The pioneers watching the fight were the most shocked, especially the young man standing next to the politician.

His eyes narrowed, and his arms that were folded across his chest tightened, as if he had just come to a definitive conclusion about the black clad young man.

Everyone watched as Uhtred strolled calmly toward Scorpion. The man was on his knees, gasping for breath, desperately trying to force air into his lungs that felt completely deformed from that single strike.

As Uhtred’s feet came to a stop right next to his kneeling form, the man’s head snapped up in frantic fear. Even though he had already deduced that he was going to lose the duel, the sheer reality of the gap was way beyond his expectations.

His wide eyes seemed to be questioning just how high of a level Uhtred truly was.

This was exactly what the crowd had been waiting for. Someone so high-leveled that Scorpion knew there was no chance of any parity between them. Someone that could beat him up to the System’s allowed limit every. single. time.

Not only that, this person also needed to be unhesitatingly brutal. Scorpion needed to know this person didn’t just have the strength, but they were capable of using it too.

And Uhtred was exactly that person.

Just from that one strike, it was clear that Uhtred possesed brutal strength and he also understood the vulnerable points of the human body.

His attack had not even triggered the System’s automated intervention barrier, yet Scorpion was already in this much pain.

A tense silence followed. Scorpion could only look up from the sand and wait for his Uhtred’s next move, while Uhtred looked down at him and pondered his options.

If it were simply up to him alone, he would not let this Scorpion leave this place at all.

Uhtred fell into deep contemplation, his mind shifting back to the mandatory quest requirements:

Your Law, Your Order...

Because he possessed the greatest strength in this sector, he could do whatever he wanted to Scorpion right now.

Even if there was some sort of backlash, or if people looked at him as taking the law into his own hands just like Scorpion had, it did not really matter. None of them could do anything to stop him anyway.

Scorpion seemed to sense the roiling thoughts passing through Uhtred’s mind, and the fear in his eyes deepened.

Uhtred moved, and Scorpion immediately braced for another blow...

But the blow never arrived.

Uhtred simply leaned his body away. He turned his gaze toward the crowd, looking at the pioneers and the politician as if asking what they wanted to do with the defeated tyrant.

By the politician’s side, the young pioneer’s expression changed completely, surprise evident in his eyes as his opinion of Uhtred shifted once again.

The politician, however, saw his opportunity. He moved forward immediately, followed quickly by the young pioneer next to him. Together they stepped away from the crowd of their camp, and the pioneers from the other camps did the same.

In total, six individuals stepped forward, consisting of five pioneers and the politician.

In response, the remaining goons on Scorpion’s side also moved forward, making it known that they were still a factor to be considered.

"He’s all yours," Uhtred said, stepping out of the way to retrieve his star-metal battleaxe. "You can do whatever you want with him."

The moment Scorpion realized that Uhtred was truly not interested in whatever happened to him afterward, he scrambled to his feet while still heaving from the blow to his chest.

"What do you mean by ’you can do whatever you want?’" Scorpion yelled, coughing into his hand. "We had an agreement, didn’t we? The loser gets out of the winner’s hair, leaving this sector entirely."

He wiped his mouth and turned a glaring look toward the other pioneers who looked eager to apprehend him now that he was at a low point.

"I will be taking my boys and leaving this place for you guys in accordance with the agreement we had," Scorpion barked, his voice regaining its bite now that Uhtred had stepped out of the picture.

His words made the advancing pioneers hesitate. None of them wanted to be the first to openly break the terms of a formal duel, especially with Uhtred still standing close by, even if he had left the final decision up to them.

That hesitation, coupled with the fact that the massive crowd of refugees were already murmuring in confusion, caused the tension in the area to grow.

The majority of the crowd was still primed with old Earth knowledge, where a trial or some sort of formal arbitration was required to sentence someone properly.

Perhaps they were overthinking the steps it would take to detain a hostile group, or perhaps they simply realized how difficult it would be to fully control Scorpion’s armed goons without Uhtred’s active help. But the murmurs through the crowd rapidly converged on a single consensus: just let the fucker live and go away along with his gang.

It was better for him to become someone else’s problem in a distant sector than for him to remain here. The pioneers simply lacked the leverage to enforce anything else.

Hearing the changing voices of the crowd, Uhtred’s move made sudden sense. He had envisioned all of this from the onset, which was why he chose to stay out of it entirely and leave the moral burden to them.

Seeing their obvious hesitation, Scorpion let out a haughty grunt and began moving backward, walking with his eyes fixed on the crowd as he backed toward his gang.

But before he could slip away completely, the politician stepped forward and spoke out loud for everyone to hear.

"We will allow you to leave," he announced. "But we have to be certain you are never coming back here!"

His statement garnered a positive response from the refugees, and nodding approvals rippled through the pavilions. It was a valid point. What guarantee did they have that Scorpion would not simply leave tonight and return with more numbers later?

The politician continued smoothly, pressing his advantage.

"For that, we must put it into formal words this time. Clear it here and now that you are never coming back to this sector. The pioneer here can be a witness." He gestured directly toward Uhtred standing to the side.

This wily fox... Uhtred raised an eyebrow at the politician.

The man knew exactly why Uhtred had stepped out of the situation, yet he still wanted to find a way to bind his strength to the camp’s future security.

Uhtred gave no verbal response, however. He simply turned his head toward Scorpion, looking at him pointedly, his silence carrying an obvious threat.

A flash of coldness flickered across Scorpion’s face. He looked entirely unwilling to submit to their terms, but seeing Uhtred’s eyes locked onto him, he calculated his chances and conceded:

"I will take my boys and leave, and you will never see me in this sector again," he said through gritted teeth, turning abruptly without waiting for a reply.

Within minutes, he and the rest of his gang began to pour out of the camps they had held hostage, marching past the various pavilions and disappearing into the darkness of the distant night.