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Chapter 244: Chapter 27, Episode 19: For Whom the Bell Tolls

“Kugh!”

“Hugh!”

Three soldiers, who had their necks pierced, made gurgling sounds before collapsing on their fronts.

“Ya-ssa-tir?” [1]

“Ya-tura, madha hunak?” [2]

The other soldiers stood around in confusion. Some soldiers continued digging. The secretiveness of a frigid soldier and loose military rules were to be blamed.

Flick flick flick—

The darts kept flying. The soldiers, who were standing around, grabbed their necks and fell to the ground. The 10 soldiers, who had been maintaining the area, didn’t have a reason to work anymore.

Keee—

Keee—

A crow was cawing on top of the barracks’ decorative beam. A soldier jumped out of the barracks and chased it away. Like Korea, West Asia regarded crows as a bad omen. They chased crows away with the assumption that these birds carried bad news.

Flick—

A dart pierced the soldier’s neck like a beef brochette. Crows did deliver bad news, after all.

Bang—

Black Mamba pulled out his Glock and kicked down the entrance. He’d already figured out the number of people inside. There were six.

“What the hell!”

The soldiers, who’d been rolling around their beds, leaped to their feet. The armies were the same everywhere. The veterans rolled around while the lackeys worked hard.

“Grim Reaper!”

His Glock spewed out a fire as soon as he replied.

Bang bang bang—

Bang bang bang—

His triple-tap attacks instantly hit six people. It had only been a second. The bullets penetrated their foreheads and drilled through their skulls. Their brains turned into mush before their sensory system could detect the foreign substance and process the painful sensation.

Blood and brain fluids drained from the soldiers’ foreheads, all of whom had collapsed without a word. Black Mamba looked around the barracks with glassy eyes.

Black Mamba was a neo-psychopath. He was a compassionate and loving person, but when he didn’t care, he was detached from any emotions. If he held up a gun to kill someone, someday he would be killed too. That was the life of a soldier.

There were all kinds of weapons and equipment in the barracks, but he couldn’t find the object he was looking for. He opened the opposite door and entered. It was a restaurant and a storage room.

“Bingo!”

There were six 100-kilogram propane cylinders. Four were filled, and two were empty. He moved the four filled gas cylinders into the cave.

He was hesitant to touch the objects in fear that they might carry poisonous substances and bacteria. The forklift was the best vehicle to attach explosives to. He pushed the forklift to the middle of the cave and attached 150 grams of C-4 to the gas cylinders. It only had to be ignited, so there was no reason to waste too many explosives.

He left two gas cylinders and unscrewed its nozzles. That would create chain explosions.

Shhh—

The pungent smell of fermented onion and garlic pierced his nose.

He quickly retreated at the sudden stink attack. It was a cave filled with poisonous gases and bacteria that could kill millions of people. A little spark could turn him into a roast. Even Black Mamba rushed to escape.

He set the time of explosion to 200 seconds after installing the timer on the explosives. He also coordinated the watch’s lap time in his right pocket to 200 seconds. The fireworks display was ready. He closed the storage facility door, which was thicker than both of his hands, before sealing it with explosive adhesive tape.

“Hehehe, I wonder what a cocktail made of propane and poisonous gases taste like?”

He laughed eerily before moving toward the valley. The rest was up to the explosives and the storage facility filled with gases.

The clueless explosives devil didn’t even know the upper and lower limits of a propane gas explosion. Without sufficient air supply, explosions would become unstable or end in a misfire.

A propane gas explosion has a lower limit of 2.1 percent and an upper limit of 9.5 percent. This means that an explosion would occur when the concentration of propane gas in the air is between 2.1 percent and 9.5 percent.

If the concentration of propane gas in the air is more than 9.5 percent, there would be no explosion due to the lack of oxygen supply. Black Mamba should be grateful to the Syrian Army for installing air conditioners inside.

[In the commander’s office of northern Syria’s air defense strategic force in Kaparja Valley.]

Lieutenant General Wahid Latif had stayed up the entire night. His attempt to fall asleep was futile due to the continuous ringing of explosions and noise from the battle.

The security companies he had sent out for a power reconnaissance had lost 20 of their men and returned like dogs with tails between their legs. The commander’s report was absurd. A sniper unit invasion? The entire cliff had collapsed from point C3 to C5? The ANO being trashed around? It was all unbelievable. He’d kicked his commander’s rear, but he still felt uneasy.

There were two Berkut site security companies. There was very little in number, considering the importance of the base. It was because the ANO special forces were located near the valley’s curve.

