Assassin’s Chronicle - Chapter 101

“Ah…” Anfey screamed. He clumsily reached out his hand, trying to grab the opponent’s whip, but failed. Luckily, he moved his head to the side at the critical moment, which helped him avoid the hit on his head, but he got whipped hard on his shoulder.

With a painful scream, Anfey fell from the horse. Fortunately, he grabbed the opponent’s legs while he was falling. He just hung there by hugging her legs. That woman’s horse riding skills were not great, and she almost got pulled off the horse by Anfey. She got mad and pushed Anfey’s head with one hand as she whipped at Anfey’s back with the other.

Anfey was hurt, and he loosened his grip on her legs. He slid down from her thighs to the lower legs and then continued to slid down. Finally he fell on his back on the ground with a boot in his hands.

People around them laughed quietly. They did not think Anfey was a dangerous person so far. They just felt it was ridiculous that a magic apprentice dared to harass women on the streets. It seemed that morals were degenerating day by day. Many of them had done things like this before, but they picked the right person to harass. Anfey was just asking for trouble himself.

The woman sensed that her foot was cool. She looked down, finding her boot in Anfey’s arms. She felt shamed and mad. She suddenly pulled the reins, and the horse raised up his fore legs into the air. The horse’s forelegs were falling on Anfey. The woman wanted to kill Anfey.

Anfey rolled to the side and barely dodged the horse’s stomp. He stood up clumsily, still holding the boot in front of his chest. It seemed the boot could protect him. He looked extremely panicked, which made others laugh even louder.

“Bastard. F*ck off,” a mercenary yelled, rushing over. Tiger of Tawau mercenary group had sent three hundred mercenaries to welcome the princess. He was one of them. He yelled at Anfey but it sounded like he was helping Anfey. Anfey and he were both mercenaries, and he understood it was not easy to be a mercenary. In addition, if the bodyguards of the princess killed a mercenary in the public for whatever reason, it would stir up the mercenary groups. He had to stop her.

The woman was so mad that she would not let Anfey get away easily. She pulled the sword out backhanded. The other mercenary, who worried about their huge difference in position, did not dare to stop her.

Anfey was shocked. He turned around and started to run. He yelled, “Suzanna, help me.”

Suzanna, who had been waiting for a while, finally saw Anfey’s signal. She urged the horse on and rushed to Anfey. She jumped off the horse without paying any attention to the watchers. She held Anfey still, with white lights radiating around her. Her big eyes showed her coldness and desire to kill that woman. She quietly stared at the woman.

The woman could not help pulling the reins to stop the horse. She nervously looked at Suzanna. In Anfey’s previous world, to know the ability of the opponents, they had to fight: the professionals could tell their opponents’ abilities from the first few moves. In the magic world, it was more direct. They did not have to fight. They could tell from the combat power around Suzanna that she was a powerful person. That woman did not dare to fight with her.

Black Eleven stood behind Anfey and Suzanna, concerned. Anfey and Suzanna kept secret what they had discussed from Black Eleven. Black Eleven thought these two were looking for opportunities to pick a fight. He was worried and mad at the same time. Young people are so naïve. They liked to rush into things. Not mentioning the slim chance to kill the princess during the day, even if they were sure that they could kill the princess in a split second, how could they tell which wagon the princess was in? This business caravan and Snow Fox mercenary group were his people. He had tried very hard to disguise them. Even if Anfey could have killed the princess, his intelligence network would have been seriously destroyed. It would not be a good trade-off.

Seeing a senior swordswoman on the battlefield, the princess’s bodyguards became nervous. The sound of horse’s footsteps came from a distance. Two swordsmen were fast approaching them on horseback. They radiated combat powers around them. Obviously they had been put on alert. Judging from the combat power radiating from them, they were just as good as Suzanna.

The guy in black had said that there were four senior swordsmen. These should be two of them. They rushed onto the battlefield and saw the woman and Suzanna standing facing each other. They felt the situation was quite strange, since they should already have started to fight if Anfey and Suzanna were killers. It seemed that the two parties were confronting each other over something. The king had asked to them to strictly follow the discipline in the army and avoid confrontation whenever possible. They trusted their soldiers and believed they must have not have picked the fight. If Anfey and Suzanna started it, it did not seem to make sense either, since a senior swordswoman could not fight with a few thousand mercenaries, especially with some senior swordsmen among them.

The mercenary who yelled at Anfey before saw the two senior swordsmen coming. He hurried over to the horse, whispering to them and nodding at Anfey. It looked like he was explaining what had happened. After he finished, the two swordsmen did not know whether they should laugh or cry.

Anfey saw Suzanna had already come to his side. He had straightened his back and rolled his sleeves as he talked quietly with Suzanna. People could tell this loser was telling on his wife.

Suzanna frowned and finally lost her patience. She grabbed Anfey’s ear, which Anfey secretly liked.

“It hurts, it hurts. Let it go. It hurts,” Anfey had his head tilted and screamed in pain.

Those two senior swordsmen could not help guffawing. This world had become strange to them. Some people in power, who had strong combat power or lots of money, harassed women, but they had never seen anyone harassing a woman whose wife was a senior swordswoman. This was ridiculous. They thought Anfey deserved to be disciplined by his woman.

The princess’s bodyguards also tried not to laugh out loud. The tension on the battlefield started to loosen up.

“Madam,” one of the two senior swordsmen called out.

“First of all, I have to apologize for my husband’s rudeness,” Suzanna interrupted and said coldly, “but you have already punished him. You guys need stop now.”

“I think this is a misunderstanding.” The senior swordsman turned around and gave a scolding look to the woman who caused all these troubles. Then the woman finally put the sword she still held back into the sheath. The senior swordsman said, “I also would like to apologize to you for our rudeness.” His experience as a senior swordsman were so extensive that regular people were not comparable. He felt Anfey and Suzanna did not look like wife and husband, more like a couple who were still dating. Since Suzanna had already referred to Anfey as her husband, he had to call her “Mrs.” instead of “madam.”

When Suzanna heard the word “Mrs.”, she blushed and gave Anfey a dirty look. As Anfey had talked to her about this plan, she was against it and asked to call him “brother” instead. Anfey insisted that she call him husband. She agreed in the end. Thinking about what had happened between them, she blushed even more. The blush and the dirty look she gave Anfey made them look like a couple.

The senior swordsman had been watching Suzanna. Seeing the blush and the dirty look, he was even more sure that they were just a couple still dating. He turned to look at Anfey. Anfey’s terrific acting skills would not allow him to see anything from it. The hatred in Anfey’s eyes seemed to prove how stupid and shallow he was. That senior swordsman watched for a while and thought, “How could such a beautiful girl like such a loser?”

“Mrs., I am Ganbi of Central Swordsmen Battalion in Shansa Empire. May I know your name?” the senior swordsman asked politely. Senior swordsmen were not formidable, since there were about a hundred or more senior swordsmen in each country. However, such a young senior swordswoman was rare, which could mean Suzanna could develop into a new top powerful woman. He could do such a good thing for the Shansa Empire if he could build a good relationship with Suzanna and get her work for them. Based on this logic, he talked with respect and courtesy to Suzanna, who he guessed by her age could only be his niece.

“Huh, sorry, I cannot tell you know,” Suzanna apologetically responded.

“No problem. No problem.” The senior swordsman smiled gently as he glanced at wagons the Snow Fox mercenary had protected. He looked at Anfey and found the wagons of Snow Fox mercenary were going in the opposite direction of theirs. The idea of going together and building a relationship on the way was not going to happen. Anfey looked like a loser, but one lucky enough to find a good woman. He was not interested in talking to Anfey.

“If there is nothing else, we are about to leave,” Suzanna said slowly.

“I hope we can meet in the future.” The senior swordsman was cool. He walked his horse the other way.

Suzanna and Anfey returned to Snow Fox mercenary group. Snow Fox mercenary group took orders from Black Eleven, but Black Eleven did not tell them the real reason for this mission. Luckily, they did not know, otherwise they would misunderstand that Anfey was ready to kill the princess. They would have not acted as calmly as Black Eleven. If they sold them out to their opponents, it would ruin the whole plan.

Seeing Anfey joining the mercenary group, the mercenaries in Snow Fox mercenary group looked at Anfey with a sort of disdain. In this world, people judged each other based on their powers, at least among men. Anfey had acted like a such loser.

“Anfey.” Black Eleven walked up to him. He whispered and complained to Anfey, “What did you just do? You freaked me out. I thought you had gone crazy and wanted to kill them right here.”

“No, I only left some marks on them.” Anfey looked at the whip mark on his shoulder. That woman used her full force. If he was not good, he would have died under the horse.

“Marks?” Black Eleven was shocked by Anfey’s talk.

“If they reach Blackwater City in three days, we can find them no matter where they will be,” Anfey said.

“Are you worried that they will not live in Blackwater City?” Black Eleven asked.

“Yeah, it is always better to be prepared for different situations,” Anfey agreed.

When the caravan of the Shansa princess stopped, Anfey and Suzanna had already turned back. They observed the campsite carefully. There obviously were smart men in her service, because the campsite was laid out very methodically. The site was divided into four sections; patrols and mercenaries dotted the camp. There were mages floating above the camp as well. Bonfires had been lit throughout the camp. These protections turned the camp into a fortress.

Anfey watched for about two hours before deciding to return to Blackwater City. The only people that could make the impossible possible were gods. Anfey was an assassin, and his ability was limited. He wasn’t one to take great risks, and his welcome ceremony for the princess must come to a stop now.

