“We are not your enemies,” Queen Luna announced as she took off her bandana and pulled out her Royal Crest. “I’m Queen Luna, the Ruler of the Earth Empire. You should think twice before you aim your techniques at me.”

She didn’t exert any power to scare them but instead stared with a dominance of a ruler. The Steel Soldiers looked at each other in panic and their knives swiftly returned back to their sockets. “Apologies. We were simply taking precautions.”

“That’s fine,” Queen Luna replied casually and glanced at the Red Nightmare. “I hope you are done questioning that man because he is ours.”

The Steel Soldiers looked at each other and didn’t argue with her. They stepped back while pressing Red Nightmare to the ground which only added to his fears. He started to struggle to free himself but when that didn’t work, he tried his only tactic left.

“Don’t listen to her! She is not a Queen! That crest is fake! You won’t recover your goods if she kills me! I know where they are!” Red Nightmare shouted again to persuade the Steel Soldiers but they weren’t stupid.

“Your Majesty, would you like us to kill this thief for you?” Steel Soldier asked politely as he withdrew a sharp metal fragment to Red Nightmare’s head and Liu Ye finally reacted.

“No, let me do it,” Liu Ye called out to stop him and stepped forward with an Ice Spear forming in his palm. They wasted so much time already that he couldn’t let this chance go away.

[Red Nightmare – Lvl. 55]

[HP: 500/15,550]

[MP: 1,200/2,600]

Liu Ye didn’t wait for their permission and sent the Ice Spear straight into the Red Nightmare’s skull. He couldn’t dodge it and was executed without even saying his last words.

-500!

[Ding! You killed the Red Nightmare. You received 37,700 Experience, 100 gold, and a Treasure Map. Due to the difference of 26 levels, you earned 23,200 bonus Experience.]

Liu Ye smiled at the nice chunk of experience which pushed him even closer to level 30. The unexpected drop in the form of a Treasure Map fit perfectly in his inventory as he just so happened to withdraw one of the metal fragments. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to check it.

“I guess we don’t have anything else to do here, so we will have our leave,” Steel Soldier informed before he and his buddies bowed ever so slightly. “Have a good day, your Majesty.”

Both Liu Ye and Queen Luna immediately noticed their suspicious behavior. Red Nightmare already exposed that they were looking for stolen goods and now they acted as if everything was solved. Liu Ye couldn’t help but praise them for being clever but it didn’t escape him.

“Are you not looking for your goods anymore?” Liu Ye questioned, causing them to stop their retreat. “What was the point of interrogating him if you are going to leave without getting what you came for?”

The Steel Soldiers turned around and feigned innocence. “Excuse me but I am not sure what you are talking about. What goods? We thought he was the one who stole our belongings but it turned out to be someone else. Now that you killed him, we are off to search for the real culprit.”

They gave Queen Luna a respectful glance and left once again. This time they weren’t able to take a step before they were exposed again.

“Does it mean that you don’t want your metals?” Queen Luna asked while pulling out the fragment from her pocket. “I wonder what your leaders will say when you tell them your shipment was lost.”

When the Steel Soldiers saw the shiny metal in her hand, they looked surprised and exclaimed excitedly, “Your Majesty! You have found our stolen goods! That’s such good news!”

Queen Luna was left speechless at her shamelessness and frowned, but Liu Ye stepped in before she got angry.

“Alright, we don’t have time for games with you,” Liu Ye called out seriously while pulling another fragment. “I know you are scared to expose your practices in front of Queen Luna but I assure you, we are not your enemies. We speak to you as individuals and don’t represent the Royal Family right now. Would we try to return your goods if we did?”

His words seemed to work as the Steel Soldiers no longer faked their smiles and focused their gazes on him. “We naturally want to recover the metal you are holding but we cannot disclose any information in the process. We have orders to abandon the goods in case the Royal Family gets involved and we risk revealing our secrets.”

“Isn’t that too late for that?” Liu Ye asked casually and decided to take a small gamble. “It would be different if it was someone else but you are in the presence of the Queen. Your secret has already been revealed and you can’t hide it anymore.”

Liu Ye sliced the metal fragment across his palm and his blood spilled on the ground. “This metal is extremely sharp and since you are a Metalbender, you can use it as a deadly weapon. Your act of secretly buying and transporting such weapons is a threat to the Earth Empire. I’m giving you a chance to explain yourself or we will have to mobilize our forces to find out the truth by ourselves.”

The faces of Steel Soldiers darkened. They didn’t seem to expect the situation would turn so serious. They gazed at Queen Luna to check how she would react to Liu Ye’s words and she simply stood her ground without commenting. In this case, silence could only mean agreeing with him.

“I don’t have the full authority to speak on this matter…” the Steel Soldier replied seriously before continuing after a pause, “But I know for sure we are not a threat to the Earth Empire.”

“How can we be sure of that?” Queen Luna countered while waving with the sharp fragment. “You are arming up secretly as if you are preparing for war. If I told my uncle about it, he wouldn’t be as calm as I am right now. I’m willing to keep this a secret but you need to be honest with me.”

The Steel Soldiers’ expression worsened but after they had another silent exchange, they finally gave in. “Your Majesty, we are willing to reveal some information in exchange for the ten knives you found.”

Liu Ye has already accepted that he wouldn’t be able to keep the fragments but he knew how to negotiate the best deal. Now that he knew they were knives and not some mysterious metal, he could always get more once he learned Metalbending.

“We can give you five of them now as a token of our sincerity and the next five after we are done talking,” Liu Ye proposed and withdrew three more fragments. “That’s the fairest deal you will get from us.”

Liu Ye placed the knives on the ground and Queen Luna followed suit. It was too good of an offer and the Steel Soldiers didn’t hesitate long. They collected the knives and attached one into each their chest armors.

“Speak,” Queen Luna demanded and the Steel Soldiers finally revealed the secret.

“The reason we are arming up is simple and your Majesty said it already.. A big war will happen at any moment.”