Mercenary Black Mamba

Jensen had the worst fortune. The ground gave way while he was running. An underground tunnel, dug like a spider's web by a rabbit, gave way to Jensen's weight. Jensen, who fell into the two-meter deep hole, received a severe blow.

The Omphalocarpum, also known as the elephant's fruit, was similar to a mortar shell. Jensen's neck was too weak to withstand the two kilograms of stone discs thrown from 30 meters high. Not only a Shadow, but a Shadow's 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 wouldn't be chasing them. He wouldn't have met the monkeys, and Jensen wouldn't have died. Jensen's death, the team members' 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 couldn't sleep as long as they weren't caught and killed. The monkeys defeated by Samedi had taken their anger out on the Shadows, and the Shadows' 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.

"Blair, won't those be a problem?" 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.

"Hippos are herbivores, sir. There won't be a problem as long as you avoid making them angry," Officer Blair said. That was something a shaman would say to indirectly kill another person.

"You need to be careful. Hippopotamuses are known for their fiery temper. They'll do anything if anyone provokes them," a Black sergeant from Botswana refuted.

Roughly knowing something was worse than not knowing something at all.

"Why should we slow down because of two or three big-bodied animals? Just shoot them if they charge!" Louis shouted.

They were defeated by those monkeys because they couldn't target them. He could crush a hippo's head with his eyes closed.

"Head, there's more than one or two hippos. It's too dangerous."

"Shut up, Sibold, we're Shadows. We must cut off those b*stards' necks and hang them on Jensen's grave. Go!"

Lieutenant Louis ignored the Black sergeant's words. Irrationality clouded one's 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.

"Should I kill them?"

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 child's wrist. He could wipe them out.

"Wait. Apadombe's right ahead. Are you planning to reveal our location to the Damballa?" Black Mamba shook his head.

"There's another special force that will deal with those fearless b*stards. Hehehe!"

Black Mamba laughed wickedly. There was a fine line between bravery and arrogance and bravery and ignorance. The Shadow team fearlessly entered the hippos' territory. Hippopotamuses were creatures that couldn't 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 river's surface was heard. It was a depressing and bleak sight.

Kwo kwo kwo kwo—

The hippos sounded their warning. Sergeant Sibold's face stiffened. However, Louis had no intention of hearing the yawns of a mere animal.

Kuuuu—

There was a loud roar by the time their boat reached the river's center. Dozens of hippos rushed toward the rubber boat at once. The river sloshed and created big ripples.

"What? There were this many?"

Lieutenant Louis' eyes widened. He'd 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 wasn't a member of an animal protection organization or a gun opposition member.

"Shoot!"

Bang bang bang—

The MP5 spewed fire. Blood splashed. There wasn't a single creature on Earth that would feel good from getting shot.

Kuuu—

Kueeee—

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 Shadows' faces at the ferocity of a collapsing mountain. The boat had difficulty balancing in the water. The gunshots ceased temporarily.

"What are you guys doing? Fire your machine guns!"

Kakakaka—

The Minimi spewed fire. Lieutenant Louis made another mistake. Hippos were representatives of thick hides. A nine-millimeter parabellum bullet couldn't 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.

Uuuung—

A large mouth grabbed the rubber boat and flipped it.

"Ack!"

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, couldn't even scream. Even the decade's worth of training and fighting was of no use when faced with an unfamiliar fear.

Crack—

A strange sound was heard. The large mouth clutched Tony Marano's upper body.

"Kuaaaak!"

Sergeant Marano's 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 hell—one mixed with the hippos' cries, gunshots, and human screams.

"Not good to watch," Black Mamba mumbled.

From what he knew before, he suspected the Yankees of being Kamuge's backer. From what he knew after, the Yankees were only connected to the monster in the cenote swamp and had no possibility of being Kamuge's backer. The terror bird and Dinofelis could have left descendants in the Ituri Rainforest. Still, that monster in the cenote swamp wasn't some normal animal. Cosmic evolution aside, no monster would be able to create a biological tissue that could withstand the Billion's Water Armor.

It's 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 contacts—consultant 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 didn't want to take action himself. In the end, the sight of humans being defeated by animals wasn't that pretty.

Vrrrrr—

Kakakaka—

Bang bang bang bang—

"Agh, die!"

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 hippos' carcasses. The humans' corpses were spread over the hippos' carcasses like sauce.

The last boat was raised. A large hippo's head appeared from below the boat.

