

“If the location matches the GPS coordinates, you can be confident in burning it down.”

“There’s a problem. There are a lot of women and children here, and I don’t know what to do. We might be sacrificing innocent civilians here.”

“Our agents confirmed that those women and children are all IS members, too. They’re the ones who launch suicidal attacks. No one knows what they’ll do if they survive from there. Regardless of their appearance, they are our enemy.”

“That’s crazy, you mean to kill all the women?”

“There’s no other way. If we try to capture them alive, it’s only going to hurt our soldiers. If you’re not confident, you can pull out. I’ll call the U.S. Air Force in Almaty and ask for a bombing.”

“Then I’ll pull out and take care of the ones who are escaping from the base. Contact the U.S. Air Force. I just can’t order them to fire.”

Eventually, Youngho was forced to contact the U.S. Air Force to destroy the stronghold of the IS. The IS remnants who were fleeing from the strike were shot dead by the Countryside Force. It was a pity, but showing compassion to the enemy was a luxury on a battlefield.

He could not blame Cho Chul-hwan for hesitating. If Youngho took the lead, he would have hesitated as well.

“We shot all the remnants of the scene. There are 36 of them in total.”

“Great. Were there women who were fleeing as well?”

“I’m not sure if it was fortunate or unfortunate, but the ones fleeing were all men. I think all the women and children were killed when the site was bombed.”

“Well, this will sound terrible, but take field photos and retrieve any weapons. That way, you have evidence to show to avoid further criticism.”

Since Chul-hwan and the soldiers were close at the bombing site, they now would have to collect evidence of the scene. To do so, they had no choice but to see the horrible scene. It was war after all.

***

The IS base near the border was completely destroyed by the bombing of the U.S. Air Force, and the encirclement of the autonomous state’s Countryside Force. The Kazakhstan Army also praised the significance of the operation, as it was an example of what would happen to the IS that was exposed to the military.

The maneuverability of the tactical armored vehicle was demonstrated in this operation. It also served as an opportunity for the government to bring in large-scale Cobra tactical armored vehicles. The management of Otokar, the manufacturer of Cobra tactical armored vehicles in Turkey, screamed joyfully at the unexpected order. It was because the Kazakh government placed an order for 200 vehicles.

Thinking that he could negotiate for technical partnership with Otokar, Youngho decided to contact the management.

The armored vehicle was not high-tech, so upon receiving Youngho’s request, Otokar immediately responded positively. Rather than sending finished products, it was more profitable to produce them at an assembly plant locally. However, the agreement between the two countries was needed first since its military equipment was a sensitive item.

To discuss this, Youngho visited Astana to meet President Nazarbayev.

“I’m sure you’re busy taking care of your own state. Did you have time to come all the way here?”

“The state is stabilized now.”

“I heard that many of the facilities were destroyed and there had been serious casualties in the border area. How are the soldiers?”

“Fortunately, everyone’s over the hump, so we’re a little relieved.”

“The order of military merit and an incentive of encouragement will be given to each family of the wounded soldiers.”

“Your thoughtfulness will be a great help to the wounded soldiers and their family.”

“The order of merit is nothing when some soldiers would have to live crippled for life.”

There were some soldiers whose arms were severed and who were blind to one eye. There were others as well who had surgery several times for lung injuries. Although the autonomous state would honor the wounded, it would mean a lot for them if the Kazakh government honored them too.

“I’ll never forget the Countryside Force that offered to help Kazakhstan with less than a handful of troops.”

“It was their duty of course as people of Kazakhstan.”

“Although something terrible happened, it was a good decision to deploy your troop at the border for the sake of the status of the state in Kazakhstan.”

“I’ll take a good note of that.”

“By the way, you said we can produce tactical armored vehicles in Kazakhstan?”

“Yes, sir, I’ve heard that a technical tie-up is not even difficult as long as it is discussed with the Turkish government.”

“Turkey is a brotherly country to us. I don’t think that will be a problem.”

“If it’s possible to have a technology partnership, there’s no reason to hesitate setting up a local assembly plant.”

“If you could have this arranged with the Turkish government on the phone, it won’t be a problem. The factory is likely to be built in the port city Atyrau. The location has many benefits in terms of transportation of supply and recruitment of manpower.”

“I never dreamed of a local assembly plant, but it’s a brilliant idea. We’re going to have a huge increase in our military power.”

Although there were Russian-made armored vehicles or tanks, their performance was not great because they were outdated. Most of the weapons that were brought in from Russia were that way except for fighter jets. Although their firepower was not weak, Russia had been very stingy in selling new weapons because it did not want Kazakhstan to grow in power.

“If we added drones, we’ll have tight security.”

“Very good! My headache has gotten a lot better. Why don’t we have a glass of wine at a time like this?”

“I expected you to say that, so I brought some wine produced this year.”

***

Since the IS was heavily attacked at the border, the autonomous state was now on high alert expecting there would be retaliation in some way.

The vulnerable areas were guarded by vigilantes and the Countryside Force, while the inaccessible areas were guarded by fixed security cameras. Drones were not used since they were quite noisy. Some areas were prepared in full with the establishment of a claymore mine.

Meanwhile, the state also worked to identify the IS hideouts in nearby cities since people could not just sit back and wait for the IS to come and visit them. The state mobilized the intelligence agents to scour around different regions with the help of Kazakhstan’s secret police.

As if to ridicule such efforts, the IS was demonstrating its presence by carrying out bombings throughout Kazakhstan. Especially, it drew attention by constantly attacking Kyrgyzstan’s border and working throughout Kazakhstan’s big cities.

The IS was not unique in Central Asia alone as there had been many attacks throughout European cities, almost paralyzing their functions. Because of this, the prices of daily necessities were skyrocketing. Nevertheless, the goods and products needed by the state were constantly being transported through the river. This was because the sea or river was not an active stage for the IS.

“Prince consort, if this continues until the end of the year, the world economy will be ruined. Then our state will be inevitably impacted by it too.”

“I’m only glad we have enough raw materials for each factory. If we had relied on land transportation, it would have been a blow.”

“If the price of raw materials continues to rise this way, we won’t be able to afford them anymore. For now, it’s a little concerning that the price of construction materials have risen by 20 percent already.”

“Are we short on what we have now?”

“We only have materials enough to build about 100 houses. If the economy is not normalized before next spring, we will have to pay dearly.”

“Since prices haven’t risen so much on the Russian side, let’s bring them from Volgograd.”

“It’s a hassle, but that will relieve my concern for the time being.”

“Do you have any other worries?”

Today, Kim Chun’s shoulders looked especially heavy.

“I’m afraid the Ural River might be blocked. The river is the only entrance to the state. Don’t you think our enemy will know that?”

“How are they going to take over the vast river?”

“Let’s say they decided to fire rocket bombs on our ships on the water. If they come up in a speed motorboat and shoot, we’ll be helpless.”