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Chapter 85: Chapter 12, Episode 5: Death is a Mercenary’s Friend

Musta, who had raped his daughter, had died at his Wakil’s hands. He wanted to take revenge on this Ahmud b*stard himself.

“Since you brought him over, Ombuti, I recognize your right.”

Black Mamba knew Ombuti’s grudge very well. It had to run deep, considering how his wife and daughter had been raped and murdered by those b*stards. He left Ahmud’s fat in Ombuti’s hands.

Mike wrestled with the idea.

“Captain, he can’t. Mouris, Chartres, and Miguel died. If Black Mamba doesn’t do it, we should.”

“Mike, the FROLINAT and us met as enemies. When you kill the enemy, you need to be prepared to die, too. The amount of FROLINAT soldiers you’ve killed must be over at least thirty. Would you be able to bear the grudges of all thirty of those people?”

“The circumstances are different.”

“There’s nothing different. In the end, the Sahel is the FROLINAT’s land. We’re the invaders. A soldier’s role is to fight and kill. If we press him for charges, we need to charge him with murder for unarmed locals.”

‘Did Chartres’ ghost attach itself to the captain?’

He talked like Chartres. Mike stepped back with a dissatisfied face. He had realized the importance of his comrades thanks to Black Mamba. He wanted to take revenge for them but was blocked.

Ombuti threw his weight around Ahmud with a steadfast stance as though he was a judge making a decision.

“Ahmud, I am an Immoharen of the Tuareg Tribe. I will make you pay for the many crimes you have committed against my tribe. Will you follow the laws of the desert or receive the judgment of Allah?”

Ahmud’s face crumpled.

“Have you forgotten Allah’s teachings?! If you destroy a corpse, your name will be erased from Azrael’s list one day!” Ahmud shouted.

“Hmph, a cockroach like you doesn’t have to worry about such things. My owner is Azrael. Since there’s no time, I’ll judge you by Allah’s words.”

Ombuti dragged Ahmud by the back of his neck and dragged him before Chartres’ grave.

“Let me go! You b*stard, I’m a commander. Aren’t you one of the honorable Tuareg Tribe’s warriors? You shouldn’t be humiliating me, even in death. Just shoot me in the head. If you destroy my corpse, Allah will not forgive you.”

“Ha, humiliation for a cockroach? Several people you’ve killed will welcome you on the other side. If anyone asks who sent you, tell them Izmael Ombuti did.”

Ahmud instinctively knew that he was about to be burned and protested. Ombuti didn’t even blink.

“Ha, when did he prepare that?” Mike laughed.

There was a pile of broken branches in front of the grave. Ombuti was definitely a busybody.

“Jang Shin, hand him an oil tank.”

At Black Mamba’s words, Jang Shin ran to the pickup without protest.

Ombuti, who picked up the extra fuel supply, poured it over the wood.

“You cannot do this! Allah, send these heretics and this ungrateful b*stard to hell!” Ahmud screamed while rolling on the ground.

“That b*stard, he’s squealing like a pig.”

Jang Shin sealed his mouth with tape once more.

He helped Ombuti set up Ahmud on top of the wood stack.

“Wow, I knew he was crazy about cooking, but to think he’d start cooking cockroaches!”

“Cockroaches lay eggs if they’re not killed with fire,” Emil responded to Mike’s meaningless exclamation.

Ombuti threw the matchstick on the pile.

Whoosh—

The dry wood drenched in oil started burning furiously. Soon, the smell of meat burning engulfed the area.

The sight of a human burning couldn’t be seen in current society, but the mercenaries who were watching didn’t even blink. This was the land of savages, the Sahel of Africa.

“How scary. Seems like Allah’s judgment is to burn a person alive. What’s the rule of the desert?” Emil asked Ombuti without a bit of tension in his body.

“You erect a cross in the desert and tie him up. Then, you wait three days.”

“He’ll shrivel under the sun.”

“The hyenas will rip him apart before that happens.”

“Woah!”

Emil, as emotional as ever, drew in a strong breath of air.

