Seeing her Camelot friend was captured, Cahyaningrum was seized by panic. She hastily aimed her catapult again, but the snake-like grip of Boko Rombeng's hand ensnared her as well, bringing both her and Alicia crashing down to the ground.

Cahyaningrum was but a simple village girl in Lojitengara. But Alicia? A lass whose skin fairer than all the village blossoms was another breed. Who would not be allured by the smooth yet supple skin of a European lady? Not only his body, but his eyes, too, were soaked with lust as he beheld the bespectacled lass' curvaceous frame, let alone her sweet face adorned in crimson hair. The round glasses perched on her nose bridge added to the impression of her vulnerability before the bandit chief whose passion was writhing. No one could tell how many twisted thoughts had crossed Boko Rombeng's head. His open lewd behaviour made Alicia squirm in disgust.

"Sugeng sonten, sweetheart! Never before have I stumbled upon such a goddess in the wilds of Yawadwipa," Boko Rombeng teased.

"Let go of me!" Alicia screamed. "Let go, ya lecher!"

"Let go of you? No, no, no. I'd be a fool to let go of such a big catch!" Drawing Alicia's face closer, Boko Rombeng sniffed at the girl's neck. His nose nuzzling her skin compelled her to shut her eyes, and his disgusting snort contorted her expression in cringe. Such humiliation, in the hapless state, in front of the hapless people too, shuddered her entire being and threatened the tears to well up. The also-ensnared Cahyaningrum did not remain silent about this. Her tongue was laced with screams and curses only to be slammed into the wall multiple times with his tentacles until a stupor greeted her.

"It was impossible to sell you, Miss. But no matter. I do not intend to sell you as a thrall. You... I will take good care of you." Boko Rombeng giggled.

"No, no! Let me go! Snort at me one more time, I'll snap yer nose off! All Camelot will siege this one island if anything happens to me!"

"I wish I cared. Being fought by Western nations is nothing new in Lojitengara. After all, even if Yawadwipa sinks, I still have a place in the South Sea State."

The bluster meant nothing. Boko Rombeng continued to torment Alicia's mettle and mind. Meanwhile, the four bandits rushed over to their boss due to the awareness of their current state. Kiran was dragged along with them.

"Damn you all, you damn crooks!" Those relentless odious deeds were not to be tolerated. Petruk forced himself to rise! Jawana and Kuda attempted to deter him, but their weakened life force enabled Petruk to send them tumbling before Boko Rombeng's feet, even when his magic was gone.

And that alone was sufficient to ignite the villager's valour.

Cempaka and the villagers rose up and poised to chase after the bandits. Boko Rombeng, however, was too entranced by the beauty of the Camelot lady to realise that he was on the verge of a fall. He tightened his grip on Alicia and Cahyaningrum, causing them to groan in pain. An ultimatum was issued to Petruk and the entire village.

"Petruk! Don't even think to come close, you! Not even to all of you peasants! Do it, and I will crush their chests!"

Petruk's footstep did not stop. Instead, he ran even faster!

If they're both dead, you shall have no leverage!"

"Troublesome bastard!"

Boko Rombeng swiftly flung his hand that held Cahyaningrum away to divert Petruk's attention. Eager as Petruk was to sever his hand with the axe he snatched from Kuda Galangdewa, he was careless when Boko Rombeng's heel caught him on his left side, sending him crashing to the ground once again. He stomped Petruk's head multiple times to keep him down in the mud.

"The cursed girls have foiled my plan! No matter, though. Attaining for myself, two unblemished beings is better than nothing! Boys, let's retreat first!"

Petruk bowed in helplessness. Bagong decided to also steel himself to run after the raider. The two damsels kept shouting for help as the bandit leader mounted his horse and readied to flee the village.

But Boko Rombeng's horse sent the three of them sprawling, startled by an earsplitting roar. Fear stunned the locals as well.

A roar as fierce as the thunder of a storm in the darkest sky rumbled once more. A savage tiger could not have roared that loudly. They had all guessed which creature did such a roar.

And they feared that it belonged to no ordinary animal.

Nervousness grazed their skin as The Panca Gendheng gang scanned their surrounding. Surely the loud echo came from the village border. Now they were squeezed between the villagers and whatever lay on the village outskirts!

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"What should we do, boss?" asked Abhimanyu in Yawanese.

Alicia chimed in, "I dinnae ken what ye talked about, but if you let us go, maybe whatever's beyond the forest won't—hmph!"

Boko Rombeng's arm twisted again. This time, his palm pressed against the Crimsonmane girl's lips.

"Screw them! Just get your horses ready! There are five of us. What are you so afraid of?"

"But boss, our energy is drained," Mandera fretted. "We barely do any kind of moves."

Jawanan Priyadakusumo glanced at his empty cetbang pit. He shook his head at his boss, agreeing with Mandera's statement.

Not yet finished, they seemed to hear a metallic clank in the distance, inching closer before lapsing back into silence. Boko Rombeng scowled, took the risk, and spurred his horse forward. "If we're caught by the villagers, we're as good as dead. Don't be a sissy, leave this place!"

