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By this time the monkeys realized that Intorachit had left the field and, guessing that he was preparing mischief for them, demanded to know of Wirunyamuk where' he had gone. The demon refused to tell them, so he was handed over to the monkey inquisition to be stripped, trussed and beaten without mercy. He still refused to say where Intorachit had gone, and this honorable silence was maintained when the monkeys, resorting to grosser torture, hacked off his right hand. He would even have suffered the ultimate penalty had not Phra Ram stepped in and released him, explaining that his death could not benefit them. And so a mark of infamy was tattooed on Wirunyamuk's forehead, and much to the monkeys' dissatisfaction, he was allowed to go free. But this act of clemency brought its own reward. Wirunyamuk immediately flew to Intorachit, and rousing him from his deep meditation, told him that his army was leaderless and in danger of annihilation. Intorachit broke off the ceremony over his Nakabat arrow, trusting that its potency was already sufficient to bring about the downfall of the monkey army, and flew back to the battlefield. The outcome of the snake arrow battle has already been related. Its inconclusiveness is now easy to understand. |
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