The tribe members began working quickly to move the wounded to the medical tent, while the warrior Esmir, accompanied by a group of fighters, went to follow the footprints they had found at the site of the attack, hoping to uncover the enemy’s location. Meanwhile, Mike and his companions sat inside the chief's tent, where Chief Mano sat in front of them, surrounded by an atmosphere of seriousness.

Mano began speaking in a calm voice, but with the weight of time behind it:

“The truth is, there are two reasons we greet visitors with such warmth. The first is to show respect and appreciation to the lord, but the second… is because of a visitor we wronged terribly in the past.”

A silence filled the room for a moment before he continued in a more serious tone:

“A long time ago, that visitor tried to warn us of a conspiracy being secretly plotted by a group of tribe members. This group worshiped the lord, not as a powerful being, but as a supreme god. They were planning to assassinate the chief at the time and install his son, who was one of their followers, as the new leader. It wasn’t out of loyalty to him, but a desire to control the tribe and spread their beliefs by force.”

Mano looked at Mike and the others before continuing:

“That man, that visitor who tried to warn our ancestors, discovered this plan before it could be executed and tried to alert them. But he was met only with accusations of treason and ingratitude. They considered him nothing more than an outsider trying to stir up trouble among the tribe members. I wasn’t there, of course, but I don’t blame our ancestors for their position, even though they were wrong. It’s hard for anyone to trust a stranger over their own kin. They should have investigated his words, but unfortunately, they did not.”

He paused for a moment before adding with bitterness:

“In the end, that man was banished from the tribe, and nothing was heard of him after that. His name was… Max Jackson.”

Exchanges of glances took place before Mano spoke again, his voice calm yet filled with obvious regret:

“Five years later, our ancestors learned that Max was right. One dark night, all the torches in the village suddenly went out, plunging the area into darkness. Some warriors sensed that something was wrong and made their way to the chief’s tent with torches. When they arrived… they found themselves facing a group of armed men who were about to kill the chief, hidden in the darkness.”

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He took a deep breath before continuing:

“But the warriors hesitated for no moment. A fierce battle broke out inside the tent, but it didn’t last long, as the guards managed to control the situation and capture the attackers. During the investigation, everything was revealed… the group Max had warned us about, and five years had passed since his exile.”

Mano lifted his gaze to Mike and said firmly:

“When their plan failed, they had no choice but to flee. They gathered their followers and disappeared into an unknown part of the island. From that day on, they began launching sporadic attacks, either on our village or anyone who arrived on the island. They began seeing us as their enemies… and we, too, consider them our enemies.”

A silence followed for a moment, before Mike interrupted with an important question:

“How did they know that if they stole parts of the submarines, they wouldn’t work?”

Roger sighed as if the answer was heavy on him, then said:

“I remember when I told you we thought you had been attacked? And you asked me who could attack you on this island? Well, these extremists no longer see newcomers to the island as guests of the lord, but as sacrifices to be offered. They kidnap visitors, extract information from them that is useful to them, especially regarding ways to escape the island. Then they completely sabotage them, making it impossible to leave the island.”

Mike shivered and said in a low voice:

“That’s horrifying… Do you mean they kidnapped someone who worked on a submarine and forced him to reveal how to disable it?”

Roger nodded slowly and said:

“Exactly. They believe that the monster is a god, and they see any attempt to leave the island as an act of rebellion against its sacred will. Therefore, they are willing to use any means, and any sacrifice, to prevent anyone from leaving.”

Jonathan struck the ground angrily and said:

“So… does that mean we won’t be able to retrieve those parts?”

Roger responded seriously:

“Not easily.”

Jonathan frowned and asked:

“I don’t understand. What do you mean by that?”

Jones sighed deeply and answered:

“This means we’re going to enter into a war to retrieve the stolen parts and escape the island. It won’t be simple. We’ll have to fight.”

Mano nodded and said:

“You’re right, but there’s a big problem: we don’t know the location of their village, nor where they’re hiding the stolen parts.”

At that moment, Esmir rushed into the tent, panting from exhaustion, and said quickly:

“Sorry to interrupt, but we tracked the enemy! We found their village’s location, and we know where they’re hiding the stolen parts!”

Everyone’s eyes widened as Esmir continued with enthusiasm:

“The enemy’s village is located in the northern part of the island. They threw the parts they took into a cave in the middle of the village. I hope this information is useful to you.”

Jones couldn’t hide a slight smile as he said:

“This isn’t just information… this is the start of our plan for an attack.”

End of Chapter Ten