Chapter 396: Chapter 40 Episode 19: Ituri, Fist of Justice
Whooshâ
The Dinofelis moved without a sound. It leaped and landed, avoiding the terror birdâs beak before it shot up again like lightning and landed a blow on the birdâs chest. It was a strike that lived up to its name, monster cat.
Keeeghâ
A screeching sound erupted. Blood and feathers scattered from the terror birdâs chest.
Crackâ
The terror bird slapped the Dinofelisâ face by flapping both of its wings and jumped. Its flapping allowed it to move faster, propelling its tree-like legs further. The terror bird shot up five meters into the air and landed on its chicken feet, no, sharp curved claws.
âItâs the end!â Black Mamba mumbled.
It had three claws that resembled a sword. Its side claws looked more like his Kukri. He knew that even the African buffalos would be wiped out with a single blow of its claws.
The Dinofelis exhibited flexibility unique to feline animals. It avoided the aggressive feet attack by tumbling back, grazing the terror birdâs stomach with its hind legs. The terror bird blocked the Dinofelisâ attack with its short wings and stretched out its long neck.
The birdâs ax-like beak attacked the felineâs exposed abdomen. Surprised, the Dinofelis curled up and rolled like a ball.
Crackâ
The huge ax-like beak landed right on the spot where it originally was. Grass and leaves flew into the air, blocking his sight.
Grrrrâ
Keeeehâ
Short growls and sharp whistles loudly rang as they tumbled.
âGosh, that guy must have seen death just now.â
Watching other people fight was more entertaining than oneâs own fight. Black Mamba was absorbed in the two ancient monstersâ fight. The terror birdâs beak attacks were as horrifying as the stories he heard. The Dinofelisâ abdomen would be gutted if it had received its attack head-on. The bird could use both its claws and its beak. There was a reason why the Dinofelis was losing.
Whineâ
Kiiiâ
The monsters that exchanged blows flew apart, instantly increasing the distance between themselves. The Dinofelis targeted its opponentâs neck, and the terror bird targeted its opponentâs side and legs. Both were wary of each otherâs deadly weapons. They struggled to attack each other, so they started analyzing instead.
Once again, Black Mamba felt like something was off. Both monsters analytically dragged out the fight by properly distributing their powers to attack and defend. They were just like first-class martial artists. Even herbivores drove themselves half-mad by attacking thoughtlessly when their testosterone level was high. It was natural for predators to beat each other up like it was life or death in a fight.
While the Dinofelis was known to be intelligent, could the terror bird lead the battle calmly? That was impossible. Birds couldnât use their brains to plan an attack or use the environment to their advantage. Why else would the nickname âchicken headâ exist?
There were two reasons why mammals evolved to grow their offspring in their wombs. One was to protect their offspring from external threats, and the other reason was to develop the brain. The brain could develop normally with a constant supply of nutrients. A human fetus needed 2,000 calories of nutrients every day. Surely, the nutrients stored in an egg werenât enough.
While early birth might be easier on the mother, the offspringâs brain wouldnât be fully developed. Itâs obvious how much nutrients were accumulated in the yolk. Thatâs why humans could raise chickens, but chickens couldnât raise humans. In the end, birds couldnât be as intelligent as mammals. That wasnât biased because it was inherently impossible since birth.
Itâs special, isnât it? MaybeâŠ?
Boomâ
Black Mamba released his resonance waves. First, he messed up the Dinofelisâ brainwaves.
Kuaaaâ
As expected, the Dinofelis let out a roar. It was the same for the terror bird. When he messed with its brainwaves, its gaze turned aggressive instantly.
Keeeghâ
The terror bird started kicking at the dirt and stones with its feet. Although it had a large body, it acted just like a street mob.
Kuaaaâ
The Dinofelis charged, unable to hold back. The situation changed. Both monsters were entangled while biting, stabbing, and hitting one another after their violent tendencies were triggered. Weeds were uprooted, and leaves along with feathers floated as they rolled around the entire clearing. The whole forest shook at both monsterâs cries.
âNow, theyâre monsters.â
Black Mamba smiled in satisfaction. He suspected that both monsters could be genetically modified creatures, like the chimera at the Lakes of Ounianga. Heâd be relieved if his suspicions were false, but if it was true, the entire world would turn on its head.
There were righteous humans, but there were no righteous countries. Countries could easily turn into terrible monsters under the guise of national interest. The European colonialism, the American Indian Holocaust, and the atrocities of the Nazis and Japanese militaristsâif we looked back on history, the impacts of evil were endless when the country was the mastermind of said evil. Anyone who believed that a country moved honorably for the sake of its people had a few loose screws.
