Four horses ran away from the chaotic village. When Sabadda said there was nothing more they could do, his brother Sahim nodded. For Sahim, although he is dissatisfied, he cannot be arrogant because he has no weapon.

Jahir previously taught Jean that this is the position of a protected person. A person without a weapon is classified as a weak person. Simple, but suitable for an environment where power is everything. Therefore, for a while, Sahim must follow the instructions of Sabadda until he obtains a weapon.

"Brother Sabadda."

When Jean said that, Sabadda turned around.

"Are you sleepy?"
"Yes..."
"Come here."

Sabadda did not slow down his horse and stretched out his hand. Then Jean took Sabadda's hand and jumped into his chest. Sabadda held Jean close to his chest, and Jafar took the rope from Jean's horse.

The group ran for a while, and several hours passed. Eventually, they stopped the horses for a break. Then, Sahim took down the sheepskin water bags he carried on his horse, poured water into buckets, and gave the horses a drink.

"He is asleep."

When Sahim said this, Sabadda laughed lightly and laid Jean down on the cloth that Jafar had spread.

"He must be tired. He's still young anyway."
"Is he always like this?"
"No."

Sabadda opened the lid of his water bottle and gulped it down.

"He's a tough kid."
"Isn't his mother worried?"
"She'd be worried. No matter how he is, he's still a four-year-old child."

Sabadda looked at Jean who was calmly asleep. Jafar listens to the conversation between Sabadda and Sahim while stewing rice, dried meat, and dried dates in the cooking utensils Sabadda brought.

"Aren't she going to complain?"
"What should I say?"

Sabadda tilted his head.

"I don't know much about Jean's mother, so I can't say much about her, but I'm sure any mother worries about her child."
"I agree."

Sahim drank the water and nodded. When Jafar says the meal is ready, they nod and eat without Jean.

“Do I have to wake him up?”
"He should be fine."

Sabadda nodded.

"The horses have finished resting, so let's go after dinner."
"Alright."

Sahim nodded.

"Leave Jean to me. I'll tie Jean's horse to mine and pull him."

Sahim said and Sabadda nodded while eating.

"But I never thought I'd have a younger brother without my knowledge. When I meet my father, I'll complain about it."
"Hahaha."

Sabadda couldn't help but laugh.

"Jean is a good boy, brother."
"I admit that."

Sahim finished eating the rice left in his bowl and drank water.

"He's excellent. In that darkness, he single-handedly liberated the villagers and then rescued me. Most of the enemy troops around him died. He's still young, but he's amazing."
"Because he's smart."

Sabadda nodded.

"Did you know, brother? Jean can speak many different languages."
"He said it. But he didn't say what language."
"Archian, Ircandian, Erganti, Torpian, Smilkian, Min, and Saikis. He can't read or write yet, but speaking seems no problem."
"That's amazing."
"It seems that her mother can speak more. She can also read and write."
"I'm jealous. She's a smart woman."

Sahim said and Sabadda nodded.

"I want to meet a woman like that too. If I meet her, I will never let her go."
"Hahaha. I wish you success, bro."

Sabadda laughed and cleaned up her dishes. Jafar smiled, washed his dishes briefly, and put away his things.

When Sahim was ready, he picked up sleeping Jean and mounted the horse. Sabadda and Jafar nodded, and they departed immediately.

Sabadda wanted to return to the village as soon as possible. That way, Jean can rest. Besides, Jean found Sahim within a short time and rescued him unharmed. When he thinks about that, Sabadda is so proud of his younger brother that he wants to tell all the villagers about his brother.

"Mister Sabadda."
"Ah, yeah."

Jafar said and Sabadda nodded. An unknown group appeared from the other direction.

Judging by their appearance, they don't look like a merchant. The moment Sabadda thought they were travelers or bandits, they drew their swords.

"Bandits!"

Sabadda's words woke Jean, who had been sleeping peacefully until now.

"It's okay, Jean."
"Ah, it was Brother Sahim. Huh?"

When Jean was confused, Sahim laughed. For some reason, at a time like this people would feel tense. But, strangely, Sahim felt relaxed.

"Do you want to get back to your horse?"
"Hmm..."

Jean looks at Sabadda and Jafar, then at the bandits with their weapons drawn.

"One, two…10 persons, 20 persons?"
"Twenty-four persons to be exact."

Sahim said, and Jean looked again at the number of weapons visible in the darkness.

"Brother, will it be difficult if we continue to run like this?"
"No, there's no problem."

Sahim shook his head. A part of him was excited to know what Jean was thinking.

“Then please keep me fixed for a while.”
"What do you mean? Should I keep you safe from falling?"
"Yes, please."
"Okay."

Sahim said with a smile. Jean looked at Sahim and stood still, looking around.

While Sabadda and Jafar engaged in a cavalry battle, Sahim and Jean ran not far away. Some bandits were following him, so Jean pulled a throwing knife from his chest belt and threw it.

There were five knives in total, Sahim glanced.

