Part 6 (4)

Suddenly, a man shouted the Commander's name.



"My Commander!" He cried out.



Babida turned and located the origin of the scream. It was coming from the balcony of the administrative headquarters and the man who called for his attention was no one else but the late Governor's aide-de-camp Polo.



There was seemingly something serious that was happening over there.



"My Commander! It's comrade Bibi." Polo said to Babida.



The woodman ran as fast as he could toward the administrative headquarters, penetrated the hall, and mounted the steps.



Great was his pain when he saw uncle Bibi in Polo's hands, bloody and lifeless.



"Noooo!" He shouted while heaving his eyes to the sky.



The logger asked the ancestors why it was so. But no one answered him back.



In the meantime, the young maiden Suzie appeared behind him and in slow motion, she realized that the man that was lying entirely immobile against Polo's chest was her uncle.



In shock, the young maiden instinctively shoved the Commander of the imperial forces Babida and fell on the dead body of her relative.



"Uncle, why?" She cried out profusely.



The emotion was at its climax and left the lumberjack speechless. He tried to take the young maiden Suzie out of the sorrowful place but she rejected his offer.



"Leave me alone!" She said, sobbing even more.



Polo made a sign to the Commander of the imperial forces to leave the situation up to him and to go back inside.



Babida did as he was told and left the balcony. He went to the main guest room where he had been staying before his elevation.



He lay on the bed and tears cascaded down his cheek. The memories of all the intense and joyful moments he had shared with the old uncle began to arise.



His companion was no more and that was thus the second time he was losing on the battlefield a comrade that was close to him.



The image of the young lad Bodo mortally hit by the newborn Monster some weeks ago emerged again and caused him double suffering.



He therefore promised himself that this was going to be the last time he ever lost a dear acquaintance again.



Overwhelmed by fatigue, the Commander of the imperial forces unconsciously fell asleep.
The young maiden Suzie mourned unstoppably for her dear uncle as the night continued to progress. She was utterly inconsolable.
The late Governor's aide-de-camp Polo tried all he could to calm her down but it was to no avail.
The administrative headquarters' imperial sentinels came to lend him a hand in attempting to appease the young miss but none of them succeeded.
They couldn't even take the old uncle's body to the mortuary, for the young miss didn't allow them.
She hugged the corpse of her relative so strongly that it was impossible to snatch it from her without brutality, something that the Commander of the imperial forces would have never tolerated from his men.
So, ultimately they gave up and let the young miss continue her funeral.
In the meantime, the news of the new bats' attack in Okunde had spread across the empire and Big momma who was as customary sitting on her rattan chair, listened nervously to the radio.
Suddenly there was an update regarding the aftermath of the fight.
"Dear auditors. This is your reporter Raba. We have new news from the battlefield in Okunde village. As we informed you previously, there was a deadly bats' attack that happened at the beginning of the night when Babida the lumberjack was being elevated to the rank of Commander of the imperial forces. Fortunately, the divinities led the latter to victory against the devilish bats. However, there were casualties. Among which former Commander of the Ekule's regiment, Bibi, who has been mortally stung by one of Edimo's hellish creatures…" The anchor said, causing a heart stroke to the elderly who fell off her chair and passed out.
Alone and with no one around her, Suzie's grandmother died.
At the imperial palace, His Majesty Batang V celebrated the first victory of his newly appointed Commander of the imperial forces Babida, and was pleased with his choice.
"I knew I was making the right decision." He enthusiastically told Empress Serena as they lay on the lunar bed.
The latter liked the woodsman but just for the war-time hero, he was. However, she despised the fact that her husband had chosen someone outside the imperial family to occupy a position she believed was vital to the survival of their throne.
She wondered how come His Majesty Batang V had broken a non-written rule that had been in place for five generations.
She had consulted with the Oracles of the imperial palace to understand her spouse's behavior but they couldn't find any explanation.
They told the Empress that maybe the Emperor had been confused by the divinities who had an unknown plan for the land. Yet, they couldn't bring up any proof to back their assumption.
The Empress was so mad, for she feared so badly a putsch.
The night went on and the troop in Okunde's garden was galvanized after their victorious fight against the terrifying bats.
They praised Emperor Batang V for his wisdom and vision by nominating as their supreme Commander a man of high temerity and strength such as Babida the lumberjack.
They envisioned themselves climbing on top of the mountain in the northern frontier of Okunde and then going down the flank to cut the newborn Monster's head off.
They invoked the divinities to give more power to their leader so he could once again take them to victory.
Hungry after their well-earned win, they ate and drank abundantly till daybreak.
And when the first rays of the sun began to shine on Okunde, the warriors returned to their tents and slumbered.