The Thousand Mask Warrior

Mataram in Jayaseta's Eyes

Mataram is a big country. Sturdy buildings, flat, pedestrian-friendly streets, horse-drawn carriages and ox or buffalo carts, hard-but-tight stone fort walls, and … the formidable warriors of the Mataram kingdom lined up to stand guard on the city streets.

The presence of these Mataram soldiers proves that Kotagede is still an important city for Mataram. Every few hundred breaths, ten to fifteen Mataram troops go back and forth with their steadfast steps, making rioters, polishers, pickpockets, pickpockets, or even silat warriors who want to find trouble to be daunted or think dozens of times doing his actions in Kotagede.

Their clothes were shining and luxurious, somewhat different from the Mataram forces Jayaseta had faced. Pangsi pants and black vest with gold stitching decoration adorn the corners of their clothes. A regal effective jar wrapped around the waist tied with a belt decorated with precious stones. Bracelets, legs and necklaces of silver and gold also add to their luxurious impression. Their heads were covered in batik cloth ikets with gold metal slab decoration.

For weapons, in addition to long spears, which were almost twice their body length, the troops were also equipped with two kris tucked in the back and sides of their waists. Not to forget a sloping sword, the handle, usually made of lighter watermelon tree leaves, tucked in the waist of the other side. Some hang larger swords. The commander or leader of the army is seen hanging a sword that is thinner but long, with a clothespin in the handle.

They are also prepared with small shields of rattan coated with buffalo skin and metal slabs. In major wars such as the Betawi war and the attack on Surabaya as far as jayaseta, many spearmen were devoted to attacking riding vehicles and they used to use larger metal shields. So this army is a royal special forces that usually have special tasks as well, such as guarding the palace or the king inside the royal wall.

Jayaseta also had seen a group of fifteen special forces with shotguns that at the bottom of the muzzle barrel fastened a sword with a length of one cubit also called sangkur accompanied by several archers. They had two to three rifles on his back and put them in pairs to help his partner fill the bullets quickly.

Simply put, it can be seen that Mataram is showing his extraordinary strength to the community and anyone who visits Kotagede. Outside the palace walls, Mataram's forces had succeeded in subduing most of the kingdoms on the island of Java, while in the heart of the kingdom itself, the great development, finances and strong army increasingly showed the superiority of the kingdom.

During the trip, Jayaseta brought with him pieces of silver and gold that Grandpa Keling had given him. Everything was actually enough to finance his journey to Betawi, but that was not his main goal. Jayaseta must really live off what he can learn on this journey. As a result, Jayaseta hardly used any of Grandpa's pieces. He often stopped in many places to ask for a two-day work to eat.

Cleaning the tomb of a family, being a porters in the market, helping plow fields, and many other jobs. He can sleep anywhere, but he needs to eat. Not infrequently people are astonished because he also does not mind if paid for with food alone, to survive in the journey he replied.

The harsh land of Java at that time made a journey of a traveler a dangerous journey. Arm yourself is an inevitability. Sharp weapons from dagger to sword and spear are very natural to be carried around by anyone. Not only men, women are also not a few who prepare themselves with weapons.

In the beginning, sharp weapons were intended for the purposes of daily living and work. Sickle, celurit or sickle that was originally used to cut shrubs and grasses when wanting to build a rice field or field, or, it then evolved into a weapon that Madurese men used to carry around to maintain their life and self-esteem. Minang men carrying carambit shape imitating the claws of a tiger was originally also used to weed the grass up to the roots.

Therefore, on the streets in the archipelago, including Java of course, it can be said that everyone slipped a weapon on his waist. Mangkasar and Bugis people tuck badik and keris on his waist. Keris indicates the level of identity of the owner. The Javanese have always carried a keris behind their waist.

Some Javanese nobility also slipped a building, a dagger-type weapon without a different luk with a keris. Women also often carry buildings or weapons called patrem everywhere to take care of themselves.

Not a strange sight of people wandering around holding weapons. Once upon a time after eating at a diner, Jayaseta who initially did not pay special attention to three people carrying weapons was eyeing him. Three people who from his face alone can actually be known for his reliability. The shopkeeper had basically tried many times to give Jayaseta some kind of warning using his sign language.

But the basis of a swordsman, Jayaseta even deliberately gave hope to the prospective attackers later to strengthen their robbing intentions. He even deliberately took out some gold pieces that dazzled the eyes of the three people. He wanted to try out their abilities while giving lessons that would later be remembered well by the robbers. Well, that's even if they will still be able to survive and live well.

