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Battle of the Kingless – Ch. 6 | KT OLLA

JEPHTHAH lacked the words to respond to his brother.

He felt beaten and overpowered. And now he felt convinced his abuser was right. That he was but dung and garbage.

Then as the combatant sunk deeper into that mess, he suddenly raised his head above the mire.

He looked up now, held out a fist and kept yelling out aloud.

‘Aargh! Aargh! Aargh...!’

It was a trampled soul letting out the fumes.

Elar lowered himself to his seat and simply enjoyed that scene, smiling.

He knew he’d been able to cut down the hero’s pride. But then he wasn’t going to stop here. He was going all the way with Jephthah today.

So that kid brother pointed his finger at the older one and mocked him even more.

‘Now behold your pride, sons of Gilead! Behold your hero who should lead y’ all to conquer aliens!’

Jephthah’s valiant four looked at themselves where they sat and shook their heads. Elar observed the men and turned back to face his prey.

‘Now listen to me, Jephthah!’ he shouted above the man’s noise.

‘Today we the house of Gilead reject you as a branch of our stock. Today the armies of Gilead also renounce you as soldier in her force.

‘Today, Jephthah, by the sceptre of Gilead my father, I banish you from the cities of Gilead till the day of your death!

‘For you have no share in our father’s lot. And have committed treason by aspiring to rival the legitimate heir of this nation…

‘You proud son of a low prostitute!’

Just then the warrior’s voice came out in words. But it was a trembling voice that yelled out those words.

‘I am Jephthah the son of Gilead! Brought up to wield my father’s sword before you were born!

‘Then who are you? Who on earth are you to send me out of this household? Huh!’

Elar didn’t answer him. He simply turned to Jephthah’s men and called them by names.

The men jumped to their feet and saluted him with a bow. ‘At your command sir!’

Elar gave the order: ‘Bundle this man out of Gilead and her settlements!’

‘Yes, my lord!’ chorused the soldiers. Then they matched viciously towards their former lord.

Jephthah burst into a raucous laughter in that moment. He couldn’t believe Elar would be using his own friends to rid him out of Gilead.

He couldn’t believe as of yesterday that his dependable four would carry out his brother’s intent today.

No, it only broke him more and wrecked him into shards and pieces.

And just as his captains descended on him, the fighter called out to them in a moment of bewilderment.

‘Baddok… Simone… Gilkar… Sham…!’

But the men didn’t respond to his frantic call. They just gripped their former chief and moved to haul him out.

Jephthah snapped out of that moment of shock. Then he stiffened up and resisted the drag with a little more effort.

The men found hauling out their commander a little too hectic. They also knew carrying him out would be more of a rigor. So two of them went out to bring a horse’s rope.

Then when the two men came back, the four captains tied their chief up in a huge bundle. And they carried him into a wagon sitting outside.

Then when the two men came back, the four soldiers tied up their chief into a huge bundle and carried him into a wagon sitting outside.

It was that moment that Jephthah cried as scalding tears coursed down his scarlet face.

That betrayal was bitter and sore. That no words on earth could capture it.

Copyright © April 2022 by Kayode & Tola Olla

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