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Chapter 243: Chapter 27, Episode 18: For Whom The Bell Tolls

If the ANO hadn’t settled, the desolated land would have been filled with people shouting “Allah-hu Akbar” instead of ancient remains and abandoned buildings.

What did religion mean to the Arabs? Were their lives so stifling that they couldn’t live without clinging onto religion? Did they lead submissive lives where they were bound to operate under the grind called religion?

Was it the teachings of Allah for Muslims to express hatred and anger in the form of bloody fights towards other Muslims because of their differences in beliefs? Did these people prioritize order above a human’s value?

Countless questions popped up in his mind. He couldn’t understand. He’d said that differences weren’t wrong, but he couldn’t accept that mentality easily.

Koreans didn’t curse at others even if they spoke about killing and beheading Buddha. When others said incomprehensible things like “mountains being mountains” and “water being water,” Koreans didn’t curse at all. Koreans didn’t harm those who announced their faith in Jesus and those who condemned others with lesser faith to hell. Whether it was a division or unification of religion, what mattered the most was the conditions of being human.

Universal human values certainly existed. Like how special laws took precedence over common laws, a consciousness wired like a time series conquered the mind. Even he was like that. Could others accept his hard work even when he had so much money? He didn’t think many would understand.

Everyone had their own problems and were entitled to their own thoughts. Humans turned into monsters the moment they were united and grouped. The evils of imperialism, fascism, and Nazism were formidable. Even after decades, its influences remained in the modern world like a cancerous tumor. While it came in different shapes and sizes, the Joseon sadaejuui was also the toxic remains left by humans under the influence of a large-scale illusion.

The judgment of good and evil was extremely fluid but sometimes comparative. Was Assad evil? He couldn’t judge yet. He suppressed and monitored the citizens using the methods of a dictator, but he had his own reason since judgments could change in the future. However, creating biological and chemical weapons and storing them was evil. At least, it was evil in his perspective. Assad wouldn’t have planned to use the sarin gas to get rid of grasshopper herds or anthrax to fight against alien invasion. In the end, he would use it against humans.

He was Asura. Asura got rid of those who polluted the world, whether they were good or evil. He preferred a chaotic world over an orderly world. He preferred an entertaining hell over a monochromatic heaven. He was Asura, who willingly visited those who crushed humans’ dignity.

He could finally sense a human’s presence three kilometers in. A narrow path, which a pull cart could barely pass, was blocked by a bunker. It was a machine gun field built firmly on a pile of stones.

The two barrels poking out of the holes were Degtyarev’s earlier model, the PK machine guns. He recognized the barrel instantly as it was a close replica of the Degtyarev. Due to its range of 1,500 meters, the PK machine gun was utilized as an AAA[1]. It instantly became an AAA when placed on top of an AAA mount. It could be said that Syria was distressed by the fact that it was their only choice of weapon since they had a weak air force.

“It’s big.”

The line of rocks piled behind the bunker was about the size of an apartment block. The barracks, which could be seen through the cracks of the rocks, were presumed to be the soldiers’ quarters. It was a terrain where all equipment and supplies relied on air transportation. Kaparja Valley itself was isolated from the outside world. This place was much more isolated. There was a good reason for the facility to be built in such a location where outside interactions were strictly limited.

“It’s good for me.”

Black Mamba flashed a white smile. Alternating wall around wall was the best skill to use during a mountain battle. A large lizard with a backpack slid up the rock. It could see the half-exposed bunker clearly from 20 meters above.

Syrian soldiers in tan military uniforms and green-grey caps were seen. Attached to the right of a machine gun were a shooter and a spotter. Including the assistant, who was holding onto a rifle, it added up to three. Since the latter half of WWI, The Soviet Army had started working together with machine gun shooters and snipers.

Several Soviet snipers had joined the People’s Volunteer Army during the Korean War. The Allies of WWII weren’t successful with their advances because of the snipers’ presence and had even faced a critical mission delay.

The U.S. Marine Corps’ First Division’s advance on Hungnam’s northern mountain in November 1950 was a good example. Lieutenant General Edward Almond, commander of the 10th army, had ignored signs of the People’s Volunteer Army involvement. He had ordered division leader Smith to advance quickly into the mountain.

