Mercenary Black Mamba

Of course, the wild creature's attack didn't work on Samedi. He spun it around like he was spinning a firecracker during a full moon and slammed it down on the ground.

Crack—

Wet soil and pebbles were sent flying upward. The bearded vulture that was causing a racket turned into a paste with one blow.

"Ouch!"

A wide smile was seen on Black Mamba as he looked at Samedi's face. Confused, Samedi wiped his forehead with his hand. Blood smeared on his hand. His big nostrils flared. His pride suffered a blow after the mere wild creature attacked him.

"You damn thing!"

Samedi lifted his leg, which was as thick as a log.

Bang—

The sole of his combat boot came down on the bearded vulture's head.

"What!"

Samedi sucked in a breath. He was expecting resistance and cracking sounds, but only wet soil splattered up. Where did that creature-turned-paste disappear to? The answer came to him immediately. Samedi, who felt a sudden chill run down the back of his head, lowered his head so fast that it cracked.

Whoosh—

His curly hair fluttered in the bearded vulture's hooked claws.

"Damn it!"

Samedi's eyes shook as he stared at its disappearing tail. How was the b*stard flying when it was supposed to be dead? Samedi was suddenly skeptical about his strength.

"Uaaaa, it's a zombie vulture!"

"Uuuu, Zakar Houngan!"

Olonge and Kidamba started trembling. Zakar Houngan referred to the highest-ranking Vodou priest. The priest was a scary existence who could turn humans and animals into zombies. There had been occasions where several Mbuti Pygmy villages lost their young children to the zombie vulture.

If a child was done in by a leopard, there would be marks left behind. If eaten by a zombie vulture, there wouldn't even be marks left behind. When children disappeared without a trace, villagers gave up trying to find them thinking that it was the zombie vulture's doing. Spellcasters and priests were much more fearsome to them than evil spirits and the devil.

Kaaoooooh—

The bearded vulture turned and soared into the sky. It disappeared high above the canopy regardless of the heavy rain. Samedi's face tensed up. The bearded vulture's aura was great. He immediately pulled out his Squeaker. Just as he finished assembling the handle, the bearded vulture descended from the sky like a meteor.

"Amule amule bind!"

An eerie spell flowed out of the cave.

"Woah!"

Samedi's eyes widened to the point that it was bulging out. His mind grew foggy, as though he was drowning in some deep lake. He couldn't move, as though all the tendons of his body were severed.

Clack—

The Squeaker in his hands fell.

Whoosh—

The bearded vulture stabbed Samedi's neck and shot back up. Samedi, who had part of his neck torn out, staggered like a drunk man.

Black Mamba's eyes darkened. He knew that the Vodou priest was inside the cave upon hearing the spell.

Whoosh—

The Rakshasa flew out. It wrapped itself around the wings of the zombie vulture that flew away after attacking.

Twang—

Black Mamba, who dragged the zombie vulture back, grabbed its neck with his Billion's Water Armor. Its bloodshot eyes looked just like the eyes of the zombies he saw at Samaria farm.

"Zombie? It seems like our ill fate continues."

Craaack—

His Billion's Water Armor pulled the zombie vulture's neck without hesitation.

Crack—

The Billion's Water Armor also pierced and crushed its chest. The zombie vulture that was violently resisting fell limp.

"Kugh-"

A suppressed groan sounded from the cave. The aura that restricted Samedi collapsed. Samedi, who was staggering, regained his balance and stood up straight.

"Are you ok?"

"No. I'm really embarrassed."

Samedi shook his head from side to side. Although the wound on his neck had automatically healed and scabbed over, he was very pissed.

Bang—

His heavy foot tore the zombie vulture apart.

Bang—

Bang—

The zombie vulture, which had its bones crushed and muscles shredded, turned into a pancake and blended with the ground.

"I'm going to kill him."

Samedi, who finished venting his anger, stomped into the cave.

Keeee—

An eerie noise rang out from the darkness. Black Mamba turned on his lantern. A large snake lifted itself into a stand, raising its head and flicking its tongue. Leaning against a wall was an old man whose skin looked like tree bark. Blood was trickling down the corner of the man's mouth.

"Huh! Nehwalt![1]"

Olonge, who followed after them, stepped back immediately. There was a large snake with a head the size of his head. His entire limbs started trembling at the sight of its vertically slitted grayish-white eyes.

"Eo, eo!"

