Chapter 145 - Chapter 18, Episode 6: The Returning Battle

Chapter 145: Chapter 18, Episode 6: The Returning Battle

The ends of Black Mamba’s mouth went up slightly.

He had already approximated the location of FROLINAT’s north-eastern command post during the move.

After turning into a Parathropus, his hearing and sense of smell had turned into something beyond a hunting dog. Voices of various people rang in his ears, and his sense of smell was almost paralyzed from the onslaught of excrement and food.

The reason why he used his dimensional sight everywhere was to find an outpost. Frankly, there was no need to check on everyone. He had already figured out their locations. All he had to do was move his body and erase them.

Black Mamba was trying to break in an underling.

Sun WooHyun, who had lived in a world of surveillance, had a habit of doubting and weighing another human’s worth. He was the type of person who could trust another by confirming the truth with his own eyes.

An underling only realized the fear of a boss after being pushed to one’s limits. He had already decided to take in Sun WooHyun, so this was a good opportunity to test his abilities.

“D*mnit, you’re driving me mad!” Sun WooHyun panted, barely catching up.

His lungs were about to fall out of his mouth, trying to catch up to a mountain goat that ran faster than those who lived in the Nanglim mountain ranges.

“Shh, there’s a sentry point 250 meters away, 10 o’clock. There are two guards.”

“Really? Really? Honto? Zhen-de ma?”

Sun WooHyun found it hard to believe. They were in a forest that was tangled with trees and bushes, making it hard to see ten meters ahead. Was it even possible to know the distance and number of people? If it was a joke, it wasn’t funny.

“Shut up, and follow me.”

Slap—

A thick palm slapped the back of Sun WooHyun’s head.

“Aargh, my eyes are going to fall out. Do it gently,” Sun WooHyun whined as he followed.

The tension which had risen around him in blue had lessened. He was already swept up by Black Mamba’s mood.

“Ah!”

Sun WooHyun swallowed his surprise. The man’s actions which were unlike a human was incomprehensible. There was a hidden guardhouse about 20 meters ahead, between the branches of the acacia tree. It had been carefully hidden with leaves and bushes, but he could recognize it at a glance.

“Did he get information from Ombuti? If so, how did that human know the outpost’s location?”

Sun WooHyun couldn’t understand Black Mamba as long as he remained within the boundary of human logic.

“There’s another point 200 meters ahead, three o’clock to the right. Check it out.”

Sun WooHyun left without a sound of protest. He returned a moment later, and nodded his head.

“How did ya know?”

“Just because!”

“Just because? Impossible!”

It was that “just because” again. Frustrated, Sun WooHyun closed his mouth. That was why he didn’t like those who were talented.

“There’s another outpost 250 meters away, at the top of the triangle between the two other posts.”

Sun WooHyun left towards the rear without even waiting to hear the order from reconnaissance.

“Two are guarding.”

“There’s a Boma[1], 30 meters behind that post. Did you check?”

“F****** hell!”

His face burned.

The role of scouting members was to search and destroy. He had only confirmed the location of the unit like a cannon, and had missed the separated watch only 30 meters away. His pride as a supporting member of the scouting unit had hit the floor.

Black Mamba smiled.

“There’s no need to blame yourself. You’ve done everything you need to. I heard you managed to get rid of the ambushing guerrillas very well while I was blacked out.”

The sight of Black Mamba giving praise after administering hellish training was like a fox, not a snake.

Sun WooHyun’s expression turned strange.

“I feel like I’m being praised by the teacher in my public school.”

Even Sun WooHyun, who was stubborn and doubtful, had been pulled around by Black Mamba.

“There’s no need to feel guilty or compare yourself. A pig doesn’t know the outside world within its one-meter fence. A giraffe is able to see the horizon.”

“Darn, you saying I’m at the level of a pig or something?”

“If you confine yourself to your standards, you begin to lack confidence and view things with a twisted sense. A pig is not a giraffe. A pig has its uses as a pig.”

At the following words, Sun WooHyun nodded his head. He had lived ten years as an elite. He had honed his abilities and advanced through the ranks without fail. He was wrapped in the idea of being the best that he hadn’t been able to acknowledge other people.

