BXBX NOVEL Chapter 69: First encounter
"We found our target," He muttered as his eyes locked onto the entrance.
With a quick glance at Rona to make sure she was ready, Garnt picked up a small pebble from the ground and weighed it in his hand. He took a deep breath, steadying himself, and then with all his strength, he hurled the pebble towards the opposite side of the thicket.
It sailed through the air and landed with a soft thud, just beyond the bushes.
"What was that?" One of the men standing next to the entrance questioned.
"I don\'t know, maybe a wild animal," His friend answered, but the first guard wasn\'t confident.
"We should go and check it out."
The guards immediately reacted, their attention drawn to the noise. They whispered to each other, gripping their makeshift weapons tightly.
Garnt and Rona watched as the guards cautiously approached the area where the pebble had landed, their stones and branches raised, ready to strike at any potential threat.
With the guards distracted, Garnt signalled for Rona to stay put and stay quiet. He knew they couldn\'t risk encountering anyone on their way to find Bakotu and the miners since it could put their lives in danger.
Garnt moved silently, his senses on high alert as he slipped through the entrance of the mine with Rona and a few other villagers.
"Is it okay to not take all of them?" Rona questioned with her voice almost whispering next to Garnt\'s ear and he nodded his head.
"Yeah, if something goes wrong, they can help us from behind. It is called flanking." Garnt told Rona about his plans while travelling through the mine.
Inside the dark wooden hallways, Garnt could hear the faint echoes of distant voices. He followed the sounds cautiously, avoiding any signs of movement. Rona kept close behind him, her grip on his hand firm, her concern mirrored in her eyes.
They moved deeper into the mine, their hearts pounding with anticipation and fear. Garnt\'s mind raced with thoughts of Bakotu and his fellow villagers. He couldn\'t afford to let them down.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of winding wooden walls and tense silence, they stumbled upon a grim scene. Bakotu and the miners were tied to large poles, their faces marked by exhaustion and fear.
Standing menacingly in front of them was Moga, a hulking figure with a cruel smirk on his face.
"Answer me! How did you manage to duplicate sun on a dried coconut shell?" Moga questioned, as he held Baktou\'s face.
Baktou didn\'t look like he was in a state that he could answer, but Moga still kept questioning him.
Garnt\'s fists clenched with rage at the sight of his brother and comrades in such a helpless state. He felt a burning desire to confront Moga head-on, but as he assessed the situation, he realized that Moga was a formidable adversary.
[Don\'t do it. Be patient and find a better way. You\'re powerful, but you\'re not powerful enough to face more than thirty people and come without any wounds.]
Eva warned as she feared that Garnt would do something stupid.
Rona tightened her grip on Garnt\'s hand, her eyes pleading with him not to act recklessly. She knew that they had to be strategic and smart about this rescue. They needed a plan, not a reckless confrontation.
Garnt took a deep breath, his anger simmering beneath the surface. He knew he had to stay calm and think this through. With Rona by his side, they had strength, determination, and the element of surprise. It was time to put their plan into action and rescue Bakotu and the miners.
Garnt whispered urgently to her, "As soon as Moga steps away from Bakotu and the miners, I\'m going to attack. We can\'t let him take anyone hostage, and we need to catch him off guard."
Rona nodded in agreement, her eyes locked onto Bakotu, who was not even bothering to move against the restraints.
However, just as they prepared to make their move, a tremendous noise resonated from outside the mine. It was a thunderous howling that seemed to shake the very foundation of the forest.
"What was that? A wolf?" Rona questioned with her eyes travelling back to the entrance,
Moga\'s expression turned to one of alarm, and he immediately abandoned his plans for Bakotu and the miners, rushing toward the entrance of the mine. His underlings followed suit.
As he reached the mine\'s entrance, Moga\'s jaw dropped in disbelief. Before him stood a pack of massive wolves, their eyes gleaming with hunger as they devoured one of the guards who had been assigned by Moga to protect the entrance.
Caution gripped Moga\'s heart as he comprehended the gravity of the situation. Without hesitation, he shouted to his remaining underlings to go inside the mine so he could close to the entrance.
"There are too many and I\'m injured, so I can\'t fight back." Moga didn\'t want to run away from a battle, but at the same time, he knew how dangerous these Cenzoic fang wolves could be.
The guards hastily obeyed Moga\'s command, deserting their positions and rushing into the mine in a state of panic. They desperately tried to close the heavy entrance door, hoping to protect themselves from the approaching wolf pack.
Since Moga had no idea about the wooden door that he could simply close by turning the pulley that Garnt and his village built, he decided to take a rather primitive move, which was to cover it with a huge boulder in the mine.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Garnt and Rona acted swiftly. Garnt moved to free Bakotu and the miners from their restraints, most of them including Baktou were still unconscious due to the torture they had to go through.
Realizing that time was of the essence, they decided to lift their comrades and carry them outside to safety.
"Damn it! Where did these fang wolves come from? I hope others are okay,"
Garnt\'s mind raced with worry for the remaining villagers outside the mine. He knew that they were waiting for him and that their safety depended on his actions here. However, he also understood that without dealing with Moga and his men, they wouldn\'t be able to escape the threat of the wolf pack.
As Moga struggled to lift the heavy boulder and close the entrance door, he suddenly heard a commotion behind him. Turning, he was surprised to see Garnt and Rona working quickly to cut the vines that bound their fellow miners.
"Who are you people?" He shouted feeling the anger.
In his distraction, Moga lost his balance, and the massive rock he was attempting to hold in place came crashing down, crushing one of his men\'s leg with a sickening squish.
"Ahhhhh~ It hurts," He shouted hoping for some help, but Moga didn\'t even bother to look at him instead he squinted his eyes only to see Rona.
Moga couldn\'t comprehend what had just happened, but his focus was soon drawn to Garnt and Rona as they successfully freed their comrades. Garnt hoisted Bakotu, who was still unconscious, onto his shoulders, while Rona did the same for the other miners who were conscious.
The rest of the miners, now liberated, began helping each other and carrying those who were unable to move.
Garnt shouted for everyone to run, urging them to escape the impending danger. He couldn\'t be sure if there were any other people left inside the mine, but he made the difficult decision to leave them behind for now.
The priority was to get everyone out safely, and if they stayed, they risked being overwhelmed by Moga\'s men. The group hurriedly made their way towards the entrance, which was now the most dangerous place.
"Woman! You\'re here," Moga shouted his eyes tingling from the happiness. For a moment, he didn\'t even notice Garnt since his main attraction was on Rona.
"Get out of the way!" Rona shouted, attempting to leave the place, but Moga lunged at her like the wild animal he was.
Garnt instinctively stepped in front of Rona, shielding her from Moga\'s menacing advance. His jaw clenched with determination as he locked eyes with Moga, who seemed more furious than ever.
Moga, still fixated on Rona, snarled, "Who the hell are you? This is none of your business!"
Garnt stood his ground, unwavering. "You don\'t need to know who I am," he replied calmly. "But you do need to let us go because if you do that, you might get to survive another day."
Rona, her heart pounding, whispered to Garnt. "I will deal with him,"
She was beyond happy to see someone helping her because until now, she had always been alone no matter how dangerous the situation was.
"No, we will. After all, this is our fight," Garnt said those words and got ready for his first encounter with a rather ferocious wild animal in human skin.