“Five gold coins? Are you sure you’re not joking? How is that even possible...” Starlight narrowed his deep black eyes, his voice filled with disbelief.
However, before he could finish, the scar-faced man interrupted him viciously, “Kid, let me make this clear—I’m not negotiating with you!”
By now, no matter how inexperienced or naive Starlight might be, he understood that these men were intentionally looking for trouble. He silently sized them up; though they seemed aggressive, his observation told him they weren't opponents he couldn't handle.
However, he had to consider the consequences of starting a fight in the tavern. If possible, Starlight preferred to stay away from disputes; he didn't want to waste his precious time on such meaningless struggles.
Yet, his brief silence was misinterpreted as a sign of weakness. The scar-faced man gave a contemptuous laugh, fished a few gold coins from his pocket, and tossed them carelessly onto the table while reaching out with his other hand to snatch the pelt.
But even with a forceful tug, he failed to pick up the fur. Starlight’s hand was pressing firmly down on the other end of the pelt, and he stared at them seriously.
“Who said I was going to sell this pelt to you?”
“Oh? I didn't realize a country brat like you had some strength. Too bad you’ve picked the wrong opponent. Today, you’re selling this whether you want to or not!” Seeing that Starlight actually dared to stop him, the scar-faced man snorted and threw a punch directly at his face with a low growl.
The punch was aimed straight at Starlight’s nose. If it landed, the man was confident he could knock this mysterious kid senseless.
At this moment, Starlight had already condensed magic within his body. Just as he was thinking about how to block the punch, he discovered that the high-speed fist was caught mid-air by a large hand.
“Heh, I get to see this kind of fun on my very first visit to this tavern? Honestly, your behavior is a bit unsightly, don't you think?”
A cheerful male voice came from the side. Both Starlight and the scar-faced man turned to look, following the direction of the large hand until they noticed the person who had intercepted the attack.
A stalwart and exceptionally handsome youth stood there with a beaming smile. He looked young, seemingly around the same age as Starlight, but he was more than half a head taller.
His dazzling blond hair shimmered under the dim lights, and the defined muscles on his arms and his thick palms clearly marked him as a master who had undergone rigorous training.
At that moment, he was staring at the scar-faced man with interest through his emerald eyes, as if watching an amusing performance.
“Where did this greenhorn come from? Let go of me!” The interrupted scar-faced man flared with rage and tried to pull back his fist, but that hand was like a steel vise, remaining completely motionless.
After several futile struggles, the scar-faced man realized he had encountered a tough customer. However, he didn't want to lose face in public, so, fueled by alcohol, he swung his other hand toward the blond youth’s face.
He clearly put all his strength into this punch. Under the flickering lights, Starlight could clearly see a layer of faint red battle qi condensing on the man's fist. By the time Starlight wanted to intervene, it was already too late.
The scar-faced man's fist slammed directly into the blond youth's face with a deafening thud. The massive wind from the punch caused the surrounding candles to flicker, making the already dim environment fluctuate between light and shadow.
The scar-faced man looked toward his fist with confidence, but his expression soon turned to horror.
His punch had indeed landed solidly on the youth's face, but a layer of faint yellow light had blocked his fist by a mere hair's breadth.
Forget the bloody nose or vomiting blood he had imagined; he hadn't even managed to budge the skin on the youth's face.
This was enough to prove that the youth's strength far exceeded his imagination, and was clearly more than just one level higher.
“Oh my, I didn't think you'd actually go through with it! In that case, I can call this self-defense, right?” The smile on the youth's face remained undiminished as he joked, as if blocking that punch was a trivial matter.
In the next moment, the youth applied pressure with his hand, and the caught fist of the scar-faced man was instantly twisted to the side with a bone-chilling crack.
With that one simple move, the scar-faced man's hand was immediately dislocated, causing him to clutch his wrist and howl in agony.
“Aaaah!!! My hand!!”
His companions looked like they wanted to step in and help, but the blond youth simply glanced back at them coldly. That icy gaze seemed capable of freezing everything, instantly making them abandon the idea.
In their eyes, the bright smile on the youth's face vanished instantly, replaced by a cold killing intent from the abyss that swept toward them like a tidal wave.
Cold sweat immediately drenched their backs, leaving them unable to move an inch.
“Tsk, you guys aren't all that. If you don't have the skills, don't go around trying to bully people, alright?”
Seeing that the men were frozen like puppets and didn't dare to act, the youth clicked his tongue in contempt. He then turned back to the scar-faced man whose wrist he had just snapped.
By now, the scar-faced man's face was flushed red with pain. He was trying his best to pull his hand back, but no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free from the youth's large hand.
“Sigh, this is no fun. Forget it, forget it. Scram!” A few seconds later, seeing no further movement from the group, the blond youth sighed and released the man's hand, his voice full of disappointment.
Only then was the scar-faced man able to reclaim his broken hand, discovering with horror that his sturdy metal gauntlet had been crushed out of shape by the youth.
At this moment, they completely lost the courage to resist. Under everyone's gaze, they scrambled out of the Ouroboros tavern, not even having time to settle the bill for their table.
At that moment, the waiter stepped forward awkwardly, looking at the blond youth and speaking hesitantly, “Um... young master, about the bill for that table...”
The blond youth’s smile stiffened slightly as he asked helplessly, “You don't expect me to pay for them, do you? Did you see clearly? I was the one who got hit!”
“I saw, but... someone has to...” Although the bill for the scar-faced man's table wasn't huge, the consumption of so many people came to nearly two gold coins, which was close to a month's wages for the waiter. He could only steel himself and continue.
“Fine, I understand your difficulty. I'll pay it. How much?” The blond youth sighed and agreed readily, making the waiter breathe a sigh of relief.
“Uh... two gold coins.” The waiter replied quickly.
“Here, take it.” The blond youth pulled two gold coins from his pocket. Just as he was about to hand them to the waiter, he noticed Starlight walking up as well, handing a gold coin to the waiter.
“Take it. This started because of me, so we'll just split it half and half,” Starlight said softly, his tone very calm.
“You’re an interesting fellow! Not bad!” The blond youth raised an eyebrow slightly and looked Starlight over carefully before flashing a brilliant smile and gesturing for the waiter to take the coins from both of them.
He had thought the bullied black-haired kid had been intimidated by the scene earlier, but he hadn't expected him to be so calm—there wasn't even a ripple of emotion on his face. This made him take a deep interest in Starlight.
“Huh? This black-haired fellow seems to be hiding something! Did he actually have the confidence to fight back just now? But why didn't I feel any battle qi from him? ...Could he be even stronger than me? No way, but it feels like I’m missing something.” The blond youth began to ponder silently.
However, while he was lost in thought, Starlight had already packed the pelt away. After settling his own bill, he walked straight out. He felt he had finished dinner, and there was no point in staying.
By the time the blond youth snapped out of it and wanted to say hello, Starlight’s figure had already vanished into the crowd.
“Eh? Where did he go? ...How did he slip away so fast? He could have at least said thank you! ...Whatever, eating is more important right now.”
The blond youth shook his head helplessly. After a sigh, he found a seat and sat down, having no intention of chasing after him.
Rate on N.U.
