Primitive Man

Chapter 207: Tough choice

"This is a heavy artillery group, Garnt. Are we going to blast those walls?" Kara questioned as she looked around, standing next to Garnt.

It still felt like a dream; no more than five years ago, they were living in caves. When she looked at Garnt, she couldn't feel anything but gratitude, as he was the sole reason why they had progressed as humans.

'My darling is amazing, but-'

She quickly looked at the walls of the seaside village, her eyes expressing hatred toward Baktou.

'You won't lay a single hand on him, Baktou. I will personally slice your throat if you try to touch a single strand of hair on his body.'

To Kara's question, Garnt didn't answer quickly instead he kept looking at the wall, as if he saw something important and when Kara followed Garnt's gaze, she noticed a rather familiar woman looking at him with her eyes tearing up.

"This woman! If I remember correctly, she is-" Kara couldn't complete her statement, as the person she was about to mention appeared behind that woman with an indifferent look on his face.

She felt her anger reaching its peaking just by looking at him, but she wasn't going to act on her own and make things harder for Garnt.

"Baktou!" Kara shouted, while everyone on Garnt's side took their weapons and aimed them.

Archers drew their bows and Kara loaded her own bow with explosive arrows. All the cannons also aimed at Baktou, but they knew shooting him wouldn't be the best choice for them, after all, they wanted the village to be in good condition instead of a ruined area.

Baktou smirked, his eyes scanning the heavy artillery group before finally settling on Garnt. "Is this how you want to do this, Garnt? You're standing here with a small army, threatening my village. That doesn't scream like the kind leader that you pretend to be."

Garnt sighed, "You know what needs to be done. The atrocities must end. You could have built your own village after leaving me, but all you did was attack my villages. My people need to be free and my land needs to be free. We need the harbour. Get out and surrender so we won't have to-"

Baktou chuckled while Garnt was still talking, "Atrocities? You're the one who invaded our territory and claimed it as your own. We were just defending what's rightfully ours and who gives the right for you to say this is your land? I stand on this soil so it's mine. People are happy with my leadership, so you can leave."

Kara scoffed, "Rightfully yours? This land was a desolate wasteland until Garnt led us here. We've turned it into a thriving community, and you call it yours? Also-"

Kara tried to say something, but Unami who was standing back with her whole face showing anger stepped forward. "Happy people? How dare you lie like this brother? You massacred people from seaside village and left their ruined dead bodies on our village doorway and you call these happy villagers?"

Suddenly Baktou squinted, as he saw her sister while also being confused about what they were talking about, but he knew it wasn't the time to worry about things he had no control over.

Baktou's gaze turned cold, "I don't care about your tales. This is our home, and we won't let you take it away."

Garnt stepped forward, "Then let's settle this with a duel. We don't have to put our people's lives in danger."

"Noo! Garnt, you can't-" Unami and Kara both refused to let him do that, because they knew Baktou wasn't the same person that they played and happily talked with back in the village.

But Baktou wasn't a fan of his idea because he knew if he were forced to a duel, it would be either his death or he would genuinely fight Garnt. At this point, he knew Garnt couldn't beat him so he didn't want to fight a duel with him.

"You brought your weapons so be a man and attack if you can. I don't care what you do, but I won't let you take over this village,"

Garnt, who listened to Baktou's claim, sighed, knowing there was no talking his way out of this. Unami and Kara could see through Garnt's confident facade; they understood that despite his outward appearance, the task ahead was far from easy. They were aware of the love Garnt held for Baktou from the time he taught and raised him.

"Then be a man yourself and don't use kids and women from the village as hostages. Also, you should lead Telvi to a safe place; she is not a part of this battle," Garnt shouted back. Baktou didn't answer; instead, he just looked at Telvi, who was still biting her lips in confusion.

This was the final exchange of words they had before Garnt started blasting the gate of the seaside village with cannons, creating a proper opening for his invasion.

At first, he expected Baktou to have some kind of secret weapon. However, one thing he noticed upon entering the village was that it hadn't developed much from the time he lost the village. Additionally, there were no soldiers waiting for them, so Garnt and his army freely walked around the village, searching for the army they were supposed to be battling against.

"Is this a trap? Why isn't he fighting back after all that big talk?" Kara was confused, so she questioned but Garnt didn't have answers.

On their way, they encounter many people looking at them and some of the villagers even reach and quickly ask for help from Garnt and say everything that is happening in the village and about a certain boy who caused a massacre.

"Does Baktou have a child?" Unami jumped in shock upon hearing those words. She felt rather strange, realizing that she had become an aunt without prior knowledge. However, what she didn't know was who Toga really was and how he acquired blond hair when both Telvi and Baktou had different types of hair.

While gathering information, Garnt and his men kept pushing through the village slowly and cautiously, waiting for a surprise attack. However, when they reached the harbour, Garnt saw Baktou standing there with a smile, while hundreds of men stood behind him, forming a defensive wall around the ships.

"Tsk, he knows we can't use artillery here since we need these boats! Damn it, Baktou," Kara thought while taking her bow and loading another explosive arrow into it, getting ready to blow up the whole squad behind Baktou.

"You're doing all this because you need this, right? But you won't get it!" Baktuo muttered, pointing at the ships loaded with equipment to dig the seabed. "Earlier, you asked me for a duel, right? Let me show you what would happen to you if I fought you in a duel," Baktou said those words and suddenly jumped in Garnt's direction barehanded, while his men also advanced with their weapons.

Baktou wasn't stupid enough to believe that he could solve this without killing anyone, and he knew that despite these men being his former friends or family, he had to go all out. After all, he had to stick to what he started.

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Seeing Baktou advancing at them at an unbelievable speed, Kara and Unami both wanted to protect Garnt, but before they could do that Baktou sped up and hit Garnt in the stomach and pulled him into a different area, while Baktou's army started to suddenly confront Garnt's people.

"Garnt!" Kara and Unami both shouted, but coughing Garnt answered their call.

"Lead our people to victory! I will take care of this. I'm relying on you two," Garnt muttered and hoped that he wouldn't regret his actions. But even if he did, he knew leaving Baktou would be the most dangerous thing.

He could easily feel how strong Baktou had become, and he knew this wasn't any ordinary strength. When Garnt looked at Baktou, he started to notice several things that he didn't appreciate about him.

Baktou's muscles had started to bulge in a grotesque way, while the handsome look he had on his face greatly reduced, replacing it with a more wild look.

Garnt managed to gasp out between breaths, "Baktou, why are you doing this? We were brothers once. What happened to us? What did I do wrong that you have to kill my people? Why do you hate me?"

Baktou merely clicked his tongue dismissively, his eyes ablaze with a newfound intensity. "It's not about brotherhood anymore, Garnt. It's about survival. Survival of our way of life and standing by the side of our goals. I don't hate you, but I won't let you recover this village. You won't reach the sea, even if it means I have to kill everyone you brought and throw you out of this village."

Garnt quickly realized there was no talking with Baktou, so he unsheathed his sword, a weapon that had been used to kill many enemies. However, he knew this might be the first time it would be stained with the blood of his brother.

"Do you know what you remind me of? You remind me of Moga when we first killed him. I don't see any difference between you and him. I think—" Garnt paused as he saw Baktou's face visibly contort upon hearing his words. "I think we have to settle this. I will kill my brother, whom I taught. The mistake will be corrected, and you will not leave this village alive today."