Assassin’s Chronicle - Chapter 111

Shanteler was shocked. It took him while to realize what Robert meant. Robert must have agreed with someone that he would never tell the secrets to anyone. Robert chose the way he did under the obligation of friendship.

Shanteler took a close look at Hui Wei and smiled. “I am the vice commander of Glory mercenary group. My name is Shanteler.”

“I know,” Hui Wei said coldly.

Shanteler’s attitude did not change, and he still smiled even thought Hui Wei was rude. He did not have patience to be courteous to Hui Wei, so he went directly to the topic. “I do not know what you can tell me?”

“I can tell you something you definitely do not want to hear,” Hui Wei said.

“Please go ahead and tell me,” Shanteler said.

“I want you to die,” Hui Wei was brutally direct.

Shanteler was shocked, and a thick cloud of combat power appeared immediately. He was an old man, but his reaction time was actually shorter than a young man’s. He reached his right hand to the sword shaft, while his left hand released a Magic SOS scroll at the same time. Shanteler’s heart dropped the moment he found that his magic signals were blocked by the magic array in the building.

Shanteler’s moves were done in the blink of an eye. A waving light circle diffused from Hui Wei. If Shanteler’s combat power could be described as white snow, Hui Wei’s light circle was more like boiling water. If a pot of boiling water was poured onto the snow, the white snow would be dissolved immediately. When the light circles passed through Shanteler, the thick combat power disappeared in places where the light circles passed through.

If Shanteler had not been an experienced commander, this dramatic change would have caused him to panic. A proud powerful man had been turned into a helpless person. Even thought he was cool, Shanterler was quite helpless in front of Hui Wei. Shanteler still quietly watched Hui Wei. It seemed whatever just happened had nothing to do with Shanteler.

The side door opened again and Anfey slowly walked in. He was shocked when he saw that Shanteler’s look hadn’t changed a bit. Because of Anfey’s experience as a killer, he had seen all kinds of reactions at the verge of death. Some were angry, some struggled, some begged, some tried to exchange wealth for their lives. Of course, some people remained calm.

Anfey had the experience of killing a retired mafia leader. His hand was already on that old mafioso’s neck while the mafioso just calmly looked at him without fighting back. Anfey was curious and asked him why he was so calm, knowing he was going to die. The old man told him that everyone would die someday. When Anfey gave him an admiring look, the old mafioso started his last strike. Anfey almost died at his dangerous game. Since then, Anfey understood the saying, “Curiosity killed cat.”

However, curiosity did save him once. Once Anfey took an assignment to kill a mainland businessman who was on a business trip to Hong Kong. At the beginning, everything went well, but he suffered vicious attacks at the end. Anfey was more experienced and skilled than the businessman, and he was winning. The businessman suddenly asked Anfey why he did not work for the country but instead lived in the dark. Anfey did not know whether he should laugh or cry about this question. He chatted a bit with him and learned that the businessman was a special agent in police department. Anfey realized that he was being used by his employer. It also could be a setup by the man’s enemies to kill the special agent. He would have no good days left if he killed that special agent. No matter how powerful he was, he would not be able to against the government. He was just a two-year beginning killer. His experiences were not so great. He knew what he would end up with if he fought with the government.

Since then, Anfey had been smarter. He hired informers and created several identities. Every identity had certain social networks. Once he got an assignment, he would do a thorough investigation on the target and then decide whether he was going to kill the person. The informers gave him different information, some even conflicted with another. He had to find the reasons for the conflicting information. He gradually developed his own way of doing things. He would proactively cancel the assignment if he thought the target could not be killed or did not deserve to be killed.

“Did you do all of these?” Shanteler laid his eyes on Anfey.

Anfey slowly walked to Shanteler and did not say anything.

“Antimagic terra? It was amazing. I thought Antimagic terra the stuff of legend.” Shanteler smiled. “Can I see Robert? I want to ask him a question, only one question.”

“I am sorry.” Anfey finally talked. His wrist moved a little bit and a cool light appeared and passed through Shanteler’s throat.

Hui Wei could not help opening his eyes. He thought Anfey would attack Shantler after at least saying a few sentences to him. Shanteler did not ask for too much. To fulfill what a dying old man wanted was a good deed. He did not realize that Anfey did not intend to talk to Shanteler at all. Anfey quickly took Shanteler’s life.

Black Eleven hurried in from the side door and saw that Shanteler had died on the chair. The blood from the wound on his neck had dyed Shanteler’s leather armor. He could not help smiling bitterly. “Anfey, you killed him too early.”

“Hum?” Anfey calmly turned around to look at Black Eleven.

“Shanteler knows many secrets of Glory mercenary group. Since you had control of him, why did you have to kill him so early?” Black Eleven asked.

“It looks like Mr. Robert has told you about Antimagic Terra,” Anfey smiled.

Black Eleven nodded. “Yes, but unfortunately I came here too late.”

“Do you think Shanteler would tell us? If he told us some fake information, how would you know which pieces of information he said were true or false? Shanteler has seen Antimagic terra, but he still could keep calm. It showed how determined he was. What do you think you could do to make him tell secrets? Torture him?” Anfey shook his head.

“How do we know if we never tried?” Black Eleven asked.

Black Eleven heaved a long sigh and then turned to look at Hui Wei. Robert was also looking at Hui Wei. Both Black Eleven and Robert were good at controlling their facial expressions to hide their real emotions, but the two pairs of eyes were like the bright stars in the lonely dark sky, telling Anfey they were very excited inside.

It was easy to tell what level of power Hui Wei had, which meant that the Antimagic Terra must be released in some way. Once Anfey’s mercenary group learned the method to release it, they could create an Antimagic Terra as well. The power of Antimagic Terra was well known. However, it was still unknown what Antimagic Terra could do to master swordsmen, archmagi and other people with high powers. However, the effects of the Antimagic Terra was not all powerful. As long as they had a regular bow, they could kill any swordsman or magister once the Antimagic Terra was released. Wasn’t it enough?

Hui Wei still sat on the chair with his hands firmly holding onto the arms. His body was slightly trembling. For the past few days, when Anfey was not around, he tried to talk to Christian and others to build their relationship. He could tell only Anfey was cold-hearted in the whole team, while the rest of the team was easier to negotiate with. Anfey had done so much for the whole team. When Anfey wanted to force him to tell secrets in crude and torturing way, the team would be against him. When Anfey asked him to fight with a senior swordsman, he agreed without any hesitation. He meant to make Anfey like him, but who would think Anfey sold his biggest secret out. Hui Wei was very scared by it.

Black Eleven and Robert looked at Hui Wei up and down. If the stares had any power, they would have torn his clothes off him. Who did not want to know about his secrets?

“We need send Shanteler’s body to the station of Tiger of Tawau mercenary group immediately. Who is going to do it? Your people or my people?” Anfey asked calmly.

“I will have my people do it.” Black Eleven only glanced at Anfey and returned his gaze back to Hui Wei.

“Ok, let’s go.” Anfey smiled. “Hui Wei, what are you sitting there for?”

Hui Wei could barely stand up. He slowly walked to Anfey, staring at him without words. His look was so complicated.

Anfey walked outside. He seemed not to notice anything wrong. Hui Wei followed him. He could feel the stares on him. He wanted to get out of there as fast as he could.

“Anfey, you did it on purpose!” Hui Wei yelled as soon as they had walked out of the building. He could not hold his anger or horror anymore.

“I just lost my patience with you. You can either tell me the secrets about Antimagic Terra or I will give you to others. You make a choice,” Anfey said calmly.

“Are you crazy? Do you know that if this secret is known by others, many people would want to kill us? Even if I tell you about the secret, how long do you think you can survive?” Hui Wei said.

“That would be my business.” Anfey shook his head. “You only need to know if you want to collaborate with me, you will become one of our mercenary group from today. You will experience everything with us, no matter whether we are in good or bad times.”

“I am not going to die with you,” Hui Wei yelled.

“You can leave as long as you leave behind the things I need,” Anfey said.

Hui Wei thought for a while without saying a word. He smiled bitterly. “Anfey, I thought you were a very smart guy. I did not think you would do something so stupid. Go? Where am I going to go? No matter whether you will be able to survive or not, I will be their target.”

“Then you have to trust me. Do you really think I would do something stupid?” Anfey said.

In the middle of the Tiger of Tawau mercenary group’s campsite, there was a small building. It appeared to be a mage’s tower, but in reality it had nothing to do with mages. Mooly Tawau commissioned this building simply because he enjoyed the view of the landscape around him.

A group of mercenaries hurried towards the building, led by a intermediate swordsman. The rest of the mercenaries halted outside of the building, and only the swordsman pushed open the door and entered the building. It was one of the forbidden places within the mercenary group, and not everyone could enter it.

Inside the building, Mooly Tawau was entertaining himself with a nature sound bird. These birds were very rare and valuable. Its feathers were radiant, and it sounded like a beautiful, constantly changing harp. When the bird was satisfied, it would sound bright and clear. When it was upset, it would sound sad and hoarse. The bird had become the staple of wealth among the wealthy and the powerful. However, because of the increased demand, the number of birds in the wild had decreased, and it had become more and more expensive.

Hotchbini sat next to Mooly Tawau and was deep in thought. Her son Saidy was sitting nearby and quietly conversing with an old man. Saidy appeared to be enraged, but he would never dare to explode here in front of his mother.

The swordsman hurried inside and said, “My lord, we found this in Orwell’s residence.” He held out his hand and showed Mooly Tawau some Tiger of Tawau badges.

Mooly Tawau glanced at the badges, then turned his gaze back to the bird as if he did not care at all about the discovery.

