Assassin’s Chronicle - Chapter 151

“What happened?” Christian’s voice came from a distance.

“Blavi, take care of them.” Anfey raised his voice. “Ok, everybody, mind your own business. If you have done everything, go rest early.”

Everybody left. Doris heaved a sigh, and then she was pulled away by Suzanna. Christian landed from the air next to the dwarf bodies on the ground. His brows snapped together. “What happened?”

“They were trying to escape, but got hit by Blavi’s magic,” Anfey said.

Christian slightly shook his head, but did not say anything.

“Christian, it is getting dark. Go get some rest. Don’t make yourself too tired,” Anfey said quietly.

“What to do? Someone has to take care of them, right?” Christian did not buy what Anfey said.

“Capable people usually take on more tasks than they should,” Anfey smiled.

“Forget about it.” Christian was a little pissed. “Don’t find excuses for your laziness.”

“I know I cannot manage it,” Anfey said.

“I was just like you a long time ago.” Christian suddenly became sentimental.

“A long time ago? Come on, how old are you?” Anfey said.

“It was indeed a long time ago. I hated running errands. I would rather hide in my room to have my peace. Later, my father told me that every step matters in life. A person needed to learn to manage himself first before he could learn to in charge of a family. Learning to manage a family was a prerequisite for managing a village. Learning to manage a village was required before managing a city,” Christian said.

“Learning to manage a city is a prerequisite for managing a country?” Anfey said casually.

“Well…” Christian paused. “I did not have such high expectations for myself. I hope I can at least manage myself well. Back then, my father asked about my dreams. I just answered that I hoped I could first manage myself well. My father later sent me out of the country.”

“That’s perfect. Keep up your good work, Christian. This place is similar to a village. I am helping you now.” Anfey patted on Christian’s shoulder.

“You are so annoying,” Christian muttered.

“Why don’t you see that I am actually helping you?” Anfey said.

“I have no time to bulls*^t with you. I have to finish something.” Christian released levitation magic and flew away. He did not intend to bother with Anfey anymore. Anfey watched Christian flying away and smiled. His smile seemed to be more like a grin. Suddenly Anfey saw a person walking towards him. It was the princess of Shansa Empire, Alice. He hurried to turn around and walk back to his own room. He did not want to have any contact with her at this time. She was very smart. If she noticed Anfey was going to attack Griffin Aerial Unit, something nasty might happen. No matter how much Alice hated her father and siblings, Anfey did not expect Alice to contribute to this task. Giving her a small hint about this task was all Anfey could do.

In the following days, everyone was busy. Most houses did not meet the standards and needed to be rebuilt. The ones that met the standards had some minor problems here and there. They needed to do a thorough inspection underground as well. Dwarves and gnomes had phenomenal digging ability. The whole town was like another vision of the TV show “Tunnel Wars” in Anfey’s world. Almost every room had a secret tunnel leading to the underground tunnels. The large number of underground tunnels in the town gave Anfey’s legion a huge headache.

Blavi and Riska took turns taking people to do site inspections in ground tunnels, where they were even attacked by dwarves and gnomes. When the werewolf Barak ordered the natives to chase after Anfey’s legion, there must have been many dwarves and gnomes still working on the tunnels. They absolutely escaped a disaster. Blavi and Riska estimated their number at somewhere between one hundred and three hundred.

Every time they finished a site inspection in the ground tunnels, Hui Wei would add something to the map. Main roads, secret passages, branches, and dead ends seemed to get more clear. Alibaba mercenary group never lacked mages. With Christian’s lead, they started to set up magic arrays on every main pass in the underground tunnels. They tried to reduce the areas that dwarves and gnomes could live.

Some people might think they had wasted their resources, but Anfey believed it was necessary. A base was a must-have if they wanted to do something here. Setting up the magic arrays could better ensure everyone’s safety. As time went by, the first defensive system map was drafted in Alibaba mercenary group.

Anfey had been hanging out with Hagan, experimenting on magic chemicals. Black Eleven disappeared on the first night. He had became a boarbeast businessman by the time he showed up again. He herded over a hundred boarbeasts back to the town. Two days later, he herded more boarbeasts back. There were over four hundred boarbeasts in total.

Everybody thought those boarbeasts were prepared for them to stay long in this town. Black Eleven seemed really eager to do this business. Another day, he herded over forty boarbeasts out of the town. No one knew where he went.

One day, people were enjoying themselves in the town. Girls washed clothes around the well as they sang. Black Eleven’s subordinates were practicing. Hired guards were patrolling outside the town. Some people chatted together while others were flirting on the empty field. Anfey, Suzanna, and Christian sat on an ancient tree, chatting.

Suddenly they were all interrupted by a magic signal from outside of the town. Girls immediately picked up their basins and ran back to their rooms. There was a tunnel in each room. All they needed to do was to hide in the tunnels as fast as they could.

Guards hurried to find their own weapons. They looked nervously at Anfey, who was still on the tree. They waited for his orders. Black Eleven’s subordinates stopped their practice and hid in their assigned spots.

Christian released his Eyes of Sky. He set up all the lookout posts, which could accurately locate who was coming into the town. A cavalry of around two hundred riders showed in the Eyes of Sky. Their looks were not clear, but it did show they marched in perfect formation. The bright silver armor shone the cold colors. They looked powerful and magnificent. There was a group of regular people behind them. They should be the people herding the boarbeasts.

“Here they are.” Anfey heaved a sigh of relief. Since the Shansa Empire’s soldiers were here, it meant their plan had worked very well. Rotting chemicals worked. It was showtime.

The cavalry in the Eyes of Sky sped up. Not long after, Anfey could hear their loud hoof beats. Anfey jumped off the tree and leaned against the giant rock. He looked forward lazily. Suzanna and Christian jumped off the tree as well and stood by Anfey’s side.

They could already see the cavalry coming. It looked like they had sped up even more. Maybe it was because Anfey’s spot was too obvious. Those soldiers rode with lightning speed into the empty area and directly rushed toward Anfey.

Anfey looked casually, with his eyes squinted, but he felt something was strange.

The riders did not rein their horses until they were only 24 feet away from Anfey. They all stopped together, and a guy who looked like their leader stepped out. He looked up and down at Anfey after he noticed Anfey did not seem to be affected by their presence. “Hey, man, are you in charge of this town?”

“Yes, what do you want?” Anfey said.

“Answer me carefully. Tell me. Are there many boarbeasts in your town?” the leader asked.

“Why do you care whether we have boarbeasts?” Anfey was getting a little mad. There was no such scene in his plan. That leader was too rude.

The guards standing not far from them started to laugh. They were definitely the soldiers of the Country of Mercenaries. Seeing other countries’ soldiers so arrogant and rude, they were disgusted by it. They became mean in turn.

“What is wrong with that guy?” a guard said.

“Yes, what is wrong with him?” another combative guard said, “We raised those boarbeasts, not you. Who gave you the right to yell at us?”

Guards laughed. That leader looked mad and said coldly to Anfey, “Are they your subordinates? You’d better ask them behave themselves. Don’t you understand evils come out of the mouth?”

“I think your mom needs to behave first.” Anfey looked even colder than that other leader. No matter what roles he played, Anfey had given a lot of thought to that role’s attitude, identity, personality, and how that role would handle things. People would only believe it if he could understand and act out all of those traits. As the lowest level of administrator in the Country of Mercenaries, a town mayor, Anfey did not need to be scared by Shansa Empire’s military. Even if Anfey had to fight with them, they would not have criminal charges. It was just a political confrontation. Shansa Empire’s soldier would not dare to cause any trouble at this very moment. Looking at this confrontation from the other side, if the town mayor was not brave enough to face a confrontation, then how could he be a town mayor. The Country of Mercenaries was very competitive, a place where everyone respects the people who were strong and powerful. If Anfey was scared by men on horseback, it would raise the red flag.

The guards laughed even more after they heard what Anfey said back to that leader. A few of them laughed so hard that they fell on the ground and rolled. Suzanna almost lost it as well. She had to turn around and bite her lip to control herself.

“You…” That leader’s face turned purple. He pulled the sword out and radiated strong combat power.

“So? Are you going to rob us? Come on!” Anfey yelled, “Bros, get ready!”

Guards rushed forward together. Suzanna pulled her sword out, coldly looking at the leader. Christian flew to the sky. Intense magic surges flashed in the sky. The girls in the room ducked out one after another. Every one of them had a stick in their hands. Some sticks are longer than others. However, they looked scared and anxious. This was not what they usually did. From the rear of the town, mages flew into the sky one after another. It was hard to tell their magic levels, but the magic surges gathered over there were super strong.

The leader was shocked and did not know what to do. The members of his calvary all raised their weapons and stared ahead, tense. Even on open fields where cavalries had the advantage, mages would do a great deal of damage to them, let alone in a town.

“Harrison!” Someone shouted. A man rode out slowly. The rider must have been around forty, and wore a shining plate without a speck of dust. His horse was beautifully groomed. However, this man carried with him the scent of blood. “Apologize right now,” he commanded.

“I apologize,” the man called Harrison said.

Anfey snorted but did not say anything.

“You must be the town’s mayor, Anfey,” the rider said. He approached them slowly. “Let me introduce myself. Lieutenant General Kumaraghosha .”

“I don’t care if you’re a lieutenant or a general. It has nothing to do with me. I kindly ask you to leave immediately,” Anfey said.

“You seem to hold a grudge against us,” Kumaraghosha smiled and said. “I heard the residents of Moramatch are werewolves, dwarves, and gnomes. Where are they?”

“They refused to follow my orders, and they had to leave,” Anfey said, alarmed. “You came from the south. If you keep heading north, you’ll find them.” People who were meant to do great things tended not to react strongly to humiliation or honor.

