Chapter 40 The Old General’s Wish
Once I was a skinny boy
In the deserted and poor land
Dream for glory and well living
Hastily traded my life in war
Through blood, sword, and hards.h.i.+p
Found brothers by exchanging wine and soul
To glory we together
To h.e.l.l we accompany
Rampaging every war
Glory came, wife presented
Brothers, less and lesser
I still stay with the world
Back from war,
Son barely stood
Back from the next war,
Son had wearing armor, entered the war
War ignited
Brothers lesser and lesser
Sons never return to home
I still stay with the world
Time pa.s.sed quickly
War never ceases
Glory I don’t need anymore
Brothers I don’t have anymore
Only Halberd accompany me
Know my heart and real me
I miss my son
I miss drinking with my brothers
Brothers,
This old bone can’t hold anymore
I have taking care of your son and grandson
Like I promised you before you left
Now, free me
Let me meet you guys
To glory we together
To h.e.l.l we accompany
– The Old General Huang
The Old General without fear, smiled lightly and breached through one thousand soldiers alone. He swung his halberd in the middle of enemies. His big body was full of blood and his armor tattered. Yet, he felt happiness inside. His body was so light, it feel like he was young again. Suddenly a shadow of his long lost brothers appeared, one by one with him in the field.
They smiled at him and said things they used to in past. “Little Huang, we will cover your back. Let us return together and drink Uncle Liang’s wine. No one will leave before they’re drunk!”
The old general smiled and tears blurred his vision. He was still rampaging through the enemies.
One handsome young man suddenly appeared next to him. “Huang, thanks for taking care my son, Xiou Hu. You are my best little brother.”
“Big Brother Xiou!” The old general voice shook and surprisingly started to laugh; so hard. “I live and I die with my brothers! To glory we go together, to h.e.l.l we accompany!” He continued to fight till his last breath.
A big dark cloud suddenly was hanging on the top of Deserted Forest Kingdom’s sky and rain pour down heavily. The rain washed the blood and blurred the vision.
After a long fight, the old general could feel his strength losing quickly. He lightly smiled and shouted loudly, “Future king of Deserted Forest Kingdom, if you can hear me, please takes care our families! Let them eat to their fullest and let them sleep soundly in the night. Let war disappear from the world. This old body can’t stay any longer…”
One of the soldier’s spear head penetrated the old general stomach and stopped the old lion’s movement. Tens of sharp spear head moved to stab the old general.
“I have no regrets!” shouted old general proudly and closed his eyes.
“But I will regret if you die!” A young man emerged from the heavy rains and seized the old man back to the city wall. Before the old general could open his eyes, a hit on his back caused him to faint.
Since the rain fell heavily, the attack from both sides ceased. There was an old belief for people on Deserted Forest and Liberty. When the rain pours heavily, all activity must be stopped and everyone must go in seclusion for praying.
Their homes once was a heavy forest with a lot of rainfall. But hundreds of years ago, everything started to change. The rain began to fall rarely and the forest turned into a savannah.
A savannah that had turned into cracked dry land. The leaders and witches of many tribes at that time told their people that was all happening because they was not feeling grat.i.tude for the rain and made the rain G.o.ddess angry. To satisfy and win over the rain G.o.ddess’s heart, they would offer a naked dance when the rain was falling and stop all activities. It was to show their joy and grat.i.tude, hoping the rain would keep coming to them.
As the time pa.s.sed, the rain became rarer and rarest. People would dance to ask for the rain to fall. It was called the rain calling’s dance, performed by a naked and pretty rain dancer. After that hard time, rain still rarely fell for them, but the tradition of not to do anything when the rain fell, especially when there was heavy rain fall, kept them doing it to respect the rain G.o.ddess.
Kingdom of Liberty General’s Camp
Tu Xi, the General of Liberty hit the table angrily, “Why did you stop attacking? The city wall was broken, send people to penetrate the city!”
“General, no soldier dares to do any activity in heavy rain. They are scared to be cursed by the rain G.o.ddess,” answered one of his majors, Kok Ji.
“Bulls.h.i.+t, if none of the soldiers are ready to make their move, all of them will be beheaded! Go relay my command!” Tu Xi looked at his subordinates. They were stuck in their spot, not willing to make a move. “All of you don’t want to move too! Enough I will lead the soldiers to break the city now! After this war is finished all of you will wait for military punishment at the capital!”
Tu Xi walked out from the command tent and disappeared. No one will ever see him again after that day.
The heavy rains continued through the night. All of the people and soldiers were hiding themselves inside their homes and tents. No one dared to walk outside. Soldiers were hugging their wives, not knowing what will happen tomorrow, after the rain stopped.
For them, after knowing the east city’s wall has broken, they knew their lives will never be the same any more. Tomorrow will be a fight to the death. Some people were wis.h.i.+ng for the rain to never stop. Wives and mothers prayed continuously, men, soldiers drinks with their brothers, laughed and cried, preparing their journey to the next life.
