The callous bats didn't need another invitation from the audacious woodsman to bring out their pointed fangs and come down from the ceiling with the intent to stab him pitilessly.
However, the wicked flying mammals didn't know that they were falling into a setup of the cunning logger.
"Weahhhhh!" With a voice full of vitality, Babida the lumberjack invoked the god of fire.
And to the shock of the pack of bats that were on the verge of stinging him, the wooden stick that the woodsman was holding, got its fire back and this time around the flames were even more raging than ever before.
Babida the lumberjack thus swept the space with the ardent fire and earnestly burned the five entrapped evil bats that were just about to reach his head. They released agonizing cries before wholly shapeshifting into ashes.
The young maiden Suzie who had been nervously witnessing the deadly combat from behind the cell's bars, let herself explode with joy.
"Youpiiiiiiii, that's my hero right there!" She spat out to the astonishment of Uncle Bibi and the imperial sentinels.
The Caporal of the squad immediately unlocked the cell and exited. He then enjoined his men to carry their fainted comrade and to follow him because they were about to leave the underground. Meanwhile, Uncle Bibi and his niece Suzie remained inside the cell.
The imperial sentinels' Commander approached Babida the lumberjack and whispered to his ears: "You are free to go, brave warrior."
He thereafter talked to his men: "Guards, let's move out of here!" and they began to take the door. In a few seconds they were all gone from the underground, leaving behind the woodsman and his saviors henceforth in total liberty.
The young Miss Suzie came out of the cell while running and enlaced Babida the lumberjack tightly around his waist. The woodsman was taken aback and held the wooden stick on fire up in the air, so the fire would not mistakenly roast them.
Uncle Bibi observed quietly the two lovebirds' intimate moment for a while until he felt forgotten. So he cleared his throat and uttered: "Well, I guess someone owes me a jar of palm wine and also a big goat."
His niece Suzie heard her uncle's insinuation, broke the hug, and shyly stepped back. The logger glanced disconcerted at his crush's senior relative and smiled at the latter fakely.
"Let's leave this dramatic place!" The forty-five-year-old uncle told the two soul mates as he moved in the direction of the stairs.
The young maiden Suzie and the logger shifted on the side to cede the passage to the middle-aged man, then they walked behind him.
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The three enfranchised arrived upstairs in the Governor's headquarters' hall and were deranged by the shambolic view. The evil bats' aggression was over, however, dozens of imperial guards' lifeless bodies were strewn over the ground.
The trio leaped over the casualties and headed outside the building. Their trauma increased as the sun's rays were shining over the area and one could clearly see the horrendous extent of the last evening mess.
The blood-thirsty flying mammals had decimated and injured hundreds of warriors and civilians whereas just a few of these mad critters' dead bodies were littering the yard of the Governor's headquarters and the lawn of Okunde's garden nearby.
The imperial troops assembled for the military expedition to the Forbidden Mountain were utterly disorganized and battered.
Some women of the village had set up an emergency rescue unit and were providing, with limited material, medical care to the wounded.
The young maiden Suzie spontaneously joined her fellow females and began to assist the survivors in critical condition. She thus left her uncle with the logger.
And suddenly..., the sound of a horn resonated three times from the Governor's headquarters. In the Batang empire, the instrument was played for major announcements by the local rulers to their subjects.
All gazes were therefore fixed toward the balcony of the administrative building. Surprisingly, instead of Governor Kola II showing up as per tradition, his aide-de-camp Polo came forward. His face was pale and his eyebrows were furrowed.
The Governor's man of trust unfolded the papyrus he was holding in his right hand and with a frail voice started to peruse: "Message of His Majesty Batang V to the population of the empire. Last night, men of great value left us after serving and defending the land with devotion. Governor Kola II was one of them. Like the other braves, he stumbled in the attack of the coward bats sent by their evil master Edimo, the god of destruction. By his demand, his sepulcher will be buried later in the day without a public ceremony. Hence, until further notice, the military expedition to the Forbidden Mountain is momentarily suspended. A new Governor will be appointed in three moons."
The henchman Polo ended his announcement and rolled back the imperial sheet. He thereupon went back inside the administrative headquarters.
The crowd was dazzled. Babida the lumberjack looked at his left and saw his companion Uncle Bibi removing his fedora hat to pay tribute to the gone authority. And for a while, a silence of cemetery reigned all over the venue. Everyone was keeping the mouth shut and meditating in one's corner.
Then it was time to move on, so the rescue operations resumed. The young maiden Suzie showed impressive nurse skills and along with the fellow local women, her uncle and some imperial warriors, attended to the victims of the wicked bats.
Whereas while the lifesaving activities were being carried out, Babida the lumberjack left discreetly his companions on the scene of the massacre, for he had to get back a personal and very dear belonging that he lost sight of since the day of his arrestation.
So he went to his former military tent that he found wobbling and on the verge to collapse as a result of the earthquake.
It was in that very shelter that he was resting the day two imperial guards on order of late Governor Kola II came over to wake him up and escort him to the office of the then alive ruler who out of anger threw him to jail.
By the mercy of the ancestors, upon his arrival to the tent, the logger immediately spotted on his right his beloved Herculean steel ax which was scintillating and lying on the ground. He picked up the weapon and gave it a warm kiss on the head before sitting calmly on the floor with the legs crossed, the torso upright, the eyelids closed and the two hands stuck against each other, to invoke the forefathers.
"My forefathers, I urge you to prevent your people from another calamity caused by Edimo," Babida spoke to the kind-hearted gods of the Batang empire.
"Last night, the god of ruin once again slaughtered our valiant warriors and innocent civilians. Our Commander in chief, Governor Kola II, paid the highest price with his life as well and presently there is no one to lead us on the battlefield against the newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain and the ruthless bats," the woodsman related the dire situation to the deities with a bitter tone of voice.
Done with the supplication of the ancestors, he opened his eyes and saw a sparkling butterfly entering the tent and strolling around before landing on his head.
The logger thus felt an intense power getting gradually hold of his muscular body to the extent that he went into a trance. Then a voice only he could hear began to talk to him.
"Babida! Babida! Babida!" The hypnotic voice pronounced the woodsman's name up to three times and the latter was transported into another dimension.
"In three moons, you shall become the new Commander in chief of the men of honor. Shall you succeed in destroying the newborn Monster of the Forbidden Mountain and the other evil creature of Edimo, that is to say the wild bats, you shall be elevated to the rank of Governor of Okunde," The voice prophesied and shut up.
Babida the lumberjack listened to the revelation of the divinities and had goosebumps. He wondered how it was going to happen since he was not a member of the imperial family.