Kumaraghosha was either suppressing his anger, or Anfey’s taunts did not get to him. Either way he would be a difficult man to deal with.

“Those creatures had claimed Moramatch for years. It is impressive you can tame them this fast.”

“I am just a normal citizen. I am no match for someone like you, lieutenant.” Anfey’s attitude softened. Kumaraghosha was playing nice, and was complimenting him. If he keep his attitude, it would appear suspicious.

“When I was your age, I was only a foot soldier.” Kumaraghosha’s gaze swept across the guards and landed on Suzanna. “You are still young, but you are the leader of a powerful mercenary group and the mayor of a town. You have a bright future ahead of you. I am nothing in comparison.”

“You are too kind, sir,” Anfey said. His expression was prideful, but his tone was mellow. “What are you doing here, sir? Would you like to come inside for a drink or two and talk?”

“No, no. I will spare you that trouble.” Kumaraghosha said and waved his hand. “I heard you have a lot of boarbeasts in the town?”

“We have some.”

“I would like to purchase those boarbeasts.”

Anfey frowned. He did not understand why Kumaraghosha would want to buy boarbeasts.

“I am willing to pay double for them.”

“Hui Wei!” Anfey called after a moment of hesitation.

“Yes?” Hui Wei hurried over.

“Check how many boarbeasts we have in the city.”

“Yes, sir,” Hui Wei replied loudly.

Anfey turned back to Kumaraghosha and asked, “Sir, why do you want so many boarbeasts, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I cannot tell you that. Military confidentiality. I hope you understand,” Kumaraghosha apologized.

“Ah, I apologize for asking a such a question,” Anfey said. “Moramatch isn’t the largest town around. Why did you pick this town?”

“I encountered a few of your men, and they led me here. There they are.”

Vonmerge walked over with Black Eleven. Black Eleven looked very dangerous with the scars on his face, and did not look like a businessman. However, he looked like a bodyguard standing next to Vonmerge and was not out of place.

“My lord,” Vonmerge called as he walked over to join Anfey. He leaned over and whispered something into Anfey’s ear. Anfey widened his eyes and nodded, then frowned and seemed to be in deep thought.

“Are there any other questions?” Kumaraghosha asked.

“No, no,” Anfey replied, shaking his head.

“Sir!” Hui Wei appeared and jogged over to Anfey. “We still have three hundred and twenty-seven boarbeasts.”

“You heard him, lieutenant. We keep twenty-seven for ourselves. Three hundred gold coins for three hundred boarbeasts. How about that?” Anfey said slowly.

“Isn’t three hundred a bit ridiculous?” Kumaraghosha asked.

“Ridiculous? Not at all, lieutenant! Compared to your future, this price is low.” Anfey smiled and shrugged.

“You sure know how to do business,” Kumaraghosha said, smiling.

“Do we have a deal, lieutenant?”

“Alright. I’ll take all three hundred and twenty-seven of them.”

“Lieutenant, I have people working for me as well. We need to change up our diet once in awhile. What are we supposed to eat if you take all of them?”

“We’re all friends, here, sir. Just pretend you gave me some gift.” Kumaraghosha grinned. “Three hundred coins is a high price for boarbeasts. If I had any other choice, I would not take this.”

Anfey smiled. He knew well what Kumaraghosha meant. If it wasn’t because of the war, the lieutenant would not have agreed to this price.

“You know, three hundred gold coins is enough for a thousand boarbeasts elsewhere.”

“You can’t just say that. I have to pay my men as well,” Anfey said. He looked as if he was the one at a disadvantage.

“You don’t look like someone who haggles over every penny, sir!” Kumaraghosha said. “Let’s just say I owe you a favor.”

“Alright,” Anfey said with a sigh. “Three hundred coins. What can I say? I like making friends.”

“If you’re willing to treat me as a friend, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“What it is, lieutenant?”

Kumaraghosha’s eyes narrowed. “You see, we are a little tight ourselves, financially. If I can write you a rain check…”

“No, no way.” Anfey’s expression changed dramatically and he refused the offer angrily. Whenever he was playing a role, he would try to completely immerse himself in that character, sometimes he would even forget himself and what he was trying to achieve. Before Kumaraghosha could even finish, Anfey had already reacted. For a mercenary leader or a mayor, his reaction was completely natural.

“You can ask around about me, sir,” Kumaraghosha said. “I am known to keep my promises.”

“No. No way. Not ever,” Anfey refused again.

“There’s no room for negotiation?” Kumaraghosha asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

“Only fools would negotiate!” Anfey snapped back. He grabbed Vonmerge’s shirt and barked, “Did you sell him those boarbests? Did he pay? Tell me!”

“He did,” Vonmerge said nervously.

Anfey snorted and pushed Vonmerge away. “Alright. You can go now.”

Kumaraghosha watched Anfey coldly, and Anfey stared right back fearlessly. After a few minutes, Kumaraghosha relaxed and said, “Alright. I will trade with you using crystals.” He opened his palm and revealed three magic crystals. One of them was burning red and very clear, and was obviously a high tier magic crystal. The other two were of lesser quality, but still very rare.

Anfey stopped. He took the crystals and looked at them closely. He then called out loudly, “Hagan! Get over here!”

Hagan jumped and jogged over. He took the crystals, inspected them closely, then whispered something to Anfey. “These are only worth two hundred coins,” Anfey announced.

“Don’t be too greedy,” Kumaraghosha said quietly.

“It’s only two hundred gold coins. If you want, we can make a deal. If not, then you should be on your way.”

Kumaraghosha looked at him, then he found another crystal and tossed it at Anfey.

It was a deep blue ice magic crystal. As soon as Anfey grabbed it, he felt his fingers going numb. Hagan’s eyes shone.

“Deal!” Anfey said, grinning. Anyone could tell it was a top tier crystal. “Hui Wei, gather the boarbeasts for the lieutenant.”

“Lieutenant,” Harrison walked over and said quietly, “do you think this may be a trap?”

“If it is a trap, they wouldn’t try to challenge my patience. It’s just a greedy youth,” Kumaraghosha said slowly.

“But…trading a top tier crystal for boarbeasts? That is such an unfair deal!” Harrison said angrily.

“It is what it is,” Kumaraghosha said, smiling. “It’s nothing unheard of.”

“General, General Mintel would like to see you,” a courier said as he rushed in.

Kumaraghosha and Harrison looked at each other, and then Kumaraghosha jumped off his war horse. “Show me the way.”

“General!” Harrison followed Kumaraghosha jumping off the horse. “I am going with you. That guy definitely does not have good intentions.”

“No, you have such a temper.” Kumaraghosha smiled. “Here is the military camp. Only disciplines matter here. I will be fine.”

“General, you might think that way, but that guy does not necessarily think the same way as you do.”

“It is my order. Harrison, take care of our fellows here. Don’t let them cause any trouble. Do you understand?” Kumaraghosha shook his head.

“Ok.” Harrison heaved a sigh.

Kumaraghosha followed the courier to the camp. Large griffins created gusts of wind in the camp when they flew into the sky or when they landed. Soldiers often had to lower their heads in case they were blown away by the wind. Only Kumaraghosha walked with his back straight. His back was as straight as a spear. He had acted very tough. No mentioning the wind created by griffins, even as arrows rained down or on the battlefield hovered with magic, he had been very tough.

Soldiers in the camp talked behind Kumaraghosha’s back. His pure military style did not earn him respect, because those soldiers were from Griffin Aerial Unit. The soldiers just acted like their general. The accumulated rancor between General Mintel and Kumaraghosha was not a secret. If any soldier showed respect to Kumaraghosha, it could well be imagined what would happen to that soldier.

When they were approaching the general’s tent, Kumaraghosha did not wait for the courier to report to General Mintel. He lifted the curtain and walked in. Mintel was sitting on a big chair. He had a rare bright red crystal wine glass in one hand, a female slave from Maho Empire in the other. He quietly flirted with his slave as his followers were around him.

Mintel was young. His eyebrows were long and dark, his nose was tall, and his eyes were bright. He looked handsome. It was during leisure time, so he only wore half armor, but even from the half armor, one could still tell Mintel must have come from a really good family. The armor radiated strong magic surges when he moved around, which were even as strong as the magic surges from a senior mage when he fought with full force.

“General Mintel, are you looking for me?” Kumaraghosha asked slowly.

“Don’t you know you should have someone report to me first?” he asked coldly. The smile on Mintel’s suddenly disappeared.

“You asked…” Kumaraghosha said.

“Please leave right now.” Mintel said.

Kumaraghosha gave Mintel a long look without any comment. He turned around and walked out of the tent. There were low-pitched laughs in the tent.

A courier walked in to report that Kumaraghosha had arrived. Mintel waited a while on purpose before he allowed Kumaraghosha to come back in. Kumaraghosha kept a calm look even though he saw those evil-intentioned laughs.

“Our General Kumaraghosha, please take a seat.” Mintel held his hand out to signal Kumaraghosha to take a seat, while he was still sitting on his chair. “I heard something happened to our supply wagons?”

“Nothing serious. Boarbeasts went bad while the frozen magic array worked fine in the wagons. I think something must have happened at headquarters.”

“General Kumaraghosha, don’t blame others whenever there is a problem. You need to look for things you did wrong.” Mintel had a smile on his face. “Five years ago, you told me so. I learned from you and remembered your words. Today I have to say the same to you.”

“I would not blame anyone else for my faults, but I would not allow anyone to blame me for something I did not do either. General Mintel, it is still too early to return that saying to me,” Kumaraghosha said.

“Is that so? Why are you so sure something happened at headquarters?” Mintel said calmly about the pressing incident.

“I have had mages check on the supply wagons carefully. Nothing went wrong with them. If you do not believe me, you can send your people to check on it,” Kumaraghosha said.