And so Ahmud, who was called the red star of Sahel, who boasted the life of a cockroach, died as a handful of ashes in Djourab Erg. As expected, a pheasant’s enemy was a hawk, and a cockroach’s enemy was a servant.

Jang Shin, who was holding the wrench, glared at the pickup. It was a glare meant for an archenemy. The pickup, which had three holes in it, received his glare.

“Damn it, I don’t have any spare parts. This has nothing to do with my lack of skills!”

Jang Shin threw down the wrench in frustration.

The pickup he had hidden between the rocks had been bombarded with warheads. The traces of a hard fight were strongly imprinted.

Fortunately, the other two had holes in their loading boxes, but this one had a problem with its engine. He had tried to fix it up, but every time he started the engine, it only hatefully spluttered.

Two pickups weren’t enough for a company of eight to travel. There wouldn’t be enough space to load their weapons and supplies.

“Sergeant Burimer, why don’t we turn back to Tanga and fill up the pickup and supplies at Trident Rock?”

Burimer looked at Jang Shin as though he was pathetic.

“Are you an idiot? We were pushed up north because we couldn’t break through there. They’re blocking the south to the best of their abilities. Try fixing it up well.”

“Well?”

“Yes. Well!”

Jang Shin, who had gone from a genius to an idiot in a second, crumpled his face into a wail.

‘Damn it, all you have to do is move your mouth, but I have to move my hands and feet!’

It was the unforgivable rule of an organization’s society. With one word from the head, the people below began to suffer.

While Jang Shin wrestled with the pickup using his spare parts and tools, the team members went around gathering spare equipment and bullets. They had ended up in a f*cked up situation where they had to run and battle while also lacking supplies.

While their weapons were weak, there were many of them.

They gathered 15 working RPG7s. Burimer, fearing the lack of bullets, gathered a bunch of Degtyaryovs and 0.3-inch bullets.

Vroom—

The pickup with bullet holes all over its hood spewed out a refreshing engine noise.

“Yes! I’m a genius!” Jang Shin shouted in glee.

Machine genius Jang Shin had finally managed to breathe life into the pickup once more.

“As expected, Japanese stuff is definitely the best for cars.”

‘It’s surprising that such a country exists in Asia.”

This was a conversation between the captain and Burimer. Black Mamba was slightly pissed off.

If it had been a different car, it wouldn’t have stood a chance. Even if it wasn’t shot down by bullets, it wouldn’t have withstood the environment or long distances and would’ve broken down long before. His hometown was filled with pain and grudges, but he was helplessly a pampered man.

It became complicated to partner them up without Chartres, Mouris, and Miguel around. There were only two snipers, the captain, and Mike. The only ones who remained in the cover fire department were Burimer, Emil, and Jang Shin. It was hard to fit their personalities and specialties together.

“Mike can partner up with Jang Shin. Burimer can move with me.”

Black Mamba and Emil were originally partners, and Bell Man and Ombuti were non-fighters. Honestly, only Mike could be Jang Shin’s partner.

Jang Shin’s face darkened.

When one was partnered with Mike, they were bound to die. Mark had died first. Mouris had also died. He was the third. He could imagine himself with a gunshot in his head and his insides spilling out.

He looked at Black Mamba.

He was the only wild card on the team who could flip the captain’s decision around.

“Son of a b*tch!”

Sergeant Mike was explaining something desperately in front of Black Mamba, probably something to do with himself. The man who looked like a grizzly bear was acting like a fox.

‘Big brother’s there, so I shouldn’t die!’

Jang Shin’s shoulders dropped in defeat.

But unlike what Jang Shin thought, Mike was dying.

“I swear, I didn’t take my eyes off of Mike for a second. I only glanced at Mouris while I was sniping after all. Really, my attention was so dispersed I nearly couldn’t battle for a moment. I didn’t even kill ten people. But apparently something happened to the mine lines, and Mouris crawled out of his rock for about ten feet. When I heard a beeping noise, I shouted.”

Mike stopped talking and glanced at Black Mamba.

His expression hadn’t changed. Feeling a chill run through his chest, he continued to talk desperately.

