THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 239. OUT THE BOX

"You are totally delusional," Gavina was the first to speak.

"Do you plan to kill their leader? The Tatani’s leader is the strongest member of the tribe, and he has reigned for a decade now. He also practices a secret art which no one knows of. He is also one to create the present tatani." Kiuga said.

"Even if he kills him. Do you plan to become the new leader?" Pavire asked.

"I don’t plan on killing the leader," Sagiri said. Whatever Kiuga and Pavire had said had, of course, crossed his mind, but that could be saved for last. He could not mind killing one person to save a thousand.

"What? Then you plan on waltzing in like a chief and talking them into following you south?" Nayira threw in.

"That is my first plan. Tatani has been dealt a bad hand. They have every right to be hostile. Trying to kill them will not make them follow me south," Sagiri said, and Gavina groaned.

There was no clear option in this situation. Whatever maps kiuga was drawing on the ground did not seem to make him come up with a plan as well. He had pulled out a blade, and he had managed to draw the map of Tagayia and Safaya and added a rough map where they touched in the southwest.

"What do we know about Tatani apart from the fact that they are fierce and their leader practiced a secret art which he has taught his elite force?" Kiuga asked well, leaving out the obvious that they were stuck between Tagayia and Safaya. There was indeed a lot that they did not know about Tatani.

"Well, the tribe has managed to create an information blackout around itself. Not even the spies who had gone in were able to come out. In fact, rumor has it that whoever steps into Tatani never returns," Gavina said, yawning. It was now ten, and the training in the war college was tougher than that at Galka War Academy. The sleeping schedule had changed slightly, and they slept at eleven and woke up at three to start another rigorous day. It was safe to say that war college was very strenuous. In thirty minutes or so, they would have to gather for a headcount and a night drill before bed.

"So we are up against an opponent we know almost nothing about and who hasn’t vomited anyone they swallowed," Kiuga said. "This keeps getting better and better." Kiuga sighed.

"Even brains here can’t come up with a plan. Even the smartest man in Tagayia, Seyika, has yet to break the puzzle because of the geographic position of Tatani. Perhaps Safaya and Tagayia should get in bed together and fight a common enemy," Gavina said, yawning again. Kiuga must have been tired too, but Sagiri could see the wheels turn in his head.

"Perhaps you should first get in bed with the Bami clan." Pavire snickered. The Bami men preferred gentler women, and the Tsanka were just too feral. A marriage between a Tsanka and a Bami was as rare as someone making it out of Tatani or just seeing the sun at midnight.

"Over my dead body." Gavina paused her fingers, which were caressing her beast.

"You wish," Kaka said. He did not even spare Gavina a second-long stare before he turned to look at Sagiri. "Perhaps being smart won’t help in this. If the smartest man has not broken the stalemate, then perhaps we need another way this time. What if they have a smart person too?" Kaka said there was pin-drop silence. On another day, Kiuga could have rolled his eyes and told him to stick to being aggressive, but he had, in fact, spoken something everyone had been overlooking. Perhaps Tatani was not impenetrable by chance, and there was a possibility someone had made sure it was not only impenetrable but ensured there was a total information blackout, and even their growth in strength might have been set in motion by someone.

The opponent was formidable, and if they tried to break his web, there was a chance they could get trapped in it.

"Kaka, did you suddenly grow a bigger brain than your muscles?" Kiuga paused in his movements, and Kaka hissed.

"The Bami has not managed to rule the north for decades just because we are the strongest physically." Kaka puffed his chest with pride. If his chest and neck swelled any bigger with pride, then there won’t be enough space for everyone to live. Everyone sighed, but let him have the moment. It was as if everyone was now trying to mull over his words at the moment.

Kiuga was the most silent, and his blade remained paused.

"Think!! Think Kiuga!! Think outside the box!!" Kiuga suddenly started mumbling to himself while he banged his head. This might be the biggest strategy he had ever had to come up with. Seconds ticked by, and apart from the wheels turning in everyone’s head and kiuga muttering like a mad person and slapping and banging his head slightly with his hand enough to cause a dent, the place had fallen silent.

The sound of the gong was the thing that snapped them back to earth. Seconds later, Kiuga shot up, looking to be in a trance.

"You need to go. We can pick this up tomorrow night," Sagiri said. The bunch standing around him was made of the smartest and most competitive warrior initiates, and he could tell they were taking the puzzle that had been presented to them seriously.

Moments later, they had to leave, or they would get in trouble.

"Stay safe." N’varu more chastised than advised Sagiri. Kiuga and Kaka just gave him a look before running out of the arena. Gavina gave him a weird look before she turned around, and her friends followed. Soon, the place was silent, and Sagiri felt alone, but he was not alone, and he had known that for a long time now.

"Come out!" His voice rang in the arena as he turned around to face a darkened side of the arena. Silence was prolonged before there was finally movement, and a shape stepped out. Lira stepped slowly into the light and stopped a few yards away from him.

"Are you spying on me?" Sagiri said, taking a slow step forward. The girl looked even weirder than the last time he had seen her. It could seem the shadow corp brought her back safely. Sagiri still had a bone to chew with her, and there could be no more perfect time.

"No," her voice came seconds later. It was softer now, and less robotic, and Sagiri tilted his head. What had happened to her since he last saw her?