The End of the World - Story I
Prisoner of War

...~ ◊ ~...

On the other hand, the main Revised forces from the north and the Devision forces IV and V from the east had arrived at the capital's defensive fortifications and were ready for a siege.

Troops have been marching in front of large gates to block access to the capital.

The forces of Devision IV and part of Devision V under the command of Basita the Murwa Kunkara were in charge of guarding the East Gate.

The other half of the V Division plus the forces of the Devision III under Bramanta the Lelana will guard the southern gate.

The western gate that was supposed to be guarded by two disappearing Revisions, was now replaced with the Devision I under the command of Bubalis the Ox.

While the rest (Devised VI) will guard the north gate commanded by Danendra the Mukti Wibawa.

Because of the combined forces of Prince I and the Hayawan Nation who have been widely lost after the previous battle, this siege strategy became quite effective considering that there were still many enemy troops behind the capital's fortress wall. Where the combined forces will not be able to survive if they do a direct strike to break into the enemy's defense gate.

The strategy of this siege was to block logistical access and the needs of the capital from outside. With logistics blocked, there will be famines and riots in the capital. That way, inevitably the enemy must attack out.

When the enemy attacks out, it will be beneficial for these joint forces because they have prepared defenses and traps to defeat the enemy who is about to attack.

Starting at night, amid the marching troops stretched. Prince I accompanied by his army generals came to the prisoner of war camp. There they attempted to interrogate Udhata, who had now been captured after losing to the forces of Devision III and Devision VI in the Northern battle.

“It's good to see you live a long life, Your Majesty,” welcome Udhata who saw Prince I come into his confinement cell.

Udhata now appears to be sitting tied to a magical bridle on a large iron pole planted. The tip of his pole widened, so that he would not be able to escape from there despite jumping high with his strength. The bridle that binds his body is also a strong magical bridle that Danendra made with his magic.

“Udhata the Knight Pambuka Gapura. I say hello to you, Mighty Knight,” replied the Prince in response to his interlocutor's welcome.

“Sorry I can't brew warm tea on my honored guests,” Udhata said as he looked at the bridle ties in his own body.

“What is the need until His Highness Prince I comes to the filthy cage of servants? Forgive me for not being able to clean my own room,” Udhata added.

“Quite your bullshit, Mr. Giant,” says Danendra.

“Wouldn't it be better if he was released from his bindings to brew some warm tea and clean this room of his for us?” ask Miss Bubalis to be sober.

“Hah... Alright. Release him,” said the Prince as he sighed.

Hearing that, Danendra also released his magical shackles on Udhata's body. After escaping from his bond, Udhata then jumped and stomped his sturdy legs to the ground while revealing a huge energy that threatened around him.

“Stop messing around, Udhata. I know you will do nothing more after your defeat,” Old Knight Basita said in response to Udhata's threat.

“Ha Ha Ha... You always understand all the heads of your students, Mr. Teacher,” said Udhata. “Alright. As Miss Buffalo requests, I will clean this room of mine for a moment and get some warm tea for all of you.”

After saying that, Udhata rushed to clean his detention cell tent with makeshift equipment. Then he went out for a while to the general kitchen camp and returned with a nice bag of tea supplies.

“Oh, you are quite friendly to a giant, Lord Knight,” said Miss Bubalis as she sipped tea in her cup, but kindly from Udhata.

“Well, Human habits are strange, -Aw!” sahut Bovin the Bison whose tongue burned while trying to drink his still hot tea.

“... I came here to ask about your involvement with King Angkara and his Queen,” replied the Prince as he sipped his tea.

“Hmm... My involvement, yes,” murmured Udhata. “Yes, I am indeed one of the ones who masterminded all the chaos in this continent.”

“Hah?!! What do you mean, Giant Man?” danendra was surprised to hear Udhata's sudden statement.

“It's enough you call me ‘giant’. I'm not that big until you have to call it that,” said Udhata as if he did not care about the statement he said before.

“Stop messing around!” bentak Basita stopped the dispute of Udhata and Danendra. “What does your statement mean, Udhata?”

“Yes as I said, I was the one who masterminded all this chaos, also the one who helped the Greedy King to rule the entire continent,” Udhata replied casually.

“... ‘One of the’? So who else masterminded this mess besides you?” ask Prince.

“Of course the other two Piningit Knights, Wirasana and Sodha. Also the King of Bawika and his own Queen.”

“So King Bawika is not controlled by the Queen, but rather his own desire to start all this chaos?” ask Miss Bubalis while glancing at Prince I.

Of course because it was different from what the Prince said before the agreement was formed between him and the Hayawan Nation. *(Episode 13)

“Just relax, Miss Buffalo,” replied Udhata. “Your Highness Prince is completely innocent in this matter. He only knows part of his story. So did the other Piningit Knights. Including the wise Basita.”

“What do you mean? So what about the real story?” ask Miss Bubalis.

“I'll be willing to tell you if you feel confident and believe in what I'm going to say,” Udhata replied.

“Do you mean to tell us a lie to pit us against the Hayawan Warriors?” bramanta asked suddenly from behind the darkness.

“Ah, Mr. Bramanta. Comeoverhere. Why don't you have tea with us here,” Udhata said after seeing the appearance of his new guests.

“Well, I'm not forcing you to believe my story. But as long as you know, it is useless for me to lie,” added Udhata while pouring tea on a cup for his new guests who have sat down with others.

“I also don't mind if you tell me your story. But what about you, Hayawan Warrior?” ask the Prince to Miss Bubalis and Bovin.

Hearing that, Miss Bubalis glanced at Bovin to convince herself whether to hear the story or not. Bovin answered with a nod.

“Good. We will hear your story, Mr. Giant,” replied Miss Bubalis.

“Alright then. I hope you don't mind if our tea gets cold after hearing the long story I'm about to tell you. Because the people in the soup kitchen would be terrified to see me coming out of custody again to pick up a new hot tea.”