Mercenary Black Mamba

Chapter 144: Chapter 18, Episode 5: The Returning Battle

“Ha, now that I think about it, all of those who’ve made Ombuti angry are being killed by Black Mamba. It seems like the Tubilis should attach itself to Ombuti instead.” The Captain laughed.

There was nowhere for the raccoon to go, and it was only Ombuti’s enemies who were paying for their sins. The situation had turned ironic, as a local guide was gaining the greatest benefits from mission Raccoon.

“Are there no obstacles to the Wakiv wetlands?”

“It’s 86 kilometers in a straight line from here to Wakiv. There are rocks, small pebbles, and red sand in the 100 kilometers radius. You’ll understand if you imagine those Texas wastelands depicted in southern Hollywood movies. It’s an empty land, so there’s no need to worry about those b*stards’ ambushes either. There’s not a hint of the enemy’s shadow until we’ve reached the destination.”

“Amazing!” Black Mamba exclaimed as he listened.

100 kilometers without a person in sight, that wasn’t something imaginable in Korea, with its small land size. He felt an urge to shove all the land brokers from Korea, there.

The Captain grew delighted as he looked at the map.

“Good. There’s a valley 20 kilometers north of the Wakiv wetlands. We’ll camp there, and Black Mamba can move out. It’s 245 kilometers in a straight line to the Wakiv wetlands. A day would be enough if we run our best.”

“Got it. I’ll just bring the lackey.”

Black Mamba stood up. He wasn’t the type of person to waste time or hesitate.

“Emil, Valboir, Centienne, Maxim, and Bronin can be of help to the battle.”

“There’s no need. They may be a help, but mobility is the main concern in this plan. I can’t insure their life or death if they lag behind. I don’t want to lose any more comrades.”

Soldiers moved at orders and died from orders. The Legion Etranger was famous for its camaraderie. His comrades had become his family through several battles.

What’s the point of seeking revenge for a dead comrade!

Soldiers killed or were killed. Emotions like revenge were a luxury. Comrades had to return alive together.

The Captain began to move by the time dawn came.

The Ratel team’s movement began at the beginning of dawn, to avoid the strong sunlight of noon.

South of Koro Taro was the Bodele depression, while the east was towards Djourab Erg and the Ennedi plains. The Ratel team took the long way towards the south-east, crossing the empty red land.

As Ombuti had described, red, dim sand continued endlessly. It was another kind of emptiness in the desert. There were no plants aside from some dried clumps of grass that looked like someone had thrown onto the ground.

A scenery that wasn’t of Earth’s, but it was a land similar to Mars’ surface, which NASA had declared. The pickup pushed through the off-road and arrived in Berdalle’s valley within three hours of their departure from Koro Taro. The valley was 18 kilometers away from the wetlands.

“Jang Shin, how many boxes of grenades do we have?”

“We have four. There’s a lot of rifle grenades.”

“That can’t be modified. I don’t need those. Lackey, pile on three boxes of grenades.”

“Okay. I’ll prepare the machine gun and RPG.”

“Figure it out yourself.”

Black Mamba checked his weapons without rest and immediately got on the bike. He had to get rid of the anvil before the hammer falls, to prevent the back of their heads from being targeted. Heat rose off the ground like worms from the sweltering land. It was time for blood to be splattered.

“Good!” Black Mamba said shortly at Sun WooHyun’s appearance.

Sun WooHyun had taken off his gandourah and shalawat and changed into a yellow-brown combat uniform. He intended to make the best use out of camouflaging with the forest. Sun WooHyun didn’t sweat a drop despite the heat which washed over them. He possessed a body that was trained to its peak.

“I always looked better in uniform.”

Black Mamba had praised his trained physiques, but Sun WooHyun misunderstood.

“Thank you, and I’m sorry.”

Black Mamba had fought with gritted teeth for the past 40 days like a mother hen protecting its chicks. The Captain’s mind was all over the place as he pushed the team’s youngest member to another battle.