“See, father! Orwell was the one that killed our men!” Saidy shot up from his seat, angered.

“Sit down,” Hotchbini said, frowning.

Saidy froze. He clenched his teeth, then unwillingly sat back down.

“My god, stop playing with that cursed bird. Don’t you have something to say about this?” Hotchbini turned to Mooly Tawau and said.

“About what?” Mooly Tawau asked, turning around slowly.

“What do you think about this?”

“Why are you asking me? You make the decisions.”

Hotchbini slapped the table and made a loud noise. Mooly Tawau jumped up from his chair and walked towards the swordsman. He grabbed the badges and played with them in his hands. “Do you really need my opinion on this? Of course this had nothing to do with Orwell.”

“Father, they found this in Orwell’s residence!”

“These aren’t coins; there’s no reason to collect them,” Mooly Tawau said, shaking his head. “Why would Orwell leave this in his home? Did he worry about everyone not knowing he was the killer? Or did he have a habit of collecting these? Found anything else there?”

“No, my lord.”

“It’s clear,” Mooly Tawau said, tossing the badges to the ground. “This is planted evidence.” He looked at Hotchbini, then he went back to his seat and began entertaining the bird again.

“Saidy, you see? You need to pay more attention to your father,” Hotchbini said, shaking her head.

“What’s the hurry? They’re still young,” Mooly Tawau said.

“Young? They are in their twenties. Think about us. What were we doing when we were their age?” Hotchbini asked. She finally found a chance to discipline her son, and she wanted Saidy to learn something from this. She didn’t need Mooly Tawau ruining this opportunity. Usually the father was the one to discipline children, but in this family, the roles were reversed. Hotchbini wanted to discipline her kids, and the “nice” parent was always Mooly Tawau.

Mooly Tawau grinned and didn’t say anything else.

Just then, a mercenary hurried into the room and screamed, “My lord! Urgent news! Shanteler is dead!”

Everyone in the room turned around, and their expressions hardened. The bird seemed to have realized its master’s change in emotion and returned to its cage. Its song stopped, which plunged the room into utter silence.

“Are you sure?” Mooly Tawau asked. He looked very serious, and the earlier carelessness was gone.

“Definitely, my lord,” the mercenary said.

‘What should we do?” Hotchbini asked. Even someone as inexperienced as Saidy realized the impact of Shanteler’s death, let alone Hotchbini. Asking this question didn’t mean Hotchbini did not know what to do. It meant that she trusted her husband more than she trusted herself.

In the past, Mooly Tawau stayed away from the group’s business and only made appearances during the most urgent situations. He tended to relay his orders through Hotchbini, and time and time again proved his wisdom in doing so. For most people, Mooly Tawau did not have the charisma of a leader, but the ability. It was assumed that he led his mercenary group to glory because of his brilliant wife. Hotchbini, however, knew her husband’s true intentions. They had been married for twenty years, and no one knew him as well she.

Mooly Tawau suddenly laughed. “Whoever it was, they had to force Anthony to appear? Soon this person will learn the price of angering Anthony.”

“My lord, Glory mercenary group’s transmission portal was destroyed. They are completely cut off from White Mountain City.”

Mooly Tawau’s hand shook. He stared at the mercenary, his eyes frozen rage.

“Looks like we need a plan immediately,” Hotchbini said, shocked.

One accident wasn’t enough to change anything, and they had the ability to reduce the impact. Two accidents, however, produced a knot no one could undo. Knowing Davidson, he would come for revenge without consulting Anthony’s first. Hotchbini was worried because of the impending crisis.

“We’re at war, then,” Mooly Tawau said slowly.

“My lord!” Hotchbini cried out.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Mooly Tawau said. “But we have no other choice. It’s better to strike first than to sit here and wait to die.”

Hotchbini frowned. She knew what Mooly Tawau meant. It would be better to attack first, before Davidson, because that way they could mess up Davidson’s plan. Even though Davidson’s commanding skills were dubious, Glory mercenary group wasn’t one to mess with. The quicker they could calm the storm, the easier it would be preserve themselves. Mooly Tawau was right.

“It’s just…frustrating,” Hotchbini sighed.

“I know it is,” Mooly Tawau said, shaking his head.

“We have other choices,” Hotchbini offered. “If we immediately send men to Anthony and explain the situation.”

“No,” Mooly Tawau shook his head. “If we don’t send the right person, Anthony would never believe them. Unless we show up ourselves, of course. But have you thought about how Anthony may react? Write his order and have us bring it back? Do you think Davidson would believe anything we present? Anthony would never use our transmission portal. If he did, I think I might alter the portal and cause the greatest mercenary of our time to disappear. Anthony could just take us out. Glory mercenary group would suffer great loss here, and he would want some compensation. We would be stupid to go.”

Hotchbini fell quiet. Anthony would, no doubt, try to hold them prisoner. It was a risky move.

“You forget about time, my dear. The men who did this must have made sure Davidson heard about this before us. Davidson must have already prepared himself. Even if we could go to White Mountain City and explain everything to Anthony, conflict would have already ensued by the time we got back.”

“Alright,” Hotchbini said. “Alright. We are at war, then.”

“It’s a good opportunity for us,” Mooly Tawau smiled and told her. “Don’t forget about the army outside the city. The kingdom is only so big. Better for it to be in three people’s hands than four. That way we all live better. If we could eliminate those Glory mercenaries, Brotherhood and Thunderwind would take the chance and strike as well.”

“I’ll go prepare.” The two, in a few minutes, decided the fates of Glory mercenary group and themselves.

“Wait,” Mooly Tawau suddenly said. “I think it might be time to trouble your kin. Anthony is a master swordsman. We need our own trump card.”

The horrified residents of Blackwater City witnessed a sudden and bloody fight break out. Davidson led two groups of Glory mercenaries in a surprise attack on the station of Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. However, they were badly defeated as a result.

Each individual had different personalities and ways of doing things. Davidson was brave but he tended to rush into things. If Shanteler was still alive, his plans would have been more thorough. Davidson was simple and direct. He did not even bother to send people to check on Tiger of Tawau mercenary group before he took revenge.

Davidson first saw the scene where his little brother was killed and then heard that his respected brother had died. Hot-tempered Davidson almost went crazy. The stupid moves he did were predictable and understandable. The problem was whether his apologies would be accepted by others, especially the mercenaries who had trusted him and were willing to fight for him. Would they forgive a stupid leader?

Mourtta hurried to the outskirts of the city. He had the chance to contact the bodyguards of the Shansa Empire princess and then, taking advantage of his administrative authority, asked the patrol to open the city gate. The Shansa Empire military, lead by four senior swordsmen, marched into Blackwater City.

The situation totally flipped. The people led by Davidson, even with help from the mercenary group led by Anthony in White Mountain, would be no match for an alliance of Mourtta and Shansa Empire. There was no doubt which side would win.

Waves of intense magic surges were flashing in Blackwater City’s sky. Countless people were running, killing and screaming in the streets and alleys. One party asked their soldiers to kill all the enemies, while the other party struggled to fight back. Both parties went crazy killing people. Hatred actually could develop so easily.

Different-sized mercenary groups in the city were so confused about what had just happened. The mercenary groups with some capability kept themselves in their stations to avoid confrontation, while the ones with low capabilities stayed in hotels to keep themselves safe. Regular citizens shut their windows and doors super early, afraid that something disastrous would fall on them.

However, there were some people who liked this chaos instead of peace. Anfey was one of them. He hid himself outside the battlefield early, quietly watching it. At this critical moment, everyone did not have time to hide their real ability. Anfey could clearly sense the positions of the powerful men around him.

As the leaders of mercenary groups, Davidson and Mourtta were fighting hard with each other. They were suddenly tied by a cloud of entangled ivies from the sky. The ivies were so tough, especially because hundreds and thousands were entwined together instead of just a few. Hotchbini released the life magic, which only belonged to the Elf tribe. It sped up the process of defeating Davidson.

Davidson was thinking of rushing out into the sky. Mourtta and Hotchbini had been husband and wife for more than twenty years, so they did not have to verbally communicate to know what the other wanted. The moment Hotchbini released life magic, Mourtta had already rushed into the sky and got control of Davidson.

Ivy was flying everywhere in the sky, which was fatal to Davidon but helpful to Mourtta. Only a couple of vines wrapped around Mourtta’s waist, which allowed him to stay in the sky. His left hand was constantly making all kinds of moves while Hotchbini sent ivy to where Mourtta wanted to go.

In the beginning, Davidson destroyed many ivy vines with his strong combat power. Hotchbini was a senior Cleric of Life. She had similar power levels as Davidson, so wherever Davidson destroyed ivy vines, more ivy would grow up, The ivy was trying to wrap itself around Davidson. Davidson had missed the opportunity to escape from the sky. He was positioned to only do defensive moves without any offensive moves under the couple’s attacks.

This was a street fight, not a justified battle. Mourtta and Hotchbini did not feel bad about fighting him together. Davidson was not stupid. He did not bother to ask them why the two of them fought against just one. He just tried to fight back as hard as he could.

The four senior swordsmen from the wagons of the Shansa Empire princess joined the battle, which decided Davidson’s tragic fate. The moving ivy suddenly disappeared. Davidson was exhausted. The swords thrusted towards him and sword radians from the top had sent Davidson to hell in the blink of an eye.

With the death of Davidson, Glory mercenaries started to flee. Mourtta would not let them run away so easily. The main force was sent out searching for Glory mercenaries. He wanted to weaken Glory mercenary group, which would allow Band of Brother and Storm mercenary groups the chance to weaken Glory mercenary group even more.

