Assassin’s Chronicle - Chapter 351

Anfey had a playful smile on his face. He glanced at the cardinal opposite him. He took the book from Suzanna.

Ozzic had the fastest response. He saw that Anfey showed no respect to the cardinal. He immediately got to his feet and kicked the nearby mercenary’s shoulder and scolded, “You guys get the f*ck up!”

In fact, most mercenaries were not grateful, at least not for priests. Mercenaries needed priests’ help after intense fights or when injured, but they never agreed to join the Church of Light. In other words, they treated priests well when they were needed, but treated them poorly when they were not needed.

However, the truth was usually found when viewing things from multiple perspectives. Mercenaries had their concerns. They did not want to commit themselves to the Church of Light to return the favor. It was such a high price to pay. In addition, they paid the priests to treat their injuries with gold coins or magic crystals. The Church of Light was not a charity, so they would not do it for free. People had to pay to get their services. No one wanted to work for free, not even slaves. If even slaves hoped to get rewards from their masters for their hard work, then surely the priests would too. The mercenaries made money in a difficult manner. They risked their lives for most assignments, like hunting for magic crystals. After converting to the Church of Light, they would even have to pay for praying to priests. If there was time that they were expanding the church or changing priests, the Church of Light followers had to give more money to the church. They had to sponsor the church for the opportunity to pray, while showing courtesy to new priests. They could not neglect either situation, which did not please the mercenaries.

The situation looked different from the point of view of priests. Priests were human, and wanted to live a better life. It seemed reasonable to get paid to relieve people’s pain. In terms of expanding the church and add more facilities, they could not ask the Pope to pay for them. Of course, they would not pay for it either. The only option left was to ask their followers to contribute.

Most issues in this world were like this—with any simply right or wrong. Conflicts were going to exist no matter what.

At Ozzic’s command, mercenaries got back on their feet one after another. The friendly vibe they tried to create had disappeared. Without knowing what the cardinal was thinking, they could tell that he looked a little nervous when Anfey tried to open the book. He said in a low voice, “Master, please return to me the holy item of my church! Do not even try. Without the blessing of God, no one would be able to open that Chapter of Salvation.”

“Is it really the Chapter of Salvation?” Anfey smiled. He pointed at the book, with the Chapter of Salvation opened.

That cardinal looked shocked, as did Anfey. As Anfey opened the Chapter of Salvation, he could feel the Seed of Light Slanbrea planted in his head experience a huge change. Anfey immediately closed the Chapter of Salvation. After a while, the mysterious Seed of Light became quiet.

“How could it be possible?” the cardinal stuttered.

“Tell me, who are you? What are you doing here?” Anfey said calmly. He passed the book to Suzanna and tried to calm himself.

“I am the cardinal of Roland region. My name is Warner. With God’s will, I am here to save all the suffering people. Master, it is your turn to introduce yourself,” the cardinal said slowly.

“Isn’t the cardinal of Roland region Bergkamp?” Anfey had an amazing memory. Even though had heard about it long time ago, he still remembered what Slanbrea had told him.

“Do you know Master Bergkamp?” Cardinal Warner was shocked.

“I am a good friend with archpriest Slanbrea. I know most cardinals. Even though I do not know them personally, I know their names. Why didn’t I hear about your name?” Anfey bluffed. He was so observant to the point that no change could escape his eyes. Every facial change on Cardinal Warner did not escape Anfey’s eyes either. He looked a little weird when he mentioned Bergkamp.

“I was just appointed as a cardinal, so you never heard of me before,” Cardinal Warner answered without hesitation, but he still looked a little awkward to Anfey.

“Ok, I see.” Anfey nodded. His face suddenly became really cold and he yelled loudly, “Which region are you in?”

Anfey’s yell penetrated other’s souls. Ozzic and others nearby were scared. Elizabeth even covered her mouth with her hand in case she screamed out. Cardinal Warner was scared and trembled. “I am the cardinal of Greenwich region.” After he answered Anfey, he realized the inconsistency in his answers. He explained hurriedly, “Well, I relocated to Roland region.”

“Now you are talking about overseas, huh?” Anfey said coldly. “Wasn’t Greenwich Island taken over by death spirits?”

“If you do not believe me, you can come and see it on St. Mountain,” Cardinal Warner said confidently.

“We are surrounded by death spirits now and you are asking me to go to St. Mountain to check? Do you think you are funny? I am sorry. I do not have time for that.” Anfey gave a slight wave with his arm. “Ozzic, get that liar for me.”

Ozzic was shocked for a second before he rushed at that cardinal with a few other mercenaries. They held Cardinal Warner to the ground. A mercenary took out a string from nowhere and tied his hands behind his back.

“Not fair. You are profaning God. You will get the most severe punishment from God. I am telling you,” Cardinal Warner yelled as he struggled, but he was too weak to even walk a few hundred yards with his scepter, not to mention fighting those strong mercenaries. The mercenaries soon had him tied up.

“Whatever! Whether you say I profaned God or wanted to take your life for your wealth,” Anfey patted the book with the Chapter of Salvation and smiled, “I am just a liar in your eyes.”

Cardinal Warner’s yell suddenly stopped. When Anfey mentioned taking his life for his wealth, he was reminded that he had witnessed the bloody fight in the church for the holy book with the Chapter of Salvation. How would this end up? Cardinal Warner looked terrified and just stared at Anfey.

“Ozzic, take him and follow me,” Anfey said calmly. He walked down the stairs first.

After a short time, Anfey and his group came to the underground city. They walked in through an alley. There was scary roaring from somewhere ahead of them. It sounded like a trapped monster in the dark. The dwarves and gnomes looked like nothing was wrong. At most they seemed a little annoyed by the roaring. They had gotten used to this and treated it as only noise.

When Anfey and his group walked into the alley, the roaring suddenly stopped. There was a strong iron cage about two hundred yards ahead of them. A monster, or to be more specific, a zombie, squatted at the corner of the cage. When the zombie saw Anfey and his group, he forced a smile at them. The mutated fangs looked scary, but everyone seemed to get the idea that the zombie was trying to please them.

Anfey chuckled. “He has learned to please us. Not bad, not bad. He learned fast.””Open the cage for me, please.”

A dwarf hurried over and opened the cage. “Oh, my God,” Cardinal Warner screamed. He had realized what Anfey was going to do to him. His body moved like a snake while his legs kicked. Unfortunately, his struggles did not help him at all. Ozzic pushed him. He was not only pushed inside the cage, but also fell to the ground.

“Cardinal, in a while you will not be so scared.” Anfey closed the door slowly. He seemed to torture Cardinal Warner on purpose.

“No.” Cardinal was so scared that he cried and his nose was running. Thinking that he would be turned into a zombie had crushed him. He struggled to crawl like a worm as he tried to hold one leg out of the cage to stop Anfey from closing the door. “Don’t… Please. I will give you everything you want, everything.”

“Manners. Mind your manners,” Anfey could not help sighing.

Cardinal Warner did not care about Anfey’s reminder at this moment. He struggled to crawl out of the cage. As a priest who had used the Chapter of Salvation, he knew the result of death spirits. Contaminated organisms would not be saved. They could only disappear from this world, including their soul, so he would rather die than turn into a zombie.

“I hate liars,” Anfey said slowly. “Now I am going to give you one last chance to tell me who the hell you are.”

“I am the assistant of Cardinal Bergkamp. Master, please let me out of the cage. I am not going to lie to you. Master, please!” Warner continued to stick his leg out of the cage as he was talking. He finally got his leg out of the cage, but Anfey kicked it back in. He had to start all over again trying to stick one leg out of the cage.

“How dare you lie to me again?” Anfey said coldly. “How could an assistant to a cardinal have the Chapter of Salvation?”

“Master, I did not lie to you. The cardinals all died…died. I was the only survivor, so the cardinal passed this Chapter of Salvation to me and told me the spells to start it,” Warner cried.

“They died? How did that happen?” Anfey asked.

“Cardinal Salmado attacked us,” Warner said.

“Why?” Anfey asked.

“Because Pope William has been so anxious that he was sick and passed the Chapter of Salvation to Master Bergkamp. Cardinal Salmado was jealous of us, so…,” Warner said.

“Master, I get it now,” Elizabeth said in a low voice to Anfey.

Anfey glanced at Warner and took a step back. Elizabeth moved over and muttered, “My lord, maybe this is Pope William’s way to appoint a successor. Bishop Bergkamp must have been his appointed successor, or else he wouldn’t have the Book of Life. Bishop Salmado must be his competitor.”

“I didn’t know those bishops were capable of doing stuff like that,” Anfey said.

“That’s not what happened,” Warner said sternly. “Salmado has betrayed us and joined forces with the necromancers.”