But to annihilate 1,000 ANO battle freaks? Lieutenant General Wahid Latif couldn’t understand. A few days ago, he’d just received reports of movements from the Muslim Brotherhood. He couldn’t believe that they had a special forces unit strong enough to wipe out an entire part of a valley.

Lieutenant General Wahid Latif wrapped up the matter by alerting the Third Airborne Regiment of the enemy’s attack. The two companies couldn’t leave the missile site at all. That was a problem for the special forces and airborne regiment to solve.

When the next day came, two more powerful explosions were heard. He started worrying about the warheads in the spare storage room. Restless, he finally picked up the interphone.

“Lieutenant, won’t we have to check in on the situation?”

“Sir, there are at least 1,000 ANO special forces members in the valley’s region. How could our soldiers, who are trained and experienced, be defeated by those fundamentalist rebels who’re lacking in every aspect? I also received a message from the Third Airborne Regiment that they’ve sent over two Hinds. The situation should be resolved by now.”

“No. There’s something wrong. Something doesn’t feel right.”

“Understood. I’ll prepare the reconnaissance force immediately.”

“Our duty is to prepare for launch and defend the area at all times. We cannot get caught up in the battle. Just send out the squadron.”

“Yes, sir!”

Lieutenant General Wahid Latif couldn’t hide his anxiety. He picked up the interphone again. He called the Third Airborne Regiment’s situation room. Any phone call or direct contact with the ANO members was illegal. He wanted to call them himself, but leaving behind any traces of contact would get him standing in the military court.

Any organization formed by man had loopholes. If Lieutenant General Wahid Latif had acknowledged the seriousness of the situation earlier, Black Mamba would have noticed the difference in numbers and left after getting rid of just the ANO.

When Black Mamba left the Kaparja’s biological and chemical weapons storage facility, gas had leaked from the two large LPG cylinders and started mixing with the air. The cave was filled with vapor clouds.

Fresh air flowed out from the air conditioners while drawing out the air filled with gas. The concentration of propane inside the storage facility remained fixed at eight percent. The air flowing out from the air conditioners circulated slowly around the cave due to the high humidity, which suppressed the gas.

Once liquefied, the LPG’s weight was reduced to a range between 1/600 and 1/700. This meant that the leaked gas diffused 700 times faster. Theoretically, if 100 kilograms of LPG leaked, then 1,200 square meters would explode into vapor clouds at once. The explosion wasn’t comparable to 100 kilograms of C-4. It was more powerful. Without anyone knowing, Black Mamba’s single attack had brought about extreme results.

It was necessary to understand Assad’s position to consider both sides here. Assad’s position was similar to the relationship between Korea and Japan.

Hafez al-Assad wasn’t an illogical head of state who obsessed over biological and chemical weapons. Assad butted heads with Israel and Turkey. To be more specific, Turkey was his main enemy, with Israel next in the order.

In Syria’s point of view, Turkey was a neighboring country that had been bearing grudges since the construction of the Ottoman Empire. The two countries could be compared to Korea and Japan, except there was no sea separating them. It was border against border.

There were two main reasons why Assad hated Turkey more than Israel. Firstly, it was the issue over land. Hatay, which was located in the southern provinces of Turkey, had been regarded as part of Syria’s land for generations. It was like Jiandao.

When France invaded Syria and ruled in the government’s stead, Hatay declared their independence and was later known as the Hatay Republic. That had been a result of a treaty between France and Turkey. The Hatay Republic merged with Turkey in 1939, barely 10 years after the declaration. That was a decision that France and Turkey had come to agree to without Syria’s cooperation.

It was a similar situation to Korea. Japan had handed Jiandao over to the Qing Dynasty in 1905, obtaining usage rights to the South Manchuria Railway and a mine excavation rights in Fushun. The Korean Empire, which had been deprived of diplomatic rights, could only suck on their fingers.

Syria had suffered in silence. No one had represented them under France’s governance.

Despite being a dictator, Assad was a nationalist too. He had requested for Hatay’s ownership after the government had declared independence, but Turkey didn’t budge. France had always sided with Turkey. They reasoned that too few Syrians were living in Hatay. From then, Assad regarded Turkey and France as his eternal enemies and gritted his teeth.

Secondly, it was because Turkey had interfered with internal affairs. Turkey had sneakily badmouthed Assad, who was one of the Alawites of the Shi’ite sect. They had swayed several Sunni factions to start riots randomly.

Furious, Assad had deployed a JAB tank, created a terror organization to infiltrate Turkey, and supported the Kurdish PKK, which was an opposition party in Turkey.