It was already dusk of the next day when they returned to Blackwater City. Vonmerge’s ability was impressive. He had already gathered everything Anfey needed in two days. Although the man in black’s ability was much stronger than Vonmerge, Anfey didn’t want him to know his entire plan. It was his habit from when he was still an assassin, and it benefitted him. It was easier for him if no one knew exactly what he wanted, which would make it harder for people to interfere with his plans.

The four mercenary groups all had fairly good reputations. None of the leaders had a record of abusing his powers or deceiving any of his allies. Of course, even if a leader did do such a thing, it would be on record. Afterwards, he would try to clear his name as best he could.

However, everyone had their families and friends. The mercenary leaders could keep their own names clean, but they could not restrict their friends and families. Old Phillip had never oppressed the people or abused his power, but his grandson Zeda was infamously spoiled. Old Phillip had done wrong, but was good at hiding it. Zeda, on the other hand, wore his wrongdoings like badges. People who had done great wrongs might be looked up to, but people who had committed petty crimes were usually looked down upon.

The man on top of Anfey’s list was Davidson, who ranked third in Glory mercenary group. According to reports, he had a short temper, and that made him an easy target. Anthony, the man who ranked first in the group, was not in Blackwater City. It was something that could be used to Anfey’s advantage as well.

Davidson had a younger brother called Orwell. Davidson and his brother were orphaned at a young age, leaving the brothers alone in the world. With no other means of income, Davidson had resorted to thieving. He was caught one time and was beaten. Orwell nursed him back to health all by himself. Davidson’s mentor found them and felt sympathetic. He took Davidson with him, and returned later for his younger brother. However, they did not find Orwell. After a few years, Davidson returned to look for Orwell. By then, the two had taken completely different paths. Davidson was already a junior swordsman, and Orwell had became a thug. After Davidson befriended Anthony and joined Glory mercenary group, he had bought Orwell to Blackwater City as well.

However, old habits die hard. Orwell was used to doing things his way, and was still a typical thug in Blackwater City. His brother was friends with Anthony, and everyone tried to move out of his way. Orwell knew his limits as well. He would not mess with people he knew he could not take on. Because he knew who to mess with and who he had to leave alone, he was able to live in relative comfort.

Vonmerge found out about these things through a friend of Davidson’s, and felt they should be accurate.

Anfey circled Orwell’s name and told Vonmerge to keep tabs on Orwell. He then closed his door and began meditating. If everything went according to plan, Blackwater City would be in chaos once he was done. He must improve his skills before then.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Anfey opened the window to the city’s clamor. He looked out and saw a long line of carriages and carts in the streets. He knew that the princess was in the city.

All along the streets, people of the city were out holding flowers. They were cheering loudly. Tiger of Tawau was a powerful mercenary group, but getting such a big display was impressive. Anfey watched for a while longer before closing the window and leaving the room.

The hallway was empty. Clark had already removed all the other patrons, and the new patrons in the first and second floors were all working with Anfey. Their safety could be assured and there was no longer the need for nightly patrols.

He knocked on Suzanna’s door, then poked his head inside and found it empty. Blavi pushed open Christian’s door and called Anfey over.

“We’re all in here,” he said.

Christian frowned when Anfey walked inside. “Anfey, can’t you tell us the next time you are going to meditate? We didn’t want to bother you, but we needed you here to make the plan.”

“Sorry about that,” Anfey apologized. “Why? Did something happen?” He knew what the problem was. He was only confident in himself, and the only person that needed to know the exact details of the plan. He was the leader of a team, though, and it may create a rift in his relationship with the team members if he kept things from them.

“Didn’t you tell Vonmerge to keep on eye on Orwell? We were there too, yesterday. He bought a little elf girl at the market yesterday. She looked like she’s only eleven or twelve.”

“Elves live longer than us,” Zubin said. “She was probably already fifty.”

“I’m saying the way she looked,” Christian said.

“Zubin, don’t interrupt him,” Anfey said.

“We saw Orwell taking the little girl to his place, and then we heard screams. Suzanna and Sante wanted to go in, but I didn’t let them.” Christian smiled bitterly. “Vonmerge saw a few carts from Glory mercenary group coming out of his house the next day, and they buried something outside the city. It was the little girl.”

“That’s it?”

“They blame me for her death. They tell me you wanted to kill Orwell, and killing him then wouldn’t change much about the plan. I thought I did nothing wrong. We wanted to hear your take on this.”

“Anything else?”

“Suzanna talked about the princess. Anfey, I don’t think it’s a good idea to assassinate her. She has four senior swordsmen, plus the people serving Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. There is no way we can take them all by ourselves.” Christian sighed and shook his head. “Best case scenario, some of us would still die. Clark said that the marriage was political, and even if we kill one princess they can always send another one.”

“Nothing else?”

“That’s it.”

“First thing. I think you’re right, Christian. I didn’t tell you guys why we wanted to kill Orwell or the impact of it, and that is my fault. But if you had really killed him, that would have ruined my plan.”

“Anfey, didn’t you tell me to kill him?” Vonmerge asked.

“I said to kill him when the timing is right,” Anfey explained. “Christian did the right thing. Now, the next thing. You guys are getting good. At least you know how to analyze your enemies.”

“You want to cancel the plan, too?”

“No. I think we have a high chance of succeeding. My plan is this,” Anfey said. He then proceeded to explain to the group his plan in its entirety. “What do we think?” he ask, looking around the room.

Everyone was looking at each other. Those who were still relatively naive were shocked by how heartless Anfey’s plans were. If they really go through with the plan, surely it would be a bloodbath. There would be so many dead who would not even know who killed them.

Vonmerge was drunk and wobbled as he walked. He sluggishly pointed at the wood building with his left hand as he passed by Anfey and Suzanna. Anfey fanned away Vonmerge’s stink that was still lingering in the air. Anfey and Suzanna slowly approached the wood building.

“Hey, man, what are you doing?” A big man with a lazy look stopped Anfey. A middle-aged man with a hawk nose walked over to them from the wood building.

“This is my brother in-law’s house.” Anfey pointed at the wood building and asked in surprise, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“Us? We are bringing pleasure to your sister. Hahaha…” The middle-aged man with the hawk nose laughed.

“You, f*ck off. I will beat the crap out of you if you continue to hang around here,” the big guy yelled.

“I got it,” Anfey said timidly.

“Wait, you can leave. This girl can stay.” The middle-aged man with the hawk nose pinched Suzanna’s cheek. Suzanna had kept her head down the whole time. They could only see her little sexy mouth, which was already such a temptation for the middle-aged man with hawk nose.

Suzanna shook his hand off her cheek and suppressed her desire to pull out her sword and kill him. She moved closer to Anfey.

“Huh, you got some temper.” The middle-aged man with the hawk nose seemed to be more interested in Suzanna, and tried to grab her chin.

Anfey waved an arch with his arm when he saw no one else on the street. It was time to kill them. If he killed them a little later, Suzanna could have lost herself and things would get bad.

The big guy with a lazy look had blood splashed from his throat. The fast speed, sharp knife and the force Anfey put on the knife did not allow the big guy to make any reaction before his throat was cut.

The other man’s eyes were bulging, with his mouth wide open. Anfey thrust his knife forward and pierced through his throat. The middle-aged man slowly fell to the ground. He grabbed Anfey’s arm as he fell. He gathered the only strength he had left and tried to attack Anfey. Anfey just moved his wrist a little bit. The middle-aged man with the hawk nose could even hear his own bronchial tubes and esophageal tubes get cut off. He lost all strength immediately, without even strength enough left to keep his eyes open.

Anfey listened with his ears against the door to see if anyone was in the room, and then he pushed the door open and dragged the dead body into the room. Suzanna dragged the other dead body behind him. Suzanna gently closed the door behind her. They heard a woman crying and screaming from the room above them and men talking and laughing beneath them. Anfey waited for a second before he bent down and took off the Glory mercenary badge from the middle-aged man with hawk nose. He carefully wore it on his chest and gently took off the hood for Suzanna. He even tidied her hair for her. Her silky black hair on her shoulder accentuated her charm even more.

Suzanna looked up at Anfey. She had this unspeakable feeling every time she saw him killing people. She had killed many people as well, but she had thought it was so cruel to kill anyone. She was not sure how Anfey thought about killing. The way Anfey killed people and his facial expression after the killing made it look like it was as easy as crushing bugs.

Anfey glanced at Suzanna up and down and said, “Ok.”

Suzanna bit her lips but did not say anything.

Anfey smiled and started to walk loudly to the room. Suzanna walked slowly behind Anfey.

It was a diner inside, with four big men sitting around a table with few bottles of liquor. Judging from the amount of liquor left in the bottles and cups, they had not been sitting there for long. They did not have a chance to drink to their fill. They were shocked for a second when they saw a strange man and woman walk into the room.

“Hey, you are…” One of the guys saw the Glory Mercenary badge on Anfey, so he believed Anfey was their ally since they were all in the Glory mercenary. They had never seen Anfey before, so they felt a bit strange..

“Bill asked me to find Master Orwell.” Anfey had a bright smile on his face. Bill was the middle-aged man with hawk nose. “Let me introduce this lady to you guys. This is Miss Jenny, a junior swordswoman.”

“Oh.” The four guys all looked at Suzanna. Blackwater City and White Mountain City were the most important distribution centers for magic crystals on Pan Continent. Entertainment facilities usually went hand in hand with distribution economics. There were definitely many beautiful women in those entertainment facilities. It was undeniable that Suzanna was the most beautiful one, no matter where she was. Niya was famous for her beauty in Saint City, but she was not as beautiful as Suzanna. There was no point in discussing how beautiful Suzanna would be in Blackwater City and White Mountain City.

