Huuuuuuuuuu

A terrifying counter-howl was heard, making the men in uniform shut up like one man.

And given the gravity of the situation, Polo hastened to elevate the new Commander of the imperial forces so he could right away take full responsibility for the military operations.

He did so in a cemetery silence, for the big noise originating from the forbidden mountain had sent a shiver down the spine of the lumberjack's soldiers.

They observed quietly Polo wrap the imperial medal of supreme military command around Babida's neck and hand over to him the papyrus containing the Emperor's decree.

As he was done, a pack of uncountable bats appeared over the sky and emitted unfriendly sounds that destabilized the troop.

Babida immediately ordered the young maiden Suzie to rush to her room and close all entries. Without interrogation, she obeyed and left the balcony as fast as she could.

The new Commander of the imperial forces lifted his axe in the air and yelled as powerfully as he could: "Comrades, let's eradicate these devilish flying mammals once and for all!"

Then he jumped over the barricade and landed on the ground of the administrative headquarters' esplanade.

The bats descended from the heavens and began to attack indiscriminately the imperial warriors.

A deadly fight then went on. The archers used their arrows to pierce the stomach of the villains and their slingshots to knock them on the head. The fencers wielded their swords to cut the savage animals in half.

As for Babida the lumberjack, he mercilessly beheaded with his five-kilogram steel axe the hellish bats, sending them thus to the kingdom of their creator, Edimo, the god of ruin.

However, some of these terrifying creatures were faster than certain men of honor. They mortally stung with their pointed fangs the slower, older, and inattentive warriors.

Dead bodies were strewn over the ground and reddish blood was flowing all over the battlefield.

Nonetheless, guided by their new Commander Babida the lumberjack, the imperial warriors didn't let the devilish bats run over.

They exterminated each of the villains that were flying over their heads. They showed great determination in defending the empire to the last sacrifice.

After a moment that seemed infinite, the place was quiet. The combat had ended and the view was messy, for so much damage was accounted for. Humans, beasts, and materials dearly paid for the drawbacks of the fighting.

Babida the Commander of the imperial forces looked so fresh as if he didn't just risk his life whereas the skillful warrior had just slayed an inestimable number of savage bats.

Had his Herculean steel axe not been stained with the flying mammals' blood, no one would have ever thought he was on the battlefield.

Polo poured the magical liquid on his dinner which he then wrapped with aluminum foil and hid it in the pocket of his silk trouser. The meal comprised grilled lamb and boiled rice.

As instructed, a squad of five imperial sentinels conducted Polo to the arena and released the lion. The animal was very nervous, for he was extremely hungry.

Without wasting time, the tall and slim fighter removed the package from his pocket, tore it, and launched its content toward the wildcat.

The latter sprung on the lamb and voraciously devoured it. As soon it was done, it fell unconscious on the ground and deeply snoozed.

Amazed by his intelligence, Polo's comrades who feared for his life, nicknamed him Polo the cunning. And since then, he had been greatly popular among his peers and highly regarded by his superiors.

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Uncle Bibi looked at the now mature and accomplished man Polo and advanced to him as the latter stepped on the left side of his desk.

The two men shook hands and couldn't help congratulating each other for their achievements.

Uncle Bibi stressed that his time had passed and wished his younger comrade Polo a richer career than his at the service of His Majesty, Emperor Batang V.

The two men's volubility annoyed Babida who felt forgotten. The lumberjack had been requested by Polo and was impatient the latter turned his attention to him and told him whatever he had to tell.

The imperial guard and the young maiden Suzie were more relaxed than the logger and admired the numerous eye-catching wild animal sculptures that were exposed in the late Governor's henchman's office.

Finally, uncle Bibi and Polo's lengthy conversation ended and the late Governor's aide-de-camp fixed his gaze on his office's entrance.

”Oh, pardon me!" he exclaimed and rushed toward the three other people.

