Chapter 4; The King-Slayer

"Seriously Ashu! you're crazy to want him to join your party… Are you really certain about that? Think for a sec…" I spoke in an uncertain and doubtful tone trying to mask my fear with a hint of scepticism.

Ashu rolled his eyes and replied, "Come on, what's the worst that could happen?”

“Oh, Worst! well I dint know, for one we could have our asses whooped or if we are lucky, we might send to prison.”

“I just want to see if he's a good guy or not. And besides, we are wasting the day light. Are you coming or not?" Ashu replied, his tone determined.

"Of course, he's a bad guy, Ugh! gosh! he's in prison for a reason, you know..! Sigh... fine… wait!! I'm coming." I countered, trying to talk some sense into Ashu. But no avail and so I followed him quietly and cautiously.

We walked through woods and shrubs, while watching our steps and checking our surrounding before any action.

Staying close to each other, we crept our heads towards the entrance of the town, our eyes constantly scanning the area for any sign of the military lookout.

We sneakily hid our car in the bushes, our first task, enter the city without raising any red flags or alerting the authorities.

 We approached the gate, Ashu suddenly whispered, "Shush!! They are coming! Hide!" upon his warning, I quickly ducked behind a large tree, my heart pounding with adrenaline. Praying worst not to come. I could hear the muffled voices of  incoming soldiers coming closer and closer, as they coming to our direction, their footsteps crunching on the gravel becoming audible. I strained to make out what they were saying, but their words were still unclear.

Suddenly, one of the soldiers exclaimed, "You heard the news?"

"What news?" the other soldier asked eagerly. My heart skipped a beat as I realized the significance of their conversation.

"I was guarding that prisoner yesterday, and Mr. Lester and Mr. Quill came to see him in the underground prison. They had me stand outside the door, so I couldn't hear what they were talking about," the first soldier with black mustache said, his voice filled with intrigue.

"Do you mean the prisoner they're planning to execute by tomorrow noon?" the second soldier with green camofalged vest asked, with the tone of disbelief in his voice.

"Yes, him." the first soldier confirmed.

"I dont get it, is he really that dangerous to warrant a death penalty?"

"I was thinking the same thing, though he was our saviour, he still did killed a king  of country and its serious crime. Though I dont know why he was set up, a gaurd dog killing his own king, might not be the accurate...."

Just as the soldiers were about to continue their conversation, Ashu stepped out from behind a nearby tree, with a sly grin plastered on his white face. "Well, hello there! Care to chat with me for a moment?" he said, with his jovial tone and without a care in the world expression.

Surprised by the sudden appearance of an unknown man, soldiers were taken aback, and I couldn't help but think 'Oh lord!!…'  my inner-self whispered to me saying I may have made a wrong choice.

"Who are you!!?" Both soldiers asked simultaneously in hurried voices and a wide eye, but what Ashu did next was even more shocking.

He swiftly grabbed the nearest soldier by his throat just by his one hand and lifted him with ease, turning himself and he took out a stun gun from his pocket with left hand, and then started threatening the other soldier;

 "Now, my friend" he began, his tone calm and measured, "Please do continue what you were saying before. Oh, and know this if you try to do anything funny, your friend here will face the consequences of your actions." The soldiers' expressions turned to one of fear and apprehension as they saw the gun in Ashu's hand.

"Please sir. Please don't hurt him!"Soldier spoke in fear, finding friend held by his throat and gun pointed to his head.

"Then speak!" Ashu growled, his finger tightening on the trigger "I don't know! information about convits  are classified…"

"That's not what I'm asking, continue what you were talking to each other." The soldiers hesitated for a moment, he gulped the lump of saliva, and finally spoke up.

"That man... showed up at our base two days ago, asking for some food." the soldier began.

"At first, we were suspicious of him, many of us took out him as a beggar, because of the way he was dressed, we didn't know who he was at that time. But then some of the soldiers took pity on him as the man was on verge of collapse and therefore soldiers offered him something to eat."

