TL: Skye
1st Infantry Division Headquarters. It was late at night, but the lights in the Division Commander's office remained on.
"To the founding of the Motiñu Republic!"
Clink!
The crisp sound of glasses meeting rang through the room.
1st Infantry Division Commander Garcia Motiñu and Artillery Regiment Commander Dani Motiñu were savoring the taste of victory while knocking back top-shelf whiskey.
"Ahh, nothing beats American booze."
Colonel Dani smacked his lips and set down his glass.
"Are you sure this is really going to work? What if those Chevron bastards try to back out..."
"Relax. They already stamped their seal on the contract. Besides, with all the money and weapons they've already fronted us, you think they're going to pull out now?"
Garcia chuckled leisurely and tapped the briefcase sitting on the table. Inside was a secret contract guaranteed by the American law firm Douglas & Kaufman.
The terms were simple: hand over the oil field development rights to Chevron in exchange for massive funding and weapons.
Of course, "massive funding" amounted to less than a tenth of the northern oil fields' actual value, but for these two brothers whose philosophy was "as long as I eat well and live well," that was no problem at all.
"True enough. If push comes to shove, we can just block them from drilling."
The two brothers downed their drinks.
"So what's the plan after we declare independence?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm saying, shouldn't we advance on Libertad? Since we've come this far, don't you think we should at least take a shot at the presidency?"
"What kind of crazy talk is that?"
Garcia shook his head dismissively.
"Think about it. Taking Libertad won't bring in a single cent. It'll just mean more headaches. We just need to live it up right here."
"That's true. No need to take on unnecessary hassles."
"Anyway... preparations are going smoothly, right? You've got everything squared away?"
"I moved all the officers' families to the gymnasium on base this afternoon."
"Good. Hostages need to stay in our hands if we want to keep anyone from getting ideas. Any unrest among the soldiers?"
"A few of them have been muttering, but what are they going to do? Follow orders or die. Oh, and since we were running a bit short on war funds, I collected a special defense tax from the nearby coffee plantation owners."
"How much?"
"About 70% of this year's harvest? We'll dump it on those Chevron guys and have them convert it to dollars for us."
"Isn't that a bit excessive? The locals might get restless."
At Garcia's concern, Dani smiled coldly.
"Since when do we care about public sentiment? If it really worries you, we can just kill them. Then the plantations naturally become ours."
"Hahaha! You're right. That's my little brother."
The two brothers looked at each other and snickered. In their eyes, there was no room for the welfare of San Marcos' citizens or their subordinates. All they could see were the stacks of dollars waiting to be claimed.
"How are the central government types reacting? Word should be getting out about now, shouldn't it?"
"Even if they know, what can they do about it? At most they'll just spout off about traitors and whatnot."
Garcia was absolutely certain that the defensive line he'd built was impregnable.
He figured once preparations were complete and independence was declared, all that remained was sitting on a mountain of cash.
That's when it happened.
"C-Commander! We have an emergency!"
His adjutant came bursting through the door in a panic.
"You don't knock before entering?"
"M-my apologies! But you need to see the TV right now!"
"TV?"
Garcia frowned as he picked up the remote and turned on the television in his office. The screen showed breaking news graphics, and there was Yu-jin, standing at the Ministry of Defense briefing room, being broadcast live.
[...Respected citizens of San Marcos, and all service members of our armed forces.]
Unlike usual, Yu-jin was wearing a military uniform, and his cold eyes seemed to pierce straight through the camera.
"What the hell? Why's that bastard wearing a uniform?"
Dani scoffed, but the announcement that followed made both of their expressions harden.
[I stand before you today to bring judgment upon the treasonous faction that seeks to sever our nation's territory and hold our people hostage for their own selfish gain.]
"......"
[1st Infantry Division Commander Garcia Motiñu. Artillery Regiment Commander Dani Motiñu. These two individuals have committed acts of treason by conspiring with foreign powers to sell off our sacred homeland.]
"...!"
Garcia dropped the glass he was holding.
[Therefore, as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, I issue the following order.]
Yu-jin paused to catch his breath, then declared in a resolute voice:
[Effective immediately, the 1st Infantry Division and the 1st Artillery Regiment are hereby disbanded.]
"...What? Disbanded?"
The two brothers' jaws dropped. They never imagined he would take such a hardline approach.
[All command authority over these units has been revoked. From this moment forward, any soldier who follows orders from Garcia or Dani will be regarded not as a soldier of San Marcos, but as a terrorist, and will be punished accordingly.]
[However, any service member who immediately lays down their weapons and surrenders will not be held accountable. Remember: your weapons exist to protect your homeland, not to feed a traitor's greed.]
On screen, Yu-jin stared directly forward with terrifyingly cold eyes, as if glaring at Garcia through the television itself.
[Within the territory of San Marcos, there is not a single place for traitors to hide. I will hunt you down and prosecute you for treason. That is all.]
The broadcast cut off. Only a suffocating silence hung in the Division Commander's office.
"This... this...!"
Garcia's face flushed crimson. He slammed his trembling fist on the desk.
Wham!
"Has this son of a bitch lost his mind?! Disband the unit?! Who the hell does he think he is!"
This was worse than a declaration of war. It was an insult.
Treated as terrorists instead of soldiers? This was a clear statement that there would be no negotiations, only annihilation.