Saidy was at the City Hall of Blackwater City. He took advantage of Tiger of Tawau mercenary group’s administrative authority to demand patrols to collaborate with Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. He sent a few patrol lieutenants to the jail because they failed to follow his orders.

Since the day the Country of Mercenaries was established, patrols remained neutral among mercenary groups. Patrols never took sides against any mercenary group. Although they needed to follow the orders of the mercenary group in power, they had the authority to overthrow the mercenary group in power if the mercenary group in power was harmful to other mercenary groups. What Mourtta had done was definitely against the law of Country of Mercenaries. It looked like the start of a chaotic period.

The influence of Mourtta’s action would be significant and have serious consequences. Even though Brand of Brother and Storm mercenary groups wanted to divide the benefits from Glory mercenary group for the time being, Mourtta’s actions would be a problem once those two mercenary groups finished their benefit segments.

No one knew why Mourtta did that. Was it because he wanted to wipe out the rest of the Glory mercenary group or take the opportunity to make a claim against others?

Mourtta sent his main force throughout the city to search for Glory mercenaries. He had to try to make time. It was not because he worried about Anthony’s coming, but because he wanted to prove his capabilities. If this conflict lasted several days and nights, he would not feel proud even if he had won. If Glory mercenary group was wiped out in one night, it would make all the mercenaries open their eyes wide to look up to Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. He would not only win the battle, but also the reputation and fame.

The opportunity Anfey had been waiting for finally came. He put on the badge of Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. He strutted out onto the street, where blood had not dried yet, and buried himself in the crowd who were cleaning up the battle field. Mourtta was actually very cautious. He only sent his own people out to search for Glory mercenaries. He kept some of soldiers of Shansa Empire in his own station to be on watch and other soldiers to clean up the battle field. It seemed reasonable to send some of the soldiers to clean up the battle field since they were trained for it.

Shansa Empire had a different system in their military than Tiger of Tawau mercenary group, so they would not even care what Anfey was doing. Even when Anfey met other mercenaries, the excitement on his face appropriately showed a winner’s pride. Others could tell he had been through many bloody fights from the blood on his body. Regular people would not be able to tell anything wrong by observing Anfey. Anfey just walked to the station of Tiger of Tawau mercenary group without any trouble.

He had already seen the map of Tiger of Tawau mercenary group’s station. He memorized every route. Right before he reached his destination, Anfey had his face scratched by tree branches on purpose. He was in thought with his hand on his cheek. He made sure there was no body around and quietly emerged into the dark.

It took a lot of money to make a model of the princess’s house, but they did not do it for nothing. After Black Eleven saw Anfey shooting the arrow piercing the wall and hitting the bed beams, he stopped doing half-assed jobs. He put a lot of effort into making this model. With limited time, it was a rough model, but it included a large area with more than ten rooms and hallways.

The benefit of having a model showed at just that moment. Anfey walked around there like it was his backyard. He swiftly passed the hallway and made a turn. He met the princess’s servants twice on the way. He was able to quickly find a suitable place to hide. He finally got close to the princess’s bedroom

The bedroom’s door was not closed all the way. “She must have felt safe, so she did not lock the door,” Anfey thought. Anfey did not walk to the door immediately. He looked around and even up in the sky. He found a few places where he could hide before he slowly walked to the door. If anything happened, he could find a nearby place to hide, just like when he had met princess’s servants before.

Anfey slowly pushed the door open a slit with his finger. Luckily, he only needed to move his body a little bit to be able to see what was inside the room through the slit. He saw a woman reading a thick book on the chair. Anfey frowned after he saw her.

He had seen the magic image of the princess. He knew this woman was not the princess after just one glance. But the badge she wore belonging to the royalty did not make sense. He looked through the slit again. He felt she looked familiar. Anfey had a super memory. He tried to think and remembered she was the female bodyguard who had whipped him before.

Anfey was one hundred percent sure that she was not a princess, since others did not show respect to her. Even if Black Eleven’s information was false, or the princess disguised herself as a bodyguard, how could those soldiers dare to laugh out when he flirted with a princess. They should have fought with him for life.

Anfey jumped up onto the house beam. He was wondering what that female bodyguard with a royal badge was doing there? Was she the cover for the princess? But what was the reason to have a cover for the princess? Suddenly, something flashed in his head. Black Eleven got information that the princess’s wagon route was in trouble a few days previously, but he was not able to find out what happened. Did the princess run away from the marriage?

“Did you do it?” Suzanna asked. They were worried about Anfey, who was out by himself. The group was gathered in a room prepared by Clark and waiting. When Anfey had returned, they turned their curious gazes on him.

“No,” Anfey said, shaking his head.

“As long as you’re back safely, we can find another chance,” Christian said.

“It’s not that there wasn’t a chance. It wasn’t the princess inside, so I left her alone,” Anfey told them. “Where’s Clark?”

“In bed already, I reckon,” Blavi said, yawning.

“You all should go to rest as well,” Anfey said. “Did people from Tiger of Tawau come today?”

“They did, and looked quite angry as well. Wanted us to show them proof. They calmed down after seeing Suzanna, though,” Riska said. “Don’t know when I’ll become a senior magister.”

“Where’s your ambition?” Blavi joked. “You should say you will one day become an archmage.”

“Because I don’t live in a fantasy world, Blavi.”

“Alright, alright. Everyone, let’s go to our rooms,” Christian said, waving his hand. “We should rise earlier tomorrow. This is a critical time, and we should all be careful.”

Everyone stood and left the room, but Christian and Suzanna stayed. Anfey sat down next to the table and began formulating his plans.

“Anfey, there’s something I need to tell you,” Christian said slowly.

“What is it?”

“Everyone’s been…off lately.”

“What happened? Are you guys hiding things from me?”

“Can’t you see? Anfey, you are the reason,” Christian told him, his face grave and serious. “Do you remember what Riska just said? He wanted to be a senior magister.”

“Everyone has their dreams…”

“It’s not a dream! It’s a hope. Riska has said the same thing many times.”

“Dreams? Hopes?” Anfey asked, smiling bitterly. “I don’t understand. Christian, tell me what you need to say.”

“When we were learning with Master Saul, we were children. After everything that happened, we left to explore the world, with you.” Christian smiled. “We were stupid. No, Anfey, listening to me. We were stupid. We once doubted and we united against your decisions. Obviously, we were wrong. The world wasn’t what we expected it would be. Even though no one said anything, after everything we’ve been through, we have all come to our own understanding about the world.”

Anfey’s face grew serious. He thought he had taken enough care of his friends. He took care of them like a babysitter, and whenever they encountered danger, he tried to take care of everything himself. Like the assassination tonight. He could of course have let someone else take care of it. If the assassination had been successful, he would still receive the credit. If it failed, he wouldn’t have to take the fall for it. If he treated the assassination the way he would a business transaction, he would act to benefit himself and try to avoid risks.

However, was it the right thing to do? No, it was not. After listening to Christian’s words, Anfey realized he had ignored his team members’ change of heart. Whenever they encountered a danger or obstacle, he would tell them what they should and should not do. However, he had never told them why they should and should not do certain things. Anfey felt he needed to keep listening to Christian.

“This opened our eyes and increased our knowledge. We all wanted to prove that we are useful, that we aren’t just children that need sheltering. Lately, though, you always tell us to stay here and only leave with Suzanna. We all know we are not as powerful as Suzanna and can’t do as much, but you’ve got to let us do something.”

“Christian, I’m sure Anfey is doing this out of good will,” Suzanna whispered. “I sure he would hate to see you hurt.”

“Anfey, I don’t know how you became so skilled in fighting, and I won’t ask. Think about it. Would you have this power if someone tried to clear every obstacle and danger for you when you started training?” Christian asked slowly. “Lately, even Riska and I have to stay here in the tavern. The others were too scared to leave. Maybe some people enjoyed this, but not us. For us, this is a precious chance to train ourselves. We don’t want to waste it.”

Anfey sighed but didn’t say anything.

“Do you know who we are so envious of? Vonmerge. He can leave anytime he wants to to gather information. We know that he has a lot of connections, but he wasn’t born with them, either. We can’t help much, but whatever Vonmerge can do, we can too. If you keep on telling us to hide, we’ll never find a chance to change. Ten, twenty years from now, we will still be as childish and clueless as we are now.” Christian sighed and continued, “Anfey, all we need is a word from you. Let us do something, even if it’s small. Give us a chance to prove ourselves. Let them know that they matter. You’ve been so secretive, and you only talk to Suzanna. Even I felt uncomfortable and useless. What must they be thinking?”

“I’ve been wrong,” Anfey nodded and admitted. This was one of his good traits. Whenever he realized he had done wrong, he was always quick to admit his fault and would never argue against it.

“No one’s right or wrong here,” Christian said, smiling. “We all understand that you’re concerned for our safety. That’s all I need to say. Everyone’s been practicing really hard lately to overcome their obstacles. That’s not the right way to practice magic. It’s too dangerous.”

“Let’s go out tomorrow,” Anfey said. “We can go around the city and gather some information. I’ll go with you.”

“Alright,” Christian said. “I’ll be in my room.”

“Night.”

“Anfey, you’re not angry at him, are you? Since you’re doing this because you’re concerned for them.” Seeing that Christian had left the room, Suzanna moved over and asked Anfey.

“What kind of a man do you think I am?” Anfey asked, amused. “Christian was right. My way of doing things has not benefitted everyone. If he didn’t say anything, I would never realize my mistake.”

“As long as you’re fine with it,” Suzanna said, relieved.

“Suzanna, you should be more like Christian. Whenever you think I’m doing something wrong, you should immediately tell me. The key to a good plan is communication. We’re all friends here, and we can all come to an agreement. If we keep our thoughts to ourselves, fights are inevitable.”

