Chapter 412: Chapter 41 Episode 5: Apadombe, Fist of Justice
Jensen had the worst fortune. The ground gave way while he was running. An underground tunnel, dug like a spiderâs web by a rabbit, gave way to Jensenâs weight. Jensen, who fell into the two-meter deep hole, received a severe blow.
The Omphalocarpum, also known as the elephantâs fruit, was similar to a mortar shell. Jensenâs neck was too weak to withstand the two kilograms of stone discs thrown from 30 meters high. Not only a Shadow, but a Shadowâs grandfather too would have broken his spine before he could reach the army rope.
While there were no casualties aside from Jensen, all the members of Group B sustained minor and major injuries. Louis, whose pride overflowed to the point of arrogance, was about to explode in anger. He directed his anger, which had no aim, at the persona non grata.
If those b*stards had not fired their guns, he wouldnât be chasing them. He wouldnât have met the monkeys, and Jensen wouldnât have died. Jensenâs death, the team membersâ injuries, and the humiliation from the monkeys were all due to those suspicious b*stards who fired those guns.
Louis spent the entire night gritting his teeth. He felt like he couldnât sleep as long as they werenât caught and killed. The monkeys defeated by Samedi had taken their anger out on the Shadows, and the Shadowsâ leader, Louis, directed his anger at Samedi. Overall, it was a pathetic cycle.
In Yeon: In Korean, In[2] was the subject, and Yeon[3] was the object. The subject and object came together to form a correlation. If the subject and object failed to come together, the correlation would collapse. The wrong In Yeon formed a wrong correlation, and the wrong correlation led to one committing sins.
âBlair, wonât those be a problem?â Lieutenant Louis pointed at the large heads floating above the water.
He failed to notice the dozens of playful eyes peeking out of the water surface.
âHippos are herbivores, sir. There wonât be a problem as long as you avoid making them angry,â Officer Blair said. That was something a shaman would say to indirectly kill another person.
âYou need to be careful. Hippopotamuses are known for their fiery temper. Theyâll do anything if anyone provokes them,â a Black sergeant from Botswana refuted.
Roughly knowing something was worse than not knowing something at all.
âWhy should we slow down because of two or three big-bodied animals? Just shoot them if they charge!â Louis shouted.
They were defeated by those monkeys because they couldnât target them. He could crush a hippoâs head with his eyes closed.
âHead, thereâs more than one or two hippos. Itâs too dangerous.â
âShut up, Sibold, weâre Shadows. We must cut off those b*stardsâ necks and hang them on Jensenâs grave. Go!â
Lieutenant Louis ignored the Black sergeantâs words. Irrationality clouded oneâs judgment. Louis gave an order he would come to regret in hell. 11 Shadows divided the roles among themselves in a rubber boat. Two paddled, and two went into guard mode.
âShould I kill them?â
Samedi grabbed his MAG. They were 200 meters away from their boat, and it was easier to wipe out three targets fixed to a point than twisting a childâs wrist. He could wipe them out.
âWait. Apadombeâs right ahead. Are you planning to reveal our location to the Damballa?â Black Mamba shook his head.
âThereâs another special force that will deal with those fearless b*stards. Hehehe!â
Black Mamba laughed wickedly. There was a fine line between bravery and arrogance and bravery and ignorance. The Shadow team fearlessly entered the hipposâ territory. Hippopotamuses were creatures that couldnât stand strangers invading their territory. He wondered what they believed in so strongly that they dared to cross a river crawling with hippos.
The water flow of the Eplu River differed according to the Ungur cliff that Black Mamba crawled over. The side near Bunia was 30 to 50 meters wide and had a powerful current. The side near Kisangani was more than 100 meters wide and had a gentle flow. As a result, the low-lying Bafwasende was prone to floods.
The banks of the Eplu River were covered with flooded forests, exposing white aerial roots just like a mangrove forest. Small fishes jumped out of the water, and not a single yellow-billed stork was sighted. Only the sound of paddles splashing against the riverâs surface was heard. It was a depressing and bleak sight.
Kwo kwo kwo kwoâ
The hippos sounded their warning. Sergeant Siboldâs face stiffened. However, Louis had no intention of hearing the yawns of a mere animal.
Kuuuuâ
There was a loud roar by the time their boat reached the riverâs center. Dozens of hippos rushed toward the rubber boat at once. The river sloshed and created big ripples.
