24 The men from kingdom - 1

Jerome sat down miserably on a stone next to him as if Morpheous had mocked him with his words. Mighty that is sounded, but hollow from within. Neither did it make him feel exhilarated nor assured. He looked up at Morpheous and with a scornful voice he asked,

"We fight?"

"We fight with what Morpheous? Our bare hands?"

"I thought you would speak something wise, but it looks like the relentless heat has started to confuse your mind."

Even though Jerome was spewing words of anger, the face of Morpheous stayed the same calm as it was before. He looked at Jerome and asked,

"What are we, Jerome? What is our identity?"

Jerome looked at Morpheous in disbelief for he wasn't expecting him to ask such a question. There was a grave seriousness in his tone and that made him answer, "farmers of Ambracia."

"Then what is cropland to a farmer ?" asked Morpheous with the same grave yet, benevolent face of his.

"Erm.... Everything !!!", answered Jerome with a bit of hesitation, but that answer was everything that Morpheous was looking for.

With a smile on his face that made the corner of eyes crinkle. Morpheous asked,

"So when are you going to lose everything, won't you fight back with your bare hands Jerome?"

Jerome continued looking at him with his mouth open. He indeed had no answer to his question and from the expression on his face, Morpheous could deduce that he had conceded. But convincing only Jerome wasn't enough when they were going to face the men from the kingdom.

So giving the bowl of concoction that he was still holding in his hand to Eva, Morpheous looked at Damianos who gave him an assuring nod and said,

"You do what you think is right. The voices of the soul will guide you."

Taking a few steps up along the stone-lined path, Morpheous hauled himself up to stand on the top of a stone wall which had almost turned greenish becasue of the moss covering around. There were around thirty to thirty-five people around the pond, tending to the wounds of the ones who were injured. And out of them around twenty were men who could come along with him to fight.

So, taking a deep breath, he addressed them,

"My men from Ambracia. The hour of peril has again struck on us for the men from the kingdom have come to destroy our croplands. We may not have the privilege of an armory, but what we do have is our honor. An honor that will not bow down in front of these vile men."

But a sudden fear was seen visible on the face of the people.

They had seen the wrath of yesterday night, they were now familiar with the reach of Nubeous. They had done the mistake of offending him once by bot agreeing to give the croplands, and the penalty was heavy. So they were in no way ready to pay the price again.

There was a weird commotion that spread around the area and Morpheous could sense the reluctance amidst the people as his eyes roved around. They were not ready to fight back. One of the men who was tending to his injured wife said,

"They took our houses, they burnt our crops. I do not dare to stand up against them this time. I am not ready to have my body in a funeral hearse, Morpheous. I suggest let's take shelter in a nearby village. We can search for an alternate mode of survival. Shedding anymore blood over this is futile."

He could see reluctance on everyone's face. Even Erastus didn't say a word and turned his back, evading the call of Morpheous.

The face that had become all fierce and oozed out confidence, was now lined with worry seeing his own men ready to conceded defeat without putting up a fight. But he couldn't blame them. How could he when every ounce and every thread of hope had been burnt to ashes.

But then he saw Jerome getting up. He turned towards him and said,

"I will fight with you. I have got your back !!!"

And that simple coherent backing came in like a shower of hope, even though it was from a man who could barely lift a boulder. Morpheous smiled looking at his friend and said,

"And I have got yours !!!"

Even though they had no one else to support them, they had already won the first step to victory for they had faith in each other.

"Take care of the people in need," said Morpheous looking at Eva as he got down from the stone wall, to march towards their croplands. A free tear coursed down the cheeks of Eva. It was not a tear of fear for she knew that her brother would return victorious, but it was a tear of happiness to see that her brother had finally risen to his true self.

As they started walking, Jerome turned back and saw Damianos coming along with them. So he halted and said,

"We got this Damianos. You stay with the people." He was worried that the old man would be the first one to get hurt.

But Damianos smiled and said,

"We are in this together," and thus marched the trio of survivors who were determined no to yield their land to the men from the kingdom.

Just when they were about a couple of meters away from the croplands, Damianos said,

"Wait !!!"

The pace of both Morpheous and Jerome halted and they saw Daminaos going towards a small bush. When he came back from there, in his hands were four metallic balls, sized as big as an orange.

"Use these to blind the enemy. It has coal dust in them."

"From where did you get these?" asked Jerome.

"Is that really important now?" asked Damianos and looked at Jerome with an annoyed expression, that quietened his curiosity in an instant.

Then they started moving carefully, hiding behind the trunks of the trees which was lining the path. The sight in front of them was something that could scare anyone.

It was not just a mere huddle of men, but a troop that had more than three hundred people, who were continuously digging and destroying the cropland. There were men guarding the ones who were digging, making sure that no one could interrupt their pace and when Morpheous turned to the right, he could see the sword of a soldier colored in hues of crimson.

It wasn't ordinary blood. It was the blood of his men.

The sight of blood filled him with a rage that he couldn't contain. Holding on to the metal ball given by Damianos, he turned back and said,

"I am going first, Jerome."

"Morpheous stop. More men have arrived. More than what I had seen before. What if they don't listen to you. Damianos say something to him !!!" urged Jerome in a hushed desperate voice.

But Daminaos had nothing to say. He just closed his eyes and prayed to his lord and raised his hands to cover Morpheous's head to pronounce a benediction !!!