Mercenary Black Mamba

Chapter 159: Chapter 19, Episode 5: Follow Your Heart

Resonance was a flow of interference. It used limited frequencies, like natural frequency, to increase the vibration. It was a similar simulation to how a whip could draw an arc of several meters with a single flick of the wrist.

He grabbed the child’s leg and aligned his flow to the parasites. He could definitely feel it moving—the living thing underneath the dermis—between the tissues. It was weak, but there was a lot.

His resonance wrapped around the parasites. The small vibrations turned into a large flow. The parasites, which were swept up by the increased energy waves, resisted. The bugs were grounded to dust like a tree house in a hurricane and a pea in a stone grinder. The children didn’t know what was happening in their bodies.

Breaking firewood apart was easier than grinding it to dust. Black Mamba collapsed in exhaustion after treating all three children. Lightning flashed before his eyes, and drums hammered in his head. It was the after-effects of draining his brain’s energy with a weak body. Edel’s eyes flashed in expectation.

“Black, are all the filariasis dead?”

“I turned them into dust and grounded them finer than flour.”

“Oh my goodness, this is the best day of my life!” Edel raised both of her arms and cheered.

“Children, you can keep your beautiful legs now. You won’t be teased anymore. Thank Doctor Black, here.”

“Ashu-kuruka!” ignorant children shouted as one.

Edel grabbed the children’s hands and jumped in joy.

“Is this such a happy deal?”

She was a young woman with plenty of energy. She had no personal greed. Her pure joy made the onlookers feel as happy.

Black Mamba stared at Edel. This woman, who believed in this unnatural situation, was as strange.

“Doctor Edel, do you believe what I just said? Aren’t you supposed to call me a liar at this point?”

“No. There are humans you cannot trust after ten treatments, and humans who can be trusted with a single look.”

“Damn, the story’s turning to an unstable direction.”

Despite her rather beautiful face, she was a woman with a four-dimensional way of thinking. Black Mamba slowly became worried.

Tutatatata—

The loud sound of a rotor shook Baskeval valley, near the Bata River.

“Commander, the helicopter has arrived,” first lieutenant Valboir said in an emotional voice.

“I can hear. It’s a commander’s return with an extended life after sacrificing his subordinates. I’m disgusted with myself for taking the sound of the wind blade as my country’s anthem.”

Five out of 11 of the Ratel team had survived through 44 days of the devastating battle. Only five out of the 50 members of the rescue team he led, had survived. The decrease was a result of being chased around and not from battle. If Black Mamba hadn’t saved those who’d become captives, they would have been buried in the desert. There was nothing more terrible as a commander.

Valboir’s gaze turned towards the ground at Pieff’s lament. He had been jumping in joy at the thought of returning, forgetting that many of his subordinates did not make it. He wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.

“Valboir, raise the flare. Those who’ve survived need to live.”

Boom—

A line of red flame flew into the sky from within the valley.

Boom—

The Chinook, which confirmed the flames, turned its heavy body and shoved itself into the valley.

A Gazelle hovered 100 meters up in the air, while three circled around, in guard. Two Chinooks landed on the dry wadi under the protection of two Gazelles. A SAMU medical team exited the Chinook with their stuff pouring out of the rear ramp.

“Hoo, we’ve survived!” Jang Shin sighed.

The SAMU members moved the patients with practiced skills. Bellman and Jang Shin released their guns and laid down on the emergency beds. They’d let go of their guns for the first time in 44 days.

“I’m a son of a b**** if I ever set a foot back in Africa,” Jang Shin said as he gritted his teeth on the bed.

“My words exactly!” Bellman smiled thinly with dark, pressed eyes.

“Why’re you loading that?”

The relocating officer was looking at Sun WooHyun in disbelief as he pushed a bike into the rear ramp.

“Black Mamba said he needed it.”

“Black Mamba! Understood. Hey, make sure these are tightened in.”

The officer ordered his subordinates without a word of protest.

“Hehe, I’ve gotten myself a beloved horse thanks to Wakil. One’s for Wakil, and one’s for me.”

Sun WooHyun knocked on the 1200CC BMW bike seat in satisfaction. In North Korea, it was a luxury that one couldn’t dream of. It didn’t make sense to leave such a precious thing behind.

