When I wake up, I find myself lying on a stone bed. I feel a great fatigue and a sharp pain in my left arm. I'm shirtless, and I notice that there are no more wounds on my body. I look around, trying to clear my mind and remember what happened.
(That's right, the fight.)
I remember defeating the monkey god, but I was completely drained, almost fainting. I recall seeing the elder from the panther goddess appearing before me.
"I see you've woken up, a recovery worthy of a god, I must say."
Entering through the door, I see the elder carrying a tray with bandages, his gentle smile still on his face.
"Thank you for your help, elder. If it weren't for you, I might have collapsed on the ground and been captured or killed."
"Hahaha. I doubt anyone would have dared to approach the place where you were fighting. You made the entire mountain tremble; all the inhabitants of the Jibari tribe saw from above your battle against their god. After you defeated him, they got the idea that you're invincible."
I had no idea that anyone could see our fight. After a while, rational thought was thrown aside, and I focused solely on killing that damned monkey.
"How many days was I unconscious?"
"This is the fourth day."
"That's quite a long time."
(My injuries shouldn't have taken so long to heal.)
Seeing my expression trying to figure out the delay, the elder spoke up.
"Your wounds healed within hours. The problem was your arm; it seemed like something was trying to eat you from the inside. We even tried to amputate it, but we don't have weapons strong enough to cut through your skin."
I look at my arm, remembering that at the end of the fight, I used a bit of the entity's power to blind the gorilla. It must have taken advantage of my weakened state to try to consume me.
"We used the heart herb as medicine. It not only serves to strengthen a man but also has high medicinal power."
"Thank you."
I look around, searching for my weapon.
"Where is my spear?"
The elder stands in front of my arm, removing the bandages.
"Neither I nor my brethren could pry it from the ground, so we had to leave it on the mountain. You can retrieve it later."
"It's not necessary."
As he removes all the bandages from my arm, I see what appears to be a glowing purple ointment. When the elder cleans it from my arm, I see that it is healed, with only a few veins showing a different color.
"Truly impressive. Any mortal would not have lasted seconds with injuries like yours."
Seeing my arm fully healed, he stands up and places the basket of bandages on the ground.
"You are completely healed."
"Once again, I thank you and your temple."
"No need to thank me, young god. I am only preaching the teachings of my god."
With another smile, he asks me, "What is the situation of the battle?"
I remember that Bashenga is fighting against the other tribes. If four days have passed, the situation must have changed.
"I asked my brethren to keep an eye on the battle. When Bashenga returned safely to his land, he began to construct never-before-seen buildings under the command of his servant. Relying on them, they managed to fend off several enemy attacks. If the situation continues like this, victory will be achieved in a short time. Perhaps the enemy will attempt a full-force attack today or tomorrow."
"That's great. Maybe my help won't be necessary."
"Indeed, I think you should go, young god. Even if victory is achieved, it will require much bloodshed. With your assistance, you could end this battle sooner."
I didn't particularly want to get involved in matters so directly. This is Bashenga's moment to shine and become a king. But on the other hand, if I fight, I can save many people from death and also gain the cooperation and gratitude of the people, helping me to form alliances.
"Very well, then I shall begin to make my way."
POV: Third person.
Panther Tribe.
Day Three.
"FORWARD!"
Enemy soldiers shouted from the opposite side of the construction they were attempting to scale, only to be struck in the middle or on top by spears.
"Quick, climb quickly!"
The commander of that battalion shouted. The situation turned in favor of the Panther tribe since their leader returned.
They hadn't discovered how the Panther tribe leader managed to return to his people. For safety, the Jibari even searched for secret tunnels around the village, but to no avail. Shortly after his return, all members of the Panther tribe began to cut down trees and build something at the only two entrances to their village.
The enemy commanders, unaware of what they were doing, merely observed. After a day, an improvised wall of logs was built at the village entrances. The idea of this had never been seen in a tribal battle; they were accustomed to open combat with little strategy.
After seeing the construction, they attacked only to discover why it was created. As they approached, they were met with arrows fired from the opposite direction, and those who managed to reach the wall while attempting to climb were struck by spears.
Realizing that climbing was a foolish idea, they attempted to push the wall to try to topple it in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, large stones were launched from the other side, hitting their bodies. The less fortunate ones had their heads struck, falling dead to the ground bleeding.
They never expected that the construction would give them so much trouble. Allowing its construction was their biggest mistake. With no more ideas on how to breach it, they merely relied on their large numbers, disregarding the casualties. The only losses suffered by the Panther tribe were from enemy archers who fired upon the wall.
On the third day, the entire enemy army attacked at once.
"Defend!"
"YES!"
General Nordur shouted from the left side of the barrier. When he arrived with the leader of the people, the tribe did not trust him. Only after the leader stated that the general served a god friendly to the Panther goddess did they agree to work together, still maintaining caution. After Nordur suggested the strategy of the walls, the members of the tribe thought he was quite foolish, but only Bashenga understood the genius of the strategy.
