Assassin’s Chronicle - Chapter 241

Anfey turned around and looked at Suzanna helplessly. It seemed that whatever he said was not good enough. He was relying on Suzanna to explain for him. Suzanna slowly walked over and signaled Anfey to take Shally from her arms. She leaned her head to signal Anfey to leave first.

Anfey walked to the door with Shally in his arms. The little unicorn followed him. The magic beast’s intelligence was limited, plus the little unicorn was only a year old. The little unicorn only knew there was conflict between Anfey and Niya and Anfey was defeated. However, the little unicorn had no idea why they had the conflict. The little guy walked up to Anfey and turned around to snort. The little unicorn looked very close to Anfey. It seemed that the little guy was trying to comfort Anfey.

As Anfey stepped out of the room, he saw everyone gathering in the hallway and chatting in groups. Christian walked over to Anfey. Anfey looked at Christian with a serious look and asked quietly, “Did you have a nightmare as well?”

“Yes, I did. I have asked Feller to look for Miorich and ask Miorich to contact the mage union. If it is nothing else, it should be necromancers messing with us,” Christian said with a frown.

“Anfey, did you have nightmares?” Hui Wei joined their conversation.

“No, I did not have any,” Anfey said.

“You are so special,” Hui Wei said with a smile.

“It seemed that Niya did not have a nightmare either,” Anfey said.

“Really?” Christian looked surprised. “Niya’s telepathy is nothing to necromancers. Her telepathy could be ignored, but how could she not be affected?”

“Are you saying everyone’s nightmares are because of telepathy magic?” Anfey asked.

“Yes. Telepathy attacks are necromancers’ best tricks. Don’t underestimate this kind of magic. If a person has nightmares for a long time, it would only take one or two months to have a mental breakdown,” Christian said.

“If this is the case, I think I know how to deal with it,” Anfey said.

“You?” Chrsitian asked.

“Are you doubting me?” Anfey smiled. Compared with the monarchs in the Evil Abyss, this kind of nightmare telepathy attack was nothing more than kids’ tricks. Anfey played a role as social butterfly among all the monarchs, but his telepathy was a lot more powerful than those Ahrimans. Anfey never forgot to practice his telepathy no matter where he was because he believe capability was everything to a person.

“No. I just feel weird about it,” Christian said, shaking his head. A mage’s ability mainly depended on his magic power and telepathy. If Anfey dared to say he knew how to deal with telepathy magic, he must know how to do it. Compared to his weak magic surges, his understanding of telepathy was awesome but a little weird to everyone.

“Hmm? Shally is not having a nightmare. Look, she is having a sound sleep.” Hui Wei kept his voice low.

Anfey was shocked for a second and looked down at Shally. Shally quietly rested on his shoulder. She wore a smile on her face, even with tears still on her face. Without knowing when, the fear and anxiety on her face had disappeared.

“That is not right. Shally has been having nightmares. Suzanna had asked me to be on watch with her at night, but later at night she had to see Shally,” Anfey said.

As Anfey finished talking, they heard heavy steps downstairs. Miorich walked upstairs with over ten knights behind him. There was a middle-aged man with a gloomy face. His eyes were a lot whiter than usual and his pupils were very small. If he looked at anyone, the person would feel really uneasy. With his gloomy face, he looked really terrifying.

The middle-aged man scanned the hallway and was lost in thought for a while with his eyes slightly closed. He slightly nodded to Miorich and said in a low voice, “There is a trace of infection.”

“It must be a piece of cake for you to deal with it, right?” Miorich smiled.

“It is a piece of cake.” The middle aged man smiled too, but not too happily. His gloomy face with a not-so-pretty smile would have the effect of scaring any naughty kid. When kids cried a lot at night, parents would ask someone who looked scary to scare the kids to go to sleep without crying. This man definitely had that ability. “Are we doing it here?” the middle-aged man asked.

“Is that okay?” Miorich asked.

“It’s fine,” the man answered as he walked up. Blavi and Sante could not help taking a defensive pose. To be honest, the middle-aged man was neither ugly nor scary, but he just looked so gloomy, which made Blavi and Sante nervous.

The middle-aged man took two steps forward and saw the little unicorn at Anfey’s feet. He was shocked for a second. “Is that a unicorn?”

“Yes,” Miorich said.

“Then what is the point of asking me to come? Don’t you know unicorns have purification ability?” the man said.

“Did you say unicorns have the purification ability?” Miorich asked.

“Of course.” The middle-aged man was rude. He did not look nice either. He even rolled his eyes at Miorich. His pupils looked like they suddenly disappeared. He looked very scary.

Anfey suddenly realized why Niya did not have nightmares and why Shally was sleeping so soundly. It was all because of the little unicorn.

“Are you the master of that little unicorn?” The man turned to look at Anfey. That little guy seemed close to Anfey. It was not hard to guess the relationship between Anfey and that little unicorn.

“You could say that,” Anfey nodded.

“Can you sell the little unicorn to me? You do not have to worry about the price. As long as it is not too outrageous, I can pay any price you ask,” the middle-aged man said.

“No,” Anfey answered with a firm tone. He felt so helpless. He had been back for just a few days. There were already so many people interested in the little unicorn. He could not simply lock the little unicorn up. Even dogs needed to be taken out for a walk. The little unicorn was such a proud magic beast that he could not take being locked up.

“Stop it. Our king has been waiting to see this little unicorn,” Miorich suddenly said with a firm face.

Anfey felt shocked. With Miorich’s power, if he had to press the middle-aged man by referring to Yolanthe, it was obvious that the middle-aged man was a difficult person to deal with.

“Am I that kind of person?” The middle-aged man shrugged with his hands out. “Miorich, do not scare us with your gloomy face. We have been friends for many years.”

Anfey and others just looked at each other, wondering who that middle-aged man with the gloomy face was. It was hard to deal with a guy like him.

“It was just because we have been friends for so many years and I know you well,” Miorich said. He did not look mad or excited.

“Hey, Miorich, you asked me to come to help you. Why are you talking to me with this kind of attitude?” the gloomy man said.

“I did not ask you to come to help me. You heard a necromancer had released infection and came over on your own,” Miorich said.

“You are so devious,” The man yelled.

“You are ridiculous,” Miorich responded immediately.

That middle-aged man’s eyes looked brighter, and the brown pupils contracted into a dot. He stared at Miorich without blinking. He looked like a vicious wolf, ready to eat a person. Miorich was not scared by him at all. He kept calm. After a while, the middle-aged man was defeated first. His pressuring pose was totally gone as well. He sluggishly waved his hand. “Never mind, never mind. I will let it go this time, since we are friends.”

It sounded insulting to others, but Miorich’s bodyguard squad kept quiet and their faces did not change at all. Miorich smiled instead.

“Hey, are your people all here? It seems that you have somebody missing,” the middle-aged man asked, turning to Anfey.

Christian looked around and said, “Niya and Suzanna are still in their room. So is Doris. I knocked on her door to wake her up, but she is not here yet. Blavi, can you go and check on her?”

“Niya? Which Niya?” The middle-aged man suddenly looked nervous.

“Not the Niya you know. She is his sister, also named Niya.” Miorich pointed his chin at Anfey.

“Is Niya your sister?” The middle-aged man pressed Anfey.

“She is my sister. Do you know her?” Anfey did not know the reason Miorich had to lie about it, but he helped Miorich anyway, since he felt closer to Miorich than the middle-aged man.

“No, I don’t know her.” That middle-aged man waved his hands.

Blavi came back with Doris. Doris was dressed, but she yawned with bleary eyes. Obviously she had gone back to sleep with her dress on after Christian woke her up.

The man paused for a second and nodded at Miorich. He walked up to Doris and said, “Miss, have you experienced anything weird in the past few days?”

“Me?” Doris struggled to open her eyes to look at the person who was asking her questions. With one glance, she totally woke up. She stepped back with her hands held out in front of her chest. She looked like she was ready to chant.

“Doris, don’t be nervous,” Anfey said immediately.

Doris finally realized everybody in Anfey’s legion was around her. Miorich was there too. She finally felt not so nervous, but she did not answer the question right away. She walked around the middle-aged man and moved over against the wall to be away from him. She heaved a long sigh when she finally walked up to Anfey. She even patted her chest to comfort herself.

The middle-aged man still maintained his gloomy face. He did not get mad or annoyed by Doris’s rudeness.

“Doris, think about it. Did you experience anything weird?” Anfey asked for the middle-aged man. He knew something must have happened to her.

“No,” Doris said.

“Think about it,” Anfey said.

Doris had her head tilted to try to recall anything unusual. “Something might have been weird in Violet City.”

“What happened?” Anfey asked.

“One day I went out with Blavi and few others, but I got lost. I saw a homeless man lying on the sidewalk and asking for food. Nobody even looked at him. I felt bad for him so I bought two loaves of bread for him. He must have been starving. He grabbed the bread from my hands and scratched me.”

“Let me see your wound,” Anfey said.

“It’s alright,” Doris said, holding her hand out. “Usually when I scratch myself, it takes a few days to heal, but this one disappeared that night.”

Anfey looked at Doris’s hand, and it was smooth, without any sign of injuries.

“Do you have an idea?” Miorich asked.

