Chapter 4. BLOODSHED IN THE TEAK FOREST
The following night descended over Tuban with an eerie silence. There was none of the usual creaking of teak leaves rubbing against one another in the coastal wind; it was as though nature itself were holding its breath, aware that the air around Kencana Teak Forest had grown thick with tension. The drizzle from the night before had left puddles along the path, reflecting the faint glow of the crescent moon as it was occasionally obscured by banks of black cloud.
Amid the dense darkness of the forest, Raden Said walked slowly. His all-black mori clothing clung wetly to his sturdy body, absorbing the night's lingering chill. Beneath the cloth covering his face, Said's breathing was steady, but his mind worked furiously. The black bruise on his left ribs—the mark left by Ki Ageng Rangga's Blood-Palm Technique the previous night—still throbbed with a faint warmth. Although the pure energy of Suryakanta had successfully neutralized the deadly poison, his strength had not yet fully recovered.
But Said had no luxury of rest.
A secret message left by one of the village youths beneath an old banyan tree that afternoon had said that Patih Sasrabahu was personally leading a convoy of five iron carts tonight. The carts contained gold, jewelry, and land-confiscation documents belonging to thousands of farmers in southern Tuban. They were scheduled to be smuggled to the northern port before dawn. If those documents reached the foreign merchants at the port, the small people's land would legally change hands forever.
This is their last chance to reclaim what belongs to them, Said whispered to himself as he followed the path between giant teak trees standing like enormous soldiers.
Yet the farther Said ventured into the heart of Kencana Teak Forest, the more his finely trained sixth sense detected something strange. The air around him was unnaturally quiet. No night birds called out, and even the ground insects that usually buzzed noisily beneath the piles of dry leaves had suddenly fallen completely silent.
Srrr... Srrr...
The soft rustling of dry leaves to his left brought Said to an immediate halt. His hand instinctively moved toward the hilt of the thin sword at his waist.
Something's wrong, Said thought. His keen eyes narrowed like an eagle's, piercing the darkness beyond the massive tree trunks.
Suddenly, from all four directions, a sharp whistle split the night!
WHEE-OO! WHEE-OO! WHEE-OO!
Before Said could leap onto a branch, dozens of torches flared at once from behind the underbrush and within hollows in the teak trees! Red-gold light suddenly washed over the forest, revealing more than a dozen bare-chested men standing in a circle with their weapons raised.
What awaited Said was not a cart convoy, but a trap designed with meticulous, cold-blooded precision.
From the center of the circle of torch-bearing soldiers stepped a tall man dressed in the ceremonial uniform of a high-ranking warrior of the Duchy of Tuban. A gold badge shaped like a tiger's head was fastened to his chest—the symbol of Ki Tumenggung Banteng Yuda, the famously ruthless war commander of the Duchy of Tuban who had never lost an open battle.
Beside Ki Banteng Yuda stood someone Said knew all too well: Ki Ageng Rangga! The leader of the Black Skull Compound had apparently not yet perished; although the core of his kanuragan had been destroyed, he could still walk, his pale face twisted by consuming vengeance. Behind them stood dozens of the duchy's elite archers, their bows drawn taut and aimed directly at Said's chest.
“Hahaha! Look who has walked into the tiger's mouth!” Ki Banteng Yuda's laughter boomed, shattering the forest's silence. His voice was thick with biting satisfaction. “Did you think we were fools, Lokajaya?! The secret message you received this afternoon was written by one of my own men! We know you can't resist whenever you hear the words ‘the people's rights’!”
Said stood tall in the middle of the torchlit circle. He showed not the slightest fear, though he was acutely aware that he was surrounded by no fewer than fifty elite soldiers and dark-arts silat masters.
“Ki Tumenggung Banteng Yuda,” Said's voice came out low and resonant behind his black mask. “A respected war commander of the Duchy of Tuban now has to use a dirty trap and join forces with a mercenary whose morals are those of a demon just to capture one man? Have Tuban's soldiers truly lost so much of their honor?”
Ki Banteng Yuda's face flushed crimson at the rebuke. He drew a great dragon-carved sword from its sheath and pointed it straight at Said.
“Don't lecture us about honor, you filthy thief!” Ki Banteng Yuda roared. “You have damaged the palace's authority, stolen the duchy's wealth, and incited the people to rebel! Tonight, Kencana Teak Forest will be your grave! No one will survive!”