“Let’s me guess,” Elizabeth said dryly. “Bergkamp told you that.”

“It’s true,” Warner said.

“Interesting,” Anfey said. He paused, then pulled open the door of the cage and said, “You can come out now.”

“Thank you,” Warner said. He sat up and began scooting out of the cage.

The zombie had been caged up for a while now without being fed. It thought Warner was its food and was angered that its dinner was getting away. It narrowed its eyes and quietly crawled towards Warner. Instead of lunging at Warner, the zombie reached out tentatively and grabbed Warner’s shirt. The zombie was evolving even as it was imprisoned. It now knew how to control its urges.

Warner turned around stiffly and saw the zombie. He gasped and started, scrambling to get out of the cage. However, the zombie was much stronger and its grip on him was too tight.

“Let go,” Anfey order sternly.

The zombie hesitated, then loosened its grip. It retreated to the corner of the cage and whimpered.

Warner scrambled out of the cage and sighed with relief.

“Ozzic, release him,” Anfey said. He waved his hand and a few dwarves hurried over to lock the door.

Ozzic walked over and untied Warner’s ropes.

“I thought you weren’t scared of zombies,” Anfey said. He walked over and grabbed Warner, hauling him to his feet.

Warner glanced at the book in Suzanna’s hand and snorted.

“It’s because of the book, isn’t it?” Anfey asked. Warner sighed and nodded.

“Why were the zombies following you?”

“They were humans, once,” Warner said, rolling his wrists. “They wanted to be saved.” He paused and added, “According to Bishop Bergkamp.”

“Interesting indeed,” Anfey said, glancing at the Book of Life. It was a powerful tool that would be very useful in the war.

“It’s the Book of Life,” Elizabeth commented. “It can’t be as powerful as the Book of Doom.”

Warner nodded in agreement. “I’ve never seen the Book of Doom, but I heard it can use forbidden spells that will destroy everything in its perimeter,” Warner said with a sigh. “The Book of Life only works on creatures created with death magic.”

“Do you have any idea where the book could be?”

“No,” Warner said, shaking his head.

“So Bergkamp is only a bishop?” Anfey asked.

“Yes. For now.”

“Why did the pope choose a bishop as his successor?” Anfey asked, curious. “He should have chosen one of the cardinals.”

“It’s not that hard to see,” Alice interrupted quietly. Anfey looked at her and nodded.

“The cardinals are people too,” Alice said. “They aren’t noble anymore or free from corruption. There are two conflicting parties within the Church.” Alice paused and sighed. “I admire the pope’s decision, really. He recognizes that choosing from either party would cause even further conflict, and he knew he had to pick someone who wasn’t part of that fight. Bergkamp must have taken a neutral stance. If he had belonged to either party, he would have had a lot more protection.”

Warner nodded. “She’s right,” he said.

“Whose side is Salmado on?” Anfey asked.

“He’s a student of Slanbrea,” Nana whispered.

“Slanbrea? You mean Slanbrea was associated with the necromancers?”

“No way,” Alice said. “Slanbrea couldn’t have worked with the necromancers, or else he wouldn’t have achieved his position. If Salmado really is working with necromancers, it’s his choice and no one else’s.”

Anfey frowned, grabbed the Book of Life, and handed it to Warner. “This belongs to you by right,” he said. The Book of Life would have been a useful addition to his arsenal, but Anfey did not want to risk activating the Seed of Light. He had the mercenaries and his friends try to activate the book, and no one could even open it. Warner was the only one who could use it anyway.

“Are you serious?” Warner asked, surprised.

“Just take it before I change my mind,” Anfey said.

Warner stared at Anfey for a few seconds, then reached over and grabbed the book. He wrapped his arms around the book and held it close to himself, as if he was afraid someone would take it again.

“Ozzic, find him a place to rest,” Anfey ordered. “We need his help protecting this town.”

Warner smiled and nodded. “I’m willing to help.” Ozzic walked over and nudged his shoulder, leading him out of the room. After Ozzic and Warner disappeared, Alice dismissed the mercenaries and the dwarves and gnomes. She walked over to Anfey with a mysterious smile. “You are ambitious,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not just enlisting his help,” Alice said. “You want to recruit him.”

“He’s the only one who can activate the Book of Life,” Anfey said. “He will be a helpful addition to our team.”

“Of course,” Alice said. “But you have to remember the day may come when Warner becomes the next pope.”

Anfey pursed his lips. Pope William gave the Book of Life to Bergkamp not only because he was appointing his successor, but almost certainly because he wanted Bergkamp to garner support and fame with the book. If Bergkamp could have used the book for fame, so could Warner. It was a thought that had just dawned on Anfey. It felt strange to have his thoughts read so easily.

“That’s still far off,” Anfey said. “Small towns like this will no longer satisfy the necromancers. Soon they will set their eyes on large cities like Blackwater City. We need someone like Warner to delay their plan.”

“I’m not contradicting you,” Alice said. “I’m just reminding you that you cannot keep anything from me.”

Anfey paused and looked at Alice. He kept underestimating her, a habit he needed to correct. He sighed and said, “Alice, you’re too smart for your own good.”

Alice smiled but did not say anything.

“I’m not hiding anything from you,” Anfey admitted. “I don’t have a plan. I never foresaw Warner. The only thing we can do right now is wait and see.”

In the chapter of Romance of the Three Kingdoms entitled Three Heroes Combat Lü Bu in Front of a Tiger Cage Fort, Liu Bei dared only to chase Lü Bu and hit the hind quarters of his horse. Once Lü Bu turned around to fight back, Liu Bei immediately ran away. At that moment, Anfey was in a similar situation to Liu Bei. He was extremely skillful with a spear as long as 12 feet. He kept a distance between him and Ernest. He dared not get close to him.

The main force confronting Ernest was Suzanna. Although she felt the pressure from Ernest and was sweating profusely, she still had her momentum and countered Ernest’s strikes. Once Ernest stop pressuring her in the attack, she would start a aggressive attack in case Ernest got the chance to attack Anfey.

Against this cooperating couple, Anfey and Suzanna, Ernest seemed busy defending himself. It was a “friendly competition,” so Ernest could not fight with his full force, otherwise he could had taken Anfey’s strikes simply with his combat power and defeated Suzanna afterwards.

Suzanna had a variety of sword skills. They looked perfect. Anfey was having some problems. He could attack with fast speed and change his strikes swiftly. He only attacked the areas below the knees, which disrupted Ernest’s plan of attack. The strikes were to kill the opponents, not to interrupt them. Anfey attacked in a dirty way.

It was obvious what Ernest thought of Anfey’s attacks. Anfey had been attacking with full force. As he changed his moves, he did not forget to give Shinbella a look and ask her to join the fight. Shinbella was very excited watching them fight and wanted to join in anyway. She raised her gigantic sword and joined the fight without any concerns after Anfey gave her the signal. It was the first time for Shinbella to watch top powers fighting. How could she not get excited when she was offered a chance to join the fight?

Ernest could not help sighing. If Shinbella joined the fight, he would get exhausted or annoyed to death by Anfey, so he decided to fight with full force.

The combat power on Ernest suddenly brightened. He thrust his sword out and clashed with Suzanna’s in the air, resulting in a huge clashing sould. When the swords clashed, the fighters would get rigid, no matter how powerful they were. How long the rigidity would last depended on the power of the fighters and the protection of combat powers. Ernest was much more powerful than Suzanna in terms of those two factors. Ernest had made his second strike before Suzanna could take control of her sword gain. Ernest swung his sword against Suzanna’s sword, and then made a third strike.

Suzanna could not hold her sword anymore. Her sword flew out. At the same time, Ernest turned around to avoid Shinbella’s sword and Anfey’s spear at his ankles. He swung his sword at Shinbella’s gigantic sword.

Shinbella was not as good as Suzanna. In addition, Ernest calculated the time so well that with one strike Shinbella’s sword was sent to the ground.

As Ernest was ready to strike at Anfey, Anfey sent out wind elements. He stood there with bare hands. Anfey looked calm and said, “Let’s stop here today. I am exhausted.” Although he said he was tired, his breath was slowly and regular. He did not show any trace of being tired.

“You…” Ernest did not know whether he should laugh or cry. He had been treating Anfey like his son. Even though Anfey was his opponent now, he could not attack him when he had no weapons.

Suzanna quietly walked over and picked up her sword. She looked a little upset.

“Suzanna, you emptied your combat power at the end, otherwise Uncle Ernest would not win that easily.” Anfey knew what Suzanna was thinking.

Ernest thought for a second and nodded. “Anfey is right, Suzanna. You have made huge progress.”

