Chapter 79 Once Bitten Twice Obliterated (1/2)

Night fell. Merlin was taking a break after a day of healing. Zero had woken up sometime in the afternoon and was shocked to find Truen in a bad state. He was more shocked at how he'd been found by Hua Tuo but relaxed when Buddha confirmed that Hua Tuo wasn't a suspicious person.

Merlin found the chirpy brunet interesting to talk to. While Zero had the mind of a child, he sometimes displayed great knowledge about other things and had interesting insights. The wizard thanked Hua Tuo for the delicious dinner and offered to set up a stronger magical barrier to guard against the moontaur sisters lying in the wait outside.

Hua Tuo learnt that Zero had peculiar eating habits. The boy ate like a starved man and had a bottomless void for a stomach. He devoured everything without much chewing and his stomach still growled even after five bowls of rice.

Merlin was intrigued by his appetite when Zero recounted how he met Truen at the Mega Gourmet competition.

”I see that you have quite the appetite. I understand from Isis that you have the free-to-dine voucher, shall we visit La Boutique?”

Zero appeared conflicted. He briefly glanced at Truen and the Sage Gods exchanged looks.

”I'll take care of Truen, don't worry. A growing boy like you needs to eat. I'll inform you immediately when he wakes up so don't worry.”

Zero nodded before holding Merlin's outstretched hand and stepping into the portal. Hua Tuo watched them leave and waved with a gentle expression on his face. That quickly changed after the portal closed. It was finally time to get rid of the pests.

Without Merlin around to maintain the newly erected magical barrier, it collapsed. Sensing that the opportunity had presented itself, Kayla and Layla got into position quickly as planned. Hua Tuo appeared to be busy with the elf and had his back faced against the window. This was all the sisters needed to launch a sneak attack.

Their plan was simple. They would attack from two directions. One would hide beneath the window and the other would charge through the door to distract the old man. When the old man was engaged, the hidden one would grab the elf and use him as a bargaining chip.

Hua Tuo continued to dress Truen's wounds and check his vitals while the sisters readied their sneak attack. Unknown to Zero, the Sage Gods agreed to take care of the nuisance without Zero's knowledge. The young boy was still to green and if he knew that the sisters he saved were facing a crisis, he would try to offer them help. The Sage Gods had seen too many cases like this and knew that these girls were merely expandables. The tribe sent them here on a death mission and it was clear that short of death, nothing would stop these sisters from getting what they wanted.