Ki Ageng Rangga stepped closer, pointing at Said with a trembling finger. “Banteng Yuda! Stop talking to him! Kill him! Chop him up until there's nothing recognizable left!”
Ki Banteng Yuda raised his right hand high into the air. “Archers... LOOSE!”
WUUUSH! WUUUSH! WUUUSH!
At once, no fewer than thirty iron-tipped arrows shot through the air, forming a rain of death aimed at Said's entire body!
In what seemed an impossible situation to survive, Said displayed the pinnacle of his body-lightening art. Using the highest level of the Kapuk Ranandhu Technique, Said lowered his body until it nearly brushed the ground, then spun like a top over the dry leaves.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CHING!
The thin sword in Said's hand whirled into a shield of silvery light. Its flexible steel blade struck aside more than a dozen arrows aimed at him. Several arrows that missed sank deep into the teak trunks behind him with loud THUNK! THUNK! sounds.
“Forward! Surround him and kill him!” Ki Banteng Yuda shouted.
Dozens of soldiers armed with kujang and spears leaped forward. The battlefield in the middle of Kencana Teak Forest instantly became a horrifying field of bloodshed.
CLANG! SMACK! CRASH!
A fierce battle was unavoidable. Said moved like a demon's shadow amid the blazing torches. Whenever an enemy sword or spear swung at him, he parried with extraordinary precision, then countered with nerve strikes or focused palm attacks. He still did everything he could not to take the ordinary soldiers' lives—he merely disabled their joints, snapped their spear shafts, or struck their solar plexuses until they collapsed helplessly.
But there were too many enemies. Every time three soldiers fell, five more leaped forward to take their places. Smoke from the torches burning kerosene began to fill the air between the trees, making it difficult for Said to breathe and stinging his eyes.
“Wolf Hunting Prey Technique!” shouted four senior fighters from the Black Skull Compound as they leaped simultaneously from four directions.
They carried chains lined with sharp teeth and long machetes. The four moved in an interlocking silat formation, restricting Said's movements so he could not use his body-lightening art.
SLASH!
A machete blow managed to slice through the right shoulder of Said's mori clothing. Fresh blood immediately seeped out, soaking the black cloth. A sharp pain seared Said's nerves, reminding him that in this battle to the death, the slightest lapse in concentration would prove fatal.
I can't keep defending passively, Said thought, grimacing as he endured the pain in his shoulder. If I don't stop their leaders, I'll die from exhaustion!
Desperately, Said no longer avoided the barbed chain coming from the front. Instead, he met the iron chain by crossing both legs in midair and allowing it to coil around his calves. Drawing on the Prakosa inner power concentrated in his waist, Said jerked his body backward with tremendous force!
The two chain-wielding fighters were lifted off the ground and slammed into each other in midair!
SMACK!
Before the two fighters hit the ground, Said released the chain, spun in midair, and launched two consecutive Ocean Wave strikes into their chests. Both fighters vomited blood and were thrown into the teak trunks, where they instantly lost consciousness.
Seeing his two best fighters brought down so easily, Ki Tumenggung Banteng Yuda snarled furiously. The war commander thrust his broad, powerful body forward like a maddened bull. Dark red inner power exploded from his body, shaking the dusty ground around him.
“Stand back! I'll chop this thief to pieces myself!” Ki Banteng Yuda shouted.
He leaped over the fallen soldiers and swung his great dragon-carved sword in the Mountain-Splitting Technique—a slashing technique with enough physical and inner power to split a massive boulder in two!
WUUUUUSH!
The enormous blade seared the air as it came crashing down toward Said's head!
Said knew he could not block such a devastating slash directly with his thin sword—Banteng Yuda's physical strength far exceeded his own, and a hard collision would only break his slender weapon.
With lightning-fast reflexes, Said shifted his left foot a few inches to the side and tilted his body just as the great blade swept past, missing the tip of his nose.
BOOOOM!
Banteng Yuda's sword struck the dry earth between their feet, carving a two-meter-long gash and sending pebbles and dust flying into the air!
Taking advantage of the moment while Banteng Yuda's great sword was embedded in the ground, Said stepped forward into close range. His left hand shot out like a pecking bird, targeting the Sekarat nerve point beneath the commander's right armpit.
But Banteng Yuda was a seasoned veteran. Without releasing his grip on the sword, he swept up his left elbow, covered in thick iron armor, to block Said's finger thrust!
CLANG!
