Chapter 207 Life-saving Question
Kiba and Ruby walked for a mile before they came across a steep slope. The slope was covered with withered grass and yellow shrubs along with a small but thick tree in the center.
The branches of the tree had small fruits red fruits growing up, while on its trunk, there were small holes.
Mutated squirrels were running around, and when they noticed the two human figures, they ran to the holes in the tree.
Ruby followed Kiba from behind as he took the first step on the slope. Her demeanor was calm, but deep inside, she was somewhat nervous but also excited.
After killing the four scouts half an hour ago, she knew a party was waiting for them to walk in a trap. Her excitement was not for the party, but the way Kiba knew about them.
She was sure his senses were enhanced by which he could use clairvoyance to look out for any sign of trouble. This made her nervous since it reminded her why she failed, but in turn, this also made her excited knowing she will not be entrapped as long as she is with him.
After knowing what she knew about him so far, she was no longer relying on her plans to bide for the time in order to join her other comrades. She felt it would be suicidal if she tried to betray him, so she pretty much decided to follow him blindly.
Ruby was walking forward absentmindedly when her body crashed against Kiba. Startled, she saw Kiba has reduced his pace which resulted in the crash. He was stepping slowly, admiring the tree which was not even a meter away from him.
The squirrels were peeking out of the hole while the red fruits on the branches swayed with the wind.
"A pity," Kiba said with a sigh.
"?" Ruby looked at him in confusion.
Before she could inquire, the fruits flashed with blinding red light. They expanded like a balloon before erupting into red orbs of light.
The orbs exploded into a terrifying surge of energy. The squirrels cried out as they blew apart in pieces along with the tree.
Ruby was stunned into a trance at the sudden turn of events. Her eyes could not even fully register the red energy blast as it moved towards her and Kiba.
"How merciless to use these poor beasts for trap," Kiba's expression remained the same. He slowly raised a hand towards the coming energy explosion.
The powerful waves from the explosion enveloped on his palm like a moth to the flame, forming a large orb of energy.
"Ah!"
"So easily?!"
"Impossible!"
Shocked voices came from the top of the slope.
Ruby turned around and saw a team of five in green clothes. Before she could react further, the ground below her cracked apart and two black whips shot out.
In the same time, a powerful beam of light blasted from the sky towards Kiba and Ruby.
The energy orb floated in Kiba's palm as the two whips lunged towards his torso.
"My second day in the forest, yet so many weaklings are ganging up against me," Kiba flicked the orb towards the incoming beam of light while he stomped his right foot lightly. "Does my shirt have 'Please bully me' tag or something?"
Bang.
The ground below further shattered as powerful energy waves rippled out from his foot. The two whips sliced apart in fragments just as they were about to shot inside Kiba's torso.
"Cough!" Some hundred feet away, a middle-aged man appeared on the grass slope, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
His arms were severed and blood was dripping out of them. Near his feet, the severed hands were lying, carrying black whips. His entire body was ripping apart as the energy waves coursed through him.
Meanwhile, in the air, the energy orb sliced through the beam of light and rushed towards its source. Among the clouds, a human figure was visible, his eyes wide open in horror as the red orb flew towards him.
BOOM
A powerful energy explosion reverberated in the sky. The next moment, charred pieces of flesh rained down on the ground.
"Seriously why does everyone here have a death wish?" Kiba asked the five men on the top of the slope.
The five men were shocked out of their wits. They were shaking and sweating, unable to believe the events which took place in the last minute.
They have planned everything with precision, waiting to overpower the man who was has fought against Fiona.
To make sure the plan didn't fail, they used aura suppressing devices to hide their energy signals so that they could catch their opponent without arousing any suspicion.
They also planted explosives in all possible paths on the slope, hoping to capture the opponent and find information on the 'treasure' for which he battled Fiona.
"Hey, I don't have the entire day to waste on you guys," Kiba called out. "Just answer my two questions and depending on how you answer, you might get a chance to live."
Ruby was surprised. He was giving them a chance to survive?!
Just why?!
He didn't give a chance to her comrades at all!
So why make an exception now?!
She felt he was being unfair, but didn't say anything.
"What is it you wish to know?" One of the five asked.
He wanted to buy time to contemplate the next course of action and wait for more team members to join, so he decided to ask and stretch the conversation as long as possible.
He felt Kiba would most likely wish to know about how they got information regarding him or whether they were connected to the four scouts who died earlier.
"Do you guys plan to visit the core region?" Kiba asked the first question.
He didn't care the least bit on how they acquired information to target him. After all, unlike Fiona or Sophia, they were far too weak for him to pose even a risk. If anything, they could give him a chance to satisfy his blood craving.
"The meteorite? No," Another man of the five answered.