"Brother! What do we do? The soldiers are going to panic..."
Dani asked, his face pale.
If their military status was revoked, their pay, pensions, and honor would all vanish.
And from now on, it was obvious they wouldn't receive any supplies, food, or wages.
"Go gather the officers and calm them down. And tell them anyone who tries to run gets executed on the spot."
"What about food? We need something to eat if we're going to fight."
"Contact Chevron and request a shipment."
"Ah..."
"So get moving. Go show them we're in control."
"Got it."
After Dani left, Garcia stared at Yu-jin's retreating figure on the screen.
"You'll never make it through anyway. The Armored Division? Don't make me laugh. They'll all die trying to cross the mountains. I'll open the gates of hell for them."
What he didn't know yet was that it wasn't Yu-jin who had opened the gates of hell. It was himself.
***
The red light on the broadcast camera clicked off.
"Whew..."
"Well done, Your Excellency."
I let out the breath I'd been holding and stepped down from the platform. Isabella, who had been waiting, approached and handed me a bottle of water.
"Hardly perfect. My legs were shaking so badly I thought I was going to die."
"Still, your declaration has established our justification."
"Justification..."
I smiled bitterly as I walked toward the situation room.
Honestly, this decision was a gamble for me too.
Even with the drones I'd secured, the enemy was a regular army with tens of thousands of troops and heavy weapons.
If things went wrong and the civil war dragged on, San Marcos could end up like so many African nations, falling into a state of permanent collapse.
But despite all that, I had one reason for choosing war.
'If I don't cut this out now, San Marcos will die.'
The collusion between Garcia and Chevron was an act that would rip out the nation's spine in the long run.
The northern oil fields alone represented an enormous loss, but having a hostile state right next door?
'We couldn't afford the defense costs.'
According to calculations by the National Defense Secretary and the Finance Secretary, we'd need about 300 million dollars or more annually.
For San Marcos, with an annual budget of less than 2 billion dollars, that was practically a death blow.
'We have to win. No matter what.'
I steeled my resolve and asked:
"Have all the Korean nationals been evacuated?"
"We put them on a plane to Florida this morning. Oh, your friend asked me to pass along a message."
Isabella held out a slip of paper. I opened it to find Korean characters, a rare sight these days.
[If Isabella doesn't have a boyfriend, could you maybe introduce us? Seriously, I'm begging you.]
I crumpled the note and tossed it in the trash.
"What's the Armored Division's status?"
"All forces except for one battalion staying to defend Libertad have completed preparations to advance."
"What about the drones? Training time was extremely short. Can they actually use them effectively in combat?"
"The software from Hyunhwa System is very solid, and with AI built into the drones, they said there shouldn't be any problems."
"They're certainly earning their price tag."
"Korean technology is truly impressive."
I nodded as I watched Isabella answer with what seemed like envy.
This was exactly why I'd had Hyunhwa System's drones airlifted in rather than buying cheap Chinese attack drones.
"We need to win this without casualties..."
"SIA agents are risking their lives to gather intelligence as we speak. General Pedro will use that to devise a perfect operation, so there's no need to worry."
"Just to be safe, please relay this to Commander Pedro one more time: minimize the loss of life in this war. Keep casualties to an absolute minimum."
"Yes, sir."
I stood up and gazed through the window toward the Central Mountains.
"Garcia must be throwing a fit right about now."
"He'll probably concentrate all his forces to block off the Central Mountains."
The night sky over Libertad was peaceful as could be.
***
The great barrier dividing eastern and western San Marcos: the Central Mountains. And within it, the sole passage through, El Paso Gorge, was a natural fortress.
The narrow road carved between sheer cliffs was barely wide enough for a single tank to pass, and even that could be blocked at any moment by falling rocks from above.
"Idiots. Do they have any idea where they're trying to go?"
Major General Garcia Motiñu, leading his division, looked out over the gorge and let out a derisive laugh.
He had positioned two regiments at the gorge entrance, constructed mortar emplacements on the cliffs above, and laid the road thick with anti-tank mines supplied by Chevron.
And that wasn't all. He'd also deployed over a hundred Javelin anti-tank missiles, courtesy of Chevron's support.
Enough firepower to turn those outdated 1980s tanks into fireballs in an instant. No matter how many tanks the Armored Division sent forward, the moment they entered this narrow pass, their annihilation would be only a matter of time.
"Something's off about the central forces' movements."
Dani lowered his binoculars and tilted his head.
"Off how?"
"It's been a whole week since the declaration of war, and they haven't shown their faces once. Not a single artillery shell has come our way."
Dani was right. The Armored Division under Pedro had set up positions on the plains five kilometers from the gorge entrance and hadn't moved an inch.
But Garcia just snorted dismissively.
"They know. They know if they come in here, they're all dead."
"True. Pedro's always been a timid one."
Time was on their side anyway. If this standoff continued, western independence would become a fait accompli.
The support Chevron had promised would arrive soon, and then the gorge would become even more impregnable.
But there was one thing Garcia had overlooked.
In war, there's something just as important as bullets.
"What?! The supply trucks bringing our food... were bombed?"
*****
If you enjoy this novel, please review and rate it at Novelupdates. Thanks! 😊
To receive the latest update notifications or report mistakes, join our Discord server linked below.