“Everyone has boarded.”

“Let’s go greet our hero.”

The heliborne regiment headed towards the NGO hospital, leaving behind chaotic noises.

Tututututu—

The propeller’s loud noise shook the hospital, and there weren’t just one or two. The Captain entered the office.

“Black, the helicopters are here.”

The Captain’s voice was mixed with inexplicable emotions.

“There are four Gazelles and two Chinooks. There are two Mirages on sight, 30,000 feet in the air. Hehe, it looks like those old b*stards are in a rush.”

“A mirage?”

Getting transported with a Mirage’s guard was an act of respect, not even the Head of the Department of Defense could receive.

“It seems like they’re finally ready to receive their hero.”

The Captain’s heart was worried. Black Mamba knew the details of what had happened prior to these events. He worried about what that anger could cause. Pieff’s concerns weren’t just his, alone.

Two Chinooks landed on the front yard of the hospital. The four Gazelles moved north, east, south, and west in a defensive position. Two armed commando teams of 20 jumped out of the Chinooks and surrounded the hospital.

A tall, handsome, sturdy soldier entered the hospital. It was an officer who’d received a first lieutenant’s position in the 11th Airborne brigade.

“I am team leader, first lieutenant Richie of the 11th Airborne Brigade. Who is sergeant Paul?”

“Act! I’m team Ratel’s captain, first lieutenant Jean Paul.”

The lieutenant waved his hand in a bothersome manner.

“Ah, whatever. Where’s Black Mamba?”

He was arrogant. It wasn’t something they hadn’t been through before, but the 11th Airborne brigade’s arrogance and prejudice was something he wanted to chew off. The army looked at Legion Etranger no differently than how the Airborne brigade saw them. The ends of the Captain’s face trembled.

Black Mamba, who was talking with Giz, didn’t even look at the lieutenant. Ombuti smiled in the corner of the room. The arrogant lieutenant’s attitude being shattered by his Wakil was a scene, clear in his eyes.

His Wakil didn’t like people who believed they were born privileged. He also didn’t like those who had a sense of superiority or people who discriminated against others. Things like ranks were nothing but pieces of metal for his Wakil. The lieutenant looked like someone who should be beaten up.

“Giz, didn’t you say that the water fleas were the source of the filariasis spread?”

“That’s right. The locals drink contaminated well water. They are digging more wells with the aid of my country, but there aren’t enough finances, and it’s hard to care. The Sahel’s too large.”

“That should be right. Creating water supplies isn’t something that can be achieved within a day or so. It’d be hard to find those underground water sources, either.”

“Of course, it’s hard. We’re having difficulties administering effective treatments because of the lack of clean water.”

“Water fleas aren’t bacteria, are they? Do they come in micro sizes?”

“They’re around one millimeter.”

“Yeah? Then, to use the water, can’t you filter out those fleas with a mesh?”

“Oh, a mesh!”

Giz slapped his forehead.

“Why didn’t I think of that? I feel like I’ve turned into a monkey after years of rolling around in Africa. It’s astounding how I’ve suffered to solve this problem when there was such a simple answer.”

Even Giz treated the lieutenant like an invisible person. He was a stubborn breed, enough to throw away the professor’s position and volunteer for the MSF. He had bandaged wounded soldiers on the battlefield several times. He didn’t care a bit for the lieutenant who was turning red beside him.

“That mercenary’s gone mad after committing an achievement.”

Richie, who became a tied sack of wheat, was outraged. The sight of those two, ignoring him right before his eyes, was a spectacle.

A mercenary was still a mercenary, no matter his achievements. On top of that, the b*stard in front of him was a legioner deuxieme classe[1]. He wouldn’t be able to raise his head if rumors abounded of how he was ignored by a second class private.

“Are you Black Mamba?” Richie interrupted their conversation.

Flick—

Black Mamba took a button off his patient’s gown and flicked it with his fingers. It was a secret move no one had witnessed.

Slap—

A large spider that was crossing Richie’s combat boots was flung off its course by the button. The shattered spider landed with a slap on Richie’s boots. It was a precise strength control. Blue liquid soaked the front of Richie’s boots and slid down.

“It seems like the airborne brigade doesn’t clean their boots on average,” Black Mamba mocked, lying down on the bed.

