Chapter 199: Iron Howl

The drone’s first shot, plunging from the sky, was astonishingly accurate.

The AGE-01’s penetrator round instantly pierced the bulletproof vest of my attacker and buried itself deep in the sand.

Before the man, who reflexively dropped to his knees, could even scream—

The second shot blew his head apart.

“H-how is this even possible…?”

Boom!

[Target #2 eliminated.]

[Armed personnel approaching from 500m ahead.]

As the surveillance drone’s alert sounded, I spun around and dashed toward the truck.

“Take out everyone near the truck.”

[Attack command confirmed.]

[Target coordinates locked.]

[Firing!]

The SWAN drone’s combat algorithm was ruthless and swift.

Without hesitation, it immediately eliminated the three armed guards monitoring the truck.

“How many are chasing us?”

Two surveillance drones ascended to assess the number of enemies.

The hastily assembled drones, lacking language capability, instead displayed the pursuing enemy forces as red dots on my wristwatch.

The number of red dots, initially two or three, quickly multiplied.

“Take out the ones chasing us too!”

Kill or be killed—there was no room for hesitation.

Two of the four attack drones descended, unleashing a hail of bullets.

With each muzzle flash, red blood spattered in the sunlight.

[Targets eliminated!]

With the pursuers neutralized, I safely reached the truck.

I opened the driver’s seat and retrieved the AGE-EX hidden beneath it.

“How’s Seong-hwan’s condition?”

I activated my earpiece and asked. Min Guk-cheol’s voice came through.

[He’s injured his leg, but it’s not life-threatening. The problem is, there are too many enemies around, making it difficult to escape.]

The gunfire crackling through the earpiece alone told me how dire the situation was.

“Even with the ZeroMarker, it’s not easy to get out?”

The ZeroMarker was a sensor that forced overseas-sold AGE-01 units to recognize us as friendlies.

[Not only do they have more than just AGE weapons, but they’re too close for the ZeroMarker to be @#%^&* effective.]

Suddenly, static crackled—

And the connection was severed.

As expected, the situation wasn’t looking good.

Before sending the SWAN drones to Min Guk-cheol’s location, I checked their remaining battery levels.

[SWAN Unit 1: 45%]

[SWAN Unit 2: 42%]

[SWAN Unit 3: 17%]

[SWAN Unit 4: 15%]

[SWAN Unit 5: 19%]

[SWAN Unit 6: 17%]

[Estimated operational time: 12 minutes, 31 seconds.]

The hastily assembled drones had far too little operational time.

“The attack drones won’t be usable much longer…”

I surveyed the area and climbed to the highest point I could find.

Aligning the AGE-EX’s sights with my eye, I began targeting the heat signatures displayed on the HUD.

…

Al Wakrah Outskirts, Abandoned Building District

“Left side, 10 o’clock!”

At Min Guk-cheol’s shout, a Blacktail operative instinctively ducked.

In that moment, an armed soldier charging over a pile of rebar unleashed a frenzy of gunfire.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat—

Bullets grazed the operative, embedding themselves in the wall, and concrete shards sprayed his face.

“What the hell? So AGE doesn’t home in on enemies like a missile?”

Sergeant Choi Yong-gil of Room 39 was more confident in his marksmanship than anyone.

When he first received the AGE and underwent shooting training, he’d experienced a whole new world he’d never felt before.

But now, for some reason, not a single shot was hitting its mark.

The moment he realized something was wrong with the gun—

Min Guk-cheol’s bullet pierced the soldier’s forehead.

Boom!

“Now! Run!”

Min Guk-cheol, supporting Jo Seong-hwan, hurled himself toward the gap between the abandoned buildings.

Sergeant Jang Su-hyeok and Corporal Ha Jin-oh followed, providing cover fire.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—

The aim wasn’t precise, but the direction was enough.

The bullets fired by the Blacktail operatives flew straight toward the soldiers of Room 39.

However, the enemies, already aware of the AGE’s capabilities, charged forward with large steel plates shielding their fronts.

“Everyone, take cover!”

Over ten enemies surged forward.

In their hands were not only AGE weapons but also TT-33 pistols, clones of the Tokarev, and Russian AK-74Ms.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat—

A hail of bullets rained down from behind.

Escape was no longer an option.

Min Guk-cheol barked briefly.

“We’ll take them all out here and move on.”

The other operatives, instinctively sensing the dire situation, immediately took cover.

Jo Seong-hwan picked up a fallen AGE rifle from the ground, his expression tense as he watched the enemies.

“Left side, 10 o’clock!”

At Min Guk-cheol’s shout, Sergeant Jang Su-hyeok instinctively twisted his body.

Simultaneously, an armed soldier from Room 39, charging over a pile of rebar, unleashed indiscriminate fire with an AK-74M.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat—

Shrapnel from the wall grazed Jang Su-hyeok’s face.

Blood spurted, but there was no time to wipe it away.

“They’re approaching from behind too.”

“We need to break through before we’re surrounded!”

Min Guk-cheol, supporting Jo Seong-hwan’s arm, hurled himself toward another exit of the abandoned building.

