The Sovereign's Zero-Rank Return

Chapter 5: The Liquidator of the Ridge

The wind on the volcanic ridge did not scream it whispered, taking the heat from the blood of the men standing there.

Five men from the Sol Syndicate held their swords tightly their bronze armor shining in the faint silver light coming from Kian Frosts new spear tip. The destruction of their machine had left a hole in the ground throwing pieces of copper and iron all over the black sand.

"You have a lot of guts to get in the way of our work boy," the leader of the Sol unit said. His name was Boros, a man with a face of old burn scars from working in the sulfur mines. His power core was pulsing with a green light that showed he was good with poison. "This area belongs to Master Sol. If you move things across the sand without permission it is against the rules. You will lose your things and your life."

Orin Clay stood still his hands in his pockets. To the men he looked like a kid. A pale weak boy who was not a fighter and did not have any special powers.. To Orin Boros was just a simple problem to solve.

[TARGET ANALYSIS: BOROS (SOL LEAD SCOUT)]

[POWER LEVEL: 3 (POISON ELEMENTAL).]

[CORE FREQUENCY: 42 HZ. WEAKNESS: RIGHT LUNG IS NOT GOOD DUE TO SULFUR DAMAGE.]

[THREAT LEVEL: MEDIUM. TIME TO STOP HIM: 4.2 SECONDS.]

"Your plan is not working, Boros " Orin said, his voice cold and flat. "You are risking your life for a boss who does not care about you. Look at your armor it is broken. If Silas hits it at the spot it will fall apart."

Boros looked confused for a second. "What are you talking about kid? Kill them! Leave the one alive to sell as a slave!"

The four other men moved forward their swords drawing curves in the air. They were fighters but they did not know about the Archive.

"Silas hit them with a swing use 45% of your power " Orin said, his eyes on the lines that showed where the men would move. "Kian hit the man below his armor the metal is weak there."

Silas did not ask questions. He swung his sword hitting the spot where the mens defenses met making them stumble.

At the time Kians short spear moved fast hitting the weak spot in the second mans armor. The metal. The spear went into the mans body.

[MAN STOPPED.]

[GETTING ENERGY FROM HIM...]

Kian felt a surge of energy go up his spear and into Orins chest. The dark stone in Orins body started to glow, taking in the energy.

[ORIN'S POWER IS NOW 65/50 (IT IS STABLE).]

[ORIN'S BODY IS WORKING 3.2% BETTER.]

Boros watched in horror as his man fell down. The other men were scared. Did not know what to do.

"You are using some kind of magic!" Boros yelled, his power flaring up. He raised his sword. It started to bubble with green acid. "I will melt your bones, you kid!"

He ran at Orin, who did not move.

3.2 Seconds until he hits... 2.0 Seconds... 1.0 Second..

"Take his power " Orin said quietly.

When Boross sword was about to hit Orin the power inside Orins body did not make a shield. It made a void pulling the acid off the sword and into Orins hand.

Boros felt his power being taken away his arms locking up as his energy was drained. His skin turned grey. His muscles got weak.

"What are you doing to my power?!" Boros screamed, his body shaking.

[TAKING HIS POWER...]

[MAKING IT CLEAN...]

Orin reached out. Touched Boross armor. The metal turned to dust and Boros fell down coughing up blood.

The other men ran away throwing their swords down.

Orin pulled his hand back his veins glowing for a second before going to normal. He looked at Boros, his face cold.

"The job is done, Boros " Orin said. "Silas lets go. We have a meeting at Black-Water Ridge. We cannot be late."

Black-Water Ridge was not a town it was a strong wall on the frontier.

It was built around a hole of dark water that never froze and it was a maze of iron houses, stone stores and open slave markets. It was the place for trading in the south, where the law did not matter and the only thing that counted was how strong you were and how good your spiritual stones were.

The Vanguards carts entered the town their wheels quiet on the streets. The merchants and smugglers looked at them in surprise.

"Look at those wheels " a fat merchant said. "They are not making any noise. They are not leaving any tracks in the mud. How did Maren Vance do that?"

Maren rode at the front of the group her face serious. Her body showing that she was, in charge. She led them to the trade plaza, where the big syndicates had their auctions.