One person was silently working hard like a busy ant recycling the city wall. His hair and clothes were wet, yet he didn’t stop and worked till sunrise.
As the first sunlight touched the ground, a drum sounds rumbling through the city. The rain had stopped. The soldiers ran to their position on the wall, and about one thousand soldiers a.s.sembled at the east city wall, waiting for the enemies.
The old general stood between them, he didn’t understand how he was still alive and found himself slept on the road last night. His wound on his stomach had been treated nicely and didn’t harm his life anymore. He didn’t have time to think about it, since fifty thousand soldiers were stationed outside the east city wall, ready to charge inside.
The only thing that was ringing in his ear was the message from the Witch of Wood this morning. That witch sent his trusted servant to relay a secret message.
“The future king has entered the city.”
One Major named Kok Ji, asked his friends, “Have any of you found General Tu Xi?”
The other two majors shook their head.
“Well, since the general missing, we can only proceed accordingly. We will win this war and go back to the capital and give the report to the king.” Kok Ji checked their enemies through the broken wall. “Only about one thousand soldiers, this war will finish before lunch. All soldiers attack!”
Fifty thousand soldiers marched forward to attack one thousand soldiers.
From all ten thousand soldiers of Deserted Forest, there was only one thousands left who could fight. This time the old general knew, he didn’t have much choice. If the enemies successfully penetrate through the wall, the kingdom will be no more.
The Old general raised his voice. “Soldiers! Raise your s.h.i.+elds! We will survive this war together!” He looked at the soldiers behind him. A thousand peasants with shovels, wood sticks, spears, and useless weapons a.s.sembled with trembling bodies. They will be the last hold line.
Kok Ji rode a horse and lead the soldiers to move closer and closer to the city wall. As the city wall started to look bigger he saw something that shocked him to the core. There was a big cross right beside the cracking wall and the one person they were looking for was tied on the cross; naked with only pants.
“General? It is our general. Save our general! All soldier attack!” Kok Ji pushed his horse to run faster, being tailed by fast running soldiers.
“The enemies are coming!” The old general eyes shone. “Prepare! Hold the line!”
Seeing fifty thousand soldiers rushed at them was just like watching a high tsunami moving to erase them. Young soldiers were shaken and trembling, some wet their pants. Some already started to cry.
Senior soldiers laughed. “Come, come tonight we will eat in heaven! Come!”
As for the peasants, some already had ran away.
Kok Ji and his soldiers, at one meter near the General Tu Xi, suddenly b.u.mped into an invisible thick wall. The ones in front were jammed by the rus.h.i.+ng people from behind. Thousands of soldiers clamped together.
“There is a transparent wall!”
“Moved back, argghhh … I am breathless!”
“Move back, quickly move back!”
“Arghh, your spear stabbing me!”
“Don’t push me, arrrghh, my legs broken!”
“My teeth!”
The old general didn’t know what just happened.
He and his soldiers were waiting for the impact but no one came. His mouth was opened in awe as he saw thousands of soldiers clamped together on some kind of transparent wall. This was the first time he watch this kind of scene. Hardening his spirit, he carefully walked out the east city’s wall.
“General. It is dangerous to walk alone.” A Major hurried tailed the old general with some soldiers. As the Major and soldiers stepped out, they were shocking beyond belief. Thousands of enemy soldiers only could look at them with angry faces, separated by an invisible wall.
“What is that!? Transparent wall!?” One soldier tried to check.
“Isn’t he the Great General Tu Xi?” One Captain following the Major found a cross with a person tied on it.
“There is an open tent beside the cross!” As the found it, the old general stood there to observe the tent. Inside the tent there was a young man sleeping soundly without bothering them at all.
They a.s.sembled behind the old general. “General, who is he?”
The young man suddenly awoke and looked at them boringly. He yawned, stood, and stepped to the invisible wall. In front of thousands of enemies, he opened his pants and let his little brother out.
He peed while yawing at the same time, ignoring the thousands of eyes looking at him angrily behind the wall. “What? Never looked at something this big?”
He stopped, pulled up his pants and went back to the tent, “I worked all night, please don’t disturb me.” He slept again.
The old general was dumbstrucked. He saw thousands of angry enemies only three meter from the tent and the young man ignoring them.
“General do you think the young man is our enemy?” asked the major.
Old general shook his head. “We don’t know, but don’t disturb him.”
The young man suddenly spoke. “In the next tent, you can find people of your own kind. Go take her to her family.”
The old general opened the next tent and was shocked. “Princess. What has happened to her?”
“She is a drama queen, becoming a sleeping beauty. Having an egoist princess sickness. If you put a young handsome man with s.h.i.+ning armor and kiss her, maybe she will awake.” Jaime yawned again.
“Who are you?” asked the old general.
“Don’t disturb me, I am busy trying to sleep and don’t bother with the enemy. The wall can hold for one month under heavy attack. Just go back to the city and everything will be okay.