âWhat? There were this many?â
Lieutenant Louisâ eyes widened. Heâd only seen three, but there were dozens of them. Even the hippo that had been roaming the bank on the other side jumped into the water. Hippos were surprisingly agile creatures despite their outer appearance. The distance of 200 to 300 meters was covered at once. Louis wasnât a member of an animal protection organization or a gun opposition member.
âShoot!â
Bang bang bangâ
The MP5 spewed fire. Blood splashed. There wasnât a single creature on Earth that would feel good from getting shot.
Kuuuâ
Kueeeeâ
Angry screams shook the Eplu River. Hippos grew more violent after seeing blood. They opened their huge jaws and charged at once. Blood drained from the Shadowsâ faces at the ferocity of a collapsing mountain. The boat had difficulty balancing in the water. The gunshots ceased temporarily.
âWhat are you guys doing? Fire your machine guns!â
Kakakakaâ
The Minimi spewed fire. Lieutenant Louis made another mistake. Hippos were representatives of thick hides. A nine-millimeter parabellum bullet couldnât pierce through and land a critical blow on a 50-millimeter thick skin. He should have used the Minimi from the beginning.
Even the strongest bully would be defeated when a group of people attacked at the same time. While some hippos were held back, some managed to run into the rubber boat.
Uuuungâ
A large mouth grabbed the rubber boat and flipped it.
âAck!â
Four Shadows fell helplessly into the river. A red mouth with teeth the size of his arm cast a shadow over him. Sergeant Tony Marano, who was overcome with fear, couldnât even scream. Even the decadeâs worth of training and fighting was of no use when faced with an unfamiliar fear.
Crackâ
A strange sound was heard. The large mouth clutched Tony Maranoâs upper body.
âKuaaaak!â
Sergeant Maranoâs body twisted at a weird angle, with the scream being the last word he said. The hippo shook its head and threw the corpse aside after ending the intruder with a single bite. The Eplu River soon turned into hellâone mixed with the hipposâ cries, gunshots, and human screams.
âNot good to watch,â Black Mamba mumbled.
From what he knew before, he suspected the Yankees of being Kamugeâs backer. From what he knew after, the Yankees were only connected to the monster in the cenote swamp and had no possibility of being Kamugeâs backer. The terror bird and Dinofelis could have left descendants in the Ituri Rainforest. Still, that monster in the cenote swamp wasnât some normal animal. Cosmic evolution aside, no monster would be able to create a biological tissue that could withstand the Billionâs Water Armor.
Itâs said that s*** came after farts, and rain came after lightning. Although he had no direct collision with the Yankees, he kept running into unpleasant contactsâconsultant Zaitun specially sent by the CIA in Ruman, the chimera monster of the Lakes of Ounianga, and the monster in the cenote swamp.
He only killed humans when faced with direct situations. He ignored the Shadows who were tracking him because he didnât want to take action himself. In the end, the sight of humans being defeated by animals wasnât that pretty.
Vrrrrrâ
Kakakakaâ
Bang bang bang bangâ
âAgh, die!â
The fight between the hippos and humans came to an end. The hippos started jumping around frantically, and the remaining Shadows continued to shoot. Two boats had already capsized. The river turned red with the blood of the humans and hippos. The rather narrow Eplu River was filled with the hipposâ carcasses. The humansâ corpses were spread over the hipposâ carcasses like sauce.
The last boat was raised. A large hippoâs head appeared from below the boat.
âUaaaa!â
Lieutenant Louis, Officer Blair, and Sergeant Sibold instinctively grabbed onto the boatâs sides and held out.
Bang bang bangâ
Lieutenant Louis, who lost the MP5, pulled out his Beretta and poured out the bullets.
Uuuwongâ
The angry hippo flung the boat.
Kakakakaâ
Another member who struggled to float in the water fired his Minimi.
Kueghâ
The hippo whose head and neck were covered in bullets fell backward.
Flickâ
A dart dragging an army rope along flew through the air.
Whooshâ
The rope dropped on Lieutenant Louis and Officer Blair, both of whom were falling in the air.
Splashâ
The muddied water of the Eplu River swallowed the three Shadows. The angry hippo bit down on Sergeant Sibold.
Damn it. I knew this was going to happen.
Siboldâs consciousness flickered out.
The hippo that had been running toward Lieutenant Louis and Officer Blair found nothing.
Whooshâ
The lieutenant and officer were dragged over to the other bank at a surprising speed.
Tutututuâ
The MAG spewed fire. The powerful 7.62-millimeter bullet, which was on a whole other level compared to the Minimi, splattered blood and split its muscles. The hippo and Sergeant Siboldâs bodies were ripped apart at the same time. There wasnât much difference between the boundary of life and death. No one could avoid the bulletâhippo or human, alive or dead. The surviving female hippo and its calves, which didnât participate in the fight, fled toward the lower half of the river.