Those four guys were fascinated by Suzanna’s beauty. They just stared at her without even trying to hide it. Their greedy looks were disgusting.

Anfey coughed. He winked at those four guys as he talked. “Miss Jenny was from Alibaba mercenary group. Something unfortunate happened in Alibaba mercenary. The whole mercenary group with more than 20 mercenaries were killed by a manticore. Only Miss Jenny survived, so she wanted to join our Glory Mercenary group. She only needs a person to introduce her to our mercenary group, so I am taking her to see Master Orwell.”

Anfey explained in a simple way, but also clearly made his point. He wore a look of you-know-what-I-mean. These four guys finally understood what was going on and what Anfey meant. One of the guys immediately showed a sincere look on his face. “Miss Jenny, please accept my sincere condolences. If you join Glory mercenary group, you will like it.”

“Right, our Glory Mercenary group is the best. We welcome Miss Jenny on board,” another guy said.

“Thank you.” Suzanna still had her head down. She knew her acting was bad. Her eyes would have sold her out, so she had to keep her head down, which in turn accentuated her female features and made her look more adorable.

“Do you have more glasses?” Anfey smiled.

“Come here, bro. Here you are.” One guy pushed a glass over and winked at Anfey, signaling Anfey they got what was going on. It was bulls^*t that Anfey wanted to introduce her to Glory mercenary group. He was trying to send a woman to Master Orwell. If Anfey had not said Miss Jenny was a junior swordswoman, which they felt could cause trouble, they would have pressed Suzanna on the table.

Anfey took the glass with a smile and poured some liquor in it. He also moved the glass out of Suzanna’s sight and took out a small paper package. He poured the powder from the paper package into the glass.

This action could not be seen by Suzanna, but the guys sitting across from Anfey saw it clearly. Their eyes brightened up. They had done this kind of thing many times before. They knew very well what Anfey was doing. One of the guys even hid his hand under the table and secretly raised his thumb for Anfey. It meant, “Good job, man. You prepared everything. Awesome!”

They had not met Anfey before, but since they were in the same mercenary group and were the same kind of people, they already considered Anfey as their brother.

Anfey pushed the glass over to Suzanna. “Miss Jenny, would you like to have a drink?”

Those guys’ eyes moved with the glass, waiting for Jenny to fall into their trap.

Suzanna glanced at the glass and shook her head. “I don’t drink this kind of liquor. Do you have wine?”

Anfey was shocked and looked up. “Bro, do you have wine?”

“Yes, I am going to get it.” A guy stood up and hurried over to the wine cellar.

“I am a little hungry. Do you have steak?” Suzanna said with a blush.

“Sure.” The guy couldn’t help heaving a sigh. This little girl was a bit much to handle. Why couldn’t she just freaking drink that glass.

Anfey smiled bitterly and gave that guy a look. The guy had no way but to stand up. He muttered something and turned around. He walked to the storage room to look for steak. They had to do what she wanted before she would drink the liquor with the powder in it. They were worried that if they fought with Suzanna, a patrol would come by because of the strong combat power. They would be fine with the patrol, but they would let Suzanna off the hook.

Anfey put his arm on Suzanna’s shoulder with a smile. “Miss Jenny.”

“Get away from me.” Suzanna’s face suddenly darkened.

Anfey looked awkward and shrugged. He stood up and walked over to the two guys and took a seat between them. Those two guys were not suspicious about Anfey’s move. They even gave Anfey a gloating look. They thought to themselves, “Man, you are running into trouble now. Why do you have to rush into things?”

Suddenly, they heard a bang from upstairs. It sounded like something fell on the floor. Anfey looked up. “Was Master Orwell in bad mood for the past few days?”

“Maybe his mood will get better today. Hahaha…” That guy felt cold on his throat before he finished his laughing. He could not laugh anymore.

The other guy had all his attention on Suzanna and did not know what Anfey had done. He smiled and asked, “Miss Jenny, are you from Alibaba mercenary group? I never heard of that mercenary group. When did Alibaba mercenary group register?”

“Hasn’t registered yet.” Anfey smiled.

“Oh?” The guy turned around to look at Anfey in surprise. He thought to himself, “Didn’t he say they were all killed by a manticore? How come they haven’t registered their mercenary group yet?” He saw a metal reflection when he turned around, and then fell onto the chair and died.

Anfey wiped his bloody dagger on the man’s shirt. He stood up and walked towards where he had been watching from earlier.

As he rounded the corner, he saw another man hurrying toward him with a jug of wine in his hands. “Look,” the man said, grinning proudly. “Look at this wine. Some of the best.”

“It’s a bit murky, isn’t it?” Anfey asked.

“No way!” the man said. He raised the bottle to his eyes.

The bottle obscured his eyes, so he did not see Anfey making a move to slash his throat. He felt his body weakening, and when the bottle fell from his limp fingers, he looked at Anfey in confusion. He could not understand why Anfey would do something like that.

Anfey caught the bottle in his hand. He grabbed the man and lowered him to the ground, silent.

In the storage room, another man was cursing and rummaging through the room. Steaks were readily available to everyone, and didn’t seem to be available in this room.

Anfey pushed through the door and entered the storage room.

“What are you doing here?” the man asked.

“She didn’t want steaks anymore,” Anfey said, shrugging. “Asking for turkey this time.”

“Where am I supposed to find that?” the man asked.

“What can I say? She’s picky. Just try and look for it. Something is better than nothing.”

“Goddammit,” the man cursed. “Wait. Help me look for it.”

Anfey nodded and began flipping through things on the shelf. Soon he stumbled across the steak the other man was looking for.

“Isn’t this steak?”

“You found it?” the man moved over and asked. “It’s raw, though,” he said.

“I’ll go cook it,” Anfey said. He handed the man a packet of loose powder. “Don’t let her see this,” he said.

“Don’t worry,” the man said. He accepted the powder. “Is it powerful?”

“Of course,” Anfey said, grinning. “Very much so.”

The man smirked and nodded. He hid the power packet in his left hand and left the storage room.

As he walked past Anfey, he saw a silvery flash out of the corner of his eye. He was the highest ranking man under Orwell, just after Orwell himself, and was a junior swordsman. Anfey’s movement was sudden and fast, and he was distracted, but he was still able to grab the dagger.

Anfey’s wrist twisted, and left the dagger partially in the man. He took out the manticore’s sting and stabbed the man in the face with it.

Before the man could summon his combat power, his body had already frozen in place. Anfey removed the tail and pierced the man’s throat with his dagger. The man fell to the ground limply.

Anfey walked out of the storage room calmly. Once outside, he saw Suzanna’s angry face.

“You were going to drug me?” she asked.

“It’s an act, Suzanna,” Anfey said. “Don’t take it personally.”

“You can’t just try to drug me!”

“Alright, alright,” Anfey said. “I’m sorry, alright? Let’s take care of that guy upstairs first.”

Suzanna snorted and turned her eyes away.

Anfey took out a piece of black cloth and hid his face behind it. He then handed one to Suzanna, who looked at him curiously.

“If you don’t want to kill every witness, you better wear that,” Anfey said. “Don’t forget, there’s an extraneous woman up there.”

“Alright,” Suzanna said. She tied the cloth around her face carefully. Anfey moved over and pulled a hood down over her hair. Her hair was too distinctive and should be hidden in case someone saw it and linked it back to her.

This move, purely out of concern for secrecy, seemed less innocent than it was. The two were close enough that, if someone was watching, they could be mistaken for a couple about to kiss.

Anfey had treated Suzanna as a friend, and so felt nothing. However, Suzanna felt slightly uncomfortable. Whenever Anfey breathe on her, she felt a strange sensation in her stomach. However, she did not say anything.

“Alright.” Anfey took a step back and looked at her.

The two ascended the stairs carefully, avoiding any unnecessary sounds. There were only four rooms, and Orwell didn’t care who heard him.

“Please,” a woman’s voice said. “My husband will kill me.”

Orwell laughed. He didn’t care if the woman’s husband would murder her. He knew that the husband didn’t have enough power to come after him.

“Stop!” the woman cried. It was too late. Her refusal meant nothing to Orwell.

Anfey stood quietly by the door and waited. Next to him, Suzanna was flushed red, and her breath was getting heavy. Scenes like this did not have an effect on Anfey, but they did on Suzanna. If she wasn’t on a mission, she would likely have fled the scene.

The woman’s moans were getting louder. Orwell’s movement was clearly getting faster as well, evident from the creaking bed frame.

Suzanna turned to Anfey. Seeing that he was unaffected, she turned back and decided to endure. Her hands were slightly shaking, however, because it was all too much for someone like her to take in.

Finally, Orwell groaned loudly. Anfey kicked open the door and hurried inside. He then jumped into the air and lunged towards a shocked Orwell.

Orwell suddenly flipped and placed the woman on top of him as a shield. Anfey moved his wrist, and avoided the woman. His dagger made a deep cut on the left side of Orwell’s face.

Orwell yelped in pain. He threw the woman at Anfey and reached for his longsword. Just then, Suzanna dashed into the room. Her sword, coated in white combat power, aimed straight at Orwell’s chest. However, she was stunned by his nakedness, and her aim was slightly off. Her sword only caught him in his abdomen.