“Frozen magic arrays are not complicated. Any mage can repair them. It has been three days since the incident happened. Now you want me to check on it? General Kumaraghosha, are you playing with me?” Mintel smiled.

“General Mintel, neither you nor me can decide who should take the responsibility for the incident. People from the headquarters will investigate,” Kumaraghosha said.

“Sure, but I will include my opinions in the report. I hope you are okay with that,” Mintel said.

“Do as you wish,” Kumaraghosha said indifferently.

“Ok.” Mintel nodded. “Did you purchase boarbeasts somewhere else? I heard you have paid big money for it. I heard you even gave that merchant a powerful magic crystal you collected a long time ago.”

Kumaraghosha was a little shocked. “Yes’”

“Did you all hear that?” Mintel looked around. “What an example for empire soldiers.”

“What an example! You just don’t want to get punished for your mistake,” one of Mintel’s followers said with a mocking tone.

“Shut up. Kumaraghosha is not that kind of person,” Mintel sneered.

“Only you understand me.” Kumaraghosha smiled.

“If I did not know you, who else could know you.” Mintel’s smiles started to look vicious. “You are definitely not afraid of our military punishments, otherwise you would not make me a criminal and kill my brother. For the past five years, my brother’s screaming has been lingering in my ears. I rarely slept well. I woke up with nightmares many times. General Kumaraghosha, it was because of you.”

No one else dared to say anything on this topic. Suddenly it was getting really depressing in the tent.

“He deserved it.” Kumaraghosha’s expression did not change a bit.

“Sure, sure. The things you do are always right.” Mintel thought he might be acting too impulsively. He took a long breath and put his fake smile back onto his face. “Marshal Nabonido trusts you the most. With his help, you would not care about anyone in the military. Hahaha, right, why is Marshal Nabonido not here today?”

“General, Marshal Nabonido died few years ago,” one of Mintel’s followers said it timidly.

“Huh, did he die?” Mintel acted like he had just learned about it. “How did he die?”

“He had a treacherous relationship with another country and was sentenced to death by the king,” the follower answered.

Kumaraghosha tightened his fists and slowly loosened them. He looked indifferent and cold. Anyone could make fun of him, but he would not allow anyone to show any disrespect for his teacher. If Mintel would not stop talking sh*t about his teacher, he had to make a bloody scene in this tent. He had nothing to worry about because he needed to protect his teacher’s reputation.

“Alright, alright. Marshal Nabonido has fought for our country for several decades. He has done hard work even if he has not performed meritorious deeds. Let’s talk about something else.” Seeing Kumaraghosha’s look, Mintel felt an unnoticeable fear. He even switched to a nicer tone as well. From a royal family to a military family, he had learned a lot before he became a general. He knew when to stop his venting. If he pushed too hard, he would have to face revenge from Kumaraghosha.

Mintel had never meant to kill Nabonido. He just wanted to vent on him. If he were nice to him, he would find an opportunity to stab him from behind. When his brother led his team to scout, he surrounded a town. He forgot about his assignment. He stayed and fooled around in the town for three days. As a result, the Death Roaring mercenary group from Maho Empire made a surprise attack on the headquarters. Ten thousand soldiers who stayed behind at the headquarter were killed. This was a mistake that could be forgiven. It was the first assignment for Mintel’s brother, and he found several beautiful girls by chance. He was not able to take others’ advices and caused a disaster for the military. It also had impact on Mintel.

Looking at it from a different angle, Kumaraghosha was demoted a few times after Marshal Nabonido passed away. Good leaders were getting less in the military. No one could deny that fact that Kumaraghosha was a brave soldier. It was fine to vent against him in a peaceful time, but Kumaraghosha was the person who could save lives when a war came. Knowing this, Mintel actually did not mean to kill Nabonido.

“General Mintel, if you just want to tell me these things, I think we can find another time to talk. I have to set up a defensive system now,” Kumaragosha said slowly.

“General Kumaraghosha, you do not have to worry about defense. You need go to the headquarters first. There is another supply caravan that needs you as an escort,” Mintel said.

“My job is protecting Griffin Aerial Unit’s camp,” Kumaraghosha said.

“Don’t you know the Country of Mercenaries is in danger now? Our supplies could be cut off at any time. Before it happens, we have to make sure they have enough supplies,” Mintel said.

“How about the safety issue here?” Kumaraghosha asked.

“My worriers can fly to the sky at any time. You do not have to worry about it,” Mintel said in a very formal tone. “This supply caravan carries a lot of stuff. You’d better take more people with you. Don’t let anything happen to it.”

Kumaraghosha went quiet for a while and said, “Yes, sir.”

As dawn broke, the campsite of Griffins Aerial Squadron became lively. The patrolling griffins landed, and the griffin knights all climbed off the beasts and began heading toward tents for breakfast. Military elites were treated very well in every country, and almost no food was unavailable to them as long as they wanted it. Right now, however, the knights did not care about what food they eat. They only wanted something warm and some ale. They needed sleep.

Perhaps it was because teams like the aerial squad were fast at both attacking and retreating, and were rarely ambushed, or perhaps it was because there had been very little disturbance, everyone in the camp seemed relaxed. After the night patrols returned, the day patrol did not immediately depart. Instead, they were still chatting with their companions.

General Mintel made his rounds of the camp, but did not try to discipline any of the soldiers before returning to his tent. He treated the situation the same way his men did. Life was life, and war was just a way of life. If he did not have any fun, then life would be too boring.

After their meal, the griffins seemed uneasy. Their ruby eyes were slowing becoming bloodshot, and their eye color was getting darker. However, no one took notice of this strange phenomenon.

Some of the knights finished their meals and walked into the griffins’ dens, ready for the daily check of their rides. However, no matter how they whispered or yelled, the griffins would not leave their dens. The beasts leaned against each other, rubbing against each other and growling.

A twelve foot griffin was the first to attack. It struck its rider with its sharp beak. The rider was the deputy leader of the squadron and was powerful enough to be a senior platinum knight. However, he had not expected his ride would be attacking him, and did not have enough time to summon his combat power. Under the impact of the griffin’s beak, the man crumbled to the ground. A large wound on his chest began gushing blood.

The other knights and the griffins’ caretakers looked on, shocked. These griffins were all well trained, unlike the new, wild griffins. Normally, these griffins would never attack their riders.

However, the griffin did not keep on attacking. It moved over and pushed a smaller griffin to the ground. Then it lunged at the smaller griffin, its wings flapping and creating a strong gust of wind. The knights were still holding on, but many of the caretakers fell from their feet because of the strong wind

The smaller griffin flapped its wings as well, but instead of struggling, it looked like it was cooperating with the larger griffin.

The other griffins made their moves. All the griffins were flapping their wings and trying to push each other over. Griffins were smart and knew how to cooperate with humans, but they were still beasts, and had physical needs.

This squadron was a fighting team, and most of the griffins chosen were males. Among the seventy-plus griffins, there were only a dozen females. Therefore, not every griffin could find a partner.

In human societies, when the two sexes were unequally distributed, there would be chaos trying to find a partner. Among beasts, this was even more common. After the initial chaos, the griffins that did not find a partner were angered and began attacking the griffins that had found partners. Even the leader of the pack was not spared.

However, a griffin’s anatomy was similar to that of a dog’s. It was easy for a male griffin to initiate things, but ending it was hard. Normally, the larger griffin would have no trouble fighting four smaller ones. However, now it was stuck and could not move around easily. It could only try to block the attacks with its beak, and was at a disadvantage. After a few minutes, it was already severely wounded, but it was still fighting, unwilling to give up.

The den became a fighting ring, the wind from the griffins’ wings was getting stronger, and the howls were getting louder. The feathers falling from the beasts danced through the air like snowflakes. The soldiers couldn’t tell what was going on. The dust and the feathers had obscured their sight.

Griffins were ferocious by nature. Historically, there were records of armies losing their food supplies, and subsequently losing control of their griffins, who resorted to eating the horses and even their own riders. Even though starvation was the most dangerous thing that could happen, having the griffins going into heat at the same time was almost as bad.

One of the knights climbed out of the den, covered in blood and feathers. “Find the general!” he yelled at the soldiers with raspy voice.

—

“So this is what you’ve been planning,” Suzanna said. She stared at the Eye of the Sky with wide eyes.

“Suzanna, do you know that you messed up back there?” Anfey grinned. “Remember the mission with seven-winged magic flies? Those were all missions I told Vonmerge to post.”

“Why didn’t he tell me then?” Suzanna asked, though it was unclear whether she was blaming Anfey or Vonmerge.

“I told him to keep it a secret,” Anfey said. He thought highly of Vonmerge. Even though they were fighting for Suzanna’s affection, Vonmerge did not try to sabotage anything. He knew what was more important, and Anfey knew he could be trusted.

“I did not realize you would do something like this,” Black Eleven said with a sigh.

“I only just now learned that fighting a war is like burning money,” Anfey said with a shake of the head.

“Burning money? How? That is a waste of money,” Black Eleven said. In a world where paper money never existed, it was practically impossible to burn money.

Anfey nodded. “The money spent on the flies, the potion supplies, and some other miscellaneous supplies combined already cost me three thousand gold coins.”

“We will make it up to you,” Black Eleven said. “Three thousand coins aren’t bad. Do you know how much an aerial squad is worth?”

“And two magic scrolls.”

“Alright, I got it,” Black Eleven said, shaking his head. “As long as you can destroy the aerial squadron, you can have anything you want.”

“Anfey, should we act now?” Riska asked.

“Not yet.” Anfey said, turning to look at Christian’s Eye of the Sky.

“What if the griffins return to normal before we can do anything?”