“It’s nothing,” Black Mamba said as he started the engine.

“Be careful. As-salamu Alaykum.”

The washed-out eyes of a veteran teared up. He couldn’t finish his words as the emotions surged.

Black Mamba thumped his chest.

“I’m Sahel’s Azrael. As-salamu Alaykum.”

Sun WooHyun, who was dragged into the mess, complained.

“We don’t know whether the enemies are of a battalion or a regiment, but it’s just the two of us going? Damn that f***** Captain b*stard, he’s gone mad!”

“Lackey, you don’t know anything besides waving your sword around and shooting guns. You’ve eaten the steak to your fill, so work hard for your food. You still haven’t realized how scary food prices are.”

Sun WooHyun whined at Black Mamba’s scolding.

“Damn it, but still, the food’s too expensive. I feel like I’m being pulled into hell.”

“Yeah? Even if I can put you in Legion Etranger?”

“They don’t take people from communist countries.”

“I have at least that much power. I can even take you to Korea.”

“You’re not lying, are you?”

“I don’t lie.”

Sun WooHyun’s crumpled face bloomed like a trumpet flower.

He had finally received a promise. Sun WooHyun lightened up. The larger the rice cake, the more water one got. Age and experience weren’t a problem. Black Mamba was a large rice cake that couldn’t be held with two hands.

“I’m Namir. I don’t have a problem with 100 or 1,000 of those black, burnt faces,” Sun WooHyun rushed to praise himself.

He was even thinking of luring Black Mamba over to Zimbabwe. Mugabe was an evil man, but he knew the value of people. He gave extremely special treatment to talented people. He would assign a position higher than a National Defense head to Black Mamba. Sun WooHyun forgot Ombuti’s warning.

Two large bikes ran across the rough, wet terrain mixed with sand. Red sand flew all over the place. It was only 18 kilometers from the Berdalle valley to the Wakiv wetlands. The bike entered Wakiv in less than 15 minutes.

The environment suddenly changed. The wet, red lands faded into the background, and a yellow, dried grassland appeared. When they passed the dried grassland, they caught sight of green grass and a village.

Berdalle was a small city on the border between Boruku province and Bata province. It was the overlapping point between desert climates and steppe climates. The steppe region, which had once been covered in green, revealed its bare yellow surrounding.

A moment later, a land of swamps and wriggling wadis were spotted. It was the Wakiv wetlands. It was created from the underground waterway from the Pitri lake down south and Chad lake. Chad lake wasn’t truly dead. It was simply hiding.

Finally, a blue, no, a green color could be seen.

It was the Dombrey forest, as marked on the map. The Dombrey forest was a depression, less than 45 meters above water, located on Bata province’s north-western border. The center of the Wakiv wetland was the Dombrey forest.

“It’s a forest! It’s greenery!” Black Mamba exclaimed without realizing it.

He hadn’t realized he was missing greenery. It was the first green forest he’d seen in 40 days. He was lost in the moment, forgetting the fact that he was in the middle of a mission.

Those who were buried in the middle of a mainland forest didn’t realize the importance of food. He hadn’t known the importance of a forest while living in one back in Korea. The happiness didn’t last. Fruit flies and forest mosquitoes gathered like clouds. The little evil beings he’d lived without for the past few days welcomed their new prey with gusto.

“Damn, Africa!”

His exclamation soon turned into frustration.

Black Mamba and Sun WooHyun hid their bikes at the entrance of the forest and began their search. According to the marked map, the forest was 12 kilometers long and five kilometers wide, in an oval shape. It’s area was basically 47 square kilometers.

“Africa always seems to go beyond logic!” Black Mamba exclaimed.

It looked like a green drop in the middle of an endless wasteland.

“It’s because of the wetland.”

Sun WooHyun was bored. The three-sided forest was filled with colors, unlike this place.

Five villages were scattered around Dombrey forest’s northern line. There wasn’t a village inside or to the south of the forest. The northern command post was probably located in the south, where there weren’t many villages. Black Mamba immediately headed down south.