One by one, Sahim confirmed. It is a truly advanced technique and also a complicated technique. Sahim thought someone trained for several months could do this against a stationary opponent. However, it is complicated to throw a knife to hit someone who is moving in an unstable position. Sahim isn't sure if even Sabadda can do it. But he was confident that this 4-year-old could do it just fine.

"You have three knives left. What should we do?"
"Hmm."

Sahim said, and Jean thought about it. When Sahim said he wanted to stay as far away from the Sabaddas as possible, Jean nodded.

"Brother, could you please run around for a moment?"
"In what direction?"
"From here, go straight and pass Brother Sabadda, run around, cross over, go in the opposite direction of Brother Sabadda and Uncle Jafar's horses, and return to the path you ran earlier.''
"It looks like it will be a big burden on the horse."
"Then please cut my horse's rope."
"Is it good?"
"Yes. Besides, you don't have a weapon, so I can't leave you alone."

Jean said and Sahim smiled. This child's words hit his heart, Sahim thought.

"Okay. The horse's rope is tied to the saddle, you can cut it anytime."
"Understood."

Sahim said, and this time Jean sat down again and turned him around. Jean uses his dagger and cuts his horse's rope straight from his side. Sahim's horse, now lighter, sped up and approached the Sabaddas as Jean had told Sahim to do. Then Jean stood again and looked over at his enemy. Without looking away from his enemy, Jean pulled a throwing knife from his belt and threw it, hitting the target.

When one fell from his horse, the other bandits turned their attention to Jean and the others.

"Two more."
"Yes, Brother."

Sahim said and Jean nodded. Now, Sahim is excited to see how it will turn out.

With a thud, Jean threw the knife again. There's only one more to go, Sahim thought, but Jean threw the remaining one.

He hit the mark. However, there are almost no throwing knives left in Jean's hands.

"What will you do?"
"Please leave it as it is. I'll fish so the other party comes towards me in droves."
"Is that okay?"
"Yes."
"Alright."

Sahim nodded steered his horse past the Sabaddas and ran in the opposite direction. Surprised, Sabadda and Jafar quickly defeated their opponents and chased after Jean and Sahim.

Jean looked at the enemy chasing him with a serious expression.

"Brother, let go of your hand."
"You are going to fall."
"It's okay."
"Alright."

The moment Sahim let go of his hand, Jean quickly climbed onto Sahim's shoulder, rode the wind, quickly pulled out his Shamshir, and slashed the chasing bandit's head with his Shamshir. It happened so suddenly that Sahim, Sabadda, and Jafar were surprised and couldn't believe their eyes.

Jean didn't stop there, jumping from the running horse to a nearby bandit's horse and swinging his Shamshir down. Sabadda became impatient and slashed his enemies one after another. However, the enemy seemed to realize there was no chance to win the battle, so they tried to go in a different direction.

It was at that time.

Jean took the dead bandit's weapon and threw it to the other bandit there.

He hit the mark.

When a dead bandit fell on top of his horse, Jean quickly took the rope from the horse and let it run. Then he jumped in again and cut down the bandit that came close to Sahim.

His cavalry skills were second to none, Sahim thought, holding his breath.

He couldn't believe his eyes, wondering if he was a four-year-old. Jean overtook Sahim and jumped onto the horse of one of the bandits who had failed to escape, and before the bandit could say anything, he fell prey to Shamshir and died.

"Brother Sahim! Are you okay?!"
"Oh, no problem!"

Sahim replied loudly and Jean smiled. When Sahim reached out his hand, Jean placed Shamsir in the sheath on his back, quickly took Sahim's hand, and jumped.

"Wow!"
"What a surprise!"
"Sorry."
"Hahaha!"

Sahim laughed and hugged Jean. Sabadda and Jafar looked at them, nodded in relief, and looked around for enemies nearby. Knowing it was now safe, Sabadda whistled the signal. Then Sahim stopped his horse and slowly walked towards Sabadda.

"Jean! Are you okay?!"

When Sabadda approached with a concerned look on his face, Jean nodded.

"I'm okay."

When Jean said this, Sabadda looked relieved.

"But I'm hungry..."
"Okay. I'll prepare some food later, so stay there for a while. I'll look for your horse."
"Thank you, Brother."

When Sabadda said this, Jean replied obediently. They could almost hear the grumbling sounds coming from his stomach.

"Is that Shamshir from Father?"
"No. Grandpa Sabir gave it to me. He said it was the weapon he used when he was little."
"You've put it to good use."
"Thanks. That's because Brother Abu taught me, I can now use it."
"Abu...Abu Efrad?"
"Yes, he is."

Jean nodded.

"Really."

Sahim hugged Jean and thought for a while. Jean is also an important child to the Efrad family. After seeing the battle just now, Jean's excellence is obvious.

Jean's presence is huge for both the Tareq and the Efrad. No doubt, Sahim thought, both families would want Jean.

"(Yawn) Ummh..."
"If you're sleepy, get some sleep. I'll wake you up when the food is ready."
"Yes, Brother..."

Seeing Jean unable to overcome his drowsiness, Sahim smiled and wrapped Jean in his cloak. He remained there quietly until Sabadda and Jafar returned.

Jean, the Darkness (19)