Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 802

802. Skirmish in the Jungle (8)

The Shadow Strike Team was born from the lessons of past wars.

During the previous Illumination War, Joseon had surpassed Ming in several fields. While the Joseon army’s capabilities in large-scale pitched battles against Ming were formidable, Ming commanders dreaded certain entities even more.

Among the most famous were the ‘Tiger Hunter Rifle Squads’.

Equipped with dedicated long rifles and specialized ammunition produced in Armory 51—later adopted as the standard ammunition for service rifles—the Tiger Hunter Rifle Squads operated in pairs or groups of four, infiltrating Liaodong and the Tian Shan Mountains.

Once infiltrated, these squads diligently performed reconnaissance, scouting, and sniping missions.

Thanks to them, more than a few Ming commanders lost their lives to bullets that seemed to come from nowhere, even far from the front lines.

Having witnessed the success of the Tiger Hunter Rifle Squads, the Imperial Army steadily enhanced their equipment.

First, they replaced the vernier-style sights with monocular telescopes.

Although these early monoculars had performance limitations, being almost as long as the rifle barrels, they significantly increased the lethality of the Tiger Hunter Rifle Squads.

Despite the Imperial Army benefiting from the Tiger Hunter Rifle Squads, they felt something was still lacking.

“It would be good to have a unit that could operate a little deeper inside…”

“The Tiger Hunter Rifle Squads are limited to a maximum of four members to maintain stealth. We need a unit that can move on a larger scale.”

They desired a unit that could move as stealthily as the Tiger Hunter Rifle Squads but penetrate deeper into enemy territory and operate in larger groups.

Thus, the ‘Shadow Strike Team’ was created: a unit that, while still relatively small, could operate on a larger scale than the Tiger Hunter Rifle Squads.

The Shadow Strike Team, whose name meant ‘to move stealthily and inflict fatal blows,’ had to undergo a rigorous selection process from the start.

They recruited soldiers with ranks of at least Jinmu (鎮撫, roughly equivalent to modern sergeants or staff sergeants) who possessed exceptional intelligence, physical strength, endurance, and combat skills.

Among the screening processes for selecting the best individuals, the most important was the training conducted by the Tiger Hunter Rifle Squads.

Since the Tiger Hunter Rifle Squads were the best at moving stealthily, the Army’s upper echelons entrusted the candidates to them. The applicants had to complete the Tiger Hunter Rifle Squads’ demanding training course.

The training, originating from the methods of hunters who tracked the most formidable beasts in Northeast Asia, was harsh, and the instructors ruthlessly weeded out unqualified personnel.

The instructors were motivated by their pride and the reward offered by the Army’s upper echelons.

The Army’s upper echelons promised that 1/4 of those who passed the training would be assigned to the Tiger Hunter Rifle Squads.

Securing talented individuals suited to the unit’s characteristics in a timely manner was also beneficial for the Tiger Hunter Rifle Squads.

The Imperial Army, about to deploy the Shadow Strike Team created in this way, soon realized a problem.

-We need silent weapons!

Whether it was a sniper rifle or a service rifle, as long as gunpowder was used, they could not escape the sound of the explosion.

A common saying, only half in jest, was that ‘even if you fire just one shot, everyone within 5 li (about 2 kilometers or 1.2 miles) will know that a gun was fired.’

Of course, Hyang had a solution for this.

It was the silenced gun used by the Secret Guard.

However, the silenced gun used by the Secret Guard was a weapon designed for single use.

Due to the nature of the Secret Guard organization, the goal was to inflict the most fatal wound with the smallest sound possible at the closest possible range.

Consequently, the Secret Guard’s silenced gun didn’t resemble a gun at all, and the firing sound was incredibly faint. However, this performance came at a price: the reloading process was incredibly complicated, making it a single-shot weapon.

Therefore, Hyang modified a service rifle to develop a 5-shot silenced long rifle that used handgun ammunition.

It was a weapon similar to the De Lisle Carbine, which the British developed and used effectively during World War II.

“It is a very pleasing item. However…”

Even while deciding on official adoption, the Army remained greedy.

“The Type 1 Silenced Rifle is a good weapon, but its range does not exceed 20 jang (approximately 60 meters or 197 feet). And, to exert its full power, one must enter within 10 jang. We need something with a longer range.”

Slightly annoyed by the Army’s constant demands for ‘a little more!’, Hyang, in turn, burdened them with a task.

“Then you guys try to make one.”

‘I go through the trouble of making it for them, and they’re still whining and complaining!’

The Army, thus burdened, soon selected talented individuals known for their intelligence and sought a solution.

The answer that the gathered talents came up with after much deliberation was ‘bow’. Specifically, a horn bow.

“It’s small, flies far, and if you use pyeonjeon (small arrows), it’s even scarier. Isn’t it good?”

“That’s right!”

The talents who found the answer reported to their superiors.

The upper echelons who received the answer wore troubled expressions.

“Horn bow? Yes, it’s not bad… But, gentlemen. You surely know the reason why Taejo [King Taejo, founder of Joseon Dynasty] opposed the Liaodong expedition, right?”

“Ah…”

One of the reasons why Yi Seong-gye [Taejo’s personal name] opposed Choi Young’s decision to conquer Liaodong was ‘the problem of bows’.

-The time of the conquest overlaps with the rainy season. In this case, the bows will absorb moisture and become unusable!

“That’s true, but right now, only bows are the answer.”

“That’s true…”

In the end, the Army’s upper echelons had no choice but to ask Hyang for help.

What Hyang presented in response to the Army’s request was a ‘compound bow’.