“Really?” Suzanna finally smiled. She could ignore what Anfey said because he knew Anfey was just trying to comfort her. However, Ernest never lied about anything, not even when he was trying to comfort someone.

“Of course,” Anfey said. He turned around and saw Shinbella looking even more upset than Suzanna. Suzanna had fought with Ernest for a while, but Shinbella lost the game just as she made her first strike. It was easy to imagine how frustrated and upset Shinbella was. “Shinbella, you do not have to worry too much about it. Uncle Ernest was the best among all the master swordsmen. In addition, you are still young.” He continued, chuckling, “Shinbela, I still do not know how old you are.”

“I am 25,” Shinbela answered in a low voice.

25 years old? She would be considered old in the magic world. Anfey remembered all the information about Shinbella. He moved his eyes away from Shinbella because he did not want Shinbella to see his sympathy towards her.

“Anfey, I have to remind you that the Chapter of Salvation could possibly bring us dangers,” Ernest said, suddenly changing the topic.

“Danger?” Anfey was shocked for a second. If the Chapter of Salvation could bring danger to them, Alice should have known about it even though Anfey did not notice it. He started to understand Alice better after hanging out with her for a while. “What danger? Alice…”

“I am not denying Alice is a very smart girl, but you are still young. You see things differently than me. Young people always think they can challenge anything, especially you guys who do not lack confidence,” Ernest said slowly. He rarely talked so much. It seemed like he could not hold out any longer. “I have met the people from churches. I do not know much about them, but I do know more than you guys. Didn’t some of them try to attack Bergkamp for the Chapter of Salvation? I can tell you this. If it happened once, it will happen again for the second or third time until they get what they want. Right now the Chapter of Salvation is in your hands, and you will be their target.”

“Could those church people spare any time from death spirits to come after me?” Anfey frowned.

“That depends on the issues. If it was about the successor to the pope, no one would guarantee death spirits would be their priority,” Ernest said. “In addition, necromancers are interested in the Chapter of Salvation as well. Last time, many zombies escaped, didn’t they? Those necromancers should know about it as well.”

“This world is so complicated. Necromancers and death spirits should be allies. Church of Light and other bodies on the Pan Continent were allies. However, the reality was not like that. Those evolved zombies with intelligence have fought to defend their rights and benefits. There were fights in the Church of Light over the succession of the pope. It is…” Anfey said with a bitter smile.

“Could death spirits fight? Did you find out about it from that zombie?” Ernest asked.

Anfey nodded.

“That is some news!” Ernest let out a short laugh. “Humans are complicated creatures.”

“Uncle Ernest, are you saying…” Anfey said.

“We will have guests soon,” Ernest said.

“What should we do?” Anfey asked.

“We’d better send people to ask for help. Moramatch is not too far from Blackania City. King Yolanthe knows the value of the Chapter of Salvation better. He will send troops out to help.”

“There were death spirits everywhere in the Transverse Mountains. Few people could pass through safely.” Anfey paused for a moment, then said, “Uncle Ernest, you are the best candidate for that, but you cannot leave here. The mercenaries would be out of control if you were not here.” Even though it was clear that Moramatch was the last defense against Transverse Mountain, mercenaries were motivated to fight with death spirits because they believed in the top powers. Ernest could not leave at the moment.

“Did you forget those two druids of Shadow mercenary group?” Ernest smiled. “They were great with stealth. I did not even notice them before.”

Anfey’s eyes brightened. He turned around and said to Suzanna, “Suzanna, can you find them for me?” Anfey might not think of everything, but after being reminded, he would not hesitate to take action. “Time is everything” might be just a slogan for some people, but Anfey truly believed in it. He was used to calculating his time to seconds.

Shortly, Long and Ling showed up in the fighting arena. Anfey took the time ask Shinbella to write a letter when Suzanna was trying to bring Long and Ling to Anfey. As he folded the letter, he said with a smile, “Long, are you feeling better?”

“Master, don’t worry. I am absolutely fine now,” Long said firmly.

“This letter is very important. We cannot let anything happen to it,” Anfey said slowly. “If you meet zombies, do not fight them. Get to Blackania City as fast as possible. When you come back, we will count it as one important accomplishment you made for us.” Anfey’s words had deep meaning. If Long and Ling’s face changed, it meant they were not ready to work for Anfey. If they acted excited, it meant they already had the intention to work for him.

“Master, I will remember what you just told me,” Long said, carefully taking the letter from Anfey.

“If you do not need to prepare anything for the trip,” Anfey looked up to check the time, “you should leave now.”

Long and Ling hurried away. Anfey was quiet for a moment, then said, “Shinbella, do you know where Alice is?”

“She should be in the underground city right now,” Shinbela said.

“Could you go get her for me? I need to discuss something with her,” Anfey said.

“Anfey!” Blavi called hurriedly as he burst into Anfey’s room, panting. Anfey jumped off his bed and hurried after Blavi. He knew that something must have gone wrong, or else Blavi wouldn’t be so panicked. The two left the house and rose into the air with levitation spells, quickly flying towards the mage tower at the center of the town.

“What’s wrong?” Anfey asked when he landed. One of the mages moved aside to show him the Eye of the Sky. In the Eye, a mage was fighting a group of zombies. Nearby, a few necromancers were observing the fight. The necromancers’ identities were unclear, but the mage was very familiar.

“Is that Entos?” Anfey asked. Blavi nodded.

The only time Anfey had seen Saul fight was when Saul attacked the bone dragon in an ambush, and he did not consider it a real fight.

Mages who use dimensional magic were the hardest to fight. Even though a lot of people did not know why dimensional magic was the most dangerous, everyone agreed that it was the most powerful. There were only a few senior magisters in the world, and senior magisters who focused on a single branch of magic were even more rare.

Entos was Saul’s best student and spent years training in the Forest of Death and Wilderness Plain. His every movement and every attack was a display of power and a reminder of why dimensional magic was considered the most powerful magic.

The three necromancers fighting against Entos were all very powerful as well. None of the spells they used needed buffer time, including spells to summon bone lances. Dozens of bone lances streaked through the air towards Entos. Dozens of Nets of Decay covered the ground, layered on top of each other. Walls and cages made of bones appeared out of the ground like trees. The necromancers pelted Entos with other spells as well, hoping to slow his movements. Aside from magic, the necromancers also had thousands of zombies on their side. The zombies surrounded the mages, growling and clawing the air.

Entos, however, held on. He ducked the attack from the necromancers and fired occasion spells at time. He was skilled at dimensional magic and was not afraid of being trapped in cages. Every time he teleported, he would teleport to a location where he would not be discovered easily. After the necromancers spotted him again, they would have to change their formation to attack him.

If Entos wanted to escape, the necromancers would not be able to stop him. However, he was not escaping. He wasn’t even using a magic shield. Was it because he could not or because he was overly confident? Without a magic shield, even the zombies’ attack could be deadly.

Entos appeared to be at a disadvantage, but in reality he was the one controlling the flow of the fight. He only teleported when the necromancers’ spells materialized. Then he would flee and use a spell to cancel out the effects of the spell used against him. This way, Entos was depleting his magic at a much slower rate than the necromancers. Sooner or later the necromancers will use up all of their magic.

The necromancers were not cooperating with each other at all. They would protect themselves first and attack Entos, trying to slow his movements, then they would try to kill him. Because of this, Entos was able to cancel out all three necromancers’ magic with just one spell.

Entos must have decided to fight alone because he knew the necromancers would not cooperate with each other. As long as the necromancers fought as individuals, they would not post a threat to Entos. Had the necromancers cooperated and fought together, Entos would have been forced to seek help.

“Christian,” Anfey turned and said, “can we dispatch some backup?”

“Ernest is on the way,” Christian said.

The mages suddenly gasped. Entos grabbed a nearby tree and was trapped by a bone cage. A pool of green mud appeared under him. It was an acidic swamp, a staple of death magic. Rumor was that an acidic swamp turned a man into a pile of bones in a few minutes. Two bone lances flew through the air towards Entos.

Suddenly, Entos disappeared from the cage and reappeared from behind a tree after a few seconds. He waved his hand and used a flame spell that easily killed more than a dozen zombies.

One of the necromancers waved his hand impatiently. When his two companions were using negative-effect magic, he summoned a bone lance. Entos froze, then quickly teleported away. He reappeared behind the necromancer and smashed his magic staff into the necromancer’s head. The sword shattered the necromancer’s shield and went through his neck, sending the man’s head flying. Strangely, there was no blood. The necromancer did not fall, either. Instead, he only kept flailing his arms.

Entos was clearly shocked by this. He took a few steps back and teleported again, reappearing far from the necromancer he had just beheaded.