“It’s not that easy,” Anfey said. “Hagan told me that those potions were enough for fifty thousand people. Griffins only have to eat once a day, and consume around a hundred boarbeasts. They consumed enough potion for ten thousand people at once. I doubt they will return to normal anytime soon.”

—

Mintel dashed out of his tent and headed for the griffins’ den. His entire body shook after seeing the den being obscured by dust and feathers.

He left Kumaraghosha in charge of the supplies, because he was afraid the mercenaries would try to trick them. He even sent most of Kumaraghosha’s men with him. Except for the Griffin Knights and some foot soldiers, there were only around two thousand camp followers left. If they were ambushed right now, they were as sure as dead.

This was not the worst thing. For a Griffin Knight, a griffin was a necessity. Griffins were rare, and their reproduction rate was low. After centuries of controlled birth, they only managed to create one Aerial Unit. If they lost all of their griffins, and all his men were forced to be foot soldiers, what would happen to him and his family? Who would be responsible for this?

“Tell me, what happened?” Mintel grabbed one of the knights and yelled.

“They-They’re mating, sir!” the knight said.

Before he could finish his sentence, two figures crashed through the wall of the den and fell to the ground. The two griffins were tangled together, tents, fences, stakes, and fire stations all turned to dust under their bodies. Both griffins were gravely injured. One had a bloody hole on its neck. Through the wounds, one could catch a glimpse of bones. The other was gutted, its entrails falling out of its body. However, they were still fighting and showed no signs of stopping.

“This is mating?!” Mintel yelled again. If it had been possible, he would have eaten that knight alive.

The griffin rider behind Mintel suddenly screamed and rushed forward as fast as a flying arrow. He was covered in thick white light. He saw two griffins fighting for their lives. His jaw dropped when he realized the one underneath was his griffin. He was not able to control himself when he saw the other griffin was ready to kill his griffin.

He had no time to get his spear, so he just grabbed a sword. The power of a sword in a qualified griffin rider’s hand could still be terrifying. The crazy griffin on top did not notice the attack from behind and continued to try to fiercely peck the other one underneath.

The griffin rider hit the griffin on the top in a cruel way. He thrust the sword into the open wound on that griffin’s neck. With a cracking sound, the griffin’s neck bone was completely broken. Its head was hanging on the neck like broken bamboo. Its body fell to the ground hard.

“F*ck you!” He was not the only griffin rider who had joined the fight. Another griffin rider was just a little slower than him and ended up watching his own griffin killed by his fellow. He ran at a speed no slower than the previous griffin rider. Luckily, he did not completely lose himself, so he punched the other griffin rider’s back hard instead of pulling out his sword to kill him.

In different military branches, griffin riders had the same kind of pride as legendary dragon riders. They admired heroism. They would cooperate when it was needed, but rather take risks to finish their tasks than asking for help. Griffins played an important role in the battle. Griffin riders and griffins went through thick and thin together, while they just got along with their peers. The relationship of just getting along is far less close than going through thick and thin together. Seeing his own griffin killed, the griffin rider punched his peer out of the rage.

The first griffin rider was sadly watching his griffin dying when he got hit on the back by surprise. He lost control and flew forward. He even sprayed a mouthful of blood.

“They are f*^king crazy!” Mintel was furious. “Catch him! Catch him!”

A few griffin riders hurried to throw themselves at their crazily mad peers. When their bodies were only halfway in the air, a strong magic surge suddenly appeared. The air was also getting hot, and countless bright spots like raindrops dropped from the sky.

“Meteors.” Mintel looked at the sky and felt his heart drop. He was a descendent of a royal family, but he was not a rookie on the battlefield. If he were a rookie, he would not have the chance to lead a Griffin Aerial Unit. Mintel knew the power of meteor rain well. This magic could affect a large area. It posed no harm to him, but could be fatal to thousands of soldiers in Griffin Aerial Unit.

Countless bright spots poured and splashed on the ground with sparkles. Groups of soldiers fell on the ground and screamed in pain. Their clothes started to burn under the constant meteor rain attacks. Their bodies were burned like charcoal at the end.

Tents, wood rails, outposts and other flammables were all burning. The whole camp became a fire sea. The smoke in griffin cave became a lot thinner in a very short period. The flying feathers turned into little fire balls and then dust in the wind.

Looking from a distance, what was in the griffin cave started to become clear. Even under the flaming meteor shower, griffins either fought or mated with miserable shrieks. Flaming meteor rain was not able to wake them from their basic instincts. In other words, if no damage or even death could wake them up, the effect of the chemicals were super strong.

Mages felt the magic surges and released magic domes one after another. Seven or eight magic domes were created to protect them from the meteor shower. Meteor rain was almost as terrible as a natural disaster. These mages were not sure whether their magic could counter the meteor shower. They meant to protect themselves with the magic domes, but the soldiers around them saw the magic domes as their last hope. They rushed to get under the domes and tried to be as close to the mages as possible. Some wounded soldiers forced themselves under the dome with the last energy left in them.

More and more people tried to hide under the magic domes. As a result, the domes were getting so crowded that the air was getting thinner. A weak or sick mage even passed out from it, which caused the whole group of soldiers, including that mage, under the dome to fall on the ground under the pressure of the meteor shower.

Mintel looked up at the sky and lost himself in thought with a dull look. He was protected by his combat power by instinct. Griffin riders started to use combat powers to fight against the flames as well. A meteor shower was not regular magic. It could only get worse as time went on.

The bright spots got bigger and bigger. They became as big as a fist at first and then turned into the size of a meteorite, which was as big as a person’s head, smashing on the ground. The booming sounds came one after another, and the ground started to shake. The intruding magic domes were smashed one after another in the fire sea. People under the domes died, parts of their bodies flying everywhere.

Griffin riders dared not to counter the hit from meteorites. They tried to dodge, but some of the unlucky ones were hit. They did not even get a chance to scream before they fell on the ground and died.

Mintel was still lost in thought, but four captains risked their lives to protect him. They pulled and dragged Mintel, dodging the meteorites. People could risk their lives for a goal, or dream. Selfishness could also be the reason to have them take risks. If Mintel did not die, he would have to take all the responsibility and blame for this incident and they would be safe. If Mintel died, they would have to be the scapegoats. They could die and put their family in danger as well.

The worst part of the meteor shower only last a short period of time. If it dropped meteorites from the beginning to the end, the meteor shower could be categorized as forbidden magic. Seeing small, bright spots replace meteorites, the griffin riders heaved a sigh of relief. Suddenly, intense magic surges came again. A lightning bolt that was a thousand times brighter than the sun flashed in the sky and split into different branches, like dense branches on a towering old tree. All the people on the battlefield were hit by it.

Series lightning was a magic even worse than a meteor shower. No one could dodge it besides a few magic beasts and humans. No one could build immunity against it either. All the lives in a certain area would get severe attacks from it. The surviving griffin riders all wobbled and fell to the ground. The only difference in them was some of them still could stand up after a while as others died. Series lightning strictly tested their magic skills. There was no way the could cheat.

As a White Silver Knight, Mintel was the first one to wake up from it. Series lightning hurt him but also woke him up. With strong combat power and sharp vision, which he gained by flying frequently, he had found a group of people in black who were trying to surround the destroyed camp before his opponents found it.

Mintel took a deep breath. He grabbed the two captains in a coma and ran in the opposite direction. He knew he had been set up. He would die if he stayed. Going back would not necessarily a good option for him, but there was still a chance.

After a while, the group of people in black entered the camp. Compared with burnt bodies or bodies with missing parts, the passed out griffin riders looked like intruders. The people in black rushed towards the griffin riders and pulled their swords out at the same time. It was always true to kill a strong opponent when he was wounded or ill. No one was stupid enough to wait until they woke up to have a fair fight.

The respectable sky warriors were killed one by one. They did not die in honor, nor in any pain. It was unknown if they were fortunate to die without pain.

A person in black, who did not fight in this battle, slowly took off his mask. It was Anfey. Suzanna followed him and took off her mask as well.

“Anfey,” Christian and Riska said as they landed. They had released the meteor shower and series of lightning magic. “We saw few people running away towards the east. The one in the lead had strong combat power. He must be a senior White Silver Knight.”

“Damn it. It was Mintel.” Black Eleven looked worried. “Anfey, we need catch him right now.”

“Hold on. The Griffin Aerial Unit was wiped out. It’s not a big deal if only few escaped.” Anfey shook his head.

“You do not understand. Mintel is very important to us.” Black Eleven was so concerned that he stomped his foot. “If we cannot catch him alive, we cannot let him run back to his country.”

“Don’t worry. I have my reasons.” Anfey shook his head. “Is Mintel important? You told me yesterday that Sacred City gave you an assignment that you have to kill Kumaraghosha at any price. Who is more important, Kumaraghosha or Mintel?”

“No comparison. If we kill Mintel, we could make a scene. It would not be the same with Kumaraghosha. Baery, a commander of a legion, said Kumamaghosha was a God-given brave general. If Shansa Empire delegated that much military power to Kumaraghosha, he would become a scourge for Maho Empire. Kumaraghosha has been loyal to Shansa Empire, so he would not betray his country. We have to kill him before he is better.”

“Did you say that there was accumulated rancor between Kumamaghosha and Mintel?” Anfey said.

“Yes, I did,” Black Eleven said.

“Don’t you understand what I mean now?” Anfey said.

“How…” Black Eleven was confused.

“Sometimes we do not even need to get our hands dirty when we want to kill someone.” Anfey smiled. “When Mintel goes back to his country, he definitely would get severe punishment. Do you think Kumaraghosha would just watch instead of getting his hands dirty? Don’t forget where you recognized Kumaraghosha from.”

Black Eleven looked like he was lost in thought.

