Empire of the Ring

An elk the size of a horse was looking for grass about thirty meters ahead. Youngho had never seen a deer this big before. It had the aura of a carnivorous animal rather than an herbivore. It was a breed that only lived around Northern Europe, and it also lived around the lakes scattered in the alpine regions of Caucasus Mountains. It liked to roam around alone. Its antlers were as wide as a big bucket stretched out to each side, giving an overwhelming intimidation. This elk had such strong kicks that even the wolves would not dare attack it carelessly.

Thirty meters was a distance in which Youngho and Jongil could shoot it easily. However, Youngho chose to leave it to Jongil since he wanted to make a chance for Jongil to brag to Karajan and the farm family. With a ‘bang!’ the elk was knocked over. With his skillful shooting, Jongil got him through his neck at one shot.

The length of the elk lying on the ground was at least two meters. His weight was more than 500 kilograms. The three men could not carry him down the mountain, so they gutted it on the spot. Gerhardt complained that they were throwing out delicious parts, but the elk was too heavy for them to carry to the farm, which two kilometers away.

The spot where they hunted the elk was halfway up the mountain and thankfully they could drag its body down the slope like a sledge. Gerhardt put back some of the guts back in his backpack with a smile. He said that everyone should at least try a little bit of the meat part.

They reached the farm after two hours of dragging the elk down the mountain. Everyone was amazed by its big size and its huge antlers. Gerhardt cut its head off, saying that he would stuff it and put it on his wall.

Just in time, Karajan and her family arrived at the farm. Jongil became quiet as he greeted them. He looked like a groom who was getting married soon. Karajan’s family was impressed by Jongil even though they did not like his butchering skills, but they let it pass considering that he was a foreigner. It was unusual for Koreans to butcher an animal unless they were farmers. However, in Azerbaijan, slaughtering cattle was natural, and sometimes a man’s ability to take care of his family was examined by how well they butchered animals.

They put the leg parts first on the prepared grill and lit the fire on the charcoal. Their table was already full of alcohol. Including Karajan’s family, there were sixteen people on the farm. They sat around the grill and waited for the meat to be fully cooked. The men were sharing drinks already.

Park Jongil put a big parka on Karajan’s shoulders to keep her warm. Her parents were looking at them with satisfaction. They seemed to have given a passing score for Jongil now.

They liked the fact that he was from Korea, which was considered a developed country in Azerbaijan, and because he was a friend and a business partner of Youngho, they trusted him even more. They were very impressed when Karajan told them that Jongil was a trained bodyguard who was strong enough to beat mafias. On top of that, Karajan’s little sisters loved him for his tall height and good-looking face. It was Jongil’s day. He was complimented for hunting the elk for tonight.

Karajan seemed to fall head over heels for Jongil after hearing Jongil’s singing voice. When people were getting drunk, they requested Jongil and Youngho to sing Korean songs. Jongil, who was a great singer, sang Korean songs, and Karajan was helpless before his amazing voice.

Karajan and her sisters also showed off their traditional dance skills in return for his song, which made Jongil smile ear to ear. Dancing in front of Jongil, Karajan was beautiful and charming. She always seemed sassy and bossy, but she was showing another side of her that night. Everyone was going to stay at the farm for the night, so they were not hesitant to get drunk.

***

While taking a shower after coming up to his bedroom, a mysterious vigor wrapped around Youngho and he became sober in an instant. It was the ring’s power. Youngho did not know what it was, but he intuitively realized that ring was signalling that there was danger nearby. It was the first time the ring recovered his body condition quickly in a moment. Youngho hurried and came out of the bathroom.

After getting dressed and putting his Beretta in his front pocket, he knocked on Jongil’s bedroom door. Even though Jongil was pretty drunk, he answered right away, “Is it Youngho?”

“Yes, it’s me. I think we have visitors in the farm. I don’t feel good, so come with me quickly.”

“Wait, I’ll be out soon.”

Jongil sensed the seriousness in Youngho’s voice. Because they were comrades trained together in a Special Forces unit, they could tell the level of seriousness in each other’s voices. Jongil came out without any complaints.

“How did you know?”

“I just know it. I’ll explain later.”

In the past when they were training in the UDT special unit, there was a time when Youngho and Jongil’s team had to endure harsh storms in the sewers. Other teams had failed their mission by giving up and crawling out from the sewers in the middle of the mission due to the storm. However, only Youngho and Jongil’s team could survive until the mission was accomplished due to Youngho and Jongil’s quick judgment. The team was rewarded with a day off. The two were a great combination from back then and even now.

They went down to the safe room in the basement and took out AK rifles and ammunition. Jongil’s eyes were as fierce as a savage beast’s. Youngho brushed down his chest with his hand and Jongil repeated his behavior with a smile. It was a sign between them, which meant ‘calm and ready.’ Trusting each other’s senses, they went out of the building.

Even though it was a waning moon, they could see outside rather easily due to the piled up snow that reflected the moonlight. They swiftly moved in the shadows of the farm, trying to figure out who the uninvited visitors were. The intruders did not notice their existence just yet due to Youngho’s and Jongil’s subtle movements. Youngho and Jongil could hear the intruders’ steps which were rather bold and loud. They must be thinking that the farm was defenseless. There were three of them. As he was trained before, Youngho tapped the butt of his rifle a few times to signal Jongil about the intruders’ location and number. Youngho was sending Morse code to Jongil who was a little further away from him.

An American inventor Samuel Morse developed Morse code in 1835. The code was widely used by people around the world until half a century ago. Even though it disappeared with the development of communication technologies, it was still widely used for military purposes. Remembering their training from UDT, Youngho and Jongil systematically acted as a team. They slowly approached the intruders.

Because the intruders acted so boldly, they gave an impression of an experienced group, or they could be underestimating Youngho’s farm. The intruders were walking from the gate toward the grape storage unit which was about 300 meters away. And at the distance of fifty meters from the grape storage unit, there was the Gerhardts’ house and the management building, where Youngho and the gang stayed.

They had to take care of the intruders before they reached the management building. Of all the days, they chose tonight to attack the farm when Karajan’s family stayed there. Jongil was upset about the possibility that her parents might not allow her to date him because of the dangers following Youngho and Jongil. He wanted to finish this before anyone could find out.

They hid next to the equipment storage and raided the strangers. They each took one down as they walked past them, and the last one who came behind got knocked over by Jongil’s kick when it hit his temple. It happened so quickly that the intruders did not have time to counter them. Youngho and Jongil unarmed them quickly and put them in a storage by threatening them at gunpoint. Then, they tied them together.

They looked stunned in disbelief. They scowled at the two, but soon they became quiet after Jongil slapped their faces a few times.

They were heavily armed when they arrived at the farm. They must have come to kill everyone on the farm. Otherwise, there was no reason for them to bring so many weapons. They had night vision goggles, radio transceivers, Dragunov sniper rifles, pistols, and knives, although they were caught before they could even use them.

Youngho was shocked and furious because someone was targeting Youngho with an intention to murder him and the people related to him. Youngho realized that he had reached a point of no return already. Even though he could find out who was behind the attack only after interrogating the intruders, it was obvious that they were the mafias of Sumqayit. Now, the battle had already begun between the two sides.

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