“So you’re saying, there’s a universe beyond the sky. Seems like being a boss isn’t something anyone can do.”

Sun WooHyun became embarrassed of himself as he’d once gone around calling himself Namir. He had considered his boss as a competition, even after he decided to become Black Mamba’s family. He had thought about using him and hadn’t thought about changing himself. Perhaps, this was why there was a saying that goes, “humans didn’t change their nature until their deaths.” His face burned.

“The FROLINAT’s footing and plans were borne by the heads of North Korean officers like you, I assume. Where do you think their hideout is?”

Black Mamba observed Sun WooHyun’s darkening face and changed the topic of conversation.

“When the base is made dependent on the forest, we operate with sighters: north, east, south, and west, based on the unit in the center. From the forest’s size and shape, the post in front of us is on the major axis. The first post should be around 1,500 meters, and the rear post 250, so the command post would be in line to the back within 1,800 meters.”

Sun WooHyun predicted the position of the command post, with the watch post and supporting sights.

“You’ve got it right. We need to replenish our energy if we’re going to cause a scene. Take a break. I’m going to check it out.”

Black Mamba disappeared in a flash.

“I got it, right? That means Wakil already knew where it was. This isn’t some ghost or nothing. What kind of human is that?”

Sun WooHyun’s dizziness got worse as he experienced the human called Black Mamba.

Sun WooHyun’s predictions were right. There was a military unit within a round wooden fence on the rightmost rear of the three-point triangle of watch points and posts, 2,000 meters away. A large army was stationed across a swamped wadi, over 200 meters wide.

“He’s better than our Captain, or Pieff,” Black Mamba murmured.

Sun WooHyun’s physical and mental aspects were both great. If Black Mamba could fix his doubtful and wilful personality, he would be someone useful.

Black Mamba smiled eerily at the confirmed command post’s location. With them ruined, they had a clear path to Ati. He was tired of the Sahel, after drenching himself with endless blood and suffering the loss of six of his comrades. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d showered under clean water.

“Lackey, show me your Tubilis ability. We’re going to silence the sighting and guard posts, then shake up their headquarters.”

“We’re going to attack?”

Sun WooHyun’s eyes shook. Black Mamba was someone who had erased the 60 members of the Tubu clan he’d brought with him, soundlessly. Black Mamba would be undefeatable as an assassin.

The FROLINAT’s defense headquarters was composed of two to three military units, and was commanded by a veteran sergeant. The communist officers who have had enough of ranking in-play were enforcing ranking in-play between FROLINAT’s warlords.

That meant the north-eastern command center’s stationed soldiers were at least 700 to 1,200 people. On the other hand, the command center didn’t create a regiment as there were no armor or heavy weapons units.

But what if Black Mamba infiltrated during the night?

700 or 1,200, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was the time it took and how long his concentration lasted. The assassination itself wasn’t impossible. He could see the red sea of blood before his eyes. Hundreds of headless corpses! Sun WooHyun, a Tubilis, shivered.

“There’s not enough time. We’re going to attack and fall back, drag them out and beat them up. I’ve brought three boxes of grenades, you see. Hehehe, I found them rather fun to use.”

Black Mamba smiled wickedly.

“We’re going to beat them up with just the two of us, Wakil?”

Sun WooHyun’s eyes grew wide.

“Is there anyone else?”

Black Mamba looked around jokingly.

“‘Have you gone mad?”

Black Mamba’s eyes turned sharp.

Sun WooHyun stumbled back a few steps in surprise. His skin, which was sensitive to blood lust, prickled as though it had been poked by a needle.

“Lackey, were you joking about being a servant? Were you lying when you said you wanted to be a family?”

“I didn’t say that…”

“I know. You still have much to learn from Ombuti. Human’s don’t follow and trust Buddha or God after witnessing them.”

“Guilty. My mouth’s in the wrong. I’ll do as Wakil says.”

“You’ll live if you believe me, and die if you don’t.”

“Hehehe, I’ve never seen a better cult leader like you.”

Black Mamba had been honest, but Sun WooHyun took it jokingly like always. It was hard to change a perspective which had lasted through 34 years. Of course, he was going to experience otherwise quite soon.