The middle age man nodded and retrieved a bottle of light blue potion from his dimensional ring. He handed the potion to Miorich and said, “This may hurt a little, but it won’t last. Keep her with the unicorn. It should be beneficial for her. If this not enough, I need more materials so I can make a few more bottles.”

Miorich held the bottle in his hand and smiled at the man. “I would say thank you, but I think we are past that stage now.”

“Say it anyway,” the man said. “I like the sound of that phrase.”

“What am I supposed to do with you?” Miorich asked with a smile.

Doris frowned and looked at the two men. She clearly did not realize Miorich was talking about her. Hagan, on the other hand, knew exactly what the potion was. He pushed to the front and asked, “Are you an alchemist, sir?”

“No.”

“Then how did you…”

“I am an arch alchemist, mind you. And first and foremost I am a mage.”

Hagan stared at the man in shock. He had never met anyone like this man. He was asking for the man’s occupation, not his title. The man was either very pretentious or liked riddles.

“Are you an alchemist?” the man asked.

“Y-Yes,” Hagan said. He wanted to fool the man, but he was only an alchemist with no title.

“I won’t waste my time here, then. I will give you the recipe for the potion and you can make it.”

“Th-Thank you,” Hagan said sincerely. He bowed to the man gratefully. Unlike other occupations, alchemists’ strength lay in knowing as many recipes as possible. For Hagan, the man wasn’t just giving him a recipe. He was helping him grow as an alchemist.

The man smiled and found a magic scroll. He tapped the scroll and the magic on the scroll disappeared. Strange runes appeared around and on the scroll, then he handed the scroll to Miorich.

Hagan stared in shock. It was not easy to make magic scrolls, and it was even harder to wipe away the runes on magic scrolls. The man was able to do it so easily and so fast, it was almost impossible. Like the way Suzanna look at Miorich, Hagan looked at the man with reverence and admiration.

“We are done here, then? I have to go to Violet City,” the man said and stretched.

“Why?” Miorich asked.

“The marquis there invited me. I don’t have anything anyway, so I agreed.”

“The marquis?” Miorich asked, frowning. “Why is he asking for you?”

“I don’t know,” the man said, shrugging. “Oh yes, he mentioned that he’s being threatened by something. He didn’t happen to cross you, did he?”

Miorich snorted. “He’s trying to pit you against me,” he said coldly.

“He’s asking the wrong person, then,” the man said with a smile. “I would never do something so stupid.” The man clasped Miorich’s shoulder and smiled. “How about this. I go, and I act as a spy for you. I will live with him and tell you all about that guy.”

Anfey looked at the man and suppressed his urge to laugh. When he first met the man, he was very suspicious of him. He felt unease when the man offered to buy the unicorn, but judging from the way he talked, he was clearly someone who did not care much about mundane conflicts. The man had offered to teach Hagan the potion recipe and picked Miorich’s side in the fight against the marquis, and was obviously a good person.

“You aren’t afraid that the marquis is going to kill you?”

“He’s not good enough,” the man said. “Even if he finds out I’m a spy for you, he won’t do anything.” The man smiled and turned his gaze to Hagan. “Keep it up, kid,” he said. “You’re good. Us alchemists are respected. Forget about Marquis Djoser. You see this famous general here? Even he has to respect me.”

Miorich rolled his eyes but did not say anything in objection.

“Y-yes,” Hagan said, nodding. “I will heed your advice.”

Anfey heard voices behind him, and knew that it was Suzanna and Niya. Niya had quite the temper, and it was hard for anyone to calm her down.

“Did you know why I endured you for so long?” Miorich asked.

“Why?”

“Because I like a good show.”

“A good show? Where?” the man asked, glancing around.

“You’ll see in a bit,” Miorich said, grinning.

As soon as he finished his sentence, Suzanna appeared. Her hand reached for her sword when she saw the man, because even though he appeared very common, she still saw him as a threat.

Niya appeared after a few seconds, and her eyes met the middle-aged man’s. The man’s face suddenly became very red, and tried to shield his face with his right hand. He waved his left hand, and a powerful magic surge ripped through the air. Thick smoke appeared and obscured his and Miorich’s figures. People around could not see Miorich, but they could hear him laughing uncontrollably.

The smoke dispersed and the man was gone. Miorich stopped laughing, but his expression was strange. His hands were clenched, as if he was trying to control his emotions.

“Was that, was that him?” Niya asked, her voice shaking. Like the man, her face was flushed as well.

“Yes,” Miorich said. His voice was hoarse, and he turned to walk away.

Anfey did not know what happened in the smoke, but he knew that the man must have played a prank on Miorich before he disappeared. Miorich did not want to embarrass himself in front of the youngsters, and that was why he left so quickly.

“What should we do, then?” Suzanna asked quietly. She was trying to comfort Niya earlier, and did not know what had happened outside.

“It’s solved,” Christian said with a smile.

“It’s solved?” Suzanna asked, shocked. Anfey had been so worried only minutes earlier, but now it was already solved?

Anfey nodded. “See?” He gestured towards Shally, who was already deep asleep. She did not wake up to the commotion earlier, but she was clearly more calm now. Suzanna let out a sigh of relief.

Hagan suddenly jumped up and called, “Wait! The recipe! The recipe! Miorich! Wait up!” He screamed loudly, earning glares from all the knights in the room, and chased after Miorich.

Hagan’s cries did not wake up Shally either. She only murmured in her sleep and snuggled against her sister.

“What happened?” Suzanna asked. “How did they cure her?”

“The unicorn did,” Anfey said with a smile.

Everyone glanced at the unicorn. Everyone had heard that unicorns had purifying abilities. Surely nothing bad would come from being with the unicorn.

“Come here,” Niya said. She crouched down and waved at the unicorn. “Come here, dear.” She did not care what Anfey called the unicorn, she had always called the unicorn “dear.”

The unicorn only glanced at her, but did not go to her. It walked around Anfey and stayed farther away from her.

The unicorn was only a magic beast and was not very intelligent. It would only remember a recent event. From the unicorn’s point of view, it was on Anfey’s side, and Anfey had just been defeated. It did not want to get close to Niya.

“Come here,” Niya called again. She narrowed her eyes angrily, “Get over here now.”

The unicorn snorted but did not move.

“Fine,” Niya said. She stood up and stomped on the ground. “Fine. You are teaming up with him to take advantage of me now, huh?”

Everyone frowned and looked at Niya and Anfey. If Anfey tried to take advantage of Niya, why was Suzanna so calm?

“Did you know that man?” Anfey asked. He sensed Niya’s mood, and wanted to change the topic.

“N-No!” Niya said.

“Really? He ran away as soon as he saw you,” Blavi said.

“I know what I said,” Niya said. “I don’t know him. Why are you teaming up to bully me?” Niya asked angrily. She waved her hand and disappeared into her room again.

Anfey sat properly in front of a desk, tapping on the desk with his finger. Something had been bothering him. There was a saying that “To know one’s own strength and the enemy’s is the sure way to victory.” Anfey knew nothing about necromancers, while they seemed to know a lot about magic and combat power, the two main fighting powers in this war. They did not fight wars against the Dead for nothing.

Yagor left a dark magic book to Anfey after his death. He actually used the magic in that book to call Anfey into this world. Anfey thought he would learn a lot from that dark magic book if he could study it. However, both Yolanthe and Miorich suggested that he destroy the dark magic book. Could he ignore their opinions? The reason Yolanthe did not destroy the book himself was to show respect for Anfey. What would happen if Anfey was not strong enough and was tempted to practice dark magic? He probably would destroy himself.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Anfey looked up and asked, “Who is it?”

“It’s me,” Hagan answered from outside the door.

“Come on in.” Anfey let out a slight sigh. He rubbed between his forehead to make himself look less tense.

Hagan pushed the door open and cautiously looked around before he walked in. He closed the door behind him.

“When did you, an alchemist, turn into a thief?” Anfey smiled.

“Do not even mention it. I almost got into big trouble.” Hagan looked scared as he remembered.

“What happened?” Anfey asked.

“Didn’t you ask me to put the chemicals in the wine and ask Doris to drink it? Suzanna saw me putting the chemical in the wine. She thought I was joking with someone and did not say anything. When Doris had the wine and screamed from the pain in her stomach, even rolled screaming on the floor in pain, Suzanna was mad and dragged me out and interrogated me.” Hagan sat across from Anfey, sighing. “Luckily, Suzanna knew me before, so she gave me a chance to explain. If she had not known me long, she probably would have strangled me with her bare hands right there.”

“Where is Suzanna?” Anfey asked.

“She went to take care of Doris.” Hagan suddenly stared wide-eyed at Anfey. “It is all your fault. Doris saw Suzanna interrogating me. She must think I want to hurt her. What am I going to do?”

“We all understand why you did that. You can explain to her later,” Anfey said.

“It does not matter if they understand me. Doris does not. How could it be the same?” Hagan was getting mad.

“How could it be different?” Anfey asked.

“It is just different,” Hagan said.

Anfey looked up and down at Hagan in surprise. “Hagan, do you have a crush on Doris?”

“Stop it! What do you mean by having a crush on her?” Hagan refuted. His next statement sold him out though. “I am already over twenty. Even if I have a crush on her, so what?”