When Louis and Blair were dragged out of the river, some crocodiles that were enjoying the sunlight rushed in as though theyâd been waiting. They had been watching from the side, but they didnât dare intervene in the hippoâs mess.
âOi, thatâs the masterâs job.â
Tutututuâ
Samedi shattered the three crocodilesâ heads as he turned the gun around.
âHa, Emil would be surprised.â
Black Mamba changed his opinion. Samedi was the true master of the machine gun.
The riverâs center where the hippos had been wandering around became the crocodileâs territory. All the crocodiles that had been hiding crawled out. The sound of flesh getting ripped apart was heard. The river bubbled with crocodiles spinning their bodies like a windmill while biting onto the hipposâ muscles. Although it was a part of the natural process, it wasnât a good sight to see.
Black Mamba jumped down from the Abyssinian tree branch. Samedi, who jumped down right after, brought over Lieutenant Louis and Officer Blair and slammed them down onto the sand. Surprisingly, the two were completely fine despite being dragged out of hell. Their biggest injury was getting their skin scraped off by the army rope.
Louis and Blair looked blankly up at Black Mamba.
âI suppose we donât need any introductions. Association, rank, and name?â
It was strange English spoken in a rich baritone voice. Lieutenant Louis was at a loss for words. The moment the boat flipped, heâd given up on his life. Heâd killed his subordinates and didnât have the will to live either. Something had flown at him then and there and dragged him to the hill. It wasnât only him but also Officer Blair. That couldnât be the strength or skill of a human.
âAre you a psychic Haunter?â Louis asked.
After signing the secret pledge when he joined the operation, he learned about Haunters, who were special soldiers. He heard there were two types of Haunters, one with enhanced mental abilities and another with enhanced muscle abilities.
âWakil, a humanâs curiosity has no end. Is there any other creature besides humans that willingly pays for curiosity with pain?â
Samedi grabbed Louisâ thumb and twisted it the moment he finished talking. Servants had to do the tough job. Samedi wasnât so dense as to forget his role.
âKuaaaaak, what⌠what do you think youâre doing, you barbarian!â Lieutenant Louis frothed at the mouth.
âGo look for barbarians somewhere else. Your association, rank, and name?â Samedi asked in a monotonous voice.
He could carry his own weight now.
âGo f*** your mother.â
The most important subject in a Shadowâs training regime was torture response. It was an extreme training regime to the point that people died during the actual practice. Lieutenant Louisâ brain managed to survive the pain that shot through his brain.
âThatâs some good bravery but not very wise.â
A wavelength loaded with resonance slammed against Louisâ brain.
Boomâ
The resonance waves surrounded and compressed the air around Louisâ face.
âKuuuuuh!â
Louis scratched his face as though heâd gone mad. He tried his best to remove the thing wrapped around his head. Blood poured down as his skin got ripped off, but his body movements grew more desperate. If the All-Tortureâs Extended Modification Ki inflicted extreme physical pain, the Face-Wrapping Seal Spell added to the pain and caused psychological fear.
Tapâ
He stopped his resonance waves. Although he knew that, it was a skill that used up too much of his strength. It would be simple if he used Sight of Thoughts like his teacher, but that was beyond his abilities.
âUgh, uhhh!â
Lieutenant Louis shriveled up like a middle-aged chicken that ate a centipedeâs spit. His head rang in emptiness. He could remember nothing.
âI know youâre a Shadow. Your association, rank, and name? If you reply honestly, Iâll send you away alive.â
âLieutenant Heather Louis of Council Association Shadow, Team Five, Group B.â
âUgh, damn it!â
Officer Blairâs mouth dropped open. Lieutenant Louis was known to be the most unyielding member among the Shadows. He couldnât believe the man was done in with a single blow. Samedi, who got Black Mambaâs signal, dragged Officer Blair away.
âCouncil?â Black Mamba questioned.
The Council, all of a sudden? There were 1,000s of councils in the Korean government alone.
âI donât know anything other than the fact that itâs an intel department.â
Black Mamba nodded. Judging from the guyâs brain waves and blood flow, he could tell he wasnât lying. Well, the kind of information that a replaceable subject like a strike forceâs sergeant could know was limited.
âLet me ask you one thing. What kind of person are you?â
Samedi was right when he said humans were the most incomprehensible existences. There was no reason why he shouldnât grant a dying personâs wish.