There was an outstretch of trees such as palm trees, acacias, and eucalyptus trees. Meanwhile, shrubs such as trellis, shackle trees, and afridi wood stopped his path.

“This place wasn’t safe from the drought, either.”

Once they entered the forest, there were empty patches everywhere, which was unlike its outer appearance. It seemed as though some machine had pulled it out. There was dry, dead wood lying around, while leaves dried themselves yellow.

Sun WooHyun tapped randomly on a dead tree.

“Wakil, how are you going to search this large forest?”

“Well!”

“Well?”

Sun WooHyun’s face crumpled. The forest was at 47 square kilometers on the map. It was an area that would give a regiment a hard time.

“There’s a lot of villages on the northern plateau. There’s no reason for the FROLINAT to begin farming. The northern part of the forest is barely half of the entire forest.”

That didn’t reassure Sun WooHyun at all. Whether it was a small or large stream, ants couldn’t cross either. How could the two of them search under the time constraint?

Simply searching through the south would last several days. Another problem was the ambush units. It was hard to tell when the ambush units would start shooting.

Black Mamba could read Sun WooHyun’s unstable thoughts. He would obviously be feeling solemn since he wasn’t aware of Black Mamba’s talents.

It was a large forest, but once he used his skills, the search wouldn’t be as hard. His dimensional sight and scent could scan a diameter of one kilometer. If he divided the forest into a chessboard, it required him to move 20 to 30 times, which would take him two hours to search the forest.

Kikali had said Abbas’ army was a regiment’s camp, but Ombuti had said it was the north-eastern command post. A large organization would create as much food waste and excretions. He could find the camp by simply smelling.

“Lackey, they must be using outposts, right?”

“They should be using at least five to six. I’ll go look for them.”

Sun WooHyun began to fly around once he entered the forest. He analyzed places that looked like it might have outposts and searched for traces of humans, moving rapidly through the forest.

Sun WooHyun, who was busily moving around, returned to Black Mamba.

He was leaning against an ukali tree in a relaxed position with eyes closed.

“Boss, isn’t the forest too large to look for a rabbit hole without a plan?”

Sun WooHyun was dissatisfied with Black Mamba’s leisure, but he’d spoken around the matter to avoid provoking his sensitive anger. He hadn’t decided on Black Mamba’s title yet. He’d been calling him comrade and Wakil, and now boss.

“Shh!”

Whoosh—

His dimensional sight spread. Countless living creatures were engraved into his head like a waterflood. It got complicated until his head felt like it would burst. Dimensional sight allowed the ki of animals to be engraved into the brain. It overran the brain to the point that his insides felt overturned. He worked towards erasing the presence of small animals and insects from his brain.

“Damn it, is he here to meditate?”

Sun WooHyun complained, ignorant of what was happening.

“It isn’t here.”

Black Mamba stood and sprinted off.

“Wha...what the hell, is he playing around?”

Sun WooHyun was speechless. To run in a natural environment, it seemed as though he’d forgotten where he was. His chest flipped at the idea of pouring bullets. He felt as though he wouldn’t live to his fullest if he stayed by that madman.

Black Mamba, who crossed over a kilometer instantly, spread his dimensional sight once more. He moved in such a manner five times. Sun WooHyun, who was chasing after him, was about to die. Even if he sprinted without considering the pace, he often missed Black Mamba’s tail.

“Is that even a human?”

If a rock blocked his path, he went over it like a feather. He grabbed a branch and twirled around it like a gymnast before launching out like a bullet. He could rush over 10 meters with a single jump.

Those obstacles weren’t obstacles. Sun WooHyun ran until he sweated, which constricted his chest, even for someone who’d once ran through the Nanglim mountain range like it was his living room. However, he wasn’t able to catch up.

Black Mamba smiled at the location of his fifth move. He’d finally found an outpost. He could smell cigarettes and hear careless chatters, even a stereo.