BLOOD OF BORNEO

CHAPTER 10: BLOOD TEST ON THE SUSPENSION BRIDGE

Gray mist hung low over the Baram Ravine, shrouding the colossal steel structure that stretched out like the spine of an ancient monster. The Baram Suspension Bridge had been transformed into a vital artery for Thorne’s military logistics. Steel cables as thick as a human torso creaked under the wind’s pressure, emitting metallic groans that seemed to mourn the destruction of the jungle below.

Damang crouched on the main suspension cable, fifty meters above the bridge deck. His body was wrapped in a dull black cloak that whipped wildly in the wind. On his back, his ancestral Mandau vibrated subtly—a frequency only detectable by Damang’s synchronized nerves. The sigil on his neck glowed a faint purple. Through his sensory vision, he watched the Thorne convoy approach: three heavy armored trucks escorted by two Light Paladin units.

"Sector four logistics convoy," Damang whispered. His voice was shattered by the wind. "That’s not just food. Those are catalyst crystals for the Earth Heart ritual. They cannot reach the laboratory."

He felt a pulse of rage in his chest, and instantly, a stinging pain shot through his collarbone.

"Damn it," he cursed. "Calm down, Damang. Emotion is poison."

He took a deep breath, cooling his burning nerves. As the first truck crossed the midpoint, Damang moved. He fell as if surrendering to gravity, then swung his Mandau horizontally.

SLASH!

The secondary suspension cable snapped. The bridge tilted drastically. The lead truck slammed on its brakes, its rear end smashing into the guardrail.

"Intruders! Center sector! Protect the cargo!" a commander shouted over a loudspeaker.

The two Paladins immediately unleashed bolts of blue plasma. Damang performed the Mist maneuver. His body fragmented between light and shadow. He reappeared behind one of the Paladins, plunging his Mandau directly into the mechanical joint gap on the back of the armor.

JLEB!

The armor exploded in a shower of sparks. The Paladin fell into the depths of the ravine. Damang landed on the roof of the second truck, but suddenly, the atmosphere around him shifted. The air felt as heavy as lead. An overwhelming pressure slammed into his shoulders, forcing him to his knees.

"Playing with logistics is a very impolite gesture, native," a heavy, calm voice sounded from the front.

Lieutenant Vargas stepped out from a cloud of smoke. He wore only a blood-red military coat with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. His eyes were golden yellow, staring at Damang with the gaze of a bored predator.

"Vargas," Damang hissed, his teeth grinding against the crushing weight. Beneath his gaze, the fire of vengeance he had suppressed now ignited his entire nervous system. A hatred so dense it felt like swallowing embers that clogged his windpipe. Every inch of his old scars seemed to pulse, screaming the name of the man before him as the source of all destruction. "Thorne’s pet dog."

Vargas raised his palm. "You must be that 'Vessel.' Honestly, I expected you to look more impressive, not like a tattooed jungle rat."

Suddenly, Vargas clenched his fist.

CRACK!

The roof of the truck beneath Damang caved in. Damang groaned; the pain from his sigil doubled as he fought against Vargas’s gravitational manipulation.

"What’s wrong, boy?" Vargas walked closer. "Gravity is an absolute law. And here, I am the law."

"Your law... doesn't apply here!" Damang growled.

With a surge of determination, Damang released energy from his sigil. An explosion of purple-blue aura triggered a repulsion against Vargas’s gravitational field. Damang lunged forward, his Mandau slashing diagonally.

CLANG!

Vargas simply raised his left arm. Damang’s blade stopped millimeters from Vargas’s coat, held back by a wall of air pressure.

"Too slow. Too crude," Vargas criticized. He twisted his palm.

Instantly, gravity reversed. Damang was thrown upward. Before he could react, Vargas was already above him, landing a heel kick to Damang’s chest.

CRUNCH!

"Ugh...!" Damang slammed into the bridge asphalt, cracking it. Fresh blood sprayed from his mouth.

"You have potential, Damang," Vargas stood over him, looking down with insulting pity. "But you lack one thing: experience. You are a novice given a god’s weapon. You don't know how to distribute the burden between your soul and that iron."

Vargas raised his foot, preparing to stomp on Damang’s head. "Let’s end this before you embarrass the Nyarung legacy any further."

Amidst the paralyzing pain, Damang felt a vibration from the bridge floor. Not the vibration of the convoy, but the heartbeat of the jungle.

"You... talk about law..." Damang whispered, blood flowing from his lips. "But you forgot... the law of the jungle... is all about traps!"

Damang plunged his Mandau into the bridge floor directly beneath them.

BOOM!

The kinetic energy accumulated from Vargas’s pressure earlier exploded. The bridge floor shattered, creating a massive hole that swallowed them both. Vargas was caught off guard, his balance wavering. Damang seized the second to lunge, wrapping his arms around Vargas’s waist and dragging him down into the ravine.

In the middle of the fall, Damang slammed his sigil-etched fist into Vargas’s face. THUD! Vargas was sent flying away. Damang then threw a steel cable from his wrist toward a suspension pillar.

ZING!

The cable coiled around it. Damang swung, his body slamming hard against the side of the bridge. He hung limply, gasping for air. Below him, Vargas hovered steadily using a gravity platform.

"You cunning little rat," Vargas growled. "I will tear your heart out!"

However, the roar of a large helicopter engine sounded from above. A Thorne-Class gunship emerged from behind the mist. Elias Thorne’s voice echoed from Vargas’s radio, leaking into Damang’s ear.

"Vargas, leave him. The Earth Heart synchronization has reached 90%. Activate the cleanup protocol."

Vargas looked up, hesitating. "But sir, this subject is still alive."

"I don't need information from a corpse, Vargas. Destroy the bridge now," Elias ordered coldly.

"Yes, sir," Vargas replied stiffly. He glared at Damang. "You’re lucky today, native. But your death is only delayed."

Vargas jumped into the helicopter cabin. The next second, the helicopter released two thermobaric missiles at the bridge’s main pillar.

KA-BOOOOMMMM!

A massive explosion shook the valley. The giant steel structure collapsed. Damang felt the cable he was hanging from begin to lose its anchor.

"Damn it! Everything is falling!"

Hundreds of tons of steel plummeted toward the bottom of the ravine. Damang was dragged down, but managed to grab a steel rope caught on the remains of a pillar. He hung there, on a thin thread above death. His hands were bleeding, his sigil pulsing weakly.

Damang looked up. In the reddening sky, he saw Elias Thorne’s helicopter flying away toward the ritual center. The golden light grew brighter, splitting the Baram sky.

"Father..." Damang whispered hoarsely. He felt utterly helpless. He had trained, he had undergone the painful rituals, yet he still couldn't even touch Elias Thorne.

"AAAAAARRRRGGHHH!"

Damang roared with rage. His roar was drowned out by the sound of the waterfall and the roar of the receding engines. His time was running out. His father was being sacrificed, and he was hanging there, waiting for his end.

But the Mandau on Damang’s back suddenly emitted a warm silver light. A whisper from thousands of ancestral souls seemed to tell him that this was not the end. Damang gripped the steel rope tighter. His blood-filled eyes stared straight at the disappearing helicopter.

"I am... not... finished..." he hissed through bloodied teeth. "Elias... you will pay for every drop of this blood!"

With one final breath, he gathered the remaining energy of his sigil. The bridge might be destroyed, but his vengeance had built a new bridge to the hell he would bring directly to Elias Thorne.