Anfey jumped upwards and around the woman. Then he held out his dagger and jumped towards Orwell. Because of his wound, Orwell was slower than he otherwise would have been. His fingers had only found his sword when the dagger pierced his wrist. Even though Orwell had used his combat power, it was too weak and couldn’t shield him from that level of attack. The dagger left a deep wound on his wrist, severing even one of his wrist bones.

Anfey blinked in surprised. If it was a normal man, the whole hand would have been severed from the body.

Orwell screamed in pain. His right wrist was severely damaged, and he had no more strength left to draw his sword. In a moment of panic he swung his left fist at his attacker. However, he was in too much pain to properly fight. Anfey avoided his attack easily and buried his dagger in Orwell’s neck. Suzanna stabbed him in the chest hard with her sword. The sword went through Orwell’s body and nailed him to the bed.

Orwell’s body twitched a few times, then his head rolled to the side. Blood dripped down from the side of his mouth, and then he was still.

“Done,” Anfey sighed. He pull out his knife and gently blew on the streams of blood. Obviously, the material of the knife was far from the best in the world, so the blood was still left on the knife after a few blows.

Suzanna also heaved a sigh. Her face turned to the side as she lifted the sheet with the sword to cover Orwell’s body. Her heart was still pounding fast. She thought to herself, “A man’s body is so weird.”

Anfey slowly walked to the candlestick and blew hard to put out the light. He thought to himself, “Even though I cannot blow off the blood on the sword, I could at least blow out the light.” He walked to the window and gently lifted the curtain to see if anyone was on the street. The street was still empty. The combat power was released but was withdrawn very quickly, so no one should have noticed it.

The woman lay still on the floor. She looked like she had passed out. She lay flat, so they could see her curvy body. Anfey relit the candle and looked down to see the women clearly. Her face was pink.

“Hey,” Suzanna called out unhappily. She almost made a mistake by calling out Anfey’s real name. Luckily she realized it and stopped herself.

Anfey fixed his eyes on the woman and then bent down to open her eyes with his fingers.

Anfey stood up, thought for a while, and looked at Suzanna. His fingers felt a little resistance when he tried to open her eyes. It meant this woman had not passed out. She seemed to be very smart to protect herself.

“We will bring so much trouble to the master,” Suzanna said with a coarse voice.

“Do you think the master would be afraid of Glory mercenary group? Don’t forget the princess has reached Blackwater City,” Anfey sneered. “This bastard killed nine of our people. Are we going to just let it slide?”

“But…” Suzanna said.

“But what? Even if this issue gets out of control someday, I am not afraid of it. He killed our people first,” Anfey said.

Suzanna sighed, “What are we going to do with this woman?”

“She has nothing to do with Orwell. She is just a poor woman being used by Orwell. I do not want to hurt her,” Anfey said.

“Orwell died right here. Glory mercenary group would not let her go,” Suzanna said.

“I have no control over Glory mercenary group.” Anfey sounded helpless. He looked outside to see if there was anyone on the street, and then he said, “Let’s go. We need get out of here right now.”

The celebration during the day had finished. Leftover flower petals were everywhere on the streets. They were dancing with the wind, giving the air a hint of fragrant flowers. It was dark, with neither stars nor moon in the night sky, while the station of Tumen Commercial Union was bright with countless torches and lanterns. This station had turned into a sleepless city. They had high security, with four junior swordsmen on watch on both sides of the door and a senior swordsmen beyond the door.

On the street, passing the Tiger of Tawau mercenary station, an old man around fifty years old slowly walked out of the dark. His gait was very noticeable. After every step, he paused before taking another step. His eyes shone with coldness, looking straight ahead. One of his hands lightly held onto the sheath. Looking at his face and hands, it would have been hard to believe they belonged to the same person. His face wore many wrinkles, while his hands looked young without any age spots. The veins on the back of his hands were vague and did not look like the hands that been through many fights over the years.

There were people walking out of the darkness one by one behind the old man. More people appeared in the alleys on both sides of the street and on the fences around the houses. They continually joined the main force. When the old man walked to an area about 400 feet away from the Tiger of Tawau mercenary station, he already had over 300 people behind him. Some of them were swordsmen, some mages, even warriors from Dwarf Tribe and archers from Elf Tribe.

That old man looked calm, but with a pair of furious eyes. The people behind him looked nervous. Since the day the Country of Mercenaries was established, the four largest mercenary groups were closely matched in power. No matter how many conflicts they had and how many traps they had set for each other, they neither confronted each other in public nor had any bloody fights. Today they gathered here to fight with Tiger of Tawau mercenary. It was a rare moment in history. Therefore, they could not help being nervous.

Four junior swordsmen on watch at the entrance of Tiger of Tawau mercenary had noticed something unusual. One of them rushed into the station to report, while the other three nervously watched the newcomers. A junior swordsman forced himself to walk up to the man when he was 90 feet away from the gate. He asked, “Master Davidson, how can I help you?” Davidson was the third most important person in Glory mercenary group, but he had nothing to do with Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. The commanders of the four largest mercenary groups were respected very well. They were all called “masters.” Actually, it was an appropriate way to address them.

“Ask Mooly Tawau to get the f*ck out here,” Davidson said coldly.

“What? What did you say?” The junior swordsman could not believe what he had just heard. Davidson went to the party that Mooly Tawau held three days ago. They were talking and laughing at the party. Why did Davidson suddenly curse him today?

“Ask Mooly Tawau to get the f*ck out here!” Davidson yelled. He pulled out his sword, and his body radiated with strong combat power. With sword radiation breaking through the sky, the sword hit the gigantic festive red lantern hung at the entrance of the station. The lantern split in half. It shook a little before it fell to the ground and burned into two bright flames.

The junior swordsman took a breath because he knew they would have a rough night. He did not dare to stop the furious Davidson. Therefore, he turned around and hurried into the station to report to his supervisor.

In a little while, the sound of heavy steps came from the station. With a huge explosion, the unlocked entrance doors flew forward, rolled more than 30 feet, and fell hard on the ground. The entrance door was made with 15-inch thick agilawood. It was so heavy that anyone who could kick it so far only showed how strong he was.

Davidson’s face twitched out of fury instead of fright.

Saidy slowly walked through the broken door. He was the third eldest son among the nine children of Mooly Tawau and Hotchbini. His talent, ability, and even his looks were remarkable, otherwise he would not marry the princess of Shansa Empire when his elder brother had not married yet.

Maybe because his single life had been disturbed or for other reasons, Saidy looked furious. Kicking down the door showed his bad mood. His eyes met Davidson’s, and they stared at each other. No one wanted to look away. He even sneered, “Old mad man, if you had Viagra, you should have gone home and slept with a female pig. How dare you come here and try to make a mess. Are you looking to be killed?”

Both Glory mercenaries and Tiger of Tawau mercenaries were so shocked by his words that their jaws dropped. Saidy was a gentleman. He always talked with courtesy. What happened to him today? He scolded that bodyguard with cursing words. They could not understand what happened to him.

Davidson was one of the people in charge of Glory mercenary group, while Saidy just assisted in the management of mercenaries. Saidy had lower ranking in the mercenary group. He was only the age of Davidson’s nephew. He should not have talked to Davidson in such a disrespectful tone.

It did not matter why Saidy said what he did, Glory mercenaries still ran behind Saidy in case the opponents would start the fight.

Davidson was so mad. His younger brother had been brutally killed. After an investigation, he found out that someone in the Tiger of Tawau mercenary group had killed him. He came here to demand an explanation. Before he could even blame them for killing his younger brother, a nephew-aged kid scolded him in front of hundreds of people. He was humiliated. Luckily, as a senior swordsman, he was tough, otherwise he would have died of rage.

“Ok, Ok.” He laughed angrily. His face twisted and looked scary. The blood vessels even showed in his eyes. Froma distance, it looked like his blue eyes became red.

Most people would have panicked under Davidson’s furious stare. Saidy was not scared. He even stepped forward and slowly and determinedly pulled out the swords on his waist.

Davidson brought his people here, but he did not mean to fight. He was one of the few important people in a super mercenary. He completely understood what made the Country of Mercenaries survive among other countries. He only wanted to force Mooly Tawau to hand over the person who had killed his younger brother. However, facing a young man’s scolding and cursing, his rationality slowly gave way to anger. His hot temper made the situation even worse. Davidson held the shaft of the sword tight. He was positioned to attack Saidy at any time. Suddenly a female voice was heard from the station of Tiger of Tawau mercenaries, “Saidy, back off.”

After hearing this voice, both parties felt relieved. That voice represented a legend. Hotchbini enjoyed even more fame than her husband. Mooly Tawau was renowned for his strong power, while Hotchbini earned many people’s respect because of her kind heart and mercy to others. Glory mercenary group, Tiger of Tawau mercenary group, Brothers Union mercenary group, Wind Thunder mercenary group and many others had benefitted from Hotchbini’s help.

Hotchbini was very fair. After her son killed a mercenary after being careless with his carriage, she knelt in the street to apologize for his misdeeds and paid a large amount of money to the deceased man’s parents. Not only that, she began treating his parents as her parents, and would take care of them. She was kind, and as an elven priestess, she knew the ways to heal a man’s body. She would often use magic to cure the mercenaries of their injuries. She was also just. The Country of Mercenaries had a complicated geography. Not only that, magic crystals were concentrated there. Naturally, thieves living there began to band together and eventually formed gangs. There were many people who enjoyed the benefits but did not put in any work. Therefore, every year Hotchbini would lead the mercenaries of Tigers of Tawau out to eliminate the bandits.

