Chapter 162 - Chapter 20, Episode 3: The Return of Black Mamba

Chapter 162: Chapter 20, Episode 3: The Return of Black Mamba

Paul, who had been wandering the desert for a long time in battle, had a shriveled face. It looked as though skin laid over his bones. Philip’s heart ached. He was reminded of his past life, looking down at Notre Dame in Paris. His face seemed to show the difficulties of his past.

“No, I am telling you the truth,” Philip said seriously.

Paul snorted. Colonel Philip, who always tried to be gentlemanlike, was nothing but a politician. He was getting addicted to pushing his superior farther back into a corner.

Paul pulled out a Beretta with a silencer on, from his holster. Surprised, Armang reached out for his holster to grab his gun. Suddenly, the Beretta fell onto the table with a clang.

“This belongs to the hitman we met in Hotel Le Meridien, in Paya. I will give this to you as a present. I still have six more left for you. They were not mere guerrilla troops but trained assassins. I’m sorry we crawled out of the depths of hell you pushed us into.”

“What hitman?”

Philip was sincerely surprised.

“What do you mean, hitman? Why would a hitman appear in this situation?”

Philip was so surprised, he had forgotten about Paul’s sarcasm.

“Seven of them had been hiding. They had crept up on us when Black Mamba had been away looking for the spy. Black Mamba arrived just in time to get rid of all of them, but while Burimer was trying to save Jang Shin, he was killed.”

“That can’t be! You suspect the DGSE, don’t you? That couldn’t have happened. The weapons were all destroyed, and the hitmen were all killed. Isn’t there no evidence?”

Philip was hopeful. The DGSE was not one to go to such extremes, but if it was true, they did have the capability to hide the truth.

“Haha, it will not be easy. We buried them in the desert after sprinkling preservatives all over their corpses. They will be fine for up to a year.”

“Why would the DGSE go through all of that after capturing Makumbo? I’m 100 percent sure it was someone from FROLINAT or Libya.”

Paul ignored Philip’s denial and continuously said what was on his mind.

“Don’t tell me it’s not possible. If FROLINAT was that sophisticated, they would have already taken over Chad. Which side do you think will act more rashly, Black Mamba, or the DGSE? Of course, you won’t have a say in the matter, but I thought you should know.”

A smile slowly formed on Paul’s face. Telling him now meant that Black Mamba did not have to mention it later.

“Damned punks, what the hell did Boniface do!”

Philip’s face turned sour.

“Paul, let’s stop this.”

Armang stepped in as his superior’s position had been disregarded. The gun, which had been pointing at Philip, turned to Armang’s chest.

“Armang, shut up. I wanted to beat you dead, but I’m resisting because you were once my comrade. If you interrupt one more time, I will shoot you. I learned one thing from the oldies who sent the hitmen. If they become scared of talk or get annoyed by it, we just have to shut them up. If you don’t want to shut up for the rest of your life, then keep your mouth shut now.”

Armang flopped onto the floor in surprise. If he dared to open his mouth one more time, he was sure he would be shot.

“I’m a peaceful man, but Black Mamba is dangerous and persistent. There will be a lot of oldies wetting their pants, don’t you think?”

He was now openly threatening him. Philip’s face became hard as stone. He was one of the oldies Paul had mentioned. He could imagine the monster, no, Black Mamba, turning the military headquarters into a bloodbath. If the situation escalated, it could go all the way up to the president. If they investigated and found the bodies, the situation would get out of hand. If all went to hell, his promotion would go down the drain.

“Paul, stop. If you go around causing fights, it will be bad for everyone. You worked with me in the past, haven’t you? I may be political, but I will never betray my men for the enemy. I will sell the six Berettas to Boniface for a hefty price.”

“Haha, I’ll give it to you as a gift for your promotion. Unfortunately, I can only give you four. The other two are in Black Mamba’s possession.”

Philip’s face darkened. He had no way out.

“That will become an issue. Well, that’s something Boniface has to worry about, not me. Let’s talk about something a little less serious.”

Philip could not stand it any longer and waved his white flag. A smile spread across Paul’s face. His smile was as rigid as a gargoyle sitting on top of Notre Dame.

The colonel claiming that it would be bad for them was not wrong. A cover-up story was always filled with poison and thorns. Only someone with a monkey brain would think they need to get pricked by a thorn or drank poison to feel pain.

The cover-up story was captivating and had detrimental effects. If he was charmed by it, their destruction would be sitting there with its mouth wide open. His mind told him to stop, but his heart felt heavy.

His logic and emotion were unable to make amends and were of separate entities. So, the real burden went to Black Mamba. He could not endure it, and the opportunity didn’t come to him either. The only thing he could do was to complete Black Mamba’s requests and force colonel Philip to increase their piece of the pie. However, lieutenant Louis interrupted him.

“Makumbo was extracted on the 17th day of the operation. The commander was planning to send in all the troops to rescue you once they found your location. When we lost communication, he couldn’t wait any longer and decided to send in Pieff. Why didn’t you call?”

Paul snorted at their last attempt at appeasing him.

“Ha, I already told you before. Once we gave you the coordinates of the supply stash, the guerrilla troops got on our tail. When we requested the Gazelle, guerrilla special forces disguised as Stella came at us. Whenever we made contact with headquarters, the guerrilla troops would be on top of us like insects. So, how could we possibly maintain communications with you? We were sick, tired, and wanted to bang our heads on the boulders. Black Mamba battled them all by himself. Don’t even bother uttering nonsense about FROLINAT spies, who were listening in on us.”

“Hm!”

Lieutenant Louis shut his mouth as he turned red. He ended up embarrassing himself for trying to divert the blame.

“Paul, the spy who was communicating with the enemy has been arrested and is being investigated.”

“Oh right, who is that punk?”

“He is a major of the 11th brigade named Geofrey. Etang has been taken to Dreyfus.”

An uprising against the government meant 20 years in prison. There was no reduction. It would be the end for Etang, as an officer.

“Finding out that a Legion Etranger officer like him existed will cause the alumni to turn in their graves. Has major Geofrey been taken to Dreyfus too?”

“He has taken new recruits from the 11th brigade.”

“Poor guy, he will soon get his head chopped off by a Kukri.”

Paul expressed his condolences for the miserable weed named Geofrey.

“Huu!”

He couldn’t help but to let out a deep sigh. His comrades would not return from the dead even if he killed the traitor and the spy. Was he even qualified to blame colonel Philip? He, too, had made many mistakes in strategy. If he had listened to Black Mamba, he wouldn’t have lost Miguel, Morris, and Burimer. His fault in judgment had caused their deaths.

“Paul, this is something the government must investigate. Don’t go into it any further. We will both end up for the worse. No one could have predicted that you would be attacked so persistently. The DGSE only hoped that you could distract FROLINAT for a couple of days. The backdoor team made several mistakes, so the operation went on longer than expected. Your immense skill as a team leader covered the deficiencies of the backdoor team. I will go to the government and give them hell for you. They will be afraid of Black Mamba and will lend their ears to me. We are mercenaries who move according to orders. Let’s just think that we played an important part in the country’s plan and put it aside.”

Philip rid himself of his pride and pleaded. He might have been a man obsessed with promotion, but he wasn’t reckless.

“Are you telling me to take what is given and shut my mouth?”

“That’s exactly it. You know how it is. The DGSE has the authority to place any strategy in play. We can talk all we want, but we will be the ones to pay the price. We are but soldiers who do as they are told. If we complain, we will be nothing more than thugs.”

Philip tried to persuade Paul with logic.

“I’m fine with it, but what about my dead men? What are we to do about their remaining families?”

A thick tear dropped from Paul’s eye. Philip covered his face with his two hands. An elite officer had no choice but to take into consideration the politics of the situation. He was obsessed with promotion, but he still valued honor and was a soldier who cared for his men.

Six men had died in vain. No, including Pieff’s team, 51 men had died. The death of the 45 men from the rescue team were exclusively a result of his misjudgment. He wanted to cry too. Paul spouted angry words at him, but as the decision maker, he had no one to blame.

The faces of his staff members were full of remorse. There was no honorable war. War was filthy. Behind those sacrificed were the sadness and pain of the remaining family members.

“Paul, the force of the Ratel team, is the greatest in France. I will give up my reward and start an inquiry. I will also find ways to support their family members. I received a report from the DGSE, but you should send me yours at your quickest convenience.”

Colonel Philip pulled out the report from his desk.

“This is the report for the battle in Berdalle, in the Dombrey forest. It came in this morning from the DGSE headquarters. This was the command center for the Third brigade of FROLINAT. It was an important base where three of Habib’s armies had resided. 612 were killed, and the base was burned. I can’t believe it.”

“Hahaha, how interesting to find that the DGSE headquarters status reports have come up so quickly. Black Mamba had gone into this battle to save the surviving team members who were ill and tired. Black Mamba took his jjol ttagu and swept them out.”