“I did not say anything. It is normal. If you are interested in men, that actually would be a problem,” Anfey said.

“I am straight.” Hagan put his head on his arms on the table with a troubled look. He sighed, “My happiness…”

The door to the room was suddenly pushed open. Hagan sat up on a condition reflex. It was Suzanna. She suspiciously glanced at Hagan and turned to look at Anfey. “Anfey, did you really ask Hagan to torture Doris?”

“It was not torture. It is…” Hagan hurried to explain.

“You, shut up.” Suzanna yelled at Hagan.

Hagan immediately shut his mouth up. He was such a good soldier.

“I did ask him to do it. Suzanna, it is my fault that I did not tell you beforehand,” Anfey said. “You saw that master alchemist last night…Oh, right, Hagan, what is the name of that master alchemist?”

“I do not know. I never knew there were master alchemists in the world,” Hagan said, shaking his head.

“Let’s call him that guy.” Anfey thought a little bit and said. “You and Niya were in the room and did not see that guy saying Doris was the origin of the infection. That guy gave some chemicals to Miorich and asked us to find an opportunity to have Doris take it. He also said it would be painful at the beginning, but Doris should be fine soon.”

“I see now.” Suzanna slightly nodded. “Poor Doris.”

“Suzanna, how could you act like this?” Hagan was not quiet for long before he jumped up in anger.

“What is wrong with me?” Suzanna asked.

“How long have we known each other? Huh? How long have you known Anfey? Why did you not believe me when I explained to you. You almost choked me to death. Why would you believe Anfey when he explained it to you?” Hagan interrogated Suzanna.

“I did not put much strength into it.” Suzanna blushed a little.

“How much strength do you want to put into it? Would you call it “putting strength” if I died? I could not breathe. I am so disappointed, so disappointed. Is this how you treat your friend?” Hagan said.

“Sorry, Hagan, it was my bad. Don’t be mad at me. Why don’t you hit me to make you feel better?” Suzanna said seriously.

“I hit you? You must be kidding me.” Hagan peaked at Anfey. Even if Anfey had not been there with them, he would not have dared to hit Suzanna.

“What can I do to make you forgive me. I will do whatever you ask me to do,” Suzanna said.

This request got Hagan. He stood there without saying anything. If he asked too much, it would asking for insult. If he did not ask much from Suzanna, he would not let his anger out.

“Hey, Suzanna, you are here. What happened to Doris?” Christian walked in as they heard his voice.

“It wasn’t hurting her that much anymore when I left.” Suzanna peaked at Hagan. “She was so mad that she said she wanted to kill Hangan with her own hands.”

“Anfey!” Hagan yelled desperately.

“Ok, ok. I will explain to Doris. I promise you I will make everything clear. Okay?” Anfey said.

“It will be too late anyway even if you can explain everything to her.” Hagan sluggishly sat down.

“Doris is a nice girl. She would not hate you for that. Do not worry about it,” Christian said smiling.

“Is it enough for her not to hate me?” Hagan rolled his eyes at Christian.

“What do you want from Doris then?” Christian said.

“You do not understand,” Hagan said.

“Ok, Hagan, maybe you should not have any hope for Doris. Maybe you just see the result beforehand. It is a good thing for you. Are you the best guy in our legion?” Anfey deliberately looked at Christian. Christian was really handsome and had some royal sense to him. In terms of appearance, Hagan was just a stone, while Christian was a pearl.

“Anfey, are you comforting me now?” Hagan was mad. If they were peers and had similar levels of power, Hagan might have jumped on Anfey.

“You had a crush…” Suzanna looked like she did not know if she should laugh or cry. “Hagan, I do not think Doris would like you.”

“What do you mean?” Hagan was alerted to something and asked.

“Doris likes someone, but it is not you,” Suzanna said.

“What is it then?” Hagan turned and laid his eyes right on Christian. He suddenly felt a threat. “Could it be him?”

“No,” Suzanna said.

“Then who is it?” Hagan clenched his hands into fists. He looked like he wanted a fight.

“It is not you.” Suzanna’s words were even more hurtful than Anfey’s.

“How do you know? Doris told you about it? You are not lying to me, are you?” Hagan looked at Suzanna suspiciously.

“When a girl likes someone, her eyes always follow him. I am a girl, so I know it.” Suzanna looked a little sad.

“No, I need to ask her in person.” Hagan suddenly stood up, rushing out of the door.

“Hagan!” Anfey called. This Hagan must be crazy. He just made Doris drink the wine with chemicals in it. Doris had been in so much pain. If he wanted to tell her right now, what result did he think he would get?

“Never mind.” Suzanna stopped Anfey. “It is better for him to know it as early as possible so he would give it up.”

“I just hope he will not make too much trouble.” Christian frowned and hurried to the door. At that moment, Sante and Feller walked in passed him. Christian said to them, “Sante and Feller, can you go to Doris’s room and get Hagan back.”

“What happened?” Sante asked in surprise.

“Stop asking questions. Go! Hurry!” Christian said.

Anfey quietly pointed at Christian’s back. “Does Doris like him? You must have lied to Hagan.” If they had to pick a person in the legion to be the perfect guy, it would surely be Christian. Besides his family, appearance, and ability, Christian’s personality was attractive. He was gentle, polite and got along with everyone. He always made people feel good.

“No, huh, stop guessing,” Suzanna said.

“Fine, I will not guess. Suzanna, why don’t you talk to Doris and tell her to stop worrying about it. Can you give her the chemicals from now on. Hmm…there will be a problem. Would Hagan not be willing to work after he gets to know that Doris does not like him?” Anfey asked.

“No, Hagan is not that kind of person,” Suzanna said.

“Oh?” Anfey said.

“Hagan could be sad one moment and laugh the next moment. He will be fine in a day,” Suzanna said.

“It sounds like someone made Hagan cry a lot.” Anfey smiled. “You did not make him cry last time, did you?”

Suzanna playfully rolled her eyes at Anfey and refused to answer this question.

“Suzanna, what personality does Vonmerge have? He left without telling us. It is not too polite,” Anfey said.

When they were talking about Hagan and Suzanna, Anfey thought about Vonmerge. He had not found anything suspicious on Vonmerge, but Vonmerge had always left him with an uncomfortable feeling.

“He used to be very outgoing. Later he was hurt and his ability dropped a lot. He was very depressed, even though he always wore a smile on his face.” Suzanna shook her head. “Anfey, I do not want to talk about him. Let’s talk about something else.”

“Sir, what are you doing here?” Christian ask, shocked.

A few seconds later, Miorich appeared by the door. He waved his hand and instructed his men to stay outside. “Prepare yourselves,” he said as he walked into the room. “We are leaving the city immediately.”

“Us?” Anfey asked.

“Yes. You, Christian, Niya, and Suzanna. Shally should be fine if she stays with me for a while. She would only slow you down. Don’t worry, Suzanna. As long as I am alive, no harm with come to your sister. I will deliver her to you myself in two months’ time.”

Anfey, Christian, and Suzanna glanced at each other. “Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?” Suzanna asked quietly.

“Why would it be?”

“We don’t know where the necromancers are hiding, and if we leave the city we would surely be targets. The four of us can’t really do much.”

“There’s no necromancers in the city, I can promise you that,” Miorich said. “I looked into that man from earlier. Nothing’s wrong with his family. He left the city a few days ago to meet with his lover in another town. His family said they began noticing changes after that.”

“What about the townspeople there?”

“Nothing wrong with them, either. His lover’s missing, though.”

“I think it would be best if we stay here,” Anfey said quietly. “I’m not afraid of the necromancers, but this is too risky.”

“The necromancers cannot sense you,” Miorich said. “The only person they can find is Doris. I’m planning on stopping her treatment so we can attract the necromancers. Maybe that will buy you some time. The coordinates for the transmission array had been changed, but people from the mage’s guild cannot change it. Which means…”

“The puppet is not responsible for it.”

“No, since he wouldn’t have the power to change the coordinates.”

“Sir, are you sure that there are no necromancers in the vicinity?”

“This city was built to withstand war. You are underestimating it. As long as the four mage towers are up and running, the entire city will be under surveillance. Nothing can escape. We can find the necromancers even if they are hiding underground.”

“Alright,” Anfey said. “Christian, what do you think?”

Christian shrugged and smiled, but did not say anything.

“I wish you can stay for a bit longer until the danger passes, but this is an order directly from His Majesty himself,” Miorich said. “Black Eleven and Blood Twenty will go with you to help you communicate with Hurricane.”

Anfey nodded. “Alright. We will prepare ourselves and leave tonight.”

“No, you will leave by noon. I don’t know why you like the darkness so much, but I assure you the necromancers like it way more than you do.”

“You mean we are leaving in broad daylight?”

“Of course not. I have prepared disguises for you, and you can dress up like a team of new recruits. No one will suspect a thing.”

“Alright,” Anfey said. He pushed himself up slowly from his chair. He did not understand Miorich’s motive or why he wanted them gone from the city so fast. Christian and Niya would be with him, however, and he knew that no one would try to do anything to them.

Miorich returned to the courtyard when Anfey and Suzanna headed off to pack. There were two men waiting for him back in his room. One of them was sitting while the other paced around the room.

The man who had been pacing walked up when he saw Miorich and asked, “Are they leaving?”

