Chapter eight " Who the hell are you b*stards ?! " The dark skinned man roared in rage as he smashed the cup in his hands on the ground. He, Bortai, was known as the leader of one of the largest bandit groups called the ' Desert Wolves '. The mere mention of his gangs name would send waves of fear in many villages throughout the Shaz-daf desert. Even the residents of the desert capital in the north had heard of his name. And now these newcomers dared to humiliate him so openly. Their leaders reaction quickly caused the rest of the bandits to wake up from their reverie. One of the elite members was killed in front of the boss, this was a golden opportunity. Whoever avenged their loss would definitely earn the boss's favor and get on his good side. " You guys got some balls ,huh " In a matter of seconds four to five thugs had already stepped forward to 'avenge' their fallen comrade and take down the newcomers. " looks like you were meant to die today ! " They all drew their weapons and rushed forward to initiate an attack. Although they were bandits with no formal training, they still had some experience. Thus they all attacked in unison, approaching their opponents from all directions in order to leave them with no way out. However even with several men surrounding them, the hooded strangers did not even bat an eye and stood there calmly. Only one of them took a few steps forward and drew out a bow. Taking a deep breath, he swiftly nocked and arrow on it and released it instantly. Without moving from his spot, the hooded archer only changed directions to face each bandit and fired continuously flawlessly. The bandits approaching them did not even have the time to react, as explosive bursts pierced in between their brows and blasted open their heads. Bits and pieces of their brains splattered all around them as they crumpled onto the ground like rags. Everyone else watched in awe of the superb archery, as they congratulated themselves for not stepping up and getting themselves killed. After all they were not brave warriors just cowardly bandits. The archer however did not stop there and nocked another arrow on his bow and aimed it directly at the leader that was sitting on top of the platform. " Whats wrong Bortai ? " Another one of the hooded strangers spoke up, not missing the chance to ridicule him " Piss your pants yet " Bortai felt the veins on his forehead throbbing to the point where he thought they would burst anytime. His heart was filled with mixed feelings of fury and terror. He had to annihilate these b*stards or else his reputation would definitely crumble if this incident was known. But before he could make his next move, the man that ridiculed him quickly tossed an object that landed in his lap. Bortai's eyes widened as he held a hand sized token on which the image of a scimitar was carved. " T-this sign ! " his mind went blank from shock as he recognized the origins of the insignia " M-misoh tribe ?! " Instantly all the thoughts regarding his revenge vanished. His words however were like a spark that set fire to an entire forest as it landed on the ears of the crowd. " You m-mean The great misoh ! " " Y-yeah the one rumored to be the strongest tribe in the desert capital" " No wait, I thought that the Adhal tribe was-" " Shut up ! " Obviously the mention of the Misoh tribe sent shock waves as each and every one of them stared at the hooded figures with some kind of respect and envy. " You still wanna avenge your guy " Now that his identity was out, the man who took out the token removed his hood to reveal a middle aged man whose face was covered in scars. Bortai felt his pitiful heart go through another round of shock as he recognized the mans face. Hundred man Taqal !? It cant be, right ? . " No,no,no i wouldn't dare " Bortai wasn't stupid enough to jeopardize everything for just the death of a couple of thugs, besides he could always find another Vanab. " You, quickly go and prepare a lodging for our guests ! " After ordering his servants, Bortai politely invited the ' envoys '. Very quickly the newcomers were led into one of the best residence's and served with the best delicacies they could find. Bortai was surprised to find that besides the middle aged men, when the rest of the newcomers took of their hoods, they were all mere youths, even the archer from before. Whats more the youths did not even look like normal desert folk. Their skin was white with no sign of the desert sun that normal people had. Yet the guest looked at the simple dishes presented to them and started to speak in a foreign language. " ffhg*9&fyt*&^g%#$fgk " " Yes, yes thank you " He could only reply awkwardly. Yet he had no way of knowing that what they said was " This backwater village actually considers boiled chicken and broth, a few pieces of bread a delicacy, what wretches " Seeing that they were not touching the food before them, the middle age man had no choice but to get straight to the point. " Hurm ! My name is Taqal ! " ( hurm is the best word i could think of for clearing your throat ) Sure enough it was him ! Bortai had once seen, during his former years, the man who was rumored to be one man army, thus dubbed ' Hundred-man Taqal '. Although he had gone missing for a few years now. However Taqal's next words knocked Bortai out of his visit to memory lane," And i bring a message to you under the orders of the chief of the Misoh tribe." A message that came directly from the chief of the great Misoh tribe, His ears could not help but strain forward in an attempt to heighten his attention. " The tribe would like to help the Desert wolves by allowing them to come under their banner "Even though Taqal had phrased it formally, the intent behind it was not missed by Bortai. This was not the Misoh tribe expressing its desire to help the desert wolves bandits, no it was direct orders to acquire it have the bandits do their bidding. Doubts started to sprout in his heart as he thought ' why would a giant such as the Misoh want with mere bandits like us ' " W-well, I,uh, " Bortai fumbled with words as he inwardly cursed Taqal that old fox for putting him in such a wretched situation. He could not accept nor reject this 'proposal'. After all as the leader, all the 'benefits' earned by the bandits would go to him and were distributed by his choice, allowing him to exert his authority. If he worked for the Misoh, Bortai would probably be no longer in charge of handling the loot and his authority would be stripped. Seeing his hesitant expression, Taqal smirked as if everything was within his expectations. Drawing his hand into his clothes, he removed a bulging pouch and threw it at Bortai. When Bortai opened the pouch all his worries were washed away by the beautifull glow of the silver pieces that were almost overflowing from the pouch. This was currency used by the residents of the Desert capital to trade with foreign merchants. People who resided in rural villages like him only traded with goods like livestock. His own entire wealth could only add up to a few pieces of silver. Yet this was well over twenty pieces. " You see we don't really lack wealth " Taqal used this moment to strike while the iron is hot " what we require from you is manpower. " With greed evident in his eyes, Bortai pocketed the pouch without losing a second and nodded several times in assent. " Good " Satisfied that the first phase of the plan that would rock the power balance in the desert capital, he introduced the foreign youths behind him " These are my good friend-" .