“Jjol ttagu? What’s that?”

“He’s a North Korean special task soldier that Black Mamba brought over to our side. Hahaha, even as you listen to the report, it’s hard to believe, right?”

Paul smiled. All the battles they had fought were unbelievable.

“Jjol ttagu? What a weird name. Tell me the truth about Black Mamba. I am the one who gave him his call name. Even if he grandfathered the call name, he can’t get rid of two organizations at once. Either the DGSE has lost their minds, or this man is not human.”

“The only thing that you did well as a colonel was to add Black Mamba to the tactical team. The Ratel team has killed 2,465 FROLINAT members, and the number of killings by Black Mamba’s hand alone is 1,996. You probably got the report too, but FROLINAT is finished. Not only did they lose a majority of their men, but the remaining members are scared witless by the aftermath of the Kanma. They are in an uproar over their current leader. He will soon disappear into history.”

“What, one team killed 2,465 men!”

“What, Black Mamba killed 1,996 men?”

That’s an unbelievable number. A scream escaped out of Armang and Louis’s mouths. They were more surprised by Black Mamba’s body count than the fact that FROLINAT had been disbanded. Paul laughed haughtily.

“Hahaha, this number will never show up in history again. Black Mamba is not only a god-like sniper but he is also a god-like assassin. To put it simply, he is an artistic murderer. Black Mamba is not merely a powerfully built warrior. I will guarantee it, but if he decides to kill someone, no one in the world can stop him. In the Sahel, he is known as the ghost Kanma or the Angel of Death.”

Paul scared him one more time, then pulled out two Makarovs and a bundle of loose documents from his pack. They were items that Black Mamba had found when he attacked the spy in Paya.

“We have plenty of evidence. Black Mamba cleared a Soviet spy he suspected in Paya and was able to collect this from him. Sell it to the DGSE at an expensive price. I’ll give the Makarovs as a present to congratulate you on your promotion. I’ll write the details in the report.”

He had scared him enough, so it was time to hand him a carrot. Philip jumped in surprise as he examined the item with lieutenant Louis.

“This is an incredible item. Armang, call the code deciphering team immediately. This document proves that Polar Bear was directly involved with the situation in Chad. Call the DGSE right away.”

Louis put the document in a vinyl envelope and placed it in a safe as Armang ran out.

“I’ll give you another present now. Look, orderly, bring it in.”

Paul was a veteran who had a fair share of assistants. He knew how to maintain control over people. Even as he gave him a gift, he continued to emphasize his rank. The orderly came in, holding a flamboyant flag.

“After Black Mamba single-handedly destroyed the Third brigade of Coromunga, he handed Habib’s flag to us.”

“Ohoh, this is a gift to be presented to the President.”

Philip’s lips broke into a large smile. With this, he could gain his promotion. Paul showed him the number he wrote on a notepad.

-44, 19, 2,465, 1,996, 6-

“This is our status report. Isn’t it simple? We fought for 44 days looking for Raccoon. We engaged in a total of 19 battles, we killed 2,465 men, Black Mamba killed 1,996 of those men, and six of our men couldn’t return with us. I will never forget these numbers until the day I die.”

As promised, Paul did not mention anything that had become of Ocelot. If Ocelot was mentioned, he would have to reveal Black Mamba’s special skills, and they had all decided against that.

Colonel Philip, lieutenant Louis, and lieutenant Armang’s faces flushed white. Against the massive FROLINAT troops, these men had fought 19 battles and survived. They couldn’t even imagine how horrifying it must have been for the Ratel team to get here, having faced death numerous times.

Their eyes were locked on the number 1,996. Can one person kill almost 2,000 men in 44 days? He was not human but the devil. According to the government records, the most one had killed was 542. It was a record by Finland’s sniper, Simo Hayha, during the Second World War. Within five years, he had killed 542 men.

He was called “White Death.” The nickname was created because he wore a white uniform and targeted Soviet soldiers while hiding in the snow.

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There was now a new legend. Simo Hayha had killed 542 men in five years, but Black Mamba had killed 1,996 men in a month. There was no need for comparison. Hayha was a sniper, but Black Mamba was a skilled assassin with numbers worthy of being called the Angel of Death.

“A new legend, no, the birth of a devil. Whew! Is this the end of the world?”

Lieutenant Louis sighed at the end of his sentence. After the shock subsided, Philip’s face crinkled into a frown.

“He will have a bone to pick with me.”