The fight became advantageous to one side in the blink of an eye. The Dinofelis was fast and powerful, but the terror bird was slightly better. With an ax-like beak attached to its long and firm neck, powerful kicks, and wings with sharp claws, the terror bird deserved its title as the greatest predator of the Cenozoic Era with its three weapons.
Bangâ
Uungâ
The Dinofelis, which had been moving around trying to avoid its opponentâs beak, screamed after it was smacked on the head with its wing instead. That was because of its reduced speed. Both degenerated wings not only helped it to balance but served powerful smacks. The Dinofelisâ head snapped to the side.
Crackâ
A powerful kick landed on its side. At the terror birdâs kick, the Dinofelis flew far away.
Kiiaaaâ
The terror bird charged forward and drilled down with its beak, giving it no chances.
Whooshâ
The Rakshasa was faster than the terror birdâs beak. The whip that flew through the air wrapped around the terror birdâs neck. Black Mambaâs wrist twitched.
Twangâ
The Rakshasa sounded like a piano string. The neck of the fearless terror bird was sliced in half instantly.
Whooooshâ
The moment the terror birdâs head landed on the floor, the blood gushing out of its neck flew six meters into the air.
âWoah!â
Black Mambaâs eyes widened.
Dudududuâ
The terror birdâs headless body ran around frantically. A large bird missing its head, running around with blood sprinkling everywhereâit was the kind of scene that would have appeared in thriller movies that old people and pregnant ladies were prohibited from watching.
âLook at that damn thing! Whatâs it going to do without its head?â
Black Mamba stated the impossible. Black Mamba was an evil person who started worrying after cutting off its head.
Bangâ
The headless body ran straight into a limbali tree and hesitated. The terror bird flapped its wings before disappearing deep into the forest.
Black Mamba stared down at the large birdâs head, jumping around on the floor. Why did he intervene in the two monstersâ fight and save the Dinofelis? It was because the saber-tooth cat reminded him of blacky. Of course, blacky wasnât a cat. It appeared like a cat, but it was a noble being incomparable to the lowly creatures on earth. He suddenly missed blacky.
âHey, snap out of it!â
âWhat? Yes, yes! Iâm sorry, great master.â
Ulumbo mumbled his apologies as he snapped back into consciousness. Olonge still couldnât pull himself together. Well, the visual was too shocking for any ordinary person to handle.
âI think we should look into that guy.â
He approached the tired Dinofelis.
Grrrrâ
The Dinofelis with the injured spine raised its body and bared its teeth.
âShut up, you s***. How dare you bare your teeth to Sir Ddu-bai-buru-pa when you have been defeated by a mere bird! Youâre asking for trouble.â
Black Mamba grabbed its large head and shook it.
Kiaaaaâ
The monster endured, tensing its neck muscles. There was bloodlust pouring out of its blue eyes. Ulumbo and Olonge couldnât approach, scared.
âOh, how dare you glare, cat b*stard!â
Whooshâ
The bloodlust that heâd suppressed erupted.
Keeâ
The Dinofelis shoved its head under its front paws. Creatures that were faithful to their instincts were more sensitive to bloodlust. The creature was instantly intimidated by the undefeatable predatorâs aura.
Boomâ
He placed his palm on its spine and activated his dimensional sight. Fortunately, it wasnât broken. He dealt with spines before, back when he healed Sam Chulâs spine. He gently pushed the dislocated spine back into place with his resonance waves. Now, all he had to do was wait for its regenerative abilities to heal the rest or perhaps not.
âBrat, if you want to live, you submit. You understand?â
The Dinofelis flinched.
âUlumbo, move it on a stick.â
âHic!â
Ulumboâs face creased. That was the kind of predator heâd never heard of, one heâd be scared to see in a dream. Although it was a pet to the great master, he was its food.
âHurry up!â
âYes, yes, sir!â
Ulumbo and Olonge, who were being rushed, only answered but didnât move. In the end, Black Mamba had to tie the Dinofelisâ four legs with twine. Since it weighed 150 kilograms, he could only move it on a stick.
Ulumbo and Olonge staggered as they raised the stick to their shoulders. The growling b*stard was scary and also heavy. Their eyes darkened at the idea of carrying it all the way to the village.
Black Mamba locked the Dinofelis up in a sturdy cage the moment he returned to the village. It would be easier to transport once he contacted the base camp. The only reason he didnât do so was because of his suspicions. He planned to observe the Dinofelis himself. He was also curious as a biology student.
âUlumbo, call the village leader over. Wait, they donât have a village leader.â
âIâll call the oldest man over, sir.â
Ulumbo was starting to act smarter.
âWhat is your name?â
âCongte.â
The old Pygmy lowered himself into a bow.