In a world where only the strongest survived, Hotchbini was a beacon. When mercenaries talk about leaders of other groups, the opinions would differ. When someone mentioned Hotchbini, however, the mercenaries would be full of respect.

The intensity in Davidson’s eyes dulled a little. His fingers relaxed, and he stood there quietly, waiting.

A slender shadow walked through the door. Hotchbini had a head of golden curls, her green eyes, set on her gentle face, were bright and clear. Her well shaped lips were a deep pink, and her nose was slightly hooked. Normally a nose like that would make a person appear sly, but on Hotchbini it only made her look wise and collected.

Hotchbini appeared so much younger than her actual age. She looked she should be a teenage girl, but in reality she was the mother of nine children. When she was with Sayeed, she looked more like his younger sister.

Hogebili did not like to dress up and had often appeared in simply white dresses. This made her appear somewhat otherworldly.

“Mother,” Sayeed called.

“Stay back,” Hotchbini ordered. Sayeed was brave enough to fight Davidson, but in front of his mother he was still a boy that followed her orders.

“Ma’am,” Davidson said. He took his hand off the sword and bowed to her. He could attack her son, but he must respect her.

“Davidson, why are you causing so much commotion?” Hotchbini asked. “Do you know what kind of influence this will have once the news gets out?”

“Ma’am, my brother Orwell was killed by your men, and all I want is justice,” Davidson said, his voice cold. After any other incident, he could pause and take a step back. Only when Orwell was involved would he make such rash decisions. After all, Orwell was his only brother.

“Orwell was killed?” Hotchbini asked in shock. “What does that have to do with my people?”

Davidson waved his hands and a woman was brought to the front. “Ma’am, she was the only survivor. Not only did she witness the murder, she heard the killers’ conversation.”

“Where did this happen?” Hotchbini asked the woman.

“In my home, ma’am,” the woman replied fearfully.

Hotchbini saw the fear in the woman’s eyes and the sadness in her face. She remembered Orwell’s reputation, and it wasn’t hard imagining what had taken place.

Hotchbini was once a slave, and she hated the men who would act on their urges without a second thought. She smiled coldly. “Keep going,” she urged the woman.

“When Lord Orwell was…two people came in. A man and a woman. To keep Lord Orwell.”

“Don’t be scared,” Hotchbini said gently. “Be more specific. Don’t worry, no one will hurt you here.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” the woman said gratefully. She thought about the event for a few moments before continuing. “That’s all I saw, ma’am. When the killers came inside, Lord Orwell threw me at those people, and after that I just laid on the ground and pretended I had fainted.”

“What a man Lord Orwell was,” Sayeed mocked.

Everyone had heard the woman’s words. Orwell was clearly using the woman as a shield against the attack. The mercenaries chattered and murmured amongst themselves, laughing at how heartless Orwell was. Davidson’s face twitched. He was Orwell’s brother, and he knew how terrible Orwell could be sometimes. He knew full well that Orwell would not hesitate using someone else to shield an attack. He felt his face turn red from the embarrassment.

Hotchbini snorted. Even though she was a very controlled and sensible woman, she had a bottom line as well. She could not stand men who oppressed and took advantage of women. Whenever she heard about it, she would uncontrollably get angry. “Then?”

“The man looked at me, and I was so scared and kept still. Then the two talked.”

“What did they say?”

“The woman said doing this would cause trouble, and the man said the princess is already here, and there is no need to be afraid of Glory mercenary group. The man also said that the bastard…Lord Orwell killed nine of his men and he couldn’t take it anymore.”

Davidson’s body tensed up at the word “bastard.” On the other hand, Hotchbini and her son had only laughed. Truthfully, everyone had thought Orwell was a bastard, and who knew how many innocent women he had assaulted. If it wasn’t for Davidson, Orwell would have never lasted this long.

Sayeed had no problem displaying his emotions. Hotchbini was calmer, but she was as uncaring as her son was. Orwell should never have lived as long as he did.

“What else did they say?”

“Then the woman asked what they should do with me, and the man said I was just a poor woman and he didn’t want to hurt me…” the woman said. She couldn’t control her emotions and started sobbing.

Hogebili walked up to her and patted her back. “Anything else?” she asked gently.

“The woman said Lord Orwell had died in my home and that Glory mercenaries would never let me go. The man said he couldn’t do anything about it,” the woman said. She suddenly grabbed Hotchbini’s arm and shrieked, “Ma’am, please. Help me, please!”

“I said no one would hurt you, didn’t I?” Hotchbini said gently, taking the woman’s hand into hers.

“Ma’am, you heard what she said,” Davidson said coldly. “I would ask you to hand over the killers.” He was, in fact, at a disadvantage. It was strange trying to find justice for Orwell, since many of his victims did not get justice, but in the end Orwell was still his brother, and he couldn’t let his death go unavenged.

Hotchbini was silent for a few moments, then said slowly, “I want to investigate this first. We do, in fact, have a team missing right now. I will give you an answer when I finish investigating.”

“What does your missing team have to do with Orwell?”

“What does his death have to do with us?” Hotchbini asked coldly. “The woman heard what they said. The princess is here. Which other princess is coming to Blackwater City except for the princess of Shansa?”

“If Orwell had nothing to do with the missing team, why was he killed?” Hotchbini asked. “I told you. I will give you an answer after I’ve conducted a thorough investigation. If the missing team is related to Orwell’s death, may I say he deserved it.” Kindness and generosity didn’t mean weakness. When Ellisen Empire’s bandits were captured by her people years back, even the leader of the Glory mercenary group Anthony himself had come to her, asking her to release the prisoner. She resisted the pressure and executed the royalty of Ellisen she had captured.

“So you are protecting the killer?”

“I am trying to find the truth,” Hotchbini said. “Sayeed, take the poor thing inside. You, go find the images of the missing team.”

“Please, this way,” Sayeed said to the woman politely. With Hotchbini against him, Davidson couldn’t do anything. Sayeed had the upper hand, and had won the day, but for some reason he could not feel joy. Instead, he found himself frowning and strangely anxious.

Davidson’s eye twitched a few times, but he did not stop Sayeed from taking the woman. First it was Orwell’s death, then it was the insults from his nephews, now this clash with Hotchbini. His anger was ready to boil over. The only thing that kept him from attacking was the woman’s status and fame. If he had really attacked her, it could potentially turn into a devastating power struggle between the mercenary groups. Now, he did not expect Hotchbini to hand over the killers. Even if she only verbally promised to find the killers, he would take his men and leave immediately.

In a short while, the housekeeper walked out with a crystal ball in his hands and gently passed to Hotchbini. She took over the crystal ball and quietly chanted for a little bit. Images appeared in the crystal ball one after another. When a sweet and cute priestess appeared in the crystal ball, Hotchbini was shocked for a second and turned around, looking at Davidson coldly.

Davidson fell his heart skip a beat. Davidson thought to himself, “Did Orwell really harass that priest, and when he found out she was from Tiger of Tawau mercenary group, he killed the whole mercenary group to cover it?”

“Davidson, you can leave now.” Hotchbini looked disgusted. Obviously, she speculated the same thing.

“Madam, are you asking me to leave like this?” Davidson’s vicious mind encouraged him to reach his hand to the sword shaft. No matter what would happen, he could not go back like this. Even though he did not have to take revenge for his little brother, he had to save his pride.

“So? Do you want to come in to have some tea? My place is too small to have so many guests.” Hotchbini slowly moved back a step. She had noticed Davidson’s evil intention. Goddesses were very powerful on the battlefield, but they had to stand at the back of the army. If senior swordsmen and goddesses were fighting face-to-face, goddesses could be killed in a second.

“Fine,” Davidson screamed with rage. He decided to kill her without thinking of consequences.

An angry yell came from the distance, “Davidson!”

A person covered with white combat power rode a horse quickly towards them. The person rushed to them in the blink of an eye. With a banging sound, dirt arose in the air when the person got off the horse. He was the second most important person in Glory mercenary group, Shanteler.

“Davidson, what are you doing”, Shanteler yelled.

“Bro, someone in Tiger of Tawau mercenary group killed Orwell. I am coming,” Davidson explained.

“Go back, right now!” Shanteler interrupted his talk.

“Bro,” Davidson called out.

“I said ‘go back’. This is an order.” Shanteler’s whiskers trembled intensely, which showed that his anger had almost reached its limit. He was only one year older than Davidson. But he looked seven or eight years older than Davidson. Capable people tended to work more. Smart people tended to think more.

Commander Anthony only gave directions on big issues. Shanteler was in charge of all other issues. Shanteler had worked diligently for over twenty years. With the hard work over the years, he looked old for his age.

Shanteler was working on something in the station when a mercenary came in and reported to him that Davidson had taken his comrades to Tiger of Tawau mercenary group station. His little brother, Orwell, had been killed, and the witness had claimed that the killer was from Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. Shanteler was astonished by it and rushed over to Tiger of Tawau mercenary group immediately. Tiger of Tawau had just had a political marriage with Shansa Empire. They were still at a sensitive stage, where anything could trigger a conflict and turn it into a disaster.

There were loud noises from the street. Shanteler was a deep thinker and very cautious. His intention was to stop conflicts, but he also sent the main force in his mercenary group to Tiger of Tawau mercenary group just in case he had had no control of the situation when he got there. He could not watch his mercenary group get hurt. He would take it when it was necessary, but he was not afraid of fighting with anyone if it was needed.

Davidson quietly watched Shanteler as Shanteler looked at Davidson. They looked at each other for a while and then Davidson put his long sword back into the sheath, turned around and walked away. They were brothers who had experienced ups and downs together for so many years, so Davidson knew Shanteler’s temper. He was used to listening to Shanteler, so he made a compromise at the last moment.