“There would be no problem in making a bow out of iron, would there?”

The bow makers in Area 51, who received Hyang’s question, scratched their heads.

“Iron bows (鐵弓) are not unfamiliar, but the shape is unfamiliar.”

Joseon made various attempts to replace the rhinoceros horn, which is the core material of the horn bow. The iron bow was one of them.

The problem was its shape.

After some trial and error, the compound bow revealed its appearance, and the Army, which tested it, was greatly satisfied and immediately adopted it and supplied it to the Shadow Strike Team.

* * *

The Shadow Strike Team, which entered the jungle under the command of Yi Jing-ok, was a unit directly under the Imperial Army, not affiliated with the expeditionary force.

“Hand over the Shadow Strike Team! Hand them all over!”

“All of them is too much…”

In preparation for any eventuality, Yi Jing-ok demanded the Shadow Strike Team, and the Imperial Army extracted 1/3 of the Shadow Strike Team and handed them over to Yi Jing-ok.

The Shadow Strike Team members who arrived in Shinji in that way received the compound bow that Hyang had once again modified.

It was a lighter and stronger compound bow.

The Shadow Strike Team members who received the new equipment had excited expressions.

“When will we sortie? I wish we could sortie soon.”

Even after arriving at the bridgehead, the Shadow Strike Team did not stay still.

The Shadow Strike Team roamed the nearby jungle under the pretext of ‘training’.

While roaming the jungle in that way, the Shadow Strike Team members were occasionally able to make contact with the natives.

“I don’t know whether they are enemies or allies…”

Knowing that Ssang and other natives had set out to bring their fellow countrymen, the Shadow Strike Team members could not immediately launch an attack. There was a high possibility that they were their allies.

In the end, the Shadow Strike Team members who made contact with the natives quietly followed them.

“This is the best training!”

“Don’t forget. If you get caught, run to the bridgehead no matter what.”

* * *

The native warriors who hid in the jungle with the Shadow Strike Team gradually changed their view of the Shadow Strike Team over time.

When they first entered the jungle, the native warriors scoffed at the sight of the Shadow Strike Team members holding bows.

“They’re using bows in this forest? They don’t know the forest!”

“What are they going to do with such small bows…”

The bows used by both the natives and the Meshica [Aztecs] were larger than the bows used by the Shadow Strike Team. However, due to the material, they were not that powerful. Therefore, the native warriors looked down on the bows held by the Shadow Strike Team.

However, as time passed, the native warriors had to change their judgment.

“What the…”

The Shadow Strike Team members, who they thought would not know the jungle well, moved as familiarly as they did.

Finding water sources was something the native warriors were better at.

Detecting the presence of the enemy Meshica was about the same.

However, the most frightening thing about the Shadow Strike Team members was that they were hard to find when they hid.

Once the Shadow Strike Team members set their minds to moving stealthily, even the native warriors could not find them properly. After looking around for a long time, the Shadow Strike Team members would appear in completely unexpected places.

The Shadow Strike Team, which moved so stealthily, soon became the nightmare of the Meshica.

* * *

Shh!

“Cough!”

A Meshica warrior who was moving to hinder the expeditionary force heading to Tenochtitlan suddenly let out a short scream and fell to the ground.

Instantly, the Meshica warriors around him covered their bodies with shields and began to look around.

“What, what is it!”

“How…”

The Meshica warriors who were looking around could not hide their bewilderment. The warrior who had just died was in the middle of the formation.

It was difficult to find the enemy’s location because a soldier in the middle, neither at the front nor at the rear, had been attacked.

Shh! Shh! Shsh!

“Kugh!”

Once again, several warriors lost their lives at the same time as the sound of wind cutting through the air.

The faces of the surviving Meshica warriors were filled with fear.

They realized that the enemy was not just one or two from this attack. No, they could see that they were surrounded. But what was scary was that they could not see where they were.

Even more frightening was that the arrows fired by the unknown enemies were so powerful that they pierced through the shields and took their lives.

The Meshica warriors, unable to overcome their fear, began to slowly retreat.

Shshshit!

Once again, as their comrades fell with the sound of wind cutting through the air, the surviving Meshica warriors immediately turned their backs and began to run.

“Agh! Aagh!”

“My foot! My foot!”

However, before they could go even 10 yeo jang (approximately 30 meters or 98 feet), the warriors grabbed their feet and rolled on the ground. And then they screamed again.

“Agh! Aagh!”

What made the Meshica warriors, who were running away, scream were the caltrops that the Shadow Strike Team members had scattered in advance.

Their feet were pierced by the thorns of the caltrops, and the thorns of the caltrops were also embedded in other parts of their bodies, causing them to scream in pain.

The Meshica warriors, who were running away and had their feet tied up in that way, lost their lives to the native warriors who were chasing after them.

* * *

As time passed, even the Meshica army’s main camp began to sense something was wrong.

“Something seems to be wrong.”

At Okan’s words, the subordinate officers and eagle warriors nodded with serious faces.

About 100 ambush groups, each consisting of a dozen or so members, had entered the jungle to tie down the Daehan [Joseon] warriors.

If the ambush was successful, they were supposed to retreat immediately and return to the main camp to receive supplies.

If those who went out could not return, it meant they had been defeated by the Daehan warriors.

While planning this operation, Okan set the return rate very low.

However, it was not a loss because they could tie down the Daehan warriors through their deaths.

The problem was the report sent by the scouts some time ago.

Despite the return rate of the ambush groups being greatly reduced, the movement speed of the Daehan warriors had not decreased significantly.