Chapter 250 - Chapter 28, Episode 2: I Toll The Bell For Myself
Chapter 250 – Chapter 28, Episode 2: I Toll The Bell For Myself
He couldn’t hear the birds. The sleeping birds had been struck with lightning on a clear day. Some birds had turned into mush because of the debris, some birds had ruptured organs because of the explosion, and some birds were scattered around the valley’s floor because the aftershock had swept it away. Those that were still alive struggled to keep its beaks open. There was no way that it was yawning.
The world wasn’t quiet; He just had his own problems. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t hear any of the words he’d said. His ears were deafened. He pushed his pinky into his earhole and stirred it. Blood was smeared on his fingertip.
“Nimi Jotto, this is what happens.”
His eardrums had been affected by the explosion’s blast waves. A slight headache followed. His ears started ringing as though a bee had entered and stung it. Following that, other parts of his body started complaining of pain. There was a large bump on his head, and despite suffering from several burns, the pain only rushed in later.
“Thank god.”
He welcomed the pain. It was a good reaction, which meant that his senses were awakening. Pain was an evolutionary mechanism that protected the body.
He twisted into a lotus position on the spot. He controlled his mind using the mind centering technique and built up his resonance to heal his injured organs. His immediate priority was to recover his unstable body senses. Without his senses, Black Mamba was no better than a missile with a broken radar.
Boom—
An intense vibration spread across the valley. Black Mamba, who was in the lotus position, didn’t even move. His physical senses hadn’t returned yet. He felt dizzy, as though the sky and earth had switched places. A floating sensation overcame his body.
Two types of faults created earthquakes. A deep fault zone resulted in large-scale earthquakes while a surface fault zone resulted in small earthquakes. Kaparja Valley came to be a long time ago due to the changes of a normal fault zone, which led to the formation of a hanging wall block.
The terrain of a small strike-slip fault creep, which sat above a deep fault zone, was Kaparja Valley. For this kind of fault zone, a minuscule amount of impact on the deep fault zone in its core resulted in immense surface changes.
When a reverse fault zone or a normal fault zone which slid downward vertically received large impacts on its surface, the ground would change, making it more noticeable. Finding it was quicker too. A strike-slip fault, however, didn’t change the surface as much.
Kaparja’s lower block had been moving side-to-side, five millimeters a year, since ages ago. Because it was a strike-slip fault that moved side-to-side instead of a normal fault dip, it was hard to notice without any long-term examination. No one knew that Kaparja Valley was created from a normal fault zone, either. The right cliff of 100 meters tall was the footwall block.
The constant impacts from the explosion’s blast waves aggravated the core of the deep active fault zone. A stable deep active fault zone didn’t even move after receiving the impact of tons of explosives. However, Kaparja Valley had an unstable deep active fault zone.
The plate, which had received tensile stress, slipped straight down. By the whiplash effect, the small movement in the deep focus fault left a massive impact on the surface fault zone.
A fault required a lot of energy to displace, but once its surface started to misalign, the rocks slid down instantly. Earthquakes usually occurred at that very moment.
Not all active fault zones were dangerous. A fault zone where a recent earthquake had occurred was considered safe. An inactive fault zone that had accumulated a lot of energy for a long time was a feared presence. Black Mamba, who had been playing with fire, finally pulled the trigger of Kaparja’s active fault zone. The surface of the fault zone sank three to four meters.
Boom—
This time, the ground shook. It was an aggressive vibration that twisted his body.
“Ha! Is there still anything left to explode?”
Amidst calming down his internal injuries, Black Mamba’s meditation dissolved. Unfortunately, Black Mamba had simply considered the vibration as another explosion. He patted his ringing ears as he climbed up the valley. The valley became narrower. The dam wasn’t far.
Four kilometers upstream from the Berkut missile camp, a rockfill dam blocked the narrow valley of 40 meters wide. A rockfill dam was stacked with stones so that it could withstand the water’s load and filled up with concrete to reinforce the cutoff wall. The structure was resistant to the pressure of water flowing horizontally but vulnerable to the pressure of water flowing vertically.
Craaaack—
The cutoff wall started cracking because of the collapsing hanging wall block.
Creeeaaak—
The footwall block, which had been supporting the dam’s lower structure as a bedrock, started sliding down. A distance of over three meters was made between the cliff on the right side and the valley’s rift surface.
A rockfill dam maintained a stable position with the weight of the dam itself. However, if the lower weight fell into disarray, it could no longer withstand the horizontal water pressure. There were at least three tons of water collected from the rainfall.