The headless necromancer stumbled for a few moments then crouched down, hands searching through the grassy ground. After a few minutes, he stood again and held a skull. He held the skull carefully and placed it back onto his neck. Then he shook his head, testing if the skull was going to stay on his neck this time.

Entos stared at the necromancer with a mixture of horror and shock.

“My god,” Christian whispered in horror. “That’s a bone nymph!” The other mages turned, gaping in horror, when they heard what he just said.

The wounded bone nymph appeared to be very angry. He ripped off his cloak and looked around, searching for Entos. Suddenly, a bright sword radiance ripped through the air and flew towards the bone nymph, slicing through the surrounding zombies. Before the bone nymph could properly react, the sword radiance had already reached it. The creature disappeared in a flash of blinding light.

Entos appeared behind another necromancer and raised his sword. He brought the staff down onto the necromancer’s head. Clearly, he already realized what he was dealing with. The bone nymph’s head fell to the ground and rolled into a bush. Entos jumped away and waved his hand, sending bolts of lightning towards the skull, trying to destroy it.

The third bone nymph jumped, shocked by the speed of its companions’ demise, and tried to flee. However, it was not as fast as Ernest’s sword radiance. Before it could get to the forest, the sword radiance caught up to it and shattered its body.

“Why is he here?” Christian asked, curiously. “Did Ling and Long already arrive at Blackania?”

“They only left two days ago,” Anfey said, frowning. “Maybe something happened. Let’s hope it’s not something horrible.”

Not long after, Ernest and Entos walked into Moramatch together. To show respect for Ernest, Entos walked a little slower so he would be behind Ernest. At the same time, Ernest thought highly of Entos and occasionally talked quietly with him. He looked casual and did not take a posture of higher status. In fact, they were about the same age. Yet Entos was Saul’s student, so he was ranked lower than Ernest.

Entos felt amazed by what he saw as he looked around Moramatch. The town used to be Band of Brother mercenary group’s territory. Anfey had rented it from Band of Brother mercenary group. Entos had some memory of this notorious town. It seemed that Anfey had many capable people working for him. That was why they could build Moramatch into such a fort in a brief of time.

Entos and Commander Marino had made an agreement to break the unfair contract between Anfey and the Band of Brother mercenary group. They wanted to just give this town to Anfey. When Anfey and Band of Brother mercenary group signed the contract, Entos had just left the Country of Mercenaries, while Marino had never heard of Anfey. Word of this contract had been kept from Entos and Marino. In fact, such a lease would not have troubled them anyway. Of course, they would definitely investigate to find out who had done that to Anfey. Entos could not bear anything unjust.

“Bro Entos!” Christian walked up to Entos with a smile. He had dozens of mages behind him. Most mages looked respectful. After seeing the intense fight between Entos and the Bone Nymphs, no one dared to underestimate this enigmatic mage.

“Your majesty!” Entos bowed and responded respectfully.

“Bro Entos, what are you doing?” Christian hurried over and held Entos up. He looked a little awkward. It might be because Entos grew up in a big family and disliked the complicated courtesies. He preferred that everyone felt comfortable with each other and built their bonds together, at least among his peers.

“Your Majesty, where is Anfey?” Entos asked with a smile.

“He has been waiting for you in the conference room. Let’s go find him. I will show you the way,” Christian said.

Christian walked with Entos to the conference room. As they walked some distance, the mages were still in shock. They started to whisper to each other. They did not think their commander could be a prince.

The isolated Town of Moramatch had developed into a society. As a society, there were different social positions in it. Most people in high positions from different areas had come to Moramatch. They did not feel good about being isolated in this small town and all hoped to receive message from the outside world.

Entos slowly took a seat Anfey had saved for him. Entos scanned the conference room. He was a little shocked when he saw Alice. He could not help raising his eyebrows when he saw Shinbella. He finally laid his eyes on Anfey. Any young senior swordsman would be valuable in any group. It was not long since Anfey left Blackania City. How could he recruit another senior swordswoman? If Anfey’s group continued to develop with this speed, in ten or twenty years in the Country of Mercenaries, those four super mercenary groups could possibly disappear.

“Bro Entos, did you see Long and Ling?” Anfey asked.

“Who are they?” Entos responded in surprise.

“They are actually the Shadow mercenary group. I sent them to Blackania City to ask for help,” Anfey slowly answered. He knew Entos would be surprised.

“Is Shadow mercenary group working for you now?” Entos felt a little helpless. Of course, Entos knew about Shadow mercenary group. Band of Brothers mercenary group tried to get in touch with Shadow mercenary group but did not even see who they were.

“Not really working for me. We gather here to work together to get through this difficul time. Entos, you are here for…?” Anfey asked in a low voice.

“It’s a long story,” Entos sighed. “You know necromancers attacked Tumen Commercial Union, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Anfey said.

“With the great leadership of King Yolanthe, Vice General Miorich led a group of palace guards into Scared City to help Tumen Commercial Union and pushed all the death spirits under the sea.”

“It is not possible,” Alice could not help yelling out. No one in the conference room knew more than her about the countries on Pan Continent. Every country had its own information agency. Alice had many contacts in these agencies. As far as she remembered, Tumen Commercial Union was very weak militarily and totally relied on Maho Empire. They did not even have their own military. Of course, Maho Empire did not allow them to build their military anyway. When necromancers posed threats on Pan Continent, flame strategy had been used in half of the continent. Even Ellisen Empire and Shansa Empire were in passive positions. It was not possible that Tumen Commercial Union had been the first country to defeat death spirits, even with the help of palace guards from Maho Empire.

“Not possible?” Entos gave Alice a long look. He said with a smile, “It’s not only you guys who are surprised, but also our king. After their victory, the king commented that Tumen Commercial Union did a wonderful job with political reforms. Maho Empire still has strong control over Tumen Commercial Union, but they overcame many disadvantages. They did a wonderful job helping civilians gain wealth and empowering them.”

Ozzic and others did not understand what Entos said. Perhaps only Anfey and Alice could understand the main idea of what Entos said in the conference room.

“You do not get it? Let me put it this way,” Entos said with a chuckle. “Anfey, you have stayed in Sacred City for a while. Is Sacred Ctiy busy and prosperous? Do you know how many wagon Sacred City has?”

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

“Every 37 people owns a wagon and every 11 people owns a horse in Sacred City. Tumen Commercial Union is a very populated country. Every four people owns a wagon, which means every household has a wagon, and everyone owns a horse in Tumen Commercial Union,” Entos said.

“How could they have so many horses?” Ozzic asked in surprise.

“Because they have money,” Entos emphasized. “Think about it. How many of the merchants who come to the Country of Mercenaries to do business are from Tumen Commercial Union? They have very robust transportation ability. After the Death War broke out, they gathered their civilians in a few big cities with unbelievable speed. They also have an amazing stock of weapons and are not afraid of a protracted war. Their few big cities are connected with magic arrays. Those cities supported each other when it was needed. No other countries could do what they did. The Country of Mercenaries was rich in magic crystals, but how many magic crystals were in mercenaries’ hands? They worked hard to hunt for magic crystals, but merchants have the real wealth. Mercenaries do not possess many magic crystals. Even with hundreds years of accumulation, they still do not have many magic crystals in their hands.”

“Master Entos, I understand how civilians are getting rich, but I do not quite understand what is empowering them,” Alice said quietly.

“The merchants would not give all their security jobs to mercenaries. They definitely have their own bodyguards. Has any of you seen a merchant wagon without security or bodyguards on the road?”

Alice slightly nodded.

“Smaller merchant wagons have about a dozen or more bodyguards,” Entos said. “Large merchant wagons have even more guards. A rich merchant even could have hundreds of bodyguards. A merchant would not just have a merchant wagon without guards. Similarly, Tumen Commercial Union would not just have merchants. Put all these bodyguards together, and the number is huge. They have contributed a lot in other areas as well. For example, at the Sacred City mage academy, many civilian students are sponsored by Tumen Commercial Union.”

“That is true,” Anfey said bitterly. For one, Doris was sponsored by a merchant, but that merchant wanted to marry Doris. That was why Doris wanted to become a senior mage. Only as a senior mage could she fight against the merchant and her own family.

“Without this Death War, no one would know the fighting potential of Tumen Commercial Union. People only know about their wealth: even King Yolanthe said he neglected Tumen’s fighting ability.” Entos smiled. “Necromancers attacked Tumen Commercial Union for their large armory. Even though they could not use it, they wanted to destroy it to weaken the humans’ fighting ability. They did not expect to run into troubles right away.”

“So Tumen Commercial Union was their important target? They must have sent out a lot of necromancers, right?” Anfey asked.