On the second day, when the enemy attacked, the people of the Panther tribe finally understood the power of the wall. They accepted Nordur as an ally and obeyed his orders. He commanded the left side of the defense, while Bashenga commanded the right.
Nordur stood atop a small hill just behind the wall, shouting orders. Since the men could not see the other side of the wall and could only attack blindly, having someone commanding them from above was crucial.
"Prepare the stones!"
Seeing the enemy gathering behind the wall once again to try to knock it down, Nordur shouted. The soldiers dropped their spears and picked up huge stones from the ground to hurl at the enemy.
After hurling the stones and preventing the wall from falling, enemy archers were preparing for another wave of arrows.
"Shields!"
As if they had done this several times before, they grabbed their shields and raised them in time to protect themselves from the rain of arrows. Some unlucky ones lost their lives, and others were wounded.
"Take the wounded to the healers!"
On standby on the side, some women entered the field and dragged the wounded to the tents, avoiding unnecessary deaths. After hours at the same pace, the enemy still hadn't breached the defenses. The number of bodies began to accumulate on the other side of the barrier. The enemies used the bodies as ladders to climb more rapidly onto the wall, causing problems for the spearmen.
"Order the archers to change their aim to those climbing the wall."
"Yes, sir!"
The disadvantage quickly turned into an advantage. Due to the high number of bodies, the enemy could no longer attempt to knock down the barrier. Now there was a second defense made of bodies.
"Sir, the ape men are attacking the Right side."
A messenger arrives and reports.
"Should we send reinforcements, sir?"
The general's aide asks.
"It is not necessary. Their leader is not weak enough to need help so quickly."
"Understood."
"It seems they are also coming to attack our side as well."
The general points out, drawing attention to the horizon where enemy troops are approaching. On the other side, four men wearing white gorilla skins and wielding mace-like weapons are seen.
"Archers."
The archers raise their bows, awaiting the order. When the enemy is within range, the general orders them to fire. Arrows fly towards the four enemies who are walking leisurely. As the arrows are about to hit their targets, they raise their hands to cover their faces. The white gorilla skins are very resistant and protect them from the arrows.
"It seems arrows won't be effective," Nordur remarks.
The four men start running, and when they reach the front of the wall of bodies, they leap over it effortlessly.
As they land on the other side, smiles can be seen on their faces. For the first time, the Panther tribe members show fear. Without waiting for their action, the four men begin their attack, striking them with their large maces.
A truly bloody scene unfolds, heads explode, bodies are thrown by their great force, and no one can stop them.
"KILL THEM ALL! HAAAA!"
The largest and strongest among them shouts.
"Fire!"
The archers behind aim and shoot at the four, but the arrows once again cause no damage. Taking advantage of the panic caused by the attack, those on the other side also begin to cross the wall to join in the slaughter.
"I will take care of the four animals. Have the archers ready, waiting for my order."
Nordur speaks.
"Yes, sir."
Nordur descends from above towards the battle.
"Stand back, leave them to me."
The soldiers, who were afraid to attack the gorilla men, make way for him. He walks calmly until he is face to face with the leader of the attack.
"What brings you here, old man? Do you want the honor of dying by my hands?"
The leader of the ape men raises his hammer and strikes, aiming for Nordur's head, who remains calm.
As the hammer is about to hit his skull, Nordur spins to the left as if dancing, and then everyone sees a silver gleam passing through the giant's neck.
"What was that?"
The gorilla man spoke, then felt a great pain in his neck, which started gushing out a large amount of blood.
"You need thousands of years of practice if you want to kill this old man."
The general spoke, now holding a silver sword in his hand, and a second later, the leader of the attack falls to the ground dead.
A perfect strike.
"Now!"
"FIRE!"
Taking advantage of the enemies' shock, he orders the archers who were already waiting. Without defending themselves, most of the enemies who jumped over the wall are hit by arrows and die.
Nordur attacks the other three gorilla men with the same calmness and skill shown in his first kill, seconds later, they share the same fate as their leader.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The Panther tribe men shout with joy, celebrating the victory.
"Don't waste time, return to your positions."
"Yes!"
They responded, returning to their defensive positions behind the wall.
The battle dragged on for hours, no one managed to pass through the wall again until, at nightfall, the enemies retreated, ending the third day of battle.
"Take care of the wounded and rest, don't forget to leave guards at night."
Nordur ordered, thinking that there was still a possibility of a nighttime attack.
FOURTH DAY
When the sun rose, Nordur returned to his command position.
"Sir, the enemy has brought monsters!"
His aide spoke when he arrived at his position. As soon as he looks to the other side of the wall, he sees some men mounted on large beasts with gigantic horns, rhinoceroses.
And the general knows that the defense will not withstand their attack.