"Thank you, Abo! You can now leave." He said to the imperial messenger who gave him a salute and left.

"I greet you, comrade Babida." He then told the lumberjack who returned the politeness with a military salute.

Polo glared at the miss behind the woodsman and was struck by her beauty.

"May I know who this exquisite creature of our ancestors is?" He asked Babida.

"Well sir, that's our dear companion Suzie from the imperial city Ekule. Tr that's Commander Bibi's beautiful niece," replied Babida to the late Governor's henchman.

"Oh, I see. Young Miss, be welcome to our headquarters!" The late Governor's henchman addressed Suzie who slightly bowed her head to pay her respects to him.

Polo thereafter redirected his focus on the lumberjack.

"First of all, I would like to underscore that I was disturbed by your imprisonment by the late Governor, His Highness Kola II." He confessed to the logger.

"It was a regrettable incident. Let's let it go and focus on the current challenges that the Batang empire is facing." The late Governor's aide-de-camp added.

"I have right here a message of extreme significance from His Majesty Batang V." Polo uttered while showing the papyrus in his right hand.

The young maiden Suzie mourned unstoppably for her dear uncle as the night continued to progress. She was utterly inconsolable.

The late Governor's aide-de-camp Polo tried all he could to calm her down but it was to no avail.

The administrative headquarters' imperial sentinels came to lend him a hand in attempting to appease the young miss but none of them succeeded.

They couldn't even take the old uncle's body to the mortuary, for the young miss didn't allow them.

She hugged the corpse of her relative so strongly that it was impossible to snatch it from her without brutality, something that the Commander of the imperial forces would have never tolerated from his men.

So, ultimately they gave up and let the young miss continue her funeral.

In the meantime, the news of the new bats' attack in Okunde had spread across the empire and Big momma who was as customary sitting on her rattan chair, listened nervously to the radio.

Suddenly there was an update regarding the aftermath of the fight.

"Dear auditors. This is your reporter Raba. We have new news from the battlefield in Okunde village. As we informed you previously, there was a deadly bats' attack that happened at the beginning of the night when Babida the lumberjack was being elevated to the rank of Commander of the imperial forces. Fortunately, the divinities led the latter to victory against the devilish bats. However, there were casualties. Among which former Commander of the Ekule's regiment, Bibi, who has been mortally stung by one of Edimo's hellish creatures…" The anchor said, causing a heart stroke to the elderly who fell off her chair and passed out.

Alone and with no one around her, Suzie's grandmother died.

At the imperial palace, His Majesty Batang V celebrated the first victory of his newly appointed Commander of the imperial forces Babida, and was pleased with his choice.

"I knew I was making the right decision." He enthusiastically told Empress Serena as they lay on the lunar bed.

The latter liked the woodsman but just for the war-time hero, he was. However, she despised the fact that her husband had chosen someone outside the imperial family to occupy a position she believed was vital to the survival of their throne.

She wondered how come His Majesty Batang V had broken a non-written rule that had been in place for five generations.

She had consulted with the Oracles of the imperial palace to understand her spouse's behavior but they couldn't find any explanation.

They told the Empress that maybe the Emperor had been confused by the divinities who had an unknown plan for the land. Yet, they couldn't bring up any proof to back their assumption.

The Empress was so mad, for she feared so badly a putsch.

The night went on and the troop in Okunde's garden was galvanized after their victorious fight against the terrifying bats.

They praised Emperor Batang V for his wisdom and vision by nominating as their supreme Commander a man of high temerity and strength such as Babida the lumberjack.

They envisioned themselves climbing on top of the mountain in the northern frontier of Okunde and then going down the flank to cut the newborn Monster's head off.

They invoked the divinities to give more power to their leader so he could once again take them to victory.

Hungry after their well-earned win, they ate and drank abundantly till daybreak.

And when the first rays of the sun began to shine on Okunde, the warriors returned to their tents and slumbered.