Fair Trade

Dragon Demon cried against the insubordination of the creatures that wished to flee and yelled at them to stay, but they did not listen. He lacked the authority, for he and the creatures had signed a contract with Thorn Baron. She was the sole person either party could accept commands from.

The humans were exuberantly happy, following the quick turn of events. Under Old Huang's lead, they chased off the creature horde into the woods and away from the shelter, slaying stragglers.

"I'm going to kill you." It was through Dragon Demon that Han Sen was able to feign death and kill Thorn Baron.

And seeing Dragon Demon come for him, Han Sen called for his Dragon-Blood Snake to back him up.

"I will kill you; maybe not now, but someday. I promise you this." Dragon Demon knew he could not defeat Han Sen under the current circumstances. So, he pledged an oath to kill him, turned, and departed the battlefield.

There was no point going after him, though. His spirit stone was nowhere near, and any victory against him would be short-lived. With the Dragon-Blood Snake at his side, Han Sen instead decided to cull as many of the fleeing creatures as he could and thin the horde that would soon recover their numbers and personal strength in Thorn Shelter.

"Mutant Creature Pillar Titan killed. Beast soul gained. Consume its flesh gain zero to ten mutant geno points randomly."

Han Sen and the snake delivered the beatdown upon the creature. Through the entire ordeal, this only marked their third kill of the evening. Receiving another beast soul was remarkably fortunate.

With most of the horde dispersed, scattered in flight across the thick underbrush in a desperate attempt to return home, Han Sen turned away and focused his attention on the primitive stragglers he could more easily capture and slay.

Humans won the fight, and they were treated with many spoils for their bravery. Plenty of beast souls had been collected and much creature flesh had been harvested.

The only thing that disheartened Han Sen was the size of the creatures they had slain. While bringing such foes down was an impressive task, the hulking bodies meant their consumption would be slow, and many mouths would have to work on the same meat. Still, it allowed for a feast in the victory celebrations that were soon to follow.

Han Sen summoned Meowth and Disloyal Knight to feed them. The knight, however, didn't even look at the food it was offered.

"Another picky-eating bastard." Han Sen unsummoned the knight swiftly after.

In the celebration, Han Sen was treated as a hero, and he was almost made drunk.

In Thorn Shelter, things were expectedly glum. The beautiful Thorn Baron was furious over the events that had transpired. "That obscene *sshole! I'm going to have him hung, drawn, and quartered!"

The spirits and creatures in her presence all trembled in fear of their matriarch. The last thing they wanted to do was say or do something that displeased her even more; no one wanted to incite her ire in her current frame of mind.

"They did it." Tie Yi wore a complicated expression, and he struggled to wrap his head around the fact Thorn Baron and her army had been beaten back. It was a shocker to learn that the little human shelter had claimed victory. He had never been so surprised as when he saw a horde of worn-out creatures scramble their way through the gates of the shelter.

After a while, he decided to count how many creatures had returned. He was even more surprised to learn five mutant creatures had not come back and were likely slain.

"How in the sanctuaries did he pull this off?" He actually wished he had been there, fighting alongside other humans. Such a battle must have been a glorious spectacle. Unfortunately, he had signed a contract with Thorn Baron.

Back in the Alliance, Han Sen went to meet up with Ji Yanran in the virtual community. He told her about the battle he had been in.

Ji Yanran was happy for him, but she still had to plead that he try to remain as safe as possible. The Third God's Sanctuary was a dangerous place, and she wanted nothing more than for him to be secure.

Shortly after their meeting, Ji Yanran had to return to work so she left the virtual community. Before he departed, however, Han Sen stopped Annie.

"Annie, can I borrow this bow for a while longer?" Han Sen ordered the construction of the very same bow for his personal use, but it'd take three months to be completed. Liking it very much, he asked her if he could continue using hers for the time being.

Bows like this required much hard work and delicate deliberation in their crafting. They were extremely valuable, and even with present technology, mass production of such a bow was impossible.

"Sure. But how about you do me a favor in return?" Annie said.

"Do what?" Han Sen asked.

"I'm joining a surpasser party; I'd like you to accompany me," Annie answered.

"You? Partying?" Han Sen looked flabbergasted.

Han Sen had always taken Annie for some sort of lifeless robot that followed Ji Yanran around like a shadow. He had never seen her demonstrate much emotion, and neither had he seen her do anything remotely interesting.

He had never even seen her visit the sanctuary.

And now that she was saying she was off to a party. Han Sen was taken aback.

"Yes, so will you come?" Annie coldly asked.

"Um, of course. What kind of party is it?" Han Sen needed the bow to hunt, so he knew he had no choice but to join her.

"Oh, it's just a get-together with some of my old friends," Annie said.

"Friends? You have friends?" Han Sen's mind struggled to think what sort of people would want to be friends with Annie.

"Forget it. Give me back my bow!" Annie's temper suddenly flared up in anger.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'll come, I'll come; no questions asked. Just tell me where to be and I'll go," Han Sen swiftly pleaded.

"Go to the Atlantic Planet. Someone will come pick you up there tomorrow." After saying this, Annie promptly took off.

"Atlantic Planet? Isn't that Lan Te's family's planet?" Han Sen thought to himself.

Lan Te's family was similar to Angel Gene, and was one of the big four; but Lan Te did not sell anything remotely similar to the Angel Fluid.

Lan Te's family only produced money.

It was the oldest and biggest bank in the Alliance, and most other banks referenced and cooperated with them.

There was an organization in the Alliance called Levo Federal Reserve. It was connected to the economy and was an independent department.

Not even the president had the authority to control them, solely. If something needed to be changed or done, it had to be agreed upon through a vote.

Lan Te's family was the boss of the banking world, and no family could avoid having some form of ties with them.

As a result, they had an unprecedented amount of influence in the Alliance and council, and no single person could ruin their reputation.

The Ji family and Lan Te family had business together, but hearing Annie was going to a party with them, Han Sen couldn't help but be surprised.