The lieutenant’s face turned into the shade of a pig’s liver.

He didn’t know what happened, even if he wanted to rage. Paul and Emil barely managed to hold their laughter in. It was obviously a prank by Black Mamba. They could easily see what Black Mamba was trying to do. He was trying to make the lieutenant act out of his own will, by provoking him. Edel began to clap excitedly in the midst of all that.

“Black, you’re a genius. I respect you for suggesting mesh as a solution. This deserves an award.”

Edel kissed Black Mamba’s cheek. Black Mamba, who had been attacked out of nowhere, made an awkward face. It was an act that would have excited a man his age. Black Mamba’s expression flashed back into its emotionless state.

“No. Edel, you’re the respectable person here. You didn’t spray Chanel No.5 or applied lance rouge. You didn’t put on Emanuel Ungaro’s clothes or dressed up with a Chloe’s scarf. However, you’re still the third most beautiful woman in this world.”

Black Mamba simply expressed what he’d felt. The dimensional sight was automatically embedded in his voice. His truth and sincerity echoed in Edel’s heart. Black Mamba didn’t imagine that his words would be the rope around his neck, closing in.

According to psychologists, the opposite gender’s direction of gaze differed according to love and sexual attraction. When it was love, their gazes landed on one’s face. When it was sexual desire, their gazes were fixated on intimate parts of the body such as the butt, chest, thighs, and between the knees.

Edel’s beautiful face shone brightly. Her eyes were filled with hearts, which was fixed on Black Mamba. There wasn’t a rule, which stated that only men could be attracted to women. Emil despaired.

“My Lord in heaven, do you still have some talents to hand to that guy? That damn b*stard, he wasn’t wearing a chastity belt after all.”

“Black, that is the second greatest praise I’ve heard in my life. Your first should definitely be your Mama. I’m going to pry you for a long time on why I’m third and not second.”

Edel smiled with her eyes and pouted. Emil’s sorrowful wail was stuck in his throat. It was the height of cuteness that left a man’s confidence, bare.

“How…how long has it been since she met him, to call him Black? Give me a chance too!”

Emil’s insides were burning.

“I’ve experienced the worst of the Sahel enough to understand how rough it is. You, who’ve abandoned your safety as a young woman to work for those who are neglected, are beautiful. Although, there are some who pride themselves for a rat’s tail worth of rank.”

The lieutenant’s anger, which he’d been suppressing, finally exploded. It was hard to watch the b*stard act in the first place, but he couldn’t ignore those mocking words.

“What? How dare a mercenary…”

Crack—

The lieutenant, who had been raising his hand to seemingly slap Black Mamba, bounced off the wall like a squash ball and collapsed. The other lieutenants, aside from Richie, flew across the air like riceless sacks and rolled on the floor. No one saw the palm which slapped the lieutenant’s chest.

“Oh no, that b*stard’s attacking a patient.”

Black Mamba twisted his body on the bed.

“Kukuku!” Edel coughed, trying to hold her laughter in.

She’d never imagined the existence of a man like him on earth. He was a hundred times more interesting than the MSF, and a man she was curious about. In addition, he was handsome.

“Oh, damn, it’s finally happened.”

Paul swept his forehead. The lieutenant, who was crumpled in the corner of a lobby, began to turn red. It was an acute respiratory failure that had resulted from his lung’s deactivation. It was due to a pulmonary convulsion from the resonance’s attack.

“Oh no, it’s a lung embolism! What do we do!”

Edel rolled her feet. The man would die within five minutes if left alone.

“So annoying!”

Black Mamba raised his body from the bed with a groan. He’d slapped him away with his palm to leave no injuries, but the man was about to die from a lack of oxygen. He flipped the lieutenant over with the tip of his foot and stomped once on his back.

Splat—

Blood splattered out of the lieutenant’s mouth. Black Mamba had been rough, but it was effective. The lieutenant began to breathe like mad with the return of his normal airflow.

“Oh, oh my God!”

“Jeez!”

Giz and Edel’s eyes grew wide at the violent treatment method.

“B*stards who can’t differentiate bean paste from feces should have a taste of it themselves.”

Black Mamba winked at Giz and Edel.

[1] Second Class Private