King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

Chapter 184 The King's Heir

Deep within a camp in the Congo Jungle...

Boykin discarded a syringe, laughing maniacally as he swung an ivory scepter, continuously whipping a woman's back.

Upon hearing the woman's agonized screams, Boykin issued a sigh of satisfaction, akin to one who had just smoked marijuana, then turned around, dressed, and exited an underground chamber.

Observing the guard waiting at the door, constantly staring straight ahead, Boykin stretched out his hand to rub the mouths of two muzzled hyenas, then released the ropes around their necks, removed the muzzles, and drove them into the basement.

Within minutes, a deeply harrowing scream emanated from the basement.

Boykin, seeing the trembling legs of the two guards, smirked and patted his belly, saying, "Inform Boko Haram that I'm now available to meet them."

The young guard vigorously nodded and ran off as if fleeing for his life.

Boykin, seeming pleased with his own intimidating presence, prodded another guard with his ivory scepter and said, "The quality of women lately isn't too good. Tell Balu to be more careful."

After speaking, Boykin paid no heed to the guard's expression and hummed a strange tune as he approached a group of soldiers walking toward him, then proceeded towards a building that resembled a miniature palace, surrounded by the soldiers.

No one knew that Boykin's true identity was actually akin to a prince of Central Africa.

His grandfather was the last king of Central Africa, Bokassa!

The man's life was one of tyranny, ultimately deemed too inhumane by his own people while he was on a trip to Liberia, resulting in a death sentence and his subsequent expulsion from his royal court by Colonel Ka who had received the news.

After being exiled abroad for a while, the king tried to secretly return home to see if there was still a chance for him, but he was recognized just as he boarded the plane and was arrested upon disembarking in Bangui, then swiftly moved from trial to execution.

After World War II, Africa saw a surge in colonial independence movements, including Central Africa.

The French, aiming to maintain control after the independence of Central Africa, supported Bokassa, who had once served them, enabling him to overthrow the president and then declare a constitutional amendment to become the king of Central Africa.

Bokassa's coronation ceremony alone cost most of the Central African treasury, and his three-year reign as king extended tyranny across all aspects of Central Africa.

Eventually, the French could not tolerate it anymore and shifted their support back to the deposed former president, leading the overwhelmed people of Central Africa to sentence Bokassa to death.

The legends about Bokassa in Central Africa could fill a book of terrifying tales that could stop children from crying.

And Boykin was Bokassa's grandson.

This man inherited his grandfather's ruthless genes but dared not operate in Central Africa, for if recognized, every group primarily composed of its people, whether government troops, opposition, guerrillas, or even drug traffickers, would attack him.

Thus, he could only act incognito, utilizing his money and a group of cornered loyal soldiers to establish an anti-government militia in Congo, claiming to be the 'Liberator of the People'.

The ivory scepter in his hand, though stripped of its elaborate decorations, was the same one Bokassa had once used to kill hundreds of children.

Boykin was much like his grandfather in temperament; he may not have been a fitting king, but he deeply understood how to rule a troop through fear.

As his soldiers started with robbery as per his orders, then moved to murder, and eventually got accustomed to torture and even cannibalism.

Those soldiers had no way out but to follow their cruel leader down a dark path.

Fear dominated their thinking, not only instilling fear in others but also deeply rooting itself in their minds; they instinctively grouped with peers for a sense of safety, aware that going alone or betraying could lead to facing the same fears.

Basically, everyone in the border town of Yakoma knew of Boykin's brutality, but no one had actually seen him; instead, legends of his brutality spread through the streets, adding a layer of mystery around him.

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In fact, Boykin frequently visited Yakoma, where he owned a mansion, but he was always very low-profile because he feared that the army of Yakoma, perhaps even other anti-government armed forces there, would join forces to kill him.

Now, he wanted to change his universally hated image and identity, so he needed an ally—a powerful, wealthy, and influential ally.

The infamous Boko Haram and a group from West Asia approached him at this time.

The reason was that the coca planting areas Boykin engineered in the jungle had reached a specific size and were soon ready for harvest.

The latitude of Congo is close to that of Peru and Colombia in South America, where Boykin found a skilled botanist who applied non-traditional coca planting techniques from Africa, attracting formidable 'friends'.

Meanwhile, his camp was put on the highest alert because those 'friends' didn't come alone; they brought a large group of armed men.

...

As Qiao and his group approached where Boykin was located, Antar aboard the cargo ship sent out a warning.

They quickly moved the ship ashore, hiding it inside a small river bay, and everyone gathered together, looking at the images provided by Antar and starting their discussion in surprise.