Olonge and Kidamba ran frantically out of the cave. The Pygmies were more afraid of evil snake creatures than leopards. That was because aside from their instinctive fear, the kind of pain that one had to endure after getting bitten to death by a venomous snake was horrible.

"It's big!"

That was all Black Mamba had to say. The yellow snake with brown stripes was over 10 meters long. The Ituri Rainforest's ecosystem was certainly not normal. Regular animals were one width smaller than the animals outside the forest, but there were also creatures beyond imagination.

"Baron Samedi!" The old priest spat out, frothing blood at his mouth.

His words carried evil intent and fear. He heard that term from Barungo before. It was something along the lines of the God of Death that ate spirits.

"Houngan!" Black Mamba spat out viciously.

You could tell apart a Vodou Houngan by their blue eyes that shone like sapphires and eerie aura. The object he was holding was a human wrist that had been chemically processed, with only bones left behind. The image of Barungo from Samaria farm almost overlapped with the b*stard.

"Who are you?"

"Amule Bakir!" The priest mumbled without answering.

Keeee—

Kurrr—

The large snake puked out something from its stomach. A dark form covered in liquid slowly came out of its mouth.

"No way!"

Samedi's eyes were blazing with fury. The snake puked out a half-digested human. He wanted to tear apart the old man and snake immediately. His primal animosity toward evil burned with bloodlust. His mind went blank with rage.

"Bakir, Ukbulara[2]!"

Keeek—

The large snake raised its head to Samedi's. Its vertically slitted grayish-white eyes glimmered.

Tsss—

The large snake spat out poison like a water gun out of the blue. The ball of poison landed right on Samedi's face from five meters away.

"Damn it!"

Samedi covered his eyes with his palms.

Splat—

The yellow-colored poison dripped down his palms. There was a lot, and its aim was accurate.

Kirrrr—

The snake extended the hood around its neck. The only kind of snakes that could shoot poison and extend their hoods were cobra snakes. The problem was that the snake was 20 times larger than a king cobra. Anacondas would back away at its size.

"Even snakes think I'm an idiot now!"

Samedi, who was seething, spouted speculation. The king snake showed no signs of fear. It seemed happy to see its food rolling in.

Shhh—

The snake's neck, which was folded in an S-shape, unfolded like a spring, and its head, which was the size of a soccer ball, flew in.

"Amule amule bind!"

The old priest chanted. Samedi hesitated. He shook his head, but the energy that restrained his hands lingered throughout his body again. The king snake bit his shoulder and wrapped itself around Samedi in a flash. It was so fast that lightning couldn't compare.

"Ha!"

Black Mamba directed resonance waves at the old man.

"Huuuh!"

The old priest gasped. Samedi, who regained control of his hands and feet, grabbed the head and pulled it off his shoulder.

Tsss—

The king snake used its strength again. It was the kind of strength that could crush an elephant instantly. Samedi's breathing hitched.

Crack—

His ribs cracked.

"Yeaaa!"

Samedi used his strength too. His biceps, triceps, and lats were bulging out.

Craaaaack—

The king snake's head crushed in his hand.

Craaack—

The king snake wrapped its body around tightly despite its crushed skull. Samedi grabbed the king snake's upper and lower jaw and used his strength.

Riiipp—

It was torn from mouth to neck. Samedi utilized his specialty of tearing mouths. Still, its body continued to tighten around him.

"F***ing hell, what kind of shit is this!"

Samedi grew more annoyed and started tearing apart the snake's body mercilessly. His left hand, which only had three fingers, dug into the snake's body. He tore apart the king snake like a dried squid snack.

"Oh dear, he ruined its skin."

Black Mamba clicked his tongue. Snakeskin sold well in Champs-Élysées. Although Black Mamba was a billionaire, he was still petty.

"Damn, it feels weird!"

Samedi, who was covered in snake blood, flung the tattered snake away. The zombie human and zombie snake king's fight ended solemnly. The cave reeked of blood.

"Old man, what is your identity?"

"Kuuuu! You damn root and branches of evil, I will kill you!"

The old priest exuded a deadly aura, but his condition wasn't that great. More blood trickled down the side of his mouth, and his body shook as though he was drunk. It seemed like the forced disconnection with the giant snake affected his condition, causing him to be out of his mind.

"You know French. Do you know Ntaganda?"

Black Mamba's voice carried resonance waves.

"Hu!"

The Zakar Houngan came to his senses at the explosive voice ringing in his head.

"Who are you?"