The U.S. Marine Corps’ First Division, who had marched along the mountainous path, met with a terrible fate. Many commanders and their vehicles weren’t spared by the abrupt bullet attacks. 1,500 vehicles and soldiers, which were stretched in a long line on a narrow mountainous path, had fallen prey to the snipers. The First Division had lost their chance to advance as they were occupied with the sniping that flew in day and night. The U.S. Marine Corps had suffered from sniper phobia during their retreat from Yudami-ni, Hagaru-ri to Koto-ri.

Of course, the human wave attacks conducted by the People’s Volunteer Army, which were 10 times their numbers, and the severe cold were crucial factors that had led to their retreat. It was unfortunate that they had missed the chance to advance. Even though they were not well-armed, the People’s Volunteer Army had several veterans fighting in the Civil War. They had perfectly demonstrated the snipers’ capabilities on the mountain.

Did the Allies suffer a one-sided defeat because of the Chinese and Soviet snipers? Yes. They had no snipers to launch a counter-attack. The United States and Western powers had abandoned the snipers’ operation after WWII. They had regarded it as inhumane.

There was no humanitarian war. War in itself was inhumane. It could be said that Western civilization’s superior mentality of seeking humanity in wars was unrealistic. If a sniper who sniped soldiers was inhumane, then was a nuclear bomb humane for indiscriminately killing countless people?

The U.S., U.K., and France started training snipers wholeheartedly after they had been defeated several times by the snipers during the Korean War. They’d self-contradicted themselves.

The Syrian soldiers didn’t even dream of the grim reaper who had appeared above their heads. In nervous stances, their sight was fixated on the narrow entrance. Black Mamba felt slightly bad for them. They were soldiers loyal to their duties. They weren’t terrorists or guerrillas.

“You have your jobs, while I have mine. Tout me condolences!”[2]

Whoosh—

Black Mamba spread out his limbs as he flew down. He looked like an owl that was about to attack a rat.

Ba-ang—

Clang—

His feet bent like a whip and kicked the shooter and spotter’s heads, before flipping into a tumble and smacking the assistant’s helmet with his palm.

That footwork had carried a weight exceeding one ton. Half of the shooter and spotter’s heads were gone. The assistant’s head had sunk into his shoulders. Not a single sound was heard. Those were rather violent motions. Black Mamba believed that dying without fearing for one’s life was the greatest mercy.

He went around the line of piled rocks. A cave with a thick iron window revealed its dark throat. Four Syrian soldiers at attention were guarding the left and right side of the cave. They looked nervous too. They had heard gunshots, ringing, and explosions since early morning. They were barely three kilometers away from the battlefield. It would’ve been strange for them not to feel nervous.

The iron window was blocked from inside. He examined it using his night vision. A metal shield door completely blocked the cave. It was a door they had installed from carving out the entrance of the cave. It was obviously a storage facility for biological and chemical weapons. There was no reason to keep vegetables sealed, after all.

“Bingo!”

He shouldn’t be happy, but he had found his target. If Jamal hadn’t told him about the possible location, he would have missed it entirely.

Do I need to kill again?

He automatically let out a sigh. Around 10 soldiers were digging the ground around the barracks from 30 meters away. The iron window and shield door was the problem. It was difficult to escape the guards’ watch when entering, but it would be harder to silently get rid of them.

He wanted to avoid killing, but there was no way. He pulled out the Peskett CCW. With a single scratch, the botulinum toxin paralyzed the central nervous system and brain at the same time. It was an ominous weapon best for a silent kill. When he pulled out the lower half, gleaming blue fangs revealed itself.

Black Mamba enacted becoming one with nature before approaching them like a grasshopper. The Peskett CCW streaked across the air silently. The main blood vessel, which connected the brain and the spinal cord, was his target.

There was a slight tingling sensation, like a mosquito bite. The soldiers, who were slapping the back of their necks, froze instantly.

Rustle—

The four soldiers collapsed instantly. They had all collapsed with their mouths agape and eyes wide open. As expected, the botulinum toxin was potent.

Nimi jotto, forget being an eraser, I’ll become an assassin at this rate.

Black Mamba smiled bitterly while putting away the fangs. No security system was sighted. The ANO must have had faith in the rough terrain and the soldiers, or they might have forgotten about it.

He grabbed and pulled at the palm-sized lock.

Crraaaack—

The lock was still intact, but the shackle was ripped off. He threw the lock aside and opened the iron window. Natural humidity was absent from this cave. This meant that there was a separate air conditioning system powered by electricity.

