Battle of Panewus

"Panggito!"

A loud voice echoed from the hallway leading to Bale Paseban, calling out to Sawito just as Jagat Wengi was about to leave his spot. He took a few steps back as he recognized the voice.

It was Panggito's voice!

"You cunning sycophant! Shameless parasite of the kingdom! Why did you snatch my job?" Sawito exclaimed.

"What job, Sawito? I don't understand what you're talking about," Panggito replied.

Then, Panggito glanced toward Jagat Wengi and spoke again. "Why are you here? The Sabrang Panuluh book, have you obtained it?"

Wirahasa returned to his oversized chair and poured tuak into it before offering it to Sawito. (1)

"Calm yourself, Panewu Sawito. Everything has its own place," he said.

Sawito swatted the ceramic cup away, causing it to shatter into pieces on the floor.

"I'm asking you, villain. Where is Sabrang? Where is the book?" Sawito demanded.

"Eeng, Eeng. Lord Panewu. There was an incident in the forest that disrupted our plans," Jagat Wengi interjected.

"What incident?" Panggito inquired.

"Bekel, sir, stabbed a Mongol soldier, and everything went awry," Jagat Wengi explained.

"I haven't received any reports about that. Are you telling the truth?" Panggito questioned.

"Of course. It was the one who employed me, and Bekel was overseeing everything on the field. But if he had a problem with the Mongols, I couldn't do anything about it," Jagat Wengi replied.

"Now, where is he? Where is Bekel?" Panggito asked.

"I treated him in the backyard earlier, Lord Panewu," Jagat Wengi responded.

Sawito shifted his gaze towards Panggito, then to Wirahasa. It seemed his anger was starting to subside.

"Remember, Panggito, we are here working for the Mongols until they leave and delegate their authority to us. Don't play with fire," Sawito warned.

"Who's playing with fire, my friend? I'm just helping those Mongols achieve their desires," Panggito retorted.

"It's better if you invest your time and energy in monitoring Raden Wijaya in the Majapahit village over there. Don't let your guard down. Kertanegara's son-in-law seems very clever. You failed to protect Gayatri," Sawito stated.

Gayatri was the youngest daughter of Kertanegara and also the wife of Raden Wijaya, the leader of Majapahit. Since the fall of Singosari, Gayatri had gone missing and had briefly disguised herself as a tavern maid in Kota Daha, Kediri.

This was brought up again by Sawito, due to his failure in dealing with Kertanegara's family.

Sawito then left the room, but it seemed that Panggito was not satisfied with the attitude of his fellow Panewu, who seemed to act like his superior.

"If you forbid me from playing with fire, then what are you playing with now, Sawito? Searching for our commander's book? For what purpose? You want to become a Rakryan Tumenggung, it seems," Panggito remarked.

"Watch your mouth! In fact, I want to protect the book from falling into the hands of people like you," Sawito retorted.

Jagat Wengi attentively listened to the conversation between the two former military officials of Kediri. Their abilities were unquestionable, but witnessing their quarrel tonight, they resembled two children fighting over a toy.

Wirahasa repeatedly signaled Jagat Wengi to leave the room through gestures with his eyebrows and eyes. And with the final signal, he finally obeyed Wirahasa's command.

He was curious to find out, although it wasn't particularly important to him, that Panggito was a collector of ancient books. He learned about it from his fellow book thieves.

However, it was Sawito who was now determined to obtain the ancient book owned by Sabrang Panuluh.

He was only interested in the books that supported his work. Sabrang's book seemed to be a powerful and valuable book, but he didn't know its name.

Every stolen book he encountered always had a name, but for Sabrang, the given name seemed inappropriate because the book rarely stuck with its owner, except for one book named "Calon Arang". An ancient book that had been missing for hundreds of years, belonging to a powerful witch.

The book had vanished as if swallowed by the earth along with its ashes discarded on the South Coast. Not a single book thief had managed to find it.

The debate between the two 'children' with the Panewu rank was not yet over, and Jagat Wengi felt that he had heard enough of the recent events. This included the reasons why the Mongols attacked Kediri.

He retreated from the stuffy room, already mixed with the scent of the Mongols. He headed towards his own room from a different entrance when, once again, a loud voice echoed in the room.

"Panewu Sawito. The book thief we hired has betrayed us."

Sawito's eyes immediately turned towards Jagat Wengi, who was just about to reach the door crack.

"You! Stop!"

Jagat Wengi quickened his pace, knowing that the accuser was Bekel, who had just been treated.

"Enough, Sawito. Let me handle him. He's been working with me."

The defense was faintly heard as Jagat Wengi successfully stepped out. From the partially closed door crack, he could still observe that the debate seemed to be escalating into a fight between the two Panewus.

Jagat Wengi abandoned his intention and opened the door crack again to get a clearer view, but Wirahasa seemed to be aware and caught him in the act.