The impact between Said's finger and the iron guard produced a sharp ringing sound. Said felt a dull ache in his finger, but he did not withdraw his attack. Instead, he turned his palm, swept across Banteng Yuda's arm, and thrust it into his chest with the Utari Wind-Pushing Technique!
Banteng Yuda was driven three large steps backward, breathing somewhat heavily and startled by the hidden inner power possessed by the masked figure before him.
“Your kanuragan... that's a silat technique belonging to the Tuban Palace!” Banteng Yuda exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise and suspicion. “Who are you really?! How could a common street thief master one of the Duke family's secret techniques?!”
Said did not answer. Behind his mask, cold sweat poured down his face. The slash across his shoulder and the lingering poison in his left ribs were beginning to drain his remaining stamina. He knew he had to end this battle quickly, before the archers could take up their positions again.
Elsewhere, Ki Ageng Rangga saw that Said was beginning to tire and smiled slyly. The vengeful old man signaled to the three remaining elite archers hidden behind the bushes.
“Aim for his eyes! Release your arrows while he's fighting Banteng Yuda!” Rangga whispered viciously.
Banteng Yuda charged forward again, this time with a rapid, savage combination of slashes and successive kicks. His dragon sword darted through the air like a silvery web of death. Said was forced to whirl his thin sword at full speed, meeting each slash with small, exhausting parries.
CLANG! CHING! CLANG! CLANG!
Sparks flew every time the two differently sized weapons collided in the night air.
At the height of the clash, as Said's thin sword and Banteng Yuda's dragon sword locked in midair in a fierce contest of inner power, three poisoned arrows were silently released by Rangga's archers from the darkness!
WUUUSH! WUUUSH! WUUUSH!
The arrows targeted the side of Said's neck and his face from a blind angle!
Said was pouring all his inner power into resisting the pressure of Banteng Yuda's great sword when he suddenly sensed the deadly threat from the side. But Banteng Yuda's sword pressure had his body locked tightly in place!
In the fraction of a second that separated life from death, Said made a desperate decision. He deliberately relaxed the inner power in his thin sword, releasing the lock between their weapons and allowing Banteng Yuda's great sword to slash freely toward the left side of his chest!
Banteng Yuda was startled by Said's sudden weakening resistance, but his already powerful slash could no longer be stopped.
CRASH!
Banteng Yuda's great blade slashed across Said's left chest, tearing through the black mori cloth and cutting into his flesh until fresh blood sprayed out!
Yet because of the extreme movement with which he tilted his body, the three poisoned arrows from the side also missed Said's neck! Two arrows struck the ground, while the third... flew past and severed the cord securing Said's face covering!
SLASH!
The black mori cloth covering his face came loose and flew away on the night wind, slowly drifting down before landing on the dusty ground wet with blood.
For an instant, time seemed to stop in Kencana Teak Forest.
The red light from the dozen-odd torches still burning around the battlefield shone directly onto the face of the masked warrior who had long been the most wanted fugitive in the entire Duchy of Tuban.
His thick black hair streamed freely in the night wind. His strong jaw, high nose, and pair of sharp, glinting eyes now staring straight ahead—all his features stood clearly revealed, without the slightest disguise remaining.
Ki Tumenggung Banteng Yuda stood frozen in place. The great sword in his hand, still dripping with Said's blood, suddenly felt impossibly heavy. His eyes opened as wide as they could, and his mouth hung open in utter shock and disbelief.
“Ra... Raden Said...?” Banteng Yuda's voice emerged as a violently trembling whisper, almost lost amid the creaking teak trees.
The remaining duchy soldiers who were still standing immediately stopped moving. The weapons in their hands trembled. Their faces turned deathly pale, as though they were seeing a ghost in the middle of the night.
“Gusti Prabu... Raden Said? The Duke's son...?” an elderly soldier whispered, his body shaking as he slowly let his spear fall to the ground.
Ki Ageng Rangga, standing several yards behind them, was also thrown into profound shock. “What?! Duke Wilatikta's son?! Lokajaya the Outlaw is... the Duke's own son?!”
Said stood tall in the middle of the battlefield, clutching his left chest as fresh blood streamed from it. His handsome face was pale from the loss of blood, but his eyes shone with an unshakable strength of spirit. He did not try to hide his face or flee. With the pride of a true warrior, he stared straight into the eyes of his father's war commander.