Miorich nodded. “His Majesty has approved of your plan, which places you under my jurisdiction. I have to tell you this, though. If anything happens to those kids, I will not forgive you.”

“Don’t worry,” Slanbrea said with a smile. “No harm will come to them.”

“If you and Bruzuryano are just traveling with them, the necromancers will not do anything. But you want to use them as bait, so who’s to say nothing will happen?”

“I swear on my life that I will revive them if something happens. You trust me now?”

Miorich snorted but did not say anything, and appeared visibly more relaxed. As long as Slanbrea promised to keep the kids safe, Miorich could rest easy.

“Plus, Saul, Steger, and Ernest are all on their way. Do you think anyone would actually try to hurt those kids when they’re with the five of us?” Slanbrea asked, shaking his head. “We can take on all the necromancers the Evil Mist can find and then some.”

“You are a Church’s man, Slanbrea. You should not talk like that.”

“I just want to give life again to those too tangled up with death,” Slanbrea said. He turned to and looked at Bruzuryano and said, “Say something, old pal. The General clearly does not trust me.”

“What?” Bruzuryano asked.

Slanbrea sighed. “What’s with you lately?” he asked. “Are you losing your mind? Is age finally getting to you?”

“Shut it,” Bruzuryano said with a frown. He turned to Miorich and said, “Are you sure they can activate the Heart of Nature?”

Miorich and Slanbrea glanced at each other and sighed. “I’ve already told you a dozen times before,” Miorich said. “I saw it with my own eyes. Anfey can use that thing.”

“Interesting,” Bruzuryano said, and slumped back into the chair again.

In Sacred City thousands of miles away, Yolanthe was sitting on his throne. He played with his scepter and his eyes stared at the old servant in front of him.

“Don’t worry about Niya anymore, Your Majesty,” the old man said. “She is under the protection of five of the most powerful men in the world. Those men can take on the Magic King himself, if necessary.”

“You think I’m worrying about Niya’s safety?” Yolanthe said with a chuckle.

“I know that Your Majesty has always treated Niya as a daughter,” the old man said.

“I can be selfish too, you know.”

“You mean…”

“I’m worried about my own safety,” Yolanthe said. He tapped his fingers against the throne.

The old servant looked up as two dots of light appeared in the fog surrounding his body.

“Baery is to the north, and you are the only person here. The majority of Hurricane’s force is with Saul, and we can’t fool the Evil Mist for long. What do you think they will do when they learn that I am in such a vulnerable position?”

“They dare to come to Sacred City?”

“There are very few things the Evil Mist are afraid of,” Yolanthe said quietly.

“If the Evil Mist is targeting you, Your Majesty, surely they would leave Niya alone. Should we order Saul to return in secret?”

“No need for that. They want to see my ace, and I’m letting them,” Yolanthe said.

The old man did not say anything.

“Say, do you know who the greediest people in the world are?”

“Merchants?”

“No, necromancers,” Yolanthe said. “Humans love life and fear death, and everyone wants immortality. I am no different. But like most people, I would not trade my soul for it. I’d rather die than turn into a hideous ghoul.

“Necromancers prolonged their lives, but they have forgotten what it means to be alive. They don’t understand that to be alive is to let go sometimes.” Yolanthe paused for a few seconds and sighed. “Those poor things. They wanted everything, but in the end they will lose everything. I’ve always thought they would come for me.”

“Should we really show them our ace, Your Majesty? Isn’t this a rushed decision?”

“No,” Yolanthe said quietly. He closed his eyes slowly. “The necromancers are getting stronger, I can feel it. We need to deal a quick and debilitating blow, so they will move on to other nations. I am the ruler of Maho Empire, and I am only responsible for my people. It’s not like the other nations would come to our aid, anyway.”

“Unless the Church is powerful enough,” the old man said.

“But I would go to their aid. Even if the Church does not support it, I will help. I would rather have the necromancers attack another nation and we join forces with that nation, than having the necromancers attack my nation and fight alone.”

“Anfey, aren’t we a little too high profile?” Niya looked around and asked anxiously in a low voice.

Niya and Suzanna had always hidden themselves in the wagon, but now they dressed up and rode on horses at a moderate speed, which made Niya feel uneasy.

Niya and Suzanna obviously looked stunning. Christian looked handsome. Compared with Christian, Anfey was less handsome, but he was still better-looking than most people. Anfey would definitely be considered the second-best looking one in the legion.

Two handsome men and two beautiful girls on tall and handsome horses caught the attention of many pedestrians. Some people even kept looking back at them when they had walked passed. The people on foot made way for them as they approached. This world did not have any rules for roads, so people just walked anywhere they wanted to. Anfey and his group did not have any trouble riding on the street though.

Suzanna took out her senior swordsman badge, which she had not worn for a long time at Anfey’s request. She even hung the badge at the most obvious place on her clothes. Actually this badge was the reason people were making way for them. The appearance of Anfey and his group were different and gave different vibes. If one of them was a senior swordswoman, the other three could be even better than her. This created an impression. No one would want to have any conflict with four senior powers.

“This is good,” Anfey said casually.

“Good? Are you letting necromancers know where we are on purpose?” Niya asked.

“Do you think they would not find us if we left quietly?” Anfey refuted.

“But…” Niya pouted. “Didn’t you tell us to do things cautiously? Look at what you are doing now.”

“This time it is different. Men and women are equal,” Anfey said.

“What? What do you mean by ‘men and women are equal’? Anfey, what are you talking about?” Niya did not get it at all.

“Isn’t Punk City right in front of us?” Christian nodded.

“Let’s take a break at Punk City,” Anfey said.

“Anfey, it is only afternoon,” Christian said.

“It is too boring if we keep travelling. Let’s walk around the city and take a break. It will be fine,” Anfey said.

“Is this really ok, Anfey? We should follow Miorich’s plan and travel quickly. We should rest at Buenos City today, otherwise we will not be able to reach Boman Territory in three days,” Christian said.

“Listen to me. We are taking a break here,” Anfey demanded.

“Black Eleven and Apa should already be in Buenos City by now. Are we really resting here? They would have rushed to Buenos City for nothing,” Christian said.

“That is fine. We can get to Buenos City tomorrow,” Anfey said.

Christian helplessly rubbed his forehead. He did not know what Anfey was thinking about. It was obviously just a one-day trip, and Anfey wanted to spread it into two.

As they talked, they approached the city gate. Punk City was on the border of the war zone. Shansa Empire’s military did not have the ability to continue to invade towards the west because of a lack of supplies. This only affected people in Punk City a little bit, so Punk City did not suffer too much damage. The people around Punk City looked quite differently than in Violet City. The difference was obvious.

Seven or eight guards at the city gate saw Anfey and his group. They hurried over. From the way Anfey and his group dressed, they should be important people. Niya even wore her real Saul family dress. In addition to the magic surges from that leather armor, even the hairpins had magic. It must have been made by some mage who was so bored that he even wanted to spend time making such a magic item.

“Master, welcome to Punk City,” the head guard at the city gate said with a smile.

The rest of the city guards had asked other pedestrians to move to the side to make a path for Anfey and his group. The rest of the guards stood on both sides of the gate to make sure their honorable guests were not bothered.

Anfey nodded with a smile. He glanced at an announcement on the announcement board out of the corner of his eye. It said that the city would collect a toll for one month in order to rebuild the city after the war. It was signed by the city master, a Viscount Nana, at the bottom of the announcement.

“Huh? It’s him,” Niya said in surprise from the back. She had seen that announcement as well.

“Do you know this city master?” Anfey asked.

“Yes, but I am not sure if it is the same person,” Niya said.

“This name is rare. It must be the same person. Niya, do you know his background?” Christian said.

“He was a servant of my father. There was an accident in a magic lab one time. He rushed into the fire to try to save magic crystals. His face was turned and he became blind in one eye. Our king had bestowed on him the title of nobility for his bravery. He was sent to another state to be a government official. He did something good later on and became a Viscount,” Niya said excitedly. “He came back to see my father every year no matter how busy he was, but I never saw him.”

“How could you never see him if he came back every year?” Anfey asked in curiosity.

“He did not want to see me even when I was little,” Niya said.

“Why?” It got Suzanna’s curiosity as well.

“My father told me he was afraid that I would be scared by his face,” Niya pouted. “Hmm, why did he do that? I was never a chicken.”

As Anfey talked about the city master with Niya, the guards at the gate almost fainted. They knew the look of their city master. The lead guard gave others a look, and two other guards squeezed themselves through the crowd and disappeared onto the street.

“He is a good man and knows to think of others,” Anfey said and smiled. Right now Niya could be scared, but she probably wouldn’t be scared by that city master’s face.

“Anfey, we should go in now,” Christian said in a low voice. The crowd was getting bigger and bigger. It was unknown how many eyes had fixed on them, which made Christian feel very uneasy.

“This is for the toll.” Anfey tossed a gold coin to the guard.

“Master, you…” The lead guard looked worried. He did not know if he should take the gold coin or not. If he took it, he was worried that he might get punished by the city master or not have enough change to give back. The toll was only ten bronze coins. How much change would he have to give back?