"And?" Ashu prompted; his gun still trained on the soldiers. "Well, little did we knew, the was quite the blessing in disguise. Just as he was leaving, a group of revolutionaries attacked our base. We were caught off guard and couldn't defend ourselves, our leaders at that were not present, the man took matter in his own hands and stepped in and he single-handedly took down the entire band of raiders, all by himself in just five minutes, he made it look easy. He moved with lightning speed and precision, using his skills to take out each raider one by one. We were all in awe of his bravery and fighting prowess."

"Wow!" I couldn't help but interject, "That's sound impressive! But how was he arrested then?"

"Unfortunately, because of his unique fighting style, many of the revolutionaries recognized who he was. When our superior returned, they too found out who the man was and arrested him. they used the opportunity to blackmail Cale, threatening to brand the soldiers who fed him as traitors and then execute them and their family, if he didn't surrender himself."

"Faced with that choice, Cale had no choice but to comply and then he turned himself in. He did it all to protect the soldiers, who he had no tied with him and only had helped him in his times of need. That's all I know," the soldier concluded, as his voice filled with fear. "Please, have mercy on us. Let him go. I beg of you."

"Sure. But I'm sorry for doing this, it won't hurt…"

"Huh!!"

SMASH!!

"ARGH!!!"

SMASH!!

"ARGH!!!..." Without a warning, Ashu suddenly lunged forward and delivered a solid punch to the first soldier's stomach, causing the soldier to fall unconscious. He then simantanoulsy delivered a roundhouse kick on to the second soldier's neck and a punch straight to the liver. In just a fraction of a second, both soldiers were down for the count, lying unconscious on the ground.

"Woah! you weren't kidding when you said you were strong."  I could think of to describe his magnificent display of strength.

I confess that I was considerably startled by his fast, precise movements. My respect for his powers increased wondrously.

‘What in the hell!!’ I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease as we dragged the unconscious soldiers behind the nearby bushes and covered them with branches and leaves, disguising them from any potential passerby. We knew that our actions were wrong, but the stakes were high now.

"Now what?" I asked my voice barely above a whisper.

"Quick, let's tie them up and take their uniforms. This will make it easier for us to enter the city unnoticed," Ashu said in a hushed tone as he pulled out a rope.

‘Sigh…’I couldn't help but feel a mix of shock and admiration as I watched Ashu's quick thinking and resourcefulness in action.

"What do you think, how long will they remain unconscious?" I asked curiously as we quickly changed into their uniforms.

"A hour, maybe," Ashu replied with a mischievous grin. "But let's not stick around to find out. We might have to face some awkward questions when they wake up."

We made our way towards the city, excitement and trepidation building within me.

"We're finally here!" Ashu exclaimed, his voice ringing with excitement.

"Looks like we're going to be playing dress-up as soldiers today."

"Are you ready?" Ashu asked me, scanning our surroundings for any threats.

"I'm asking you again, are you sure?" I replied, a hint of doubt creeping into my voice. "You heard what those guards said; what other proof do you need?" Ashu said, a determined look on his face. "But…"

"My gut says we need to meet with this King-Slayer guy." Ashu replied determinedly. "And besides, who wouldn't want to meet a guy with such a cool nickname? King-Slayer? It's like he's a superhero or something."

"If you say so," I said, still unsure. And with that, Ashu and I split up and started gathering some information.

After searching and roaming for a few minutes, I found the Vashir prison. I made my way to the designated meeting spot, Ashu joined me a few minutes later.

“Found anything?” I nodded and took him to the location.

 "Now the question is, how should we get in!?" I asked, as we surveyed the towering 16 ft walls erected to prevent intruders like us from entering. At the entrance, two guards stood, their huge rifles at the ready.

"Don't worry," Ashu said, clapping me on the back. "We'll just have to use our charm and good looks to distract them. And if that doesn't work, we'll just have to rely on our ninja skills."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at Ashu's confident grin. I had a feeling this was going to be a wild ride.

Just as Ashu and I were scratching our heads, trying to figure out our next move, a man crept up behind us and bellowed, "Who are you cadets, and what brigade do you serve?" The middle-aged man was dressed in military garb and was guarded by two beefy soldiers who looked like they meant business. He had an air of self-importance and command, which made us feel a little intimidated.

