The two soldiers who walked along the left side and the right side did not find the end of the swamp, even though they were quite far along to the edge of the swamp. Nor was there a path or anything that would allow them to go any deeper.
In the end, each of the soldiers turned around, directing their horses to return to their ranks with the others.
"You guys found another way?" Jumara asked his two soldiers who were approaching them from the right. "Area that is not flooded?"
"We apologize, sir," replied one of the two returning soldiers. "It seems that this swamp has no end at all."
"Hmm, is that so, huh?" Jumara took a deep breath.
"What about you two?" asked Leyman of his two soldiers coming from the left. "Any better results?"
"We are the same, sir," answered the one of two. "We didn't find any dry areas."
"What next, Jumara?" Leyman asked the Maghabean commander. "What should we do now?"
Jumara took a deep breath, again. His gaze fixed on the calm surface of the swamp. Then, into the shadows of dead trees in the middle of the swamp itself.
At this moment, Jumara actually hoped for Leyman because Leyman was the commander of the Angholi Kingdom. And the Angholi kingdom is the only kingdom that has a territory that is in direct contact with the Forbidden Forest.
Indeed, there is still one other kingdom whose territory also intersects with the Forbidden Forest, the Irisana Kingdom in the north. To be precise, the southeast and south regions of the Irisana Kingdom's rule.
However, compared to the Angholi Kingdom, the area of the Irisana Kingdom that intersects with the Last River and the Forbidden Forest is much smaller than the area belonging to the Angholi Kingdom.
Of course, thus, Jumara hoped that Leyman would know more than himself who was the third-level commander of the Maghabea Kingdom.
And hadn't that man boasted that he knew the area better than Jumara himself earlier?
However, Jumara did not want to spark a dispute with Leyman. That's why he chose to remain silent. At least, for now.
Jumara then asked for a bow and arrow from one of his soldiers.
"Smear the arrow with something that can burn!" Jumara ordered his soldiers.
The soldier who was carrying a bow near Jumara then used a kind of fine fiber which he took from a pouch in the saddle of his horse. After bandaging the arrowhead, the soldier gave the bow and the special arrow to Jumara.
"What do you want to do?" Leyman asked Jumara.
Jumara burned the arrowhead with fire from one of the torches nearby. Then, Jumara aimed the arrow at one of the dead trees in the middle of the swamp.
"I will make the way for us," said Jumara while steadying his aim and pulling his hand on the bowstring.
Tsk!
The arrow shot through the thick fog and hit a dead tree in the middle of the swamp.
Thud!
Seeing what Jumara was doing, Leyman understood and then ordered his soldiers to do the same.
"Light up this swamp!" said Leyman. "Aim for every dead tree in the middle of the swamp!"
The Angholi soldiers carrying arrows moved forward to get a better position to release their arrows.
Likewise with the archer warriors from the Maghabea side.
One by one the fiery arrows hit their targets. The dead trees are now starting to burn and the area in the middle of the swamp is starting to look brighter even though the thick fog hasn't dissipated at all. Without a gust of wind, it seemed like it would be difficult to get rid of the fog.
While the archer soldiers fired their fiery arrows, Jumara and Leyman watched the surface of the swamp.
And like before, the water surface looks still calm even though there are small ripples that are starting to be seen. However, they think it might be caused by the fish that inhabit the swamp.
Nothing suspicious could be seen there this far for them.
"Hey," said Jumara to his soldiers. "Throw something heavy into the middle of the swamp! There, and there!"
Two or three Maghabean soldiers then looked for something under the hooves of their horses. Some found a fistful of stone, and some found pieces of wood. And then they threw the stones and the pieces of wood into the middle of the swamp and made a loud splashing sound on the surface of the water.
And there was also another soldier who found a broken tree branch that was quite long. The soldier used a branch the size of an adult's hand to measure the depth of the swamp from the side adjacent to them.
Jumara wanted to make sure that everything was safe before deciding to cross the swamp.
There was no reaction from the throwing of stones and pieces of wood into the middle of the swamp, except for small ripples which again might be fish running around because they were disturbed.
There was no larger ripple that they could say could be a clue that there was a huge, terrible creature beneath the black marsh water, such as a crocodile or a huge snake.
Not at all.
The surface of the marsh remains as it was before.
And then, the soldier who was measuring the depth of the swamp from the bank approached Jumara.
"Sir, I have measured the depth of this swamp," said the soldier reporting the situation to Jumara. "The very edge is just ankle-deep, and a few feet forward only knee-deep."
"Very well," said Jumara. "Back to your horse!"
"Yes sir."
"You want us to cross this swamp, Jumara?" asked Leyman.
Again Leyman showed his fear, but this time Jumara understood Leyman's fear. Crossing the swamp at night like this was not a wise decision. However, they seemed to have no other choice.
"Do you want us to wait until daybreak, Leyman?"
If only the two of them were there, then perhaps Leyman would not hesitate to confirm Jumara's words.
But, of course, Leyman didn't want to appear cowardly and lose his prestige in front of the soldiers, let alone in front of his soldiers.
TO BE CONTINUED ...