“Of course,” Entos said. “The king was so worried about the necromancers robbing the wealth of Tumen. He sent Vice General Miorich to lead a group of palace guards to help as soon as he found out. Archmage Saul and Dean Steger organized a temporary Sacred Mage group. Eagle Eye King Mangzo and Reaper Wolf King Manstuly led druids to join the battle. Tumen Commercial Union also organized a military composed of over one hundred thousand people. There were a large number of mages in the troop. Even though necromancers were powerful, they were beaten for sure.”

Anfey was shocked for a second. He knew who Yolanthe was. After noticing the potential fighting ability of Tumen Commercial Union, Yolanthe definitely would plan something for them. Right now there were so many people in this conference room, Anfey could not ask.

“I have to congratulate King Yolanthe for sparing his effort. Where would King Yolanthe put his effort to now?” Alice asked with a smile.

Entos was shocked and give Alice a long look again. He turned to look at Anfey. “Anfey, would you like to introduce this young lady to me?”

Anfey hesitated and did not say anything.

“I am just a servant,” Alice said with a smile.

Entos rolled his eyes, clearly unconvinced. “Do you take me for a fool, woman?” he asked, shaking his head. He could tell from the way others treated Alice that she was no mere servant.

Anfey frowned and was not sure what to do. He wasn’t the only one who knew who Alice was, and he knew he could trust Entos. He could keep the secret away from Entos, but he could not lie. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. “I will tell you later,” he said.

“Well,” Entos said, turning to Christian. “I am here to congratulate you, Your Royal Highness.”

“Me?” Christian asked, surprised.

“His Majesty had recently acquired support from Pope William,” Entos said. “A backup army will arrive at Country of Mercenaries soon to launch a full-scale attack on the necromancers. You have been selected to oversee this army.”

The mercenaries were not from Maho Empire and did not care for the political implications of this appointment. They looked at Christian, who was grinning widely at the news. The first pope, St. Robin, once said that all humans should band together in the face of a common threat. Necromancers were one of the only things that could unite all the kingdoms. However, even such an alliance was not without political implications. St. Robin believed that all the kingdoms should unite around the Church of Light. Of course, the mercenaries did not care for the political struggles of another nation.

“Which army?” Christian asked, curious. “How many men are coming? Who’s the commanding general?”

“It’s a newly formed legion called the Shield of Light legion,” Entos said, “led by the Knight of Light, Fernando.”

“Fernando?” Christian asked. “Who is that?”

“He’s sent by the pope.”

Christian nodded. Yolanthe and Pope William must have fought over control of this new legion, but Yolanthe had lost to the pope, and the pope was able to appoint one of his men as the commanding general. But did Yolanthe really fail? If Yolanthe had appointed a general from Maho Empire to lead the legion, it might have caused disagreements among people of other nations—especially Ellisen Empire and Shansa Empire, which were still recovering from the effects of the last war. If Fernando, a man appointed by Pope William, was to lead the legion, then the other nations could not argue against the appointment, unless they want to contradict the pope’s will. Even though the pope did not have concrete political power, he was a beacon of hope among the common people, especially during a war against the necromancers. The zombies were not as afraid of light magic as before, but the Church was still the most important asset. No one could deny the effectiveness of the Church’s army.

Allowing Fernando to command the army did not mean that Yolanthe had no influence over the legion. The legion formed at Yolanthe’s command, and he still had ways to influence it.

“The legion is composed of people of different nationalities, am I right?” Alice suddenly asked.

“Mostly men from Tumen Commercial Union,” Entos said. “It also contains the remnant of the Sacred Flame Crusade, some of the palaces guards and guards from Blackania City.” Entos paused, then added, “It also has its own mage’s platoon.”

“Mage’s platoon?” Anfey asked, shocked. An army’s mage’s platoon was very different from his so-called mage’s platoon. In order to have a mage’s platoon, there must be hundreds of mages.

“What, are you surprised?” Entos asked.

“Who leads it?” Christian asked. The head of a mage’s platoon had almost as much power as the commanding general of the legion.

“Who do you think it is?”

Christian frowned, thought for a few moments, then shook his head. The legion was very important, but it was still not one of the major legions. Yolanthe would not have Saul or Steger lead it, but it would still have to be someone important.

“Who is it?” Christian asked.

Entos jerked his thumb towards himself and said with a grin, “This guy.”

The room fell silent. Alice frowned, but Christian and Anfey wanted to laugh. Clearly, Yolanthe made this decision because he had made an agreement with Band of Brother mercenary group. He had met the leader of Band of Brother mercenary group, Marino, back in Sacred City. Marino wasn’t there to attend Anfey and Suzanna’s wedding, and he must have met with Yolanthe while he was there. The outbreak of the war with the necromancers deepened the relationship between the two.

Yolanthe had the ability to offer help. As long as he had Band of Brother mercenary group on his side, he had a powerful asset.

Even someone like Anfey could understand how important it was to control the Country of Mercenaries. Previously, none of the powerful nations cared much about the Country of Mercenaries, and there were rarely any guards along the Country of Mercenaries’ borders. This was why Shansa Empire could cut through Country of Mercenaries without anyone noticing and surround Blackania City. If Yolanthe could control Country of Mercenaries, then he would have a powerful ally.

“I’ve told you everything I need to tell you,” Entos said. “You must prepare for the arrival of the legion, Your Royal Highness.”

“Prepare for what?” Christian asked with a sigh. He never thought he would become an overseer of a legion. This entailed considerable responsibility and he must approach the matter with a serious attitude.

Entos shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. He turned to Anfey and said, “I heard that you are close to moving up a level.”

Anfey shrugged. “I just learned how to use large fireball magic,” he said, “but so can everyone else in the city.”

“Who knows? Come, try attack me with it.”

“What?”

“Attack me,” Entos said seriously. “With large fireballs.”

“Here?”

“Don’t worry,” Entos said.

“Wait,” Blavi suddenly stood up and said. “I have to go.”

“Wait for me,” Ozzic said, scrambling up. “I have to go do something as well.”

“Me too,” Alice said. She tapped the ground a few times, signaling the dwarves to retreat.

“Then I’ll be going too,” Christian said. He lingered for a few moments then hurried out of the room. Suzanna glance at Anfey and Entos and jogged out of the room after Christian.

Entos frowned as the room emptied. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t worry,” Anfey said. “Aren’t you going to use shields?”

Entos waved his hand. “I’ll be fine,” he said.

Anfey nodded. He took a deep breath and waved his hands, feeling the fire elements gathering. After a few moments, a dozen large fireballs appeared in the room. The room burst into light.

“Hopefully Entos got out in time,” Blavi said with a laugh, observing the room at a distance.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Christian said. “He’s renowned for his teleportation.”

“It’s a shame,” Alice said. “What a waste of money. I was fond of that table.”

A person suddenly appeared a dozen yards away on the east side of the conference room. It was Entos. He had escaped with Instant Transportation Magic. He was stunned to see the strong fire in the conference room. The magic shield he had released disappeared. There were a few black spots on his gown, which was obviously burned.

The door of the conference room was shattered into pieces by the pressure of the fire. Anfey’s outline started to show in the flames. He walked in slow motion on the stone stairs. Countless flames were revolving around Anfey. It looked like they were caressing him and unwilling to leave him. Besides the Black Dragon and Gold Dragon of legends that could ignore magic, no one else could walk in the fire without any protection. Everyone saw that Anfey did not have any protection.

When Anfey stopped at the door of the conference room, the fire dimmed and went out. Gusts of white and black smoke flew out of the conference room. Everyone was looking at Entos. Anfey’s control over elements had turned magic principles upside down. They could not evaluate Anfey’s fighting ability, so they hoped to seek out an answer from the more-knowledgeable Entos.

Magic is a double-edged sword. There were many incidents in which mages got hit by their own magic spells or hurt by their own magic. A mage could release a firewall, but it did not mean he could stay in the firewall. Outside of legends, no one could do what Anfey did.

“Anfey, attack me with big fireballs.” Entos had woken up. This time he looked very serious. He not only released a magic shield, but also two layers of a magic dome to cover himself.

“I have used up my magic power,” Anfey said with a shrug.

Entos almost fell to the floor. He stood there, shocked for a moment, before he suddenly asked, “You had that chemical…” There was no comparison between small fireballs and big fireballs. Anfey had made huge progress. Entos suddenly remembered the chemical Archalchemist Jacob had made.

“Yes, but I only had a very little bit of it. I only wanted to see what changes it could bring in me,” Anfey said.

“Don’t you think it is kind of a waste?” Entos smiled bitterly.

“Don’t worry, Bro Entos. I am just testing it. I have to save the rest for the little unicorn.” Anfey changed the topic with a smile. “Oh, right, Bro Entos, did you see Niya?”

“Niya?” At the mention of Niya, Entos could help but have a weird look on his face. It was a mixture of love and helplessness. “She is still in Violet City.”