“Then I need say something,” Suzanna said.

“What is it?”

“Why didn’t you let me go and kill the princess? Do you think I’m too weak for this? You have to realize I am more powerful than you.”

“That’s not my intention,” Anfey informed her. “I was thinking…”

“Oh, another thing.You should go check on that little unicorn. It hasn’t seen you for a few days and is really sad.” Suzanna smiled and stood. “I’ll be going. You should go to bed soon as well.”

“Alright,” Anfey said, nodding.

Suzanna walked over and pushed open the door. “Hui Wei? What are you doing here?” she asked in surprise.

“Is Anfey back?”

“Over there,” Suzanna said as she moved out of the way.

Hui Wei walked into the room and stared at Anfey. Suzanna left the room and closed the door behind her, giving them space to talk.

“Know what you want now?”

“Don’t have much of a choice, now, do I?” Hui Wei sighed and sat down in front of Anfey. “Give me my ring.”

Anfey fished out Hui Wei’s dimensional ring and handed it to him.

Hui Wei accepted it and put it on his finger slowly. After a few moments, he sighed, and a bright ball of light appeared in his hand.

“So this is the secret to the antimagic terra?”

“This is a piece of the Will of the God of War,” Hui Wei told him. “If you can activate it, it will create a terra around you. It can only last thirty seconds, though.”

“How do I activate it?”

“It’s easy. It all depends on your mind power.” Hui Wei had already told Anfey everything he knew without holding back.

Anfey was already familiar with using mind power. The fights between spirits of the Evil Abyss depend on mind power. He was still relatively weak compared to the power spirits, but was nevertheless fairly skilled with mind power, or else he wouldn’t have been able to control the fireballs with ease.

Anfey slowly robbed the light with his mind power, but found the Shattered Will of the God of War was empty. Nothing was inside, and there was no reaction. “What is it?” he asked Hui Wei.

“Do you think Antimagic Terra can be started at any time? It was restricted.” Hui Wei smiled bitterly.

“What kind of restriction?”, Anfey asked.

“Shattered Will of God of War can be started three times a year,” Hui Wei answered.

“Only three times a year? How many times have you used it?” Anfey continued to ask.

“It has already been used three times,” Hui Wei said.

Anfey had a half smile on his face. “Do you mean this Shattered Will of God of War was just a waste now?”

“How can you call it a waste? Cooling time will pass soon and you will have the Antimagic Terra in the legend. Anfey, I did not lie to you. If you still do not trust me, you can wait and see. Let the facts tell the truth,” Hui Wei hurried to explain.

“I do not have time to wait,” Anfey said, shaking his head.

Hui Wei was startled for a second, and he felt his heart drop. He did take out Shattered Will of God of War from his Dimension Ring, which was the secret to operating Antimagic Terra. Before he decided to tell Anfey about the secret, he had given it a lot of thought. He wondered how Anfey would treat him. If Anfey did not trust him, he would end up in a very dangerous situation. The problem was he could not release Antimagic Terra to prove himself. The explanation did not matter to someone like Anfey, who was cold-hearted and only believed in facts instead of a person’s explanation.

“Anfey, there is a secret that my ancestor died for in my Dimensional Ring. I think these secrets are more precious than Antimagic Terra. As long as you have my Dimensional Ring, I would not run away.” Hui Wei passed his Dimensional Ring to Anfey. He was giving it his last try. He even threw out the secret that his ancestors tried to protect with their lives. Of course, no matter what would happen later, he would not give out the rest of the secrets. He needed to get Anfey’s interest first. As long he had value to Anfey, Anfey would not want to kill him. He could think about ways to escape later.

“Dimensional Ring?” Anfey took over the Dimensional Ring. He took a look at it with a smile and tossed it back to Hui Wei. “This is your stuff.”

“Huh?” Hui Wei hurried to catch the Dimensional Ring. He stared at Anfey.

“You did not look like you were lying to me.” Anfey played with the Shattered Will of God of War. “I have promised you that you will have your freedom if you can tell us the secret of Antimagic Terra. By then, you can choose to leave or to be our friend.”

“Are you serious?” Hui Wei asked.

“It does not look like there is any need to lie to you, does it?” Anfey asked.

“I got it.” Hui Wei put the Dimensional Ring on his finger seriously. The difference in his manner before and after was huge. He looked excited. “Then, I choose to stay.”

“Aren’t you afraid of me asking about your secrets?” Anfey smiled.

“If you really want to do it, you would not easily give my ring back,” Hui Wei said.

“Good. Since we are friends now, I have to let you know that I was not proud of taking away your stuff, but as you can see, I was not affected in the Antimagic Terra. I really need it, but it would not be that useful for you. If archmages and master swordsmen are also affected by Antimagic Terra, I could easily kill very powerful men. When I saw Suzanna’s combat power was affected in Orcs’ village, I decided to get it no matter what it would cost me,” Anfey said.

“I know,” Hui Wei nodded with a smile. “Anfey, there is a question I have always wanted to ask. Why were your martial art skills not affected? Did you practice the Skills of Gods?” Hui Wei asked.

“I did not mean to know your secrets. You are trying to ask about mine.” Anfey had a weird smile on his face.

“Sorry, I did not mean it.” Hui Wei shook his hand immediately. “I was just curious.”

“You are one of us from today. You need think about what you can do for us.” Anfey switched topics. “Alright. You can go back and take some rest. If there is anything you want to talk about, we can talk about it tomorrow.”

“Ok.” Hui Wei nodded. He stood up and walked outside. He stopped at the door. “Anfey, aren’t you scared? When the Antimagic Terra is known by others, maybe the whole world would be our enemy.”

“There is no need to get scared.” Anfey smiled, paused, then said, “I know it is risky to do so. However, things will come sooner or later. We need to make a decision for ourselves.”

In a far away city in Maho Empire, there were two people talking about the same thing as Anfey and Hui Wei were.

“Antimagic Terra? Is it really an Antimagic Terra?” Yolanthe asked in surprise.

“Yes, your majesty. Black Eleven and Robert both have sent the same information back. The second important person in Glory mercenary group was Shanteler. He turned into a regular old man in the Antimagic Terra. There was not even a struggle before he was killed by Anfey,” the grey shadow said.

“What do you think?” Yolanthe asked.

“Your majesty, I think we should immediately arrest the guy named Hui Wei and gain control of him,” the grey shadow said.

Yolanthe did not say anything. He slowly closed his eyes in thought. That grey shadow did not say anything either. He kept quiet. The hall became unusually quiet.

After quite a while, Yolanthe opened his eyes. “Ask Black Eleven and Robert to pass my order that anything related to Antimagic Terra should stop. Asked them not to tell anyone about the Antimagic Terra. If it gets leaked out, they will receive the harshest punishment.”

“Your majesty, how about Hui Wei?” the grey shadow asked.

“You don’t have to worry about him. Let him do his own thing,” Yolanthe said.

“Your majesty?” The grey shadow could not help raising his voice.

“With your protection and so many royal followers, I do not think my safety is under any threat. Taking control of Hui Wei would do nothing good to us. Getting the secret of the Antimagic Terra? Hahaha…If things are getting that bad, I do not think you guys can protect me. It means that Maho Empire is coming to its end. What could an Antimagic Terra do?” Yolanthe said.

The grey shadow was startled, not knowing how to respond to Yolanthe.

“Do you know about Anfey’s plan? What do you think of Anfey?” Yolanthe asked.

“Intelligent, determined, and mature. He is good.”

“Do you think it is necessary for him to tell Robert the secret of Antimagic Terra?” Yolanthe asked.

“Hmm, no, not necessary,” the grey shadow answered.

“Then why would he tell him the secret?” Yolanthe asked.

The grey shadow thought for a while about the possibility that Anfey may feel it necessary to tell Robert the secret of Antimagic Terra. He smiled bitterly and decided not tell his real thoughts. “Maybe he has a big mouth.”

“I remember you said Anfey is very mature.” Yolanthe smiled.

“Your majesty, everyone would make mistakes,” the grey shadow said, smiling in return.

“I do not think so.” Yolanthe squinted his eyes. “I think Anfey is testing me. He knows what kind of person I am. He wants to know if I am worth him working for me.”

“What?” the grey shadow asked in surprise.

“Ok, my old friend. We have experienced so much together. I do not think you could not understand Anfey’s little trick,” Yolanthe laughed.

“Your majesty, I could not hide anything from you,” the grey shadow said, smiling bitterly.

“I adore Anfey more now. He killed Shanteler really fast. It showed his martial art skills were not affected in the Antimagic Terra,” Yolanthe said.

“I think so too”, the grey shadow said.

“Then we will give him what he wants. Antimagic Terra is the most helpful for him. If it were me, I probably would have no way to release the Antimagic Terra with my whole being.”

“Yes, your majesty,” the grey shadow said.

“Oh, where is Robert now?” Yolanthe asked.

“I have asked him to come back without anyone noticing,” the grey shadow said.

“Young people tend to do things without caution. When Tiger of Tawau mercenary group had total control of Blackwater City, he would start doing investigation of these things. The patrol in Blackwater City and the bodyguards of Shanteler had seen that Robert had contacted Shanteler. Robert’s identity must have exposed. Old man, you did well and in good time,” Yolanthe said.

“Your majesty, do we need remind of Anfey and let him know we noticed Robert’s flaw,” the grey shadow said.

“I hope it would not hurt his pride.” Yolanthe nodded with a smile. “It feels good to be young. Only young people have time to make mistakes and correct them.”

“I understand, your majesty,” the grey shadow said.

