Assassin’s Chronicle - Chapter 311

“To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until you are parted by death.” Yolanthe slowly put the scepter on Anfey’s shoulder. “Anfey, would you like to marry this beautiful woman, Suzanna, as you wife, to love her for better or for worse, until death do you part?”
Anfey just stared at Yolanthe without any response. Christian, the best man, had to nudge Anfey and remind him what to do next. “Say it.”
“I do.” Anfey suddenly realized he needed to answer the question.
“Suzanna, would you…” Yolanthe asked.
“I do.” She answered before Yolanthe could even finish his question. Suzanna was so nervous that she was stiff.
Niya was the maid of honor. She almost laughed out loud when she saw what happened. She immediately covered her mouth. Luckily, her back was to the crowd, otherwise the guests might have laughed along with her.
Yolanthe held Anfey’s hand and gently said to Suzanna, “Relax, ok?” Yolanthe held his hand out to Suzanna.
Suzanna slightly bit her lip and put her hand on Yolanthe’s palm. When Yolanthe let Anfey’s and Suzanna’s hands touch, they could not help holding each other’s hand.
“May god bless this new couple.” Yolanthe smiled and stepped back a few steps to allow Anfey and Suzanna to be the center of attention. They were greeted with long and thunderous applause.
Almost all the elites of Maho Empire had gathered here. Most of them had nothing to do with Anfey. They were being appropriately nice to Anfey. Ernest, Entos, the members of Alibaba legion were wishing the best for them from the bottom of their hearts. Everyone wore smiles on their faces, including Wester, Granden, and even Philip, who hated Anfey with a passion. No one would give Anfey a hard time right now. If anyone did, that person would be too naïve. People could sit in this hall only if they had done something extraordinary. They might have made mistakes, but not basic ones.
When Yolanthe raised his scepter again, the whole hall went quiet. Yolanthe scanned the crowd and slowly said, “Do you know why we called them newlyweds? Because only with new responsibility can people grow. For Count Anfey and beautiful Miss Suzanna. Oh, no, please forgive me, it should be for our Count Anfey and beautiful Ms. Suzanna, they are separated from their former lives from this moment forwards. Their lives do not belong just to themselves anymore. They also belong to each other. In life, every decision they make has to consider the other, and be responsible for the other. I hope this new couple will never forget their responsibilities.”
Anfey felt Yolanthe was hinting him something. At the same time, Suzanna held Anfey’s hand tighter. Obviously, she felt what Yolanthe said.
“Saul has made a quick decision to hold this wedding, and I must be the host of the wedding. No matter what I am doing right now, I hope everyone can bear with me. In this area, I am a newbie as well.” After Yolanthe finished his talk, he gave Saul and irritated glance.
Saul bowed and smiled, but said nothing.
“I have given them my blessing in the ceremony. As a king, I would like to give them a gift to express my blessing and keep this moment forever. I was not prepared for this. I guess I have to give them one of my favorites.” Yolanthe hesitated for a second before he took a ring with a blue gemstone off his right index finger. He took Anfey’s hand and put it on for him. “This will be your wedding ring. Are you happy with it?”
“Thank you, King,” Anfey said respectfully, lowering his head. In fact, Anfey did not care about the gift. Even if Yolanthe had given him a regular stone, he would still need to keep it well.
Wester, Granden, Philip and other government officials all looked shocked. They knew what kind of ring that was.
“Since the king has given such a wonderful gift, I think I need show my blessing as well.” Baery stood up and smiled. “I have had a female suit of armor for many years. Ms. Suzanna is a senior swordsman. I think she could make good use of it.”
“General Baery, are you talking about the Azure Armor of Victoria, the temporary Princess of Shansa Empire?” Prime Minister Bryn asked, to see if his guess was right.
“Prime minister, you are very wise,” Baery said, smiling. “You are right.”
Suddenly the hall became loud with everyone talking. Victoria, a temporary princess of Shansa Empire, was the biological sister of the king of Shansa Empire. She was good at administration. She loved her citizens, and tried to do everything on her own instead of just ordering others to do it. She was a bridge between royals and civilians in Shansa Empire. When the two countries were negotiating, Baery went against his promises and lead his Death Roaring legion from hundreds miles away to attack the region where negotiations were being held. Almost the whole negotiating team from Maho Empire was killed by angry Shansa Empire soldiers. Baery definitely got what he wanted, but he also paid a high price for it. Victoria was caught by Baery.
Back then Yolanthe’s father was the king of Maho Empire. He was furious when he heard what Baery had done. He ordered Baery to release Victoria immediately. Baery agreed to release Victoria but did not do as he agreed. He secretly kept her and killed her. Later, Baery was fired and all his military titles were removed. He was sent to jail. It was unclear what would happen after Victoria’s death. As time went by, the effects started to show. First of all, the king of Shansa Empire lived a life of luxury like no other king enjoyed. The nobility in Shansa Empire followed him as an example, but they were even worse and made people hate them. As a result, the conflicts in Shansa Empire grew worse to the point that fights, battles and wars occurred throughout Shansa Empire.
In fact, Yolanthe’s father later realized Baery was right, at least from the perspective of the country. However, he could not admit his own mistake and release him. After Yolanthe took the throne, his first order was amnesty. Baery was one of the people who benefited from this policy. Later, Yolanthe reappointed Baery to be the commander of a legion on the eastern border.
After the death of Victoria, the location of the Azure Armor became a mystery. Baery kept saying he did not know where it went. Back then, his influence was not as strong, but his family background was good; his sister was Yolanthe’s queen. No one really dared give him a hard time.
He was fed and treated well in jail. Even though Yolanthe’s father had ordered his guards to interrogate Baery to try to find out where the Azure Armor was, those officials kicked the ball to each other. In addition, Yolanthe had asked a favor of Baery. In the end, no one talked about the Azure Armor anymore. But here at the wedding, everybody found out Baery had it all the time.
“King, General Baery, you are giving us a hard time,” Mioritch said bitterly. “I have nothing good to give Anfey and Suzanna. I only have a Dragon Shield. I hope Ms. Suzanna will like it.”
Everyone was shocked and stared wide-eyed. Judging from the titles they held, the others did not have to give gifts better than those Baery and Mioritch had given, but Azure Armor and Dragon Shield were such amazing gifts, it would be impossible for their gifts to compare. Bruzuryano and Manstuly looked helpless. They stayed at Saul’s house and attended the party empty-handed. They wanted to schmooze with other government officials on the party. When they were asked to give gifts, they could only give their best. Anything they brought with them was very precious, and they probably did not want to give them away.
“Steger,” Yolanthe called.
“King.” Steger stood up immediately.
“You are going to keep a record of the gifts,” Yolanthe said. “You people do not have to give anything expensive. Price does not matter, thoughts matter.”
No one could give just any random gift, even though Yolanthe told them price did not matter. They were in Saul’s house now, and Anfey was a student of Saul. Yolanthe gave Anfey a gift first and set an example for everyone. The Dean of Sacred City magic academy was in charge of keeping a record of gifts. No one would dare give cheap gifts.
“Anfey, follow me.” Yolanthe gave Anfey a look.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Anfey responded.
Suzanna unconsciously followed Anfey. Yolanthe held his arm out with a smile. “Ms. Suzanna, you should stay here. It is not appropriate for the bride and groom to leave together. You need to receive your wedding gifts in person anyway.”
Suzanna had no idea what to do. She looked at Anfey. In fact, Anfey and Suzanna both liked to live quiet lives. Now they were pushed to center stage. She felt very uneasy.
Anfey nodded and followed Yolanthe to the side door. Saul called Ernest over and said something in a low voice.
A soundproof screen kept all the noises outside. The side room and the main hall became two different worlds. Yolanthe waited for a while as Saul released a magic array. Yolanthe said with a smile, “What do you think, Anfey? Are you happy? You are getting a lot of good gifts. Even if you do not do anything afterwards, you could just sell the gifts you got today and you will have a decent life.”
“Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty,” Anfey said humbly.
“You’re welcome.” Yolanthe shook his head. “You risked your life to wipe out a Griffin Aerial Unit, which determined the outcome of the war for the east boundary of the empire. Whatever gift I give you would not be good enough.”
“Your Majesty, can I ask you something?” Anfey asked.
“Of course,” Yolanthe said.
“Your majesty and the professor have made this wedding possible. You did not just want me to receive these gifts, did you? Do you have other reasons?”
“I do not want to hide it from you and have never hid anything from you, otherwise I would not have called you over.” Yolanthe smiled. “This may be premature. Anfey, do you know who Suzanna is?”
“I know some of her past, but never specifically asked her.”

“Suzanna is the illegitimate daughter of Duke of Gruce Principality,” Yolanthe said as he sat down in a chair. He waved his hand at Anfey. “Darius had a lot of illegitimate children, though. At least a dozen.”

“Really?” Anfey asked, shocked.

“The dozen that survived,” Yolanthe said with a sigh. “He is a paranoid man. He believes that only his own blood could protect him. He sent all of his illegitimate children off to train to become his personal guards. Suzanna is one of the ones who survived. Those that did became extremely powerful and fiercely loyal to Darius. Did Suzanna ever tell you any of this?”

“Some of it,” Anfey said, shaking his head.

Yolanthe nodded. “Poor children. Their childhoods were taken away and they were forced to grow up with pain and tears. Even though Suzanna was Shally’s half sister and they are very close, Shally is much higher in status. Shally is Darius’s heir apparent while Suzanna was her maid. If the rumor is true, then he had more illegitimate children than we can ever imagine. Yet only a dozen survived to adulthood.”

“What about the others? What happened to them?”

“You mean Suzanna’s siblings?” Yolanthe asked, frowning. “I’m not sure. Darius was paranoid and mistrustful towards others, but in the end he still trusted the wrong person. He might be cruel, but his people didn’t care. As long as they had food and the right to live, they would not challenge his right to rule. His minister, though, is another story. Darius should have died of old age in his principality in peace, but his minister, Turagin, usurped his throne. After Darius disappeared, his guards did as well. So far, Suzanna is the only that has surfaced.”

“I never imagine there are things you do not know, Your Majesty.”

“Hurricane is still too young an organization,” Yolanthe said, shaking his head. “It is only thirty years old and still relatively small. Most of my men are in Ellisen and Shansa Empire. Gruce Principality is too far from here. It is not worth my time.”

“Is Hurricane the only information system here? What about before?”

“The old organization was destroyed,” Yolanthe whispered, his eyes downcast.

“Destroyed? By who?” Anfey asked, surprised. “It’s not Evil Mist, is it?”

“No,” Yolanthe said. “By me.”

Anfey sat back, his eyes wide. He knew that Yolanthe grabbed the throne after a bloody civil war, but he did not realize the scale of the conflict. If he could destroy a nation’s spy system, how bad was that war? Not just the royal family, Maho Empire itself must have been affected. Anfey knew that Yolanthe must not have forgotten what had happened to him. He had not chosen his heir, yet once he did, he might clear out a path for his chosen heir to minimize damage to the empire.

“It’s a shame, really,” Yolanthe said. “Good men died. A lot of them.”

“Then why are you so interested in Gruce now, Your Majesty?”

“Because Darius’s disappearance disrupted everything,” Yolanthe said. He had answered all of Anfey’s questions as if he weren’t a king but Anfey’s friend. “Three principalities existed to the north of Ellisen Empire. Northerners are fierce, reckless people, and their land is poor. Ellisen Empire has no reason to invade those principalities. As long as the principalities stayed out of their way, Ellisen Empire did not care about them. Of course, Ellisen didn’t want the principalities to get too strong, either. So they would constantly try to evoke the principalities’ anger towards each other. The three principalities had no reason to unite.

“The disappearance of Dairus changed the politics of the three principalities and gave them a chance to unite. Turagin is a newcomer. The other two aren’t familiar with him yet. But whoever he supports will win.”

“If Turagin is smart, he should know that staying neutral would be his best bet. Otherwise Gruce would be the next target,” Anfey said. Yolanthe was telling him important information and he should not hide his thoughts anymore. He needed to find a balancing point between usefulness and uselessness. He couldn’t be too helpful, but he couldn’t be a complete idiot, either.

“That’s exactly what he did,” Yolanthe said. “That’s why the other two principalities had reached an agreement to attack Gruce.”

“It seems like I have been outsmarted,” Anfey said, shaking his head.

“You’re too young still,” Yolanthe said. “I don’t want them to maintain that balance. The situation in Ellisen Empire isn’t any better. It’s significantly weakened because of the damage we dealt to Dark Moon Legion. They had moved all of their armies to the south to defend its borders against us. They don’t have time to prevent the war between the three principalities. Even if they do, I can gather my armies and pull their attention back to the south.

“For us, it is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We were always caught between Ellisen and Shansa Empire, but if the three principalities unit and ally with us, Ellisen Empire is cornered. I am confident I can destroy that country.” Yolanthe narrowed his eyes. “It would take at least ten years to build an army like the Dark Moon Legion. It would not take as long for me to occupy their capital.”

“That is wonderful, Your Majesty,” Anfey said hesitantly. “But what does that have anything to do with my wedding?”

“Because we found Darius.”

“What?”

“Darius escaped and somehow ended up with Archduke Kurigazu. My men had reported to me that they had reached an agreement. The Archduke would help Darius take back his throne, in exchange…”

“Is he stupid? Why would he believe that?”

“You’ll be surprised what we will do when we are as desperate as Darius,” Yolanthe said with a shrug. “The Archduke has his own condition, of course. He wants to marry Suzanna.”

Anfey suddenly jumped up from his chair. “What?” he asked, staring at Yolanthe.

“His only condition is a marriage alliance to Suzanna.”

Anfey took a deep breath to calm himself. “Why?” he asked. His fists were clenched tight. “If he wanted Gruce, shouldn’t he be asking to marry Shally?”

“Shally’s still too young,” Yolanthe said. “He didn’t want an heir. After he took Gruce, he only need an unfortunate accident to befall Darius and Shally. He would avenge their deaths and take the throne.” Yolanthe paused, then continued, “He wanted Suzanna because she had made a name for herself. There are no top tier powers in the three principalities. If he could marry a potential top tier power, it would be extremely beneficial.”

Yolanthe was acting natural, but in reality he was carefully observing Anfey. Anfey was clenching his fists so tight his nails were digging into his palms. His entire body was very tense as if he was trying very hard not to let his anger boil over.

“Darius agreed, of course, and signed an order. Suzanna is to return to Gruce with Shally as soon as possible,” Yolanthe said.

This was all that was needed to rip away Anfey’s calm facade. He felt his chest tighten and his ear ring. He had loved his parents very much and did not know how to cope with the pain after their sudden death. He did not want to love, because he was afraid to lose loved ones again. After everything they had been through, he realized that he had fallen in love with Suzanna. He did not want to lose the person he loves again. He knew Suzanna, and she would not turn away from her duty. Combined with the training she had gone through when she was young, Anfey knew he would soon face the pain of losing someone again.

“This is why I wanted you two to wed immediately,” Yolanthe said. He knew that he was much more powerful than either Darius or the Archduke. He could solve Anfey’s problem very easily.

“There’s no use,” Anfey said, his face pale. “Suzanna will go back. I know her.”

“How do you know? Do you not trust your love for each other?”

Anfey frowned. “Did Darius’s order reach her yet?”

“The messenger has just crossed our border.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“Of course.”

“Your Majesty, I am now requesting to use the transmission portal!”

“What, do you want to kill the poor man?” Yolanthe asked, smiling. “You can kill one or two messengers, but can you kill a dozen messengers? A hundred? Suzanna was the only thing between Darius and his throne. His order will not stop coming. Why do you think I told you after the wedding? She is your wife. You have to trust her. If Suzanna finds out, what will you tell her?”

Anfey froze. He stared at Yolanthe but could not say anything.

“Sit down, sit down,” Yolanthe ordered. “Violence is not the solution. You’re too excited. Don’t worry. Suzanna is a human, is she not?”

“What?” Anfey asked.

“Darius isn’t her only parent. Her mother is a maid and was very loyal to Darius. When Suzanna left to train, she even told her to protect Darius with her life. But Darius is a very paranoid person. Eleven years ago, his palace suffered a small mutiny. He was afraid that the situation would affect the mothers of his children, so he exiled them and ordered them to be drowned. Suzanna’s mother was saved by a local hunter. She was heartbroken, of course, and started a new family with that hunter. After Darius’s disappearance, she decided to keep a low profile and stay out of trouble. After the situation calmed down, she wanted to go look for Suzanna. Unluckily for her, Turagin was hunting for Suzanna as well. She was captured then.”

“Is she alright?”

“Turagin announced that he had captured her mother and tried to get Suzanna to turn herself in. Of course, by then Suzanna is already in Maho Empire and did not know what was going on in Gruce,” Yolanthe said. “My men delivered the news. I ordered a rescue mission and, thankfully, it was successful. Turagin was afraid that Suzanna’s mother would die before she appeared, so he didn’t want to torture her. I don’t know if my men can get her back to Maho Empire alive, so I told them to help her leave a letter.”

“What kind of letter?”

“She knew that Darius wanted to marry Suzanna off and was furious. She had revealed everything she knew about him, including the fact that he sentenced her to death. If Suzanna wasn’t a senior swordsmaster, Darius would not hesitate at the fact that she was his daughter.” Yolanthe sighed and shook his head. “Even if something happens, Hurricane would preserve the letter. I trust Suzanna to make the right decision as long as she reads that letter.”

Anfey let out a sigh of relief. He sat back down onto his chair.

“I also ordered the assassination of Darius. As long as he is alive, he will always be an unknown factor. I cannot allow that,” Yolanthe said. “Are you satisfied now?”

Anfey stood up and knelt down before Yolanthe. “Yes, Your Majesty,” he said, his voice quivering. “Thank you so much.” He knelt on his own volition. He had calmed down and his mind was working again. Turagin had Suzanna’s mother, but Suzanna was a senior swordsmaster. He must be very prepared to defend his prisoner against the advance of a senior swordsmaster. This meant that Hurricane must have made great sacrifice to rescue her mother. Yolanthe had ordered them to kill Darius, which was another difficult task. Both of these tasks would lead to casualties. Without Yolanthe’s help, who knows what would have happened to him and Suzanna.

Saul sighed as he watched. He had become Yolanthe’s friend under similar circumstances many years ago. No matter, Yolanthe had always been a true friend.

“Don’t worry about it,” Yolanthe said as he helped Anfey up. “Come on, let’s go back to your wedding.”

After the ceremony, Anfey took the gift list from Steger. Anfey was speechless when he looked at the neatly arranged gifts. People who came for his wedding had offered their favorite things to Anfey because of the example Yolanthe set. Even Philip gave Anfey a Faith of Messenger magic scepter.
Knowledgeable Dean Steger was in charge of receiving gifts. He even took time writing a short description for most of the gifts. Besides Azure Armor and Dragon Shield, Manstuly’s Spirit pendant stood out the most, but it was also the most useless because the Spirit pendant had two parts that had been missing for many years. Only with the Spirit necklace and Spirit gemstone could the Spirit pendant maximize its power.
Bruzuryano gave Anfey a Wind Strengthened Glove. This was a practical gift for Anfey. It also showed Bruzuryano had given the gift a lot of thought. Anfey had hurt his finger in a battle when he tried to pulled the bow hard. He still had not recovered from it. The Wind Strengthened Glove would not only protect Anfey’s hand, but also increase the power of Wind Blade arrows.
The Faith of Messenger magic scepter Philip gave Anfey was meant to be sarcastic. In fact, it was a mediocre magic scepter. Besides its magic power or instant magic power, it had nothing special. It had a long history, but that was it. It was just a coincidence that every owner of this magic scepter had been a mage and became a top power later. This magic scepter was not originally named Faith of Messenger. It was called White Bird because there was a vivid white bird carved on the handle. It was not known in which generation the owner had realized that every previous owner of this magic scepter had become an archmage, so decided to change its name to Faith of Messenger to better motivate himself. He hoped he too could become a top power some day. No matter whom this magic scepter was given to, it meant encouragement. However, giving it to Anfey meant something totally different. Everyone in the Sacred City knew Anfey was a paladin who was not too great with magic and still studying in the magic academy. It was obvious that Philip was being sarcastic about Saul having a student who was a paladin and not good at magic.
Compared with other gifts, the most worthless and funny gift was from Archalchemist Jacob. His gift looked like a normal bottle of chemicals. However, the description on the back was not normal. It said that it was an advanced-level aphrodisiac made from seven-winged magic fly. Thinking that today was his wedding and how Jacob and Mioritch “fought”, Anfey felt helpless from the bottom of his heart. He could not even imagine what looks Suzanna would have if she found out about it.
“Dean, thank you for your help,” Anfey said in a low voice.
“You are welcome,” Steger replied. “I am going to check on the side room. If you need anything, you can find me there.”
“Are Master Bruzuryano and Master Manstuly there as well?” Anfey asked.
“Yes,” Steger said with a nod. Today Yolanthe had come for the negotiations with Bruzuryano and others. Attending Saul’s party and hosting Anfey and Suzanna’s wedding was just a side job for him. Saul enjoyed high social status, but he could not represent the whole of Maho Empire. Yolanthe had to approve important decisions. Yolanthe liked to pay attention to detail. He could have called Bruzuryano and Manstuly to the palace, but it seemed to aggressive. The power Bruzuryano presented was important to Yolanthe. Yolanthe believed that each party must be treated equally as a prerequisite to developing trust between two parties.
Steger slowly walked into the side room. Anfey looked back to survey the scene. He found all the guests had left. A few servants were cleaning up after his wedding ceremony. Suzanna, Christian and others were not there, just Entos. His job seemed to be to watch Anfey’s gifts. He was walking around the big table with the gifts on it.
“Master Anfey, what do we do with these gifts? Do we keep them in the storage room?” Old servants hurried over to Anfey.
“Anfey, you’d better keep them in your Dimensional ring,” Entos interrupted.
“Ok.” Anfey nodded. He walked to the table. With his telepathy, gifts on the table disappeared one after another.
“Your wedding happened too quick. Master Marino’s gift is just a magic knife. You should have seen it on the list. Please forgive him for an inexpensive gift. I have worked with him for over a dozen of years. I know him. He has been a commander of a legion but was never rich. Every time he got something nice, he would pass it on to his subordinates. He tried to make his legion happy but forgot about himself. He wanted me to tell you that he owes you this time and will make it up to you later.”
“Why would I care?” Anfey shook his head and smiled. “Entos, where is Suzanna?”
“She was taken away by Christian and a few others. They said they were getting your room ready.”
Anfey could not help but smile. There was no tradition of playing tricks on newlyweds, but all young people like parties. They definitely would do something to him.
***
At that moment, the side room looked grand and quiet. Yolanthe, Saul, Bruzuryano and a few others sat at a round table, which allowed them to sit without thinking of their rank. They talked one after another. Usually negotiations were tit for tat and involved altercation, but they did not argue. Yolanthe had showed the sincerity with his gesture. The main person in the other party was Manstuly. He was a people person and knew how to let things go. They were able to come to agreement on many sensitive issues because both parties knew they should let certain things go.
At the same time, a person in black jumped off the roof of the lower building to the ground. He was Anfey. He zigzagged in the grass to the front of the building. There was a shadow of an elf on the window facing Anfey. She looked like she was about to put out the candle and saw Anfey by accident. Anfey immediately put his finger to his lips to signal her not say anything. As Anfey’s maid, she knew it was Anfey’s wedding day. Seeing Anfey acting secretively, that proud elf could not help smiling. She waved her arm to put out the candle.
Anfey jumped with his hands holding onto the windowsill. With the momentum from pulling on the windowsill, we was able to jump high. In fact, he could have used a Wind Blade to go anywhere he wanted effortlessly, but it would have magic surges. He did not want Christian and his group to know he was there, so he used his martial art skills.
A barely-visible, grey shadow appeared on the other side of the grass, watching Anfey. Anfey’s fingers were already grabbing the windowsill on the fourth floor. As he was about to open the window, he suddenly sensed something. He looked back to see what was in the grass, but he did not notice anything.
When the window was pushed open, Suzanna, sitting on the edge of the bed, looked up in surprise and saw Anfey jumping in. When their eyes met, they both felt somewhat awkward. Getting married was not an easy decision. Both Anfey and Suzanna thought so. They should have done something special to make this wedding romantic. They did not know why their wedding was done in such a hurried way. It was hard to tell if they were not ready for it or if it just happened too fast. They both looked uneasy.
Anfey awkwardly walked over and sat down next to Suzanna. He cleared his throat and hesitantly reached his hand out to hold Suzanna around her tiny waist.
Suzanna looked calm. She glanced at Anfey but did not say anything or do anything. When Anfey tried to hold her closer to him, Suzanna suddenly remembered something and said worriedly in a low voice, “They set a Magic Watch in the room.”
F*ck! Anfey could not help cursing in his mind. Was this a battle? It was a little too late when he found out. There were sounds of steps in the hallway. Anfey gritted his teeth and walked to the door. He waited for a while and punched hard on it. With a huge crashing sound, the door started to shake vigorously. They heard a scream in surprise or possibly in pain.
Anfey pulled the door open quickly and saw about seven people running away. Only the weakest and wounded Hagan circled around with his hands on his ears. When he saw Anfey, he immediately smiled and tried to secretly moved to the side. Anfey did not know if he should laugh or be angry. He slammed the door closed.
Suzanna smiled as Anfey slowly walked back. He was looking for something to talk about. “These guys did not give you a hard time, did they?”
“No.” Suzanna put her head down.
“They will get married some day. I will teach them a lesson then.” Anfey put his hand on Suzanna’s waist as he talked.
“They did not do anything. Huh!” Suzanna screamed in surprise. They indeed did not do anything, but Anfey did. He put more strength on his arm and rolled Suzanna on the bed.
Before Suzanna could react, Anfey lay next to Suzanna. He rolled her over quick, but still gentle. He did not rush to do anything to her. He waited for a while and kissed her cheek. He waited until Suzanna was not so nervous. If he rushed to put his hands on her breasts or between her legs, he would just be a horny guy with no class. If he did that, he would either scare Suzanna or make her feel like fighting against him. If such a horny guy could make his partner passionate about sex, it only meant his partner was as horny as him. Anfey was good in bed and controlling his desires. He would not make mistakes.
Suzanna bit her lips and stared at Anfey. She heaved a long sigh like a moan. She slowly closed her eyes to indicate she could accept anything happening tonight and she trusted Anfey.

Anfey carried Suzanna to his room and pushed open the door. His room was filled with candles, setting the mood for a romantic evening. He took Suzanna to his bed and summoned wind elements to snuff out the candles. The candles were beautiful, but sometimes darkness was more comforting.
Anfey undressed himself and wrapped his arms around Suzanna, who was lying in bed and trying to adjust to the darkness. Sensing his closeness, Suzanna blushed furiously. Due to powers of Heart of Nature, Anfey could see through the darkness and see the tiniest changes in Suzanna’s expression.
After a few moments, Anfey began slowly undressing Suzanna. Her dress was very hard to take off, but Anfey was very patient. He planted dozens of kisses on Suzanna’s lips and cheeks as he carefully unbuttoned her dress. He took off the dress and threw it aside, leaving the expensive garment lying on the ground.
Then he moved on to her undergarments, a thin white slip that clad tightly to her body. Suzanna blushed and pushed on Anfey’s chest, but when Anfey moved his hands away she moved closer to him.
Suzanna gasped when Anfey took off her slip, blushing.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Anfey whispered. He knew that Suzanna was slow to trust and wanted to make sure that she was completely comfortable with this. He did not want to bring her any pain or discomfort.
Suzanna bit her lips. She was a very traditional person and was very nervous about what was about to happen.
“Suzanna?” Anfey asked again. “Are you sure?” Even though Anfey appeared very confident, he was almost as nervous as Suzanna, if not more. He had taken other women to bed before, but most of those relationship had been purely physical and lasted no more than a few weeks. Suzanna was one of the few women he had truly loved and cared for. He felt as if everything he did was wrong and everything he was about to do would be wrong as well. He needed confirmation from Suzanna to proceed.
Suzanna knew that she had found someone she could trust with her life and rely on for the rest of her life. Anfey would share her happiness and sadness, and in turn his happiness and sadness would no longer be his alone. They belonged to each other and would never part. Suzanna took a deep breath and nodded. She took Anfey’s hand in hers and said, “Yes, I’ve never been more sure about anything.”
—
Anfey woke up at the crack of dawn. He opened his eyes and saw the horizon brightening. Normally, he would already be up and doing his morning exercises. Today, though, was special. He was hardworking, but he was not mad. He would make exceptions for special occasions. He knew that if Suzanna woke up and found him gone, she would be very disappointed. He would hate to see her feeling down.
Anfey turned and glanced at Suzanna. She was sound asleep. She must be having a good dream because she was smiling sweetly even as she slept. Even with her hair in disarray, she was beautiful. Anfey reached over and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, holding her closer to him. Suzanna shifted and her eyes flickered open.
“Morning,” she said with a smile. Her voice was slightly hoarse but still sweet.
“Morning, love,” Anfey said. “How are you feeling?”
“Well enough,” Suzanna said. She shifted and nestled closer to Anfey. “How are you?”
“Never better,” Anfey said, pressing a kiss on Suzanna’s hair. He pushed himself up and jumped out of bed, picking his clothes up off the floor. “Do you want to go practice a bit?”
Suzanna sat up and yawned, glancing out the window. “This early?”
“It’s light,” Anfey said, peering out the window.
Suzanna sighed. “Out,” she said, waving her hand. “I need to dress.”
“Alright,” Anfey said with a grin. He began walking away from the bed, still half naked. Suzanna sighed and shook her head.
“No, come back, come back,” she said. Anfey went back to the bed and sat down on the edge of the mattress. Suzanna moved over and wrapped the blanket around him.
“It’s winter, don’t you remember?” she scolded. “It’s too cold. You’ll catch a cold like this.” She was his wife now, and Suzanna felt that Anfey’s well-being was her responsibility.
“Don’t worry,” Anfey assured her.
Suzanna rolled her eyes. She glanced at Anfey and found his face closer to hers than she had expected. She jumped as she locked eyes with him. The two sat, staring into each other’s eyes as if they were in a trance.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and summoned the two out of their trance. “Anfey!” someone called. “Someone’s looking for you!” Then they heard the sound of footsteps running away and giggling.
Anfey sighed and stood up. “Let’s get dressed,” he said gently. He picked up the dress Suzanna wore the night before and handed it to her.
“Yeah,” she said, smiling softly. “Let’s do that.”

Anfey followed Christian into a restaurant. He found an armed Baery and Mioritch there, with Saul sitting properly in the middle. Anfey was shocked for a second. It looked like something had happened, but they should have no reason to see Anfey.
“Anfey, sit down. Baery has something to ask you,” Saul said quietly. He pointed to the chair next to him.
Anfey walked next to Saul and slowly took a seat. He looked at Baery with a questioning look on his face.
“Anfey, do you know Kumaraghosha ?” Baery asked straightforwardly.
“Kumaraghosha? I saw him before. Is he the general in Shansa Empire? What happened?” Anfey asked.
“The Shansa Empire military department accused him of treason. When they sent people to catch Kumaraghosha, his legion rebelled,” Baery said in a low voice. “Kumaraghosha lead his team, broke through Shansa Empire’s encirclement, and escaped the Country of Mercenaries.”
“Master Baery, does this have anything to do with me?” Anfey asked, confused.
“Yes.” Baery started to look very serious. “Do you know where they escaped to? Town of Moramatch! People from Storm mercenary group have reported that after Kumaraghosha went to the Town of Moramatch, he disappeared. People from Storm mercenary group tried to blend into the town, but they disappeared as well when they got to the town. If I remember correctly, the Town of Moramatch a station of your mercenary group.”
Anfey was shocked at first. He frowned and thought hard.
“When you left the Town of Moramatch, who did you leave it to?” Baery asked, staring intently at Anfey. “I have asked Christian about it, but he did not tell me and insisted that I ask you.”
“Uncle, it was not that I didn’t want to tell you,” Christian said defensively, “but…”
“I know, I know.” Baery waved his hand. “That is why I am asking Anfey now.”
“A woman named Alice,” Anfey answered in a low voice.
“Alice? How did you know her?” Baery asked.
“She used to be a slave. I saved her. After that, she had been following us,” Anfey said.
“Is she reliable?” Baery asked.
“Yes.” Anfey nodded. Alice could not return to her home country and held such hatred toward the royalty in Shansa Empire. Every time she talked about her father, she sounded sarcastic and disdainful, without any attachment to him. If she was able to, Alice would step on everyone in the royal family to get revenge for how they mistreated her. A person like her should be reliable.
“Do you know her background?” Baery asked.
“She is a daughter of a merchant. Her father committed suicide because he was deep in debt. She became a slave because of that. I asked her to be in charge of Moramatch because she has good leadership skills. Master Baery, what is wrong with that?” Anfey asked. He had promised Alice that he would not tell anyone who she was. More importantly if Anfey told Baery who Alice really was, Alice would become the last card the empire had. Anfey had not given this card to anyone else yet. It sounded selfish, but sometimes he had to be.
Christian lowered his head. He looked normal, like nothing had happened. He tidied his magic gown. After his family background had been exposed and experiencing many challenges, Christian had become more mature. If this had happened before, he would have wondered why Anfey lied to Baery. He might not point it out on the spot, but he would definitely ask Anfey afterwards. Now Christian felt the concept of country was too abstract. When he was in danger or pushed into a corner, the country would not save him. The only people he could rely on were the friends around him. Christian believed Anfey was doing it for the legion.
“Nothing. I am just asking,” Baery said, shaking his head. “Anfey, aren’t you heading to Violet City in a few days? Why don’t you leave today so you can go back to Violet City quickly and go to Moramatch after that. The secret agents from Storm mercenary group have reported that Kumaraghosha should be caught by the residents in the town. Anfey, you have to see Kumaraghosha in person and convince him to surrender to Maho Empire. He may ask for conditions for that. As long as his conditions are reasonable, you could agree with all of them. If he does not want to surrender to us, kill him. You have to kill him right away.”
“Master Baery, do you hate Kumaraghosha for some personal reasons?” Anfey asked.
“I do not hate him. Anfey, you know Kumaraghosha took his people out of their surroundings. Do you know how many people he leads? Less than five hundred. He was able to lead five hundred people to break through the defense lines of Shansa Empire and run to the Country of Mercenaries. It was a miracle. He even killed or wounded over 3,700 soldiers from Shansa Empire.” Baery sighed. “Kumaraghosha is an excellent general. I had a few battles with him. I know how good he is. Unfortunately, he does not have a good family background and has been suppressed by his peers. Those idiots! If I were them, I would definitely promote him to be my assistant. He would become a sharp sword in my hand.”
“Is that possible? Could five hundred people cause such a large number of casualties to Shansa military?” Anfey asked in surprise. “Where were Shansa Empire’s mages?” When he had battled Kumaraghosha in Moramatch, Anfey realized how magic could affect battles. A small Swamp magic spell could cause chaos in the formation of the cavalry and put Kumaraghosha in a very vulnerable situation in the blink of an eye. That Kumaraghosha was smart. When he saw the situation change, he ordered a retreat. The whole battle happened and ended extremely fast. If Anfey had to continue the battle, he would not have been scared of Kumaraghosha anyway, but Anfey did not think a loser could create such a miracle.
“Besides Dark Moon Magic legion in Ellisen Empire, no one would use mages as soldiers,” Baery sighed. “When there is a war, mages go to the battlefield with the military. When the battle ends, they would immediately leave the military station. Even the mage group in Death Roaring mercenary group follows the same procedure. Every time when there is a battle, I have to call out those mages. I can give orders to my soldiers and generals, but if I want a mage group to do something for me, I have to get support from the commanders and vice commanders of the mage group. I cannot just give them orders. I can only give my suggestions and advice.”
This had been troubling Baery. As the chief general, he had been wanting a mage group he could give orders to. Unfortunately, the cost of training mages was way too high compared to what they could contribute to battles. There weren’t a lot of mages to start with. Every year, only about one percent of people could be promoted to be mages and swordsmen, sometimes even fewer. In war, mages had great fighting power but very weak self-defense ability. Opponents usually targeted them first. If a hundred mages got killed, it meant half of the mage group accounted for more than 50 percent of the casualties. If thousands of soldiers got killed, it would not cause as much damage to the military as it did to the mage group.
Mercenary groups were in the same boat. Swordsmen were the main force. The number of mages in the mercenary groups was small. If any mercenary group could have a few mages, it could increase the fighting power of the whole mercenary group. Anfey’s Alibaba mercenary group was unique. Besides Suzanna, the only swordswoman, everyone else was a mage. Since Anfey was surrounded by mages all the time in the legion, he began to think mages were everywhere.
“I see.” Anfey nodded. “Master Baery, you not have to worry about Kumaraghosha so much. He betrayed his own country. He will not be able to go back to his hometown. I can take time to convince him.”
“No, if he does not surrender to us, you have to kill him right away,” Baery said, shaking his head. “Actually, we only missed a day.”
“What?” Anfey did not get it.
“I said I only missed a day; otherwise the order to catch Kumaraghosha would not need to go out.” Baery continued slowly, “Because Scarlet had gone to the front line.”
“Who is Scarlet? Why haven’t I ever heard of her?” Saul said, shocked and looking at Baery with a serious face. Saul knew Baery had treated him as his opponent, but he did not know anything about Scarlet.
“You do not know her, but you know her mother.”
“Who is her mother?” Saul asked.
“The temporary princess of Shansa Empire, Victoria,” Baery said.
“Is Scarlet a child?” Saul was shocked. Victoria gave birth to a baby when she was twenty-two years old and was killed by Baery at thirty-one. Doing the math, Scarlet should be only twenty-one or twenty-two years old. Of course, Saul would not pay attention to such a young person.
“After Princess Victoria died, the king of Shansa Empire, Philly II, took back all her power and sent nine-year-old Scarlet to a feudal estate and held her in confinement. He worried Scarlet would grow into a woman as aggressive as her mother and become strong enough to control politics. His order made people forget about Victoria’s daughter, including us.” Baery smiled bitterly. “Scarlet is indeed the daughter of Victoria. She was quiet for a long time, but she amazed the world with a single brilliant feat. The king received detailed reports about her just now. Master Saul, you know that Shansa Empire has not been a match for our empire, right? One reason was their domestic political instability. There are many uprisings in the east of Shansa Empire. They had to send a large military troop to control the situation. It ate up their military budget. Another reason was because Philly II was a poor ruler. To put it simply, he was nothing more than an idiot. He had turned down the request from Griffin Aero Unit to go into the war. He held the best force without using them, instead seeing a “sharp knife” go rusty. Last but not least, they have no good generals. Millions of soldiers had no one to lead them, so their fighting ability is bad.”
“Are you saying Scarlet can solve all three problems for Shansa Empire?” Anfey asked.
“It seems like it,” Baery said.
“How could she?” Saul could not help looking surprised. “How could Philly II watch her grow strong?”
“Because Scarlet married a good man. She left her feudal estate a few years ago. It is unfortunate that we have forgotten her and did not notice her at all.” Baery shook his head.
“Who did she marry?” Saul asked.
“Prince Jerick,” Baery said.
“I see.” Saul seemed to understand the situation with Scarlet.
“Master Baery, what kind of person is Prince Jerick?” Anfey could not help asking.
“He is the son of Philly II and the best candidate as heir to Philly II,” Baery said.
“Then he and Scarlet…” Anfey paused.
“They are cousins. What’s wrong with that?” Baery asked, confused.
“Nothing.” Anfey shook his head. He wanted to talk a little about genes, but he thought about it for a second and gave up on the idea. They would not understand genes. Anfey knew from the history of Egypt that the so called genetic diseases were not as serious as what was claimed. It was exaggerated looking at it from another culture. The history of Egypt was also a history of family incest between siblings, fathers and daughters, even mothers and sons. There were generations of incest in Egypt. Even the well-known queen Cleopatra was the product of incest. She even married her own brother. It would have been pointless to talk about genes to Egyptians, just as in this world.
Baery cleared his throat and continued, “Scarlet has been fighting with the rebels in the east of Shansa Empire. Sometimes she wins, but sometimes she loses battles. Her record did not draw people’s attention. Looking back, it seemed that she did not mean to wipe out the rebels, but to train troops of her own. With the support of Prince Jerick, she got as many soldiers as she needed and as much military funding as she needed. With some rebels who surrendered to her and joined her troops, her troops had grown from 6,000 to 70,000. King Philly II had done nothing to Scarlet. I believe Prince Jerick helped a lot with her success.”
“When Shansa Empire attacked Blackania City, Scarlet suddenly attacked Blackania City with a large battalion. Her troops wiped out the whole east side with lightning speed. Dozens of rebel groups were wiped out or surrendered to her. After that, Scarlet led her battalion to the front line to help. Unfortunately, the battle had already ended,” Baery said.
“Why was such an important message just reported back to us?” Saul became serious.
The methods of sending messages depended largely on the battles. There was only so much that could be done by a general in a modern war. The operation command was actually the core. Even if the general was not at the war, communication would not be affected too much. Things were totally different in the magic world. A correct judgement on the battlefield and an experienced general could change the results of a battle. Having a good general could be similar to having thousands of soldiers. The importance could not be overstated. When there was such a wonderful general in Shansa Empire, of course, Scarlet caught everyone’s attention.
“Scarlet is not easy to trace,” Baery said. “It seems that few people have seen her. Even the rebel groups who were beaten by her did not know they had lost to a young woman. The secret agents in Storm mercenary group could not tell their king that a mysterious woman lead a mysterious troop to put down rebellions. To do an investigation of Scarlet, they had to pay a good price before they could get some information on her.”
“Luckily, Victoria died early, otherwise…” Saul said.
“Otherwise we would be in serious trouble,” Baery said abruptly. “Anfey, do you understand why I asked you to kill Kumaraghosha right away if he does not want to surrender to us? Scarlet should have noticed Kumaraghosha’s military record. With the help of Prince Jerick, she could cover up for Kumaraghosha. If she sent people to get into contact with Kumaraghosha, you cannot have Kumaraghosha going back to Shansa Empire. If he cannot work for us, then destroy him.”
“I got it,” Anfey said. “I think Scarlet married Prince Jerick in exchange for opportunities for herself. Master Baery, what do you think of Prince Jerick? Is he good?”
“Jerick is not a very decent man,” Baery said, shaking his head. “He seems to listen to Scarlet for everything. The report from the Storm mercenary group secret agents said Jerick ran into Scarlet’s feudal estate by accident and met Scarlet when she was only fifteen years old. He went crazy for her. He has been after her for four years. Scarlet got sick once. Jerick took care of her the whole time: even washed her feet. He took care of Scarlet like he was her maid. Scarlet was touched by what he did for her. “After they got married, Jerick still respected Scarlet as he did before. Scarlet did not want him to drink, Jerick immediately stopped drinking. He has not drunk for about two years, not even a drop. Scarlet told him he should learn more new things. Jerick immediately got a few good teachers. His schedule was tight every day. He was busy the whole day long. He did not even have breaks in between, but he enjoyed it. Scarlet was really touched by it. I heard they are really good together. Two years ago when Scarlet wanted to enlist people to join her troop to fight with the rebels, Jerick cried out loud and did not want Scarlet to leave him.”
“Do you mean Jerick is not too capable?” Anfey asked.
“No, you cannot judge him by the way he acted toward Scarlet. He could stand out among dozens of brothers. He is not that simple.” Baery laid his eyes on Saul. “Scarlet has picked a few fights with our troops in the past few days. We fought with her twice and lost to her, but not too badly. We did not have bad casualties, but the King is worried. I am going to take my legion to check it out. Master Saul, about the mage group…”
“What is she thinking?” Saul said, frowning. “Necromancers are pressing. Pope William has requested all countries to refrain from war against each other so we all can fight against necromancers. Why does she want to pick fights now?”
“How do I know? You never know what a person might plot behind the scenes. I do not even know her height, her weight. I know nothing about her,” Baery said. “The only thing I know about her is she is a beautiful women, otherwise Jerick would not go crazy for her.”
Saul sighed, took a clear magic crystal in hexahedron shape from his Dimensional ring and handed it to Baery. “You can go to the Mage Union with this.”
“Thank you for your support.” Baery took the magic crystal with a smile. “Master, I am not coming back after going to Mage Union because I have to talk to Miorich before I leave. I will have Miorich take the token back.”
“Be careful,” Saul said in a low voice. “I think there must be people behind Scarlet.”
“Are you saying Princess Victoria…” Baery asked.
“You are right,” Saul nodded. “Otherwise, a kid who has been held in confinement would not be able to do something like this.”
Baery thought for a moment, frowning. He did not say anything to Saul, but just nodded to him. He turned around and walked away. Miorich walked with him.
“Anfey,” Saul called out with a deep voice.
“What’s wrong, professor?” Anfey asked.
“Today is the day after your wedding. I should not have…” Saul said haltingly.
“Professor, I understand. I know I have to put our country before everything else,” Anfey said with a smile. He could tell what Saul wanted him to do.
“It is great if you can think that way.” Saul smiled happily. “For Kumaraghosha to get so much attention from Baery, he must be a very good general. You need to try to convince him to work for our empire. As to the conditions, as Baery said, as long as he does not ask too much, you can agree with him.”
“Professor, I will try my best,” Anfey said. He took a look at Christian. “What are you standing there for? Ask everyone to come down for dinner. We are leaving Sacred City today.”
“What?” Christian was shocked.
“Hurry up!” Saul heaved a sigh. “I did not have time to teach you since you were back. I’ve got to make it up before you leave. Anfey, I will have Entos go with you. With Entos’s help, you can build a new Transmission Portal in Violet City. You don’t have to worry about the materials. I will have them ready for you.”
“Professor, there is a Transmission Portal in Blackania City,” Anfey said in a surprise.
“Son, the Transmission Portal in Blackania City is not yours. It may work fine now, but it could break down at critical moments. I am not only building a Transmission Portal in Violet City, but also in Sword Tomb Principality.” Saul was used to treating Anfey as a little kid even though Anfey had showed his true colors, especially when Anfey did not get that Saul was trying to something nice for him.
“Professor,” Christian sounded as if he was crying. He felt the pressure from his brothers. He had been wanting to leave Sacred City, but when the time came, he did not want to leave.
“Young men need to experience more. You would not achieve much if you just stay home. In fact, I do not want you guys to leave. My house would become so empty without you. It is painful.” Saul smiled as he talked. “Niya must have caused you guys a lot of trouble. This time, I am not letting her go with you. There has to be someone to accompany me, the old man.”
Anfey and Christian looked at each other. They knew Niya could not leave now. If a student of Saul, who turned out to be the third prince, had made Granden react so much, then how would he react if he came to know that Niya had left with Anfey’s legion.
“Oh, right.” Saul suddenly remembered something. He released a dark black magic Kekai that covered all three of them. Saul took out an item from his Dimensional ring and handed it to Anfey. “Take it. This is the Sacred Spirit potion.”
Anfey took a close look at the crystal bottle with azure liquid in it. This color was similar to the unicorn blood, but shone with countless sparkles, like the stars in the sky. Anfey gave an awed exclamation and carefully put the crystal bottle away.
“Miorich has kept the stuff Yagor left you in the storage room. I can give them all back to you, except the dark magic book. I will keep it for you,” Saul said.
“Ok, professor.” Anfey smiled. Anfey had trust issues, but he did not doubt the intentions of Saul. Saul must have done it for Anfey’s own good.
“You can ask everyone to come down. I have something to tell them,” Saul said as he slowly leaned back in his chair.

In some situations, time would go by much faster than one would anticipate. Saul had summoned all of his students to have breakfast with him. He did not dismiss his students after breakfast. Instead, he patiently answered every question his students had for him, no matter how absurd the question was. Then he dismissed everyone and ordered them to go pack and prepare for the trip. They were scheduled to depart at noon, but as the time neared, Saul suddenly left to go to the palace. Niya knew her friends were about to leave and had grown depressed during breakfast. She had not appeared since.
No one looked back as the carriages left Sacred City. Saul was not there and no one wanted to show their sadness, so there were no tears, but the atmosphere was very heavy. Saul purposely left because he did not want his students to grow even sadder. No one talked to Niya, either, because they did not want her to grow more depressed. They did leave her letters and asked the old butler to give the letters to Niya later.
Anfey waited for a few minutes for Saul to appear. After about twenty minutes, it was clear that Saul would not come. He knew what his friends were expecting, but he did not want to waste any time on the road. “Everyone!” he called and clapped his hands. “Come on. We have to get to Lagan City by sundown today.”
“He’s right,” Entos said. “Come on, cheer up. Stop acting like moody little girls.”
“What’s wrong with girls?” Doris asked. She poked her head out of her carriage and scowled.
Entos smiled awkwardly. He wanted to cheer everyone up and forgot that there were women there. He did not mean to offend them, but his words could have easily been taken as an insult.
Anfey turned to Ernest and said quietly, “You should stay here, sir. If something happens, you can help Master out. We are safe with Entos.”
“You’re too naive,” Ernest said, shaking his head. “The situation to the east is getting worse again. Shansa armies retreated in time to prevent mass casualties, and that combined with the seventy thousand men Scarlet brought with her…Shansa Empire has the advantage. This was why Saul insisted on building a portal in Violet City. He wants to be prepared for the worst.”
“I know how difficult it is to build a new portal,” Anfey said. “There are only a dozen cities with transmission portals. But the necromancers are a threat to all of us. Scarlet wouldn’t open the war if she has a shred of sense left in her.”
“Baery killed Victoria. Who knows what Scarlet would do if she saw him?”
The sound of hooves caught up to the carriages. A dozen riders led by Black Eleven stopped next to the carriages.
“Armin! Where have you been?” Blavi asked.
“You’re all practically nobility,” Black Eleven said with a smile. “I don’t have time to visit nobles.” He jumped off of his horse and handed something to Anfey.
Anfey accepted the document and quickly flipped through it. “Are you going with us?” Anfey asked.
Black Eleven nodded. “We’ve worked together before and His Majesty thought I would be the best person to send.”
“I don’t trust anyone else,” Anfey said. “Is this accurate?”
“A hundred percent,” Black Eleven said. “Fruz is just a baron, but there’s a man on his staff who’s a little harder to deal with. We can’t find anything about him except for the fact that he is a senior swordsmaster called Mad Dog and he was a fugitive. He is Fruz’s Guardian Swordsman, and as long as he holds that title, we can’t do anything to him.” Black Eleven paused and frowned. “Fruz’s uncle Robb is a senior swordsmaster as well. But he mostly keeps a low profile. He never joined any army or fought for glory. He refused the family title, which was why it was passed on to Fruz.”
“I don’t care about his uncle,” Anfey said. “I have some unsettled business with Fruz.”
“Business? What, does he own you a favor or something?” Black Eleven asked curiously.
“You’ll find out,” Anfey said with a smile. He turned to his friends and clapped again. “Come on, guys! Let’s go.”
After making sure everyone was safely in a carriage, Anfey turned to look for Suzanna. As soon as he reached her carriage, however, he was stopped by Doris. “This one’s already full,” Doris said softly. “Can you look for another one?”
“She’s right,” Suzanna said.
“Sorry,” Anfey said. “I forgot.” He turned to look for another carriage, slightly embarrassed. Christian poked out of a nearby carriage and waved at Anfey and Ernest. “Come here,” Christian called. “We still have spots here.”
“I don’t like carriages,” Ernest said. “I’ll stay out here.”
Anfey knew Ernest’s habit and did not try to make him sit in a carriage. He sat down in Christian’s carriage and waved at Black Eleven.
The carriages finally began moving. Saul initially wanted them to leave through a portal with Miorich, who was heading to Blackania City. Then they would return after Baery arrived with his Roaring Death Legion. However, both Christian and Anfey had insisted on using the main road because of unfinished business. Saul did not ask any questions and left all the planning to Christian and Anfey.
The last time Anfey led Saul’s students away from Sacred City, they had used the same road. However, with people chasing after them, they had to take the long way around, and it took them two days to reach Lagan City. In reality, Lagan City was not very far away from Sacred City. It only took half a day for the carriages to reach their destination. This was the second time the team came to this city, but this time they did not need to worry about their lives. With a prince and a count among them, they would be welcomed.
However, Anfey did not stop at Lagan City. He ordered the carriages to keep going until they reached a small mansion twenty miles east of the city. He already had Black Eleven preparing their resting spots. This mansion belonged to Hurricane and would not attract unwanted attention. As everyone was unpacking, Anfey grabbed Black Eleven and whispered something to him. Then he locked his door and jumped out the window, disappearing into the bushes below.
—
“I heard he left Sacred City again,” Philip said, stroking the coffin in front of him. “Do you know how long it had been? Two hundred and ninety-nine days. I have already spent two hundred and ninety-nine days in suffering. Do you know why I asked you to come here, Deswright?”
“I know what you must be thinking, Master,” Deswright said politely. “It is my job to ease your trouble.”
“Good,” Philip said. “But don’t kill him. I want him to suffer. I want him to regret ever being born.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Anfey has Ernest with him. Don’t clash with Ernest. You have all the time in the world,” Philip said. “No one knows about you. Not even Shawn and Shamash. Thank god I still have my trump card.”
“Master, Shawn has betrayed you. Should I…”
“Shawn can wait. I don’t want Yolanthe to grow suspicious,” Philip said, shaking his head. “By the way, Entos is with Anfey as well. You can finally settle your business with him.”
“What about Prince Christian?”
Philip frowned then shook his head. “Leave him. He poses no threat to Prince Wester. Plus, he is Yolanthe’s son. I’ve known Yolanthe since I was a child. I will not kill his son. Even though he never cared about my Zeda, he is still my friend and my liege.”
“Master, you are too kind.”
“Kind?” Philip asked, shaking his head. “My hands are long bloodied. I have no kindness. I just want to finish what I started. I’m growing old and my time is almost here. I cannot betray Yolanthe now. I don’t have enough time to redeem myself.”
“I see, Master.”
“You’re a swordsmaster, Deswright. Remember, don’t swear fealty to anyone after I’m gone. You are your own and no one else’s,” Philip said. He lowered his gaze and sighed. “I worked for Yolanthe my entire life. I have glory, wealth, power, but I do not have freedom. I do not even have the freedom to avenge my own grandson. Freedom is the most precious thing, but I came to this conclusion a little too late.”

Anfey went around a big tree as quick as a ghost. Black Eleven stood behind a tree, nervously looking around. Anfey told him to wait in the woods when he finished what he needed to handle. This wood was not as thick as a forest, but could cover a lot of things. He was not sure if Anfey could find him.
As Black Eleven was wondering if he should go back to the vineyard, Anfey had reached his hand out and patted him on the shoulder. Black Eleven tensed up and put his hand on the shaft of his sword with a lightning speed. At the same time, Anfey brushed his hand on Black Eleven’s elbow. Black Eleven felt numb on his arm and lost control of his arm movements. The next moment he heard Anfey’s voice: “It’s me.”
“You scared me,” Black Eleven said quietly, trying not to display his shock.
“Did people from Storm mercenary group leave?” Anfey asked.
“The king asked people from Storm mercenary group to follow you only because he was worried something would happen to you. Please do not misunderstand him for that. Anfey, you made my hand…” Black Eleven suddenly felt his arm return to normal before he could even finish his sentence.
“Did you get a chance to pass on the message?” Anfey asked, frowning.
“They both left, but I found a weird guy. He is definitely not our guy. He did not know I noticed him,” Black Eleven said.
“Not just one. I have found five of them,” Anfey said.
“How do you know?” Black Eleven asked in surprise.
Anfey smiled but did not answer Black Eleven. With his telepathy, all the branches, bushes, and grasses had been blowing hard. He could even feel their happiness and loyalty. In the plant world, he was a king without doubt. No one could enter the green world without notifying Anfey. Even when they could hide themselves very well, Anfey still could see their every facial expressions and moves as clearly as if they were right in front of him, even though they could be a few miles away.
“You should go back to the vineyard to tell them to get ready to leave soon. They will leave immediately after seeing my signal,” Anfey said.
“What? We are not staying here tonight?” Black Eleven asked.
“If we are being watched like this every day, we could not do anything,” Anfey said, shaking his head. “Tell Christian to take Suzanna, Blavi and Hagan in the south to the wood to wait for me. The rest of the legion will continue forward. I have talked to Master Baery. His cavalry will wait for us at the next stop. Tell Riska that I am asking him to take good control of the legion. No one is allowed to leave the legion. At least, they cannot let anyone notice we have left the legion on our own.”
“How about Master Ernest and Master Entos?” Black Eleven asked slowly. “Anfey, you guys will not be very safe without them.”
“They should stay in the legion. I will contact them once we settle things,” Anfey said.
“It seems that I cannot go with you,” Black Eleven said.
Anfey smiled, “It is more convenient to have few people working on it. Otherwise we could easily be noticed and have more trouble.”
“It would not hurt to have one more person go with you.” Black Eleven did not want to give up his goal of joining Anfey. His job was not only just helping and supporting Anfey, but also reporting everything about Anfey. If they were divided into two different teams, he would have no way to report anything.
“Ok, stop it. I will contact you in a few days,” Anfey said.
“Anfey, you want to kill those few people, don’t you?” Black Eleven already could tell Anfey’s intention from his eyes.
“Since they are not the king’s people, I am not constrained by anything,” Anfey said calmly. He turned around and ran to the woods with lightning speed. Black Eleven stared, his eyes wide, to try to see where Anfey went, but two bushes shook and blocked his view.
To the far east side of the vineyard, there were two people hiding on both sides of a trail with trees. They were about fifty yards apart. The vineyard only had one entrance and one exit. The wagon came in from the west so it could only go out to the east according to the itinerary. Their job was to send magic signals when they saw the wagons ready to leave.
To be honest, conducting surveillance was not an easy job. In addition to being alert all the time, they had no rest time. The hardest part of the job was to endure the loneliness. People in the wagon had gone to rest, but they had to continue watching them even though they knew they would not do anything until the next morning. They had rules and principles of doing surveillance, so they had to hold on tight tonight.
A big guy with sideburns stuck his head out from the left side of the woods to take a look at the trail. He stepped back into the woods, bored. If he had a choice, he would not be on this job. However, what could he do if he did not have this job? Be a soldier? Or a mercenary? It would be more dangerous than this job, but with similar pay, especially those jobs that did not give him the power he wanted. A while ago, he met a beautiful woman and went crazy for her. After doing some research on her, he found out that the woman had married a merchant. He thought about it and came up a scheme. He secretly went into the merchant’s house and hid a necromancer’s item in his house. Later, when everyone was searching for necromancers, he reported that the merchant was one of the necromancers. He took people to the merchant’s house to search. He found the necromancer’s item he hid previously. The merchant was taken to the jail. He finally could enjoy his beautiful wife in bed. Soldiers and mercenaries would not be able to do what he did. Not possible.
Once he finished this job, he would ask for a few days’ leave. The big guy looked cunning. As he was thinking about having sex with that beautiful woman, he suddenly heard a slight noise to his left, about a dozen yards away. The big guy looked tense and quietly stuck his head out to check on it.
Anfey put his arm on the guy’s neck as swiftly as a snake. He held tight with one arm on the guy’s neck. Even for those who were not assassins, like Anfey who had killed so many people, garroting and twisting the neck were skills even regular scouts would know. However, when Anfey put his arm on the guy’s neck, he discovered a leather cover that was as hard as steel.
Anfey had experienced so many dangerous incidents, his reactions had been trained well. Without pausing, Anfey jammed his knee into the big guy’s lower back and pinned him tight against a tree. He put more strength on his arm. The knee to the back was so strong that it could break that big guy into halves. It was hard to calculate, but Anfey did it. The guy only had a chance to release combat power for a very short time. The combat power released like fireworks, disappearing almost immediately. The big guy’s body was folded into an acute angle, the broken spine piercing through his stomach and the armor, sticking out of his body. His hand feebly scratched Anfey’s thigh. Such attacks were nothing to Anfey. They were nothing more than a little girl’s punches. Anfey looked cold and calm. The trees around him shook without any wind and made some noise to cover up what happened in the trees.
The big guy on the other side of the trail squatted there, watching ants fighting. He quietly stood up. He did not hear anything unusual, but he sensed combat power surges even though they disappeared so quick that he thought they were just an illusion.
This job had trained him to be very cautious. He quietly walked to the trail to check. Both ends seemed quiet. The big guy ran across the trail as fast as he could and then suddenly slowed down immediately. He slowly approached his fellow with a magic scroll in his hand. If he found anything unusual, he would just release the magic scroll and sent out the signal.
A dark sword reflection passed in the grass. The sword reflection passed so fast, so dark at a weird angle that the big guy did not notice anything unusual and continued to walk forward. He felt cold on his wrist. He turned sideways and saw a hand falling on the grass. The hand on the grass had a magic scroll in it.
A second sword light shot at the guy and swept through the back of his head. Blood splashed. As the blood pressure dropped quick, the lack of blood supply to the brain made that big guy lose his thinking ability. The shock he felt when he saw the hand on the grass got worse, which made him even forget what made him so shocked. His body fell limply on the grass.
Pushing the branches to the side, another pair of eyes could be seen. This guy nervously watched the vineyard from a place that was not too far from in the distance. He was so attentively focused that he did not notice the tree underneath him had changed. A branch flopped down and then suddenly wrapped around the guy’s neck, like a snake. The guy was startled, but he did not panic. He tried to look back to see as he took his knife out. Seeing it was a branch, he felt a little relieved, even though he did not know why a branch had attacked him. He did not dare to use combat power, worrying that those few top powers in the vineyard would notice him because he was not too far away from the vineyard.
He thrusted his knife backhanded. The guy wanted to cut off the branch with his knife. He did not expect that as his knife was half way to the branch, a long and powerful finger flicked his knife. The guy was too shocked to react to the change of the direction of the knife, even though he noticed it. He looked like he was committing suicide since the knife went directly into his throat.
He held on tight to his knife and tried to pull it out from his throat. The hand that had flicked at the knife reached out to the knife again, pushing it even further into his throat. The guy saw darkness and felt something cold had pierced through his neck. He could even feel his life slowly running away from him through his neck.
Ernest, standing at the window, smiled. He saw everything as it unfolded. The master-level martial art skills Anfey used were amazing. If it were him, he probably could have flicked at the knife as the knife moved at a fast speed, but would not have such good control of which direction the knife would go. At that moment, the only thing Anfey needed was some strength. Ernest felt that Anfey could achieve so much in the future. Suddenly, he heard knocking on the door and Christian’s voice, saying respectfully, “Uncle Ernest, Anfey asked us to pack up and get ready to leave at any time.”
“Got it.” Ernest responded casually.

Anfey’s friends had already recognized him as their leader, and his words were valued more than anyone’s. However, this time Suzanna did not follow Anfey’s order. She knew him well and she knew he had another mission after she talked to Black Eleven. She didn’t listen to Black Eleven’s warnings and left the property. After Suzanna left, Christian felt compelled to join her and left with Blavi and Hagan.
Suzanna did not venture into the forest. She arrived at her appointed position and waited for Anfey’s signal. Anfey had the Heart of Nature and could sense danger very well. All she needed to do was to wait for his signal.
A man was lying low among the grass a few hundred feet away from where Suzanna was stationed. The way he hid himself was very strange. His back was arched and his body was almost parallel to the ground as if he was a wolf waiting to strike.
A breeze blew through the grass and the man lifted his head to sniff the wind. He was a Wolf Guard, and his senses were much stronger than a normal man’s. He decided that it was too dangerous to advance, so he started to retreat.
Before he could get far, however, he found his path blocked by another man. He lifted his head and found himself staring into a pair of calm eyes. The man took a step back and his body began to grow. Dark fur covered his body and obscured his face. He knew that the people he was following were powerful, but he did not want to be defenseless.
However, the druid was too distracted by the upper body of his opponent and did not notice his legs. Anfey lifted his leg and kicked the druid on the nose. The druid grunted as his body was thrown backwards by the kick. The weakest point on the face of an animal that relies on smell was its nose. If the animal was struck hard enough on the nose, it would lose its will to fight.
Anfey reached over and stabbed the druid with his dagger. However, he felt as if he was stabbing a suit of armor and not a living thing. Only the tip of the dagger entered the druid’s body. The druid jumped back towards a nearby bush. A transformed druid had enhanced strength and was much harder to harm than a normal person. A druid like Bruzuryano was practically impossible to kill in combat. As long as he was not surrounded by people as powerful as he, nothing on a battlefield could harm him. Even if anyone could harm him, it was not possible to kill an archdruid with one blow. A blow like the one Anfey had just dealt was usually enough to kill most of his opponents, but clearly the druid was not one of them.
Anfey frowned. He jumped up and chased after the druid. Then he held out his left hand and reached towards the druid. When he was only a foot or two from the druid, his hand clenched into a fist and punched the druid’s stomach.
The wound on his stomach widened and blood poured out of the cut. The druid slumped to the ground, blood gushing from his stomach. If one looked closely, the man’s entrails were visible through the wound.
“Anfey!” Suzanna scolded when she arrived on the scene. She had already heard the fight and wanted to stop him, but it was clearly too late. Anfey was washing away the blood on his hand with some water elements he had just summoned.
“Is it a druid?” Christian asked.
“It is,” Anfey said. He was cruel and coldblooded, but he did everything for a reason. He liked the sensation of killing but he knew when to hold back. He did not want to let the man go just because he was a druid. He needed to send a warning.
“Are you not worried about Bruzuryano?”
“He doesn’t work for Bruzuryano,” Anfey said. “He would not send people after us.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Christian said, shaking his head. “He’s still a druid.” He sighed and then said, “He works for the Wolf King. Hopefully he won’t send more people after us.”
“What’s done is done,” Blavi said. “We have to get moving.”
“We have to do something else before we go,” Anfey said. He closed his eyes and listened carefully to the faint sound of hooves beating on the ground. People in the mansion should be on the move already.
“What is it?”
“Christian, do you remember Baron Fruz?”
“Fruz? No. Who’s that?”
“Blavi, do you remember?”
“Not really.”
“You don’t remember the sisters in Lagan City?”
“You mean…the guy Niya slapped?” Christian asked, shocked.
Anfey nodded. “I had Black Eleven do some investigating. I’m fairly certain that he was the one behind those girls’ deaths. The man who did it was a man they call Mad Dog. The girls weren’t the only people he had killed.” He retrieved the document Black Eleven gave him from his dimensional ring and handed it to Christian. “This details some of the atrocities he committed.”
When they first fled Sacred City, they all practiced very hard in order to improve themselves and stay alive. Anfey knew his friends were still all very hardworking, but after their return to Sacred City, everyone had relaxed and was not as keen on getting more powerful as before. Sacred City was like a little paradise for them. They were comfortable and the lifestyle was very relaxed. For old people it was the ideal place to live, but for young people it was not. The comfort would erode away their will to fight. Anfey did not want his friends to waste away in comfort and he knew he needed to do something to remind them of the need to become more powerful.
Christian took the document and began reading. The longer he stared at it, the deeper his frown became. Mad Dog was a madman who never thought of consequences for his actions. He had been a wanted fugitive until Baron Fruz took him under his wings. Since Mad Dog was protected by Baron Fruz, the police could not arrest him.
“Do you want to kill them?” Christian asked.
Blavi moved over and grabbed the document out of curiosity. Anfey nodded.
Anfey had killed a lot of people before, and he knew that killing could bring joy. However, he would not focus on his own emotions when he killed, instead focusing on completing his mission. He would finish his job quickly and immediately flee the area. Sometimes, though, he would stay and kill his target slowly. Especially the ones that deserved it. One time he was hired to kill a mob leader who would sometimes smuggle immigrants into the country. He treated those immigrants as if they were his property instead of as people. Anfey had spent an entire night slowly killing the man and felt immense joy in doing so because he knew just how evil the man was.
Unlike Anfey, Christian was very kind. He was not used to killing, but he knew that killing Mad Dog was necessary. He wanted to give those poor girls the justice they deserved.
“Our mission is to go to Forest Clarm,” Christian said slowly. “Wouldn’t this delay us?”
“It’s up to you,” Anfey said. “You’re making this decision.”
Christian closed his eyes and recalled the horrific scene they had discovered. Before that, he had never imagined how horrible people could be. He had never witnessed real evil.
Anfey remained quiet. Christian was very passive. Anfey did not make the decision because he wanted Christian to be more aggressive. Christian needed to learn how to be more decisive. His decision at that moment would dictate the fate of Baron Fruz and his men.

“Luckily, we did not have a conflict with them. They are senior swordsmen,” Christian commented. He felt a little scared in the aftermath. If this had happened when they just left Sacred City, with their fighting ability and experience, a whole legion could probably be wiped out when they had to fight with a senior swordsman.
“So what if he is a senior swordsman? Suzanna, I am not criticizing you, but…” Blavi suddenly realized something before he could finish talking. He immediately smiled at Suzanna. “I meant, if Niya had not act too impulsively, we would not have to experience that. We can just treat it as we are doing it for Niya to fulfill a wish for her. Christian, what do you think?”
“Baron Fruz has notified Flame Crusaders about our itinerary,” Anfey said quietly. “If we are not ready for attacks, we could end up in serious trouble. Right now, the city master in Lagan City is really close with Flame Crusaders.”
Flame Crusaders was not a regular troop in the empire. The members of the Flame Crusaders had many different skills. They were cavalry, swordsmen, mages, and even knights of light from Church of Light. They wore uniformed armor when they were called in for a battle, but the organization was nevertheless very loose. There were no rules or restrictions for the Flame Crusader members. It is said that they had the freedom to join or leave Flame Crusaders at their will. Nominally, there was no leader in Flame Crusaders, and no one really knew who the power was behind the scenes. Yolanthe let Flame Crusaders grow without any interference.
Flame Crusaders used to have a free style. Flame Crusaders had a closer relationship with Prince Wester after Yolanthe claimed he was going to pick a qualified heir for his throne. Saul thought Philip must have his hand on Flame Crusaders. In other words, he was their behind-the-scenes leader. When Anfey’s legion escaped from Sacred City, Flame Crusaders were active and passionate in chasing his legion, while magic union garrisons did not bother Anfey’s legion much. If Anfey’s legion thought Philip had nothing to do with Flame Crusaders, they were just kidding themselves.
“It looks like you all want to go to Lagan City. Then let’s go,” Christian sighed.
As they were talking about Flame Crusaders, Baron Fruz had slowly walked out of his house. About eight people dressed in swordsmen uniforms followed closely after him. Crazy Dog was one of them. Except for his gloomy face, he did not look any different than the others. He did not wear a swordsman’s badge, so he did not draw anyone’s attention.
Baron Fruz had a habit of walking around Lagan City along the main road after dinner every day. He liked this city. He knew someday he would take over the city. City master was not a hereditary position, but his father had been the city master of Lagan for over twenty years. He had his hand in everything in Lagan. If his dad wanted, he had the ability to have the city budget cut by more than half. In such a situation, it was better to have him to take over the city master job. Other royalty in the empire knew who controlled Lagan City anyway. No one would want to come to such a far-off place to look for trouble.
Baron Fruz’s habit was well-known. After dinner became the quietest time in Lagan City. At that time, people changed their behavior a little after dinner. No one would have any conflict with others on the street. Even the troublemakers and gangs chose to put a hold on their activities during that time. Women who needed to go out would choose to walk around in the alleys to avoid the bright main street.
Baron Fruz’s daily patrol was almost finished. He walked around a street corner. If he walked straight ahead, he could reach his house. He felt regret and sighed. In fact, he hoped there was something happening everyday that could allow him to prove his authority and power. Unfortunately, not only did nothing happen, he barely saw anyone on the street. He felt he could not release his passion.
Before Fruz could complete his sigh, Crazy Dog, who had blended in with the guards, suddenly looked up. At the same time, he started to run towards Fruz and knocked two swordsmen out of the way. He grabbed the startled Fruz as the sword in his right hand, covered in white combat power light, suddenly thrust forward.
An arrow flew towards them. They heard a sharp whooshing sound coming, but the arrow was knocked away by the sword. It looked easy to knock away an arrow, but it was very very hard to do. Sharp eyes, considerable experience, and short reaction time were all necessary. Of course, it was not a big deal for a senior swordsman like Crazy dog. He stared at the person on a roof in the distance.
Unexpectedly, the arrow actually was a magic arrow. The Wind Blade on the arrow was not affected by Crazy Dog’s block. It flashed and went in Baron Fruz’s thigh. Baron Fruz screamed in pain. He could not help falling to the ground.
Crazy Dog did not think Baron Fruz could get hurt. He was shocked for a second and started to look fierce. Seeing his master getting hurt, he knew he most likely would get blamed for it later, when Baron Fruz asked them to take responsibility for this accident. He could not think too much at that moment. He held his arms open and rushed in front of Fruz. His combat power had been performed to the maximum. He walked straight at the shooter in the distance. The rest of the guards stayed with Fruz. They did not want to make their master mad either.
Seeing Crazy Dog getting closer, the shooter did not seem to run away at all. The shooter casually pulled the bow. Crazy Dog could not help but feel worried. He had released his combat power to the maximum without holding anything back. Anyone could see he was a senior swordsman, but the shooter did not seem to care, nor had the intention to back off. Obviously, he had confidence to kill Crazy Dog. At that moment, Crazy Dog had no other option but to face the fight. He had enemies everywhere. If he made his master mad, he could end up having nowhere to go.
Thinking of this, Crazy Dog roared as loud as a tsunami. He jumped high and raised his sword to thrust forward. A crescent shaped sword radiance with many shadow tails shot out at the shooter’s chest. At the same time, Crazy Dog slowed his rapid advance. He speculated that the shooter would not just be a shooter. He wished to make the shooter make moves once he used his sword radiance.
Anfey let go of the bow. The arrow shot out fast. Anfey moved one step to the side to dodge Crazy Dog’s strike. He avoided Crazy Dog’s sword with almost no gap in between. Crazy Dog’s heart suddenly dropped. He felt desperate now. He had many risky moments in his life. If Anfey had avoided his sword in such a risky way, it showed that Anfey had amazing visual judgment and great confidence. If it were him, he would have moved a lot further away from the sword to feel safe.
A powerful opponent! Crazy Dog immediately made a judgement. He waved his sword to hit away Anfey’s arrow. Crazy Dog just let the Wind Blades hit against his combat power. To judge if a person was powerful, a person did not have to rely solely on combat power. Sometimes, one could tell from the way the opponent looked and behaved. Crazy Dog’s name had “Crazy” in it because he was so hot tempered that nobody could understand him. When he was in a fight, especially with a powerful opponent who could make him very sharp, he did not look crazy at all.
Crazy Dog paused for a second before he stepped onto the eaves. The tiles quickly turned to powder under his feet. He borrowed the momentum from it and rushed forward. The tip of the sword reflected bright and cold light and thrust towards Anfey’s chest. This move meant to test Anfey instead of attacking him, because Anfey looked too calm. Crazy Dog had a different attitude this time than with his first strike. He did not dare to attack with full force.
A person suddenly came up behind Anfey about eight yards away. She shot high into the sky like a Firework Flag. She fiercely swooped at Crazy Dog while he had all his attention on Anfey. When he realized he was at a disadvantage, he forced himself to stop running. Luckily, he did not attack Anfey with full force. He immediately turned from attacking to retreating. He slightly raised his sword. He posed as if he was ready to defend himself. He had to take some of his attention from Anfey in case the two of them attacked him together.
Two swords with the same radiance clashed together and made a huge clanging sound. The intense combat power stirred up the air currents around the swords. The air currents were clashing everywhere. Suzanna jumped high and did a backflip. She landed firmly on the roof. Crazy Dog jumped off quickly. He still looked like he was in a disadvantaged position.
However, Crazy Dog actually felt relieved. The eaves blocked his view and he did not see where Suzanna jumped to, but that did not stop him from sensing where she was. Crazy Dog sensed that there was another mage in the dark and the swordswoman was more powerful than him. Putting all this together, Crazy Dog already wanted to escape. He did not think he had any chance to win this fight. If a person could save a situation, he would be a hero, but it never would be him.
A fire wall suddenly appeared when Crazy Dog was about six yards off the ground. The fire devoured Crazy Dog, but he was prepared for magic. With his combat power, the fire wall could not hurt him.
As he continue to fall, Crazy Dog stared at what was above him in case there were more attacks. Just as he expected, Suzanna jumped off the roof and chased after him with her sword. Crazy Dog screamed loudly. As long as he could block this attack, he should be able to run to the alley nearby. He was familiar with the city so he could run in the small alleys. He did not think Anfey and Suzanna would go after him unless they wanted to kill the whole garrison in the city.
When his feet had just touched the ground, he felt something squishy and he kept falling down. Swamp magic? As soon as he realized this, Crazy Dog felt desperate right away. He could not figure out whether Anfey and Suzanna wanted to kill Baron Fruz or him. If they wanted to kill Baron Fruz, they should not have spent so much effort dealing with him. If they wanted to him, why would they attack Baron Fruz first? He could not spare time to think about that question. He roared angrily, trying to jump out of the swamp. However, the more he struggled, the faster he fell. In the blink of an eye, the swamp was up to his chest.
As Suzanna rushed to Crazy Dog, her sword left a white light shadow. She swung her sword at Crazy Dog’s head. Crazy Dog clenched his teeth as he released all the combat power he had left to block the sword. With a loud noise, Crazy Dog’s whole body had fallen into the swamp, with only half the sword swinging feebly above the swamp.
Blavi grinned from the roof on the other side. Swamp was his masterpiece! Although they had planned this out beforehand, Blavi was still proud of himself and felt excited, since what he did was decisive for this fight.
Anfey flew quickly down from the roof. He had a dark black spear in his hand. As the tip of the spear touched the ground, he threw himself at the panicked swordsman.
“Protect the baron!” a swordsman yelled. He pulled his sword out backhanded and positioned it in front of him, but he felt dizzy for a second. Anfey had thrust his spear into his mouth, and it pierced out from the back of his head before he had a chance to close his mouth.
Blavi did not rest. He kept releasing Lightning magic and killed a swordsman who was trying to flee as he saw the situation change. Once Suzanna joined the battle, no matter who wanted to fight back or who wanted to run away, they all turned into a group of feeble people without any fighting ability.
What surprised Anfey was Baron Fruz. He still looked proud, even though his eyes were filled with terror. He did not cry or beg to be let go. He only covered his wound on his thigh with his hand and sat there quietly. He was quiet for a while before he said with a trembling voice, “Why do you want to kill me?”
“It is your turn.” Anfey did not answer him, but turned to look at Christian. There was no rule that people needed to know the truth before they died. No matter in which world, there was just no such a rule.
Christian heaved a sigh and chanted in a low pitch. A big fireball flew out and hit Baron Fruz right in chest. Baron Fruz only had a chance to give half a scream as he rolled far away. When he stopped rolling, his upper body was charred.
“Let’s go. The garrison will come soon,” Anfey said quietly. After he walked a few steps, he suddenly stopped. He sensed some movement from under the ground. After getting connected with the Heart of Nature, he did not take anything unusual for illusion anymore. He looked around and saw the sword Crazy Dog left on the ground. After the magic elements disappeared, the swamp had turned back into earth. Was it possible that Crazy Dog had not died yet?
Anfey gave Suzanna a look. Suzanna immediately understood. She jumped high and attacked the shaft of the sword on the ground with combat power. Dirt and gravel sprayed. Anfey clearly heard a smothered scream in pain.
“One more,” Anfey said.
Crazy Dog was buried underground, but he did not die. He was in incredible pain and agony. He did not know why they would not let him go at this point. As the ground shook intensely again, Crazy Dog started to lose conscious. Everything seemed to fall into darkness.

Anfey and his friends had already left when the guards arrived. They headed south and went deeper into Forest Clarm. Even though they were not sure about the exact location of their destination, they knew they were heading in the right direction.
Out of everyone, Anfey was most at ease. His movements were all very light and rhythmic. Suzanna was next to him and was using her combat power. She was not as light as Anfey, but she appeared much more powerful. Next to them were Christian, Blavi, and Hagan. Christian and Blavi were gliding above the ground. Even though they were carrying Hagan, they were still very fast and were not hindered by the extra weight. The two were going against the wind, but they were not slowed. But it was also clear they were not using their full power.
The day before, they had arrived in the forest. Now they were already deep into the woods and could see the dark mountains ahead.
Christian and Blavi let Hagan down and floated into the air, then disappeared into the forest. According to the plan, the two would look for the magic coordinates they left the day before.
Anfey jumped onto a tree and gazed at the mountains. Perhaps because the Heart of Nature had sensed the forest, it had activated itself. Thousands of trees appeared then disappeared in front of Anfey’s eyes. He did not know the exact area he had covered, but he could very easily sense the coordinates. It was more effective to just use the Heart of Nature to search for the coordinates.
“Can you call them back?” Anfey asked Suzanna.
Suzanna nodded and raised her sword. She released a sword radiance and made a loud whoosh. Christian and Blavi stopped after hearing the noise and quickly returned.
“What’s wrong?” Christian asked as he landed on a branch.
“We don’t need to spend all that time searching,” Anfey said. “It’s right this way.” What he had just seen in his vision was chaotic, but he could sense the right way. Anfey was used to relying on his intuition and did not question himself. For example, whenever he sensed danger, he would immediately abandon his mission. He didn’t need a reason. He only needed to trust himself to stay alive.
Christian glanced at Anfey and shrugged. Blavi, on the other hand, grinned. “Good,” he said. “I didn’t want the trouble anyway.”
“Hey!” Hagan called, waving his arms. “I’m still down here! Are you going to pull me up or not?” He thought he would have to hike through the forest and was relieved that Christian and Blavi were not going away.
The five of them continued to travel through the forest. The sun slowly set behind the horizon, but the darkness did not hinder them. All five of them were wide awake and did not need to stop and rest. When the sky began to lighten, Anfey stopped and motioned his friends to stop as well. Anfey stood still to observe his surroundings for a few moments, then he suddenly jumped forward and landed on a small clearing.
Christian and Blavi smiled when they saw the familiar clearing. Christian turned and whispered something to Blavi. Then he let go of Hagan and rose higher into the air. He could feel the magic coordinates, even though it was a bit late. Blavi frowned and chased after Anfey, with Hagan still on his back. When he caught up, he saw Anfey sitting next to a small pond, smiling. Suzanna was blushing furiously and kicked Anfey on the arm. Blavi didn’t know what had happened here to the two of them, nor did he care.
“Anfey!” Blavi called.
“What is it?”
“Christian’s heading over there,” Blavi said. “I’m afraid…”
“Of what? He will understand,” Anfey said softly. “Perhaps he already knows.”
Blavi sighed and shook his head. “Good,” he said. “I don’t want him to treat me any different.”
“Neither do I,” Anfey said. “But don’t worry about it too much. I’m sure Christian will see the reason behind our actions.”
“Are we there?” Hagan asked. His eyes were bloodshot and he sounded exhausted.
“Almost,” Anfey said, nodding. “Let’s head over there right now.”
Suzanna stood by the pond and stared at the water as if she could not hear the conversation around her.
“Suzanna,” Anfey called softly. He didn’t want to excite her too much by recalling their first meeting.
Suzanna blinked and turned to him.
“We’re leaving,” Anfey said, placing a hand on her shoulder gently. Ever since they were married, Suzanna had been more accepting of physical contact. She did not shy away from Anfey’s touch.
Suzanna sighed and nodded. She fell in love with Anfey partly because of his intelligence, but his intelligence was not the whole reason. The events around their first encounter were very important, as well. Her past was a stone weighing her down. She endured cruel training, and her only purpose was to protect her father. The only thing that was hers was her dreams.
Christian was a hardworking person. He was not a prince raised in luxury, and he knew the importance of working with his own hands. He had already cleared out a tunnel and entered the cave. When Anfey, Suzanna, Blavi, and Hagan arrived, he was climbing out of the tunnel and gagging.
“This is it?” Hagan asked. His exhaustion disappeared completely at the thought of seeing an element lock.
Anfey nodded and snuck a glance at Christian.
Hagan did not wait for any of his friends. He jogged towards the tunnel and disappeared. A few seconds later he reappeared, pinching his nose. “What is in that cave?” he asked, frowning. “It stinks!”
Anfey smiled but did not say anything. When they were leaving, he and Blavi had killed all the remaining orcs. There were hundreds of bodies in that cave. No wonder it stunk.
“Christian?” Blavi called nervously. Christian was a prince and a natural leader. Having two leaders on a team was rarely a good thing, but thankfully Christian and Anfey respected and trusted each other. However, for a follower like Blavi, it was best to be in the good favor of both leaders. If Christian disliked him, it could affect his future greatly.
Christian took a deep breath and smiled at Blavi. “I’m fine,” he said. “Don’t worry.” Then he raised his hand and summoned wind elements. Strong gusts of wind blew into the tunnel. Blavi hurried over and summoned wind elements as well. The two of them stood for a few seconds and cleared the foul air in the tunnel.
Anfey walked over after they stopped and said, “Let’s go.”
“I’ll go first,” Blavi said eagerly.
Anfey nodded. “Be careful. Hagan, stay close to me.”
Anfey turned to look at Christian as Blavi disappeared into the tunnel. Christian smiled at him. “Are you not surprised?” Anfey asked.
“It’s normal,” Christian said with a shrug. “I had a feeling.”
“You don’t look so well, though.”
“You wouldn’t look good either if you smelled what I smelled!” Christian said, rolling his eyes. “The air in there was putrid! I had to use a magic shield, or else there was no way I could breathe in there.”
“I see,” Anfey said. “I’m glad you aren’t disgusted by what we did.”
“Don’t worry,” Christian said. “As long as you had a reason, I will understand.”
“Guys, you can come in now,” Blavi said. His voice was muffled.
The four of them climbed into the tunnel. Blavi was still blowing away the foul air and was advancing slowly. Christian summoned a few small fireballs to light the way. Since it was not their first time there, the group quickly found the cave with the chest.
The mysterious chest was floating in midair and the chain of the element lock was glowing faintly. Hagan completely ignored the treasure in the cave, as if the chest was the only thing there.
Anfey opened his dimensional ring and gathered up all the gold. Last time he was there, he had all of Saul’s belongings with him. This time, Anfey was confident that he could take all the gold coins.
After he had gathered about half of the coins, Anfey realized he could see the ground. In the corner of the room was a small black box that was previously obscured by the gold coins. Anfey picked the box up and carefully opened it. Inside the box was another, smaller box.
“Hagan, how is it going?” Christian asked.
“It’s a element lock for sure,” Hagan grunted.
“Can you open it?”
“Probably,” Hagan said. “Give me some time.”
“Do you need to take a nap?” Christian asked. Hagan looked exhausted and he did not want to risk an accident.
“I’m good,” Hagan said. He did not look up from the chest at all.