Popobawa

Panicked, Bawa turned and fled. His name translated to "Knowledgeable bat". What was a wise bat without his hair? Without the obvious proof of his wisdom and position? Boiled peach is what!

Alarmed and fearing for his life, Bawa's thin figure moved instantly and bypassed Salvador who stood before him.

The old-timer didn't believe that Salvador would stop at just burning his hair.

No.

If his instincts were right, he would end up losing a few pounds of flesh today.

And considering his physique, when these people finally decide to let him off, he would be all bone.

His skeleton might even crumble and dissipate in the wind!

Bawa arrived near Jung-hee who reached out to grab him leisurely. However, he had underestimated the speed and desperation of the old man and missed him by a hair's breadth.

Noticing his error, Jung-hee moved again towards Bawa. This time he managed to block him and tussled with the old man.

Yet, instead of retaliating, Bawa chose to evade every attack.

The speed of Jung-hee's movements and Bawa's dodging had far exceeded human capacity. The two men appeared like a blur as they battled. The grass under their feet quivered with every intense motion.

"Huff…" Bawa was going all out and pushing himself to his limits.

Currently, he could only afford to evade the scholarly man's attacks.

This was factored by his understanding that he was far weaker in terms of strength.

But when it came to agility, Bawa surpassed this youngster by a narrow margin. This gap was enough for now.

Bawa didn't just fear the loss of his hair.

In his clan, every respectable member had a role to play.

The guard, the leader, the voice of reason…

These roles and the rules passed down by the ancestors are what keep the tribe existing.

As the priest of the Popobawa, Elimu was the wisest and most knowledgeable of his clansmen.

He was also one of the oldest, having seen many seasons and witnessed many moons.

The Popobawa were an elusive and unrestrained group of people indigenous to the montane forests of Tanzania.

They thrive by using the dense foliage of the mountains as protection while going about their daily lives.

Governed by strict rules in their home, the Popobawa spurn the restrictions set by normal human society.

As a result, their untroubled nature whenever they leave the confines of their home, has made them unwelcomed guests amongst their neighbours.

However, this dissatisfaction was not without reason.

The actions of the popobawa in general, especially pertaining to sexual relations, were the kind that would get any fellow castrated and burnt by an angry mob.

Nevertheless, as masters of disguise, this group of people have gone undetected by law enforcers, and remain a mystery to the majority of the eastern nation.

Noticing the two locked in a stalemate, Yaqub stepped in to assist his companion.

His massive figure moved swiftly enough to cause the surrounding air to sharpen. His movements were smooth and packed with agile force that caused the ground to tremble with his every step.

Considering his size, this development was a bit unexpected.

The three tussled for minutes, shocking Yaqub, who found it incredible that Bawa was able to hold his own against them. This realization caused his eyes to narrow competitively.

Bawa soon found an opening by chance and wasted no time in escaping the entrapment. He rushed towards the clearing leading down the hill and soon disappeared.

Salvador, who had been watching them eagerly, felt his amusement recede after seeing Bawa disappear into the trees.

The three men let out frustrated groans and pursued after him.

If Bawa were allowed any further into the green foliage, it would make it neigh impossible to recapture him.

Haoyu would soon arrive, and they understood that there would be trouble if they lost the annoying bat.

The group had spent months trailing Bawa. Their blood, sweat, and resources had gone into tracing his whereabouts.

Therefore, losing him after so much effort was no option.

Running down the hill wasn't difficult, it was keeping track of Bawa's nimble figure between the trees that was a hassle.

Additionally, as it had rained last night, the ground was wet and a single misstep could lead to their faces kissing the dirt.

As a result, their speed had reduced by a quarter, giving Bawa an edge in the chase.

Seeing his captors fast approaching, the old man increased his pace and created a larger distance between them.

He leapt through the branches, gliding like it was second nature, and managed to broaden the distance.

However, his pursuers were nimble even on the soft ground and followed him closely. Disheartened, he jumped down the tree tops.

His fragile figure wasn't as delicate when he tumbled in the air before steadying himself on the ground a few feet away from the incoming lads.

The three noticed his action, but before they could react, Bawa's mouth widened and from within came a boisterous bellow.

He released a sudden yell that was as deafening as it was destabilizing. His scream was piercing and forceful.

It razed the surrounding trees to the ground - reducing every surrounding object to rubble, and generated aggressive vibrations that pushed Yaqub, Jung-hee and Salvador several steps back.

"Shit. Ah, Cabron (stubborn goat)!"

This move was an ultrasonic attack adapted to offence.

The principle was to compile the sound waves generated from his scream and consolidate their destructive propensity, so that upon release, the force from the aggressive merger will result in an enormous explosion.

Thus generating a large burst of energy capable of incinerating even metal.

This technique was something Bawa had been formulating for decades.

It wasn't nearly complete.

He hadn't even scratched a corner of this ability's potential.

Sadly, Bawa feared he would breathe his last before he witnessed the full power of this technique.

Although imperfect, this skill, still, was powerful. Unfortunately, he could only use it once per day, as it consumed nearly all of his internal strength in one go.

On the plus side, the sonic cry along with the immediate drain came with a temporary boost in speed that would last for about fifteen minutes.

This was possibly a result of his body burning up his energy reserves to make up for the lost vigour.

Therefore, before this timeframe elapsed, Bawa had to escape before his pursuers recovered from their shock.

Not letting go of this opportunity, Bawa turned and left the vicinity instantly.

"The fuck?! I didn't know he could do that. Do something! We're going to lose him!" Salvador panicked and shook Jung-hee roughly.

"And whose fault is that? Let go, crazy fu…!"

The two men bumped into each other and began to argue. Their bickering irked Yaqub who chided them and reminded the duo of the current situation.

It was in the midst of the chaos that the three men heard a voice that made them freeze in place.

"Did anyone lose a bat?" Clad in black cargo pants and a jacket with a green shirt underneath, was Haoyu who approached the trio in a smart, casual look.

He had in one hand a bleeding and unconscious Bawa, and in the other a medium-sized plastic cup.

Haoyu sipped his drink and dragged the old man a few more feet before throwing him. Looking closely, the trio noticed a round dent on the side of the old man's head.

It looked…painful.

"Why is he dressed so shabbily? And to think I went through all this trouble to welcome our guest." Haoyu sighed as he looked at the unconscious figure on the ground.

He gestured towards his 'corporate' look and then at Bawa's tattered appearance. He glanced at him once again before raising his head to look at the people before him.

They appeared nonchalant, but Haoyu didn't fail to notice the trace of guilt in their eyes.

Especially on Yaqub's face.

His emotions were always so vivid. The large man had on an expression of guilt and a deep shame at failing his task.

"Well…" Rolling his eyes, Haoyu moved and passed by the trio. He headed towards their previous location with practised ease.

The three men followed him like chicks, with Yuqub shouldering the burden of carrying Bawa by his waist.

After walking for what felt like an eternity, the group arrived at the familiar space, where the black-clad fellow stood waiting for their arrival in the same position.

"At least now I know the extent of your abilities. You couldn't even handle a single bat." Haoyu uttered and looked at the person who had silently approached his side.

"Glad you could join us, Nicklas."

"Hm." Came Krause Horst Nicklas' grunt of a reply. His head turned towards his other companions, who watched him with varying expressions of discontent. Salvador especially had his middle fingers raised towards him with a scrunched-up face.

"Time for business." Said Haoyu as he crushed the plastic cup before keeping it in his pocket.

His action resulted from Tejumole's multiple lessons on the dangers of littering. He felt that her opinion on the matter was enough to write a book.