“Kumaraghosha bought all of our boarbeasts. If Mintel wanted to shirk his responsibility, Kumaraghosha would be his best option,” Anfey said slowly. “For right now, let’s just wait and see.”

After they returned to Moramatch, Anfey was the only one who could remain calm. Everyone was overjoyed. Black Eleven was the head of the spies in the Country of Mercenaries, but except for his normal espionage activities and occasional assassinations, he hadn’t done anything important. Eliminating an entire aerial squadron was major victory for anyone.

Black Eleven immediately dispatched a team to carry the news to White Mountain City, so they could report to the Sacred City through a portal. He also sent out a request to set up a portal in Moramatch. In the list of contributors, Anfey was the first name. Suzanna and Christian’s names immediately followed. Black Eleven placed his name at the end of the list. Black Eleven knew that without Anfey, he wouldn’t have achieved this victory. In order to eliminate the squadron, he used several undercover spies who were stationed deep within the enemy ranks. Nothing could escape the Sacred City. He knew well that the general knew what kind of work he had done for the operation. Even though he was modest now, he would still be rewarded. No one could deny his importance in the operation, and the general would see him as a person of good character.

Of course, he didn’t know whether the general could sense his motives. He did not care, either. The general once that said people who did not show their motives were either fools or extremely dangerous. Black Eleven did not want to be either.

Wars were precarious, and one change could bring about a series of changes. After the news of the destruction of Shansa Empire’s aerial squadron got out, the Country of Mercenaries was shaken. The mercenary groups needed to reevaluate Maho Empire and reestimate the course of the war. it was unknown why Tiger of Tawau mercenary group had attacked Glory mercenary group, but it affected the mercenaries negatively, especially because Tiger of Tawau mercenary invited the Shansa men into battle.

It was like a two members of a household had just had a fight, but someone had invited unrelated people to loot and destroy the home. This created a sense of unity among the mercenaries. Even the people who did not like Glory mercenary group spoke out against Tiger of Tawau mercenary group’s actions.

The call for taking back control of Transverse Mountain was getting louder. Some small mercenary groups formed by young people put the call into action. They felt Country of Mercenaries was threatened by foreign powers, and they needed to do something to preserve their nation.

More and more mercenaries arrived at Transverse Mountain. They couldn’t do anything to Shansa’s supply lines, but they set up numerous traps and obstacles in the mountains. They claimed to be setting traps for magic beasts, and the Shansa soldiers couldn’t do anything to them. This slowed the Shansa supply lines significantly.

Tiger of Tawau mercenary group became very secretive and kept a low profile. No matter what the mercenaries said, they had response. However, they quickly began to gain control over the city. The patrol teams were disbanded, and those who were willing to join Tiger of Tawau were allowed a position. The others were sent home. Those working on the city counsel were dismissed as well, replaced by people working for Tiger of Tawau mercenary group. Mourtta’s goal was very clear. He didn’t need to control the Country of Mercenaries. He only wanted to control Blackwater City. The other three major mercenary groups were all based in White Mountain City, and were too far away to affect the situation in Blackwater City.

However, compared to the conflicts on the northern border of Maho Empire, the conflicts in Country of Mercenaries were only minor.

With a sure victory in sight, the Dark Moon Magic Legion crossed the Yagor Mountains under the leadership of Newyoheim and Serigue. They were heading towards Sacred City in Maho Empire. Two days later, Baery, who was supposed to be in the middle of the empire waiting for a prince’s arrival, appeared at the border. He blocked off the mountain’s exit with the Roaring Dead Legion.

Yagor Mountain was only sixteen thousand feet at its highest point, but it became Newyohiem’s worst nightmare. Mages could levitate, but there was a limit to how high they could go. A normal mage could go about three hundred feet at most.

As the altitude increased, the air element would decrease. Random currents and strong wind gusts made the situation worse. No one could control the air elements in that environment. Even Newyoheim himself could only go up three thousand feet. If he couldn’t cross the mountains using magic, normal mages couldn’t even dream of it.

The situation itself couldn’t discourage Newyoheim. Saul had spent a long time and wasted countless magic crystals to set up a Guardian of God kekkai. This kind of kekkai was useless in most situations, but now became Newyoheim’s worst nightmare.

Guardian of God kekkai cut off the elements and had a twenty-five-mile radius. This meant that neither Newyoheim nor Saul could effectively replenish their magic. However, Dark Moon Magic Legion was made up mostly of mages, and the kekkai could render the mages powerless if all their magic was spent.

The Roaring Dead Legion, on the other hand, was comprised mostly of swordsmen. They were not affected by the kekkai.

These factors were not enough to make Newyoheim despair, either. He still had Corps of Wind, led by the famous master swordsman Jerrofick. If he could plan everything else, he could fight his way out of this.

In a small-scale contact battle, a ridiculous scene affected Newyoheim’s confidence. Jerrofick was leading the charge against the enemies, but as a master swordsman from Maho Empire charged towards him, Jerrofick panicked and admitted defeat without even engaging the man. Afterwards Newyoheim learned that the man was called Ernest, and had once challenged Jerrofick. When he was almost defeated by Jerrofick, he stabbed Jerrofick with a dagger dipped in poison. This shameless act made him a very hated man among the swordsmen. However, Newyoheim knew that things were not as simple as the story had said. But now was not the time to dig up ancient histories. The most important thing right now was to lead his army away from the Maho armies.

Maho Empire’s famous master swordsman Phillip joined the battle along with two of his students. This made the situation even more impossible. He knew what had happened between Saul and Phillip. It would not be easy to forget about one’s only successor being murdered in cold blood. There was only one man who could make the two forget their rivalries, and that was the old king, Yolanthe. He was the only man who had that much power in Maho Empire.

Newyoheim now knew that Yolanthe was still alive, and that he had fallen into a trap. He knew how bad the situation was, but he could not tell anyone, because that would discourage his soldiers. Maho Empire had sent out five master swordsmen and one archmage with Baery. What did he have? Three archmages who could not replenish their magic, and a master swordsman who had lost his will to fight. Newyoheim was desperate.

In White Mountain City, Anthony was sitting in a chair, deep in thoughts. He looked like a common man in common clothes, and his longsword had no decoration. He looked more like a swordsman who had fallen from grace. However, all the servants in the room acted as carefully and quietly as possible. They were clearly very afraid of him.

Next to Anthony was a senile man. He had a grave expression and was dressed lavishly. He held a black staff in his hand.

“My lord, he is here. Do you want to see him now?” A mercenary appeared at the door and asked. Anthony nodded.

A few moments later, a man who looked even more common than Anthony walked in. He looked around the room and mumbled something. He was clearly unsure of what to say.

“I already know. You’re Shinon. Your wife died when you were thirty years old, and your only son is in prison right now. Am I right?” Anthony said slowly.

“Yes, my lord.”

“You said you have important news about the Maho army? I apologize, but you do not look like someone who knows any important secrets. If it wasn’t for Michael, you wouldn’t even be here right now.” Anthony waved his hand languidly. “This is Michael. Tell him what you know.”

“Thank you for the chance, Lord Michael,” Shinon said, bowing.

“Save us the formality. Tell me what you know.” After seeing the man, Michael clearly agreed with Anthony. He didn’t believe Shinon had any new information.

“Maho Empire’s king, Yolanthe, is still alive.”

Anthony and Michael both stopped in their tracks. They had learned about Dark Moon Magic Legion’s current situation, and had guessed this. However, they could not figure out how this man came by this information.

“Where did you get this information?” Anthony asked quietly.

“My master told me, Master,” Shinon answered.

“Your master? Why didn’t he come?” Anthony asked.

“My master is not in the town. He left a long time ago,” Shinon answered.

“Then tell your master to come to see me if he has something to tell me. Okay? You can leave now.” A smile appeared on Anthony’s face.

Shinon was shocked for a second and said, “I understand, Master.”

“Hold on!” Michael yelled. He was sitting with lips trembling. The veins on his neck were bulging. He looked incredibly mad. No one was sure why he was so angry.

“Master, how can I help you?” Shinon asked in surprise. He looked sincere. No one could tell anything unusual. That was because he indeed had not done anything.

“Did you say your master asked you to pass that message to Master Anthony, and your master has been gone for quite awhile?” Michael asked in a serious voice.

“Yes, Master,” Shinon answered.

“Are you lying?” Michael raised his voice.

“I swear I did not lie, Master,” Shinon said.

Anthony was shocked, then he suddenly realized something. His face was stone cold. They had just learned that Dark Moon Magic mercenary legion got stuck at the foot of Suyagor Valley, and Yolanthe, the king of Maho Empire, did not die. The guy standing before him had known this top secret for a long time ago. What did it mean? It meant they could have saved Newyoheim and Dark Moon Magic mercenary legion if they had met this guy earlier. They could even have saved an empire. Anthony usually had a poker face, but this time color drained from his face because this information was too crucial.

“Why didn’t you come to see us earlier? You should have come earlier.” Michael suddenly stood up. Michael was the chief of the consolidation group that Ellisen had sent to the Country of Mercenaries. He was just below the Palace Archmage, Newyoheim. He had come to White Mountain City earlier to speak with Anthony. Before they could even agree on anything, Michael received the bad news that his old friend Newyoheim had gotten stuck in Suyagor Valley. He had just learned that there was a chance to save him from the guy in front of him. He could not control himself and got really angry.

“Master, my master sent a messenger to let me know about it three days ago. He asked me to look for Master Anthony. I did not know about it before that,” Shinon complained.

“Why didn’t you come three days ago?” Anthony asked.

“I came,” Shinon said.

“What?” Anthony and Michael called out in surprise at the same time. Michael quickly glanced at Anthony, which made Anthony feel very awkward. It seemed like he had not reported it to Anthony on purpose.