âCongte, Iâm leaving to get rid of the black men who dirtied Ituri. That beast is my property. Feed it this amount of meat by the time the sun goes down.â
Black Mamba pointed at a rock the size of a head. Pygmies wouldnât understand if he told them the amount in kilograms. Telling them not to starve it was better left unsaid. After hearing Ulumboâs translation, Congte lowered himself even more. No Pygmy dared to go against the Mahabharataâs order.
âYou brat, stay still until Iâm back from work, you understand?â
Black Mamba patted the large Dinofelisâ head. The Dinofelisâ soul was already under his control. The horrible predator purred, rubbing its head against Black Mambaâs leg like a cat.
On the seventh day in the Ituri Rainforest,
Black Mamba and Samedi headed for Katanga. Olonge and Kidamba were in charge of guiding, while Ulumbo accompanied them as a translator. Kidamba, who shook off his fear of the Blacks and guns, was overflowing with energy.
Olonge, who set out as a soldier, had a mange[1] slung across his shoulder and a koso in his hand. Kidamba had a topa slung across his shoulder and was holding a koso. The koso was more of a long knife that resembled a sickle and wasnât efficient at clearing shrubs and grass. Samedi gave them a titanium machete, but they shook their heads after looking around a few times.
Samedi was dumbfounded, but Black Mamba understood. A familiar weapon was better than a good weapon. Compared to the titanium jungle knife made with cutting-edge technology, the Pygmies preferred the koso they had been using for decades. The Pygmies didnât have to build paths in the forest anyway. Jungle knives were insignificant to them as they wiggled their way out of obstacles like a squirrel.
âHuh, isnât this the place where the hippo attacked us?â
Black Mamba turned to look at Ulumbo. Olonge led them to the place where the hippos and crocodiles caused all kinds of trouble. Although the water level was low, yellow water filled the area.
âI only know the path to Mambasa, sir. The Pygmy hunters have their own path that they use.â
âReally? Youâre weak, and now, youâve lost your purpose.â
Samedi wasnât used to the complicated emotions of a human. He spoke very straightforwardly. Ulumbo looked discouraged by his harsh words.
âUlumbo, translating is also important. Donât worry about the promised money.â Black Mamba smiled.
He could clearly read Ulumboâs mind. He was in a rush to marry. Black Mamba wasnât so cold-hearted as to ignore a man who remained a virgin for the past 34 years.
âThank you, great master!â
Ulumboâs expression brightened up significantly.
Olonge walked into the swamp without hesitation. Olonge whistled while crossing the same swamp where Black Mamba and Samedi killed dozens of crocodiles and barely managed to cross.
âHa!â
Black Mamba and Samedi, who were preparing to make a raft, exhaled out of shock. The water lapped Olongeâs shins. Eagles could catch pheasants. Although Black Mamba specialized in killing and destroying, the Ituri Rainforest was the Pygmiesâ backyard. Olonge walked well along a hidden path in the swamp. As Ulumbo said, there was a path that only they knew of.
Black Mamba and Samedi didnât hesitate to walk in after realizing that there was a path in the swamp. Martial arts masters had eyes on their feet. The problem was Ulumbo. Samedi had to raise Ulumbo in the air after he nearly fell into the swamp several times. Ulumbo was like a packed lunch in several ways.
Olonge pointed to a large Albazia[2] rooted in the swamp.
âUnka dubemki jintu mm belisita!â
âHe says there are cursed white man objects.â
âReally?â
Black Mamba stared at the objects caught on the Albizia branch. The objects hanging from the branch were a cartridge belt and backpack. Olonge spoke indecipherable words.
âGreat master, he says many whites died while trying to cross the swamp. The swamp used to be smaller back then, so there were a lot of hippos. He says that there are a lot of corpses under that tree.â
âBack thenâ meant it had been over 10 days, and âmanyâ meant there were more than 10 corpses. Some Pygmies knew numbers, but Olonge and Kidamba didnât.
Black Mamba took out the army rope heâd placed in his army pocket.
Whooshâ
The rope wrapped itself around the backpack that was 30 meters away.
Twangâ
Read Latest Chapters at wuxiaworld.eu
He snatched the rope back. The branch broke, unable to withstand his strength. The backpack flew through the air and landed in his hands.
Black Mamba didnât look inside the backpack. It was obvious that itâd be filled with spoiled food and all kinds of bugs. He only checked the nameplate on the side. That was the commando Hubertâs insigniaâthere was an albatross flying above a crossed dagger and anchor. The backpack belonged to Aschdanc Hamnet Montpor, a senior who wore the military uniform for at least 15 years.
[1] The Pygmy tribeâs bow.
[2] A tree that has lots of small branches and grows up to 50 meters.