“She should be fine, right?” Anfey asked.

Entos gave a chuckle, then said, “In fact, Niya only left Sacred City for a short time. She did not come with us. She was good. Most of time she stayed in the garrison residence and did not go anywhere else. At most, she only fooled around with Shally and the little unicorn at the worst.”

“That is good, otherwise Riska and others would have no control over her.” Anfey felt relieved. “Bro Entos, the Transmission Portal…”

“Professor asked me to do it so I dared not wait or make any mistake with it,” Entos said. “If I was not busy with the Transmission Portal, I could have come earlier. The professor was worried about you. Even the king has asked me about you a few times.”

Christian was touched. It was said that royal families do not really care about each other. This was nonsense. The king was a human being with emotions. The only difference was they are better at controlling and hiding their emotions. On the other hand, a robot-like emotionless king would not necessarily be a good king.

Entos looked around and found he knew everyone except for Alice. He asked slowly, “Anfey, would you like to introduce this young lady to me?” He stared at Alice. One couldn’t blame him, since Alice had showed off her talent too earlier.

Anfey looked at Alice and found her a little nervous. He stayed quite and realized what Alice was worried about. He had saved Alice, but he was just a mercenary group commander, quite different than other politicians who had so much power that they could change the whole direction of a country. Anfey had showed his moral principles and bottom line at times. Alice had this hatred in her and wanted to find a person or a group to rely on. Anfey was Alice’s only choice. Both Anfey and Alice knew it was not possible for Alice to start her own organization or try to use Anfey as a stepping stone. Alice would rather take blame than do any petty action, while Anfey would rather be wiped out than see anything happen to Alice. They understood what attitudes each had towards the other.

Alice wanted to work for Anfey, and did not have any desire to work for others. The cruel lesson she learned still hurt. She did not dare to trust anyone else. She felt like someday she might be tossed away when she was not useful anymore.

“Bro Entos, well…” Anfey thought and said slowly. “If you want to know about her, you’d better ask her. It will be her decision if she wants to tell you who she is. I think I need to respect her for that.”

Alice smiled. Despite trying hard, she had never been able to understand Anfey. She understood Suzanna, Christian, and Blavi. When everyone thought she was good, she would become one of them in the end, and then she would not be dumped, as Anfey would never leave Suzanna, Christian and the others. Even when someone tried to do something to Anfey, Suzanna, Christian and others would not let that happen.

Of course, Alice was smart enough to know she had to do things for others first to show her sincerity. In fact, Alice’s unconditional trust in Anfey allowed the whole group to have a good vibe. However, Alice herself did not know that Anfey and the rest of his group did not totally trust each other at one point. After many difficult times, they became close companions. Entos called Christian “your majesty,” even though Blavi never did. They had developed a bond that was similar to family members.

“Ok.” Entos was angry but found it funny at the same time. “Blavi, would you like to introduce that young lady to me?”

“Me? I know nothing.” Blavi immediately waved his hands.

Entos laid his eyes back on Christian. Christian smiled uncomfortably and shook his head. He had a different experience than Anfey, so he viewed things differently. Anfey cared about Alice’s loyalty, while Christian saw Alice working very hard every day, as Moramatch had been experiencing changes every day. The weapons dwarves and gnomes made were getting better and better. Alice contributed to these changes. He agreed with Anfey. Alice had done so much for them that they needed to respect her wishes.

Entos was shocked for a second. He squinted. Christian had grown up and had his own secrets now. Thinking about how shy Christian had been when he was little, Entos was amused by it. He could not help breathing a long sigh.

At the same time, a dwarf excitedly ran over. When he was still pretty far from them, he started to yell, “Master, we made it, we made it.”

Anfey raised his eyebrows and looked excited. “Let’s go. Take us to have a look. Christian, can you show Bro Entos around the town. I will be back soon.”

Christian nodded. “Sure.”

Seeing Anfey, Suzanna, and Alice walking in the distance, Blavi suddenly asked, “Bro Entos, do you think if Anfey can control magic?”

“Can you do what he did?” Entos asked casually.

“I cannot, unless I release a magic shield to protect myself, otherwise I would be burned to a crisp,” Blavi said.

“What you asked did not make sense.” Entos paused. “As a senior magister, I do not want to see a person on Pan Continent who has the ability to control elements. However, if he were Anfey, I would like to see how far could he go.”

“Anfey’s magic attacks were fierce, but his weakness was also obvious. He used up his magic power all at once and did not have the power left to continue the fight,” Blavi said.

“Don’t forget, Anfey is also a good swordsman.” Entos broke into a smile. “Can you used up all your magic power at once?”

“No.” Blavi suddenly remembered a problem, and he broke into a cold sweat. Theoretically, he could use up his magic power at once, but the strong element surges would tear his telepathy and even his body into pieces. Anfey acted like nothing had happened to him. How strong could his telegraphy be in that case?

“You thought about it, huh?” Entos raised his eyebrow and asked with a grin.

“Yes.” Blavi could not help sighing. He wondered how Anfey could reach this level, since they were about the same age. How could Anfey’s telegraphy could be strong enough to control element storm?

“You guys are lucky, really lucky,” Entos said slowly.

Blavi did not understand Entos, while Christian got some of it. If Anfey could become a legend, they would be witnesses of this legend and be part of it. It would be such an honor for them.

Anfey stopped walking and frowned. “Alice, what do you think?”

“Me?” Alice had a beautiful smile on her face as usual.

“It is not a good thing to let others know about your talent too soon. I think you should have known that,” Anfey said casually. “No matter whether you were trying to test me to see if I could protect you or for some other reason, please don’t do that again.”

“I am sorry,” Alice said

As Alice apologized to Anfey, she admitted her real purpose. Anfey suddenly turned around and wanted to scold her, but found she had an even brighter and more sincere smile than usual. He swallowed whatever he wanted to say and sighed, “Let’s go.”

Anfey lay on a tree branch with his eyes closed, listening to the clamor of the town below. Suzanna sat on a nearby tree, watching the dwarves and the gnomes at work, her hair billowing in the soft breeze. She turned to Anfey, who was grinning, and said, “You look happy today.”

Anfey shrugged and sat up. “How can I not be? It’s finally our time to shine.”

Entos was a sly person, but he still gave away a considerable amount of secrets when pressed. Of course, he could have done so on purpose. Band of Brother mercenary group had long been a partner of Maho Empire. When Entos first arrived in the Country of Mercenaries, many mercenary groups wanted him to join them. He rejected all the other invitations and joined Band of Brothers mercenary group. This was largely due to the good relations between Band of Brothers mercenary group and Maho Empire.

However, the situation was different for Marino. Marino’s wife had been killed by an assassin as she was trying to protect him, leaving a three-year-old son. Marino couldn’t bring himself to remarry and did not have another child. When his son was thirteen, the child fell off a tree and hurt his head, causing his development to delay.

The four super mercenary groups had never known real peace. Marino worried that his son won’t be able to survive once he was gone. Yolanthe understood Marino’s sentiments and was using it to his advantage. Yolanthe promised Marino that he would be made a duke if he could assist Yolanthe in taking over Country of Mercenaries.

A duke has much more powerful than the head of a mercenary group. Marino didn’t care about fighting for freedom. He needed to secure his power to ensure safety for his son.

As king of one of the three most powerful empires, Yolanthe was much more approachable and much more likable than Ellisen Empire’s Edward and Shansa Empire’s Philly. Marino knew that as long as he did what he was told, Yolanthe would reward him.

Marino’s attitude and his relation to Entos secured Marino’s loyalty to Maho Empire. Anfey knew he had to find a way to place Christian in charge of the Shield of Light legion.

Anfey knew that Yolanthe wouldn’t rush the decision of appointing an heir. Wester had his opportunity to shine, and Grandon got an important military apopointment when he was sixteen. Christian cared only for magic and told Yolanthe long ago that he did not want the throne. It was hardly up to Christian, however, as the nation would come first.

Suzanna ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. She was very conflicted. She had hoped that she would be able to find a peaceful life after she was married. She didn’t care about power or revenge. She wasn’t like Alice.

She knew she had to protect her friends, however, and she would not abandon them. The only way she could be useful was to keep fighting.

Suzanna was not every good at communicating with others. She enjoyed being alone much more than being with other people. She was used to keeping her emotions to herself.

“Lady Suzanna, Lord Anfey!” Ozzic called as he jogged over to the tree. “Long and Ling are back.” Anfey and Suzanna jumped out of the tree. “They said they needed to report to you directly.”

“Directly?” Anfey asked. “Interesting.” He turned and saw Ling and Long walking towards him. He smiled and waved them over.

“We gave the letter to General Augustus,” Long said quietly once he made sure other people were out of earshot.