“Shinon, don’t lie. How come I didn’t know you came here three days ago?” Anthony yelled.

“Shinon, don’t be scared. Tell us what happened. Don’t worry,” Michael said right after Anthony. He sounded he was going defending Shinon against Anthony.

“Master Anthony, you surely did not see me. Your guards at the door did not let me in. I told them many times that I had to see you about something important, but they did not believe me. They asked me to leave a message with them,” Shinon said, looking very helpless, “but my master told me I had to tell you in person. I would never tell anyone else. My master said it was too important. I could trust no one but master Anthony.”

Michael sat back hard in the chair. The awkward look on Anthony switched to a sad one. Things were getting clear. Who else could Anthony blame? He was a commander of a mercenary group, so not everybody who asked to see him would be able to see him. Shinon was nobody special; therefore, no one thought he would have such important information with him. It was reasonable for bodyguards to keep him from seeing Anthony.

“I have come three days in a row, but did not get to see you. I was worried and told my master’s messenger about it. He told me with a bitter smile that it was easy to see the God of Light, but hard to deal with the priest in the Church of Light. He had to give me over a dozen gold coins to give to the guards at the door. He said they would let me in this way, since no one would pay over a dozen of gold coins to play a prank on someone.” Shinon continued, “My master’s messenger also said we should have received rewards from master Anthony by telling him such an important message, and we did not expect we had to spend so much. It was ridiculous. My master’s messenger also said he would advise my master not to do the same stupid things again.”

Michael snorted. Anthony could feel the heat from his face from intense shame. It was clear that this guy’s master knew the information was too important. Michael decided to gamble big that Anthony would honor his words, since they could not reach an agreement in a short time. However, he did not get any response from Anthony and forced the guy to pay to pass the information to him. It was too ridiculous.

“Did your master tell you what he wants as a reward?” Anthony asked slowly.

“My master said he wishes to get a promise from master Anthony,” Shinon answered.

“What kind of promise?” Anthony asked.

“My master never told me about it,” Shinon said.

Anthony went quiet for a while. “Ok, I promise you. You can tell your master that he can come to see me, Anthony, whenever he needs me. I will definitely try to help. I promise.” Anthony was not overly confident about his words. He only agreed to solve that secret master’s problem.

“Thank you, Master Anthony,” Shinon said.

“But, you have to tell me your Master’s name first.” Anthony tried to seek out some information about the secret master.

“His name is Judge,” Shinon said.

“Judge?” Anthony asked.

“It means a person who acts justly,” Shinon said.

“What a powerful name.” Anthony forced a smile. “If I need to see your master, should I contact you?”

“Yes, Master,” Shinon said.

“Ok,” Anthony nodded, “but where you live right now is not safe. I will send some of my people to protect you. Don’t worry. I am not watching over you. I am just afraid something could happen on you.”

“I understand, Master.” Shinon said.

“And, Shinon, did you see the same group of guards at the door when you came here to see me the past several times?”

“Yes, Master.”

Anthony went quiet for a while and yelled, “Someone come in please.”

After he called out, two mercenaries walked in from outside. “Master.”

“Who has been guarding the door for the past few days?” Anthony asked.

“It’s Jacob’s team,” one of the mercenaries answered.

“Ask Jacob to see me,” Anthony said.

The two mercenaries turned and walked out. Not long after, a middle-aged mercenary rushed in and asked politely, “Master, how can I help you?”

“Jacob, did you make good money recently?” Anthony’s look and tone totally changed. He had seemed like a nice person before, but now he switched to a cold, powerful man with a killer’s look. His eyes shone even colder light than sword radiance. “Tell me how much have you made.”

Jacob had cursed Shinon for selling him out, but he immediately kneeled on the floor without any hesitation. He said with a trembling voice, “Master, I only took fifteen gold coins from him. Master, I did not want them. He insisted on giving them to me.”

“Take him to the Death Row Cell,” Anthony said casually, but his words had changed the fate of Jacob in the blink of an eye.

“Master, it is not my fault. He insisted on giving me those gold coins. Master, if you don’t believe me, you can ask him…” Jacob said.

Before Jacob finished his words, Anthony had already pulled his sword out. A glaring sword radiance flashed. He cut Jacob into halves like it was as easy as cutting a piece of tofu. Anthony had put his sword back into the sheath before the blood splashed everywhere. He sat back like nothing had happened.

The bloody scene startled Shinon. He hurriedly lowered his head. He was just a regular person and got scared by such a scene.

“How dare he argue with me? I will just bestow a quick death to him,” Anthony said slowly. “You go to take all of Jacob’s team and keep them in the Death Row Cell and wait for my order.”

“Yes, Master,” the two mercenaries answered together. They left the living room.

“You, go tell the housekeeper to bring five hundred gold coins.” Anthony waved his hand.

A maid standing next to Anthony hurried through a side door. Soon a man about sixty years old trotted in with a young mercenary behind him. Five hundred gold coins were heavy. An old man could not carry them by himself.

That old man opened a box about 1 foot square. It was full of shiny gold coins. It blinded everyone’s eyes under the forever lights. Anthony looked at the gold coins and said with a smile, “Shinon, this is my appreciation gift. Please tell your master that I appreciate his effort.”

“Hmmm…” Shinon’s jaw dropped.

“This is not for you. This is for your master. Don’t worry. Just take them. I will have my people escort you. No one would even think of taking them from you,” Anthony said.

“Thank you, Master,” Shinon said.

“Anthony, if you did not make mistake, we should have gotten the information three days ago. Do you think Dark Moon Magic Legion and Master Newyoheim are only worth five hundred gold coins?” Michael said in a mocking tone. He vented his anger on Anthony. He mocked Anthony for being not generous, but he was not the one paying for it. It should have nothing to do with him.

“My bad.” Anthony did not mind. He hesitated for a second then asked in a casual tone, “Shinon, what weapon does your master use?”

Shinon thought about it and remember his master cut off the rope on him with a sword. “My master uses a sword.”

“Great. I have a black flaming sword. I heard a genius blacksmith from the dwarfs made it for the humans. I would like to give it to your master as a gift.” Anthony waved his hand again.

Michael saw what Anthony was trying to do. They looked at each other. That secret person used a sword. At least he knew something about that secret man. According to Shinon, his master had left White Mountain City a dozen days previously. If they took some time to search, they might find something out.

“Zubin’s back.” Christian waved his hand and dispersed the Eye of the Sky.

“He should have been back a long time ago,” Hagan said and stood up. Moramatch was a small town, and there were supplies Hagan needed that could not be found in the town. His potions were almost all gone, and a few potions were needed urgently. He had been waiting for Zubin impatiently.

A few minutes later, Zubin’s caravan entered the town. Zubin jumped off the first carriage. He seemed exhausted. Clearly this trip had not been easy for him.

“You’re finally back.” Sante said,walking up to Zubin. “I thought you were too taken by the city and had forgotten about us.”

“Sounds like something you would do,” Zubin said with a grin. “I’ll keep in mind not to send you to the city.”

“And I thought we were friends! You can just go have fun by yourself and leave me behind!”

“Have fun?” Zubin shook his head. “You can’t even imagine!”

Just then, someone screamed in a nearby house, “Get back here!”

A white figure jumped out of the house and landed by the clearing. The little unicorn glanced at the house proudly. A dress dangled from its horn.

Shally ran out of the house with a branch. She was chasing after the unicorn, but changed her path as soon as she saw Zubin. She stopped in front of him and asked, “Did you bring me anything?”

“Of course,” Zubin smiled. He turned and called. A mercenary hurried over, holding a small chest.

“What’s in it?” Shally asked, her eyes shining. Most young girls like shining and beautiful things. The chest was adorned with shining crystals, and even if there was nothing inside, Shally would have been content with the gift.

“Look for yourself,” Zubin said as he handed the chest to Shally.

The little unicorn, seeing that Shally was distracted, dropped the dress and whined, hoping to get Shally’s attention. Then it picked up the dress again, ready to run at anytime.

However, Shally’s attention was completely absorbed by the chest, and she did not pay attention to the unicorn. She took the chest gingerly. She held her breath as she opened the lid carefully. The chest was filled with colorful dresses and sparkling jewelry. Shally’s eyes widened.

“Thank you so much, Zubin!” Shally said happily. She smiled and held her gift close to her chest.

“Zubin, why did you get her so many things? It’s surely expensive,” Suzanna scolded him softly as she walked over. In the past, she did not care if anyone bought Shally gifts. Now, however, she was to be the wife of their leader, and was in a more complicated situation. She was afraid that buying luxuries for Shally would create a negative impact. She did not want to trouble anyone.

“It’s just some crystal jewelry. I thought Shally would find them pretty,” Zubin said. This meant the the jewelry was inexpensive, and Suzanna had nothing to worry about.

“Suzanna!” Shally pouted, looking at her sister.

“She’s too young for jewelry,” Suzanna said, patting Shally’s head. “You don’t have to bring her anything next time.”

“That’s all secondary. The most important thing is that Shally is happy.” Zubin grinned.

“You’re the best, Zubin,” Shally said sweetly.

“Even better than Anfey?”

Shally looked at Suzanna, then shook her head. She might have been young, but she knew that jewels were only temporary. What was more important was her family. She heard that Anfey was going to her marry her sister, so of course Anfey was more important.

The little unicorn was getting impatient. It ran towards Shally with the dress dangling from its mouth, and nudged Shally. It turned to run away, but before it could get away, Suzanna stopped it and took the dress.

“Is it doing this on purpose again?” Suzanna asked, handing Shally the dress.

Shally took the dress and glared at the unicorn.

The young unicorn whined unhappily at Suzanna. Clearly, it thought Suzanna was being unfair.