Crack—
The center of the dam, which failed to overcome the horizontal water pressure, snapped open.
Bang—
The dam of 20 meters tall exploded out at once. 300,000,000 tons of water, which were trapped within, roared. The small and large rocks that made up the dam flew into the air like leaves. The water dragon that had found its freedom jumped up to a height of 30 meters.
Roooar—
The water dragon’s roar shook the valley.
Cling—
The intake screen flew away like a piece of paper. 0.1 second later, the water wheel flew away, and water rushed over the power plant.
The power plant was overcome by the tremendous pressure like a biscuit crushed under feet. Following its demise, the electrical substation was destroyed.
Crack—
Crack—
Sparks scattered across the water’s surface almost instantaneously. The entire transformer was uprooted. It didn’t take two seconds for the remaining traces of the power plant to be erased.
The workers in the power plant knew nothing. The water dragon struck 20 humans at dawn while they were sleeping. On top of that, the water dragon chewed apart their fragile bodies after throwing them into the air. Their organs ruptured from the water pressure, and their heads were crushed by the rocks and concrete that rushed toward them at the speed of sound. They returned to Allah’s side without feeling any pain.
The valley’s upstream, which was barely 40 to 60 meters, couldn’t withstand the water dragon.
Woosh—
The water dragon, which overflowed the valley of 100 meters deep, poured down at 50 meters per second. Even rocks the size of houses were swept away by the water like autumn leaves. The same went for trees. Trees were uprooted, and its bodies split apart from being swept away by the water storm.
“Uh-h!”
The ground rose and fell. Black Mamba nearly collapsed from losing his balance. That wasn’t a good sign. He felt something strangling his entire body. He didn’t know what it was, and he’d never experienced it before.
“An earthquake!”
Black Mamba slapped his forehead a little too late with his palm. He’d created inertia from the continuous explosions. He thought that the ground shaking was an obvious consequence of his fireplay. If his dimensional sight had been unimpaired, he would have realized the problem earlier.
He suddenly remembered the upstream dam. What if the dam collapsed? An earthquake wasn’t the problem. His mind flashed into action. A wary gaze turned to the cliffs on both sides of the valley. The valley’s width was barely 200 meters, and the height of both cliffs was about 100 to 120 meters. The plan to blow up the dam disappeared from his mind.
He’d be buried if the upstream dam exploded and crushed if the cliffs collapsed. The trauma from being crushed under the Mungyeong Silver Mine’s coal mountain in his middle school years rushed back. His liver shrunk into the size of a pea.
It took at least three minutes to climb the cliff of over 100 meters high. What if the cliff collapsed during his climb? He’d become a fly struck by a fly swatter. Unless he enacted the body’s ki weight decreasing skill like those mentioned in martial arts novels, he wouldn’t be able to escape the disaster.
“Ah!”
Black Mamba screamed while actively looking for an escape route.
Kuuuuu—
A water wall was approaching. It was a mad water dragon. The water, which filled the entire valley even as it rushed down, was at least 50 meters tall. His mind went blank.
“Aaaaaaah!”
The Paranthropus’ cells roared as it sensed a threat. Adrenaline gushed. Two pairs of strong vacuums sucked in oxygen as fast as it could. Blood, which flowed 10 times faster, raced through his veins at 50 meters per second.
The cells that were supplied with plenty of oxygen released ATP in large amounts.
Voom—
Voom—
The atmosphere around his body shook. His strength doubled. The dense muscle fibers contracted energetically. Black Mamba jumped to the right cliff at the speed of light. He skipped over 30 meters in one jump.
Flick—
Flick—
It wasn’t the fearless steps or anything else. He crossed 100 meters in four jumps and attached himself to the cliff. The water wall was right before him. The pressure of the wind against the water wall hit his body first.
The American black bear climbed trees very well despite weighing over 100 kilograms. The secret to its climbing skill was its strong shoulder muscles. With its strong shoulder muscles, it could drive a toenail of three centimeters long into a tree and pull its body up as if it was jumping. On the other hand, the honey badger used its sharp claws that were almost 10 centimeters long and leg strength to climb trees. Black mamba was a combination of the American black bear and the honey badger.
“Uah!”
He used up a lifetime’s worth of strength. He jumped up 25 meters and attached himself onto the cliff. He planted his fingers onto the cliff. He raised his body with muscles that were 30 times stronger than a human’s. He jumped up 20 meters at one go.
Crash—
When he was about to jump once more, the water wall crashed over him.
“Aaah!”
