The Big-talking Barpus.

With a face full of rage he threw his long chains at Kain, trying to trap him. However, Cain quickly raised his two hammers and blocked the chains perfectly. The two hammers emitted sparks as they collided with Barpus' long chains.

Taneaya, seeing an opportunity to attack, rushed forward quickly toward Barpus. She arched her sword with lightning speed, trying to cut through Barpus' long chains. However, the agile Barpus managed to dodge in the blink of an eye and turned quickly to face Taneaya.

Eran began to launch his attacks, trying to see through Barpus' small openings. Each move was quick and deadly, but it was difficult as the puffer man kept moving nimbly and dodged Eran's attacks nimbly.

Kain, during this battle, felt the pressure increasing, his wounds aching again. Barpus' long chains continued to spin at high speed, creating a dangerous stretch that was difficult to dodge.

Taneaya tried to keep her distance from Barpus. She knew that she could not compete with Barpus' physical strength, so she tried to attack with speed and agility. She glided forward again, elegantly circling while trying to outwit Barpus.

Eran, who was growing increasingly frustrated, continued to launch his attacks furiously. He tried to find an opening in Barpus' defense, but his opponent was too agile. Barpus' long chains continued to move quickly, dodging Eran's daggers perfectly.

Kain, who was getting tired, tried to overcome the pressure from Barpus' long chains. He jumped back to avoid the dangerous attacks, but he felt his strength starting to run low. He had to find a way to end this fight as soon as possible.

Taneaya, who continued to try to find an opening in Barpus' defense, suddenly felt her left hand being hit by a sharp chain-length attack. She screamed in pain and jumped back to avoid further attacks. Blood flowed from the wounds on her hand, but she would not give up so easily.

Eran, seeing that Taneaya was injured, became even angrier. "Damn it!" He launched more ferocious attacks, trying to force Barpus back. However, Barpus with his extraordinary skill continued to dodge the attacks.

"Tane, Eran! Calm!! Don't get carried away!" shouted Kain, trying to calm down his two desperate friends.

Kain, who was starting to feel weak, knew that he had to act. With one decisive move, he threw his two hammers at Barpus. The hammers spun quickly and struck Barpus hard. Barpus staggered backward, falling to the cave floor with both hands momentarily paralyzed.

"Argh! My hands are gone!" cried Barpus writhing.

Taneaya, despite her injuries, quickly rushed forward. She swung her two swords quickly and cut through Barpus' long chains with one sharp movement. The chains snapped in half.

"Damn it! My chains, you bastard whore!" 

Barpus tried to stand up after her hands started to feel her hands again. But Eran was already approaching with his two daggers slashing the veins in Barpus' left wrist. "ARGHHHHH!!!" Then continued to slash the right arm.

Barpus' scream echoed, as he endured the pain in both hands and kicked Eran in the face with the toe of his iron boot, causing Eran to stagger. His face was in pain.

Taneaya approached Barpus who seemed to be running away, but unfortunately, it was in vain because Taneaya had already caught up and delivered two slashes from behind, making her legs separate from her body. Instantly Barpus' body fell and at the same time, there was a very loud howl echoing in the cave.

"ARRGHHHHHHH!!!!! AAAAAA!!!"

Then Taneaya angrily stomped on the face of the helpless Barpus." You bastard! Pig!!!" Taneya cursed angrily.

"Enough Tane, we'll interrogate him, he looks like he's dying," Kain said, making Taneaya stop in annoyance.

Eran and Kain approached the wounded Barpus and placed their daggers on their enemy's throat. "Surrender," he said in a sharp voice.

Barpus looked at Eran with fearful eyes, a look of pleading for mercy on his face. 

"I...i...yes...t... to help me.." pleaded Barpus stammeringly.

Kain, who still felt weak, took a deep breath. They had managed to defeat Barpus, a formidable foe. Eran grabbed both of Barpus' injured arms and stopped the bleeding then he hurriedly tried to stop the bleeding on the remaining pieces of Barpus' legs with a piece of cloth he found nearby.

"You and all your men are just cunning tricksters! Harming villagers and sacrificing innocent village girls just for money!" Taneaya exclaimed in a furious tone.

"You have no right to judge us!" retorted Barpus in a proud tone, but fear was clearly in his eyes.

"There's no reason to sacrifice innocent people for your gain!" Taneaya exclaimed firmly.

"You know nothing..." Barpus replied breathlessly as the pain in his leg disappeared.

"Calm down Taneaya, let me and Eran do the interrogation," said Kain while patting Taneaya's shoulder. "Take care of your wound first for the time being," Kain continued.

"Where did you take the girls you captured?" Kain asked Barpus.

"What do you know, you have nothing to do with this! I can't understand why you would do this to me, my territory, my treasure, my girls, and my men!" Barpus monologued sadly.

Kain glanced at Eran as if knowing Eran was slipping his dagger into Barpus' vein.

"Answer me, pig! Despite your condition, you can still live if you're willing to compromise," Eran attacked with his sharp words.

Barpus swallowed, he still wanted to live, Eran's words were true even though he was disabled, Barpus could continue his life. Barpus thought while considering.

"I...I send them to the warehouse," Barpus said while gulping down his saliva. "Sometimes they pick them up themselves..."

"Warehouse?" asked Kain, narrowing his eyes.

"The warehouse is in the town of Petrolina, the brothel, it's easy to find. We call it a warehouse," explained Barpus. "I've explained everything, please let me go."

Taneaya wrinkled her face, she was worried that the thoughts in her head would come true.

"Then, who is behind all this?" Kain asked.

Barpus was silent, he had expected this question to come up sooner or later. "Please...I can't say that..." Barpus pleaded.

"Then I'll slit your throat..." continued Eran with a casual grin.

"Prince..." Barpus trailed off, choking on his saliva. "He is Prince Enid." 

Kain was surprised to hear Barpus' confession, Taneaya who had been staying away was now approaching with a little run towards Barpus, then grabbed the old man by the collar.

Taneaya looked at the bandit leader with an expression of sadness mixed with anger. Barpus' statement made her feel devastated. How could her brother, Prince Enid, who was supposed to be a role model and a wise leader, be involved in such a heinous human trafficking?

"What are you saying?!" snapped Taneaya.

"That...Prince Enid is the mastermind of this business, please don't kill me," Barpus explained fearfully.

"Nonsense! You're making up stories, my brother's not like that!" snapped Taneaya her eyes glowing with anger.

Barpus began to remember something about one of the long-disappeared princesses of the kingdom of Satascar, his initial guess was correct.

Barpus smiled triumphantly, savoring the moment of humiliation. "Oh, Prince Enid is very interested in beautiful women like them. Before he sells them, the prince will first use them as personal comfort women, then after he gets bored, he will throw them into brothels. We raised a lot of money by kidnapping those women. Prince Enid has been helping us run this very profitable business for a long time, hahaha!"

Taneaya felt her chest rippling, her grip loosening. Mixed feelings of hate, anger, and sadness crept into her heart. She couldn't believe that her brother, who was supposed to protect and defend his people, was instead involved in the heinous human trafficking.

Eran saw the changed look on Taneaya's face. He understood his female friend's feelings and felt sad to see her like that. "We will stop this human trafficking! They must pay for all their crimes!" Eran retorted.

"You two are so naive!" Barpus laughed sarcastically. "You can't stop us! Prince Enid has strong influence and the support of the kingdom's rulers! You're just ordinary mercenaries, what can you do?"

*****