Part 7 (1)
The new Commander of the imperial forces Babida had now a clear path to victory against the newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain thanks to the foresight of his henchman Baba.
The time had finally come to abbreviate the days of the beast that dwelt above the cursed hill in the north of Okunde village and posed a threat to the peace of the whole Batang empire.
So the lumberjack kicked off the execution of the top-secret war strategy that had been initiated by the late Governor Kola II assisted by his aide-de-camp Polo the cunning.
The new army superior Commander consequently sent his henchman, the youngster Baba, to Okunde's garden to select from the troop three volunteers for an undisclosed mission to the forbidden mountain.
Without wasting time, the young man hastened to do what he was told.
He left the office and rushed to Okunde's garden in the middle of the evening under a cloudy sky, for it suddenly threatened to rain.
"Three volunteers, three volunteers!" shouted the henchman Baba as raindrops fell upon the garden.
His scream caught the attention of the men in uniform on the lawn who turned their gaze at him and the comrades that were inside the tents came out to grasp what was going on.
"Three volunteers, three volunteers!" Babida's henchman repeated.
In a short lapse of time, the imperial warriors surrounded the youngster Baba who then declared: "Our Commander-in-chief, Babida the lumberjack, is seeking three volunteers for a special mission to the forbidden mountain."
And as if they had been waiting for this moment, tens of imperial soldiers yelled that they should be selected for the mission, even if it was to the kingdom of pain where the beast's creator Edimo, the god ruin, was hiding.
Amazed by the excitement and enthusiasm of the men of honor, Baba was spoiled for choice because he needed only three valiant fighters for the special operation.
Therefore he decided to pick three men in the superlative. He took among the warriors who desired to participate in the mission: the oldest, the youngest, and the biggest.
The choice of the three volunteers made, the henchman Baba returned to the office where the Commander of the imperial forces Babida was waiting for him with the selectees.
Toc, toc!
The interim aide-de-camp knocked at the office door and entered the room followed by the volunteers.
"Greetings, My Commander!" Baba said as he and the men behind him saluted their superior Babida the lumberjack.
The logger who had his focus on the paperwork on the desk paused and glared in front of him.
"Be welcome, comrades!" He said to the men in uniform standing at the other side of the table.
"My Commander, here are the devoted servants of His Majesty that destiny has chosen for the mission you are about to assign to them." The henchman Baba then told him.
The woodsman looked at them closely and noticed something obvious to him. He grinned and uttered to his aide-de-camp Baba: "You are indeed one of a kind assistant."
"You picked an old warrior for his experience, a young one for his vitality, and finally a big one for his power." He added.
"My Commander, what a sharp eye you have!" The henchman declared to the Commander of the imperial forces.
"Well, shall it be so!" Babida replied.
He thereupon commenced a serious conversation with the volunteers. He explained to them what they had to do and how they had to do it.
The three volunteers listened attentively to the Commander and measured the high stakes of their mission to the forbidden mountain.
They pledged to succeed at all costs, including by making the ultimate sacrifice.
They assured the superior Commander Babida that they wouldn't fail and they would lure the newborn Monster to the west gate of Okunde village so it drowned in the river.
All dots put on the I, the three volunteers left the office and immediately departed for the forbidden mountain in the middle of the night.
Babida and his henchman Baba stayed in the office and silently started a meditation, imploring the ancestors to be with the commando and protect the men of honor against the mortal beak and claws of the giant bird.
The first stage of the war scheme was underway. The Commander of the imperial forces Babida and his henchman Baba were now preparing the next one.
The three volunteers were already gone to the forbidden mountain to tease the newborn Monster and entice it to the river at the west gate of Okunde.
However, without a strong backup on their return to the village, they would have had a hard time trying to push the villain to the deep water of the stream so it drowned.
The two strategists, Commander Babida and his aide-de-camp Baba, had therefore planned to build a huge bridge over the river that would be steady on its extremities but weak in the middle.
And for that, they estimated a massive workforce of two hundred imperial warriors, was necessary.
The final stage of the scheme was simply for the men in uniform to attract the beast to the unsteady center of the infrastructure so it would break under the heavy weight of the giant bird that would thus collapse straight inside the deep water below and die by suffocation.
Hence, all night long, the lumberjack and his henchman perfected the plan. They re-wrote it countless times, for they knew a mistake would have meant the end of the Batang empire and the beginning of the Edimo kingdom.
Very focused and determined to succeed, the two men didn't even stop their work when an imperial sentinel came to announce to them that the dinner was ready.
"For later, comrade!" the Commander of the imperial forces replied to him without even glaring at him.
The woodsman couldn't simply take his eyes off the paperwork.
Nonetheless, at some point, the logger as well as his henchman could no longer keep up the infernal intensity of work.
They got hungry and weak. It became urgent for them to take a break and refill themselves.
So the Commander of the imperial forces Babida uttered to his aide-de-camp Baba: "Good job, comrade! It's enough for today. Let's go to the canteen and after to our bedrooms!"
They halted their work and left the office.
The Commander of the imperial forces Babida and his henchman Baba arrived in the dining room and ate as fast as they could, for it was late and they were tired and sleepy.
As soon as they finished their repast, they got off their seats to go to their respective rooms.
The lumberjack was still occupying the main guest room of the administrative headquarters whereas the youngster Baba was lodged in the imperial sentinels' shared apartment.
So before they parted ways, the Commander of the imperial forces Babida told him that he would order the following day in the morning that they arrange a private room where he could stay all by himself.
To this, the interim henchman Baba was very pleased and impatient to have a taste of the benefits attached to his new function.
And when he was about to walk away, he realized that there was a vital question related to the war scheme that had remained unanswered and he couldn't wait till the next day before he could ask the Commander in chief.
Knowing the topic was top-secret, he came closer to the lumberjack and said to him: "My Commander, I have something I would like to ask you regarding..." then extended his lips to the Commander's left ear and whispered the rest of the question.
"Ah, ya! I already have a plan for it. You shall know about it tomorrow." Babida whispered back in a way that was inaudible to the imperial sentinels that were standing at the two ends of the canteen.
Everything being clear, the two men finally separated and went to rest.
Babida stepped into his room and immediately jumped on the bed.
And while he was lying, the question of the youngster Baba popped up in his mind.
"Yes, indeed, how are we going to build the bridge in a short time before the commando sent to the forbidden mountain comes back, and hopefully, is pursued by the lured newborn Monster." The logger repeated the youngster's relevant remark to himself.
However, he was too exhausted and couldn't go to the bottom of his reflection since he unconsciously fell asleep.