The Thousand Mask Warrior

Mouth Port

Every port anywhere in the world must be crowded. Ports act as a place of trade and exchange of news and culture, as well as all kinds of activities between nations. Jayaseta saw the land of Malacca with high hills encircled by walls or fortress like a belt, as well as buildings built everywhere.

But, Jayaseta whose science of shipping is so shallow and shallow can not deny that the port of Malacca today looks too crowded and full of frenzy. Even before Jung Raja Nio docked and stopped moving, small ships were seen going back and forth. Likewise, the warship that sailed to the middle of the sea, passing the jung where Jayaseta and his colleagues sailed.

The Pranggi and native bule soldiers were equipped with long beds and spears on the warships that their cannon muzzles were ready to fire, standing in a neat line and ready to stand alert, watch out and be alert.

According to the story Narendra and Katilapan presented to Jayaseta, it is similar to the royal port of Johor-Riau, the port of Malacca which has been controlled by the Pranggi boulevard state is very crowded by traders who trade tin and pepper. There are also businesses of gold, agarwood, wood, wood, benzoar stone used for medicinal materials, bird's nest, ivory, camphor, copper, rice, white silk cloth from China, pottery, copper, chinese iron cauldron, red laken cloth, Japanese gold thread, as well as opium. There are also the main merchandise from the Johor-Riau kingdom, namely gambir, forest products, pepper and also seafood.

But this crowd was definitely not a trade crowd. The Pranggi warships were sailing in all directions. They seemed to be looking for something at the mouth of the harbor filled with hundreds of small large ships waiting for a turn away.

One Pranggi battleship approached King Nio's jung slowly but surely. Returning provides a breath of tension for the sailors and passengers on board who just stopped fighting in the shallow seas a few days ago.

"Don't worry, don't be rash. There must be a problem or something unpleasant happening on the mainland there. They deliberately targeted ships and large junks that were armed and had bodyguards. Leave your weapons in their place" the captain, King Nio, ordered Jayaseta, his comrades, and the junks.

Pranggi-flagged warship which is slightly smaller than King Nio's jung was docked. Dozens of soldiers, enlisted men and an officer jumped on the deck of King Nio's ship. All are natives.

"Let me speak to them" said King Nio.

"Hey you! I don't care if you're from Timor, Flores, or Larantuka. Don't use one blood excuse, one area, and then you'll play around with me!" seloroh the native officer of Malacca Pranggi country suddenly. The officer had seen King Nio from the beginning who seemed to be volunteering to welcome the arrival of himself and his troops.

King Nio stole a glance at the officer, but not for long. He immediately lowered his head, to avoid trouble for fear of being considered to be resisting or challenging. However, King Nio had already obtained a full picture of the officer.

Once seen and heard, King Nio knew that the officer was from his native region, one of the lands in eastern Nusatenggara. The young man was dark-skinned, wrapped in a Pranggi-style outfit: buttoned and with bulging shoulders, while the lower half of his body was uncoiled, barefoot.

King Nio stifled with laughter at the thought of being so unsuitable and fitting that outfit on the officer's body. However, King Nio did not lie by admitting that the stature of the officer who is muscular clay holding the headwaters of the sword Pranggi hanging on the left waist and the right hand holding the bedil looked threatening and full of authority. Not to mention the face with hard cheekbones and long rough curly hair that sticking out from the sidelines of the Pranggi-style head covering. It turned out that not only the officer, half of the dozen Pranggi enlisted soldiers who climbed into his deck most likely also came from Nusatenggara or at least Ambonia.

"I'm sorry, brother. How could I dare to equate yourself with you. Although, I believe you are also from Larantuka, my homeland, judging by your accent and way of speaking," said King Nio calmly.

However, King Nio's shrewdness left room for the officer to realize that his words were contrary to reality. There was a strange sense of familiarity and trust in the chapter when the officer knew that the captain was also from his area.

"good. Good. Dear master skipper. We have a little problem there. For a while, jung sir couldn't stay away. We have to inspect large ships full of weapons and escorts like this master ship" said the officer much more gently this time.

"Ah, I and the rest of the crew, passengers and guards in this jungle must be happy to cooperate with you, gentlemen soldiers."

"But we still have to check the deck" said the officer, who is most likely from Larantuka.

"Oh, sure, sure. Please gentlemen check out this ship" replied King Nio.

The crew, passengers, including Jayaseta's entourage stood on deck lined up neatly next to each other.

"Why are you carrying this three-eye spear weapon? Are you a bodyguard?" ask a soldier to Narendra.

"No. I'm not a bodyguard. I was one of the passengers in this jungle. But, you should have understood sir, that the Malays and the archipelago always carry weapons when they travel far to take care of themselves, right?" answer Narendra. He was even surprised by the soldier's ignorance of these lay things. Is he eleven years old? Thought Narendra.

"Well, what about you? Why don't you equip yourself with a weapon? No keris, no machetes, no beds?" ask the guest to Jayaseta who is standing next to Narendra.

Jayaseta's confused. "Didn't you just suspect my friend was carrying a gun? Now you find that I don't have a knife, but still you suspect" Jayaseta said with a frown that shrunk in wonder.

"You heard it for a moment, didn't you? Your friend told me you're used to carrying guns. Why don't you? Do you feel good and powerful? Do you feel able to take care of yourself with your bare hands, do you?" the enlisted man once seemed to show his power, although his folly was also increasingly visible.

"Even, enough! We leave this ship, nothing suspicious," the officer's voice suddenly sounded behind the enlisted man who was trying to show power. He looked embarrassed this time, but immediately answered the order of the reason, "Ready!" firmly answer.

***

A small explosion here and there suddenly sounded. Jayaseta, King Nio, Narendra, Katilapan, Datuk Mas Kuning, Dara Cempaka and the jung crew clearly understood that it was a gunshot, an explosion from the muzzle of the bedil.

The disturbance attack of the Hell Earth Needle members from Betawi was indeed completely assuaged, wiped out, which was unknowingly assisted by the presence of Sasangka. Under these circumstances, the Pranggi government immediately ordered its troops and soldiers to inspect and find out the possibility of the remnants of the horde or maybe even the enemy forces that were preparing to attack Malacca.

Very coincidentally, there was indeed an intruder from a medium-sized ship that was about to enter the port of Malacca. This ship disguised as a merchant ship, but actually contains the heroes, warriors and champions from the territory of the Sultanate of Johor-Riau. They came to sneak in and prepare for the attack to be carried out by their ally, the Walanda Company.

Basically Johor and Riau have tried many times to find a gap to attack Malacca. They have done it for decades because they still feel hurt over the seizure of Malacca by the Pranggi tribe first.

Unfortunately for them, there is no well-conceived plan between Pranggi's enemies so they are caught wanting to do bad things in Malacca and trying to be rioters in the city. Their plan had already been carried out by the Hell Earth Needle members who were also unlucky because all were killed. Now, those who have to die.

Jayaseta clasped Dara Cempaka's hand meaningfully. "Our journey will be very long, Dara," he said, staring at a small plume of smoke rising into space somewhere at the mouth of the harbor where the shootout originated.

Dara Cempaka returned her husband's hand and then closed her body to Jayaseta's mighty shoulder. "What's wrong, brother. As long as the brother is on the side," said the girl slowly.