Anfey waved his hand with a smile to tell the lead guard that he did not need any change. He passed through the gate first. Suzanna and the others followed him on the horses. A guard came over, looked at the gold coin in the lead guard’s hand, and said quietly, “Boss, shouldn’t we go have some drinks tonight?”

“No!” The lead guard pushed him. It would be entertainment for everybody if he took them out for drinks. If something happened, he would be responsible for it. Only stupid people would do things like that. If the city master had been a servant in that girl’s house, it would be an issue if he took their toll. Instead of waiting for the city master to punish him, he decided it would be better to give the gold coin back.

The lead guard pushed the other guard hard and made him hit yet another guard. One’s nose was bleeding while the other one held the back of his head, screaming in pain.

Anfey did not notice the bloody incident he had caused with the gold coin. He casually looked around the city. Christian caught up from behind and said, “Anfey, where are we going?”

“The best hotel in the city,” Anfey said.

“Do you know which one is the best one?” Christian asked.

“I don’t know, but he should know.” Anfey called loudly to a boy: “Hey, kid, stop.”

“Kid” was a negative word. Any young boy fell into this category. As Anfey called, about ten young men stopped at the same time. They all looked at Anfey, confused.

Anfey picked an older kid about fifteen years old. He tossed a gold coin to him. “Take us to the best hotel. It will be yours.”

The big kid took the gold coin and looked it over for a while. He first shined it on his shirt and bit it with his teeth. When he realized it was an authentic gold coin, he was thrilled. He carefully put it away and signaled Anfey. He turned around and ran fast, straight ahead of them.

“Anfey, it’s so wasteful. That is a gold coin,” Suzanna said in a low voice.

“Why don’t you try it. It feels good.” Anfey passed a gold coin to Suzanna.

“What?” Suzanna said.

“Try it,” Anfey tried to encourage her.

Suzanna looked around and tossed the coin. The coin fell on a homeless man who was lost in thought. That homeless guy had been jealous of the other lucky boy and did not expect any fortune to fall on him any time soon. He hurriedly picked up the gold coin, stood up and walked away without taking his begging sign.

“Nuts, nuts. You both went nuts,” Christian rubbed his forehead and said with a bitter smile.

“This is nothing,” Niya snorted. “I tossed out a handful of gold coins on my 18th birthday.”

“A handful?” Anfey was thinking about how doable it would be.

“Ok, Anfey, stop it. Don’t make any trouble.” Christian whipped his horse’s hind quarters. The horse whinnied, went up on its hind legs, and rushed forward.

After a while, the four of them came to a hotel named House of Mages. The older kid stood in front of the hotel door, breathing heavily. He looked like he was tired, but very happy at the same time. His parents worked very hard for a month for only a gold coin and a few silver coins. A gold coin was a lot of money for him.

Anfey jumped off the horse and smiled. “Thank you, kid.”

“You are welcome, master.” That kid looked even politer than Anfey. After saying that, he ran down the street. He looked like he was going to tell his family the good news that he had earned a gold coin.

Two young servants hurried over and took the horses to the stable. Anfey looked around and observed the inn. There was very little decoration, and even though the door was tall and imposing, the inn did not come off as a luxurious place. There was a line of runes carved onto the doorframe, and each rune was gilded and shone under the sunlight.

“Christian, can you read those?”

“No,” Christian said, shaking his head. “Those are ancient. Hui Wei should know them.”

“Too bad he’s not here,” Anfey said and sighed. “Come on, let’s go check this place out.”

This inn was called Home of the Mages, and was a combination of an inn and a bar. The first floor had a large bar, and the people there were much quieter than the mercenaries. There were multiple conversations, but people kept their voices low so they did not to disturb others. Compared to the clamor and the madness often seen in bars in Country of Mercenaries, this was a big change. Back in Country of Mercenaries, the bars were dim and there would be people dancing on the tables. Here, magic lamps lined the wall and lit up every corner of the bar. People kept to themselves and did not cause any trouble.

A few mages turned and saw Anfey and Niya walking in through the door. Niya was beautiful enough to make the men ignore the fact that she was not a mage, but the women all rolled their eyes at her apparent ignorance.

Everyone’s expression changed when Suzanna appeared through the door. Senior swordsmasters were rare, and what was even rarer was such a young swordsmaster. Swordsmen preferred their swords, and mages used their minds and tended to be more cautious than swordsmen. Of course, there were idiotic mages and brilliant swordsmen.

“Would you like rooms or drinks, my lords?” the owner of the inn walked over and asked.

“Two of your best rooms,” Anfey instructed.

“Two?” Niya asked, frowning.

“That’s enough. I’m staying with Suzanna.”

“What? I’m not gonna stay with Christian,” Niya said, frowning. Her voice attracted attention of a few mages sitting nearby.

Christian frowned. He knew that Anfey’s behavior today was too strange, even for him. He had to ask what was going on.

“You can stay in our room if you want,” Anfey said. “The three of us…” He suddenly ducked and barely moved out of the way of Niya’s kick. His reflexes were much faster than a normal person’s, but he still did not see Niya’ movement. Niya lost her balance and stumbled, almost falling to the ground. Suzanna reached over and grabbed her arm, helping her stand still. The owner frowned and did not say anything.

The mages around them all frowned. Swordsmen were just that. They were too coarse and too unrefined. Niya may be beautiful, but she clearly lacked a mage’s grace.

“Calm down,” Anfey said, grinning. “Calm down. Aren’t we friends? Let’s talk peacefully.”

“Are you trying to get to me?” Niya asked angrily. She narrowed her eyes, then gathered herself. “Fine, alright. We will see what happens when we’re back in Sacred City.” Niya may have been young and naive, but she was not stupid. She already had a plan to deal with this.

“What?” Anfey asked, feeling uneasy.

“I’m going to tell everyone you made me sleep in the same bed as you,” Niya said with a smirk.

Christian’s eyes widened, and Suzanna froze. Since she was the daughter of Saul, Niya’s words were more credible and more powerful than all three of them combined. She could make people believe her.

“Stop joking around, I’m just kidding!” Anfey explained hurriedly. He did not know if Saul would have believed Niya, but he knew that Prince Grandon would. Even though he knew that the prince was not an idiot, he was young. Young people tended to be more irrational and sensitive. He did not need a prince hating him.

Niya smiled when she heard Anfey’s panicked explanation. She ignored him and turned to the inn owner and said, “Have you prepared our rooms yet?”

“Third floor,” the owner said hurriedly, handing her a set of keys. “Hope you enjoy, my lady.”

“Niya, I’m sorry, alright? I’m sorry about that.” Anfey was scared. He knew that Niya was not afraid to do as she said and would tell everyone he forced her to sleep in his bed.

“Too late,” Niya said with a giggle. She followed a maid and began walking up the stairs.

“Suzanna, can you talk to her? I don’t need my reputation tarnished,” Anfey said. He was hoping that another woman could get to Niya easier.

Suzanna looked at Niya, then she turned to Anfey and smiled. “You deserved that,” she said. Then she laughed and followed Niya.

“Christian!” Anfey turned and said. “You see that? They do not appreciate my effort at all!”

“She’s not wrong, you know,” Christian said. “You do deserve it. I can help you with other things, but you’ve got to solve this by yourself. You asked for this.” Christian laughed and felt more at ease. Anfey had been acting strange all morning, and he felt a strange pleasure seeing Anfey at a disadvantage.

Anfey sighed and smiled. He wasn’t worried about the money. He was going to stay with Christian and have Niya and Suzanna share a room.

“Do you need an extra room, my lord?” the inn owner asked.

“No, it’s fine,” Anfey said. “We only need two.” He glanced around the lobby again and began going up the stairs.

After Anfey disappeared, one of the mages frowned. “You see those people?” she asked with a scowl. “I say they are some country bumpkins who have never seen the city.”

“I don’t know,” her friend said. “Did you see that swordsmaster? I can sense it. She’s different from the others. And the mage. I think they’re different. I don’t think they’re common people.”

“That other guy seemed familiar,” another mage said, frowning. “His name sounds interesting as well. What was it again?”

“Wasn’t it Anfey? The guy that got a Medal of Mars?” one of the mages suddenly said.

The mages around the man suddenly became very lively. Some people thought a man like that couldn’t be a hero, but others thought it must have been him, because it was such an unusual name. There was a senior swordsmaster, and the other two with Anfey must be powerful as well. Only a team composed of the most powerful could create such a stir.

After a few minutes, another group of men walked in. The leader was tall and lean. His face was covered in scars that twisted his features. Such a terrifying man seemed out of place in the lobby of this inn. He had a child with him, the child that had accepted Anfey’s coins. Normally, such a face would spook a child, but the boy seemed completely at ease next to the man.

The mages in the room all stood up and greeted the man politely. “Viscount Nana,” the owner of the inn called and walked over.

The man waved his hand and said, “Was there just a group of four here?”

“Yes,” the owner of the inn said. “My lord, are they fugitives?”

“No,” Nana said, shaking his head. “They are my friends. Where are they?”

Anfey looked at the maid in the front, and the maid nodded at Anfey. Anfey raised his hand and knocked on the door. Suzanna’s voice came from the room. “Who is it?”

“It’s me. Open the door,” Anfey said.

“You are really coming! Ok, ok, Suzanna, go open the door.” Niya was laughing in the room.

The door was opened with Suzanna’s smiling face. Anfey helplessly shook his head. “Let’s talk inside.”

In the room, Niya was laying on her side on the bed, interestingly looking at Anfey. Since Niya was here, what would Anfey do to Suzanna? Besides that, Anfey had behaved very well. No matter to the female slaves or the princess from Shansa Empire who was no less beautiful than Suzanna, Anfey had kept a distance from them. Niya thought it was the strongpoint of Anfey. Now Niya knew Anfey was just joking about it. What made her really happy was that she beat Anfey!

“Niya, stop, think before you talk, otherwise you are causing trouble. Do you understand?” Anfey tried to reason with Niya. That was the main reason he was in Suzanna’s room.

“I will say whatever I want to say!” Niya did not care about it.

“Anfey, let’s talk tomorrow. She is really proud of it now and cannot listen to you,” Suzanna said, smiling.

“Yes, I am proud of myself, very proud.” Niya had an attitude. She shook her head to try to piss Anfey off.

Anfey realized it was a big mistake to come in and decided to give up on convincing Niya after giving it some thought. He gave Niya a dirty look. Niya did not just let Anfey do it to her. She gave him an even dirtier look. She obviously did not want to lose.

Suzanna was laughing at the two of them. She totally trusted Anfey. No matter what bulls^*t Anfey said, it would not lessen her trust in him. When Anfey beat her and hung her on the tree with only a piece of cloth on her, she thought she would be raped. After Anfey proved it was just a misunderstanding, he quietly left the pond without any hesitation. If a man like Anfey was not worth trusting, she really could not find another man to trust.

Anfey felt upset after he left Suzanna and Niya’s room. He saw Christian leaning against the doorframe, smiling. The maid was watching the room as well. Anfey got even more pissed. He knocked into Christian’s shoulder on purpose as he walked by and then he walked to his own room fast.

Christian held his chest and closed the door behind Anfey. “Anfey, do you think you have better fighting skills than me? Do you think you could do that to me because of it? You did it on purpose!”

“I did!” Anfey sounded like Niya in the other room. He sat down on the luxury soft chair in the room. No wonder it was a VIP room. The decoration in the room was great. It was elegant and fancy.

“Ok, Anfey, I am not playing with you.” Christian took a seat across from Anfey, smiling. “Now can you tell me the truth? What do you want to do?”

“I did not want to do anything. Miorich asked me to do it.” Anfey composed himself and said calmly.

“What do you mean?” Christian asked in surprise.

“With Miorich and Blackania’s military, no matter what kind of threats we are going to face, they could totally protect us. When the magic array is fixed, we will be sent back to Sacred City by magic array, right?” Anfey said.

Christian slowly nodded.

“He told me it was our king’s order to send us back immediately. We had to go back immediately. Does our king need us there that urgently? Would he want us to risk our lives to be on the road? It does not make sense,” Anfey said.

Christian went quiet for a while and nodded.

“I have thought about it for a while. I think there is only one possibility, that is, our king is going to kill us.” Anfey smiled. “We are the bait for alluring necromancers to come out of the dark.”

“Why did Miorich stress that we have to get to Boman territory in three days and return to Sacred City with the magic array there?” Christian asked.

“He wanted to kill two birds with one stone.” Anfey found himself a comfortable spot on the soft chair, lying sideways. Anfey smiled. “If necromancers appeared in three days, we could just fight them. If necromancers did not show up, we could go back to Sacred City safely to give Miorich a piece of our minds.”

“What you said made some sense,” Christian said.

“Not just made sense. It is a fact,” Anfey said.

“But, why are you prolonging it on purpose? We definitely can get to Buenos City today.” Christian found another reason to be suspicious.

“We have to fight with necromancers.” Anfey looked determined and cold. “Because I do not want to live under the threat of necromancers.” This was the truth from the bottom of his heart. He had offended them so he did not care to offend them more. If Yolanthe dared to risk them, he must have prepared well for the fight. Anfey thought to himself, “Why not let the conflict explode? With the help of Yolanthe, the war with necromancers would give them a definite answer.” If they lost the war, he probably would be dead, so he would have nothing to worry about after his death. If he won, necromancers would stop for a while, which would buy him time to grow stronger.

His apparent carelessness on the previous day’s trips was meant to send a message to necromancers; a message that he was picking a fight with them.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Christian gave Anfey a bitter smile. “You made me worried for so long. I thought there was something wrong with you.”

“I think Miorich was more worried than you,” Anfey said. He seemed to see the worried look on Miorich now. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Christian was still talking about necromancers with Anfey when he heard the knocking. He unconsciously gathered his magic. Anfey slowly stood up. “Don’t get nervous. No matter how powerful a necromancer is, he would not dare to knock on my door. I will go get the door.”

Anfey opened the door and saw two swordsmen outside the door. He had never seen them before. Before Anfey got the chance to speak, one of the swordsmen said politely in a low voice, “Are you Master Anfey?”

“Yes, I am. How can I help you?” Anfey said.

“Our city master would like to see you. Can you come with us? He is on the second floor now,” one of the swordsmen said.

Anfey thought about it for a little bit and nodded. “Ok, I have two companions here. I am going to ask them to go with me.”

“Please do not bother them.” Two swordsmen said worriedly in a quiet voice with their hands shaking in the air. Obviously, they were told to only invite Anfey before they came to see him.

“Ok.” Anfey had known that their city master must be a servant of Saul, otherwise he would not want to see Anfey in such a timely manner and avoid seeing Niya and Suzanna.

When Anfey passed Niya and Suzanna’s room, he tapped lightly on the door. Those two swordsmen were so scared that their faces looked pale. They could not sense that Suzanna quietly stood next the door inside the room, but Anfey did. If he did not give her a signal to tell her he was safe, no one would know what Suzanna, a senior swordswoman, would do to them.

Anfey waved his hand to signal them to keep walking. Those two swordsmen waited for a while and saw nothing happening in the room. They heaved a sigh of relief and walked to the staircase with bitter smiles.

After they walked to the second floor, the two swordsmen opened the door of a room and stood on the both sides of it. Anfey walked straight in without knocking. In the center of the room, a person in a long gray gown quietly stood there. Even though Anfey was aware of who he was, he was still a little shocked by his face. It was indeed a little scary. Scars covered his face. They looked like many worms crawling on his face. There were also many bumps on his face. When his face was burned and lost skin, the facial muscles grew without any constraint and caused those bumps. His nose and mouth were crooked. They looked like a sideways triangle. It just did not look right.

“I hope this face did not scare you.” The person’s voice was very coarse.

“Are you Viscount Nana? I heard about you from Niya.” Anfey smiled. The person did not respond to him, so Anfey switch to a different topic.

“Niya? She still remembers me?” The coarse voice started to shake.

No matter whether it was Anfey or Christian, they could not understand why Nana was so excited. To be more specific, Entos was not the first student of Saul. Nana was. When Nana was five years old, his parents passed away. Someone took Nana to Saul’s house. Unfortunately, Nana was talented with neither magic nor combat power. He was similar to Urter from Violet City. There were many people like them in this world. Not everyone could become a swordsman or mage.

After Nana got more mature, he identified himself as a servant, helping with errands to show his appreciation for what Saul had done for him. It could be said that he had watched Niya grow up. When Niya was three years old, Nana was in a fire. Later, he received royal titles and left Sacred City and never saw Niya again.

“Of course, she remembers you.” Anfey smiled. “If you want, I will call Niya down.”

“No!” Nana shook his head and said with self-deprecating humor, “My face…I used to hate looking at mirrors. Every time I wanted to smash the mirrors, but I had to look at them. After a long time, I finally got used to it.”

“Why?” Anfey asked.

“If I could not bear with my own face, I do not have the right to ask others to bear it. My master told me so before.” Nana smiled.

Anfey and Christian could not help looking at each other. Even though Nana had been a city master for a long time, he still called Saul as his master. His loyalty to Saul seemed to never end.

“You actually are paying too much attention to your looks. Niya never thought it was that important. She has been mad that you have been avoiding seeing her,” Anfey said quietly.

Nana smiled but shook his head, and avoided asking the question he had wanted to ask. “How is Lady Niya doing? I heard you killed Zeda and left Sacred City, and I was really worried about her. I can’t leave this place, though, or else I would have tried to help you. Now that you are here, safe, I can finally relax.”

“She’s doing well,” Christian said with a smile. “She had suffered a bit with Zeda, but that’s about it.”

Nana clicked his tongue and said angrily, “Zeda should have died a long time ago. I don’t blame you. I would have killed him as well if I was you.”

“It was invigorating,” Anfey admitted, “but it was not a wise move.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Nana said. “Some things are necessary. Zeda was the one that broke into your home. You have the right to do what you did. I heard Philip had asked His Majesty for justice several times, but it’s clear whose side His Majesty is on. Especially clear, now that you are made a baron.”

“Not yet,” Anfey said with a smile. “I don’t care about titles anyway.”

“It’s hard to find people like you nowadays,” Nana praised him. “Well, since you are here now, feel free to stay as long as you want. Make yourselves at home here.”

“We’re just passing through, actually. We wouldn’t have stopped here if you weren’t the city lord here, sir.”

“Passing through?”

“Yes,” Christian said with a smile. “We have to leave tomorrow. Master is still waiting for us in Sacred City.”

