Chapter 20: The Whirlwind Circle of Death

The hills and peaks shook. Rocks trembled. Bushes were uprooted and trees bent to the ground. Wiro Sableng’s whirlwind strike had shattered the powerful gale unleashed from Bladra Wikuyana’s blue staff. Yet, even so, Wiro was still struck by the gust of the opponent’s blow, making his body stagger for a moment!

Bladra Wikuyana’s eyes bulged in disbelief. That strike had used nearly a third of his inner strength. He had been certain that if it didn’t kill the youth, it would at least leave him convulsing and coughing up blood! But that confidence had just been shattered. Below, he saw Wiro Sableng still standing strong and whole! Then Bladra Wikuyana shouted,

“Young man! Your skill is commendable! I’ll await you at the Sanggreng Cave Sect!”

With those words, he grabbed Bergola Wungu by the arm. In the blink of an eye, master and disciple vanished from Wiro Sableng’s sight.

The young warrior scratched his head. “That staff is insane,” he muttered to himself.

But he didn’t linger. Without hesitation, he leapt up the towering cliff—dozens of spear-lengths high. The rock surface was slick. Had his light-body technique been of a lower level, he would surely have slipped.

Scanning the area, Wiro searched for any sign of where the two had gone. His sharp eyes quickly spotted the figures of Bladra Wikuyana and his student disappearing behind a rocky outcrop to the east. Without wasting time, he jumped from one cliff to another like a soaring eagle, until finally, the two he was chasing vanished into a deep ravine of stone.

Wiro stood at the edge of the gorge, peering down. Jumping down was impossible—it was over a hundred spear-lengths deep. That meant Bladra Wikuyana and Bergola Wungu couldn’t have gone straight down. But then Wiro spotted a sturdy rope ladder hanging from the southern edge of the ravine. He rushed over to it and examined the ladder. After a moment’s thought, he swiftly began his descent.

The bottom of the rocky ravine was almost like a stone plain, with very little vegetation. Cautiously, The 212 Warrior inspected his surroundings. Suddenly, a whistle echoed from the north—answered by another from the west. Wiro turned toward the west and moved quickly!

Meanwhile, back at the top of the ravine, a figure who had been tailing Wiro Sableng for some time stopped near the rope ladder, unwilling to descend.

Down below, Wiro stood behind a pillar-shaped rock formation—at the very least, it would provide cover if anyone tried to attack him from ambush. From behind the stone, he peered ahead.

Between two massive, low-lying trees, several dozen spear-lengths in front of him, he saw a large cave. Then, again, he heard the sound of a whistle—this time from behind him. That whistle was answered by one that echoed from within the cave itself.

Growing impatient, the youth waited. Where had the two gone? Had they entered that cave? Was this the famed Gua Sanggreng? And was he now standing on the very grounds of the Gua Sanggreng School?

Suddenly, a whistle rang out—sharper and more intense than the ones before. From the mouth of the cave, two dozen men emerged—all of them male, some bearded, some not—all dressed in black, with white cloth sashes at their waists. At each of their sides hung a blue staff, identical in shape to Bladra Wikuyana’s.

The twenty-four men arranged themselves in two long rows from the cave mouth to the stone clearing. Not long after, Bladra Wikuyana appeared, accompanied by Bergola Wungu.

“No need to hide behind that pillar! Step out!” shouted Bladra Wikuyana.

The young man stepped out from behind the rock column and stood alert at the edge of the clearing. “Whirlwind from the West! What is this, some kind of play or dance performance you’re about to show me?!”

Bladra Wikuyana chuckled coldly. “Foolish man! Death is already staring you in the face, and you still want to crack jokes! Don’t you know that once someone enters this place, there’s no way out? That means you’ll die here!”

Wiro Sableng grinned. “Then I suppose all of you here are going to die with me!”

Bladra Wikuyana laughed again and clapped his hands. “Pull up the rope ladder,” he ordered.

