Those who weren't suffering from insomnia were too tired to fall asleep. Two hours before the attack led by General Gahiji, Fadala entered the room where Feruzi was presiding over the Discharge Session. From his countenance, everyone soon understood that the news he was bringing was not good.

  The announcement was made in a dry, blunt manner. Mashal frowned. Although he had a well-structured spy network, Ilê Apanyan was many steps ahead of him.

  The undertaker asked for the entire Ilu Nla Liberation Movement camp to be evacuated immediately. The rebels in the camp didn't have enough weapons and ammunition to fight off the advance of the Cyber Troop, nor did they have any knowledge of the mediumistic arts. It would be very difficult to fight while protecting civilians.

  Ekundayo shook his head. He didn't know much about the local structure, but he knew that logistics were impossible.

  “I don't want to be a pessimist, but dragging all these people outside the walls won't be easy. It's night, they're tired, and the evacuation might scare them…”

  “What's your proposal then, are you going to leave them to die? Every minute we waste time, the enemy advances.”

  Azekel and Adisa looked at each other in awe. Akachi's father even felt guilty. He knew that the location of the hideout had something to do with a tracker implanted in him. Azekel got up from the floor and said:

  “Ekundayo is right, Fadala. We need to give our penetrators a good distraction.”

  The hitman, with a rare lack of control, grabbed the shoulders of the former medium and said:

  “Don't joke about it! You can't fight an army alone. We need to evacuate this place urgently, Mr. Azekel.”

  Mashal laughed audibly. Everyone turned to him. The ex-sage walked among those present, trying to calm the mood. He went to the window, pulled aside a ruined shutter made of soda can seals. He faced the immensity of the night.

  With a mixture of uncertainty and expectation, he turned to the others and spoke:

  “We can't ignore what Fadala said, we have to evacuate the people. They are refugees, not guerrillas. They take up arms more to protect themselves than to attack…”

  Spin Bomb, who until that moment had been silent. He walked up to Mashal and pointed to the room where Akachi was and shouted:

  “What about him? Tell me, what are you going to do for him? He can't be moved now. The Unloading Session hasn't been completed, you know? I'm not leaving without Akachi!”

  Mashal noticed the swordsmith's eyes brimming with tears. She held them back because of the force of the hatred pouring down her cheeks. She wasn't willing to negotiate. Akachi's life was at risk.

  The master of suspicion stared at Azekel and Adisa, grandfather and father made the same gesture. None of them would move until Akachi could stand.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  What a girl! Now I know why you decided to train her, Feruzi.

  Despite his self-confidence, the problem of the attack had not been solved. With unparalleled speed, Mashal drew up a contingency plan. When he finished his report, Ekunadyo was perplexed, he thought that the ex-sage wouldn't survive it.

  “If you use that Ofó, you'll die.”

  “Not before I wipe out their race.”

  Despite the planning, the risk was enormous. First, those who couldn't fight like Spin Bomb, Azekel and Adisa had to lead the evacuees to Judgement Rock. A place far enough away and known by everyone. Mashal would use his most powerful Ofó to provide cover for Feruzi, the ex-sage needed to continue Akachi's treatment. It would attract the attention of the ground troops.

  Ekundayo, Hakim and Fadala would fight off the generals who emerged. With this, Mashal took on a great responsibility. The protests were not long in coming. Spin Bomb stomped his foot, crossed his arms and said he would never leave for the world.

  “I told you, it's no use. Just get out of here when Akachi gets going.”

  “Pretty stubborn, isn't she?”

  Azekel walked over and stopped facing Mashal. His face showed great determination:

  “I can't abandon my son and grandson. Adisa would never leave Akachi, and I do the same. You must understand, they are my family.”

  Adisa nodded and joined her father in the argument:

  “I can help organize the evacuation, but my father and I will stay here. I can no longer turn my back on my son.”

  Mashal looked at Ekundayo and Fadala. He scratched his head, then let out a shout:

  “Where's that useless Hakim?”

  ?

  Hakim was lying on a large fallen concrete pillar. It was uncomfortable, but he didn't mind. Through the opening in the ceiling, he could see the stars. He scratched his belly and patted it, making a boing sound! He was out of shape. For the thousandth time, he vowed to do exercises to make his belly muscular.

  He rested his forearm on his forehead. All that was left for the mediums was kilo, the ruins. Dreams of life shattered and materialized into death, shattered houses, dirt and disease. I thought Ekundayo was right. Only mediums could make Ilu Nla great again.

  Scattered in thought, he heard propellers cutting the wind. The glimmer of starlight was covered by a large dark mass. Hakim got up quickly. He staggered outside. Intense spotlights hit him. The man covered his forehead with both hands.

  “Hey, asshole, throw that light away from my face!”

  The aircraft crew seemed to have heard what he said. They removed the searchlights. However, they dropped several bombs on him. Cabooom! The white phosphorus emitted intense pale sparks everywhere.

  In desperation, Hakim forged a small Axé dome to protect himself. The flames and smoke made him uncomfortable. The hem of his tunic caught fire. In desperation, he rolled around on the floor and tried to put out the fire by blowing on the fabric.

  When he succeeded, he let out a sigh. He didn't have time to rest. Two huge shadows loomed over him. The Sage of the Law looked back. He bit his lips and growled:

  “What the…”

  He received a blow to the face and was thrown in the opposite direction. An entire building collapsed on his head. A pair of bipedal tanks jumped into the impact area and searched the perimeter for the body.

  “Where is he, is he dead?”

  “It's likely, you hit him hard.”

  “Actually, it only grazed him.”

  Hakim appeared between the two bipedal tanks. He drew a large quantity of Axé into his hands, then discharged them straight at their legs:

  “Statute of Minor Force.”

  “What?”

  Their hands acted like blowtorches. They severed the legs of the bipedal tanks. They fell to the ground with a thud. Even as they fell, one of them activated his flamberge bayonet and tried to impale Hakim. The man escaped the sword. The other military vehicle fired a load of missiles from its shoulders and unleashed a hail of bullets at the sage.

  Hakim used the Electromagnetic Decree and repelled the missiles. They hit the attacker. The warheads reduced him to dust. But the second bipedal tank escaped. It dispensed with the remaining leg and deployed a lower module with tracks on the bottom, and took on the appearance of traditional tanks.

  Hakim got into a combat stance and called the enemy into the fray.

  “Sorry, I wasn't ready for visitors. But since you've come, I'll entertain you.”

  The bipedal tank snapped its fingers, and several soldiers appeared from all directions with guns pointed at him. Hakim squinted his eyes. He hadn't realized there were so many opponents. The soldiers started shooting, and Hakim ran away from the bullets and bombs thrown at him. The soldiers pursued him.