For robbers and criminals, Jayaseta always deliberately sought trouble with them, to beat them up and if necessary exterminate them so that no good and innocent people would later become their victims.

It was raining that day. Jayaseta is desperate to come out in such rain. Her clean clothes were kept in her puffer bag made of leather. Somehow, the bag is in addition to light and strong, it is also resistant to water so it does not wet the objects in the bag, protecting it. Grandpa Keling was amazing, Jayaseta thought.

The three people who had been targeting Jayaseta then got up and followed Jayaseta out of the restaurant. All three wore dark, black and dark brown clothes. Behind their buttonless clothes, tucked daggers and short cleaver were quite prominent.

Rain accompanied the departure of Jayaseta and the three men. After a quick look around, Jayaseta decided to deliberately enter a walkway that is now slightly flooded, quite far from the diner. He did not want anyone to see this and become a victim. This path leads to a hill, where the right left is overgrown with various wild plants and covered with trees from the forest. As the road turned, water continued to flow through the road in front of Jayaseta and past his feet.

“Hmmm .. great, let their blood be lost immediately by water,” Jayaseta said in his heart.

To the point where it seemed the distance was right, Jayaseta stopped and turned to face the stalkers. He looked straight into the eyes of each of his would-be attackers. Of course the three were surprised, not expecting the victim to have caught their wet. But it wasn't long before, after all, their goal was clear, robbing strangers with pieces of gold in his odd bag.

One of the three advanced forward, not about to speak or attack, he fused his index finger and thumb into a circle and inserted it into his mouth to sound a long loud whistle.

Before long, out of nowhere, a group of people who were also dressed similarly to these three people sprang up. Keep popping up one by one. They had already grasped a machete, a sword, a building, until a short spear and a keris in their hands. Jayaseta's eyes immediately counted.

The number was now no less than twenty people. When summed up with the three people who stalked him from the stall, twenty-three people become. Tumben, this time Jayaseta was wrong. He did not expect at all that the intention he was to lure opponents even get too big a fish. I don't know if Jayaseta is daunted or not, but he's obviously shocked.

The twenty men stood behind the three men who were stalking Jayaseta from the tavern. Because this path only fits when traversed by at most three or four people, they stand in places that allow. In the thickets, behind the trees, even on the branches of the trees. The rest stood in line behind their friends.

The person who whistled loudly earlier was clearly the leader of the horde. Besides being seen from his actions whistling as a sign of command to the men, everything in him shows his leadership. Things like this are easily understood by Jayaseta.

Even Jayaseta can already assess who is the leader, who is the representative, who is the second person, when, clumsy, the coward, the head of the stone, the, the cunning or the skilled whiz is higher than his gang in this kind of robber groups. The robbery of Merchant Amir and Almira is one of the other examples in the future that this ability is indeed qualified and has been honed.

The leader finally spoke loudly beating the sound of rain and thunder that occasionally greeted, “Already, do not cingcong many strangers. Give me all the gold pieces or whatever you're carrying in that bag. We are all twenty-three people with sharp weapons, you can we chop right here also let's say you have silat though.”

Inevitably Jayaseta had to admit that he was also surprised. It did not pass in his mind at all. He thought that only three people had gone after him and he also did not expect the leader to understand that he was someone who was able to defend himself. The leader may not want to take the possibility against foreigners who already understand that he is being followed. As a result, the leader robbed all of his members. He thought maybe, the resistance need not happen.

The needles of rainwater continue to pour down on the earth. Hit the leaves, twigs, and ground. Jayaseta took off a few ropes that tightly bound her leather bag to open and took the tiger barong mask from inside. While doing this, he thought hard to deal with these thugs. Twenty is a big number. Suppose they all had qualified silat, Jayaseta was not sure he could continue breathing today.

The only hope is that this herd of robbers are people with low silat science who are full of benediction and hungry stomachs instead of kanuragan science. Most robbers do rely on rampage and rumbling to achieve their intent. A few robbers who have almost equal power on each of their members. For example, robbing the leader of the Demon Bee that he had reached the other day.

The tiger mask that Jayaseta took out of his leather bag was very Balinese style. The sharp and fierce face with both eyes glaring and long fangs adorning his wide-open mouth, must be in accordance with Jayaseta's movements later. This is Jayaseta's first plan. By wearing the mask, perhaps the enemies will recognize the name or nickname of his shortness, or at least the mask will slightly dampen the guts of the attackers.

