Part 7 (3)
The men in uniform under the influence of the enchanted porridge were inhabited by tremendous strength and vitality.
Guided by the Commander in Chief's henchman Baba, they built up before the sunset half of the bridge over the river in Okunde's west gate.
The sky was now completely dark and the imperial warriors deserved a good meal and rest after their hard work.
Hence the interim aide-de-camp Baba sent them back to the barracks and ordered the cook of the administrative headquarters to distribute them the finest food he had along with energizing drinks.
The men in uniform were given red beans with red-oiled cassava paste and fresh mango juice. They dined and were full.
Thereafter they went to sleep though the evening had just begun, for they were extremely exhausted and had to resume the construction of the bridge the next day morning.
The night went on and Babida the lumberjack was standing on the administrative headquarters' balcony all by himself, thinking about all the numerous things that had happened recently.
The image of the young maiden Suzie crying and holding tight to the dead body of uncle Bibi couldn't get away from his mind.
He wondered how the funeral of his late companion and former Commander was going on in the imperial city Ekule.
Nonetheless, he was comforted by the fact that the aide-de-camp Polo was over there by Suzie's side.
He regretted he couldn't travel and assist the young miss since he had an imperial mission to carry out in Okunde and especially in a critical time.
Indeed, the lumberjack was preparing for the return to the village of the three volunteers that he expected to be chased by the lured newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain.
He turned his gaze to the west side and perceived in the middle of the night the bridge under construction and was very satisfied with the progress his men had done in just one day.
The woodsman Babida made a short prayer to thank the ancestors for their favor upon him and his men then left the balcony and went straight to the main guest room that he was still occupying and snoozed.
A new day came and the sun rose above Okunde.
The imperial warriors were already set to continue the construction of the bridge over the river in the west gate of the village under the supervision of the Commander in Chief's henchman Baba.
To show the way forward, the latter planted the first shovel of the day in the pile of cement and without any further ado, the men in uniform started to build the remaining half of the bridge.
They were always under the influence of the magic potion that had been poured into the porridge that they ate as breakfast the day before.
They tirelessly mounted all the key components of the arch bridge and by noon three-quarters of the infrastructure was done.
The interim aide-de-camp Baba suggested that the men take a short break to dehydrate themselves and swallow some little chocolate cookies that had been prepared by the cook of the administrative headquarters before resuming the construction of the remaining quarter.
And as they were quenching their thirst and feeding themselves, an enormous howl emerged, sending a shiver down the spine of the men in uniform.
Huuuuuuuuuuuu
The sound that they heard. They looked toward the location from where it originated and it was no other place than the forbidden mountain.
The Commander in Chief Babida who was in the office inside the administrative headquarters came out precipitously to assess the situation.
Having understood that the big scream was emerging from the cursed hill, the lumberjack immediately rushed to the west gate to see at what stage the bridge construction works were.
Arrived at the foot of the infrastructure, he found his aide-de-camp Baba very nervous and pressuring the imperial warriors to finish the last meters very quickly.
The superior army Chief joined his henchman and together they pushed the men of honor to their limits.
Ultimately the bridge was ready just before sunset but at the expense of the devoted soldiers who were extremely exhausted and had returned to their normal state, for the effects of the magic potion vanished away.
And suddenly, the ground trembled.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
The Commander of the imperial forces Babida and his henchman Baba had planned and built a bridge over the river in Okunde's west gate to set up the giant bird.
The infrastructure was ready for use. However, what the woodsman and his aide-de-camp had not anticipated was that the men in uniform would be tired at the end of the construction and therefore would need some time to rest and recuperate the energy that they spent.
And now they were in a dire situation. Babida the lumberjack had commissioned a commando to the forbidden mountain to tease and lure the beast to the village, which was now underway.
The three volunteers were running away as fast as they could from the merciless bird which despite its slow pace could somehow keep up and was chasing them with great determination.
It destroyed everything that was on its path and made the soil shake so strongly that it reached the west gate of Okunde's village where a battalion of two hundred imperial warriors was waiting for it.
As the villain neared the village, tension among the imperial warriors was palpable.
The Commander in Chief Babida who was worried because his men didn't have time to replenish themselves, thought about trying something desperate.
He removed from the right pocket of his silk trousers the empty glass bottle that contained the magic potion given to him by Guigna the god of strength, and handed it over to his henchman Baba, ordering him to fill the container with some water from the river.
The youngster took the bottle and hastily did as he was told. He brought it back and gave it to the lumberjack.
The logger then started a prayer to the ancestors.
"Our forefathers, you have given your men a potion for strength and vitality but there is no more and now they face a great danger which I fear they won't surmount, for they are extremely tired after the bridge construction works. I have ordered that the magic potion be replaced with some water from the river in front of us. I thus urge you to give to this liquid the same abilities and I shall make a big sacrifice for you." He said.
Then the Commander of the imperial forces instructed his henchman Baba to distribute a drop of the water inside the bottle to each of the men in uniform.
They all drank the beverage and very quickly found themselves in the greatest shape ever.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
The newborn Monster caused another earthquake as it progressed toward Okunde village, running after the commando of three imperial warriors who came to disturb its peace in its hideout in the forbidden mountain.
The volunteers ran toward the north gate of the village but soon the oldest could no more keep up with the infernal race, so he stopped to take a short break.
The youngest and the biggest were forced to leave him behind, for the mission was greater than him and just like any imperial soldier, the oldest had taken an oath to fight and defend the Batang empire to the ultimate sacrifice.
Now alone in the middle of the bush, the oldest took deep breaths as he felt the giant bird closing the gap on him.
He turned to look on his back and perceived the long neck of the five-meter high and ten thousand-kilogram villain and was frozen.
The oldest tried to take the sword in his back but was so tetanized that he failed twice to do so.
He tried a third time and succeeded, however, it was too late. The newborn Monster was too close and with its sharp beak, it pierced the skull of the old imperial soldier who dropped dead.
The wild animal looked in its front and glanced from a distance at the youngest and biggest volunteers who were provocative and insulting.
"Bring your dirty and fat rear over here, ugly giant!" They were yelling.
Therefore the beast continued to run after them with even more speed and anger.
The two volunteers reached Okunde's north gate where the checkpoint had long been abandoned on the order of the late Emperor Batang IV, father of the reigning Ruler Batang V.
The commando quickly crossed and switched the direction to the west.
The newborn Monster kept chasing them while ravaging everything on its way.
The manhunt continued and soon the beast was lured to the west gate where Babida the lumberjack and his men were fully geared up to give a warm welcome in their own style to the giant bird.