"Your room is at the end of the corridor on the right. Room number two. Don't even think about escaping."

*Braak!

The door slammed shut loudly. All Jagat Wengi could do was press his ear tightly against it to listen to what was happening inside.

The floor beneath him suddenly grew warm. A high-level internal energy deployment was taking place inside the room. He longed to break down the door and see what was happening inside.

The power of someone's supernatural abilities was always concealed until it was necessary to reveal it. He had been curious about the forms of magic he had read about in the books all this time.

"What is the power of Panuluh Sabrang's book? How does it manifest?"

*Braaak!

The sound of a broken table echoed loudly. Jagat Wengi's ear pressed tightly against the door once again.

"You killed my Bekel, Panggito! Hiaaat!"

The sounds of fierce hand-to-hand combat could be heard from inside. Jagat Wengi continued to listen to the fight with his ear. He felt the vibrations on the wall and the footsteps approaching the door that he was leaning against.

And suddenly...

The door was violently slammed and split into two. Jagat Wengi had to duck, and above his head, he caught a glimpse of a body being thrown out. Before he could identify whose body it was, another body leaped over him.

The leaping feet belonged to Panggito, and the thrown body turned out to be Sawito.

Wirahasa rushed out, shaking his head in disbelief at Jagat Wengi's presence there.

"You stubborn thief!"

The fight continued outside. People from all corners of the palace gathered, mingling with the Kediri soldiers whose appearance was in stark contrast to the Mongol warriors.

Sawito, who had been thrown earlier, stood up again, maintaining his balance as Panggito pressed him with a combination of punches and kicks.

Jagat Wengi watched with excitement. When else would he have the chance to witness such high-level combat, which he had only seen in training sessions among fellow students at the martial art school?

And it seemed that he would continue to witness fights like this, considering that two great kingdoms, Singasari and Kediri, had fallen within a very short period.

As long as the new ruler remains unseen, the law of the jungle prevails, and that law is only possessed by the powerful individuals who are part of the martial arts school.

The two Panewu, no longer young, continued to fight without anyone daring to intervene. The louder the cheers from the Mongol soldiers, the longer they fought.

At least there were officers who could stop them, but the person Jagat Wengi had in mind was already standing behind him.

Ganzorig had arrived. The tall Mongol officer, with a terrifying grin, crossed his arms over his chest, observing the fight. His commander, Ulagan, was nowhere to be seen. His interpreter was also absent.

It seemed that Ganzorig was uttering words in Mongolian that Jagat Wengi couldn't understand.

This was very strange. Although these two Panewu were only former officials, their influence was crucial for the Mongols. But why did Ganzorig allow this to happen?

Curiosity drove Jagat Wengi to approach Wirahasa and ask him.

"Don't get involved. This is not your game. Let's just see how it ends."

Damn it!

Although Wirahasa's answer was vague, it was clearly a tactic of manipulation by the Mongols. No wonder he had been saved in the first place for this purpose.

Sawito had never collected any sacred books; it was Panggito who often did. And after that, Panggito suddenly asked him to steal a book from the martial arts school while also spying on a village.

They wanted to get rid of these two Panewu. The fate of Panggito and Sawito depended on the outcome of the fight.

The small garden next to the two-facing corridors had become a new arena for their high-level combat. A Panewu overseeing dozens of Bekel would not take punches and kicks lightly.

Even Jagat Wengi could still feel the warm waves emanating from their martial arts techniques.

Finally, at the climax, Sawito exhausted his energy when he was pushed against a large pot filled with withered plants.

He managed to dodge Panggito's kick, but it hit the flowerpot, shattering it into pieces.

Sawito fell to the side, and Panggito's left kick struck his chest, followed by his face, chest again, and then his stomach.

Sawito knelt weakly, his eyes are powerless and dazed. The attacks eased up slightly, not because Panggito stopped them, but because he picked up a shard of the broken pot, sharp and jagged.

Without mercy, he swung the shard directly at Sawito's neck. Instantly, blood spurted from the wound. Sawito's hands instinctively tried to stem the flow of the thick red liquid.

Jagat Wengi slowly approached, witnessing the moments as Sawito's life left his body, until he collapsed, twitched slightly, and then lay still, breathless.

The fight was over. The spectators dispersed immediately, including the Kediri soldiers who were probably Sawito's former subordinates.

Silence gradually crept into the small garden between the two facing corridors. Panggito's gentle pat on Jagat Wengi's shoulder startled him, realizing that he was still breathing.

"I need to teach you something before you start working for me," Panggito said on his right side.

"What do you want to teach me, Master?"

"The powerful techniques to infiltrating villages."

Jagat Wengi didn't have time to nod or shake his head as Panggito promptly left him alone.

Silence engulfed the surroundings. There was no one here, as Sawito's body now lay lifeless.