Shanteler sighed with a relief. He turned to Hotchbini, “I am sorry for the inconvenience caused to you, Madam.”

Hotchbini opened her mouth a little bit, but did not come up with any words. She looked far down the street, while group after group of Glory mercenaries surrounded her. They had blocked the whole street.

“Shanteler, what are you doing to me?” Hotchbini said calmly.

“It was a misunderstanding,” Shanteler heaved a slight sigh, raising up his hands.

Glory mercenaries saw his signal and slowly moved back. The mercenaries in the front stepped back while the ones in the back tried to move forward. It was a mess, and they did not know which direction they should go until the section commander blew the whistle.

“Madam, if there is nothing else, I will be leaving now,” Shanteler said quietly.

“Take care.” Hotchbini still looked very calm.

Shanteler helplessly nodded at her and walked away. He knew what Davidson had done already created a great divide. This divide would not diminish anytime soon. It would not matter what he said anyway.

“Misunderstanding?” Hotchbini watched Shanteler’s back with sadness in her eyes.

“Suzanna, can you knock anyone down without using combat power? Suzanna, what are you thinking?” Anfey asked quietly.

“Huh? What?” Suzanna acted like she just got woken up by someone.

“You…” Anfey shook his head. “What are you thinking?”

“I am thinking you are a formidable person,” Suzanna said.

“Me? I am formidable? What do you mean?” Anfey was confused.

“Anfey, how did you know Shanteler would send the main force there?” Suzanna stared at Anfey.

“Silly, it was so easy to guess.” Anfey just realized what was going on. He could not help smiling at Suzanna.

“But how come I could not guess it?” Suzanna asked.

“That is why I said you are so silly,” Anfey said.

“You…” Suzanna was so mad that she turned her head away. She did not want to look at Anfey.

“Ok, ok. What are you mad about? I am stating a fact.” Anfey made it even worse by saying so. He found he got strangely interested in just seeing Suzanna get mad.

Suzanna tightened her lips. She neither talked nor refuted him. In fact, she did not have anything to refute.

“Seriously, Suzanna, can you knock a person down without using combat power?” Anfey secretively pointed somewhere in front of him with his hand.

“I cannot do it,” Suzanna said.

“In fact, it should be easy to do. The key is the area you attack.” Anfey had a serious look on his face. He decided to show Suzanna some basics about martial arts.

“How to do it?” Suzanna asked.

“You can slowly thrust your sword out, aiming at this area.” Anfey turned his head, pointing at his artery on the neck to allow Suzanna see it clearly. “Did you see it, the area I pointed at? As long as you thrust upward, you can cut off the opponent’s artery. Your opponent would not have any chance to make a sound.”

Suzanna kept quiet but she started to make some moves.

Anfey pointed at his own artery on the neck more than ten times without hearing any responses from Suzanna. He turned around curiously to see. He suddenly saw Suzanna’s sword tip shaking around his neck artery area. Anfey was shocked and jumped back. “What the heck. What are you doing? You could have killed me.”

Suzanna tried not to laugh. She twisted her wrist a little bit and hid the sword at the back of his arm.

“Say something. Do you think you can do it. If not, we will have to just fight with combat power. These people should not be able to stop us. The key is the speed. It would be too late if we wait for Shanteler to come back,” Anfey said quietly.

“I should be able to do it.” Suzanna nodded.

“Ok, watch me, and we will attack them together.” Anfey quietly moved to the other side.

Glory mercenary group station was quiet. The yard in front of Anfey and Suzanna was an important area. Usually twenty-four junior swordsmen in eight different groups were on watch in turns. Shanteler sent his best teams out today to deal with the potential conflicts, so the soldiers on watch in the yard now were just regular soldiers. Three medium-level swordsmen had the highest level among other soldiers.

Most mercenaries crowded into the rooms and chatted with each other. There was a mercenary lazily leaning against the wall at the corner, while two other mercenaries squatted in the grass next to the fence. They only had one topic: Orwell had been killed. This was sensational news. They knew Saidy had a hot temper and would not just let the killer go. If he had conflicts with Tiger of Tawau mercenary group at other times, they would not be so concerned. However, it was a sensitive time right now. The wagons of the princess’s caravan had just arrived. Thousands of soldiers were not nothing. If the wagons and Tiger of Tawau mercenary group fought together with their mercenary group, they could only run away.

The mercenary leaning against the wall at the corner yawned. He suddenly noticed a person’s shadow on the fence facing him out of the corner of his eye. Before he could respond to what he saw, that person had already thrown himself on the mercenary, while the other two mercenaries were still chatting not far from him. That mercenary was shocked. He felt the pain on his neck and saw a cloud of blood mist in front of him before he could warn others.

Anfey slowly pulled out a knife and listened to his surroundings. He looked at a magic array 90 feet ahead of him. Glory mercenary group was one of the four super mercenary groups, but there was a huge difference in power and finance compared with other three mercenary groups. This magic array was only a medium-sized one and it would not start unless it was necessary.

Seeing mercenaries chatting about Orwell being killed in the rooms and no one noticing anything outside their rooms, Anfey hunched in the grass and rushed towards Suzanna.

Suzanna moved to the side to save some room for Anfey. They hid in the dark together. Anfey took out a bow from his Dimensional Ring and aimed at the crystal above the magic array. Suzanna slanted her head and glanced at Anfey. She had a good memory and she remembered the first time Anfey could only tightened the bow seventy or eighty percent of the full stretch. He could easily stretch the bow to its utmost now. Suzanna was not stupid. She knew what this meant.

The arrow struck the magic crystal in the middle of the portal. The crystal was covered with tiny cracks, then shattered with a loud bang. The light above the portal grew incredibly bright, runes flashed into sight then disappeared as fast as they had appeared.

“Let’s go,” Anfey called.

There was no need for hiding anymore. Suzanna summoned her combat power and dashed out. The portal’s explosion had drawn many mercenaries. They hurried out of their residences and ran towards where the explosion took place.

If the mercenary group’s high ranking members were here, or if there were some swordsmen or magisters present, they could pose a potential threat to Suzanna. However, the ones that were left at the campsite were some low-ranking mercenaries. Suzanna was able to cut through their ranks like a hot knife through butter.

The ones that arrived later saw that Suzanna had slain a dozen mercenaries in a few seconds’ time, and were terrified. They hurried out of her way. This was the difference between mercenaries and actual soldiers. Actual soldiers had rules that needed to be followed. The mercenaries, on the other hand, had much more freedom, and fewer rules. If this had been an army camp, the soldiers would have tried to stop Suzanna with their lives.

A few senior mages tried to attack Suzanna with fireballs, wind blades, and ice arrows. Anfey used his bow and defended Suzanna from the mages. The shields the mages used were not very effective. Anfey’s bow had no name, but it was no normal bow either. Its powerful wind arrows destroyed the shields easily, and the arrows easily killed the mages.

After two mages were killed, the other ones ran for their lives. The magical attacks ended. Suzanna and Anfey easily made their way through the crowd. They flipped over the high wall and onto the street.

A carriage stopped in front of them, and the two jumped onto it. By the time the mercenaries hurried into the streets, the carriage was long gone.

Anfey sighed in relief. He sat down on the carpet and asked, “Won’t we encounter patrols?”

“There have been three robberies, one break in, and four rapes. There are patrols to spare,” Black Eleven informed him.

“Good,” Anfey nodded. “I trust you.”

Black Eleven felt strangely repulsed by his words. He opened his mouth and wanted to object, but in the end did not say anything. “Why did you destroy Glory mercenary’s transmission portal? Don’t forget how powerful they are. It won’t take more than a day to fix that.”

“A day is more than enough,” Anfey said. He grabbed Black Eleven and whispered into his ear.

Black Elven looked surprised. “You’re mad,” he said.

“Never mind about that,” Anfey said. “Are you brave enough for this? This is the last step. If you don’t want to help me, everything else will go to waste.”

“Did you even think about the consequences?”

“Consequences? My goal is to make this place as chaotic as possible.”

“Then why don’t you wait until the Shansa princess’s caravan leaves the city? This way both Glory and Tigers of Tawau mercenary groups will fight each other until one side is completely defeated.”

“It doesn’t benefit me to have both sides seriously harmed. I’d rather leave the Tiger of Tawau in full force and have Anthony avenge his mercenaries later.”

“Anfey, you have a good plan, but let me be honest with you. Anthony, Shanteler, Mooly Tawau, Hotchbini…these aren’t the people you can fool. If they realize that something was off, if they can keep their composure, then you’re mistake is nothing but a failure.”

“So what if they realize something?”

“I’m not trying to discourage you,” Black Eleven said. “I’m speaking the truth. You have never worked with them, but I know. Mooly Tawau, for example. It may look like he follows Hotchbini’s every order, but really, he was the one pulling all the strings. He pushed Hotchbini out, so people pay little attention to him. In reality, he is the one truly in control.

“Anthony is good at keeping himself out of the eyes of others. There are very few people who have actually seen him. Most of the power is in Shanteler’s hands. Unless something major happens, he wouldn’t actually show himself. He may seem harmless, sure, but think. Anthony took over the group more than ten years ago, and even now it still ranks at the top of the four mercenary groups.”

Anfey had never heard Black Elven talk so much, and was intrigued. He watched the man, and did not say anything.