A desperate scream was heard, which was unlike Black Mamba. The roaring water buried his scream. Was the impact comparable to being hit with a large hammer by the legendary Titans? His intestines twisted.
Crack—
The rock he’d been holding crumbled.
In the presence of nature, Black Mamba was nothing but a stray leaf. The turbulent currents immediately swallowed him amidst his screaming. All that remained in his hand were crushed pieces of rocks.
50 meters per second was equivalent to 180 kilometers per hour. A wind speed of 50 meters per second could blow away a human. What would become of a human who was swept away by the currents moving at the same speed?
Even veteran divers would give up diving if the currents’ flow rate was three knots or more (1.6 meters per second). If it wasn’t for the Paranthropus’ body, his limbs would have torn apart at the moment of impact.
The raging currents crashed down at the speed of a sports car running on the autobahn. Black Mamba couldn’t regain his senses. He was swung around by the roaring water dragon and couldn’t tell the sky apart from the ground. However, there was something far scarier than the turbulent currents.
As if fired from a catapult or a ballista, rocks and logs that were swept away by the currents rushed at him. A direct hit meant immediate death.
Crack—
Bang—
Even in his confused state, he instinctively crushed the rocks and logs that were rushing toward him.
At this rate, he would turn into a dead water spirit. He struggled to move his hands and feet. He still couldn’t swim even after his rear had been kicked several times by the swimming instructor in the Mediterranean. It was impossible to outmaneuver a water dragon in the first place. He was barely avoiding and pushing away the obstacles instead.
Riip—
His helmet’s chin strap tore. The helmet disappeared in a flash. Black Mamba didn’t even realize a piece of his protection gear had disappeared.
He tried to float back up to the water’s surface, but it didn’t work. The strong currents bounced, flipped, and moved him around like a ball. He couldn’t even locate the water’s surface.
Black Mamba widened his eyes. He knew he’d die if he continued to move along the currents. He activated the separated disconnection skill of the combined repetitive expelling theory. He pressed the tip of his tongue on the roof of his mouth and stiffened his perineum muscles. He willingly circulated the ki inside his body around the conception vessel and lung meridian. He could only become one with the water after he calmed his heart. He could only walk on a thin line of hope after he figured the water’s movement. He barely got into position.
“Ugh!”
A strong impact was inflicted on his back when he tried to ride the currents using his resonance. His sight turned blurry. He’d consumed a mouthful of water during the attack. He lost his balance. A wooden branch around his body size was secured onto a strap of his backpack
Strip—
The strap that was made of Kevlar and aramid fibers tore.
Rumble—
The log, which scraped his back, flowed down with the currents. If it had hit him directly, he would have died. He felt a chill in his heart.
The currents also ripped the backpack’s waist and chest straps. There were emergency rations, chocolates, and weapons in the backpack. Black Mamba quickly reached for it. However, he caught hold of the Gorgon’s handle instead of the backpack. The backpack, which had persisted with him through life and death situations, disappeared. Now wasn’t the time to mourn its loss when he was about to die.
Danger approached the vulnerable being who had lost his helmet and backpack.
Bang bang—
The objects floating on the water continuously banged onto his head and back. He didn’t have time to avoid all of it when he was being swept away. The moment he avoided a large log, a shadow crossed him.
Crack—
A strong impact landed on the back of his head.
Mother!
He lost his consciousness.
A transformer, which was the size of a mid-sized refrigerator, hit the back of Black Mamba’s head and disappeared. It was the power plant’s symbol of resistance after it had received a sudden attack.
150 seconds had passed since the dam’s explosion. The water rushed down eight kilometers and reached a point that was one kilometer away from Ruman. The Berkut’s storage centers were located there.
Rumble—
Water was forcefully pulled into the crevice of a collapsed cliff. Black Mamba was also pulled in by the undercurrent. Perhaps it was retribution for ending so many lives. Black Mamba, who was swept away by the currents, fell underground through the wide slot of the cliff’s surface. The water dragon, which had confined the evil, rushed steadily into the lower streams.
Syria’s Third Airborne Brigade independent advance team had moved with the night’s help. Brigadier general Massud, who had received the president’s orders, took the lead in a T-62 tank. He was running out of patience from losing contact with a helicopter.
Three T-62 tanks, which were known as the king of melee, and three T-55’s led the way with a roar. Three BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles and 50 trucks followed. The trucks were packed with armed soldiers, to the point that movement was limited.
It was a large-scale advance team that involved 1,800 members out of 5,200 brigade members. Brigadier general Massud’s orders were to mobilize the brigade’s reserve vehicles and to commandeer common transportations.