“Where are my things? My supplies?” Hagan hurried over and asked.

“It’s all on the carriages,” Zubin said.

“What’s the rush? Even Shally was more patient than you,” Sante said.

“Shut up,” Hagan snapped. “I’m rushing because I’m making weapons for you.”

“You wasted all those potions and made nothing so far.”

“I’m practicing ancient alchemy. You wouldn’t understand,” Hagan snorted. “I’m still not familiar with it, but when I get the hang of it, you will be very impressed.”

“Ancient alchemy? You’ve never told us anything about that.”

“I’ve only gotten into it lately,” Hagan said, turning his eyes away.

“The only person that knows ancient languages is Hui Wei. Did you find out from him?” Zubin asked.

“That’s none of your business,” Hagan said. He turned and began walking towards the carriages.

“Why is he being so secretive? I have no interest in alchemy,” Sante said, shaking his head.

“Zubin, you’re back.” Anfey walked over and joined the conversation. Zubin nodded.

“Did anything happen?” Anfey asked.

“We encountered some bandits, but we were under the Band of Brothers mercenary banner, and they did not attack us.”

“As long as there were no casualties,” Anfey nodded. He looked at Zubin and said, “Come with me.”

“Alright.”

Looking at Anfey and Zubin, Sante scratched his head. “Since when did they become so secretive? Why can’t they talk in front of us? Suzanna, do you know anything?”

“She doesn’t,” Shally said before Suzanna could reply. “She wouldn’t tell you if she did.”

“Shally, I’ve never done anything to you, have I?”

Anfey and Zubin had already left the clearing and rounded the corner. Anfey’s residence was just ahead. “Is everything done?” Anfey asked softly.

Zubin nodded. “That guy named Shinon, he looked like he did not know anything. You sure he won’t mess anything up?”

“I use him because he knows nothing. If he knows too much he’s unfit for the job,” Anfey said. “You’re sure he met with Anthony?”

“I saw Anthony escorting him out,” Zubin said. He glanced around and said in a hushed voice, “Anfey, are you sure dealing with Anthony was the right move?”

“You’re not doubting me, are you?” Anfey asked jokingly.

“Listen, Anfey. After you saved us back in the Sacred City, I knew I could respect you as a leader.” Zubin stopped in his tracks, his expression grave. “On that ship, you were the only one that remained calm after we fell into the trap. I am not a blind follower. Time after time you proved you are a good leader. I do not doubt your actions, or else I would have talked to you before I left.”

“I apologize. I shouldn’t have joked about that,” Anfey said. He sighed and shook his head.

Zubin smiled and began walking again.

“Actually, this was just to get acquainted with Anthony. We want him to be able to recognize us and trust us, so we can use him later,” Anfey told Zubin. “What did we give up? Useless information. Nothing that would affect Maho Empire negatively.”

“Anfey, you better be careful. Anthony is not easily fooled.”

“I know, and we only have one chance. We cannot waste that chance,” Anfey sighed, looking up at the sky. “My respect for someone has increased.”

“Who is it?”

“His Majesty,” Anfey said with a smile. “After Black Eleven told everyone that His Majesty is still alive, I never expected everyone to be so happy. Blavi is a serious guy, and even he broke into song. Only the wisest, most respected king could manage to impact his subjects like that.”

“His Majesty is a wonderful king,” Zubin said with a smile. “There’s a time he was patrolling the city, and his carriage driver…”

“The driver knocked over a commoner, and His Majesty helped the man up and apologized to him, right?” Anfey smiled. “I’ve heard it so many times.” Anfey wasn’t trying to downplay Yolanthe’s achievement. Even though he suspected Yolanthe faked his own death as a stunt, he still respected him. People who did not know how to pull successful publicity stunts were not fit to be politicians. A king who did things for show was still much better than a king who did nothing. Yolanthe’s policies showed that he cared for the rights of his subjects. This was a rare occurrence in this world.

“I have heard about it many times, but I feel excited every time though.” Zubin smiled. “Oh, right, Anfey, how did Christian react when he heard our king is still alive?”

“Christian? Why are we talking about him?” Anfey asked in surprise.

“You answer me first and I will tell you,” Zubin said.

“Hmm…” Anfey blinked as he recalled. “He was obviously happy about it.”

“Not very excited?” Zubin asked.

“A little excited, but not overly excited,” Anfey said.

“Anfey, do you remember how Christian reacted when we first heard about the king’s death at our professor’s house?” Zubin asked.

“Yeah, what about it?” Anfey asked.

“Besides Niya, Christian was the only one crying. He looked so sad. Niya still seemed to feel bad about it the second day, but Christian looked like he felt a lot better,” Zubin said.

“You have noticed a lot.” Anfey smiled.

“I just happened to notice it. That night, I had trouble with a magic spell. I went to ask Christian for help, but he was not home. I even asked Blavi and Feller whether they saw where Christian went. First I thought he wanted to be alone to remediate his sorrow over the king’s death, but I found something unusual the second day.” Zubin paused a little. “Even if we could say Christian found a magic way to make himself recover from his sadness, he should not have experienced such a tremendous change from being super sad to super happy.”

“Zubin, what are you trying to say?” Anfey asked.

“I think Christian must have known the truth about king’s death in some way, or someone told him the truth,” Zubin said.

“Why did you wait so long to tell me this?” Anfey asked.

“Christian and you are like our brothers, and protected us like our saviors when we were fleeing. I did not want to see you doubting each other, which could have brought us many dangers. Now we seem to be a lot safer. That is why I am telling you now. Anfey, you will not give Christian a hard time, will you?” Zubin said.

“Is it necessary? We have been through so much together. Nothing could affect the trust we built together.” Anfey smiled.

“It’s great if you think that way.” Zubin heaved a sigh of relief.

“Everyone has their own secrets. I do not want to force him to tell me. When the time is right, I think Christian will tell us on his own,” Anfey said.

“Anfey, are you telling me you also have some secrets?” Zubin asked.

“Sure, don’t you have secrets?” Anfey asked.

“I…” Zubin shook his head with a smile. He changed the topic. “Anfey, I found a few merchants from Gruce Principality. I asked them whether they had heard of Suzanna, and they told me they had never heard of a name like ‘Suzanna’.”

“They should have heard of her. A senior swordswoman under 20 should be noticed, no matter where she is. Is it possible that you did not ask the right questions?” Anfey said.

“They did not know about Suzanna, but they do know about Shally. They even took out their weapons to threaten me to tell them where Shally is. I almost could not escape from them,” Zubin said slowly. “I caught one of them later. I interrogated him and found out Shally is on the wanted list of Gruce Principality. Do you know there is a reward for catching Shally?”

“How could I know?” Anfey shook his head.

Zubin had three fingers out.

“Three hundred gold coins?” Anfey asked. Seeing the corners of Zubin’s mouth curling up. He added a zero after his last guess: “Three thousand gold coins?”

“Bingo.” Zubin said.

“If they are willing to catch a little girl for three thousand gold coins, they must have known something about the treasure map.” Anfey could not help recalling the scene when the floor was covered with gold coins when they walked into that chamber. Then did not have enough space in their Dimensional rings to carry those gold coins, so they left a magic mark. They also marked it on magic coordinates. They left there after they killed the orcs.

“They must know something about it. Do you know who Shally’s parents are?” Zubin asked. He paused then said, “Former Grand Duke of Gruce Principality, Darius.”

“Former? Who is the current Grand Duke?” Anfey asked.

“The former prime minister of Gruce Principality, Trajan, led an uprising in protest against Darius’s luxurious life and unsuccessful political career. He became a Grand Duke three years ago, while Darius disappeared. No one knows where he is now,” Zubin said.

“So, Suzanna is also…” Anfey said.

” Anfey.” A call interrupted Anfey. Suzanna showed up at the corner of the street. She rushed to Anfey in big strides. “Anfey, our magic outpost sent out signals. Riska saw Shansa Empire calvary marching towards Moramatch in the Eyes of the Sky. There are at least of a thousand of them. What should we do?” Suzanna asked.

Anfey was shocked for a second and then yelled, “Ring the alarm. Everyone retreat to the underground tunnels. Hurry!”

“Anfey, are we leaving all these here?” Suzanna looked around. She was not willing to give them up.

There were many buildings going up in in the town of Moramatch. A ffew days ago, the werewolves, dwarves, and gnomes in the underground guerrilla warfare were either killed or surrendered. Anfey was nice to the ones who surrendered. He did not take them as slaves. They had the absolute freedom to decide if they want to leave or stay. They could make decent money if they decided to stay and work for Anfey. With this policy, it eliminated the racial discrimination and gave the natives of Moramatch some respect. To all intelligent life, survival was their priority. They made the compromise fast. They switched from not being willing to cooperate to initiating work together. Right now, those dwarves and gnomes were working in Moramatch hall. To retreat, it meant what they had done for the past over ten days would be for nothing.

This was not even the main issue. The underground tunnels were built for dwarves and gnomes, so they were barely tall enough for humans. When Black Eleven left White Mountain City, he wanted to build a base here. He brought a lot of his belongs with him. There were over four hundred horses, not to mention other things. It was not possible to have horses in the underground tunnels. There were many supplies as well. Only a small portion of them could be moved to the underground tunnels. Most were still stored in the town. All of these would become the enemy’s booty.

Anfey had anticipated the revenge from Shansa Empire. With careful analysis, he thought the chances were slim. No matter why the Shansa Empire military would attack Moramatch, they would give the Country of Mercenaries an opportunity to organize an invasion force against them. Anyone with some common sense about politics would not do such stupid thing. Of course, just in case, Anfey had asked dwarves and gnomes to speed up their underground tunnel project. This was a huge project. They still needed one or two days more to move their supplies underground. Shansa Empire just came at a bad time.