“After Mooly Tawau married Hotchbini, she helped to lead his mercenary group, but they could never beat the top three. Now they must use political marriage to gain an upper hand. Think about it. What does that mean? It means that the other three leaders are people to be reckoned with. They are not people you can easily manipulate.”

“Of course, of course,” Anfey said. “You’re right. However, you have ignored the power of hatred.”

“Hatred?”

“Yes. If enough blood was shed, it doesn’t matter how powerful these people are. Even if they do realize something was off, they could do nothing about it.

“Think. Even if they can keep themselves calm, can they keep everyone else calm? Plus, they must have ambitions, as well. Turning the four groups into three means more power for everyone in charge,” Anfey smiled. “You said Anthony is mysterious and dangerous. What about Davidson?”

“What you say makes sense,” Black Eleven said hesitantly. “Just a little.”

“Alright, let’s talk about our plans. Can you find something suitable?” Anfey watched Black Eleven carefully. “Don’t tell me you don’t know a single person close to Shanteler.”

Black Elven thought about it and said, “I do now someone, but I do not have power over him. There are a few dozen of them all over the world. We don’t have any contact with them. I cannot activate him, nor will he work for me without a letter from His Majesty himself.”

“Glory mercenary group’s transmission portal is destroyed, but yours is still functional. I need that person immediately. So I need you to obtain that letter as fast as possible.”

“Alright,” Black Eleven said.

“The king isn’t dead, is he?”

“What?”

“You don’t need to hide anymore. Your expression when you talked about him has already betrayed you. If he really died, who would give you the letter?”

“The commanding general would, just fine.”

“Too late for that. There’s no need for explanations.”

“We are on the same side,” Black Elven smiled bitterly. His own mind was on how to deal with the impending war in Blackwater City, and he had trust Anfey. Otherwise he would have never made such an elementary mistake.

“That’s who’s been following us,” Anfey said. Clearly, out of the three people that had been following them, at least one worked for Yolanthe, who would have never wanted harm to come to Niya. “He is doing this because of the war, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” Black Eleven said. Anfey already knew the secret, and there was no need to hide it. “This is a secret, Anfey. Right now I should be thinking about killing you two off. This is a secret, and I need you to keep it at that. Else hundreds of others would die in vain.”

“Don’t worry, I will,” Anfey promised. Black Eleven sighed and shook his head.

“When this is no longer a valuable secret, I need you to tell me.”

“What?”

“I need it for an exchange,” Anfey said, smiling. “Else how am I supposed to get close to Anthony and the royalty of Ellisen Empire?”

Shanteler quietly looked at the destroyed magic array. He looked serious and cold. Glory mercenaries, including Davidson, all believed Tiger of Tawau mercenary group had sent their people to destroy the magic array. Only Shanteler knew none of these had anything to do with Tiger of Tawau mercenary group.

The death of Orwell had nothing to do with Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. How could any killer be stupid to leave a trace after he killed Orwell? Others did not know that he knew well about Mourtta and Hotchbini. They were cruel and cold in fact. If they wanted to, they could have killed that woman. It would not be possible to chat at the killing scene and talking about the princess. Shanteler thought all of these were just to cover the truth.

Who actually did it? Why would they do it? Shanteler was deep in thought. He felt something big would come soon. He had thought to report to the commander after he returned to the station. He could have asked him to come to Blackwater City as soon as possible. However, the magic array was ruined, and the connection between Blackwater City and White Mountain City was cut off. It had become hard to report to Anthony, not to mention sending him here with the magic array. Right now their commander should be practicing the sword skills to pursue the highest level in legend, and he had no idea what sensational news was coming out of Blackwater City.

“How long does it take to repair the magic array?” Shanteler asked with a concerned voice.

“Not so sure. Master, we will try our best.” A mage looked up with a bitter smile.

“What is the longest amount of time it could take?” Shanteler was not happy with that mage’s answer. He needed a specific time in order to make a series of plans. The enemies hiding in the dark must not be simple. It would take a lot of courage to plan a scheme that involved both Glory and Tiger of Tawau mercenary groups.

“One day. Master, magic array will be able to work again in a day.” The mage said.

With that mage’s answer, Shanteler heaved a sigh of relief. Compared with regular mercenary groups, Glory mercenary group was very powerful. If they wanted to hide away for just one day to avoid potential dangers, they should be able to do it.

“Shanteler.” Davidson came to the yard with a group of mercenaries behind him.

“Go back to your room.” Shanteler had no patience for Davidson and gave him a dirty look.

“Shanteler, what are we going to do about Orwell’s death? Are we just letting the killer go?” Davidson asked with a distorted face.

“Orwell would not die for nothing. I will investigate his death and give you an answer. You need go back to your room and wait for the results of my investigation. Pass my order that everyone needs to stay inside the station and no one is allowed to go out from now on. All other assignments will be postponed,” Shanteler said with a serious voice.

Davidson looked down. Although he and Shanteler had similar positions and they only had one year difference on age, he had respected Shanteler for the past few decades. A long time ago, Anthony had similar powers as Shanteler, and Davidson was far from them. After Anthony took over his family business, he asked Shanteler to be in charge of the daily management of Glory mercenary group.

Everyone could only do so much in one day. Shanteler spent a lot of time managing the mercenary group, but he also had to spend a decent amount of time on practice. It was really hard to balance both. After giving it serious thought, Shanteler made the decision to take the responsibility of managing the mercenary group so he could spare some time for Anthony to focus on practicing sword skills. Anthony became a master swordsman and Davidson became a senior swordsman, while Shanteler remained a senior swordsman. Shanteler’s sword skills were not as good as before, even a little worse than Davidson’s.

Both Anthony and Davidson knew what Shanteler had contributed to the mercenary group, so Davidson had to take some crap from him and was willing to take it when Shanteler asked him to do certain things.

Shanteler had been in the wagon, thinking about how everything had been fine a few days ago and how could things just suddenly changed. Shanteler felt confused and could not find reasons for all the things that had taken place.

A poor mercenary hobbled on the street. Life had its ups and downs. There were many rich people in Blackwater City, but also many people who could not feed themselves. It was not strange to see both poor and rich people in the city.

A wagon passed by a poor mercenary. That poor mercenary sneered, and then he rolled pretty far and laid on the ground, screaming in pain. He had his eyes opened wide, watching the wagon. If the people in the wagon did not care about him and continued to drive, he would report to the patrol. If they were nice people, maybe it was a good thing for him to be hit. He could get some compensation at least. An idea flashed in his head, “Should I look for opportunities to be hit?” A new profession had developed.

The wagon stopped, an old man jumped off and walked up to that mercenary. He only talked a little bit before the patrol came to the accident. Justice could only be provided by patrols. They would be able to facilitate the communication between the two parties.

Shanteler’s wagon just passed the crossing of the streets and suddenly stopped. He frowned and asked, “What happened?”

“Master, it seems there was an accident ahead of us. Patrol was there,” The wagon driver answered.

“Patrol?” Shanteler had an almost unnoticeable smile on his face. His fingers touched the sword shaft like he was caressing his lover. “Are you sure it is a patrol?” A smart person was usually very suspicious. Shanteler used to analyze it from different angles when something happened. He did not think it would be simply an accident. It was Tiger of Tawau mercenary group’s turn to to have control over patrols this year. If Shanteler was attacked by a fake patrol, it would make the conflicts between Glory and Tiger of Tawau mercenary groups even worse.

“Master, it’s a patrol. The wagon ahead of us hit someone. Patrol is taking care of it.” The wagon driver said.

Shanteler lifted the wagon curtain and looked outside, seeing a familiar back among a group of patrols with torches. The person facing the opposite direction seemed to notice something. He turned around to look. His eyes met Shanteler’s. Shanteler smiled even though he was worried about things that had been happening. Seeing that person, he could not help smiling. That person was a tycoon in Tumen Commercial Union. His name was Robert. He was a very capable person, having many businesses with four super mercenary groups. He was one of the aggressive businessman among others who had business with the Country of Mercenaries. The most important thing was he was a good friend of Robert’s.

Under the torch light, Shanteler could see some hesitation on Robert’s face. He called a housekeeper out and whispered something to him. That housekeeper turned around and run towards Shanteler.

After Robert left the Country of Mercenaries, that old housekeeper was in charge of managing everything. Shanteler had many contacts with him as well. He did not suspect anything. He lifted up the door curtain himself to welcome the old housekeeper.

“Master,” the old housekeeper whispered with half of his body inside the wagon. “My master said the next few days would not be peaceful. Please be careful.”

“Hum?” Shanteler was shocked and then he asked, “What do you mean?”

“Master, these are the words my master asked me to pass on to you. I did not know the meaning either,” the old housekeeper said quietly.

Shanteler looked up at Robert, but Robert looked away. Robert’s body was relaxed. It seemed that he sighed. Shanteler seemed to understand something.

Robert’s capability was self-approved. In the past twenty years, Shanteler had seen young Robert grow from a regular businessman into a tycoon. He had enough people to help and protect him and only needed to hire a few mercenary groups as bodyguards. Robert was generous. He was a people person, so he had many friends.

Shanteler believed Robert must have heard of something. However, for some reason, he could not tell him everything, so he sent his old housekeeper to give him a hint.

Shanteler thought a little and gently knocked on the wagon. “You guys can go back now. I have to deal with something right now.”

“Master, take some fellows with you”, the wagon driver said.

“No need.” Shanteler shook his head. He was a senior swordsman. As long as he was alert, he should be able to rush away from enemies even when he was in trouble. In addition, he had an SOS magic scroll and other magic tools in his Dimension Ring that he could use to save himself, so he was not afraid. In other words, he subconsciously trusted Robert. If he had to suspect their twenty-year friendship, what else he could trust.

