The royal army of Leptis rode on speedily towards the great wall of Dawaro. The fastest on the track was King Negus with his sons following gallantly and closely behind.
They soon reached the place. Syphax was the first to step down from his horse. Massi followed suit and together they walked towards the place to inspect the area.
Syphax bent down and fetched some of the sand. The texture and the smell did not seem right to him. "The scent, its fresh. They just left." Syphax commented. Massi looked on still scanning the area with his sharp vision.
He looked at the marbled watch tower carefully. Something didn't seem right. An arrow suddenly shot out of nowhere towards him. He swiftly dodged and let out a sharp cry which alerted the entire army. Several men suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started shooting arrows.
The formation of the army quickly changed. The armed men suddenly used their shields to form a protective cover over the king. This caused the symbols on the shields to activate creating an invisible barrier which caused the arrows to bounce back upon impact.
Dengel seized the opportunity to change the climate around the area. It suddenly became windy giving him the advantage of controlling the arrows to use against their opponents. Syphax and Massi continued to dodge the arrows.
Syphax stomped the ground three times and teleported to the man at the watch tower. He stabbed him in the neck and threw him off.
He took on the automatic crossbow and started shooting at the men killing many of them one by one. The platoon leader spotted him and immediately rushed over to him.
He shapeshifted into a hawk and flew towards Syphax. Massi sensed his action and immediately threw lightning strikes at it. It fell down with a thud and morphed back into his original form
He looked at Massi wit bloodshot eyes and cackled with laughter. "Your skin will hang on the wall of my master today" he said spitting out blood. "I think it will be the other way round garba." Massi said drawing out his curved blades which shone in the bright sunlight.
The leader somersaulted in the air and landed a powerful leg kick on Massi, but he dodged and gave him an uppercut causing him to fall on is back. Massi rushed to strike him, but he kicked the blade away and tripped him.
Aragorn, who was on his father's side saw Massi who was now in a tight situation. "enferoi teleporta" he said under his breath which caused him to teleport to Massi's area.
He sneaked up behind the leader and stabbed him in the shoulder. He let out a cry of pain, alerting his followers who immediately stopped fighting. The royal army rushed over and apprehended all of them, forcing them to their knees.
Syphax saw this from his position and teleported back down again. "I had him." Massi lashed out in anger at his younger brother.
"Didn't think so." Aragorn said with a smirk. Massi tried to speak but Syphax hushed him. His glare made it clear to Aragorn that it wasn't over. Syphax took hold of the leader and waved his hand. Syphax put an enchanted bracelet on his wrist to prevent him from using his magic. He tried to remove it but to no avail
Dengel saw his signal and relieved the windy condition of the place. Syphax let go of the leader and whistled to Hashifa. The gracious horse immediately galloped to him. He mounted the horse and walked towards the rebels with his brothers following behind.
He stopped in front of the rebels and bowed to his father. The old king returned the bow. "Who are you and who is your master?" Syphax asked in a loud tone.
They remained silent prompting him to signal to his brothers.
They brought their leader forward and Massi made as if to stab him again, but he resisted. "Please, please. Spare me. I will you tell you everything I know." he said, pleading for his life.
"Who sent you here?" Syphax asked again. "King Amlak of house Eritrea." he replied. King Negus came forward and glared at the man.
"Where is Amlak? Where is that imbecile?" he asked, spitting on him. The rest of the men gasped at the sight of this.
The action of the king meant death to the leader.
The leader bowed his head and started laughing. He laughed and laughed until tears came out of his eyes. They all found it strange and weird. "He has you exactly where he wants you to be" he said still laughing continuously.
Syphax got down from his horse in anger and slapped him.
"Speak with respect when you are in the presence of the great king" he yelled. "Syphax, enough!" King Negus said lifting his scepter. "Yes, I think you should listen to your master, dog." he said
Syphax angrily took out the blade sticking out of his neck and stabbed him again in the chest. They all watched as he writhed in pain till, he died.
"Kill them all." Syphax ordered. The royal army immediately took out their bow and arrow and killed all the rebels.
"We have to go inside." Syphax said to his brothers. "If I may your grace, I think you should stay here with Dengel while we go. I fear there might be another trap" Syphax added. The royal army parted into two groups. The other half followed the three brothers towards the gates.
The king nodded and Dengel bowed his head to the prince.
The three brothers mounted their horses and rode towards the wall of Dawaro. The huge and thick wooden gates were half burnt and wrecked. Syphax signaled to the first group, and they entered through the gates to survey the area.
They signaled back and the three brothers rode into the place cautiously. Massi constantly teleported around the place to see if the coast was clear. He winked at Aragorn at his success, but he reciprocated with a scoff. The place was in total ruins. the place smelt of old blood and decaying bodies were scattered all across the place.
The houses and building were burnt and destroyed. The placed was just ghostly ruins.
Aragorn looked in horror as dead bodies including that of oldies and
"There is no one here Syphax. I think they were captured." Aragorn said to his brother.
"Let's head back. we will know what to do later." Syphax said turning his horse around, but Aragorn blocked his way. "You don't look surprised. Do you know anything about their whereabouts brother?" He asked with a confused look
"I do not wish to answer" Syphax said with a glare
"Tell me the truth, are they alive or not?" Aragorn asked wit fear in his eyes. Syphax remained silent. "King Harrar and Zara are still alive." Syphax finally said. "And Yaqob?" Aragorn asked. Syphax remained silent once more. His silence, giving out the painful truth that Aragorn didn't want to hear.
Aragorn got down from his horse and broke down, trying to contain his tears but couldn't. Tears flowed freely from his eyes as he couldn't bear the pain of losing his only friend.
Massi teleported back, unaware of the revelation. Aragorn's current state hinted to him that all wasn't well. "We have to get back to father. " Syphax said in a calm tone.
"That son of a monster, I will make him pay for everything. I swear by the great power of Astar, Amlak will die by my sword." Aragorn said amidst tears and screams. He tore his clothes sobbed. After a few minutes of sobbing and silence, the three brothers eventually brought themselves together and went back to their father.