Part 7 (6)

The Commander of the imperial forces Babida and his henchman Baba had planned and built a bridge over the river in Okunde's west gate to set up the giant bird.
The infrastructure was ready for use. However, what the woodsman and his aide-de-camp had not anticipated was that the men in uniform would be tired at the end of the construction and therefore would need some time to rest and recuperate the energy that they spent.
And now they were in a dire situation. Babida the lumberjack had commissioned a commando to the forbidden mountain to tease and lure the beast to the village, which was now underway.
The three volunteers were running away as fast as they could from the merciless bird which despite its slow pace could somehow keep up and was chasing them with great determination.
It destroyed everything that was on its path and made the soil shake so strongly that it reached the west gate of Okunde's village where a battalion of two hundred imperial warriors was waiting for it.
As the villain neared the village, tension among the imperial warriors was palpable.
The Commander in Chief Babida who was worried because his men didn't have time to replenish themselves, thought about trying something desperate.
He removed from the right pocket of his silk trousers the empty glass bottle that contained the magic potion given to him by Guigna the god of strength, and handed it over to his henchman Baba, ordering him to fill the container with some water from the river.
The youngster took the bottle and hastily did as he was told. He brought it back and gave it to the lumberjack.
The logger then started a prayer to the ancestors.
"Our forefathers, you have given your men a potion for strength and vitality but there is no more and now they face a great danger which I fear they won't surmount, for they are extremely tired after the bridge construction works. I have ordered that the magic potion be replaced with some water from the river in front of us. I thus urge you to give to this liquid the same abilities and I shall make a big sacrifice for you." He said.
Then the Commander of the imperial forces instructed his henchman Baba to distribute a drop of the water inside the bottle to each of the men in uniform.
They all drank the beverage and very quickly found themselves in the greatest shape ever.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
The newborn Monster caused another earthquake as it progressed toward Okunde village, running after the commando of three imperial warriors who came to disturb its peace in its hideout in the forbidden mountain.
The volunteers ran toward the north gate of the village but soon the oldest could no more keep up with the infernal race, so he stopped to take a short break.
The youngest and the biggest were forced to leave him behind, for the mission was greater than him and just like any imperial soldier, the oldest had taken an oath to fight and defend the Batang empire to the ultimate sacrifice.
Now alone in the middle of the bush, the oldest took deep breaths as he felt the giant bird closing the gap on him.
He turned to look on his back and perceived the long neck of the five-meter high and ten thousand-kilogram villain and was frozen.
The oldest tried to take the sword in his back but was so tetanized that he failed twice to do so.
He tried a third time and succeeded, however, it was too late. The newborn Monster was too close and with its sharp beak, it pierced the skull of the old imperial soldier who dropped dead.
The wild animal looked in its front and glanced from a distance at the youngest and biggest volunteers who were provocative and insulting.
"Bring your dirty and fat rear over here, ugly giant!" They were yelling.
Therefore the beast continued to run after them with even more speed and anger.
The two volunteers reached Okunde's north gate where the checkpoint had long been abandoned on the order of the late Emperor Batang IV, father of the reigning Ruler Batang V.
The commando quickly crossed and switched the direction to the west.
The newborn Monster kept chasing them while ravaging everything on its way.
The manhunt continued and soon the beast was lured to the west gate where Babida the lumberjack and his men were fully geared up to give a warm welcome in their own style to the giant bird.