“And there’s no reply?” Anfey asked, surprised. The last time he saw Augustus, he was friendly. They had no conflicts and it would be polite to give a reply.

“General Augustus told us it was inconvenient to send a reply with us,” Ling said. “We were searched when we left the city.”

“Augustus is in charge of Blackania City,” Anfey said, curiously. “If he wanted to protect you, who would search you? What’s General Baery doing?”

“General Baery was in the city, but we didn’t see him,” Long said. “My lord, what is your history with Marquis Djoser of Violet City?”

“Marquis Djoser?” Anfey repeated, shocked. “He’s the one who searched you?” He was very confused. Marquis Djoser hardly had any power, especially in a city governed by August and Baery.

“He had a dozen priests with him and he insisted on searching us,” Long said. “He said he didn’t want any spies leaving the city. We resisted, of course, but there were only two of us.” Long sighed and shook his head. “We thought General Augustus would help us, but his people never intervened. It was just easier to let them search us.”

“General Augustus wanted us to tell you that the Marquis had joined the Shield of Light legion,” Ling said. “We heard that he is close with Fernando.”

Anfey pursed his lips. Prince Wester must know that Yolanthe planned on taking over control of Shield of Light legion and casting out Fernando. Marquis Djoser was working for Prince Wester, but he must have not yet told the prince about his relationship with Fernando. If Fernando fell, the Marquis might fall with him. If it really came to that, it would be unlikely that Prince Wester would try to save Marquis Djoser.

“When is the backup arriving?” Anfey asked.

“In a few days,” Long said.

“The backup is the Shield of Light legion, isn’t it?” Suzanna asked quietly.

“Yes, my lady.”

“What else did you find out?” Anfey asked. “Did you find out how many Knights of Light there are?”

“Four hundred, at least,” Long said. “That’s just part of it.”

“That many?” Anfey asked, surprised.

Long nodded. “My sources are as accurate as they come.”

“I didn’t know you have sources in Blackania City,” Anfey said.

“There are still a lot of things you do not know about us, my lord,” Long said. “This information was given to me by a member of the Roaring Death legion. As you should know, my lord, those soldiers are famous for their bravery and their loyalty. I trust this information.”

Anfey nodded. “How is the relationship between the two legions?”

“Precarious,” Long said. “There’s tension between the two, but there has not been any outright conflict.”

“Because they don’t want to make it look like Yolanthe is making things more difficult for the priests and the knights, I wager,” Ling said. “The situation is too tense right now for there to be infighting.”

Anfey nodded. “I think you’re right,” he said. “What else did you hear?”

“Scarlet was heading north with her army,” Long said. “But they disappeared soon after leaving. No one knows where they are. We must keep our guard up. The world is in chaos right now, and no one knows whether she will take advantage of that.” Long paused, then added, “Violet City is a commercial city. Fernando does not have the right to decide what happens there.”

Anfey nodded. “You did well,” he said. “Who told you this?”

“I cannot reveal my source’s name,” Long said, shaking his head.

Anfey nodded. “Go get some rest,” he said. Long and Ling nodded, then turned and disappeared into the town.

No matter how questionable the “good” relationship between Yolanthe and Pope William was, their generals and soldiers still maintained military protocol. Four days later, a large force looking like a long snake appeared in the Eyes of Sky. It was inevitable to have malicious competition between Yolanthe and Pope William’s militaries, but that would not stop them fighting together against their common enemy when the time came. If Anfey had already sent for help, it meant Moramatch faced some serious threat. If they went to the Country of Mercenaries, they would not get any supplies among death spirits. They could not lose Moramatch, since it was the most important transfer field. They heard Anfey had thousands of mercenaries in Moramatch who were important to Fernando since they were locals. They were familiar with the surrounding geography. Even if they did not join the battle, they still could serve as guides and be helpful for the battle.

That was why Fernando decided to send his troops out to help Anfey, even though Marquis Djoser had criticized Anfey a lot. Fernando even contacted General Augustus in Blackania City. They agreed right away that Augustus would send out 20,000 border guards as the frontiers of Shield of Light unit to help Moramatch.

Yolanthe had agreed with Anfey to send 20,000 soldiers, but Augustus spent some time deciding who would serve in this troop. First of all, he had to ensure a strong fighting ability. Second, they had to be loyal to the country. In order to completely avoid the influence from Knights of the Light, Augustus even ordered four generals with great prestige to lead this troop. With their leadership, Knights of the Light could only give instructions at most, but they would not have any control over this troop.

Efficiency was the key to the war. Yolanthe asked Miorich to lead palace guards to help immediately after Yolanthe heard that Tumen Commercial Union had been attacked. Yolanthe was not panicking, but rather taking advantage of time. Knowing Moramatch was just ahead of them, seeing a showdown of people on the wall and hearing the cheering in the distance, about a hundred Knights of the Light in the front of the troops all looked relieved. Those in the front consulted, and then about half of the Knights of the Light rode back rapidly. With instructions from Knights of the Light, five thousand cavalry were divided into two groups. One group continued to march to Moramatch, while the other group went back to help with the transportation of arms and supplies.

Even though about 15,000 cavalry travelled with the arms and supplies, they didn’t seem strong enough to Knights of the Light. The soldiers in Death Roaring Legion were more popular in comparison. In fact, the Knights of the Light had suggested to Fernando that he press Baery to lend a unit of his military to Fernando. They had no idea if Fernando had tried to convince Baery. They only heard a rumor that one night General Baery waved his sword and chased Fernando for about a dozen miles. Fernando hid in a female farmer’s house and finally escaped from Baery. Coincidentally, Fernando stopped them talking about taking Death Roaring Legion since they heard that rumor.

There had been many prestigious but hard-to-track master swordsmen. They were on the same level but had different levels of fighting ability. Ernest definitely ranked number one. When he travelled, he had challenged archswordsmen at his level, but never lost a fight. Some defeated swordsmen who were resentful towards Ernest talked behind his back, but not everyone was so resentful when they lost fights. Some people were convinced that Ernest was better with sword skills. Although Ernest had his critics, no one could challenge his ranking in terms of sword skills. The commander of Glory mercenary group in the Country of Mercenaries ranked second, since he killed two Fire Series archmages in his debut fights. Baery ranked third, taking Master Swordsman Philip’s place, as Philip was now too old to hold that position.

All the Knights of the Light knew that Fernando was a seventh-level Knight of the Light, but he would never be a match for Baery. Therefore, there was truth in the rumor. Of course, they would not stupid enough to ask Fernando about it. They kept these speculations to themselves.

When Anfey heard the cheering, he was standing in something of a tornado. It was nothing like a natural tornado. Rather, it was about a hundred yards high, with lighter winds than a natural tornado. It could only suck in insects, birds and other small-sized animals. Anfey could keep absolute still in the center of the tornado. His hair did not even move. After a while, he held his hand out in the air. The swirling tornado looked like it was drawn by a strong attraction, sucked in with a fast speed and turned into a crystal-clear, glaring spear in Anfey’s hand.

Anfey thrust his spear out. He was so fast that there were countless shadows created by the spear. It was a cloud of shadow at first and then turned to a larger area of shadow. Only Suzanna and Shinbela could barely see Anfey’s moves. Mages like Christian, Blavi felt dazzled by the moves.

Anfey ended his show and put the spear back. The gigantic rock in front of him made terrifying cracking sounds and turned into countless pieces of gravel everywhere on the ground. “What are those mercenaries yelling?” Anfey asked in surprise. He dragged the spear on the ground and walked back.

“I do not know. Let’s go and check,” Suzanna said quietly.

“Anfey, wait.” Blavi hurried over. “Let me see your spear. Wow! Nice!” Blavi only paid attention to the appearance of the spear but did not see that one end of the spear had stuck underground as he dragged the spear. Anfey did not put any strength on it. He would not waste his energy, which suggested the significant weight of the spear.

“Here you go.” Anfey passed the spear to Blavi. This spear could not instantly disappear, as other weapons he instantly had made. This spear would take some time to disappear, and would take a little longer to disappear when not under the control of Anfey’s telepathy.

Blavi excitedly took the spear from Anfey. The spear had fallen to the ground just as he felt the weight of the spear in his hand. Anfey could make actions as fast as he wished. He held one leg out with a lightning speed and grabbed the spear with his foot. Even though Anfey caught it with his foot, Black Eleven’s foot was scratched by the spear. He opened his mouth wide as he grabbed Anfey’s arm tightly. To be more accurate, he pinched Anfey’s arm as his eyes got watery. If there were no ladies, he would not keep from crying.

“How could it be so heavy?” Blavi almost cried.

