Chapter 16: The News

"Did your find the prince?" Governor Ramos asked one of his men while chilling on his throne. He had a chicken leg piece in his hand.

"I am afraid there is no information, my lord," the soldier said. "We are unable to find any trace of them."

"What are you doing, then?" The governor was mad. He had been searching for Prince Colt and his soldiers for days, but they had somehow disappeared without a trace. "Do not show your face until you find them!" he shouted.

"As you order, my lord." The soldier bowed and left hurriedly.

"My lord, there is a bad news," another soldier suddenly entered and said.

"What happened?" the governor inquired.

"There is an unknown army of tribal people marching towards our castle," the soldier replied.

"What?" the sudden news surprised Ramos. "What tribal people? Who is leading them? Is it Hammer?"

"No, my lord, our spies have informed that a woman is leading the army," the soldier said.

"A woman?"

"Yes, my lord."

"How big is this army?" asked the governor.

"It is in thousands, my lord. It is large enough to lay a siege," answered the soldier.

Governor Ramos gobbled up the whole leg piece in one go. He always ate a lot when he got some stressing news. "Okay, fortify the castle. Num… num… Our spies must notify me about their every move."

"As you order, my lord." The soldier bowed and exited.

***

King Hammer and his army had camped near a lake. He was busy with his maidens in his tent when a soldier asked his permission to enter.

"Do I have permission to enter, my king? I have news."

"Yes," said the king.

The soldier entered and bowed. "My king, we have got the news that an other army is approaching the bordering castle of Wild."

Hammer was busy with his maidens until now, but he had to stop when he got this news. "What army?" He was surprised.

"It is an army of tribal warriors, my king," the soldier replied. "A woman is leading them."

"A woman?" he wondered. He suddenly realized who it might be. "I see. It must be her. That fiery girl. The daughter of the supreme commander." But he was still unable to understand why she attacked the castle. He ordered his soldier, "Tell the chiefs to meet me immediately."

"As you order, my king." The soldier bowed and left.

Hammer wanted to continue his exploits with the maidens, but had to put it on hold for sometime.

After a while, the tribal chiefs gathered outside his tent. They waited for him to come outside. They wondered if there was something important for him to gather all of them all of a sudden.

They bowed when King Hammer stepped out of his tent.

"I know you must be thinking why I have called you here," he said.

"Yes, my king," Chief Fugu said.

"There is news. The daughter of Kanga, who has stolen the crown of the supreme chief, has gathered an army. She is marching towards the bordering castle of Wild," he announced.

"What?"

"She gathered an army?"

"Why is she attacking the castle?"

The chiefs murmured among themselves until the king raised his hand and signaled for them to stop.

"I know whom she must have contacted for the army," he said. "I am sure she has made an alliance with the rebel chiefs."

"It must be the case, my lord," an old tribal chief said. His name was Tooga. He was of a strong build and wore animal skin. He also wore an amulet with a small human-like skull. He had red paint stripes on his cheeks.

"But I still cannot understand why she is attacking the castle," the king said. "Does she know Colt is in there?" Suddenly, something struck his mind. He called his soldier and asked him, "Is there any news from Varius?"

"No, my king," the soldier replied.

"Damn it. I should have understood sooner," he reacted.

The tribal chiefs glanced at each other when they saw the stressed face of their messiah.

King Hammer had a theory in his mind. How did Dyna get the information that Colt was in the castle? Varius went to the rebel chiefs to make them submit to him, but the chiefs had now gathered behind the fiery woman. The question was - Where was Varius? Did he give her the information? Was he even alive?

"What should we do now, my king?" Fugu asked.

"We will do a fake retreat from here." The king smirked. "Let them not get the news of our army approaching the castle. Let them attack the castle and weaken its defenses. Once they both get weaker after days of struggle, we will take them by surprise and annihilate them all." His smirk turned into a grin that made his canines visible. "Along with my brother."

The chiefs again glanced at each other and bowed to him together. "As you command, my king."

"Fine. Now, go and rest."

The chiefs bowed again and walked away.

Hammer entered his tent and picked up a maiden in his arms. "So, where had we left?"

***

Colt and Rozerd were examining the soldiers separately. Their men had to be on top of their game before the conquest.

A few soldiers practiced shooting arrows at moving meat pieces tied to a string. All of them hit the target successfully.

"Good," Rozerd appreciated them.

A few soldiers wrestled at a distance. They slammed and beat each other.

"Go for the leg," Colt advised one of them.

A soldier brought news to Rozerd at the moment. "My prince, there is news."

"What is it?"

Colt saw his brother talking to the soldier and reached for him. "Did something happen?" he asked.

"Our spies have sent the information that King Hammer is marching towards the bordering castle of Wild with his army."

Prince Rozerd smiled. "So, the time has finally come." He then told his soldier, "Keep me posted about every development."

"As you order, my prince." The soldier bowed and walked away.

"What should we do now, brother?" Colt asked.

"We will work as planned. We will sandwich their soldiers between the castle and our own army."