“We do not have much time. Withdraw now,” Anfey said coldly. They had a lot of supplies with them. The differences in professions made Anfey feel it was a world part. He did not care much for war. His natural cautiousness had him avoid anything related to war. If supplies were lost, they could get them back in the future. If the people in his legion were gone, they would never come back from death.

“Ok.” Suzanna ground her teeth. She rushed back to the empty field.

“Anfey, where is all the stuff I just brought back?” Zubin was worried.

“Zubin, take your stuff to the rear end of the town. You go and tell Christian to bring horses and wagons there as well. He should know what to do,” Anfey instructed.

“Aren’t we going to set up a magic array of chaos over there?” Zubin asked.

“We have set it up. It will start once we put the magic crystals in.” Anfey said slowly, “We do not have other ways. I would rather ruin everything than have them get the supplies.”

“I understand.” Zubin smiled bitterly. He released levitation magic, flying to the sky.

Anfey let out a slight sigh and ran toward Moramatch. Blavi, who had climbed into an old tree, was nervously watching from the Eyes of Sky. In fact, he did not need to watch from the Eyes of Sky anymore, since Shansa Empire’s cavalry had passed the s-shaped hill and reached the end of the dirt road.

“What is going on?” Anfey jumped onto the outpost.

“They are here.” Blavi pointed ahead of them with his chin as he smiled bitterly.

The dust was blowing. Half of the cavalry was covered in a cloud of dust. Maybe they knew there was a huge difference in power between them, or they did not know what Moramatch could do to them. Shansa Empire’s military looked reckless. Without any investigation, they just rushed to Moramatch.

Anfey glanced at the Eyes of Sky. Obviously, the military suited Kumaraghosha. Blavi had been following him after he caught Kumaraghosha in the Eyes of Sky. From different flags in different sections, he could tell Kumaraghosha was in the first section.

“You go first,” Anfey ordered as he took out his bow, watching Shansa Empire’s military carefully.

Anfey knew the generals usually wore what other regular soldiers’ wore in the nineteenth century. It was to prevent attacks from ambush. The wars in the magic world were quite different. Anfey had recognized Kumaraghosha’s armor when the first section of the cavalry was less than 700 feet. He took a deep breath and took out a manticore bone arrow Hagan made for him. He slowly pulled the bow back.

An arrow so fast it was hard to detect flew towards Kumaraghosha. An arrow at this speed might be able to hurt an unsuspecting mage, but for a senior platinum knight, it was hardly a threat.

Kumaraghosha stared ahead thoughtfully. He raised his right hand and caught the arrow. However, to Kumaraghosha’s dismay, the arrow burst into light and did not stop. It slipping past his hand and headed straight for his throat. Kumaraghosha had a fast reflex, and his combat power suddenly became blinding. The arrow froze in his palm.

Kumaraghosha looked at the arrow, and his eyes widened. Before he could do anything, the arrow burst into flame. The wave of fiery heat obscured Kumaraghosha’s figure and threw his guards away from him.

As the light dispersed, Kumaraghosha’s figure appeared. The explosion wasn’t enough to hurt a senior platinum knight, but his stallion was wounded. Its back and neck were both injured, and the poor horse crashed to the ground.

The stallion was writhing on the ground, its bones breaking with a sickening crunch. If one was to cut the horse open, it would be apparent that the horse’s organs and ribs were all crushed because of Kumaraghosha’s squeeze. Even a dragon could not have survived that level of damage, let alone a war horse.

Kumaraghosha raised his head slowly. He was watching where the arrow had came from. A guard calmed his spooked horse, then he jumped off and offered the horse to Kumaraghosha.

“Keep charging.” Kumaraghosha mounted the horse and ordered as if the explosion did not happen.

Anfey sighed. He did not expect to be able to kill Kumaraghosha with one arrow, but he still hoping for a miracle. The first cavalry was only two hundred feet away, and Anfey could see the grave and painful expressions of the riders. Clearly, this army came for revenge. He threw his head back and flipped off of the Eyes of the Sky. In the past, he would not try to jump from such a high structure. Now, however, he had a new understanding of magic and could control it far better. Even a common man could see the wind blades appearing under Anfey’s feet. Every blade lessened the impact of the fall from a such a height. A few moments later, Anfey landed on solid ground and began running towards the town.

Kumaraghosha raised his hand, and the cavalry stopped. This cavalry was not Kumaraghosha’s actual army, and he had spent some time away from the military. His influence in the army was far weaker, but this was an elite cavalry, and could follow the order of any general.

Kumaraghosha narrowed his eyes and observed Moramatch. Alibaba Mercenary consisted of more than a dozen mages, and that was what he was most worried about. Compared to the mages, the female swordsmaster was not as threatening.

“Kumaraghosha, I already know what kind of a person you are. I have been expecting you.” Amplifying magic helping carried Anfey’s voice all the way to Kumaraghosha.

Kumaraghosha smiled. He did not care about Anfey’s words. He had seen many people like this in the past. People who did not know their power, and tried to discourage his men with words. A battle’s outcome could not be changed with a few words. The only thing that could change a battle was strength.

“Kumaraghosha, you seem to have forgotten who the original residents of this place were. I am sorry to inform you that this town sits on top of hundreds of underground tunnels. You are going to leave here today empty-handed.” The magic amplified Anfey’s voice, and now not only the residents of Moramatch, but also the Shansa cavalry could hear him as well.

Kumaraghosha frowned. He knew that it was unlikely he would achieve what he wanted today. However, this did not dissuade him. He decided that he would return here every year, and prevent Moramatch from rebuilding itself. It wouldn’t matter what the town did, he would destroy it again and again. Shansa’s warriors did not lack the patience and will needed for revenge.

“Kumaraghosha, your plan of killing us failed, eh? Scared now? Worried? Let me tell you. I did not kill General Mintel like you wanted me to. I talked with him, and found out what kind of a person you are. Why would I work for you, or with you, after that? Let me tell you, General Mintel is already on his way back to Shansa Empire to report your crime!” Anfey’s voice was getting louder, and he did not hesitate in revealing Kumaraghosha’s secrets.

Harrison, who was standing next to Kumaraghosha, could not take it anymore. “Shut your liar’s mouth!” He called angrily. “If you’re a man, you get out here and you face us!”

“Wait a moment, Harrison,” Kumaraghosha said, smiling. “I thought he was a sly man, but I did not expect him to be so stupid.”

“So you can kill me? I am not stupid! Who said that I am lying? Let me tell you. The boarbeasts you bought last time went bad became we used decaying potion. If it wasn’t for Kumaraghosha’s cooperation, we wouldn’t have found the chance to do it. Without Kumaraghosha, the aerial squadron’s guards would not have been away when we attacked.”

“And his lies continue,” Kumaraghosha said. He raised his gun slowly. He did not want to waste any more of his time.

“I apologize for my mistake. Kumaraghosha didn’t just cooperate with us. He was our commander! That was why we were able to defeat the aerial squadron! Too bad I recognized your tricks, Kumaraghosha, and let General Mintel go. If everything goes according to plan, he should be back in Shansa Empire, telling everyone about your crime. You, and your men, are doomed!”

The gun in Kumaraghosha’s hand shook. At first he did not care about what Anfey was saying. Now, he understood what he was trying to do. Kumaraghosha was not a politician, or else he would try to avenge himself without orders, but he knew that tricks like this could kill a man, without the killer even moving a finger. He thought he had done nothing wrong, since he led the cavalry away under Mintel’s orders. However, would Mintel report honestly after returning to the empire? Mintel had lost everything, and if he wanted, Kumaraghosha would be the perfect scapegoat. What should he do, then?

“Kumaraghosha, I know that you are still bitter over the fact that Edward the Eighth killed General Nabonido, and wanted to avenge the general. I understand your sentiments, but your action was despicable! You want your men to be called traitors, you want their families to be the target of public defamation? Come on, come with your traitorous army! Let’s see who gets the final laugh!”

“Ready yourselves,” Kumaraghosha barked. He needed to wash away the unease with blood.

For an elite army, the soldiers were all well disciplined. As soon as they heard the commander’s order, the soldiers should have replied with action. Kumaraghosha sensed something wrong in the soldiers, and turned to look at them. Only some of the riders raised their guns; the others were staring straight ahead, as if lost in thought. Some were even chattering amongst themselves, clearly unnerved by what they just heard.

Righteous men should not be afraid of rumors, but the others may still believe it. It is easy to pour ink on someone, but removing the ink would be hard work.

“Kumaraghosha, are you afraid now that everyone knows your treachery? Now you would have to kill me and your men! Come on, attack me. I will kill all of your men as a parting gift. But you have to be careful! If one man lives to tell the tale, General Mintel has a witness!” Anfey’s voice boomed. Surges of powerful magic spread through Moramatch. Who knew how many power mages were in the town.

“Follow me!” Kumaraghosha barked angrily. He held up his gun and began charging. He was a proud man, and did not care for the words of a small mercenary leader. He did not even try to explain himself to his men. The only thing powerful men needed in battle was their weapons, and the only thing they trusted was their own strength.

Harrison yelled and followed Kumaraghosha. He had been serving Kumaraghosha since he was a young man. He knew very well how loyal and upstanding Kumaraghosha was, and did not fall for Anfey’s lies. The cavalrymen, however, were divided into two sides. Only half of the cavalry charged with Kumaraghosha. The other half remained where they were. Anfey’s lies had sown a seed of doubt in those men.

As the riders approached Moramatch, the cavalry split into three groups. Kumaraghosha led the middle group, and the other two groups rode off to the sides to surround the city. Even though Kumaraghosha was enraged, he could still think clearly. He was not stupid enough to keep all the riders in one group. That would make them easy targets for the mages.