“Is it heavy?” Anfey was shocked for a second and smiled. “It was indeed heavy for you.” Anfey lifted his foot and tossed the spear in the air. With a huge crashing sound, the spear fell on the ground after one flip in the air. This time, everyone saw something unusual. The whole spear almost buried in the ground. If a person looked at it upside down, it would be hard for him to see anything.

“Let me try.” Ye got excited even though he usually did not talk much. He walked over and slowly squatted and dug his bare hands into the dirt. He grabbed the shaft of the spear and slowly got up on his feet. He did not finish standing until he released his combat power. It surprised everyone even more when they saw Ye had to pull the spear out with his combat power.

“Let me do it.” Shinbela slowly walked over when she saw Ye pulling the spear up with combat power.

“Sure.” Ye responded immediately. He looked like he lacked courtesy. He should have passed the spear to Shinbela like Anfey passed it to Blavi. He still stood there, waiting for Shinbela to pick it up herself.

Shinbela was not a stupid girl. She had been hurt by Manlyn only because she was a nice girl and did not know how to protect herself. With every step, her combat power grew stronger. As she walked up to Ye, she released all of her combat power. She grabbed the shaft of the spear, slowly taking it from Ye.

Shinbela swung it a few times. The spear tore through the air and made thunder-like whooshing sounds. Ye had moved pretty far from her. Shinbela looked a little weird. She stood there for a while. This spear’s weight was beyond her imagination. She noticed that there had been no noise when Anfey swung it. It looked like a quiet viper, trying to snatch someone. Shinbela had no idea how Anfey did it.

Shinbela slowly raised the spear over her head and swung it down. She was not only a senior swordswoman, but a well-rounded fighter. Except for Anfey, no one in the group could be called well-rounded. Knights and swordsmen were in two different fields. The way Shinbela swung the spear was similar to the way she swung swords. With a huge sound, a cloud of dirt appeared in the air. There was a deep ditch created by the hit of the spear. It could only be called a “hit” since the tip of the spear was stuck underground a few feet deep. Only half of the shaft diagonally pointed at the sky above the ground.

“Anfey, someday, when you release the Meteorite magic, I do not know what kind of weapon you could create,” Christian sighed. What weapon would Anfey create with more advanced magic if he could already make such an amazing weapon with Tornado magic?

“Meteorite magic? I like teleportation spells better than Meteorite magic,” Anfey said. “That is my biggest dream.”

Entos was watching them, smiling. When he heard what Anfey said, he asked, “Anfey what do you mean? Why are you mentioning teleportation spells in front of me. Are you trying to take the job away from me?”

“Bro Entos, you misunderstood me.” There was some cunning in Anfey’s look. “You have mastered teleportation spells, and do not need a magic wand anymore. How could I take the job away from you?”

“I…” Entos almost cursed in front of ladies. Anfey had misspoken. He meant to remind Entos that he did not need wand anymore.

The conflict between the mercenaries and the Knights of the Light had already passed by the time Anfey and Suzanna arrived. There was still tension, however, because the knights wanted to take over the defense of the city from the mercenaries.

This was a very negotiable matter, but neither the knights nor the mercenaries were very patient with each other. The knights knew they were there to save the mercenaries and did not like the mercenaries’ attitude. The mercenaries did not like the knights taking over their job and did not want to back down easily.

Ozzic did not like being treated like a lesser man. He was very proud and ambitious and did not like being ordered around by other people, especially people he had just met a few minutes ago. He was also very irritable and would often lose control of his temper. He did not like the way the knights were talking to him and his men and grew very angry. He even threatened to draw his sword.

One of the knights saw Ozzic’s movement and drew his own sword. The other knights did not want there to be a fight, but felt obligated to support one of their own. The mercenaries saw the knight’s sword and all jumped to Ozzic’s defense.

The mercenaries did not lack loyalty and the will to fight. They didn’t care if it was Ozzic who started the conflict. They needed to protect one of their own.

Since the knights did not want to fight the mercenaries in the first place, they did not move to attack. The mercenaries saw that the knights weren’t moving and did not want to be the first to attack. However, neither side lowered its weapons.

Both the knights and the mercenaries knew that they should not fight. Their responsibility was too great for petty fights right now.

“Wait,” Anfey called. Several of the knights saw the opportunity and grabbed the sword from the first knight who drew his weapon. The mercenaries lowered their weapons and Ozzic quickly bowed to Anfey and Suzanna. “What happened?” Anfey asked.

“They, apparently, don’t know how to act properly in other people’s territory,” Ozzic said angrily.

“You must be Anfey,” one of the knights said, stepping forward. “These mercenaries never stop.”

“Liar!” Ozzic said. Anfey tapped him on the shoulder and shook his head. He did not expect the knights to be so rude to the mercenaries, but he did not expect the mercenaries to act so improperly, either. Whatever conflicts they had, the most important thing right now should be building an amicable relationship so working together in the future would be easier on both sides. The knights and the mercenaries’ actions did the exact opposite.

Most of the knights had already put their weapons away and were murmuring to the few that did not, trying to calm them down. Clearly, like the mercenaries, the knights did not want to fight, either.

“I am,” Anfey said. “I would say welcome to Moramatch, but I see you’ve already met our people.” Ozzic glared at the knight.

“How I control my people is my business,” Anfey continued, ignoring Ozzic, “and you have no right commenting on it.”

“Are you threatening me, my lord?” the knight asked, clenching his teeth.

“Of course not,” Anfey said, smiling. “Why would I?” The knight stared at him for a few seconds then took a deep breath and returned his sword to its sheath.

Anfey sighed with relief. He did not want to fight the knights because he knew that it would do him no good. The best thing for him and the town right now was to coexist with the knights peacefully. Infighting would only lead to trouble.

He did not know why the knights were so bold, but he knew that someone must have told them some unpleasant things about him. He couldn’t change that; the only thing he could do was to prove to them that he was not a horrible person.

The knight that challenged Anfey did not back down easily.

Suzanna and Shinbela appeared and joined Anfey. They were bolder than the mercenaries and did not need Anfey’s order to attack anyone. Entos appeared in the air and landed between the mercenaries and the knights, his eyes wide as if curious about what was happening.

“Martin, stand down,” a voice among the knights called. The knight in front cringed then turned to the man who had just ordered him to stay back.

A man in white armor appeared on horseback. He rode to the front and jumped off, smiling. “My lord, my lady! Do you remember me?” the man asked, grinning. His tone was relaxed and was clearly trying to ease the situation.

Anfey froze. He remembered this man from Augustus’s mansion, back in Blackania City. “General…?”

“Mecamela,” the general said, taking off his helmet. Shinbela and Suzanna relaxed visibly. No one wanted to fight, but the situation came to a point where it would be considered shameful to back down. Neither side wanted that, and the situation had come to a standstill. Anfey was glad that the general came to resolve the situation. Clearly, Martin was too.

“I apologize for not introducing myself last time,” Mecamela said with a grin.

“I apologize as well,” Anfey said, smiling. He walked over and shook hands with the general.

“Don’t worry about that,” Mecamela said. “Trust me, my lord, you don’t need to introduce yourself.” He walked towards the town and out of the knights’ earshot. “I need to talk to you,” he said in a hushed voice. “Alone. This is an urgent matter.”

“Urgent?” Anfey asked with a frown. “Then let’s go to the tent over there.” Mecamela nodded and followed Anfey. Suzanna wanted to follow but Anfey stopped her.

“Don’t worry,” Mecamela said. “I promise not to do anything, my lady.”

Once they were alone, Anfey frowned and asked, “What do you want to talk about?”

“I have an order from His Majesty,” Mecamela said. “Lady Suzanna is to return to Sacred City immediately.”

“What?” Anfey asked, shocked.

—

Sacred City appeared gloomy under the setting sun. Yolanthe sat on a rocking chair, wearing a simple robe. Across the room was a bed and in the bed was a woman. The woman was old, her hair peppered with grey. Two maids were busy cleaning the room.

“Don’t worry,” Yolanthe said softly. “Suzanna will come back.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” the woman whispered. She had seen too many deaths on her way to Sacred City. She did not know why Yolanthe was protecting her or her daughter, but she was very grateful. She knew that without the man in the chair, she would never see her daughter again.

“Don’t worry yourself too much,” Yolanthe said. “Rest. Regain your strength.”

“Will…will the man she married return with her?” the woman asked. She didn’t want to trouble Yolanthe, but she wanted to see what kind of man her daughter married.

“I’m afraid not,” Yolanthe said, shaking his head. “Anfey has a very important job he cannot step away from. We need control of Country of Mercenaries in order to completely destroy the necromancers’ force.”

The woman smiled. “I know, Your Majesty,” she said. She lied back down and sighed, closing her eyes as if she was exhausted.