“I’m not going to ask you to stay, then,” Nana said, nodding. “You clearly have more pressing business.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to meet Niya?” Christian asked.

“I thought I had prepared myself when I came,” Nana said, shaking his head. “But it appears I’m not ready. Maybe next time. Here, this is just a small present I prepared for Lord Saul and Niya, but I don’t have time to go to Sacred City. Christian, I trust that you can deliver it for me?”

“Of course,” Christian said. He accepted the box gingerly.

“You can open it as well,” Nana said. “Go ahead. Take a look.”

“Can I?”

“Of course.”

Christian opened the box slowly. Inside was a small statue of a woman, carved from gold. She was sitting on a large black agate, and was holding a lyre in her hands. The statue was very well made; even the woman’s features were realistic.

“See the mirror on there? Try to touch it,” Nana instructed.

Christian poked the mirror with his fingers carefully, and the statue gave off some faint magic surges. The statue began to move, her hand moved back and forth as if she was playing the lyre. Music accompanied her movements.

“This is incredible!” Christian gasped. He had seen a lot of strange gadgets, but one like this was a first.

“Hopefully Niya will like it,” Nana said with a smile.

“I’m sure she will love it,” Christian promised. He closed the lid of the box slowly, and the music disappeared.

“I won’t keep you any longer then,” Nana said. He stood up and looked at Christian and Anfey. “I left a few swordsmen downstairs. I’ve talked to the mages here as well. They will assist you if you have any needs.”

“Thank you,” Christian said. “That’s considerate of you.”

“I can’t come tomorrow, and don’t tell Niya that I’ve been here.”

“What should we say about the gift?”

“Tell her that I had it delivered,” Nana said. He stopped by the door, turned around and said, “You need to be careful. There are all kinds of people in this city. I don’t want to see you guys get hurt.”

“Don’t worry,” Christian said. “We have a senior swordsmaster with us. Nothing will happen.”

“Still, you need to be careful,” Nana said. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Christian and Anfey wanted to see Nana off, but Nana had insisted that they stay inside. He was very insistent, and Christian and Anfey did not follow him out. After Nana disappeared, Christian glanced at the box Nana had left. He flipped the box around, hoping the find the trick.

“Let me see,” Anfey said, holding out a hand.

“Have you ever seen something like this?”

“If you haven’t seen it, where would I find something like this?” Anfey took the box and played with it for a few moments. “Let me hold it for you for a few days,” he said. “I want to figure this out.”

“No,” Christian said, trying to grab the box.

“Why not?” Anfey asked. “It’s not like I’m keeping it.”

“Fine,” Christian said and rolled his eyes.

“Alright, alright, let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“The city, of course. With Suzanna and Niya.”

“The city? Do you have a death wish? It’s night and surely there are necromancers out there.”

“It will be suspicious if we don’t do anything.”

“Fine,” Christian said with a sigh.

Christian straightened his clothes and followed Anfey upstairs. “Sometimes it feels like you can see what’s behind you,” he said to Anfey.

“It’s not that I can see what’s behind me,” Anfey said, waving the box in his hands. “It’s that you’re bad at this.”

“If I had used magic…”

“You think you can get me?”

“You underestimate me,” Christian said. “I will use a gravity spell first, then use a petrifying spell, then I’ll push you with a flame wave…” Christian began laying out an elaborate plan to take the box away from Anfey. Even though his plan sounded like a good one, he did not tell Anfey that in fact the petrifying spell was useless. In theory, the spell was more powerful than the sting of a manticore, but practically, it took too long to use and no one wanted to waste that much time to only petrify an enemy.

“Nothing a meteor can’t defeat,” Anfey said, pushing open the door of his room. He tossed the box into the room and closed the door behind him.

“As if you know how to do that,” Christian snorted. “Don’t break it.”

“Don’t worry. That’s much more durable than it looks.”

Anfey walked over and knocked on the door of Niya and Suzanna’s room.

“I’m just saying…” the muffled sound of Niya’s voice could be heard even outside the room.

Anfey smiled. “Suzanna, Niya, we’re going out.”

“Wait a second,” Niya called.

“I’m not talking to you,” Anfey said.

“Which ear did you hear me talking to you with?” Niya snapped.

“Alright, alright, Anfey, shut up,” Suzanna said. “Niya, hurry up.”

“Why is she so loud?” Anfey asked.

“Not everyone’s as quiet as Suzanna, you know,” Christian said.

Anfey looked at Christian, then said, “Call me curious, Christian. Do you like Niya?”

“You’re mad,” Christian said, frowning.

“Like I’ve said, call me curious. Do you like her?”

“She’s like my sister.”

“So you’ve never liked her?”

“Why do I have to like her?” Christian asked with a frown. “What’s wrong with you today?”

“Nothing,” Anfey said, shaking his head. Having Niya was essential to gaining Saul’s support. He completely trusted Christian, but he did not know how ambitious Christian was and wanted to find out.

The door to Suzanna and Niya’s room was pushed open, and the two girls appeared, Niya in red and Suzanna in white. “What do you think?” Niya asked happily.

Christian and Anfey looked at the two girls and smiled. When the two were standing next to each other, Suzanna appeared quieter. For some reason, this made her appear more attractive.

Anfey did not think this world was too fun. There was a huge difference in development between this world and his world. A few people’s wonderful ideas could not make up the huge difference in those two worlds. No matter how unique the pubs in this world, they were no comparison with the modern clubs. The stories told by bards were not as interesting as television and movies. Anfey’s eyes only lingered on sprites with pointed ears and slender bodies.

The so-called shopping was to constantly look for items people were interested in and purchase them with affordable prices. Punk City was not their home. Shopping maniac Niya had to give up a lot of stuff she liked and only bought small stuff that she could carry with her.

There were fewer pedestrians on the street than before. It was getting dark when Anfey and his group walked out of a clothing store. Niya kept looking back and did not want to leave. Anfey had told them this was their last stop for shopping, but Niya had not gotten enough of it yet.

At the end of the street, suddenly there were many lights. Many people with torches slowly walked toward them as women chanted old folk rhymes. Anfey was shocked and immediately held his arm out to block Niya.

There was heavy breathing behind them. The owner of the clothing store, a middle-aged women, tried very hard to drag a one-yard long trunk and slowly moved to the door. It was strange that two kids who worked for her were just standing there and watching her dragging that heavy trunk. They did not go and help her.

“Let me help you.” Christian offered help to the woman with the heavy trunk, but the woman looked panicked and kept shaking her head. She had been good at convincing and bargaining before, but now she was so quiet.

“Master!” One of the kids immediately stopped Christian and tried to explain with a smile. “She has to do her business on her own. Thank you for the help though.”

“Ok.” Christian shrugged and slowed retreated to the group.

The doors of shops on both sides of the street opened one after another and handfuls of pedals were tossed in the air. The pedals looked like rain drops in the air. That middle-aged woman finally dragged the trunk to the door and opened it. The trunk was filled with wet pedals. She sincerely held the pedals in her hands and tossed them to the street.

“Huh, today is the Sabbath,” Christian suddenly realized.

“What is Sabbath?” Anfey asked.

Christian looked around before he pulled Anfey to the side. He said in a low voice, “Sabbath is the day the Goddess of Nature died. I did not know this city had so many followers of the Goddess of Nature.”

“Followers of the Goddess of Nature?” Anfey hesitated for a second and asked in a low pitch, “Are they similar to church goers?”

“Yes, as faithful and maniac as them,” Christian said.

“Wouldn’t churches interfere with them?” Anfey asked.

“They could not.” Christian lowered his voice even more. “All the countries seemed to get along with churches, but they secretly helped other religions. They did not want their throne being threatened. Although popes in different times tried to unite the religions, they failed because it was not realistic to hope they could do so. First of all, they had to make all the kings believe God of Light on their own, and then they could start to talk about wiping out other religions.”

“Why was Bruzuryano with the priests? Shouldn’t Druids believe in the Goddess of Nature?” Anfey asked.

“The church’s strategies had changed a lot. They treated other religions as their enemies, but became allied with some religions to fight with others. Right now church is ally with Druids. Of course, it is for the time being.” Christian turned to look at people on the street. “We have to be careful in front of maniac believers.”

There was strong flower fragrance in the air. With the chanting, it did feel holy in some sense. Finally people had walked close to them. Under the light of torches, they could see the sincere and serious look on people’s faces. Today was not a festival for the believers of the Goddess of Nature. Easter in the spring was.

People still kept tossing petals in the air while the petals fell on people’s heads and bodies. None of them looked around. They were all quietly showered under the petals. They kept walking and passed Anfey and his group.

Some shops had finished tossing petals, while others repeated that one action of tossing petals in the air. Anfey turned half way to look into that woman’s trunk. It was still full of wet pedals. She only tossed out less than one tenth of it. It would take her a while to toss the whole trunk. The middle-aged woman looked happy with what she was doing. She seemed to enjoy it.

“Anfey, do you want to see the temple?” Christian asked.

“The temple for the Goddess of Nature?” Anfey asked.

“Yes,” Christian said.

“Is it ok to go there?” To be honest, Anfey did not want to deal with those believers because he thought the believers could turn tame sheep into vicious wolves. They blindly believed it without any reason.

