Part 7 (5)

The men in uniform under the influence of the enchanted porridge were inhabited by tremendous strength and vitality.
Guided by the Commander in Chief's henchman Baba, they built up before the sunset half of the bridge over the river in Okunde's west gate.
The sky was now completely dark and the imperial warriors deserved a good meal and rest after their hard work.
Hence the interim aide-de-camp Baba sent them back to the barracks and ordered the cook of the administrative headquarters to distribute them the finest food he had along with energizing drinks.
The men in uniform were given red beans with red-oiled cassava paste and fresh mango juice. They dined and were full.
Thereafter they went to sleep though the evening had just begun, for they were extremely exhausted and had to resume the construction of the bridge the next day morning.
The night went on and Babida the lumberjack was standing on the administrative headquarters' balcony all by himself, thinking about all the numerous things that had happened recently.
The image of the young maiden Suzie crying and holding tight to the dead body of uncle Bibi couldn't get away from his mind.
He wondered how the funeral of his late companion and former Commander was going on in the imperial city Ekule.
Nonetheless, he was comforted by the fact that the aide-de-camp Polo was over there by Suzie's side.
He regretted he couldn't travel and assist the young miss since he had an imperial mission to carry out in Okunde and especially in a critical time.
Indeed, the lumberjack was preparing for the return to the village of the three volunteers that he expected to be chased by the lured newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain.
He turned his gaze to the west side and perceived in the middle of the night the bridge under construction and was very satisfied with the progress his men had done in just one day.
The woodsman Babida made a short prayer to thank the ancestors for their favor upon him and his men then left the balcony and went straight to the main guest room that he was still occupying and snoozed.
A new day came and the sun rose above Okunde.
The imperial warriors were already set to continue the construction of the bridge over the river in the west gate of the village under the supervision of the Commander in Chief's henchman Baba.
To show the way forward, the latter planted the first shovel of the day in the pile of cement and without any further ado, the men in uniform started to build the remaining half of the bridge.
They were always under the influence of the magic potion that had been poured into the porridge that they ate as breakfast the day before.
They tirelessly mounted all the key components of the arch bridge and by noon three-quarters of the infrastructure was done.
The interim aide-de-camp Baba suggested that the men take a short break to dehydrate themselves and swallow some little chocolate cookies that had been prepared by the cook of the administrative headquarters before resuming the construction of the remaining quarter.
And as they were quenching their thirst and feeding themselves, an enormous howl emerged, sending a shiver down the spine of the men in uniform.
Huuuuuuuuuuuu
The sound that they heard. They looked toward the location from where it originated and it was no other place than the forbidden mountain.
The Commander in Chief Babida who was in the office inside the administrative headquarters came out precipitously to assess the situation.
Having understood that the big scream was emerging from the cursed hill, the lumberjack immediately rushed to the west gate to see at what stage the bridge construction works were.
Arrived at the foot of the infrastructure, he found his aide-de-camp Baba very nervous and pressuring the imperial warriors to finish the last meters very quickly.
The superior army Chief joined his henchman and together they pushed the men of honor to their limits.
Ultimately the bridge was ready just before sunrise but at the expense of the devoted soldiers who were extremely exhausted and had returned to their normal state, for the effects of the magic potion vanished away.
And suddenly, the ground trembled.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr