Eve plastered a fake smile on her face, masking her disgust and focusing on the transaction. "A whole night? You do know that will cost you more... Because I know you won't let me rest."
"Hahaha! Name your price!" Veer yelled, his desire blinding him to her cunning.
"Ten mid-grade monster cards for each climax."
"....?!"
Kino and Veer were stunned, staring at her in surprise. The price was outrageous, designed to punish his arrogance while maximizing her profit.
"Don't look at me like that... You two just cummed in my mouth, and that's five mid-grade monster cards. But I am sure, Veer don't want to cum in my mouth but in me... Right?" She asked, her tone entirely clinical, treating intimacy as a commodity and power play.
Veer frowned at her words: 'I only have 20 mid-grade monster cards. This lady is truly cunning.' He realized he was being exploited but was too far gone in his desire to back out gracefully.
"So what if I release in your mouth?" He asked, testing the waters.
"Of course, that's five monster cards." Eve said in a flat tone, placing both her legs on the ground, signaling the end of the negotiation.
"So do you agree?" She asked.
Veer took a gold pouch from the table, and tossed it to Kino. "That is your share." He said, then picked up the second pouch and stared at Eve.
"No... You don't need anything, you're just my employee. That's what you said right?" He asked, attempting to regain control by withholding the money.
Eve simply rolled her eyes at him. Gold coins were plentiful; the monster cards were the true necessity for power progression.
"I don't need your gold." She stood up, and fixed her gaze on him: "What about your request?"
"Meet me tonight by ten." Veer said with a smirk, believing he had secured the deal.
Eve nodded, and walked towards the door, opened it and walked out.
"You know she is a lot stronger--"
"--Forget that, Kino... Although she is a Lv26 player, she is a knight, and low on skills... Not to mention me, a warrior with enough defense skill, if we both fight, I am sure I can defeat her." Veer cut him off, his gaze cold.
"So you're enjoying yourself without me?" Kino asked, staring at Veer's side profile, a hint of jealousy lingering.
"Come on... I gave you gold. Just go take one of her girls in the village, pay them and have their holes... Can't you do that?" Veer said in mild annoyance, viewing the women as interchangeable, purchasable objects.
"Hahaha! You're still too wise!" Kino nodded with a relieved smile, but before he could stand up, Eve rushed back inside with the same cloaked lady who had walked out of Galaxy City.
Kino: "...?!"
Veer: "What happened?"
"My girl here heard news in Galaxy City. The fools your men rob knows Spectral. And she is coming here to deal with us." Eve explained, her voice grave.
"She?"
The two men looked at one another in shock.
"So Spectral is a she... Wow, I am shocked." Veer stood up and stretched his body. His fear was immediately overridden by his competitive arrogance.
"Come on, let's go and wait for her at the gate... I really want to see what the Spectral is made of." He said, a devilish smirk on his face.
"Hahaha, such a lady will surely be beautiful... Seems my assassin's skills might come in handy." Kino added, similarly transforming the threat into an opportunity for conquest and boasting.
Eve shook her head internally, aghast at their stupidity. 'Why are these two so arrogant?! Spectral is a player who had killed more than two World Bosses, and she soloed them... These guys can't even kill a Boss monster without losing 20% of their forces, and now, they're speaking of fighting Spectral.'
"I am sorry, but I valued my girls' safety. So I will be leaving." Eve declared, putting her survival and her guild's utility first—a clear breaking of their contract.
"Why?! You already made a deal with us. You're our employee, without our say, you aren't going anywhere... Get that!!" Kino snapped at her, his false confidence returning.
"You!" Eve was stunned by their audacity. She was a higher level player, but she knew she couldn't defeat the two of them together in this enclosed space. She had to use strategy.
"Leader, if we stay here, we might not make it." The girl behind her whispered in fear.
Eve thought for a moment and sighed, realizing a direct confrontation was reckless. "Fine then, I'll be outside, let's go!!" Her retreat was purely tactical.
"TSK! She thinks she can get away that easily." Veer sneered, his paranoia and control issues taking over. He slowly stood up:
"Send words, all fighters to get ready... Prepared the catapult we took from the village! We will use it to smash that bitch to death!!" He ordered, clinging to the only piece of siege weaponry they possessed.
"Yes!" Kino nodded, completely buying into Veer's desperate plan.
__
Outside, Eve stopped and turned to her second in command, her expression now hard and calculating. She whispered a precise, quick order into her ears.
"Wow! You're smart leader." The lady said in surprise, and awe.
"Of course I am, now go and get ready... We aren't dying today." Eve confirmed her priority: ditching the foolish alliance for survival.
"Yes!"
The lady placed her hood back and rushed deeper into the village to execute the whispered plan.
__
At some miles from the village, Mirabella sat on Cupcake, watching everything that was happening in the village with her Eagle Eyes skill.
'Interesting... They have catapults.' She thought, noting the crude defenses with mild amusement. She turned to the group behind her, her command absolute.
"All of you, stay back... I will take care of this myself." She said, dismissing the need for their help, and without waiting for their response, she vanished, leaving Cupcake behind.
"Did... Did she just disappear?" Grace was stunned, having only witnessed the aura, not the true speed.
"Ah! That's my Queen... She can do more than that." Carl said, rising his chest with a proud smile. His development was focused entirely on his deep, vicarious pride in Mirabella's impossible feats.
"Incredible." The others nodded with smiles on their face, their faith in her fully cemented.
__
In the Village, Veer and Kino got on the wooden wall, staring at the open landscape before the village. The next Moment, a figure appeared before them, seemingly out of thin air.
"What the hell?! Did she teleport?" Veer asked in shock, recognizing the impossible speed of her approach.
"No doubt, that's Spectral." Kino muttered, his hand already holding his short blades, the reality of the fight starting to erode his bravado.
Veer raised his huge shield—an Epic class item, meant to withstand massive damage—and hit it on his armor plate:
"Ok fighters of Skull, and Viper Guilds!! It's time to show this bitch who's the strongest!!" He yelled, trying to rally his courage and the 70 people behind him, with the weakest being at Lv5.
"Fire the catapults!!!"
He yelled, and instantly, the two huge wooden catapults released two massive boulders towards Mirabella, who had started walking towards the Village with unnerving calm.
WHOOSH!!!!
The two boulders flew towards Mirabella. One smashed harmlessly behind her. But the second was heading straight towards her.
The moment it reached five meters from her, she simply stared at it. No gesture, no shout, just pure focused power. Instantly, the boulder shattered into particles, rising dust into the air. The act was a demonstration of absolute, effortless Spirit Energy manipulation.
"Did it work?" Veer asked, staring at the smoke with a growing frown.
WHOOSH!!!
".....?!!"
Arrows—not physical ones, but massive, razor-sharp bolts of concentrated Spirit Energy—flew out from the smoke, moving towards them with incredible speed.
"Fuck!! Get off the wall!!" Veer yelled, his voice laced with panic, placing his shield in front of him, planning on stopping the arrow heading towards him.
BOOOOOM!!
The arrow smashed into his shield, and instantly shattered the Epic class shield into pieces. The Spiritual Arrow continued its movement, and burst Veer's whole right hand off in a sickening explosion of gore and blood.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Screams followed next, not from Mirabella's target, but from the ranks of the terrified, low-level bandits. The confrontation was over before it began.