Turkey wasn’t an easy country either. They had randomly beaten Syria’s northern regions with their superior air force and had supplied the Muslim Brotherhood, a military organization in Syria, with weapons and funds. There wasn’t an enemy like them. Korea and Japan had lasted alongside each other without direct conflict due to the sea separating them. Could that be considered fortunate?

In 1982, there was a massive uprising of Muslims from the Sunni faction, backed by Turkey. Enraged, Assad had launched napalm bombs at their hideout in Hama. Over 15,000 Syrian citizens had died as a result of extreme oppression. That was the Hama massacre.

It was an unfortunate incident, but Hafez al-Assad had achieved an incredible political gain. He had solidified his power and was recognized as a strong leader throughout the Arab world.

After gaining more supporters following the Hama massacre, Assad had become bolder. He had planned to take a shot at Turkey and nationalize the oil fields under France’s name. The Kaparja project was secretly conducted. Kaparja Valley’s ANO special forces, biological and chemical weapons, and missiles were part of his plans to shake Turkey and France.

Assad had planned a biochemical terrorist attack against France and Turkey using the ANO. The air defense strategic force was made to counter Turkey’s air force. Of course, his sister-in-law’s France jets were also its target. Assad was the Middle East’s wolf, who had secretly sharpened his teeth.

His end couldn’t justify his means. However, considering Dr. An Jung-geun and Yun Bong-gil’s achievements, Assad’s actions were understandable. Villains had their reasons, after all.

Black Mamba didn’t know about Assad’s situation, and even if he did, nothing would have changed. He didn’t have to fret about the complex historical and religious conflicts between Syria, Turkey, and France. All he had to do was complete his job and earn his keep.

He could pass 100 meters in six seconds using the fearless steps at its peak. He could pass a kilometer in a minute. Startled by the sudden change of environment three minutes into his lightweight sprint, Black Mamba exhaled.

“Huh!”

The entire scenery had changed into an open field. There was a grassland surrounded by a long stretch of cliffs. The basin filled with rocks was replaced by lush greeneries that had sprouted up around Kaparja.

Black Mamba rubbed his eyes at the refreshing sight. He hadn’t expected to see a mirage of the Sahel in Syria’s desolate northern regions.

Of course, it was real, but it looked so much like a mirage. An active fault zone had formed the area as a result of the large difference in ground elevation, but no one knew.

The basin hidden among the trees obstructed his view.

Boom—

His dimensional sight activated. The resonance spread rapidly like an opening fan. Countless presences were detected on his radar. It wasn’t the kind of situation to readily jump into.

Black Mamba immediately climbed up the cliff. Halfway through the steep hill, the watch in his right pocket stopped beeping.

Bang—

The C-4 attached to the LPG gas cylinders exploded. The gas cylinders released a large amount of hydrocarbon as it was blown apart. After 1/1,000 of a second, a vapor cloud explosion occurred in the cave. The smaller the space compared to the explosion’s volume, the higher pressure the explosion would have, and the longer the fire would last.

Baaang—

The 150-millimeter thick shield door was blown several hundred meters away. Kaparja Valley shook. The 3,000-degree Celsius firestorm swept across the cave. The air conditioners continuously supplied fresh air, and the midtemperature air continuously mixed with the hydrocarbon.

Bang—

Two more gas cylinders had exploded, releasing more hydrocarbons and causing another explosion. It was 10 times stronger than the initial blast. A powerful blast pressure struck the cave’s walls and flowed out of the entrance. The sarin gas, VX gas, and anthrax bacteria disappeared without a trace because of the immense pressure, and the 3,000-degree Celsius firestorm.

According to experimental data, an apartment’s interior columns and bearing walls would crumble when subjected to a pressure of 0.2 kilograms per square centimeters. The destruction of an interior bearing wall could lead to the destruction of an entire building.

During the second explosion in the storage facility, the immense pressure of five kilograms per square centimeters hit against the cave’s walls and ceiling. The cave, which had suffered damages from the first explosion, met its end after receiving the fatal blow.

The entire cliff shook, unable to withstand the pressure.

Rumble—

Crash—

A part of the cliff, which stood 120 meters high in the air, slowly caved in like those seen on a slow video.

Rumble—

The dust and rubble, which was floating around, blocked the sun. It was the second catastrophe.

The explosions didn’t end there. The gas that had leaked outside caused a third explosion.

Flash—

A flash of at least 1,000,000,000 candelas was reflected.

Baaang—

The firestorm swept across a radius of 300 meters.

[1] “Huh?”

[2] “I wonder, what’s going on?”