“A cult leader? No one can do that. For now, we’re going to run them out and lead them into the forest.”

“You talking about maneuvering tactics?”

“Yes.”

“So that’s why you were talking about leaving those number-49 guards behind since they’re suffering from diarrhea.”

“I would have liked some assistant with firing, but my comrades will be at risk when the enemies start pouring out. I don’t want to lose any more comrades.”

“You aren’t the Kanma. You’re a weak-hearted man.”

A smile rose on Sun WooHyun’s mouth. He had been told that a man wasn’t a man without poison. As expected, Black Mamba was still young.

“You act however you wish, to your abilities. I don’t need another Mike. If things become hard, focus on survival.”

Black Mamba dropped the conversation and separated his Dragunov before placing it in his bag. Sun WooHyun had been in an assistant position of the scouting units, so he could mind the rest himself.

This time, rapid response and concentration were required. Black Mamba covered his Pamus with a silencer and pulled out of the forest easily, like a leopard. Sun WooHyun submerged into the forest, towards the right watch post.

The watch post was made in a primitive figure, of a treehouse, eight meters off the ground between tree branches. Sometimes, the most simple method was the best method. The post between the acacia tree branches was hard to recognize even upfront.

It was built for watching invaders and getting rid of them, instead of guarding against them. If they had built it with defense in mind, they would have cleared the surrounding obstacles to gain a wider view.

It was obvious that the FROLINAT soldiers had regarded life with wariness by the shape of their post. Of course, as someone who had killed people, with a total surpassing over four digits, it wasn’t something he could say.

Black Mamba approached them, leaving 20 meters in between and took out his camel date palms to chew on while he observed in leisure. He could interpret the involved unit’s will and level of training by the attitude of those on the watch.

As a joint-military organization, there were several levels of training between FROLINAT soldiers. Some were young soldiers who hadn’t been given the most basic training, while others were elite veterans who had experienced all kinds of things. While there were soldiers on the level of mountain bandits armed with the AK, others had trained units armed with the Strela-2 and Automatic grenade launchers.

There were even units on the level of Deuxieme Rep.

He had met them in Ongur Oasis as scouting units attacking the Gazelle, and another scouting unit in Trident Rock around the supply beat. If he hadn’t resolved the situation, the Ratel team would have buried their bones in the desert.

The underlings’ abilities were all over the place, but it corresponded with the military unit’s commander. Their level of attacks differed according to their ability.

The two guards who were carrying their guns upside down were more invested in their conversation than being on the watch. The taller one took out a dead caterpillar from his pocket. It was yakori, eaten as snacks.

Their conversation grew heated as they chewed on the caterpillar. It seemed as though they were bad-mouthing someone since they were laughing loudly. A corner of Black Mamba’s mouth went up.

They were troublemakers who didn’t know what guarding was. He could guess the level of the north-eastern command post’s military unit. It was a fortunate discovery for him but a misfortune for the enemy.

“It’s driving me crazy!”

Black Mamba grumbled silently as his hand chased after a fly, which was digging into his eyes. They were small flies called arungo, which lived in the Wakiv wetlands. They were small, like fruit flies. They were a vicious species that burrowed into any hole, even with a gap as thin as paper.

The actual enemy in Chad wasn’t the guerrillas, but the flies and mosquitoes. The flies were more hateful than the mosquitoes. The horse flies even bit through the skin, making one even madder.

When that b*stard bit, it stung to the point of jumping up and down. The bitten area grew into a red bump and blistered when scratched. All the mercenaries were suffering from one kind of skin problem to another. Only Black Mamba, who had tight, hard skin, wasn’t suffering from any skin illnesses.

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Mosquitoes began to attack, alongside the flies, since he was in a marshland within a forest. It became hard to continue his motionless cover. Unable to stand it any longer, he took out his face-covering goggles from his backpack.

He was getting tired from the arungo. It was when he was determined to get it over and done with that the shift came swaggering with their guns slung upside down. When the changing shifts came, the guards slid down the acacia tree.

“I’ve never seen anyone more pathetic!”

Black Mamba complained in a small voice.

[1] A hiding spot that hunters make for hunting; An enclosure set up to protect a camp or herd of animals.