Ball of Nothing

Truen didn't back down. The adventurers didn't back down either. Zero eyed the slave with worry. Given their attitude, he didn't think they would be willing to give them the slave even if they were willing to buy. These humans didn't like elves and they currently were elves. Even if they weren't high elves, they were still elves.

"Move," Truen said when the warrior didn't relent.

Zero inched closer to where the slave was and hoped that nobody noticed but luck wasn't on his side. Almost immediately when he took one step, the rogue threw a dagger that narrowly missed Zero's neck. He didn't have bad aiming so Zero took the hint. It was a warning shot and Zero knew better than to push his luck.

"If you want to pass you'd have to get through us, elf..." sneered the warrior.

The mage looked wary and readied a spell in case Truen pulled anything funny. The lady archer kept an eye on Zero even if the rogue was already watching him. Zero had no chance to pull anything funny with two pairs of eyes trained on him.

"This is the lawless zone," Truen told them calmly as if there wasn't a sword at his throat. If these people thought that they could throw their weight around, they were dead wrong.

In a flash, the sword went flying high up into the air faster than anyone could blink. Nobody saw what happened because it happened too quickly. However, the way Truen disarmed the warrior's sword and got behind him made sweat soak through their shoes.

He walked forward and the two ladies took a step back instinctively. The mage trembled and her staff shook. The spell was cancelled because of the fluctuation in her mana and the archer couldn't hold her bow steady.

The arrow was let loose when the terrified archer stumbled and fell backwards. Neither Truen nor Zero flinched when the arrow was let loose but the rogue jumped. The arrow flew to a nearby tree and it scared off some squirrels but nobody was hurt, only pride damaged.

Nobody dared to stop Truen from getting to a defeated bee and drew his hunting knife. Zero watched his best friend cut off the stinger and dismantle the monster. At first, none of the adventurers moved but after watching Truen work on the third bee with no sign of stopping, the disarmed warrior regained his senses and bravery.

"Hey!" he yelled after retrieving his sword. "Those are the monsters that we killed."

Truen deadpanned. Really? What was this dunce talking about? Clearly Truen killed more than what they managed. Also, without their secret aid to remove the scouts, these adventurers wouldn't stand a chance. Even so, these people had the cheek to nitpick whose kill it was? In the lawless zone? Yet, he didn't want to waste his breath with them. If he could settle it peacefully and get out of here with their motive of saving this girl, that was all he needed. Dismantling the bees was only a bait to get them riled up so that they could take action. Truen didn't think it would be this easy but apparently, it was.

Zero remained silent and watched his best friend egg the dumb warrior on. He was amused when the warrior bit the bait. Then again, it wasn't surprising. He was the dumbest of the lot.

"If you want to harvest these monsters on our watch you should at least pay us a decent compensation for ruining the campsite and damaging our goods!"

Truen didn't even bother hesitating and glanced around at the number of bees they had. He calculated the time they needed to harvest everything before they had to return. Truen eyed the slave and wondered if they would be nice enough to put the girl into the compensation deal.

"How much?" he asked, not wanting to put up with the nonsense for too much longer.

The party was clearly not expecting it so they paused and gathered to discuss the compensation cost. The rogue wanted to rip the elves off but the mage and archer convinced him against doing so. Zero went up to Truen and raised his brow. As elves with a keener sense of hearing, they heard everything in the discussion. These humans are not exactly the brightest of the bunch.

"Didn't you see how he disarmed you?" the mage hissed at the warrior and glared at him.

"Don't be stupid. The faster they leave, the better for us," the archer advised and looked at their leader for the final say.

Although the rogue wasn't too happy, he agreed with the girls. "We'll just ask for some monetary compensation and ask them to leave. We don't want them around for too long, the older elf is dangerous."

Agreeing with their leader's decision, the girls readied themselves to support the warrior and their leader if the wood elf retaliated.

"50 binnites," the rogue leader said. His heart was pumping. It was a lot of money for even their party seeing as the reward for their transportation quest was only slightly above that money.

Truen looked at Zero and Zero shook his head. Fifty binnites was something they could afford. However, Truen wasn't going to let these people get their way so easily. This was daylight robbery and even if Zero didn't know the concept of money, Truen did.

"50 binnites but that girl comes with us," he said.

The rogue faltered and the warrior glanced back to his leader. That slave they kidnapped was needed for the later part of their journey. Although she was blind, she was a mole beast folk who excelled at finding underground caverns and water in the desert. Without her, the risk of their journey would be very high and they weren't confident of returning from the desert.

"No deal," the rogue told them. "We can give up on compensation but the girl stays with us. Take what you need and leave at once."

Zero frowned. "Name your price, we will buy her from you."

Although money was important, the party leader refused. "You can't buy everything in this world with money, pipsqueak. She isn't up for sale and you will leave without her. This is the extent of our generosity, don't push it or you might find yourself buried on this very soil we are on."

The threat towards Zero helped Truen to make up his mind. They might not have buying rights and there was nothing much to discuss. Zero wanted to protest but Truen stopped him.

"Go," he told the doctor. "I'll catch up with you."

Zero complied reluctantly and the rogue leader smirked. Truen waited till he heard Zero take the sand walkers away before he grinned. Since they had no buying rights, Truen was going to follow the rule of the lawless zone. Zero didn't have to dirty his hands, if he wanted them dead and couldn't do it because he was an honourable doctor, then Truen will do it for him. The girl will be saved because Zero willed it and these people will die because they didn't accept Zero's generosity.

"Say your prayers and repent in hell," he told them before dropping their heads like oranges. The elf classily side-stepped the blood fountain geysers from the headless bodies and blasted the lock off the slave's cage.

"You're coming with me," he told her. "Speak a word about what happened to Zero and you will meet the same fate. Understood?"

Terrified that she was saved by the devil, the poor mole beast girl could only nod in fear as Truen carried her out of the cage and broke the cuffs on her ankles. Without another word, Truen carried her and fled the crime scene. He was going to be late for the match.