He couldn't grasp why would Kiba ask about the core region, but he then thought, perhaps, he didn't wish others to participate and increase the competition. The five of them have no plans to enter the most dangerous region, so they answered truthfully. They were confident the answer would satisfy their opponent and it ignited the hope inside them.
Ruby, on the other hand, felt he was practically sparing their lives by asking such a question. She wished he has asked the same to her comrades, and they would have definitely answered in the same fashion, and thus could have lived.
"How disappointing," Kiba shook his head in frustration.
He wanted to have willing guinea pigs to scout the core region. This was why he made the deal with Fiona to make sure more people visit the core section.
His plans were somewhat similar to what Castor Damon had in mind when he used Zed and other slum dwellers for exploring BSE79 meteoroid.
But he didn't wish to openly force others to join him. He wanted others to participate on their own, this would increase the chances of his success in finding the cure of nanites.
While he was confident in his own powers, he knew the meteorite couldn't be underestimated. After all, the meteorites originated from the same world as his own power source, Cosmic Spark.
No one knew better than him on the threat the meteorites posed for this world.
So he needed others to reduce the risk. In the worst case scenario, he would just go all out and summon his full powers... something he truly wished to avoid after the recent loss of self-control on his own powers.
He might be playing around since there was time before the core region opened up, but he hasn't forgotten his true mission.
"Disappointing?!" Ruby and the five men were shocked.
This was definitely not the response they were expecting. They believed the answer would satisfy him, but now they realized they couldn't be more wrong.
"The last question is our true hope!" The five men thought. They prayed the question would be easy and their answers would please the death god.
"The final question," Kiba swept his eyes over the five men. "Your life depends on it so answer honestly."
The five men felt every passing second turning the area into cold hell. Their bodies were drenched in cold sweat as they waited for Kiba to open his lips and ask.
Never in their lives, they thought it was possible for their lives to depend on a question.
Ruby looked at Kiba and waited for him to ask the question. She was really curious after how the answer to the first question resulted in opposite to what she has expected.
"Just what could be the life-saving question? Is it about some treasure? But those five are just low-level explorers so the chances are low," Ruby placed a hand on her chin as she thought.
"Now, the time for the final question has arrived," Kiba slowly said, building suspense like a game host on the final quest.
"Yes, sir?" The five men folded their hands, ready to beg if the question was too difficult or complex.
"Are there any beautiful women in your team?" Kiba asked with a serious expression.
As soon as the question was asked, the entire area turned deathly silent.
"What?!" Ruby rubbed her ears to check if they were working fine. She felt her ears were working properly, so she observed the five men.
The five were struck on the spot, their jaw dropped to the ground. One by one, they fell on the ground, unable to believe the question which would determine their fate.
What truly terrified them was the seriousness in the voice of the death god. He was not joking! This question would truly decide whether they would live or not!
"No, we are all men team," One of the five men answered.
They have more team members working in other parts of the forest, but all of them were males. This was mainly done to ensure there was no bad blood among team members since a female member would become a focal point. Everyone would try to earn the favor of women, and thus reducing the effective teamwork.
Kiba's brows creased up in anger.
Ruby and others didn't need Kiba to speak to know he was disappointed with the answer. The five men felt their hearts thumping loudly and their blood pressure increasing.
They didn't have the least bit of confidence in escaping alive. Nor did they have any expectation of Kiba forgiving them.
"I could forgive you for your first answer but not this," Kiba said as his powerful aura whirled out like a vortex. "I have a strong dislike for misogynists like you."
The stones and debris floated in the air before turning into dust.
"Misogynist?!" The five men felt their heads spinning. "We are not!"
How were they misogynist?!
Just because they didn't have any female team members?!
Ruby's eyes lit up in understanding. She was now more confident about her theory on why she was spared.
"The only reason I even bothered to not decimate you all from the start was in the hope of finding a new companion for tonight," Kiba gritted his teeth as his aura surged forward.
"New companion?" Ruby enquired in a polite tone.
"Yes," Kiba nodded his head. "So that we can have a threesome."
After meeting Fiona and Sophia, he was feeling horny especially since he has seen the latter naked in the bath.
"....." Ruby was speechless by the response, even though she was somewhat expecting the answer. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the men in front of her.
Kiba waved his hand and the air around the five men suppressed up. Their breathing turned heavy while their faces turned pale as the aura intensified.
"You ruined my plans for a threesome," Kiba clenched his fist tightly. "Even death couldn't forgive you for this."
The five men wanted to cry, but they have no tears to shed. They cursed their team founders for establishing the rule of no woman in the team.
But then again, just how were they supposed to know a woman was necessary to save their lives?!
"This is not fair!"