"G-Good morning!!" Ashu and I snapped to attention, saluted the man in front of us, and clicked our heels together. Unfortunately, our disguise was quickly exposed. "You two… aren't from the army, are you!?" he said, with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Shocked and nervous, we gulped the saliva that was forming in our mouths. I quickly thought of a lie. "We serve under the second division, Sir! Unfortunately, the patrolling unit is full, and my friend here isn't feeling well, so I was waking my friend here to the medics," I said, trying to sound as convincing as possible, seeing him straight in eyes with a poker face.

"Who's your superior?" the sergeant asked, in a gruff tone. "Mr. Luther, Sir!" I replied, while giving Ashu the "come up with something" signal. And boy, did he deliver! "Ugh! Ray, my stomach hurts! I think I need to go see a medic ASAP!" Ashu groaned, clutching his stomach, and crouching down on the ground, his face contorted in pain.

The sergeant, seeing Ashu's performance, spoke to me in a voice of urgency; "What are you gawking at, Cadet?! take your friend to the medics right away?"

“Yes, sir!" I took Ashu's hand and supported his body through my shoulders, and we walked past the sergeant's sight.

‘Is it me, or I just saw a smile crept in his face, might be my imagination’

As soon as we were out of his line of vision, we quickly darted into the bushes to avoid prying eyes.

"What now?!" I exclaimed, trying to keep my voice low. "Let me think... By the way, that was some quick thinking back there. You saved our butts! Thanks for that, How did come up the right name." said Ashu, slapping me on the back.

"Id cards, turn that over, you'll find a encrypted code, this code is only can be read by somone who served in the millatry aleast once in his life, or knows someone who had served. This code comprise the details like unit no and unit commanders name." 

 "Oh! So, What's the plan, now?" he asked, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "Let me think...How about we both go there and we'll see," I replied, with a mischievous grin. "Let's do it!" Ashu exclaimed, fists clenched in determination.

As we approached the entrance, I took a deep breath and thought to myself, "I hope this act of mine works, otherwise we're both screwed for sure." Ashu was standing behind me, silent and ready for action. But then he suddenly whispered, "Hey, if this doesn't work, let's pretend we're part of a mime troupe, that might work." With his bad dad’s jokes, I was little by little getting angry, and I whispered back, "Sure, why not? We could call ourselves the 'Silent but Deadly' duo." We approached the gate confidently, Ashu struggling to hid his grin stood behind me.

"You there! Lieutenant Lester asked you and this guy to guard the prisoner inside; you go with him and ask the insiders to change their shifts," I said, trying to sound confident and authoritative.

"But what about outside?" asked the guard, a grey-haired seedy soldier.

"About that, you and I will be guarding from this instance. While my friend is here, he will be guarding the prisoner," I said, pointing towards Ashu and giving him a subtle nod.

"..."

"Any other questions?" I asked, trying to sound casual. Ashu and the guard on the right entered the underground prison. Now all we could do was hope that nothing went wrong and that Ashu returned as soon as possible.

"What regiment do you serve, my friend?" asked the grey-haired guard, who stood beside me. Without hesitation and with a charming smile on my face, I replied, "I serve under Lieutenant Luther, second brigade. Ray, what about you?"

"What a coincidence! I too serve under the second brigade, Warner."

Oh sh*t! sh*t! sh*t! What should I do now, What should I do now? Think  Ray, think?

"But this is the first time I've seen..."

"Oh! About that, me and my friend there, transferred today from the sixth brigade, which was under lieutenant Quil's."

"Oh! Then I welcome you, my friend."

"Thank you! What about you? Do tell me something about this place." I asked, trying to steer the conversation away;

"Well, there's nothing much to see in this town, other than the main building…"

"Oh!"

"Can you tell me something Mr lester!?"

"Ha-ha!! You'll found about him eventually, I don't want to ruin your day by telling about him before hand." said Warner with a laugh,

"But don't be fooled by his age, he may look old crone but that scrawny body of his has the strength of 100 elephant." This comment made me shudder. While standing, I prayed, we overcome this hurdle.

‘Ashu, please hurry...’

To be continued….

Author note:: Editing will be done in a few days, so I'm sorry for the errors and mistakes.

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