“Master, take a few people with you,” the wagon driver said.

“If I said I do not need them, then I don’t need them.” Shanteler had already jumped off the wagon and walked in big strides to Robert.

The patrol had almost finished it’s work. The injured mercenary did not care about his pain and had smiles across his face. It was obvious that Robert was generous and gave him a decent amount of money as compensation.

Robert saw Shanteler walking over. He looked a little panicked and smiled bitterly. Shanteler seemed not to see his panic and bitter smiles and continued up to Robert. He smiled, “My old friend, I need discuss something with you. You won’t refuse me, will you?”

“My old friend, why would I refuse to talk to you. Come on in and we can talk.” Robert could not stop his bitter smile. He had a regretful look on his face. He seemed to regret leaking some secrets on impulse to Shanteler.

Shanteler also felt a little bad about it. He did not like to put people in awkward situations. In fact, he really appreciated that Robert had given him some hints. However, at this very crucial moment, he had to dig up as much information as possible. He had to make Robert feel uncomfortable this time, but he would return his favor hundreds of times more once he could pass this dangerous period.

Shanteler skipped the courtesy greetings and stepped into the wagon. He was a good friend with Robert, but they were different kinds of people. Shanteler’s wagon looked like a regular wagon. Beside a carpet, there was nothing else in the wagon. He did not care for luxury goods. People who enjoyed luxury goods would not indulge themselves in so much work as he did. Robert’s wagon was very fancy, with all kinds of luxury goods. Shanteler was looking at the wagon but could not take everything in at once. He was thinking what to say as he looked around the wagon.

“Robert, what happened just then?” Shanteler asked. He needed something to start the conversation. He was the one asking for help, and if he asked what he needed without any warning, he could come off as too direct.

“My carriage hit someone,” Robert told him.

“You could’ve just let your men take care of it. Why stay and do it yourself?”

“It’s my responsibility,” Robert said.

Shanteler nodded, his eyes was filled with admiration. He knew Robert very well after twenty years of friendship, and he knew that Robert’s best traits were that he was responsible, loyal, and honest. Sometimes he could be a bit careless at times, but as the years went on, this trait was replaced by maturity due to his experience. Shanteler remembered, many years ago, when they went out to a gathering one night and all got seriously drunk. Robert and his lover of many years went to a tavern. The next morning, Robert woke up and thought the woman next to him was not his lover but a random prostitute. He threw a few silver coins on the bed and left without waking the woman up. When his lover woke up, she was furious after finding the coins. She found Robert and berated him loudly for it. They mended their relationships soon after, but this event had already made its way around.

Of course, it wasn’t seriously damaging to his reputation. There were very few people that refused to pay the prostitute, since the women did bring them pleasure. It was because Robert had paid the wrong woman that made the situation interesting. Many people spoke of the event and imagined Robert as someone who was adorably careless.

“We must have known each other for at least twenty years,” Shanteler said.

“Say no more, old sport, I know what you’re thinking,” Robert sighed and said. “I will never forget how I came by my first deal. If it wasn’t for you selling me that batch of high tier magic crystals at a discount, I would not be the Robert I am today.”

Shanteler remained silent and smiled. All smart people had one tendency, and that is to observe others quietly while acting as if the other person was the center of the world. Sometimes, these people were able to understand what kind of person they were observing. Others would be baffled by the people they were observing. And others were fooled by the people they were observing. The last two types of people were often these smart men’s downfall. The last type was especially dangerous.

Shanteler had known Robert for twenty years, and was very familiar with what kind of a person he was. He didn’t need to play the emotional card. All he needed to do was help Robert recall some memories.

There were many truths that were buried by the flow of time. When Robert first started doing business, he often found himself at a disadvantage. Sometimes he knew he was going to be tricked, but as long as he made a promise, he would stubbornly follow through with it. Luckily for him, he had some secret patrons helping him, and every time he was down in the dumps he would always find a way to start making money again.

Slowly Robert established the reputation of being honest and responsible, and more and more people began to do business with him. Everyone trusted him. Robert had become what he was largely because of his reputation.

Of course, there were things Robert didn’t know about Shanteler, either. The story Shanteler told Robert about the magic crystals wasn’t the full story. Back in the day, Anthony hadn’t yet inherited the mercenary group, and they were still out in the world, training. They were on the way to White Mountain City when they discovered a few secret guards. Cargos that required secret guards was usually very valuable and few in number. For unknown reasons, they didn’t travel by the usual road due to the fear of being seen by others. Anthony and his men discussed the matter and, in the dark of night, attacked the guards. They found out that the guards were mercenaries from Brotherhood mercenary group, and that they were guarding some top tier magic crystals they had stolen from the group. After that, Brotherhood mercenary group was meticulous about checking every merchant in the city. Anthony, however, wasn’t one to surrender valuables. In the end, Shanteler found Robert, whom they had trusted, and sold him the crystals at the much lower price than the market price. He told Robert that there was another story behind how he had came by the crystals, and that Robert should immediately leave the city.

After careful consideration, Shanteler made the choice he thought was best. He waited for Robert to make his own decision. Robert would tell him everything he should, and nothing that he shouldn’t.

Robert’s expression changed. One moment he appeared hesitant, another he seemed troubled, the next looked nervous, as if he was fearing something. To Shanteler, this was normal. If Robert had immediately made a decision and told him everything, it would appear suspicious to him.

“Sir, we’re home,” the old butler called from outside the carriage.

Shanteler stared at Robert, who hesitated for a second and said, “come in for a cup of tea, old sport.”

“Alright,” Shanteler said. If Robert wasn’t going to tell him anything, then inviting him in for tea would be pointless.

Robert was a business tycoon, and his home was decorated very lavishly. If he purposely made it seem squalid, it would appear strange and unlike Robert’s personality.

They walked through numerous strangely shaped doors on cobblestone paths. They passed through a blooming garden and towards a small building protected by magic. Shanteler lifted a brow. He had visited Robert’s home many times and had been to every corner of the estate except for this building. He had always only observed this building from afar. Now that Robert was taking him there, it meant that whatever he was going to tell Shanteler, it was something serious.

“My lord.” A shadow walked out of the door.

Robert waved his hand. The person began whispering a spell, and the light on the building began to dim.

Shanteler narrowed his eyes. He did not expect that Robert was able to recruit an intermediate magister to work for him. Then he realized it wasn’t anything serious. Everyone had a trump card, and Robert was no exception. He would show Shanteler this meant that he had trusted him.

“Come in, old sport,” Robert said quietly. He then turned and walked into the building, his slightly stooped back looking troubled.

Shanteler walked in behind him. The magister whispered a spell and the light of the magic began to shine again.

They walked into a lobby. The room was lavish and clean, and was clearly the home of a rich man. The large chandelier hanging from the ceiling was an everlasting light using magic crystals. This kind of lighting was impossible to find in a commoner’s home. Even Glory mercenary group didn’t use this kind. If Robert had used low tier magic crystals, he could have wasted several dozen a day. Top tier crystals could last for a few days at best. Shanteler was almost left flabbergasted by Robert’s display of wealth.

“Old sport, what should I say…” Robert said. He smiled bitterly and sat down on a chair slowly. He motioned for Shanteler to sit as well. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. That’s like I’m conspiring with someone else against you. If I do, I am betraying other’s trust in me. You’re putting me in a very difficult position, old sport.”

Shanteler sat on the chair and looked at Robert, but didn’t say anything. He knew in this situation listening would do him more good than talking. Robert invited him inside to offer him information. He couldn’t express his gratitude with words.

“Don’t put me in a difficult situation now, old sport,” Robert said. “I’ll talk. You’ll listen. Don’t ask me anything. I can only tell you some things. I think don’t it will be hard for you piece them together.”

Snanteler smiled and nodded. He appeared calm but was in fact very nervous. What was it that could make Robert so nervous?

“You know how Shansa Empire invaded Maho?”

Shanteler nodded. It wasn’t a secret anymore. When Anthony told him about it, he had laughed about the situation and Yolanthe. He said that thank god Yolanthe had died early, or else he would be worried sick now.

“Maho Empire’s people were contacting Brotherhood mercenary group.”

Shanteler felt his heart skip a beat. It was a short sentence, but it described a difficult situation. Maho Empire’s people had contacted Brotherhood mercenary group? What were they talking about? Cooperation? Was Brotherhood mercenary group behind all of this? Shanteler thought about it for a second, and said, “Yolanthe is dead. None of the princes had the guts to do something like this. Could it be…”

“Yolanthe died too unexpectedly, and didn’t leave a will. All the princes had the right to the throne, so they have a lot to offer,” Robert said, smiling. “Like I’ve said, I’ll speak, you’ll listen. Don’t ask any questions.”

“Sorry,” Shanteler said. Robert was right. The princes would offer amazing conditions in order to draw followers. Maho Empire was being invaded by two empires. Even if they weren’t aiming for the throne, they could be doing this to preserve their empire.

“There’s something else but…you should hear it from an insider and not me,” Robert said. “Let Hui Wei come in here.”

Hui Wei? Shanteler searched for the name in his mind, but couldn’t find anything.

After a moment, a young man with black hair and a blank expression walked in through the side door and sat down next to Shanteler.

“Ask what you want, old sport. Hui Wei, this is my old friend and my closest ally. Tell him everything that you know. Don’t hold anything back.” Robert stood up slowly and said, “You guys talk. I’ll be outside.”