“Anything new on Brufit’s side?” Yolanthe asked.

“He has been very active,” the grey shadow sneered. He seemed to describe a clown. “He has thought himself a palace chief mage and had a better and better relationship with the big prince.”

“Did Wester do anything to make Brufit suspicious?” Yolanthe asked.

“The prince has done a good job on it,” the grey shadow said.

“I do not like some parts of Wester,” Yolanthe suddenly sighed.

The grey shadow shut his mouth. He never hesitated to offer his opinions on state affairs, but he had been quiet on Yolanthe’s family issues.

“Wester is a little too cunning,” Yolanthe said, shaking his head. “The most important trait for a king is to have a great personality. Being cunning would keep others away from him.”

The look on the grey shadow’s face was strange. He was thinking to himself, “It seemed cunning to pretend to be dead to allure Dark Moon Magic Legion of Ellisen Empire to the jedi.” Obviously Yolanthe was considering who would inherit his throne. The grey shadow did not want to offer his opinion on this issue.

“Let’s wait for few years to see. It’s too early to talk about it now.” Yolanthe heaved a sigh. It had been a pain for any king to think about who would be his successor. If three of his sons fell in the water and were about to drown while he was only able to save one of them, whom would he save? Two different questions, but the answer seemed to be the same.

Daylight arrived at last. The situation in Blackwater City had calmed down significantly. People returned to their normal daily routines. Merchants returned to tending their businesses, and mercenaries returned to completing their missions. Normal people’s lives were not directly impacted by the night’s events, Except for the fact that the place Glory mercenary group’s camp once stood was now a flat land, Blackwater City was unchanged. This was a show of Mourtta and Hortchbini’s power.

As he was observing the situation, Anfey couldn’t help but feel anxious. He knew his own limits very well. He could cause chaos in the city, but it wasn’t guaranteed that he would benefit from this chaos. He might even lead all his companions to their doom. He had too little to offer, and didn’t even qualify for sitting at the gambling table. Judging from the current situation, the biggest winner would be Mourta, not him.

Anfey didn’t know, and neither did Yolanthe, that envoys from Ellisen Empire and Shansa Empire had already met. Because of the news from Blackwater City, the envoys had a disagreement. The treaties they discussed before were worthless because of this argument as well. Ellisen and Shansa wanted to split Maho Empire equally, so their strength would grow at a similar rate and maintain a balance. After what happened in Blackwater, however, they had to reconsider their empires’ futures. After they divided Maho Empire, whoever controlled the Country of Mercenaries would be the master of the land.

After three days of absolute silence, Ellisen Empire reacted. They claimed that Anthony’s wife had fallen ill and sent out a team to take care of her. This team’s combined power was higher than the team Shansa sent out to escort the princess. At the head of the team was archmage Mike, and it consisted of eight senior swordsmen and four thousand experienced soldiers. However, it was questionable whether they could reach White Mountain City successfully. Geographically, Blackwater City was closer to Ellisen Empire and White Mountain City was closer to Shansa. Like Shansa’s team must pass White Mountain City, Ellisen’s team must pass the city that had just became ensnarled in the hands of Shansa Empire and Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. Mourtta and Hotchbini would never let them through easily. Thinking from the other’s point of view, Shansa was worried that Anthony would do something as they passed, which was why their team was so large.

After Yolanthe learned about this, he sent a message to Blackwater and gave Anfey the title of “baron.”

Anfey didn’t care about the noble title. He observed the situation for a few more days, and discovered that the city had approached the point where it had became more tense inside the city than outside. He knew that Mourtta and Hortchbini meant to control the entire city. Being strangers to the city, Anfey knew they would draw attention very soon.

Anfey spoke with Black Eleven and decided to temporarily leave the city. What surprised him was that Black Eleven handed his work in the city off to another men and decided to leave with them. This meant that he was very interested in his team, which meant the higher ups were, too.

The group left the city very easily with credentials provided by Black Eleven. They had received a new name as well: Alibaba mercenary. The group wasn’t sure who or what Alibaba was, but they trusted Anfey and therefore did not argue against the name.

The road between the two cities was not in the best condition. Even though twenty years had been spent fixing it, an era like this was still lacking technologically. As Anfey sat in the cart, his body shook with the rhythm of the carriage. The young unicorn sat by his feet, its silver head raised and light blue eyes scanning its surroundings. It didn’t appear sad at all, and if it could waggle its tail like a dog, it would look like a little pug.

Suzanna, Niya, and Shally sat in the same carriage,but not because Anfey had planned it that way. Both Suzanna and Niya had requested to sit with him, since the road was long and playing with the unicorn was a way to pass the time.

The road was full of carriages heading to White Mountain City, and only a few headed towards Blackwater City. Clearly people were still unsure what Mourtta’s next step would be. Whether they were merchants or mercenaries making their livings completing missions or hunting for crystals, everyone wanted to live in a relatively peaceful place.

Some caravans traveled fast, some slow. Anfey wanted to let his friends relax a bit, and so their carriages traveled the slowest. In the end, only one merchant’s caravan from Gruce Principality remained close to their carriages. The two caravans had gotten familiar with each other after a few days of traveling.

After they had set up camp for the night, Anfey left his own camp and headed towards the camp of the merchants. After learning that the merchants were from Gruce Principality, Suzanna became visibly upset, and often appeared to be in a daze. Whenever Anfey tried to talk to her, it would take him several tries to gain her attention. He would lose her attention again after a few sentences. Anfey felt that he needed to learn more about the principality. One day they would go there and help Suzanna take back what was hers.

It was a slave owner’s caravan. When Anfey walked into the camp, the merchants were unloading their merchandise. The ones what were cramped into smaller carts were women over the age of thirty. The girls and children’s treatment was better, since they would sold for a better price.

Anfey had always associated slaves with inhumane treatment and torture. After seeing them in person, he realized that it wasn’t entirely true. The older women were treated terribly, but the younger girls all had colorful clothing. There were four artists in the caravan to apply their makeup, and two teachers to teach them how to act properly. The girls must learn how to walk like ladies of noble birth. Whoever failed to do so would be punished. Not whipping, of course. If the punishment left a mark on the slave, there would be a price to pay. There were two senior mages there as well who were responsible for bathing and cleaning the women.

The slaves all appeared healthy and radiant, but it wasn’t hard to ignore the confusion and deep rooted fear in their eyes. They knew that even though they were dressed up beautifully, they were still cargo and not people.

Christian looked at the caravan with disgust. He hated business like this, but he knew that as long as there was war, there would be slaves. Males would become workers, working the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs. The females could make up some debts. Wars cost money, and those in power would not miss any chance to pay their debts.

It didn’t matter what his ideas were: Christian could declare war on the entire continent, but he could not destroy the current system just by himself. Smarter men would try to ignore everything, while the kind ones would try to help the unfortunate. For the entire world, however, it wasn’t worth much.

“My lord! Can’t believe you found time to come around here,” the leader of the caravan, Ahab, walked over and said with a smile.

“Thought I would walk around to pass the time,” Anfey said.

“Interested in picking one up?” Ahab winked at him. “Be at rest, my lord. I won’t charge you extra. We’re all friends here, and I don’t do that to friends.”

Anfey’s eyes swept over the slaves, and he shook his head. “They’re too average,” he said. “Not interested.” It was an excuse. Even if he was interested, he wouldn’t try to purchase any of them. Surely his companions would react badly. Especially Niya and Suzanna. Who knows how they would react?

His words made Ahab slightly upset. “Come this way, my lord,” he said.

Anfey walked with Ahab to a lavishly decorated carriage. Ahab yanked on the fabric that covered the carriage and pulled it off. “How about them?” he asked proudly.

There were only four women in the cart. It seemed like their treatment was even better than the young girls’. They all had light green hair with tall nose bridges and pointy ears. Even their proud and distant expressions were the same.

“Elves?”

“What do you say, my lord?”

Anfey glanced at the women’s wrists. They all wore expensive antimagic bracelets. Clearly they could all fight. “I don’t like elves. They all look the same and it’s not interesting enough.”

“They certainly are not all the same. Look at her eyes.”

“Their expressions are all the same.”

Ahab sighed. If it had been anyone else, he would think they were bluffing, and only saying they weren’t interested because they could afford the price. He was speaking with someone who had two junior magisters as companions, and he knew Anfey could afford it.

“I have another one,” Ahab said. “Way better than the elves, I assure you, but I must warn you. She is insane.”

“Insane?”

“Yes,” Ahab said with sympathy.

“Do you mean her temper is still hot or…?

Ahab shook his head. “She has some mental problems. She said she was Shansa Empire’s princess and claimed to sentence me to death. It was ridiculous.”

Anfey had always been calm but he could not help being shocked at that moment. Ahab was squinting his eyes, feeling sorry for that “nut.” He did not see Anfey’s look, otherwise he would have been able to tell something from it.

Christian had been following after Anfey. He did not know the whole story. Seeing Anfey zoning out, he secretly touched Anfey’s arm.

Anfey snapped out of it. “Where did you meet that nut?”

“We bought those girls from Shansa Empire’s military.” Ahab’s eyes shone.

Anfey could tell Ahab was lying with just one glance. With the information he had, the princess of Shansa Empire must have fled and crossed Ahab’s business route. Ahab must have seen a lonely, beautiful girl in the deserted prairie and wanted to catch her. He would be happy no matter whether he sold her or kept her for himself.

“My bro, I remember you said you have tried to sell female slaves in Blackwater City for two days. Didn’t anyone want to buy that nut?” Anfey smiled.

“Master Anfey, you must be kidding. The third oldest son of Saidy in Tiger of Tawau mercenary group is getting married to the princess of Shansa Empire. The princess is in Blackwater City now. I could not let that nut get on the stage. She would yell that she was the princess of Shansa Empire on the stage. If Tiger of Tawau mercenaries heard about it, they would stop my business. I am just a merchant. I do not dare to offend them,” Ahab said, smiling.

Anfey did not know whether he should laugh or cry. After the wagon route noticed the princess had fled, they must have searched for her everywhere. After they failed to find her, they must have replaced the princess with another girl to cover it. The upper class in Tiger of Tawau mercenary group must have known about it, since Saidy acted very weirdly.

If Anfey calculated right, Ahab’s merchant caravan must have reached Blackwater City a day earlier than the princess’s caravan. The princess’s wagons had been searching everywhere without knowing their princess was in Ahab’s merchant caravan. The upper class in Tiger of Tawau mercenary group would never think their princess had become a slave. Failing to see the princess by a narrow chance made a huge difference. It must be a joke played by God.

“Did you say that nut was a lot better than elves?” Anfey squinted his eyes to leer at the “nut.” Only squinting his eyes could accentuate his dirty mind.

“Of course!” Ahab nodded. “What do you think, Master Anfey. Are you interested in her?”

“Let me take a look first.” Anfey smiled.

A few elves were sitting in a fancy wagon while the poor “nut,” covered by a canvas, stood in a cage which was only big enough for a person to stand up in. When Ahab took the canvas off her, a pretty girl appeared in front of Anfey.

Suddenly, Anfey did not have the words to describe this girl. Stunning? But she was not like a vulgar rose, rather an angel. Beautiful? A little subjective. The word “beautiful” was not enough to describe the girl in front of him. Pretty? She had a young girl’s appearance to her. She gave out a different and indescribable feeling. She also looked energetic.

She had a full forehead and a pair of bright and innocent eyes. This kind of eyes made men have the desire to win her heart over. Her nose pointed slightly upwards, which made her look naughty. Her lips were small and pink: a natural pink color, not flower-juice-dyed redness. They looked so alluring. She was not extremely beautiful if just judging by her face, but she gave people a unspeakable feeling. Even calm as Anfey was, his eyes were brightened up for a second when he saw her.

The princess squinted her eyes when the bright light suddenly hit her, and then she looked into the distance. It looked like she did not even see Anfey and the others.

Her bun was messy, and she only wore a light blue denim dress which only country girls wore. She did not wear any shoes. Her toes and lower legs were fair and silky, but they were trembling. Anfey knew it was because she had stood in the cage for a long time. Her bones were reaching to their limits to support her weight.

Anfey glanced at Ahab and wondered if the denim dress made Ahab neglect other things on this girl, or Ahab wanted a good price for this beautiful girl, or even Ahab was drowning in her beauty. Ahab neglected something he should not have neglected.

Her silky skin alone should be enough to prove she was not a country girl.

“Master Anfey, do you like her?” Ahab waved his hand. A bodyguard walked over with a bucket of water. Ahab took over the bucket and poured it on the girl. He laughed obnoxiously, “You can see it more clearly this way.”

Water had wet the girl’s body. The denim dress stuck tightly to her skin. Two black spots showed on her chest. Her breasts, crotch, and even her butt showed clearly in front of everyone.

Anfey looked first at her face instead of at her body. It was weird that she did not scream, get angry, or get scared. That girl still stood there quietly, looking far away.

“How is it? Very clear, right?” Ahab obnoxiously smiled. He reached his hand out and touched her and squeezed her butt cheeks hard. That girl did not move her body to fight him. She looked down at Ahab and said, “You, ugly pig. I have told you that someday you will pay for what you have done to me.” The reason she could talk so calmly under such conditions was unknown. Maybe it was because she had given up fighting or was angry to the point she did not care about anything.

“Pay what, tell me,” Ahab laughed weirdly. He even touched her breasts and rubbed her nipples with his fingers. In fact, only Ahab himself knew he felt uneasy every time when this girl talked to him in a calm voice. He had to act more relentlessly to give himself confidence. He had decided he would take her to his bed tonight if Anfey did not want to buy her. After sleeping with her for a couple of nights, he would bury her somewhere. He did not want to have those uneasy feelings anymore.

The girl seemed to sense his uneasiness. She knew fighting and struggling only could make him feel proud of what he had done. She stayed still. She held on to the metal cage so tight that her knuckles had turned white.

“How much is she? I will buy her.” Anfey did not want this obnoxious drama to continue. He had made a quick decision to buy her. If that woman is a beautiful flower, then Ahab actually was just a pig trying to ruin the flower. He looked so disgusting.

“Hahaha, Master Anfey, I knew you would buy her once you see her.” Ahab rubbed his hands with excitement. “I do not make much from you. Ok. Two hundreds gold coins. I bought her for one hundred and ninety gold coins. She’s been drinking and eating for the past few days. She cost me pretty a lot.”

That girl did not even bother to tell Anfey about Ahab’s lie. No one would believe what she said under these circumstances. She could only keep quiet.

“Deal. Let her out,” Anfey said, smiling.

“Sure, sure.” Ahab was so happy. He nodded and few bodyguards walked up and pulled the woman out of the cage. Of course, those guys took the opportunity to touch her all over.

“Master Anfey, she is yours now.” Ahab smiled. He reached his hand out and grabbed her butt again. He was worried when he could not sell her. Once she was sold, Ahad did not want to let her go. What kind of person was he?

The girl suddenly turned around and punched Ahab in the eye. Ahab never thought a woman who never showed any violence would attack him. He was just a businessman and could not take such a punch. He immediately put his hand over his eye and screamed. His bodyguards got mad. One of them grabbed the girl’s shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Anfey sneered. Christian stepped next to Anfey. He had seen too much up to that point and would not mind showing off what he could do.

“Wait.” Ahab yelled immediately. Ahab knew the rules of purchase. Once Anfey agreed to buy the female slave, they did not have any right to hit her.

“Two hundred and ten gold coins. Bro, those ten extra gold coins are for you to see doctors,” Anfey said calmly.

Ahab was shocked for a second. He looked regretful. When he asked for two hundred for the girl, he had been prepared to accept Anfey’s bargaining. Who would think Anfey did not care about the price? He had figured Anfey had money, but did not think he would have that much money. If being hit on the eye could make him ten gold coins, geeze, he wished that “nut” could have hit him more.

“Where is Isis?” the girl suddenly asked.

“Who is Isis?” Anfey was shocked by her question.

“Master Anfey, Isis is her companion,” Ahab answered quietly. His hand was still covering his eye. Obviously, the punch was pretty hard.

“Where is she?” Anfey asked. “Since I already bought her, I do not mind buying another one.”

“She is at…” Ahab hesitated a bit and said, “She is with mercenaries.”

Christian closed his eyes slowly. He thought he had already seen some of the ugliest things in the caravan camp, but now he knew he was wrong.

Anfey, on the other hand, was not affected. He already knew what to expect when he saw a mercenary walking out of the tent pulling his pants up and wearing a satisfied expression on his face.

A repulsive scene was revealed. A woman was on the ground, her arms fell next to her body. Her wrists were slashed. Her legs were wide apart, and there were large wounds on the inside of her knees. Anfey narrowed his eyes. He was very familiar with human anatomy and knew that whoever did this to the woman was very cruel. The woman must have been powerful enough to be a threat, but the mercenaries didn’t want to use any antimagic bracelets and instead resorted to the most primal and painful way to weaken her.

The woman must have been beautiful once, but an ugly scar on the right side of her face had destroyed her beauty. Perhaps that was why Ahab abandoned her to this fate. A mercenary was thrusting into the woman and looked like he was about to reach the peak of happiness. He was completely unaware of the new parties in the tent.

The princess suddenly let out a heart-wrenching wail. She jumped forward and leaped onto the mercenary, beating him with her fists, trying to get him away from her friend. The mercenary shoved her aside and the princess fell to the ground. She was only a junior mage, and not in the best physical shape. She was no match for a mercenary.

“Christian, get him away from her,” Anfey instructed.

Christian hesitated. If he could unleash his full power, he would not hesitate in doing so. He was fully capable of killing the mercenary in the blink of an eye. However, his mind was telling him to hold back. His was a newly found mercenary group, the other was an established merchant’s caravan. Both sides exist legally. If he killed someone, his group would attract attention and could become wanted criminals.

Christian released a wind blade that hit the mercenary on the leg. The mercenary screamed. He jumped up and grabbed his longsword.

Mercenaries were very aware of their surroundings. A few moments after the mercenary screamed, a group of mercenaries already surrounded the tent. “Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Ahab explained hurriedly. “We’re all friends. No enemies here!”

The leader of the mercenaries was a man with a thick beard. He looked at his wounded companion, then turned his gaze to Anfey and Christian. He narrowed his eyes in malice, but did not act. The two parties had been traveling alongside each other for a few days and had some understanding of each other’s power.

The mercenaries didn’t know about Suzanna, or else they wouldn’t have done anything, even if Christian had killed the man. They would keep their anger to themselves until they reached White Mountain City. The mercenaries knew there were mages in Alibaba mercenary group, with two of them being junior magisters. They were worried about the consequences.

“Make him shut up. I’ll give you forty coins for him,” Anfey said. He turned to Isis, and said, “I’ll give you fifty for her. That’s three hundred in total. Satisfied?”

“Of course, of course,” Ahab said. He never expected the two women he had found to be so valuable. Normally, even if he had sold all his slaves, he still wouldn’t make three hundred gold coins.

The bearded mercenary nodded and looked happy. He kicked the wailing mercenary and said, “Shut it.” Money was undeniably powerful. It could buy obedience, friendship, and power. It could also turn foes into friends in seconds.

“My lord,” Ahab said, smiling. “You know that the journey is tiring and they can’t touch the other ones I have. The older ones aren’t as much fun, so…”

“Yes, my lord,” the bearded mercenary said. “That woman injured a few of our men. All they wanted to do was to have a little fun.”

“I understand,” Anfey said, smiling. “We’re all men, aren’t we?”

Christian was angry, but when he saw Anfey’s smile, he felt relief. He knew that whenever Anfey smiled, it was a prelude to murder.

Ahab and the mercenaries laughed. They thought that Anfey was a good man. He didn’t hesitate when making a move, and was very understanding.

The princess looked as if she couldn’t understand what they were saying. She moved over to her friend and cradled the woman in her arms. Tears rolled down her face and fell onto the woman. Isis kept staring at the ceiling of the tent.

“Send someone to take her to my carriage. You come with me to get the money.”

“Of course,” Ahab replied.

The princess held Isis tightly in her arms and would not let go. The mercenaries didn’t want to shove her aside, so they found a stretcher and carried both women with them. Ahab and the bearded mercenary followed Anfey closely.

Riska was organizing their camps. Seeing that Anfey and Christian had returned with men he did not know, he walked over and looked at him curiously.

“Riska, go find our money chest with Feller.”

“What?”

Christian looked at Riska and nodded. The latter hurried off to go find Feller. Suzanna was talking with Niya inside the carriage. She heard his voice and asked, “Anfey, what’s wrong?” She reach out to pull the curtain back.

“Stay inside,” Anfey said loudly.

Suzanna’s hand, which was already out of the carriage, froze and quickly disappeared again. It was just a glance, but Ahab and the mercenary could tell the hand looked very small and soft, very similar to the princess’s. A woman with hands like that shouldn’t be too ugly.

“You…” Niya called out, angered by Anfey’s attitude. She didn’t say anything else after that, clearly stopped by Suzanna.

“Be quiet. Can’t you tell? My lord is angry,” Suzanna said softly.

“What lord…” Niya said, but she fell silent again.

Ahab and the mercenary glanced at each other. They now knew that there was another woman in the carriage, and that Anfey must have been a noble who thought it would be fun to be a mercenary.

Anfey had always admired Suzanna. Seeing that she cooperated with him so seamlessly, he thought even more highly of her.

Anfey glanced at Ahab and knew that they did not notice whether anything was off.

Riska and Feller returned. Riska stopped the levitation spell, and the chest fell to the group. It was apparent that the chest was very heavy.

Anfey opened the chest. Light bounced off of the gold coins inside and shone brilliantly, coating everything around it in a soft gold. Anfey didn’t care for it, but people Ahab brought with him all stood there, stunned.

The chest was full of coins. For people like Ahab, there was nothing more beautiful than that.

“Feller, get me three hundred coins,” Anfey said.

Feller walked over and counted three hundred exactly. He put them all in a pouch and handed the heavy bag to Anfey.

When Feller was counting the coins, the people accompanying Ahab all stood there, staring. Their bodies were shaking, and if the gold coins were edible, they would have devoured them.

“Three hundred coins,” Anfey said, raising his voice. “You want to count it?”

Ahab turned around and looked as if he had just woken from a pleasant dream. He took the heavy pouch, a muscle on his face twitching slightly.

“Count it,” Anfey said, smiling.

“No, no need for that,” Ahab said, smiling awkwardly.

“If there are any other good ones, save them for me, eh?”

“Of course, of course.”

“Alright,” Anfey said, waving his hands. “We’re done, then.”

“We’ll be on our way,” Ahab said. He elbowed the mercenary, who mumbled something and nodded.

“Anfey, what are you doing this for?” Christian asked quietly while watching Ahab and his merchant fleet hurrying away.

“Nothing. I just wanted to find a legal opportunity to kill someone,” Anfey sneered. The money Anfey paid to Ahab gave him the opportunity to kill a person. Suzanna had not shown up yet. With only two junior magisters at the scene, they were not able to have control of the situation, especially when it was getting dark. As everyone knew, mages’ fighting abilities would get affected at night, which would give Ahab a lot courage to fight them.

“They may not dare.” Christian had already known what Anfey would do.

“You take a close look at how they walk. What can you tell?” Anfey said with a pregnant pause.

Christian stared with his eyes wide, watching Ahab walking into the dark. He could not tell anything. “Maybe…nothing special.”

“They walked away fast.” There was a smile on Anfey’s face. “Why did they hurry away? Did they hurry to hide those three hundred gold coins or rush to plan something big?”

Christian tried to recall, and remembered that the speed of Ahab and his merchant fleet’s coming and going was quite different. The way they hurried away looked more like they were trotting. Christian heaved a sigh and looked at Anfey with admiration. “Anfey, I really do not know how to describe you in words. I think most people are not as good as you.”

“Are you trying to say no one is as good as me?” Anfey smiled.

“Did you forget what you have promised me?” Christian curled his lips.

Anfey and Christian had been honest with each other. Christian had said clearly that he had some secrets that he could not tell Anfey. Anfey seemed ok with it. He never went after Christian for that reason. He only secretly tried to guess what Christian’s secrets were as if he was playing a guessing game.

In fact, Anfey could already guess what Christian’s secrets were. As he walked with Christian on the street, a wagon passed by them. A guy with a pair of bright and sophisticated eyes looked at them with a warm smile. Anfey knew he was an outsider in this magic world, and there was no way he would know that guy. Who was he smiling at? This was an easy question. By then Christian was quite shocked to see that guy and said without conscious thinking, “Why did he come?”

After Anfey persisted in asking, Christian told Anfey that the guy’s name was Baery, the commander of Roaring Dead Legion, the most powerful legion in the empire. He was also a famous master swordsman. Christian asked Anfey to keep the secret for him. He told Anfey that Baery secretly going back to Saint City must have something to do with military secrets. It showed Christian that the guy must have a special identity.

It was totally different wording when Christian said “He’s back” and “The commander is back.” Even spoiled Niya called Ernest with a respectful title “Mr.” or “Uncle”. What did the “he” out of Christian’s mouth mean?

Anfey was so smart that he could even be called omniscient. If Christian knew what Anfey was thinking, he would have called Anfey omniscient. He did not think Anfey could tell so much from just one word.

In fact, thinking about it more deeply, it was not that hard to guess the way Anfey did. If Anfey could tell Ahab and his merchant fleet were anxious and acted on impulse from their trots, of course he could guess Christian’s secrets, even though they were unspoken.

Christian was quiet in thought for a while and suddenly smiled. “Anfey, it was not like you.”

“What is not like me?” Anfey was confused for a second.

“If it were me, Blavi, or Riska seeing that scene, we probably would have fought with them, but you…” Christian said.

“What about me?” Anfey asked.

“You would never have gotten mad over two women. You are calm, way too calm. A few days ago, you proposed to assassinate the princess of Shansa Empire and ruin their political marriage. I was not so sure about your plan, but since it was good for the country. I did not say anything against it. Now you got mad over two women. Did these happen because of Tears of Stars,” Christian said slowly.

“I would not get mad over two women, but I would do anything for hundreds of women,” Anfey said.

“Bullsh*t.” Christian rolled his eyes at Anfey.

“Haha, Christian. Think about what Ahab said. Where did he buy those female slaves?” Anfey asked.

“From Shansa Empire’s military. Shansa Empire? Weren’t they all supposed to be in this battle anyway?” Christian suddenly opened his eyes wide.

“Definitely,” Anfey smiled.

“Are you sure you want to take risks for them?” Christian emphasized every word he asked.

“You are wrong. It is not taking a risk. It is assassination.” Anfey strategically avoided Christian’s question.

With the desire to be part of this magic world and become a powerful man, there were three necessities: capability, political power, and fame. Ahab had more than eighty slaves. If all the female slaves were saved, they would go back to their hometowns with gratitude towards Anfey when the war ended. There would be no doubt that they would tell others about Anfey’s good deeds. Word would get around, and then Anfey would acquire some fame in those areas. Assassins needed both bright and dark lives and many more different identities. It was not contradictory with the need for the assassin to keep his real identity secret.

The fact that Anfey stirred up trouble between Tiger of Tawau and Glory mercenary groups needed to be kept secret, otherwise Anfey could be subject to brutal revenge. This story could be told in another book.

When one mercenary group violently attacked another one, the latter group had the right to fight back and was allowed to take over anything in the attacking group if the latter group won. This rule between mercenary groups was key for Anfey in making his plans. Anfey could take advantage of this rule to avoid some risks. This rule was originally made to punish those outlaws.

If Anfey initiated the fight and let anyone run away, Alibaba mercenary group would suffer from being on the wanted list. Even if Anfey could kill everyone in a merchant fleet and a mercenary group, a merchant fleet and a mercenary group disappearing would be a big news as well. The Country of Mercenaries valued catching gangs above all else, but they had no authority or ability to control whatever sh*tty things happened in the Forest of Death and Wild Prairie. They did care about the safety of the merchant fleets. Right then it was Tiger of Tawau mercenary group’s turn to be in power. Hotchbini in the Tiger of Tawau mercenary group hated those gangs to the core. Even though she was busy with many other things in Blackwater City, she still spared time to investigate those gangs. Anfey did not lead a merchant fleet in a quiet way. It was not hard to find something fishy about his merchant fleet after the investigation.

If the other party attacked Anfey’s merchant fleet first, the whole thing would be flipped. Anfey could wipe the other party out and legally take over everything that belonged to the other party. Anfey should be fine as long as he could give some unimportant people in that party to the mercenary union. In this magic world, if a person’s level rose above swordsman and magister, he could have some ability to defend himself in court. Those unimportant people he sent to the mercenary union would be very easy to deal with. A horror magic would scare them to death, and they would open up and explain the whole thing from beginning to end.

“What are you talking about? What slaughter?” Suzannna asked in low voice. Niya and Suzanna had walked out of the wagon. Niya had the little guy in her arms. If Ahab saw the little unicorn, he could have passed out. Luckily, he did not have the chance to see it.

“You will know it soon.” Anfey smiled. “Oh, right, there are two more women in our mercenary group.”

“Women?” Niya frowned.

“Two poor women. You can ask Christian about any details. He can tell you a vivid story about it,” Anfey said.

Vivid? Christian did not know whether he should cry or laugh. How could he tell this kind of story vividly? He would be dead if Niya misunderstood him.

Feller trotted over and said, “Anfey, I have settled those two women in the east-side tent. Is there anything I need to pay attention to?” Feller did not know the story of those two women. He was not sure whether he should be aware of them, watch them, or treat them as friends.

“Just be careful. Don’t let them escape. Also, ask Blavi and Riska to come. I need talk to them.” Anfey smiled. The possibility they could escape would be slim. He kept them in the tent just in case they wanted to escape. Isis had become crippled. The tendons on her knees were cut off. Walking had become a luxury to her. Seeing how the princess acted after she was bought by Anfey, she should not escape without Isis.

“I got it.” Feller nodded.

“Feller, what do they look like? Are they pretty?” Niya asked loudly.

“Well, compared with the two of you, they are far less beautiful. Just regular girls,” Feller said. He sounded pretty assuring. He totally forgot he had gasped when he had seen the princess for the first time.

“Oh, I see.” Niya nodded. When she just turned around, she saw Christian trying to run away from the group. She called out immediately, “Hey, Christian, stop. You have to tell us the story. Why did Anfey say they were poor women? Tell us.”

Christian stood there helplessly. He heaved a long sigh.

Anfey smiled. He took the little guy from Niya and went back to the wagon by himself. He had to admit Christian was a gentleman. Anfey wondered maliciously how a gentleman would not be able to tell a dirty story.

It was getting dark. Christian, Suzanna, Riska and Blavi ducked out of the wagon and then Anfey started to plan a battle. Although there was no doubt that they would win this battle, Anfey still wanted to be extremely careful about the safety of Niya and others.

Anfey leaned against the wall of the wagon and lifted the curtain to look out through a slit. There were more than ten little fire balls hovering above his palm. Those fire balls suddenly disappeared and then circled around Anfey with gusts. Maybe it was because of the unicorn blood or Anfey’s strong telephathy, or even Anfey’s hardwork in practice, the number of fire balls he was able to control had gone up dramatically. After he was able to control over two hundred fire balls, Anfey was trying to release another series of magic. These attempts had allowed him achieve more success.

Through a crack in the curtains, Anfey spotted a shadow walking towards his carriage. It was dark outside, but he still recognized who was walking over. The wind blades around him disappeared.

The shadow stopped outside of the carriage, then pulled the curtains aside abruptly and jumped into the carriage, as if she couldn’t do it unless she did it quickly.

Anfey looked at her. He was still leaning against the wall of the carriage, expressionless.

The princess seemed very nervous. She weaved her fingers together, then she placed her hands next to her legs. Her eyes were shifting and she clearly didn’t want to make eye contact with him.

Anfey was very attentive to details. He observed all her body language and came to his own conclusion. He kept his expression cold. In situations such as this, it was better to remain silent than to talk. It didn’t matter what she was going to say or do. The silence alone would be enough to make her nervous.

The princess’s hands were shaking. If Anfey had talked, even if it was a greeting or question as a master, she could use it as an opportunity for communication. Now, however, the silence was making her uncertain.

The princess couldn’t bear the dreadful silence anymore. She reached for her dress strings. It took her a long time to undo the strings, even though it should have been easy to untie. She then lifted her dress softly.

Inside was her white underclothes. It was still wet from when she was drenched by Ahab. It clung to her body tightly, accentuating her body’s curves. Sometimes, scantily-clothed women were more tempting than naked women. The princess’s curves, bright skin, full breasts, and sad, fearful eyes were enough to arouse most men.

Anfey, however, was not most men. He did not notice the princess’s body. Instead he focused on her feet. She had two wounds there. The blood was still drying, and it looked like scratch wounds. She may look good with no shoes, but they were still in the wilderness and not a palace. There were many things that could scratch a princess’s feet.

When the princess was trying to take off her underclothes, Anfey said quietly, “Do you want me to avenge you?”

The princess hesitated, then she ripped her underclothes off to prove her determination.

She moved closer to Anfey. Perhaps it was because she was inexperienced, she carefully avoided touching any place that may carry a sexual subtext, and only leaned against Anfey’s shoulder.

Anfey sighed. His camp had seemed calm, but was in fact very heavily guarded. He didn’t know how many people saw the princess going to his carriage. He didn’t want any rumors circulating among the group.

“You don’t have to do this,” he told the princess. “Ahab won’t live to see the morning sun.”

The princess froze. She looked at Anfey, trying to process his words.

“Anfey, they’re coming,” Christian called, knocking on the carriage wall. Anfey was thankful that it was Christian who came to warn him. Sante probably would have lifted the curtains without knocking.

“If you don’t want your body being seen, I suggest you put on some clothes,” Anfey told the princess.

She lifted her head and looked at Anfey, her eyes filled with confusion. In the past, she had seen many men staring at her or looking at her. She was very confident in herself. Before she came, she had already prepared herself for every possible outcome, including the worst ones like if Anfey had taken advantage of her but would not do as he had promised. Now she realized he was not interested in her. He didn’t even try to touch her. He didn’t look at her as a woman.

Anfey narrowed his eyes. He could already see suspicious movements through a crack in the curtains.

The princess grabbed her clothes and kept her head low. This trip did not accomplish anything. She had just taken her clothes off, and now she had to dress herself again, and they did not even do anything.

In the past, Alibaba mercenary group didn’t need any sentinels. As long as there were fires, Eye of the Sky could see everything. The vigils were responsible for patrolling the campsite with the magic. It was another form of training. Ahab didn’t know that, though. He had once told Anfey that it would be safer to have sentinels. Even if they did not run into bandits, sentinels could protect them against magic beasts. Anfey only smiled and did not explain anything. For Ahab, this was proof that Anfey and his friends were inexperienced and ignorant of the rules of the forest.

Levels didn’t necessarily equal power. An experienced junior magister could easily defeat a new junior magister. The strength of the magic depended on releasing the right magic at the right time, not how powerful the spell was. Back at Saul’s mansion, Christian did not release powerful magic. He released a lightning arc that effectively ended the fight.

Ahab didn’t know what they had been through. He was very careful when he was making the decisions and considered every possible outcome. When he really acted, the attack turned out sloppy. Ahab clearly did not consider the possibility of an ambush. He was right, though, since Anfey did not prepare an ambush.

When the caravan’s guards and mercenary surrounded the carriage, the curtains were ripped off. Anfey climbed out of the carriage and stood on the front of the carriage. The mercenaries and guards all froze.

“Ahab, you’ve gone too far!” Anfey called loudly. He could easily see Ahab’s swollen figure in the dark. Ahab must worry that his men would try to steal the gold, and chose to come with his men to prevent that.

Ahab froze as well. However, he was too worried about the money to hear the sarcasm in Anfey’s voice. He thought that Anfey was only questioning why he was doing this. It was too late to pull back, and Ahab didn’t care for friendships. “Attack!” he called as a reply to Anfey.

Two guards dashed forward and lurched towards Anfey. The dark red combat power around them proved that they were senior swordsmen.

Anfey waved his hands. Several small fire balls appeared in the air. Hundreds of fire balls surrounded Anfey, hiding his body and illuminating the space around him.

The swordsmen weren’t afraid of the fire balls. The two jumped upwards with their combat power to attack Anfey. When they were a few feet away from him, the fireballs disappeared. In Anfey’s right hand was a burning longsword. On his left arm was a large, burning shield.

Anfey reached forward, the longsword pierced his enemy’s combat power easily. He flicked his wrist and threw the man’s body back. Then he took a step to the side to avoid the attack from the other man. He swung his left arm, and hit the man in the face with the shield. The swordsman was thrown back before he could even make a noise. When he landed on the ground, his face was blackened his clothes were aflame.

“A paladin!’” someone called, terrified.

Anfey’s attack shocked the mercenaries, and a blinding flash of sword radiance made the mercenaries realize how hopeless the situation was. Suzanna’s entire body was hidden in bright combat power, and her combat power cut mercenaries in half before her swords even reached her enemies.

The mercenaries did not know what to do. They did not have any swordsman or mages. Any logical person would know a single senior swordsmen could kill all the mercenaries there. The guards and mercenaries scrambled away from the fight.

Waves of strong magical surges reached the felt. Bolts of lightning fell from the sky. Riska’s team had begun its attacks.

“Everyone! This is an ambush! Take him! That’s the only way we can live!” Ahab called to his men.

His voice calmed many of the despairing mercenaries and guards. They dashed towards Anfey together.

Wind blades fell onto the enemies. Sante and Zubin led half a dozen people and appeared above them. This team included Feller as well, at Anfey’s request. Ahab did not have any powerful men working for him, so his men wouldn’t be much of a threat. Even if there wouldn’t be any one-on-one fighting, Anfey knew it would be good practice for his friends. Except for Blavi and the few that were protecting Niya and Shally, everyone must join the fight.