Two Blacktail operatives flanked them, providing covering fire.

But—

The magazines were emptying far faster than expected.

“How many shots left?”

“Five… that’s all.”

Sergeant Jang Su-hyeok’s voice was gruff and strained.

“They’re blocking the front with steel plates, so the AGE’s trajectory can’t reach.”

Between the abandoned buildings and narrow alleys—

The space was too confined for the AGE to utilize its homing capabilities.

“The front’s a no-go.”

“The back’s blocked too.”

Jo Seong-hwan pointed to one side.

“The left alley! If we break through there, we can catch our breath.”

“But we need to break through the front somehow to get out.”

The number of pursuing enemies continued to grow, and the encirclement tightened rapidly.

To make matters worse—

“We’re out of ammo.”

“Me too… same here.”

Despair crept into the faces of the two operatives, excluding Min Guk-cheol.

Even as Min Guk-cheol and Jo Seong-hwan tried to hold them off with the remaining bullets—

It didn’t last long, and soon only the empty click-click of the magazines echoed around them.

“Damn it, if we’re gonna die anyway… let’s just make a run for it, dead or alive?”

“If we go now, we’ll be riddled with bullets before we take a few steps.”

The distance was too close for even the ZeroMarker to help.

And the enemies held not only AGE weapons but various other arms as well.

As a brief silence fell, the scent of death drew nearer.

Bang!

Boom!

A bullet, fired from somewhere, pierced the head of an enemy hiding behind a steel plate.

Followed by continuous gunfire.

One fell, then a second, a third, in quick succession.

“…What’s going on?”

Jo Seong-hwan voiced his confusion.

Quickly assessing the situation, Min Guk-cheol exclaimed excitedly.

“It’s CEO Kang Tae-joon! He’s providing cover for us!”

Though nothing was visible nearby—

They realized he was covering them from a distance, as per the pre-arranged Plan B.

Boom!

From a distance where even the gunfire couldn’t be heard—

The bullets arriving from there destroyed the enemies’ heads with astonishing accuracy.

Even if the AGE’s restrictions are lifted… this level of precision is impossible…?

Jo Seong-hwan looked up.

Only then did he notice a surveillance drone high in the sky, reflecting light as it moved.

Instead of the Lunar Link, Kang Tae-joon had deployed a surveillance drone to calibrate the targeting algorithm.

Scanning the battlefield with a 3D thermal/optical map—

It provided real-time HUD data to the AGE-EX via an algorithm called Low-Orbit Correction Based on Vision Tracking.

Thanks to Kang Tae-joon’s assistance, the tightening encirclement halted.

The enemies, unable to pinpoint the source of the attacks, fell into panic.

Boom!

Attacks from 3 kilometers away.

There was enough time to trace the trajectory.

The enemies, unable to find a way to block the attacks, crumbled in an instant.

“Now’s our chance, run!”

At Min Guk-cheol’s shout, Jo Seong-hwan and the Blacktail operatives sprinted without hesitation.

It was the very moment when Kang Tae-joon and the surveillance drone’s combined attack had created a gap in the encirclement.

Boom! Boom!

Penetrator rounds fired from the AGE-EX continued to shatter the enemies’ heads.

The panicked Room 39 operatives stopped their pursuit.

Seizing the opportunity, Min Guk-cheol’s group successfully escaped the abandoned building district.

“Hurry! The rendezvous point’s not far now!”

Min Guk-cheol shouted.

Only about 2 kilometers remained.

But with a roar, indiscriminate gunfire erupted once more.

“What the hell now?!”

Sergeant Jang Su-hyeok turned and saw technical vehicles rapidly approaching.

Three in total.

Iron Howl mercenaries clung to flatbed trucks mounted with heavy machine guns, wildly spraying gunfire.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—

“Damn it, even Iron Howl’s joined in!!”

Min Guk-cheol clenched his teeth.

They’d barely shaken off the soldiers of Room 39.

Now, even Iron Howl, who had collaborated with them to abduct Jo Seong-hwan, was chasing after them.

And behind them were at least dozens more armed soldiers.

“Rather… just leave me behind.”

Jo Seong-hwan stopped in his tracks, speaking with difficulty.

But Min Guk-cheol firmly pulled him up.

“If anything happens to Director Jo here, there’s no telling what CEO Kang will do.”

From their time working together, Min Guk-cheol had sensed Kang Tae-joon’s fury and resolve toward Room 39 and Iron Howl.

It was beyond the realm of rationalization.

“So Director Jo must return safely.”

But the enemies’ momentum was far too fierce.

Though Kang Tae-joon continued to provide covering fire, the current computational module had its limits in neutralizing all the enemies at once.

Just then—

Another miraculous piece of news came through the earpiece.

[Attack SWAN units recharged.]

Not a full charge, but—

The equipment mounted on the truck had recharged them enough for immediate use.

Four SWAN units sliced through the sandy air in a steep dive.

[Receiving target coordinates. Target locked.]

[Attack mode: Parallel Surround.]

[Thermal signal tracking priority designated.]

With mechanical whirrs, the attack drones’ counterattack began.