He threw the four corpses inside the cave and entered. By his 10th step, a dark shield door blocked his path. It didn’t have any gap for a piece of paper to pass through. There was no locking device, either.

“It’s been a while since I’ve used my strength.”

He pulled out his Kukri, stabbed it between the door and its frame, and activated his resonance.

Ooo—

The blade vibrated. He lowered the knife. The blade caught onto something in the middle. It was the door’s latch.

“Haa!”

There was a bulging vein on his forehead.

Ooooo—

The blade gleamed in blue.

Cling—

Something inside was cut off. He pushed the door gently. It slid open. Bioluminescent eyes glowed in the dark cave.

“Huh, what’s all this?”

Black Mamba groaned after surveying the cave with his night vision. The cave was several times wider than its entrance. There were three-tiered iron racks bolted on both sides of the passage. 200 liters of drum containers filled the middle and bottom racks.

The third level was occupied by a yellow ball tank and a white piston-shaped container. There were at least 400 rusty drum containers. He could even see a forklift stationed inside the cave. It was unmistakably a biological and chemical weapons storage facility. If the stored objects were biological and chemical weapons, then there was enough to wipe out the entire Middle East.

The U.S. Civil Defense Committee had released data revealing all the upsides of biological and chemical weapons. Let’s compare the relatively weak poisons such as anthrax and sarin gas to a nuclear bomb.

The production cost of killing within one square kilometer of an urban area was one dollar for anthrax, 600 dollars for sarin gas, and 800 dollars for a nuclear bomb. Looking at its effective range would leave one’s mouth wide open. Five tons of anthrax covered 88,000 square kilometers, five tons of sarin gas covered 260 square kilometers, and a nuclear bomb covered 200 square kilometers.

It was said that if a B-52 bomber or Tupolev released five tons of anthrax at a high altitude, the entire of Korea would fall into its effective range. “If” was a lazy man’s excuse and an irresponsible politician’s deception. It was a warning that North Korea’s massive number of biological and chemical weapons could bring about disastrous consequences when released.

One ton of VX could kill 23,000,000 people. The reason why biological and chemical weapons were called dirty weapons was because of their unspecified damages and the accompanying side-effects of extreme pain and long-term after-effects. Dictators received pressure internally and externally. In terms of cost-efficiency, biological and chemical weapons were the only dirty weapons a dictator could drool over.

The DGSE had predicted Syria’s biological and chemical weapons’ inventory to be around 4,000 to 10,000 tons. A large amount of medium was required to obtain purified anthrax. Not all substances in the drum containers were toxic biological and chemical weapons, but there was still a large amount.

“Damn b*stard, is this Assad b*stard planning a holocaust of the century?”

He was bothered by the unimaginable scale. Biochemical toxic substances should be burned to avoid second-hand damage. The problem was that there weren’t enough tools to burn them all at once. Four C-4’s worth 2,000 grams wasn’t enough. It was impossible even if he had added the remaining 30 grenades.

It might be possible if 10 Berkut missiles exploded inside the cave. He dismissed that idea. He didn’t know how to set off the missile launch system and couldn’t locate it anyway.

“Nimi jotto, I need Jang Shin or Mouris.”

Explosives weren’t his expertise, after all. He didn’t even know how to create instant explosives because of his lack of interest.

“Wait, that is?” Black Mamba’s eyes flashed.

An LPG gas cylinder hanging from the forklift caught his attention. It was a forklift with a gas engine. Considering the size of the enclosed cave, he only needed to secure two more bombs. Black Mamba closed the door and headed to the guards’ barracks. He feared that some of the toxic gas might leak.

Soldiers were working on road repairs with shovels and pickaxes in front of the barracks. It seemed as though lackeys worked on roads, be it in the ROK Army or Syrian Army. The ROK Army infantry held pickaxes and shovels more regularly than rifles. That was the reality that everyone experienced as Ttanggye’s OB. The abbreviation “Ttanggye” meant scratching the surface, but it also meant that they often shoveled the ground.

Black Mamba threw darts while his body was plastered on the ground’s slope.

Tap tap tap—

The darts, which had been sleeping in his pocket, flew out like arrows.

[1] Anti-aircraft artillery.

[2] “Everyone, you have my condolences!”