Chapter 4

King Avraam repeatedly searched for his son and his entourage but to no avail. For dozens of years he waited for the presence of his eldest son. And Megan, for a dozen years he missed her too. The husband and wife were anxiously looking for and waiting for Brockley.

Uncle Herbert had another policy. He decided to return Brockley back to the village when Brockley was an adult accompanied by extraordinary martial arts knowledge and skills. Another reason was that he thought that the Omra Empire must have won the war and had taken control of the village.

If he went home now, of course he and the others would just be slaves, or at least ordinary people who had to work for the Omra Empire and pay taxes every month. For Herbert, he had to make Brockley equal to a War General, if not more so.

"When are we going home, Uncle?" asked Brockley after he'd just had some martial arts training. His teenage years were filled with daily physical exercise. Not a day without practice.

“When you can become a war leader! Don't you want to be a champion?" Hebert smiled broadly as he stroked his nephew's head.

"Of course I want to be a war leader!" replied Brockley eagerly.

Lothar patted his cousin on the shoulder. "Let me be your commander or adviser, General!" he said with a grin.

Brockley was jubilantly demonstrating self-defense moves. He punched a banana tree trunk. “Of course, Brother Lothar! We will fight together to be heroes for the village!”

In addition, Herbert also taught Brockley running, climbing, crawling in the mud, swimming in the river, and all military-style exercises. “You must be physically strong, Brockley. You too, Lothar! Don't lose to your sister!" Herbert ordered very firmly.

Lothar whined. “But I always lose to Brockley, Dad. He is strong and smart. His punches and kicks are very powerful.”

"That's why you have to learn a lot from him!"

His father Herbert was a fighter, good at wrestling, swords and archery. All of these skills were passed down to Avraam and Herbert since childhood. Even though they never went to war, they used this skill to survive, face criminals, and hunt in the forest.

Herbert promised to pass all these skills on to his children and nephews, for the sake of family and village.

"Uncle, did we win the war that time?" Brockley asked curiously.

Herbert would not answer. Because, the thing that was in his mind at that time was that the Omra Empire would definitely win and that many villagers would die from being slaughtered. All these predictions appear for many obvious reasons. Herbert understood how strong the military of the Omra Empire was.

But, according to Herbert, in fact now his older brother has been king for dozens of years. If Herbert came home, he would be absolutely amazed by all the changes there. It's just, he still needs a lot more time before going back there.

"Is my father still alive?" asked Brockley with a questioning expression. Why not, for dozens of years he thought about the fate of his family and the village where he lived, who didn't know what it was like. Except, he heard lots of stories from Herbert, Yara, and Riley about the beauty of Arbilis Village. When Riley talked about Avraam and Megan, Brockley wanted to go home even more, how much he wanted to meet his parents. So, it was only natural that he would ask like that.

Herbert gave Brockley encouragement even though his words didn't match what was in his heart. “Your father is still alive. Uncle knows very well who your father is. He is very smart, brave, and good at fighting. Uncle sure, your father fought that battle and became the village leader!”

"Really, Uncle?" Brockley was very happy to hear that. Her eyes twinkled with happiness. “I can't wait to go back to the village, meet my father and mother. Uncle, let's go home quickly!” whined Brockley with a pitiful face.

For the umpteenth time, if asked to go home, Hebert would shake his head and leave Brockley even though the teenager was crying with grief.

***

On one occasion, Brockley was taught to use a sword. "Try to cut the bamboo!" Herbert ordered.

Brockley took a stance, gripped the sword in both hands and raised it high enough, then swung it with all his might.

Bruuukk!!

The five bamboos lined up were all neatly cut.

Hebert was amazed.

Intrigued, Herbert finally challenged his nephew to a one-on-one duel. At the beginning of training, Hebert deliberately wanted to see how tough the youth was and let him continue throwing attacks. Unexpectedly, even Brockley was more proficient than Avraam at this age.

Wow!

If Hebert wasn't good at dodging, his head could fall off his body. Unexpectedly, Brockley quickly mastered several sword techniques. Amazingly, Brockley can use a sword with both hands. Extraordinary!

When practicing archery, Brockley was also very proficient and Herbert did not take long to teach his nephew. So so far Brockley has mastered self-defense techniques, uses a sword and archery, and understands war tactics.

***

Day after day and as time goes by very long. For about twenty years they have lived in one of the forests some distance from Manton Village.

It's been eight years since Yara left, who died due to illness. Herbert's health began to suffer a bit, so he rarely coached Brockley. Herbert was mostly at home and bedridden.

Riley placed the potion near Hebert's bed. “Herbert, please drink the potion. Get well soon."

As Riley got up and went back to watching Brockley and Lothar practice in the woods, Herbert suddenly called out to her. "You've been taking care of me here for months. You're so kind, Riley. You are over forty. After all, women also have sexual needs.”

Being asked such a question, Riley couldn't help but glance at Herbert's face. She read those eyes. As a very mature woman, Riley was sensitive to what Herbert meant just now. She nodded briefly then replied, "If you let us go from this forest, like to the next village, to the market, or back to our village, of course I wouldn't be an old girl like this." Riley scowled in annoyance after dozens of years of being cooped up in the house and around the woods alone.

Riley had repeatedly told Herbert that he had to go home, but Herbert never fulfilled his wish. Surprisingly, the reasons given by Herbert are sometimes difficult to understand. In fact, there is another reason, namely he actually has a desire to marry Riley because as a man himself, of course he has desires like men in general, especially for women as beautiful and elegant as Riley.

"We will return to the village after we become husband and wife."

Riley stood up with a very annoyed look on his face. "Won't!"

"Why?"

“I already love someone!”