Chapter 22: The Brute Old Man

"Get the doctor immediately!" Varius shouted just when they reached the camp.

It shocked the tribal chiefs to see Hammer in a critical state.

"What happened to King Hammer?" Fugu asked Varius when the tribal soldiers carried Hammer inside the healing tent.

"He was wounded in the battle," Varius replied.

"Who could do such a thing?" Fugu wondered.

"It was Colt, his younger brother," Varius answered with a frown.

"Colt? Do you mean the runaway prince?" Fugu reacted. "So he was alive, after all."

"He is alive and well," Varius said as he walked to step inside the tent the king was carried in. "We have wounded Rozerd in return. He is in the similar condition as our king," he added.

"Stop hiding your failures behind trivial accomplishments," a tribal chief said.

He was a broad old man with a goat's beard. He had a bulky build and a height nearly of seven feet. Although he was above fifty years of age, he could still stand toe to toe with young, formidable warriors in their prime. His gray hair was tied in a ponytail. He had vertical black stripes on his cheeks, which went from jaw to eyebrows over eyelashes. He wore an iron chain around his neck, which served as some sort of training. He wore a sleeveless leather shirt and baggy woven pants.He walked bare-feet as he believed it would strengthen him. His name was Hojo, and he was the chief of the Mars tribe.

Just when he heard this, Varius halted his feet from entering the tent. He turned with a tint of aggression. "What did you say, old man?"

"The truth is…" the old man Hojo responded. "…you failed to win against a smaller army."

"Like I would hear to some old man who did not even participate in the battle," Varius said in response. "Could you even pick up a sword, old man? I am sure you would have been killed if you had participated." He tried to mock him.

"I was just following the orders of my king," the old man said. "And listen, kid, if you want to test my strength, why not come ahead and see for yourself?" He bumped his own fists to show his readiness for a fight.

"Huh?" Varius smirked. "I do not want to accidentally kill an old man. Do not infuriate me or it can go bad for you."

"Says the one with less than ten fingers," said the old man when he noticed the amputated fingers of Varius. He also noticed some injuries on his face. "And your face. It looks strange…"

Varius hid his hand behind his back to hide his fingers.

"Did you get those wounds in the battle? Or…" the old man added. "Were you torchered by someone?"

Everybody around them started looking at each other when he said this.

"Why do you care?" Varius rebuked. "It does not matter where I got these wounds and injuries. I will just let you know I got them while fighting someone."

Varius knew what this old man was up to. This old man tried to disturb his trustworthiness. If he came to know that he had been captured by the daughter of the previous supreme commander of the wild tribes, and had told them about their plans, he would be deemed a traitor.

"Oh, really?" Hojo reacted in a casual tone with a wicked smile. "Your fingers do not look cut during a fight." He grabbed the arm of Varius and pulled it towards himself to take a look at it.

"What are you…" Varius tried to pull his arm back, but he could not as the grip of the old man was too strong. "Leave my arm!"

The old man did not listen to him and said after taking a clear look at his fingers. "The cuts are too clean. It looks like someone amputated it while you provided little to no resistance." He grinned at Varius's face. "It was as if you were chained or tied up." He left his hand.

Varius pulled his arm back and saw the marks of the fingers of the old man on it. "This is ridiculous!" he shouted in anger. He also felt uneasy after witnessing the monstrous strength of the old man. "I am telling you I got into a fight and lost my fingers! The enemies had caught me, as they were more in number. They tried to remove all my fingers to render me useless, but I managed to save myself somehow."

"Calm down, young man." Hojo shrugged. "It is all just a speculation. I know you would not betray your king, would you?" He smirked while side-eyeing him.

Varius was infuriated. "This dastard…" he mouthed.

Gullan watched all the drama and decided to intervene.

"Listen, you two. This is not the time to fight among ourselves. We must prepare for any undesirable situation. Our king is fighting for his life. It would not suit for us to fight among ourselves when the enemy is drunk in amusement. We must work for our weak points and get back at them the next time."

"Stop lecturing me, Chief Gullan," Hojo responded. "I only highlighted their failure on the battlefield. They could not land a defeat on a smaller army, let alone annihilate them."

"I know, Chief Hojo," Gullan said. "You are always known for your brute force, so you would not understand. But let me tell you, we must not underestimate our enemy just because they are less in number. Besides…" he signaled to Varius. "Varius took charge of the army on the battlefield and turned the tide of the battle. I heard from the soldiers that he even shot arrows in that condition. We should not point fingers at such a man."

"Oh," reacted Chief Fugu. "That is some courage you showed. I am impressed, young Varius."

"Whatever," Varius reacted. "I only wished to protect my king, and I failed. It only turned out to be a stalemate because they got him."

"It was his fault only," Hojo interrupted. "He should not have gone into the battlefield. I wonder if our king is such an immature person."

These words triggered Varius. "What did you say?" He grabbed the collar of the old man and glared into his eyes. "If you were not an important ally of us, I would have cut your tongue. Do not ever badmouth my king." He was breathing fumes.

"This is some loyalty you are showing," Hojo said. "Do not worry, kid. I do not doubt the capabilities of our messiah. But going into the battlefield by himself might have unforeseen consequences. You know what I am saying." He removed Varius's hand from his collar by force and whispered, "And I wonder how Dyna besieged the same fort we had headed to. Did she know about our intentions?"

Varius gulped when he heard him. His forehead began to perspire. He said nothing and walked into the tent.

The doctors were tending to Hammer's wounds.

"Aaah!" Hammer screamed in pain when a doctor put ointment on his chest wound.

"If something happens to him, I will kill you," Varius said to the doctors. "Save him at any cost."

"We are trying, my lord," a doctor wearing a turban said. "You should leave us alone while the treatment is going on."

"Fine. I was just checking." Varius walked out of the tent with a sour face.

Hammer mumbled something while he was unconscious. "Co… lt… bro… the… r…"