“Yes, Banteng Yuda,” Said's voice now sounded as it truly was—soft, firm, and filled with the authority of a Tuban nobleman. “I am Lokajaya the Outlaw you have been hunting. I am the one who broke into the rice granary, and I am the one who distributed Ki Demang Seca's gold to the people you extorted!”
Banteng Yuda took a step backward, shaking his head again and again as though trying to erase the bitter reality before him.
“Why... Why would Raden do this?!” Banteng Yuda cried, his hoarse voice mingling bewildered grief and anger. “Raden is Tuban's crown prince! The future of this duchy rests in Raden's hands! Why would Raden become a criminal who disgraces Kanjeng Duke and the palace?!”
“Because you have disgraced justice itself!” Said shot back, his raised voice shaking the chests of everyone who heard it. “You wear the clothes of honor and carry the name of the law, but your actions are no less evil than those of roadside bandits! You let the people starve while the palace granaries rot from excess! If being the crown prince means allowing this oppression to continue, then I renounce that title tonight!”
Said's words struck Banteng Yuda and the Tuban soldiers squarely in the chest. Several soldiers lowered their heads in deep shame, no longer daring to meet the eyes of their lord's son.
But Ki Ageng Rangga, seeing the situation beginning to slip out of control, shouted from behind them.
“Banteng Yuda! Don't be fooled by his nonsense!” Rangga shrieked hysterically. “He's a thief! The duchy's law doesn't care whose son he is! If you don't kill him tonight, Patih Sasrabahu will consider you a traitor!”
Banteng Yuda clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. His heart was torn by a terrible inner struggle. On one side, he was a commander bound by an oath of loyalty to the Duchy of Tuban and Patih Sasrabahu. On the other, the figure standing blood-soaked before him was the only son of Duke Wilatikta—the young man he would one day have to protect with his own life.
“Raden...” Banteng Yuda said heavily, his eyes glistening with tears. “Surrender. Come back to the palace with me. I will beg Kanjeng Duke for mercy and plead for Raden's life...”
Said smiled bitterly, clutching the wound in his chest. “Surrender to Patih Sasrabahu? So my actions can be stopped and the people oppressed again? No, Banteng Yuda. I can't turn back now.”
Said raised his thin sword again, though his body was already terribly weak and swaying from the blood continuing to pour from his chest and shoulder.
“If you want to take me back... you'll have to take my corpse!” Said declared.
Seeing the duke's son's boundless resolve, Banteng Yuda closed his eyes in profound anguish. He raised his dragon sword again, then let out a long breath.
“Soldiers...” Banteng Yuda ordered hoarsely. “Capture Raden Said... But anyone who dares injure him any further... I will personally send your heads flying!”
The soldiers advanced hesitantly, tightening the circle around Said.
Said knew that in his severely wounded condition, he would not be able to endure another prolonged battle. If he passed out from blood loss, he would be captured, and his struggle for the people would end in a subterranean cell beneath the ministerial compound.
I have to get out of this forest! Said thought.
With the last remnants of Suryakanta's inner power in the center of his chest, Said stamped both feet against the ground. He did not attack the soldiers. Instead, he slammed his right palm into the dusty earth beneath him with the Earth Explosion Technique!
BOOOOM!
Dust, wet leaves, and puddles exploded into the air in a thick black cloud that billowed high overhead, blocking everyone's view inside the ring of torches!
“Look out! He's trying to escape!” Rangga shouted.
Inside the blinding cloud of dust and thick smoke, Said leaped high using the remnants of his Kapuk Ranandhu Technique. His body floated through the gap between the high branches of the teak trees, leaving the bloody battlefield behind.
“Don't fire! No one fires!” Banteng Yuda shouted in panic, afraid that his men's arrows might strike the prince's vital points in the darkness.
Said continued floating and running across the teak branches. Blood dripped from his chest and shoulder, spattering the teak leaves along his path and marking his escape through the freezing night. A severe dizziness began to seize his head from the heavy bleeding, and his vision grew blurry and haloed.
Yet his determination to survive continued driving his feet across the borders of Kencana Teak Forest, toward the wild, untouched limestone mountains to the south.
Behind him, the shouts of the soldiers and the baying of tracking dogs slowly began to follow his blood trail.
A great secret had been exposed. The outlaw's mask had fallen. From this night onward, Raden Said no longer had anywhere to hide. The bloodshed in Kencana Teak Forest marked the end of the Tuban prince's youth and gave birth to him fully as an eternal fugitive in the land of Java.