Jayaseta's initial plan failed, instead of feeling threatened, Jayaseta's appearance even made them look at each other in wonder and feel funny. More or less like the attitude of underestimating the forces of Mataram and Surabaya who had once killed his father and surrounded him. This band of robbers must have never known the name of the Thousand Mask Swordsman. Then, what kind of robbers have not heard the lunge of the martial world in the land of Java today? Jayaseta's concern even now bears the biggest smile behind the mask of the Bali tiger.

Clearly, the robbers are a group of fierce people who are less qualified. It could have been that they had just formed this horde and decided to work in a robbery together relying on their wiggling and violent looks.

Here comes the weakness of the robbers. In a few moments they were dumbstruck and unprepared. They are confused about how to behave and look at each other. Smiling confused, laughing especially. Their threatening manner of standing was now saggy, as well as their grasp on their sharp weapons.

This is also one more efficacy of Jayaseta mask that will make it more known martial universe. The mask drugged all his opponents. Feelings of confusion, curiosity, amused, maybe a little anger and fear mixed, so they will be off guard, plus the No Stroke that never guessed will not be able to think so dangerous.

In those three short but perplexed breaths, Jayaseta the Thousand Mask Swordsman used this opportunity well. He ran quickly along the descending path directly attacking towards the core of the robber, the leader. Jayaseta bounces and gives a thunder kick from the South right about the side of the face of the leader who in this one kick also directly fell to the ground muddy and unconscious.

Jayaseta quickly took the machete behind the robbed leader's clothes, cut it down and read it lightning-fast to his enemies who were still struck by tremendous confusion. Jayaseta attacked with wild rage. His glare crossed, spun and rained. Blood splashing. Unseen are the dead of this horde because all of them suddenly woke up from their astonishment and tried desperately to clothe themselves to avoid the sudden attack.

Two people were killed by a Jayaseta machete with a gaping wound to their head. Not stopping there, Jayaseta punches and kicks splitting the rain hit the face, neck, chest, stomach and waist of his enemies and left them in disarray. This is a warrior who is attacking his bullies, not the other way around. A strange sight. Like a bull swaddling a band of scattered tigers.

The robbers were so shocked and confused that most of them were aware to instantly tighten their grip on the hilt of the weapon. Seeing this, the other members of the gang were also resuscitated and had also started attacking. Jayaseta's movements were swirling, bouncy, and even tempestuous in the watery muddy land like a gasing that split the human sea.

Jayaseta's energetic roar of moves throws his enemies in various directions. Some dodged in horror, some others rolled and lapsed due to the Jayaseta stabbing or assault. When Jayaseta jumps or bounces into the air, his strike force is like a star falling from the sky cracking the shoulders and heads of enemies. When it is below, it is like a volcanic explosion that flares and hits the heart, shifting the kneecap, or pushing the chest of the enemy with a ferocious explosive force.

All topsy-turvy.

Swords and machetes directed at Jayaseta can be avoided, fended off or their hands twisted and then slammed violently. Jayaseta was always able to determine the distance so that even though it seemed like the sharp weapons were well directed or even blindly, Jayaseta was always able to hold the enemy's arms without being hit by any sabetage at all.

When a few breaths before Jayaseta swirled to break up the opponent, now it was like a huge rock rolling from the top of a hill squashed his enemies. Sparks of rain sometimes also help Jayaseta make small needles that are thrown because of Jayasera's boxing power. Then the raindrops hit the faces of their enemies, dissolving their minds and eyes, before Jayaseta's fist clung and smashed their faces until they were without any more shape or a cleaver in his right hand that tore off the skin and flesh of the enemy.

The water on the ground splashed in all directions due to the pounding of the footprints. The blood began to spurt and immediately carried the water down the hill, including the blood stuck to the leaves and branches of the trees.

Jayaseta keeps pounding. Now even the bullies are confused to do defense. Half the robbers have died. The average person has bleeding wounds on the head and shoulders. The rest who were not hit by the Jayaseta stab also can not be said to be lucky because of fractures and bruises due to the kicks and punches of Jayaseta.

Many are actually just dragged by a machete on the hands, shoulders or stomach and the injuries are not so dangerous, but their guts are already clenched. They dropped their weapons curled up by the side of the road holding wounds, rolled covering and protecting their heads on the ground while screaming in pain and fear.

Jayaseta's hands and feet were as dangerous as the sharp weapons the robbers carried. Sometimes Jayaseta moves using his hands like a sword. Sometimes his feet are like a roaring toya. There was a time when Jayaseta's machete was broken for fending off a barrage of swords three robbers who were blindly frightened and angry. Without the machete Jayaseta's hands when put together into a sturdy and crushing mace. Even his fingers became a sharp piercing trident. Before long he managed to snatch their sharp weapon again, a sword.