"I am Ddu-bai-buru-pa. Who are you?"

"I am Zakar Houngan Kran. General Ntanganda is my disciple," Kran admitted.

His opponent was Baron Samedi, the God of Death that ate spirits. He should have avoided them when the spirits protested, but it was too late. There was no avoiding fate.

"So the information about Ntaganda being a Vodou priest was true. Are you holding any hostages?"

"Hehe, figure it out yourself."

"What are the hostages inside?"

"Hehe, I don't remember. Figure that out yourself too."

"One extracted bone will help you remember."

Samedi appeared.

"Hehe, I smell yorunba on you. Poor doll, serve me as your master."

A sticky aura rushed in.

"Kuagh!"

Bang—

Like a wrecking ball used for demolishing at construction sites, his fist landed on Kran's head. The body of the old man, who was now headless, fell backward. That all happened before Black Mamba could stop him.

"Damn!"

Samedi fell for the sneaky priest's trick. Black Mamba, who was planning to draw some information from him, clicked his tongue. Samedi turned to look at Black Mamba with a guilty expression on his face.

"You, are you okay?"

"No problem."

Black Mamba tilted his head. The Tight-Fillet Spell should have activated when Samedi committed murder. Either the b*stard they just killed wasn't human, or Samedi's Tight-Fillet Spell had stopped working.

Teacher must have done something.

Like always, there was no point worrying over something that they had no answers to. Samedi started rummaging the half-digested human.

"Wakil, it's a soldier. I see the French military insignia."

"What? Oh, right! There are people inside."

Black Mamba ran into the cave without a second thought.

Flutter—

Several bats flew out messily. The further he went, the cave grew more humid. It meant lava was still active in that underground cave.

At the 200-meter mark, the cave got wider. A room that underwent a few artificial adjustments appeared. Three men laid side by side in the room.

"GIGN!"

There was a round Gendarmerie emblem on their black combat suits. Although it was ruined, it wasn't to the point that it was unrecognizable. According to the DGSE's information, eight GIGN members supposedly disappeared without a trace. It was ridiculous how the great GIGN turned into nothing but snake food.

"Hey, do you hear me?"

They were breathing and had no external injuries, but they showed no reaction. Samedi placed a finger on their necks. There was still a pulse.

"Wakil, can we save them?"

"Since they didn't become snake food, they'll probably live for a long time."

Ulumbo, who followed them a while later, trembled. The great master's words didn't sound like a joke. He didn't know that Ituri would be that scary deep inside. He never wanted to step inside ever again.

"Let's move them to the cave's entrance first."

Samedi and the others carefully moved the GIGN members as though they were handling glass. They didn't administer any cardiac stimulants because they were afraid that they would suddenly die.

"The rain stopped. Ulumbo, check if there are any edos or Dzanga Bai nearby."

While they were fighting quite pointlessly, the downpour ended like a lie. The forest filled with white fog made it difficult to distinguish the cardinal points.

"He says if you walk to the left of the cave for some time, there's a clearing where one poops."

"How specific. Samedi, go check."

"Okay."

Samedi ran out of the cave and came back after a while.

"Wakil, there's no canopy 300 meters from here. The land's muddy, so it'll be hard for a helicopter to land."

"They can be hoisted."

The Chinook that received Black Mamba's call came flying over immediately. The Chinook missed its mark several times despite the accurate coordinates provided by the GPS. The fog that filled up the entire forest ended up blocking their sight.

While the Chinook hovered 30 meters in the air, the mercenaries moved down the fast rope. The patients on the medical beds were hoisted one by one. The half-digested corpse went up last.

"Phew, what a horrible place." Paul whistled.

"This is definitely not a place for humans to live."

"Friend, you're France's ball of luck. Everything is progressing well ever since you came along."

Paul patted Black Mamba's shoulder.

"It's all luck. My ancestors must be protecting me."

Black Mamba smiled bitterly. Ituri wasn't a place where one could survive with just good luck. One had to be strong for luck to follow. There was no luck if one died. If the GIGN were strong, they wouldn't have turned into snake food because of a houngan, and the case would have already been resolved.

"Friend, you should be careful."

There was worry written all over Paul's face.

"Non problem! There's no need to watch my back. It's not a big deal."

Paul smiled at the cynical response.

"That's true. Is there anything you need?"

"Not for now."

"I trust your abilities but still, be careful."

Paul patted his shoulder one last time before moving up the fast rope.

[1] Large snake!

[2] Kill.