Rodrigo, taking advantage of the cover of night, swiftly approached a mounted guard and knocked him off his horse, covering his mouth to prevent him from making noise. He then struck him on the back of the neck, rendering him unconscious. The guards, who were using campfires for illumination, noticed that one of their companions was missing, but Rodrigo continued his actions, repeating the process with each of them.
Five men in total lay unconscious in the darkness.
Tania emerged from her hiding place, observing Rodrigo's actions.
—Impressive, and you didn't use a single drop of your divine power— she said, astonished.
—I trained very hard to hide it. That's what my mother wanted, and I trained and trained to be the best without relying on my powers— Rodrigo commented.
—That's why I could never sense her presence until today— the red-haired goddess thought to herself as she watched him with surprise.
—Alright, now I'm going to go in and release the slaves, alright?— Rodrigo said, looking towards the camp.
—Agreed, be careful— Tania responded.
Using stealth tactics, Rodrigo gradually infiltrated the camp. Like a silent serpent, he took advantage of the night and the soldiers' intoxication to disable them one by one without killing them.
However, in the center of the camp, he noticed that there were some who hadn't touched a drop of alcohol because they were devout Muslims. Furthermore, there was a lot of light from several campfires, so he would have to fight his way through.
—Is it just me, or do I hear less noise in the camp?— one of the soldiers, easily measuring six feet tall, with a thick beard, remarked.
—Yes, this is suspicious— responded another guard, smaller in stature but missing an eye. —I think we're being attacked in the night—
The guards, a total of eight, grabbed their spears and became alert while Rodrigo watched them from behind a tent. He also caught sight of a cave in the distance, from which he could hear deep cries.
—The townspeople are in there!— Rodrigo quickly realized.
But it didn't take long for a spear to pierce the tent, narrowly evaded by Rodrigo.
—Ah, I've found a rat— said the six-foot-tall soldier, wielding his spear on the other side of the tent.
—Damn, I'll have to fight— Rodrigo thought. But at that moment, four soldiers appeared behind the giant.
—I'll have to demonstrate all of my skills— the young warrior continued to think as he prepared to fight.
—Sir— one of the subordinates said, —this boy's face matches the face of the djinn who attacked the castle earlier today!—
—Then surely the Sultan will reward me with gold and slaves if I bring him the head of this filthy demon— the confident six-foot-tall man replied, retracting his spear to engage in combat with Rodrigo.
—Come here, boy! Show me your demonic powers!— the imposing guard shouted forcefully.
Rodrigo, then, launched himself at the giant soldier, but he was struck by his left arm. Rodrigo fell to the ground, and the guard attempted to impale him with his spear, but the young warrior was able to dodge the attacks as he rolled on the ground. Quickly, he got back up while maintaining his attacking stance.
—Is this the power of a djinn? Don't make me laugh— mumbled the giant, while Rodrigo started to grow impatient.
The guard then lunged at the boy, and he saw an opening. Swiftly, he evaded the spear, grabbed the giant's arm, and using his own weight, took hold of it and threw him to the ground. Rodrigo quickly impaled his fist with which he held the spear, but he realized that the other soldiers were preparing to attack, so he lifted him up and took him hostage.
—I came for the slaves; I don't want any more trouble— shouted Rodrigo, but the giant was not defeated yet and threw Rodrigo several meters away with a strong swing of his arm.
—Damn brat— muttered the giant and tried to grab his spear with his injured hand, but Rodrigo quickly sliced his back with his sword.
The soldiers lunged at the young warrior, but he evaded their attacks and incapacitated them by cutting their tendons and arms. The giant was still not defeated and tried to crush Rodrigo with his enormous body, but he narrowly avoided it and, taking advantage of being on the ground, managed to knock him out by striking him on the nape of his neck with the hilt of his sword.
But the victory didn't last long. When Rodrigo looked up, he saw the other one-eyed soldier standing in front of him with a group of archers aiming at him.
—Surrender now, boy, you're cornered,— he said.
The archers were preparing to shoot when the moon shone with an intensity never seen before, causing the archers to miss their shot at that moment. Taking advantage of the confusion, Rodrigo ran towards the one-eyed guard and knocked him down with a knee strike, and quickly entered the cave.
When everyone regained their sight, they realized that the boy had escaped.
—Surround the cave, his target is the slaves— shouted the one-eyed guard as he got up, spitting blood from the attack by Rodrigo.
The guards positioned themselves in front of the cave, aiming their arrows at the entrance. Rodrigo was trapped.
The citizens and children were inside a group of cages, and when they saw Rodrigo, they cried and shouted for him to help them. Rodrigo tried to calm them down and told them that everything would be fine, but deep down, he knew that he couldn't escape from there without his divine powers. But if he used them, Tania would surely punish him, and these slaves would not be able to be saved. He didn't know what to do.