“I shouted for Mouris to get down, but the warhead landed the moment Mouris threw his body back into the rocks. You know that the 3.3 inch can’t compare to a 2.4 inch. Mouris seemed to jump the moment the explosion sounded. How could I know Mouris would be done in by a warhead?”

“Keep talking,” Black Mamba said without even turning to look. His voice was as cold as frozen dew in late fall.

“When Mouris was done in, I went mad. I ran forward without looking at anything, even risking being sniped. But by the time I ran forward, it had already ended. My mistake was not thinking about the landmines. I went mad for a moment after all. After that, it was as you saw. It’s true. Mouris was just unlucky.”

Mike explained desperately so that Black Mamba would understand. He didn’t know why he had to make him understand, but he tried his best.

It was so he wouldn’t be beaten to death. When Mark died, he had said he’d bury him with his new partner if the new partner died, too. Black Mamba never lied.

“Mike, why did Bell Man bring Mouris’ corpse? Weren’t you, his partner, supposed to take care of him?”

Mike’s face turned black.

“I was wary of the remaining FROLINAT’s sniping. Bell Man is a non-fighter after all. I had to protect him.”

Mike was proud of his explanation. While it was true, Black Mamba was someone who was especially sensitive of his comrades’ safety.

“Sergeant Mike, well done. Protect your new partner well.”

Black Mamba patted Mike’s back and disappeared.

“What?”

Mike looked at Black Mamba’s back which was growing further away with confusion across his face. Considering the fact that he was prepared to receive a beating, he was rendered speechless.

‘Did the viper forget his fangs somewhere?’

Mike tilted his head. He didn’t feel the need to correct Black Mamba’s sudden kind mind.

Ombuti took up the Alpha wheel, which the Captain and Black Mamba boarded. At the Beta was Bell Man, Burimer, and Emil, while on the Gamma was Mike and Jang Shin.

The three pickups ran out of the battlefield rapidly.

Ombuti began talking to the Captain with an apologetic expression by the wheel.

“Captain, I’m sorry I couldn’t fight with you.”

The Captain waved his hands.

“What are you saying. You brought Ahmud over. It’s the commander Black Mamba lost three times. Ombuti, you’ve managed to acheive something great. I’ve already recorded it in the achievement request form.”

“Ahha!” Ombuti’s mouth split open.

“That was a coincidence. It’s like me picking up something my Wakil had left over. I’m embarrassed of my past as a warrior.”

“No. Ombuti is a guide. Sorry, but Ombuti wouldn’t be a help to the battle at all. Black Mamba, who is new to the battlefield, is the worst at guiding. We’ll all have to do something we’re good at. Ombuti’s role is to guide, not battle. I’m grateful you weren’t injured.”

“I’m grateful for you putting it that way. I’m an Immoharen after all. I felt pathetic when I was hiding.”

Ombuti turned his head and looked at the Captain. His face was covered by the litam, so his expression wasn’t obvious, but his eyes were smiling.

“All of the members including myself are grateful to you Ombuti. Ombuti’s actions are right on the battlefield. You should look after your own life. You must understand, now that you’ve been through it, but the safest place is next to Black Mamba. Although your dreams might be slightly violent.”

Ombuti nodded. Even after a hundred reconsideration, the safest place was beside his Wakil.

“Thank you, Captain. I think there’s a traitor who sold our information to the rebels. I’ll head to Paya Largo and meet my friends. I’ll get rid of the betrayer and return.”

It was Ombuti’s late advice.

No one in their team had told Ombuti about the spy at the headquarters. It was because it was a problem of pride of Legion Etranger.

The captain shook his head.

“No. There are rats anywhere and everywhere. There’s no need to push yourself. This is not the time to be hung on small revenges. Let’s head together to Paya. I need to reach the headquarters at Paya after all. I have to, even though we might be tailed once more.”

“I understand. I will also reach out to my Ummah friends at Paya Largo to gain some information.”

Ummah were those who’d gathered under religious reasons to achieve a political and religious unity under Allah’s true teachings.