Two disciples from the Gua Sanggreng School obeyed immediately. Bladra muttered, “Now that the ladder is up, your time is short. But there’s a way to live… if you’re interested.”

“What is it?” asked Wiro, curious.

“Kneel, beg for mercy at my feet, and join me!”

Wiro Sableng burst into laughter. “Your student Bergola Wungu challenged me to a duel! And now you’re telling me to kneel and join you?! You sure know how to play dirty!”

“Then you truly came here to deliver your soul,” Bladra Wikuyana said grimly. He clapped once. “Finish him—with the Six-Staff Strike of Death!”

At that order, six of his disciples leapt forward, surrounding Wiro with blue staves in hand.

“Know this,” Bladra shouted again, “the one you’re about to strike is a brat who calls himself the Deadly Fire Dragon Axe Warrior 212! Begin!”

The six disciples responded with a chorus of whistles and lunged at Wiro Sableng. Six streaks of blue energy danced through the air—erratic, cutting through the wind, aiming to strike the unarmed Pendekar.

Wiro leapt into the air, shouting, “Whirlwind from the West! Why send your students who have nothing to do with this? Don’t you have the guts to face me yourself?!”

Bladra Wikuyana snapped back, “If you have a problem with one of us, then you have a problem with the entire Sanggreng Cave Sect!”

At that moment, the six disciples sprang into the air, attacking again. But using the technique “Eel Slipping Through the Earth,” Wiro reappeared calmly back on the stone clearing—leaving the six staves clashing harmlessly in midair!

“Idiots,” Bladra cursed his disciples. “You have three more moves! If you can’t bring him down, retreat and accept punishment!”

But even the deadly Six-Staff Strike of Death couldn’t bring down the 212 Warrior. Now desperate to avoid punishment, the six disciples spun their staves with all their strength and launched simultaneous thrusts at six different points on Wiro Sableng’s body!

“Ciaaattt…!”

A thunderous roar echoed through the stone ravine. The hairs on the necks of the Gua Sanggreng disciples bristled—not just from the terrifying roar, but from the sight of their six comrades suddenly frozen in place—standing stiff and still. Each one had been struck by Wiro’s pressure point technique.

Meanwhile, Wiro stood there calmly—whistling a tune!

Bladra Wikuyana couldn’t believe what he saw. His eyes widened in shock, and rage boiled inside him. Suddenly, he drew his blue staff from his waist and swept it through the air. The six frozen disciples were hurled aside like dry leaves—but the storm wind from his mighty staff also released them from their paralysis!

Then the leader of Gua Sanggreng turned to Bergola Wungu.

“Go,” he ordered. “Lead all my disciples. Form the Tidal Circle Formation!”

Bergola Wungu stepped forward, unsheathing his long machete, and whistled three times in succession. Instantly, the twenty-four men in black, armed with blue staves and led by Bergola himself, formed two concentric rings—surrounding Wiro Sableng at the center.

Insanely, the one being attacked remained perfectly calm—murmuring softly, even whistling again.

Suddenly, Bergola Wungu gave a sharp whistle. The inner ring began to spin leftward, while the outer ring spun rightward. Slowly at first, then faster, and faster still—until the bodies of the twenty-four men blurred, forming spinning shadows.

Dust from the clearing rose into the air, spiraling around. The warriors shrieked and howled without pause—their screams sharp and disorienting. The opposing spins, the shrill cries—it all began to overwhelm the senses.

Slowly, Wiro’s vision began to blur. His head felt dizzy. He stood stunned, unmoving for several moments. And the two spinning rings were closing in tighter… and tighter.

Seeing his opponent begin to falter, Bergola Wungu lunged forward with a roar, slashing his machete down toward Wiro’s head—from behind! A cowardly attack from an unseen angle!

And yet… Wiro Sableng, still dazed, still whistling… did not stop. Almost as if he had forgotten himself entirely!