The robbers are piling up. The situation of those who should have been ganged, circling or besieging Jayaseta in fact even messy because of the sabre Jayaseta roaring. They hit their friends so that they were trampled. Not to mention because their martial ability is not at all qualified, making it difficult to attack or just put horses. Exactly what Jayaseta thought from the beginning.

The paths are full of mud and water and gravel, grass and wild trees on their left and trees with branches as if to ensnare the attackers and cover their ability to carry out the best attack. Not so certainly with Jayaseta who is able to use all the things around him to make him superior to his opponents.

The trunk of the tree is used as a repulsion of his body bounces into the air to then hit the enemy. The tree also became a good crushing place to throw the bodies of his opponents who then made their bones crackle. Likewise, the water that continues to flow down the hill and the mud that blocks the movement of the robbers makes Jayaseta free to beat all their legs with the sweeps of Thunder Kicks from the South.

From the beginning Jayaseta had attacked the robbers all out. Although he had grown and forged as a swordsman of choice, his attitude was not his nature. He could not take lightly the twenty people who intended to gang up on him. Once I he was arrogant and behaved belittlingly, his life could have been lost because of his own carelessness, he does not want to just try and play with his attackers even though he can measure their ability that is average can not be said qualified.

The state of Mataram and the island of Java in general are hot-hot by the turmoil of power regulation makes poverty and crime rampant. Many people who dare to kill, finish the lives of others just for a pack of rice and jerky as a side dish.

Jayaseta's mind that initially wanted to kill the three stalkers into a feeling of wanting to survive to see the braking number more than twenty people. With all his power, he exerted his silat ability while using various ways to escape this situation even if at a glance when viewed, Jayaseta is far superior even compared to twenty of his bullies. Without spending all his magic Jayaseta can easily outperform them.

This unfortunate situation has been read by the remaining robbers who without wasting any more time immediately fled splitting the rain. Those who escaped were fewer than three. The rest were already lying on the ground, pitting or completely motionless. Including the leader who first smelled the muddy ground without having time to show the football lunge. The fight that took place was less than three sips of this tea that managed to wipe out the lives of half of the robbers. The rest other than those who escaped were confirmed to have suffered severe injuries.

Known later with no significant effort from the mouth of one of the injured members of the robber, they were originally a horde of people employed by the Walanda company to spy on Mataram forces who wanted to attack Betawi a few years ago. They also worked with the Hell's Earth Needles burning the food warehouses of the Mataram army.

Unfortunately after a few years, the Walanda people in Betawi who hired them, namely Devisser de Jaager alias in Lightning Berkulit Pallat, the, throwing them away when they asked for their rights like payment as well as land and power, de Jaager even beat them all out. They should have had more members, but some had already died at the hands of de Jaager. Until here are those who are hanging because they already do not have self-esteem.

As traitors to Mataram, they were clearly no longer able to get anything more from the kingdom they betrayed. Let alone the traitors, even for the soldiers, when they failed in carrying out the task of attacking Betawi many were killed and beheaded in front of the Betawi fortress for failing to carry out their duties.

Thought Jayaseta, it's just getting interesting. He did not expect to hear the name de Jaager again other than Grandpa Keling. This incident made Jayaseta see Mataram very differently. Once upon a time in Giri there were only two views.

First, Mataram is a proud and arbitrary country because this country wants to control all of Java under his control, while second, the country wants to control Java under his control, Mataram is a larger country than Giri so that all Giri people are also better to obey and participate as part of Mataram. In this way Mataram will even protect Giri so that people's lives will be safe and sentosa. These two views often collide until it becomes a problem in Giri.

Whereas with all the events that he has passed, the Mataram problem can not be connected with the policy of the ruler. Kings, regents, soldiers and men have their own interests that are often different from the people. People just want to live a comfortable, quiet life and be able to find food without interruption. The kingdom's greatness is the dream of kings, not of the people.

He is not present to engage in the struggle for power, but to defend the interests of the people and innocent people, namely peace and security. They should not be bothered by the evil that spreads because of the lusts of greedy people, either because of their own personal power or lust.

The incident on the trail at this time of rain incised again the record of the Thousand Mask Swordsman in the hearts of begundals, warriors and champions on the island of Java. His prowess was no longer a rumor. The witness is more and more and can tell a variety of stories about Jayaseta and his actions. Jayaseta himself managed to get the knowledge that was the purpose of this trip.