Master Sol was sitting on a chair at the end of the plaza.

The leader of the Sol Syndicate was a man with a big body. He wore robes with gold trim that did not hide his strong muscles. He was a Stage 5 Earth-Core Grandmaster. His beard had silver rings in it. His fingers had heavy rings made of spirit-stones. Twelve elite warriors stood beside him. They wore bronze armor and held big axes.

The Vanguard fleet stopped in the center of the arena. Master Sol looked down from his seat. His small eyes narrowed as he looked at the fourteen wagons. He did not see Boros or his scout squad. His jaw got a little tighter.

"Maren Vance " Master Sol said in a voice. "Your transport is early. My scouts said your vanguard was badly hurt in the ironwood grove three days ago. I thought the Vanguard Syndicate would go bankrupt this week not bring cargo to the auction."

Maren did not get off her horse. She looked up at Master Sol. Her face did not show any fear. "The Vanguard always delivers on time Master Sol. We had a problem but we are fine now. We are here to pay our debts to the market board."

Master Sol sneered. "What did you bring us from the north? Is it iron or sulfur scrap? The market board needs deep-iron ore with a purity of least seventy percent to export it."

Orin stepped forward. His eyes locked onto Master Sol. "The ore in our wagons is ninety-four percent Master Sol. We also have forty bars of zero-resistance deep-iron steel."

The people on the terraces. Made fun of the Vanguard. Zero-resistance steel was thought to be impossible to make. Only the grand imperial smiths could make it. That was after months of work.

Master Sol laughed. "Who is this man? Maren did you hire someone to lie for you? If you brought documents I will punish you."

Orin said, "Let the market board check our cargo, Master Sol." Kian Frost stepped forward with a bar of silver- steel. The old market clerk took a device to test the steel. When he touched the device to the steel it did not glow yellow or red. Instead it glowed blue. Cracked the device.

The people were silent. They were shocked. Master Sol got up his face red with greed and panic. "Where did you get this metal?!"

Orin said, "I did not steal it Master Sol. I made it. The Vanguard Syndicate is the one that can make zero-resistance steel. Our shares are now worth as much. Lets talk about your business."

The trade war started with the value of the Sol Syndicates stocks dropping. Merchants were trying to get out of their contracts with Master Sol. They wanted to buy the steel from the Vanguard.

Orin sat in his office looking at his ledger sheets. Maren paced back and forth looking nervous. Silas stood by the door with his greatsword.

"The Sol House is getting ready to attack us Orin " Maren said. "They will try to steal our steel tonight."

Orin did not look up. "Let them try, Maren. A company that uses violence to solve its problems is already in trouble. Master Sol is trying to stop us because he is losing money."

Maren said, "But he is a Stage 5 Grandmaster, Orin! If he leads the attack my men cannot stop him."

Orin stopped writing. He looked at Kian Frost. "How zero-resistance arrows do we have, Kian?"

Kian said, "We have twelve arrows. They are tipped with silver- deep-iron and do not have any magical signature."

Orin said, "We can use these arrows to defeat Master Sol. If we shoot him at the time his defense will fail."

Maren looked at Orin shocked. She realized that he was planning to treat Master Sol like a machine with a point.

Orin said, "We will ambush Master Sol at the Black-Water crossing. He thinks he is catching a fleeing transport fleet.. We will show him what a real attack looks like."

The Black-Water crossing was a stone bridge over a deep sulfurous river. The mist, from the river made it hard to see.

The fourteen transport wagons were all bunched up together at the north end of the bridge. They were not making a sound their wheels were locked in place. Their lanterns were out. Silas and twelve of the troopers from the vanguard were standing around them in a circle their shields up and their bodies ready for a fight. They could hear the sound of boots coming from the other side of the river it was a loud thumping noise that was getting closer and closer.

Master Sol came walking out of the fog he was a man and you could see him clearly against the dark water. He was not wearing his golden clothes anymore now he had on a big suit of iron armor with special marks, on it that glowed brown. These marks were magical they were connected to the earth. Master Sol was carrying a war axe in his right hand it was so big that he needed two hands to hold it. The axe was humming with power it looked really heavy. Like it could do a lot of damage. The transport wagons and the troopers were all waiting to see what Master Sol would do next.