"Uaaaa!"

Lieutenant Louis, Officer Blair, and Sergeant Sibold instinctively grabbed onto the boat's sides and held out.

Bang bang bang—

Lieutenant Louis, who lost the MP5, pulled out his Beretta and poured out the bullets.

Uuuwong—

The angry hippo flung the boat.

Kakakaka—

Another member who struggled to float in the water fired his Minimi.

Kuegh—

The hippo whose head and neck were covered in bullets fell backward.

Flick—

A dart dragging an army rope along flew through the air.

Whoosh—

The rope dropped on Lieutenant Louis and Officer Blair, both of whom were falling in the air.

Splash—

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.

Sibold's consciousness flickered out.

The hippo that had been running toward Lieutenant Louis and Officer Blair found nothing.

Whoosh—

The lieutenant and officer were dragged over to the other bank at a surprising speed.

Tutututu—

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 Sibold's bodies were ripped apart at the same time. There wasn't much difference between the boundary of life and death. No one could avoid the bullet—hippo or human, alive or dead. The surviving female hippo and its calves, which didn't 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 they'd been waiting. They had been watching from the side, but they didn't dare intervene in the hippo's mess.

"Oi, that's the master's job."

Tutututu—

Samedi shattered the three crocodiles' heads as he turned the gun around.

"Ha, Emil would be surprised."

Black Mamba changed his opinion. Samedi was the true master of the machine gun.

The river's center where the hippos had been wandering around became the crocodile's 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 hippos' muscles. Although it was a part of the natural process, it wasn't 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.

"I suppose we don't need any introductions. Association, rank, and name?"

It was strange English spoken in a rich baritone voice. Lieutenant Louis was at a loss for words. The moment the boat flipped, he'd given up on his life. He'd killed his subordinates and didn't have the will to live either. Something had flown at him then and there and dragged him to the hill. It wasn't only him but also Officer Blair. That couldn't be the strength or skill of a human.

"Are you a psychic Haunter?" 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.

"Wakil, a human's curiosity has no end. Is there any other creature besides humans that willingly pays for curiosity with pain?"

Samedi grabbed Louis' thumb and twisted it the moment he finished talking. Servants had to do the tough job. Samedi wasn't so dense as to forget his role.

"Kuaaaaak, what… what do you think you're doing, you barbarian!" Lieutenant Louis frothed at the mouth.

"Go look for barbarians somewhere else. Your association, rank, and name?" Samedi asked in a monotonous voice.

He could carry his own weight now.

"Go f*** your mother."

The most important subject in a Shadow's training regime was torture response. It was an extreme training regime to the point that people died during the actual practice. Lieutenant Louis' brain managed to survive the pain that shot through his brain.

"That's some good bravery but not very wise."

A wavelength loaded with resonance slammed against Louis' brain.

Boom—

The resonance waves surrounded and compressed the air around Louis' face.

"Kuuuuuh!"

Louis scratched his face as though he'd 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-Torture's Extended Modification Ki inflicted extreme physical pain, the Face-Wrapping Seal Spell added to the pain and caused psychological fear.

Tap—

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.

"Ugh, uhhh!"

Lieutenant Louis shriveled up like a middle-aged chicken that ate a centipede's spit. His head rang in emptiness. He could remember nothing.

"I know you're a Shadow. Your association, rank, and name? If you reply honestly, I'll send you away alive."

"Lieutenant Heather Louis of Council Association Shadow, Team Five, Group B."

"Ugh, damn it!"

Officer Blair's mouth dropped open. Lieutenant Louis was known to be the most unyielding member among the Shadows. He couldn't believe the man was done in with a single blow. Samedi, who got Black Mamba's signal, dragged Officer Blair away.

"Council?" Black Mamba questioned.

The Council, all of a sudden? There were 1,000s of councils in the Korean government alone.

"I don't know anything other than the fact that it's an intel department."

Black Mamba nodded. Judging from the guy's brain waves and blood flow, he could tell he wasn't lying. Well, the kind of information that a replaceable subject like a strike force's sergeant could know was limited.

"Let me ask you one thing. What kind of person are you?"

Samedi was right when he said humans were the most incomprehensible existences. There was no reason why he shouldn't grant a dying person's wish.

"I'm Dong-bang-bull-pae. I'm a Korean."

"Korean?"

Louis' eyes widened.

[1] It means relations/connections in Korean.

[2] It refers to a person.

[3] It refers to a connection/line.