In Joe Ga's view, those brutal hicks nesting in the jungle did not deserve decent houses as the jungle environment did not allow for the construction of good buildings.

However, what he did not expect was that Boykin had actually built himself a 'Palace'.

Although this palace was not as big as their county's government building, in the Congo Jungle, it was indeed a genuine 'Palace'.

Centered around the Palace, soldiers' quarters were scattered. Should a battle occur, these soldiers could quickly rush to defend the King.

He had already clarified this from the confessions of some captives, but seeing the actual thing still made Joe Ga somewhat incredulous, unsure of what this guy named Boykin was plotting.

The damn money spent on building a palace in the jungle could have built him a manor several times larger in Yakoma or some other city, or even allowed him to live next to the president in Kinshasa.

With the bloody map obtained from 'Poison Wolf' and a comparison made with the footage from Antar, Joe Ga was shocked to find that the military arrangements were completely different.

Not only was the entire camp under martial law, but the number of militants had nearly doubled.

Inside the wooden walls of Boykin Camp, a group of tough-looking Black guys stood ready, causing Joe Ga to touch his neck unconsciously, wondering if his operation had been compromised.

They only had 17 men, and even with a helicopter, the difficulty seemed absurd facing nearly 500 highly vigilant people in the camp.

The footage sent back by Antar's drone was clear because Boykin Camp had all its lights turned on.

Watching the militants who seemed to be dispersing the crowd and the inexplicable movements within the camp, Joe Ga held his head, puzzled, and said, "What on earth is going on?"

Antar pointed at the screen where a few men were carrying a roasted cow towards the Palace, and with a thoughtful expression, she said, "We've got visitors…"

As she spoke, Antar seemed to suddenly remember something; she rewound the footage to a few minutes earlier, then zoomed in, revealing two big-bearded West Asian men on the screen.

"Hold it right there, don't move!"

Sanderson, who had been quiet all along, suddenly gestured for Antar to pause the footage and then said, "Zoom in, zoom in more!"

Realizing something, Antar quickly activated the image editing mode, cropped the images of the two big-bearded men, and then zoomed in.

Sanderson leaned in for a closer look, then let out a long breath and said, "It's Fahd, one of the top ten people in the ISIS Organization. I've seen his photo on a wanted playing card. The person next to him I don't recognize, but from his demeanor, he's probably not a nobody."

When Sanderson pronounced the name Fahd, Antar's pupils suddenly contracted. This name was not universally known in Syria or Central Asia, but anyone who had crossed paths with 'ISIS' or followed the United States Army's wanted lists would definitely know this guy.

Fahd had done many unbelievable things in Central Asia. His violence was aimed not only at foreigners but also at locals.

Nis, looking at the suddenly silent group, pointed at the big bearded-man next to Fahd and said, "He's from Libya, and moreover, a main assistant to a warlord from the south. His name is Mufarrah, formerly a Major.

I met him once at Surt Military Academy…"

Nis's words had everyone exchanging glances — 'ISIS,' 'Libyan southern warlords; how did these unrelated figures end up together with Boykin?

But that was not the end of it. Karman suddenly pointed at Mufarrah on the screen standing next to a muscular Black man and said, "Look at the tattoos on their bodies, they are from Boko Haram!

Boss, you should know, the moment you decided to take on business in the Central African Republic, you were bound to encounter them.

This Boykin is certainly more than just an anti-government militant leader; he is also a drug trafficker.

Those turban-wearing terrorist organizations have no interests in Central Africa and Congo; this place is merely a link in their drug smuggling routes, and this Boykin is obviously crucial.

I don't know exactly why, but if he dies, the answer won't matter anymore!"

After listening, Joe Ga said incredulously, "What is this big fish doing here?

I can't see what makes this Boykin worth it…"

While standing not far away and examining the surrounding vegetation, Bolivia's 'Xiao Luo' snapped a branch and walked up to Joe Ga, handing him the branch, then shook his head and said, "This might be the reason."

Joe Ga looked at the ordinary twig in his hand, furrowing his brows and said, "What is this?"

'Xiao Luo' spread his hands and said, "At first, I was a bit skeptical that Africa had this thing, but I've dealt with too many drug dealers...

This is coca leaves, and this entire area is full of them.

They should ideally thrive in highland areas; the variety here is a bit odd, but I would never mistake it."

Saying this, 'Xiao Luo' crushed a coca leaf in his hand, then looked at Joe Ga and said, "Boss, this stuff is very dangerous because it attracts very dangerous people."