Abhimanyu was about to protest when the house next to them shattered into splinters, and a massive beast surged forward, pouncing on him and hurtling through the neighbourhood! None could discern the creature's form, for its movement was too fast it rendered hazy in their eyes. Abhimanyu disappeared into the hallways of the house across, leaving a trail of blood that extended into the buildings. His fading screams were his last words.

The villagers scurried like startled deer. Most sought refuge behind the gate of Headman Semar's abode, some strewn on the ground, feigning corpses. The girls were screaming behind their stained hand gag, saved for Cahyaningrum who remained lost in dreamland. Mandera's paranoia caused his trousers to reek of foul liquid. Four horses trembled as their crooked riders trembled. Boko Rombeng's rubbery feet resembled guitar strings plucked by an unseen hand.

"Hiyah, hiyah, hiyah!" The four bandits quickly whipped their horses.

Unfortunately for them, the clattering thundered again!

As the metallic clang drew nearer, the beast reemerged from a nearby house, snatching Mandera and his horse with a breakneck speed. The bandit, the horse, and the hostage Kiran were sent hurtling in the opposite direction. It would take divine intervention if the poor bandit was to survive the fall from the sky. The thing was, one did not need to be a holy hermit to know that the gods were not pleased with the Panca Gendheng bandits—especially after the series of wickedness they had just committed.

On the contrary, the gods favoured Kiran. She was thrown away and miraculously survived!

The remaining horses were already stampeded towards the gate, sparing no thought for their safety. Time was not the luxury they had now to devise a counterattack; they simply had to flee and pray for the best.

But how the Divine had cursed them, for fate still said otherwise. The best a bandit like Jawanan could hope for was to see the monster in its pristine form as it emerged from the bush, only to be pounced upon and hauled back into the dense jungle!

The monster was no longer playing games; it had grown more daring. After settling its "deal" with Jawanan, it hindered the path of the last two bandits, Boko Rombeng and Kuda Galangdewa. The duo knew precisely what they were facing: a scarlet tiger with black and white stripes wearing a strange golden archway that resembled a crown of honour, one that seemed to intimidate all men. A gold plate wrapping around its neck concealed its ebony mane. Its back and tail were garbed in golden armour with threads and beads. The creature moved its neck and eyes with an agile grace that belied its rigid demeanour.

This was no ordinary tiger.

"Barong...," mumbled the chief of brigands.

Alicia's eyes widened at the sight. "Brrmghh?" muttered Alicia, her mouth still tightly gagged. "Brrmghh! Brrmghh, hlpph mphhh!"

Boko Rombeng's horse was ordered to retreat. "Block them, Kuda, distract it for a while," he commanded.

"Boss!" Kuda complained. "Wh-what in the gods' name is that? What if I die?"

"Then don't die, you moron! Wait until I pass by and then you'll run!"

Such wordplay was not a new toy in the underworld. A sacrificial submission was a form of camaraderie, enabling others to escape and enjoy the spoils in question. "The more, the merrier," was that not the saying?

"Fuck you, Cleft Mouth!" said Kuda as he steered his horse, cutting a path through the jungle. "Let Barong devour the three of you!"

But Barong wanted to devour all four of them.

Barong snarled! It snapped off all four of Kuda's legs with a mighty swipe of his tail! Like a tower crumbling, so did the poor horse fell to the bloodied dirt, snorting. Its four stumped legs, gushing with thick blood, were pedalled in the air, as leaving them on the ground would make the horse suffer even more. The other 'horse', Kuda Galangdewa, suffered a broken leg.

"Stay away! Stay away!" Kuda flailed his kris wildly, but Barong paid no heed. It flicked his kris and wrist into the shrubs!

Now Barong stood silently before Kuda, waiting for something. Kuda had no response, save for crying like a child, begging and cursing the gods, and calling for his mother. The loss of his hand was a minor concern when Barong's gaping maw enveloped his head. Barong seemed to relish playing with its prey, slowly crushing Kuda's skull until it cracked like a broken egg. Brain fluid oozed from between the tiger's teeth and it remained munching in delight.

Alicia was fortunate that she had her eyes shut when the abhorrent event occurred. It was a mercy that Kuda's headless body was obscured by his horse, preventing her from being driven insane by the gruesome scene of carnage. Boko Rombeng, on the other hand, had all the time in the world to escape through the dense forest, but instead, he hung back and observed his own comrades massacred by the legendary beast. An immobilising shock, as if the gods themselves willed it so to hasten his demise.

Although Boko Rombeng treasured his life, he valued his new slave-to-be even more. Thus, when Barong, concluding its feast, fixed him with another menacing gaze, he thrust Cahyaningrum towards the fearsome creature. Alicia cried out and shook her head, trying to rouse Cahyaningrum from her stupor. It was the bandit chief's perspiring determination. Despite being able to swing from branch to branch with the ease of a monkey, Barong was truly the embodiment of Thunderkeeper's Lightning.

Barong lunged towards them. But out of nowhere, a hunchbacked old man materialised and intervened. Ki Semar's hand was already gripping the bridge of Barong's nose, while his other hand held onto Boko Rombeng's shirt! []