“Anfey, let’s go check it out,” Niya said after hearing what Christian said. “Suzanna wanted to see it too.”

Niya was smart. She knew her words did not mean too much to Anfey, so she used Suzanna as an excuse.

“Didn’t you all see the temple of the Goddess of Nature before?” Anfey asked in surprise. He never saw it if only because he was not from this world. Niya and Suzanna were locals.

“No, we believed in Earth…” Suzanna said.

“Shhhhh!” Christian immediately put his finger on his lips to signal Suzanna to stop. “Suzanna, don’t say anything to offend them.”

Suzanna turned around to check that middle-aged woman. She was still diligently tossing the petals in the air and did not hear them talking. Suzanna stuck her tongue out and nodded to tell Christian she got it.

“Everybody, follow me.” Christian turned around and walked in the opposite direction of the people on the street.

“Christian, did you go the wrong way?” Anfey pointed with his finger. “They are going that way.”

“No, the temple is definitely that way. They are going to the field,” Christian said.

This was their first time to visit Punk City, but it was pretty easy for them to locate the temple. They only needed to follow the petals on the floor and walk straight ahead. It did not take long before they arrived in front of a not-so-grand building. Religion had contributed so much to the arts. Different religions with different beliefs needed different arts to accommodate them.

The Church of Light stressed light, so they always made their buildings bright and roomy. The temple in front of them had a totally different feeling. There were two ancient trees with their roots exposed along the ground and branches high up on the top. They could not tell the exact ages of the trees, but their age had to be counted in the hundreds. The door was not wide, and there was only one path to connect the inside of the temple. The only path should have been very smooth, since so many people had walked on it, but there was moss all over it. It looked like no one had walked on it for a long time. The walls were green. With the help of ever-lighting light, Anfey and his group found that there was ivy everywhere on the wall.

“Why are there no guards?” Anfey asked quietly.

“This place does not need guards,” Christian said and smiled.

Anfey gave Christian a suspicious look and slowly walked in. He was shocked by what he saw inside the temple. Countless branches and vines hung all over the whole building and covered all the walls. Anfey could not even see windows, not to mention a door. Anfey thought this whole building was a gigantic loaf of moldy bread. Of course, the mold was green.

“Where do we go in?” Niya looked around to find a door.

“We have Anfey, so we should be able to get in.” Christian smiled. “Anfey, you walk straight ahead of you.”

“Don’t fool with me,” Anfey said, frowning.

“No, I am not. Give it a try,” Christian said.

Trusting Christian, Anfey tested the ground and walked slowly forward. When he was only a few yards away from that gigantic green bread building, he suddenly stopped. He arched his back, like an alert leopard.

It moved! That gigantic green bread suddenly became alive. The branches were moving like crazy and created green waves in the air. The branches made a sound like they were talking in their dreams. Anfey had dumped the materialism ideology a long time ago when he was in Evil Abyss, but what he saw in front of him still made his hair stand up.

“They are welcoming you,” Christian said, standing next to Anfey.

“Bulls#*t!” Anfey was not in the mood for joking. “How do you know what they are doing?”

“Do you forget about your Heart of Nature?” Christian asked.

Anfey was shocked for a second and slowly held his hand out. Those branches seemed to be able to sense him and started to wag. A few vines even gently brushed against his palm. Anfey moved two steps forward. The branches in front of him rolled up like moving waves. A stone door with runes showed up.

“I was not wrong, was I?” Christian asked.

“Unfortunately, it was not my Heart of Nature,” Anfey said as he pushed the stone door. The stone door opened so easily that Anfey did not have to push with much strength. The palace inside the temple appeared in front of everyone.

The inside of the temple was plain but beautiful. Like the elves, the temple was decorated with mostly natural decorations. There was hardly any silver or gold in the temple. The two candleholders in the middle of the temple and the elemental lamps along the walls were carved from white jade, and the ground was paved with small, blue stones. There was a table to the left with plates and bowls on it. The table was shaped strangely, like a large, flat tree root that formed a curve in the air before disappearing into the ground again. The curved part was the table. There were a few chairs around the table.

The high ceiling was green and covered in vines. Different colored gemstones were set into the ceiling and sparkled like stars under the light of the lamps.

In the middle of the temple was the statue of a reclining woman. The statue was covered with moss, making it much harder to see the woman’s face and clothing. There was a leaf on the chest of the statue. The statue was clearly sculpted to fit the golden ratio, making it very pleasing to the eye.

Christian, Niya, and Suzanna followed Anfey into the temple. Niya glanced around and exclaimed, “How beautiful.”

“You see that?” Christian said, pointing to statue. “That’s what Heart of Nature is based on.”

“What?” Anfey asked absentmindedly, looking around the temple. He felt strange, and his feeling was confirmed when he passed the statue. He narrowed his eyes, trying to look at the leaf on the statue more clearly. Up close, he could tell that the statue was half naked.

Next to him, Suzanna and Niya snickered. He had been trying to unlock the secret to Heart of Nature, but it felt strange learning that the leaf was part of the Goddess of Nature’s outfit.

A ball of vapor suddenly appeared in front of the statue. A curtain of water appeared, then it separated to make way for a woman in a white robe.

Anfey frowned. He did not feel any magic surges, and it seemed like the woman had been there all along but was able to escape everyone’s eyes by using the water curtain.

“Sorry to disturb you,” Christian said. “We are tourists. From Violet City.” In order to attract more believers, temples tended to be open to everyone. They would not be in trouble.

The woman looked at them, and her eyes finally fell on Anfey. She had bright eyes and a tall nose, and it was hard to tell her age. Her long hair had three different shades, going from black to silver.

Anfey stared at the woman. He knew that no one could tell what he was thinking as long as he wanted to. He wanted to create an illusion of curiosity when he was thinking about something else.

The branches to his left rustled, and a pair of large paws pushed through the vines. A large bear then appeared. It was tall and imposing, the temple appeared small in comparison to the beast.

Suzanna reached for her sword, and the bear, which was only walking, roared after spotting her movement. Its green eyes suddenly turned red, and it charged towards Suzanna.

“Be at ease, my guardian,” the woman said. The bear and Suzanna both stopped and looked at her. Suzanna’s sword was already half drawn. The bear looked at Suzanna and roared, but retreated.

“Tell me, where did you come from?” the woman asked, looking at Anfey.

“We came from Violet City.”

“What about before that?

“We were in Country of Mercenaries before that.”

“Before that?”

“Don’t you think that is a bit too personal?” Anfey asked.

The woman smiled but did not press on. “I am an oracle.” she said. “It is only natural that I am curious.” Anfey frowned at the woman’s comment.

The bear suddenly roared and charged towards Anfey. It had tried to attack Suzanna, and even though the woman ordered it to stop, it was still much closer. It was already close to Anfey when everyone realized what was happening. The woman hurriedly try to use a spell to stop the bear. A row of vines appeared between Anfey and the bear.

Anfey took a few steps back, but momentum caused the bear to crash into the vines. The vines suddenly changed shape and enveloped the bear, lifting it off of the ground in a cocoon. The woman frowned at the sight.

The bear struggled against the cocoon, its large claws slashing at the vines. With each broken vine, however, a dozen more appear and wrap themselves more tightly around the bear.

“Let him down,” the woman said hurriedly.

“Are you talking to me?” Anfey asked, frowning.

“Who else?” the woman snapped.

Anfey looked at the bear, its brown fur already completely obscured by the green vines. The only part of the bear still visible was its hind legs, which were dangling in the air. The bear’s struggle was growing weaker, and its roars were dying down. The vines were too thick and growing too fast for it to do much.

Anfey shrugged and held up his hands. He was not sure why the vines were attacking the bear, but he was sure it had nothing to do with him. He didn’t know why the vines were acting the way they were acting, much less how to stop it.

The vines suddenly stopped, then threw the bear like a large cannonball. The bear crashed into the far wall and fell to the ground. The wall of the temple, surprisingly, did not collapse.

The bear was on the ground and trying to stand up. It could not even lift its head, however, because of its severe injuries.

The woman cried and hurried towards the bear. She knelt down next to the beast and inspected its injuries. Then she lifted her head and glared at Anfey.

“I don’t know what happened!” Anfey said, raising his head. Right now, the last thing he needed was to have a conflict with a religious person like this woman.

Instead of disappearing, the vines all gathered around Anfey. Some pooled under his feet, and some coiled around his body. Some danced around him and enveloped him, pushing Christian, Suzanna, and Niya away. Compared to before, the vines appeared more gentle and calm.

“I really didn’t do it,” Anfey repeated sincerely. The vines danced, and one even climbed onto his shoulder like an animal around its master. The vines’ actions made Anfey’s explanation seemed fake and insincere.

“My guardian might have been rude, but we had no malicious intentions. How can you be so murderous?” the woman shouted angrily.

“You have to trust me, I did not do that!” Anfey said. One of the vines climbed onto his face slowly. Anfey frowned and ripped the vine away from his body. “Go away,” he spat as he slammed the vine onto the ground.

As if they had just received an order, the vines began to shrivel and quickly disappeared into the ground. It was as if what had just happened was only an illusion.

Anfey frowned. The vines were very obedient, which made his explanation appeared even more like a lie.